You can
watch the vide of this sermon here.
Introduction:
Last week we
explored the idea that the prayer of the righteous person is powerful and
effective. The reason why this is so, is because the righteous man and the
righteous woman know that they should bring their will more in line with the
will of God. Effective prayer is prayer that agrees with the word of God and
the things God asks us to pray for. In other words, to pray more powerfully you
need to pray for the right things.
This idea of
God bringing our will closer to his will is so important in many ways. This
includes how we see this world that we live in. God wants us to have a certain
view of the world and how it works, that is shaped around the word of God and
its worldview. God’s word teaches us that this is not our home and that this is
a very corrupt and evil world. This is a worldview that many Christians are not
fully comfortable with.
Don’t get me
wrong, many Christians will acknowledge that we live in a fallen world, an imperfect
world. This is commonly understood. But the Scriptures, and especially the
Psalms, want you to understand that this world is worse than that. It is an
evil world. It is a world set against you. This is a place where many
Christians cannot go, they can’t accept this. But this understanding is vital
for your prayer life.
And this
assumption, this true assumption, is also basic to Christianity. For example,
Ephesians 5:15-16, 6:12 - “15 Look carefully then how you walk, not as
unwise but as wise, 16 making the best use of the time, because the days are
evil. 17 Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord
is. 12 For
we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the
authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the
spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places.” This idea that we live in “this
present darkness” is fundamental to praying well. Because the Bible wants you
to understand that you are soldiers of Christ in enemy territory. Why do you
think you are told to put on Christian armour?
I think
moderns Aussie Christians struggle with understanding how evil our world is for
several reasons.
- We have
it pretty good in the West - For most of our lives we have been free to
live as we wish. We have forgotten how bad evil can be. We forgot that good
times would be used by evil as well as times of tyranny, Proverbs 1:32 – “For
the turning away of the simple shall slay them, and the prosperity of fools
shall destroy them.” Decadence is as bad for the soul as persecution
can be for your life.
- Conditioned
- People have been conditioned by education, books, media, entertainment,
their friends, and more, to see things which are very evil as good. This is
even true in the Church. It’s hard to convince people to take evil seriously
who believe a lot of evil things are ok. Pre-marital sex is not just wrong it
is evil. Homosexuality is not just wrong it is evil. Etc, etc.
- Too
Trusting - Aussies are a high trust people and we just trust that most
people are decent people. We tend to believe the person on the news is a decent
and honest person, not really a paid actor. We tend to believe that flawed
politicians are just decent people with imperfections, not bought and owned by
certain interests. This comes from having lived in easy times. This dulls your
senses to evil.
But the
Psalms are not shy about the evil that rules our world. The Psalms have a view
that is very much different, and it begins very early with Psalm 2. So, let’s
see what Psalm 2 has to say about evil ruling this world, and how this should
impact our prayer life.
Evil
Conspirators
(vv.1-3) The worldview of Psalm is that this world is ruled by evil
conspirators who hate the Lord God and his Messiah, “1 Why do the nations
rage and the peoples plot in vain? 2 The kings of the earth set themselves, and
the rulers take counsel together, against the Lord and against his Anointed,
saying, 3 “Let us burst their bonds apart and cast away their cords from us.”
The kings and rulers of this earth set themselves against God continually. The
question we want to ask is what is meant by the rulers? Is it talking about the
Spiritual rulers, the principalities, or the literal kings, presidents and
Prime Ministers of this world? I would answer: both, absolutely both. Let me
demonstrate this from the Bible itself.
Human schemers
against Jesus – We
know Psalm 2 is referring to human rulers, because we see examples of what it
teaches often in the Bible. The most powerful example is the conspiracy to
destroy Jesus, of which we read in Acts 4:24-28 –
“24 And when they heard it, they lifted their voices
together to God and said, “Sovereign Lord, who made the heaven and the earth
and the sea and everything in them, 25 who through the mouth of our father
David, your servant, said by the Holy Spirit, “‘Why did the Gentiles rage, and
the peoples plot in vain? 26 The kings of the earth set themselves, and the
rulers were gathered together, against the Lord and against his Anointed’— 27
for truly in this city there were gathered together against your holy servant
Jesus, whom you anointed, both Herod and Pontius Pilate, along with the
Gentiles and the peoples of Israel, 28 to do whatever your hand and your plan
had predestined to take place.”
