The Reason To Worship God

Thanks, Justy. Well, keep that psalm open and we're going to follow it through together.

Again, if there's any questions at any time through what we look at on a Sunday morning,

then please feel free to chat with me afterwards or raise anything that you want to.

Well, let's pray and ask for God's help.

Our Father God, we thank you that you are indeed great.

And we ask that you would help us to better understand your greatness,

but not just to know it in our heads, but also to experience it in our hearts and in our lives day by day.

And for that to happen, we need your spirit to be at work in us.

And we pray that he would be at work in our lives even now as we read and as we listen.

And as we think through what your word is saying.

So we ask for your help in this, in Jesus' name. Amen.

A few years ago, the author Christopher Hitchens, who's a leading atheist, he's since died,

but his book is still very influential.

He wrote a book called God is Not Great.

His argument was simply this.

Rather than being the great hope of the world, God, or the very idea of God,

is the reason why the world is in such a mess.

In other words, if we can get rid of God, then the world wouldn't have all the problems.

Listen to what he says.

This is a quote from his book.

This is what he says about God.

He doesn't have a lot of time for God.

Now that's not an uncommon thought.

Many people today believe that.

You might even think it.

People who you work with and socialize with will believe it.

They simply think that God is not great.

In fact, people see God as being a problem.

And if we can remove God, then things would be better.

In contrast to that, though, is the author of Psalm 103.

Here the writer claims that God is great and that we should worship him.

So look how it says,

So look how it starts in verse 1.

He says,

Praise the Lord, O my soul, all my inmost being, praise his holy name.

And then look how it finishes, the very last line.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

So the whole psalm from beginning right to the very end is a reason for why we should worship God.

In fact, he claims that everyone and everything should praise and worship God because he is great.

So look at verse 21.

He says,

Praise the Lord, all his heavenly hosts.

You his servants who do his will.

Praise the Lord, all his works.

Everywhere.

There's nothing excluded.

Everywhere in his dominion.

Praise the Lord, O my soul.

Now that's a big claim.

When increasingly people are becoming more and more anti-God.

People will say,

Well, why should I worship God?

What has he ever done for me?

Why should I give my devotion to God?

What makes God better than anybody else?

So the question we want to ask is,

Is God great?

Or is God not great?

Well, you can draw your own conclusions as we look through this psalm together.

Is God great?

Or is he not great?

Well, as we look through this psalm,

we're going to look at four pairings that help us to capture what I think is the greatness of God

and why we should worship him.

Four pairings that capture the greatness of God.

First,

forgiving and forgetting.

I wonder as you listen,

can you remember anything that you have said or done that you know is wrong?

Can you think of anything that you've said or done that you know is wrong?

We don't have to think very long, do we?

It's quite easy.

Because we all have things that we regret.

Oh, wish I wish I hadn't done that or said that.

And no matter how hard we try,

there are some things we can just never forget.

Even as we sit right now,

there are those things from the past that just keep on haunting us and come back to us time and time again.

It seems we have an inability to forget our past and to forget our sin.

In contrast to that, God not only forgives, but he also forgets our sin.

Look at verse 2.

Praise the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your sins.

Do you know what?

There's nothing too big and there's nothing too great.

He will forgive the past, he will forgive your present, and he will forgive your future.

Nothing is too big.

But that's not all.

Look at the rest of verse 3.

He tells us there that he heals all our diseases.

Now the difference there between sin, forgiving all our sins, and healing all our sickness,

is what we might say is timing.

When we confess our sin to God, he immediately forgives.

Straight away, we can know his forgiveness.

When we ask God for his healing, it is usually future.

Not always, but usually future.

That is, not until we are in heaven will we know his complete and full healing.

So God forgives us now, that's the teaching of the Bible,

and God will fully and completely heal in time.

But he forgives immediately.

But he doesn't just only forgive, he also forgets.

Look down at verse 11.

For as high as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love for those who fear him.

You know when we try to measure, or if you try to measure,

God's love towards us,

we find that his love is immeasurable.

