WEBVTT 00:00:01.320 --> 00:00:06.480 In a war, one side wins and the other side loses. 00:00:09.439 --> 00:00:13.199 And no one knows for sure until the final decisive 00:00:13.199 --> 00:00:18.179 battle is fought who will win. But it is not 00:00:18.179 --> 00:00:23.300 so in the battle between good and evil, between 00:00:23.300 --> 00:00:28.600 God and rebellious humankind. Psalm 2, our text 00:00:28.600 --> 00:00:32.560 for study today, establishes the final victory 00:00:32.560 --> 00:00:37.439 of God over his enemies in the world. The victory 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:41.600 will come through his anointed one, the Messiah, 00:00:41.759 --> 00:00:46.619 Jesus Christ. As you look in your Bible at Psalm 00:00:46.619 --> 00:00:49.939 2, you will notice that there are four stanzas 00:00:49.939 --> 00:00:54.880 to Psalm 2, each divided into three verses. And 00:00:54.880 --> 00:00:59.020 each stanza deals with a different, yet related 00:00:59.020 --> 00:01:03.090 aspect of this assuring truth that the final 00:01:03.090 --> 00:01:09.489 victory is God's. In stanza one, we see the rebellion 00:01:09.489 --> 00:01:14.409 of humanity, verses one through three. The problem 00:01:14.409 --> 00:01:19.849 of humanity is sin. Man wants his own way. He 00:01:19.849 --> 00:01:23.489 does not want moral restraint on his conduct. 00:01:24.530 --> 00:01:28.569 He wants no prohibition to his desires, and he 00:01:28.569 --> 00:01:31.760 wants no discipline for his actions. He wants 00:01:31.760 --> 00:01:36.680 to be free. But in exercising this freedom, man 00:01:36.680 --> 00:01:40.840 has made himself a slave, a slave to his own 00:01:40.840 --> 00:01:48.719 lusts and sin. The essence of sin is self -centeredness. 00:01:50.280 --> 00:01:54.060 Nowhere is this seen in our society more graphically 00:01:54.060 --> 00:01:56.939 than in the pro -abortion movement of our day. 00:01:57.290 --> 00:02:00.609 and their arguments for ending the lives of unborn 00:02:00.609 --> 00:02:05.150 children. We hear cute little phrases like the 00:02:05.150 --> 00:02:09.669 right to choice or the right to choose what happens 00:02:09.669 --> 00:02:15.349 to my own body. But the fact is that one's personal 00:02:15.349 --> 00:02:18.789 rights must be accommodated when the rights of 00:02:18.789 --> 00:02:25.650 others are also involved. Nowhere is self -centeredness 00:02:25.650 --> 00:02:29.900 more ugly. in my opinion, than in the pro -abortion 00:02:29.900 --> 00:02:33.800 movement of our day that wishes the wanton slaughter 00:02:33.800 --> 00:02:39.240 of children. But the fact is that all of us, 00:02:39.599 --> 00:02:41.939 on whichever side of that argument we may be 00:02:41.939 --> 00:02:45.479 on, all of us struggle with the same heart set. 00:02:46.919 --> 00:02:53.439 I want my way. I want my way. That's the bottom 00:02:53.439 --> 00:02:58.090 line of humanity, and all of us. That attitude, 00:02:58.090 --> 00:03:02.030 I want my way, results in chaos in every relationship 00:03:02.030 --> 00:03:05.389 between us and God, between us and others, and 00:03:05.389 --> 00:03:10.310 within ourselves. The psalmist dramatically depicts 00:03:10.310 --> 00:03:14.889 humanity's rebellion. Why are the nations in 00:03:14.889 --> 00:03:19.969 an uproar? He writes. Why are the nations in 00:03:19.969 --> 00:03:24.289 a raging riot? The picture here is of an assembly 00:03:24.289 --> 00:03:28.409 of people which is characterized by tumult, by 00:03:28.409 --> 00:03:33.310 disorder, and a seething hatred that is directed 00:03:33.310 --> 00:03:36.550 toward something or someone. In this case it 00:03:36.550 --> 00:03:40.870 is toward God. Why are the people's devising 00:03:40.870 --> 00:03:45.110 vain things? The word devising in verse 1 is 00:03:45.110 --> 