TODAY WE ARE LAUNCHING A SIX WEEK SERIES ENTITLED
POLITICS AND THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
NOW, BEFORE YOU RUN OUT OF HERE AND SAY,
PASTOR CHURCH IS THE ONE PLACE I GO TO TO AVOID POLITICS
CHURCH IS THE ONE PLACE I GO TO WHERE I CAN TUNE OUT THE NOISE
AND THE POLITICAL CONFUSION AND CHAOS.
WOULD YOU JUST GIVE ME A SHOT?
HERE'S THE PROBLEM YOU AND I HAVE WITH POLITICS.
MOST OF OUR POLITICS ARE OFTEN INFORMED BY THE WORLD.
OUR POLITICS ARE OFTEN INFORMED BY MAINSTREAM MEDIA AND
POLITICAL PUNDITS AND SOCIAL MEDIA AND THEREFORE IT'S
UNDERSTANDABLE WHY SOME OF US HAVE A BAD TASTE IN OUR MOUTH
WHEN IT COMES TO THE TOPIC OF POLITICS.
BUT WHAT WE NEED TO DO, AND WHAT I HOPE TO DO IN A VERY BRIEF
SERIES IS RE FRAME AND RESHAPE THE CONVERSATION
SO THAT OUR POLITICS ARE NOT INFORMED BY THE WORLD,
BUT OUR POLITICS ARE INFORMED BY THE KINGDOM OF GOD
AND THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST.
IT'S WHAT WE WOULD CALL A BIBLICAL WORLDVIEW OF POLITICS
OR WHAT THE REFORMERS WOULD CALL A REFORMED POLITICAL THEOLOGY
THAT'S INFORMED BY THE TEACHINGS OF THE KINGDOM
AND THE GLORY OF GOD.
ANOTHER PROBLEM WE HAVE IS I THINK IT'S SAFE TO SAY NOT
MANY OF US EVEN HAVE A GOOD WORKING DEFINITION OF POLITICS,
BUT HERE'S ONE OF THE SIMPLEST
DEFINITIONS OF POLITICS I'VE COME ACROSS.
POLITICS IS SIMPLY THE AFFAIRS OF THE CITY.
WE MIGHT BROADEN THAT DEFINITION TO BE THE AFFAIRS OF THE STATE
OR THE AFFAIRS OF THE NATION.
I WANT TO ASK YOU THE QUESTION, IF YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN HERE
TODAY, ARE YOU CONCERNED WITH THE AFFAIRS OF THE CITY?
I HOPE SO.
IF YOU'RE A CHRISTIAN,
ARE YOU CONCERNED WITH THE AFFAIRS OF THE NATION?
YES. THEN YOU LIKE POLITICS,
ONCE AGAIN, YOUR PROBLEM IS NOT WITH POLITICS.
YOUR PROBLEM IS HOW POLITICS HAS BEEN HIJACKED
BY A CORRUPT AND IMMORAL SOCIETY.
AND WHAT WE NEED TO DO AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD
IS NOT RETREAT FROM POLITICS,
BUT RE FRAME AND RESHAPE THE CONVERSATION AND
DEVELOP A POLITIC THAT LOOKS MORE LIKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD
THAN THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD.
AND THERE YOU MIGHT STOP ME AND SAY,
NO, PASTOR, I FINALLY GOT YOU. YOU SAID IT.
JESUS SAID, MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
THAT'S BEEN ONE OF THE MOST MISINTERPRETED VERSES THROUGHOUT
CHURCH HISTORY WHEN JESUS SAID; MY KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD.
HE DID NOT MEAN THEREFORE WE RETREAT FROM THE WORLD.
HE WAS SIMPLY SAYING, YOUR VALUES AND YOUR POLITICS AND
YOUR ETHICS CAN'T BE INFORMED BY THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD,
BUT INSTEAD BY THE KINGDOM OF GOD.
SO WHEN WE UNDERSTAND THAT GOD'S KINGDOM IS NOT OF THIS WORLD,
WE UNDERSTAND THAT WE HAVE ONE THAT WE ANSWER TO
WHO IS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
WE NEED TO REMEMBER THAT EVERY GENERATION IN THE BIBLE WAS
LIVING IN THE SHADOWS OF AN OPPRESSIVE POLITICAL EMPIRE.
