January 27, 2019
Morning Worship
Text: Psalm 103:1-5
Subject: Trusting the Lord's Promises
Title: Strength in Numbers
In a Peanuts cartoon Lucy demanded that Linus change TV channels, threatening him with her fist if he didn't. "What makes you think you can walk right in here and take over?" asks Linus.
"These five fingers," says Lucy. "Individually they're nothing but when I curl them together like this into a single unit, they form a weapon that is terrible to behold."
"Which channel do you want?" asks Linus. Turning away, he looks at his fingers and says, "Why can't you guys get organized like that?"
1 Corinthians 12:24-26 (NKJV)
24 ... But God composed the body, having given greater honor to that part which lacks it, 25 that there should be no schism in the body, but that the members should have the same care for one another. 26 And if one member suffers, all the members suffer with it; or if one member is honored, all the members rejoice with it.
Last week we talked about moving forward and how we had to forget about the past. Would you all agree with me that the Lord still has great plans for this church? It can only happen if there is unity. Unity will involve some soul searching and some repentance, and then some submission. But the one key that brings unity and will sustain that unity is the sanctifying power of God’s word.
Psalm 103:1-5 (NKJV)
1 A Psalm of David. 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.
I believe this is God’s Word...
I believe it is for me...
I accept it as mine...
I will appropriate to my life today...
Let’s break the first five verses of Psalm 103 down and see what it has to say to us.
1. Bless the LORD, O my soul; And all that is within me, bless His holy name!
Bless - to kneel
Bless the Lord – an act of adoration
Bless the LORD, O my soul…
nephesh (neh'-fesh) n-f.
1. (properly) a breathing creature.. the “soul” refers to the non-physical part of our humanity… our will, our mind, our emotions… and David, through the Holy Spirit says that we have to make ourselves do that. Our fallen nature tends to want to say bless my soul o my Lord and that even has become the mantra of many churches. Worship is our responsibility. We must make ourselves worship. It is not something that just happens.
And here is why we bless Him – praise Him!
2. Bless the LORD, O my soul, And forget not all His benefits:
I have to tell you this… there is something that I have noticed over the years… for a long time I didn’t understand it… as a first generation Pentecostal the benefits were so important to me. I longed to see the manifestation of God’s power at work in the church every time we gathered. Becazuse I see that as proof that God’s Word is true. I have seen older folks who had experienced those things in the past become content with just having those memories of great spiritual experiences… and as I get older I kind of get it. The closer you get to home going, the less it seems that we want to do anything to prolong our time here.
But folks, I want you to understand something… that is called complacency, and it is not what the Lord intends for us… If a church is going to die it will be because of spiritual complaceny...
Bits & Pieces, May 28, 1992, p. 15.
Complacency is a blight that saps energy, dulls attitudes, and causes a drain on the brain. The first symptom is satisfaction with things as they are. The second is rejection of things as they might be. "Good enough" becomes today's watchword and tomorrow's standard. Complacency makes people fear the unknown, mistrust the untried, and abhor the new. Like water, complacent people follow the easiest course -- downhill. They draw false strength from looking back.
Now look at all the benefits the Lord has for us.
3. Who forgives all your iniquities… (Amen) What are iniqities? Isn’t it the same thing as sin? Yes.... in a sense. Iniquities refer to the tendancy to sin... the sinful nature that we need to deal with... to erase those sinful desires or evil thoughts.
4. Who heals all your diseases... in the book “Christ the Healer” FF Bosworth says something to the effet, “Your level of faith to receive from God is directly connected to your assurance that it is God’s will to heal.
5. Who redeems your life from destruction... the word “redeem” is so important here. It refers to the kinsman redeemer... the next of kin who pays the price so that a family line is continued!
6. Who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies... Lamentations 3:22-23 (NKJV)
22 Through the LORD'S mercies we are not consumed, Because His compassions fail not.
23 They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness.
7. Who satisfies your mouth with good things… satisfies means to fill to satisfaction... the word translated mouth literally refers to ornaments or decorations. Our mouths reveal the very things that are in our hearts. The Lord’s desire is to satisfy our hearts with good things. And those good things always will be things that line up with God’s will for our lives revealed through His word..
I really want to focus on the last part of verse 5.
8. So that your youth is renewed like the eagle's.
We all know the story of Caleb, who at age 85 was ready to go in a fight to gain the territory promised him.
Joshua 14:11 (NIV2011)
11 I am still as strong today as the day Moses sent me out; I’m just as vigorous to go out to battle now as I was then.
At age 85 he was just a vigorous. Does that mean that he was in the same physical condition that he was when he was 45?
The word vigorous means, possessing vigor : full of physical or mental strength or active force.
Vigor is a state of mind. So, our youth can be renewed… our vigor for the things of God, our desire to serve Him and to see His power at work in the church through us…
I want to close with this…
like the eagle's…
The eagle is one of the most majestic birds yet there is something that happens to every eagle – the molt.
Some eagles live to be 30 years old, but at some point they begin to lose feathers, and their beaks become calcified and their talons broken off and their eyesight begins to fail.
So the very things that have always sustained them – feathers for flight, beaks to eat with, talons to hunt with, and sight to spot prey from great heights, now are failing. They lose their appetites and will only eat fresh meat. Meanwhile, others that are going through the molting process begin to peck on each other and will sometimes kill a weakened bird.
But there is something miraculous that takes place in the process.
1. As the weakened birds lose their ability to fly, other eagles who have been through the process will find a place for them in a valley where they can go to stay out of harms way and oftentimes will help them fly to a large rock as a place of refuge. It is a place where the sun can shine on them.
2. As they lie on the rock and absorb the sun, other eagles see them and will begin to drop fresh meat for them to eat. It is never the younger eagles that do this, but those who have been through the molting process. One writer, with knowledge of these things states... "It is a most pathetic sight to see. Four or five eagles molting in the valley, where they once would only soar over to look for fresh kill. But, If they don't renew, they will die. "
3. The birds become weaker and weaker and then there is a sound coming from the sky. The great squawking and screeching of other birds encouraging them to eat and regain their strength. Some do and become stronger, others just roll over and die.
This is important. We all need encouragement, so there is a commitment here that is required from all of us. Let’s encourage one another…1 Thessalonians 5:11 (NIV2011)
11 Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.
Secondly, it is your responsibility to respond to the help and encouragement you receive.
Like the eagle…
They scratch at their own claws until they are down to nothing and so will grow new again. They will knock beaks until the calcium that was weighing them down falls off.
Some will not be content to sit and die, they will do something to help themselves.
But the greatest thing of all The Eagle does to benefit itself while it is in this state of molting is to choose a spot were the sun can shine directly on them. The Experts tell us this, they will find a rock and they will lay on it. They will do so as they bathe in the presence of the sun.
When we get weakened, we will rely on others to encourage us.
When we become weakened we can make a choice to give up and die, or to soak in the Presence of the Son – not sun – and regain our strength.
Psalm 103:1-5 (NKJV)
1 A Psalm of David. 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.
