CUMBERLAND PRESBYTERIAN

 

BENEFITS IN SERVING THE LORD

Giving reverence to God our Creator, Jesus Christ our Savior, and the Holy Ghost our Comforter and Guide. To our Pastor, Dr. Herring, the ministers of the gospel, the official staff, my two sisters, my mother’s best friend, and the choir, let’s give them a hand. You know, I was sitting here minding my own business and enjoying myself, when you go through some stuff, it doesn’t take much to get you going. Especially when you look back over your life and see where God has brought you, he has brought us a mighty long way. The old folks used to say, “That it had not been for the Lord on our side, where would we be?”
 

I thank God for this opportunity. We have come to the last Sunday of this year. One day, this life will be all over. And I can testify that I will wear a crown. He promised me that he has a crown of life waiting for me. I tell everybody I’m like Popeye, “I am what I am, and that’s all that I am.” What you see is what you get. I can’t be something that I’m not. My mind is bad; I mess around, thinking about one thing, and end up doing something else. I can only be who I am.
Our scripture comes from Psalm 103:1-5 (read aloud), and the subject is “The Benefits of Serving the Lord,” taken from Psalm 103:3. There are benefits for serving the Lord; the old church used to sing, “Serving the Lord Will Pay off Afterwhile.” I grew up in the country, and we didn’t have much, but the Lord was good to us. Growing up, we had to depend on government benefits. We were so glad to get commodities. You would walk down to a certain place to get a box of cheese, powdered milk, pork, and beef. Those were the benefits the government gave Mama to help her raise us. After the benefits of commodities, we got the benefits of having welfare. Mama would get that little check, and we were so happy that we might get a moon pie, a honey bun, or something to benefit us. Then we got food stamps (applaud). Mama didn’t have any money, so she would give all of us a dollar in food stamps, and we would walk down to the store and buy banana kisses, so we could get change to buy washing powder and wash our clothes. Those were the benefits of the government giving us.
 

If you don’t mind, I was talking to a young lady once, and she asked, "What kind of benefits do you have?" So, I reached into my billfold and took out my Medicare card. These are the benefits I have; we look for benefits on the job, not while we are working, but after we retire. We have benefits with house insurance, not that we need it, but just in case something happens, we have it.
In our text we see that David knows God has benefits. If you know the story of David, you know he messed up and tried to cover it up. Then God came along and cleaned up what David had messed up; that is the kind of God we serve. David had the benefit of knowing that God would clean up what we mess up. David went to the Lord and said, “Create in me a clean heart and renew the right spirit within me.” Psalm 51:10. David knew he had benefits from serving the Lord. Church, I stopped by to tell you that there are benefits in serving the Lord. It might not seem like anything down here, but when you come down to quit this walk of life, there are benefits to knowing you have a Savior on your side. David said I will bless the Lord, oh my soul, and all that is within me, bless his holy name. David knew there were benefits in serving the Lord. When we mess up, folks hang us out to dry and leave us by ourselves. We can't forget how good God has been to us. In a familiar song, the lady sang, “We ought to thank God for the mountains, we ought to thank him for the val-leys, we ought to thank him for the storms He has brought us through. If we never had a problem, we wouldn’t know that God could solve them.”
 

There are benefits in serving God. In verse three, it says: “Who forgives all thine iniquities; who heals all thy dis-eases;” and we all have iniquities, for we all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. I don’t know about you, but God knows everything; you can't go too high that God is not there, and you can’t go too low that God is not there. If we mess up, all we have to do is ask God to straighten us up. And he will straighten us out. And he said, "He heals all our diseases." Have you ever been sick? And the doctor said he doesn’t know what you have, and God just came through and healed you. I'm a living witness; God will do it if you turn it over to him.
Just a few years ago, the doctor told me I had an incurable disease. Today, I thank God that things are as good as they are. I may not have all the sense, but I thank God for the sense I have. Does anybody here love the Lord? He re-deemed our life from destruction. I don’t know about you, but I, on my way to hell, wasn’t fit to live and wasn’t fit to die. But because of God and his benefits, he reached way
down and picked me up. He put my feet on solid ground, and He's alright. Has anybody ever tried him? I know he’s a way maker, he’s a burden bearer, and a bridge over troubled water; there are benefits to serving God.
 

You can have State Farm Insurance, you can have Alfa Insurance, you can have Allstate Insurance, but you'd better have the benefit of having a relationship with God. One of these days, when this life is over, you need the benefit of knowing you have somebody to stand in your place when you quit this walk of life. If you don’t know who He is, let me tell you what kind of benefits you need. His name is Jesus, Mary’s baby, Joachim’s, grandson, according to the (Sacred Scriptures), Martha’s friend, John’s first cousin, my rock in a weary land, and a shelter in the time of a storm. The Bible said He went out on Calvary, and they stretched Him wide and hung Him high, and He hung his head in the locks of his shoulder on that rugged cross and died and was buried. Early that Sunday morning, He got up with all power in His hands. Do you know him? Don’t fool me if you know him, get up on your feet and give him some praise. I don’t live in a big house, but I thank him for a roof over my head. Isn’t he alright? Isn’t the Lord alright? Say yes!
 

 

Reverend Ronald Jones is a member of Macedonia CP Church in America in Decatur, AL.

He will soon start the process to become a licensed Minister in the Cumberland Presbyterian Church in America.