The Lord Reigns - 240103

SPEAKER A Hello. Welcome to let God speak. I am Uriah St Juste. The psalms contain some of the most beautiful and powerful poetry in praise to God ever written. Make a joyful noise unto the Lord. Serve the Lord with gladness. Come before his presence with singing. The psalms declare, God deserves our highest praise because he's our creator, so sustainer and redeemer. But more so, the psalms declare that he alone is God and he reigns in majesty. We are glad that you have joined us today. We will continue our study of the psalms. As we study this week, the Lord reigns on. Let God speak. On our panel today we have Abel Iorgulescu and Gayl Fong. Welcome, Abel and Gayl. SPEAKER B Thank you. SPEAKER C Good to see you. SPEAKER A Let's pray before we begin. Our father and our God, we just want to praise you for who you are. You have created us, Lord. You have created a beautiful home on this planet earth for us. And though marred by sin, we can still enjoy the beauty of this planet earth, our home. We pray, Lord, that you will be with us today in the presence of your holy spirit, our friend, to guide and to bless. Be with those who are viewing and bless our discussion today. We ask in Jesus name, amen. SPEAKER C Amen. SPEAKER A The story is told of Neil Martin, a member of the british parliament who was once giving a group of his constituents a guided tour of the Houses of parliament. During the course of the visit, the group happened to meet Lord Hilsham, the then Lord Chancellor, wearing all the regalia of his office. Hilsham recognised Martin among the group and cried, kneel. Not daring to question or disobey the command, the entire band of visitors promptly fell to their knees. The Bible portrays God as a king, and as a lord titles that earthly rulers carry. Gayl, how is God fundamentally different from earthly rulers? SPEAKER B Well, Uriah, in psalm, chapter eight, we find this is the first of the nature psalms in the Bible. And here, David, he's reflecting on nature, and he cannot but conclude that there must be a creator, and this creator is his God. And it begins with there in verse one of psalm, chapter eight, O Lord, our Lord, how excellent is your name in all the earth. So he opens there with this beautiful, praiseworthy statement, who have set your glory above the heavens. And then in verses three through two, five, he says, when I consider your heavens the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have ordained, what is man, that you are mindful of him and the son of man that you visit him. For you have made him a little lower than the angels, and you have crowned him with glory and honour, so no one can compare to the true and living God. Heaven and earth are his sovereign domain and he has created it. And that is something that man cannot do. SPEAKER A Absolutely. Even earthly rulers, God created them, so there's no way they could have absolute power. So the idea of God's sovereignty can make us feel that God is unapproachable. And deism teaches that God is aloof, he's far off, and he does not intervene in the affairs of men. Abel, can you help us by telling us what the Bible teaches on that subject? SPEAKER C Sure. Look, what I find really fascinating is that the book of Psalms is quite comprehensive. When it describes God to humanity, it does say that God is the creator of everything in this world. But it's not a distant creator. It's a creator that is defined by love. That's who he is. And because of his love, he intervenes in the affairs of humanity and not only interested in the life of a person, but is interested in the entire creation. And before we talk about his intervention in the life of human beings, I want to expand a bit on his, I guess, intervention with nature. In the Book of Psalms, chapter 104, verses five to nine, we find a very interesting description of how God controls the elements of nature. Beginning with verse five, this is what it says. You who laid the foundations of the earth so that it should not be moved forever. Talking about God as a creator, you covered it with the deep as with a garment. The water stood above the mountains. At your rebuke they fled. At the voice of your thunder, they hastened away. They went up over the mountains, they went down into the valleys to the place which you founded for them. In other words, every single aspect in this world has been defined and commanded by God. And verse nine, you have set a boundary that they may not pass over, that they may not return to cover the earth. What's interesting, the psalmist describes God as the only one that has power and authority over the elements of nature. And it's very interesting. When Jesus was with his disciples and walking on the water and he calmed the storm in the seas, the disciples asked, who is this? They understood that, hey, this is God on earth, controlling, like in the book of psalms. SPEAKER A Thank you for that. So, Gayl, it seems that God is so big because if he has the power to control all the powerful forces of nature, he's going to be a pretty busy God in a very big universe. Does God have time for me? SPEAKER B That's the amazing thing. The Bible tells us that, yes, God does. And if you read psalm 100, and verse three, after we've already been after David has already shared that we should make a joyful noise to the Lord. Here's the reason. Knowing that the Lord, he is God, it is he who has made us and not we ourselves. We are his people and the sheep of his pasture. So knowing that we have belonging, that we belong to the king of the universe, the sovereign God, so he takes responsibility for us, he cares for us, he provides for us, he protects us like a shepherd caring for his sheep. And in psalm 139, verses seven through to ten, how well are we known? And we read here verses, these verses. Where can I go from