A Tale of Two Kingdoms

0:46Amen. Amen, all by myself. I'm kidding. I love, if you haven't used the resource Bible Project, I want to encourage you to do so. It is excellent in terms of the content they offer, but it's also really helpful in the way that they offer their content. Very visual, things that you can see and learn very easily. And I love how the Bible Project summarizes the Psalms, and they say this. The Psalms are the prayer book of God's people who are striving to be faithful to His Word while they wait for the Messianic kingdom.

1:24It's a prayer book of God's people who are striving to be faithful to God's Word. While they wait for the Messianic kingdom. And this is important for us to know because it helps to frame every single chapter in the book of Psalms. It helps us to see what the psalmist is driving towards, right? What he's trying to help us see and understand throughout the whole book. And that's this. The praise and adoration of the one true God of Israel. The praise and adoration of the one true God of Israel. And it doesn't stop there.

2:02Throughout these chapters this summer, as we work through the Psalms, we'll see this strong call to evaluate oneself whether or not we are living wisely, faithfully, according to God's word and his instruction. And so I love this because it helps us to see the purpose of the Psalms. The Book of Psalms is broken down into five books. You'll see that noted in your Bible throughout. And one of the phrases that we find repeated, roughly, the phrase that we find repeated throughout at the end of each of these books is something like, May the Lord God of Israel be blessed forever. Amen.

2:46That phrase helps us to see the aim of the psalmist. Many different writers, but their aim in writing the Psalms. So, my friends, the point is the writers of the Psalms were convinced. And inspired to write down these words, these prayers, these songs for us so that we would turn in worship, adoration, prayer to God as we seek to be faithful and wait for the Savior Jesus. And here's what they knew in the waiting: they knew that it would be difficult, they knew that it was going to be painful, they knew that there was going to be suffering, but compared to the great promise of the Savior King, that stuff doesn't really even compare. Even though there's pain and difficulty and suffering in this life, compared to the promise of the coming king and kingdom, those things pale in comparison.

4:01That's the heart of the psalmist. That's where he's coming from as he's writing these things for us. We live in the already, but not yet. God has given us his word, and so we already know what God is like. We know a lot about his character. Jesus has come and he's alive. And he has raised us from the dead as well, those who have placed their trust and faith in him. But yet, as Romans says, all of creation is groaning. Think about that word. All of creation is groaning as it waits, as we wait, for the return of Jesus.

4:46That's where we find ourselves. And this helps us to see what the Psalms and what the psalmists are writing to. While we wait, we've been called to faith and trust in a greater king, a greater kingdom, and not in ourselves. And so chapters one and two of the Psalms are essentially an introduction. As any good book, they help to introduce the whole writing of the Psalms to us. And so in chapter one last week, we learned that those who meditate and delight in God's law, they are blessed. Ultimately, blessing comes because of the righteousness that has been imparted through Jesus Christ. That's what we looked at last week, because Jesus fulfilled the law in our place.

5:43And so Psalm 2 is closely linked as the second chapter of the introduction, and it's really a poetic reflection of 2 Samuel 7. Right? That God's anointed David, but much, much more. Much farther, much more forward, Jesus Christ would come through David. He's the better David, and that all who take refuge in him would be blessed. That's Psalm 2. And so we could just wrap it up early. You know, it's been like four minutes, and we could say amen and pray, you know, do all that. But, my friends, what truly gripped me as I looked at this, as I meditated, prayed is the aggression, is the intensity that we're spewing from the words beginning in Psalm 2, chapter 1.

6:44The audacity of God's creation, all that is good, to turn against their good and gracious Creator. And it truly gripped me as I looked at the text. And thus, the title of the sermon is A Tale of Two Kingdoms. We're reminded in this text that since creation, there has been a war raging between two kingdoms, the kingdom of self and the kingdom of God. And so may God help us today to learn that God's kingdom is the only kingdom that's truly worth living for.

7:24Let's look at the text together. This first section, first four verses, we see. A war raging. And so the writer begins with this word, why? This is an important word. It's an important question. Every single one of us has been a kid at one time. Every one of us has interacted with kids, or we have them. And so we know that this question is really important. Ingrained deep down inside every single heart is this intense desire to know why.

7:59Right? It's not good enough just to know the answer, but we want to know why is it that? Right? And so this is an important question, and that's why the psalmist starts here with why. And then look what follows. 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 his anointed. Don't miss these words. Look at the intensity. There is no passivity in those words.

