WEBVTT 00:00:00.520 --> 00:00:05.299 Greetings, good morning. My name's Kevin. I'm one of the pastors here at Church of the Advent. 00:00:06.040 --> 00:00:10.900 And as you can see, I'm recording from Studio Hinson. I'm in Pastor Tommy's office this morning. 00:00:11.439 --> 00:00:19.539 And I'm really excited to preach Psalm 103, in large part because this psalm has been such a blessing to me this week. 00:00:19.600 --> 00:00:24.000 I really needed this psalm, and I'm excited to encourage you with it. 00:00:24.379 --> 00:00:29.420 This is very much a feel-good psalm. It's beloved by God's people. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.980 And it's an important psalm because I think it gets at the ultimate purpose for everything that God created. 00:00:38.019 --> 00:00:42.500 And so it serves as a true north for us in these confusing and challenging times. 00:00:43.120 --> 00:00:46.679 And the purpose for everything that God created is simply this. 00:00:46.679 --> 00:00:55.159 Everything exists. Everything that exists that was created by God exists to be blessed by the Lord and to bless the Lord in return. 00:00:55.820 --> 00:00:58.799 And this psalm inspires us to fulfill this purpose. 00:00:58.799 --> 00:01:02.759 And so as we consider this psalm this morning, we're going to look at three things together. 00:01:02.879 --> 00:01:05.000 First, we're going to look at why we need this psalm right now. 00:01:05.700 --> 00:01:06.479 Why do we need it? 00:01:06.939 --> 00:01:12.479 Second, we're going to look at how the psalm works its magic in our hearts and in our minds and in our souls. 00:01:13.039 --> 00:01:18.780 And lastly, we're going to look at one of the ways, what it means to bless the Lord in this season. 00:01:19.319 --> 00:01:20.140 Let's pray together. 00:01:20.140 --> 00:01:27.640 Father, we come before you needing you, needing encouragement, needing you to lift our hearts up. 00:01:28.480 --> 00:01:31.560 We listen to your word, Lord. 00:01:31.640 --> 00:01:32.579 We attend to your word. 00:01:32.659 --> 00:01:40.480 I pray that you would speak to us and that you would encourage us, that you would help us to be people who love you and love our neighbors as ourselves. 00:01:41.159 --> 00:01:42.700 We praise these things in Jesus' name. 00:01:43.219 --> 00:01:43.620 Amen. 00:01:43.620 --> 00:01:47.820 So first, we're going to look at why we need this psalm right now. 00:01:47.920 --> 00:01:52.120 Simply put, I think we are a people in need of encouragement. 00:01:52.400 --> 00:01:58.719 We need courage poured into our hearts and into our minds and into our bodies right now. 00:01:58.840 --> 00:01:59.980 We need to be uplifted. 00:02:00.500 --> 00:02:03.260 And I probably don't need to tell you why we need encouragement. 00:02:03.980 --> 00:02:04.159 Right? 00:02:04.280 --> 00:02:07.159 2020 has been quite the year. 00:02:07.159 --> 00:02:15.219 You know, this past week, I was reading the news, talking to friends and family, people from within the church. 00:02:15.699 --> 00:02:21.099 And as I was praying about and preparing for this sermon, this image came to my mind. 00:02:21.139 --> 00:02:24.300 And it was the image of me standing in the confluence of three rivers. 00:02:25.000 --> 00:02:29.639 And each of the rivers signifies a different level of crisis in our world. 00:02:29.639 --> 00:02:39.839 So one of the rivers is the global crises of the pandemic and the looming economic meltdown that may or may not come, which is really intense. 00:02:40.339 --> 00:02:42.119 And the second river is the national crises. 00:02:42.259 --> 00:02:48.000 There's so much going on in our nation right now that is stressful and anxiety-inducing. 00:02:48.339 --> 00:02:51.060 We have all that's going on with the racial unrest. 00:02:51.379 --> 00:02:55.419 And we're in the midst of a really intense election season. 00:02:55.419 --> 00:03:01.000 And now we have wildfires on the West Coast that are just raging. 