00:03:48.590 the very same word as meditate back in Psalm 00:03:48.590 --> 00:03:54.289 1 and verse 2. Where the blessed man meditates 00:03:54.289 --> 00:03:57.389 upon the Word of God, the wicked man meditates 00:03:57.389 --> 00:04:02.090 upon rebellion against God. He muses within his 00:04:02.090 --> 00:04:05.590 heart. He mutters about the vain things that 00:04:05.590 --> 00:04:09.530 he would do to throw off the rule of God in his 00:04:09.530 --> 00:04:14.729 life. Although kings and rulers are mentioned, 00:04:15.949 --> 00:04:18.670 They represent not just those who are in those 00:04:18.670 --> 00:04:21.370 specific positions, but any who stand as leaders 00:04:21.370 --> 00:04:25.810 before others and who guide humanity toward its 00:04:25.810 --> 00:04:28.870 opposition, its concerted opposition against 00:04:28.870 --> 00:04:34.050 God. He says these set themselves against God. 00:04:34.129 --> 00:04:38.709 Notice that position, against God, against His 00:04:38.709 --> 00:04:42.889 anointed, which is Christ. And he says they take 00:04:42.889 --> 00:04:46.769 counsel together. In other words, those things 00:04:46.769 --> 00:04:53.269 that might naturally divide people are absolutely 00:04:53.269 --> 00:04:58.689 pushed away and submerged in humanity's shared 00:04:58.689 --> 00:05:03.709 rebellion against the Lord. It is a co -belligerence 00:05:03.709 --> 00:05:06.829 that crosses political lines, it crosses social 00:05:06.829 --> 00:05:11.230 lines, it crosses racial lines. It is a rebellion 00:05:11.230 --> 00:05:16.550 that unites all of humanity. and rebellion against 00:05:16.550 --> 00:05:21.009 God. This rebellion is the heart of the natural 00:05:21.009 --> 00:05:26.230 man. And while it is always present, it is occasionally 00:05:26.230 --> 00:05:31.610 especially vented, as was the case in the crucifixion 00:05:31.610 --> 00:05:37.410 of our Lord. It is interesting as the preacher 00:05:37.410 --> 00:05:41.829 in Acts 4, Peter, speaks about that, the crucifixion 00:05:41.829 --> 00:05:45.750 of Jesus. He refers to Psalm 2, attributing it 00:05:45.750 --> 00:05:50.370 to David, and he says that these very words were 00:05:50.370 --> 00:05:53.170 demonstrated in what happened in the crucifixion 00:05:53.170 --> 00:05:57.089 of our Lord. The rebellion of the heart was vented 00:05:57.089 --> 00:06:01.550 against the Son of God and crucified him. And 00:06:01.550 --> 00:06:06.850 we will see these attitudes vented once more 00:06:06.850 --> 00:06:10.790 worldwide in the tribulation period that is coming 00:06:10.790 --> 00:06:16.360 upon the earth. at the end of this age. Let us 00:06:16.360 --> 00:06:19.259 tear their fetters apart and cast away their 00:06:19.259 --> 00:06:23.660 cords from us. Man does not want the restraint 00:06:23.660 --> 00:06:29.560 of God upon him. He refuses the moral law of 00:06:29.560 --> 00:06:33.459 God. It makes no difference to the natural man 00:06:33.459 --> 00:06:37.819 what God says or what God thinks. For man in 00:06:37.819 --> 00:06:41.509 our day thinks he is sufficient in himself To 00:06:41.509 --> 00:06:43.910 establish his own standards and his autonomous 00:06:43.910 --> 00:06:49.990 of God, so is the rebellion of humankind. But 00:06:49.990 --> 00:06:52.189 then notice in the next stanza the response of 00:06:52.189 --> 00:06:57.170 God. In contrast to the tumultuous earthly riot 00:06:57.170 --> 00:06:59.850 that is in process in the first three verses, 00:07:00.790 --> 00:07:05.009 there is the calm of heaven, where God sits on 00:07:05.009 --> 00:07:08.490 his royal throne as the absolute sovereign of 00:07:08.490 --> 00:07:12.240 his universe. The sitter in the heavens who is 00:07:12.240 --> 00:07:15.720 described in verse 4 is none other than the Lord 00:07:15.720 --> 00:07:20.879 Adonai The