Have you ever looked at the world around you and asked yourself, “What happened? How did the world get so out of whack?” Are you shocked that what was once revered and considered sacred is now being mocked, ridiculed and vilified; or what once was considered tasteless, shameful, or even down-right disgusting is now center stage and basking in the spotlight?” If all of this is a surprise to you, you may be even more surprised to learn that everything stated above has been proclaimed by prophets throughout history.
The demise of such cultures as the Jewish Nation, the Babylonian Empire, the Persian Empire, the Greek Empire, the Roman Empire, and even the modern-day Japanese Nation or the Third Reich all experienced these same tell-tale signs: there was a spiritual and moral decay of their culture, and there was a leadership that displayed disdain for God and wanted to expand its power by domination and subjugation. That’s why the proclamation from David, Jeremiah, Zechariah, John the Baptist, Jesus…and even Billy Graham have always been the same: “Turn from your sin and turn to God!” (Psalm 34:14, Isaiah 44:22, Acts 3:19)
I would like to dwell for a few minutes on Psalm 2, because David word-painted the above scenario and then carried it through to completion. It is not only an accurate display of the state of our culture, but it is also what I believe to be the prevalent world-view. But there is good news for all believers at the conclusion of this Psalm, and who isn’t looking for good news today?
Psalm 2: Why do the nations rage? Why do the people waste their time with futile plans?
The kings of the earth prepare for battle; the rulers plot together against the Lord and against his anointed one. (Jesus Christ)
“Let us break their chains,” they cry, “and free ourselves from this slavery.”
But the one who rules in heaven laughs. The Lord scoffs at them.”
Then in anger he rebukes them, terrifying them with his fierce fury.
For the Lord declares, “I have placed my chosen king (Jesus Christ) on the throne in Jerusalem, my holy city.”
The king (Jesus Christ) proclaims the Lord’s decree: “The Lord said to me, ‘You are my Son. Today I have become your Father. Only ask, and I will give you the nations as your inheritance, the ends of the earth as your possession. You will break them with an iron rod and smash them like clay pots.’ ”
Now then, you kings, act wisely! Be warned, you rulers of the earth! Serve the Lord with reverent fear, and rejoice with trembling. Submit to God’s royal Son, or he will become angry, and you will be destroyed in the midst of your pursuits – for his anger can flare up in an instant.
But what joy for all who find protection in him! (That is us believers! More good news!)
It is easy to see our culture portrayed in the first stanza above. It would be hard for anyone to make a case that there is not a secular attempt to replace the Judeo-Christian values on which this country was founded when we see the removal of the Ten Commandments from public buildings; the prohibition of prayer in public gatherings; or the “hint” of censorship as to what subjects are permissible even in church setting today. But when you add to that the chipping away of traditional family values, such as the “new” definition of marriage, or the “new” sexual morality – both which flaunts itself by saying, “I demand the right to be free. I don’t need any old chains holding me back from my passion, and I expect you to accept this as the ‘new’ norm”
And I certainly don’t want to ignore the “hint” that children might not be the rightful property of parents, but rather the property of the “state”. So if I stop right here, and you step back and look at just these few examples, how can anyone not see the chasm that exists between today’s values and the “musty, old, out-dated God values” as outlined in the Beatitudes. Whew!! Talk about upside down. How could there be greater disparity???
And then when we look at the world stage, it’s not pretty there either. We see new alliances being formed with our former enemies, and former alliances being trashed, even in the midst of threats from our new alliances to wipe our former ally off the face of the earth. And then when we witness the undeniable persecution of Christians world-wide, and seeming without impunity, the clear secular message is…“We don’t need you God. We are quite capable of being our own god(s), thank you!” Uh oh…that is never a good message to deliver to God. History certainly supports that, and so does the next two stanzas.
Apostle Paul addresses the prevalent attitude found in the second stanza, when in 1Corinthians 1:18-21 we are told: “I know very well how foolish the message of the cross sounds to those who are on the road to destruction. But we who are being saved recognize this message as the very power of God. As the Scriptures say, ‘I will destroy human wisdom and discard their most brilliant ideas.’ So where does this leave the philosophers, the scholars, and the world’s brilliant debaters? God has made them all look foolish and has shown their wisdom to be useless nonsense.”
Then God put the exclamation point in the third stanza above when in Psalm 110:1 he tells us: “The Lord said to my Lord, “Sit in honor at my right hand until I humble your enemies, making them a footstool under your feet.” And Philippeans 2: 10-11 tells us how the final battle between good and evil will play out: “so at the name of Jesus, every knee will bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” That is indeed good news for believers.
In the fourth stanza, David portrays God’s loving kindness as he once again refers to the His timeless proclamation: “Turn from your sin and turn to God.” Here God shows his patience with us, but he also makes it abundantly clear that if we continue other pursuits, we will be destroyed in their midst.
The final sentence is the victory celebration for all believers. We have experienced his protection through tumultuous times, but we can look forward to spending eternity with God, Jesus and all other believers.
God has always wanted to communicate with his people, and he has used chosen prophets to get our attention. The messages they proclaimed were always timeless messages, for instance Psalm 2 was written around 2500 years ago, but when we read that message today and study history, I believe we can see how applicable it is for our culture. Ephesians 1:3 tells us that, “long ago, even before he made the world, God loved us and chose us in Christ to be holy and without fault in his eyes. His unchanging plan has always been to adopt us into his own family by bringing us to himself through Jesus Christ. And this gave him great pleasure.” God’s plan has always been to redeem us from our own sinful nature, and he gave us from Creation to the coming of Christ to show us without a shadow of a doubt that man could NOT meet God’s standard through his own effort. Romans 5:6 tells us that, “while we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners.” That was always God’s plan. But Roman’s 1:28 also tells us that “when we refuse to acknowledge God, he will abandon us to our evil ways.” Do you see the relevance of this statement to our own culture?
There are many who believe that we are in the final days for the second coming of Christ. That is indeed great news for believers, but for the non-believer, they either think we’re nuts or they don’t care. Either way, it’s bad news for them. But there are historical facts, cultural facts and current events that certainly give credence to those predictions. But one thing for sure…the more the world view continues to marginalize the truth of God’s word and stands in opposition to His anointed One, the faster the appointed time will come.
No one knows the exact timing of these events, but the time is right for believers to share the Truth of God’s Gift of Grace with non-believers…and a time to make sure we are ready for His second coming. Romans 13:11-12 reminds us that, “time is running out. Wake up, for our salvation is nearer now than when we first believed. The night is almost gone; the day of salvation will soon be here. So remove your dark deeds like dirty clothes, and put on the shining armor of right living. Because we belong to the day, we must live decent lives for all to see. Clothe yourself with the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ.”
So my question to you is… “what do you think of today’s culture?” Can you see any truth of Psalm 2 in the today’s world?
May God Bless Ya…and please feel free to share this message with social media friends.
Dan Presgrave (a.k.a. Pastor Dan)
Leave a Comment