SERMONIC / WORSHIP THEME
Opening Statement: I have this little quotation on my bulletin board in my office. It is entitled, “Life – But No Living”. It reads:
First I was dying to finish high school and start college. And then I was dying to finish college and start working. And then I was dying to marry and have children. And then I was dying for my children to grow old enough for school so I could return to work. And then I was dying to retire. And now, I am dying…and suddenly I realize I forgot to live. – Anonymous
Transition: So often, we push ahead to the next big goal or event in life and we fail to live today. Today, I want to tell you “You’re blessed.” God has given you some wonderful benefits to enjoy for life and living today. Let’s slow down a bit in order to learn and recognize what these are.
Title: Blessed
Text: Psalm 103:1-5
Background: This Psalm is all about giving God the praise that he deserves and about seeing the benefits that He has provided and appreciating and enjoying them.
Key Word: God has blessed us with BENEFITS or BLESSINGS that the Psalmist notes for the reader. The core BENEFITS are found in the first five verses and the other verses build on these thoughts.
INTRODUCTION
To begin, the Psalmist talks to himself. Someone said it’s OK to talk to yourself; just don’t answer back. He talks to his soul. That’s the way the Psalm begins--David prodding himself and prompting and urging himself and stirring himself up to bless the Lord. Maybe he was in a season of complaining! Perhaps he was numb to God’s blessings or apathetic and unable to recognize how blessed he really was. To bless means to say good things about the Lord in a spirit of admiration and gratitude and wonder. David seems to have been successful motivating himself, because by the time he reaches the end of the Psalm, he’s inviting angels and creation to join him! There’s something about worship and gratitude that is expansive and inclusive. From the tiny little chicken gathering her yellow chicks under her wings to the complexity of the human body to the beauty of an autumn hillside, we begin to see God’s glory and it causes us to want to say good things about Him! Consequently, the Psalmist never made one petition in this Psalm.
Transition: So David prods himself…
Recitation:
1
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And all that is within me, bless His holy name.
2
Bless the LORD, O my soul,
And forget none of His benefits;
The First Benefit is Forgiveness. If you know the joy of forgiveness, you are extremely blessed!
3
Who pardons all your iniquities,
Does this really mean what it says? If you’re not sure, read…
8
The LORD is compassionate and gracious,
Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness.
9
He will not always strive with us,
Nor will He keep His anger forever.
God isn’t fair…
10
He has not dealt with us according to our sins,
Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities.
11
For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.
12
As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us.
13
Just as a father has compassion on his children,
So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him.
Explanation: I love David’s imagery here. God freely forgives those who fear him and ask and David uses “distance imagery” to reinforce that in our thinking. But not only this, he used “family imagery” to indicate that God comes close to us as a Father.
Illustration: One of Levi’s favorite things to do is snuggle-time. We hug on him and tickle him and listen to him. We establish closeness to him.
Amplification: This is what God does; he draws close to us. Not only does he pardon us from the judges’ bench, though guilty as charged. But He turns around and invites us to His family room where he gets close to us. I’ve been before a few judges but not one of them invited me over after my court appearance for some “face time.” It’s called forgiveness. God doesn’t hold grudges. He doesn’t nag us constantly about our sin. He doesn’t give us what we deserve! For those who believe in Him, He simply and repeatedly forgives. The Psalmist is not calling us to presume on God’s mercy but to simply enjoy it.
Illustration: Johnny was a young boy who made a slingshot, and went through the farmyard shooting at the different animals but the boy missed the dog, the cat (unfortunately); and when he went into the field, he shot at a rabbit and a bird. He missed everything. Coming back into the farmyard, the boy shot at his grandmother’s favorite duck. He hit the duck in the head, and killed it dead. Johnny was terrified because he loved his grandmother, and yet he killed her favorite duck. He ran to the tool shed, got a shovel, and buried it in back of the barn; thinking no one saw it, but Mary Lou did.
That evening after supper, Grandmother said to Johnny’s sister, Mary Lou, "I want you to wash the dishes." But Mary Lou turned to her brother and said, "Johnny wants to wash the dishes." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck." Johnny washed the dishes because he was afraid Mary Lou would tell Grandmother about the duck.
The next morning, Grandmother asked Mary Lou to sweep the porch and front walk, but she said, "Johnny wants to sweep the front porch and walk." Then she whispered to Johnny, "Remember the duck." All that week, she kept reminding Johnny about the duck. Every time she had a job to do, she volunteered Johnny and whispered to him, "Remember the duck."
