Psalm 16 - The Preservation Of A Godly Man Series

THE PRESERVATION OF A GODLY MAN

TEXT: Psalm 16:1-11

Psalms 16:1-11 KJV Michtam of David. Preserve me, O God: for in thee do I put my trust. [2] O my soul, thou hast said unto the LORD, Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee; [3] But to the saints that are in the earth, and to the excellent, in whom is all my delight. [4] Their sorrows shall be multiplied that hasten after another god: their drink offerings of blood will I not offer, nor take up their names into my lips. [5] The LORD is the portion of mine inheritance and of my cup: thou maintainest my lot. [6] The lines are fallen unto me in pleasant places; yea, I have a goodly heritage. [7] I will bless the LORD, who hath given me counsel: my reins also instruct me in the night seasons. [8] I have set the LORD always before me: because he is at my right hand, I shall not be moved. [9] Therefore my heart is glad, and my glory rejoiceth: my flesh also shall rest in hope. [10] For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. [11] Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand there are pleasures for evermore.

I. INTRODUCTION—THE NECESSITY OF PREACHING

-This is a personal confession of sorts in that I know that we have been tracking through the Psalms for several months now. While I have not preached from the Psalms every time I have preached, I know that I am going against the typical Pentecostal tradition by doing this.

-Yet, I feel like the Lord has been dealing with me for quite some time now to change the direction of my preaching. I recently read an analogy that likened expository preaching, which is the method that I have been doing in the Psalms series, the life of David series, the Acts messages, the 1st John series, and the Sermon on the Mount, to reading a book all the way through from start to finish.

-The analogy that I read likened topical preaching and textual preaching which is the primary tradition that Pentecostal preaching revolves around to taking a book, in fact, think of your favorite book and starting on page 147 and read through 154. Then the next time you pick the book back up, you start a page 17 and read through page 37 and put it down. A few days later you pick it back up and read pages 243 through 267. That is not the way that we read books and yet that is the way that preachers sometime get into the habit of preaching. Sort of all over the place and there is no real cohesiveness that comes to those who hear the message.

-As I have settled into the role of preaching in one place for consecutive weeks on end, it is my desire to instill in you the fact that preaching and the hearing of the Word of the Lord is an act of worship itself. Far too often we have equated worship with simply singing but worship in a church service starts from the time you settle into the pew. We worship when we pray, sing, give, hear others sing, pray, and see others give. We worship when we hear the Word being read and preached. We worship when we are in the altar praying for others or needs in our own lives.

-A diligent preacher is to be a student of the Word. He is to be a diligent student of Scripture for the rest of his life! I never want to fall into the category of relying on sermons that I have preached in the past and never finding spiritual growth that takes place when we engage in the Word of the Lord. Holiness can take root in the soul of a man who is willing to apply himself to the Scriptures.

-One old preacher wrote that if there is a mist in the pulpit there will be a fog in the pew. Perhaps that may explain the reason that American “churchianity” is in the condition it is now.

-There are some helpful ways that you can enhance what takes place when a man is preaching:

• You can take notes.

• You can be a reader of the Word of the Lord.

• You can be a listener to the Word of the Lord.

• You can invest time in personal Bible study by using Bible study guides that move your mind into a place of thinking.

• You can tell someone else what you have heard a pastor preach.

• You can go back through your own notes and add to them as you read the points you wrote down.