Title: Blessing the Bless-er
Text: Psalm 103:1-5
Thesis: We bless God by recalling the good things he does for us.
Introduction:
How do we bless the bless-er? What does it mean to bless God?
When we bless someone:
ľ We praise them
ľ We exalt them or lift them up
ľ We honor them and may even be in awe of them
ľ When we bless someone we make them the focus of our attention
The Psalmist chose to bless the Lord or praise the Lord by remembering and recounting the things God does for him¡K and for us.
Perhaps this is an appropriate time to ask what it is that we say of a person who forgets good things that are done for him¡K what are you if you forget to remember what someone has done for you? I think we would think of that person as an ¡§ungrateful¡¨ person. The Psalmist is blessing God by remembering to remember to be grateful to God for all the good things God has done.
Some would say that a lack of gratitude is a ¡§sign of the times.¡¨ Paul wrote in II Timothy 3:2ff, ¡§In the last days there will be difficult times. People will love only themselves and money. They will be boastful and proud, scoffing at God, disobedient to parents, and ungrateful. They will consider nothing sacred. They will be unloving and unforgiving; they will slander others and have no self control; they will be cruel and have no interest in what is good. They will betray their friends, be reckless, be puffed up with pride, and love pleasure rather than God.¡¨
The failure to remember to remember and be grateful for good is an indication of the degeneration of human civility and cultural decline. Our text today calls us from our forgetfulness and reminds us to remember the goodness of God.
¡§Praise the Lord, I tell myself; with my whole heart, I will praise his holy name. Praise the Lord, I tell myself, and never forget the good things he does for me.¡¨ Psalm 103:1-2
The first benefit for which we may express gratitude to God is the benefit of forgiveness.
I. Forgiveness for our sins
¡§He forgives all my sins¡K¡¨ Psalm 103:3a
Sins or iniquities are just errors in judgment or mistakes. They are thoughts, words and deeds that are contrary to the will of God. They reflect a deliberateness on our part, to act out in ways that are contrary to the ways God would have us think, speak and act.
I like the response of the little boy when asked by his Sunday school teacher, ¡§What do you have to do if you want God to forgive you for your sins?¡¨ The little boy answered, ¡§Well, first I have to sin.¡¨
Many states statutes enacting Three Strike Laws that legislate mandatory and extended incarcerations to persons convicted of criminal offences on three or more occasions. A person convicted of the same crime three times is considered an habitual offender or incorrigible or chronically criminal. Three strike laws are designed to be tough on crime and allow no leeway for common sense, alternative penalties or extenuating circumstances. However, at some point the common good is deemed important enough to remove a person from society for an extended time.
The recent hit and run tragedy that took the lives of three members of the Frank Bingham family last weekend is a striking reminder that drunk drivers kill people and that three strikes may be two strikes too many.
But, the point this morning is not the pointing of fingers and identifying the sins of others¡K the probing question is more personal and the finger pointing is directed toward oneself.
The Psalmist was a realist and he knew he was a sinner who had benefited from the graciousness and forgiving spirit of God. He was the recipient of numerous forgivings. He wrote in Psalm 103:10-12:
¡§He has not punished us for all our sins, nor does he deal with us as we deserve. For his unfailing love toward those who fear him is as great as the height of the heavens above the earth. He has removed our sins from us as far as the east is from the west.¡¨
The first benefit for which we may readily express our gratitude is the benefit of forgiveness of sins.
The second benefit we receive from God is spiritual health.
II. Health for our souls
¡§¡Kand heals all my diseases.¡¨ Psalm 103:3b
It is true. God does heal us physically and we give God credit for our physical health. But, it is important that we remember to whom David is speaking in this text. He is talking to his own soul, so when he speaks of healing all his diseases, he is speaking of diseases of his soul.
The human soul, like the human body, may not be healthy. In fact, the human soul may be sick and even diseased. Some say that diseases of the soul are, things like guilt, fear, doubt, addictions, anger and unresolved bitterness, immorality, hate, jealousy, spite and greed. The lists of soul sickness in scripture would include those things noted as those things that are characteristic of the sinful nature. They way we were or are before we experience deliverance and freedom of new life in God¡¦s Spirit. (Galatians 5:16-26)
Some transformations are all about appearances. Since my hair-cutter person is now working way out in Broomfield, I have been going to a place called SportClips. They cut my hair, shampoo my hair, give me a scalp massage, apply a hot facial towel and give me a shoulder massage. When I walk out of that place I look and feel like a new man¡K but nothing has really changed other than my appearance.
God is in the inner-life transformation business. God is in the business of changing us inside.
I earlier referred to those who have been incarcerated for habitual criminal activity:
ľ Inmate population in U.S. prisons is 2 million men and women.
ľ Prisoners who are repeat offenders is 50%
ľ Percentage of prisoners who become Christians and become involved in faith-based activities who re-offend is 8%.
In March of 2004 The Rocky Mountain News ran a story titled: Playmate Turned Mother Teresa of Haiti. After Susie Scott Krabacker became a Christian the former playmate sensed that God wanted her to do something meaningful with her life. She began a series of trips to the slums of Haiti where she has built six school and three orphanages for the poorest of the poor in that country.
