Sermon

Bad Blood

September 26, 2020 St. Paul's Anglican Church Chatswood - Sermons

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Didn't they do a wonderful job?
That's the band that I'm calling the Freestone Trio.
I thought you guys did a great job.
Let's give them another clap.
Yes.
Now, the song that they sang is by Taylor Swift.
It's called Bad Blood, and it came out a couple of years ago,
and it's all about a relationship breaking down.
We've got bad blood.
There is conflict between us.
It used to be mad love,
which is often how I describe my relationship with my wife,
but we've got problems,
and I don't think that we can solve them.
You have hit me where I am weak.
Now, this is a very common type of song for Taylor Swift,
if you've followed her career at all.
She has relationships that start and end,
and she writes half a dozen songs about them.
She's got whole albums dedicated to her relationships.
But this song is all about the pain of a relationship
not being where it should be,
and the longing for that relationship to be healthy.
I've felt that pain before,
longing to be closer to friends that we've moved away from,
longing to be better friends.
And the psalm that John read for us,
Psalm 103,
shares these same pains,
these same emotions.
It was written by King David.
He lived 1,000 years before Jesus,
which is roughly 3,000 years ago,
and he experienced similar feelings of pain.
It appears that in this psalm,
David is feeling distant from God,
and he wants to be closer to him.
And so David rebukes and corrects himself about how he feels,
and he brings his whole self to praise God
by remembering what he has done
and what God continues to do.
Over the next three weeks,
in this series called Heart Songs,
my desire is that we would get to know the psalms,
so that these songs in the Bible,
these psalms would become like the cry of our hearts,
so that we would become like a water balloon
that when it's pricked, water pours out.
But when we experience pain and joy,
the psalms would pour out of us.
The psalms are really wonderful.
It's a really wonderful part of the Old Testament.
It's a part of the Bible that we,
as a staff team, look at every week.
We use this devotion on the psalms.
It's called My Rock, My Refuge.
And because it is so valuable,
spending time in the psalms,
I would like someone to have this.
Who would like this?
It's not a...
If anybody would like this book...
Here you go, come and get it.
Here you go.
Let's give her a clap.
Here you go, Hedy.
Not a problem.
Now, I have more of those to give away.
If you're watching online right now,
and you would like a copy of that
so you can get into the psalms,
send me an email,
james.barnett at stpauls.org.au
and I will get you a copy.
It is so valuable, the psalms.
They're really wonderful.
And Jesus, he's a great example for us
of someone using the psalms.
When he was on the cross,
he cried out with the words of Psalm 22
to convey the depths of his anguish.
Psalm 41 gives him words to express his pain
when his friends desert him.
He commits his spirit into God's hands
with words from Psalm 31
and he drinks the cup of wrath,
which is from Psalm 75.
Jesus' whole life is immersed with the psalms
and when suffering and pain and grief come,
it shows his view of God.
My desire is for us as a church
to know these psalms,
to know these heart songs of the Bible
because they beat with the pain of everyday life
with guilt and joy and satisfaction
and fear and life with God.
So we're going to spend three weeks
looking at three emotions,
three feelings that these songs resonate with.
First of all today,
the feeling of being distant from God,
the feeling of being tempted,
and then finally joy.
And so today,
as we learn a new song,
Psalm 103,
David is going to model what it's like
to feel distant from God
and then to see how amazing it is
to meditate on God
and all that he has done for us.
So please pray with me
as we jump into Psalm 103.
God, thank you that we
can talk to you today,
that you have done everything possible
so that we can have relationship with you.
Remind us of your goodness today,
please, Lord.
Amen.
Please have your Bibles open,
have your St. Paul's app open.
You can be taking notes in that
and following along in the Bible.
We're in Psalm 103 today.
Verse 1.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
all my inmost being,
praise his holy name.
Praise the Lord, my soul,
and forget not all his benefits.
It's as if David is feeling distant,
and so he rebukes himself
and brings all of who he is before God.
He reminds himself to praise God,
to speak words of thanks
and to speak words of gratitude.
