WEBVTT 00:00:00.420 --> 00:00:03.620 We're going to look today in Psalm 103. 00:00:03.680 --> 00:00:10.840 So if you want to turn your Bibles to Psalm 103, this is an important passage of the Bible that really speaks 00:00:10.840 --> 00:00:14.780 to the privilege it is to know God. 00:00:15.780 --> 00:00:20.080 And why this shouldn't just matter for you, but also the opportunity. 00:00:20.080 --> 00:00:21.850 It should be for other people as well. 00:00:22.460 --> 00:00:25.200 last time we looked at the Psalms, which wasn't last week. 00:00:25.200 --> 00:00:32.040 It was the week before we were in Psalm 95, and Psalm 95 spoke to us about the importance of worship. 00:00:32.980 --> 00:00:40.000 Psalm 103 elaborates on that, and Psalm 103 doesn't just talk about the importance of worship, but Psalm 103 talks 00:00:40.000 --> 00:00:42.500 about the importance of sustained worship. 00:00:43.320 --> 00:00:50.380 How do you not just get wowed by God and say, yeah, he's great and move on, but rather stay in that heart of worship throughout all 00:00:50.380 --> 00:00:51.270 of your life? 00:00:51.680 --> 00:00:58.760 Psalm 103 is one of those Psalms that encourages your heart to stay in that position of 00:00:58.760 --> 00:01:01.000 worship throughout all of your days. 00:01:01.340 --> 00:01:08.400 And I think this Psalm knows that our tendency as human beings is to often get distracted and to get off course from the purpose that 00:01:08.400 --> 00:01:10.580 which you were created in the Lord. 00:01:10.680 --> 00:01:17.150 But the only way you truly walk in that creation is to stay in a heart of worship as you seek God's face. 00:01:17.600 --> 00:01:24.560 And Psalm 103 is that Psalm answering that question, how do we stay in that place of worship all of our days? 00:01:25.380 --> 00:01:32.500 What makes this Psalm unique from all the other Psalms is this Psalm is written by David, and a lot of the Psalms in the Bible are written towards a 00:01:32.500 --> 00:01:36.130 specific purpose, especially when David writes Psalms. 00:01:36.320 --> 00:01:42.580 If you've ever studied the character of David, you would recognize David is a man of very high highs and very low lows. 00:01:42.580 --> 00:01:43.970 I mean, he went through it all emotionally. 00:01:44.560 --> 00:01:47.220 He was seemed like it was a very tumultuous life. 00:01:47.340 --> 00:01:54.400 When it comes when it comes to the heart of David, he had he was always rejoicing about something or in despair over something, and sometimes probably both 00:01:54.400 --> 00:01:55.690 at the same time. 00:01:55.740 --> 00:01:57.460 And a lot of his Psalms are written that way. 00:01:57.500 --> 00:02:01.680 But what makes Psalm 103 three unique is that none of that is happening in his life right now. 00:02:01.800 --> 00:02:02.600 At least you can. 00:02:02.760 --> 00:02:09.979 What you can tell from the Psalms that David is, as he's writing this psalm of worship, he's not necessarily going through 00:02:09.979 --> 00:02:10.500 a battle. 00:02:10.539 --> 00:02:11.540 He's not in a place of despair. 00:02:11.820 --> 00:02:18.920 He doesn't really have any enemies to speak of, and nor is he rejoicing over, over necessarily any, any significant event that has 00:02:18.920 --> 00:02:19.800 happened in his life. 00:02:19.820 --> 00:02:27.180 But rather this is more of a general or generic psalm about learning how to worship the Lord in a sustained way throughout all 00:02:27.180 --> 00:02:28.220 of your life. 00:02:28.460 --> 00:02:35.440 Now, just because I call it generic doesn't take away from its importance, but rather I think it should highlight it for us in helping us understand. 00:02:35.640 --> 00:02:42.840 When I when I grab Ahold of the importance of this Psalm and why David wrote it, this is a Psalm that compels my life to worship 00:02:42.840 --> 00:02:44.160 the Lord all of my days. 00:02:45.400 --> 00:02:48.060 What does it look like for us to do that? 00:02:48.100 --> 00:02:56.140 In fact, when you look at this Psalm, the way that the psalmist begins, the first couple of verses, depending on which translation you read, 00:02:56.540 --> 00:03:00.520 the translator can either translate this first Hebrew word as bless or praise. 00:03:00.600 --> 00:03:02.440 The same idea, right? 00:03:02.440 --> 00:03:05.300 Praise the Lord, my soul, all my inmost being. 00:03:05.420 --> 00:03:06.740 Praise his holy name. 00:03:06.740 --> 00:03:07.540 Verse two. 00:03:07.540 --> 00:03:11.110 Praise the Lord, my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 00:03:11.300 --> 00:03:14.060 And then at the very end of verse five, he summarizes it like this. 00:03:14.540 --> 00:03:15.240 This is the reason why. 00:03:15.800 --> 00:03:19.020 So that your youth is renewed like the eagles. 00:03:20.080 --> 00:03:27.300 So the psalmist, you see from the very beginning he's telling you this is the whole point of this Psalm for you is that your life would 00:03:27.300 --> 00:03:28.820 praise the Lord all of your days. 00:03:28.840 --> 00:03:35.920 And the reason I say all of your days, even though that phrase is not necessarily written here, is because the David, when he's 00:03:35.920 --> 00:03:42.980 writing the Psalm, he quotes this word praise three times and in a in a Hebrew mindset, any any time 00:03:42.980 --> 00:03:49.480 a word is used three times succinctly like this, it's to signify over and above anything else. 00:03:49.480 --> 00:03:56.660 This is to take precedent over all things in your life, that praise should be central to who you are. 00:03:57.300 --> 00:04:00.880 In fact, this kind of praise will define who you are. 00:04:01.280 --> 00:04:08.440 So the psalmist is saying, if you want to know, the whole point of this Psalm is to inspire your heart and continue praise of the Lord. 00:04:08.520 --> 00:04:13.340 In fact, if you were to look at the end of the Psalm, you will see that word praise is used again four more times. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:20.680 So he begins and ends this psalm with the same idea that this would take preeminence in your life, that you would carry this heart of worship all 00:04:20.680 --> 00:04:21.649 of your days. 00:04:22.380 --> 00:04:27.480 And he tells you the result of that in verse five, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 00:04:28.380 --> 00:04:31.930 The eagle is seen as an animal of strength and longevity. 00:04:32.700 --> 00:04:37.350 He's saying with this kind of focus on the Lord, this will be who you are all of your days. 00:04:37.680 --> 00:04:43.700 It's sort of like in the New Testament it says, though your outer body is wasting away, your inner spirit is being renewed day by day. 00:04:44.820 --> 00:04:52.080 And so the idea of who God is should rejuvenate your soul and worship of him and inspire you, inspire 00:04:52.080 --> 00:04:53.420 you as you move forward. 00:04:54.020 --> 00:04:55.450 So the question again How? 00:04:58.280 --> 00:04:59.340 How do we do that? 00:05:01.020 --> 00:05:05.060 How can we remain faithful in worship to the Lord all of our days? 00:05:05.940 --> 00:05:09.640 It's one thing to see the importance of who he is and recognize it and praise him. 00:05:09.640 --> 00:05:16.800 But man, we can get so easily distracted, lose sight, and before long we look back and think, how in the world did I get here? 00:05:17.960 --> 00:05:19.960 How do we sustain that? 00:05:20.000 --> 00:05:27.200 Well, point number one in your notes, the psalmist is already mentioned this at the end of verse two, 00:05:27.220 --> 00:05:27.980 and let me give it to you. 00:05:27.980 --> 00:05:32.490 He says, do not forget, do not forget. 00:05:33.940 --> 00:05:41.080 And when we think about the idea of worship, there's a there's a couple of ways, I think, that the human soul needs to worship 00:05:41.080 --> 00:05:43.860 in and enjoys worship or should enjoy worship. 00:05:44.500 --> 00:05:50.010 One is we like to be captivated with the grandeur of things that are greater than ourselves. 00:05:50.200 --> 00:05:56.220 We like to be awestruck and wonder, and I think more so with children than adults. 00:05:56.220 --> 00:05:58.420 Sometimes you just get boring when you get older. 00:05:58.420 --> 00:06:00.960 You know, kids, the world is their playground all the time. 00:06:00.960 --> 00:06:02.340 They can always be captivated. 00:06:03.200 --> 00:06:10.310 Sometimes as adults we forget just how great things are, especially for when it comes to our walk with the Lord. 00:06:11.020 --> 00:06:18.240 But what we long to be inspired, we long to be captivated by the grandeur of creation. 00:06:18.820 --> 00:06:23.040 And if you're a believer, hopefully you attach that to the creator of it all. 00:06:23.380 --> 00:06:28.360 I mean, we'll go to places like the Grand Canyon to think about more than ourselves, right? 00:06:28.360 --> 00:06:35.400 To realize that the how spectacular life really is, or maybe go to the vastness of the ocean and 00:06:35.400 --> 00:06:42.520 we're reminded or you look at the beauty of the mountains, it puts your soul in this place of wonder that that's 00:06:42.520 --> 00:06:43.270 important. 00:06:44.200 --> 00:06:50.740 And in addition to that, it's also important to recognize those things that should be foundational to who you are as a human being. 00:06:51.300 --> 00:06:56.750 At the core of your substance your identity what defines you. 00:06:57.240 --> 00:07:04.640 And this is exactly what the psalmist is going to get into both of those ideas that the that at 00:07:04.640 --> 00:07:07.820 the very root of your identity. 00:07:07.940 --> 00:07:10.540 What what's foundational to your substance. 00:07:11.580 --> 00:07:18.620 And at the same time, to remind your soul to be captivated by the beauty of that substance, as it should 00:07:18.620 --> 00:07:19.420 be in the Lord. 00:07:20.160 --> 00:07:25.430 And the first thing he says to us in these opening verses, praise the Lord all your soul. 00:07:25.680 --> 00:07:29.060 Praise, praise, and the reason we don't. 00:07:29.060 --> 00:07:32.840 At the end of verse two, he reminds us, is that we so easily forget. 00:07:34.640 --> 00:07:36.080 We forget. 00:07:36.080 --> 00:07:43.180 And this idea of forgetting is this failure to recall that we allow something 00:07:43.180 --> 00:07:47.330 else to shape us rather than what we were intended for. 00:07:48.120 --> 00:07:54.280 You know, we talked about when we looked at Psalm 95 that worship worship is what shapes you. 00:07:54.900 --> 00:07:58.760 And it's impossible for you as a human being not to worship something. 00:07:59.700 --> 00:08:06.270 You were created as a being to put your faith in something, and therefore whatever you put your faith in, you will ultimately worship. 00:08:06.440 --> 00:08:08.100 And what you worship, you will become. 00:08:08.720 --> 00:08:16.080 And I don't care what your faith background is, even if you're atheist, you as a human being will look for something to give you worth, value and 00:08:16.080 --> 00:08:23.240 meaning and whatever that is, you put trust in it and ultimately end up worshiping and that worship will 00:08:23.240 --> 00:08:24.710 shape you. 00:08:25.360 --> 00:08:32.120 And when we forget the sacredness of who God is, it leads us down paths that God never intended for us. 00:08:32.220 --> 00:08:37.039 And this is what the psalmist is saying, that when we forget, we lose our way. 00:08:37.460 --> 00:08:44.640 In fact, following that similar idea, the Apostle Peter in Second Peter one, he says this for this 00:08:44.640 --> 00:08:50.850 very reason, because he's saying in a similar idea that we tend to get lost as human beings. 00:08:51.020 --> 00:08:58.080 He says, for this very reason, Make every effort to add to your faith, goodness and to goodness, knowledge and to knowledge, self-control and self-control, perseverance 00:08:58.080 --> 00:09:00.560 and to perseverance, godliness and to godliness. 00:09:00.680 --> 00:09:01.580 Mutual affection. 00:09:01.620 --> 00:09:02.630 And to mutual affection. 