Hebrew name for God that calls him 00:07:20.879 --> 00:07:26.959 Lord of all The sovereign one of everything Adonai 00:07:26.959 --> 00:07:30.420 is the one who sits in the heavens And I want 00:07:30.420 --> 00:07:34.740 you to notice his twofold response first he laughs 00:07:34.740 --> 00:07:42.410 and Then he speaks Yes, God laughs. He laughs 00:07:42.410 --> 00:07:45.370 not because the scene before him is humorous, 00:07:45.709 --> 00:07:50.430 but because it is so pathetic. It is like grasshoppers 00:07:50.430 --> 00:07:53.350 banding together to stop the rotation of the 00:07:53.350 --> 00:07:58.029 earth, jumping fiercely and yet unable to do 00:07:58.029 --> 00:08:00.709 anything. We would laugh at such a scene. It 00:08:00.709 --> 00:08:03.990 would be so ridiculous. And so is God's response. 00:08:04.089 --> 00:08:09.000 It is a deriding response. He mocks. the rebellion 00:08:09.000 --> 00:08:14.060 of man. Please understand that God is ever merciful 00:08:14.060 --> 00:08:19.660 to man's weaknesses. God is patient with our 00:08:19.660 --> 00:08:25.120 failures. He is compassionate toward the awful 00:08:25.120 --> 00:08:28.839 suffering that our own sin has caused for ourselves. 00:08:29.779 --> 00:08:33.980 But he mocks this rebellion as ridiculous and 00:08:33.980 --> 00:08:38.730 absurd. And then he speaks in anger and in fury, 00:08:39.250 --> 00:08:42.009 because his wrath is appropriate in this case. 00:08:43.809 --> 00:08:46.710 You see, sinners must not presume upon the patience 00:08:46.710 --> 00:08:51.029 and mercy of God, for God's justice also has 00:08:51.029 --> 00:08:54.970 its hour. And that hour has come, as the psalmist 00:08:54.970 --> 00:09:00.909 writes. God speaks. He says, as for me, I have 00:09:00.909 --> 00:09:05.700 installed my king upon Zion. The emphasis here 00:09:05.700 --> 00:09:10.659 is upon I. God says, I have already taken action. 00:09:11.500 --> 00:09:16.820 I have set my king. Mankind sets itself against 00:09:16.820 --> 00:09:22.600 God. God says, I have set my king in Zion. And 00:09:22.600 --> 00:09:26.879 that king will end the rebellion. The announcement 00:09:26.879 --> 00:09:30.460 will rightly terrify those who are opposed to 00:09:30.460 --> 00:09:34.950 it. He will speak to them in his anger and terrify 00:09:34.950 --> 00:09:38.169 them in his fury man is not terrified at God 00:09:38.169 --> 00:09:42.110 today Because God is dealing with humankind for 00:09:42.110 --> 00:09:45.649 the most part in patience and mercy Let me tell 00:09:45.649 --> 00:09:47.929 you when God speaks in his anger man will be 00:09:47.929 --> 00:09:51.629 terrified He will call for the rocks and the 00:09:51.629 --> 00:09:54.929 mountains to fall upon him to hide him from the 00:09:54.929 --> 00:09:58.809 face of him who sits on the throne Man will be 00:09:58.809 --> 00:10:03.179 terrified when God begins to act in his righteous 00:10:03.179 --> 00:10:09.539 indignation, the response of God. The next stands 00:10:09.539 --> 00:10:12.080 that we have the report of the Anointed One. 00:10:13.139 --> 00:10:19.340 Here Messiah speaks himself. His report is regarding 00:10:19.340 --> 00:10:24.080 first of all his acknowledgement by God and then 00:10:24.080 --> 00:10:28.370 his promise from God. He says in the first place 00:10:28.370 --> 00:10:32.309 that God has acknowledged him. I will surely 00:10:32.309 --> 00:10:35.870 tell of the decree of the Lord. By the way, a 00:10:35.870 --> 00:10:39.970 decree is a definite purpose. The Hebrew verb 00:10:39.970 --> 00:10:43.490 root for the word decree is to engrave something. 