Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
Bless the Lord
What makes your heart truly worship? Is it when life is going well, or have you discovered a deeper foundation for praise?
Diving into Psalm 103, speaker Anderson George challenges our conditional approach to worship with a powerful reminder that true praise flows from who God is, not just what He's done. The psalmist commands us to "bless the Lord" with everything within us—not as a mechanical religious exercise, but as the sincere response of a soul that has experienced divine mercy.
Through rich biblical storytelling, we journey to Mount Sinai where God self-described as "compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness"—attributes He revealed while His people were actively rebelling! This stunning juxtaposition illuminates why God's character, rather than our circumstances, should fuel our worship.
The distinction between coming "to praise" versus coming "with praise" will transform your Sunday morning experience. Too many believers wait for the right songs or an inspiring sermon before engaging their hearts, while the psalmist invites us to arrive already overflowing with thanksgiving for God's work throughout our week.
Drawing from Daniel and the three Hebrew boys who declared they would worship regardless of their circumstances, we discover a resilient faith that doesn't depend on material blessing or comfortable situations. God remains worthy of praise whether He delivers us from our trials or walks with us through them.
Let this message reconnect you with the wonder of a God who is "rich in mercy"—having enough compassion for your past mistakes, present struggles, and future failures. When we truly grasp who God is, we'll never need prompting to worship again.
You are the words and the music. You are the song that I sing. You are the melody. You are the harmony praise to your name I will bring. Oh, you are the Lord of Lords, you are the mighty God, you are the king of all kings. So now I give back to you the song that you gave to me. You are the song that I sing. No, you are the words in them Sing. You are the song that I sing. You are the melody. You are the song that I sing. You are the melody. You are the harmony Praise your name I will bring. You are the Lord of Lords, you are the mighty God, you are the King of all kings. So now I give back to you the song that you gave to me. You are the song that I sing. Psalm 103, psalm 103.
Speaker 2:And while you turn there, it's good to be back, and Psalm 103 was actually the text that was assigned to me at the conference that I was at last week, and I never like to preach a text that I never preach home. So now that I'm back home, you get to hear the text, psalm 103. I'm going to read all of the verses into your hearing. It says Bless the Lord, o my soul and all that is within me. Bless his holy name and all that is within me. Bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, o my soul, and forget none of his benefits. Who pardons all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from the pit, who crowns you with loving, kindness and compassion, who satisfies your years with good things so that your youth is renewed. Like the eagle, the Lord performs righteous deeds and judgments for all who are oppressed. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel. He made known his ways to Moses, his acts to the sons of Israel. The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in loving kindness. He will not always strive with us, nor will he keep his anger forever. He has not dealt with us according to our sins, nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. For as high as the heavens are above the earth, so great is his lovingkindness toward those who fear him. As far as the east is from the west, so far has he removed our transgressions from us. Just as a father has compassion on his children, so the Lord has compassion on those who fear him, for he himself knows our frame. He is mindful that we are but dust. As for man, his days are like grass, as a flower of the field, so he flourishes. When the wind has passed over it, it is no more and its place acknowledges it no longer. But the lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting on those who fear him, to everlasting on those who fear him, and his righteousness to children's children, to those who keep his covenant and remember his precepts to do them. The Lord has established his throne in the heavens and his sovereignty rules over all. Bless the Lord, you, his angels, mighty in strength, who perform his word, obeying the voice of his word. Bless the Lord all you, his hosts, you who serve him, doing his will. Bless the Lord all you works of his, in all places of his dominion. Bless the Lord, o my soul. The title that I want to ascribe to this sermon is Bless the Lord. Bless the Lord.
Speaker 2:Now, this text you already recognize. All right, you already recognize that the phrase bless the Lord shows up at the beginning and at the end of this psalm. It's repeated multiple times so that we cannot miss that. The psalmist here is calling us, he's commanding us to bless the Lord, and so I want to spend the beginning of my time right here just saying that there is this call in Scripture for those of us who know God to bless it. This is particularly in the context of worship, and I don't want to spend too much time in technicalities, but the word bless comes from the Hebrew word barak, and here it means to throw commendations or praise to God Multiple times.