00:09:02.680 --> 00:09:03.160 Love. 00:09:03.280 --> 00:09:10.300 For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge 00:09:10.300 --> 00:09:12.240 of our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:09:12.440 --> 00:09:13.070 But look at this. 00:09:13.220 --> 00:09:16.680 So he's describing this is what a godly life should look like, right? 00:09:16.760 --> 00:09:19.940 But if you wonder how do you fail from reaching that? 00:09:20.320 --> 00:09:21.080 Verse nine. 00:09:21.720 --> 00:09:24.260 But whoever does not have them is nearsighted and blind. 00:09:24.300 --> 00:09:24.760 Look at this. 00:09:25.820 --> 00:09:26.400 Forgetting. 00:09:27.680 --> 00:09:31.100 Forgetting that they have been cleansed from their past sins. 00:09:32.740 --> 00:09:37.410 See, the whole point of what Peter is saying is like a person that lives a godly life. 00:09:37.600 --> 00:09:40.010 He's really not coming to this and saying, oh man, I got a list. 00:09:40.180 --> 00:09:41.190 I got to perform the list. 00:09:41.280 --> 00:09:42.540 I got to try really hard at the list. 00:09:42.940 --> 00:09:46.760 What he's saying is, your life is ultimately compelled to live this way. 00:09:46.900 --> 00:09:51.360 When your life is saturated in who you are because of who God is and what he's done for you. 00:09:52.280 --> 00:09:59.420 When you see the significance of what Christ has accomplished for your life, the inspiration to your soul is to live such 00:09:59.420 --> 00:10:06.620 a way that what Peter describes in this passage is the natural outworking of a life that has not failed, or that has not failed to forget 00:10:06.620 --> 00:10:08.620 of the beauty of what you have in Jesus. 00:10:10.860 --> 00:10:11.640 Forgetting. 00:10:14.560 --> 00:10:15.720 Forgetting is the danger. 00:10:15.740 --> 00:10:21.550 Getting distracted from what should be preeminent to us is the danger. 00:10:21.920 --> 00:10:26.510 Now, for some of us that aren't good test takers. 00:10:27.680 --> 00:10:30.720 the word forgetting can stress you out, right? 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:33.120 Like, my memory is failing, you know. 00:10:33.200 --> 00:10:33.300 Or. 00:10:33.680 --> 00:10:34.120 I've never. 00:10:34.240 --> 00:10:35.060 I never did good. 00:10:35.060 --> 00:10:38.100 I always started to spaz with anxiety when tests came. 00:10:38.100 --> 00:10:39.590 And I was a poor test taker. 00:10:39.860 --> 00:10:41.600 I can't remember a lot of things. 00:10:41.660 --> 00:10:42.940 I don't want one more thing. 00:10:42.940 --> 00:10:46.270 Maybe you got a little Add or ADHD and you're worried about getting distracted. 00:10:46.980 --> 00:10:48.580 Well, can I can I help you with that? 00:10:48.580 --> 00:10:52.820 With a similar thought that matches what Peter is saying. 00:10:52.860 --> 00:10:54.940 What the Psalm is saying comes from the Apostle Paul. 00:10:55.120 --> 00:11:02.280 And in Philippians chapter, chapter three verse 13, he helps us in this idea of our pursuit 00:11:02.280 --> 00:11:08.280 as believers, by allowing us to become laser focused in what the psalmist is talking about. 00:11:08.300 --> 00:11:08.670 Look at this. 00:11:09.020 --> 00:11:09.730 He says this. 00:11:10.220 --> 00:11:17.260 But one thing I do forgetting what lies behind and straining forward to what lies ahead, 00:11:18.100 --> 00:11:22.450 I press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. 00:11:23.380 --> 00:11:30.540 Let those of us who are mature think this way, and if any of any of you think otherwise, God will reveal that also to 00:11:30.540 --> 00:11:30.800 you. 00:11:30.820 --> 00:11:34.670 Only let us hold true to what we have attained. 00:11:35.900 --> 00:11:37.180 Here's what he's saying. 00:11:37.180 --> 00:11:41.620 If you're stressing about not remembering properly, Paul is saying, look, we'll make it simple. 00:11:42.000 --> 00:11:44.840 Forget everything else, right? 00:11:44.840 --> 00:11:47.840 And don't even, don't let any of that stuff be. 00:11:47.940 --> 00:11:49.260 Be who you are anymore. 00:11:49.260 --> 00:11:50.660 Let's lay it all aside. 00:11:50.680 --> 00:11:52.800 And rather rather, he's encouraging this way. 00:11:52.840 --> 00:11:54.920 Make your life about this one focus. 00:11:55.720 --> 00:11:58.140 This becomes your defining moment. 00:11:58.140 --> 00:12:01.040 This is what's supposed to shape who you are. 00:12:01.360 --> 00:12:05.710 This becomes the lens through which you view everything else in life. 00:12:05.960 --> 00:12:12.360 This then inspires you as you move forward and the greatness of who God is because of what he's done. 00:12:12.480 --> 00:12:16.720 He says at the very end of this verse, only let us hold true to what we have attained. 00:12:17.780 --> 00:12:22.460 He's saying that which you have in Christ, that is what belongs to you. 00:12:22.560 --> 00:12:29.880 That should become the foundational focus of everything that you are as a human being, rather than you getting distracted by something else. 00:12:30.460 --> 00:12:37.460 And I love the reason that the Psalm is telling us this, that Peter is telling us this, that Paul is repeating this because they know who 00:12:37.460 --> 00:12:42.650 we are as human beings, and our tendency as people is to listen to a different story. 00:12:45.180 --> 00:12:52.420 The reason we get distracted is It's because we listen to a different story, and we let that story start to shape 00:12:52.420 --> 00:12:58.670 our lives, rather than the main story that helps us view all other stories that we encounter. 00:12:59.620 --> 00:13:08.160 And what I mean is this as a human being, you can go through life and get a thousand compliments, and 00:13:08.160 --> 00:13:09.430 then all of a sudden you get one criticism. 00:13:11.140 --> 00:13:17.480 And the thing that occupies your mind is the criticism to the point that you turn it within your soul. 00:13:18.020 --> 00:13:18.960 You won't let it go. 00:13:19.840 --> 00:13:26.110 And you will tell that story to yourself even though you know it's not healthy, even though you know it's not in proper perspective. 