In the sermon titled 'The Lord Reigns', Pastor Grant Brown explores Psalm 97, emphasizing God's sovereign rule over all creation. The psalm begins with a declaration of the Lord's reign, inviting the earth to rejoice. The sermon poses questions about God's reign over personal and societal challenges, including illnesses, political turmoil, and personal tragedies, affirming that God reigns over all circumstances. Pastor Brown discusses the greatness, gravity, and gladness of God's reign, highlighting its exclusive and all-encompassing nature. He underscores the intense and severe aspects of God's justice and holiness, reminding listeners of God's ultimate control and the futility of idolatry. The sermon calls for repentance and faith, encouraging believers to trust in God's prevailing sovereignty and to find gladness in His eternal reign. Pastor Grant concludes by assuring believers that their salvation is secure in God's hands, urging them to persevere in faith and rejoice in God's unchanging rule.

Here now the word of our God from Psalm 97. The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice. Let the many islands be glad. Clouds and thick darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne.

Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries round about. His lightnings lit up the world. The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare His righteousness, and all the peoples have seen His glory.

Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols. Worship Him, all you gods. Zion heard this and was glad, and the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of your judgments, O Lord. For you are the Lord most high over all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods.

Hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of his godly ones. He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to his holy name. May God bless the reading and other preaching of his word.

Amen. You may be seated. And you may be seated. Psalm 97 begins with the main point of the psalm. The Lord reigns.

The Lord reigns. To reign means to order all things under you. To govern. To exercise authority over everything in your domain as king and Psalm 97 says that the Lord Yahweh the one true living God the covenant-keeping God he reigns And the question before us this morning is, okay, yes, he reigns, but does he reign even over suicide? Does he reign over that medical diagnosis, Alzheimer's?

Does he reign over cancer? Does he reign over wounds that are barren and cannot bear children? Does he reign over losing a child in the womb? A miscarriage? Does he reign over the political chaos in Madison County, the midterm elections, the governor's race?

Does he really reign over every single one of those things. Does he reign in the moment when you get that terrible phone call that will forever change the life of your family that will make every single holiday tinged with sadness. Does he reign in that moment when you have to go home and tell your wife the most awful news you've ever had to tell anybody. Does he reign then? The Lord tells you, and the Lord tells me, yes, yes he does.

He reigns over elections, he reigns over Alzheimer's, He reigns over the death of those you love with all your heart. The Lord reigns. That's what Psalm 97 is telling you this morning. You need to know that. And I need to know that.

My wife and my children, we need this Psalm. We need this truth, beloved. We need the truth of the sovereign reign of Yahweh. We need this truth to get deep into our bones. Because pain is coming.

Grief and loss is coming. Tragedy is coming. Political turmoil, upheaval in your life, in the life of our land, it will come. And when it does, Psalm 97 is a bedrock, a foundation that you've got to have underneath your feet and in your heart coming out of your mouth singing when God sovereignly brings those difficult things about. You need to know, You need to have treasured up and stored in your heart the truth.

That Almighty God your Savior the one who gave His life for you. He is on the throne. He is reigning over everything. And he does not stumble. He does not slip.

And he's writing this story and he has the final word of your story and he never ever writes a word in your story Christian that doesn't end in glory. So you need Psalm 97 And your pastor in his house really needs Psalm 97. The Lord reigns, and his reign is very, very great. Notice that in verses one through six, the greatness of his reign. Verses one through six, the greatness of his reign.

That word reign in verse one, again, it means literally what you think it means. To reign is to be the sovereign one. To have all dominion and all power and all might over that which is beneath you. To never be frustrated. To never be surprised.

To be in total control. When verse one says the Lord reigns, that means that the Lord Yahweh does all of his holy will his reign is what some might call a prevailing sovereignty a prevailing sovereignty And notice three things about God's prevailing sovereignty. I don't have a PowerPoint this morning, and so if you're taking notes, there's going to be three main points. But underneath this first main point, the greatness of God's brain is three sub-points. So really six points.

