Tag: Gospel

communion
The Beautiful Picture of Communion

The Beautiful Picture of Communion

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My Church celebrated communion, or the Lord’s supper, this past Sunday. I have enjoyed this monthly ordinance for several years now, but this past Sunday, something clicked. The Lord helped me see several aspects of communion with a clarity I did not have before. God in His infinite wisdom does not merely give us doctrinal truth in bullet point form. He gives us pictures, metaphors, illustrations so you and I can see the gospel.

Today, I want to reflect on a couple aspects of communion and how these aspects help us remember what Jesus has done. Communion is a rich ordinance and I will not cover even half of its significance and symbolism. But here are three thoughts I had as I took communion this past Sunday.

In Communion You Come to Receive, not Give

I have been reading through the first five books of the Bible for the past few months. Whenever you work through Leviticus in particular, you can’t help but be amazed at the quantity and variety of sacrifices Israel needed to make. In the Old Testament law, you had to constantly bring animal after animal to die for your sins. And yet, despite the constant sacrifices, Hebrews says

For it is impossible for the blood of bulls and goats to take away sins.

Hebrews 10:4, ESV

Contrast this with Communion. When was the last time you brought a bull or a ram to the Lord’s supper? You don’t come to the Lord’s supper with a sacrifice. In fact, you don’t come with anything to give the Lord at all.

You come to the Lord’s supper with a single thing: need. A need for Christ’s righteousness, a righteousness only provided through His blood.

God, on the other hand, comes with the needed sacrifice. And it is a once-for-all-time sacrifice: Jesus. He died, He conquered death, and He ascended to the right hand of the Father. “It is finished” means God has dealt with sin in Christ. You don’t need to “bring something to the table.” You come to receive what God has done in Christ.

It can become so easy throughout the day to day grind of life to lose sight of this. You think that something you do can make you right with God, or at least you might think God’s favor is based on your performance. But you bring nothing to the communion table. Just your sin, inadequacy, shaky faith, and a desperate need. But the table is thankfully already prepared: God has provided Christ for you.

In Communion You Get the Cup of Mercy, not the Cup of Wrath

The “cup” mentioned throughout Scripture. It is a helpful metaphor the Lord uses to communicate spiritual reality to us. Several times in the Old Testament, God refers to the “the cup of His wrath”.

Wake yourself, wake yourself, stand up, O Jerusalem, you who have drunk from the hand of the Lord the cup of his wrath, who have drunk to the dregs the bowl, the cup of staggering.

Isaiah 51:17, ESV emphasis added

Thus the Lord, the God of Israel, said to me: “Take from my hand this cup of the wine of wrath, and make all the nations to whom I send you drink it.

Jeremiah 25:15, ESV emphasis added

When I read these verses, I picture a glass filled up to the very top. God’s just wrath against sin has reached the brim; it is about to overflow. And now, those who filled it must drink. When you drink something, you are “taking it in”. That is the picture here: those who rebel against the Lord must take the fullness of His wrath against their sin.

But that is not the cup Christians get. The cup of wrath is what Jesus drank on our behalf. One of the most profound portions of Scripture is when Jesus prayed in Gethsemane for “this cup to pass”. It was the cup He would drink on our behalf. Jesus took what you and I deserved: the cup of God’s wrath.

What a beautiful reminder it is when get a cup during communion! A cup not filled with wrath, but a cup reminding you of “the new covenant” in Christ’s blood. As you drink, you are remember that you have taken in Christ’s righteousness. There is not a cup of wrath left for you.

In Communion You Get the Bread of Life, not Mere Physical Provision

At my Church, my Pastor is preaching through John 6. He continually emphasizes the point that the crowds came back to Jesus after He miraculously fed them to get more food. But instead of feeding them physically, Jesus teaches them spiritual truth by calling Himself the “bread of life”. Jesus contrasts Himself with the manna Israel received from God in the wilderness. God’s provision was enough to satisfy Israel temporarily, but ultimately physical bread could not bring life. Jesus could.