00:10:44.330 --> 00:10:47.909 And so the picture of a decree is that of something 00:10:47.909 --> 00:10:51.389 that has been said and is engraved as it were 00:10:51.389 --> 00:10:57.620 upon stone. It is an unalterable purpose of God. 00:10:59.059 --> 00:11:02.820 Messiah says, this is the unalterable purpose 00:11:02.820 --> 00:11:09.399 of the Lord that he gave to me. Thou art my son, 00:11:10.059 --> 00:11:15.519 today I have begotten thee. Now David is the 00:11:15.519 --> 00:11:18.019 one who penned these words originally a thousand 00:11:18.019 --> 00:11:22.559 years before Christ. As David wrote them he was 00:11:22.519 --> 00:11:27.679 speaking of himself as God's anointed king. And 00:11:27.679 --> 00:11:30.220 I believe what he says here in these verses is 00:11:30.220 --> 00:11:34.980 nothing less than a summary of his understanding 00:11:34.980 --> 00:11:38.919 of the Davidic covenant, the covenant that God 00:11:38.919 --> 00:11:42.159 made with him and recorded for us in 2 Samuel 00:11:42.159 --> 00:11:46.759 7. And when he says, I have begotten thee, David 00:11:46.759 --> 00:11:49.240 was thinking of himself as having been brought 00:11:49.240 --> 00:11:52.679 into an intimate loving relationship with the 00:11:52.679 --> 00:11:59.399 Lord as if a child with his father. Brought into 00:11:59.399 --> 00:12:02.279 that relationship by means of the covenant that 00:12:02.279 --> 00:12:06.100 God had established between David and his household. 00:12:08.279 --> 00:12:10.340 But of course there is something far greater 00:12:10.340 --> 00:12:14.259 here than David's own thoughts, his own words. 00:12:15.379 --> 00:12:18.100 For these words are applied to our Lord Jesus 00:12:18.100 --> 00:12:21.080 Christ, the one who is greater than David. the 00:12:21.080 --> 00:12:25.279 one who overshadows his ancestor. These words 00:12:25.279 --> 00:12:28.639 are applied to him by the apostle in Acts 13 00:12:28.639 --> 00:12:33.019 33 and specifically related to his resurrection 00:12:33.019 --> 00:12:37.460 from the dead. Thou art my son, today I have 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:39.960 begotten thee. It does not mean that at the resurrection 00:12:39.960 --> 00:12:43.480 he became the son of God. The point is that as 00:12:43.480 --> 00:12:46.440 his resurrection he was openly acknowledged again 00:12:46.440 --> 00:12:52.259 by God and in a climactic ultimate way. He was 00:12:52.259 --> 00:12:57.279 acknowledged as the Son of God. Romans 1 -4 further 00:12:57.279 --> 00:13:00.679 identifies that to be the case. His resurrection 00:13:00.679 --> 00:13:04.580 is the ultimate proof and evidence that he was 00:13:04.580 --> 00:13:11.220 who he said he was. Messiah reports regarding 00:13:11.220 --> 00:13:16.870 God's acknowledgement of him, And at the resurrection, 00:13:16.970 --> 00:13:22.450 God testified, this is indeed my Son. And I have 00:13:22.450 --> 00:13:26.570 given proof of that by His resurrection in glory 00:13:26.570 --> 00:13:32.649 from the grave. But then Messiah also reports 00:13:32.649 --> 00:13:36.570 regarding a promise from God, beginning in verse 00:13:36.570 --> 00:13:42.700 8. The promise from God is that He will eventually 00:13:42.700 --> 00:13:48.519 rule over all of the nations of the world. Someday 00:13:48.519 --> 00:13:52.019 there will be the complete and utter destruction 00:13:52.019 --> 00:13:57.059 of all of His enemies so that the very ends of 00:13:57.059 --> 00:14:00.039 the earth will be the possession of the Lord. 00:14:00.100 --> 00:14:03.399 You know what that means? That means even Minnesota, 00:14:03.980 --> 00:14:05.919 in the minds of some people, will be the possession 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:08.580 of the Lord. Because some people think that we 00:14:08.580 --> 00:14:10.379 live in the ends of the earth up here in the 00:14:10.379 --> 00:14:14.620 frozen waste But further north as someone said 00:14:14.620 --> 00:14:16.539 this is not the end of the earth But you can 00:14:16.539 --> 00:14:19.919 see it from here what you can see from here all 00:14:19.919 --> 00:14:23.720 of that will be the possession of the Lord The 00:14:23.720 --> 00:14:27.639 nations will be as inheritance Thou shall break 00:14:27.639 --> 00:14:30.679 them with a rod of iron and shatter them like 00:14:30.679 --> 00:14:35.399 earthen ware By the way, this rule will not come 00:14:35.399 --> 00:14:39.820 as the result of gospel preaching, so as to bring 00:14:39.820 --> 00:14:42.419 in the kingdom eventually by everybody converting. 