Three things about God's greatness in his reign. Number one, the Lord reigns exclusively. The Lord reigns exclusively. The Lord reigns alone. Remember the catechism question, are there more gods than one?

Children, what's the answer? If you've been catechized, and I hope you have, parents if you're not doing that, this is the day that the Lord has made we will rejoice and be glad in it and go home and catechize our children children what's the answer are there more gods than one no there is only one true God Might be some differentiation depending on the catechism. There is only one true God and what is that one true God doing children? He is reigning. Beloved church, I need you to get this God came in the flesh.

He lived the life that you did not live but should have lived He died the death that you should have died, but you didn't He went to the cross for you and in exchange for your sin he imputes to you by grace through faith his very righteousness while bearing your sins in his body on the tree. That's what God did to make sinners right with him. That's what God did in reconciling enemies of God to himself and making enemies, now friends and children, in his family, adopting them into his household by grace. That's the God who reigns. Jesus Christ, your Savior, who loved you and gave himself for you he is raining right now he was crucified he was risen and he ascended and is now right now in heaven at the right hand of God the Father Almighty with all authority in heaven and on earth, raining.

Raining. If you want to read more about that, Ephesians 1, Colossians 2, 1st Peter 3, Matthew 28, there's a lot more. But I tried to do 1, 2, 3. Ephesians 1, Colossians 2, 1 Peter 3, 1, 2, 3. Matthew 28.

I had to skip a few. Jesus reigns and notice Psalm 97 says this, Ephesians 1 says this, Colossians 2 says this. Jesus reigns alone, exclusively. Psalm 97 verse 1 does not mention any other ruler or any other sovereign that reigns above him. No, your Savior, Christian Jesus, The one who holds you in his hands.

The one who holds this church in his hands. He's not co-reigning with other lords, with other gods. He and he alone reigns. He and he alone dictates and decrees and orders and does all that he desires. Full stop.

There are no group of counselors. There are no advisors. There are no cabinet members that assist or sway or alter the will and reign of Almighty God Yahweh. He does exactly what he wants, where he wants, when he wants, and how he wants every single second, of every single day, of every single week, of every single month, of every single year, even on leap year. And he's been reigning even before.

There were seconds, and days, and months, and years. God is reigning, and he is reigning with a prevailing sovereignty. He reigns supreme. He alone reigns perfectly, which means, Christian, if you belong to Him this morning, if you belong to this God who reigns exclusively by faith, Your salvation could not be more secure. There is no one, no one who can take away what God Almighty possesses when He reigns exclusively.

When His reign and His reign alone is prevailing, you could not possibly have more security when it is Him who holds you in His hands. So Christian, this morning as you consider verse 1 of Psalm 97, be amazed that you belong in such a grip as the almighty Yahweh of Psalm 97. No one reigns above him. No one reigns on the same level even with him. The Lord reigns exclusively in perfection overall.

And so no matter who wins an election in Madison County or Iowa or America, no matter who gets sworn into any office come November of this year, no matter who wins the chambers of Congress, no matter the chaos in Madison County, that truth about the Lord's absolute reign doesn't change. He reigns. And so of course we vote. Of course you are to take very seriously your responsibility to elect godly and good leaders who will govern in the fear of the Lord. But when the vote doesn't go your way in Madison County And when the man you want doesn't get in, oh God still reigns.

Why? Because nobody will ever unseat him. And we pray, don't we church? We pray. We pray for things like Zach Lane to be the governor of Iowa.

If you're a Christian, you're gonna have to do some serious theological gymnastics in your heart and your mind to vote for the other guy. You can't vote for the Democratic Party of Abominations with a clear Christian conscience. That should be easy. So we pray for Zach Lane to be elected as governor. But if he isn't, God still reigns over Iowa.

