[Audio Link: http://www.churchcloud.com/koinonia/sermon/the-benefits-of-knowing-god/]
I. Introduction
-- turn in
Bibles to Psalm 103:1-5 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
-- I was
reading a book by Anne Lamott this week and ran across a story that really hit
home -- Anne said she was driving by a carpet store and noticed a bin of
remnants outside -- one of the remnants was the exact color they had been
looking for to put in her children's Sunday school room -- so she went in and
paid the owner $50 for the rug and dropped it off at the church
-- the next
day she got a call from a lady at the church -- the remnant had a moldy area in
the middle and they didn't want to risk having it in the Sunday school room
with asthmatic children so they went ahead and returned it to the store-- Anne asked if they had gotten her money back, and the woman said the owner couldn't refund their money because his bookkeeper wasn't there at the time -- so Anne said she would drop by and pick up the money
-- when she got there and told the owner she needed to get her money back, the owner said someone had already picked it up, which Anne knew was not true -- Anne left and called several people and they all affirmed they hadn't received the money, but still the owner refused to refund the money, despite making several trips back to the store
-- to make a long story short, Anne got mad -- it wasn't fair -- here she was doing this for her church and this man was cheating her and lying to her -- she just kept getting angrier and angrier until she lashed out verbally at the man -- still he refused to give her the money
-- and as she left the store, ashamed at her behavior and what this man's actions had driven her to do, she had a momentary thought about Jesus -- what was Jesus doing while she railed at the carpet owner? -- was He standing there beside her, "embarrassed to tears, like when your kid has a tantrum in public"?1
-- I
thought a lot about that story this week, because I've been there and done
that, too -- I've thrown my own little hissy fit in a store when things weren't
going my way -- when I was either being cheated or being lied to or not being
served the way I felt like I should -- I don't know -- maybe you've never done
that -- but I certainly have
-- and it
never crossed my mind at the time as to how Jesus saw it -- that maybe He was
standing there -- watching me -- disappointed in me and how I was acting --
embarrassed that one of His kids would act that way-- as I was thinking about all of this this week, I had to ask myself, "Why? -- Why would a grown adult -- a grown Christian adult -- act like this? -- especially in public -- especially in front of people who may not be Christians?"
-- I think it comes down to being spoiled -- to thinking I deserved things done in my way and my time and when it didn't happen like I thought it should, then I was justified in throwing my little fit
-- I think ultimately it comes down to forgetting who I am in the whole scheme of things and where my blessings come from
-- to be honest, we have a problem in our American churches today -- we've become so accustomed to living the good life that we've forgotten the source of our blessings -- we just take them for granted, and forget that all that we have and all that we are come from the Lord God Almighty
-- and when that happens, we forget God -- we still have Him with us -- we carry Him like a spare tire in the trunk and pull Him out when we need Him -- but we just take His blessings for granted -- acting like these blessings were given because we deserved them -- and then getting upset when the rest of the world doesn't afford us the same distinction
II. Scripture Lesson (Psalm 103:1-5)
-- King
David was certainly a man who understood exactly what I'm talking about -- he
had been blessed in his life beyond comprehension -- he had gone from being a
shepherd boy -- the smallest and least significant member of his family -- to
being the leader of the entire nation of -- but, just like Anne -- just like me -- David started taking these blessings for granted -- he felt they were deserved and that he should be able to get anything he wanted at any time, no matter whether it was right or not
-- I believe it was this feeling of superiority -- I believe it was because David became spoiled -- that he did what he did with Bathsheba -- taking another man's wife simply because he saw her and wanted her and felt like he deserved her
-- and the consequences of that sin resulted in David's kingdom being shaken and David losing position and prestige and power -- it was only later, after David repented and turned back to God, that he was restored to his position as king of Israel
-- and in this Psalm, I see the outpouring of a changed and repentant heart -- a man who used to take for granted the blessings of God as his own right but who now recognizes that all that he has comes from the hand of God and he praises God here for all that He has done
-- so, I wanted to take a moment to look at the beginning of this Psalm to remind us of the blessings of God on our lives -- to remember that these blessings flow from His grace and not from ours -- that, as Rick Warren pointed out in his book, "The Purpose Driven Life," "it's not about us" -- it's about God
-- look
back with me now at Psalm 103, verse 1
Psalm 103:1-2 (NIV)
1 Praise the LORD, O my soul; all my inmost being, praise
his holy name. 2 Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits--
-- I heard
about this man who had gone to see the horses run at the race track -- as he
was watching the horses come out, a Catholic priest stopped one of the jockeys
and sprinkled water on the head of the horse -- when the race started, that
horse took off like greased lightning and won the race hands down
-- so the
man waited to place his bet on the next race till he saw what the priest was
going to do -- the priest came out and sprinkled water on horse number six, so
the man went and bet all he had on that horse-- the race started, and horse number six barely made it out of the gate before the other horses had finished the race
-- the man was very upset and went down to see the priest and find out what had happened -- the priest heard his complaint and said, "You must be a protestant" -- the man replied, "Well, I am, but what does that have to do with anything?" -- the priest explained, "You don't understand Catholic worship -- That's why you didn't know I blessed the first horse with speed and grace, but I was giving the second horse his last rites"
-- I wonder
if people came into our churches today if they would be able to tell whether we
were blessing the Lord in our service or giving the last rites -- in other
words, are we truly praising God when we come to church or are simply going
through the motions?