00:13:26.520 --> 00:13:33.740 To all the compliments you received, you will tell that story to yourself over and over again, and it will start to shape 00:13:33.740 --> 00:13:35.280 who you become. 00:13:36.720 --> 00:13:37.860 Same, same thing could be true. 00:13:37.920 --> 00:13:41.840 Even if you even if you did make a mistake and or you sinned. 00:13:41.880 --> 00:13:49.160 And that criticism was true, that you would you would take that sin and you would wear that sand and you would start to let that identity 00:13:49.160 --> 00:13:52.420 shape you rather than what Christ says about you. 00:13:53.220 --> 00:14:00.240 Because the scriptures made it clear that when Jesus died for you, he died for your guilt and your shame, which means that you can lay 00:14:00.240 --> 00:14:02.800 it all at the cross and be able to move forward. 00:14:02.840 --> 00:14:08.830 Put the past in the past is what the Apostle Paul is saying, so that you could live in the newness of life for which you were created in Christ Jesus. 00:14:09.660 --> 00:14:16.900 But rather than do that, we turn it over and over in our mind, and we allow that story to become who we are not, 00:14:17.260 --> 00:14:21.040 rather who we're called to be because of what Christ has done for us. 00:14:21.900 --> 00:14:28.520 And so the psalmist is saying that the struggle that we have as human beings is the fact that we forget. 00:14:28.520 --> 00:14:35.340 And the reason we forget is because we forgot about the goodness that we have in Christ and the richness for which we've received in him. 00:14:38.440 --> 00:14:40.650 And in so doing, we've embraced another story. 00:14:43.220 --> 00:14:50.060 And that story is not the reason for which you were created But rather you were created to belong to him. 00:14:50.120 --> 00:14:53.910 And this is this is why the Apostle Paul says one thing. 00:14:55.360 --> 00:15:02.180 Do not forget this one thing, because this one thing becomes paramount for you. 00:15:02.180 --> 00:15:09.220 And understanding everything that you're called to in Christ and the lens through which you view every other encounter you have in 00:15:09.220 --> 00:15:09.600 this world. 00:15:09.900 --> 00:15:11.780 Which brings me to point number two in your notes. 00:15:12.680 --> 00:15:19.200 Point number two is this let the story of redemption be your story. 00:15:20.700 --> 00:15:23.440 Let the story of redemption be your story. 00:15:24.120 --> 00:15:25.880 We can more specifically say it like this. 00:15:26.320 --> 00:15:33.110 May the story of Christ's redemption on your behalf be your defining story. 00:15:33.620 --> 00:15:36.340 Knowing you're going to have many chapters to your life. 00:15:36.920 --> 00:15:40.520 But there should be one grand narrative to who you are. 00:15:41.520 --> 00:15:45.650 And so you let the story of redemption be your story. 00:15:45.900 --> 00:15:48.060 And this is exactly what the psalmist is doing. 00:15:48.600 --> 00:15:56.110 He starts off by saying, okay, at the core of who you are, this is this is that defining moment that you come back to again and again. 00:15:56.620 --> 00:15:59.640 And then because of that, he then uses this psalm. 00:15:59.640 --> 00:16:01.860 We're only going to look at these first 14 verses. 00:16:02.060 --> 00:16:09.200 But he uses this psalm to sort of turn the lens of the gospel in our life over and over again, so that it would captivate 00:16:09.200 --> 00:16:15.590 our soul, that we would be impressed with the grandeur of God, and we would stand in wonder of who he is. 00:16:16.560 --> 00:16:19.140 And so in verse three he says it like this. 00:16:19.240 --> 00:16:20.920 He gives this idea of who this is. 00:16:21.020 --> 00:16:28.220 This word who is how he talks about the Lord in verse three, verse four and verse five, he tells us what God does 00:16:28.220 --> 00:16:31.230 for us because of who he is. 00:16:32.240 --> 00:16:36.400 And if you read this in different translations, some translations do this a little better than others. 00:16:36.780 --> 00:16:40.070 But you'll see in verse three there's actually two thoughts and some translations. 00:16:40.380 --> 00:16:42.520 They distinguish both thoughts with the word who. 00:16:42.520 --> 00:16:45.360 They repeat it twice for you to make sure that you get it. 00:16:45.380 --> 00:16:46.900 And in verse four they do the same thing. 00:16:47.420 --> 00:16:49.180 And then in verse five they tell us the. 00:16:49.480 --> 00:16:51.380 One more time and the results of that. 00:16:51.740 --> 00:16:59.200 But what he's doing, he's telling the gospel story at the very beginning here he says, the Lord who forgives all your sins and who heals 00:16:59.200 --> 00:17:00.660 all your diseases. 00:17:00.660 --> 00:17:07.680 We'll talk about in just a minute who then redeems your life from the pit, and who crowns you with love and compassion, who 00:17:07.680 --> 00:17:13.670 satisfies your desires with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagles. 00:17:14.339 --> 00:17:19.650 This is someone that's free from the past, walking in the newness of life because of what God has done. 00:17:19.740 --> 00:17:22.940 And that journey in the gospel starts with forgiveness in Christ. 00:17:23.160 --> 00:17:23.730 And then he says he. 00:17:24.300 --> 00:17:25.140 He heals disease. 00:17:25.300 --> 00:17:26.420 He redeems your life. 00:17:26.420 --> 00:17:28.460 He rescues you from the pit, which is hell. 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:35.960 And rather, rather than just saying you're rescued from a pit, he also adds to your account the richness of who he 00:17:35.960 --> 00:17:42.490 is and what he's saying is God doesn't owe you anything, but in his grace, he forgives you anyway. 