HOW TO TALK TO YOURSELF
By
Jerry Falwell
INTRODUCTION
When I used to play football or sports, and when I missed a tackle or didn’t make a play, I’d talk to myself, “Come on, you can get this guy.” But that was just a “pep talk.” Sometimes it worked, sometimes it didn’t.
Today, I’m going to tell you how to talk to yourself and make a difference. A “pep talk” can only encourage you to do better. I’m going to tell you what to say to yourself that will make an eternal difference. We will look at David to see what he said to himself in Psalm 103:1-5:
Speaker: David
Listener: David
Subject: The blessings of God on his life.
Listen to Psalm 103:1-5 from the King James Version, the way many of us have heard it all our lives:
“Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases; Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with loving-kindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.”
Now I want to read Psalm 103: 1-5 in the New Living Translation. This is for the young people who study in a new version:
“Praise the Lord, I tell myself: with my whole heart I will praise His holy name. Praise the Lord and I tell myself never forget the good things He does for me. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death, and surrounds me with love and tender mercies. He fills my life with good things so my youth is renewed as the eagles.”
A. INTRODUCTION
David, the speaker tells himself to bless the Lord with all of his strength. He uses the phrase, “All that is within me.” Why? Because half-hearted prayer or half-hearted praise is not enough. Since a person cannot lie to himself, when David called for “all that is within me” to bless God’s holy name; he had to respond in kind.
1. Bless His holy name.
I want to remind you that the Lord’s Prayer begins by blessing His name. The first petition is, "Hallowed be Thy name," which means we are to "make holy His name." Since the most important prayer that’s ever given to us--the Lord’s Prayer-told us to make His name holy, and here David tells us to "bless His name," we ought to begin our prayers by “praising the Lord.”
I could stop at this point and preach on the many names of God, and never get into this message. Dr. Towns has taught three series on God’s name in my Pastor’s Bible Class, and all three series have become very successful books. Dr. Towns studied and found over 800 names, symbols, and references to Christ in the Bible. Then he studied and found over 100 names to the Father, the First Person of the Trinity. Finally, he did a series on the names of the Holy Spirit and found over 130 names.
Why so many names? The many names of God tell us about the many different aspects of His nature and the many different things He does for our life. As an example, look at all of the names and titles I have, and how each of my titles shows a different side of who I am and what I do. As an example I am:
Father, husband, grandfather, pastor, chancellor, founder of Liberty University, preacher, etc. Then think of all the things I do, such as: I am a provider, comforter, counselor, exhorter, fund-raiser, solver of problems, listener to complaints, and I repeat it again, because I do it so often, a fund-raiser.
When you bless the Lord and His holy name, you should bless Him because of all of the different things He does for you.
2. Six Reasons to Bless the Lord found in Psalm 103.
David gives us the following six titles of God as reasons why we should bless the Lord.
1. Forgiver of sins . . . who forgives all your iniquities.
2. Healer . . . who heals all your diseases.
3. Redeemer . . . who redeems your life from destruction.
4. Blesser . . . who crowns you with loving kindness.
5. Satisfier . . . who satisfies your life.
6. Strength . . . who renews your strength like the eagles.
Talk to yourself about these six things God has done for you. But remember, this is only a beginning, why your soul ought to “Bless the Lord.” Probably there a thousand other things for which we should bless the Lord.
3. Forget not all His benefits.
When you daily bless the Lord, you do not forget His benefits. If you were to think of all He’s done for you, you would not forget His benefits. If you were to look at all of your needs, and problems to see how God has helped you thus far, you would not forget His benefits.
B. BLESS THE LORD BECAUSE HE FORGIVETH ALL YOUR INIQUITIES.
Some listening to my voice think that you have committed such a grievous sin that God cannot forgive you. Listen to the words of the prodigal son who left his father, took all of his inheritance, squandered it, and ended up in misery. He felt he could not be forgiven. He came back to his father to beg, "I have sinned against heaven and before Thee and am no more worthy to be called thy son: make me as one of you hired servants" (Luke 15:18-19).
This is a young man who thought his father couldn’t forgive him, even though he wanted forgiveness. When he went back to his father, the father did more than forgive him. "When he was yet a far way off, his father saw him, and had compassion and ran and fell on his neck and kissed him" (Luke 15:20). When the father listened to what the son said, "The father said to his servants, ’Bring forth the best robe and put it on him; and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet: and bring hither the fatted calf, and kill it; and let us eat, and be merry; for this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found’" (Luke 15:22-24).
Dr. Towns told a story in Sunday School class the other day, but many of you did not hear it; and I think it is worth telling it again. Johnny was a young boy who made a slingshot, and went through the farmyard shooting at the different animals but the boy missed the dog, the cat; and when he went into the field, he shot at a rabbit and a bird. He missed everything. Coming back into the farmyard, the boy shot at his grandmother’s favorite goose, he hit the goose in the head, and killed it dead. Johnny was terrified because he loved his grandmother, and yet he killed her favorite goose. He ran to the tool shed, got a shovel, and buried it in back of the barn; thinking no one saw it.
