What Shall We Give Unto The Lord For All His Benefits Towards Us?

SERMON OUTLINE

• 💭 Consider this: Reflecting on how God has blessed you in manifold ways, what have you done to repay Him? What needs to change so you do not take His benefits for granted?
• I. First Benefit: Forgiveness Of Sins
• II. Second Benefit: He Heals Us
• III. Third Benefit: He Redeemed Us From Destruction
• IV. Fourth Benefit: He Crowneth Us With Lovingkindness And Tender Mercies
• V. Fifth Benefit: He Satisfieth Our Mouth With Good Things
• VI. Sixth Benefit: He Renews Our Strength

TRANSCRIPT

Psalm 116:12 is our text: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?”

Speaking about benefits—as Australian, I believe you will understand—your country, being a developed country, gives so many benefits to its citizens, and countries usually offer benefits to their citizens primarily to ensure a basic standard of living, promote social stability, and foster national development, such as social welfare programs, help citizens meet their fundamental needs like health care and education, etc.

These are all the benefits you enjoyed as Australian. I believe so. I came from a developing country, a poor country, the Philippines. But though we are a developing country, yet our government try to provide benefits also. We cannot compare to Australia, Canada, the USA and other developed countries. But in our own way, our government provided benefits for the citizens.

If you are working in a company, for sure you will know and you understand that benefits are part of your incentives as you work in this specific company.

In the family, which is the smallest unit in the community, the parents provided the basic need of the child from birth even to elementary, into high school, and to university stage in their life.

As we look at the universe, the universe is under God's government. He is the Governor, is the Sovereign Ruler who governed His creations.

There is a wrong doctrine that is propagated by false preachers that after the creation, God goes to vacation. This is always what we heard from the late Reverend Timothy Tow. These people are wrong in their understanding. After the creation, God goes to vacation and did not take care of His creations—wrong.

The Lord continued to care, to govern His creations even at this very moment. The birds, the fowls in the air. The Lord said, "Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they?” (Matthew 6:26) Yet your heavenly Father feedth them.

In my country, where I have a ministry, the church is surrounded with many trees and fruit-bearing trees, and I saw all kinds of birds feasting the fruits. This is a clear manifestation that even to the animal kingdom, God showed that He is a God who cares, who give benefits to His creations.

The grass, the flowers—when the rain pours down, for sure they benefited a lot. The rain gives them comfort that they may blooms. And I believe if they may just be able to speak, they would say, "Thank you. Thank you, Lord."

How about man? Man is a special creation of God. Man did not say, God did not say, ‘Let there be man and there was man.’

No, we all know God formed man out of the dust of the ground and breath into his nostril, and man became a living soul, and we are so special. And His providence, that we may benefit from it, is very, very wonderful and amazing.

Now, we have a common grace, according to John Calvin. God's common grace is universal. It is general. It is even for the unbelievers. Like the air that we breath, like the sun that shines, that we need vitamin D. The water that we drink.

Even unbelievers are bestowed by the Lord with knowledge and ability. The scientists, who are an unbeliever, were able to create amoxicillin and penicillin and all kinds of antibiotics. This is God's common grace.

But for a Christian, for a believer like you and me, we do not just enjoy the common grace of God, but also the special grace. This is the specific work of God in providing benefits in the lives of believers.

Yes, we are so grateful and thankful to the Lord for the common grace like the air and the sun, and we share it together with the unbelievers. But as a church, sinners saved by His grace, we are here also to rejoice and to enjoy His special grace, His salvific grace, which is only intended for His people.

So with great joy and excitement, the writer of Psalm 116, he is fully aware of God's greatness and goodness in his life. He is fully aware that we all received great blessings from the Lord. He is very, very thankful and considering it as the greatest benefits in his life.

As an Australian, you enjoy benefits from your country. But above all, being member of Bethel BP Church, you enjoyed benefits that cannot be compared to any benefits in this world. The benefits that only comes from the Lord.

And this morning, let us look into it, and let us consider. Every born-again Christian is a beneficiary of God's special grace. By that fact alone, we have the reason to be truly joyful, truly full of hope and comfort.

From the Philippines, where I came from, my church members are suffering all kinds of difficulties in life. But they—and today, every time, Sunday after Sunday, Friday after Friday, every time we have prayer meeting—I always reminded them of the special grace of God, which is their true riches, the only source of joy and rejoicing.

As a result of being born again, experiencing God's special grace every day, our lives become abundant. This is the only way wherein you being Australian and me being Filipino are equal in this world—as an Australian, and me as a Filipino. Our countries are so different. Our benefits that we receive from the country are very different.

But as far as God is concerned, being born-again Christian, we are equal. We have a life that is abundant.

The Lord Jesus Christ said in John 10:10, "The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly.”

A born-again Christian from the Philippines, a born-again Christian from Somalia, a born-again Christian from Australia and Canada—equal, the same abundant life in the Lord Jesus Christ.

A Christian's life may be filled with pain, messy, hardship, temptation, and tribulation. However, in the midst of these trials, the Lord cannot be wrong in His promise that life of those who believe and trust in Him shall be abundant.

Pastor Reggor, in the midst of great afflictions and infirmities, remains to be joyful. He came to Bohol last Sunday to preach during our anniversary and thanksgiving service—19th anniversary and thanksgiving service. He was so bold. He was so joyful as he is, and energetic as he is. No sign of weakness, though he is already carrying a lot of pains in his body.

The fact that the Lord said, ‘I am come that you might have life and have it more abundantly’ is true—even in the worst situation of His servant's life.

