A House of Healing
The Lighthouse-A House of Healing • Sermon • Submitted
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· 7 viewsGod's desire is first and foremost to restore our souls
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A House Of Healing - Healing Comes as we Fear the Lord
A House Of Healing - Healing Comes as we Fear the Lord
Introduction: Background
Introduction: Background
David wrote this Psalm. The original audience is himself.
A reflection on how long they will endure the exile and if God will punish those who exiled them. They must be pulling in David's Psalm in answer to that. Does He know how frail we are and that we can’t endure His anger forever?
Kind of like: "Remember what David said about God back then? Well, it's still true today. Yes, God is still a God who is faithful and pardons sin and heals us and who performs righteous deeds and whose judgments are perfect and who is compassionate and gracious. Yes, He will not be angry with us forever."
Our God is the same God today as He was during the Exodus, as He was when calling David to be King, and as He will be for us in our exile.
Main points:
Bless The Lord for His benefits towards us.
Remember What He has done, is doing, and will do for us.
Bless His Holy Name
Remember Who He was, is, and always will be.
As God Was He Still Is And Will Be
He Knows Our Breaking Point
In Spite Of Us, He Wants To heal Us
Our Response: Fear The Lord
Bless The Lord For His Benefits Towards Us (vs. 1-5)
Bless The Lord For His Benefits Towards Us (vs. 1-5)
How? With his soul and all that is within him. The entirety of his being and with maximum effort
What has He done for us?
He pardons our iniquities
sin that is particularly evil.
Conveys the idea of twisting or perverting deliberately.
Guilty conscience.
He heals all our diseases
rapha - to heal/make fresh. being restored to health - both physically and spiritually
disease - famine, plague, illness
He redeems our life from the pit
redeem - to buy back from bondage, God’s redemption of individuals from spiritual death, pointing to the Exodus.
pit - trap others have laid, Sheol/Hades/grave, a situation in which there is no hope.
He crowns us with lovingkindness and compassion...
kings and rulers.
Denotes God’s granting of a bountiful crop or spiritual blessings
hesed - lovingkindness; compassion - mercy
He satisfies our years with good things so that we can be renewed like an eagle.
what good things refresh us?
what good things restore us?
what good things can do that regardless of our circumstances?
Count your blessings so you can bless the Lord.
Bless His Holy Name (vs 1, 6-10)
Bless His Holy Name (vs 1, 6-10)
Reputation: What The Lord Has Done
The Lord performs righteous deeds (deeds of vindication, justice)
He makes judgments for all who are oppressed - exploited, cheated.
He made known His ways to Moses and His acts/deeds to the sons of Israel
His name/character
His mighty works and wonders
plagues
Red Sea
Wilderness wanderings and shoes not wearing out
cloud by day and fire by night
military victories
water from rock
manna from heaven
Who The Lord Is
Then the Lord passed by in front of him and proclaimed, “The Lord, the Lord God, compassionate and gracious, slow to anger, and abounding in lovingkindness and truth;
He is compassionate and gracious
He is slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness
What The Lord Will Do
He will not always strive/contend/dispute/raise complaints against/conduct a lawsuit with us.
He will not keep His (righteous) anger forever
What The Lord Is Doing
He has not dealt with us according to our sins
an offense or fault
errors
accumulated shortcomings leading to punishment
He has not rewarded us according to out iniquities - same as earlier
As God Was He Still Is And Will Be (vs. 8-13)
As God Was He Still Is And Will Be (vs. 8-13)
It’s all about His faithfulness (hesed) to His promises.
Who is a God like You, who pardons iniquity And passes over the rebellious act of the remnant of His possession? He does not retain His anger forever, Because He delights in unchanging love. He will again have compassion on us; He will tread our iniquities under foot. Yes, You will cast all their sins Into the depths of the sea. You will give truth to Jacob And unchanging love to Abraham, Which You swore to our forefathers From the days of old.
For his glory
For His purposes
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
It's not about us or how good we were, or whether we deserve it or not, but God's forgiveness is for His own sake.
“I, even I, am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.
And He says He will not remember our sins. Kind of like purposely forgetting.
Comparisons for emphasis
As High…So Great
Heavens (plural) above the earth
His lovingkindness
As Far…So Far
East from the west
Removed transgressions from us
third word - rebellion against God
Just As…So Has
Father has compassion on his children
The Lord has compassion - mercy, a desire to alleviate our suffering
On those who fear Him - I’ll get back to, but suffice it for now...
God’s compassion comes on 2 categories of people.
