Sovereign Over a Rebellious Earth
October 9, 2024
Pastor Gordon Cook
I came across this quote by Spurgeon, I think the book title is What is a Prayer Meeting? He's trying to underscore the significance of it and he says this, “The corporate prayer meeting is the heartbeat of the church.” I think if you take away prayers it is like taking away a heart or a heartbeat and you could end up with a corpse. Prayer is vital for our spiritual health and strength.
I've been reading the book titled The Anxious Generations. It is not by a Christian man, but I've dabbled in it back and forth. The guy has written a number of other books, a very well-known individual, he's a psychologist. But he argues that social media, smartphones, the internet are great contributors to the higher anxiety level of this present generation. And I think you could say that every generation has been an anxious generation, but this present generation is more, I would say, acutely challenged when it comes to dealing with anxiety and fear. It's very clear as to why there are levels of anxiety and I think we all know why. It's not due so much to the internet, but it's due to the fact that we live in a dangerous world. The internet and Facebook and mass media advertise quite frequently how dangerous or unsafe this world is. But before there was a smartphone, before the internet, the Bible lets us know that this world is not a safe place and never will be until Jesus comes back again. Let me give you three big reasons from our Bible.
But Psalm 2, look at it again, wasn't written to make us afraid, but rather to calm our hearts, to put ballast into our souls. Yes, on ground level it looks pretty frightening. Every day we could easily go into a panic attack if we're not careful. But this psalm gives us a wonderful peek into heaven. Look how God is responding. He sees what's going on, he's not in the dark, he's not fretting, he's not fuming, he's unfazed, he's as calm as calm can be. Psalm 2:4, “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” He laughs. The Lord holds them in derision. Here's our great comfort, brethren. Not the only comfort, but certainly one of the greatest comforts we have, God is on the throne. God is on the throne. It's a throne of absolute sovereignty. Yahweh has installed his king, the anointed, that's Jesus, a king by the name of Jesus has been installed. And if you turn to the book of Revelation, just go looking for that word throne, you will find it used some twenty times. We get a snapshot again of heaven, “The Lamb is in the midst of the throne,” Revelation 7. And there's no question he's in control of everything. So Christian, don't worry, Jesus has authority over heaven and earth. And while we live in a world that is constantly turbulent in terms of politics, wars, even the weather, Jesus possesses an unrivaled, impregnable supremacy. And we shouldn't forget this either, Psalm 2 was fulfilled, wasn't it? It's a prophecy. The world conspired against Jesus. Political rivals: Herod joined and conspired with Pontius Pilate, the Herodian, the Pharisee, the Sadducees, they all conspired against the Lord's anointed. It's a fulfillment of what took place in the life of our Lord Jesus. But God foiled them all as they were conspiring, you can be sure God was laughing. No matter how many times they try to outsmart God, they can't. His wisdom is greater than the wicked conspiracies and the diabolical schemes of men.
So as we go to prayer, it's good just to remember that Jesus is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He sits on an everlasting throne and he's accomplishing his purposes and plan. So Christian, that's why we don't have to worry, we don't have to fret. God knows what he's doing, none can stay his hand, not a king Herod, not a Pontius Pilate, not any religious authority or any political authority, not all the armies of men. And one day all the enemies of God will be vanquished. That's right, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. So let's not be afraid. Trust him even during times where we sense the world seems to be going out of control, chaos galore. Let's trust him humbly, expectantly that he is sitting on the throne.
Pastor Gordon Cook
Psalm 2: Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain? The kings of the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together against the Lord and against his anointed, saying, “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.” He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. Then he will speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.” Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. Serve the lord with fear and rejoice with trembling. Kiss the Son lest he be angry and you perish in the way, for his wrath is quickly kindled. Blessed are all who take refuge in him.
I came across this quote by Spurgeon, I think the book title is What is a Prayer Meeting? He's trying to underscore the significance of it and he says this, “The corporate prayer meeting is the heartbeat of the church.” I think if you take away prayers it is like taking away a heart or a heartbeat and you could end up with a corpse. Prayer is vital for our spiritual health and strength.
I've been reading the book titled The Anxious Generations. It is not by a Christian man, but I've dabbled in it back and forth. The guy has written a number of other books, a very well-known individual, he's a psychologist. But he argues that social media, smartphones, the internet are great contributors to the higher anxiety level of this present generation. And I think you could say that every generation has been an anxious generation, but this present generation is more, I would say, acutely challenged when it comes to dealing with anxiety and fear. It's very clear as to why there are levels of anxiety and I think we all know why. It's not due so much to the internet, but it's due to the fact that we live in a dangerous world. The internet and Facebook and mass media advertise quite frequently how dangerous or unsafe this world is. But before there was a smartphone, before the internet, the Bible lets us know that this world is not a safe place and never will be until Jesus comes back again. Let me give you three big reasons from our Bible.