Jesus provides for our physical needs, to be sure. “Every good gift” is from the Lord. But communion is a time to remember Jesus’ ultimate provision: eternal life. Jesus did not live and die so you could receive physical possessions. When you come to the Lord’s table, God is reminding you Jesus provides you with life.

Just like if you stopped eating you would die, without believing in Jesus you will eternally perish. Communion reminds us “the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” God provided manna to deal with His people’s physical needs in the Old Covenant but how glorious it is to remember God provided something so much more in Christ!

Jesus saves, He satisfies, He is all the Christian needs.

And we tend to forget that. Which is why eating a piece of bread each month corporately is a powerful reminder: without Jesus, you have no life. With Jesus, you have eternal life.

Conclusion: Don’t Just Go Through the Motions

Like anything you do regularly, it is easy to take communion for granted. But just like you should treasure each Sunday worship service, you should also thoughtfully and in faith enjoy communion each month (or however often your Church partakes of it). In communion, God is visually and physically displaying for you what the gospel looks like:

  • You don’t bring anything but your sin and need: God provides the sufficient sacrifice
  • You experience God’s mercy in Christ rather than God’s just wrath on your sin
  • Jesus has provided you with eternal spiritual life through His death and resurrection

What could be more practical than to be reminded of these truths? You and I need communion because we are so quick to forget and take for granted. Praise the Lord He knows exactly what we need: to be reminded of the things of “first importance.”

So next time you go to take communion, remind yourself of what you are actually doing. Meditate on the beautiful picture God is painting for you. See the gospel in every bite of bread and sip of wine.

Click here to read other reflections I have written on different aspects of life. Be sure to share and subscribe below. If you aren’t already, follow The Average Churchman on Instagram to get more edifying content.
The Joy of Living in the Lord’s Presence

The Joy of Living in the Lord’s Presence

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In this ongoing series, the Psalms have shown us numerous vital truths about our happiness. Your happiness starts with the forgiveness God provides in Jesus. You daily receive joy from meditating on God’s word instead of listening to those who do not love the Lord. Living in obedience to God’s word by practically loving and serving others also is a source of lasting happiness.

Of course, there are always the false paths to happiness which tempt us daily: money, power, fame, success. All these false paths to happiness are centered around you. The Psalms, on the other hand, attach your happiness completely and entirely first and foremost to God and your relationship with Him.

It is not enough to merely seek for your own happiness: you must seek the God of happiness first.

And today, I want to emphasize this point by looking at Psalm 65, focusing on verses 3-4 in particular:

When iniquities prevail against me, you atone for our transgressions.

Blessed is the one you choose and bring near, to dwell in your courts!

We shall be satisfied with the goodness of your house, the holiness of your temple!

Psalm 65:3-4, ESV emphasis added

It is living in the Lord’s presence that brings lasting blessing and happiness. There are three points I want to emphasize.

Point 1: God chooses who lives in His presence

The blessing of being near to God

The first reality I want to draw your attention to is God chooses who lives in His presence. Now, in the Psalms, God’s presence and dwelling place are referred to as places of blessing:

  • Psalm 16:11 “In your presence there is fullness of joy, at your right hand are pleasures forevermore“
  • Psalm 27:4 “One thing have I asked of the Lord, that will I seek after: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze upon the beauty of the Lord and to inquire in his temple.”
  • Psalm 140:14 “Surely the righteous shall give thanks to your name; the upright shall dwell in your presence.”

There are other passages, but the point to see living in the Lord’s presence is something the Psalmist desires. Certainly God is “omnipresent” as Psalm 139 describes, but there is a special blessing of intimate closeness with God. Indeed, Psalm 65 verses 5-13 describes God’s care for all of His creation. But here in Psalm 65:3-4 the focus is on “God’s courts”.

This is referring to the temple, the dwelling place of God, where His presence rested. Although God is always present, the Psalmist here and in the other Psalms above are making the point that closeness to God is where joy is found. So, if there is a special joy in knowing God, in closeness with God, in worshiping the Lord in His presence, the question follows “how do I get close to the Lord?”