EGYPT, BABYLON, ASSYRIA, ROME POLITICS WAS UNAVOIDABLE
FOR THE PEOPLE OF GOD THROUGHOUT REDEMPTIVE HISTORY.
AND WHAT THEY HAD TO DO WAS HOW DO WE LIVE FAITHFULLY
IN EGYPT AND BABYLON AND ASSYRIA AND ROME
AS WE LIVE IN THE WORLD BUT NOT OF THE WORLD?
HOW DO WE LIVE FAITHFULLY AND REPRESENT KING JESUS
IN THE MIDST OF POLITICAL OPPRESSION?
AND SO THE GOAL OF THE CHURCH WAS NEVER TO AVOID POLITICS
BUT ENGAGE IN THE POLITICAL SPHERE ON BEHALF OF KING JESUS
DECLARING THAT OUR GOD IS RULER OVER ALL OF CREATION AND THAT,
THAT CREATION EVEN INVOLVES
THE POLITICAL AND GOVERNMENTAL SPHERE.
SO LET'S JOURNEY TOGETHER.
WILL YOU COMMIT TO THAT AS WE EXPLORE WHAT IT MEANS TO EMBRACE
A POLITICAL THEOLOGY THAT LOOKS MORE LIKE THE KINGDOM OF GOD
AND LESS LIKE THE KINGDOM OF THIS WORLD?
SO IF YOU ARE ABLE AND WILLING, WOULD YOU STAND
FOR THE READING OF GOD'S HOLY WORD?
TO KICK OFF THIS SERIES, WE'RE GOING TO BE LOOKING AT PSALM 2,
ALL 12 VERSES AS WE DISCOVER THE ANSWER TO THIS QUESTION.
WHO IS THE RULER OF THIS NATION?
PSALM 2,
AND THE GRASS WITHERS AND THE FLOWER FADES,
BUT NO, NOT THE WORD OF OUR LORD.
IT STANDS FOREVER. AMEN.
YOU MAY BE SEATED.
I WANT YOU TO THINK OF ALL OF THE THINGS THAT
YOU HAVE LEARNED FROM THE MOMENT OF YOUR CHILDHOOD.
ALL OF THE THINGS THAT GOD HAS USED,
PEOPLE IN YOUR LIFE THAT GOD HAS USED TO TEACH YOU
HOW TO TALK AND WALK, TO RUN AND TO PLAY,
TO WASH YOUR TEETH AND HOW TO SOLVE A MATH PROBLEM,
HOW TO THROW A BALL AND TO PLAY CATCH,
HOW TO DANCE AND HOW TO SING.
GOD HAS USED IN YOUR LIFE NUMEROUS PEOPLE,
PARENTS AND GRANDPARENTS, TEACHERS AND MENTORS AND
COACHES TO TEACH YOU ALMOST EVERYTHING
THAT IS NEEDED TO LIVE AND TO MOVE AND TO BREATHE.
BUT THERE'S ONE THING THAT NO ONE IN THIS ROOM
EVER HAD TO LEARN.
THERE'S ONE THING THAT NO ONE IN THIS ROOM EVER HAD TO BE TAUGHT.
CAN YOU GUESS WHAT THAT IS? TO SAY NO;
NOBODY IN THIS ROOM EVER HAD TO BE SAT DOWN AND
THIS IS HOW YOU SAY NO.
AND THE REASON AS I HEARD IT IS BECAUSE OF SIN.
WE ARE BORN AS NATURAL BORN REBELS.
WE COME OUT OF THE WOMB AN OPEN REBELLION AGAINST AUTHORITY AND
WE TELL EVERYONE IN AUTHORITY IN ONE WAY,
SHAPE OR FORM THAT YOU ARE NOT THE BOSS OF ME.
AND THE REASON THIS IS A UNIVERSAL THING FOR EVERY
SINGLE PERSON IS BECAUSE WE HAVE ALL INHERITED
WHAT IS KNOWN AS ORIGINAL SIN OR THE SIN OF ADAM.
AND THIS PSALM IS ADDRESSING
HUMANITY'S OPEN REBELLION AGAINST AUTHORITY.