We live in a galaxy that's called the Milky Way.

Our next closest galaxy to us is called Andromeda.

It's 2.5 million light-years away.

One light-year is 6 trillion miles.

So you can do the maths, okay?

2.5 million light-years away.

One light-year is 6 trillion miles.

That's just the next galaxy.

And what does it say there in verse 11?

What does it say about God's love?

For as far as the heavens are above the earth,

so great is his love.

It's immeasurable.

It's beyond comprehension.

It's so vast.

It's so great.

And as an expression of his great love towards us,

what has he done?

Look at verse 12.

As far as the east is from the west,

so far as he removed our transgressions from us.

Just as God's love is immeasurable,

so God's removing of our sin,

or the way I phrase it here,

forgetting it,

it doesn't mean that he ignores it.

It means that when he forgives us,

he no longer holds it against us.

He removes our sin from us.

And that gap is immeasurable.

It's infinite.

It's like God has a record on computer

of all the things that we've ever said,

or thought,

or done wrong.

All there on file.

And when we confess,

he clicks select all.

And then he clicks delete.

There's no undo button.

It's irretrievable.

It's gone.

It's wiped out.

Never to be known or held against us again.

This is the greatness of God

in contrast to our inability

to be able to forgive each other

or to be able to forget our past.

That is why we should worship God.

No one else can do what God can do for us.

So he forgives and he forgets.

Second pairing.

He redeems and he renews.

I know some of you yesterday

were walking up the mountains.

Well, when we were younger,

our family used to go for long walks

up the Cummerah Mountains.

And on one of those walks,

my elder brother, Philip,

was running away out ahead of us all.

And then all of a sudden,

he just disappeared.

Just vanished.

Didn't know where he'd gone

until we got up to

as far as we had last seen him.

And there he was,

ten feet down

in this great big bog pit

at the bottom.

And he couldn't get out.

And the only way that he could get out

was for my dad to actually

reach down,

climb down,

and pull him out.

Well, look what it says

about us in verse 4.

We are described

as being in a pit.

Verse 4.

He redeems your life

from the pit.

Now, what happened to my brother

was extremely funny

to all of us looking on.

We thought it was hilarious.

But for us being in this pit,

it's being in a state

where we are beyond self-redemption.

We can't rescue ourselves.

We can't do anything about it.

And it isn't funny.

In fact, the pit,

as the Bible describes it

the whole way through,

is like we are on our way.

It's a path that leads to hell,

which is eternal separation from God

and from all that is good.

But God has redeemed us.

That means he has reached down to us

through his son, Jesus Christ,

and he has pulled us up out of that pit.

He's rescued us.

He's delivered us.

And instead of hell hanging over us,

look what we have in place.

Look at the rest of verse 4.

He redeems your life from the pit

and now crowns you

with love and compassion.

What a contrast.

No longer treated

as a rebellious enemy,

but now treasured

as his own child.

But he not only redeems,

he renews us.

Verse 5.

He satisfies our desires

with good things

so that our youth

is renewed like the eagles.

It's a picture of just reversing

our whole life.

He fills us

and he satisfies us

like nothing

and no one else can.

It's like he's giving us

a complete fresh start

from the pit

to a crown of life

to a fresh start

so that,

look at the end of verse 5,

your youth

is renewed like the eagles.

Well, maybe you don't feel

like an eagle this morning.

Maybe you don't feel

very young and youthful.

But this is picture language.

And it's all picture language

about resting in God's strength

and God's abilities.

And I'm sure we've all seen

the nature programs,

whether it's...

Oh, his name's gone from me now.

David Attenborough, thank you.

Any of those kind of nature programs.

And we see the eagles

flying effortlessly

over the mountains.

And what they do is

they catch the warm thermals

and it lifts them up

and they just travel

from mile after mile.

Well, as God renews our life,

as he redeems us from the pit,

crowns us with love

and compassion,

it's as if we are carried

along daily

by the wind of grace.

His strength

bringing us through life

as we face

every kind of trial

and circumstance.