Nobody unseated him, he reigns. There are going to be people on the ballot come and go every midterm, every election. And may God have mercy on us this midterm. But do you know who is not on the ballot? In these upcoming elections and in the upcoming elections after that and the ones after that, God is not on the ballot.

He's not on the ballot. The triune God reigns. He's not on the ballot. He's on the throne very much. And this is very much still his world.

This is very much his world. He is still your God, he is your Lord and nobody and nothing and especially no vote changes those realities. Psalm 97 says so. The Lord reigns exclusively. Number two, Second thing about the greatness of the Lord's reign the Lord reigns over all things the Lord reigns over all things Over every one and everything So, what do you see at the end of verse 1 let the what rejoice let the earth rejoice the middle of verse 1 let the earth rejoice look at the very end of verse 5 it says the whole earth and then again look in verse 9 what do you see there in verse 9 the Lord is most high over all the earth throughout this psalm three times from top to bottom we are told just how far the sovereign reign of the Lord extends over the entire earth.

How far? Over everyone and everything, the whole earth. The Lord does not reign just merely exclusively. He is exclusive in his reign, but that exclusive reign is over all things. And that's exactly what the theologian Abraham Kuyper was getting at when he said this very famous quote, there is not a square inch in the whole domain of our human existence over which Christ, who is sovereign over all, does not cry mine.

Psalm 24 verse one, the earth is the Lord's and all that is in it the world and those who live in it and he God Jesus Christ reigns supreme over it all. Over it all. So how much is that? How much is all? I'm glad you asked because in verse 7, look down at verse 7, The Lord reigns over the earth to such a degree that even in verse 7, graven images, false gods, even demons and idols, even those created things.

What are they told to do in verse 7? Demons, idols, worship the God who reigns. They are told to worship the one true living God. That's how sovereign, that's how great, that's how extensive the reign of the Lord is. That even false gods are called to worship him in Psalm 97 because they know the truth of the reign of Jesus Christ.

That's a reign unlike any other reign. That's a reign literally over everyone and everything. It's completely in a league of its own when even enemies, demons, are called to bow down. And you've seen this throughout the Gospels in case you think, well Is that really what it means? Well, it's exactly what it means.

What happens when demons come up against Jesus in the gospel accounts? They obey Psalm 97. They come out screaming. They just can't help it. They are screaming the truth about who Jesus is, crying out about just how powerful, just how mighty, just how holy, just how set apart this Lord and Savior Jesus is.

That's the greatness of the reign of Jesus Christ, your Savior. Demons can't help but declare the might and glory of who this Lord is this same Lord who again? Christian is the one holding you in his hands The Lord Reigns and he reigns over every one and everything And if that was not enough to convince you, go back to verse 1 and look at the end of verse 1. The Lord reigns, let the earth rejoice. Let the many islands be glad.

Now other translations say it this way. Let the coastlands be glad. Or let the multitude of islands be glad. Or some translations, let the distant shores be glad. What's that line saying?

It's saying, let the ends of the earth be glad. Can you think of the shore that's the furthest shore away? Let that shore be glad. Let the knowledge of the Lord so cover the earth as far as the waters cover the sea, that all would be glad in the truth that God reigns entirely over them all. That's what the end of verse 1 means.

The world and all that it contains, God rules. Every blade of grass is His from America to Africa to China to Australia. Every flake of snow is His from the North Pole to the South Pole, and every nation that those blades of grass grow in and flakes of snow fall in, They're His. You need to get this. Your Lord, the Lord.

Right now, Jesus Christ rules over the world with truth and grace. And he makes the nations prove the glories of his righteousness and the wonders of his love. As his gospel goes to the ends of the earth, because the whole earth is his, He reigns sovereign over all the nations. Yes, even Russia and China. Even Putin.