This truth is evident in the lives of faithful men like Job, like Joseph the dreamer, the Apostle Paul, and many others, that even in their lowest moments, they remained faithful, rejoicing and trusting in the Lord who was with them through it all.

The Lord can never be wrong in His words: ‘I come that you might have life, and that you might have it more abundantly.’

Dr Jeffrey Khoo, in his lecture when I was a student in FEBC, always said and encouraged the student, ‘If anyone dare to ask you 'How are you?' don't just say 'I am good,' but say 'I am abundant.'

This is not to be like the charismatic. The word abundant means to be prosperous in material thing, to be wealthy, to be free from all pains and sickness. That is not what we meant when we say we are abundant. We are abundant even in the midst of despair and great difficulties in life, because the Lord, who is our great Shepherd, abides with us forever.

Last Sunday, we sang in Bohol to present a song item: Now I belong to Jesus, Jesus belongs to me. And that is the only reason of our abundance in the Lord.

With great conviction and certainty, every one of us must believe and proclaim that it is only by the Lord's great benefits towards us, we live a true and abundant life. A man who is so rich with material things but without Christ is never abundant in the sight of the Lord.

What shall it profit a man if he shall gain the whole world and yet loses his own soul? A very poor man in the Philippines. He maybe can eat only one time every day. But if he is truly joyful and thankful to the Lord who saved him and gave him life eternal, his life is truly joyful compared to that millionaire in the province of Bohol who know nothing about God's grace and mercy, who know nothing about His word.

We should not misinterpret. We should not do what the charismatic did. Rather, we always consider that the abundant life is more of a spiritual prosperity that we may be filled with the knowledge of Him, the knowledge of His Word, the knowledge of His greatness and His goodness.

Although Abraham was materially blessed by the Lord, his true joy and rejoicing were not in the blessings themselves, but in the Lord, the giver of the blessings.

Genesis 15:1, the Lord said, "I am thy shield and thy exceeding great reward.” Not just to Abraham, but to every born again Christian, to every believer who are saved by His grace alone like you and me.

God the giver of the blessings is the blessing itself and the reason of our joy and rejoicing and the reason and the basis of our testimony that we live a life, abundant life in the Lord.

If the country is trying to make the best for his citizens - God above all lovingly, generously, so wonderfully try all good blessings He could give to all His people that they may benefit about His goodness and greatness in in this world.

What are the blessings and benefits bestowed upon us by the Lord? So many. We all know there's a common grace. But let us focus now about the special grace mentioned by the psalmist in Psalm 103.

Let us turn to Psalm 103 and we will go back to Psalm 116 later on.

Psalm 103. There are so many benefits we receive from the Lord. You may already know about this. You may be reading about these verses. You may be meditating about this verses over and over again. Yet, the Lord's Word is always new. The Lord's Word is always best every day. We should never be tired of reading and meditating about it.

Psalm 103:1-5 and it says: Bless the Lord, O my soul: and all that is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits: Who forgiveth all thine iniquities; who healeth all thy diseases;  Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies; Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things; so that thy youth is renewed like the eagle's.

These are the lists of benefits God gave to His people that His people may enjoy it. That His people may truly benefit from it.

First, it is found in verse 3A: “Who forgiveth all thine iniquities?” And being forgiven, we are clothed with the righteousness of Christ. We stand righteous before God just as if we have not sinned. We are freed from the bondage of sin. We are separated from the wrath. We are spared from the wrath of God to come. And this is mentioned first by the psalmist because the forgiveness of sin restores us to God's favour.

I. First Benefit: Forgiveness Of Sins

It is not by accident that the writer of Psalm 103 mentioned the forgiveness of sins as the first benefit that we receive because it restores us to God's favour through which all good things are bestowed upon us. The Lord cannot bestow us many good things unless we are forgiven first.

This is the entrance of our enjoying the abundance of God in our life. That is why He said, "Who forgiveth thine iniquities?"

There are only two kinds of people in this world. Sinners still condemned by God because of their wickedness and sinners saved by grace like you and me. And right now at this very moment, God is sitting at His throne with holy anger and indignation to all the wicked.

Praise be unto the Lord. We are all here gathered though we are sinner but we are saved by His grace, forgiven, accepted, received eternal life. His holy anger is no more upon us, but His holy love is upon us today. But to those who are walking around the street nowadays, who are still an unbeliever, the wrath of God, His holy indignation is upon them.

Jonathan Edwards, a pastor used by God during the 18th century. He's writing a poem or a sermon entitled Sinners Under the Hands of an Angry God. Right now, there are so many sinners around the world who are still under the hands of an angry God. We all know that God is very angry with the wicked.

Praise be unto the Lord. We are saved by His grace and we are no more under His grace, under His wrath. But under His grace and His loving kindness, we are here gathered together.

The wicked is in great danger every day, praise be unto the Lord. During the days when we do drugs, our very own pastor Paul, you know all his past.

And I'm for me being a Filipino, I told my wife while we were travelling from Trinidad, a place where True Life BP Church have a church there. I shared to her that there was a time in my life that I took seven capsules of medicines because I have no more money to buy cocaine or poor man's cocaine in the Philippines is very expensive. And when I have no more money, I just go to the pharmacy to buy very cheap medicine, simple and ordinary medicine.

I drank seven capsules and I fainted and many of my friends carry me but they did not brought me to the hospital for fear that it will be revealed that I was using drugs. They just leave me there somewhere in the market. They put me on the top of the table. Then I told my wife and then my wife said you could be dead. I said yes, it is very dangerous. The greatest tragedy is to be under the wrath of the holy God.