This is the greatness

of God

in contrast to our inability

to change

or to do anything

about our own circumstances.

This is why

we should worship God.

Nobody else

can do

what God can do.

The third pairing.

Unfailing love

and undeserved mercy.

Look at verse 6.

The Lord works righteousness

and justice

for all the oppressed.

God always does

what is right

and he always does

what is good.

His ways are just.

They're perfect.

He never gets anything wrong.

And what follows

is an example

of his rightness

in the way

he deals with people.

Look at verse 7.

He made known

his ways to Moses

and his deeds

to the people of Israel.

And what follows

in this psalm

is referring back

to a time

when God intervened

into his people's lives

with his love and mercy.

And we want to go back

to look at that.

It's found in Exodus 32.

Ralph actually picked up on it

earlier on

just before we were singing.

So go back

keep your finger

in Psalm 103

and go back to Exodus

Exodus 32 · chapter mention

chapter 32.

So Psalm 103

Psalms 103:7

verse 7

says he made known

his ways to Moses

his deeds

to the people of Israel.

And this illustrates

what God did.

So we're going to pick it up

in Exodus 32.

And remember

the context here

is that God's people

have been rescued

from slavery

in Egypt.

God has defeated

their enemies

he's led them

through the Red Sea

he's brought them

into a new land

to a new home

they have all the possessions

that they need

and now Moses

their leader

has gone to talk

to God

on the mountain

and look what happens

chapter 32

verse 7

Then the Lord

said to Moses

go down

because your people

whom you bought up

out of Egypt

have become corrupt.

They have been quick

to turn away

from what I commanded them

and have made themselves

an idol

cast in the shape

of a calf.

They have bowed down

to it

and sacrificed to it

and have said

these are your gods

O Israel

who bought you up

out of Egypt.

So quickly

they have turned

their backs on God

after all

that he has done

for them

and God is rightfully

angry

and look how God

responds in verse 9

He says

I have seen

these people

the Lord said

to Moses

they are stiff-necked

people

in other words

they're just stubborn

now leave me alone

so that my anger

may burn against them

and that I may

destroy them

then I will make you

into a great nation.

That's what they deserve

but Moses

appeals

to God's

character

to his

unfailing love

and his

undeserved

mercy

and look what he says

verse 11

Moses sought

the favour

of the Lord

his God

O Lord

he said

why should

your anger

burn against

your people

whom you bought

out of Egypt

with great power

and a mighty hand

look at the end

of verse 12

turn

from your

fierce anger

relent

and do not

bring disaster

on your people

and what does God

do?

