Mike Bickle addresses the growing global opposition to Jesus' leadership as prophesied in Psalms 2, emphasizing the alarming polarization in society and the need for believers to stand firm in their faith. He draws parallels between the current events and the Feast of Esther, urging prayer and fasting for the nation of Israel. Bickle highlights God's sovereign response to the rage against His anointed, assuring that despite the challenges, Jesus is already established as King over all nations. He calls on Gentile believers to actively support God's purposes for Jerusalem and to proclaim His truth boldly in a time of increasing conflict. The sermon concludes with an invitation for prayer and a commitment to stand with Jesus and His leadership.

Turn your Bibles to Psalm 2 if you would. Now this short video we saw is just a microcosm of the conflict and the polarization that's happening all over the world in various spheres of society, not just among college students by any means. But most of this is just happening in the last year or two, I mean accelerating in a very alarming and discernible way, the acceleration of this. This is happening throughout Europe and many nations around the world, even on the campuses and business and politics and the military. Lord, we ask you just even now, Lord, as we look at your word for a few moments that you would touch our heart. Lord, you give us greater clarity, greater boldness, greater humility and tenderness to stand with you, Jesus. And we thank you, Lord, in the name of Jesus that you would bless us even now. Amen. Well, this week is the Feast of Esther of all things. I mean with Prime Minister Netanyahu coming, Feast of Purim, that is the feast celebrating the near annihilation of the Jewish race in Persia. And Esther took a stand in prayer and fasting, and the situation was reversed, suddenly reversed, and the nation of Israel survived in Persia. And so with Prime Minister Netanyahu coming to America at such a time as this, it's a good time to join in on that Esther fast. She went on a three-day fast, and this week is that very time that around the nations the Jewish communities are celebrating and participating in that Feast of Esther, Feast of Purim. Well, in Psalm 2, King David prophesied that world leaders, not just government leaders, but rulers of society, military, economic, etc., they would oppose the leadership of Jesus, of the Christ, the anointed one. And it would come to a pinnacle in the generation the Lord returns. And we see the escalation of that rage against Jesus right now. It's not just his person, but it's his truth, it's his plans, it's his way of salvation. It's all the things that are connected to his leadership. Paragraph B, Psalm 2 has four parts. I've gone over this several times last year, but my desire is that you would become so familiar with Psalm 2 that you would be able to share it to others because you've heard it enough, and it's clear enough to you. It's quite easy to follow the drama that King David was prophesying that would unfold. Now, this drama has been unfolding since David's time 3,000 years ago, but it comes to a pinnacle. It escalates to a red-hot boil in the generation the Lord returns. Interesting that in the roundtable that I was at just now in Charlotte, that Psalm 2 was mentioned in a number of conversations, both around the table and as well as in private, as a Psalm that has particular significance for this hour for our nation. Now, we're not going to look at all this. I'm just saying that just by a way of review. We're going to look at just one or two points related to Psalm 2, but part one, three verses, the kings of the earth, they challenge the God of Israel, and they challenge His authority in the nations, and their challenge is they're saying, we are going to remove the influence of the Word of God out of society, away from culture. We're going to drive away the influence of God's Word from the culture, and of course, we're seeing that happen on a number of fronts. The next three verses of Psalm 2, God the Father responds to the kings. The next three verses, part three, Jesus responds to the kings, and He responds to the Father. The final three verses, the fourth part, King David makes his observations and exhortations in light of the unfolding of this drama. Let's look at just a little bit of this. Roman numeral 2 in the handout, Psalm 2 verse 1 to 3, the kings of the earth have this fierce opposition against the God of Israel, and against His Christ, His anointed, His Messiah, and by the way, Christ, Messiah, and anointed are all the same word. One's Greek, one's Hebrew, and the other is the English equivalent, the anointed one. The Greek, the Christ, that means the anointed one. The Hebrew would be the Messiah. Well, the kings of the earth, they raise their fist against the throne of heaven, and David describes it. He goes, why do the nations rage? Why do the people plot a vain thing? The kings of the earth, they set themselves together, and the rulers, and I add, of society, they take counsel together, and the focus of their enmity is this. They are against the God of David, the God of Israel. They are against His anointed, or you could put the word His Christ, or the word His Messiah. Different Bible translations would put Messiah, some would put Christ here, and here's their charge. Here's their intention. In one sentence, they are describing the word of God in the most negative terms. They said, we're going to break God's bonds into pieces. They see the word of