00:14:42.659 --> 00:14:45.820 That is not the picture given to us in the Bible. 00:14:47.419 --> 00:14:49.700 Rather it is of the rebellion of man unto the 00:14:49.700 --> 00:14:53.179 very end, and then God will break that rebellion 00:14:53.179 --> 00:14:58.019 and will establish his king in Zion, that is 00:14:58.019 --> 00:15:03.509 in Jerusalem. A rod is used for smiting. Forbeating. 00:15:04.169 --> 00:15:06.330 And that is the picture. God will discipline 00:15:06.330 --> 00:15:11.649 the nations. And He will break them as though 00:15:11.649 --> 00:15:15.129 earthenware. The illustration, of course, is 00:15:15.129 --> 00:15:19.129 of clay vessels made by a potter, which are easily 00:15:19.129 --> 00:15:22.570 shattered. And so the nations think that their 00:15:22.570 --> 00:15:25.870 rebellion is strong, and that they can lift their 00:15:25.870 --> 00:15:28.950 fists together in the face of God and succeed. 00:15:29.610 --> 00:15:32.250 And so did man think the same thing in the days 00:15:32.250 --> 00:15:37.990 of Babel. And yet God will smash the rebellion 00:15:37.990 --> 00:15:42.669 as though it was so much earthenware. Oh, the 00:15:42.669 --> 00:15:45.850 fragility of man's co -belligerence against God. 00:15:45.970 --> 00:15:48.809 All of the opposition will be absolutely smashed. 00:15:50.730 --> 00:15:55.330 Now the gracious, restoring, healing aspects 00:15:55.330 --> 00:15:58.970 of our Lord's reign are not mentioned here. They 00:15:58.970 --> 00:16:02.070 are not appropriate to the context that the psalmist 00:16:02.070 --> 00:16:05.750 is writing in. Those are part of his reign also. 00:16:06.850 --> 00:16:09.389 But here he is dealing with the rebellion of 00:16:09.389 --> 00:16:12.909 man and the final victory that will come to God's 00:16:12.909 --> 00:16:16.809 anointed one, a victory that the anointed one 00:16:16.809 --> 00:16:20.789 here reports to us. We come to the last stanza, 00:16:20.830 --> 00:16:24.350 verses 10 to 12, and we see the responsibility 00:16:24.350 --> 00:16:28.860 of the opponents. In light of the deserved doom 00:16:28.860 --> 00:16:33.840 of those who rebel against God, a gracious exhortation 00:16:33.840 --> 00:16:38.519 and warning is extended by God Himself. He says, 00:16:38.659 --> 00:16:46.659 show discernment. Take warning. Worship. Rejoice. 00:16:47.559 --> 00:16:52.620 Do homage. That is, kiss the Son. The picture 00:16:52.620 --> 00:16:55.620 of bowing the knee and coming before the sovereign 00:16:55.620 --> 00:16:59.019 one and kissing the ring on his finger or the 00:16:59.019 --> 00:17:03.720 hem of his robe. Kiss the son. Do homage to him. 00:17:04.420 --> 00:17:07.160 Give a token of submission and loyalty to him, 00:17:07.240 --> 00:17:11.019 not rebellion. That is the plea of God to mankind. 00:17:12.019 --> 00:17:14.640 That is the responsibility of God's opponents. 