00:17:42.580 --> 00:17:49.740 His desire is to heal your life and not just rescue you from the pit of despair, but 00:17:49.740 --> 00:17:56.700 also give you the beauty of who he is that you get the richness of God in your life. 00:17:58.020 --> 00:18:04.680 Now some people, when they read this passage, they'll assume all of this can happen to its fullness right now. 00:18:04.700 --> 00:18:10.150 And I want you to know that this is a projection of what the gospel will do for us into eternity. 00:18:11.300 --> 00:18:14.490 And one of the reasons I say that is some people will read this, a verse like this and see healing. 00:18:15.120 --> 00:18:20.440 And I know God can miraculously heal us, but it doesn't demand that God heal us all the time of everything right now. 00:18:20.560 --> 00:18:27.560 And one of the reasons I say that is if you read a passage like Second Samuel chapter 12, this psalm is written by David, and in second 00:18:27.560 --> 00:18:35.020 Samuel chapter 12, starting in verse 13, you see David's being confronted with the sin that he committed with Bathsheba, and 00:18:35.020 --> 00:18:36.860 his son is about to pass away. 00:18:36.900 --> 00:18:40.660 And David prays to God that his son wouldn't pass away, that God would heal him. 00:18:41.540 --> 00:18:44.800 And God did not heal his son in those moments, and his son passed away. 00:18:45.820 --> 00:18:52.820 Now, it doesn't make this statement untrue, but what it does is it's putting us in a perspective of what the Messiah will ultimately do for all of us 00:18:52.820 --> 00:18:56.000 that God will reconcile all wrong. 00:18:56.040 --> 00:19:03.220 Even the Bible tells us in Romans 822 and 23 that all of creation groans under the curse of sin, and we ourselves even groan, 00:19:03.300 --> 00:19:07.900 looking forward to the day of redemption when God heals all things. 00:19:08.740 --> 00:19:14.060 But that healing first starts in me, in you, in forgiveness that God would ultimately bring. 00:19:14.160 --> 00:19:20.350 Bring us to the place where with him face to face, seeing all things reconciled and restored in him. 00:19:20.840 --> 00:19:27.510 And so the psalmist gives us this beautiful picture of the gospel, that we would stand in wonder of a God who didn't owe us anything. 00:19:27.860 --> 00:19:31.160 But he gave us everything by offering his life that we could be free in him. 00:19:31.960 --> 00:19:36.550 And then he goes on from there in verse six and seven and excuse me, verse six, six, seven, eight and nine. 00:19:36.660 --> 00:19:43.820 He says, the Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people 00:19:43.820 --> 00:19:44.590 of Israel. 00:19:44.860 --> 00:19:49.100 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. 00:19:49.120 --> 00:19:52.180 He will not always chide, nor will he keep his anger forever. 00:19:53.020 --> 00:20:00.100 I love that the psalmist goes here because the psalmist is going back, and he's actually quoting from Exodus 34, and 00:20:00.100 --> 00:20:05.080 I think he's quoting from here to talk to those of us that feel like we've failed. 00:20:05.120 --> 00:20:06.040 We've really messed up. 00:20:06.040 --> 00:20:06.930 We've made some mistakes. 00:20:07.220 --> 00:20:08.240 We've sinned in our life. 00:20:08.440 --> 00:20:09.840 We don't know that we can get past it. 00:20:09.840 --> 00:20:11.690 We don't know if God really forgives us. 00:20:13.140 --> 00:20:18.480 And he mentions this passage as if to us to recognize the greatness of who God is. 00:20:18.480 --> 00:20:25.360 Again, because in Exodus 34, if you read that story, you'll find this is right after the children of Israel had have left Egypt. 00:20:25.420 --> 00:20:27.200 They've been set free from God. 00:20:27.240 --> 00:20:28.480 God's part of the Red sea. 00:20:28.480 --> 00:20:31.950 They've come across the Red sea, and now they've come to Mount Sinai. 00:20:32.140 --> 00:20:33.690 And God wants to give them the Ten Commandments. 00:20:34.500 --> 00:20:38.290 And all of this, miraculously, has happened recently for them. 00:20:38.720 --> 00:20:44.640 And God calls Moses up on the mountain, and God tells the children of Israel when he goes up on the mountain to get the commandments, keep following the Lord. 00:20:44.640 --> 00:20:46.140 Don't worship false idols. 00:20:46.480 --> 00:20:52.530 And as soon as Moses comes down from the mountain with the Ten Commandments, they're already worshiping a golden calf. 00:20:52.760 --> 00:20:58.790 And Moses immediately breaks the Ten Commandments because he knows that Israel has already violated him, and this would put a curse on them. 00:20:58.980 --> 00:21:04.700 And God's going to bring judgment against the children of Israel for violating the very commandments he just told them not to. 00:21:04.780 --> 00:21:12.200 After he has miraculously rescued them and Moses cries out to the Lord on their behalf and God 00:21:12.200 --> 00:21:14.160 tells Moses, Moses, you're right. 00:21:14.240 --> 00:21:21.860 I'm a God of covenant faithfulness, that while the children of Israel have been unfaithful to me, I 00:21:21.860 --> 00:21:23.360 will be faithful to my people. 00:21:24.040 --> 00:21:24.960 That's who I am. 00:21:25.980 --> 00:21:29.220 And God then reveals or shares with them the nature of who he is. 00:21:29.280 --> 00:21:35.240 And he tells us that in Exodus 34, verse six and seven, that's where you get this passage that he acts to his people Israel. 00:21:35.480 --> 00:21:40.190 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. 00:21:40.660 --> 00:21:48.080 It's a reminder to Israel that when they abandon God, God remains faithful to who he is, because his nature is 00:21:48.080 --> 00:21:51.740 not flippant and determined on what you do. 00:21:51.800 --> 00:21:54.100 He is always consistent with who he is. 00:21:55.300 --> 00:21:55.730 He is merciful. 00:21:57.300 --> 00:21:57.750 He is loving. 00:21:59.120 --> 00:21:59.940 He is caring. 00:22:00.080 --> 00:22:07.160 In fact, this is such an important passage in Scripture that when you read the Old and New Testament, you'll find the Old and 00:22:07.160 --> 00:22:12.080 New Testament writers quote this verse through scripture more than any other verse in the Bible. 