[Ps 16 (Part 3)] God's Goodness Even to Death.
Notes
Transcript
INTRODUCTION:
Spurgeon once said,
“There is no University for a Christian like that of sorrow and trial.”
As much as we all want to avoid suffering, and run to the showers of the blessings;
One of our profound needs is to learn from suffering.
One of our profound needs is to learn from suffering.
There are perhaps many reasons why,
but chiefly I would like to highlight that we would never truly understand what we posses with God -
if we did not know suffering.
How would you know the worth of eternal fortune? - if you never experienced a true desperate need.
If everyday you woke up in a palace with no needs.
How would know how wise God was - if you never had to seek him for answers.
If every answer in life you already knew.
How would you know the comfort of God’s protection - if you never were at risk of disaster.
If everyday you woke up having never known a danger to yourself.
We would wholly be ignorant, and blind to the greatness of possessing God -
That is testimony of David today.
In , he confesses his need.
1 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
Yet instead of dwelling on his suffering,
he spends the entire rest of the Psalm describing his riches for having God as his possession.
APPLICATION:
One of the great helps during suffering, is to remember what we have in God - and allow that to comfort us, stabilize, and encourage us.
We see David doing that from this text.
From this text,
PROP: May we Rejoice in the fullness we find in God
PROP: May we Rejoice in the fullness we find in God
Trans: and Ps 16 gives us 3 reason’s to rejoice.
Trans: and Ps 16 gives us 3 reason’s to rejoice.
a. Possessing God is to Possess Fortune. (v. 5-6)
a. Possessing God is to Possess Fortune. (v. 5-6)
We have already look at v. 5-6,
but may we remember
We have already look at v. 5-6,
but may we recall that David considers God a a rich inheritance.
a. Possessing God is to Possess Fortune. (v. 5-6)
a. Possessing God is to Possess Fortune. (v. 5-6)
5 The Lord is my chosen portion and my cup;
you hold my lot.
6 The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places;
indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Do you lack something in this world?
Perhaps you going through this week and looking down at Friday and saying - I have need, but I am not sure how to accomplish it.
- We need remember that through God you have everything you could possibly need. - you don’t truly lack anything.
- In David’s words, Having God is the same as having a bountiful rich crop-producing farm.
You ma
If you lacking something,
remember he is using it to help you understand that through him you have everything you need.
Your need teaches you about the fullness and fortune you have in God.
Remember that and embrace it.
We also ought to rejoice in God because,
b. Possessing God is to Possess Bountiful Wisdom. (v. 7)
b. Possessing God is to Possess Bountiful Wisdom. (v. 7)
Many of you are very smart people,
but even as such - everyone of us comes to a point - where we don’t know what to do.
ILLUSTRATION:
From the routine house maintentance, to career choices, to helping people who have shockingly horrific struggles.
If you are like me,
you are working through a project and things are going well - until I hit that wall and then your project becomes scrutinizing slow.
There are times we
I find myself going through life for a few hours,
and we are not sure what to do.
you are working through a project and things are going well - until I hit that wall
yah, I know
ILLUSTRATION:
Sometimes in life,
people are hurting, suffering, struggling with sin, angry, running from God.
and we are not always sure what to do.
ILLUSTRATION:
Sometimes instead of talking about someone else,
we are talking about own fears and struggles.
And we are desperate for answers.
Often we fail to have the answers for life.
But in God - we have the answers.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel;
in the night also my heart instructs me.
Ps 16:
David praises God because he gives him counsel.
How does God counsel David and by extension us?
Through his Word
Through His Spirit.
Through the Counsel of other Godly people.
Sometimes we act like we need something else, but the reality is that if we posses God - we have all the wisdom we need.
And finally,
c. Possessing God is to Possess Protection. (v. 8-10)
c. Possessing God is to Possess Protection. (v. 8-10)
c. Possessing God is to Possess Protection. (v. 8-10)
ILLUSTRATION:
The last few months the news have been filled with shootings.
A concert in Vegas.
A church in Texas.
And this is never mind the natural causes of death.
We praying right now for people who have passed away or about to pass away.
And doesn’t it make you wonder -
what if I get in an accident?
what if I am down in Denver and someone attacks me?
what if I find out tomorrow I have terminal sickness?
And we can get so fearful and worried about what might happen,
- that our world becomes all about protecting ourselves.
- and when our own protection fails - it sends us to even greater fear and anxiety - doesn’t it.
Yet,
In God we have all the protection we need.
CLARIFICATION:
And perhaps you are sitting there, and say,
you don’t understand - I might die.
Not even death is a threat to a believer,
because God even protects us from death.
8 I have set the Lord always before me;
because he is at my right hand, I shall not be shaken.
9 Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices;
my flesh also dwells secure.
10 For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol,
or let your holy one see corruption.
David’ declares,
“I shall not be shaken”.
“My flesh dwells secure” with God.
How can he say that when he is facing death?
And as we consider life,
27 And just as it is appointed for man to die once, and after that comes judgment,
We know,
David died,
and barring the Lord’s return - we also will die one day.
So how can we really claim, we shall not be shaken/our flesh dwells secure with God?
Because v. 9-10 tell us that God will not abandon our soul to death.
Our translation uses the word, “Sheol” which can mean several things - but in this context it is chiefly talking about death.
In fact, we are told we will not see corruption in the pit of sheol. - in other words the realm in which the dead reside.
CLARIFICATION:
Now this verse is not a promise about a resurrection - ours or Jesus’s resurrection.
Instead, it states a principle - God will not allow his believers to dwell in death.
If that is true,
then the implication is that he will resurrect us if we face death.
That is exactly what we learn of Jesus when it is quoted in by Peter and by Paul.
APPLICATION:
And the implication for us,
since God will not allow his people to experience death - then we are secure from death.
I you fear for your safety and life,
Remember and embrace what you posses in God.
What greater protection can you have -
then a God who will resurrect you.
Even if you die, natural or unnatural causes,
you are safe from death.
That is the greatest life-insurance you could ever own.
CONCLUSION:
So as we consider what we posses in God.
1) Godly Rejoice in Security.
2) Not Even Death Threatens the Godly.
When God is your inherited, lotted land - what do you own?
5. Praise of Yahweh. (v. 11)
a. God Provides Physical Life.
You own all the fortune you need.
b. Blessings are with God.
You have all the wisdom you need.
You have all the protection you need.
Many of us are fearful of life -
we may have times of confidence,
but we all have times of fear and anxiety.
May we instead of being fearful, rejoice in the bountiful fullness we have with God.
And if we are suffering,
May remember what God is doing.
As Spurgeon noted - suffering is the university of life that helps every Christian know how rich they are in God.