INTRODUCTION
• PC VIDEO
• SLIDE #1
• It is so easy to forget the small things in life; it is easy to forget the BIG things also.
• Milk, a washer and dryer, a TV remote, the and most tragic loss of all, it looks like his iPad disappeared!
• During the course of life, we get too busy to take a moment to pause and give thanks.
• Think about all the simple things in life we can be thankful for. I am thankful for so much, life could have turned out so much worse, I could have been born into poverty in some other country with no way to escape it.
• When the Pilgrims celebrated the first Thanksgiving in the autumn of 1621, only 53 of the original 102 passengers who left on the Mayflower of September of 1620 we still alive to celebrate.
• SLIDES 2,3,4
• Here is a copy of an original passenger list written by Governor Bradford that he compiled up to 1651.
• It is also easy to forget things we do not see. God has done so much in our lives that we do not see, hear, or smell; nonetheless, He has done some great things for us.
• Those without Jesus right now need to understand that these gifts are meant for them too, if they will give their lives to Jesus Christ.
• Today we will explore Psalm 103:1-5 together. This Psalm is attributed to David, the timing of the Psalm is not easy to nail down, but it is probably penned later in his life; suffice to say that David was full of joy during the writing of this Psalm.
• When you look at the previous Psalm, Psalm 102, this one stands in stark contrast to the depressing Psalm 102.
• Psalm 103 starts out…
• SLIDE #5
• Psalm 103:1–2 (HCSB) — My soul, praise Yahweh, and all that is within me, praise His holy name. My soul, praise the Lord, and do not forget all His benefits.
• David says he is going to praise the Lord with all that is in him!
• His praise is in response of the awe for God, as he reflects on the great things God had done for His people throughout history.
• He reminds us in verse 2 not to forget God’s BENEFITS.
• This word BENEFITS denotes something that aids or promotes one’s well-being.
• We need to remember that what God has done for us is because He cares about out well-being. He wants us to be with him for eternity!
• Let’s begin this morning by looking at Psalm 103:3.
• SLIDE #6
• Psalm 103:3 (HCSB) He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases.
• SLIDE #7
SERMON
I. God forgives your sins.
• Forgiveness of sins is not that flashy sports car, nor is it that fat bank account we all desire. Nevertheless, having one’s sins forgiven by God is the key opening the door to all the other rich blessings God has in store for us.
• Have you ever done something to another person who you cared about, yet they would not forgive you?
• Does it feel great to know that you are sorry for something, yet here you stand unforgiven.
• Now imagine that person comes to you one day and forgives you. How would that feel?
• God created us with freewill, we can choose to do good or evil. God gives us the freedom to do what we want; however, once we commit our first sin, that sin separates us from God.
• We will remain eternally separated until our sins are forgiven by God.
• Many folks want to dream up their own way to be forgiven, but we know in the real world that does not work.
• If you wrong someone, and you desire forgiveness, you cannot dictate to that person HOW they will forgive you, you must accept their terms to be forgiven.
• God is the same way. If you want to enjoy forgiveness, you need follow God’s terms, and not dictate to God HOW He will forgive you!
• God tells us that we are to put our faith in Him, that we are to confess Him as our Lord, we are to repent, and that we are to be baptized into Him!
• SLIDE #8
• Acts 2:38 (HCSB) “Repent,” Peter said to them, “and be baptized, each of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
• Colossians 1:14 reminds us that we have FORGIVENESS in Jesus! John 1:29 tells us that Jesus came to take away our sins!
• God does not hold forgiven sins over your head, later on in the chapter we are told…
• SLIDE #9
• Psalm 103:12 (HCSB) As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us.
• Do want to know what it feels like to be forgiven and accepted? Come to Jesus!
• Next let us see that…
• SLIDE #10
II. God heals you from the effects of sin.
• In verse 3, David said he is praising God because God had healed him from all diseases!
• He may be talking about physical diseases; however, the context seems to indicate we are still on the subject of sin.
• When one contracts a physical disease, the disease usually leaves some type of damage or it causes the body to not be fully functional.
• If a person is cured of cancer, there are still usually some after-affects, or reminders of the disease.
• When we are infected with sin, it destroys us from the inside out.
• As sin ravages its host, it slowly eats away at ones soul.
• When God forgives your sin, He also heals you from all the devastation it caused in your life.
• The scars from sin are removed!
• SLIDE #11
• 2 Corinthians 5:17 (HCSB) Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; old things have passed away, and look, new things have come.