00:17:15.980 --> 00:17:19.119 God will not compromise. There is no accommodation 00:17:19.119 --> 00:17:22.599 with enemies. When it's between holiness and 00:17:22.599 --> 00:17:26.240 sin, there is no middle ground between the two. 00:17:27.039 --> 00:17:31.200 And in the end, holiness will reign and sin will 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:36.279 be judged. And so God says to sinners, in essence, 00:17:36.599 --> 00:17:43.220 repent and turn and believe while you may. Trust 00:17:43.220 --> 00:17:47.920 in my anointed one. He warns that the alternative 00:17:47.920 --> 00:17:52.799 is to experience his anger. To perish in the 00:17:52.799 --> 00:17:57.859 way he says or to experience his wrath which 00:17:57.859 --> 00:18:04.000 will soon be kindled he warns My friend if you 00:18:04.000 --> 00:18:06.619 are here today outside of Jesus Christ, do you 00:18:06.619 --> 00:18:09.000 understand what God is saying to you in his word 00:18:09.000 --> 00:18:16.099 today? He is warning everyone That unless there 00:18:16.099 --> 00:18:18.859 is repentance and faith that brings submission 00:18:18.859 --> 00:18:23.680 and loyalty to Him, then there will be judgment. 00:18:24.559 --> 00:18:28.059 And that will lead to utter ruin and loss and 00:18:28.059 --> 00:18:34.559 eternal hell. The result of one's faith is found 00:18:34.559 --> 00:18:37.299 in the end of verse 12. How blessed are all who 00:18:37.299 --> 00:18:42.000 take refuge in Him. Thank God there is a refuge 00:18:42.000 --> 00:18:46.220 from His judgment. Thank God He has provided 00:18:46.220 --> 00:18:51.119 a safe place from His wrath. Thank God that He 00:18:51.119 --> 00:18:57.059 has provided salvation. And that place is the 00:18:57.059 --> 00:19:02.019 cross, where the wrath of God has already fallen 00:19:02.019 --> 00:19:07.880 upon His Son. And God's wrath will not fall there 00:19:07.880 --> 00:19:11.680 again. It's already fallen. And so there is refuge. 00:19:12.519 --> 00:19:15.460 It is just like a forest fire that is licking 00:19:15.460 --> 00:19:19.259 up the forest and one is caught in it not knowing 00:19:19.259 --> 00:19:23.460 what to do and then begins a backfire so that 00:19:23.460 --> 00:19:27.759 there is a burn off. And the one who is trapped 00:19:27.759 --> 00:19:30.440 is able to go to that area which he burned off 00:19:30.440 --> 00:19:33.799 and stand in it and let the fire rage around 00:19:33.799 --> 00:19:36.359 him and destroy everything but he is safe because 00:19:36.359 --> 00:19:39.500 the fire has already burned the ground upon which 00:19:39.500 --> 00:19:44.579 he stands. And so is the ground of the cross. 00:19:45.279 --> 00:19:48.779 It has experienced the fire of God's wrath already. 00:19:50.160 --> 00:19:53.440 So that when we stand at the cross in faith in 00:19:53.440 --> 00:19:57.619 the Son of God, we have refuge. How blessed are 00:19:57.619 --> 00:20:03.980 those who take refuge in Him. Just three final 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:08.539 concluding observations I want to make. Based 00:20:08.539 --> 00:20:12.660 upon our study this morning, The first is, the 00:20:12.660 --> 00:20:18.880 greatest of follies is to oppose God. There is 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:22.940 no foolishness so great in all of the universe 00:20:22.940 --> 00:20:28.180 as to lift one's fist in resistance and rebellion 00:20:28.180 --> 00:20:34.400 against the Lord. Because in the end it cannot 00:20:34.400 --> 00:20:42.750 prevail, and it only leads one to hell. And so 00:20:42.750 --> 00:20:46.269 the greatest of follies is to be on the other 00:20:46.269 --> 00:20:52.829 side from God. A second observation I would make 00:20:52.829 --> 00:20:55.849 is that God's sovereignty assures that the final 00:20:55.849 --> 00:21:00.890 victory will be His. Yes? God's enemies may rage 00:21:00.890 --> 00:21:09.250 in their fury, and they do today. So clearly 00:21:09.250 --> 00:21:14.089 is the rebellion against God's rights as creator, 00:21:17.609 --> 00:21:21.269 and as the establisher of moral law, so great 00:21:21.269 --> 00:21:24.089 and clear is that rebellion that one