That evening after supper, Grandmother said to Johnny’s sister, Mary Lou, "I want you to wash the dishes." But Mary Lou turned to her brother and said, "Johnny wants to wash the dishes." Then she whispered to him, "Remember the duck." Johnny washed the dishes because he was afraid Mary Lou would tell Grandmother about the duck.
The next morning, Grandmother asked Mary Lou to sweep the porch and front walk, but she said, "Johnny wants to sweep the front porch and walk." Then she whispered to Johnny, "Remember the duck." All that week, she kept Johnny in bondage. Every time she had a job to do, she volunteered Johnny and whispered to him, "Remember the duck."
When Johnny could take it no longer, he went to his grandmother crying, confessing to having killed the duck. Then grandmother said, "I was standing at the kitchen window, and I saw you hit my duck, and I saw how sorry you were because I saw your face. I saw you get the shovel and bury him in back of the barn." Then Grandmother said to Johnny, "I forgave you the moment you killed my duck because I love you. You don’t have to worry about my forgiveness," but Grandmother said, "you have to forgive yourself. I wondered how long Mary Lou would keep you in bondage to her."
One of the great statements in the Bible is what Jesus said to the palsied man, who was let down through the roof. Everyone in the room expected Jesus to heal his palsy, but Jesus said to him, "Son, thy sins be forgiven thee" (Mark 2:5). What greater words of comfort to a guilty person that “your sins are forgiven.”
This morning--talk to yourself--remind yourself to bless the Lord because God is the Forgiver who has forgiven all your sins.
C. BLESS THE LORD BECAUSE HE HEALETH ALL YOUR DISEASES.
I believe that God heals diseases. He is Jehovah Raphe, the One who is able to heal. Over twenty years ago I was in the hospital in York, Pennsylvania, when I heard that the doctor had asked Kathy Hughes to sign the donation papers for the vital organs because in their medical opinion Charles Hughes was functionally dead. His father, Dr. Robert Hughes, went to the hospital chapel to pray for him, and I got on the phone to ask the entire Thomas Road and Liberty family to pray. I called for a day of prayer and fasting, and today Charles Hughes is alive and pastoring a church in Madison Heights. He has come back from the "figurative dead" to complete his seminary degree, his doctor’s degree; and today he works for us at Liberty.
Both Charles Hughes and all of us who prayed ought to bless the Lord because the Lord healeth our diseases.
On another occasion, I remember when the doctors told us that Vernon Brewer would die from cancer. I felt God wanted to heal him, and I asked all of the students at Liberty to fast one day and go without eating-and to spend at least one hour praying for the healing of Vernon Brewer, even though doctors gave him six weeks to six months to live. We prayed on April 25, 1985. That’s fourteen years ago, and today Vernon Brewer is still alive. He runs a wonderful missions organization called World Help.
Vernon and all of us who prayed ought to bless the Lord because the Lord healeth our diseases.
All thy diseases. What does the Bible mean when it says “healeth all of our diseases?” I’ve stood by the open grave and buried people who died of cancer and other types of diseases. Obviously, many good people have prayed for healing, but they have died of a terrible disease. What does this verse mean when it says that He healeth us of all our diseases?
Paul prayed three times that God would take a thorn in the flesh from him, but God didn’t do it in Paul’s lifetime. But in heaven TODAY, Paul is healed. God has answered that prayer . . . eventually. People that I have buried, who died of cancer, are in heaven today without cancer. Even though cancer is a terrible ravage of the human body, it is only temporary to us who believe in Jesus Christ. God will raise our bodies up perfect, we will be like Jesus when we see him, and we will have a perfect body. On Resurrection Day, we will be healed of all diseases.
Therefore, look beyond your sickness and this present life. Bless the Lord who will heal you of all your diseases.
D. BLESS THE LORD BECAUSE HE REDEEMETH YOUR LIFE FROM DESTRUCTION.
Technically the word redeemeth here is the Hebrew word gaal, which applied to the role of kinsman-redeemer who redeemed a relative from slavery. When Hebrews were in slavery because they couldn’t pay their financial debts, a near kin could redeem them from slavery.
The NIV translates this, "Who redeems your life from the pit." The Living Bible translates this, "Who ransoms me from death." I think it should be translated, "Who delivereth our life from destruction." I believe this verse talks about the many times that God protects us and delivers us from being killed. God protects us from premature death. What does this mean?
A small boy walks through a field, and a rattlesnake slithers away the opposite way, and the boy is protected. How many times has that happened to small children playing in a field or ditch? We parents ought to “Bless the Lord . . . who delivers our life--and the life of our children--from destruction.”
Perhaps, there was a mechanical failure in an eighteen-wheel truck heading your way. Rather than slamming across the highway into your car, God delivered you. Also, there could have been toxins or poison in some food that you ate, and by God’s deliverance, it did not make you sick and harm you. All of us ought to daily bless the Lord who delivereth our life from danger and destruction.