-- David
had been in a place where he had simply gone through the motions -- the vibrant
relationship he had with God had been replaced with a stale religion -- and
although it looked on the surface like he was still praising God -- his heart
was far away-- but now, as he pours out his heart in this Psalm, we see a David who is worshiping and praising God with his whole being -- David cries out, "Praise the Lord, O my soul and all that is within -- Praise the Lord, O my soul"
-- David has remembered what God has done for him and he no longer takes his blessings for granted -- he cries out to the Lord in true thankfulness and praise and gives God the glory and the honor and the blessing for who He is and for all that He has done
-- and David reminds himself -- and us -- don't forget all His benefits -- don't forget what God has done -- don't forget how He has blessed you -- not because you deserved it -- but because our God is a good and loving God who wants to bless us and who literally moves heaven and earth on our behalf
-- remember what God has done and praise Him for it
-- verse 3
3 who forgives all your sins and heals all your diseases,
-- starting
here in verse 3, David goes over some of the benefits of knowing God -- a list
of the blessings that pour out from the throne of God into our lives that we
should praise God for each and every day
-- the
first thing David tells us is to praise God for forgiving all your sins
-- when's
the last time you thanked God for your salvation -- when's the last time you
thanked God for the cross -- for forgiving you of your sins?-- I hate to say this, but as Christians, especially as Christians who have been saved for several years, we tend to take our forgiveness for granted -- we tend to look at it as an act of the past
-- we might go to God and ask Him to forgive sins we committed today -- we might go to Him in confession and repentance because of something we recently did -- but how often do we take time to go to God and say, "God, thank you for saving me from my sins -- thank you for the cross -- thank you for forgiving me"
-- David reminds us here to praise God daily for our forgiveness -- it is a reminder of what God has done and continues to do for us -- David tells us here that God has forgiven "all" our sins -- not just the sins of the past -- but those sins we are going to commit today -- tomorrow -- next week
-- those sins are already covered by the blood of Jesus -- already forgiven -- already forgotten -- look down at verse 12
Psalm 103:12 (NIV)
12 as far as the east is from the west, so far has he
removed our transgressions from us.
-- all our
transgression -- all our sins -- have been removed from us and forgiven through
the grace of God
-- next
David tells us to praise God because He heals all our diseases -- emotional,
physical, spiritual
-- this
verse does not mean that God heals of all sickness -- no where in the Bible are
we told that God always heals sickness -- remember that God's focus is on
eternity and on shaping your character and nature and spirit to live in His
kingdom forever -- this blessing is tied to the previous blessing of the forgiveness of all our sins -- God's healing is part of that forgiveness and often involves the consequences of those sins
-- sometimes that means He allows us to suffer the consequences of physical illness to grow us in grace and reinforce our repentance, much as the physical discipline of our children is meant to reinforce their obedience
-- sometimes God's healing is merely internal, as we learn to release the bitterness of sin and anger and unforgiveness and experience the life-cleansing flow of peace and healing from God's grace
-- sometimes our healing is freedom from sin and the filling of our lives with His presence -- whatever the need -- whatever the real need -- God touches us there and blesses us with healing for eternity
-- verse 4
4 who redeems your
life from the pit and crowns you with love and compassion,
-- David
continues his list by telling us to praise God because He redeems our lives
from the pit
-- the pit
means the grave, so this verse literally means we are redeemed from the bondage
of death -- we tend to forget the cross of Calvary resulted in two great
expressions of God's grace in our life-- first, we were forgiven of our sins as Jesus paid the price for them through His own suffering and death -- through His atoning death on the cross He paid the penalty that was due us because of our disobedience to God -- as the Bible puts it, He who knew no sin became sin for us
-- but, second, as this verse points out, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day as a promise of eternal life for us -- not only was the penalty for sin paid, but the chains of death that bound us were shattered and our lives were redeemed from the pit
-- no more does death hold us in chains -- no more do we have to fear what happens when we die -- no more do we have to grieve as the world does at the loss of a loved one -- instead we can praise God because of His redeeming grace
-- this verse continues with the command to praise God because He crowns us with love and compassion
-- what does it mean to be crowned with love? -- it means that as we experience God's agape love in our lives, we pour it out to those around us -- Jesus said the world would know us -- not because we put a sign up above our door and call ourselves a church -- not because we put little Jesus fish on the back of our car and wear Christian t-shirts -- not because we come to church on Sunday -- no, Jesus said the world would know us because of our love
-- we love because He first loved us -- and it is His love that enables us to love the unloveable -- to love our neighbors as ourselves -- to have compassion on those who are mistreated -- to pour out God's grace to the widows and the orphans and the least of these
-- to be crowned with love and compassion means we love the Lord our God with all our heart and soul and strength and we love our neighbors as ourselves -- it means we are known because of our love -- that when people see us they see the love of Christ flowing through us to them
-- verse 5
5 who satisfies your desires with good things so that your
youth is renewed like the eagle's.
