1 00:00:02,519 --> 00:00:05,522 Psalm 103 2 00:00:05,839 --> 00:00:08,274 Of David Bless the Lord, O 3 00:00:08,274 --> 00:00:13,079 my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. 4 00:00:13,363 --> 00:00:18,118 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits 5 00:00:18,435 --> 00:00:20,787 who forgives all your inequity, 6 00:00:20,787 --> 00:00:23,123 who heals all your diseases, 7 00:00:23,123 --> 00:00:26,042 who redeems your life from the pit, 8 00:00:26,042 --> 00:00:30,597 who crowns you with steadfast love and mercy, 9 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:32,999 who satisfies you with good, 10 00:00:32,999 --> 00:00:36,436 so your youth is renewed like the eagle's. 11 00:00:36,469 --> 00:00:41,758 The Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 12 00:00:41,791 --> 00:00:47,280 He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 13 00:00:47,480 --> 00:00:50,283 The Lord is merciful and gracious, 14 00:00:50,283 --> 00:00:54,120 slow to anger, and abounding in steadfast love. 15 00:00:54,270 --> 00:00:57,273 He will not always chide, nor 16 00:00:57,273 --> 00:01:00,276 will he keep his anger forever. 17 00:01:00,677 --> 00:01:03,997 He does not deal with us according to our sins, 18 00:01:03,997 --> 00:01:07,517 nor repay us according to our iniquities. 19 00:01:07,550 --> 00:01:11,071 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, 20 00:01:11,071 --> 00:01:15,909 so great is his steadfast love towards those who fear him. 21 00:01:15,992 --> 00:01:19,162 As far as the east is from the West 22 00:01:19,162 --> 00:01:23,416 so far does he remove our transgressions from us, 23 00:01:23,433 --> 00:01:27,070 as a father shows compassion to his children, 24 00:01:27,070 --> 00:01:33,243 so the Lord shows compassion to those who fear him, for he knows our frame. 25 00:01:33,276 --> 00:01:35,478 He remembers that we are dust. 26 00:01:35,478 --> 00:01:38,598 As for man, his days are like grass. 27 00:01:38,631 --> 00:01:42,352 He flourishes like a flower of the field. 28 00:01:42,402 --> 00:01:45,672 For the wind passes over it and it is gone. 29 00:01:45,672 --> 00:01:48,708 And its place knows it no more. 30 00:01:48,908 --> 00:01:51,878 But the steadfast love of the Lord 31 00:01:51,878 --> 00:01:55,548 is from everlasting to everlasting. 32 00:01:55,548 --> 00:02:00,987 On those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's 33 00:02:00,987 --> 00:02:04,390 children, to those who keep his covenant 34 00:02:04,390 --> 00:02:07,510 and remember to do his commandments. 35 00:02:07,794 --> 00:02:13,750 The Lord has established his throne in the heavens, and his kingdom rules overall. 36 00:02:13,800 --> 00:02:19,239 Bless the Lord, O you, his angels, you mighty ones who do his word. 37 00:02:19,272 --> 00:02:21,758 Obeying the voice of His Word. 38 00:02:21,758 --> 00:02:27,030 Bless the Lord, all his hosts, his ministers who do his will. 39 00:02:27,113 --> 00:02:32,118 Bless the Lord all his works in all places of his dominion. 40 00:02:32,202 --> 00:02:34,554 Bless the Lord, O my soul. 41 00:02:38,308 --> 00:02:40,426 Hey everybody, welcome to Christ Community Chapel. 42 00:02:40,426 --> 00:02:41,027 My name is Joe, 43 00:02:41,027 --> 00:02:44,430 I'm one of the pastors here, and I'm glad you've come. 44 00:02:44,747 --> 00:02:46,282 If you're seeing me on the big screens 45 00:02:46,282 --> 00:02:50,520 because I'm out in the tent preaching or I'm in the gym, 46 00:02:50,520 --> 00:02:53,122 but I'm so glad you're here as well. 47 00:02:53,122 --> 00:02:53,590 All right. 48 00:02:53,590 --> 00:02:58,228 This is the fourth and final message of our series More Than Religion. 49 00:02:58,228 --> 00:03:01,231 And we're looking at Psalm 103. 50 00:03:01,281 --> 00:03:02,682 The Psalms, for the most part, 51 00:03:02,682 --> 00:03:05,919 are collection of prayers about what we experienced during life. 52 00:03:05,919 --> 00:03:12,075 If you are struggling with doubt or fear or stress or anxiety or shame 53 00:03:12,075 --> 00:03:17,397 or guilt or anything you are experiencing, there's a Psalm for you. 54 00:03:18,081 --> 00:03:22,752 This psalm is a little bit unique and that it's not about anything specific. 