29th December 2019, AM

Thank you. See. Give me just one second as I have more notes than usual this morning so that hence the to You music stand Podium things. Open them up.

Awesome. Well, hello, hope City Church. I'm very excited this morning. I consider it quite the privilege to my name is Caleb and I hope you all had a very Merry Christmas and relax a boxing day this past week. So if you've been with us for a while, you know that we've been kind of tracking through the Book of Luke and the Book of Luke is a book in the Bible which tells us about the life of Jesus Christ. And if you haven't been with us, that's great, cuz we're not in Luke. We're going to be in a different books this morning. We're going to be in the book of the Bible called the songs and that is written in a time. For the Israelite Kingdom, which is an ancient civilization exist Inc around 1002 BC in the long long ago anyways of songs and prayers a written for the use of these people at the saying and pray to the Lord and we're going to be in Psalm chapter 2 that's going to be page 543 on the Bible's in your chairs. Search should you say Psalm to write down 543? And we're going to read that and I might have Selassie come up and read the passage for us.

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Why do the nation's conspire in the people's fault in vain the kings of the earth rise up and the rumors band together against the Lord and his anointed seeing glasses break their chains and threw off their shackles. The one in the throne in heaven. Laughs the Lord's golf set them. He rebukes them in his anger and terrifies them in his Roth saying I have installed my king on Zion my Holy Mountain. I will proclaim the Lord's decree. He said to me you are my son today. I have become your father asked me and I will make the nation's your inheritance the ends of the Earth your possession. You will break them with a rod of iron you will Dash them to pieces like call Surrey there for you came to be wise be warned you rulers of the Earth. Serve the Lord with fear and celebrates his rule with trembling kiss the son or he will be angry and your way will lead you to your Destruction for his Roth can flare up in the moments blessed are all who take refuge in him. Thank you so icy.

This passage is a bit of a strange one a lot going on in it as lots of things being said. I just want to clarify if you have the iron Rod yet broken jars. You have Nations as an inheritance sounds pretty nice at first thing. I want to clarify this. Who is this song speaking about the song is speaking about Jesus Christ. We know this because in another book of the Bible called acts. It tells us Acts chapter 4 you can read it. If you'd like. It says very plainly that this is a song speaking directly of Jesus Christ. He is God's King the one installed on that Holy Hill called Zion. He is the all-powerful king and it tells us that God's King is ruling. Skiing is raining. That he has absolute Authority. And that any opposed him will be dashed to Pieces the image of a clay jar being Shattered by an iron rod knock in contrast absolute power smashing powerlessness. The overarching emphasis of the passage is Christ is in control. He's King is all-powerful world over all powerful King over the whole world that any who oppose him. They do it in vain.

Now if Christ is the all-powerful king and he's raining over the whole earth the question becomes, how do you respond? Do you fight? How do you submit? We see in this passage in verse 3 that the Kings and rulers plot. The overthrow of Jesus's King. They see his rule as shackles his decree as changed. They want to be free. They want to be free from the king and the reign of Christ. They want independence. They see Christ as oppressive. And to a certain extent I kind of agree with them. To be independent to be my own man to set the course to set the agenda. That sounds appealing. The idea of doing whatever I want when I want how I want. That sounds really really great. the freedom to live life without caring about consequences I get to set the course I decide what is right and what is wrong and no one gets to tell me otherwise I don't have to adhere to some moral code given by an abstract be Independence Freedom it sounds appealing. Be the Master and Commander of your face life is whatever you make it. I get to spend my money how I want. I don't have to I get to rule my bank account. I get to rule my resources. I don't have to give to the poor. I don't have to care about the Widow and the orphan I can just focus on me and my life. He said if I if I were to oppose God's rule if I was supposing Christ. I certainly wouldn't be living in Scotland. If you can tell I'm not from here from Phoenix for the weather is really hot instead of really cold and the sun's always out. I would have stayed back in Phoenix in my job that paid me actually very well. I would have spent my money frivolously doing whatever I like taking trips here and there I doubt I'd be married who wants to be tied down to just one woman. Come on. Why would I want to be Shackled like that? I want this God holding me back. I want to cast off the shackles. I Want to Be Free of his rule. I want to live life as I see fit. I want to pursue my own dreams. Another way to put it is I'm a strong independent, man, and I don't need no God. This is what the Kings and the rulers are saying. The nation's plot, they want to overthrow Christ as king they don't want to submit they want to fight.

