1. Title: One Prayer Closer To God
2. Text: Psalm 16
3. Audience: Villa Heights Christian Church, AM crowd, April 3, 2005
-for the people to understand how the Psalms are prayers to be used in our prayers to God, and how this Psalm describes the close relationship we should be seeking with Him
-for the people to feel excited about using the Psalms as a tool for prayer and as a way to draw closer to God
-for the people to read the Psalms more frequently and to see in this Psalm the importance of making God their #1 pursuit in life
5. When I finish my sermon I want my audience to understand the Psalms as a means of closeness with God and this Psalm as another reason to seek it
6. Type: expository
7. Dominant Thought: Pursuit of closeness with God is the sure path to fullness of joy and can be helped by the use of the Psalms as a basis for prayer
8. Outline:
Intro: We’re continuing our series on prayer for the year, and our sincere emphasis on prayer as a church family. To do that over the next 4 weeks, we’re going to be looking at the role of prayer in how close we are to God.
You know what you mean when you say to someone, “Are you close with that person?” It has to do with degree of intimacy. It describes the depth of your relationship.
What about closeness to God? By that, I don’t mean how long before you die! It means, how well do you know Him? How much do you enjoy being with Him? How much is He on your mind? How often do you share yourself with Him?
Before we go any further, let me ask you to rate where you’re at in your closeness to God. Just listen to these choices, and you decide - where you’re sitting - which one of these describes you:
How close are you to God, compared to 2 years ago?
1. A whole heap closer
2. Somewhat closer
3. About the same
4. Maybe a little farther away
5. Farther away than ever
What phrase best describes how close you are to God today?
1. To be any closer I’d have to be dead!
2. Pleased with the degree of closeness I have to God
3. Somewhere in the middle
4. I’m sorta standing back
5. God Who?
Story - A husband was driving his wife in their car. She looked over at him, with deep thought written on her face. “What’re you thinking about, Hun?” he said. “Oh, Honey, remember how 25 years ago, when we were first married, we used to sit so much closer to each other in the car?” He looked down at the seat and said, “Well, I haven’t moved!”
Let me tell you this morning, whether you’ve rated yourself close to God or far away from God or about the same, God hasn’t moved! This matter of closeness with God is in our hands. Isaiah said “Seek the LORD while he may be found; call on him while he is near.” When is that? Right now! While you’re alive! While you’re able to think! Seek the Lord!
Paul says it to the Philippians – in the latter half of 4:5 he says, “The Lord is near.” And from there he urges them to (Philippians 4:6) Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
The Lord is near…so pray! For now, the way we draw near to this God Who is near is through prayer. Listen to how well prayer fulfills what we’re told to do in Heb:
Hebrews 10:19-22 Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the Most Holy Place by the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way opened for us through the curtain, that is, his body, and since we have a great priest over the house of God, let us draw near to God with a sincere heart in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled to cleanse us from a guilty conscience and having our bodies washed with pure water.
You see, since we have confidence, since Jesus has made the way for us, since He serves as our great High Priest, since we have full assurance that comes from faith, since our hearts have been sprinkled clean, since our bodies have been washed in pure water, since we understand that’s where we are, we should draw near to God.
What’s a Christian? In part, a Christian is someone who draws near to God – someone who desires to be near to God, who understands how to do that, and who makes it a regular event in life. I want to be such a person. Don’t you?
Prayer is a primary way we come close to God.
God wants us to do that, and if it’s an important part of being close to Him, we ought to be exploring every way that we can do it. I want to help in the search this morning. Let me do an infomercial.
I want to introduce you to a book I’ve been reading. It’s 150 prayers that you can pray. There’s one for just about every occasion. Now I’m not one who’s quick to take someone else’s written prayer and read it as my own. (I always struggle with that. I mean, if you’re watching a video tape, and there’s a prayer on it, does it count?! Do you say amen at the end?!) But this book I’ve found is the very best, most authoritative and useable collection of prayers in existence. What’s great about it is that you already have it, and it’s probably sitting in your lap this morning! It’s right smack in the middle of your Bible! So, open it up to prayer #16. That’s the 16th Psalm.
Do you realize that these are the words of inspired writers? That really it was God Himself Who wrote these? You see, I’m sure I don’t always pray the right words. I’m sure my approach to things isn’t always on track. Paul said in Ro 8 we don’t know how to pray as we ought. I’ll amen that! I’m sure that I don’t pray as I ought. But I know that when I pray the words of Scripture and meditate on those, I’ve done it right! I think that God is pretty pleased with what He wrote, and for that reason He’s pretty pleased to hear it again.