Psalm 65:4 answers us: it is the one God chooses and brings near that experiences the blessing of His goodness. I have written before about the blessing of belonging to God. It is a similar point here: the one God chooses has a special privilege and happiness. It is not enough to merely “know God exists.” James says the demons know that much about God. To experience the blessing of living in the Lord’s presence you must first be admitted by the Lord himself.

Ephesians 2:13 makes the exact same point:

But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.

Ephesians 2:13, ESV emphasis added

Because God is holy, no one can force their way into God’s presence. It is in Christ and His blood that anyone is brought near to the Lord’s presence. Therefore, it is only those who the Lord has saved that experience that happiness Psalm 65 presents.

God must choose you and bring you near to Himself in order for you to experience true happiness

Application: You cannot force or earn your way into God’s presence

If Psalm 65:3-4 is true, your happiness starts with your humility: humility in recognizing you cannot achieve joy by your own effort or will. God alone holds the happiness you desire. You cannot approach Him by your own efforts or just because you want to be happy. God must choose you, God must act if you are to be truly happy.

The rest of Scripture, especially Revelation, reveals that those who ultimately will live in the Lord’s presence forever are those who are saved by Jesus’ sacrifice. It is not those who work the hardest, who do the most good works, who want it the most. The humbled person who recognizes they have no claim on the Lord’s presence, who knows they cannot approach God by their own efforts are those who end up eternally happy. Why? Because they see Jesus is the only way God provided for them to approach God’s presence.

Point 2: God satisfies with His goodness and holiness

God’s presence and the temple

The second important truth to see in Psalm 65:3-4 is God’s goodness and holiness satisfies. The joy of living in the Lord’s presence is not tied to what God gives us. It is tied to who God is. God’s temple was the place where God dwelt in Old Testament Israel. Everything in the temple was centered around the worship of God: singing, sacrifices, and everything else prescribed in the Old Testament law. The Psalms don’t see this activity as mere “obedience for its own sake”. Worship of the Lord in His temple is seen as the highest privilege a person could have.

For a day in your courts is better than a thousand elsewhere. I would rather be a doorkeeper in the house of my God than dwell in the tents of wickedness.

Psalm 84:10, ESV

By comparison, no other place on earth is better than where the Lord dwells. Why is this the case? Psalm 65 answers: God’s goodness and holiness satisfies. You didn’t go to the temple to get “stuff”; you went to the temple to get God Himself. Now, one of the greatest truths of the New Testament is God now dwells in His people, not in a building built by human hands. But God Himself has not changed, nor has the reality Psalm 65:4 gives us:

It is God who satisfies, not material things God gives us

Application: Satisfaction cannot be found in anything apart from God

You will never be satisfied if you only ever want God to give you more things, solve more of your problems, or make your life easier. Non-Christians want these things same things, they just seek them without attaching “God” to it. The amazing thing about the Biblical worldview is everything in the universe centers on God. Including your happiness, your satisfaction, your lasting peace.

For the Christian, every happiness starts and ends with who God is. The Christian enjoys all the good gifts God gives because it is an avenue to thank and praise God for who He is.

  • Enjoying a walk outside? Christians see God’s power in creation and worship God for it.
  • Eating a good meal? Christians thank God for His provision and for the ability to taste.
  • Love your family? Christians are humbled that God would provide them with the warmth of the love of others, knowing it is a small picture of His love for them.

I could go on. Living in the Lord’s presence means seeing Him and enjoying Him above all things. That means you connect all things back to Him and His glory. Nothing you have or hope to have will bring you any joy unless you connect it to God.

Point 3: God alone atones for rebellion

What atonement means

The final point I want to emphasize is found in Psalm 65:3. God alone atones for His people’s transgressions. Why is this important in the context of living in the Lord’s presence? Psalm 15 gives a hint.

 Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right
    and speaks truth in his heart;

Psalm 15:1b-2, ESV

It is only those who are holy that can approach a holy God. But no one walks blamelessly, no one always does what is right or always speaks truth in his heart. Humans transgress the law of God every day. So how can God forgive? How can sinful humans approach the Lord if He is just?

The answer is “atonement”. This word means “to cover” or “to reconcile”. God must deal with our transgressions against Him. As we saw in the first point, it is God who chooses and brings people into His court. How God does this is by providing atonement. In the Old Testament, this atonement was through the blood of rams and goats as prescribed in the sacrificial system.

However, the blood of rams and goats could not actually take away sin. The sacrificial system was a picture of the ultimate reconciliation Christ would bring. This reconciliation is explained most clearly in 2 Corinthians.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God

2 Corinthians 5:21, ESV

Christ bears our transgression, we receive Christ’s righteousness. The result? Reconciliation with God.

Application: God has provided all you need for your happiness now and forever

The logic of Psalm 65:3-4 could be summarized as follows:

  1. Satisfaction and happiness is found living in the Lord’s presence.
  2. No human can enter the Lord’s presence because of their rebellion.
  3. God alone can atone for a person’s rebellion and choose to bring them close to Him.
  4. Therefore, God alone provides what you need for your happiness and you cannot get happiness by your own effort.

What good news! You need not wear yourself out to be happy. Long hours at work, more money, fancy vacations, comfort and health all won’t provide you with happiness. But God can. And God has. God has, at infinite cost to Himself, made a way for you to enter His presence.

Jesus said to him “I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me.”

John 14:6, ESV

Living in the Lord’s presence is impossible by our own effort. But all things are possible for God. And God has chosen to provide us with a way to lasting joy, a joy not based in circumstances and not dependent on our effort. It is a joy bought by the blood of Christ.

Any path to happiness that does not go through Jesus and the cross will disappoint.

This post is part of an ongoing series called “Happy?” Follow The Average Churchman on Instagram to get more content. Subscribe and share below.
The Foundation of All Happiness

The Foundation of All Happiness

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What is the foundation of happiness?

The world has its various ways. I detailed some in a previous post. Some say happiness is found in money. Fame. Power.

But when you look at the Psalms, God reveals a different path to happiness.

In Psalm 1, we saw that happiness comes from listening to God’s word.

In Psalm 2, we saw that happiness comes from submitting to God’s King.

The next Psalm we should take a look at is Psalm 32. It opens with this amazing couple verses:

“How joyful is the one whose transgression is forgiven,

Whose sin is covered.

How joyful is the man the Lord does not charge with sin

And in whose spirit is no deceit.”

Twice the word joyful or happy appears in these verses. Read through the rest of the Psalm.

There are three things I want to point out in this Psalm. This Psalm contains the foundation of happiness. All happiness.

You will never truly experience lasting happiness without understanding the truth of Psalm 32.

Psalm 2 revealed humanity’s fundamental problem: rebellion against God.

Psalm 32 reveals humanity’s only hope: free forgiveness from that same God.

Point 1: Happiness comes when forgiveness comes

This point is clear from the very first verse of the Psalm. Instead of connecting happiness to circumstances, possessions, or status, the Psalmist connects happiness to forgiveness.

This forgiveness is not another human forgiving you. It is God not charging you with sin.

How can the Psalmist say this? Why is God forgiving, covering, and not charging someone with sin so important?

Your fundamental barrier to happiness is not your circumstances. It isn’t your lack of money or power. It is your state before a Holy God.

Once you grasp this point, it will completely change your life. A lot of times you miss out on happiness because you are constantly aiming for happiness. You seek after happiness and never attain it.

This first verse declares happiness is an effect, a result of a proper relationship with God.

You can pursue happiness your whole life but until you deal with your sin, it will escape you. The reality is, each and every human born on this earth is in rebellion against God.

You cannot find lasting happiness in this state. If you want to be happy, God must first forgive you for your sins. For your rebellion. For exchanging the glory of God for lesser things.

