Part 13: How To Face The Future Series

Great Prayers of the Old Testament

Part 13: How to Face the Future

Psalm 16:1-11

Sermon by Rick Crandall

(Prepared December 28, 2024)

BACKGROUND:

*We have been studying some of the great prayers in the Old Testament. And today's Scripture is King David's prayer in Psalm 16. But first, think about who wrote the Bible. The best answer is the Holy Spirit of God. We must realize that God the Father, Son, and Holy Spirit is and always has been a miracle working God. And if you are holding a Bible in your hands today, you are holding one of His greatest miracles of all.

*The Bible is a one-of-a-kind, miraculous book because it was written by the Holy Spirit of God. And yes, God used men to help get the job done, but those men were all moved by the Holy Spirit to say exactly what God wanted them to say. For example, 2 Samuel 23:1-2 says, "Now these are the last words of David. Thus says David the son of Jesse; thus says the man raised up on high, the anointed of the God of Jacob, and the sweet psalmist of Israel: 'The Spirit of the LORD spoke by me, and His word was on my tongue.'"

*About 500 years later, Zechariah the prophet was speaking to some of the Jews who had returned to Jerusalem after 70 years of captivity in Babylon. Their return followed a terrible time of invasion, suffering, death, and the destruction of Jerusalem, including the LORD's Temple built by Solomon. But the LORD allowed this to happen because those hardhearted Jews had turned away from Him to worship the demonic idols of the surrounding people.

*And in Zechariah 7:12-13, thus said the LORD of Hosts about those hardhearted Jews: "Yes, they made their hearts like flint, refusing to hear the law and the words which the LORD OF HOSTS HAD SENT BY HIS SPIRIT THROUGH THE FORMER PROPHETS. Thus great wrath came from the LORD of hosts. Therefore it happened, that just as He proclaimed and they would not hear, so they called out and I would not listen,'' says the LORD of hosts.

*Then, after 500 more years in the book of Acts, both Peter and Paul also showed us who wrote the Bible. Their statements are great supports at the beginning and end of Acts to confirm that the Bible is the Word of God. In Acts 1:16, we hear Peter say, "Men and brethren, this Scripture had to be fulfilled, WHICH THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE before by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus." Then in Acts 28:25 Paul said, "THE HOLY SPIRIT SPOKE rightly through Isaiah the prophet to our fathers."

*That's why 2 Peter 1:20-21 tells us we should know "this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit."

*And that's why there is a divine oneness to this Book even though it was written through a wide variety of men. Lewis Chafer explained that "it was written over a period of at least 1,600 years by as many as 40 different authors. They differed in language, culture, background and experience. Nevertheless, the Bible, like no other composite book in the world, is one book.

*Among the authors of the 66 books in the Bible are kings, peasants, philosophers, fishermen, a doctor, statesmen, scholars, poets, and plowmen of such diverse backgrounds that one could hardly expect their writings to form any continuity. . . Obviously the Bible had a divine Editor, the Holy Spirit of God, who guided the writers so that all they wrote in perfect harmony." (1)

*The result was a perfect blend of divine and human thought. But there were also many mysteries, especially when it concerned the coming of the future Messiah. So the first verses in Psalm 16 certainly apply to King David. But the last verses were not fulfilled until the resurrection of Jesus Christ a thousand years later. The great news for us today is that this 3,000-year-old Scripture gives us clear guidance on how to face our own future. Please think about this as we read Psalm 16:1-11.

MESSAGE:

*Most people are thinking about the future right now. One reason is because New Year's Day is almost here, and we are hoping to see some positive changes in 2025. But we know that many people will also go through times of terrible heartache. One family we know lost their 29-year-old son a few weeks ago. He went on a morning jog, and was killed by a hit-and-run driver. We also know two women whose mothers passed away, just before Christmas.