look at verse 14

then the Lord

relented

and did not

bring on

his people

the disaster

he had

threatened

that

is

unfailing

love

that

is

undeserved

mercy

in fact

God

renews

his relationship

with his people

even though

they'd

turned their

backs on him

God

commits himself

to his people

again

and this is

what he says

in Exodus

Exodus 34:6–7

34

verses 6

through 7

Exodus

Exodus 34:6–7

34

verse 6

through 7

this is the

completion

of this

whole story

and God

passed in front

of Moses

proclaiming

the Lord

the Lord

the compassionate

and gracious

God

slow to

anger

abounding

in love

and faithfulness

maintaining

love

to thousands

forgiving

wickedness

rebellion

and sin

back to

Psalm 103

you see

that's what

we have

quoted

in Psalm 103

Psalms 103:8

verse 8

this is what

God made

known to his

people

verse 8

the Lord

is compassionate

and gracious

slow to

anger

and abounding

in love

now let's

just reflect

for a minute

how has

God

intervened

into

our lives

what has

he done

for us

forgiven

us

removed

or forgotten

our sin

redeemed

us

and renewed

us

and how

many times

have we

turned our

back on

him

being

stubborn

lived our

own way

and how

does God

respond

look at

Psalm 103

Psalms 103:9

verse 9

he will not

always accuse

nor will he

harbor his

anger forever

he does

not treat

us

as our

sins

deserve

or repay

us

according to

our

iniquities

that

is the

greatness

of God

in contrast

to our

continued

failure

and

disobedience

this is

how God

is

towards

us

that is

why we

should

worship

God

the

fourth

pairing

compassionate

father

and

continuous

love

I know

we have

lots of

little

babies

here in

the family

of this

church

and I'm

always

amazed

at the

size

of a

newborn

baby

so

tiny

so

delicate

so

fragile

totally

helpless

they

can't

feed

themselves

they

can't

fend

themselves

in

response

mum

and dad

has to

provide

them

with

everything

that

they

need

well

in the

same

way

God

sees

us

as

delicate

and

totally

helpless

oh yeah

we like

to play

tough

we like

to think

of ourselves

as being

independent

and don't

need

anyone

or

anything

but look

how God

sees us

verse 14

for he

knows

how we

are

formed

and he

remembers

that we

are

dust

we'll

die

one day

and we

will be

just

dust

but look

how he

responds

to us

knowing

what we

are like

in verse

13

as a

father

has

compassion

on his

children

so the

Lord

has

compassion

on those

who

fear him

because

he knows

how we

are formed

he knows

that we're

dust

compassion

is seeing

the

helplessness

and the

inability

of somebody

else

and reaching

out to

them

and doing

something

for them

and helping

them

and so

that's

what

God

has

done

he

provides

us

with

all

that

we

have

he

cares

for

us

intimately

he

has

compassion

I know

that some

of you

are

gardeners

and some

of your

gardens

are probably

looking very

well

at this

time of

year

lots

of flowers

out

the variety

of colours

that there

are

but you

know

yourself

that within

a few

weeks

those

flowers

will be

a heap

at the

bottom

of the

compost

rotting

away

that's

how

we

are

described

so

very

fragile

here

one

moment

and then

gone

look at

verse 15

as for

man

his days

are like

grass

he

flourishes

like the

flower

in the

field

the wind

blows

over it

and it

is gone

and its

place

remembers

it

no more

we're

here

and then

we're

gone

I was

only

reminded

of that

just last

week

me and

Kirsty

went for

a cycle

ride

and on

our way

back

we came

to the

traffic

lights

to the

pedestrian

lights

and we

pressed

it

it went

green

and Kirsty

was just

on her

way out

onto the

road

and a

car just

went

straight

past

one more

second

and a

life would

have

gone

one

second

we're

here

and we're

gone

but in

contrast to

our

momentary

and fragile

life

God's

love

is

continuous

and

everlasting

look at

verse 17

from

everlasting

to

everlasting

the

Lord's

love

is with

those

who

fear

him

and

his

righteousness

with

their

children's

children

our

life

may

end

but the

Bible

tells us

that

before

the

creation

of the

world

God

loved

us

it

goes on

to expand

that

neither

death

nor

life

neither

the

present

nor

the

future

nor

any

powers

or

anything

in

all

creation

is able

to

separate

us

from

God's

love

God's

love

is

continuous

and

constant

not even

our own

sin

not even

Satan

not even

sickness

can

separate

us

from

God's

everlasting

and

continuous

love

that is

the

greatness

of God

in

contrast

to

our

weak

delicate

and

frail

lives

that is

why we

should

worship

God

no one

else

can do

what God

says he

can do

