Theme: Bless the Lord: Forget not His Benefits
Text: Ps. 103: 1-5
Intro.
A) Today, we be giving thanks to God and shall bless the Lord this morning as a family because His abundant blessing upon us is overwhelming. We might have undergone difficult years, but our God is faithful to carry us through. To God be the glory.
B) Our Scripture this morning is found in Psalm 103: 1-5. It reminds us to bless the Lord from our innermost being. It says, “Bless the Lord O my soul and all that is within me.” Do we need to bless God when He owns everything?
C) The word “Bless” here means “to speak well of, or to utter an appreciation.” God is worthy of our appreciation, thanks, and our highest praises.
T.S. I want us this morning to ponder on the benefits of God as reasons to bless Him. We should not forget that:
A. The Benefits are His.
-That’s what the Psalmist is declaring: “Forget not His benefits”. It’s in a possessive case. It means that every good thing is a blessing, a benefit from God. Benefits in life did not come to us by means of chance or by mere accumulation. They have their source in God. Actually, we doubly owe God for everything we obtained. First, because everything is God’s by creation. Second, because it is God who gives men the ability, wisdom and capacity to obtain things.
Many people failed to comprehend this very important truth. Instead of giving God the credit of every achievement, success, and increase, they credit it to themselves. But you know, it is the enemy of God, the devil, who fooled these men into thinking that they have it all by themselves.
Perhaps you would ask me the motive of the devil why he does that. It’s all because he wants people to be self-centered, and eventually become independent from God. It’s all because the devil wants people to brag themselves and rebel God. The devil also knows that when people never recognize their stewardship before God in everything they have, they will become irresponsible to the things God has allowed them to have and use these resources for the satisfaction of their body only and not for the glory of God.
But praise God, our family thanksgiving celebration this morning indicates that we are a family that recognizes the Ultimate Proprietorship of God in all that we possess.
B. The Benefits are Graciously Given.
-It means that God gives His blessings free of charge! His benefits are free! You don’t have to pay some amount in advance and wait for the maturity period to receive benefits. It doesn’t need membership and monthly premiums. It doesn’t need you to undergo some sort of mishaps to receive benefit claims. And most wonderful, it’s not difficult to claim –all you need to do is pray! God doesn’t require you clearances to enjoy His benefits. That’s very wonderful indeed!
-Verse 4 gives us the twofold reasons of the outpouring of God’s blessings, it says, “Bless the Lord…He who crowns you with lovingkindness and compassion.” The first reason is the character of God –He is a loving, compassionate, gracious, merciful and generous God. It is God’s nature to give, to bless, and to build up. If we have seen devastations in this life, they were just direct or indirect consequences of man’s willful disobedience to God.
The second reason is our value being created after the likeness of God. Once, this Psalmist asked God: “What is man that you are mindful of him; what is the son of man that you have crown him with glory?” This is a reference of our value before God. We are so precious in His sight. Every time He looked at our faces, He saw His own image. Yes, it’s true that we are gravely marred with sin, nevertheless the reality never changes –we are created after the likeness of God. This is the reason why God is so passionate to save us. This is the reason God showed His great favor on us by giving His blessings without measure. He wants us to realize how much He loved us. He wants us to see His great mercy and turn back into fellowship with Him.
C. The Benefits are Countless.
-It means that God’s favor is without limit; it is boundless. In our passage, the Psalmist just mentioned few but very important blessings. I want to just expound three of them, they are:
a. Forgiveness of sins.
This is no accident that forgiveness is first mentioned. We all sinned and fall short of God’s glory. We were separated from Him because we chose to disobey His divine will. We will only be restored to Him through forgiveness. Without spiritual restoration with God life is vain and all other blessings are meaningless. You may have everything this world can offer, but it can never fill the longing & the emptiness inside your heart that only God can satisfy.
b. Healing or wholeness.
There is a very popular line that we often read and heard, which says, “Health is wealth”. Well, you all know that, and I no longer need to explain more on the importance of physical wholeness. What I want to remind you this morning is: it is God’s blessing. You must not take it for granted. Every morning, you wake up having your strength refreshed and renewed. Who does that? Well we would say that it’s the “automated mechanism” inside that works wonder. But who designed it? The Great Creator God designed all our bodily systems to work for our physical sustenance and preservation. We should not forget that God is sustaining us, not only physically, but in all aspect of our lives as well. We should always remember that our preservation and sustenance, individually or as a company, depend on the divine upholding of God. Praise God, He has sustained PHILBEST for 5 years now…and we pray that He will continue to uphold it for still many years.
c. Divine Protection.
“Who redeems your life from the pit” (v.4). First, this verse literally means “He saves you from death.” Personally I can testify how many times God had saved me from many accidents that would possibly end me to death. God had spared my life from many possible fatal situations. I believe you too have similar experiences that God was seen practically working to somehow spare you from possible death, for instance, serious illness, accident, or assault. Praise the Lord: He really works wonders.
But anyway, death is the ultimate destiny of this present physical life. God may have preserved us many times for a purpose, but there will be a day that He will allow us to go through it.
But don’t feel bad. Remember His words: He has the keys of Hades and death (Rev.1: 18). Ultimately He will deliver us from the power of death in the day of resurrection. Praise the Lord.
Second, this means “He delivers you from the power of destruction”. Satan is the author of destruction. If given chance, he destroys relationship, families, organizations, companies, communities, nations, and lives. He is merciless. He took no pity on his victims. He gloats over the cruel deaths wrought by war and terrorism. He loves to tear down lives of children, youth and adult. He does not want to spare anyone. Be warned! The power of destruction is at work. So I say this morning, do not play with the devil. Come to Jesus while there is time. Confess your sins and repent. Do not allow satan to tear you down or use you to tear down lives of others. Thank God, Jesus is our good shepherd. He is able to protect us in the hollow of His hands. The fact that we are here and the fact that our family is intact are clear signs of God’s faithful provision and protection on us. Praise the Lord!