cannot miss 00:21:24.089 --> 00:21:27.509 it in our society. Yes, God's enemies may rage 00:21:27.509 --> 00:21:31.630 against him in their fury, but they cannot undermine 00:21:31.630 --> 00:21:37.369 what God has decreed. And God has already decreed 00:21:37.369 --> 00:21:43.119 that his will be the final victory. We know which 00:21:43.119 --> 00:21:46.759 side is going to win in this war. So that brings 00:21:46.759 --> 00:21:50.759 me to the third observation, and that is be sure 00:21:50.759 --> 00:21:58.779 you are on the winning side. Be sure that you 00:21:58.779 --> 00:22:04.160 are on the winning side, God's side. If you have 00:22:04.160 --> 00:22:07.000 not bowed the knee to Jesus Christ and believed 00:22:07.000 --> 00:22:11.730 in Him, you must do that. or remain on the other 00:22:11.730 --> 00:22:16.970 side that is already doomed. There is no alternative. 00:22:18.049 --> 00:22:20.109 Be sure that you are on the winning side, which 00:22:20.109 --> 00:22:24.130 is Christ's. And if you are on Christ's side, 00:22:24.150 --> 00:22:26.849 if you are on the Lord's side, and you serve 00:22:26.849 --> 00:22:30.890 the King today, let me exhort you as a faithful 00:22:30.890 --> 00:22:35.490 soldier of Jesus Christ to endure hardship and 00:22:35.490 --> 00:22:39.450 endure suffering for His sake. For whatever we 00:22:39.450 --> 00:22:43.150 experience in our battles in the world is nothing 00:22:43.150 --> 00:22:48.809 compared to the victory that is our Lord's and 00:22:48.809 --> 00:22:54.190 by His grace ours in Him. And so if you are on 00:22:54.190 --> 00:22:56.529 His side today, if you have believed in Him, 00:22:56.789 --> 00:23:01.470 then stand tall and strong in Christ and fight 00:23:01.470 --> 00:23:05.309 your battles and fight the Lord's battles. And 00:23:05.309 --> 00:23:08.680 do not be afraid. the words or the terror of 00:23:08.680 --> 00:23:12.619 the enemy, those arrows that fly by night, the 00:23:12.619 --> 00:23:15.920 pestilence that comes in the noonday, our Lord 00:23:15.920 --> 00:23:20.039 will guard you, for you are His, you are His. 00:23:21.299 --> 00:23:24.099 And His is the victory, and ours is the victory. 00:23:24.299 --> 00:23:31.059 Hallelujah. The Lord God Omnipotent reigns. Let's 00:23:31.059 --> 00:23:37.380 pray together. Whose side are you on, my friend? 00:23:38.819 --> 00:23:45.519 If not Christ's right now, will you make the 00:23:45.519 --> 00:23:50.440 decision to change sides? You must make that 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:52.579 decision. It doesn't happen just automatically. 00:23:54.140 --> 00:23:56.119 There must come a time in your life when you 00:23:56.119 --> 00:24:00.019 understand the peril that you're in because of 00:24:00.019 --> 00:24:03.819 your own sin and you see God's provision of a 00:24:03.819 --> 00:24:08.799 Savior. You believe on Him. You go to the cross 00:24:08.799 --> 00:24:12.079 where God's wrath has already fallen. If you've 00:24:12.079 --> 00:24:15.819 not done that, will you do it right now? Just 00:24:15.819 --> 00:24:17.839 tell Him so. Tell Him that's what you want. That 00:24:17.839 --> 00:24:21.000 you repent of your sin. You believe on Him. You 00:24:21.000 --> 00:24:28.740 receive Christ as your own Savior. O Christian 00:24:28.740 --> 00:24:33.000 soldier, if you've been running, if you've turned 00:24:33.000 --> 00:24:36.480 your back on the enemy, God forbid if you have 00:24:36.480 --> 00:24:42.420 taken the side of the enemy, then today come 00:24:42.420 --> 00:24:48.660 back from your AWOL. Get online and be a soldier 00:24:48.660 --> 00:24:52.400 of Jesus Christ, one who is commissioned to represent 00:24:52.400 --> 00:24:55.279 him. God, apply this message to our hearts and 00:24:55.279 --> 00:24:57.660 lives for Jesus' sake. Amen.