God as chains that bond, that keep them in bondage. They see the biblical values as archaic, and ancient, and no longer relevant. They see the leadership of Jesus and His ways as hindering human potential, that if we could cast off His moral restraints, we could enter into the fullness of our human potential in sexuality, our fullness of human potential in justice and nobility, if we could just cast away God's word from us. Notice they say, let's break His bonds into pieces. They're not talking about minimizing the influence of the word of God. They want to shatter it, completely remove it from culture entirely, and from society. Roman numeral three in the handout. Let's go to Psalm 2 verse 4 to 6. Again, I'm just giving the briefest overview of the Psalm. This Psalm is worthy of returning to over and over again. The Father now responds to this determination of the kings to break the word of God into pieces. Again, meaning its influence on the society and on the culture. The Father answers in chapter 2, Psalm 2 verse 4 to 6. David describes the Father, he who sits in the heavens shall laugh. God the Father is not at all disturbed by the charge and the threats of the kings of the earth, because many in the nations are intimidated, because never has there been such a time as now, but it's going to multiply far beyond than it is now. Never has there been a time where so many humans are in popular support of what these kings and what these rulers are advocating. I mean, there's hundreds of millions, eventually billions that are weighing in with these kings. Popular sentiment against the God of Israel and against His Son, His values, Jesus's leadership. So the nations are intimidated, many are, going, you know, the collective resource of the economics, the collective resource of the military might, the collective resource of the popular opinion of all of these nations. Never has there been such a coalition in unity, and it's in unity against the God of Israel. God the Father says in essence to His people, I'm not disturbed at all, but He doesn't rise to action. He remains seated. He laughs at them. Beloved, we can be at peace, and we can laugh at anything that God is laughing at, and I'm not saying that we go mock people, because God has His own authority to do that, but we don't need to be terrified by what God's laughing at, because it's not going to prevail. This plot will be vain. It will fall, and then David says God's going to speak to the nations in His wrath. He's going to distress them in His deepest pleasure. Look at verse 6. Notice one of the primary themes that God the Father is going, is emphasizing in the midst of this conflict, and there's quite a few, uh, sub, I mean, thoughts and implications to this, uh, one sentence. Many, many implications. The Father answers the kings of the earth. You want to control the destiny, and you want to control society and the governments of the earth? Well, I want you to know I've already determined in my sovereign counsels, I've set my king already on his throne, on my holy hill of Zion, and so the Father's answer is, you can challenge my plan and my kingship, but it's already been determined there is already one man who is determined to be king over all the nations. Now, the setting of Jesus on His throne has two installments. It's one reality in two installments. He is set upon the throne of heaven after, after the resurrection. He ascended to the right hand of the Father. He is already seated on a throne at the Father's right hand, and all authority is already His, but there's a second installment. There's a earthly expression at the time of the second coming. Jesus, a man, a Jewish man, will be set on a throne. Now, notice it's in a particular place, in a particular location on the earth, described as my holy hill of Zion. Now, almost every reference in the Bible to Zion is synonymous with earthly Jerusalem. There's only a couple exceptions, but the vast majority of the reference of Zion, of Zion, I mean the high, you know, I'd say 98 percent plus, it's talking about earthly Jerusalem. The Lord's did set Him on a throne in heaven, but that's not the fulfillment of this declaration. That's, that's the beginning of it. Beloved, there's a holy hill. There's a hill on the earth that God calls my hill. It's mine. That hill isn't in heaven. Some theologians who love the Word of God, they spiritualize this, and they think the enthronement of Jesus at the Father's right hand is the holy hill. There's no hill in heaven. This is real. This is God's hill. It's the only hill God claims is His, and it's holy, meaning it's completely set apart to His sovereign purposes. That's what holy means, not just pure, that it's set apart, and the devil is wanting to attack this and coming in full rage to see to it that Jesus of Nazareth, the man with the physical resurrected body, does not sit on that throne in earthly Jerusalem. Well, the Father's committed to the exaltation of Jesus. Now, notice in paragraph B here that Joel chapter 2. Joel chapter 2 is so significant because Joel chapter 2 is the famous chapter about fasting and prayer for the outpouring of the Spirit. Well, that outpouring of the Spirit is about exalting Jesus as King before the nations. Beloved, the greatest outpouring of the Spirit in history is yet to come. Yes, the dark is going to be darker, but the light will be lighter that the good and the bad are both increasing simultaneously across the earth. People ask, is it going to get better or worse, and the answer is both. It's