Welcome to
Zion Bread of Life Christian Church

Sunday, 23rd October 2022

Rev Daniel Xi An Poon

Psalm 103:1-5

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 forgives all your iniquities, who heals all your diseases, who redeems your life from destruction, who crowns you with lovingkindness and tender mercies, who satisfies your mouth with good things, so that your youth is renewed like the eagle’s.

In God’s eyes, everything is very good, but as humans, we make things complicated. God has already given us a simple plan for our lives, He wants us to receive His blessings, and it’s not as hard as we think. It’s all about how we look at the things in front of us, we use our past experiences, our knowledge, our values, etc. to make judgement. But God does not want us to worry, we just need to follow God and we can find the way out. A lot of time, we don’t see the way because we don’t really follow God, and even if we see the way, we don’t believe it is the way. When David wrote Psalm 103, it was when he was old and had everything, then he realised that it was so simple to receive God’s blessings.

To Praise God’s Name

David learnt that he should not live by the people’s recognition and expectation, even David’s own father forgot about him when Samuel came to their house to anoint the king. But God remembered David, and He anointed David when no one thought he was the person to be the king. When David faced the giant Goliath, he knew he was not using his own strength, but by the strength of God. David knew God’s Name has the Power, therefore he always praise the Name of God. We should also praise and proclaim the Name of God. There are so many Names for God, and every Name of God is powerful. When we proclaim the Name of God, we don’t need to worry and be afraid, and everything will be simple for us to live by.

To Remember God’s Grace

We all have body, soul and spirit, and we have needs in all our body, soul and spirit. What body needs is simple: food, water, shelter, health… God can look after all of these needs for us. He created us and He has prepared everything we need for us, He will not leave us by ourselves. But behind our body, there is our soul, which includes our emotions, our mind, and our will. A lot of people don’t know how to feed their souls and how to satisfy their souls. God has also prepared this for us, when we have a close relationship with God, then God can fill our soul. On the other hand, when we don’t have this intimate relationship with God, then something else will come a fill our soul. It’s just like the devil in the Garden of Eden, it lured Adam and Eve to sin, then they turned away from God. The further away we are from God, then the more empty we will feel inside our soul.

The temptation will always be there, but when we come closer to God, then we can overcome all these temptations. God knows our weaknesses and God knows that our souls can be easily tempted, therefore God already told us in the Bible, to stay away from false gods, and to keep His commandments. God has chosen us, and He wants to bless us. What God wants is very simple, for us to connect with Him, to let Him be our head, and to receive His blessings. We must remember God’s grace, everything He has done for us in the past, every time He has healed us, and every time He has forgiven us.

To Enter God’s Blessing

God will satisfy our mouth with good things, so that our youth will be renewed like the eagle’s. Are we willing to eat whatever God feeds us? The Israelites complained about the food in the wilderness, and they did not see how God has given them abundant blessings. But Caleb knew this secret, he knew God will bless him, he knew to hold onto God, and he was the only other first generation Israelite entering the Promised Land aside from Joshua. Follow God is very simple, the Word of God is the light of our path and the lamp of our feet, it’s really not complicated. But we tend to make it hard, we think that this is too good to be true, and we refuse to believe that by following God, we can receive blessings.

Are we willing to make it simple? Or are we following the worldly values and past experiences, which make our lives complicated? The Gospel for us is simple, may this New Year be a blessing for all of us.