Just as
Psalm 2 says, so did the leaders of the Jews, along with the Romans, conspire
to destroy Jesus, and they whipped up the people to support it.
The gospels
tell us often that the Jewish leaders were continually angered by Jesus showing
them up, and Matthew tells us this, “But the Pharisees went out and
conspired against him, how to destroy him” (Matt. 12:14). This happened
after he healed a man in front of them with a withered hand.
Finally, they
come for him at night, not when he was surrounded by crowds, but when he was
surrounded by just a few of his most loyal followers. They use betrayal,
through one of his own disciples, and the cover of darkness or as Jesus puts
it, Luke 22:53 – “When I was with you day after day in the temple, you
did not lay hands on me. But this is your hour, and the power of darkness.”
In fact if
you read the context of Acts 4 you will see the reason that the Apostles are
reflecting on this is because the same thing was happening to them that
happened to Jesus. And they expected this because Jesus told them this would
happen to those who sought to boldly proclaim the word.
The Lord
Jesus himself was taken down and murdered by a plot of evil rulers of this
world. But there was more to it.
The evil
behind the rulers –
The Bible is also clear that there was demonic power behind this plot. Luke
22:3-5 –
“3 Then Satan entered into Judas called Iscariot, who
was of the number of the twelve. 4 He went away and conferred with the chief
priests and officers how he might betray him to them. 5 And they were glad, and
agreed to give him money. 6 So he consented and sought an opportunity to betray
him to them in the absence of a crowd.”
Satan was
behind the actions of Judas, the disciple who conspired against Jesus.
And Satan
was behind the actions of the Jewish leaders, John 8:39-40, 44 –
“39 They answered him, “Abraham is our father.” Jesus
said to them, “If you were Abraham's children, you would be doing the works
Abraham did, 40 but now you seek to kill me, a man who has told you the truth
that I heard from God. This is not what Abraham did….44 You are of your father
the devil, and your will is to do your father's desires. He was a murderer from
the beginning, and does not stand in the truth, because there is no truth in
him. When he lies, he speaks out of his own character, for he is a liar and the
father of lies.”
The Lord
Jesus himself was taken down and murdered by a plot of evil rulers of this
world, who were inspired by the god of this age.
The Bible is
very clear that the wicked rulers of this world who hate Jesus are inspired by
an even greater evil that hates Jesus in a more intense way. These evils feed
off each other and are the dominant power in this world. “2 The kings of
the earth set themselves, and the rulers take counsel together,” These
rulers are not clumsy about it either, but make deliberate plans about how they
can harm the work of God and his people.
This is the
proper Christian worldview of the powerful in this world.
This is what
Charles Haddon Spurgeon, the Prince of Preachers, says about this,
“’And the rulers take counsel
together.’ They go about their warfare craftily, not with foolish haste, but
deliberately. They use all the skill which art can give. Like Pharoah, they
cry, “Let us deal wisely with them.” O that men were half as careful in God’s
service to serve him wisely, as his enemies are to attack his kingdom craftily.
Sinners have their wits about them, and yet saints are dull.”[i]
“Sinners
have their wits about them, and yet saints are dull.” Spurgeon noted the exact
same thing we observed in our introduction. Christians tend to be naïve about
the state of evil in this world, forgetting that Jesus Christ himself said
this, Matthew 10:16 - “Behold, I am sending you out as sheep in the midst
of wolves, so be wise as serpents and innocent as doves.”
Jesus was
not negligent in warning his disciples about the dangers of the world he was
sending them out into, sending us into.
We might
have lived through a time more peaceful than most, but peace is always
temporary and evil is starting to publicly reveal itself again. It is becoming
more and more open.
Pray - This should inform how we pray, because
we need to recognize that we are soldiers of Christ in enemy territory. This is
the biblical worldview. If you were an actual soldier of war and you were
parachuted behind enemy lines, either alone or with a squad, and they gave you
are walkie talkie to communicate with, and they said: ask us for whatever you
need to achieve your task. What would you do?
You would be
using it, often. Again and again, and again. And you would be smart to do so.