Xi Jinping in China. No matter what happens tomorrow in Iran, God is reigning over those demonic leaders. And in Psalm 2, he tells those leaders, he tells all the nations of the world, every dictator, every tyrant, every leader in every nation, tongue and tribe, here is what the Lord of Psalm 97 tells those leaders in Psalm 2, kiss the son, repent, bend the knee in worship, bow down to Jesus Christ, turn away from your sin, or perish in the path of the wicked. More on that in just a moment. The point is, God's reign isn't simply limited by some geographical reality.

When the Bible says that God reigns over all things, I just want you to know that it really means all things. His reign is truly that big. Psalm 103 says the same thing, the Lord rules over all. And so a God who reigns exclusively and who reigns over all things, that is a God who doesn't lurch. That is a God who doesn't hiccup.

You getting this? If you reign exclusively and you reign over all things, that's not a God who staggers or wavers. No, He reigns, and I'm going to say this again, He does exactly what He wants, when He wants, how He wants, and where he wants. And he's not surprised ever. He's in total control.

He's in total control. So get this please, God, your God, Christian, does not stagger, does not lurch, he does not hiccup, he does not get unsteady or get caught off guard by anything. Why? Because he rules over everything. You can't get caught off guard and waiver by something when you are sovereignly prevailing over everything.

And that includes, as difficult as it might seem, This includes Alzheimer's. This includes barren wounds. This includes cancer and political upheaval. This includes the death of brothers. God doesn't lurch.

Did God lurch in the Garden of Eden? When Adam and Eve ate from the fruit? Adam and Eve ate from the fruit and did God just jump up and get frazzled when the serpent was hissing in Adam and Eve's ear? And then Adam and Eve plunged all of humanity into sin and the curse. Did Almighty God jump up frazzled and say, oops, Whatever shall I do?

That didn't go according to plan. Is that what God did? No, of course not. Instead, In eternity past, there was a covenant between the Father and the Son and the Holy Ghost that would result in the greatest story of all time. That God would come in the flesh, that the seed of the woman would come for undeserving sinners, for sinners who deserve damnation.

God would come and rescue those sinners. God would come and undo the curse. God would come and save those accursed by becoming accursed in their place. God would take on human flesh and everything that the first Adam wasn't, God would be. And that's exactly what God did.

He came and He conquered and God prevailed. He didn't lurch. He triumphed. And He prevailed to such a degree that the worst, most heinous, most terrible moment in all of history, the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, the Son of God. God prevailed in his sovereignty to such a degree that he ordained that awful moment where the God the Son was crucified working through the sinful actions of men God ordained for that abominable moment to be the salvation of the world.

To be the most glorious thing in all the earth, so glorious that in eternity we will not ever be able to stop singing about how glorious it is. Because we think we get it right now in our sin and corruption. Imagine being freed completely from that and seeing this story. Now that's raining. To take the darkest day that the world has ever known and for God to so reign over it that the darkest day is the day that the earth was redeemed.

That day led three days later to an empty tomb, and the world will never ever be the same. I mean, what a Lord! What a Savior! What a reign. Beloved you can trust Him.

In fact, in the midst of loss, in the midst of pain, you must trust Him. For if He is able to work the cross for the glory of the earth, He's working for you in your lost pain and eternal weight of glory. So the Lord reigns exclusively, the Lord reigns over all things. Number three, the Lord reigns in intensity, in intensity, in severity. I want you to notice the language used in the rest of these verses.

We'll go a little faster now. Beginning in verses two and going all the way through verse six, Listen to the intensity of the language. Clouds, I mean verse two, clouds and thick darkness surround him. Righteousness and justice are the foundation of his throne. Fire goes before him and burns up his adversaries round about.

His lightnings lit up the world. The earth saw and trembled. The mountains melted like wax at the presence of the Lord, at the presence of the Lord of the whole earth. The heavens declare his righteousness, and all the peoples have seen his glory. Now, no doubt, much of those verses allude to the Israelites in the wilderness at Mount Sinai.

You remember that? Talking about the law of God. We're going through that on most Lord's days. Got clouds and thick darkness surrounding the mountain on side eye. What was that?

