Salvation

Benefits for Believers

Benefits for Believers

Sean Vickers

Psalm 103

Bless the Lord, O my soul and all that is within me, bless His Holy Name.
Bless the Lord, O my soul and forget none of His benefits.
He forgives all your sin; He heals all your diseases.
He redeems your life from the pit, He crowns your with faithful love and compassion.

He satisfies you with goodness, your youth is renewed like the eagle.

This is a Psalm of David that is a song of praise. In this Psalm David does not request anything. He simply praises his God.

I wonder how long you could talk to the Lord without asking for anythings? <- try it out

In verses 1-5, David mentions three things to remember that lead to a life that remembers to praise God.

1. Forgiveness Psalm 103:3

  • Perfect creation corrupted by sin
  • Hospital visitation

2. Redemption Psalm 103:4

  • Boaz the kinsman redeemer in the book of Ruth
  • President James Buchanan would purchase slaves in Washington D.C. and let them go in Pennsylvania.

3. Satisfaction Psalm 103:5

It Is Well
Bethel Music

Verse 1
Grander earth has quaked before
Moved by the sound of His voice
Seas that are shaken and stirred
Can be calmed and broken for my regard

Chorus
And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
And through it all, through it all
It is well

And through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
It is well with me

Verse 2
Far be it from me to not believe
Even when my eyes can’t see

And this mountain that’s in front of me
Will be thrown into the midst of the sea

Chorus
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well
It is well

Bridge x3
So let go my soul and trust in Him
The waves and wind still know His name (repeat last line during 3rd run)

It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well with my soul
It is well it is well with my soul x3

Chorus x2 (softly slowly)
Through it all, through it all
My eyes are on You
Through it all, through it all
It is well with me.

Biblical Repentance

Biblical Repentance

Sean Vickers

Biblical repentance is godly sorrow for one’s sin together with a resolution to turn from it.*  Repentance is necessary for salvation and necessary for godly living. Daily repentance should be present in the daily life of every believer. There is a faulty idea about repentance that it is for salvation only. The process of conviction, confession and repentance is not only the path to God in salvation it is the path back to God as we deal with sin every day. Through Christ we can have peace with God and forgiveness of every sin.

Biblical Repentance

But unless you repent, you too will all perish. Luke 13:3 (NIV)

Conviction

When He comes, He will convict the world about sin, righteousness, and judgment: John 16:8 (HCSB)

Confession

If we say, “We have no sin,” we are deceiving ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. 1 John 1:8-9 (HCSB)

Repentance

Repent, then, and turn to God, so that your sins may be wiped out, that times of refreshing may come from the Lord, Acts 3:19 (NIV)

Come close to God, and God will come close to you. Wash your hands, you sinners; purify your hearts, for your loyalty is divided between God and the world. Let there be tears for what you have done. Let there be sorrow and deep grief. Let there be sadness instead of laughter, and gloom instead of joy. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will lift you up in honor.

James 4:8-10 (NLT)

* Definition of repentance from Christian Theology by Millard J. Erickson

City of Refuge

Sean Vickers

Joshua 20:1-9

Before the People of God crossed the Jordan into the Promised Land, God told Moses to set aside six cities to be known as Cities of Refuge. These cities were places that people who may have accidentally killed another person could flee to a city of refuge and be protected from the “avenger of blood” (family of the deceased) until the elders of the city could investigate the circumstances. If the person seeking refuge was found guilty, they were put to death. If they were found to be innocent, they could continue to live in the city of refuge without fear.

These Cities of Refuge can be seen as a picture of our salvation in Jesus Christ. We are all guilty (Romans 3:23), and there is an avenger seeking our souls. (John 10:10) There is a place we can run and find safety for our souls. The place is a Person, Jesus Christ. (Acts 4:12) We must run to our Savior Who is our Refuge.

Has God brought you to a place where you understand you are guilty? Have you taken your guilt to Jesus and placed your faith in Him. He is our Refuge.

A Heart towards God

Sean Vickers

But the LORD said to Samuel, “Do not look on his appearance or on the height of his stature, because I have rejected him. For the LORD sees not as man sees: man looks on the outward appearance, but the LORD looks on the heart.”  1 Samuel 16:7

There is a fascinating account in the Bible in 1 Samuel 16. When it was time to replace King Saul, Samuel went to Bethlehem and called together Jesse and his sons. Each of Jesse’s sons were presented to Samuel and God would select a new King. As seven sons passed by Samuel there was no suitable replacement found. Samuel asked if all of Jesse’s sons were there. Jesse had one more son, David, who was tending the sheep. They called for David and he was the one and was anointed by Samuel to be the future king of Israel.

This compelling story raises the question: What was the difference between David and his brothers? 1 Samuel 16:7 demonstrates that it was a matter of the heart. We tend to look at the exterior and God looks and the interior, the heart. 2 Chronicles 16:9

What does God see when He looks at your heart?

  • Pride – Proverbs 21:4, Jeremiah 17:9
    Our hearts will naturally focus on me, myself and I.
  • Guilt – Matthew 5:19
  • Brokenness – Psalm 51:17
  • Emptiness – King Saul – 1 Samuel 13:14
  • Belief – Romans 10:10
  • Jesus – Ephesians 3:14-19

What should we do?

  • Examine our OWN hearts
  • Eliminate pride and sin by confession and repentance
  • Turn our hearts toward God
  •  Trust Christ to dwell in our hearts as Savior and Lord
A Soft Heart Towards God

A Soft Heart Towards God

Sean Vickers

Mark 4:1-20. In the Parable of the Soils Jesus identifies four different soil types and teaches a lesson on the condition of our hearts and how receptive we are to the Word of God.

The Seed = The Word of God

The Sower = Servant of God who shared the Word with others

The Soil = The human heart

The Hard Heart

  • Resists the Word of God
  • Easy for Satan to snatch away biblical truth before it takes root
  • Must be plowed up before it can receive seed
  • Represents a heart that is completely closed to the Word of God
  • The enemy of the hard heart is Satan

The Shallow Heart

  • Thin Soil with bedrock underneath
  • What ever is planted has no root and will not last
  • Receives the Word with “joy” representing an emotional response
  • The emotional response ends when the pressure of this life crash back in
  • The enemy of the shallow Heart is emotions that don’t lead to a changed life. Being “moved” but not “changed”

The Crowded Heart

  • Seed is sown among the weeds and the weeds choke out the Word’s work
  • “But the worries of this life, deceitfulness of wealth and the desires for other things come in and choke the word, making it unfruitful.” v19
  • This is a person that hears about the “narrow way” but remains on the “broad way.” Matthew 7: 13-14
  • The enemy of the crowded heart is the things of the world

The Fruitful Heart

  • The True Believer and the person that has a soft heart before God and His Word
  • The only fruit bearing plant demonstrating true conversion and true change
  • Produces a crop well beyond the plants normal capacity
  • God causes the increase EXPLODING into a rich harvest

God, grant us soft hearts that You may do Your work deep down in our hearts.