In the Expositors Bible Commentary, they had these comments on the opening of Psalms 103…
Praise of God begins with the self. As the psalmist exhorts himself to praise the Lord with his "soul" & "inmost being," (i.e., his whole person), he has nothing else in mind than a full commitment to the act of giving thanks. The "name" of the Lord calls to remembrance all his perfections & acts of deliverance. "Praise" is the response of awe for God, while reflecting on what the Lord has done for his people. The opposite of "praise" is forgetfulness. To "forget" the "benefits" of the Lord is to disregard his covenantal lordship.
I began feeling the Lord speaking to my heart about the seriousness of what King David was being vulnerable to share from his heart.
It was a word he saw in the present time he was living as well as a prophetic word that would keep speaking to men & women who would come to know & accept Jesus.
For us today, this word has specific application because of impact of getting the message or allowing the power of continually recognizing how much has truly been done for us.
Psalms 103:2b NKJV …And forget not all His benefits.
To not be continually grateful on a regular basis is to lack real revelation of what Jesus has actually accomplished.
I want to share 3 things that are basic when it comes to what Jesus accomplished for us thru giving His life in death & resurrection.
I. Been Made Whole…
The Atonement is a complete work. But what does that really mean?
It is where Jesus voluntarily suffered for the sins, pains, & infirmities of humanity, died on the cross, & was resurrected.
Believers repent for sins, relying on the Atonement to receive divine forgiveness & purification.
The finished work of the cross of Jesus takes a sinful, broken & messed up person & makes them “Whole” again.
Colossians 2:13-15 TPT This “realm of death” describes our former state, for we were held in sin’s grasp. But now, we’ve been resurrected out of that “realm of death” never to return, for we are forever alive & forgiven of all our sins! He canceled out every legal violation we had on our record & the old arrest warrant that stood to indict us. He erased it all—our sins, our stained soul—He deleted it all & they cannot be retrieved! Everything we once were in Adam has been placed onto His cross & nailed permanently there as a public display of cancellation. Then Jesus made a public spectacle of all the powers & principalities of darkness, stripping away from them every weapon & all their spiritual authority & power to accuse us. And by the power of the cross, Jesus led them around as prisoners in a procession of triumph. He was not their prisoner; they were His!
Not because of the good that I did, but rather the great things that Jesus did for me!
Do you fully understand that every person who truly repents, that very moment every sin they have ever committed has been wiped out never to be remembered any more.
2 Corinthians 5:17 NLT This means that anyone who belongs to Christ has become a new person. The old life is gone; a new life has begun!
Many who have been introduced to the gospel never truly get this down in them & therefore never truly become “whole” in the brand new life that has been made available thru the Atonement of Jesus.
This will hinder a person from being able to plug into & accept the other provisions that have been made available thru Jesus’ sacrifice for us.
Ephesians 3:17-20 TPT Then, by constantly using your faith, the life of Christ will be released deep inside you, & the resting place of His love will become the very source & root of your life. Then you will be empowered to discover what every holy one experiences—the great magnitude of the astonishing love of Christ in all its dimensions. How deeply intimate & far-reaching is His love! How enduring & inclusive it is! Endless love beyond measurement that transcends our understanding—this extravagant love pours into you until you are filled to overflowing with the fullness of God! Never doubt God’s mighty power to work in you & accomplish all this. He will achieve infinitely more than your greatest request, your most unbelievable dream, & exceed your wildest imagination! He will outdo them all, for His miraculous power constantly energizes you.
WOW! Now let’s move on to the next thing the Holy Spirit is speaking to us tonight.
II. Brings Complete Healing…
Psalms 103:3 NKJV Who forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases…
When you think about the fact that he was reminding us that this is the things that has been supplied by our God.
This is not something we work for or that we deserve, this was provision for those who would come to know & love our Lord.
Think about this word…
Psalms 107:20 NLT He sent out His Word & healed them, snatching them from the door of death.
Healing is not just something He does, it is who He is! Jesus is the Word that became flesh & He is the healing God sent to us.
Proverbs 4:20-22 NKJV My son, give attention to My words; Incline your ear to My sayings. Do not let them depart from your eyes; Keep them in the midst of your heart; For they are life to those who find them, & health to all their flesh.
People are always arguing because they don’t understand why they have seen some get healed & someone else didn’t.
But the real focus should stay on “What does the bible say?” & determine to stay focused on that.
What did we see happening in Jesus’ life dealing with the people He was encountering…
Matthew 12:15 NLT But Jesus knew what they were planning. So He left that area, & many people followed Him. He healed all the sick among them…
Luke 6:18-19 NLT They had come to hear Him & to be healed of their diseases; & those troubled by evil spirits were healed. Everyone tried to touch Him, because healing power went out from Him, & He healed everyone.
If He was successful in delivering to us complete salvation, why would we think the other part King David mentioned would not be as real for us!
Mark 16:17-18 TPT And these miracle signs will accompany those who believe: They will drive out demons in the power of My name. They will speak in tongues. They will be supernaturally protected from snakes & from drinking anything poisonous. And they will lay hands on the sick & heal them.
The decision is on each one of us on whose word we are going to believe.
III. Walking in True Freedom…
As we have honestly looked at the provision that Jesus made thru the Atonement, it should be easy to see why we believe every believer should walk in total “Freedom”.
Psalms 103:4-5 TPT You’ve rescued me from hell & saved my life. You’ve crowned me with love & mercy. You satisfy my every desire with good things. You’ve supercharged my life so that I soar again like a flying eagle in the sky!
As you see the power of this Psalm, you begin to see why the Holy Ghost would want to remind God’s church of these powerful truths.
We must never forget… It is the truth that you know & embrace that brings true “Freedom” continuously in your life.
John 8:32 TPT For if you embrace the truth, it will release true freedom into your lives.
The church has to once again hear the voice of the Spirit of God & freshly embrace the truth so that it begins demonstrating to the lost world the life changing power & Freedom Jesus has provided.
2 Corinthians 3:16-17 TPT But the moment one turns to the Lord with an open heart, the veil is lifted & they see. Now, the “Lord” I’m referring to is the Holy Spirit, & wherever He is Lord, there is freedom.
Freedom from sin, Deliverance, Healing & all other miraculous provisions God has made available to us should be sought after with great diligence.
If someone told you they found out someone buried a $100,000 in your backyard somewhere, how diligent would you be digging until you found it?
2 Peter 1:3-10 NLT By His divine power, God has given us everything we need for living a godly life. We have received all of this by coming to know Him, the one who called us to Himself by means of His marvelous glory & excellence. And because of His glory & excellence, He has given us great & precious promises. These are the promises that enable you to share His divine nature & escape the world’s corruption caused by human desires.
In view of all this, make every effort to respond to God’s promises. Supplement your faith with a generous provision of moral excellence, & moral excellence with knowledge, & knowledge with self-control, & self-control with patient endurance, & patient endurance with godliness, & godliness with brotherly affection, & brotherly affection with love for everyone.
The more you grow like this, the more productive & useful you will be in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ. But those who fail to develop in this way are shortsighted or blind, forgetting that they have been cleansed from their old sins.
So, dear brothers & sisters, work hard to prove that you really are among those God has called & chosen. Do these things, & you will never fall away. Then God will give you a grand entrance into the eternal Kingdom of our Lord & Savior Jesus Christ.
We just examined the life every believer should be living…