Sinners must repent. Sinners must be forgiven by the Lord. You have the great joy and rejoicing of being forgiven. How about our loved ones? How about our neighbours and friends, our colleagues?

We are with them most of the time in our workplace. We have someone so close to us, but an unbeliever - because he is an unbeliever. She is an unbeliever. She/he is still under the hands of an angry god. And Jonathan Edwards during the great awakening in Britain and America in the 18th century never wasted time reminding the sinners - God is angry to you every day.

Thank God He's no more angry with us. Thank God we are always found by His grace and His love. And so we are here worshipping Him together. This is the first benefit we have as a Christian.

And we should never be tired of thinking about it. I have a church member in Bohol who left the church and one of his complaint to me is I always keep mentioning about forgiveness of sin. So what are you tired of hearing the beauty of being forgiven? If you are so sure that you are forgiven and if you are so happy about it, why get bored hearing it over and over again?

And so this member of mine left the church long long time ago and now he's back to his old ways. He's living as if he is an unbeliever. He's under the hands of an angry God. But you and me is under the hands of a loving and caring God, showering us with many benefits in our Christian life.

Share the gospel. Lead them to Christ that they may repent that they may be forgiven. As long as we enjoy life being forgiven, we need to be sad also. We have friends, loved ones, neighbours who are still not receive forgiveness.

The work of missions must continue. Bethel must be a mission-minded church knowing that the world need Christ. They must be forgiven. How can we hear the gospel without a preacher?

Continue to support Myanmar. We are very thankful, all of us from Gethsemane, from Pastor Koshy, to all the missionaries in the Philippines are also very thankful to all of you, for all your love and care for Gethsemane, the work of Gethsemane.

Pastor Koshy never stop praising the Lord for all the efforts of every Christian who love the work of the Lord. And you are one of that many Christians who love and support the work, the gospel work. We started mission not to glorify ourselves but to obey the Lord's commandment to proclaim the good news of salvation that sinners may be forgiven, that they may never be under the hands of the angry God.

II. Second Benefit: He Heals Us

The second benefit is that He heals us. It is in verse 3b: “Who healeth all thy diseases.”

Now one of my member asked me, why did Pastor Reggor get sick? This is a very difficult question. But according to Matthew Henry, one of the great Bible expositor and commentator, the corruption of nature is the sickness of the soul.

The sin that we inherited from Adam is the greatest sickness and corruption in our life. This is cured in justification and sanctification. This is cured when the Lord cleanses us and forgives us. When sin is mortified, the disease is healed. Though complicated, it is all healed.

Matthew Henry says, ‘In a world filled with pain and suffering and sickness, we can find comfort in God who is our Saviour who heal us spiritually.’

I told my congregation, there are so many unbelievers outside who are healthy physically, and we have our very own Pastor Reggor serving the Lord faithfully for 21 years now, now having infirmities and afflictions. In the sight of the world, he is sick. But in the sight of God, he is the most healthy compared to all the people outside the church of Pastor Reggor who are so energetic.

People have been running all the time, eating healthy food. Pastor Reggor loves pork, as we all do, Filipinos. There are those Filipinos also who are trying to be health-conscious. Do not eat pork. Do not eat all kind of dirty stuff. So that they will be remain healthy and strong. Yes, healthy and strong in the standard of the world in the physical aspect.

But are they healthy spiritually? We all know they are not. We all know they are sick and their sickness stinks and they are very, very dirty in the sight of God. They need the cleansing power of the Word of God. The gospel must be preached to them.

The gospel was preached to Pastor Reggor many, many years ago. The gospel was preached to Pastor Paul many, many years ago. The gospel was preached to me many, many years ago. And all my sins were forgiven. Though I am a stinky man in spiritual matter, now we are cleansed, acceptable in the sight of God. He healed all our diseases.

The greatest disease, which is the sin that we have received from Adam. Are you not happy to notice? Yes, we may be hearing, we may be reading this over and over again, but the Lord's word is always new. And today we are reminded, He healeth all our diseases.

Though we are still in our sinful nature, but the Lord is sanctifying us day and today. Yes, He justified us already one time. Justification is a one-time act of God. It happens during our conversion. When the Lord extended His grace toward us, we are justified. We are regenerated when His grace came upon us.

Some would believe that because we decided to believe in God, we are regenerated. No. How can we believe in God without His grace? His grace comes first that we may be regenerated and believed. And because we believe, we are forgiven. We are justified. And because we are justified, He sanctified us day and today, that we may be glorified one day when we shall see Him face to face. And that is the healthiest situation in our life.

Do not be sad. Pastor Reggor, I heard from one of the deacon from Cebu last night. I talked to the deacon, and when Pastor Reggor was undergoing a PET scan (I don't know how to pronounce it properly, sorry if I am wrong in my pronunciation), and Pastor Reggor was singing hymns. And everyone who passed by near that place where Pastor Reggor is having his scan would hear he's like Paul and Silas singing praises to God in the prison cell. And people would say, ‘Who is that man? Oh, he is a man undergoing the scan.’ It seems he is a pastor. So that's the story. People may pass by. Many people pass by. Many people hear Pastor singing, and everybody knows he is a pastor having a sickness called cancer, lymphoma.

But he is there singing hymns that glorifies the Lord, that encourage him to remain steadfast in the faith, that he may remain joyful even in the midst of worst physical condition. He has a cancer, yet he is healed spiritually. His cancer may kill him. We are not praying that it would happen. We prayed, we pleaded to the Lord, the Lord will heal him.