going to, the wheat and the tares are both going to mature together at the end of the age. It'll be the greatest outpouring of the Spirit, the greatest revival, but the greatest depths of perversion and darkness and demonic activity at the earth simultaneously increasing the closer we get to the Lord's return. But notice that Joel 2, the fasting and prayer of Joel 2, it results in the outpouring of the Spirit in Joel 2, but verse 32, there's only one city that's mentioned by name in the great outpouring of the Spirit in the last days. Only one city identified in the great crisis that the Bible describes here in Joel 2, and that is the city of Jerusalem. This is the physical city of Jerusalem, and the Lord says, understand this in verse 32, that in Jerusalem there will be deliverance. There will be Jewish believers. There will be unsaved Jews in Jerusalem. There will be Gentile believers in Jerusalem. That God will have all kinds of combinations in Jerusalem, and I want you to know this with clarity, that though the enemy attacks and the kings of the earth will come against Jerusalem, the rage of Satan, Jerusalem will be delivered, and the remnant will be saved. Some people imagine this is just spiritual Jerusalem, and other people imagine everybody will be destroyed, but I have good news for you. There is deliverance in that hour in Jerusalem, and there will be a remnant that will survive related to the outpouring of the Spirit and the intervention of the supernatural power of God. Let's look at paragraph D. Turn the page. Well, in Zechariah 4, verse 2, the prophet Zechariah describes this great battle against the city of Jerusalem. He says, I will gather all the nations to battle against Jerusalem, and this is in context to the second coming. It's in the hour when the Lord returns, physically returns to the sky, the physical second, the physical appearance of Jesus, the second coming of the Lord. Now, the Bible makes it clear God is gathering the nations to Jerusalem, and the Bible makes it clear that Satan is gathering the nations to Israel, and the Bible makes it clear that the kings of the earth are gathering against Jerusalem. All three of them are putting forth their resources and are zealous for this gathering, all for different reasons, all for different results, but all of them are operating very different goals, but this gathering around Jerusalem is a great battle for Jerusalem. Now, this battle for Jerusalem, I consider it to be the primary battle in the spirit in this generation, the battle for Jerusalem. Many believers are not even aware of this. They don't have a foundation of what the scripture says in the prophetic chapters of the Bible about this great conflict and scenario. It's a political battle. It's a military battle. It's a spiritual battle. It's an economic battle, all for who's going to control the city of Jerusalem, because that's the city, Jesus said, is the city of the great king. He goes, that's my city. That's my holy hill. Before the foundations of the earth, that city was chosen before the boundaries of nations were chosen as the city of the king to rule the earth forever from that city. It's called my holy hill, the city of Jerusalem. Well, paragraph E, we're in the early stages of that battle right now. That battle, I mean, it's been going on throughout history in one sense, but I mean the early stages of the full escalation of that battle coming to a full expression of rage and conflict and the power of God and the power of the devil around this issue called the city, the battle for Jerusalem. Now, Gentile believers, most of us in this room, we're Gentile believers. There's a few messianic Jewish believers here. We have a significant role. The Lord is requiring the church, the Gentile believers in the nations to stand with the kingship of Jesus, the father's decree of Jesus in rulership over that city. Paragraph F, the scripture calls us to stand. There's many passages, more than the ones I have on the notes here. Now, paragraph G, Satan wants to exterminate the Jewish people. And one reason he wants to exterminate the Jewish people, because Jesus gave a prophecy. It's very famous. It's one you, you must know. I don't have it in the notes here, but in Matthew chapter 23, verse 37, when Jesus was just about to go to the cross, He looked at the governmental leaders of the city of Jerusalem and therefore the nation of Israel. He looked at the city of Jerusalem, its leaders. He says, I want to tell you something. You will not see me again in Jerusalem until with your mouth, you say to me, blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord. In other words, the Jewish government of the city of Jerusalem, and they will have government over the city of Jerusalem at this time. They will say with their mouth, the covenant declaration, the legal declaration, Jesus of Nazareth, you are God. You are the Messiah. He said, I won't come back to the city till you say that with your lips. Well, 2000 years ago, I'm sure they said that's never going to happen. We will crucify you very soon. And Jesus could have said back, I assure you when the plan of the father and the plan of the rage of Satan, they intersect in that hour of history, you will call on me with your lips. Well, the devil's determining in his, in his plans, there will be no Jewish people in Jerusalem to call on the name of Jesus. There will be no governmental, there will be no Jewish people in the government of Jerusalem to call on the name of Jesus and to proclaim their desire