OUR RIGHT-NOW BENEFITS

 

 

Psalm 68:19

 

Prayer

 

Concerning our right-now benefits, I want to discuss five things:

          1. The Giver.

          2. The receiver.

          3. The frequency.

          4. The magnitude.

          5. And some right-now benefits.

 

1st---The Giver.

David said, “Blessed be the LORD . . .”

 

“Lord” means “Master” or “Owner.”

It signifies authority.

 

It refers to God;

The Creator and Ruler of all things;

 

The I Am who I Am that appeared unto Moses;

The Father of Lights that James talked about.

 

He said, “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh  

down from the Father of lights” (James 1:17).

So we’re talking about benefits that come from God;

 

Benefits that no amount of money can buy;

Benefits that we often take for granted.

 

One time, King Saul tried to kill David.

He had David on the run;

 

Hiding in caves;

Troubled.

 

David was depressed.

But he started thinking about all the times that God protected him;

 

All the times that God brought him out of difficult situations.

He said, “O taste and see that the Lord is good:”

 

“Blessed is the man that trusteth in him” (Psa. 34:8).

The giant Goliath mocked David.

 

But David trusted God.

And he had exactly what he needed to defeat Goliath.

 

Wicked men mocked Noah.

But Noah trusted God.

 

And Noah had exactly what he needed when the floods came.

God gives benefits to the faithful.

 

2nd---The receiver.

David said, “Blessed be the Lord who daily loadeth US . . .”

 

“US” refers to those that love Him;

To the people of God.

 

A poet asked:

 

          “Why do I meet to hear his voice,

          And enter where there’s room;

 

          While thousands make a wretched choice,

          And rather starve than come?

 

He was asking, “Why have I decided to obey God when thousands have      

decided to rebel against Him?”

Why have I decided to attend Church and feed on the Word of God when    

thousands have decided to starve to death?

 

Why do I have benefits that thousands don’t have?

The answer is found in one of my favorite verses of Scripture, “Eye hath not          

seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the       

things which God hath prepared for them that love him” (I Cor. 2:9).

 

“Blessed is the man that endureth temptation:”

“For when he is tried, he shall receive the crown of life, which the Lord hath

promised to them that love him” (James 1:12).

 

“Hearken, my beloved brethren, Hath not God chosen the poor of this world         

rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them         

that love him” (James 2:5)?

God has set a course before us.

 

If we will follow that course, we have benefits that the lost don’t have.

3rd---The frequency.

 

David said, “Blessed be the Lord who DAILY loadeth us . . .”

We often give gifts to loved ones on special occasions, their birthday,

graduation, wedding and things like that.

 

But God gives gifts to us every day.

A friend who recently lost her husband said, “I woke up this morning and     

thanked God that I’m alive;”

 

“That I can breathe:”

“That I can work.”

 

I replied, “It’s a blessing to be able to work.”

“I see people in the nursing home all the time that can’t even go outside.”

 

Another friend said, “I don’t have an education.”

“But God gave me the ability to work with my hands.”

 

“I’ve always had a job.”

“And I’ve always been able to earn a living.”

 

We pray the Lord’s prayer, “Give us this day our daily bread” (Luke 6:11).

And it’s there every day.

 

Rachel and I went to the nursing home this week.

We saw people that couldn’t even feed themselves.

 

I thank God that I can feed myself;

That I can sleep in my own bed at night.

 

4th---The magnitude.

David said, “Blessed be the Lord who daily LOADETH us . . .”

 

“Loadeth” speaks of God’s generosity.

How many times has He saved your life?

 

How many days has He added to your life?

We don’t know.

 

But we know this.

God is always looking for ways to bless us (II Chron. 16:9).

 

A mission team went to Mexico.

Some thieves spotted them renting a van.

 

The thieves decided to set up a roadblock and rob the mission team the next day.

That morning the police went to the place where the mission team was staying.

 

They confiscated the van.

They were driving it away when the thieves sprung their trap.

 

It was a bad day for the thieves because they jumped the police instead of the         

mission team.

When the dust settled, the thieves were in jail.

 

The mission team had the van.

Some of the police got saved.

 

And God received the glory for protecting His people.

5th---I want to discuss some right-now benefits.

 

Our 1st right-now benefit is access to God in prayer.