55 00:03:22,802 --> 00:03:25,788 It's really about a way to approach life. 56 00:03:25,838 --> 00:03:28,841 Which means then, that it's a psalm for everyone. 57 00:03:28,908 --> 00:03:32,795 It's a Psalm for you, and it's a Psalm for me right now. 58 00:03:33,313 --> 00:03:36,032 You know, Pastor Zach and I work hard at preaching. 59 00:03:36,032 --> 00:03:38,318 We want to try to take the truth of Scripture 60 00:03:38,318 --> 00:03:41,988 and make it applicable and beneficial to your life. 61 00:03:42,755 --> 00:03:44,674 But we also know that the 62 00:03:44,674 --> 00:03:48,878 the half life of a sermon is probably pretty short, like by tomorrow 63 00:03:48,912 --> 00:03:53,399 you'll remember maybe a couple stories about next week it's gone. 64 00:03:53,399 --> 00:03:54,717 And I'm not, 65 00:03:54,717 --> 00:03:55,952 I'm okay with that, 66 00:03:55,952 --> 00:04:00,873 because I really look at preaching, like giving you spiritual nourishment. 67 00:04:00,907 --> 00:04:04,360 Like, you may not remember what you ate 4 or 5 days ago, 68 00:04:04,510 --> 00:04:07,397 but you would remember if you hadn't eaten anything. 69 00:04:07,397 --> 00:04:11,351 So Zach and I look at this like we're trying to give some spiritual nourishment. 70 00:04:11,351 --> 00:04:14,988 But if you want this to last longer, there's a way, 71 00:04:15,188 --> 00:04:18,191 and the way is when you wake up tomorrow. 72 00:04:18,675 --> 00:04:23,713 If you will just read the first five verses of Psalm 103, and then 73 00:04:23,713 --> 00:04:28,801 you read it every day for the next week until it kind of you begin to memorize it. 74 00:04:28,835 --> 00:04:32,922 It can actually have the power to change the way you experience life. 75 00:04:33,156 --> 00:04:35,241 Here are the first five verses. This is what it says. 76 00:04:35,241 --> 00:04:39,629 Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me. 77 00:04:39,629 --> 00:04:41,230 Bless his holy name. 78 00:04:41,230 --> 00:04:44,550 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not his benefits. 79 00:04:44,550 --> 00:04:47,553 Who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your disease, 80 00:04:48,037 --> 00:04:50,323 who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you 81 00:04:50,323 --> 00:04:53,443 with loving kindness and compassion, who fills your life 82 00:04:53,443 --> 00:04:57,196 with good things so that your youth is renewed like the eagle. 83 00:04:58,281 --> 00:05:01,234 I've been doing that for the last three weeks or so, 84 00:05:01,234 --> 00:05:04,520 and the reason that it has the power to actually change the way you experience 85 00:05:04,520 --> 00:05:08,558 life is the the number one problem that any of us have in staying 86 00:05:08,558 --> 00:05:12,712 close to God in relationship is that we forget. 87 00:05:13,596 --> 00:05:15,515 We forget you. 88 00:05:15,515 --> 00:05:19,268 I said that the Psalms are mostly a collection of prayers, and they are. 89 00:05:19,319 --> 00:05:23,990 This one was written by King David, and he's actually talking to himself. 90 00:05:24,474 --> 00:05:27,477 He's reminding himself of what is true. 91 00:05:27,794 --> 00:05:32,949 It's like he's he's driving an anchor into the ground that will help him 92 00:05:33,199 --> 00:05:37,437 if he goes for any storm that's coming his way. 93 00:05:37,837 --> 00:05:40,990 And what he's saying is, I want to remember the truth. 94 00:05:40,990 --> 00:05:43,760 There are three things. These are my three points. 95 00:05:43,760 --> 00:05:46,162 He says. Remember God's gifts. 96 00:05:46,162 --> 00:05:49,148 Remember God's character. 97 00:05:49,349 --> 00:05:51,267 Remember God's power. 98 00:05:51,267 --> 00:05:52,468 Remember God's gifts. 99 00:05:52,468 --> 00:05:55,038 God's character, God's power. 100 00:05:55,038 --> 00:05:57,306 First, remember God's gifts. 101 00:05:57,306 --> 00:05:59,075 This is what he says right off the bat. 102 00:05:59,075 --> 00:06:00,159 Bless the Lord, O my soul. 103 00:06:00,159 --> 00:06:04,480 Forget not all his benefits who forgives all of your iniquity. 