I think of all of the men from Bedford County who landed on Normandy Beach on June 6, 1944, they all faced death from machine gun bullets flying all around them and shells exploding everywhere. Many from Bedford County were killed in Normandy. But many lived. Those who lived through that terrible experience should say, “Bless the Lord who delivered my life from destruction.”
E. BLESS THE LORD BECAUSE HE CROWNETH YOU WITH LOVING KINDNESS AND TENDER MERCIES.
In this place David thanks God for all of the good things that God had given to him. God blessed David with His love and tender mercies. When I think of all of the things that God has given to me, I praise him for his love and tender mercies. What are these things?
Salvation
Calling into ministry
Macel
Children
Grandchildren
Thomas Road Baptist Church
Liberty University
A good mind
Good health
Answers to prayer
His inner confidence and outward guidance
F. BLESS THE LORD BECAUSE HE SATISFIES YOUR MOUTH WITH GOOD THINGS
Everyday you ought to talk with yourself to bless the Lord because He gives you good things and satisfies you, which means He makes you happy. Obviously, the first thing we think of is good food to eat, then we think of good clothing, a good house, a good car and other things. I believe these are included in this verse; but it includes so much more.
In 1910 at the World Missionary Conference of the Student Volunteer Movement, A. T. Pierson, who became a great leader in the church, went to a workshop that captured his attention. The title of the workshop was "The Resources of the Successful Christian Life." A. T. Pierson wanted to live a successful Christian life but was up some weeks and down others. He wanted to be a consistent Christian but was not. The speaker stood up and said the following:
"The resources of the Christian life is
Jesus Christ-that’s all and that’s enough."
The speaker repeated the phrase three or four times, indicating that nothing that man could do, such as Bible study, prayer, witnessing, and the other disciplines could give the victorious Christian life. The speaker constantly said the only resource that would make us happy was Jesus Christ.
I learned that lesson my first year at Baptist Bible College in Springfield, Missouri, when I got a key to an empty dormitory room on the third floor. Each day after lunch, I took books to that room to read Watchman Nee, R. A. Torrey, J. Hudson Taylor, Andrew Murray, Hanna Whitall Smith and the other great writers of deeper life books. It was in that room that I learned the resources of the Christian life and Jesus Christ. That was all I needed and that was enough.
I know that the resource--Jesus Christ--has seen me through the financial dark days and the bright growth days of Liberty University. I can say with the Apostle Paul,
"That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings being made conformable unto His death" (1 Corinthians 3:10). My greatest satisfaction is knowing Jesus Christ. Again I witness with Paul the words that he wrote in Philippians, "For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain" (Philippians 1:21).
G. BLESS THE LORD BECAUSE YOUR YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLES.
What would most of us like to get? We would like to be young again. So many people in life are searching for the illusive “fountain of youth.” It’s not in Florida, it’s not in skin creams that make you young, it’s not in vitamin pills that make you stronger, and it’s not in special diets. A few things may slow down your aging, but if you are searching for youth, I have good news for you. You can live your youth again.
First, you must be born again, Jesus told Nicodemus, “Marvel not that I say unto you, ye must be born again.”
You may be physically old, and get winded when you walk up the stairs, but you will have the strength of youth-spiritual strength. Your youth can be renewed like the eagles.
David talked to himself about having his youth renewed as a young man so he could mount up with wings as eagles. I think Isaiah probably read this verse from David’s when later he wrote the following:
"But they that wait up on the Lord shall
renew their strength; they shall mount up with
wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;
and they shall walk, and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:31
CONCLUSION
Today, I have challenged you to talk to yourself--to bless the Lord--because of at least 6 things God has done for you:
God is your Forgiver--He forgives all iniquities.
God is your Healer--He heals all iniquities.
God is your Protector--He delivers your life from destruction.
God is your Blesser--He crowns your work with good things.
God is your Satisfier--He satisfies your life.
God is your Strength--He renews your strength like the eagles.
If you have never really accepted Jesus as your personal Savior, would you do it right now? Do not delay or put it off. If you would like to receive Christ by faith, pray this simple prayer in your heart:
Dear Lord, I acknowledge that I am a sinner. I believe Jesus died for my sins on the cross, and rose again the third day. I repent of my sins. By faith I receive the Lord Jesus as my Savior. You promised to save me, and I believe You, because You are God and cannot lie. I believe right now that the Lord Jesus is my personal Savior, and that all my sins are forgiven through His precious blood. I thank You, dear Lord, for saving me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.
If you prayed that prayer, God heard you and saved you. I personally want to welcome you to the family of God. Contact us and ask for a copy of The How To Book or use The How To Book Online (Falwell.com). It is a booklet that will answer many of the questions you are sure to have about living the Christian life. And when you contact us, tell us about your salvation experience so that we can rejoice with you.