BUT IN ADDITION TO TEACHING ABOUT
HUMANITY'S OPEN REBELLION AGAINST AUTHORITY;
IT ALSO REMINDS US AND THE NATIONS
THAT GOD HAS ALREADY APPOINTED,
HIS ANOINTED ONE, HIS SON ON THE HOLY HILL
AND THAT WE BETTER RECOGNIZE THAT HE TRULY IS
THE SUPREME AUTHORITY AND THE RULER OVER ALL CREATION.
BECAUSE AS THE BIBLE TELLS US; WE WILL RECOGNIZE IT
EITHER WILLINGLY OR ONE DAY UNWILLINGLY
THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD AND KING.
HE TRULY IS THE RULER OF THE NATIONS,
AND THE REASON I PICKED THIS PASSAGE AND
THIS TOPIC TO LAUNCH OUR SERMON SERIES IS THAT
THE TRUTHS WE LEARN IN PSALM 2 ARE ABSOLUTELY FOUNDATIONAL TO
DEVELOPING A POLITICAL THEOLOGY THAT IS INFORMED BY THE
INFALLIBLE WORD OF GOD AND THE TEACHINGS OF HIS KINGDOM.
THE FIRST THING I WANT TO POINT OUT
IN UNDERSTANDING JESUS AS THE SUPREME RULER OF THE NATIONS
IS THE REBELLION AGAINST THE KING,
THE REBELLION AGAINST THE KING THAT WE SEE
IN THE FIRST STANZA OF THIS PSALM.
WE SEE IT IN VERSES 1, 2 , AND 3.
WE SEE THAT SINFUL HUMANITY IS THAT WAR WITH GOD.
YOU SEE, IT'S NOT JUST AN INDIVIDUAL IS AT WAR WITH GOD,
BUT WE READ IN VERSES ONE, TWO, AND THREE
THAT NATIONS ARE GATHERING TOGETHER.
IT IS A CORPORATE REBELLION AGAINST ALMIGHTY GOD.
THEY ARE AMASSING THEIR ARMIES.
THEY ARE BUILDING COALITIONS GLOBALLY IN ORDER TO REBEL
AGAINST THE TRUE KING OF THE NATIONS.
BUT IT'S INTERESTING IN VERSE ONE,
THE PSALMS SAY THAT THEY ALL PLOT IN VAIN,
BUT THEY DO IT ANYWAY EVEN THOUGH THEY CAN'T WIN,
EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST
THE TRUE RULER OF THE NATIONS, THEY STILL PLOT WHY?
BECAUSE THE GOSPEL OF JOHN SAYS,
THAT PEOPLE LOVE DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT.
AND BECAUSE THEY LOVE DARKNESS RATHER THAN LIGHT,
EVEN THOUGH THEY DON'T STAND A CHANCE AGAINST THE LORD
AND HIS ANOINTED, THEY WILL REBEL ANYWAY.
BUT THIS REBELLION AGAINST THE KING,
THE TRUE RULER OF THE NATIONS IS NOT SOMETHING
THAT WAS JUST RELEVANT TO THE NATION OF ISRAEL,
IT WAS RELEVANT TO ALL OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
BECAUSE AFTER ALL, WHO IS THE LORD'S ANOINTED
THAT WE READ ABOUT IN VERSE 2?
WELL, IN THE HEBREW THE WORD ANOINTED MEANS MESSIAH.
IN THE GREEK THE WORD IS CHRIST OR CHRISTOS.
WHO WOULD THAT BE?
THE LORD'S ANOINTED.
YOU SEE, IT WOULD TAKE HUNDREDS OF YEARS LATER FOR THE PEOPLE OF
GOD TO UNDERSTAND THAT THE LORD'S ANOINTED IS NONE OTHER
THAN THE LORD JESUS CHRIST WHOM
GOD HAS APPOINTED AS RULER OF THE NATIONS.
AND WE KNOW SO WHEN WE READ ACTS 4 IN THE NEW TESTAMENT,
IF YOU HAVE YOUR BIBLES OR
MAYBE JUST WRITE IT DOWN FOR A LATER STUDY,
ACTS CHAPTER 4 VERSES 25 THROUGH 28, YOU SPOKE BY THE HOLY SPIRIT
THROUGH THE MOUTH OF YOUR SERVANT, OUR FATHER DAVID,
WHY DO THE NATION'S RAGE AND THE PEOPLE'S PLOT IN VAIN,
THE KINGS OF THE EARTH RISE UP AND THE RULERS BOUND TOGETHER
AGAINST THE LORD AND AGAINST HIS ANOINTED ONE REFERRING OBVIOUSLY
TO PSALM 2, INDEED HEROD AND PONTIUS PILATE MET TOGETHER
WITH THE GENTILES AND THE PEOPLE OF ISRAEL IN THIS CITY
TO CONSPIRE AGAINST YOUR HOLY SERVANT JESUS.