104 00:06:05,148 --> 00:06:05,481 Thank. 105 00:06:05,481 --> 00:06:10,670 Forgiveness was one of those things for King David that was first and foremost. 106 00:06:10,670 --> 00:06:12,989 And if you know the story of David, 107 00:06:12,989 --> 00:06:17,043 you know that he was doing really well and then started to make some mistakes. 108 00:06:17,043 --> 00:06:21,881 And those mistakes led to him committing adultery and then murder. 109 00:06:21,914 --> 00:06:22,348 Okay. 110 00:06:23,399 --> 00:06:24,317 Those are big. 111 00:06:24,317 --> 00:06:24,801 If you take 112 00:06:24,801 --> 00:06:29,272 the Ten Commandments and you pick two, you do not want to break in your lifetime. 113 00:06:29,355 --> 00:06:30,840 Those would be the two. 114 00:06:30,840 --> 00:06:36,312 He does them both, and he is crushed by the guilt and the shame. 115 00:06:36,312 --> 00:06:39,916 And then he experienced experiences forgiveness, 116 00:06:40,349 --> 00:06:43,319 which is just remarkable. 117 00:06:43,319 --> 00:06:47,507 But he still says, don't forget, don't forget. 118 00:06:47,507 --> 00:06:49,041 I think, how could you ever forget? 119 00:06:49,041 --> 00:06:52,595 Like if I had a crushing debt, like my mortgage 120 00:06:52,595 --> 00:06:57,233 was just just killing me and somebody came and paid off my house? 121 00:06:57,233 --> 00:06:59,235 It seems like every time I walk into my house, 122 00:06:59,235 --> 00:07:02,955 I would, I would remember and I just be going, oh, man, this is so good. 123 00:07:02,955 --> 00:07:03,556 I'm dead for you. 124 00:07:03,556 --> 00:07:06,559 This is unbelievable. What a gift, right? 125 00:07:06,876 --> 00:07:10,396 But I know myself well enough that I'd forget after time. 126 00:07:10,396 --> 00:07:14,317 And I was trying to think, why do I forget about forgiveness? 127 00:07:14,350 --> 00:07:15,401 And maybe you're like me. 128 00:07:15,401 --> 00:07:21,641 The reason I think I forget is that I've never done anything really, really bad. 129 00:07:21,674 --> 00:07:23,276 Like I haven't killed. 130 00:07:23,276 --> 00:07:26,195 I haven't murdered anybody yet, you know? 131 00:07:27,597 --> 00:07:28,197 But I 132 00:07:28,197 --> 00:07:31,317 was thinking, if God were to make a tape, 133 00:07:31,951 --> 00:07:34,437 like a highlight tape, 134 00:07:34,437 --> 00:07:39,358 kind of of Joe Coffee at his worst, like one of those political ads, 135 00:07:39,358 --> 00:07:41,561 that's a negative political ad where, you know, 136 00:07:41,561 --> 00:07:45,515 at the end of like, 30s, you're going, man, that guy is awful, right? 137 00:07:45,548 --> 00:07:49,352 I don't know how long that tape would be. 138 00:07:50,153 --> 00:07:52,672 I know this, that if that tape 139 00:07:52,672 --> 00:07:56,192 went up on the big screens right now, in ten minutes, 140 00:07:56,192 --> 00:07:59,795 there'd be nobody in this room, but you'd all be leaving and just going. 141 00:07:59,795 --> 00:08:01,113 That that guy is awful. 142 00:08:01,113 --> 00:08:04,350 I don't know why I ever listened to him in the first place. 143 00:08:04,800 --> 00:08:09,071 Forgiveness is God saying, I take that tape 144 00:08:10,239 --> 00:08:12,391 and I wipe it clean. 145 00:08:12,391 --> 00:08:15,678 There's something just remarkable about that. 146 00:08:15,678 --> 00:08:18,798 Even if you feel like you've never done anything really, 147 00:08:18,798 --> 00:08:22,468 really bad, you have a tape like that. 148 00:08:22,835 --> 00:08:26,722 And the first thing that David says is, don't ever 149 00:08:26,722 --> 00:08:31,561 forget the wonder of being forgiven. 150 00:08:32,278 --> 00:08:32,512 Right? 151 00:08:32,512 --> 00:08:33,963 Then he says this. 152 00:08:33,963 --> 00:08:39,402 He goes on and he says, who crowns you with steadfast love? 153 00:08:40,319 --> 00:08:43,206 I think that the love of God is something that, you know, 154 00:08:43,206 --> 00:08:44,757 you'll be watching a sporting event. 155 00:08:44,757 --> 00:08:46,359 You see somebody who has a sign. 156 00:08:46,359 --> 00:08:48,711 John 316 you think, oh, I know that verse. 