- The world is under the curse of Genesis 3. Romans 8 talks about the creation right now groans like a crippled war veteran; it groans, it can't function the way it once functioned before the fall. That explains hurricanes, that explains tornadoes and volcanoes and famines, etc. A very good world, Genesis 1 and 2, becomes a dangerous world Genesis 3, it's the effect of the curse. And every year around this time, we hear of hurricanes, at least here in America, and the world groans you could say, for deliverance.
- But there's something else that we should understand as far as the present world and why it's a dangerous world. The inhabitants of this world have been blinded by the devil, that's what the Bible says, and are in bondage to sin. You have Ephesians 2 and also Romans 1. And in Romans there's another fear factor, God in his wrath brings judgment upon a society when they suppress the truth of God. And we see something of a moral implosion taking place across Western civilization which adds to the fear factor.
- But there's one more biblical picture or reason why this is a dangerous world, and that's because the world as a whole is in rebellion against God intentionally, deliberately and aggressively. In Psalm 2, that really gives us the picture, it's a worldview. Psalm 2 actually gives us a picture of a battlefield. We don't know from Psalm 2 that David wrote it, but from the book of Acts, we know that David wrote Psalm 2. Who better, David was a man of war, he knew something about getting on a battlefield. But here we are told from Psalm 2 that there are political and religious forces at work that are in militant opposition or aggression against God. He mentions kings and rulers, and notice those are people who are in places of power and authority and they are conspiring, they are plotting. And we can certainly apply that across the board, couldn't we? Whether you want to be a Democrat or a Republican in high authority, liberals, conservatives, communists, dictators, kings, presidents, prime ministers, there's a united coordinated militia, you could say, whether they even understand what they're doing. You could also add corporate America, Hollywood, LGBTQ, they are conspiring against God. And that explains why Christians will always be persecuted this side of glory. But no question we live in a dangerous world this side of heaven.
But Psalm 2, look at it again, wasn't written to make us afraid, but rather to calm our hearts, to put ballast into our souls. Yes, on ground level it looks pretty frightening. Every day we could easily go into a panic attack if we're not careful. But this psalm gives us a wonderful peek into heaven. Look how God is responding. He sees what's going on, he's not in the dark, he's not fretting, he's not fuming, he's unfazed, he's as calm as calm can be. Psalm 2:4, “He who sits in the heavens laughs.” He laughs. The Lord holds them in derision. Here's our great comfort, brethren. Not the only comfort, but certainly one of the greatest comforts we have, God is on the throne. God is on the throne. It's a throne of absolute sovereignty. Yahweh has installed his king, the anointed, that's Jesus, a king by the name of Jesus has been installed. And if you turn to the book of Revelation, just go looking for that word throne, you will find it used some twenty times. We get a snapshot again of heaven, “The Lamb is in the midst of the throne,” Revelation 7. And there's no question he's in control of everything. So Christian, don't worry, Jesus has authority over heaven and earth. And while we live in a world that is constantly turbulent in terms of politics, wars, even the weather, Jesus possesses an unrivaled, impregnable supremacy. And we shouldn't forget this either, Psalm 2 was fulfilled, wasn't it? It's a prophecy. The world conspired against Jesus. Political rivals: Herod joined and conspired with Pontius Pilate, the Herodian, the Pharisee, the Sadducees, they all conspired against the Lord's anointed. It's a fulfillment of what took place in the life of our Lord Jesus. But God foiled them all as they were conspiring, you can be sure God was laughing. No matter how many times they try to outsmart God, they can't. His wisdom is greater than the wicked conspiracies and the diabolical schemes of men.
So as we go to prayer, it's good just to remember that Jesus is the King of kings, the Lord of lords. He sits on an everlasting throne and he's accomplishing his purposes and plan. So Christian, that's why we don't have to worry, we don't have to fret. God knows what he's doing, none can stay his hand, not a king Herod, not a Pontius Pilate, not any religious authority or any political authority, not all the armies of men. And one day all the enemies of God will be vanquished. That's right, every knee will bow and every tongue confess that Jesus is Lord. So let's not be afraid. Trust him even during times where we sense the world seems to be going out of control, chaos galore. Let's trust him humbly, expectantly that he is sitting on the throne.
Posted in Pastor Devotional