I have 2 main goals this morning. Let me just tell them to you up front here, and we’ll see if by the end of this I’ve made it: First, I want to get you to think of the book of Psalms as a way of drawing close to God – a tool that He has given us to draw near to Him, so that you’ll start doing things like reading the Psalms out loud to God or writing them in sections of your journal or memorizing them for different occasions or reading them out loud together as part of corporate worship gatherings. That’s my 1st goal.
The 2nd goal is that you’ll consider this Psalm with me this morning, Psalm 16, and that you’ll see it as another reason to seek closeness with God. I think this Psalm gives us reasons to seek Him.
We’ve already heard it out loud. Let’s go back and chew on it for a moment…
I. Closeness With God Grows Out of My Choice to Make Him #1 In My Life (Vv 1-4)
This Psalm’s first words to God are bold. They aren’t words like – “God, it’s me again. Sorry to bother You…” Did you notice that? “Keep me safe, O God, for in You I take refuge.” Is David presumptuous? Is he demanding? No, these are the words of a person who has decided that God will be #1 in his life. First he says,
1. God is my #1
In v.2, he elaborates: You are my Lord; apart from you I have no good thing.
When was the last time you turned your face heavenward and just told God “You are my Lord”? Here’s why the Psalms can be so useful in drawing near to God.
David is speaking as a man who understands that the only way he can be kept safe is by God. David is speaking as a man who understands that in his life, without God, there’s nothing good.
In v.8, He says, literally, “I have equally set the Lord before me…” that is, it’s always the same. God is always first in my life, no matter what the circumstances.
When Jesus was asked to tell which of the OT commandments was the most important, remember what He answered? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.”
You can mess up in a lot of ways, but don’t mess up in this. The #1 command, the most important thing in life to get right, is to make God is your #1 love – to love Him with everything you have; to be able to look at everything else in life that you could love, that you could give priority and to conclude, “Lord, apart from You, I have no good thing. You are my Lord”
The 2nd thing David says is…
2. God’s people are the best!
That’s v.3: As for the saints who are in the land, they are the glorious ones in whom is all my delight.
Ill - Do you want to make an impression on someone? Just go up to any parents and say to them, “You know, I like you and all, but I’d rather be buried up to neck beside an anthill instead of spending another 5 minutes around your kids!” Say that to any parent, and I guarantee you’ll make an impression! And an angry mom may just make an impression right back on your nose!
Do you realize that’s what’s going on when people decide to put down someone in the Church? They’re saying to God just the opposite of what David writes here.
By the way, the word is saints – holy ones. John Paul 2 died yesterday, and there’s talk about whether or not the RC Church will canonize him as a “saint.” Do you realize that every time the NT uses that word, it’s talking about all Christians? David says in v.3 those people – all of Your people, God, are my favorites. That can be kind of tough when you consider that “saints” includes people who are still a work in progress.
Ill - You may look at a puddle or a pond and see the reflection of stars there at night. They’re not as impressive that way, but their real place is fixed in the heavens. That’s how it is with the saints. You may see them in a lesser light, but Paul says,
Ephesians 2:6
God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus,
If you love God, you’re going to love His family. It’s hard to claim closeness with Someone if you’re attitude toward the people He loves is lousy. Who are your best friends? Which people do you hang around with because you delight in them? How often do you find joy in coming together here because these are the people you enjoy being around more than any other people? The person who’s seeking closeness with God is a person who delights in the people of God, and If you have a problem with that, no wonder you have a problem drawing near to God!
The 3rd thing David says is…
3. Anyone who fails at this is inviting sorrow!
v.4 “The sorrows of those will increase who run after other gods.”
For Israel, that meant Moloch, Baal, Ashteroth, Rimmon, and a whole list of others. God has never been willing to share His rightful place of authority. That wouldn’t be right, so He has never tolerated that. And when Jesus says, “No man comes to the Father but by Me,” I believe it. Do you? Aren’t you being narrow and bigoted? I like this quote I ran across…
Quote - Kenneth G. Elzinga - I’m always taken aback by anyone who thinks all roads lead to God, that all religions are equally valid. Nobody believes that about anything else. I wonder why anybody believes that about religion.
Last summer I had to have a root canal. It wasn’t as bad as I had been told, but there are more fun ways to spend a summer morning. If my endodontist had said, "You know, Mr. Elzinga, it really doesn’t matter how I do a root canal. Eventually all roads lead to that problem tooth. I can go directly to the tooth, or I can go in through your ear, or I can go in through your nostril, or I can drill into your neck and work my way back up to that gum--" at that point, I would look for a new oral surgeon.
