August 27, 2023
“What comes to our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.”
– A.W. Tozer
6 “The LORD performs righteous deeds And judgments for all who are oppressed. 7 He made known His ways to Moses, His acts to the sons of Israel. 8 The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. 9 He will not always strive with us, Nor will He keep His anger forever. 10 He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities. 11 For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. 12 As far as the east is from the west, So far has He removed our transgressions from us. 13 Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. 14 For He Himself knows our frame; He is mindful that we are but dust. “
Psalm 103:6-14 (NASB1995)
Everyone has a controlling image of God. it’s the way you see God when you’re NOT conscious that you’re thinking about Him. And for nearly all of us, that image is broken in some way.
It could be that you see God like the imperfect dad that was in or was NOT in your life when you were young.
Or if your thoughts were left unattended, you see God angry and punishing as your mom who was so afraid herself and tried to control every single molecule of your life.
Or maybe because of some really hard things that happened in your life. Maybe you feel that He created everything, and then just left us to ourselves.
Or something or someone has convinced you that He’s there to get you things. You need a job, or you need a spouse, or you need a new car. “God, can you get that for me?” Sort of a personal-assistant god.
The problem is that all of those are really broken ways to see Him – and they will eventually create a kind of internal brokenness in you.
It turns out: how you see Him is the most important thing about you.
It will direct the deepest parts of your life.
The Idea:
If you experience God like the following, it changes the way you experience everything else in your life. It will bring an internal liberty that frees you from so much anxiety and doubt and despair.
And will fill you with joy.
How God Wants You To See Him
1. That He’s Grace Filled
8 “The LORD is compassionate and gracious, Slow to anger and abounding in lovingkindness. "
11 "For as high as the heavens are above the earth, So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him. “
Psalm 103:8,11 (NASB1995)
Verse 8 is one of the most repeated descriptions of God in the Old Testament.
And one of the most important statements about God in all the Bible
(Psalm 86:15; Psalm 145:8; Numbers 14:18; Joel 2:13; Jonah 4:2; cp. Psalm 78:38, Psalm 39; Psalm 99:8; Psalm 111:4; Nehemiah 9:17; Micah 7:18–19; Deuteronomy 4:31; 2 Chronicles 30:9; also James 5:1.)
“For as high as the heavens are above the earth,
So great is His lovingkindness toward those who fear Him.“
Psalm 103:11 (NASB1995)
Three times (vss 11,13,17) the passage says this is for the one who “fears Him.”
2. That He’s Shockingly Forgiving
10 "He has not dealt with us according to our sins, Nor rewarded us according to our iniquities."
12 “As far as the east is from the west,
So far has He removed our transgressions from us. “
Psalm 103:10, 12 (NASB1995)
Three times (11,13,17) the passage says this is for the one who “fears Him.”
There are three words that describe our condition, our position with God.
Sin – failure to obey God, our guilt
Iniquity – it means our wickedness, our inner corrupted-ness
Transgression – our rebellious nature
That is our condition before God.
He created us. He gave us the ability to love Him or reject Him.
And we all reject Him, when we go our own way.
When we say our morality is better than His morality
Our ethics are better than His ethics
My way of living my life, is better than the way He calls me to live.
My rejection of Him deserves His rejection of me.
But in verse 12, David tries to measure God’s capacity and willingness to forgive me of all of my sin. And so he says –
“as far as the east is from the west”
We see this through the grace and forgiveness poured out by Christ on the Cross for our sin:
When we put our faith in Christ
Which means that we come to Him.
We turn to Him.
We commit our lives to Him.
He forgives us completely.
He removes the blame, the guilt, and penalty we owe Him for our rebellion
… as far as the East is from the West.
If we believed that "regret" – the worst thing that lives in us – would evaporate. It would completely disappear.
But why does it NOT disappear for some?
We have our OWN image of God living inside us and that image would not treat us with this much grace and this much mercy, and this much forgiveness.
And so we say this is who god is – but we don’t believe it.
Nobody ever experiences release until they have a regret-breakthrough.
And you will never have a regret breakthrough until you realize what God promises to do with our mistakes, and sins, and wrongdoing.
"As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our transgressions from us."
Psalm 103:12 (NASB1995)
"... for You have cast all my sins behind Your back. "
Isaiah 38:17 (NASB1995)
"... You will cast all their sins into the depths of the sea."
Micah 7:19 (NASB1995)
"… I am the one who wipes out your transgressions for My own sake,
And I will not remember your sins."
Isaiah 43:25 (NASB1995)
3. That He’s A Better Father
“Just as a father has compassion on his children, So the LORD has compassion on those who fear Him. “
Psalm 103:13 (NASB1995)
He sent a part of Himself to Earth - God in Flesh - to save you from what your sin would do to crush you beneath its weight.
And His compassion is for you.
Three times (11,13,17) the passage says this is for the one who “fears Him.”
It means you come to be in awe of Him; and you see His power; and His holiness; and you come to Him on His terms.
And His terms are these:
Look at my Son, Jesus
See what He did on the cross for you.
Realize that He is your only answer for the core need of your life.
And turn, and put your faith in Him, and commit yourself to Him as the Lord of your life.
You can find our sermon-only series and full worship services on our Bear Creek Church Youtube Channel each week. Watch, like, subscribe, and get notifications.