00:03:01.919 --> 00:03:05.579 And the third river is the personal crises that each one of us is facing. 00:03:05.739 --> 00:03:10.139 How the global and the national crises sort of lands in each of our own lives. 00:03:10.199 --> 00:03:15.019 That could be physical sickness or feelings of loneliness or stress and anxiety, 00:03:15.159 --> 00:03:22.439 trying to manage all of the demands of work while trying to teach our kids the things that they need to learn to stay on track. 00:03:22.439 --> 00:03:27.419 I don't know about you, but I feel like I'm chest deep in the confluence of those rivers. 00:03:27.800 --> 00:03:28.800 I'm hanging on there. 00:03:28.859 --> 00:03:29.639 I'm treading water. 00:03:30.199 --> 00:03:31.020 I don't know how you feel. 00:03:31.099 --> 00:03:32.439 Maybe you feel like you're neck deep. 00:03:32.719 --> 00:03:37.000 Maybe you feel like your head is bobbing below water sometimes. 00:03:37.520 --> 00:03:44.180 I think wherever we are, we need the Lord to break through in our lives to encourage us and to buoy us up. 00:03:44.819 --> 00:03:47.159 And I think this psalm does just that for us. 00:03:47.699 --> 00:03:48.560 This is a brutal time. 00:03:48.639 --> 00:03:50.120 It's taking its toll on us physically. 00:03:50.120 --> 00:03:52.960 It's impacting our emotional and our mental health. 00:03:53.379 --> 00:03:55.680 And it's having a negative impact on us spiritually. 00:03:56.580 --> 00:03:57.900 It's a brutal time. 00:03:58.039 --> 00:04:03.900 And it's no wonder that a spiritual malaise has set into the church, at least in America. 00:04:05.000 --> 00:04:11.400 Andy Crouch, one of my favorite thinkers these days, has described the pandemic as a period of winter. 00:04:11.640 --> 00:04:18.519 It's not a blizzard that goes away in a couple weeks, but it's a winter or maybe even a little ice age is how he describes it. 00:04:18.519 --> 00:04:20.759 And this is what he says as an ice age. 00:04:20.759 --> 00:04:29.599 He says, this season is a once in a lifetime change that is likely to affect our lives and our organizations for years. 00:04:30.159 --> 00:04:33.539 And the craziest thing is we don't really know the impact that this is going to have. 00:04:33.540 --> 00:04:37.780 But we do know a few things that are alarming right now. 00:04:38.319 --> 00:04:42.780 One of them is from a Barna study that was released in early May of this year. 00:04:43.100 --> 00:04:51.100 This study showed that over a third of practicing Christians in America have just checked out from church during the pandemic. 00:04:51.520 --> 00:04:54.379 And if you break it down by generations, it's even more alarming. 00:04:54.379 --> 00:05:05.019 So one in four boomers is checked out, one in three people from the Gen X cohort, and half of millennials have stopped engaging with church during the pandemic. 00:05:05.100 --> 00:05:07.600 And this was back in May, so it's probably worse right now. 00:05:08.300 --> 00:05:10.819 So what I think we're seeing is the church is falling asleep. 00:05:11.360 --> 00:05:17.159 And it's unclear if people are entering hibernation mode only to awake when spring comes, 00:05:17.279 --> 00:05:22.379 or if people are hypothermic and they're falling asleep never to wake again. 00:05:22.379 --> 00:05:25.319 I think we're in a time of real spiritual danger. 00:05:26.319 --> 00:05:28.860 And the Christian life is all about trajectories. 00:05:29.579 --> 00:05:32.199 You never really arrive this side of the age to come. 00:05:32.259 --> 00:05:35.719 You're either always heading towards God or away from God. 00:05:36.159 --> 00:05:42.199 And if we find ourselves heading away from God, I think this psalm is a psalm that can help us get back on track. 00:05:42.879 --> 00:05:46.920 So second, I want to look at how the psalm works its magic. 00:05:46.920 --> 00:05:48.120 That's why we need the psalm. 