157 00:08:48,711 --> 00:08:50,029 For God so loved the world. 158 00:08:50,029 --> 00:08:50,947 Yeah. God loves me. 159 00:08:50,947 --> 00:08:53,683 And I just want to slow you up a little bit, 160 00:08:53,683 --> 00:08:58,721 because the fact that God is love is so huge. 161 00:08:58,754 --> 00:09:03,476 If if you take the most powerful being in the universe and you get to pick 162 00:09:03,509 --> 00:09:08,197 the the central quality of that most powerful person 163 00:09:08,347 --> 00:09:11,918 being in the universe, you could not pick a better thing than love. 164 00:09:12,468 --> 00:09:14,036 Like, I was thinking about all the science 165 00:09:14,036 --> 00:09:17,156 fiction movies where aliens are invading our world. 166 00:09:17,156 --> 00:09:19,358 They never come in love. 167 00:09:19,358 --> 00:09:24,397 You know, it wouldn't be a very long movie, but I think if you could choose 168 00:09:25,431 --> 00:09:28,718 to have the basic quality 169 00:09:29,669 --> 00:09:33,155 of God, you would choose love. 170 00:09:33,155 --> 00:09:35,191 And that's what the Bible says he has. 171 00:09:35,191 --> 00:09:40,796 If you have a single person in your life whose central disposition to 172 00:09:40,830 --> 00:09:43,833 you is love, you want to be close to that person. 173 00:09:43,833 --> 00:09:47,203 Like I have grandchildren and they feel like that about my wife. 174 00:09:47,203 --> 00:09:49,589 They call her Gigi, right? 175 00:09:49,589 --> 00:09:53,593 They know that her disposition toward them is just pure love. 176 00:09:53,643 --> 00:09:54,710 They can feel it. 177 00:09:54,710 --> 00:09:59,915 I was in the kids area a while ago and one of my grandsons came up to me. 178 00:09:59,915 --> 00:10:00,866 I picked him up my arms. 179 00:10:00,866 --> 00:10:03,202 He goes, hey, Papa, we're going to Jesus house. 180 00:10:03,202 --> 00:10:04,837 You should come. 181 00:10:04,837 --> 00:10:06,756 I was like, 182 00:10:06,756 --> 00:10:07,907 I live there. 183 00:10:07,907 --> 00:10:10,643 He didn't even know 184 00:10:10,643 --> 00:10:11,427 what he was doing. 185 00:10:11,427 --> 00:10:14,947 Was like a very basic kind of evangelism. 186 00:10:15,281 --> 00:10:20,202 What he was saying is, listen, being close to Gigi is the best. 187 00:10:20,670 --> 00:10:23,356 You should get yourself some of that. Papa, 188 00:10:24,590 --> 00:10:25,675 can I tell you something? 189 00:10:25,675 --> 00:10:28,678 If you're here because somebody invited you. 190 00:10:28,678 --> 00:10:30,713 That's why 191 00:10:30,713 --> 00:10:33,115 they're saying I know that 192 00:10:33,115 --> 00:10:36,118 God's basic disposition to you is love, 193 00:10:36,202 --> 00:10:39,188 and to be close to him is the very best. 194 00:10:39,522 --> 00:10:42,108 I just want you to get close to him. 195 00:10:42,108 --> 00:10:45,428 You can get yourself some of that through Jesus. 196 00:10:45,878 --> 00:10:47,997 And that's the second thing. 197 00:10:47,997 --> 00:10:51,267 Then the the third gift that he says, he verse five says, 198 00:10:51,267 --> 00:10:53,152 who satisfies you with good. 199 00:10:53,152 --> 00:10:57,957 The version that I memorized says, he fills your life with good things. 200 00:10:58,240 --> 00:10:59,108 He filled. 201 00:10:59,108 --> 00:11:04,597 Every good thing that you have ever experienced is because God gave it to you. 202 00:11:04,914 --> 00:11:07,917 Do you know that it's so easy to forget? 203 00:11:07,950 --> 00:11:11,153 You know, when my daughter, one of my daughters, was a teenager, 204 00:11:11,153 --> 00:11:12,521 she was getting kind of uppity. 205 00:11:12,521 --> 00:11:16,475 And I remember telling her at one time, listen, everything you have, 206 00:11:17,076 --> 00:11:18,711 it's not yours. It's mine. 207 00:11:18,711 --> 00:11:20,429 Like the car you drive, you think it's yours? 208 00:11:20,429 --> 00:11:21,747 That's my car. 209 00:11:21,747 --> 00:11:24,033 The phone you're looking at that you're holding right now. 210 00:11:24,033 --> 00:11:26,435 My phone. The clothes you wear. 211 00:11:26,435 --> 00:11:28,954 Those are my clothes. They just fit you right. 