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The Reign of the Lord's Anointed
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Villa
Rica March 30, 2003
Psalm 2:1-12
We
learn in Psalm 2 that the sinful condition of mankind resulting from
Adam's disobedience against God's rule continues to manifest itself not
only in individuals but also in nations. The disobedient and rebellious
spirit in the heart of all mankind takes form and shape in governmental
structures. There seems to be no people or nation that is immune from
this rebellious and sinful spirit. Even Israel under a theocracy was not
immune. Over and over she returned to idolatry and opposition to the
reign of God. Israel persistently opposed the prophets sent to her.
Remember how Jesus said to the rulers of Israel,
Matt. 23:29-36 “Woe to you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! Because you build the tombs of the
prophets and adorn the monuments of the righteous, 30and say, ‘If we had
lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with
them in the blood of the prophets.’
31“Therefore you are witnesses
against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.
32Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers’ guilt. 33Serpents, brood
of vipers! How can you escape the condemnation of hell? 34Therefore,
indeed, I send you prophets, wise men, and scribes: some of them you
will kill and crucify, and some of them you will scourge in your
synagogues and persecute from city to city, 35that on you may come all
the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Abel
to the blood of Zechariah, son of Berechiah, whom you murdered between
the temple and the altar. 36Assuredly, I say to you, all these things
will come upon this generation.
Verses 1 & 2 of Psalm 2 were specifically cited by the Apostle Peter as
having been fulfilled in the uproar that took place before Pilate by the
Jews who demanded the crucifixion of Christ. Acts 4:27 states,
"For truly in this city there
were gathered together against thy holy servant, whom thou didst anoint,
both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the Gentiles and the people of
Israel, to do whatever thy hand and thy purpose predestined to occur."
Notice that even in their opposition God was allowing their wickedness
for his own purpose in the salvation of men.
I. History
Demonstrates Who is in Control Even though men and Nations Persist in
Rebellious Conduct Against Their Creator
A. Who was in control
when Adam and Eve were driven from the Garden of Eden? Who posted
Cherubim to guard the way to the tree of life? Who was in control when
Noah was ordered to build an ark to the saving of his sons and their
wives and then sent a flood that covered the earth killing all the
people who resisted God's Word and call? Who was in control when the
people of Babel after the flood wanted to build a religious tower and
have a universal idolatrous society until their language was confounded
so that they had to abandon the idea and were scattered across the
earth? Who was in control in human history whenever a nation succeeded
in conquering the world and it was either overthrown or became so
weakened that it was reduced to an insignificant force, nations such as
Egypt, Assyria, Babylon, Persia, Greece and in more recent centuries
since the coming of Jesus Christ, Rome under the Caesars, France under
Napoleon, Germany under Hitler, the Soviet Union under Stalin? But even
in a weakened condition Psalm 2 tells of their continued opposition to
the reign of the Lord's Anointed. And as we watch the work of the ACLU
and other secular humanist and atheistic groups to get rid of every
mention of the Lord's Anointed when some likeminded political party
takes over the helm of our government will this signal the downfall and
demise of America? Pray for a Christ centered spiritual awakening.
America certainly needs it.
The
Psalmist David asks the question, Psa. 2:1-3
Why do the nations rage, And
the people plot a vain thing? 2 The kings of the earth set
themselves, And the rulers take counsel together, Against the LORD and
against His Anointed, saying, 3 “Let us break Their bonds in pieces
And cast away Their cords from us.”
B. As I mentioned in a
previous message, the contest in view here at a deeper spiritual level
is in reality a contest between God and Satan. We have heaven and hell
set before us with the war taking place on earth between the forces of
Christ and the forces of Satan. In Revelation 12 we get the full
picture. A woman is pictured in symbolic fashion as being clothed with
the sun and the moon is under her feet and on her head is a crown of
twelve stars. This woman gives birth to a Son who is to rule all nations
with a rod of iron. The rod of iron is the same symbol as that used in
Psalm 2 in the hand of the Lord's Anointed. It is also mentioned in
Revelation 2:27 and Revelation 19:15.
This Son is caught up to God and to His throne.
This refers to the
ascension of Christ after he had completed his mission of mercy by dying
for sinners on the cross and then rising on the third day from the dead.
In heaven the great
Satan, called the dragon with his angels fought against the elect angels
under the leadership of Michael and they did not prevail but were cast
down to the earth. Heaven now is no longer accessible to Satan and his
demons. It says in Rev. 12:9,
and the great dragon was thrown down, the serpent of old who is called
the devil and Satan, who deceives the whole world; he was thrown down to
the earth, and his angels were thrown down with him.
The
passage goes on to explain that
now the salvation, and the power, and the kingdom of our God and the
authority of his Christ have come, for the accuser of our brethren has
been thrown down, who accuses them before our God day and night. And
they overcame him because of the blood of the lamb and because of the
word of their testimony, and they did not love their life even to death.
(Rev 12:10- 11)
But
the opposition of the dragon is most vehement. It tells us in verse 12,
woe to the earth and the sea; because the devil has come down to you,
having great wrath, knowing that he has only a short time. So he sets
out to make war with the woman who gave birth to the son. The woman
represents Christ's church, that's you and me.
This opposition did not end with Christ being brought before Pilate and
his death being demanded by the Jews, it continues on into human history
for as long as the present world with the mix of regenerate and
unregenerate men continues.
Men do not want the
righteous rule of the holy God of heaven. They are in a state of
rebellion. They have sinful hearts and wicked inclinations. They cannot
abide the righteous decrees and laws of a King who has righteousness as
his scepter and holiness as the foundation of his throne.