But like our late brother Dominino, the Lord allowed the cancer cells to scatter, that it causes him to die and stop breathing. Yes, he is dead physically, but we all know he is now in the bosom of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, because he is healed spiritually many, many years ago through the faithful preaching of God's Word. This is your comfort. This is our comfort. We are healed by the Lord spiritually.

Spiritual healing is the greatest healing of all, that even a man that is so sick, he's supposed to be sad. Pastor Reggor is supposed to be weak, distressed, depressed. Depression could make the cancer cells more and more strong. Loneliness, sufferings, could make the cancer cells more strong and aggressive. That's what the doctor says. But the joy in the Lord is our strength. The joy of the Lord is our strength.

As Pastor Reggor, in the midst of great sufferings, remain to be joyful, remains to be thankful in the Lord, it gives him strength. Strength that the world cannot give. Strength that the doctor could not give. Strength that only comes from the Lord.

If you are being forgiven, if you are being healed by your sins, no other destructions can bother you. Paul, he said, he prayed to the Lord many times that the Lord will take away the throne of the flesh in his life. Yet the Lord did not hear the prayer of the Apostle Paul. But the Lord said, ‘My grace and My strength is made perfect in weakness.’

Joy is not based upon circumstance. It is based upon the truth that we belong to God, and God belongs to us. And we are His, we are in His hands, for He is our Healer who heal us spiritually, that we may be part of His church.

III. Third Benefit: He Redeemed Us From Destruction

The third benefit is that He redeemed us from destruction. Verse 4a: “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction”

In the Philippines, there was a bus filled with many people, fell into the ravine or into the cliff, and many people died. One Christian died instantly. There was group of young people who are drug addicts who escaped death. They were unharmed. While they were unharmed, a certain Christian died instantly. People may say, ‘Wow, these guys are very clever. You know, they escaped death.

Maybe we can remember the Air India crash where one survivor’ Yes. This group of young people who are doing drugs and living a life of sin may be spared from that disaster called accident. Are they able to escape the destruction of all destruction, which is hell? No.

And here comes a Christian who believes in the Lord, who worshipped the Lord by praising Him for saving Him. Yet he died instantly. He died a very miserable death. Bones were broken, skulls were broken.

And people say, ‘Oh, how pitiful.’ In the sight of the world, it may be pitiful. But if you look at it in Christ's perspective, if you look at it in the Bible's perspective, he may be dead because of that great disaster and tragedy and accident. Yet he is spared from the destruction of all destruction, which is hell.

You may die a very horrible death. People may consider it as a tragedy and as destruction. Yet in Christ, it is never a tragedy. It is His will. It is His sovereign will. Nothing happens by chance. It is by the Lord's provision. And if the Lord allow you to die that miserable death, it is never a tragedy. It is a victory, for departing from the body is to be present with the Lord. And that Christian who died with that tragedy because of the bus that fell on the ravine.

People may say, ‘What a destruction. What a tragedy.’ But to a Christian who truly believe in the Lord, it is never a tragedy. Those people who are enjoying life, celebrating life because they are spared from this accident, continue to drink, continue to enjoy life, worldliness, rejoice because we are alive. Drink, disco, drugs. They are fools. Foolishness. Spared from the tragedy of the accident but never spared of the tragedy of all tragedies which is the destruction in hell.

We are spared from the destruction. There is a coming destruction to everyone. You may be President Donald Trump. You may be a rich man. You may be a poor man. But we are equal. The day of judgement, the day of reckoning is there. For a Christian, He is saved from that destruction. For the unbelievers, they will be experiencing that destruction.

My members would always say, ‘How far is Australia?’ They are very poor and they are so ignorant about Australia, or they have never even seen a plane. ‘Oh, it's very far’ I told them. But if you took the plane, seven hours later you will reach there and you will see Australia. There is such a place called Australia. Though you may not see it, there is such a place called Australia that when you take a plane, seven hours later you will be there.

There is such a place called Hell. Right at this very moment, Hell is so real. There is suffering there. There is destruction there. Praise be unto the Lord. Hell is never our destination. heaven is our destination. If Hell is real, heaven is real. If Australia is real—not a myth, not just an invention, an imaginary place—heaven and Hell are also real places.

The unbelievers—those who crucify the Lord, those who mock the Lord—are there. They are truly there. But those who serve the Lord Jesus Christ, and those who followed Him, those who serve Him with great joy, with patience, they are also in the place called heaven. We will be with them anytime soon.

As Christians, we may experience destruction through peril, sickness, accidents and more tragedies in this world. But knowing that we are spared from the ultimate destruction, which is Hell, is truly joyful, truly comforting, truly makes us full of hope that in the Lord, we are spared.

Lightning may hit me. A plane may crash. You may be driving and an accident may appear. The world may look at it as destruction. In the Lord, it is victory. It is one way of ushering you to His eternal place and eternal Kingdom in heaven.

Let us look at the other side of the coin. If we are truly grateful and thankful because we are spared from the greatest destruction, we have loved ones, neighbours, friends, colleagues who are also going there.

As much as we are truly joyful and grateful to the Lord for such salvation from this great destruction, in the same way, there must be sadness and sorrow. And this sadness and sorrow must make us truly sad, that we can never be secure, that we can never sleep in the night when we think that our loved ones, friends, neighbours, colleagues and those who are dear to us are still unbelievers. For sure, they will have a time in their life when they will embrace destruction. They will embrace it because the Lord will really bring it to them.

We may have a heart that is full of prayer. We may plead with the Lord, if possible, that the Lord may use us.