212 00:11:30,923 --> 00:11:32,074 You don't have to. 213 00:11:32,074 --> 00:11:35,961 I mean, you kind of figure out why my grandkids prefer my wife. 214 00:11:36,228 --> 00:11:38,314 Yeah. 215 00:11:38,314 --> 00:11:41,317 Every good thing that you have ever experienced 216 00:11:42,401 --> 00:11:44,587 is from the hand of God. 217 00:11:44,587 --> 00:11:45,721 That's just true. 218 00:11:45,721 --> 00:11:49,592 You know, I was thinking, you know, he says this forgives all your iniquity. 219 00:11:49,642 --> 00:11:51,560 Who heals all your diseases? 220 00:11:51,560 --> 00:11:54,029 I remember when I read that for the first couple of times 221 00:11:54,029 --> 00:11:55,998 I was thinking, but what about the diseases? 222 00:11:55,998 --> 00:11:57,316 He doesn't heal? 223 00:11:57,316 --> 00:12:02,438 But then I turned it around and I thought, you know, every single thing I have ever 224 00:12:02,471 --> 00:12:06,392 my body has ever healed of is only because God did it. 225 00:12:07,276 --> 00:12:08,561 I played basketball in college. 226 00:12:08,561 --> 00:12:12,915 My roommate was also on the team, and I remember one time he popped his 227 00:12:13,032 --> 00:12:15,000 he sprained his ankle. It was it was a bad sprain. 228 00:12:15,000 --> 00:12:19,121 If you've ever done that, you know, they blow up big like big and purple. 229 00:12:19,121 --> 00:12:21,791 And he was laying on the bed and he couldn't get out of bed. 230 00:12:21,791 --> 00:12:23,676 And I went to a Christian college. 231 00:12:23,676 --> 00:12:26,595 And there was a guy on our floor who was very much into prayer. 232 00:12:26,595 --> 00:12:29,915 And so he asked Joel, do you want me to come in and pray for your ankle? 233 00:12:29,915 --> 00:12:30,883 And Joel said, sure. 234 00:12:30,883 --> 00:12:34,870 So every night this guy would come in and he would lay hands on Joel's ankle 235 00:12:34,870 --> 00:12:36,439 and he would pray for his ankle to get better. 236 00:12:36,439 --> 00:12:39,358 And after about two and a half weeks, it it got better. 237 00:12:39,358 --> 00:12:41,193 And I remember we kind of laughed because we said, 238 00:12:41,193 --> 00:12:44,396 you know, a sprained ankle gets better in about two and a half weeks, 239 00:12:44,597 --> 00:12:45,714 you know, without prayer. 240 00:12:46,949 --> 00:12:49,952 But I was wrong. 241 00:12:50,202 --> 00:12:51,270 The only reason I sprained 242 00:12:51,270 --> 00:12:54,273 ankle ever gets better is that God makes it so. 243 00:12:54,440 --> 00:12:56,592 You only heal your body. 244 00:12:56,592 --> 00:12:59,595 Nothing heals itself. 245 00:12:59,678 --> 00:13:00,796 If there's a designer. 246 00:13:00,796 --> 00:13:02,998 He designed it to heal. 247 00:13:02,998 --> 00:13:06,669 I was reading a book about the wonders of the human body, and I read a chapter 248 00:13:06,669 --> 00:13:10,840 about blood clotting, and I'll just make this quick. 249 00:13:11,707 --> 00:13:14,477 You know, you a human body is a pressurized system. 250 00:13:14,477 --> 00:13:16,912 That's why you have blood pressure, right? 251 00:13:16,912 --> 00:13:19,999 We are like balloons walking around, you know, a balloon. 252 00:13:19,999 --> 00:13:25,154 If you have a tiny pinprick in a balloon, it will it will bleed out of it 253 00:13:25,154 --> 00:13:28,157 may take all night, but in the morning it's done. 254 00:13:28,474 --> 00:13:33,429 The only reason you don't bleed out, you haven't bled out yet in your life 255 00:13:33,479 --> 00:13:39,635 is because your blood clots, which is a a wildly complex 14. 256 00:13:40,069 --> 00:13:45,441 It's it's a 14 stage cascading system that allows your blood clot. 257 00:13:45,441 --> 00:13:46,709 I learned that in the book. 258 00:13:49,278 --> 00:13:52,348 You are alive to if you live out today, 259 00:13:54,033 --> 00:13:56,552 it's because God did it. 260 00:13:56,552 --> 00:14:00,923 Every good gift and it's so easy to forget. 261 00:14:01,440 --> 00:14:04,193 So the first thing the psalmist says, we're going to change 262 00:14:04,193 --> 00:14:07,196 just the way you experience, you're going to get close to God. 263 00:14:07,596 --> 00:14:10,316 You want to stay close to God. 264 00:14:10,316 --> 00:14:12,918 Remember God's gifts, 265 00:14:12,918 --> 00:14:13,402 right? 