Dakota Community Church
October 13, 2013
Apart From the Lord
Psalm 16
Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge.
2 I say to the Lord, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.”
3 As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight.
4 The sorrows of those who run after another god shall multiply; their drink offerings of blood I will not pour out or take their names on my lips.
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.
7 I bless the Lord who gives me counsel; in the night also my heart instructs me.
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.
11 You make known to me the path of life; in your presence there is fullness of joy; at your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Let me begin by wishing everyone a Happy Canadian Thanksgiving.
This Psalm contains a clear passage about Jesus and it is also filled with Thanksgiving worthy thoughts for those who are in Christ to reflect on on this special day.
Verse one: God is our refuge.
Verse five: The Lord is our portion and cup and security.
Verse six: The boundary lines have fallen for us in pleasant places, we have a delightful inheritance! (Can I get an amen eh?)
Verse seven: The Lord counsels us.
Verses eight - eleven {Messianic prophesy} Peter quotes this passage in the first gospel sermon.
Acts 2:22-32
“Men of Israel, hear these words: Jesus of Nazareth, a man attested to you by God with mighty works and wonders and signs that God did through him in your midst, as you yourselves know— 23 this Jesus,[d] delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men. 24 God raised him up, loosing the pangs of death, because it was not possible for him to be held by it. 25 For David says concerning him, “‘I saw the Lord always before me, for he is at my right hand that I may not be shaken; 26 therefore my heart was glad, and my tongue rejoiced; my flesh also will dwell in hope. 27 For you will not abandon my soul to Hades, or let your Holy One see corruption. 28 You have made known to me the paths of life; you will make me full of gladness with your presence.’
29 “Brothers, I may say to you with confidence about the patriarch David that he both died and was buried, and his tomb is with us to this day. 30 Being therefore a prophet, and knowing that God had sworn with an oath to him that he would set one of his descendants on his throne, 31 he foresaw and spoke about the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to Hades, nor did his flesh see corruption. 32 This Jesus God raised up, and of that we all are witnesses.
This morning I want us to focus our attention on verse two.
Today is Thanksgiving and in light of that I want to look at four ways that this statement is true.
1. Nothing is ultimately good if it is abstracted from God.
Psalm 16:2
“You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
Things are good in a relative sense of course.
God made the world and declared it good - and it is!
How great is this planet as a habitation for man? How much pleasure can be taken from just the changing seasons? Springs new life, the long, warm, days of summer, the crunching of the fall leaves underfoot, and that first white snowfall of winter - good, so good; and yet when God is removed from these good things... not good!
Romans 1:22-25
Claiming to be wise, they became fools, 23 and exchanged the glory of the immortal God for images resembling mortal man and birds and animals and creeping things.
24 Therefore God gave them up in the lusts of their hearts to impurity, to the dishonoring of their bodies among themselves, 25 because they exchanged the truth about God for a lie and worshiped and served the creature rather than the Creator, who is blessed forever! Amen.
The sun provides all the energy that sustains life on this planet.
God made it and He called it good - and it is!
Abstracted from the knowledge of God however - not good!
Ezekiel 8:16-17
And he brought me into the inner court of the house of the Lord. And behold, at the entrance of the temple of the Lord, between the porch and the altar, were about twenty-five men, with their backs to the temple of the Lord, and their faces toward the east, worshiping the sun toward the east. 17 Then he said to me, “Have you seen this, O son of man? Is it too light a thing for the house of Judah to commit the abominations that they commit here, that they should fill the land with violence and provoke me still further to anger?
Most of us will not have a difficult time coming up with things for which we are thankful if the question is put to us around the feast table sometime today or tomorrow.
We may be enjoying good health and an abundant supply of this worlds wealth and compared to the alternative it seems good to us - and it is!
Abstracted from the knowledge of God however - not good!
Luke 12:16-21
“The land of a rich man produced plentifully, 17 and he thought to himself, ‘What shall I do, for I have nowhere to store my crops?’ 18 And he said, ‘I will do this: I will tear down my barns and build larger ones, and there I will store all my grain and my goods. 19 And I will say to my soul, “Soul, you have ample goods laid up for many years; relax, eat, drink, be merry.”’ 20 But God said to him, ‘Fool! This night your soul is required of you, and the things you have prepared, whose will they be?’ 21 So is the one who lays up treasure for himself and is not rich toward God.”
Nothing is ultimately good if it is abstracted from God.
Looked at another way:
2. No good thing that we enjoy has come to us apart from God.
Psalm 16:2
“You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
Since God is the creator of literally everything, there is nothing that is good that has come to us “Apart from” Him.
James 1:16-17
Do not be deceived, my beloved brothers. 17 Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.
1 Corinthians 4:7
What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as though you did not?
Do you have something that you consider to be good?
Are you tempted to take the credit for it yourself?
Did you work hard for it?
Who gave you that work ethic? Who gave you the sharp mind you were born with? Who gave you that functioning healthy body and placed you in this time and place so that you are free to do the things that you do and momentarily possess that which you possess?
Nothing is ultimately good if it is abstracted from God.
No good thing that we enjoy has come to us apart from God.
Looked at another way:
3. Compared to knowing God, there is no good thing.
Psalm 16:2
“You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
Whatever you have that is good in your sight, compared to knowing God - it is nothing.
Psalm 73:25-26
25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And earth has nothing I desire besides you.
26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.
In comparison with knowledge of our Maker, our Savior, our Redeemer; nothing else is worth very much.
Nothing is ultimately good if it is abstracted from God.
No good thing that we enjoy has come to us apart from God.
Compared to knowing God, there is no good thing.
And finally looked at one other way:
4. Apart from the vine, we produce nothing!
Psalm 16:2
“You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.”
John 15:1-5
“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser. 2 Every branch in me that does not bear fruit he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit. 3 Already you are clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. 4 Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit by itself, unless it abides in the vine, neither can you, unless you abide in me. 5 I am the vine; you are the branches. Whoever abides in me and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.
Apart from the vine, we branches cannot bear fruit. This is not a cute cliche, this is the cold hard fact. There is nothing produced by branches that are not connected to the source of all life.
Apart from the Lord - we have no good thing!
Closing Prayer
Our Heavenly Father we offer thanks to You today on this holiday of Thanksgiving.
For all your gifts and blessings that come to mind we give thanks.
Thank-you for daily bread to eat and for clothing to wear, for all the basic necessities of life.
Thank-you for our vocations and for the strength to perform them and for the provision we receive by them.
Thank-you for keeping our feet from slipping and for saving our souls from the death and damnation we deserve.
Thank-you for the grace and mercy you have shown us in Christ Jesus our Lord.
For these and all the blessings you have so richly lavished upon us - we give thanks.
In Jesus name,
AMEN
PowerPoint available (Free of charge) on request dcormie@mts.net
Follow Dan on twitter: @DanCormie