When I started the work in my place, actually, I praise the Lord. I was hesitant to start a mission work in the province of Bohol. I am confident to work in a rehab centre in Cebu, where Pastor Paul was leading the ministry before, because I am single. I am not comfortable going to Bohol as a single man to serve Him in the church. I preferred to be in the ministry of a drug rehab centre, where I am filled with friends and co-workers in the ministry - Helping Hands in Singapore and the House of Hope in the Philippines is a big ministry where all the staff are staying. I am comfortable there.

But Pastor Koshy was so persuasive. He said, ‘The Lord's work—the harvest—is plentiful. You need to go there and preach the gospel.’ And indeed, I realised that for me to resign from the House of Hope in July 2006 to start a ministry in Bohol was God's providence.

My grandfather was sick during that year, 2006. If I had not resigned from the House of Hope—if I had continued to work there and insisted on not doing a work in Bohol—and if I heard that my grandfather was sick, maybe the longest leave I could have filed was one week. And one week would not have been enough for me to share the gospel with my sick grandfather.

So when I was there working in ministry—when I finally decided to resign from the House of Hope and heed the persuasion and encouragement of Pastor Koshy to start a work there—I realised I had all the time to share the gospel with my grandfather.

My grandfather was a Roman Catholic, and he was very, very strong in his devotion to the Roman Catholic teaching. But because I was there with him all the time when I started the work in Bohol, most of my time was spent with my grandfather. I had all the time to speak to him the good news of salvation.

At first he is wrestling against me, trying to resist, but in the long run, after months of preaching unto him. Praise the Lord that he received Christ, and he died under my arms. It was a very wonderful experience in life.

I am starting the ministry just recently. During the time, I maybe am three months yet in the ministry, and now the Lord allows me to have this great experience in life—to share the gospel to my bedridden grandfather, embracing him even at his last breath. I said to the Lord, it is your will that I will start the mission work today, this year, that I may have this blessed moment with my grandfather, preaching to him the gospel. And for sure, he's now in a place called heaven, rejoicing, being with the Lord.

He told me, ‘Thank you very much for your help.’ Now, all his children are not caring after him because maybe he is smelly or maybe it is very tiring to take care of a bedridden man. But being the eldest grandson, the eldest grandchild, I was with him all the time. I took care of him. I saw all his children running away when they smelt the foul smell. But I am so determined to help my grandfather. Above all, so determined to share to him the gospel, and for months of sharing, his heart was softened by the Lord, and he believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, and he is my first fruit in the ministry. Such a wonderful experience in my life as a servant of the Lord.

My father is spared from the destruction of all destruction. My grandmother is still alive. She is 98 years old. Pastor Koshy met her two years ago. But she is already demented. This is my worry now.

I kept on sharing to her the gospel many, many years, but she is always strong in her devotion also to Mary, and she would always scold me for sharing the gospel to her. And now the time has come that she is already demented, and it's very difficult for me to share because aside from this, she is very strong in her devotion, she's now demented.

Nevertheless, even Pastor Reggor, when he comes to Bohol, he would always pray to the Lord that even though my grandmother is already demented, ‘But Lord, there's nothing impossible to You. There's nothing impossible to You. You can still give grace to this demented old woman.’ This is now my greatest concern. I don't care if I don't have food. What I care is that the Lord may save my grandmother, who is a 98-year-old, or else she will suffer destruction in hell.

Salvation is of the Lord, and we need only to proclaim the gospel. Without the gospel, there will be no salvation. My grandmother will never be saved because I am her grandson, a pastor, a preacher. No, she must hear the gospel, believe it, receive it, and do it. And so far until now, she is not.

How about you? Do you have loved ones? Do you have friends, neighbours who are so dear to you? And if they are still unbelievers even today, you must have this great sorrow in life. You must look at the destruction that is coming to them. But no more to us. No more to us because we are redeemed. We are redeemed.

There may be nuclear war in the future. Whatever it is, a greatest destruction that the people could imagine—yes. But that's nothing compared to the greatest destruction. We may die of the nuclear war. One continent may perish because of one nuclear weapon. And if you are a Christian serving there, you may die because of this nuclear war, nuclear weapon. It is a destruction—yes. But not total destruction. Because the total destruction is hell. And we are saved. We are redeemed. Praise be unto the Lord.

This makes us truly joyful, grateful, and thankful unto Him. That is why we are all here, gathered together to worship Him.

IV. Fourth Benefit: He Crowneth Us With Lovingkindness And Tender Mercies

The fourth benefit is that He crowneth us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. As we read in Psalm 103:4b: “who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies”. Our Lord has not only redeemed us from destruction, but has also filled our lives with true joy, honour, and pleasure. Our God does not want us to be joyless. He wants us to be joyful.

Joy is such a virtue from the Lord. It is a God-given gift. The devil is so evil that he loves to see his people suffer in Hell. The devil only wants to kill and to destroy. And he loves to see his people being killed and destroyed. Even the angels that were fallen, he loves to see them suffer. That is how evil the devil is.

But the Lord is so loving that He doesn't want us to be joyless but to be joyful, and He can only do that by crowning us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. His lovingkindness and tender mercies are ever upon us, continually drawing us into the love and favour of our God.

If you are a parent, you would know. You would know this. The bird loves the chicks. I read an article in Indonesia. Long, long time ago, there was a forest fire—which is common in Malaysia and Indonesia. When a big piece of forest was burning, the rangers were cleaning it. They're trying to clear the place—lots of trees that were burned. Then as the ranger went near to a certain big trunk that was burning (there were also some small and tiny branches there), he saw something black. And so with his curiosity, he took a stick and poked it. And there he saw the mother bird that was burned. The mother bird was burned because of the great fire.