Speaker 2:The Sabbath say I need you to throw, to cast, to throw with everything that you have, all your commendations to God. And while this is a weird expression to us, the equivalent that it makes me think of is this idea I forgot we have a camera. Is the idea? Yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah is the idea that you should be ready to express in song, in word, even in amens and hallelujahs, that God is great, that God is beyond good, that God is awesome. You should be ready. I don't have time to tell you that you should not wait for the person who leads you in song or for your preacher to prompt you to say God is good or to sing with gusto. You should already come with this idea that, because I experienced God yesterday, because I experienced God every day since last Sunday, I come here to celebrate the goodness of my God, so that it's already in you. If I had time and we were in another psalm, I would tell you that that psalm says enter into his gates with thanksgiving and into his courts with praise.
Speaker 2:You don't come to praise, you come with praise. Oh, I wish I had a church, see, see, see, there are some of us who come to praise. There are some of us who come to praise and because you came to praise, you hope that we sing all the good songs, or all the songs that you like. You hope that I'm in a good mood. So when I preach, I preach enthusiastically, I preach with vigor so you feel uplifted. I preach with vigor so you feel uplifted. But there are some of us who don't come to praise. We come with praise. Here's the difference. Those of us who come with praise know that whether or not whoever sings sings all the right songs, sings on key or off key, it doesn't matter necessarily who preaches it should. But follow me here.
Speaker 2:My idea and my reason is God, and I already came to celebrate him, so that, even if the songs themselves didn't work, I am already ready. I still have praise because my God is awesome, my God is awesome, my God is good. This only works when you can think about your week and say God has shielded me from dangers seen and unseen. This only works when you understand that the meals that were on my table came from the hand of God. This is only when you understand that God provided and protected and he blessed and I made it through the week because of God's protection, his provisions and his blessings. And so I show up on Sunday ready to preach. I show up with my blessings for God because I experienced him in the last week.
Speaker 2:Does that make sense, church? The psalmist says bless the Lord, but then he says oh, my soul. And I don't have time to tell you that. What he's trying to say is that this should not be mechanical. This should be sincere, so that your praise the words that you sing and the meditation of your heart towards God is not just because we were told with songs to sing or we were prompted to say amen or hallelujah. It's because something inside of me already has a yearning to just scream and say God is good. Now I know that's not your culture. What I'm saying is there should be a yearning inside of you to sing or to express in some form or the other that God is good. It should, it should, it should.
Speaker 2:It is expected that for those of us who have tasted and seen that the Lord is good, that inside of us we're ready to sing oh, how I love Jesus. Inside of us we're ready to sing. This just happened, actually, when John sang, years I spent in vanity and pride, michaelia said we should sing all four verses, not two. Now, the reason why she said we should sing all four verses and not two is because that song has special significance to her. She even said you know what, andy, when you go up there you should sing that song again, and this time you sing all for mercy.
Speaker 2:But if you sang that song with meaning, that song reminds us that there was a time where you were living in what scripture calls vanity and pride Caring. Not that our Lord was crucified, but somehow, even though you lived contrary to the will of God, he still gave you mercy, he still forgave you, he still decided to pour his abundant love towards you so that, by the time you sing, the last verse says all the love that drew salvation's plan, or the grace that brought it down to man, or the mighty gulf that God did span at Calvary. Here's what all that says, that I understand how special Calvary is, and you don't need to necessarily tell me about Calvary for me to be happy and willing to bless God for his mercy. The psalmist is inviting us to bless God from our very being. If you missed it in the first line, bless the Lord, o my soul. He then says and all that is within me, bless his holy name.