Pursuing happiness apart from God is nothing but idolatry masquerading as wisdom.

This Psalm starts where everyone’s happiness starts. God’s forgiveness.

How can this be? Because Romans 1 says God’s wrath is revealed against our sin. Against our rebellion.

Until that wrath is dealt with, how can you hope for happiness in this life and in eternity?

Thankfully, amazingly, the Bible presents Psalm 32 as a hope for you and I.

We can have happiness. Not because of anything we do ourselves. But because somehow, in the eternal wisdom of God, the Lord has chosen to provide a way for our sins to be covered.

Point 2: Forgiveness comes after confession

But this covering of sin doesn’t just happen automatically. When Jesus was on the earth, He declared “The kingdom of God is at hand, repent and believe in the gospel.”

In Psalm 32:3-6, the Psalmist starts by keeping silent. By not confessing or repenting. What was the result of keeping silent?

Verse 3 and 4 says it wasn’t a pleasant experience. The Psalmist bones were brittle and he groaned all day long. He languished. God’s hand was pressing down on him.

The guilt of unconfessed sin will always quench your happiness.

And that is a good thing. It shows your conscience is working. You and I were not meant to live in rebellion against the Lord and feel nothing.

But once the Psalmist realizes this, he confesses his sin to God. And in Verse 5, the amazing result is God took away the guilt of his sin.

Oftentimes you want to get rid your guilt, but you go about it in the wrong way.

Note that forgiveness only came after the Psalmist acknowledged his sin, took it before the Lord, and stopped trying to conceal his guilt.

Repentance, turning from disobedience to obedience, is crucial to your happiness. Repentance is simply agreeing with God’s assessment of you and/or your behavior.

You acknowledge you are a sinner. That you rebelled against God. You recognize your sin deserves punishment because God is just.

A truly happy person does not hide their sins from God. Instead, they acknowledge their guilt and plead God’s mercy in Christ.

I’m sure it was a humbling thing for the Psalmist to openly confess the worst about himself to God. But there was no other way.

Point 3: Experiencing the forgiveness of God

And the Psalmist does experience God’s forgiveness after confessing. It isn’t merited. It isn’t deserved. But once God grants it to him, the Psalmist has the foundation of true happiness.

Then, in verse 6, the Psalmist turns and addresses the reader. Everyone who is faithful should cry out to the Lord!

In an amazing passage in Romans 4, Paul calls this forgiveness as God blessing you apart from your works.

Don’t try to earn God’s forgiveness by doing good things. It is only repentance and believing in God’s promises that leads to right standing before Him.

This Psalmist experienced amazing, free forgiveness. You can to.

However, because you have the full revelation of God in the New Testament, you have an even clearer picture of God’s forgiveness than the Psalmist had.

It is through Jesus Christ that you can have the happiness of God’s forgiveness.

Unlike you and I, Jesus lived a perfect life and kept God’s law perfectly. But still, when on the cross, Jesus cried out “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?”

Was God forsaking Jesus for His own sins? No, Jesus was perfect.

God was pouring out His wrath on Jesus for the sins of all who would believe the gospel.

Romans 3 explains it like this:

“God presented him (Jesus) as a propitiation through faith in his blood to demonstrate His righteousness…”

To experience the forgiveness of God, you must run to Jesus and the Cross.

Psalm 32 celebrates the truth of God freely forgiving sins. You only fully understand how God can forgive by looking at the cross.

As Jesus said, repent and believe in the gospel. That is how you are forgiven. That is your foundation of happiness.

How is God’s forgiveness the foundation of happiness?

Here are two effects God’s forgiveness has on your life.

Effect 1: “There is now no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus”

Jesus bore God’s wrath against the sin of all who would believe the gospel.

What that means is if you put your faith in Jesus, there is no longer any wrath against your sin. God promises you forgiveness.

Romans 5 puts it this way:

“Therefore, since we have been declared righteous by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.”