And when he touched it more, the mother bird was almost turned into ashes. And after that, what he saw is very interesting—chicks. The newly hatched birds were somehow still alive, but maybe along the way, died also. But that's not the point.

The point is this: this mother bird, when all the birds started fleeing because of the fire, she decided to stay, out of her love for her newly hatched chicks—newly hatched eggs that produced chicks, young birds.

If the bird could do that, how about our loving God? God speaks to us, that even the animal can behave like this—to show to us how, above all, the Lord God Almighty whom we serve is able to shower us with lovingkindness and tender mercies.

The mother bird decided to remain on that nest because of her lovingkindness, because of her tender mercies. She could not afford to flee and leave her little ones in the nest. This speaks to us, that God will never abandon us—will never do that to us—but His lovingkindness is upon us.

Even in the worst situation of our dear friend, Pastor Reggor, He's never abandoning Pastor Reggor. We may never understand why He allowed this to happen, but we should trust: His will is perfect. And that is why we should say, "Not my will, but thine, be done." (Luke 22:42)  For He can never be wrong.

When He crowneth us with lovingkindness and tender mercies, it always remains true. Situations that are bad can never make God wrong, because God's way is perfect. If it is His will, it is perfect.

You may be praying for good health, yet you become sick on the following day. If it is the will of God, it is according to His lovingkindness and tender mercies. Even if you die with this sickness, He will embrace you through eternal life. That is lovingkindness and tender mercies.

We have this in the Lord. This is our comfort. This is our assurance. I, being a Filipino, I always see the poverty in the Philippines, and many are suffering. But since I become Christians and they believe in the Lord, I am truly happy. And this is my only concern.

I always try to explain to them that they may be able to comprehend and understand with great conviction that living in this world is not enjoying the comfort of life but preparing for eternity where we are truly rich. We are truly rich in the Lord who crowned us with lovingkindness and tender mercies. For this is not our world. This is our temporary place only. We are going to the place called heaven where we shall enjoy the love of God. In heaven we shall continue to love God.

Here on earth we have faith, hope and love. But in heaven no more faith, for what we believe is already visible to us there. No more hope, for what we hope here is already made reality there in heaven. But there we continue to love. His lovingkindness will continue to exist there and in response we also love Him by worshipping Him.

Oh, such a wonderful presentation of song item by the choir this morning. It touched my heart, one thing. It touched my heart. It moved my heart to be thankful and to be truly grateful for His lovingkindness and tender mercies. We are so blessed to enjoy this benefit.

V. Fifth Benefit: He Satisfieth Our Mouth With Good Things

The fifth is that He satisfieth our mouth with good things as we read in Psalm 103:5a: "Who satisfieth thy mouth with good things." The favour of our God alone can truly satisfy the soul. It alone suits its capacities, supplies its needs both spiritually and physically, and answers its deepest desire.

According to Matthew Henry, who is a great Bible expositor, the providence of the Lord is wonderful. You may be very poor, especially in the Philippines. Yet, because you are in the Lord and because the Lord will never fail to satisfy you with good things, life is joyful, meaningful.

In Isaiah 55:2, Isaiah was used by the Lord God Almighty to proclaim this very touching word: " Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not? hearken diligently unto me, and eat ye that which is good, and let your soul delight itself in fatness.." How blessed are we that by His grace we are enjoying things that truly satisfy us. The Word of God, the words of Jesus Christ, Christ Jesus Himself, the Holy Spirit Himself is the one that satisfaithth us.

What shall it profit a man? He Him shall gain the whole world and yet loses his own soul.

There is a man, there was a man in Bohol, considered to be the richest man in Bohol. He sold all his properties because he is old. He wanted to enjoy all the proceeds of his properties. But now after ten years of selling all his properties, he became old and cannot enjoy life anymore because he cannot walk. He is so rich. He has everything in life. But it is just as if he is very poor.

Though he has a lot of money, but because he cannot walk, because he is an unbeliever, he is always crying day and night. So miserable that he even said — and the one who told me about this is the lawyer of my friend who was caught selling drugs in the Philippines. He is a rich man, member of the church, but he was caught selling drugs. He was put into prison and the mother asked me to hire a lawyer. And because he has no loved ones in Bohol, I do it for him. I hired a lawyer. And this lawyer is a good friend of this rich man in my place.

Day and night the rich man cried because of his agony. His agony is not about being sick, but his agony of wanting to enjoy the money, but he is already sick and old. And he said, even I am willing to give one half of my money to the poor as long as — with a condition — that I will become young again. What a miserable wish.

And so I asked the lawyer, “Really? He did ask that? He did say that?” And the lawyer told me, yes. Out of his great depression, he wanted to escape this miserable life — just sitting down there in the wheelchair, a lot of money yet cannot enjoy the money. It is just simply considered as he is also without money. He may have money but cannot use the money, cannot enjoy it. He’s always crying because of that miserable situation.

And he said, I want to become young again. Even I am willing to give one half of my wealth with a condition that I will be young. The money that he has satisfaith him not.

So Isaiah was used by God: “Wherefore do ye spend money for that which is not bread? and your labour for that which satisfieth not?” (Is 55:2) There is nothing that can satisfy a man in this world except the word of God. Except His promise of eternal life.

Unless you serve the Lord with joy and great zeal, you will never have satisfaction in life. You will never attain the life of being satisfied in the Lord. “But godliness with contentment is great gain” (1 Tim 6:6), according to the Apostle Paul. This is what the Lord wants for His people, that they may benefit from this wonderful truth from the Bible.