And these nations are all about themselves. They want to set the rules. They want see the game. They want to win the game. They see God's King and they want fight. They see slavery and bondage under God and desire to be free. They see Jesus as the evil Sith Lord Palpatine wielding the dark Forces of the Empire to oppress the Galaxy. They see themselves as Han Solo and the rebels A New Hope.

certainly Even as someone who's tried to submit to Christ I find myself failing find myself fighting. I definitely would have seen the rule of Christ as oppressive in my life.

Come on, Jesus really care about 4. Do I really have to help those who would never ever help me back? I never get anything out of that. Do I really have to give my money to your kingdom? Do I have to invest myself into your kingdom? Do I actually have to love my enemies? sounds rather drab do I actually have to submit to your rule to your will? My natural inclination is to fight against Christ rule. My first reaction is to seek rice as shackles.

But the reality is is that Christ's Reign is true Independence.

UCLA wrongly the Nations wrongly see Christ as that evil Sith Lord.

Is she when I left my push my notes? So, how can the speed sorry I'll get there.

So true submission to Christ is true Independence in the question is how can true submission be? freedom how can I be Freedom someone else telling you what to do? That doesn't sound like freedom. That doesn't sound like Independence. The answer to that question of how is freedom found in the reign of Christ in the answer is found in Jesus Christ. Because when we submit to Christ's rule it is no longer about what I do. It's no longer about what I've done no longer about what I want to pursue. But it becomes about what Christ has done. We find Freedom from the uncertainty of life. We find Freedom from Des we find refuge in Christ. From everything that's going on around us.

You see Christ has done it. is 1 the nations are his inheritance. He holds the iron rod. And dashes everyone else to pieces. This entire song shows us what happens to those who fight to those who opposed Christ as king they're destroyed the solemn ask the question at the very beginning. Why do the nation's conspire and the people's plot in vain? The opening tells you the ending. It's all pointless to fight. And yet the nation's still do it. I still do it. I still want to resist God's rule in my life. I plot in vain. I like to think of a time where I no longer needs to be fully Reliance on God. Do I need to fully take refuge in him? But me and him we can kind of like go together, you know, he'll be the pilot. I'll be the co-pilot and I'll fly the plane when Jesus needs to nap.

That actually doesn't quite work.

See I plot and I fight pointlessly and I struggle to shake this desire to be independent straight this desire. I have struggled to shake the desire to be solely rely on myself.

But every time and yet every time I oppose God I know that it will end with my destruction.

Let the song ends with an invitation to submit to Jesus. The song the closest with words of submits to the king kiss the son. Kiss the son lest he be angry with you and a kiss and that culture was a sign of submission to the ruling Authority.

So the question becomes are we going to kiss the Sun? I don't know that many of us here are professing Christians and we would all say that we submit to the rule of Christ. We don't say that we submit we say that we're never fighting against what he wants for us never fighting against this decree.

Turn off spoken a lot about what my life would look like if I were to a post Gods raining and what it does look like when I do opposing

But the thing is is I want to submit. I want to say that Christ is the reigning King. and when I do that, I can't imagine what my life would have been like I would not have pictured this to be my life to live in Scotland and how amazing and wonderful that that's been because I submitted to the king to meet the most wonderful people see some of the most beautiful places that happens and that happened because episode Jesus you're in control. You're the king. You set the course.

I couldn't have imagined how wonderful marriage to my wife would have been when everything around me and my culture and society and even peer groups told me it's better to have multiple partners.

Marriage has been beautiful and amazing and I'm blessed to have it. And I get to see how much I've grown and how much my wife has grown over this a commitment. We made to one another. Christ raining in my life has been the best thing that's ever happened. I don't have to wonder what my purpose in life is. I don't have to hunt for my happiness. I get to have all of that found in the king.