THERE'S THE CONNECTION, THE AUTHOR OF ACTS CHAPTER 4
IS CONNECTING THE DOTS FOR US THAT THE LORD'S ANOINTED
THAT HAS BEEN RAISED UP PROPHESIED ABOUT IN PSALM 2
IS NONE OTHER THAN OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST.
VERSE 28, THEY DID WHAT YOUR POWER AND WILL
HAD DECIDED BEFOREHAND SHOULD HAPPEN.
ACTS CHAPTER 4 TELLS US THIS,
THAT NATIONS CAME TOGETHER BOTH JEW AND GENTILE,
THAT HEROD AND PONTIUS PILATE COULDN'T SEE EYE TO EYE
ON ANYTHING EXCEPT FOR THIS ONE THING THAT
WE ARE THREATENED BY THE AUTHORITY AND THE TEACHINGS
OF THIS MAN WHO CLAIMS TO BE THE KING OF THE JEWS.
YOU SEE, THE REASON THE NATION'S PLOT AND THEY CONSPIRE AGAINST
THE LORD'S ANOINTED IS BECAUSE THE LORD'S ANOINTED
THREATENS HUMANITY'S AUTONOMY AND SELF-SOVEREIGNTY.
THEY ARE THREATENED BY THE ONE WHO HAS COME TO BE
BOTH CHRIST AND KING, THE ONE WHO IS THE TRUE RULER
OF THE NATIONS, INCLUDING THIS NATION AMERICA.
AND WE SEE A WAR RAGING AGAINST THE LORD AND HIS ANOINTED
AND THE PEOPLE OF THE ANOINTED ONE, HIS CHURCH,
THE BODY OF CHRIST ALL THE TIME HERE IN THIS NATION.
WE SEE THE GOVERNMENT CONSPIRING AGAINST
THE LORD'S ANOINTED BY CLAIMING THAT BIBLICAL UNDERSTANDING OF
MANHOOD AND WOMANHOOD IS NOTHING MORE THAN MYTHOLOGY.
THAT IS REBELLION AGAINST THE KING.
OUR GOVERNMENT CALLS ABORTION, REPRODUCTIVE RIGHTS.
THAT IS A REBELLION AGAINST THE KING.
GOVERNMENTS SHUTTING DOWN CHURCHES;
REBELLION AGAINST THE KING,
REJECTION OF OUR RIGHTS AS GOD-GIVEN RIGHTS;
REJECTION AGAINST AND REBELLION AGAINST THE KING,
DECADES OF CHILDREN BEING TAUGHT THAT THEY ARE
A COSMIC EVOLUTIONARY ACCIDENT IN OUR PUBLIC SCHOOL SYSTEMS;
THAT IS REBELLION AGAINST THE KING.
AND IF YOU DON'T GET ON BOARD
WITH THE WOKE IDEOLOGIES OF OUR DAY,
YOU ARE CANCELED AND SHAMED AND
TOLD THAT YOU ARE A THREAT TO DEMOCRACY.
THAT IS REBELLION AGAINST THE KING.
OPEN A REBELLION FOR GENERATIONS AGAINST THE LORD AND
HIS ANOINTED AND THE PEOPLE THAT BELONG TO HIM.
WE ARE LIVING CURRENTLY IN A NATION THAT IS AN OPEN REBELLION
AGAINST THE LORD'S ANOINTED AND HIS PEOPLE.
THE SECOND THING WE SEE IS NOT ONLY
THIS VAIN REBELLION AGAINST THE KING,
BUT SECONDLY WE SEE FINALLY A RESPONSE.
WE SEE NATIONS CONSPIRING AND TAKING UP THEIR ARMS
AGAINST THE TRUE RULER OF THE NATION.
AND WHAT WOULD YOU EXPECT FROM THE OPPONENT?
THE LORD?
YOU WOULD EXPECT HIM TO TAKE UP HIS ARMS
AND TAKE UP HIS WEAPONS OF WARFARE, WOULDN'T YOU?