You would
ask for supplies, for reinforcements, for encouragement that you were on the
right path of the plan. You would use it to co-ordinate with your higher powers
so that they could bring the full force of their artillery to bear on your
enemies. Especially the enemies who are too strong for you to fight alone.
In fact, you
would be foolish not to do this. You are not there on your own orders. You are
there on your commanding officers order, to fulfil his plan, and therefore you
need to communicate with him regularly to make sure you fulfil his commands
well.
Outgunned
- You also need to
recognize how out gunned you are. When it comes to the rulers of this world, as
one person I know says it, we are the little fish, and they are the whales, we
just have to do our best to stay out of their way.
In our own
strength we could not face even the power of the corrupt rulers, let alone the power
of evil spiritual beings.
We need to
recognize the situation we are in on this planet as Christians. We are in a
world that is ruled by those who are experts in destroying what is good,
beautiful and true, and our job is to be advocates of what is good, beautiful
and true.
Which means we
will face opposition in this world, just from seeking to live a faithful life
here on this earth. It won’t be easy. We were told it would not be.
Jesus says
this in his great prayer in John 17:14-16 –
“14 I have given them your word, and the world has
hated them because they are not of the world, just as I am not of the world. 15
I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from
the evil one. 16 They are not of the world, just as I am not of the world.”
Jesus told
us that we would be hated by the world because he was. He told us the evil one
was a threat to us, that we need God to protect us from. Simply because he
spoke the truth of God’s word. You need prayer to back you up if you are going
to boldly speak the truth.
Because you will
face attack.
If you have
not experienced this, then I simply encourage you to do one thing: speak the
truth in contexts where people don’t want to hear it, and see what happens.
Sooner or later you will see what Jesus was talking about.
In fact, many
of you know what I am talking about, and it is why you stay quiet at work, or
at home, or at school, wherever. You know what will come if you speak up, so
you stay silent.
As someone
who has faced attacks both from within the church circles and without, I
understand why. Speaking up comes with a real cost, one that you carry with
you, in your soul.
You can’t
stand up under that kind of pressure without relying on God and coming to him
regularly in prayer.
So, the
Bible wants us to recognize we are in enemy territory, outnumbered in our own
strength, fighting against enemies that are beyond our ability to handle who
have more influence over this world than we do. So where is the good news?
Our
Amused Lord (vv.4-6)
– Well, the good news for us is who we have on our team. The one we can pray to
is the one who sits above this evil world and who mocks evil, “4 He who
sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision. 5 Then he will
speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me,
I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.”
What is the
Lord’s response to the evil conspirators of this world, spiritual or otherwise?
“He who sits in the heavens laughs; the Lord holds them in derision.”
Remember
what we saw verse 1: “2 Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in
vain?” Why do the nations, or Gentiles rage, and the people’s plot in
vain? Why do they scheme against the all-powerful God, why do they seek to try
and destroy God’s anointed, to harm God’s people and plan?
The ways in
which mankind have plotted against God have been many, and they always come to
nothing. The tower of Babel, the slavery of the Hebrews in Egypt, the
destruction of Israel in the Old Testament, etc, etc. Think about this, one
time they actually managed to kill the Son of God himself, and what does the
Bible say about that?
Acts 2:22-24
–
“22 Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of
Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs
that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,
delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you
crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing
the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it.”
In murdering
Jesus the wicked men helped Jesus achieve God’s preordained plan. He was meant
to die to defeat sin, death and the devil, and to raise to life again.
Evil’s
greatest triumph against God, the murder of Jesus, ended up solidifying the defeat
of evil once and for all. The rest of history is just a mopping up operation.
Evil is done, finished, defeated, its power is broken. It’s influence more and
more limited as the church advances over this world. It can still do great
harm, but it is on the losing team.
No wonder
our king sits in heaven and laughs. At just the moment when evil thinks it is
at its most powerful, it is defeated. Awesome stuff.
Not only
does he mock them, but they are actually afraid of God, “5 “Then he will
speak to them in his wrath, and terrify them in his fury, saying, 6 “As for me,
I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.” The evil of this world is
terrified of Jesus, let me give you two examples,
The
guards are scared of him – When the guards come to get Jesus, they were terrified of him,
“3 So Judas, having procured a band of soldiers and
some officers from the chief priests and the Pharisees, went there with
lanterns and torches and weapons. 4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen
to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him,
“Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him,
was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back
and fell to the ground” (John 18:3-6).