She is a model of what happens to the inner life of a person who lets God transform t
hem into new creations in Christ. ¡§Those who become Christians become new persons. They are not the same anymore, for the old life is gone and the new has begun.¡¨ II Corinthians 5:17
The Psalmist knew what he could have been had God not made him into a new person¡K most of us should have some idea of what we could be and would be if it were not for the transforming work of God in our lives. So it is fitting that we bless God for who we are and what we will yet be.
The third benefit we receive from God is a new lease on life.
III. Gives us a new lease on life
¡§He ransoms me from destruction and death and surrounds me with love and tender mercies.¡¨ 103:4
I am not familiar with the business of pawn shops but if my general understanding of the concept is correct, if I need money I may take something of value into a pawn shop. The pawn shop owner will assess the value of my asset and give me a specified amount of money for the item I am pawning. He will hold my asset for a specified time during which I may come in and buy back my asset for the amount lent plus some interest. If I do not return to buy my asset out of hock¡K the pawn shop owner will affix a higher and more realistic value to my asset and sell it to someone else.
One way we may look at this is that we have hocked our lives and despite our best efforts¡K we simply cannot ever save ourselves. We never are able to get enough resources together to get ourselves out of hock spiritually. But, God steps in and pays the price necessary and buys our freedom or ransoms us or redeems us so that we are no longer in hock but free to live again.
Another way to look at this is to think of our lives as space we occupy. It isn¡¦t space we own but are allowed to lease or use. When we use the word ¡§lease¡¨ it is usually in conjunction with a rental agreement for a particular property¡K a new lease gives us the right to occupy a space. In this case, it means we have a new opportunity to occupy the space of our lives. We are given, so to speak, a new lease on life or a fresh start.
How many of us have failed miserably in life at one time or another? We may not have fallen as far as Ted Haggard has fallen or King David fell but we know well the feeling of loss and have wondered if we would ever really live again. God is in the business of lifting us to our feet and giving us another start in life.
It is fitting that we pray for memory¡K the memory of remembering where we have been and what we could be and what we are, by the grace and goodness of God. The third thing God does for us is that he ransoms us from a wasted life and give us a fresh new lease on life or a new beginning in life.
And the fourth benefit is the gift of happiness as we age.
IV. Happiness as we age
¡§He fills my life with good things. My youth is renewed like the eagles.¡¨ Psalm 103:5
When I read this verse I think of my life as something like a hot-fudge sundae. I am like the chilled dish lifted from the freezer and filled with the very best vanilla ice cream. Hot fudge is poured around and over the ice cream of my life and then someone mounds up layers of whipped cream to a point and then places a big red maraschino cherry right on the very top.
John Phillips commented in his book Exploring the Psalms, that Howard Hughes died at the age of seventy with a probated estate valued at over two and a half billion dollars. He spent the last twenty years of his life living largely in seclusion, never changing out of his pajamas and living on fudge and cake. He weighed ninety pounds when he died¡K
Howard Hughes did not age well. He was an unhappy man, old well beyond his years. He was a man who knew nothing of noting the good things in his life or vitality in his aging.
One of the things I have enjoyed over the last eight or nine years is spending a week or ten days at the Mylander cabin on Beaton¡¦s Lake in the UP. The first year I was there a neighbor took me on a little tour of the lake in his boat. As we circled the lake, he pointed out various places including an abandoned lodge once used by the Chicago mob during the Al Capone days. He showed me a platform that had been built for the loon family that lives on the lake and then he pointed out a huge nest in a spruce tree on a very high bluff overlooking the lake. It was the eagle¡¦s nest.
When I am there, I enjoy looking for and listening to the young eagles, but I love it when I catch a glimpse of the big eagles¡K They just seem to soar and soar, longer and higher and see further. The Psalmist says God renews our strength like the eagle¡¦s. I used to think that meant the strength of the young eagles but these days I think it is the strength of the older eagles.
In my aging, I am not flapping as wildly as I once did. I am not squawking as loudly as I once squawked. I am not diving as crazily as I once dived. I am not flying as high as I once flew. I am experiencing the renewed vigor of soaring without the frenzy¡K I am enjoying the view from a life that has given me perspective. I enjoy watching the baby eagles learn to fly. I enjoy watching the young eagles strut their stuff. I enjoy not having to prove that I can still fly high and dive deep¡K I can just soar in the good space God has given me to enjoy.
Conclusion:
Recognizing the good things in life and expressing gratitude for them may take some effort¡K
Sometimes we need to be reminded to be grateful¡K we are like t he little girl who came home from a friend¡¦s birthday party with a whole bag of goodies. So her mother asked, ¡§Did you remember to say ¡¥Thank you¡¦ to Sally¡¦s mother?¡¨ She answered, ¡§Well, I was going to but when the boy in front of me thanked her she said, ¡¥Oh, don¡¦t mention it,¡¦ so I didn¡¦t.¡¨
I want to encourage you to mention it¡K I encourage you to forget not all of God¡¦s benefits¡K among them:
1. God has forgiven me my sins.
2. God has given me spiritual health.
3. God has given me a new lease on life.
4. God fills my life with good things and renews my strength.
