[0:00] Your pastor told me that you've been going through the Gospel of Matthew over the last few months. and this is what we've been also studying in Warsaw.
[0:13] So when I asked him what he would like me to preach on, he said that will benefit from taking a break from the Gospel of Matthew. And I thought, well I would too. So this worked out well.
[0:28] But before we go to Psalm 103, which we have read earlier, beautiful Psalm. I want you to go back in your memory to the Gospel of Matthew.
[0:39] And I hope your pastor didn't skip the story from the chapter 8 verses 23 to 27. Where Jesus went with disciples, not the 12th yet, but just disciples, people who are following him to the sea.
[0:56] And he called the storm. And by doing it, he was teaching people who wanted to follow him, what it will take to follow him.
[1:11] I hope you remember that story. Remember the great storm. Earthquake. Perfect storm. Got tsunami coming. You got the great wind.
[1:22] And then Jesus who calms it. And it's perfect peace. This story gives us a powerful image of a violent sea storm.
[1:37] One minute and a perfect calm the next moment. The Lord rebukes the wind. Turmoil changes into perfect peace. Mayhem stops.
[1:48] And order begins. Similar situation comes to mind when we read Psalm 102. Not 103.
[1:59] 102. And we don't have time to read it. We read Psalm 103 today. But if you go back home to read Psalm 102.
[2:11] And, I mean, N103. Kind of together. The Psalm 102 feels like a great earthquake and storm combined.
[2:30] Psalm 102 makes the psalmist cry out, Hear my prayer, O Lord. Let me, let my cry come to you.
[2:45] For my days passed away like a smoke. And my bones burned like a furnace. I lie awake. I'm like a lonely sparrow.
[2:57] On the housetop. All the day, my enemies taunt me. That's Psalm 102.
[3:08] That's the storm of life. Then, Psalm 103. Perfect calm. Perfect calm beginning with joyful expression of gratitude and thanksgiving.
[3:23] Which we're reading earlier. And it starts, Bless the Lord, O my soul. And all that is within me. Bless His holy name. Both psalms.
[3:38] Turn to the Almighty God as a source of comfort. In a time of trouble. And in a time of blessing. In a time of abundance.
[3:48] And the contrast and continuity between Psalm 102 and 103. Capture very well our earthly life.
[4:04] We're either in some kind of trouble. Or some kind of trouble is about to happen. Forgive me, but it is a little bit like your weather here in England.
[4:15] And it's either raining. Or it's about to rain. I love England. But when I left Warsaw yesterday. It was over 60 degrees.
[4:27] And sunny and warm. And I got here. Sure enough, it's raining. And cold. Maybe Brits are a little closer to heaven.
[4:37] Because of their weather. I don't know. But our life. If you know what I mean. It feels just a little bit like that. No matter what moment of life you are.
[4:52] Today. Either you're troubled by life. Or temporarily. Out of trouble. I want. All of us.
[5:04] To study Psalm 103. And find encouragement. For us today. In it. If the sea of your life.
[5:17] Is peaceful right now. May this Psalm. Call forth praise. For the sunny days. In which the Lord has already showed his love.
[5:29] And faithfulness to you. Or if you're currently sailing through stormy seas of life. May this be reminder. Of the benefits.
[5:39] Of the benefits. Your promise. By your heavenly father. And comfort. That he offers. Each one of you. Each one of us.
[5:50] In the time of trouble. This beautiful song of praise. Is progressive. In its character. And what do I mean by progressive. I mean by it.
[6:01] That it's expanding. Outward. It begins. With one covenant child. Praising the Lord. By saying. Bless the Lord. O my soul.
[6:12] Which could be translated. Bless. Yahweh. I tell myself. And then. In verses 6 and 7. There's a transition. To all God's covenant people.
[6:27] Who can recall his faithfulness. And say together. Bless the Lord. All. All our souls. Later in verse 20.
[6:43] It encompasses the spiritual world. The whole spiritual world. That is faithful. To our God. Bless the Lord. All you his angels.
[6:55] You mighty ones. Who do his word. So now. The psalmist progressive. Song of praise. Showing how praising God.
[7:05] Can be contagious. Spreading. From one person. To the congregation. And to the whole.
[7:17] Universe. That is faithful to God. God. This progressiveness. Is not universalist. In nature. Not all humans.
[7:27] Not even all angels. Are able to join. This wonderful song of praise. This song of praise. For our creator.