266 00:14:13,402 --> 00:14:17,389 Forgiveness, love, every good thing. 267 00:14:17,907 --> 00:14:20,159 Then he says, Remember God's character. 268 00:14:20,159 --> 00:14:21,043 It's what he says next, 269 00:14:21,043 --> 00:14:25,397 the Lord works righteousness and justice for all who are oppressed. 270 00:14:25,397 --> 00:14:29,151 He may know in his ways to Moses, his acts to the people of Israel. 271 00:14:29,201 --> 00:14:34,990 The Lord is merciful and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love. 272 00:14:35,190 --> 00:14:38,878 He mentions two things right there if you caught it, he mentions 273 00:14:38,878 --> 00:14:41,881 justice and mercy. 274 00:14:42,031 --> 00:14:44,867 Those are like if you take love and break it 275 00:14:44,867 --> 00:14:47,870 apart, it breaks up into justice and mercy. 276 00:14:47,953 --> 00:14:51,991 If you know how water breaks up into hydrogen and oxygen, you take love. 277 00:14:51,991 --> 00:14:53,592 You break it up. It's justice. Mercy. 278 00:14:53,592 --> 00:14:55,194 Justice is love. Spread out. 279 00:14:55,194 --> 00:14:57,563 Mercy is what you have to have. 280 00:14:57,563 --> 00:15:00,549 If you're going to love an imperfect being. 281 00:15:01,467 --> 00:15:06,722 And what the psalmist says, God has both and he holds both. 282 00:15:06,722 --> 00:15:10,242 But the hard thing is to hold them both in the same hand. 283 00:15:10,559 --> 00:15:14,430 You know, there's a story in Exodus chapter 34 284 00:15:14,680 --> 00:15:18,267 where Moses is up on the mountain with God, and he asked God. 285 00:15:18,267 --> 00:15:21,070 He says, God, I want to see your full goodness. 286 00:15:21,070 --> 00:15:22,671 I want to see all of you. 287 00:15:22,671 --> 00:15:26,108 And God says, you can't see all of me. 288 00:15:26,108 --> 00:15:28,027 That would melt your face. 289 00:15:28,027 --> 00:15:31,080 So I will stick you in the cleft of a rock, 290 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:34,516 and I'll go by you and you'll see just a glimpse. 291 00:15:34,516 --> 00:15:37,603 But then this is what he hears as God goes by, 292 00:15:37,636 --> 00:15:41,073 says the Lord descended in the cloud, and stood with him there. 293 00:15:41,156 --> 00:15:42,758 Proclaim the name of the Lord. 294 00:15:42,758 --> 00:15:44,076 The Lord passed before him 295 00:15:44,076 --> 00:15:48,113 and proclaimed the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious. 296 00:15:48,113 --> 00:15:53,002 There it is slow to anger, abounding in steadfast love and faithfulness, keeping 297 00:15:53,002 --> 00:15:57,906 steadfast love for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin. 298 00:15:57,957 --> 00:15:58,874 That's mercy. 299 00:15:58,874 --> 00:16:03,228 Then he says this, but who will by no means clear the guilty, 300 00:16:03,479 --> 00:16:06,081 visiting the iniquity of the fathers and the children, 301 00:16:06,081 --> 00:16:09,068 and the children's children to the third and fourth generation. 302 00:16:09,268 --> 00:16:10,719 That's justice. 303 00:16:10,719 --> 00:16:14,757 And the big question is, which one do I get 304 00:16:15,841 --> 00:16:17,559 if I have that that tape? 305 00:16:17,559 --> 00:16:20,713 That's the very worst of Joe Coffee 306 00:16:21,714 --> 00:16:25,951 do I fall into he does not let the guilty go unpunished? 307 00:16:26,468 --> 00:16:30,322 Or do I fall into the mercy where he forgives iniquity? 308 00:16:30,923 --> 00:16:32,641 So we're Christian. 309 00:16:32,641 --> 00:16:35,794 This is where Christianity has the only logical answer. 310 00:16:35,794 --> 00:16:40,432 I think of any religion because Christianity says you can. 311 00:16:40,516 --> 00:16:44,470 The only way it can do both is you have to have someone to stand in the middle. 312 00:16:44,520 --> 00:16:45,988 Who is Jesus 313 00:16:45,988 --> 00:16:50,075 who says, if the guilty must be punished, I will be punished for the guilty. 314 00:16:50,075 --> 00:16:52,428 Then the guilty will receive mercy. 