your spirit? Or where can I flee from your presence? If I ascend into heaven, you are there. If I make my bed in hell, behold, you are there. That means when I die, he knows when I have died. If I take the wings of the morning and dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea, even there, your hand shall lead me and your right hand shall hold me. So God, he loves us so much, he relentlessly pursues us. He's interested in every aspect of our life. And just like the shepherd seeking his sheep, God is not content until he finds us. And he's after those, particularly who in their lostness, don't know him. SPEAKER A I like verse 13 of psalm 139. It says, for you formed my inward parts, you covered me in my mother's womb. And this shows us how tender God is, even in our mother's womb. He was there with us from the very beginning. So he is a personal God. He knows me and he has a plan for my life. And Abel, the psalmist, spained an elaborate tapestry of words to describe God's reign. The word reign does not only refer to the period of rulership of a king or queen, but the main qualities of that ruler as well. What are some of the qualities of God's reigns? God's reign that we see in the psalms. SPEAKER C Yeah, look, making a very good point in asking that question, because we have seen God as the creator of the universe, of this planet, of everything that is in. He's also the sustainer. But now, because he reigns, what are the qualities? So I want to take you to psalm 97. We're going to read verses one and two, and then I'll jump for the sake of time, down to verse ten. But this is what it says in verse one. Psalm 97. The Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. Let me just pause there for a moment. Isn't that fascinating? The simple fact that God reigns should be a reason for rejoicing. SPEAKER A Amen. SPEAKER C He is in control. He is still on the throne. And the book of Revelation still portrays that despite the chaos that is going in the world, the Lord reigns. Let the earth rejoice. And he goes on saying, let the multitudes of the isles be glad. Clouds and darkness surround him. And this is the important aspect of his reign. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. The question is, why should the people rejoice when God reigns? Because righteousness and justice are the foundations of his throne. And that is the good news that in the midst of chaos, we have an almighty God that rules with righteousness and justice. And we're going to see why this righteousness and justice is so important in a sinful world. And to finish off verse ten, you who love the Lord hate evil. He preserves the souls of his saints and he delivers them out of the hand of the wicked. This is how his righteousness and justice become palpable in the lives of humanity. SPEAKER A Absolutely. So God actually is a blessing to this world in terms of the way he rules, not as a dictator, but someone who defends those who are oppressed. So, Gayl, does God's reign? Let's look at God's reign. Does he only reign over those who recognise his sovereignty? SPEAKER B Well, whether people recognise it or not, God is sovereign and he reigns over those who even don't believe in him. The Bible says in psalm 48 47, I should say, and verse seven and eight, it says, for God is the king of all the earth. Sing praises with understanding. God reigns over the nations. God sits on his holy throne. So I like that, that God is actually in ultimate control and he is king over all the earth. Now, we have prime ministers and we have presidents and kings and queens that rule in this world. But we may not necessarily agree with everything they do, or we may not actually even like them or have voted for them. But God rules over the whole earth, whether we want to recognise it or not. And in psalm 96 and verse ten, we read, say, among the nations, the Lord reigns. The world also is firmly established. It shall not be moved. He shall judge the peoples righteously. So we have a testimony to share when we know him as our personal Lord and saviour, that he is sovereign, that he is real, and that God does reign as he reigns in my heart, it will be a testimony to those around that God is real. SPEAKER C Excellent. SPEAKER A I love that point that even if you did not support a particular prime minister or president, they're still your prime minister. And whether you recognise God or not, he is still God over the whole universe. So we have seen that God is sovereign ruler. We have also seen that if we look around us, we see that there is evil present in the world. For example, in the very psalm, psalm 73 and verse three, the psalmist says, for I was envious of the boastful when I saw the prosperity of the wicked. Abel, help us here. How does the psalms help us to reconcile God's sovereignty and the existence of evil? SPEAKER C I'll do my best to help you here. But I love the honesty of the psalmist because his cry is basically our cry. Sometimes we look around and how is that? Okay, where is God? Why doesn't he intervene? When will he intervene? And you go through the entire book of psalms and you see many instances where the psalmist cries out for immediate intervention and justice on the wicked. And sometimes you don't see that happening immediately. And it's beautiful. As you go through the entirety of psalm 73. I think it is a journey of healing, understanding that God doesn't operate according to our expectations or within our timing. But he does intervene and he will address the problem of evil and wickedness. So if I take you to psalm 73, verse 17, and I'll read to 20, it says, so he goes through this whole list, if I can say very respectfully, a complaining journey. In verse 17, he starts to receive healing, because this is what it says. Until I went into the sanctuary of God, then I understood their end. It