And he's calling his whole self
from his very inmost being,
his secret thoughts,
his hidden motives,
his actions,
all the way to his fingertips
and his choices.
Everything that he is,
he brings to God
to praise his holy name
because God is worth that praise.
He is deserving of that praise.
Rarely will we speak over the top
about how great a person is.
Maybe we do it at a wedding speech.
I'm not sure if you've been
to a wedding recently.
Weddings, you know,
the groom will get up
at the end of the night
and, you know,
he'll speak effusively.
He'll speak over the top
about how wonderful his bride is.
I'll point to my bride as I do this.
My bride, you know,
she's so radiant.
She's amazing.
She completes me.
She makes coffee taste great again.
You know,
you make the stars shine.
When I see you,
my heart stops
and my breath catches
only for it to start again
when you say that you love me.
But the object of David's
gushing praise in this psalm
is one who actually deserves them.
One who actually made the stars
and can stop hearts
and start them again.
Our God is holy and perfect.
Everything he does is good.
He is wonderful
and he chooses to love us.
And it is, as David said,
really easy to forget to praise God.
We are much more likely to think
that we are deserving of praise,
surround ourselves with people
who like to praise us.
I love praise.
I love hearing how good I am.
I noticed the other day
how sinful I am in this way
because I'd taken the clothes in
off the line.
You know,
it was one of those rare days
we've had recently
which was really warm
and I brought the clothes in
off the line
and there I am waiting
for Elissa to get home
so that she could come
and pat me on the head
and say,
oh, well done,
getting the clothes off the line.
And I realized and went,
ah,
I'm just waiting for someone
to come and tell me
how great I am.
That is just so vain.
What a terrible thing.
But this is a God
who deserves all praise.
And David rebukes himself
and says to himself,
don't forget to praise God.
When we live as if we are deserving of praise,
we can puff ourselves up,
make God smaller,
and we start to drift
from a close relationship
of dependence
where we move to one
where we think that we're great
and any problems in our life
are God's fault.
God,
why have you done this?
And so David begins
by rebuking himself,
going back to Scripture,
particularly to Genesis,
remembering the God
who has made all things
to praise God
with his inmost being
because God deserves it.
He is holy
and so David does not
want to forget that.
This is the antidote
to a distant heart.
Meditating on who God is
and all that he has done
is the antidote
to a distant heart.
And so David reminds himself
of who this God is
and why he should praise him.
Verse 3,
have a look.
This is the God who,
verse 3,
forgives all your sins,
heals all your diseases,
who redeems your life
from the pit.
He crowns you with love
and compassion,
who satisfies with good things
so that your youth
is renewed like the eagles.
The greatest benefit here
is that God forgives
because there can be
no relationship
without him,
without him forgiving us
because it's our sin
that stands between us.
He deals with it.
He heals diseases.
In the ancient world,
they didn't have antibiotics.
So even a little cut
on the finger,
if it got infected,
it could spell disaster.
There was a very real need
to depend upon God
with health.
And if anything,
you know,
COVID has reminded us
how easily humans
can be killed
by diseases.
And it reminds us
how dependent
we need to be
not on our own selves
and our medical capacity,
but on the God
who makes all things.
Living into a long life
was seen as a blessing
from God
and a reason
to praise God.
And so it's,
in verse 4,
it's likely that
when David mentions
life being redeemed
from the pit,
he's talking about
a physical ailment.
God has saved him
from death's door.
He's pulled him up
from the grave.
And so he should be saved.
But he doesn't just
pull him up
from the grave.
He doesn't just
pull him up
from death and despair.
But David reflects
on God
crowning him with life.
Crowning him.
And it's such a wonderful picture
of God's love
and compassion.
compassion.
Crowns you
with love
and compassion.
It's this outward sign
for all to see.
The crown on the head
of love and compassion.
It's the wedding ring sign
that says,
I have love
and compassion
for my wife.
David rejoices
in God's love
and compassion.
He is forgiven.
He is lifted up.
And so David
has started
to change
his experience
of feeling distant
by reminding himself
of who God is.
Of how good
he has been
to him personally.
