Our Refuge in Life and Death #1

What I want you to see here in Psalm 16 is an entire way to think our minds are being warned by what David is instructing us here. This is laying out a whole life. You hello and welcome to the truth pulpit with the hungry founding pastor of truth Community Church in Cincinnati, Ohio. I feel right today.

Don continues in his ministry of teaching God's people. God's word with more of the series titled set apart God Dawn will show you how to have a steadfast and unbreakable commitment to living a life that is faithful to God no matter what the circumstances are. Here is done with part one of a message called our refuge of life and death here on the altar. Psalm 16 is a Psalm that encourages us to step back and take the whole big picture view of life into account to have a comprehensive worldview if you will about the nature of what it means to be a follower of the God of the Bible and what the implications of that are for your life and what the implications are are this is that, given who God is, that that calls for a response from us of a have a commitment to complete faithfulness to and that that there is settled in our minds. A fundamental premise of fundamental presupposition that shapes all of life that there is a nonnegotiable commitment in the core of our being that says I will be faithful to this God no matter what, and that we gladly abandon the back door if you will. We we close the back door behind us and locket that were that were not going to exit the back door into and stray into unfaithfulness were not going to now give ourselves over to a life of sin or a life of unfaithfulness or for getting this God that we have come to know we consciously close that door. We locket we bolted, shot, and we say I am only going for it. I would not go any other direction. There will be nothing to mark my life, but faithfulness to God is that is the core conviction of the heart. Now we know from other scriptures were going to that that there will be times when we struggle and sometimes were tempted and sometimes we fall short and fail, but that is not the focus of Psalm 16 were not making allowances for those failures here in Psalm 16. Instead David is is purifying the commitment so that it has a a guiding force. There is a fundamental power in his heart that is responding that says the premise of my life will be shaped by faithfulness to my God going to see that in the first half of the song and then along with that. This is so magnificent along with that.

In the second half of the song is that is that he is expressing a confidence that God will bless him in. As a result of his faithfulness and even more so deriving from God's goodness and his faithfulness to his people. David is absolutely confident in the blessing of God on his life so that so that he is.

He settles in his mind that God will bless him, because God is good because he belongs to this God. It is certain that God will always bless him and that nothing could ever contradict the final goodness of God in his life. So there's this commitment to faithfulness in response to the character of God and in recognizing his goodness. There is an utter absolute confidence in his blessing upon his life. In the end. Now those are fundamental principles. Simply stated, what you're going to see as we go through Psalm 16 is a way that that works itself out in life. This commitment to faithfulness has very practical consequences. This confidence in God's blessing had is one of of eternal certainty. The David wrote about even 3000 years ago. So that's the overview that's where were going going to see these two convictions that shape our relationship to God that shape our affections and utterly shape the way that we think and I say this often.

I think I know that I think it often what I want you to see here in Psalm 16 is an entire way to think that it's it's more than just individual issues that were seeing that which should shape the entire way that we think are our minds are being formed by what David is instructing us here.

This is in a little spiritual Bob to get you through until Sunday. This is laying out a whole life. You that is defined in relationship to the God of the Bible well.

With that in mind, let's let's dive into it and enjoy this together, shall we point number one here is you see in Psalm 16 David making a commitment of faithfulness is making a commitment to faithfulness. He open Psalm 16 with a prayer of pure undivided devotion to God, look at it here in verse one, where he says preserve me. Oh God, for I take refuge in you. He's appealing to the mighty God. If you were here last week we looked at the three names of God that are discussed here. The David addresses God with in the first two verses that he's addressing God, in his capacity as the mighty sovereign of the universe as we open up here in verse one preserve me. Oh God preserve me, oh mighty one. He appeals to the power and the omnipotence of God to keep him secure as he goes through life, it's a it's an opening appeal for protection and endings expressing submission to God in the process. This, though, he says. I said to the Lord in verse two. You are my Lord, I have no good beside you and so in this prayer, he appeals to God as the mighty one of the universe in the same Lord I am I am coming under your wings for protection. I am confident in your power and I submit to your role as my master as my Lord, I submit to you and I watch this. I like all of my affections went into your very person you are my Lord, I have no good beside you. There is nothing that I desire Lord more than you. I don't desire sin in light of your presence there is not a human relationship that has a higher claim on my affections than you because Lord you are my good, you alone are the owner of the central throne room of my heart.

I bow before you. I love you immensely.

I love you with all of my power.

I come into your presence and I bow down in worship and that's what he say and so so we see right from the very start. Beloved, we see right in the very way that the song opens the David. David is is putting all of his all of his affections into and under the watchful care of his God and he he says I exclude any competing affections.