BUT HOW DOES THE LORD RESPOND?
VERSE FOUR, HE WHO SITS IN THE HEAVENS LAUGHS;
HE MOCKS THE NATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS THAT
TRY TO REBEL AGAINST HIM,
THAT THE GREAT ARMIES OF THE WORLD
AND THE GREAT GOVERNMENTS OF THIS WORLD CONSPIRE TOGETHER.
AND THE LORD LOOKS AND LAUGHS.
THAT'S ALL YOU GOT.
THAT'S ALL YOU GOT AGAINST THE ONE
WHO HAS CREATED THE HEAVENS AND THE EARTH.
THAT'S ALL YOU GOT AGAINST THE ONE WHO HAS APPOINTED HIS SON
TO BE SUPREME LEADER AND RULER AND KING OF THE NATIONS.
IT IS SO RIDICULOUS THAT THE LORD SITS
IN THE HEAVENS AND HE LAUGHS,
BUT THE LAUGHING EVENTUALLY ENDS AND INSTEAD OF LAUGHING,
WE READ IN VERSE 5 THAT HE BEGINS TO SPEAK.
YOU SEE THE LAUGHTER ONLY LAUGHS FOR A SEASON.
AND THEN IT SAYS IN VERSE 5 THAT HE OPENS HIS MOUTH AND
IT SAYS HE SPEAKS TO THEM IN HIS WRATH.
HE SPEAKS TO THE KINGS AND THE RULERS
AND THE NATIONS THAT REBEL AND CONSPIRES AGAINST HIM.
AND WHEN HE OPENS HIS MOUTH, IT IS A WORD OF WRATH AND JUDGMENT
AND IT SAYS IN VERSE 5 AND HE TELLS THEM SOMETHING TERRIBLE.
AND THE QUESTION IS,
WHAT COULD BE SO TERRIBLE THAT THE LORD WOULD SAY,
WHAT COULD BE SO TERRIBLE THAT
IT WOULD BE SPOKEN OF IN SUCH GRAPHIC TERMS THAT
IT'S WRATH COMING OUT OF HIS MOUTH?
WHAT COULD THE LORD POSSIBLY SAY TO THE NATIONS?
AND THE ANSWERS IN VERSE 6, I'VE ALREADY WON.
VERSE 6 SAYS, AS FOR ME, I SET MY SON, MY KING,
MY ANOINTED ONE ON ZION, MY HOLY HILL.
THAT IS GOD'S WAY OF SAYING TO THE NATIONS
AND REBELLIOUS GOVERNMENTS,
I'VE ALREADY WON AND YOU'VE ALREADY LOST.
I'VE ALREADY CROWNED MY SON AS KING OF KINGS AND LORD OF LORDS.
I'VE ALREADY COORDINATED, I'VE ALREADY INAUGURATED,
AND I’VE ALREADY INSTALLED MY SON.
SO YOU CAN BRING YOUR WHOLE ARMY AGAINST ME.
EVERY WICKED NATION ON THE FACE OF THIS EARTH
CAN CONSPIRE AGAINST ME,
BUT YOU'LL ALWAYS LOSE AND I WILL ALWAYS WIN
BECAUSE MY SON HAS BEEN CROWNED LORD OF ALL.
AND GOD DOES NOT WALK AROUND IN THE HEAVEN SAYING,
WE'VE GOT TO HOLD AN ELECTION.
WE GOT TO BUILD CONSENSUS, MAYBE A STRAW POLL.
NO, HE DETERMINES IT IN HIS ANCIENT DECREE AND HE SETS HIS
SON AND HE CROWNS HIM AND HE CORONATED HIM AND HE INSTALLS
HIM AS THE RIGHTFUL KING OVER EVERY NATION ON EARTH.
THIS IS HOW OUR KING RESPONDS.
AND THIS SHOULD BRING US SUCH GREAT COMFORT
AS THE PEOPLE OF GOD KNOWING THAT THE VICTORY OF
THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST IS FOREVER SECURED
THROUGH THE MINISTRY AND THE REIGN AND RULE OF JESUS.
THAT'S WHY IN VERSE EIGHT, GOD IS ABLE TO SPEAK IN SUCH
DEFINITIVE TERMS, I WILL MAKE NOT, I HOPE I WILL MAKE,
I WILL MAKE THE NATIONS YOUR HERITAGE.