-- David
tells us to praise God because He satisfies our desires with good things
-- God
wants to bless us -- God wants us to be happy -- God wants us to enjoy life --
as Jesus said in John 10:10, "I have come that you might have life and
have it to the full"-- a lot of people look at God and think all He wants to do is take away our fun -- all He wants to do is tell us what we can't do -- but they never consider the fact that God enjoys blessing us with good things
-- remember that the desires you have all originate from God because He loves us and wants us to be blessed -- it is only when we seek to meet these desires in ungodly ways that sin enters our lives
-- James tells us that every good and perfect thing comes down to us from the Father of light -- everything you have that you enjoy is a blessing from God -- whether that's material things or whether we are talking about your family or your health or your skills or talents -- all that you have -- all that you possess -- is a blessing from God and we should always go to God and praise Him for all that He has done for us
-- finally,
David tells us to praise God because He has renewed our youth like the eagle's
-- I guess
it's a symptom of growing older, but several times over the past few weeks I've
made the statement that I wish I was in my twenties again, knowing what I know
now -- as some have said, "youth is wasted on the young" -- and we
spend a lot of lives trying to recapture our youth-- think about Ponce de Leon -- he came to
-- Ponce de Leon came to Florida hoping to find this spring and regain his youth, but he ended up dying as a result of a battle with the native Americans -- Ponce de Leon was searching for something that he couldn't find on his own -- David tells us here the only way our youth can be renewed is through the grace of God
-- God's unfailing love renews our youth -- maybe not our physical youth -- but our spiritual youth -- I read one time that all of man's searches were a longing for a return to
-- it is a
fact of life that we lose our youth as we grow older -- and not just
physically, but spiritually -- we've got two new graduates in our family -- my
niece Cortney just graduated from college and my niece Alisa is graduating from
high school this week -- and it's always so refreshing to see the hope they
have for the future -- their whole life is before them -- so many roads -- so
many directions they could travel -- so many adventures await -- you look at
them and you remember what it was like when you were young like them
-- but,
over time, our hearts get calloused -- they get hardened by life -- by walking
through this fallen world -- and we forget what it felt like to have our entire
futures ahead -- to know what it is like to walk afresh with our Lord down new
paths, growing in our relationship daily with Him-- in one of his songs, Keith Green sang about how he missed his heart -- how he longed to have a new heart -- a heart that was young again -- a heart with baby skin -- he cried out for God to renew his youth and lead him back to Eden
-- David gives us the antidote for a hardened heart here in this verse -- by walking daily with the Lord and praising Him for all that He has done, our hearts will be renewed -- our youth will be renewed -- and we will mount up on wings like eagles
III. Closing
-- in her
book. "The Gift of Thanks," Margaret Visser points out that gratitude doesn't come
naturally to us -- she cites a study which observed how parents teach their
children to say "hi," "thanks," and good-bye." -- The
children in the study spontaneously said "hi" 27 percent of the time,
"good-bye" 25 percent of the time, and "thanks" only 7
percent of the time -- parents actually had to prompt their children to say
"thank you" 51 percent of the time in response to some action like
receiving a gift or other item
-- in other words, children had a
much more difficult time learning to say "thank
you" -- Most
children actually learn to say "thank you" before they even know what
it means -- it is only later, as they mature, that they come to understand the
emotions behind the words -- "In our culture thanksgiving is believed to be, for most children, the very last of basic social graces they acquire … .Children have to be 'brought up' to say they are grateful -- the verb is passive: they are brought up, they do not bring themselves."
-- in other words, we have to be taught to be thankful -- we have to be taught to be grateful -- as Visser points out, "The words come first, the feelings later."2
-- a lot of
us have forgotten how to praise -- we have forgotten how to thank God for the
blessings we enjoy -- we have begun to take them for granted -- and our hearts
have gotten calloused and our ways have gotten harder
-- David
reminds us here in this Psalm of the need to praise -- he reminds us that we
need to turn to God on a daily basis and thank Him and praise Him from our
inmost being for all that He is and all that He does and all that He has given
us-- we need to remember that praise is a state of being -- not an event on a calendar
-- as we
close, I want to encourage you to go back to this Psalm this week -- we only
looked at the first part of it -- go back and read the whole Psalm -- pray
through this Psalm and praise God for His blessings in your life
-- let me
give you a suggestion on how you might do that with these first five verses --
replace the word "your" with "my" and make these thoughts
of David your own as you go to God and praise Him-- for instance as you pray through verse 3, you might say, "Lord, I praise you for forgiving "my" sins -- I praise you for healing all "my" diseases"
-- try to really think about what God has done and how He has blessed you and praise Him this week
-- let us
pray
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1Anne Lamott, Grace (Eventually): Thoughts on
Faith
2Margaret Visser, The Gift of Thanks (Houghton
Mifflin Harcourt, 2009), pp. 8-15
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