00:05:48.120 --> 00:05:55.300 But how does the psalm rekindle a desire, jumpstart our hearts so that they beat to bless the Lord? 00:05:56.199 --> 00:05:58.560 And the answer to that question is not very complicated. 00:05:59.360 --> 00:06:04.959 One of the keys to living a life that blesses the Lord is simply having a clear memory. 00:06:05.500 --> 00:06:07.540 And we see that in verse two of our psalm. 00:06:07.600 --> 00:06:07.840 It says, 00:06:07.840 --> 00:06:12.340 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 00:06:12.480 --> 00:06:13.959 Memory is key here. 00:06:14.060 --> 00:06:15.560 Memory is the secret sauce. 00:06:15.560 --> 00:06:19.480 The psalmist is reminding us of how much God loves us. 00:06:19.839 --> 00:06:21.199 How much he has done for us. 00:06:21.259 --> 00:06:26.720 How his orientation is always and only grace and mercy towards us. 00:06:27.199 --> 00:06:32.139 So I want to walk through this psalm so that we can get a feel for how David is trying to spark our memory. 00:06:32.680 --> 00:06:36.079 First, I want to do a quick flyover of the terrain of the psalm. 00:06:36.120 --> 00:06:39.019 And then I want to circle back and focus on the heart of the psalm. 00:06:39.100 --> 00:06:41.379 The very middle in greater detail. 00:06:41.379 --> 00:06:45.219 So Psalm 103 has three broad movements. 00:06:45.519 --> 00:06:48.540 It goes from personal exhortation to praise. 00:06:48.699 --> 00:06:52.819 And then it fans out looking at the community, exhorting the community to praise. 00:06:52.939 --> 00:06:57.839 And then it expands ever outward with this cosmic exhortation to bless the Lord. 00:06:57.939 --> 00:07:00.439 It's sort of a crescendo of praise. 00:07:00.560 --> 00:07:02.139 That's the shape of Psalm 103. 00:07:02.139 --> 00:07:09.800 So first, the first section, verses 1 through 5, is the focus on the individual, the personal exhortation to praise. 00:07:10.459 --> 00:07:11.620 One commentator says this. 00:07:11.719 --> 00:07:12.039 He says, 00:07:12.199 --> 00:07:16.879 The psalm begins with an individual self-exhortation to praise. 00:07:17.399 --> 00:07:21.539 That's just a fancy way of saying the psalmist is talking to himself. 00:07:22.099 --> 00:07:26.579 The psalmist is recalling five different ways that God has been good to him. 00:07:26.579 --> 00:07:28.819 He says to himself, 00:07:28.919 --> 00:07:49.099 He remembers all of these ways that God has been good to him. 00:07:49.100 --> 00:07:50.980 And then he preaches to himself and he says, 00:07:51.160 --> 00:07:53.280 Bless the Lord, O my soul. 00:07:54.020 --> 00:07:57.080 Now, I think this first section is very instructive for us. 00:07:57.260 --> 00:08:03.540 If you find yourself, like me, wrestling through this spiritual malaise that I was talking about, 00:08:04.280 --> 00:08:07.140 I encourage you this week to take time to remember. 00:08:08.040 --> 00:08:11.200 Reflect on the ways that God has been good to you. 00:08:11.980 --> 00:08:15.300 Reflect on the ways this past week that God has blessed you 00:08:15.300 --> 00:08:18.639 and has showed his grace and his mercy and his favor towards you. 00:08:19.060 --> 00:08:20.400 And write those things down. 00:08:20.540 --> 00:08:21.280 Be specific. 00:08:22.000 --> 00:08:23.020 And then preach to yourself. 00:08:23.160 --> 00:08:25.199 Tell yourself to bless the Lord. 00:08:26.079 --> 00:08:28.660 So that's the first section focusing on the individual. 00:08:29.439 --> 00:08:30.680 We'll look at this very quickly. 00:08:30.819 --> 00:08:33.320 He then turns to the community in verses 6 through 19. 00:08:33.539 --> 00:08:34.899 There's this communal focus. 00:08:35.620 --> 00:08:39.240 And the psalmist rehearses the history of God's dealings with his people. 00:08:39.340 --> 00:08:40.940 We'll come back to this in just a moment. 00:08:40.940 --> 00:08:44.800 And then the call to bless the Lord expands ever outwards. 