00:22:12.920 --> 00:22:18.510 And this verse is dealing with the identity of who God is, that you would recognize him even in your failures. 00:22:18.840 --> 00:22:20.160 And I love the reason. 00:22:20.400 --> 00:22:27.500 I love that this is quoted so much in the Bible, because it is because God knows who we are as human beings, that when we fail, when we 00:22:27.500 --> 00:22:32.620 mess up, our tendency rather than run to God is to run away from God. 00:22:33.540 --> 00:22:40.840 And the reason we run away from God is because we forget We forget who he is and 00:22:40.840 --> 00:22:43.400 we start to tell ourselves a different story. 00:22:44.940 --> 00:22:51.340 And the story of his redemption is no longer the story that we're allowing to shape our lives. 00:22:52.360 --> 00:22:59.680 And the psalmist is reminding you, when you look at the beauty of the gospel, it's to say to you over and over again the 00:22:59.680 --> 00:23:05.610 greatness of who God is, that your heart would be captivated in wonder and worship. 00:23:06.360 --> 00:23:07.920 He goes on and says it like this. 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:12.400 He says he does not deal with us according to our sins, nor repay us according to our iniquities. 00:23:13.060 --> 00:23:20.500 So there's what we are owed, and God doesn't give us what we are owed or what we deserve, but rather, for as high as the heavens are above the earth, 00:23:20.920 --> 00:23:25.250 so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him. 00:23:25.580 --> 00:23:28.640 And to the great unknown far beyond your eye can see. 00:23:29.240 --> 00:23:30.640 That's God's love towards you. 00:23:31.380 --> 00:23:37.440 And he says, as far as the east is from the West so far does he remove our transgressions from us. 00:23:38.120 --> 00:23:40.920 It sin is what destroys your relationship with the Lord. 00:23:41.920 --> 00:23:48.960 And what he's saying here is God so far wants to remove you from sin, that when he looks at you, he sees the beauty of who 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:49.760 Jesus is. 00:23:49.860 --> 00:23:55.560 I love this that some people look at a passage like this and think, oh, God's a forgetful God, right? 00:23:55.560 --> 00:23:59.680 Like God looks at you and is like, oh yeah, that's what's his face. 00:23:59.680 --> 00:24:00.690 Who did that thing? 00:24:01.020 --> 00:24:01.400 Wait a minute. 00:24:01.400 --> 00:24:03.560 I can't remember what that thing was anymore, right? 00:24:03.580 --> 00:24:05.200 All of a sudden, God's just lost his mind. 00:24:05.280 --> 00:24:07.000 That's not what this passage is saying, right? 00:24:07.000 --> 00:24:07.430 God is sovereign. 00:24:07.740 --> 00:24:08.790 God knows all things. 00:24:09.420 --> 00:24:16.540 But what this passage is saying is that when God sees you, he's so far removed you from the sin that destroys you that when he sees you, 00:24:16.600 --> 00:24:19.120 what he sees is the perfection of Christ over you. 00:24:19.240 --> 00:24:21.160 He sees you as if he's looking at Jesus. 00:24:22.760 --> 00:24:24.800 That's how much God loves you. 00:24:25.740 --> 00:24:32.840 In fact, if I just really focus our attention on these last couple of words in verse 13 and 14, 00:24:33.080 --> 00:24:37.940 he goes on to describe not just what he does but who he is he. 00:24:38.480 --> 00:24:45.500 Up until this point, it's shared with us all the glorious things that God does for us as we looked at the gospel for inspiration of 00:24:45.500 --> 00:24:46.320 worship. 00:24:47.100 --> 00:24:52.440 But here in this passage, he now tells us, and the reason he does this is because of who he is. 00:24:53.420 --> 00:24:59.720 And in verse 13, as a father shows compassion to his children, so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him. 00:25:00.540 --> 00:25:04.430 For he knows our frame, and he remembers that we are dust. 00:25:05.720 --> 00:25:12.900 He goes on to there and describes just how frail we are as human beings, meaning helping us recognize how much we truly do 00:25:12.900 --> 00:25:13.800 need the Lord. 00:25:14.840 --> 00:25:19.220 But one of the ways he illustrates that is by reminding us that he is a father. 00:25:20.880 --> 00:25:27.880 He is a father towards you, which speaks volumes to the intimacy of his care for 00:25:27.880 --> 00:25:28.720 you. 00:25:28.820 --> 00:25:36.060 And I know sometimes in life we may not have always had a great earthly father, but I think it's far more important to paint the picture of what a father 00:25:36.060 --> 00:25:43.120 should be through Scripture, because this is the identity that God has towards us, or the way that God 00:25:43.120 --> 00:25:45.740 describes himself for us. 00:25:46.360 --> 00:25:47.440 And in Scripture. 00:25:47.460 --> 00:25:54.940 This is a very important thought to consider, because in a religious mentality, this is not an idea that we often gravitate towards. 00:25:55.540 --> 00:26:02.580 Or this may be a word that we're familiar with, but when we when we interact with God, it's not in this way in a religious 00:26:02.580 --> 00:26:09.680 mentality, the way that we often perceive God is this ultimate killjoy who's only there to tell me when I'm doing things wrong, and 00:26:09.680 --> 00:26:16.680 therefore I've got to sort of live my life in a way that hopefully he's he can find find me a little bit pleased with who I am and hopefully I've done 00:26:16.680 --> 00:26:18.740 enough that he would he would accept me. 00:26:18.820 --> 00:26:21.150 But you never really have the confidence that you are. 00:26:21.800 --> 00:26:23.840 That's the religious mentality. 00:26:24.780 --> 00:26:30.620 But that's not the way God describes himself in Scripture, that he is a father that cares for you even when you fall. 00:26:30.620 --> 00:26:33.380 He desires the best for you and so he pursues you. 00:26:33.380 --> 00:26:34.620 He doesn't give up on you. 00:26:34.620 --> 00:26:41.680 He wants to see you mature in him, and he's done so by giving his very life for you, that God has become flesh and given his life for you. 00:26:42.080 --> 00:26:47.960 And so to refer to God as father from a religious mentality is a very scandalous phrase. 