315 00:16:52,428 --> 00:16:58,000 It just makes so much sense that for me, I need a God who has both. 316 00:16:58,000 --> 00:16:59,635 I need a God who's just. 317 00:16:59,635 --> 00:17:02,354 Absolutely you do to write. 318 00:17:02,354 --> 00:17:03,722 Fairness is important to me. 319 00:17:03,722 --> 00:17:05,557 Justice is important to me. 320 00:17:05,557 --> 00:17:10,512 But I need a God of mercy, and only Christianity gives me both 321 00:17:10,879 --> 00:17:16,518 because of Jesus who stands in the middle and says, I'll take the punishment 322 00:17:16,668 --> 00:17:20,989 of the guilt that he deserves so that he can receive mercy. 323 00:17:22,474 --> 00:17:25,360 The psalmist says, don't forget God's character. 324 00:17:25,360 --> 00:17:29,081 And finally he says, don't forget God's power. 325 00:17:29,348 --> 00:17:31,316 I'm just going to give you two. 326 00:17:31,316 --> 00:17:32,117 Verse 17. 327 00:17:32,117 --> 00:17:38,841 It says, but the steadfast love of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting. 328 00:17:39,458 --> 00:17:41,960 You know, I got married when I was 21. 329 00:17:41,960 --> 00:17:44,630 We just celebrated their 46th anniversary. 330 00:17:44,630 --> 00:17:47,750 And a lot of you know that because I gave a shout out to my wife 331 00:17:47,750 --> 00:17:50,753 in the pre-service video a couple weeks ago. 332 00:17:51,153 --> 00:17:55,190 I don't know how many more anniversaries I'm going to have, 333 00:17:55,758 --> 00:17:59,228 but I know this there won't be enough, 334 00:18:00,996 --> 00:18:02,681 right? It just won't be. 335 00:18:02,681 --> 00:18:06,869 If I may have 50, 60, 70, 336 00:18:08,754 --> 00:18:09,471 it's not going to be. 337 00:18:09,471 --> 00:18:12,241 And I say that not because I'm a romantic. 338 00:18:12,241 --> 00:18:16,395 Although my wife was here last service and I said I was romantic, 339 00:18:16,628 --> 00:18:19,548 it just wanted to get those points. 340 00:18:19,548 --> 00:18:24,069 But I say that because we all realize that, you know, that 341 00:18:24,069 --> 00:18:29,274 deep down, to be loved til death do us part is wonderful. 342 00:18:29,274 --> 00:18:32,027 But it's not enough, right? 343 00:18:32,027 --> 00:18:35,080 That's why there are so many popular songs 344 00:18:35,080 --> 00:18:38,801 that have to do with Love That Lasts forever. 345 00:18:38,801 --> 00:18:40,435 I just find that fascinating. 346 00:18:40,435 --> 00:18:42,638 I actually asked ChatGPT, 347 00:18:42,638 --> 00:18:46,642 who knows everything I said, how many popular, not religious songs? 348 00:18:46,642 --> 00:18:49,828 How many popular songs talk about everlasting love? 349 00:18:49,878 --> 00:18:51,680 This is what it says. 350 00:18:51,680 --> 00:18:56,718 It says there's no exact number, which I was shocked by because ChatGPT 351 00:18:56,752 --> 00:19:00,155 usually gives me an exact number, he says. 352 00:19:00,472 --> 00:19:04,827 Music databases log hundreds of thousands of tracks on this theme. 353 00:19:04,827 --> 00:19:09,031 I asked for, for for ten years 354 00:19:09,681 --> 00:19:12,668 of popular songs that say everlasting love. 355 00:19:12,668 --> 00:19:14,436 It said there are hundreds of thousands. 356 00:19:14,436 --> 00:19:15,988 You know why? 357 00:19:15,988 --> 00:19:19,308 There's a little verse tucked away in in Ecclesiastes 358 00:19:19,308 --> 00:19:22,761 that says, God has placed eternity in the hearts of men. 359 00:19:23,395 --> 00:19:27,482 You long for someone to love you 360 00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,436 not just till you die, but forever. 361 00:19:32,120 --> 00:19:36,625 And here the psalmist says, you have a God who is so powerful 362 00:19:36,625 --> 00:19:40,112 it can love you from everlasting devil lasting. 363 00:19:40,913 --> 00:19:42,714 There was a commercial years ago. 364 00:19:42,714 --> 00:19:45,033 I don't know if you're old enough to remember it. 365 00:19:45,033 --> 00:19:48,670 It was for iced tea and it was it. 366 00:19:48,971 --> 00:19:53,926 It like had the nest T plunge, which was a man who would be staying 367 00:19:53,959 --> 00:19:54,760 and be a hot day. 368 00:19:54,760 --> 00:19:55,961 He would grab an iced tea, 369 00:19:55,961 --> 00:19:58,797 he'd be standing at the edge of a pool and he would take a sip. 370 00:19:58,797 --> 00:20:01,917 And as he did, he would fall back and just into the pool. 371 00:20:01,950 --> 00:20:03,001 It was all refreshing. 