00:08:44.900 --> 00:08:51.260 In verses 20 through 22, we see this cosmic exhortation for everything that's been created to bless the Lord. 00:08:51.840 --> 00:08:52.640 The psalmist writes, 00:08:52.640 --> 00:08:58.340 Bless the Lord, O you his angels, you mighty ones who do his word, obeying the voice of his word. 00:08:58.960 --> 00:09:02.200 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers who do his will. 00:09:03.020 --> 00:09:06.640 Bless the Lord, all his works, in all places of his dominion. 00:09:06.800 --> 00:09:08.280 Bless the Lord, O my soul. 00:09:08.279 --> 00:09:16.679 What we're seeing here is that everything, everything that has been created, visible and invisible, is called to bless the Lord. 00:09:17.199 --> 00:09:21.199 Psalm 103 is a crescendo of blessing, a crescendo of praise. 00:09:21.919 --> 00:09:30.879 So I want to circle back and focus on the middle section, verses 6 through 19, and just make a few comments about it here. 00:09:31.399 --> 00:09:37.279 What we see in this section is this rich tapestry of allusions and echoes. 00:09:37.279 --> 00:09:40.980 Basically, the psalmist is rehearsing the entire story. 00:09:41.079 --> 00:09:46.240 It's calling to mind the entire story of the Old Testament and God's dealing with his people. 00:09:46.740 --> 00:09:51.120 He's reminding us who God is and how he relates to his people. 00:09:51.199 --> 00:09:57.559 We see that as he talks about two of the most important parts of the story in the Old Testament. 00:09:57.799 --> 00:10:02.959 The creation account and the great story of redemption told in the Exodus. 00:10:02.960 --> 00:10:07.060 So we see creation very clearly in verses 13 and 14. 00:10:07.879 --> 00:10:11.180 The psalmist says, God knows our frame. 00:10:11.259 --> 00:10:12.540 He remembers that we are dust. 00:10:12.620 --> 00:10:14.060 He's talking about creation there. 00:10:14.600 --> 00:10:17.879 God knows our weaknesses and our limitations because he's made us. 00:10:18.000 --> 00:10:19.500 And he doesn't resent our weaknesses. 00:10:19.920 --> 00:10:26.420 But like a compassionate father is to his children, God is gracious and merciful towards us. 00:10:26.419 --> 00:10:28.679 So we see creation very clearly. 00:10:29.259 --> 00:10:33.139 And we see the motifs of the Exodus even more clearly. 00:10:33.519 --> 00:10:35.819 Starting in verse 6, it says, 00:10:35.939 --> 00:10:39.079 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 00:10:39.319 --> 00:10:44.159 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 00:10:44.919 --> 00:10:54.360 This is a very clear reference to the great event of redemption where God redeems his people from oppression under Pharaoh. 00:10:54.360 --> 00:10:58.100 Now, the very heart of this section is verse 8. 00:10:58.360 --> 00:10:59.879 And I think this is interesting. 00:11:00.200 --> 00:11:05.620 It's kind of sneaky how amazing this little passage is. 00:11:05.700 --> 00:11:06.440 Verse 8 says, 00:11:06.620 --> 00:11:12.860 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love. 00:11:12.860 --> 00:11:20.039 This is my favorite part of this psalm because this is God's name. 00:11:20.139 --> 00:11:25.060 This is when God reveals to Moses in Exodus 34, 6. 00:11:25.180 --> 00:11:25.680 Moses says, 00:11:25.759 --> 00:11:26.820 Lord, show me who you are. 00:11:26.899 --> 00:11:27.740 Tell me what your name is. 00:11:27.779 --> 00:11:29.039 I want to know what you're like. 00:11:29.500 --> 00:11:32.639 And this is God's name that he reveals to Moses. 00:11:32.840 --> 00:11:37.659 And my favorite part of this is this happens right after the golden calf incident. 00:11:37.980 --> 00:11:41.279 It's not when Israel is being an exemplar of faithfulness. 00:11:41.279 --> 00:11:52.740 It's actually when they first screw up and screw up royally that God reveals himself in his true character as one who is merciful and gracious, slow to anger and steadfast love. 00:11:53.039 --> 00:12:00.039 And I just love that, that God, it's a very subtle thing here that the timing in the Old Testament. 