Preaching to Yourself!
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 not all his benefits,
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
6 The LORD works righteousness
and justice for all who are oppressed.
7 He made known his ways to Moses,
his acts to the people of Israel.
8 The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
14 For he knows our frame;
he remembers that we are dust.
15 As for man, his days are like grass;
he flourishes like a flower of the field;
16 for the wind passes over it, and it is gone,
and its place knows it no more.
17 But the steadfast love 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 to do his commandments.
19 The LORD has established his throne in the heavens,
and his kingdom rules over all
20 Bless the LORD, O you his angels,
you mighty ones who do his word,
obeying the voice of his word!
21 Bless the LORD, all his hosts,
his ministers, who do his will!
22 Bless the LORD, all his works,
in all places of his dominion.
Bless the LORD, O my soul!
Do you ever hear about the need to be hopeful and optimistic (events are ordered for the best)? A lot of people will talk about this:
Psychology and counseling articles say things like:
Positive thinking can have a range of physical and mental health benefits. Building a few habits, like positive self-talk and journaling, can help you get started.
TED Talks. Kevin Kellyspoke on how the future will be shaped by optimist. Hundreds of thousands watched. optimism is not only related to success but it leads to success. The need for positive thinking. Why optimistic in times of pandemic, racial tensions. Every breakthrough has required optimism. The making of the airplane. History is shaped by optimism. If we are going to shape the future it will require optimism.
I think we can all see the importance of optimism. But how can you be optimistic? Just being optimistic is hard to fathom if we are created with no purpose, life has no meaning, and we will soon die, and be gone for eternity. Why be optimistic in a nihilistic world?
Many will even pilfer the Bible for verses on positive thinking and optimism.
In 2003, writer Elizabeth Gibson spotted a big, colorful painting in a pile of Manhattan trash. Twenty minutes ahead of the garbage truck, she lugged the canvas home to her tiny apartment. That painting turned out to be Rufino Tamayo's Tres Personajes, which stolen from a Houston warehouse 20 years prior. The piece was returned to its anonymous owner, was expected to fetch between $750,000 and $1 million at auction Nov. 20. Gibson said, “I know nothing of modern art but it didn’t seem right for any piece of art to be discarded like that.” The beautiful artwork didnt seem right in the trash. Often people trying to pull the beautiful benefits of a relationship with God onto mindsets and worldviews in which they simply do not belong. You cant take benefits/fruits of Christianity (hope, love) without body of the faith.
We are in a passage today that doesn't teach optimism per se, but rather the moral responsibility to be aware of God’s grace and workings and to celebrate, rejoice, and praise what he has done. An awareness of his work, more than inspires optimism, it instill a reason to praise and celebrate, and bless his name.
Big Idea:
We bless God’s name all the time,
because he has been good
and promises to be good
to us.
- Bless the Lord.
Bless God. Praise. Extol him for who he is and what he has done. If you are praising God you are grateful, thankful, and faithfilled.
We often strive for blessing. Much of the Bible is mans search for blessing. Abraham went out in search of God’s blessing. Moses. When we realize What God has done for him, we can stop searching and rest in him and what he has done.
Churches sing songs when they gather for a reason. God deserves our worship and praise. We were created to glorify him. When we engage in that we are doing what we were created to do. If we don't do that, the reason is often a failure to stir up our hearts and minds and voices to praise him. Maybe the band could play a little louder, but not quite too loud. Maybe they could do a newer song, but not too new. It is more about us seeing God for who he is and stirring up our hearts to praise him. If you cant do it on Sunday then you probably wont do it on Monday morning, or Friday night.
We need to feel the weight of our responsibility. We need to stir ourselves up to this.
The psalmist is commanding his soul to bless the Lord. He is not asking. He is not making a statement. It is a command. Bless the Lord, Oh my soul. He is stirring up his soul to do what it is supposed to do.
All that is within him. This word may have reference to the heart, the kidneys. It is all the psychological elements of a person. He is calling and commanding all these things to praise the name of the Lord. These things would be the seat of the emotions and passions of a person. So when it says to praise the Lord and all within me, it's not just a “hmm thats a good point.”
We are a society that in large part stifles emotions. Part of becoming the people God intends us to be is to rekindle these emotions. People are becoming more and more unfeeling, unsympathetic, unimpressed. They are apathetic… and yes pessimistic.
Singing is an attempt to rewire us. Blessing the Lord leads us to be the people God created us to be. First and foremost to the Lord secondly to who we are.