00:26:48.080 --> 00:26:53.820 In fact, Jesus often did that when he talked about who God was to the people around him. 00:26:53.900 --> 00:27:00.980 He referred to him as a father, and he was treated with contempt to think among those religious people that he would bring God down to such 00:27:00.980 --> 00:27:02.290 a personal level. 00:27:02.900 --> 00:27:06.720 But this is exactly who God is and how God wants to be made known in your life. 00:27:06.780 --> 00:27:09.870 He made you for relationship in him. 00:27:10.060 --> 00:27:16.540 In fact, when Jesus taught us to pray, he said to us in Matthew chapter six, like this in verse nine, pray this way. 00:27:16.720 --> 00:27:19.500 Our father in heaven, hallowed be your name. 00:27:19.680 --> 00:27:26.780 So he's acknowledging the sacredness of God, talking about hallow holy, but also the intimacy that we can have with God because he 00:27:26.780 --> 00:27:27.300 is Father. 00:27:29.980 --> 00:27:36.260 A father desires to be near his children You think the power of who God is? 00:27:36.260 --> 00:27:42.760 The preeminence of God, yet the intimacy that God desires to be near when you when you consider your own culture. 00:27:43.220 --> 00:27:44.580 People have prominent positions. 00:27:44.620 --> 00:27:47.540 If you just use by example, maybe the president of the United States. 00:27:48.740 --> 00:27:51.830 I mean, how many of you know the president of the United States on a personal level? 00:27:52.640 --> 00:27:56.460 I mean, you spend all your life maybe trying to get just a few minutes with the president of the United States? 00:27:56.800 --> 00:27:57.880 Highly unlikely. 00:27:57.960 --> 00:28:05.080 And if you ever were to ever be in front of the president of the United States with the very few seconds that you get the only title that you can say towards him 00:28:05.080 --> 00:28:07.720 if you're being respectful is Mr. 00:28:07.860 --> 00:28:08.380 President, right? 00:28:08.380 --> 00:28:08.880 Or Mr.. 00:28:08.900 --> 00:28:09.400 Mrs. 00:28:09.420 --> 00:28:12.540 president, I guess depending on who it is, you can refer to them as the as the president. 00:28:14.380 --> 00:28:21.400 But there's one person that has access to the president and gets the privilege to refer to 00:28:21.400 --> 00:28:25.300 him by a different title, and that's his child. 00:28:28.560 --> 00:28:33.140 The president would have intimate concern for the well-being of his child. 00:28:34.960 --> 00:28:37.560 That child can get his attention. 00:28:38.860 --> 00:28:41.090 That child gets to call him by a different name. 00:28:42.620 --> 00:28:43.100 Father. 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:51.150 This is what God has given you the opportunity to do when he didn't owe you anything, that you would know him. 00:28:52.120 --> 00:28:58.880 Now, I think it's significant to recognize not everyone is a child of God. 00:28:59.180 --> 00:29:01.000 Not everyone is a child of God. 00:29:01.120 --> 00:29:04.240 In fact, everyone is made in the image of God. 00:29:04.320 --> 00:29:04.720 That's true. 00:29:04.720 --> 00:29:07.000 It gives us all intrinsic value as human beings. 00:29:07.020 --> 00:29:08.640 But not everybody is a child of God. 00:29:09.580 --> 00:29:12.960 That's why in Romans eight it encourages you to be adopted by the father. 00:29:12.960 --> 00:29:20.100 In John chapter one verse 12, it says, but to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become the children 00:29:20.100 --> 00:29:21.080 of God. 00:29:22.360 --> 00:29:29.360 It's to those who embrace that story, that redemptive story of Christ, that it 00:29:29.360 --> 00:29:36.820 would become your story that what Jesus did on the cross isn't just a story, but it's the defining moment of your life 00:29:36.820 --> 00:29:38.460 and that you do not forget. 00:29:38.520 --> 00:29:42.520 But you continue to look at the beauty of what the gospel is and what that means for you. 00:29:42.560 --> 00:29:47.860 Now, some of us, some of us, when we see a story like that, we think, well, but can God really love me? 00:29:49.160 --> 00:29:50.380 Does God really forgive? 00:29:50.380 --> 00:29:51.380 Forgive me. 00:29:51.380 --> 00:29:52.840 Do you not know what I did? 00:29:53.960 --> 00:29:57.220 How do I really know that God cares for me in this way? 00:29:58.520 --> 00:30:05.560 Well, I think one of the most important passages in all of the Bible to reflect on deals with the death of Jesus on the 00:30:05.560 --> 00:30:06.240 cross. 00:30:06.440 --> 00:30:12.500 I mean, that is the redemptive story in its most particular way, that Jesus would die on your behalf, that you would be free in him. 00:30:13.100 --> 00:30:20.260 But one of the reasons I know that what Christ accomplished on the cross gives you the freedom to call God your father is because of what Jesus said on the cross. 00:30:21.440 --> 00:30:28.660 And the final moments of Jesus's life in Matthew 27, verse 46, he gave that famous statement, Eli, Eli, lama sebastiani, which is My 00:30:28.660 --> 00:30:30.820 God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:30:31.960 --> 00:30:39.040 Can I tell you the only time that Jesus ever refers to the father and doesn't use 00:30:39.040 --> 00:30:39.940 the title? 00:30:39.940 --> 00:30:40.600 My father? 00:30:41.620 --> 00:30:42.970 Is it in this moment on the cross? 00:30:44.260 --> 00:30:50.100 Every other time in the New Testament when Jesus talks about God, he always references him as his father. 00:30:50.820 --> 00:30:56.260 But this one incident on the cross, he referred to him as My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? 