Personal Gratitude, Part 2
In this message, Pastor Shane has us taking a look at gratitude from a personal perspective. Click here for the recording of this 11/24 Service, and you can fast-forward to 25:19 to get to the start of the sermon.
Our text comes from Psalms 103:1-5
1 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 iniquity,
who heals all your diseases,
4 who redeems your life from the pit,
who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy,
5 who satisfies you with good
so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.
Introduction…
Last week we took a look at the blessings of God on us, given a comparison of our standard of living as compared to the rest of the world
This morning, I want to narrow the focus considerably, to you personally
When you do a 360 degree examination of your life, what do you see?
To the Text
V1- this verse commands us to bless (barakh- to kneel, praise, salute) the Lord from our soul (nephesh- inner life, mind, emotions, passions, breath, seat of emotions)
And all that is within us
Because His name is holy (qodesh- set apart for something special, sacred)
How do we do this?
V2- David tells us to bless the Lord a 3rd time in just two verses- this is important
Forget not all His benefits (gemul- the way He has dealt with me)
The opposite of forgetting is to re-member- reattach or recall some memory of what He has done
This is an act of our own will- it’s a choice
V3- who forgives (salach- to pardon, to will to forget) all your iniquity (avon- crime, perversity, depravity, guilt)
One of the ways we bless Him is for us to remember that He has chosen to forget our sin
He heals (rapha- to make better) our diseases
V4- He redeems (ga’al, go’el- to make right); in the OT
To release from obligated payment or debt
To release from slavery
To recover property rightfully owned by someone
To release from a promise or vow
The avenging of a victim
The preservation of a family line- what Boaz did
He redeems us from the pit- (shachat, sheol- the grave)
He bestows us with chesed love and mercy
V5- He satisfies (savea- to be satiated or fulfilled, to have one’s fill of) you with good (tov- welfare, prosperity, happiness)
The result of this is that our youthful vigor is renewed
Perspecitive
Are you homeless?
Are you hungry?
Are you clothed?
Do you have gainful employment or financial stability?
Are you relatively healthy?
Can you think clearly?
Do you have dependable transportation?
Do you have family and/or friends on whom you can depend?
Putting Psalms 103.1-5 into practice
Get in the habit of daily blessing the name of the Lord
Do this by actively remembering His benefits- this is an act of our own will
Remember His forgiveness
Remember His healing
Remember His redemption
Remember His covenant love
Remember the satisfaction you have in Him
Enjoying the renewed energy that all this brings