[7:38] Is reserved. For those. For those. Who have. Experienced his forgiveness. For those. Look at verse 3. Any efforts.
[7:51] To praise God. Without experiencing. God's forgiveness. First. Will not be complete. Why? You might ask.
[8:02] Well. Because. Because. Experiencing. Receiving. God's forgiveness. Forgiveness.
[8:12] Of sin. Is at the root. Of all. Other. Personal blessings. Living. With a guilt ridden.
[8:22] Conscience. Or a conscience. That has been. Desensitized. Or hardened. By false ideas. False religion. Abuse of drugs.
[8:34] False psychology. Will eventually. Lead to physical sickness. As well. Therefore. The psalmist. Deligs.
[8:44] Forgiveness. With healing. Verses 4 and 5. Satisfaction. And renewal. Of strength. We are forgiven.
[8:55] And assured of it. Just like. Pastor Levy read. Assurance of pardon. After our confession. Of sin. We are assured of it. And it is a huge.
[9:08] Weight. That it's been lifted. Of our shoulders. Of our hearts. We feel free. We feel. Like nothing. Can stand in our ways.
[9:20] We are crowned. With steadfast. Love and mercy. Don't be fooled. Verse 3.
[9:32] Is not an easy way. To justify. Health and wealth. Gospel. That is destroying. So many. Of the evangelical churches. Around the world. Today. Verse 3.
[9:43] Is a poetic expression. Of the idea. That all illness. In general. Is a result. Of sin. Committed. By our. Father. Adam.
[9:53] And also. By. Sins committed. Today. By us. And as Jesus. Have pointed out. There is no direct.
[10:06] Cause and effect. Between. Illness. And sin. Except. The generic one. That I just said. Remember the story. When Jesus.
[10:16] Confronted the Pharisees. Who thought that. Someone. Was sick. Because their parents. Sin. Sin. The sickness. And illness.
[10:26] Is here. Because of the. Original sin. And sometimes. Because of our. Personal sin. As well. Healing. Must begin.
[10:37] From inside out. And that's why. The psalm. Starts with forgiveness. The healing. Takes place. In the life. Of every person.
[10:48] Who has repented. And we would say. Was justified. And now. Gradually. Gradually. Progresses. In sanctification. It is a path. To perfection.
[10:59] It's a path. Of becoming. More like Christ. And we all. Progress. In sanctification. With different speeds. As our souls. Or sometimes.
[11:10] Bodies. Experience slow. And gradual. Healing. To a different degree. As we strive. To be more like Christ.
[11:24] As we strive. To perfection. This path. To perfection. Ends. Either at our death. Or it will end.
[11:34] At the return. Of our Lord. We will all be perfected. And we will all be glorified. God. But. Let us not miss.
[11:45] The important lesson. That we can. Learn from this. Psalm here. During our earthly life. We are promised. To have. Our spiritual strength.
[11:58] Renewed. Like that of an eagle. Soaring. Through the skies. As. Here. King David. Is quoting.
[12:08] Isaiah. Chapter 40. He says. Just like the eagles. Use winds. To their advantage. The same way. We. Are strengthened.
[12:20] By the comfort. That is found. In the compassionate. Love. And forgiveness. Of our God. Now.
[12:32] You may ask. How can we be. Sure. That God. Of Abraham. Isaac. And Jacob. Is the one. Who can forgive.
[12:44] Is the one. Who can heal. Who can redeem. Who can crown. Who can satisfy. Who can renew me. Well. I am glad you asked. Really.
[12:57] Look at you. The answer is simple. And. He has already. Showed it to you.
[13:09] Where are you now? You are here. On the Lord's day. In his church. Aren't you? You are in God's house.
[13:21] You are among God's people. You are here in God's word. You are already brought out of slavery. Brought out of slavery.
[13:33] Of sin. Just like. Jews were brought out of. Egyptian slavery. God is watching over you. He is watching over you.
[13:45] As you seek his mercy and grace. He watches over you. And will exercise. Justice. And mercy. As he did with Israel. Now.
[13:58] The Lord will not abandon you. Even if you sin. Against him. The Lord is ready to forgive you. Just as he forgave.
[14:10] Israelites. When they sin against him. In the desert. And then repented. Ancient Israel's. Stubborn nature.
[14:21] Is a great picture. Of how we. Fall back into old patterns. Of sin. And disobedience.