8:38And so because this text is first for God's people, Israel, we need to know a couple of things about Israel. First, God revealed his plan and purpose to Israel, Genesis 12 to Abraham, and then to Moses, Joshua. He provided wise and faithful leaders to lead them, guide them, direct them. Them to be the people and to the place that he had prepared for them. God gave them his law outlining how they should act, what they should look like, who they should be in the midst of a foreign land and a foreign people.

9:20And despite all this, they rejected him. We don't want you, God. They disobeyed his good commands. And this caused them to take a 40-year detour, right? A 40-year detour to get to the land that God had promised to give them. Well, most of the first generation died, but some of their children survived. Praise God. And in the midst of their wandering, God sent prophets and messengers to remind them that he was their king. He was their king. But they refused his love and care for them.

10:12And instead, they wanted to be like everyone else. God said, This is the way. They said, no. They wanted to be like everyone else around them. 1 Samuel 8:8 records this. According to all the deeds that they have done, God speaking to Samuel the prophet, from the day I brought them up out of Egypt, even to this day, forsaking me and serving other gods, so Samuel, they are doing to you. Ultimately, the sad summary of Israel's rejection of God is found in the book of Judges. And if you've read the book of Judges, there is no passive disobedience. God's people are awful, and they are actively sinning against Him and against other people. And the refrain that runs throughout the book of Judges is that in those days there was no king in Israel. Everyone did what was right in their own eyes.

11:20Sounds similar to the day that we live in, my friends. Psalm 78 helps us to wrap our minds around where Israel was, what they were doing, beginning in verse 10. They did not keep God's covenant, but refused to walk according to his law. They forgot his works and the wonders that he had shown them. In the sight of their fathers, he performed wonders in the land of Egypt, in the fields of Zoan. He divided the sea and let them pass through it. He made the waters stand like a heap. In the daytime, he led them with a cloud. And all the night with a fiery light. He split rocks in the wilderness and gave them drink abundantly as from the deep. He made streams come out of the rock and cause waters to flow down like rivers.

12:18Yet they sinned still more against him, rebelling against the most high in the desert. They tested God in their heart. They tested God in their heart by demanding the food that they craved. Skip down to verse 56. The Psalmist records, in between, he records all the things that God had done, and then in verse 56 it continues. Yet they tested and rebelled against the Most High God, and did not keep his testimonies, but turned away and acted treacherously like their fathers. They twisted like a deceitful bow, for they provoked him to anger with their high places, they moved him to jealousy with their idols.

13:12My friends, time and again, despite God revealing himself, Israel constantly found themselves turning from him, looking to other people and other things to satisfy. This is the testimony of the scripture. They were adamantly opposed to God's rule and reign in their lives. They actively rebelled against him. And not only that, it's one thing to rebel against an authority. It's quite another thing to conspire with others to do so as well, right? There's a difference. So Israel says, not us, God, and then they conspire with others to bring others along with them.

14:02Are you beginning to feel it? Are you feeling the tone which the writer is bringing forth this prayer? My friends, we too find ourselves in a time and in a culture that is adamantly opposed to God. It's not just them, but we too in our own hearts are set against God. We are opposed to God. There is no such thing as a polite, neutral rejection of God. You are for him, or you are against him. That is what we see in our own hearts, and that's what we see going on around us. The rejection of truth and authority in our day is ever present. In every sphere, war is raging against. Truth for that which is more acceptable, that which is more tolerant, less absolute, that which is easier to stomach, right? It's happening all around us. You turn on the news, turn on the TV, I mean, you name it. This war is raging around us.

15:23We're self-reliant, we want to self-govern, we want to self-promote, we're self-righteous, self-focused. My greatest fear, church, is we seek to please ourselves above all else. It is no surprise that consumer debt is at an all-high because we buy things we don't need to impress people we don't know. We spend money that we don't have, i.e., credit cards. And I know you pay them off, but that's what 70 or 80% of people say they do, and yet we have trillions of dollars in credit card debt. This is just an example. Forgive me, I'm passionate about this because God's changed my life through this money thing, and it is the number one indicator of what we're living for. That's what the evidence shows. We are humoring, spending, occupying ourselves to death.