I have a friend--he’s one of the smartest men I know in terms of sheer intellectual horsepower--who thinks all roads lead to God as long as you’re sincere. But he doesn’t think that way about the van he drives. If a mechanic said to him, "The tires on your van need replacing, but I don’t have your size in stock," he wouldn’t reply, "Then let’s put in a new ignition system. After all, as long as you’re sincerely working on the van, any repair will solve the problem."
God never said all roads lead to him.
Other gods don’t come in just the form of religions either. They also come in the form of DVD’s, credit cards, posters, teams, cars, relationships, and anything else we manage to put ahead of God in our lives.
Why do people not feel close to God nor feel they have the right to ask things of Him? It’s because (v.4) they toy with other gods. God isn’t their #1. God isn’t the source of everything good in their view. God’s people aren’t their joy. So, when it comes time to speak to God, there’s a problem. Deep down, they know they’ve insulted Him and they’re in no position to expect Him to answer their requests. Paul said in Ro 10 “How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in?” Answer: they can’t
David can call on God because he trusts in Him. I can pray this way when God is my #1.
Secondly, I want you to see in this psalm that…
II. Closeness With God Blesses Me In Life
In the midst of praying, David doesn’t hesitate to mention to God that he has a good life. Closeness with God and the ability to see that you have been blessed go hand-in-hand.
Psalm 16:5-7 LORD, you have assigned me my portion and my cup; you have made my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me.
Can you say such words to God this morning? If not, it may be that you need to recalibrate your perspective on material stuff and how to define wealth.
Asaph was struggling, and he wrote the 73rd Psalm about the way he was looking at evil people around him and how they were doing OK but he wasn’t. What made the difference for him was regaining the right perspective.
Psalm 73:16-17 When I tried to understand all this, it was oppressive to me till I entered the sanctuary of God; then I understood their final destiny.
It wasn’t that Asaph’s conditions had changed. His perspective had changed. The way he looked at life was changed. When I’m close to God, it makes me more able to have the right perspective.
David’s words in Ps 16 are a reminder to us that we need to practice assessing how the Lord has blessed us from time to time. Let’s go on to the final section…
III. Closeness With God Will Secure Real Life
People are seeking real life. They’re looking for happiness. For many it’s the ultimate ethic. I’ve even listened to Christian people asking me, “Well, God wants me to be happy, doesn’t He?” So, society tries to manufacture happiness. If stuff is what brings happiness, we would be the happiest people who ever lived. Instead, we’re bored. It’s empty. People all over are knocking themselves out looking for happiness, when what they don’t realize is what they’re looking for is holiness. Just like the story of the velveteen rabbit, they’re looking for life that’s real.
Real life can’t be found in the frenzied search for happiness. But listen to David describe how his closeness with God secures him real life…
Psalm 16:8-11
Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the path of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence, with eternal pleasures at your right hand.
David found real life in his closeness with God. It wasn’t popularity. It wasn’t wealth. It wasn’t fun. It wasn’t power. It was because God was at his right hand. It was because God wouldn’t let his life just end when his body quit working. God made known the path of life to him. It’s about being close to God, in His presence, forever.
Listen to me, because in this lies something more powerful than we realize. If we can convince people outside the Church that we’ve found something here that’s full of joy, they’ll trample one another to be here. What is it? It’s closeness with God. We don’t manufacture our happiness. We are the people with joy that is God-given. And it all looks back to the beginning of v.8: I have set the LORD always before me. Closeness with God is what secures real life. In fact, that’s the bigger picture of this psalm.
Conclusion:
More than a thousand years after this was written, Peter stood up on the day of Pentecost, the day the Church first began, and preached about Jesus. He looked back to this Psalm as he preached. He said,
Acts 2:25-28 David said about him: "’I saw the Lord always before me. Because he is at my right hand, I will not be shaken. Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will live in hope, because you will not abandon me to the grave, nor will you let your Holy One see decay. You have made known to me the paths of life; you will fill me with joy in your presence.’
But from there he went on to point out that this Psalm isn’t just about David.
Acts 2:29-32
"Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day. But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne. Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay. God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
Psalm 16 is actually about Jesus. The One Who loved God more than anything, the One Who was blessed in life by God, and the One Who secured real life. It was Jesus Whose body didn’t decay in the grave, because He rose again, and it’s that promise of life that assures that David will one day be given a brand new body. It’s the same promise that assures that you can one day be given a new body too.
So, why would you want to pursue closeness with God? Why would you want to be one prayer closer to God? Because it will not only bless you in this life, but it will also secure your eternal life.
If you haven’t accepted Jesus, the prayer you need to pray today is the prayer that’s spoken by you when you’re baptized into Jesus. The Bible describes being baptized as your appeal to God for a clean conscience. That prayer today is the first and most important prayer for closeness to God. Are you ready to say it?…