00:12:00.980 --> 00:12:04.299 I want to zoom in on one other image in this middle section. 00:12:04.299 --> 00:12:10.099 I think this is one of the most profound metaphors of forgiveness that we see in the entire Bible. 00:12:10.559 --> 00:12:14.059 And it's a spatial metaphor in verses 10 through 12. 00:12:14.599 --> 00:12:15.579 The psalmist writes this, 00:12:15.580 --> 00:12:44.480 And what I want to do here is sort of play this metaphor out so that we can grasp just how profound this image is of God's love and his mercy. 00:12:44.480 --> 00:12:51.519 And I want to do that by looking at an image of the observable universe that I've taken from NASA's website. 00:12:51.800 --> 00:12:53.560 We'll take a look at this image here. 00:12:53.659 --> 00:12:58.860 Since we're recording these sermons on videos, take advantage of the medium and look at a picture together. 00:12:59.279 --> 00:13:09.899 This is an illustration of the universe that places the Earth and the Sun and our galaxy in the center of the visible and of the observable universe. 00:13:09.899 --> 00:13:12.120 And of course, it's not drawn to scale. 00:13:12.879 --> 00:13:19.679 But I want to look at this and consider this a bit together and show how this illuminates verses 10 through 12 of our psalm. 00:13:20.299 --> 00:13:30.639 Now, as far as physicists can tell, the distance from the Earth to the edge, if we can call it that, the edge of the universe is 46 and a half billion light years. 00:13:30.639 --> 00:13:38.259 Now, that means edge to edge, the universe is approximately 93 billion light years in diameter. 00:13:39.080 --> 00:13:42.799 Now, notions of East and West don't quite work in outer space. 00:13:43.059 --> 00:13:50.740 But I think we could consider East and West sort of as the furthest points in opposite directions relative to Earth. 00:13:51.199 --> 00:13:53.259 So how far are these two points? 00:13:53.699 --> 00:13:56.419 In other words, how far is our sin removed from us? 00:13:56.419 --> 00:13:59.799 Well, approximately 93 billion light years. 00:14:00.479 --> 00:14:05.360 Now, to put it in perspective, the nearest star is 4.24 light years away. 00:14:06.199 --> 00:14:13.539 And right now, with our Festus technology, it would take between 70 and 80,000 years to get to the nearest star. 00:14:14.319 --> 00:14:22.379 Now, compare that to how long it would take to get from one edge of the universe to the other, which is almost 25 billion light years further. 00:14:22.379 --> 00:14:27.799 It's basically unimaginable how long it would take to get from one edge to the other. 00:14:28.700 --> 00:14:34.759 The distance, in other words, between East and West is an unfathomable expanse. 00:14:35.659 --> 00:14:40.240 This is how far God has taken our sins, how far he's removed our sins from us. 00:14:40.679 --> 00:14:43.580 He's taken them completely and utterly away. 00:14:44.659 --> 00:14:48.519 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits. 00:14:48.519 --> 00:14:56.679 Now, of course, David, as he was penning this psalm, would have no idea just how large the universe was. 00:14:57.319 --> 00:15:02.740 I think we in the 21st century actually have greater insight into what this psalm means than David himself. 00:15:03.399 --> 00:15:06.740 Part of that is because of our knowledge of space and how large it is. 00:15:07.139 --> 00:15:12.419 But the most important thing is we know what this means because of our knowledge of Jesus Christ. 00:15:12.419 --> 00:15:21.819 The New Testament tells us that the Son of God, for eternity past, enjoyed infinite and intimate communion with the Father. 00:15:22.659 --> 00:15:29.000 And Jesus, the Son of God, suffered separation from the Father on the cross so that sinners, people like you and me, 00:15:29.419 --> 00:15:35.599 who were once separated from God, might be brought near, might be brought together with the Father 00:15:35.599 --> 00:15:38.939 by having our sins far removed from us. 00:15:38.940 --> 00:15:44.460 Paul describes what's going on here in Ephesians very beautifully. 