Psalm 103
A Psalm of David.
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 iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things,
So that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
We are continuing our series on “Breaking the Curse That’s Holding Back the Blessings.”
In the past few weeks we have discovered that we are first of all blessed by God. There are the blessings that come to all of mankind… the sun shining, the rain falling, the cool water that flows from the mountain streams, the air we breathe, these are blessings experienced by everyone. And I know that it’s not a popular thought among the world that we live in today, but it’s a fact, for the person that is a child of God who believes in the Lord Jesus Christ there are blessings beyond the ability of this world to comprehend. You can’t measure peace in the midst of the storm. You can’t calculate the worth of being able to see beyond even the grave. There are no indicators on the stock market that can determine the value of being able to experience joy even while the tears are flowing. Not to mention that we understand our hope is not found in this world. If our hope was only in this world and what it could provide we would be just as miserable as anybody else. But we know that there is a hope beyond death. There is a place that has been prepared for those that trust in Jesus Christ. And because we understand that, death itself cannot rob us of the victory given to us by Jesus. Only the children of God can understand these blessings.
We have also discovered that we are carriers of the presence of God. Everywhere we go we carry God’s presence with us. When we walk into a dark place the presence of God lights it up. When we walk into a desperate situation, the presence of God births hope.
When we come across a problem that looks impossible, the presence of God makes it possible. This is the blessing of God’s presence in our lives.
We have also discovered in this study that there are things that can hold back God’s blessings from us. So far we have spoken about the power of the words that we speak, how that they can bring a blessing or a curse. Then last week we spoke about uncontrollable anger. We know that anger within itself is not a sin, but when we lose control of it, and our words and actions become less than Christian-like, it then becomes a sin, and sin stops the blessings. And now this week I want to speak on something that can be an even tougher issue for us to deal with. In our scripture reading we find the greatest blessing given to mankind.
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Healing is not the greatest blessing. Prosperity is not the greatest blessing. Peace in the midst of the storm is not the greatest blessing. The greatest blessing that God has given to us is that He has forgiven all our iniquities. You see, without His forgiveness we are handed a debt that we cannot pay. Our sins have separated us from God. And there is nothing that we can do to eradicate those sins unless we have His forgiveness.
Without His forgiveness we are doomed to live a life void of His presence. The peace that we now have would be non-existent. The miracles that have transpired in our lives would have never of happened. The difficulties that we’ve come through by His grace and mercy would have overwhelmed us. There would be no intervention by His hand on our behalf, without His forgiveness.
This blessing of forgiveness was so important to God that He sent His only begotten Son to this earth to pay the price for us. All of the gold and silver in the world could not pay that price. That’s the cost of forgiveness. That’s the value of forgiveness. That’s the worth of the greatest blessing ever given to mankind. If you ever get into a situation to where you’ve lost everything you have, remember that you still carry the most valuable possession known to man, and that is the stamp of forgiveness. If you ever get to feeling like you’ve missed out on the wealth of this world, remember that you have something the wealth of this world could never buy, forgiveness. When the enemy of your soul comes against you with accusations concerning your past, you tell him that you have been given the greatest blessing that could be given by God, forgiveness that covers all of your past.
It is the forgiveness of God that opens up the door for the rest of God’s blessings to flow in our lives. Notice that it is His forgiveness that comes first…
3 Who forgives all your iniquities,
Who heals all your diseases,
4 Who redeems your life from destruction,
Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies,
5 Who satisfies your mouth with good things
Without forgiveness we would never experience the other blessings. You see, people that have a hard time accepting God’s forgiveness are missing out on the blessings that follow. Never doubt His forgiveness just thank Him for it. Thank God for forgiveness. It’s complete in its action. It covers everything, for He forgives all our iniquities. Thank God for His forgiveness, for it releases us from the final judgment to come. I may have consequences here for my bad decisions, but once I took them to Him and He said “forgiven”, the consequences end when I leave this earth. Some men’s sins go before them and some men’s sins follow them, thank God that you’ve already sent yours up and they’ve been taken care of and we don’t have to worry about any following us up. Why? Because we’re forgiven. The slates been wiped clean. Mercy has been extended through our Lord Jesus Christ and grace has been given.
Now, there is something else that we need to know about this blessing of forgiveness and that is this… He expects us to also offer this gift to those around us.
** "God’s forgiveness is not for decoration it is for use."
Eduard Schweizer
And when we refuse to forgive those who have wronged us, we create a wall that stops the blessings of God and causes undesirable consequences in our lives.
(Matt. 6:9)
The disciples have asked the Lord the question… “How do we pray?” They didn’t ask “Why do we pray” because they already understood the need for prayer. They knew that prayer is the life source to our souls. What they wanted to know was how to pray and receive the same results that Jesus was receiving. And here’s the response. Now remember, Jesus is God in the flesh. And if God is going to tell us how to pray, then I think that we ought to pay close attention to the instructions.
Matt. 6:9 Pray, therefore, like this: Our Father Who is in heaven, hallowed (kept holy) be Your name. Begin with worshipping God.