Notice how formidable they appear to be. They have the majority of
peoples and nations in their corner. There seems to be well nigh a
universal opposition and it is well organized and very powerful. From a
human standpoint it seems well nigh impossible to overcome the
opposition to Christ's reign.
B. We might ask, what
is their quarrel against Christ and His reign? What argument can they
bring forward against him? After all, his reign is benevolent toward
them. It advocates obedience and cooperation by all the people to the
governments of men. It is quite clear from scripture that the powers
that be are ordained of God and derive their authority from him and
people are told to be in submission to those governments. Yet those
governments rise up in opposition to the Word of God and want to banish
His Word from their kingdoms and realms. We see this going on more and
more in America. The Bible is a forbidden book in our public schools and
even the Ten Commandments are being forbidden on the walls of government
offices, buildings and monuments. Displays of nativity scenes are
forbidden and already a Federal Circuit Court has taken under God
out of the pledge of allegiance.
Jesus said in John 15:23 He
who hates me hates my father also. If I had not done among them the
works which no one else did, they would not have sin; but now they have
both seen and hated me and my father as well. but they have done this in
order that the word may be fulfilled that is written in their law, they
hated me without a cause."
II. God's
Anointed Must and Does Reign
A. The powers of God
in heaven are so vast and all-inclusive that the puny efforts of fallen
men to oppose his authority cause God to laugh. He scoffs at them. It is
absurd to think that puny mankind can stand against God. If nations are
arrayed in opposition against the reign of God's anointed who cannot
predict the outcome of the fray? The grand Ruler of the entire universe
who brought into existence all things, all worlds, all creatures, whose
wisdom is perfect and whose power is Almighty needs but to say the Word
and all men would be blotted out. He can do whatever he wills in heaven
or in earth. His majesty is sovereign. He counts all the nations as the
dust of the balance and as a drop in the bucket. What can puny man do
against him to thwart his reign? Men simply do not have the correct
understanding of his might and authority. Turn to Isaiah 40:15. Through
the prophet God declares his majesty and power. It is a commentary on
Psalm 2.
Isaiah
40:15-31 declares, 15
Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, And are regarded as a
speck of dust on the scales;
Behold, He lifts up the
islands like fine dust.
16
Even Lebanon is not enough to burn,
Nor its beasts enough for a
burnt offering.
17
All the nations are as nothing before Him,
They are regarded by Him as
less than nothing and meaningless.
18
To whom then will you liken God?
Or what likeness will you
compare with Him?
19
As for the idol, a craftsman casts it,
A goldsmith plates it with
gold,
And a silversmith
fashions chains of silver.
20
He who is too impoverished for such an offering
Selects a tree that does not
rot;
He seeks out for himself a
skillful craftsman
To prepare an idol that will
not totter.
21
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
Has it not been declared to
you from the beginning?
Have you not understood from
the foundations of the earth?
22
It is He who sits above the circle of the earth,
And its inhabitants are like
grasshoppers,
Who stretches out the
heavens like a curtain
And spreads them out like a
tent to dwell in.
23
He it is who reduces rulers to nothing,
Who makes the judges of the
earth meaningless.
24
Scarcely have they been planted,
Scarcely have they been
sown,
Scarcely has their stock
taken root in the earth,
But He merely blows on them,
and they wither,
And the storm carries them
away like stubble.
25
“To whom then will you liken Me
That I would be his
equal?” says the Holy One.
26
Lift up your eyes on high
And see who has created
these stars,
The One who leads forth
their host by number,
He calls them all by name;
Because of the greatness of
His might and the strength of His power,
Not one of them is
missing.
27
Why do you say, O Jacob, and assert, O Israel,
“My way is hidden from the
LORD,
And the justice due me
escapes the notice of my God”?
28
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Everlasting God, the
LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth
Does not become weary or
tired.
His understanding is
inscrutable.
29
He gives strength to the weary,
And to him who lacks
might He increases power.
30
Though youths grow weary and tired,
And vigorous young men
stumble badly,
31
Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with
wings like eagles,
They will run and not get
tired,
They will walk and not
become weary.
What encouragement for the Christian who trusts in
the Lord's anointed, Jesus Christ! But what terror it
should strike in the hearts of men and nations who rant
and rage against the Most High God, who blaspheme his
Name, who seek to expunge his Word and Name
from the public domain.
B. God has set his
Son, the Lord Jesus, on his holy mountain of Zion as King. He tells him
in this Psalm that all he has to do is ask and God will give him the
heathen for his inheritance, the Gentiles, the nations: So God can turn
the hearts of men to himself as it pleases him. This Psalm surely should
encourage us to pray for the unsaved sinners around us. He can change
hearts. He can bring awakenings. He can bring revival. And the power in
Christ's hand is so sovereign that he can break nations and people like
pottery broken by a rod of iron. Indeed, he says that he does do this.
C. God tells kings and
judges of the earth to have some discernment. They should worship the
Lord with reverence and rejoice with trembling. They should give glory
to God and pay homage to the Son, for if they do not He may become angry
and they will perish in their sins.
Psalm 2 concludes on this note,
how
blessed are all who take refuge
in Him! His reign has commenced in those who believe in Him
and they can know that God is going to bless them for having done so.
Are you in Him? Have you come to Him for mercy and pardon and life
eternal? Come to Christ today!
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The paper and sermon manuscripts from
Pastor
Todd W. Allen
are made freely available for review and
distribution. We only request that proper
web page attribution be provided if
distributed for any reason. Please be
gracious to forgive typos and errors of
expression. These notes are faithful
approximations of what has been preached.
May God be glorified in the preaching of
His Word. |