16:42We are focused on ourselves. And it's not just a behavior problem. Hear me. The scriptures tell us that no one seeks after God. No one does what's right. All have fallen short of the glory of God. You see, every single one of us, to put this picture in your mind, every single one of us is the red-faced kid in the grocery store aisle, stomping our feet, shaking our fists, saying, you can't tell me what to do. Right? That's what's happening in our hearts. That's the war that's raging. That's what's happening.

17:28The war between the kingdom of self and the kingdom of God has been raging and will continue to rage in the hearts and minds of people until Jesus returns. Well, finally, we're beginning to get to the answer of why, right? That's where we started. And finally, in verse 3, he says, Let us burst their bonds, burst there, the Lord's and the Lord's anointed, burst their bonds apart and cast away their corporations. From us. Okay, here's the reason why. Don't miss it. The sad story of Israel's history is that she rejected God as her king because their sinful hearts led them to believe that God's good and gracious provision was restraining them, was putting them into bondage, was keeping them from the good they deserved.

18:33That His good and gracious provision, that's not just your best life now. That's the pain, the suffering, the sorrow. He promises to work all things together for good of those who love him, called according to his purpose. His good and gracious provision is all of that. And Israel believed that that was holding them back, keeping them from the good that they deserved. This couldn't be further from the truth. You see, God is not the bondage bringer, but he's the bondage breaker, as we just sang about.

19:20The reason the war rages in our hearts, in the hearts of those around us, is because sin has caused us to believe. That God's good and gracious provision is restraining us, is keeping us in bondage, is holding us back from the good that we deserve. You see that? The greatest tragedy in the world is not the sins that we commit against others. Ultimately, the greatest tragedy is our rejection of our good, loving Creator God. Remember Psalm 51? David says this, God, against you and you only have I sinned. To be sure, it has effects, it has consequences, but first and foremost, the greatest tragedy is our sin against God.

20:19The Scripture clearly shows, friends, the reason we spent so much time is because the scripture shows that we have aggressively, actively rebelled against God. We have committed treason against Him. Ultimately, it's an issue of authority. It's an issue of authority. And so, right after we've shaken our fist and we've stomped our feet, you're not the boss of me, right? That's what we say. You can't tell me what to do, and you're not the boss of me.

20:55Now, we're more sophisticated. Sometimes, some of us, I may have seen some of you in the grocery store doing something similar. I'm kidding. So we're more sophisticated, but that's what's raging in our hearts. In this final verse in verse 4 of this section, this war that's raging, it introduces some terrifying news. That in the midst of this war between the kingdom of self and the kingdom of God, that God is not absent, but he is actively present in this war against him.

21:36And friends, he is coming in judgment. That is the news that we find in verse 4, which is the only right and loving response of a holy God. We just sang about God's holiness. It's the only right and loving response of a holy God is to say, that cannot be. That cannot be. It says that he sits. He sits. Right now, you are sitting. You are resting. Okay? We may need to stand up and get moving, right? Get the juices flowing. Get a little bit sleepy. But God sits. He's resting. He's not caught off guard.

22:25He's not surprised by what his people are doing and how they're acting. Acting in the sin that he sees ever present in their hearts. No, he sits the foreknowledge, the love, the abundant grace of God to deal so kindly with his people. And God begins in part, and he responds by laughing and holding them in derision. Anyone else have a hard time with that? And all this, and we get to a point, and God laughs and he holds them in derision. What in the world?

23:09Well, I'm pretty simple. And so here's kind of where I'm at. It can't be that God is laughing at the disobedience, the sin, the rebellion of his people. Scripture is clear that God desires all to come to faith and repentance. He's patient, 2 Peter says. So it can't be that. God's not laughing at the judgment of his people. So maybe it's a much more intense version of, bless your heart. Maybe? All right, much more intense. We have a holy God and a sinful people, but you get the sense that God is mocking them because he's saying, I can see that you just don't understand. My love, the grace, the mercy that I have for you. I can see that you just keep missing the point.

24:11And so he laughs and he mocks them because their rebellion is pointless. It's in vain. And that's what he says in verse 1. Right? We're beginning to come full circle. Why is the rebellion? Why is the raging? Why is the turning against? Why is it in vain? Well, because God, primarily because God speaks. That is the wonderful news that we find here as we transition to the second part of this chapter: is that God doesn't just stop seeing the sin and bringing judgment. He doesn't just stop there. No, because God is not like us. He doesn't leave or forsake.