I know that Jesus is laid out a direction for my life that he is guiding me and I know that no matter how hard life gets no matter. How dark no matter how scary. I can always take refuge in him.

I know that submission to Christ is for my benefit for even when Life deals a crushing blow. I know that my king will be victorious.

I know that my king is always near. and taking Refuge the thing about it is you're looking for a safe place while you're in danger. You don't need Refuge if there's no danger. It makes me think of the London Blitz. When you're out and the sirens go off, you need to run you need to find Refuge shelter get underground gets to a safe place. And while you're in the safe place, you should stay there because the bombs are still falling. You don't want to go outside.

In the same way taking refuge in Christ is that you are in a safe place and it's in your best interest to remain in him so that you don't come outside and be destroyed. Stay in The Refuge. submit to the king

and she ever done a lot of reflecting over this this talk as I prepared and I thought a lot about what would my life be if I wasn't a Christian, what would my life be if I didn't submit to the it's a very natural time of year today is a very natural place for us to think and look back on this year on our lives. It happens every year at the end of the year you go, man. What I do, what's what's going on? How do I change how I grown? That's all I ask you as we look back this year and reflect. Have we been fighting God's rule in our life, or have we been submitting?

Just some of the highlights or lowlights. If you'd like them of the new cycle this year. We saw brexit postponed. One, two, three thousand times. We saw a p.m. Step down. We saw a sixteen-year-old vansant climate change into the Forefront which all president impeached.

And those don't even account for what's going on in your individual lives. And I won't sit here and speculate on what's going on in your lives. But I'm sure it's been full of sadness. I'm sure it's been full of joy. But there has been ups and downs. As we look back we ask ourselves were we fighting or we was submitting to Christ rule? Are we trusting that he's been in control this whole time?

Have we taken Refuge as the bombs are falling around us?

I know that this year has been full of pain and regret for many of us and it's also been full of joy and laughter. There have been good and bad times.

Has Christ been raining in it all over it all do we really trust that?

Stop by submitting to the king is how we take refuge in the Lord.

Ask you all this morning to think back for flex and submit to all that's happened this year submit all the pain from this past year submit all the joy and the good times as well.

And now the tricky part is how do we submit and how do we submit to the king? How do we look back and let things go. How do we move forward? And I'll try to answer this with a simple two-step process. It's not simple. It's actually quite hard. but simple to say except one sprayer to pray and confess to Jesus all the pain all the Brokenness this last year brought.

Tell him tell him that hurt Tommy was terrible. Ask him to take it. And then pray and give thanks for all the good times for all the good things Rejoice be thankful. A step too and also kind of coincides with step ones. That's when I step 1 and step wanted to be trust that Christ heard you.

Trust that he is alive that he is ruling and that he's raining right now. And that he is in control. And that she will not leave the broken things broken. And that he will bring back joy and gladness this year. How do you bring back joy and true life?

Blessed are those who take refuge in the Lord? Blessed are those who submit to Jesus? Let us pray.

Father God. Thank you for sending your son Jesus. Thank you that he is raining and in control. Thank you that you have made a way for us to take refuge in your son God. I pray that you would.

Show us where we fought you Lord. Help us to let go help us to I rejoice and the good things you've given us more. Got to pray that you would restore the Brokenness and all of our lives. That you would give us comfort and the time in the heartache and the pain. God I pray that you give us trust trust in you knowing that you will right every wrong. Jesus name amen. No, we do something slightly different as. C comes up super eager. I have to sit back down to take a minute. One whole minute 60 seconds. I have to just sit and think about this past year and reflect. Where did we fight? Where do we submit? What do we want to give to Jesus? Let's do that now just one minute.

Thank you all for taking the time to I think it was like to have to come up.

Thank you for listening. So carefully can I invite you to turn to one or two people next to you? And there are a couple of questions on the screens that you can use to just tired. And if you'd rather not chat. I'm a bit like that. I can find these situations bit awkward but years ago and we went to church with part of the service one. Sunday was everybody hugs everybody that was super awkward and she says I will have a look at the questions chat with you. If not have a look at the pigeon hole and vote for questions. You want answered and then Caleb and I will come in a few minutes. Away.