ALL OF THIS, KING JESUS,
NO MATTER HOW BAD THE GOVERNMENT GETS,
NO MATTER HOW CORRUPT THE POLITICAL SYSTEM IS,
ALL OF THIS BELONGS TO YOU.
IT IS YOUR HERITAGE, IT IS YOUR INHERITANCE.
AND WHEN WE READ THE STORY OF THE NEW TESTAMENT CHURCH,
WE READ THAT HE GAINS THIS INHERITANCE THROUGH THE WORK
AND THE MISSION OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD,
THE LORD'S ANOINTED PEOPLE,
SO THAT WE CAN MARCH OUT OF THIS CHURCH THIS MORNING AND
INTO THE PUBLIC SQUARE NO MATTER HOW DARK AND CORRUPT IT IS.
AND WE CAN CHALLENGE OUR POLITICAL LEADERS
AND THEIR POLICIES AND SAY, WAIT A SECOND,
THIS IS MY FATHER'S WORLD AND HE IS REDEEMING AND
RESTORING EVERYTHING THAT RIGHTFULLY BELONGS TO HIM.
THIS IS MY FATHER'S CREATION.
AND THAT CREATION EVEN INCLUDES THE POLITICAL
AND GOVERNMENT SPHERES OF OUR CULTURE.
THIS IS THE RESPONSE OF GOD
AND THE RESPONSE OF THE PEOPLE OF GOD.
WE SEE THE REBELLION, WE SEE THE RESPONSE.
BUT THIRD AND LASTLY, WE SEE THE REFUGE THAT IS FOUND ONLY
IN THE KING AND THE THIRD AND LAST STANZA OF THIS PSALM,
THIS HYMN OF THE ANCIENT PEOPLE OF GOD.
IN VERSES 10 THROUGH 12, WE SEE THIS BEAUTIFUL PROMISE
AT THE VERY END AND THE PROMISE DOESN'T MAKE SENSE BECAUSE
WE'RE TOLD IN THE VERY LAST STATEMENT OF VERSE 12,
BLESSED ARE ALL THOSE WHO TAKE REFUGE IN HIM.
AND THE REASON IT DOESN'T MAKE SENSE IS BECAUSE
GOD HAS EVERY RIGHT TO JUST DESTROY HIS ENEMIES
AND TO BE DONE WITH THEM.
AND IF YOU ONLY READ VERSES ONE THROUGH 11,
YOU MIGHT EXPECT THAT.
BUT INSTEAD OF GETTING HIS JUDGMENT AND HIS WRATH,
INSTEAD IN VERSE 12, YOU GET HIS COMPASSION,
HIS LONG SUFFERING AND HIS GRACE.
AND IT'S IN VERSE 12 THAT HE IS CALLING PEOPLE EVERYWHERE,
PEOPLE AND NATIONS AND GOVERNMENTS TO SAY,
I KNOW THAT YOU HAVE CALLED FOR
AN OPEN REBELLION AGAINST THE KING,
BUT THERE IS A SEASON OF AMNESTY WHERE YOU CAN COME AND REPENT
AND FIND REFUGE IN THE ONLY ONE THAT COULD SAVE YOU.
AND HOW IN THE WORLD COULD WE FIND REFUGE IN THE KING?
IT'S BECAUSE ON THE CROSS BEFORE JESUS WAS CORONATED,
HE WAS CRUCIFIED.
BEFORE HE WAS EXALTED, HE WAS HUMILIATED.
AND IT WOULD BE ON THE CROSS THAT JESUS CHRIST
TOOK ON THE VERY WRATH AND JUDGMENT OF GOD
SO THAT ALL OF US BY FAITH WOULD NEVER EXPERIENCE THAT JUDGMENT,
WOULD NEVER EXPERIENCE THAT WRATH AND
WE WOULD FIND OUR REST AND OUR HOPE AND OUR REFUGE IN HIM,
HE IS CALLING PEOPLE AND NATIONS TO REPENT AND
TO RECOGNIZE HIS SON AS THE TRUE RULER OF THE NATION
AND FIND THE REFUGE AND HOPE IN HIM ALONE.
AS DEREK KIDNER SAID, THERE IS NO REFUGE FROM GOD.
THERE IS ONLY REFUGE FOUND IN GOD.
