Text: Psalm 16:1-6 Preserve me, O God, for in you I take refuge. I say to the LORD, “You are my Lord; I have no good apart from you.” As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones, in whom is all my delight. 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. The LORD is my chosen portion and my cup; you hold my lot. The lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; indeed, I have a beautiful inheritance.
Introduction: I want to project the church into the next generation with the three L’s of living, loving and legacy. This is because these are the three fundamentals of why God created us and how He designed us to live.
I. Living: “I say to the Lord, You are my Lord, I have no good apart from you” (Psalm 16:2)
1. We were created to live for God; any life that is not based on first seeking God is out of joint and has no proper foundation on which to stand. Everything apart from God is valueless because creation only has true value when it reflects its creator. All life is derivative because we derive everything we have from God (Romans 11:36: “For of Him and through Him and to Him are all things, to whom be glory forever. Amen.”).
2. The Westminster Confession teaches us that the whole duty of man can be summarized by loving God and enjoying Him forever.
3. Any person who is going to fully enjoy and maximize life is going to be first and foremost a person who values and puts God first in their thoughts, life, and actions.
4. Psalm 37:2; Matthew 6:33.
5. 2 Chronicles 26:5 says about King Uzziah: “He set himself to seek God in the days of Zechariah, who instructed him in the things of God; and as long as he sought (inquired of, yearned for) the Lord, God made him prosper.”
6. First and foremost we need to be a church that continually seeks His face before we seek anything else.
II. Loving people: “As for the saints in the land, they are the excellent ones in whom is all my delight” (Psalm 16:3)
1. God has called us to delight in one another, not just in God.
2. Excellent is the Hebrew word “addiyr”:
A. The Bible translates this word in other places as “nobles” seven times, “excellent” four times, “mighty” five times, “principal” three times, “famous” twice, “gallant” once, “glorious” once, “goodly” once, “lordly” once, “noble one” once, and “worthies” once. (This is why Jesus was able to call Abraham a father of many nations and Peter a rock on which He would build His church!)
B. This obviously shows us the high calling each Christian has before God. In the world it may not seem as though Christ-followers get this kind of respect, but in the heavenlies among the spirit realm, Christ-followers are viewed as royalty–read James 4:7 and 1 John 4:4.
C. God has called us to appreciate, celebrate, respect and delight in every believer as part of one Body of Christ called out to lead the way of righteousness in this world.
D. We should be excited when we assemble together as a church because we are coming to royal gatherings meant to change history! (“I was glad when they said to me, let us go to the house of the Lord,” Psalm 122:1.)
E. I can’t pray as good alone as I can with the church; I need the collective wisdom, the counsel, and encouragement of fellow believers.
F. This explains why you get attacked before coming to church–the enemy doesn’t want you to be a part of this royal throng of VIP’s!
G. Jesus told the church they had the keys of the kingdom, and whatever they bind on earth has been bound in heaven (Matthew 18:18-20).
III. Legacy: “O LORD, You are the portion of my inheritance and my cup; You maintain my lot. The lines have fallen to me in pleasant places; Yes, I have a good inheritance.” (Psalm 16:5-6)
1. This passage shows that when God is your portion and inheritance then your line (territory, measured portion, region) will be in pleasant places and you will have a beautiful inheritance. Don’t seek to promote yourself; seek to posture yourself under God and then you will prosper!
2. If we put God first then we will have the influence, the land, the power and the wealth to enjoy.
3. Every act of ours is an act that affects our inheritance and our portion.
4. Every act of ours towards God goes towards extending our territory and land in the spiritual and physical world!
5. Every act of ours releases God to maintain our lot and our cause!
6. Every act of obedience releases a blessing and a good inheritance for the next generation of believers who will have to take the land and fight the giants their fathers didn’t conquer! (Proverbs 14:26; 13:22)