And he moves
from thinking
about just himself
to meditating
on all that God
has done
for Israel.
And so David
calls on all of Israel
to praise God.
Verse 9,
David speaks
of God's love
for Israel.
He will not always
accuse.
He will not
harbor his anger
forever.
He does not
treat us
as our sins
deserve,
nor repay us
according to
our iniquities.
He doesn't harbor
anger.
He forgives.
He doesn't hold
grudges.
And so he doesn't
treat his people
like they deserve.
But,
verse 11,
his love.
As high
as the heavens
are above the earth,
so great
is his love
for those
who fear him.
As far as the,
which way is east?
That way?
Is that east?
As far as
the east
is from the west,
so far has he
removed our
transgressions from us.
This is a wonderful
piece of poetry,
brothers and sisters.
His love
is boundless
and our sin
is gone.
And like a father,
he has compassion
on us.
David goes from
these wild,
unimaginable things,
as high as the heaven
is above the earth,
so great
is his love
for us.
As far as the east
is from the west,
he has removed
our transgressions.
These big images,
David goes from
these really
grand images
of God's love
and compassion
to something
very small
and intimate.
Verse 13,
as a father
has compassion
on his children,
so the Lord
has compassion
on those
who fear him.
A dad
caring for his kids.
My soul,
don't forget
this God
who is so close.
He is not just
the God
who removes
our sin.
He is not just
the God
who loves us
with unimaginable love.
He is also
close
and intimate.
I was watching
Micah,
my youngest son,
in the backyard
the other day.
He loves to follow
bugs.
And he'd found
a slug
that he'd named
John John.
He names
everything
John John.
But he'd found
this slug
and he was
following it
around until
he unfortunately
squashed it.
Which is the
way of three-year-olds.
And it
made me reflect
on how tiny
and insignificant
we could be
to God.
But to God
we are significant.
He chose us.
He chose
to make us.
He doesn't
just follow
us around
until
we're
accidentally
squashed
and then
he goes
on with
the rest
of his
day
and
finds
a new
bug
and
gives
it
the same
name.
God
has chosen
us
and he
loves us
and he
does watch
us
but we
are also
precious
to him
that he
wouldn't
just
accidentally
squash
us
but
instead
die
on a
cross
for
us.
David
is on
a journey
of reminding
himself
of God's
goodness
to him.
He's
rebuked
his soul
for forgetting
God's
goodness.
He's
dwelt
on his
unimaginable
his
unlikely
love
and
compassion
for him
and he
has been
building
in his
praise
to these
last
verses
where
he lets
out
this
repetition
of praise
for all
the
earth.
Verse
20
Praise
the
Lord
you
his
angels
you
mighty
ones
who
do
his
bidding
who
obey
his
words
praise
the
Lord
all
his
heavenly
hosts
you
his
servants
who
do
his
will
praise
the
Lord
all
his
works
everyone
in
his
dominion
praise
the
Lord
my
soul
he
calls
on the
angels
who hear
God's
voice
to praise
the
Lord
all
the
world
everywhere
praise
God
it's
like
David
is
on
the
top
of
a
mountain
calling
on
everything
there
is
in
heaven
and
earth
everything
should
praise
God
and
then
finally
he
closes
this
psalm
with
the
first
line
he's
gone
from
the
top
of
a
mountain
shouting
to
whispering
a
prayer
in
his
bedroom
praise
the
Lord
my
soul
he
started
small
he
built
remembering
all of
God's
goodness
to
him
and
to
all
of
Israel
throughout
history
and
he
is
exploded
in
praise
and
closes
praise
the
Lord
my
soul
this
prayer
is
worldview
shaping
David
appears
to have
been
feeling
distant
and
he's
rebuking
himself
for
forgetting
God
and
so
he
reminds
himself
from
scripture
about
God's
size
and
his
own
