Strength In Numbers

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.