Speaker 2:Now, to put it kindly, when he says and all that is within me, he's trying to say with every fiber of my being, with every ounce. Some of us need to use grams and pounds that I have. I'm going to use every ounce, every gram, every pound to praise it. Now here's what that should look like. It means that when you you sing, you sing like you mean it, it, it. It means that you're not necessarily thinking about how you sound. You just know that god deserves praise, so that even as we sing, you croak. You sing out a tune. You make a joyful noise, not because you're mindful of the notes in the song or not mindful of the notes in the song. I'm making a joyful noise because my God deserves it. Y'all didn't say amen there, because the truth is we don't sing with all our voice sometimes, right, we don't put all our effort into singing. But that's what the psalmist is.
Speaker 2:Now, before I make this all about blessing God, I want to be honest with the text. He does not just say bless God, but he gives us a reason as to why we should. So he begins to Psalm bless the Lord, o, my soul and all that is within me. Bless his name. He then says bless the Lord and do not forget any one of his benefits, and he begins to list the benefits of God. He says that God in verse number three, that God forgives our iniquities. In verse number four he says God has redeemed us from the pit. In verse number five, he renews you like an eagle. He gives you the things that God has done. But I want to pause because he's not calling you to celebrate God simply because of what God has done.
Speaker 2:There are people who bless God because God did something, but I want you to understand that even if God did not do anything else for you beyond today, god is still worthy of praise. See, mm. Mm, mm, mm, mm. Mm. Mm. All right, come here, middle Springs. See, even if he doesn't enlarge your physical territory anymore, you are still a child of the king. Even if you never get another promotion, you are still forgiven, blessed and redeemed. You're all in luck. Judy, I'm sorry, you're all sorry. You're all in. Looking like you'll get this. Watch this, watch this. See.
Speaker 2:Too many of us tie the blessings of god and the goodness of god to the physicalities of our life. What I'm trying to tell you is it doesn't matter what your physical circumstance is, god is still God and the fact that he is still God, regardless of where I find myself physically, situationally, circumstantially, he is worthy of praise. I'm mindful that there is. You guys have me off text now, because you all didn't look like you all got it and I don't know if you all remember the rule was if you all don't look like you all got it, I'll explain it and add five more minutes to the sermon.
Speaker 2:I'm mindful that there's a guy called Daniel. He's in a situation where people are out to trap him, but it doesn't stop him from kneeling and speaking to his God and telling God only you are holy, you are still God, above this situation. Watch over what's happening to me, this situation. Watch over what's happening to me. I'm mindful that there are three hebrew boys who are told to worship an idol of a king but decide not to. And they say that our god, whom we serve, is able to deliver us from this fiery pit. But even even if he does not, we will not bow.
Speaker 2:Here's what you missed. Most of us shout on the fact that God is able to deliver. Most of us get excited about the fact that God is able to deliver. These boys said even if he does not save us from this physical circumstance, we will not bow. We would still bless God. All I'm trying to get you to understand is God is bigger than your circumstance, circumstance. And if I'm not saying that I don't want God to bless you physically, but I am saying, even if you never get a bigger house, you never get a better car, you don't get the pool, your pain never increases.
Speaker 2:If you are a child of God, you are still blessed. If you are a child of God, you are still blessed. If you are a child of God, God is still more good, even if those things don't materialize. And that's why we need to move from blessing God because of what he's done to blessing him because of who he is. It's easy you don't need help to bless God based on what he's done, to bless God based on what he's done. But you do need help to recognize that if you cannot think of God doing one thing for you today or yesterday, you could still celebrate that God is God, that he is king. He sits high and he looks low. He sent Jesus, he placed his spirit inside of me, he has given me hope of eternity, even if he did nothing else. Those things don't change and he's worthy of me saying bless the Lord.
Speaker 2:But the psalmist does not want you to focus on what God has done. He wants you to focus on who God is. So look at verse number eight. Verse number eight says the Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. The reason why the psalmist mentioned this is because this is how God described himself. Oh, you all miss it. Watch this, we don't have time, so follow me quickly here.