There is you God in first place in second place, third place 10th Pl. there's no one that comes close. There is nothing that comes close. There is no prosperity, there's no other human love. There's nothing that will compete for my affection for you. I have no good beside you he he locks himself into the care and concern of Yahweh, and he leaves himself there and he leaves himself no alternative, no second way very challenging. Isn't it, to think that way you know as you examine your heart and your affections for God, for the God of the Bible for your Lord Jesus Christ. Here's the question for you, beloved is it that clear in your mind as you think about your relationship with Christ as you think about the one who suffered, and bled to purchase your redemption from sin. Is it that clear in your mind that the whole world can pass away that you can lose it all and that you would still be securing content in God that that there would be nothing that would compete with your affections for him.

Do you really say then. And as as we son earlier when you sing it is well with my soul.

Is that really the fundamental conviction of your heart's and and is that is that worked its way out in your affections in a way that that is clear and there's no contest over your heart and that way. That's what David is expressing that kind of exclusive affection that supreme love for the God whom he prays and what's he praying here says preserve me. He's asking God to keep him safe and some commentators, many commentators have speculated on maybe there is a you know, maybe there's a particular trial that David was having and they tried to posit different biblical examples would have given rise to the song, I thought. I think that this is the point when you read the rest of Psalm 16 and just keep this in mind as we go through the rest of it here.

As you read the rest of Psalm 16. He's not complaining about any circumstances he's not expressing fear from those who are after his life. He's not expressing a complaint about physical debilitation that he's feeling rather he's expressing this confidence of which we taught he speaking in terms of commitment and confidence and I believe the what he saying here when he says preserve me. Oh God, for I take refuge in you question is preserve you and why keep you in what well what does he say in the rest of the song. I believe what he saying is Lord, I am conscious right now of the supremacy of your being in my life.

This of this part, commitment that I have in this confidence in your blessing. I'm asking you to keep me in this realm of spiritual growth and maturity and confidence and faith keep me here because this is a joyous place of confidence for my soul and I don't want to leave from where I'm at, preserve me in the confidence and commitment that I'm about to express in what follows in the rest of the song God, I'm conscious of your blessing unconscious of gratitude keeping me here and you know sometimes and I I did this myself hunts many years ago. Sometimes people think that there is a maturity and there's a there's a spiritual aspiration, and they will pray for trials to come into their life. I've talked about this before, maybe not from this pulpit the people. People say I want to grow and so I want God to God and they start to pray God bring trials into my life so that I might, I don't think that's wise. I think that's actually on biblical I think I you know that it is a misguided thought about what it means to walk with to walk with God. When people pray that way the NI. I am guilty of this. So I'm condemning what I used to be what I've done in the past when people pray that way, they are far too overconfident of their spiritual ability to respond to trials in their lives. It is a boastful prayer and says God given to me because I can take it. Why would you pray that way. Why would you invite trial and sorrow into your life in prayer before God. If you conscious of God's blessing.

Thank important, say Lord keep me right here you know and look. I prayed that way.

One time, and I immediately entered into trials of such an awful nature that I never want to go back to that again I'm like that, unlike the little girl that reached out to get a sandwich off of the stove install was Hana burned her hand she pulled back didn't have to teach her not to do that again. Beloved. What I want you to see is we should so treasure the goodness of God. So treasure the realm of his blessing that we asked him to keep us and to strengthen us in that realm of faith that we are conscious of.

If trials come as they inevitably will deal with those when they come up. But we don't actively court them, as though our present sense of joy and contentment in God was something to be lightly discarded for the sake of a false view of spiritual growth and maturity. If you are conscious of the blessing of God. If you're conscious that might my heart commitment is pure as well as it can be on unconfident and goodness of God and pray God keep me here and I take refuge in you and preserve me in the spiritual confidence that I'm mindful of.

That's how David praises he opens, God is the source of his blessing. His first affection and and as David has has clarified that in his mind, expressed his commitment to faithfulness.

As you move on in the song you see that it has great implications for his personal relationships and the people that he wants to associate with. Look at verses three and four with me again this is all under the first point of a commitment to faithfulness your commitment to faithfulness. Beloved has an immediate direct impact on the kinds of human relationships that you seek out and have in life. David says in verse three as for the saints who are in the earth. They are the majestic ones, in whom is all my delight the sorrows of those who have bartered for another, God will be multiplied. I shall not pour out their drink offerings of blood, nor will I take their names upon my lips. What David is doing here is he is expressing and he's working out the implications of his fidelity to God. He said God I am committed to you.