25:03How amazing. This is amazing grace. That in the midst of awful rebellion against him, he presses in and he speaks. And that's what we see in this next section. God is the bondage breaker, and so he speaks by bringing his word, verse 5. And he does this in three ways. He's going to speak to them. He's going to give a decree, and he's going to make a promise. All right? So, first, God speaks to them, and look how he speaks. He speaks to them in wrath and in fury to terrify.

25:44Oh boy. This is not politically correct. No one wants to hear this, that God's angry at sin, but it's what the Scripture shows us. We have to make a decision, my friends, whether or not we will continue to allow what we think we believe and what we feel, our conscience, to override the Word of God, or whether or not we will reform our beliefs and our consciences to God's Word. Time and again, you are probably having these conversations, as am I.

26:28And people hold strong beliefs that they've had for some time, and it seems like it is that true. But time and again, my friends, we have allowed ourselves to not reform our consciences and our beliefs by the Word of God, but the other way around. So He comes to them in wrath, in fury. And that's the grand story of the Bible: that a good and gracious Creator created all things good, and his good creation rebelled against him in his grace and his mercy.

27:12He comes to his people in judgment. Did you catch that? It's God's grace and mercy that he comes in judgment. In order to deliver his people from Egypt, he comes and he judges Egypt and Pharaoh to bring salvation. In order to bring us salvation, he judges Jesus. Ultimately, God's judgment is his grace and mercy. And Romans 9 confirms this. Look on the screen. What if God, desiring to show his wrath and to make known his power, has endured with much patience vessels of wrath prepared for destruction in order to make known the riches of his glory for vessels of mercy, which he has prepared beforehand for glory? You see the good news?

28:15So God speaks in the midst of the war. God speaks. And he makes this decree. He makes this lasting, unchanging decree that he has set his king. Psalmist is speaking to kings and rulers who want something more than God, and God says, no, I've set my king, the once-for-all, forever king, on the throne. Now, for Israel, this was good news, and it came during a really difficult time of turmoil, right? In all of these texts, we have to have a near fulfillment and a far fulfillment. Okay, so the near fulfillment for Israel was that God was going to send David, a man after his own heart, the most unlikely candidate, by the way. Remember, he gets forgotten.

29:12And all of a sudden, here comes David wandering out from the field, the shepherd boy. God says, that one. In the midst of a time where Israel is doing everything they can to be like every other nation. God gives them what they deserve, but his grace and mercy is seen in providing David, a man after his own heart. So David comes to be king, near fulfillment, but it's far more than that. It looks farther and much more forward than David, and it looks forward, which is the promise, to God's anointed. You see that phrase? To God's anointed. Anointed, the Messiah, the only begotten Son of God, the God-man Jesus Christ. It says the nations would be his inheritance. It's all his.

30:17The ends of the earth, his possession. He would come and break the bonds of sin by his death, his life, death, and resurrection. This Jesus is a better David. He's done much more than David could ever do. The true and once-for-all king, he would gather his people. He would give them power, the Holy Spirit. He would give them a mission to make followers of God by breaking the power and bondage of sin. And as a result of this great promise, it is absolutely in vain to come against the Lord and His anointed.

31:14That's a full picture of what the psalmist is trying to show us. Because of all that God had done through His Word, His promises fulfilled. He's saying it doesn't make sense to come against the Lord's anointed. My friends, it's true for us as well. Just doesn't make sense. And so, what then? What's clear, that the war is raging. It has been since eternity past. It will continue until Jesus returns. But God has spoken. God is present in this fight against the kingdom of God.

32:00He's made a decree and he's made a promise. And so, in this last section, the psalmist is going to help us know how to respond wisely. What does it look like then, if that's true, to respond wisely? So, first, we've been warned of the coming judgment. And so, the psalmist says, be warned. In light of that warning, respond wisely. The definition of wisdom is living according to the knowledge you have received. Right? The psalmist is saying, in light of this warning, you ought to live rightly, wisely, according to that knowledge.

32:51And so, first he says, fear God. Proverbs 1:7 says that the fear of the Lord is the beginning. Of knowledge. Fear God. To properly revere and recognize Him as the one true God, the one holy God, is the right and fitting response. This is what it means to rejoice with trembling because God has revealed Himself. The terrifying news of God's judgment causes us to rejoice with fear, proper reverence, because in light of God's holiness, we have fallen far short.