Speaker 2:When God brought his people out of Egypt, he brought them to Mount Sinai. Brought his people out of Egypt, he brought them to Mount Sinai and while they were there, he asked Moses to meet him at the top of the mountain. Moses met him and God gave to Moses what we now call the Ten Commandments, the Decalogue ten words. When Moses is bringing these words, the Decalogue, to God's people, he finds them worshipping a golden calf and he breaks the words of God. But more than that, god is so angry with his people that he is ready to wipe every one of them out of existence. But Moses prays for God's people and God holds his hand from destroying all of Israel.
Speaker 2:Moses then tells God I want to better know you, I want to understand who you are, I want to see you face to face. And God told Moses no man can see my face and live, but I will do something for you. I'm going to split a rock so that you could fit in its cleft and I'm going to pass in front of you so that you can at least see my back. That's good preaching right there, I just don't have time. You can see his back, that's all. Remember the lady just when they touched the hem of his garment? I've reached a point where I'm like the lady Let me just touch the hem. Oh God, can I just see your back? Just your back is sufficient. I don't need all because you're so good, you're so powerful, you're so mighty. If I could just get a glimpse of your back out, all right, all right. All right, that's not where I want to go, but it's good preaching. That's not where I want to go, but it's good preaching.
Speaker 2:God passes by, and when he passes by this is Exodus 34. He then says Yahweh, yahweh, that's the Lord. The Lord, he is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in love and kindness. This is how our God described himself to Moses and to his people. Here's why I, like this God described himself this way. In the midst of his people's disobedience Mmm, that was an Amen moment, honey, and they miss it. Israel was worshiping a false God and Yahweh had every right and prerogative to blot every one of them off the face of the earth, but he didn't, and the reason why he didn't is in how he described himself I'm compassionate. I have enough compassion for when you mess up, I'm merciful or gracious. I know how to be lenient when you find yourself in difficulty you cause. And then he says I'm slow to anger. Oh, I wish I had a church Because I would be shouting all now Because I think of me and I realize the God I need, the God Anderson S George needs, is a God that is compassionate and merciful, a God who's slow to anger and abounding, rich in loving kindness.
Speaker 2:Because the truth of Anderson is I'm not always righteous, I'm not always holy. I get up with the best of intentions, but then the devil and his friends get around me. So every now and then I make a false step. I'm not talking about you, I'm talking about me. I'm not perfect and because of my imperfection I make missteps, I get off course, and I'm just glad that as much as God is a holy God, as much as God is a just God. When God deals with me, it's not always on justice, sometimes it's out of compassion. Sometimes I recognize the reason why I am still breathing today is because God is rich in mercy.
Speaker 2:All right, let me give you the New Testament vision. In Ephesians, chapter number two, paul says and you were dead in trespasses and sins. And then that's Ephesians 2, verse number 1. But when you come down to verse number 4, it says but God being rich in mercy, I was dead. But the reason I'm not dead anymore is because God was rich in mercy. Let me say it differently see to be rich is to understand that I have more than enough for this particular circumstance.
Speaker 2:Here's the second part. I said because of my insufficiency, god needed to be rich in mercy. God needed to be rich in mercy Because he had to have enough mercy to give me 28 years ago, before I became a Christian. Then he needed to have enough mercy for the last 28 years. He needed to have mercy for me yesterday, because yesterday somebody cut me off and my first thought wasn't God bless you, so not yet done. But he also needs mercy for me tomorrow that I have not yet seen.
Speaker 2:He is rich in mercy and that's what the psalmist is highlighting. He is not highlighting necessarily the good benefits of God. All God's benefits are good. But let me explain. He is not highlighting the fact that God opened doors for him, god answered his prayers, god blessed him with favor. He's blessing God in this text because when God could have done otherwise, god gave him mercy.
Speaker 2:So what he does is he says I need you to bless the Lord with all of your soul, everything within you, bless his name. Well, why should I bless him? Because the Lord is compassionate, gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness. Well, how do I see that the Lord is compassionate and merciful, slow to anger and abound in kindness? You see it every time. He forgives you.