You are the owner of my affections, and therefore as a result of that fundamental conviction that's going to determine who I associate with in this life. He says God is, I think and reflect upon my commitment to be faithful to you. I want you to know that your people, the saints who are in the earth. The majestic ones there the ones in whom I delight. God I I identify with your people identify with your godly ones, their welfare is my desire their love and fellowship is where I find my human delight. I am delighted to be with your people. These verses express David's view of the people of God. It's their welfare. Their love their affections that he shares in. Stated differently, he cast his lot in with the people of God, and he says that's where I want to be. By contrast, David as he goes on he consciously separates himself from idolaters.

Look at verse four. Again, he says, the sorrows of those who have bartered for another, God will be multiplied. He said those who do not honor you God. Those who follow a false God. They are going to suffer immense sorrows, and it will be multiplied and their their sorrow will eventually overwhelm them realize the outcome of their unfaithfulness and their disbelief God and it does not come out well within see how this just applies. Psalm 16 way of the wicked will perish.

He's just he's just articulating that principle in another way here and so is he separates himself. He says I won't be identified with their false worship. I want take the names of their gods on my lips and so his faithfulness to God. Watch this is faithfulness to God determined the nature of his relationships with men he was going to pour his energies and loves in with the people of God. He was going to separate himself from sinners who did not want anything to do with his God were not talking about reaching out to people with evangelism here were talking about how good we cast our lot in with my dog about reaching out to people who are lost. But we associate with whom we share affections with food. We enjoyed our time with where we find common interest, common law, desires, leprechauns really searching, doesn't it, and sometimes as new Christians people after the kind of sort through this and sort through their relationships and realize that the friends that they had as unbelievers are no longer fit companions because these companions are still committed to their sinful ways, their false gods. He just come to see you know I have to separate from that, I have nothing in common with that mindset with that worldview. That's what David is expressing here and it's good for us to think about that. Watch this beloved. This is so very important. As Christians, speaking to you as Christians, God has blessed us has any. He is been good to us. He has he is showered us with mercy and goodness and and it it only gets better as we go forward into eternity will look, as it is a principle of the fundamental loyalties of your heart, the goodness of God in the way that he is shown goodness to you means that he has a claim on your fidelity on your affections on your loyalties and that expresses itself in the people you choose to relate with on earth it affects our human associations. Beloved with for thinking clearly, if were thinking clearly. It should be clear in your mind. It is theirs.

There should be no contest should be a matter of firm conviction that you just your hands start to get animated as if you were Italian against the times of the Italians here, but if you talk with your hands. Your hands start to move and say God has blessed me and I will be faithful to him in return. Look over at second Corinthians chapter 6, where you see eight a New Testament expression expression of this principle. Second Corinthians chapter 6, verse 14. This just this just affects things this this drives the way that we approach life. Second Corinthians 6 verse 14 says do not be bound together with unbelievers. For what partnership have righteousness and lawlessness, or what fellowship has light with darkness or what harmony has Christ with belly now or what has a believer in common with an unbeliever or what agreement has the temple of God with idols.

See were meant to think through these things and say you know if their heart is is is committed and convinced and is unmoving from their idolatrous sinful ways. We have nothing in common. How could we, how could he who is committed to rebellion against God have fellowship with me who's in submission to them and I have no good side. How could that be. Verse 16 where the temple of the living God. Just as got a set I will dwell in them and walk among them, and I will be their God and they shall be my people. Therefore, come out from their midst and be separate, says the Lord, and do not touch what is unclean and I will welcome you and I will be a father to you and you shall be sons and daughters to me, says the Lord Almighty somewhere in our lives. There is this principle of separation that comes into place and I know that some of you have given up earthly friendships once were dear to you because you realized is a growing Christian that there was simply an inconsistency in maintaining that close relationship with the person who is committed to sin. Good on you. That is a that is a proper expression of spiritual growth and I'm confident the blessing of God in your life as you pursue that as you approach life and that way you see the whole thought of of spiritual adultery, of being unfaithful to God should just be absolutely abhorrent to us and we should not be reluctant to say the core commitment of my heart is faithfulness to God and and God helping me I will not be unfaithful to him. I will not associate with those who love rebellion against him. By contrast, I find that my natural love my natural environment is with the most humble people of God's huge all of a sudden the things of this world grow strangely dim and the. The allure of those who build popularity on their sinful lifestyles is not even appealing to us and they can have their popularity they can have their the wealth that they come from prostituting themselves before men and they can have.

I want no part of it because you say to yourself because my heart is with my God and I know that he condemns that powerful words of encouragement from our teacher Don Greene and Don will bring you the second half of his message. Our refuge in life and death. Next time on the truth pulpit.

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