Eat that is something bread. Do not eat those that will not satisfy you. The world will never satisfy us. I am not saying you will not go to school anymore because you don’t want to be a doctor because you need to be a preacher. No. You may be a doctor. You may be a lawyer. Praise be unto the Lord. But above all, for being a lawyer, for being a doctor, because you are born again, the Word of God is the basis of your satisfaction, contentment, and rejoicing in life.

VI. Sixth Benefit: He Renews Our Strength

Now, let us proceed to the sixth and the last benefit. It is: He renews our strength, as we read in Psalm 103:5: “So that thy youth is renewed like the eagle’s.” When God, by the graces and comforts of His Spirit, recovers His people from their decays and fills them with new life and joy — which is to them the earnest of eternal life and joy, according to Matthew Henry.

Polycarp, the man who was persecuted by the Roman emperor, died as an old man, but he died in the Lord. The Roman emperor asked him to recant his faith in the Lord. But he said, ‘For more than 80 years the Lord has been so good to me. How can I blaspheme His name?’ And Polycarp died being persecuted by the Roman emperor. And he died as an old man, being persecuted. But the time will come that this old man Polycarp shall be resurrected.

This is our hope. Every Christian—whether old or young—we shall be resurrected. And when we shall be resurrected, the Lord will restore our bodies that we will become young like the youth, like the eagle. He will restore our body. The time will come in our life that we will be resurrected. Though a sick man may die, his body may rot in the grave, but the day will come that he will be resurrected and that decayed body will become born again. The Lord will make it beautiful again, that you will never feel old. You will never be young. No, you will never get sickness. That’s the beauty of our resurrected, glorified body.

In this world, we see decays. It's part of life. Ageing is part of life. Decay is our destiny. We shall go to the ground and be rotten over there. But the Lord who said, "I am the resurrection, and the life: he that believeth in me, though he were dead, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25) And when we shall rise from the grave to be united with our soul, to be glorified—that is a perfect body. Young, renewed strength, we shall never get sick. No more sickness. We are glorified in the Lord.

Now, knowing that the Lord has bestowed so many benefits upon us, we shall not remain silent, but give Him thanks and render unto Him what is rightfully due to Him. That is why the psalmist says, ‘Oh, I am a man blessed by the Lord with many benefits. What shall I do? What can I give unto Him?’ He was so blessed by the Lord. And so he said, ‘This cannot be. I cannot be silent. I must do something in response. I need to offer Him a sign of my gratitude and thanksgiving unto Him because of His many benefits.’

Yes, as Christians, the Lord gives us many benefits. Like the psalmist, we enjoy them. We can never remain silent, but we need to do something. Psalm 116:17: "I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving." Serve the Lord with gladness. That is the only thing that we can repay Him with. To give our life for the Lord's glory. To offer our life as a living sacrifice.

You may not be a pastor. You may be a doctor. But as you do your job as a doctor, above all, you have the greatest duty in life, which is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. And that is your greatest duty that you can give to the Lord in response—as payment of all the benefits that He showered unto us. What is the chief end of man? The chief end of man is to glorify God and enjoy Him forever. This is what we can give back unto the Lord.

He gave us talent—give it back to Him. Use it for the glory of God. Your life must be a vessel and a channel of blessings that it will redound to the glory of God. That’s all that we can give.

The psalmist said, after he asked, ‘What can I render unto the Lord for all His benefits toward me?’ He also answered himself: “I will offer to thee the sacrifice of thanksgiving, and will call upon the name of the Lord." (Psalm 116:17)

As you received mercies in the past, today you receive His mercy. Continue to rely upon Him. Tomorrow, you need His grace and mercy. The next day, you need His grace and mercy. In the years to come, you need His grace and mercy. Call upon Him. Never stop calling upon Him.

You know, I got married late. I was already 44 when I got married. And when I got married, I praised the Lord for granting me a daughter. And every time my daughter says, ‘Papa, Papa, buy this for me. Papa, Papa, give this to me’, I enjoy watching her coming to me asking. I praise the Lord for His provisions in my life that I may be able to provide for my daughter. Without the Lord, I don’t have anything in this life, in this world. But I saw my daughter coming to me with great faith—that I can have this confidence to come to my Father and ask Him something.

I am so delighted—even the Lord—as you offer your life to Him and as you continue to call upon Him for mercies and for grace. Just as He is faithful in providing and sustaining you yesterday, He is faithful in sustaining you today. He will be faithful in sustaining you tomorrow and the next day. Come, go to Him. Be bold. Call upon His name. It is the Lord’s joy to see you coming unto Him, approaching Him, displaying great faith and confidence and trust that He is able to provide for us—that He is the only one who can provide for us. It is so wonderful.

How can we bless the Lord? "Bless the Lord, O my soul, and all that is within me." When the Lord blesses us, He gives to us something that we don’t have. But when we bless the Lord, we cannot give Him something that He doesn’t have. He is the owner of everything. He has everything in being God. But how can we bless Him? The only way we can bless Him is to return to Him what we have from Him.

If He gave you talent and ability, use that for the glory of His name. If He blesses you with material blessings, use it for the glory of His name. Even your life must shine. "Let your light shine before men that they may see your good works." I may be a poor Christian, yet the Lord is still welcoming me to give blessing to Him by shining my life in my neighbourhood.

If you are rich, you can give to the Lord your wealth—for the glory of His name, for the furtherance of His kingdom, for mission works. And for poor Christians in the Philippines, they may not have material wealth to offer to the Lord, but they have ability and talent to sing. But even if I don’t have the ability to sing, even if I don’t have money to give, if I have a life that is a God-given life—it must light, it must shine—that the grace of God may be seen in my life. That is acceptable to the Lord. It is pleasing in the sight of the Lord, and the Lord may receive it with all His heart. And we can rely on Him that this is my greatest service I can give to the Lord.

