The 11^th Sunday After Trinity

SERMON

Text: Psalm 103:1-5

Bless the LORD, O my soul; and all that is within me, bless His holy name! Bless the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all His benefits: Who forgives all your iniquities, Who heals all your diseases, Who redeems your life from destruction, Who crowns you with loving kindness and tender mercies, Who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

In Christ Jesus who encourages us not to forget to remember how important the Lord is in our lives every day, fellow redeemed:

What a blessed gift is memory. To begin with, it makes us functional in living. Some of us might complain when we fail in our attempt to remember something important or someone’s name or go to get something but then discover that we don’t remember what it was that we went to get.

But I never cease to marvel at the wonders of memory as I used to visit the older folks during my shut-in visits. They might not remember who you are or what happened yesterday but they can reach back into their childhood and into their earlier productive years and with amazing accuracy recite large sections of Scripture and hymn verses. What a joy it is for them to remember these special truths in their elder years.

So my friends we need to realize that our memories are being built by our todays and tomorrows. As a comedian expressed it, "Our nows become wases and if our nows do not become good wases all we will have is a bunch of shoulda—couldas. And shoulda—couldas never make good memories."

So how well do our memories serve us? What things do we remember, in particular, from our past? And when we have pinpointed a few things we should ask ourselves, "How did the Lord our God fit into the picture?" Did we have a serious illness? How did God fit into the matter? Did we have some problems to work through in our family? Was God permitted to help in guiding and leading us to resolve those problems? Were there work related difficulties? Did we take it to the Lord in prayer and call upon Him to help us make good decisions? Did we have financial concerns? Did we permit the Lord in His Word to help us put things in perspective? Did we find ourselves especially blessed? Did we remember to thank our Lord in Word and action?

The key, my friends, is Not To Forget To Remember the magnificent benefits and blessings, which are ours each day in the Lord. For if we fail to remember we will be robbing ourselves of the full life, which the Lord God wishes for us to have and enjoy. If we fall into the trap of forgetting and failing to remember that ALL DEPENDS ON OUR POSSESSING GOD’S ABUNDANT GRACE AND BLESSING (Hymn 425:1 TLH)and begin to think, as did the atheist of years ago put it, "I am the master of my fate. I am the captain of my soul." Then we will have forfeited what is all-important for a full and happy life now and for peace of heart and mind as we look down the road to our tomorrows and even into eternity.

To be sure, my friends let us not forget to remember, first of all: HE FORGIVES ALL YOUR INIQUITIES.

We can talk about the marvels of medicine. We can read about the revelation of research. We hear of the benefits of breakthroughs into formerly unknown areas---but my friends, wonderful blessings of God though these are, nothing, absolutely nothing can compare with the blessed assurance that the Lord our God forgives all of our iniquities.

Sometimes we hear people say, "Well, if you have your health you have everything." Is that really true? Well, if we could insert just one little word in that sentence we would agree. That word is "SPIRITUAL". If you have your SPIRITUAL health you have everything. We may be suffering from a dread disease, we may be between the largest rock and the hardest hard place we have ever been, we may be in deep financial difficulty, we may have family problems that are overwhelming. But, you see, none of these things separate from God. Sin does! But if we are healthy spiritually---if everything is right between us and God through Jesus Christ our Savior everything else in life can be dealt with and will be brought into perspective.

Just, let’s not forget the promises of God. Let’s not forget to remember that the Lord our God who spared not his own son but delivered him up for us all has promised with him to also freely give us all things. (Rm. 8:32) He who has brought us into His kingdom by the purchase price of the suffering, death and resurrection of His Son is concerned with our every day problems of life every day. Yes, our Lord challenges us, CALL UPON ME IN THE DAY OF TROUBLE ; I WILL DELIVER YOU, AND YOU SHALL GLORIFY ME. (Ps.50:15)

We need to remember and not forget that the Lord God sees us as spiritual as well as physical individuals. And taking our entire being into consideration He will make ALL THINGS WORK TOGETHER FOR GOOD TO THOSE THAT LOVE GOD, TO THOSE WHO ARE THE CALLED ACORDING TO HIS PURPOSE.(Rm. 8:28)

Another matter, which we should not forget to remember in the midst of the turmoil of life, is where we are. As we suffer under the burden of a sin laden world we must not forget to remember where we are. We are not yet in heaven! In the midst of the thorns and thistles of a world of sin we should realize that a struggle is normal, trials are the usual, difficulties are an everyday occurrence. That is why it is so utterly all-important that we stay close to our Lord every inch of the way. Otherwise the pressures of life, the instability of this world’s foundation, the uncertainty of tomorrow may easily overwhelm us and lead us to despair.

That is why the Savior cries out to us all COME TO ME ALL YOU WHO LABOR AND ARE HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST. TAKE MY YOKE UPON YOU AND LEARN FROM ME FOR I AM GENTLE AND LOWLY IN HEART, AND YOU WILL FIND REST FOR YOUR SOULS. (Mat. 11:28-29)

Finally, we should not forget to remember that in the midst of life and all that a sinful world can offer as we walk with him we can expect every blessing. As He assures us: He CROWNS YOU WITH LOVINGKINDNESS AND TENDER MERCIES, HE SATISFIES YOUR MOUTH WITH GOOD THINGS, SO THAT YOUR YOUTH IS RENEWED LIKE THE EAGLES.

There is so much today that can cause us to forget. We are becoming so electrical, so machine, so computer-minded one wonders sometimes if the computer is the only thing that is getting programmed. Isolation from the realization of the basic blessings of God may be programming people to forget God. As one observer put it, "It appears at times that we have machines that act like people and as result we may easily have people that act like machines."

To be sure, it is well to make use of all the technology and discoveries that the Lord permits us to find and uncover as we sojourn through this world. We should recognize them as gifts of God. But at the same time we should be praying, "Lord may we never forget to remember that these blessings are all from you. Help us to use them as gifts from You and in a way that will not cause us to forget to remember You!"

There is a real danger as we have less and less contact with the land, with creation all around us which cries out in an unending symphony of praise to the Almighty. Indeed, there is a danger as we have less and less understanding and devotion and time to pray meaningfully and thoughtfully, that we may rather turn to and depend upon and trust in the machine and the device, our intellect and wisdom---indeed; focus upon the blessing rather than the Blesser—upon the creature rather than the Creator.

And so, my friends, as God’s people we need to pray as never before that our Lord will help us not to forget but always remember to pray with the Psalmist: BLESS THE LORD O MY SOUL AND FORGET NOT ALL HIS BENEFITS.

In a sin laden world
In the trials of life
In a world of high tech
Then our nows will become good wases. Amen.

—Pastor L.D. Redlin