Those who fear the Lord.
Those who confess/repent of their sin.
He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, But he who confesses and forsakes them will find compassion.
He Knows Our Breaking Point (vs. 14-16)
He Knows Our Breaking Point (vs. 14-16)
He knows our frame
What we are made of.
He is mindful that we are but dust
From dust you were created and to dust you shall return.
He knows our days are like grass
Our glory is like the flower of a field.
Here today, gone tomorrow.
For, “All flesh is like grass, And all its glory like the flower of grass. The grass withers, And the flower falls off, But the word of the Lord endures forever.” And this is the word which was preached to you.
He knows how temporary, mortal, and insignificant these lives are.
The spot where it grew has no memory of it.
Our lives are like a vapor.
Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. You are just a vapor that appears for a little while and then vanishes away.
But, In Spite Of Us, God Wants To Heal Us (vs. 17)
But, In Spite Of Us, God Wants To Heal Us (vs. 17)
The lovingkindness of the Lord is from everlasting to everlasting.
The big contrast:
Our weakness, finiteness, mortality, and brevity
To His omnipotence , limitlessness, immortality, and eternality
No temptation has overtaken you but such as is common to man; and God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will provide the way of escape also, so that you will be able to endure it.
For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin. Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.
For God, who said, “Light shall shine out of darkness,” is the One who has shone in our hearts to give the Light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Christ. But we have this treasure in earthen vessels, so that the surpassing greatness of the power will be of God and not from ourselves; we are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed;
Our Response: Fear The Lord (vs. 11, 13, 17)
Our Response: Fear The Lord (vs. 11, 13, 17)
Lack of fear - no appreciation for the fact that He could squash you in an instant.
Reggie Miller - rookie
Corey Benjamin - rookie
Wrongfully placed fear
Do we fear difficulties more than we fear God?
Do we fear circumstances more than we fear God?
Do we fear people more than we fear God?
Healthy fear of something more powerful than you. Ties into His holiness.
“Do not fear those who kill the body but are unable to kill the soul; but rather fear Him who is able to destroy both soul and body in hell.
He could crush me in an instant, but He is meek
power under control. Self control
gentleness
patient
getting angry at the right time, in the right measure, and for the right reason.
perfect application of appropriate use of force.
perfect application of just punishment.
Our response of meekness
Reverent respect
Humble.
An attitude of spirit of accepting God’s dealings with us as good and do not dispute or resist because we understand that all of God’s dealings with us are done to enhance our relationship with Him.
Blessing/praising the Lord
For His Benefits to us
For His Righteous works
past - Moses
present - David
Future - sons of Israel in Babylon
To Bless His Holy Name
For Who He Is
compassionate
gracious
slow to anger
abounding in lovingkindness
By Remembering Who We Are Not
God Wants To Heal You In Spite Of Yourself, But He Only Heals Those Who Fear Him
God Wants To Heal You In Spite Of Yourself, But He Only Heals Those Who Fear Him
On those who fear Him...
Mary’s Magnificat
“And His mercy is upon generation after generation Toward those who fear Him.
Obviously quoted from Psalm 103:17. But I really like the connection to Luke 1:50. Septuagint translates from everlasting to everlasting as from generation to generation.
Highlighting the truth that God is the same through all generations and that He will fulfill His faithfulness and lovingkindness to us through all generations.
The obvious connection to the ultimate healing and forgiveness is through Jesus Christ, as Luke 1:50 is contained in Mary's Magnificat after she is told that Jesus will come from her womb.
Sometimes one of the words for compassion in Psalm 103 is translated womb, when used in the singular.
Interesting, that God's compassion to us will come to us through the womb...
“For I will not contend forever, Nor will I always be angry; For the spirit would grow faint before Me, And the breath of those whom I have made. “Because of the iniquity of his unjust gain I was angry and struck him; I hid My face and was angry, And he went on turning away, in the way of his heart. “I have seen his ways, but I will heal him; I will lead him and restore comfort to him and to his mourners, Creating the praise of the lips. Peace, peace to him who is far and to him who is near,” Says the Lord, “and I will heal him.”
Our primary and most important healing is spiritual healing. But, for those who are spiritually healed, physical, emotional, and psychological healing will absolutely come in Heaven.
That being said, based on passages like this and others, I believe emotional and psychological healing is available now for all, and even physical healing for some.
We Want To Be A House Of Healing - Healing Comes As We Fear The Lord
We Want To Be A House Of Healing - Healing Comes As We Fear The Lord