AND THE GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL IS THAT WE CAN REPENT.
AND AS THE PSALMIST SAYS IN VERSE 12, KISS THE SON.
THIS WAS A SYMBOL OF HUMILITY AND SUBMISSION
THAT WE WOULD REPENT AND BOW DOWN AND KISS THE FEET OF THE
ONE WHO SITS ON THE THRONE OF THRONES, EVEN JESUS THE CHRIST.
DO YOU KNOW HIM?
DO YOU KNOW THIS ONE THAT COULD HAVE EASILY WALKED AWAY
BUT INSTEAD JOYFULLY AND WILLINGLY WENT TO THE CROSS
AND SUBMITTED TO HIS FATHER SO THAT YOU AND I
COULD EXPERIENCE THE UNENDING GRACE OF JESUS CHRIST FOREVER?
DO YOU KNOW HIM?
DO YOU HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH HIM?
I PLEAD WITH YOU TO SURRENDER AND REPENT OF YOUR SINS
AND TURN TO THE ONLY ONE THAT CAN SAVE YOU
AND RESCUE YOU THIS MORNING.
REPENT OF YOUR REBELLION AND SURRENDER TO THE ONE WHO REIGNS
SUPREME AND THE ONLY ONE WHO CAN ACTUALLY GIVE US HOPE.
IT IS FOOLISHNESS TO REJECT SUCH A KING,
NOT ONLY BECAUSE YOU WILL NEVER DEFEAT HIM
BUT FOOLISHNESS TO REJECT HIM BECAUSE HE'S THE ONLY ONE
THAT CAN ACTUALLY GIVE YOU HOPE BOTH NOW AND FOREVERMORE.
OUR HISTORY BOOKS ARE FULL OF PEOPLE AND NATIONS AND EMPIRES
AND KINGDOMS THAT WERE GREAT, POLITICAL LEADERS
THAT BUILT REGIMES AND ANNOUNCED TO THEIR PEOPLE
THAT THEY WILL EITHER REPLACE GOD OR THAT GOD IS DEAD.
AND THOSE SAME HISTORY BOOKS TELL US A STORY
THAT THOSE EMPIRES ARE NOW GONE,
THAT THOSE NATIONS HAVE BEEN HUMBLED AND THOSE
ONCE GREAT POLITICAL LEADERS ARE SIX FEET IN THE GROUND.
BUT THERE IS ONE THAT THROUGHOUT HISTORY,
THERE IS ONE THAT THROUGH THE RUBBLE OF FALLEN EMPIRES
AND NATIONS THAT RISES ABOVE IT ALL
AND HIS NAME IS JESUS CHRIST AND HE'S BEEN CROWNED
LORD OF ALL AND THE RULER OF THE NATIONS.
AND FOR THAT WE CAN TAKE GREAT HOPE IN THIS MORNING.
SO THEREFORE, IN LIGHT OF THIS ONGOING DEBATE OF WHETHER
CHRISTIANS SHOULD BE ENGAGED IN POLITICS THIS MORNING,
YOU HAVE TWO CHOICES AND TWO CHOICES ONLY.
YOU CAN EITHER CONTINUE TO IGNORE THE REBELLIOUS TREND HERE
IN AMERICA AGAINST THE LORD'S ANOINTED,
OR YOU CAN ACTUALLY SPEAK UP AND STAND OUT
AND CHALLENGE OUR LEADERS AND THEIR POLICIES
TO BE A BETTER REFLECTION OF THE REALITY
THAT CHRIST IS THE RULER OF ALL NATIONS,
INCLUDING THE NATION OF AMERICA.
GOD SAID, BE STILL AND KNOW THAT I AM GOD.
I WILL, I WILL, BE EXALTED IN THE NATIONS.
I WILL BE EXALTED IN THE EARTH.
THIS IS OUR GREAT HOPE.
OUR GREATEST POLITICAL AFFIRMATION
IS THAT JESUS IS LORD AND CAESAR IS NOT.
AND WE TAKE THAT REALITY INTO THE HIGHWAYS AND THE BYWAYS
OF OUR CITY AND THROUGHOUT OUR NATION AND INTO THE POLITICAL
SPHERE OF THE PUBLIC SQUARE SO THAT UNTIL CHRIST RETURNS,
WE VOTE AND WE LET OUR VOICES BE HEARD AND WE ENGAGE
THE POLITICAL SPHERE, AS AMBASSADORS OF JESUS CHRIST.