00:15:44.620 --> 00:15:47.300 In verse 12 and 13 of chapter 2, Paul writes, 00:15:47.300 --> 00:15:51.280 Remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, 00:15:52.100 --> 00:15:56.420 alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, 00:15:57.180 --> 00:15:59.760 having no hope and without God in the world. 00:16:00.520 --> 00:16:07.380 But now, in Christ Jesus, you who were once far off have been brought near by the blood of Jesus. 00:16:07.379 --> 00:16:14.779 It's this radical and gracious and forgiving love that is the greatest blessing. 00:16:15.100 --> 00:16:17.879 It's the greatest blessing that we hear about in Psalm 103. 00:16:18.960 --> 00:16:22.539 This, precisely this is what the psalmist wants us to remember. 00:16:23.399 --> 00:16:28.419 And this is what sparks our response of blessing in return. 00:16:28.559 --> 00:16:33.100 This spark ignites this response of blessing in return. 00:16:33.100 --> 00:16:36.600 So now I want to bring all of this together. 00:16:36.879 --> 00:16:41.620 And I want to ask, what does it mean for us to bless the Lord in this season? 00:16:42.300 --> 00:16:46.460 And perhaps I should have done this at the beginning as we've been talking about the psalm. 00:16:46.480 --> 00:16:51.019 But I think in order to answer that question, we have to answer a more fundamental question. 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:53.040 What does it even mean to bless the Lord? 00:16:53.560 --> 00:16:55.379 It's kind of a strange thing to think about. 00:16:55.379 --> 00:17:01.620 Normally, when we think about blessing, it's from somebody who's superior blessing somebody that's inferior, 00:17:01.720 --> 00:17:04.960 like a father blessing a child or God blessing us. 00:17:05.599 --> 00:17:08.039 So I need to clarify what it means to bless the Lord. 00:17:08.700 --> 00:17:10.680 Well, it's not the same as when God blesses us. 00:17:11.220 --> 00:17:14.539 When God blesses us, one scholar has said, 00:17:15.119 --> 00:17:18.339 we are helped and strengthened and made better off. 00:17:18.339 --> 00:17:22.139 When God blesses us, we're endowed with something special, 00:17:22.319 --> 00:17:28.500 like a new power or with favor or with a new calling or with a new identity. 00:17:29.480 --> 00:17:33.740 When we bless the Lord, we're not helping God. 00:17:34.159 --> 00:17:35.779 We're not strengthening God. 00:17:35.899 --> 00:17:40.379 God is not made better off by our blessing him because God cannot be made better off. 00:17:41.039 --> 00:17:44.299 When a human blesses God, what that means is they're praising God. 00:17:44.299 --> 00:17:49.299 They're expressing gratitude and praise and honor towards God. 00:17:50.079 --> 00:17:52.639 So what does it mean to bless the Lord in this season? 00:17:53.599 --> 00:17:55.480 Well, given all that we've talked about, 00:17:55.559 --> 00:18:02.019 I think probably the most obvious answer would be something like engaging more deeply with worship. 00:18:02.019 --> 00:18:04.839 But that's not where I want us to land today. 00:18:05.819 --> 00:18:09.759 Obviously, you're listening to this or watching this sermon. 00:18:09.759 --> 00:18:16.279 That means you haven't disengaged from church like a third of the Christians in America. 00:18:16.539 --> 00:18:20.980 So you probably don't need to be encouraged to engage more deeply in worship. 00:18:21.039 --> 00:18:24.579 I think that we probably need to be encouraged in a different way. 00:18:25.480 --> 00:18:28.539 Blessing the Lord certainly includes worship in a formal sense, 00:18:28.579 --> 00:18:32.759 but I think it's far more expansive than just worshiping God, 00:18:32.879 --> 00:18:35.359 singing songs of praise to him and that sort of thing. 