00:30:56.260 --> 00:30:57.640 Now why would Jesus do that? 00:30:59.040 --> 00:31:06.380 And the answer is because Jesus took on the debt that you owed and was forsaken by the father, so 00:31:06.380 --> 00:31:07.740 that you would not have to be. 00:31:09.040 --> 00:31:16.210 Jesus paid the price for your life so that you could have the intimate relationship with God and 00:31:16.860 --> 00:31:19.600 all of Jesus's time talking about the father. 00:31:19.740 --> 00:31:27.440 This is the only time in the gospels he ever referred to the father in a different way, and it was to declare 00:31:27.440 --> 00:31:31.850 to you what you would ultimately receive because of what he has done on the cross. 00:31:32.160 --> 00:31:39.300 If you take the redemptive story of Christ, and that story becomes your defining story through which all other chapters of 00:31:39.300 --> 00:31:40.870 your life are written. 00:31:40.960 --> 00:31:48.120 It's the lens through which you view yourself that you would never forget, and 00:31:48.120 --> 00:31:51.340 that his story would be your story. 00:31:52.540 --> 00:31:55.640 I want to close with this ending here. 00:31:55.640 --> 00:31:56.130 This is a. 00:31:57.180 --> 00:31:58.080 Fiorello! 00:31:58.120 --> 00:31:59.300 Fiorello! 00:31:59.300 --> 00:32:00.120 Fiorello! 00:32:00.140 --> 00:32:00.940 There we go. 00:32:00.940 --> 00:32:01.940 Laguardia. 00:32:02.880 --> 00:32:04.940 If you've ever flown into LaGuardia airport. 00:32:05.320 --> 00:32:08.560 This is the guy that the airport is named after. 00:32:09.220 --> 00:32:11.760 And what's important about this man is he was. 00:32:11.900 --> 00:32:15.800 He was the mayor of New York City in 1935. 00:32:16.220 --> 00:32:19.160 Up until or excuse me, 34, up until the end of World War II. 00:32:19.240 --> 00:32:23.340 So he was there during the end of the Great Depression, all the way into World War Two. 00:32:23.380 --> 00:32:24.240 And the city loved him. 00:32:24.240 --> 00:32:26.280 They referred to him as their little flower. 00:32:26.280 --> 00:32:30.060 He was small in stature, but considered an impressive man. 00:32:30.140 --> 00:32:31.620 And in 1935. 00:32:31.620 --> 00:32:38.640 One unique thing that he did at the end of the Great Depression, he, he went to night court and he dismissed the judge from the 00:32:38.640 --> 00:32:41.430 bench, and he sat in the position of the judge. 00:32:41.860 --> 00:32:49.320 And on that particular night, there was a grandmother who was on trial, and she was brought to the court because she had she 00:32:49.320 --> 00:32:53.050 had stolen bread from the local grocery store. 00:32:53.660 --> 00:32:57.280 And the mayor asked her, why did you steal the bread? 00:32:57.320 --> 00:32:58.130 And she told the story. 00:32:58.140 --> 00:33:01.040 She said, well, I'm taking care of my grandchildren now. 00:33:01.160 --> 00:33:08.840 And the reason I'm taking care of my grandchildren is because her husband left her, and when he left her, she became ill and 00:33:08.840 --> 00:33:10.520 she's unable to do anything. 00:33:10.520 --> 00:33:11.600 She's bedridden. 00:33:11.600 --> 00:33:14.980 And so I'm not only taking care of my grandchildren, I'm also taking care of my daughter. 00:33:15.300 --> 00:33:17.220 And I don't have the means to support my family. 00:33:17.400 --> 00:33:23.460 And so, out of desperation to feed my grandchildren, I went to the grocery store and I stole a loaf of bread in order to provide for them. 00:33:24.260 --> 00:33:27.710 And at that moment, the mayor looked at the grocery store clerk and asked, do you want to press charges? 00:33:28.680 --> 00:33:30.340 And the grocery store clerk said. 00:33:30.360 --> 00:33:31.180 Absolutely. 00:33:31.180 --> 00:33:31.940 I want to press charges. 00:33:32.180 --> 00:33:33.360 I want to make an example out of her. 00:33:33.380 --> 00:33:35.420 So other people in the neighborhood won't steal too. 00:33:35.420 --> 00:33:36.490 They need to know it's not okay. 00:33:36.900 --> 00:33:43.980 And the mayor, disappointed that the grocery store clerk took such a strong stand against this elderly lady who's trying to raise her 00:33:43.980 --> 00:33:44.830 grandchildren. 00:33:45.160 --> 00:33:48.430 He said, ma'am, you're guilty, and so you're going to have to pay the fine, which is $10. 00:33:49.120 --> 00:33:56.640 But as he was saying this to the grandmother, he was reaching in his pocket, and he immediately pulled out the $10, and he stepped from 00:33:56.640 --> 00:34:01.400 behind the bench and he went down to the bailiff, and he dropped $10 in the plate. 00:34:01.640 --> 00:34:05.540 And he went back up and said, but, ma'am, you're fine has been paid. 00:34:06.640 --> 00:34:13.719 But not only that, I believe it's atrocious that people in the city would be okay for a woman like this to have to live in a city 00:34:13.719 --> 00:34:14.340 like this. 00:34:14.620 --> 00:34:21.760 So because people like this allowed, allowed this to happen to you, I'm fining everyone in this courtroom $0.50 because they let 00:34:21.760 --> 00:34:23.940 a grandmother go through this situation. 00:34:24.639 --> 00:34:29.600 And the grocery store clerk was one of the first one they collected the fee from, and he was frustrated by that. 00:34:29.679 --> 00:34:36.800 But that night that woman not only had her fine paid, but she received above and beyond what she deserved because 00:34:36.800 --> 00:34:37.920 of what she had done wrong. 00:34:39.639 --> 00:34:42.199 Guys, can I tell you that's exactly what the Lord does for you? 00:34:43.719 --> 00:34:48.639 He not only forgives your past, he doesn't just equal your balance to zero. 00:34:49.480 --> 00:34:52.699 He fills up your life with the richness of who he is. 00:34:53.360 --> 00:34:54.080 That's the gospel. 00:34:55.120 --> 00:35:01.650 When we forget that, we move away not just from his story, but what should be our story. 00:35:02.340 --> 00:35:09.400 But when we understand the beauty of who he is that shapes us in our worship, and our desire is to 00:35:09.400 --> 00:35:13.030 never let go of the wealth that we have in Christ.