Psalm 2
Preached: Jan 17, 2010 - Des Arc First UMC - Nursing Home
SCRIPTURE READINGS Psalm 2: 1, 11—12
Why do we rage so against things we do not
understand? Sometimes no matter how hard we try we cannot understand
what is happening to us.
The more details we discover, the more confused we become about our
situation. None of the information we are being given fits together,
and we feel as if our minds just can’t wrap themselves around our
situation and life in general. Yet there is one who is great enough
to make sense out of our circumstances and wise enough to know what
we should be doing.
When we worship and listen to the Lord our God,
focusing on his almighty power and standing in awe of his wisdom, we
realize that there is nothing too big for him to handle.
We can then find peace in that knowledge and start to focus
on him and surrendering the situation to his loving care.
Today’s Psalm was a song that was to inform the
rulers of this world that God had set up his kingdom in Jerusalem
and set up his own chosen to rule his kingdom. Of course this was
written before Christ came to earth but the words can be used to
also show the way that we should look at the true king of us all.
Jesus Christ is God’s own son.
Who came to this world not to destroy it but to show us the
way to our father in heaven and to show us what our father in heaven
expects of us.
A lot of people worry about being saved or not.
Why do people worry about that? Christ did not come here to “Save
us” but to “rescue us, redeem us and make us whole”. The word that
is used for “Saved” in the New Testament is really defined as
RESCUED.
Christ came to Rescue - you and me from what we
have been doing and to show us the right way to act and care for
each other. Truly our president and all the rulers of this world
need to take heed of this and be fearful of God almighty. They were
warned and have been warned that God is there to be served with
reverence fear.
You all know that the first commandment of those
ten that God gave Moses on Mt Sinai is. “I am the Lord your God, DO
NOT Have any other god besides me.” What is your main god in life?
Our SOAPY Bible study this week, that is reading
their way through the New Testament this year, last week read the
Sermon on the Mount in Matthew. There is a lot of meat in those few
verses. Some of the hardest verses for Christians to follow come
from these verses also.
Matthew took many of the things that Jesus was teaching and combined
them into this “cliff note” version of all of his teachings.
I asked the people of the study what “5 things
and in what order are you not willing to give up in your life?”
So I will ask you the same question. “What five things in
your life are you not willing to give up in your life?” You might
say your health, your spouse, your children, your money, your
house, your job. But those are all things that can and will
be taken from us at some time.
-
My love for God
and Jesus Christ.
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My Faith that
Jesus Christ died for me and redeemed and rescued me.
-
My ability to
tell others about my Lord God and the Joy that I receive from him.
-
My desire to
live the life that Jesus taught and
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My desire to
build my life on his solid foundation.
I don’t know what is on your list, but are they
treasures here on this earth or are they the treasures you are
placing in heaven for all eternity. Yes I know we like to be
comfortable and safe and healthy down here, but this is only the
start of a lifetime and eternity that we might have yet to come.
Jesus called this the narrow path that not many can follow.
He said that many would be doing things in his name, but he
would not recognize all of them for they were not truly doing what
he taught but what they wanted. And he tells us he will not know us
if we do not truly know and follow him. Hard word, but With God’s
love and forgiveness we have nothing to worry about, that is if we
have our priorities straight and our list of how we are to live our
lives set in proper order. And we take that narrow path—that hard
path to follow, but we do follow it to our final end on this world
and move on into the next.
Yes the cost is great, but so are the final
rewards.