AND WE SERVE AS SALT AND LIGHT AND ADVANCE THE KINGDOM OF GOD
TO STOP THE WIDESPREAD EVIL AND INJUSTICE IN OUR NATION SO THAT
THE RIGHTEOUSNESS OF ALMIGHTY GOD MIGHT RAIN DOWN AND
EXALT THIS NATION ONCE AGAIN AND HIS ENEMIES BE SCATTERED.
LET'S PRAY.
FATHER LORD, WE READ IN THE SCRIPTURES THAT
RIGHTEOUSNESS ALONE EXALTS A NATION
BUT THAT SIN IS A REPROACH TO ANY PEOPLE.
LORD, YOU HAVE ALWAYS CALLED
YOUR PEOPLE TO BE SALT AND LIGHT.
YOU'VE ALWAYS CALLED YOUR PEOPLE TO BE SERIOUS
ABOUT THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST.
AND THE MISSION OF JESUS CHRIST INCLUDES
PROCLAIMING GOD'S SOVEREIGN RULE OVER CREATION.
AND THAT CREATION INCLUDES
THE SPHERE OF POLITICS AND GOVERNMENT.
OH LORD, I PRAY THAT WE WOULD BE
THE PEOPLE OF GOD THAT DO NOT RETREAT.
THAT IN A COUNTRY, IN A NATION FULL OF POLITICAL DIVISION,
CHAOS AND CONFUSION.
IT IS THE CHURCH OF JESUS CHRIST
THAT BRINGS CLARITY AND HOPE INFORMED BY THE WORD OF GOD
AND THE TEACHINGS OF JESUS CHRIST IN HIS KINGDOM.
MAY WE BRING HOPE TO A HOPELESS NATION SO THAT ONE DAY BY YOUR
GRACE AND FOR YOUR GLORY, THIS NATION WOULD RECOGNIZE
THAT JESUS ALONE IS LORD AND THAT CAESAR IS NOT.
I THANK YOU THAT THE SPIRITUAL REALM
DOES NOT DESTROY THE PHYSICAL, BUT INSTEAD
THE SPIRITUAL REALM REDEEMS AND RESTORES ALL OF IT AND
EMPOWERS THE CHURCH THROUGH YOUR SPIRIT TO BEAR WITNESS
TO HIS AUTHORITY EVERY SQUARE INCH OF YOUR CREATION.
SO LORD, WOULD YOU GIVE US YOUR SPIRIT,
EMPOWER US BY THAT GOOD NEWS OF THE GOSPEL?
AND MAY WE BEAR WITNESS THAT JESUS CHRIST IS LORD AND KING.
IF THERE'S ANYONE HERE THIS MORNING THAT
DOES NOT HAVE A RELATIONSHIP WITH JESUS AS WE READ,
THERE IS A SEASON OF REPENTANCE,
A SEASON WHERE WE CAN REPENT AND SURRENDER AND
KISS THE SON AND UNDERSTAND AND EMBRACE THAT
THERE IS NO REFUGE FROM GOD ONLY REFUGE FOUND IN HIM.
SO MAY THE TESTIMONY TODAY BE THAT THERE ARE HUNDREDS
OF PEOPLE THAT REPENT AND FLOOD THE KINGDOM OF GOD,
THAT SALVATION HAPPENS THROUGH THE BLOOD
AND THE ATONING WORK OF JESUS CHRIST,
WHO FIRST BEFORE HE WAS EXALTED, WAS HUMILIATED,
BEFORE HE WAS CORONATED AS KING
HE WAS CRUCIFIED AS THE SUFFERING SERVANT.
OH LORD, I PLEAD WITH ANYONE IN THIS ROOM
OR ANYONE LISTENING AT HOME,
SURRENDER TO THE KING AND FIND REFUGE.
BE BLESSED.
AND INSTEAD OF EXPERIENCING THE JUDGMENT OF THE KING
THROUGH JESUS CHRIST,
EXPERIENCE HIS FAVOR BOTH NOW AND FOREVERMORE.
AND IN JESUS' NAME I PRAY, AMEN.
THIS HAS BEEN A PRODUCTION OF CORAL RIDGE MINISTRIES