[14:33] And yet. Our Lord is. Long tempered. And lavish. In his loyal love. Towards us. He does not keep rebuking.
[14:44] Or punishing. Us. When we repent. He does not. Stay angry with us.
[14:57] He deals. He doesn't even deal with us. Proportionate. To our own offenses. Jesus. God was loyal.
[15:13] And patient. With Israel. As they were crossing the Red Sea. He gave them manna from the sky. And water from the rock. And they complained.
[15:27] And were disobedient. And then they repented. And then they sin again. Look at verses 11 and 12.
[15:39] They're a beautiful. Geographic. Or navigational. You may say. Illustration. That portray. That the compassionate love.
[15:50] Of our God. Is offering us strength. And comfort. Now. Verse 11. Vertically.
[16:03] For as high. As the heavens. Are above the earth. So great. Is the steadfast love. Toward us. Who fear him. We're going. Up and down.
[16:15] Now. Verse 12. As far as. The east is from the west. So far. As he removes. Us. Transgression.
[16:26] From us. You see that motion. Up and down. Left and right. Up and down.
[16:38] Left and right. What am I drawing here? Kids. Do you see me? Okay. Up and down. Left and right. What is that?
[16:51] Across. These two of course. Form a cross.
[17:03] Which many years later. Will become the very symbol. Of our redemption. Interestingly. Interestingly.
[17:14] That right after that. In verse 13. We read that God is our father. A father who shows compassion. For his children. So the Lord shows compassion.
[17:25] For those who fear him. And God of course. The picture of a father. Is ultimately fulfilled.
[17:36] Where many hundred years later. John will write. His famous words. For God. So loved the world. That. He gave his only begotten son.
[17:49] That whosoever believes in him. Shall not die. But have an everlasting life. God acting as a father. Giving us his son.
[18:02] The compassion love of God. Is for those who believe in him. That is. To have not only the knowledge. In your head. Of who he is.
[18:13] But to approach God. With reverence. With respect. And complete trust. That's what it means. To fear God. To treat him as.
[18:24] You would treat. A father. The fatherly compassion of God. Is unique in its nature.
[18:35] John Calvin. John Calvin. Commenting on the psalm. Writes. God is compared to earthly fathers. Not because. He is. In every respect. Like them.
[18:46] But because. There is no earthly image. By which. His unparalleled. Love towards us. Can be better expressed. God.
[18:57] Now I realize. That not all of us. Have perfect relationship. With our earthly fathers. Some of us. Have not even met. Our fathers. But.
[19:10] Precisely. Because of the relationship. With our earthly fathers. Is so important. And often hurting. God chooses. Jesus. To use it.
[19:21] As an illustration. Of the nature. Of the relationships. That he has with us. The lack of good father.
[19:32] Cannot be an excuse. For this belief. Having a bad father. Cannot be an excuse. For this belief. It's rather. A good reason.
[19:43] It's a good reason. Why we need to find comfort. In the fact. That God. Compars himself. To the compassionate father. Have you ever thought of that? I remember the moment.
[19:56] When my father. Unexpectedly died. In his early 50's. He had a heart attack. He was healthy. Otherwise. Just. Drop. And died.
[20:06] In church. On Sunday morning. During a sermon. I was at that time. In Moody Bible Institute. In Chicago. Studying. Came back. To Poland. But.
[20:17] Never got. A chance to even see him. In a hospital. He died. There. The fact that.
[20:27] Death. Took my father away. Was the point in life. When I. Came to God. And asked.
[20:39] Him. To meet. All the needs. That my earthly father. Was supposed to fulfill. Says. You allow for my father.
[20:50] To die so early. Then. Now. The job is on you. Lord. I need you. And he did. He did more than I could ever ask.
[21:05] He became more than a father. Father. Father. Father. Father. Was just the tip of the iceberg. I don't have time. To tell you my whole life story.
[21:19] But I can tell you. That when I was 16. And I came to UK. Actually. I went to. Northern Ireland. And I went to Aran Island.
[21:30] Stood on the cliffs. Facing. The ocean. Facing America. I was 16. I couldn't speak English.
[21:41] Promise. Fairly could communicate in English. And I prayed. For two things. I said. Lord. I would like to learn English. And I would like to go and study theology. Preferably in America. And the Lord answered that.
[21:53] Not only did he. Help me to learn English. And provided for. 20 years. Well. Little less. 15 years of education. In America. And here I am.