is important to understand that even with the wicked, God died for them. And ultimately he seeks to redeem them and save them. That is the work of the sanctuary. But there will come a day and we're going to talk briefly about judgement soon when God will intervene, and then we will understand their end. Surely you set them in slippery places, you cast them down to destruction, or how they are brought to desolation, as in a moment they are utterly consumed with terrors. And finally in verse 20, as a dream, when one awakes, so, Lord, when you awake, you shall despise their image. So psalmist begins on a sad, discouraged, depressed note, when will God intervene? But he ends on a high note, understanding that God reigns, let the earth rejoice. He will ultimately act in that sphere. SPEAKER A So therefore, Abel, do the oppressed have to wait until the end of time, until the final judgement, before they can get relief? SPEAKER C I think I can partly answer, not in my opinion, but using the scriptures and in psalm 37, verse 40. Let me just turn the page here. Psalm 37, verse 40 it says, and the Lord shall help them, shall help them and deliver them. He shall deliver them from the wicked and save them because they trust in him. And I think it's very important to put it into the context because at all times we need to believe and to have faith in God that he will deliver. But not all times we can know the manner in which God will work, if briefly, the three young men of faith in the book of Daniel, chapter three, they said, we believe God can deliver us. There's no question about it. However, we don't know if he's going to choose to deliver us or not. However, we will keep our faith in him. And I think, above all, the psalmist says, trust in God, he will intervene. SPEAKER A Yes, and it is true, Gayl, that God does not always intervene. What about those who have prayed and God did not deliver them from evil? How does the psalm help us with that particular challenge? SPEAKER B That's very true. God does not always intervene. When we pray, we want our prayers to be answered the way that we anticipate that. We hope that our heart's desire is full. But often we may be left with disappointment that it wasn't answered the way we want. And we think of John the Baptist. Well, he was the forerunner for Christ, and yet he was beheaded by the wicked tyrant Herod Antipius. So he was not delivered, and yet he was so faithful in his life, he didn't deserve that. But if we accept that God is sovereign, then we may have to say that his actions are actually beyond question. But that may not be an adequate answer for us. So just reading this verse from psalm 18 and verse 30, and the Bible says, the scripture says, as for God, his way is perfect. The word of the Lord is proven. He is a shield to those who put their trust in him. So the scripture is telling us that God's ways are perfect. And I think of that verse in Isaiah, that God's ways are higher than our ways and his thoughts more than our thoughts. And it does come down to trusting God, because there would be many martyrs in history that lost their lives, and God did not come and deliver them and set them free from evil in those times. And yet the testimony of John the Baptist and how he lost his life would have been a strength to them in their times of greatest trial. And this is where faith is a victory, I think, that overcomes the world. Because the Bible says God is good, then he must be good all the time because it's impossible for God to be evil. So even when I don't understand, we don't understand what he is doing. We can say God is good. SPEAKER A Amen. That's right. And the psalms teach that God reigns as a judge who executes judgement in righteousness. I just want to read psalm 75, verse ten. It says, all the horns of the wicked I will also cut off, but the horns of the righteous shall be exalted. Abel, is God's judgement directed only at the wicked? SPEAKER C I think everything needs to be considered in the broader context. And if I am to read another passage which gives us a deeper understanding of the judgement. For example, in psalm 50, verse four, it says, he shall call to the heavens from above and to the earth, that he may judge his people. Now, the Bible gives us a clear understanding that he's going to judge every single human being. However, there is a process that God engages in. And in the book of first Peter, chapter four, verse 17, we are given a bit of clarity as to the steps that God is taking, for the time has come for judgement to begin. And it's interesting where at the house of God. Very interesting. Begins with those that are professing to know him, to follow him, to do his work. And if it begins with us first, what will be the end of those who do not obey the gospel of God? Implicitly, this verse says that, yes, the judgement begins with the children of God, but ultimately judgement will go through every person's life. SPEAKER A So, Gayl, does this judgement only take place when Jesus comes? SPEAKER B Well, the judgement that you're referring to is the executive judgement. Or as we read in revelation 22 and verse twelve, and behold, I am coming quickly and my reward is with me to give everyone according to his work. So when Jesus returns and he promises I will come again, that's the blessed hope. He will reward everyone according to their own choices. So we choose our destiny ourselves. SPEAKER A That's right. Now, Abel, if God is going to give everyone according to their reward, how will he know which particular judgement to give to each individual person? SPEAKER C If we are to look at Genesis, chapter six, we know God intervened in human history. And in verse five, we are told the Lord saw that the weakness of men was great in the earth and that every intent of their thoughts of his heart was only evil