The Lord will never force a poor Christian in Bohol to give financially. But the Lord is inviting him to offer his life. A poor Boholano Christian may faithfully preach the word of God and share it to his neighbourhood and shine before men: ‘I am a Christian. I love the word of God. I obey the word of God.’ And the blessedness of his life is visible in the neighbourhood, and the people see the good works that the Lord is doing in his life. The neighbourhood will glorify God. And that is the greatest thing you can repay the Lord with.

Repay the Lord according to the capacity He has given unto you. It is your greatest duty being a person who received benefits from the Lord.

As an Australian, I believe you enjoy the benefits from the government. Pastor Paul always tells me—even the street kids, even the poor people in the street receive benefits from the government. Wow, how I wish the Philippine government was like that. But maybe it takes time. We are a developing country still.

But God, as a governor of this world, He wants you to experience all His goodness, that you may repay Him with your life—a life given to Him to serve Him, to glorify Him, and to be a blessing to all.

Let us pray Lord, we are grateful and truly thankful for all the good things that You have given unto us. Not more so of material things, but above all of the spiritual things, which are the things that are mentioned by the psalmist in the book of Psalm 103. Truly, we are forgiven. Truly, we are redeemed. Truly, we are healed. Truly, O Lord, we are renewed day by day. Truly, we are satisfied with good things. And even, Lord, we are crowned with lovingkindness and tender mercies.

No country, no government in this world can compare to this. Even America can never compare to the benefits that You have given to Thy people. We are recipients of Thy benefits, and we are here to give You honour, praise, glory, and adoration. And with thanksgiving, O Lord, we serve You. Help us, enable us to serve You and use our life, O Lord, for the glory of Thy name.

Bless Bethel BP Church continually. Bless Pastor Paul and the session. Bless all the members, O Lord, that they may be truly joyful and thankful in the Lord.

This we all ask and pray in Jesus’ name. Amen.

THE BOOK OF PSALMS

Morning Devotion 1

Morning Devotion 1

Psalm 1:1

Wonderful Words of Life

Wonderful Words of Life

Psalm 1:1-3

Morning Devotion 2

Morning Devotion 2

Psalm 1:2

Morning Devotion 3

Morning Devotion 3

Psalm 1:3-6

Having Confidence In Times Of Trouble

Having Confidence In Times Of Trouble

Psalm 3

Pray with Your Eyes Open

Pray with Your Eyes Open

Psalm 5:1-12

Message 3: The Test of Trust

Message 3: The Test of Trust

Psalm 11:1-7

Morning Devotion 2: Psalm 13

Morning Devotion 2: Psalm 13

Psalm 13

Message 4: The Life of Trust

Message 4: The Life of Trust

Psalm 20:1-9

Learn To Deal With Depression

Learn To Deal With Depression

Psalm 42

Dealing with Depression

Dealing with Depression

Psalm 42

God Is Our Refuge

God Is Our Refuge

Psalm 46

Morning Devotion 3: Psalm 46

Morning Devotion 3: Psalm 46

Psalm 46

True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 1]

True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 1]

Psalm 51:1-9

Morning Devotion 1: The Joy of Thy Forgiveness

Morning Devotion 1: The Joy of Thy Forgiveness

Psalm 51:1-9

True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 2]

True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 2]

Psalm 51:10-12

The Joy of Salvation

The Joy of Salvation

Psalm 51:10-12

Morning Devotion 4: The Joy of Thy Salvation

Morning Devotion 4: The Joy of Thy Salvation

Psalm 51:10-19

True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 3]

True Confession, Repentance and Restoration [Part 3]

Psalm 51:13-19

O Come, Let Us Worship the Lord

O Come, Let Us Worship the Lord

Psalm 59:1-11

Hear My Cry, O God!

Hear My Cry, O God!

Psalm 61:1-8

The Man that is Blessed of the Lord

The Man that is Blessed of the Lord

Psalm 65:4

Wilt Thou Not Revive Us Again?

Wilt Thou Not Revive Us Again?

Psalm 85:1-13

Teach Us to Number Our Days

Teach Us to Number Our Days

Psalm 90:10-12

Morning Devotion 1: Psalm 90:10-12

Morning Devotion 1: Psalm 90:10-12

Psalm 90:10-12

The Lord Is King

The Lord Is King

Psalm 93

Christian Parenting

Christian Parenting

Psalm 127:3-5; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 6:32; Psalm 113:9; Psalm 128:3

What Shall We Give Unto The Lord For All His Benefits Towards Us?

What Shall We Give Unto The Lord For All His Benefits Towards Us?

Psalm 116:12

Morning Devotion 2: Obedience to God’s Word

Morning Devotion 2: Obedience to God’s Word

Psalm 119:1-8

Morning Devotion 3: The Cleansing Power of God’s Word

Morning Devotion 3: The Cleansing Power of God’s Word

Psalm 119:9-16

I Was Glad

I Was Glad

Psalm 122:1

Christian Parenting

Christian Parenting

Psalm 127:3-5; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 6:32; Psalm 113:9; Psalm 128:3

Message 7: What are children for? Heritage of godly seed for Christ!

Message 7: What are children for? Heritage of godly seed for Christ!

Psalm 127:3, Malachi 2:15, Ephesians 6:4

Christian Parenting

Christian Parenting

Psalm 127:3-5; Matthew 10:37; Matthew 6:32; Psalm 113:9; Psalm 128:3

A Prayer in the Cave

A Prayer in the Cave

Psalm 142