smallness
God
is
at
the
center
of
the
universe
he
reigns
and yet
he
is
also
close
and
loving
and
compassionate
he
cares
for
all
his
people
he
forgives
because
he's
the
only
one
that
can
as
the
king
he
knows
us
intimately
because
he
was
there
from
everlasting
to
everlasting
and
he
knows
us
the
process
of
meditating
on
God's
goodness
has
changed
David's
experience
there'll
be a
graph
that
comes
up
on
the
screen
that
can
summarize
what
David
has
done
David
we'll
start
at the
bottom
it's
not
the
greatest
graph
I'm
sorry
about
my
terrible
design
skills
David
started
with an
experience
of feeling
distant
and so
it's
driven
him
to
scripture
he's
meditated
particularly
in
Genesis
on
God's
creation
and all
his
goodness
he has
reminded
himself
of who
God
is
and then
that
has
formed
his
theology
David
has
gotten
his
view
of
who
God
is
from
scripture
and
then
he
has
formed
his
theology
his
view
of
God
God
is
compassionate
and
loving
and
kind
and
close
like
a
father
and
then
that
will
shape
his
experience
the
most
important
thing
here
for
us
is
that
two
of
these
are
fallible
and
one
is
infallible
scripture
is
infallible
it is
inerrant
it is
true
our
experiences
are not
always
true
we can
experience
something
and then
remember it
incorrectly
later
we
we can
form a
view
of
God
which
isn't
100%
accurate
all of
us
have
a
view
of
who
God
is
which
needs
to
continually
be
shaped
by
scripture
because
that
is
how
he
has
revealed
himself
David
has
sent
him
back
to
scripture
to
build
his
theology
of
a
view
of
who
God
is
and
that
will
shape
his
future
experience
David
felt
distant
he has
reminded
himself
that
God
is
close
and
then
later
on
David
can
say
God
I
know
you
love
me
I
know
you
were
close
and
I
know
you
forgive
me
can
you
imagine
if
David
had
done
this
the
other
way
around
if
we
can
go
to
the
next
slide
imagine
if
he
started
in
this
experience
of
feeling
distant
and
he
let
his
experience
shape
his
theology
well
I'm
feeling
distant
from
God
I
don't
feel
that
God
loves
me
I
haven't
seen
God
loving
me
lately
actually
life
is
really
hard
for
me
and
for
David
King
David
you
go
and
read
about
King
David
life
was
hard
for
him
a lot
of
the
time
God
I
feel
distant
I
don't
feel
like
you
are
close
so
from
his
experience
imagine
if he
shaped
his
theology
therefore
God
is a
distant
God
God
is not
a
caring
God
so
you
must
not
be a
good
and
compassionate
God
and
then
when
he
reads
scripture
and
reads
that
God
is
a
compassionate
close
father
who
loves
his
experience
which
has
built
his
theology
doesn't
match
with
scripture
and
what
does
he
do
he
could
easily
push
scripture
away
because
it
doesn't
line
up
with
his
view
of
God
imagine
if
we
did
this
we
can
fall
into
this
same
trap
we
can
feel
plagued
by
our
own
sin
God
you
haven't
satisfied
everything
in my
life
God
I'm
still
struggling
I'm
suffering
God
where
are
you
why
aren't
you
helping
me
and
these
things
can
build
our
view
of
God
it
can
be
true
of
tradition
we
can
get
so
used
to
praising
God
in
particular
ways
we
can
substitute
the word
tradition
for
experience
we
can
say
because
this
is
how
I
like
to
praise
God
this
is
the
way
I
must
do
it
instead
we
need
to
make
sure
that
scripture
the
only
infallible
inerrant
one
is the
one
that
shapes
our
view
of
God
and
then
that
shapes
our
experiences
that
is
what
builds
our
view
of
who
God
is
thanks
you
can
take
that
one
down
now
we
need
David's
reminder
here
that
we
don't
view
our
we
don't
form
our
view
of
God
from
the
world
around
us
we
don't
form
our
view
of
God
from
our
experiences
or
our
preferred
way
of
doing
things
but
as
David
has
said
don't
forget