for his leadership over the city. And Jesus says, I'm not coming into the city till you invite me with your words as the earthly governmental leaders of that city. I'm not going to just break in. I'm going to be invited to be your king. Well, Satan says, well, there won't be any Jews in Israel and there won't be any Jews in Jerusalem and there won't be anybody to do that. Jesus, you can't come back because by your own prophetic words, you've bound yourself not to return until that. Well, paragraph H in Zachariah, the nations will gather and half the city of Jerusalem will be taken into a temporary captivity. I mean, it will appear as though the enemy is going to win, but remember Joel chapter two, there's deliverance in Jerusalem and the remnant will be saved, says the Lord. In Joel two, here we're in Zachariah 14. The remnant will not be cut off. I mean, we, as we're approaching that time and the believers that are alive on the earth at that time, it might be in your lifetime. It might not be, but it well might be in your day. They will be crying out to the Lord. And I tell you the remnant in the city will be delivered. They will not all be cut off. Half the city will go into captivity. Paragraph I, Joel chapter three, this really describes the situation quite graphically. God's going to make everyone in the nations take a stand. You, again, if you see this in your day or your children or their children, you will, everybody, believer, unbeliever, the fire, faraway islands, everybody will take a stand one way or the other on this issue. Zachariah 12, the Lord says, I will make Jerusalem a heavy stone. If you're for God's purpose of Jerusalem, the enemy will attack you. If you're for the enemy's purpose, then God is going to release his judgments. Either side is going to be troubled. Everybody must stand. Jerusalem will be the heavy stone on the world dynamics, politically, militarily, spiritually, economically. It will be the heavy stone in that day. And so it's not an hour where we can afford to be uninformed, uncommitted. Hopefully this thing will just pass. It won't pass. It's coming to a full conflict. It says here in Joel chapter three, God's going to make everybody make a decision. He says, I will gather all the nations. I will bring them down to the Valley of Jehoshaphat. That's the area of Jerusalem. I will enter into judgment against all the multitudes that gather against my purpose of that city. He says, I will gather them there. Now notice what Joel highlights because of my people, I'm going to judge them. My heritage, Israel, whom they have scattered among the nations. I'm going to hold the nations accountable that they've scattered the Jews across the nations. And I'm going to hold the nations accountable. They have divided up my land. The Lord says, that's not okay with me. That may be politically correct in the nations, but that's my hill. That's my holy city. And nobody can touch that city without touching my heart and my purpose. Look at verse 14. Here's what Joel says. It's like a, like a, almost like a lament and a warning. He's going, oh, multitudes, multitudes. He means everybody in the Valley of Decision. I'm in the faraway nations. Economics will be connected to the stand. People take spiritual, political, military. The nations will be in the Valley of Decision. Every neighborhood, all the family units, believers, unbelievers, all the world religions, everybody will have to side one way or the other, the Valley of Decision. Paragraph K. I'm going to end with this from Jeremiah 31. The Lord speaks to the Gentiles, Gentile believers. He's talking to us. He's talking to a billion of us around the earth. He says, here's what I want you to do. Jeremiah 31. I want you to sing with gladness for Jacob. That's for the Jewish people. Like what? Sing with gladness. No, I'm apathetic. I don't even think about the Jewish people. The Lord says, I want you engaging. I want you to sing. This is worship and prayer context. I want you to sing the victory that I've promised over Jacob, the Jewish people. Many Gentile believers go, I don't, I'm not into that Israel thing. The Lord says you need to be, because there's a great battle mounting up of which the Valley of Decision for all the nations, they'll all be involved. Shout among the chief of the nations. Beloved America is among the chief of the nations. I'm sure you would agree because I don't want you to whisper this. I don't want you to whisper it in a corner. I want it bold. I want it clear. I want your stand to be taken, shout it. And it's not just about one guy shouting with that too, of course, but don't hide this in a corner and hope that you could have a private loyalty and nobody will ever push the push it. He goes, I want it clear. He goes, I want you to proclaim what my goal, my purpose for Jerusalem. I want you to thank me for it. Give praise for it. Don't say, yeah, I don't get why God's doing it. I wouldn't, if I was God, he goes, I want you to praise me for it. Thank me for my leadership. I want you to say this, save your people, the remnant of Israel, a lot of believers. They don't want to go that far. They want to go, Lord, we're not really into that. We're really into our neighborhoods. He goes, I want you to join in on my global purposes as well. And I want you verse 10, hear the word of the Lord, Gentile nations, 200 Gentile nations, hear the word of the Lord. Even you little far away islands, far away. I want you to declare this, hear the word of the Lord, Gentile believers. Here's your