The company I work for has on it's human resources website my total benefit package.  It tells me how much I actually cost the company to be their employee.  It also tells me how much I am entitled to.  They add up things like my health insurance, vacation time, retirement savings and of course my salary.  When it is all said and done, on paper it looks like I am doing pretty good.  However, to me many of those benefits seem intangible.  In other words they seem nebulous, imaginary and irrelevant.  I say that, because even thought they share in the expenses of health insurance and matching contributions for retirement it costs me money to participate!  It's like they are telling me they are giving me a good deal, but my check book doesn't indicate it. 

What if I told you that you could have a benefit plan that was so fantastic that you would take the lower pay to get the excellent benefits?  What if these benefits came to at no cost to you?  These benefits are not cheap, they are top of the line benefits, but they have been paid for up front and they are totally available for your consumption.  Would you be interested?  

Psalm 103 lists several benefits that come with being a child of God. It says: "Bless the LORD oh my soul, and forget not all his benefits."

THE #1 BENEFIT OF BEING A CHILD OF GOD IS GOD FORGIVES ALL YOUR INIQUITY.
Iniquity is a fancy word for sin, moral evil to be exact.  God gives to all His children forgiveness for their sins.  The Lord is compassionate and gracious, slow to anger and abounding in mercy and love.  As far as the east is from the west so has the Lord removed our transgressions from us!  What this means for us is that God does forgives and forgets!  He doesn't hold a grudge against us, and understands our own short-comings. When we mess up and fall short of what we know is right God forgives us, if we will confess our sins to Him.  I Jn 1:9 says "IF we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."  Doesn't matter what you have done, where you been, how messed up your life is, God's forgave it all when Jesus died on the cross for our sins.   Happy is the man who's iniquities are not counted against him!  Now therefore there is no condemnation to them that are in Christ Jesus!  God does not condemn you, on the contrary, He lovingly restores you when you come to Him and seek forgiveness.  What a wonderful benefit!  Forgiveness of all your sins!

THE #2 BENEFIT OF BEING A CHILD OF GOD IS: GOD HEALS ALL OF YOUR DISEASES
One of the names of God is Jehovah-Rophe which means The LORD is our Healer.  (Ex 15:26)  If we are speaking of medical benefits, it doesn't get much better than this.   When Jesus came to this earth He demonstrated all power and authority over sickness and disease.  I do not profess to know the mind of God when it comes to healing.  He knows what is best, but I do know that In my life, I have survived two bouts of spinal meningitis!  Once when I was 5 weeks old and again when I was 15.   Countless times, I have seen the hand of God intervene in people's lives when it comes to healing.  But honestly, I have seen some not get healed the way I hoped that they would. But God makes us a promise here in Psalm 103 that God is indeed our source of healing.  I seek His healing any time I need it, but I also realize that His grace is sufficient for me and in my weakness and infirmities I am made strong and the love and power of Christ is seen in through my sufferings.   But here the LORD tells us plainly that He heals all of our diseases.  God is not a man that He should lie, so I trust Him in that, and so far so good.

THE #3 BENEFIT OF BEING A CHILD OF GOD IS:  HE REDEEMS YOUR LIFE FROM THE PIT
The authorized version renders this word "pit" as destruction.  When I was a kid we used to collect bottles and return them to the store for a nickle a piece.  We would redeem those bottles for what they were worth.  The word redeem means to "buy back" or to pay a ransom.  Many of us just like sheep have strayed away from God's plan and purpose for our life and wound up in a pit destined for destruction with little or no hope of getting out of that pit!  I recall being a pit of despair so deep that I thought to myself "what has become of me?  I can't handle this any more!  I wish I could just die! and be released from all this pain."  While we were in this pit of destruction and despair the LORD heard our cries for help, and He redeemed us from the pit!  Some of you can attest to the goodness of God in this regard.  I know I can from personal experience.  However, if you are in the "Pit" this day, cry out to the LORD and forget not His benefits!  He said He would redeem your life from the pit!  Jesus came into this world to give His life as a ransom for many.  He bore your sorrows in His own body, so that you might be free!  God loves you with an everlasting love, and He wants to redeem your life from the pit of destruction.  He is all about restoration.  He fixes things and people and makes them better and stronger than they ever where before they came to Him.  God will redeem your life from the pit!

THE #4 Benefit OF BEING A CHILD OF GOD IS:
 CROWNING YOU WITH LOVE & COMPASSION   
The word crowning means to "encircle." God encompasses you, surrounds you with His love and compassion.  For as high as the heavens are above the earth so great is His love for those who fear Him.  The Bible tells us that nothing can ever separate us from the Love of God which is Christ Jesus our Lord. His love is unfailing and His mercies are new every morning.  You could never wear out the Love of God.  You could never drive Him to the point where He would say to you or me, "I don't love you anymore."  His love is so great and deep and wide that we can not even comprehend the depths of His love for us.  If you ever think that God doesn't love you, just look for a cross.  The old rugged cross is a symbol of love to us, that says, "While we were still dead in our sins, Christ died for us." There is no greater love than  this than to lay down one's life for his friends.  Jesus counted you as a friend and willingly laid down His life and suffered the shame so that we could be reconciled to God and experience the depth and power of God's love in our life.  What a benefit!! The magnificent love of God!  Readily available to you and me.

THE #5 BENEFIT OF BEING A CHILD OF GOD IS: 
HE SATISFIES YOUR DESIRES WITH GOOD THINGS.

Psalm 37:4 says "Delight yourself, also in the LORD and He will give you the desires of your heart."  Selah!  Think about that for a moment!  What is it that you want?  You have not because you ask not!  But, be careful what  you ask for if you ask selfishly you may not get what you want, or worse yet, you might get it, and it turns out that is not what you really wanted.  God wants to give  you good things.  If your earthly fathers/parents loved ones like to give good gifts to you, how much more so does your Heavenly Father want to give good gifts to His children who love and obey Him.   Jesus told us that if we would just seek God's Kingdom and His righteousness first, all these other material things would be given unto us.   Maybe you are seeking love and companionship, maybe  you long for wholeness and healing, maybe you desire to do something great, give those plans to God and remind Him of the benefit plan He has set up for you!  Remind Him, that He has plans for good and not for evil, plans to give you a future and a hope.  Remind Him, that He has promised to satisfy your desires with good things! 

What a deal huh?  That is a benefit package worth using!  Imagine, all this is available to you free of charge!  The price has already been paid for you.  Now it is up to you to appropriate these benefits in your life!