We are called to rouse our souls to do this. Bless the Lord Oh my soul. Its not because life has gone just as we wanted it. There is a wilful decision to respond to what God has done with gratitude.
Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. psalm 43:5
Dr. Martin Lloyd Jones, Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to your self? Take those thoughts in the morning when you wake up. You have not originated them, but they start talking to you, they bring back the problems of yesterday, etc. Somebody is talking. Who is talking to you? Your self is talking to you. Thow this mans treatment was this; instead of allowing this self to talk to him, he starts talking to himself, “Why are you down cast, O my soul? Lloyd Jones, Spiritual Depression, p20”
We need to preach to ourselves. Remind us of truth. Are you listening or preaching. Listening is passive. Preaching is active.
Let me tell you something else that gets stolen from us. The Lord and all the benefits he has given to us. The enemy wants to take them away. Leave them by the trash can. Make you forget about what he has done and make you dwell on what he hasn’t done. Be proactive and disciplined. One of the great sins in the Old Testament, grumbling!
Hows your walk with the Lord, terrible he just wont provide the revenue I desire him to. Never mind he has blessed you with a business and company.
Hows your husband. Blah, he just never seems to understand me. Nevermind that God has blessed you with a husband.
Are you going to praise or pout? Are you going to stir yourself to see what he has done? Are you going to be a dad full of faith and gratitude or one that begrudges everything you do for your kids. Are you going to be a husband that joyfully lays down his life for his wife or one that resigns to simply having nothing better to do in life. Be one who sucks the life out of a room and people.
Come alive.
Don’t Forget HIs Benefits. To forget is to: ignore, overlook, be unmindful, i.e., not remember information and so lose sight of its significance, implying no proper response or an improper response in some
What have you forgotten to do this week? It wasn’t that important to begin with.
Benefits. Payment given to someone for an action. There are benefits to trusting in Christ and following him.
Reasons to Bless him…
- Bless the Lord… for his works.
3 who forgives all your iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Whats ahead for you? What can you expect in this life? To get sick, to fall into pits, to be tired, to feel old. That sounds awfully pessimistic! Our goal is not to be pessimistic or optimistic, we want to be realistic. You have to see that. What else can you expect? That God will heal you, that he will help you out of pits, that he will renew you, that you will experience his love and mercy.
Don’t let the obstacles keep you from seeing the grace. Don’t let the hardship embitter you. You have seen him move.
Shaped by the hardship. I love what we are becoming as a church. Places that only know serving the Lord. That is awesome. We have been through hardship. We have been through the ringer. A time most of you probably would not have come to this church. God has brought us through it. He is bringing you through stuff right now. He has been with us in the hardship, he will be with us in the future.
Praise him for the future. Praise him for what he is going to do.
Major Thompson. The Lord’s going to bless this church.
Moses was lost and confused in the dessert. God showed him the way. Didn't tell him everything because this life is not us getting our agenda checked off but its about walking with God.
He will lead us, provide for us, he will satisfy us.
He will satisfy you. Some who has eaten and is full. Sated. MOre than enough. One of the curse God places on people who will not serve him, is they are never satisfied. Finding satisfaction outside of God is chasing after the win. Why is it that every time I go to the grocery story and go by the checkout and look at the magazines I see them full of people who are beautiful, beautiful spouses, wonderful careers, and everything in their life is falling apart. Addictions, divorces, broken relationships and kids. Because all of that does not fill the longing people have.
Their innards are longing for God and they are being fed cheap imitation fillers. Beyond burger.
Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.
Some of the most joyful, faithfilled, hopefully people I have known are that didnt have the big house, they had been through much adversity, and sacrifice, gut they had a joy in the Lord. God is with them and that is what they most want.
- Bless him for Salvation.
Psalm 103:10-12
He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
so great is his steadfast love toward those who fear him;
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
We have hope that we will live with him forever. That is a reason to be optimistic! It is a reason to celebrate him. Guys don’t sing in church, im just a more reserved kind of guy. Meanwhile they are at the football game in full body paint, jumping up and down and hollering at the top of their lungs.
We praise him because he gives us the greatest thing we could ever receive. Your greatest need is not more money. Your greatest need is not a bigger house. Your greatest need is not more, hair, darker hair, or no hair. Your greatest need is to have your sins forgiven.
If you are new to the Bible, this may be a new concept to you. If you are a mature Christ, you might have to ask if you have grown familiar and comfortable with this teaching.
Gym with Amanda.