Paul said, “Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we     

may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16).

 

God is on a throne of grace, love and mercy.

He encourages us to come boldly to Him in time of need.

 

Following the Civil War, a sad looking Confederate soldier was sitting near    

the White House.

A young boy approached.

 

He asked, “Why do you look so sad?”

The soldier said, “I’ve been trying to get in to see President Lincoln.”

 

“I want to tell him that my farm has been unfairly seized by Union soldiers.”

“But every time I try to enter the White House, the guards stop me.”

 

“They cross their bayonets.”

“They turn me away.”

 

The boy said, “Follow me.”

They approached the entrance to the White House.

 

The guards snapped to attention;

Stepped back;

 

Opened the door.

This boy was President Lincoln’s son Tad.

 

The soldier gained access to President Lincoln through his son.

One of our right now benefits is access to God through His Son.

 

God is not only concerned about our salvation.

He’s also concerned about our problems.

 

And no matter what our problems are, He promises to hear us.

It’s good to pray in Church.

 

But David prayed in the field.

Jonan prayed in the belly of a whale.

 

Moses prayed in the desert.

Paul prayed in jail.

 

Philip was on his deathbed.

We have access to God wherever we are.

 

Our 2nd right-now benefit is access to forgiveness, cleansing, mercy and       

pardon.

John said, “If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our     

sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness” (I Jn. 1:9).

 

Isaiah said, “Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his      

thoughts:”

“And let him return unto the LORD, and he will have mercy upon him;”

 

“And to our God, for he will ABUNDANTLY pardon” (Isa. 55:7).

It’s our nature to sin.

 

And it’s God’s nature to forgive.

Forgive means “Let go.”

 

God lets go of our sins because Jesus died for us.

Abundant means “bountiful,” “profuse,” “more than enough.”

 

The death of Jesus was more than enough for God to let go of our sins.

Billy Graham was driving through a small town.

 

He was going ten miles an hour over the speed limit.

A policeman pulled him over.

 

He said, “You will have to appear in court tomorrow.”

Billy Graham went to court.

 

The judge recognized him.

He asked, “How do you plead?”

 

Billy Graham said, “Guilty.”

The judge said, “I’m fining you ten dollars, one dollar for each mile over the speed limit.”

 

“Your fine must be paid.”

“But I’m going to pay it for you.”

 

He pulled out a ten dollar bill;

Attached it to the ticket;

 

And asked Billy Graham, “Will you allow me to treat you to dinner.”

That’s one of our right now benefits: The abundant forgiveness of sins.

 

I don’t care what you’ve done.

If you’re a Christian,

 

And you will confess your sins while you’re here today,

You will walk out of this Church a forgiven person.

 

Our 3rd right-now benefit is that peace of God that passes all understanding.

Paul said, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and      

supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.”

 

“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your      

hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7).

Henry Blackaby wrote a book called “Experiencing God.”

 

 He said, “Becoming a Christian doesn’t make our problems go away.”

“But it gives us an Advocate to whom we can take every concern.”

 

He said, “‘Casting our cares’” is a choice we make.”

“It means consciously handing over our anxiety to Jesus.”

 

“And allowing Him to carry the weight of our problems.”

Jesus said, “In this world, we will have tribulation.”

 

He also said we can choose not to be troubled.

We can choose to trust God;

 

Choose to believe that God is still on the throne.

And prayer changes things.

 

Great ships move across the Atlantic Ocean.

Violent storms cause great waves that bounce these ships up and down like

little toys.

 

The bouncing ships move past huge icebergs.

These icebergs glide along peacefully.

 

Most of every iceberg is below the surface of the water.

And for the most part, they’re unaffected by the giant waves splashing against        

them.

 

That’s one of our right-now benefits;

Stability when the storms come;

 

The ability to endure problems.

And still have that inner peace.

 

Our 4th right-now benefit is the guidance of the Holy Spirit.

Jesus said, “It is expedient for you that I go away:”

 

“For if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you;”

“But if I depart, I will send him unto you.”

 

“And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness,        

and of judgment” (Jn. 16:7-8).

He added, “when the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth”

(Jn. 16:13).

Jesus knew that He would soon die.

He also knew that we need help.

 

He said, “I’m sending the Holy Spirit.”