33:41We rejoice because God has made a way, He has not left us there. So, first, fear God. But then in verse 12, we see this phrase, seems a bit odd, kiss the sun. Kiss the Sun. Well, it was an ancient Near East custom that when rulers, kings were anointed into their position, that those who were subject under them, they would come and they would kiss the hand, right? That was an action of respect and reverence. They would kiss the hand. Oftentimes, they would bow before him, right? They would bow before him, maybe two knees, I don't know. We don't do this, right, because we're scared of what people will think, right? But they would bow before him.

34:37And that communicated their reverence, their respect of the king that they were bowing to. So he says, kiss the hand. So this is symbolic of what the rulers and kings, the first section, right, verse 1, verse 2, they would have known what this means. The psalmist is saying, rulers and kings, just as your subjects come and bow before you, you, in light of God's judgment, in light of God's grace, the promise of the Savior King, you bow before him.

35:20Jesus modeled this for us. Philippians says that Jesus didn't consider equality with God as something to be grasped, but instead he humbled himself. He bowed before the Father. Now listen, Jesus is not just a good example. Sometimes the bracelet gets in the way. What would Jesus do? Jesus is not just an example to follow. He is a king, the king of kings, the Lord of Lords. To be worshipped, to be surrendered to. Submitting to Jesus' rule and reigns means that in every way we seek to bring honor and glory to Him. That's what it means to take refuge. Think about it. Think about the word refuge. Refuge means there's something that I am scared to death about.

36:24And if I don't find refuge, if I don't find safety, I'm not going to make it. You see the picture he's painting? It's not do better, try harder. You come to the end of yourself. And I know we're a little bit concerned about what people think. And so our worship is fairly cold and calculated. We're afraid to show our submission to anything but ourselves. We're afraid to look weak, but this is the way to the cross. That in your weakness, Christ is strong. That's what the psalmist is saying. He's saying, come to him, bow, revere him as the one true God. There is a way that seems right, but in the end, Leads to death. That's what he's saying.

37:35Those who take refuge will be blessed, right? We're coming full circle to Psalm 1. They will be blessed. So we've been called to worship Him alone. That's the submission. Worship the true King. And we've been called to be a witness. What you worship will show in your life. And so the psalmist says, He uses that word, serve. Every tree bears fruit. And so our lives will bear out what's really in our hearts. Not only that, because of the grace that we have received, we will be eager and ready and excited to do all that we can to be a testimony of God's grace so that people would see.

38:43I know that guy. I remember him in high school. I remember the things he said and the things he did. I remember the people he hung around with. How is that possible? Only the grace of God. Only by God's grace. It's a picture, my friends, of the greatest commandment. Jesus narrowed it down for us, and it's all here in our text. It's right here in our text. God has spoken to us. He has made himself known through the Savior Son. He showed himself to be the way, the truth, and the life.

39:29No one comes to the Father except through him. As a result, our fight against him, our fight for our self-sovereign kingdoms is in vain. It's futile. Don't you see it? Aren't you exhausted? God has made a way, He's called us to righteousness, the way of wisdom. We surrender our lives. We love God, right? That's the first greatest commandment. Because of God's love, through faith in Jesus Christ, we live as a testimony of his grace, love others. You see it? It's pretty simple. Not that simple. Right? It's hard. I'm with you.

40:30But God has shown us in His Word. Our hope, as we looked at Psalm 2, is that God would be working in us to convince us, to show us, to remind us that His kingdom is the only kingdom that's truly worth living for. May God help us by His grace. Let's pray together. God, we ask for your help with a weighty text. We see ourselves so clearly. All the things in our lives, all the passages and scriptures flood our minds, and we have fallen far short.

41:23God, I pray against despair. I pray against worldly sorrow that doesn't lead to repentance. There's a reason to mourn, but there's more reason to hope because Jesus has come. He hasn't left us. Romans 5 says that while we were in sin, he came and he gave his life that we might be won back from the kingdom of self. That we might be reconciled, forever changed to be ministers and witnesses of his gospel and grace. How amazing.

42:16As we enter a time of reflection, God, help us through the accountability, the fellowship that we enjoy with our brothers and sisters here. And through the steadfastness of the Holy Spirit, help us to repent and change for your glory and your grace. We know that you will, because you love us. In Jesus' name, amen. Thank you for listening to the sermon audio from New Life Baptist Church in College Station, Texas. For more information or to support our ministry, visit us online at newlifecs.net.