Peace. Not the peace the world talks about. But real, objective peace with a Holy, all-powerful God.

That is good news. Life-changing news.

There is nothing like the happiness of knowing God will not condemn you or remove His love from you.

Peace with God is the sweetest daily experience you can have. As one who has faith in Christ, you can cry out to God in repentance when you sin and know God forgives you.

Peace with God is a happiness too inexpressible for words. But it is the blessing of Psalm 32 and the Christian life.

Effect 2: Your happiness is no longer dependent on circumstances

Perspective is integral to your happiness. If you make your happiness dependent on other people, on your own goals, on your life circumstances, you are headed for disappointment.

The Bible completely shifts your perspective on what you need. It isn’t more stuff or people to like you or your dreams to come true.

Your personal happiness is dependent on your status, dependence, and obedience to God.

This might not seem like good news at first, but think about what that means.

You can still be happy in awful circumstances. That is what Paul says in Philippians 4. Why? Because you know God is still with you in those circumstances.

You can still be happy during disappointment. Why? Because ultimately, you know God has given you everything you need for life and godliness (see 2 Peter 1).

When you taste the forgiveness of God, you tie your happiness to what He already has done, not what you may or may not do.

Life is still uncertain. You still suffer. You still have disappointments.

But Psalm 32-happiness is built on the foundation of an eternally faithful and unchanging God.

And He is a foundation you can build your life on.

Want to meditate more on how belief and repentance affect your life? Listen to this sermon I recently preached.
3 Crucial Insights About the World

3 Crucial Insights About the World

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Are you happy? Is happiness possible in this world?

The world promises dozens of paths to happiness. Some are easy. Some require a whole life’s investment.

The question is: which path will actually lead to happiness?

In my last post, we found in Psalm 1 that your happiness is highly dependent on who you spend your time with and who you listen to. 

God has declared happiness is possible, just not in the ways you would expect.

Today, I will walk you through what Psalm 2 has to say about your happiness. Psalm 1 opened with “how happy is the man…” and Psalm 2 ends with “All who take refuge in Him are happy.”

Read Psalm 2. There is a lot here. When I was asked to preach my first sermon at my Church, I chose this Psalm to preach. It is that important.

Psalm 2 is not only central to understanding the book of Psalms, but is central to understand God’s plan for the world.

If God has a plan for the world, knowing that plan and living in light of it will help your happiness. Rebelling against that plan will lead you to misery. 

Base your expectations for your life on what God has revealed about the world in the Bible.

There are three crucial insights about the world Psalm 2 makes. Understanding each one is crucial for your happiness

Insight 1: The world is in rebellion against the Lord

The Psalm starts with a picture of the world. It is a relevant picture. A contemporary picture. Verses 1 to 3 lay it out clear as crystal.

Rebellion.

Plotting.

Conspiring against the Lord.

From Genesis to Revelation, the Bible lays out that sin is rebellion against God.

Instead of submitting, obeying, joyfully living under God’s loving care and direction, humans do what they want. Decide for themselves what is right. Do what is right in their own eyes.

Verse 3 in particular helps you see what rebellion against God is like.

Humans view God’s rule as chains, as restraining, as limiting.

And so, you and I do what is expected: we try to break free. Free from God, free from His standard, free from His truth. And we substitute our own wisdom. “Man is the measure of all things.” “There is no absolute truth.” “God is dead.” 

This is the world you live in.

A world created by a loving, good, perfect God. But a world who hates that God.

Until you see this fundamental truth about the world, you will look for happiness in all the wrong places.

That self help book you read, that social media influencer who has 7 proven tips for success, that movie you watched as a kid that told you to follow your dreams…

…all of these were made by a culture hatefully rebelling against the God who made them. 

Once you understand what this world is like, you start to be wary about quick fixes. “Proven” paths to success.

The reason why is found in the next insight the Psalm gives us.

Insight 2: The world’s rebellion is doomed to fail

God’s thoughts on humanity’s rebellion are given in verses 4 to 6.

