Here’s my sermon and sermon outline for Psalm 103
To listen to it, you can click here.
Ps 103 “Preaching the Gospel to Ourselves”
What do you do when your heart grows cold toward God? What do you do when you don’t feel like worshiping God? How do you stir up your love for Him?
“KNOWLEDGE OF GOD FUELS WORSHIP OF GOD”
OUTLINE: 1 TEXT, 2 WHAT IS REQUIRED OF US, 3 HOW THE GOSPEL IS RELEVANT
1. TEXT: Author=King David; Big picture=A call to worship God through a remembering of who He is and what He’s done
[1. Knowledge of actions without character=no relationship; 2. Knowledge of character with no actions: disbelief in existence
3. Knowledge of actions and character=trust and love]
Structure: Call to Worship; Remembering what God has done; Remembering Who He is; Remember What He’s Done; Call to Worship.
WORSHIP SANDWHICH “BLESS THE LORD”
1. Call to Worship (v 1-2)
Bless=worship; LORD= Yahweh; Soul=seat of understanding & affections; “all that is within”=emotions, mind, desires. v. 3-19 Benefits
2. Remembering What God has done (3-7)
a. Benefits (3-5): Forgives, heals, redeems, crowns, satisfies
b. Actions (6-7): Works righteousness (to bring about justice); reveals (God can be known). EXODUS…
3. Remembering God’s Character (8-18)
a. Mercy, Grace, & Love (8): Reference to Exodus 34:6: God’s mercy after Israel’s failure=MEDITATION ON SCRIPTURE!!
b. Not this… (9-10): Grace=giving us what we don’t deserve.
Analogies (11-13): heavens and earth (love); east and west (mercy); father child (compassion)
i. FEAR OF THE LORD: affectionate, reverential submission (v. 11, 13, 17)
d. Reasonable (14): Knows our frailty (reference to Gen 2:7àAdam made from the dust): Do you believe GOD is reasonable?
e. Eternal Love and Righteous (15-18): CONTRAST WITH MAN (1st time God not mentioned)= we are like grass or flower
God’s love and righteousness never ends (unlike us)
Do view your accomplishments and failures in light of the shortness of your life?
4. Remembering what God has done (19)
a. God’s throne and rule Do you view your circumstances from this perspective?
5. Call to Worship (20-22)
a. angels and all of creation
b. Inclusio “Bless the LORD O’ my soul”=the whole Psalm is geared toward this. WORSHIP SANDWHICH
Summary: David filled his mind with a knowledge of what God did and Who God is in order to stir up his love for God.
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD FUELS WORSHIP OF GOD
2. WHAT MUST WE DO: Worship God with all of our soul.
1. First Commandment (have no other gods); 2. Jesus’ statement (Matt 22:37-40):it is immoral and evil to worship others gods
WE CAN’T DO IT:
1. Idolatry: ‘making good things ultimate things’ (Keller), the world is too alluringàjob, family, success, opinions of others, relationships
2. Lazy: love comfort more than God.
3. Unbelief: these statements are unbelievable to our hearts.
4. Mistaken view of sanctification (think we don’t have to strive) [Phil 2:12-13; Col 1:28-29]
Ultimately, we have lost sight of who God is and what He has done.
3. THE GOSPEL AND OUR RESPONSE: Here we see most clearly who God is and what He has done.
1. WHO HE IS: God is love (John 3:16); Holy and righteous love that sends His Son to die for us.
2. WHAT HE HAS DONE: God has restored us to Himself and made us NEW(2 Cor 5:21). GRACE through FAITH.
Jesus lived a life of perfect love and he died for our sinful hearts (idolatry, laziness, unbelief).
NOW WE REPENT AND BELIEVE:
1. Repent of idols; 2. Repent of laziness; 3. Repent of unbelief; 4. Believe in the gospel—Jesus died for your sins this week.
CHRISTIAN: REPENT AND BELIEVE. NON-CHRISTIAN: REPENT AND BELIEVE.
APPLICATION: PREACH GOSPEL TO YOURSELF: embrace who you truly are in Jesus!
1. Preach gospel in your idolatry.
2. Preach gospel in your laziness.
3. Preach gospel in your unbelief.
KNOWLEDGE OF GOD FUELS WORSHIP OF GOD
1. MLJ QUOTE: “Have you realized that most of your unhappiness in life is due to the fact that you are listening to yourself instead of talking to yourself?”
Let’s preach the gospel to ourselves daily for the glory of God.