God
and
who
God
is
and
as
David
did
went
back
to
God's
word
the
scriptures
build
his
theology
of
him
from
that
this
is
where
we
read
the
Bible
where
we
read
who
God
is
where
God
reveals
himself
and
he
reveals
himself
fully
to
us
in
Jesus
in
Jesus
theology
takes
human
form
we
see
what
it
would
cost
for
God
to
have
forgiveness
and
grace
and
to
have
the
closeness
that
David
described
in
Jesus
we
see
a
larger
picture
of
God
as
father
and
we
see
God's
compassion
even
on
his
enemies
that
he
makes
his
children
for
David
he
meditated
on
all
that
he
knew
that
God
had
done
and
if
we
know
this
psalm
and
we
take
this
psalm
and
we
meditate
on
it
we
have
a
much
bigger
picture
of
who
God
is
because
of
Jesus
Jesus
reveals
who
God
our
father
is
and
we
can
know
more
of
who
he
is
and
what
he
is
like
because
of
Jesus
so
when
we
read
this
psalm
as
people
who
know
who
Jesus
is
it
gives
it
so much
more
depth
and
context
God
let's
let's
have
a
look
at
the
first
five
verses
through
the
lens
of
Jesus
again
verse
one
praise
the
Lord
my
soul
all
my
inmost
being
praise
his
holy
name
we
now
have
a
picture
of
what
it
looks
like
to
be
holy
in
the
perfect
Jesus
who
never
sinned
and
who
always
obeyed
his
father
verse
three
he
forgives
all
your
sins
and
heals
all
your
diseases
God
forgives
and
that's
only
possible
because
of
Jesus
no
sacrifice
is as
great
as
Jesus
on the
cross
who
enables
us
to be
forgiven
we
don't
need
to
fear
disease
or
illness
or
even
death
because
Jesus
has
defeated
it
verse
four
he
redeems
your
life
from
the
pit
and
crowns
you
with
love
and
compassion
Jesus
himself
entered
that
pit
so
that
we
could
be
raised
from
it
he
was
crowned
with
thorns
so
that
we
could
be
crowned
with
the
title
child
of
God
verse
five
he
satisfies
your
desires
with
good
things
so
that
your
youth
is
renewed
like
the
eagles
God
satisfies
us
with
his
love
with
his
forgiveness
he
brings
us
into
his
family
he
gives
us
a
church
family
and
nothing
compares
to
what
God
has
given
us
imagine
what
would
happen
if
we
just
had
these
first
five
verses
in our
hearts
to
remember
that
when we
are feeling
distant
from God
like David
was
that
these
poured
out
when we
felt
distant
from
pain
or
suffering
struggling
with
sin
or just
the
busyness
of
mundane
life
wondering
God
where
are
you
to
meditate
like
David
and
to
call
ourselves
to
praise
God
Alyssa
and I
we
grew up
in
Wollongong
and so
we
don't
see
our
oldest
friends
very
often
these
days
but
when
we
do
we
have
such
a
close
connection
because
of
our
shared
history
we
often
spend
time
reminiscing
old
stories
old
jokes
come
up
and
very
quickly
the
friendship
is
restored
relationships
can be
picked
up
where
they
let
off
God
has
known
us
from
everlasting
to
everlasting
as
David
has
reminded
us
we
can
spend
time
meditating
on
all
of
our
shared
history
with
God
all
of
the
wonderful
blessings
that
he
has
given
to
us
in
Jesus
and
when
we
do
it
helps
us
to
say
God
I
know
you
are
loving
and
compassionate
help
me
to
see
that
you
have
promised
to
love
me
you
have
shown
me
that
Jesus
is the
ultimate
expression
of love
remind me
of that
and help
me to
see that
let's pray
heavenly
heavenly father
you have
come
close
to
us
in
Jesus
and
you
are
still
with
us
today
in
all
of
the
joys
and
griefs
and
pains
that
we
experience
Lord
help
those
experiences
not
be
the
way
that
we
know
you
because
you
have
revealed
yourself
to
us
in
your
word
continue
to
speak
to
us
through
your
word
father
send
us
back
to
it
particularly
the
psalms
so
that
these
would
be
the
cry
of
our
heart
to
remember
that
you
are
loving
and
compassionate
and
close
each
day
amen