372 00:20:03,001 --> 00:20:07,239 You know, the best thing about dying is going to be for me 373 00:20:07,272 --> 00:20:08,991 is that the moment I die will be 374 00:20:08,991 --> 00:20:13,428 plunged into the everlasting love of a God who has loved me 375 00:20:13,562 --> 00:20:17,482 since I was in my mother's womb, and will never stop loving me. 376 00:20:18,116 --> 00:20:20,269 Such is the power of God. 377 00:20:20,269 --> 00:20:22,271 And then he says this. 378 00:20:22,271 --> 00:20:25,557 He says, the Lord has established his throne 379 00:20:25,557 --> 00:20:29,995 in the heavens and his kingdom rules. 380 00:20:30,195 --> 00:20:31,029 Overall, 381 00:20:32,080 --> 00:20:32,831 I love that 382 00:20:32,831 --> 00:20:37,436 that you know, when when Jesus was born in Bethlehem, the angels announced, 383 00:20:38,003 --> 00:20:40,522 Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace. 384 00:20:40,522 --> 00:20:45,877 Jesus taught us to pray, pray thy kingdom come, thy will be done. 385 00:20:45,994 --> 00:20:51,283 And then at the end of the New Testament it says, someday every knee will bow 386 00:20:51,283 --> 00:20:56,838 and every tongue will confess that Jesus is the king. 387 00:20:56,838 --> 00:21:00,993 And when that happens, there will be what the Bible calls the Genesis, 388 00:21:00,993 --> 00:21:04,196 which is a renewal of all things in the world, will finally 389 00:21:04,196 --> 00:21:07,683 be everything we wanted it to be. 390 00:21:07,716 --> 00:21:13,388 It will be what it's supposed to be, because it will be under the rule of God. 391 00:21:13,755 --> 00:21:17,876 The power of God is from everlasting to everlasting. 392 00:21:17,876 --> 00:21:21,113 The love of God is from everlasting to everlasting. 393 00:21:21,680 --> 00:21:24,449 Because God is who. 394 00:21:24,449 --> 00:21:26,718 Don't forget, don't forget. 395 00:21:26,718 --> 00:21:30,188 Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me. 396 00:21:30,188 --> 00:21:32,874 Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul. 397 00:21:32,874 --> 00:21:34,509 Forget not his benefits. 398 00:21:34,509 --> 00:21:38,196 Who pardons all your inequities, heals all your diseases, redeems 399 00:21:38,196 --> 00:21:42,918 your life from the pit, who crowns you with loving kindness and compassion, 400 00:21:42,918 --> 00:21:48,123 who fills your life with good things so that your youth is renewed. 401 00:21:48,357 --> 00:21:49,241 Like the eagles. 402 00:21:49,241 --> 00:21:51,243 You want to be close to God. 403 00:21:51,243 --> 00:21:53,228 You want to be close to him. 404 00:21:53,228 --> 00:21:54,396 Remember. 405 00:21:54,396 --> 00:21:57,115 Remember his gifts. Remember his character. 406 00:21:57,115 --> 00:21:58,917 Remember his power. 407 00:21:58,917 --> 00:22:01,269 There's nothing better than being close to God. 408 00:22:01,269 --> 00:22:03,322 Would you pray with me? 409 00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:06,708 Father in heaven, thank you for this Psalm. 410 00:22:07,509 --> 00:22:08,710 Thanks for reminding us. 411 00:22:08,710 --> 00:22:12,631 I need to be reminded all the time of who you are, what you have done. 412 00:22:12,631 --> 00:22:18,003 I pray that this day, tonight will be a night that you will remind all of us. 413 00:22:18,003 --> 00:22:23,308 I pray for those who are here, who are just now starting to 414 00:22:23,358 --> 00:22:26,478 to want to come to your drawing them to you. 415 00:22:26,995 --> 00:22:31,400 I pray that they will make that step, because there is nothing better 416 00:22:31,833 --> 00:22:37,672 than being close to the God whose disposition toward us is one of love. 417 00:22:37,723 --> 00:22:40,709 Thanks for your gifts, for your character, for your power. 418 00:22:40,709 --> 00:22:43,628 We pray this in Jesus name. Amen.