The Holy Spirit will do two things: 1) Convict the world of sin, and 2) Guide

you into all truth.

 

If the Holy Spirit didn’t help us, we would sin and not care.

But the Holy Spirit won’t let us sin and not care.

 

If the Holy Spirit didn’t help us, we would believe the Devil’s lies.

But the Holy Spirit helps us recognize the Devil’s lies.

 

A chemistry teacher told his students, “You can put anything you want on one        

sheet of paper.”

“You can bring it to your final exam.”

 

One student brought a sheet with notes.

But they were so small he had to use a magnifying glass.

 

One student brought a sheet covered with formulas.

One student brought a plain sheet of paper.

 

He placed it on the floor beside his desk.

Then, a graduate student came.

 

He stood on that piece of paper.

He told the student when he was making a mistake.

 

He told him the right answers.

That’s one of our right-now benefits.

 

The Holy Spirit tells us when we’re making a mistake.

He guides us in ways that are right.

 

Our 5th right-now benefit is adoption into the family of God.

There are three ways to enter into a family.

 

We can be born into a family;

Adopted into a family;

 

Or marry into a family.

Concerning Jesus, Paul said, “When the fulness of the time was come, God  

sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law,”

 

“To redeem them that were under the law, that we might receive the adoption        

of sons” (Gal. 4:4-5).

Jesus was born into the family of God.

 

But God wanted to redeem a people that He could adopt into His family.

This is shouting ground.

 

Why?

Because an adopted child has all the rights that a natural born child has.

 

When God adopted us into His family, we received all the rights that Jesus    

has.

That’s what Paul meant when he said we are heirs of God, “Joint heirs with   

Christ” (Rom. 8:17).

 

He said, Christ’s seed are Abraham’s seed, “and heirs according to the         

promise” (Gal. 3:29).

God has adopted us.

 

 And given us every benefit that Jesus has.

A children’s class had a new Sunday School teacher.

 

She asked each child, “How old are you?”

She had two brothers in her class.

 

Both brothers said, “Seven years old.”

The teacher was puzzled.

 

“How can both of you be seven years old when you’re brothers, but not      

twins?”

They said, “One of us is adopted.”

 

“Which one?”

They said, “Mommy and daddy said they can’t remember.”

 

Jesus was born into the family of God.

We were adopted into the family of God.

 

It’s difficult to understand.

But one of our right-now benefits is the fact that God loves us just as much as        

He loves Jesus.

 

Our 6th right-now benefit is everlasting life.

Jesus said, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son,         

that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting          

life” (Jn. 3:16).

Some of you will remember a famous comedian named W. C. Fields.

He claimed to be an atheist.

 

He was at the point of death.

A friend visited him.

 

W. C. Fields was reading the Bible.

His friend asked, “If you’re an atheist, why are you reading the Bible?”

 

He replied, “I’m looking for loopholes.”

John said, “this is the record, that God hath given to us eternal life, and this  

life is in his Son.”

 

“He that hath the Son hath life;:

“And he that hath not the Son of God hath not life” (I Jn. 5:11-12).

 

John didn’t say, “God will give to us eternal life.”

He said, “God hath given to us eternal life.”

 

We already have it.

We received it the instant we received Jesus into our heart.

 

It’s one of our right-now benefits.

There are no loopholes.

 

God cannot lie.

Our 7th right-now benefit is that Jesus is always with us.

 

He said, “Lo, I am with you always” (Matt. 28:20).

“I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Heb. 13:5).

We live part of our life on a mountain top.

And part of our life in a lonesome valley;

 

Part of our life on sunny days when everything seems like they’re going good.

And part of our life on cloudy days when everything seems like they’re going         

wrong.

 

But whether we’re going through good times,

Or bad.

 

We can confidently say, “The Lord is with me 24/7.”

He’s “A friend that sticketh closer than a brother” (Prov. 18:24).

 

In closing, we’re all free to accept or reject Jesus.

If you haven’t accepted Jesus, you’re like a person who has no benefits, no  

insurance, no retirement, no hope for the future.

 

You need to do something about that.

If you have accepted Jesus, you’re a child of God;

 

A beneficiary of His covenants.

You have more than 7,000 promises that have to be fulfilled right now or in   

the future.

 

Would you like for God to make 7,000 promises to you?

If you’re saved, He already has.