00:18:35.359 --> 00:18:40.759 I think the image of a father and a child is really instructive here for us. 00:18:41.299 --> 00:18:43.699 What does it mean for a child to bless her dad? 00:18:44.379 --> 00:18:45.919 Well, I think about my own kids. 00:18:46.519 --> 00:18:48.719 Billy the other day came up to me and he said, 00:18:48.839 --> 00:18:52.419 Daddy, you're the best daddy and the biggest daddy that I've ever had. 00:18:52.979 --> 00:18:56.740 And I would say that's a blessing depending on what he means by biggest daddy. 00:18:57.339 --> 00:19:00.000 And I would say I was blessed by the words. 00:19:00.199 --> 00:19:03.439 It was encouraging to me to hear Billy say that I was his best daddy. 00:19:03.440 --> 00:19:05.640 Billy certainly is true since I'm his only daddy. 00:19:06.840 --> 00:19:09.600 But I'm far more blessed, not by Billy's words, 00:19:09.680 --> 00:19:13.840 but when he lives freely in the world the way that I've trained him to, 00:19:13.920 --> 00:19:15.299 the way that I desire him to. 00:19:15.720 --> 00:19:18.720 So it's really nice when Billy blesses me with his words and says, 00:19:19.120 --> 00:19:21.340 nice and encouraging things to me. 00:19:21.720 --> 00:19:24.980 But I'm far more blessed when he forgives his brother when I'm not paying attention. 00:19:25.400 --> 00:19:28.360 Or when I see him include the shy child on the playground, 00:19:28.559 --> 00:19:31.220 who's sort of on the fringes playing by himself. 00:19:31.220 --> 00:19:35.880 I'm blessed when Billy says that thoughtful thing to our neighbor, Miss Kimberly. 00:19:36.360 --> 00:19:40.420 The type of thing that I'm just so happy when he's acting that way in the world, 00:19:40.579 --> 00:19:42.160 doing that of his own accord. 00:19:42.700 --> 00:19:44.539 I think the same is true for us. 00:19:45.240 --> 00:19:49.100 I think that God is blessed when we praise him and when we worship him, 00:19:49.160 --> 00:19:53.120 but he may be even far more blessed when we're living as God intends us 00:19:53.120 --> 00:19:55.259 for him to live in the world as his children. 00:19:55.259 --> 00:19:59.259 You see, one of the central truths for the people of God 00:19:59.259 --> 00:20:02.259 is that we're blessed to be a blessing. 00:20:02.819 --> 00:20:07.379 The purpose of God blessing us is so that we might bless others in return. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:09.460 Bless God and bless our neighbors. 00:20:10.180 --> 00:20:13.940 And we see this perhaps most clearly in Genesis 12 when God calls Abraham. 00:20:14.099 --> 00:20:18.180 He says, Abraham, I'm going to bless you so that you might be a blessing. 00:20:18.359 --> 00:20:20.440 I'm not blessing you instead of all these other people. 00:20:20.440 --> 00:20:24.640 I'm blessing you so that all of the families of the world might be blessed. 00:20:26.100 --> 00:20:27.779 So I think this means a lot of things for us. 00:20:27.860 --> 00:20:30.080 This can take shape in a number of different forms. 00:20:30.200 --> 00:20:34.059 And so I don't want to limit our imagination for what it means to bless the Lord in this season. 00:20:34.080 --> 00:20:36.380 But I do want to suggest something for us. 00:20:36.420 --> 00:20:37.400 I want to suggest one thing. 00:20:38.660 --> 00:20:43.880 Now, one of the most profound ways, I think, to bless the world and to bless the Lord 00:20:43.880 --> 00:20:48.900 is how we relate to our enemies, be they real or perceived. 00:20:49.720 --> 00:20:55.360 I think we find ourselves quickly approaching a very nasty political season in our country. 00:20:56.120 --> 00:20:57.140 There are a lot of enemies. 00:20:57.620 --> 00:20:58.840 There's a lot of cursing. 00:20:59.060 --> 00:21:01.380 There's not a whole lot of blessing going around. 00:21:01.860 --> 00:21:03.320 There's not a lot of blessing going on. 00:21:03.780 --> 00:21:10.100 Now, if you're a Christian, I want to tell you that you cannot bless the Lord and curse people. 00:21:10.460 --> 00:21:13.380 You cannot bless the Lord and curse people. 00:21:13.380 --> 00:21:14.440 You'll be tempted to do so. 00:21:14.500 --> 00:21:15.440 We're tempted all the time. 00:21:15.480 --> 00:21:18.720 And in fact, I think we're trained to do this very thing. 