message. Tell the nations, he that scattered Israel will gather Israel. That's one of the most politically incorrect statements you can make. If you say God scattered Israel, the Jews are mad. God didn't scatter us. You Gentiles did it. God didn't do it. If you say God will gather Israel, Islam says, no way God is not gathering Israel either direction. The Lord says, I want my people, the Gentile believers to take a stand, to thank me for it, to be bold about it because this battle for Jerusalem is about to escalate. And I'm going to bring a purifying and a harvest in of the church. There's going to be a falling away related to this. There's going to be an in gathering of souls related. There's going to be a purifying, a unifying of the church related to this. And I mean, glorious things are going to happen. And as for me and my house, part of my house, I'm going to say yes to the Lord, the kingship of Jesus over the holy hill of Jerusalem. Amen. Let's stand. I want to encourage you this next three days, this feast of Esther, this feast of Purim, prime minister Netanyahu's coming and our government isn't entirely happy about that, but he's coming and the whole earth is going to be weighing in on this. It's going to create a polarization in both directions. And we're going to be there crying out to the Lord and fasting and prayer at such a time as this. I'm going to invite anybody to come forward that would like prayer physically. I mean, for your physical healing, if you have a need or any need, but I also want to invite people to come forward that saying, you know, I've been a little bit ambivalent. I haven't really known about this Israel thing. I know you're kind of into this. I don't really get it. And I love Jesus. I don't get this Israel thing. And if you're making a resolve to stand with the word of God and Jesus is purpose for Israel. And it's a new thing to say, you know what? I don't get it all, but it's there. I'm standing. And this is a new result. I'm going to invite you to come forward, to take a public stand, but also that if you need prayer for anything, physically, emotionally, relational things, you just want somebody to believe with you in prayer. I want you to come forward to invite a bunch of you to come up to the Lord. We say, yes, to the kingship of Jesus. We will stand with you, Lord. We say yes, Jesus. The Lord says, take a stand. The Lord says, lift your voice for my purpose. For I have set my king on his holy hill. That hill belongs to me, says the Lord. I will bring them to salvation, says the Lord, but you must stand with me. To choose you this day. To choose you this day. As for me and my house. I will serve the God of Israel and his son, Jesus. The king of all kings. Where is your allegiance, says the Lord. Into the closet, come out of the shadows. Shout to the nations. He that scared Israel. Lord, here among the nations, we shout. Out among the chiefs of the nations, proclaim, declare, proclaim, declare, proclaim, proclaim. For me, says the Lord. I say, yes, yes to your word. I say, whatever you do, we will serve you. For you stand with me, Jesus, and I will be your friend. I will stand with you, Jesus. I will stand with you, Jesus. Forming his thoughts, I ask you to inspire him beyond peace of the Lord. Lord, something bigger than his agenda. Something bigger. I ask you for the spirit of power and boldness. I ask for the very wisdom of God to be released to that man. Even as lightning and thunder around the earth. That it would call forth your people in clarity. That I have in the body of our Lord Jesus. Our beloved, fully God, fully man, Jesus. So I ask you, in the name of Jesus, use him. Release the spirit of prophecy in him and through him. Honor your words. Honor your words. Inspire him today, tomorrow, the next day. Inspire him. I cut off the man-counsel from his ears. I ask you, Lord, to cut off the man-counsel that will come to man. I ask you for revelation divine. Speaker of God, let me understand you. For the panel of truth. For the kingdom of God. Lord, I join you in this Esther fast. This feast. Lord, we say yes. Spirit of the Spirit. I will be a friend of the bridegroom. And I will stand with you. Lord, we say yes to your leadership. And I will be a friend of the bridegroom. I will stand with you. Spirit of the bridegroom. I will stand with you. I ask you to speak supernatural direction. Provision. To get us shut doors. As the enemy attacks. Released on families. On marriages. On children. Even now on physical bodies. Lord, even as we say yes to your leadership, Jesus. Related to the nation of Israel. So release your power in the name of Jesus. Release your power, Lord, even now. Deliverance. Provision now. I speak to sickness. And speak to relief. Cancer, tumors, any disease. Leave it in the name of Jesus. He is king on the holy mountain right now. On the throne. Lord, he is all glory now. Power of Jesus. Touch bodies and families. Touch economics. Are you afraid? The power of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. The kingdom of God. Supernatural. Take authority over darkness or enemy. In the name of Jesus. In the name of Jesus. Power. Power. In the name of Jesus. Jesus really is power, power, power, Jesus really is power, power, power, Jesus really is power, power, power, Jesus really is power, power, power, Jesus really is power, power, power, power, power, Jesus really is power, power, power, Jesus really is power, power, power, power, power, Jesus really is power, power, power, power, Jesus really is power,