Why were those clouds and darkness surrounding the mountain? Because God was there. And if he had shown himself and all of His glory to all those present, nobody would have survived. His righteousness and justice and holiness that are the foundation of His throne would have wiped out all the people. So the Lord who reigns, He is intense.

He's thrice holy. Don't mess with him. And verse 3 says the same. It's likely, verse 3 is likely a reference to God's holiness and the consuming fire. So think about Nadab and Abihu.

In Leviticus chapter 10 they offered strange fire to the Lord. They disobeyed God. They did not treat God as holy. And what happened? In Leviticus 10, fire consumed them.

Again, this simply speaks of the intensity of this God who reigns. His ultimate and serious and devastating holiness. This is the one who reigns. So don't play games with the Lord who reigns as the thrice holy one. The Lord who reigns is a consuming fire and the Lord melts mountains like wax.

You read that? Did you read it there? Verse 5. Have you ever seen a big mountain? Hey children, have you ever seen a big mountain?

I'm not talking Iowa mountains. I mean it's pretty but you ever seen the Rocky Mountains children? I saw those not that long ago. I thought they were amazing and then I thought about like I saw them and then I realized that like Mount Everest makes those things look like hills. And I thought, man, that is crazy how tall, how majestic, how grand those mountains are.

And then I thought of Psalm 97, and God with a thought could melt him like a candle. If you ever want to worship together as a family, And you're not quite sure what Bible text to go to. Go to Psalm 97, verse 5. And then as an object lesson, hold out a candle, put a flame to it, watch it start to melt, and then fall on your face, and fall on your knees, and confess your sin, and confess your lack of proper fear and confess your lack of reverence for the God who melts mountains like the candles by His mere presence. Just be in there.

You need a match to melt a candle. God melts mountains by just being who He is. This Psalm is giving you a sense of the greatness of the Lord's reign over all things. He does all of His holy will. He reigns exclusively and over all things.

And if His desire is to melt mountains like wax, He does it. And actually, that's what God's been doing. This is exactly what God has been doing. He's been mountain mountains. What does God call the dwelling place of God with His people?

What does God call that? It says it right here, Mount Zion. Zion. Mount Zion. Mounts and mountains are often Old Testament ways of describing peoples in their dwelling places.

Okay? Mounts and mountains are Old Testament ways of describing peoples and their dwelling places. And Psalm 97 says all the other mountains, which could, at the very least could, refer to all the other nations of the world, are melting like wax before the Lord and his gospel the gospel of Jesus Christ they hear the good news of Christ crucified risen and reigning proclaimed to them and they're turning from their sins They're kissing the sun in obedience of faith. They're melting like wax. They are won by Christ.

That's the Lord who reigns. Psalm 97. What's going on? We're evidence of that right here in this room. So get this in your bones beloved, get this deep.

You need not be anxious. You need not carry the burden of worrying anymore. Why? Because the Lord doesn't lurch. He does not sleep, He does not slumber, He melts mountains by His mere presence.

This is the one writing your story. He does not get surprised. No, he reigns and the heavens declare his glory and all the peoples have seen him. So How will you respond? How will you respond?

And that's where the Psalm takes us next. How will you respond to the truth of the exclusivity of his reign and the extent of his reign? How will you respond to the severity of his reign? Well that is in verses 7 through 9. First a word to the wicked in 7 through 9 and then a word of glad tidings to those who have repented in verses 10 to the end.

A word to the wicked in verses seven through nine, and then a word of glad tidings to those who belong to this one who reigns in verses 10 to the end. So first the word to the wicked. This is the second main point, the second point, the gravity of his reign. First it was the greatness of his reign and now the gravity of his reign. We see this in verses seven through nine.

Look in verse seven again with me. Let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols, worship him, all you gods. Zion heard this and was glad, and the daughters of Judah have rejoiced because of your judgments, O Lord. For you are the Lord most high over all the earth. You are exalted far above all gods." What is the psalmist saying?