continually. And as a result of the condition of human heart, God wanted to destroy everything. Question is, was he going to destroy the righteous and the wicked? I mean, together? Why would he do that? Well, the story in Genesis six tells us, well, no, he's going to rescue the righteous and destroy the wicked. Verse eight, we are told about Noah, but Noah found grace in the eyes of the Lord. Yes, the earth was wicked, but there were individuals that found grace because they chose to follow God, and so he. SPEAKER A Had to examine their lives to determine which side they were on. SPEAKER C Correct. SPEAKER A And Abel, so many christians are scared when they think of the judgement. How can a believer have the assurance of salvation when they come to the judgement? SPEAKER C And this is the beautiful aspect of the gospel, because it's not about what we can do within our own strength, it's what Christ has done for us. And probably the most important verse, Gospel of John, chapter 524, it says, most assuredly, I say to you, this is Christ himself, God on earth, saying, he who hears my word and believes in him who sent me has everlasting life and shall not come into judgement, but has passed from death into life. Yes, there is a process, but there's no fear, because Christ is your representative. SPEAKER A Right? So, Gayl, we have discovered God in the psalms as a sovereign ruler, as a loving creator and provider, and a righteous judge. On what basis does he judge? What does he use to make his judgments? SPEAKER B Well, the very first psalm actually provides a contrast between the godly and the ungodly. And just reading there in psalm chapter one, verses one and two, blessed is the man who walks not in the council of the ungodly, nor stands in the path of sinners, nor sits in the seat of the scornful. But his delight is in the law of the Lord and in his law he meditates day and night. So we've got the godly that are meditating on God's law that count it precious. But then, as we read verses four to six, it says, the ungodly are not so, but are like the chaff which the wind drives away. Therefore, the ungodly shall not stand in the judgement, nor sinners in the congregation of the righteous. So the difference appears to be, according to the scripture, in actually God's law and how they relate to it. Because the Holy Spirit brings home the love of God to the heart and God's law is written in our heart, so it becomes a delight. You may not even realise it, but the more that you meditate on it, the more precious it becomes. But to someone who doesn't value it is not going to think on it. They don't care for God's law, but it becomes a real delight to those that love God and have that experience, that person, experience that personal relationship with God. SPEAKER A And so God uses the law as the foundation of his judgement to determine the fate of everyone. So that means that the law is actually still valid. God's law is eternal and it's never done away with. And Gayl, looking at the law and the psalms, how does the psalms categorise God's law? SPEAKER B Well, I love how the psalmist, as David puts it in psalm 19 and verse seven. The law of the Lord is perfect, converting the soul. The Testimony of the Lord is sure. Making wise are simple. We could go on with the next few verses there. But the Bible describes God's law. It's perfect. You cannot add to or take away from it. There's no errors in it. And it is there to benefit us, to bless us, because God ultimately wants to bless his children. No good thing, he says, will he withhold from them that walk uprightly. So as it converts the soul, it changes my mindset to be like Jesus. SPEAKER A Yeah, and that's very powerful. There are many christians who believe that God's law is done away with, but the Bible actually says that the law is very important in the gospel in that it really helps in the process of conversion. I mean, you think of it, there's nothing like a speed limit law that would actually control how fast I drive. It changes my behaviour. Now, just one final question to both of you. What advantage is there in keeping God's law? We'll start with you first, Gayl. SPEAKER B Well, just reading psalm 119, verse 105. Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. Very well known verse. But the life path is illuminated by the word of God and we won't stumble. We can stay on track because God's word will lead us in that direct path to heaven. SPEAKER A Yeah. And Abel. SPEAKER C Yeah? Look, in the same chapter, psalm 119, verse 165. We are told something that people in today's society need a lot, and that is peace. And, dude, it says, great peace, have those who love your law. And he goes on saying, and nothing causes them to stumble. Sometimes we're crying for peace, for comfort, for direction. Where do we get it from? And God reminds us through his word and his law. Those that follow it obeyed and embrace it have great peace. It's not just like peace that comes and goes. It surpasses all understanding. SPEAKER A That's wonderful. Thank you very much, both of you, for a great discussion. Today, God reigns in splendour and majesty over the whole universe. Heaven is his throne and earth is his footstool. He can choose to dwell anywhere in between, but he wants to dwell in your heart. Why not open your heart to him today and let him in? We're so glad that you've joined us today on let God speak. Remember all past programmes plus teachers notes are available on our website, threeabnaustralia.org au. Or you can email us if you wish on [email protected] join us again next time. God bless. SPEAKER D You have been listening to Let God Speak, a production of 3ABN, Australia. Television. To catch up on past programs, please visit 3abnaustralia.org.au Call us in Australia on 024-973-3456 or email [email protected] We'd love to hear from you.