10Your kingdom come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Now He tells us to seek God’s will and direction for the day.
11Give us this day our daily bread. Here He tells us to ask for God’s provisions.
12And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. Here He tells us to ask for forgiveness on the basis that we have also given forgiveness.
13And lead (bring) us not into temptation, but deliver us from the evil one. Here He tells us to pray for the protection against the evil one.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. And now He finishes by telling us to remember in our prayers that God is the One in control. Amen.
14For if you forgive people their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], your heavenly Father will also forgive you.
15But if you do not forgive others their trespasses [their reckless and willful sins, leaving them, letting them go, and giving up resentment], neither will your Father forgive you your trespasses.
Can you see the seriousness of refusing to forgive? What Jesus is saying is… If you messed up last week and asked for forgiveness of that sin it was forgiven, unless there is somebody in your life, present or past, that you have refused to forgive. If that’s the case then every sin that you have asked forgiveness for, from the point of the offense, is still held against you until you forgive the one who offended you. Remember, forgiveness comes before the blessings flow and when we refuse to forgive, God refuses to forgive us which in turn stops the flow of God’s healing, His prosperity, His peace, it all comes to a halt. Not only are the blessings stopped but our un-forgiveness opens the door for the enemy to come in and cause havoc in our lives.
Matthew 18: 21 Then Peter came to Him and said, “Lord, how often shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? Up to seven times?”
22 Jesus said to him, “I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy times seven.(Again, Jesus, God in the flesh, explains how important forgiveness is to God)
23 Therefore the kingdom of heaven is like a certain king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants. 24 And when he had begun to settle accounts, one was brought to him who owed him ten thousand talents (ten million dollars). 25 But as he was not able to pay, his master commanded that he be sold, with his wife and children and all that he had, and that payment be made. 26 The servant therefore fell down before him, saying, ‘Master, have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’ 27 Then the master of that servant was moved with compassion, released him, and forgave him the debt.
28 “But that servant went out and found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii ($20); and he laid hands on him and took him by the throat, saying, ‘Pay me what you owe!’ 29 So his fellow servant fell down at his feet[d] and begged him, saying, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you all.’[e] 30 And he would not, but went and threw him into prison till he should pay the debt. 31 So when his fellow servants saw what had been done, they were very grieved, and came and told their master all that had been done. 32 Then his master, after he had called him, said to him, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave you all that debt because you begged me.
33 Should you not also have had compassion on your fellow servant, just as I had pity on you?’ 34 And his master was angry, and delivered him to the torturers until he should pay all that was due to him.
35 “So My heavenly Father also will do to you if each of you, from his heart, does not forgive his brother his trespasses.”
Most people realize that there is only one sin that God will not forgive a person for and that is the sin of blaspheming the Holy Ghost. But when someone refuses to forgive another individual, refuses to let loose of the offense, refuses to give up the grudge and refuses to release those feelings… God will not only refuse to forgive their sins but according to these scriptures He will also unleash the torturers into their life.
This is not a message to bring fear or condemnation. My finger is not pointing at anybody. The Word of God has been sent to this world to shine into the darkness of our lives. This message is being preached so that the enemy can be exposed and left without a place to hide. God wants to tear down the devils playhouse in our lives so that He can release His blessings. Blessings that have been held back, waiting to be placed into our hands. Blessings that belong to you and me.
How do I forgive somebody who has hurt me so bad? First of all remember that that you’ve been forgiven of all your iniquities. Ask yourself the question… “What if God refused to forgive me.”
And then you have to recognize the offence as an attack from hell. It was a plan set in motion, not by man’s mind but by the enemies mind, to rob you of God’s blessings and to enslave you.
Ephesians 6:12 For we wrestle not against flesh and blood, but against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places.
When Simon Peter tried to stop Jesus from going to the cross, Jesus didn’t rebuke Simon but He rebuked the devil himself. He was teaching us that people are being used by the enemy and that we need to recognize the source. And then attack the source. Forgive the person that has been used by satan and then go after the real culprit.
I want to end with a story I read…
** I was approached by the station manager of a local television station in Pensacola, Fl to contribute a 50 second devotional for his program transition period. I was reluctant to agree since I struggled to limit my sermons to even 30 minutes. But feeling impressed by the Lord to accept it I did. I sat back in my office chair and began to struggle with what I would share, when the Lord spoke to me ’a picture is worth a thousand words’. Immediately I thought wow, that’s great. I can hold an object in my hands and I’m already a thousand words ahead. But what object Lord? He said again "a picture is worth a thousand words".
Then the thought came… what could picture mean? The Lord said, "what takes a picture"? A camera, of course I’ll hold a camera. But what for? The Lord then taught me a beautiful illustration of forgiveness. He asked me how would I like for someone to be waiting to take my picture first thing in the morning before I had time to shave, shower and get myself together. My reaction was "no way". He then said… "when we refuse to forgive others, it’s like taking a picture of them when they are their ugliest". "Never letting them be anything else but the person who offended us". Forgiving others allows us to tear up those ugly images and sets them free to be all that God created them to be. None of us want to be remembered only for the bad.