But the Bible teaches we have all fallen short of the glory of God. He designed us for glory, but we fizzelded and fell like a bad fire work. We fell short of his standard. Commanded us not to lie, not to steal, not to covet, not to murder or commit adultery. We failed in them over and over and over again. Because we broke his law were lost our citizenship in heaven. We received judgment of death, sickness, hardship, and futility. We were separated from him. But God in his love did not forsake his people. He chose to redeem them.
Forgiven. release, pardon, i.e., remove guilt associated with a moral sin or wrongdoing associated with ritual or vows. When an offended party chooses to release a person from the punishment they deserve.
Going through security and you have a knife in your pocket. That is not good. I cannot be in this place and possess this. If you have broken the law and have not been caught a warrant for your arrest might be issues. If you are caught they will take you to jail. If you have sinned, and are a sinner, then you cannot be in the presence of God. He is too holy. You have no hope better things to come.
Presidential pardon. At the end of a president’s term it is common that they issue presidential pardons. They choose to pardon people who have been convicted of crime.
This is so important. Because you will feel your guilt and inadequacies in all you do. They can be paralyzing. People may say, “its not big deal.” If its no big deal then why do you feel so bad about it. The Bible actually does something different. It doesn’t minimize sin. People minimize sin because they don’t have a solution for it. The Bible says its worse than you think. It separates you from God. But then it says he has forgiven you. He has pardoned you. You are set free. Look at this verse:
As far as the east. This is infinite space. No poles delineating a point.
12 as far as the east is from the west,
so far does he remove our transgressions from us.
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
That means what happens is God’s holiness is so much greater. Your sinfulness is so much greater. And grace is what fills the gap.
Where justification meets sanctification. Where justification ignites sanctification.
Me after a service. You just make mistake. You say things you wish you could say over again. Not always bad, but just not what you intended. It falls short. My words feel so inadequate to capture and explain the glory of God. My limitations. Feel like a man who just saw the most beautiful sunset ever seen and I only have black and white crayons to draw it with. I can feel dejected. But this news sets me free. You are inadequate. He has made you adequate. Im saved not by my work but by his work for me. I have received the greatest gift I could ever receive.
Bless his name for forgiveness. Bless the Lord with joy. Bless the Lord with song. Bless the Lord by forgiving others when they offend you.
The enemy of your soul wants to minimize this. God wants you to glory in it.
Your father has given you all that you need. Kids want and need affirmation. Affirmation. Love you. Proud of you.
- Bless him for his grace and mercy.
IN Jesus we can be forgiven. We can have hope of being in God’s presence forever. But we can also trust that he will be gracious and compassionate to us now.
He does not treat us as our sins deserve. God said if you sin you will die. People sinned, and death came… eventually. He didnt do it right away. He gives us time to repent. He is slow to anger. Abounds in steadfast love. He shows us compassion.
God’s grace is expressed in forgiveness to those who are guilty, and patience with those who are corrupt. We keep on sinning.
Professor whose dog got out.
The LORD is merciful and gracious,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
9 He will not always chide,
nor will he keep his anger forever.
10 He does not deal with us according to our sins,
nor repay us according to our iniquities.
Anything this side of hell is grace. He does not deal with us as our sin deserves. He is slow to anger.
God is gracious. Dont take it for granted.
The enemy wants you to think you have messed up and cant come back to him. Nothing to celebrate but defeat. Grace teaches us to sing.
He won't always chide. To express disapproval, critical protest. Older brothers chides you for not doing your chores. Older sister chides you for not eating with a fork and knife. Protests having to sit next to some one who eats like animal. He may do it for a time. It is to get your attention and draw you back.
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Come, Thou Fount of every blessing, Tune my heart to sing Thy grace; Streams of mercy, never ceasing, Call for songs of loudest praise. Jesus sought me when a stranger, Wand’ring from the face of God; He, to save my soul from danger, Interposed His precious blood. |
13 As a father shows compassion to his children,
so the LORD shows compassion to those who fear him.
If you have sinned greatly, and are still here, that is God’s compassion. His compassion
Praise him. Bless his name. Sing a song. Perhaps you show others the same compassion God has show you. Do you show others God’s compassion or God’s judgment.
Forgiven people forgive others.
Not
Forgiven people get even with others.
Forgiven people chide those who mess up.
Forgiven people roll their eyes and give up on others.
Forgiven people know others are going to fail
No they forgive, they release debts, they are gracious, hopeful, encouraging.
People receiving grace extend grace. God is using the difficult people in your life to help you understand his love to you.
Bless his name for his mercy and compassion. When you see and experience the corruption of others show them compassion. Be slow to anger.