Application: For some of you it’s not a duck, but it’s something in your recent or distant past that keeps you from enjoying today and living in complete freedom. You have come right up to the precipice of the freedom of forgiveness, and you’ve become afraid because you hear this kind of Satanic voice that says “Remember the duck.” You’re ready to witness for Christ and you hear “Remember the duck.” You’re ready to preach a sermon and you hear “Remember the duck.” You’re ready to serve in a church office and you hear “Remember the duck.”
When Johnny could take it no longer, he went to his grandmother crying, confessing to having killed the duck. His grandmother forgave him and he could live without this hanging over him anymore, but boy was Mary Lou mad! What joy forgiveness is? You can live life without your past hanging over you anymore. This is a beautiful benefit. Have you been forgiven? Grace has already happened for you. Why don’t you ask God to forgive you today? You don’t have to carry your guilt out of here today.
The Second Benefit is Healing. If you have been blessed with reasonably good health for most of your life, you have been blessed!
Who heals all your diseases;
Explanation: God has given you a body that is able to heal itself. And then, when sickness is beyond the body’s ability to cure itself, He sometimes intervenes. Note this contrast with me. The way God deals with healing is different from the way God deals with sin. In the case of forgiveness, the timing of this is up to you. You can be forgiven today if you so desire. Whenever you sincerely seek forgiveness, God delights in giving it. But when it comes to physical healing, the timing is up to God. He’s the One that decides whether or not we are healed now or later.
Illustration: It is believed that David authored this Psalm. If so, he personally knew all about this difference. Remember after committing adultery with Bathsheba, she became pregnant with David’s child. David prayed and prayed and prayed for that sick child to live and for God’s forgiveness. But God’s response to David through Nathan the prophet was: “David, the LORD has taken away your sin…but…the son born to you will die (2 Sam.12:13,14).” “It’s not my will to heal this child.” So forgiveness was offered freely to David, depending on his desire to receive it. But it was not in His timing to heal the child. So physical healing is all about God’s timing and will. He understands our body chemistry. He understands our spiritual needs. And many studies have linked spiritual wholeness with physical health. But ultimately, the intervention of God into our physical sickness is up to him.
14
For He Himself knows our frame;
He is mindful that we are but dust.
15
As for man, his days are like grass;
As a flower of the field, so he flourishes.
16
When the wind has passed over it, it is no more,
And its place acknowledges it no longer.
17
But the lovingkindness of the LORD is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear Him,And His righteousness to children’s children,
18
To those who keep His covenant
And remember His precepts to do them.
The Third Benefit is A Redeemed Life. If God has turned your life around and is using you to make life easier for someone else, you have been blessed!
4
Who redeems your life from the pit,
Explanation: God takes a wasted life, forgives us of our sin, occasionally heals us from our diseases right now if it’s His will and will ultimately heal all of our diseases in heaven, and as a result of these good things, God makes our lives useful again.
Illustration: One of your favorite authors can tell us about redemption from the pit. He sat drinking a six pack with his friend on the parking lot of a Piggly Wiggly grocery store when he asked himself this question: Surely, life is more than this? From that point on, Max Lucado experienced forgiveness and deliverance from a spiritual pit and now ministers to thousands in both written and spoken word.
The Fourth Benefit is Loyal Love. If God has refused to let you go into your own way and has always pursued you and brought you back, you have been blessed!
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion;
Definition: The word for “lovingkindess” is often used in a context of God’s unconditional commitment to his people, despite their wonderings.
Application: If you’ve tried to run away from God, from church, from baptism, from Christ, from discipleship, and yet somehow God brought you back with loyal love and compassion toward you, you’re blessed.
The Fifth Benefit is a Rewarded and Renewed Life. If you’ve had the strength to enjoy some of God’s blessings along the way, you have been blessed!
5
Who satisfies your years with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle.
CONCLUSION
So today, I remind you…
You are being forgiven for your moral and spiritual debts.
You are being healed from your diseases.
You are being redeemed from a life of wastefulness.
You are being pursued into your wilderness wanderings.
You are being restored and energized to live life to the fullest in the here and now.
Application:
1. I offer to you freedom from guilt. Grace has already happened for you. Now, believe it and live differently. Get the “Mary Lou’s” off your back.
2. I offer to you a clearer picture of God. Psalm 103 is one place in the Bible that where God is essentially described in His disposition toward us.
3. I offer to you a model for your own relationships. People love to be around “forgivers.” Don’t be a “Mary Lou”. Forgive.