Well, he's saying, let all those be ashamed who serve graven images, who boast themselves of idols. Let all those who practice iniquity, let all those who mock righteousness and applaud abomination, let them be ashamed. Let them be distressed and contrite because the way of the wicked will perish. Heed the words of Isaiah. Woe to you who call evil good and good evil, who substitute darkness for light and light for darkness.

Woe to those who are wise in their own eyes and clever in their own sight. Woe to those who justify the wicked for a bribe and take away the rights of the one who are in the right. There will be hell to pay for such things. Vengeance is coming upon all who revel in wickedness. Wrath is coming for all those who mock Christ and his people.

Wrath is coming on every enemy of Christ. Let all those who be ashamed, who are enemies of the Lord. Did it not happen that the wrath of God rained down on Solomon Gomorrah upon those who practiced abominations? Is not the same promise for eternity for those who practice and give hearty approval to those who practice abominations? Have you, beloved, have you been worrying about the wicked prospering here in Iowa, here in Madison County?

Have you been worried about the wicked prospering in the United States and around the world, about the unrighteous judges and rulers in our day? Have you been anxious at the political chaos in our county? Have you been worried about those who do evil, seeming to prosper, while righteousness seems to suffer? Stop that worrying. Because God does not lurch.

He does not lurch in His sovereignty. He prevails. And this is his promise towards evildoers in verses seven through nine. He is not surprised by the abominations of the wicked. He's not in heaven chewing on his nails wondering what he's going to do about lawlessness in Iowa and in America and around the world.

No, he did not lurch when all of Israel hoard after Baal. God did not panic when there was only one man, Elijah, who stood against the 450 prophets of Baal, did he? God did not tremor in the slightest. Neither did Elijah. One man against 450.

And who won? God did. He came down in fire and consumed the sacrifice that The false god Baal could not. First Kings 18. And that one man, Elijah, with God, defeated all 450 prophets of Baal and then slaughtered them.

It is that dear pastor John Knox said, one man with God is always in the majority. One man with God is always in the majority. Do you feel like Elijah? All the world seems to be embracing madness. We don't got to go very far.

Let's go down to Madison County Courthouse. All around you, evil seems to prosper and grow strong. The darkness seems like it's overpowering. Let me ask you a question. Do you stand with God?

Does this church stand with God? If you stand with God, then you stand, this Church stands in the majority. Jesus Christ who reigns will have the final word. Do not be afraid, beloved of the wicked. Do not be anxious.

Do not cower. Do not hide in fear. These earthly judges and authorities who mock you, who mock your savior, remember the God who answered Elijah. Remember the judge and authority of the universe who reigns over all of the lesser magistrates. And he tells the wicked, and he tells the mockers, Psalm 97, be ashamed.

Why? Because of what he said in Psalm 2, I will break you, lawbreakers. I will break you with a rod of iron. I will shatter you idol worshipers like pottery unless you repent of your mockery and turn to Jesus Christ who is Lord. Unless you kiss the Son by faith, You're gonna perish in the way if you don't.

Galatians 6, God will not be mocked. So if you are in this room and you revel in lawlessness, if you are in this room and you delight in doing evil, If you're in this room and you not only practice these things but give hearty approval to abominations in our land, abortion, homosexuality, transgender madness, murder, the bill will come due. America! The bill will come due evildoers. There will come a time when all will be accounted for and great and terrible will be the judgment heaped upon you evildoers as the true worshipers of God say amen to your eternal agony.

They will rejoice in the righteous judgments of the Lord that's the end of verse 8 So the Lord reigns and He will not be mocked. If you're still in your sins this morning, repent, turn from the wickedness and run to the King of Kings and Lord of Lords glory and he will not cast you out. Run to the Savior who makes blind people see, who makes dead hearts come alive, Run to him who makes all things new, who makes you born again. Run to the one who can make you glad. Run to the one who can make you glad.