now before

we wrap

up

there is

one

critical

question

to ask

and it's

simply

this

how do

I

experience

the

greatness

of God

how do

I take

what's

on the

screen

how do

I take

what's

written

in my

Bible

these

words

how do

I know

his

forgiveness

in here

his

redemption

his

compassion

how can

I sense

it

how can

I know

it for

real

in my

own

life

every

day

well

God's

greatness

is always

true

and it

can always

be

experienced

right here

right now

and here's

how

look at

the end

of verse

11

so great

is his

love

for

who

for

those

who

fear

him

look at

verse

13

as a

father has

compassion

on his

children

so the

Lord has

compassion

on

those

who

fear

him

verse

17

from

everlasting

to

everlasting

the

Lord's

love

is

with

those

who

fear

him

God's

greatness

is always

true

it's

never

changing

but it

only

becomes

a reality

in our

own

lives

when we

fear

God

now

fear

kind of

seems a

harsh word

doesn't

it

we don't

like the

idea of

fear

what does

it mean

well it

does not

mean being

scared and

shaking in

the corner

as if you

were cowering

from some

kind of

vindictive

bully

that's what

Christopher

Hitchens

and others

would want

us to

believe

that God

is just

mean

and a

bully

and he

makes you

scared

but fear

in the

Bible

is

different

fear

in the

Bible

means

a

deep

awe

and

humble

respect

I think

the best

illustration

for this

is

in the

lion

the witch

in the

wardrobe

when Lucy

is with

the badgers

and she's

getting ready

to meet

Aslan

the lion

and this

comes from

a quote

from the

book

the joy

of fearing

God

and he

quotes it

this

is what

he says

or this

is what

Lucy

says

is he

quite

safe

I

shall

feel

rather

nervous

about

meeting

a

lion

that

you

will

dearie

and no

mistake

said

Mrs

Bieber

if

there's

anyone

who can

appear

before

Aslan

without

their

knees

knocking

they're

either

braver

than

most

or

just

plain

silly

then he

isn't

safe

said

Lucy

safe

said

Mr

Beaver

don't

you

hear

what

Mrs

Beaver

tells

you

who

said

anything

about

safe

of course

he

isn't

safe

but

he's

good

he's

the

king

I

tell

you

to

come

before

God

with

fear

is

like

Lucy

as

she

came

to

Aslan

there's

this

humble

awe

this

deep

respect

and

if

we

are

to

experience

the

goodness

and

the

greatness

of

God

if

we

are

going

to

know

his

forgiveness

his

redemption

his

compassion

his

unfailing

love

we

must

come

before

him

with

fear

and

if

we

don't

know

and

we

don't

experience

the

forgiveness

of

God

in

our

lives

or

his

compassion

well

it's

simply

because

we

do

not

worship

God

because

to

worship

God

is

this

fear

of

submitting

to

him

and

making

him

king

of

your

life

and

living

under

his

rule

and

authority

look

at

verse

19

the

Lord

has

established

his

throne

in

heaven

and

his

kingdom

rules

over

all

he

wants

to

rule

over

every

area

of

your

life

there

is

not

one

part

of

your

life

that

is

outside

of

his

rule

or

authority

and

this

is

what

worship

is

it's

to

come

before

God

in

fear

before

a

great

king

to

bow

in

humility

to

serve

him

with

joy

to

delight

in

his

love

and

as

we

worship

him

with

fear

then

we

begin

to

know

and

experience

and

enjoy

his

forgiveness

of

all

of

our

sin

we

come

to

appreciate

his

redemption

in

our

lives

and

crowning

us

with

love

and

compassion

and

we

experience

that

deep

unending

everlasting

love

and

his

compassion

that

reaches

down

to

frail

people

like

us

God

is

great

and

we

should

worship

him

in

fear

and

we

will

know

and

enjoy

him

as

a

great

God

let's

pray

together

our

father

god

you

have

shown

yourself

to be

great

you

have

made

this

universe

and

you

have

made

us

the

very

breath

that

we

breathe

right

now

is

something

you

have

given

to

us

you

sustain

us

you

keep

us

our

very

life

from

beginning

to

end

is

held

in

your

hands

and

yet

our

life

is

so

weak

so

fragile

so

delicate

thank

you

that

you

have

shown

your

greatness

to

us

and

that

we

can

come

to

you

and

find

that

forgiveness

and

that

you

would

no

longer

hold

our

sin

against

us

through

Jesus

we

thank

you

and

it's

our

desire

that

we

would

know

and

experience

your

love

and

compassion

your

redemption

and

your

renewing

in

our

lives

your

mercy

every

day

so

help

us

to

bow

before

you

as

king

acknowledge

your

lordship

and

your

authority

over

every

area

of

our

life

we

thank

you

that

you

are

a

great

God

in

Jesus

name

amen

well

we're

going

to

sing

a

song

that

really

tried