Speaker 2:Verse number three he forgave you of your iniquities. That's mercy. Verse number four he redeemed you out of the pit. That's mercy. And the pit here means death. God saw you heading for death by your own choice and decided to intervene. And even when there are times like sheep, you still go astray. He doesn't say to hell with you, and I mean the place hell. Doesn't say to hell with you, and I mean the place hell. He says I'm going to stop you on your way to and bring you back. That's redemption. And he says we get that every day. Then, verse number five he says he renews you like an eagle. Verse five starts talking about youth, but then the second line of it says he renews you so that you're like an eagle. Verse 5 starts talking about youth, but then the second line of it says he renews you so that you're like an eagle. Here's the idea. It says you have been beaten and dirtied and bloodied by sin, but he takes you in, he cleans you up, he gives you a new beginning and a fresh start and he does all of that out of his mercy and he lists more of God's mercy.
Speaker 2:Let me wrap this up by saying it this way Thomas is calling for us to see ourselves not as good or as perfect or as clean as we think we are. He wants us to see ourselves the way scripture says sometimes. Romans 7.24, o wretched man that I am. Romans 3, verse number 9 and 10 there is none righteous, no, not one. Romans 3 23 for all have sinned and fallen short, really all.
Speaker 2:Luke 15, verse number 1, jesus is talking and receiving the tax collectors and the sinners and the prostitutes. Sometimes we have to think we're the righteous people in the text. We're not Really unclean. Mark 140 he sees a leper and has compassion towards him. We're spiritual lepers. I'm just trying to get you to see and be honest with yourself for two seconds, and that could seem like bad news to think that I'm a wretch, I'm not righteous, I've sinned and fallen short, I'm a spiritual leper. I am one of these.
Speaker 2:But then I read this psalm again and it tells me that God extends his mercy to these people. So the psalmist, realizing that God could have given him the wages for his sins death but instead forgives him, redeems hims him, gives him life, blesses him with many days, recognizes the mercy of God in his life. And it is because he recognizes who God is and how his mercy shows up in his life. He says I will bless the Lord with everything that is within me. Here's what I have recognized. The church could do with a whole lot more blesses. The church could do with a whole lot more praises, because the last time I checked, god has been more than good and merciful to every one of us inside here, and so we should not wait to be prompted to bless God. We should not be scared to bless God.
Speaker 2:But there's an occasion where some of the people of Israel are shouting to Christ Hosanna, hosanna, hosanna, which means save now. And it was church people. It's always church people. But it was the church people who did scribes, pharisees, sadducees, who came to Jesus and told him tell these people to shut up.
Speaker 2:And Jesus said something that has rocked my core ever since I first understood it. Jesus looked at these righteous elites and their snobbery and he told them even if they should be quiet and shut up that the rocks will cry out. And it made me realize that what he was saying is he gets his glory one way or another, and I rather he get glory from me than a rock. I don't look for the day where God has to make a rock cry out, because I don't understand he deserves all my praise. And so the psalm as I end is a psalm of introspection, where you firstly think about where you've been and the mercies that God has extended towards you so that you could even be here, breathing right now, and then, when you understand that it should prompt you to worship, to praise, to bless him for who he is and for his mercies that endureth forever, no one should prompt you to celebrate God, because only you know what God did for you.
Speaker 2:And so now is a moment of introspection, and I don't know what song John has on his heart. What I'm asking you to do is just be thankful that God has been merciful to you yesterday, last week, last month, year, last year, and every incident and occasion that you could think of. That could have gone another way, but God intervened. Just be thankful that he's a God of mercy and he has shown that mercy towards you. So, as we sing, let's celebrate the goodness of God by just being thankful that he's a God that is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, abounding in loving kindness, and we've seen that firsthand. Because he's been merciful towards us, let's stand and as we're standing, let's sing.