• Jesus took our sins away!
• SLIDE #12
• 1 Peter 2:24 (HCSB) He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that, having died to sins, we might live for righteousness; you have been healed by His wounds.
• Healed! Can you let that sink in for a moment? Healed!
• You no longer have to be marred by the stain of sin, you are cleansed! You are no longer burdened by sin. You are restored. LOOK AT VERSE 4.
• SLIDE #13
• Psalm 103:4 (HCSB) He redeems your life from the Pit; He crowns you with faithful love and compassion.
• SLIDE #14
III. God redeemed you.
• Since sin separates one from God, we need to be bought back.
• David is praising God for being forgiven and healed from the devastation of sin. Sin is pictured as a life-threatening disease that has spread throughout his entire soul.
• God heals us from sin, but it does not stop there.
• He will redeem you. The word in this context means to rescue.
• It is the word used of God delivering the Israelites from Egyptian bondage.
• This word paints a beautiful picture of what God does in the redemption process.
• It not only means to buy back, as one would if they took something to a pawn shop, but it goes much deeper.
• In the Old Testament era, if a wife’s husband died and she had no one to take care of her, a kinsman, a relative would come in and pay off any debts that would cause her to be sold into servitude. If her husband died without leaving an heir, the kinsman would make sure she had an heir to carry one the family name.
• In Ruth 4, when the legal redeemer or kinsman could not fulfill his duty to take care of Naomi, so Boaz stepped up to take care of Naomi and took Ruth as his wife.
• SLIDE #15
• Ruth 4:10 (HCSB) I will also acquire Ruth the Moabitess, Mahlon’s widow, as my wife, to perpetuate the deceased man’s name on his property, so that his name will not disappear among his relatives or from the gate of his home. You are witnesses today.”
• God makes you part of His family, He takes care of you, He loves you. There are way too many people with no self-worth or self-esteem. In Christ, you never have to be that way, you belong to the family of God!
• David knew his life would not end well without God, God redeemed him from the pit, which is a euphemism for hell.
• How exciting is it to know in Christ what your fate is going to be!
• This thought fits in with the next reason to give thanks…
• SLIDE #16
IV. God crowns you with His faithful love and compassion.
• You are not just part of God’s family, He crowns you with love and compassion!
• God does not stick a crown of diamonds and gold, but rather He crowns us with His love and compassion, which is of much greater value!
• God crowns us with His love and compassion in spite of the fact we are all sinners.
• Today we call this GRACE, it is extended to all who come to Jesus!
• SLIDE #17
• Ephesians 2:4–7 (HCSB) — 4 But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love that He had for us, 5 made us alive with the Messiah even though we were dead in trespasses. You are saved by grace! 6 Together with Christ Jesus He also raised us up and seated us in the heavens, 7 so that in the coming ages He might display the immeasurable riches of His grace through His kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
• God was faithful to Israel in the midst of their lack of faith, He did not forsake them, they always had a way back.
• In the parable of the Prodigal Son, the father, who was wronged, longed for the return of his faithless, worthless son.
• The father never lost hope or love for the prodigal. God NEVER loses His love for you, there is ALWAYS a way back to God if you will take it.
• I PRAISE GOD FOR THAT FACT!
• LET’S LOOK AT VERSE 5.
• SLIDE #18
• Psalm 103:5 (HCSB) He satisfies you with goodness; your youth is renewed like the eagle.
• SLIDE #19
V. God brings satisfaction and renewal to your life.
• Here the meaning would be that God satisfies the needs, or provides what is necessary to my continued existence.
• The recurring needs of the body advancing in years are met, providing stamina comparable to that of the lofty eagle in flight.
• SLIDE #20
• Isaiah 40:31 (HCSB) but those who trust in the Lord will renew their strength; they will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary; they will walk and not faint.
• God will bring meaning and purpose to your life, your life will have meaning, you will have a reason to get out of bead everyday!
• SLIDE #21
• Ephesians 2:10 (HCSB) For we are His creation, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared ahead of time so that we should walk in them.
• Purpose, renewal, satisfaction, sounds like a lot to be thankful for!
CONCLUSION
• Instead of simply focusing our thankfulness for the stuff we can see, this Thanksgiving, let us give thanks for the spiritual blessings we have in Christ when we belong to him.
• Are you ready to be blessed, to be redeemed, to be saved from the pit?
• Are you ready to live a life with meaning and eternal purpose?