And that is the final element that Psalm 97 describes concerning the reign of the Lord. For the wicked, the reign of Christ is a reign that promises doom unless they repent. But for those whom God has worked repentance and faith in, that's completely the opposite. The reign of Jesus Christ is the greatest of all reigns. It's the greatest thing.

It just results in gladness. So the greatness of His reign, the gravity of His reign, and now finally, the gladness of His reign. The greatness of His reign, the gravity of His reign, and now finally, the gladness of His reign. The greatness of His reign, the gravity of His reign, and now the gladness of His reign. And we see here in verses 10 through 12 A word to the righteous who are glad and happy.

Happy are the people whose God is the Lord. Verse 10, hate evil, you who love the Lord, who preserves the souls of his godly ones. He delivers them from the hand of the wicked. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright in heart. Be glad in the Lord, you righteous ones, and give thanks to his holy name.

What's the command there? Hate evil, you who love the Lord. If you love the Lord, you're going to hate what gets in the way of his worship. You're going to hate what gets in the way of you loving him more. You're going to hate what gets in the way of his worship.

You're going to hate what gets in the way of you loving him more. You're going to hate what gets in the way of you seeing him more. So hate evil. Why do you love the Lord, Christian? Because he preserves your soul.

He delivers you from the hand of the wicked. But how do you know that He will deliver you from the wicked? How do you know that's true? Because He reigns. And He's the sower.

Look in verse 11. He's the sower. Light is sown like seed for the righteous and gladness for the upright and hard. The Lord is the sower. And you know the truth about the sower, don't you?

It's not been that long since we've been through Mark chapter four. You remember Mark chapter four, the parable of the sower? Behold the sower. What's the point of that parable? People disagree, I suppose.

The point of the parable of the sower is behold the sower. Look at him. He is undefeated. He has won. He prevails in his sovereignty.

The triumph of this, the triumph of this sower's reign is so great that it bears thirtyfold, sixtyfold, even a hundredfold. A return, a triumph that's so great that it's unimaginable. You can't imagine a hundredfold. Things our eyes have never seen. Things our ears have never heard before.

The parable of the sower, I think, has some connection to Psalm 97. The Lord is the sower, And think of someone like winning a lot. Think of someone like really getting a lot of wins. And then think in your brain, well when it comes to Almighty God, you ain't seen nothing yet. So what is left for you to do?

What is left for you? What should the reality of the triumph of Jesus Christ reign? What should it do for you? If you haven't gotten it yet, it should make you overflow with gladness. God says in verse 12 that these truths should fill your heart with gladness as you give thanks to his holy name for all that he is and all that he's done and all that he's doing.

So how does this Psalm begin? Do you remember how it began? The Lord reigns, let all the earth be glad. Right? Let all the earth rejoice.

Ah, my bad. Let the many islands be glad. Thank you. Let the earth rejoice. Let the many islands be glad.

How does the Psalm end? Be glad in the Lord, you righteous one, and give thanks to his holy name. Rejoice and be glad! No matter the results of an election, no matter how horrible that phone call might be, no matter what the doctor says is coming down the pike, your hope is in the Lord Christian and He will not be shaken and you are in His grip. So you don't have to be shaken either.

He isn't and he holds you. You don't have to be shaken either. So do you remember Psalm 23? Remember Psalm 23? And If you don't know Psalm 23, please take that Bible home with you.

And I don't know what page it's on, but I've got to go back to Psalm 23 and read that tonight. But in Psalm 23, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. How can you walk through the valley of the shadow of death? How can you have enemies all around you and fear no evil? And the answer to that is, Psalm 23 tells you, Psalm 23 basically says, because the Lord of Psalm 97 is with you.