[22:07] Before you today. By God's grace. Preaching in English. And I can tell you. The Lord can do that. The Lord can be a father. To all of us. Whether we have good.
[22:18] Or bad. Or no fathers at all. No. Because of my father's death. I grew closer.
[22:28] In my relationship. To my heavenly father. And in the times. Of trouble. Or prosperity. I can recall. All the ways. God brought me. Through life.
[22:47] And now. Trying to serve him. With all that I have. Something that. He doesn't just call pastors. Or elders to do. As you have studied. In the gospel of Matthew.
[22:59] He calls all of us. To seek. The kingdom of God first. And then. Everything else. Shall be added unto us. Sounds crazy.
[23:11] Guess what. Everything else is crazier. Try it. Now. Read verses. 17 and 18.
[23:23] But the steadfast love. Of the Lord. Is from everlasting. To everlasting. On those. Who fear him. And his righteousness. To children's children.
[23:35] To those. Who keep his covenant. And remember. To do his commandments. Here. The psalmist. Powerfully. Contrast. Our own.
[23:46] Frailty. With his. Enduring love. For us. His enduring love. For all his sons. And his daughters. We are temporary.
[23:59] We are frail. Our days are short. But God. And his love. For us. Is not frail. Frail. It doesn't.
[24:09] It doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't. It doesn't. Change. He is loyal. In his eternal. And compassionate love.
[24:22] Not to all. But to those. Who have put. Their trust in him. To those. With whom. He has established.
[24:33] A covenant. Covenant. And that covenant. Is by. His grace. And he keeps it. Because of Jesus Christ.
[24:45] It's a covenant. Of grace. Now the comfort. That comes. From knowing. On which side.
[24:58] We are. The comfort. Of knowing. That we belong. To God. The comfort. Of knowing. That we are forgiven. And that the Lord. Almighty. Is watching.
[25:09] Our back. And that he gave. His only son. To die. For our sins. That is the source. Of strength. We are talking about. That is the source.
[25:19] Of strength. In a time. Of trouble. And a source. Of joyful. Praise. In a time. Of prosperity. Naturally.
[25:32] The last few verses. Of the Psalm. 20 and 21. Are a call. For the whole. Spiritual world. Of angels. Those angels. That are faithful.
[25:42] To God. To join in. And praise God. Who is our loving. Father. So the progression. Reaches. The end.
[25:53] Of the universe. The song. Which started. In the heart. Of one. Redeemed man. Named David.
[26:07] Now. Through thousands. Of years. Encourages. God's covenant. People. To find comfort. In God's.
[26:17] Compassionate love. All the way. From Palestine. 3,000 years ago. To. Ealing. And to. Warsaw.
[26:28] This song. Encourages. Us. Today. To praise. Our heavenly. Dad. Why don't you.
[26:39] Join in this song. Of praise. Today. Why don't you. Find encouragement. In it. Despite. Of your life. Situation.
[26:50] Despite. Of the fact. Whether you are. In a stormy. Part of life. Or. The storm. Is about to happen. Even though.
[27:01] Maybe. Psalm 102. Better describes. The way you feel. Today. I want to encourage you. To read. Psalm 103. And be reminded. Of God's forgiveness.
[27:12] And his faithful. Compassionate love. To you. You. He will not leave you. Or abandon you. He will bring you.
[27:25] Through the storm. But maybe. You cannot join the song. Because you never. Repented. You don't fear the Lord.
[27:38] Perhaps. You didn't even realize. You need forgiveness. Today. You need to. You need to. Today. Today. Is the time. To realize. That you are. A sinner. That you deserve.
[27:49] Hell. And you deserve. Trouble. And that you need. To talk to your creator. About that. See how you.
[28:02] Offended him. See how you. Caused the trouble. You find yourself in. Repent of it. Come to the Lord.
[28:15] He is waiting. Join a church. Where you can grow. In your faith. And understanding. Of God's will. In your life.
[28:28] Surround yourself with. Mature Christians. Not just Christians. Look for mature ones. Men and women. Who serve the Lord. With all they have.
[28:38] And. Finally. Those of us. Who are enjoying. Time of prosperity. In our life. In our rejoicing.
[28:51] May our hearts. Do not forget. About the one. Who is the source. Of all good. And all blessing. And let us all.
[29:04] Give him thanks. For he is good. Amen.