God finds it laughable. Ridiculous.

You may think you are the master of your own fate, that you can ignore God’s rule, that God’s plan for the world has no bearing on your life. But that doesn’t matter to God.

An all powerful God. A sovereign God.

Our rebellion is worthy of nothing but God’s anger and amusement.

In the face of our rebellion, God declares His plan for the world. Verses 6 through 9 lays it out.

You want to live without God’s rule? God will establish His king anyway.

You want to be free of God? God will give the nations to His king.

You want to break the commands God has given you? God’s King will have the power to break you. Like a pot.

Your plans and goals and dreams are not ultimate in the world. God’s plans are.

And God’s plans involve establishing an eternal rule. Humanity’s rebellion won’t get the final say.

In the face of our culture’s rejection of God, God simply responds with a laugh and a declaration of what will certainly happen. 

Which brings us to the central decision which will determine your eternal happiness.

Insight 3: Your happiness depends on what side you take

Amazingly the Psalm doesn’t end there. Rather than crushing rebellious humanity immediately, God ends with an offer.

A life changing offer.

A merciful offer.

An offer which will determine your happiness now and forever.

You either submit to God’s anointed king. Or you will be destroyed with those who rebel.

The Psalm tells you what the wise choice is. Serve the Lord, not yourself. Fear the Lord instead of ignoring Him. Join the kingdom of the Son.

You will only find happiness in the safety of the Lord’s loving rule.

The only other option is just punishment.

Look at those who break the law in your country. Does it go well for them? When they are caught and punished, are they happy? Are their lives happy?

How much more will you be unhappy if you are breaking the laws of the God of the entire universe?

God is and has been exceedingly merciful and loving towards His creation. This Psalm gives you an opportunity to leave the rebellion and join in relationship with the God who created you.

Here are two questions to ask yourself in light of this passage:

Do you see the danger you are in?

If your house was on fire and you didn’t realize it, the fire would do more damage than if you noticed it early.

God has graciously warned you in this Psalm about the trajectory of the world. About the rebellion of our culture. The world tells you to follow its paths to happiness. But God tells you that path is based in rebellion.

Are you buying the lies of the world? That money or sex or power or fame can bring you happiness? 

Do you live as if you were ruler of your life? Have you forgotten God?

If you have been, stop! Stop your rebellion! Stop listening to the world! As we learned in Psalm 1, start reading God’s word and aligning yourself to His plan!

The Psalm offers you a place to flee. A safe refuge that also contains the happiness you seek.

Have you submitted to Jesus?

Psalm 2 doesn’t identify who the anointed King is. The King who God calls a Son. The King who will rule the nations. But the rest of scripture reveals who this King is: Jesus.

In Acts 4:23-30, the early Church identified Jesus as the one who God anointed, as the promised Messiah and King of the Old Testament.

And in Revelation 2:26-27, Jesus declares God the Father gave Him the authority to rule the nations. The same authority promised here in Psalm 2. 

If you are interested in how Psalm 2 relates to God’s plan in Jesus, this book has several helpful chapters.

But for today, recognize Jesus is the King God has raised up.

Jesus is the King you must submit to. You must run to. The King who has the happiness you seek.

Why?

Jesus didn’t crush the nations. He was crushed for the happiness of the nations.

When Jesus first came, He didn’t come to punish the humans who rebelled. Jesus came to bear the punishment for everyone who would believe in Him. 

He didn’t just die as an example. As an illustration of God’s love.

He died to bear God’s wrath. The wrath the rebellious nations deserve.

The wrath you and I deserve.

The reality laid out in this Psalm is if you don’t kiss the son, you yourself will bear that wrath.

So, the most important question for your happiness is simply

Have you submitted to Jesus? Or are you still living in rebellion against God?

There is a reason the book of Psalms opens with this Psalm. It is the single most important thing related to your happiness.

Kiss the Son.

Want a more in depth look at Psalm 2? Listen to the sermon I preached.