00:21:18.820 --> 00:21:24.340 We're trained to curse people and our enemies all the time by our political and our cultural leaders. 00:21:24.660 --> 00:21:26.340 But it's impossible for Christians. 00:21:26.460 --> 00:21:28.440 We cannot bless the Lord and curse people. 00:21:29.380 --> 00:21:36.240 James, in his letter, talks about just how unbefitting this is for someone who has been blessed by God. 00:21:37.620 --> 00:21:39.360 James says this. 00:21:39.360 --> 00:21:43.100 He's talking about how we use our words, how we use our tongue. 00:21:43.380 --> 00:21:46.480 In chapter 3, verses 6 through 10 of his epistle. 00:21:47.540 --> 00:21:48.120 James writes, 00:21:48.119 --> 00:22:12.659 What he's saying is, 00:22:12.660 --> 00:22:16.500 You cannot bless God and curse your enemies. 00:22:17.140 --> 00:22:17.840 Curse people. 00:22:18.400 --> 00:22:20.120 In fact, the opposite is true. 00:22:20.740 --> 00:22:23.140 And so I want to be very clear about what I'm saying right now. 00:22:23.220 --> 00:22:25.640 I think we bless God. 00:22:25.720 --> 00:22:29.880 One of the ways we bless God in this season is by blessing our enemies. 00:22:30.360 --> 00:22:32.900 People made in the image and likeness of God. 00:22:33.420 --> 00:22:38.920 This is one of the things that sets those who have been blessed by God apart from the world. 00:22:38.920 --> 00:22:41.420 How does the world deal with its enemies? 00:22:42.019 --> 00:22:43.360 It crushes them. 00:22:43.940 --> 00:22:45.259 It cancels them. 00:22:45.840 --> 00:22:47.080 It curses them. 00:22:47.960 --> 00:22:52.539 But when the world curses its enemies, Christians are called to bless them. 00:22:53.100 --> 00:22:54.259 To extend grace. 00:22:54.420 --> 00:23:02.000 To extend forgiveness and patience and love and kindness and mercy to the ones who are not deserving of it. 00:23:02.039 --> 00:23:02.779 To our enemies. 00:23:02.779 --> 00:23:07.440 Jesus said this in Luke chapter 6. 00:23:07.500 --> 00:23:11.079 Woe to you when all people speak well of you. 00:23:12.019 --> 00:23:14.839 For so their fathers did to the false prophets. 00:23:15.899 --> 00:23:17.759 But I say to you who hear, 00:23:18.799 --> 00:23:20.160 Love your enemies. 00:23:21.339 --> 00:23:22.700 Do good to those who hate you. 00:23:22.899 --> 00:23:24.960 Bless those who curse you. 00:23:25.859 --> 00:23:27.980 Pray for those who abuse you. 00:23:27.980 --> 00:23:34.559 This very well may be the most challenging call to discipleship that Jesus offers. 00:23:35.200 --> 00:23:41.460 It's the most challenging call for disciples, but it also corresponds to our greatest blessing. 00:23:42.339 --> 00:23:43.160 Love your enemy. 00:23:44.500 --> 00:23:47.039 Pray for those who curse you. 00:23:47.860 --> 00:23:49.680 Bless those who curse you. 00:23:50.440 --> 00:23:51.460 And it's only possible. 00:23:51.940 --> 00:23:54.160 This impossible thing is only possible. 00:23:54.160 --> 00:23:58.759 When we remember, this is exactly what Christ has done for us. 00:23:59.400 --> 00:24:00.320 Let's pray. 00:24:02.040 --> 00:24:06.519 Father, we come before you needing to be refreshed. 00:24:07.980 --> 00:24:14.560 I pray that we would drink deeply from this psalm and that it would be water for our parched souls. 00:24:15.279 --> 00:24:21.960 I pray that we would see through this psalm just how blessed we are in Christ. 00:24:21.960 --> 00:24:26.440 That you love us and that you extend grace and mercy towards us. 00:24:27.180 --> 00:24:29.860 And that we would realize that we're blessed in order to be a blessing. 00:24:30.019 --> 00:24:33.360 That you would equip us by your spirit to bless our enemies. 00:24:33.860 --> 00:24:36.900 To bless the world and in so doing, bless you in return. 00:24:37.799 --> 00:24:39.259 We pray these things in Jesus' name. 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:40.039 Amen.