The Lord of Psalm 23 is the same Lord who reigns in Psalm 97, and that's the one with you. Because this is the Lord who reigns, and this is His table that He spreads before you every Lord's day, even in the midst of your enemies. Because the Lord who reigns anoints your head with the oil of gladness. That's how you can walk through the valley of the shadow of death and fear no evil. Instead, be glad, be whistling a happy tune.

How can you do that in the midst of suicide? How can you do that in the midst of loss? How can you do that in the midst of a diagnosis that is terrible? Because I belong to the God of Psalm 97 who prepares a table amongst my enemies every single Lord's Day. He puts his mark on me.

He reminds me that he will not be shaken. And I belong to him. He reminds me he doesn't lurch. He doesn't stagger, he stands firm and immovable. His goodness and loving kindness follow me all the days of my life.

Why? How? Because He reigns. And because He reigns, there is nobody or nothing that can separate you from His loving kindness and mercy. He was betrayed by one of His disciples.

He was denied by his closest friend on earth. He was left alone as his disciples scattered at his arrest. Do you remember that? Given a sham trial. He was whipped, torn and beaten.

He was spit on. He was mocked. He was placed on a cross, made a public spectacle. And then he endured the wrath of Almighty God the Father being poured out upon him for the sins of his people. That is what Jesus endured, abuse and scorn.

And then with a cry, he yielded up his spirit, and he died on a cross next to criminals. A spear tore through his abdomen. Blood and water poured out, certifying that Jesus was in fact dead. His body was wrapped in a linen cloth, sealed in an empty tomb. Had God lost?

By every indication it looked like He had. By every indication it looked like humanity had finally pulled a fast one on Almighty God. He'd been toppled off of his throne. What it must have looked like in that moment when the stone sealed the tomb. What a sad and lousy story it must have seemed.

We know about sad stories, don't we? But three days later, that stone was rolled away. Glorious triumph came out of the tomb. And every single Sunday, every single Lord's Day since then, we have been celebrating the greatness and the gravity and the gladness of King Jesus, the Lord who was crucified, risen, and is now reigning. Every single Sunday we remember that story.

That's how sure this author is. Every single Sunday we remember that story. That's how sure this author is. Every single Sunday we remember that story. That's how trustworthy this author is.

That God would take the gloomiest, most despairing moment in all of history at the cross and make it be the crescendo into the greatest climax the world has ever seen in the resurrection of King Jesus from the grave. So let me ask you a question as we get ready to close. Can you trust the one who is writing your story? You bet you can. How about the story of our county and this nation?

Can you trust and hope in the one who is writing your child's story? Your mother's story? Your father's story? Can you trust and hope in the one who is writing the story of your family in Springfield in the midst of severe agony? What's the answer?

Check the tomb. Is it still empty? Then you bet you can! Because Christ is risen and Christ the creator of heaven and earth is reigning and that Christ writes no bad stories. So be glad Christian for when you pass through the waters of pain and suffering and death He will be there When grief or anxiety threatened to flood over you like a mighty river.

He will not let you drown Isaiah 43 So come what may tomorrow Come what may this week come what may this year come what may the moment you leave this building. God has decreed it and God is reigning and ruling over it all. And so wherever God has placed you Christian, and whatever station, you stay at your post. You stay faithful. You keep building.

You keep hoping. You keep trusting. Keep praying. Keep reading God's word. Keep obeying His commandments.

Keep investing. Keep sowing. Don't grow tired of doing good, for you will reap in due time. Your labor is not in vain. The Lord knows.

Oh, the Lord knows better than you do. And His promises are true. So rejoice in the Lord always and be glad. Keep pressing on in hope. And as you're pressing on, though the trouble presses in around you, as you press on, fighting to be glad in Christ, you don't stop singing.

And you sing songs like, this is my Father's world. Oh, let me ne'er forget that though the wrong seems oft so strong, God is the ruler yet. This is your Father's world. The battle is not done. Jesus who died shall be satisfied, and earth and heaven be one.

And all God's people said, amen. Amen. Isaac, if you'd come.