The
demons are scared of him – Luke 8:30-31 – “30 Jesus then asked him,
“What is your name?” And he said, “Legion,” for many demons had entered him. 31
And they begged him not to command them to depart into the abyss.”
If the
enemies of God are terrified of him, why would you seek to face them in your
own strength? Face them with God who laughs at their petty schemes constantly
on your spiritual speed dial.
The
Wicked Will Face God
(vv.7-12) – And don’t forget that the wicked will face God,
“7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me,
“You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the
nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall
break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise; be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve
the Lord with fear, and rejoice with trembling. 12 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.”
The wicked
rulers who conspire against the Messiah and his people, will be defeated, they
will face the wrath of God. Some of them might even repent and be redeemed, it
has been known to happen. But either way they are not going to win.
His time
is short – This is
partly why the evil one is so angry, he knows he is running out of time,
Revelation 12:7-12 –
“7 Now war arose in heaven, Michael and his angels
fighting against the dragon. And the dragon and his angels fought back, 8 but
he was defeated, and there was no longer any place for them in heaven. 9 And
the great dragon was thrown down, that ancient serpent, who is called the devil
and Satan, the deceiver of the whole world—he was thrown down to the earth, and
his angels were thrown down with him…12 Therefore, rejoice, O heavens and you
who dwell in them! But woe to you, O earth and sea, for the devil has come down
to you in great wrath, because he knows that his time is short!”
Our prayer
needs to keep this in mind. Sometimes this world will get down on you, make you
feel defeated. You will see evil men do evil things and appear to get away with
them. But the Bible shows us the end of the story. The Devil will be defeated, and
along with him the corrupt as well, “10 Now therefore, O kings, be wise;
be warned, O rulers of the earth. 11 Serve the Lord with fear, and rejoice with
trembling. 12 Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and you perish in the way, for
his wrath is quickly kindled.”
When the
Bible says to pray for the authorities, this is one of the prayers it has in
mind. That our leaders would be warned that they will face Jesus, and therefore
they should repent and follow his ways.
Eventually
this whole world will be the kingdom of Jesus in power,
“7 I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me,
“You are my Son; today I have begotten you. 8 Ask of me, and I will make the
nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. 9 You shall
break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter's vessel.”
This will be
a good day for God’s people, and therefore, we should pray for this constantly.
Indeed, this
is what we are praying for when we say, “Our father who are in heaven,
Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in
heaven.” When we pray this, we are praying for the schemes of evil to
be finished, defeated once and for all.
There is
only blessing for those who trust in the Lord, “Blessed are all who take
refuge in him.” Who are those that take refuge in the Lord? It is those
who believe that Jesus died on the cross for their sins, rose again to achieve
their salvation, and who pray to him, day and night, to see his will done on
earth.
Those who
take refuge in him are those who like the soldiers we saw before are constantly
calling upon their heavenly father to go to battle for them. To bring his
spiritual artillery to bear against the evil spiritual forces of this world.
I think they
are also those who pray for the wicked men and women of this world to repent,
and to have their hearts redeemed as ours were.
Application
- I think the
application of this sermon is very simple, but let me share a few thoughts.
We need to
pray like those who know they are on enemy ground. It is not that the Devil
owns the earth, he doesn’t, but he has usurped it, and we must be wary of his
power. So pray regularly and with intention to see God’s will increase in your
life, your family’s life, your churches life, and in society.
Pray knowing
that we are on the winning team. Pray knowing that evil has been defeated, is
going to be defeated, and we live on this earth to carry out the part of God’s
mission that he would have us fulfill.
Pray for
those who stand against you, that they may repent and come to know Jesus. I
think this is a powerful way to pray for your enemies. Pray also that God would
sort them out.
Pray that
wicked rulers would cease their evil. And heed the warning to turn from evil
and trust in God.
Pray knowing
the Devil does not want you to pray, and prayer works against him.
Conclusion
– Don’t be naïve
about evil in this world. Evil is worse than you likely think, and less
powerful than it thinks. But it is real, pervasive and schemes against God and
his followers. Evil may rule the world for now, but our Lord is bringing it to
an end. Until then, let’s pray like our lives depend on it. Because they do.
Let’s pray.
References
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