V2. The Christian’s Greatest Need

Introduction

Hallelujah. Have you been enjoying the conference? More importantly, have you been blessed?

The purpose of a conference like this is for you to step out of normal life for a couple of days, and to really focus on God. His goodness. His majesty. His power, holiness, beauty. His love.

Our God is eternal.

And our hope is for you to catch a bigger vision of the God we worship. Something you didn’t see before. And as you see God truly, you see yourself truly. For you belong to Him.

Please turn with me to Psalm 16.

I’ll read it for you, and I’d like you to follow along.

Based on this psalm, I’d like to share a message with the title, “The Christian’s Greatest Need.”

What is your greatest need?

I’m going to argue that your greatest need, every moment of every day, is to take refuge in God. That’s your greatest need.

See, our needs change all the time. When it’s 7am, you need to wake up. When it’s 7pm, you need to eat.

you are hungry, you need food. When you are lonely, you need a friend. We all have different needs.

And the psalms show us how to pray in times of need.

Psalm 91 when your life is in danger.

Psalm 51 for forgiveness when you’ve sinned against God.

Psalm 23 for when you’re feeling anxious.

But psalm 16 is a prayer concerning something we need at all times. In fact, I would say it is our greatest need. It is the need to take refuge in God.

David prays, “Preserve me O God, for in You I take refuge.” “God, preserve me. God, hold on to me. God, cause me to endure and overcome any sinful temptations. Cause me to choose Your will rather than my will, Your ways rather than my ways, Your thoughts rather than my thoughts.”

And when that happens, prayer comes about naturally. Easily even. You can’t help but pray, because you are just so aware of your weakness. You stop treating prayer as a fire extinguisher and you start treating prayer as oxygen. And when it’s time to sing, you don’t just sing because everyone else is singing, but instead your soul worships God. That’s how important it is for us to understand this psalm, for it shows us what it looks like to take refuge in God. I’ve summarized it into three declarations.

“I have no good apart from You” (v.2)

The first declaration is in the second verse. I’ll read from verses 1 to 4.

Psalm 16:1–4 ESV

1 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.

See that? David says, “You are my Lord, I have no good apart from You.”

This is a statement about our weakness. David was a man who accomplished much good in his life. He was the greatest king of Israel. He led Israel from strength to strength, and all the surrounding nations feared him. David, the king.

But here David says, “God, there was nothing good in my life that didn’t come from You. Apart from You, I have done nothing good. I have received nothing good unless it came from Your hand.” That’s what it means to take refuge in God. It means to abandon any hope in anything that’s not God.

Now, I need you to understand what this means. See, from the very beginning, God created Adam, not with rare metals like gold or silver, not with precious gems of diamond ruby or sapphire. God made Adam with dirt. Common and easy to find. When something’s on discount, you say it’s “dirt cheap.”

But God breathed His breath of life into the dirt, and He made the crown jewel of all creation, the wonderful, precious, and glorious man. That’s what we are. We are nothing on our own. And so David prays, “Preserve me, O God. Don’t leave me. Don’t take Your breath away from me.”

See, there’s no such thing as a strong mighty Christian. There’s only a weak and sinful man who knows he is weak, and so he clings to God in desperation. “God, preserve me. My heart is sinful, my heart is prone to wander. Preserve me. Don’t let me run after other gods.”

Jesus in John 15:5 said this.

John 15:5 ESV

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.

That’s what it means to take refuge in God. It means to depend on God completely. It means that you abandon your pride and confess “God, I have no good apart from You. I’m just a branch. I’m just like common dirt. And so I need You to preserve me.”

Now, something happens in your heart when this becomes your declaration. Your heart changes. You stop delighting in the things of the flesh, because now that road only leads to sorrow. And instead you delight in the things of God and in the people of God.

David says “in the saints is all my delight.” Why?

It’s because the saints are the living proof that God preserves those who take refuge in Him. See? They are the evidence that if you put your confidence not in yourself but in God, God won’t let you down. Ask your small group leaders, your pastors, your elders, “Does God really answer your prayers? Has God really helped you?” Do that, and you will taste the delight David’s talking about.

On the other hand, you stop being impressed by people of the world and their worldly pursuits. You stop delighting in people who run after false gods. But David doesn’t just stop there. He makes a firm determination in his heart to stay away from that kind of lifestyle.

So what David’s really saying is this. He’s saying, “God, I will not live for the things of this world. I will not live like them. I will not speak like them. I will not find my confidence in anything else, because I take refuge in God.”

Have you made such a determination in your heart, that you will abandon all hope in the things of the flesh? If not, then tonight’s the night to make these words your own.

Now, the second declaration is in verse 5.

“The Lord is my chosen portion” (v.5)

Psalm 16:5–8 ESV

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.

There are two pictures here.

In the first picture, there is a waiter serving food and drink. Everyone gets a portion, everyone gets a cup. But not all portions are the same. Which portion will you choose? Which cup will you take?

In the second picture, a father has died, and now the land is being divided among his sons. They are using string and pegs in the ground. And the sons are casting lots to decide who gets the better portion of land. Which lot will you draw?

David says, “The Lord is my chosen portion.” This means that whatever the cost, David chooses obedience.

You can think of Abraham, who chose to obey God’s Word even if it meant sacrificing Isaac.

It is a faith that seeks God’s heart before seeking God’s hand.

Now, let’s go a little deeper.

David says “The Lord is my chosen portion. The Lord is my cup. He holds my lot”

What does it mean that He holds my lot? It means that however the dice rolls, the result is decided by God. That’s what it means.

It means that God decides my portion, and my portion is God. God decides my cup, and my cup is God. God decides my inheritance, and my inheritance is God.

It means that whether you get into your dream school, or a dream job, or a dream boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, wife, or whether you stay single for the rest of your life, it all comes from God for the purpose of bringing you closer to God. It comes from God in order to bring you closer to God. That’s what it means.

See, when David prays “Preserve me O God”, what is he praying to be preserved from? Isn’t it from his own sinfulness? Isn’t it from his own desire to run after other gods and satisfy the desires of the flesh?

Likewise, when we pray “Preserve me”, we’re really praying for God to save us in spite of our sinfulness. We’re praying, “God, starve the desires of the flesh in my heart. Don’t give me success if it makes me leave You.”

That is the difference between a true Christian and a person who just goes to church.

Please think about this.

Many times we learn that we need to give God the first place in our lives. God comes first. And that’s true. But that’s not enough. He is more than that. He is holy and set apart. He does not belong on a list of priorities. God must be everything. That’s what it means when you say He is your chosen portion. It means that everything you do, you do for Him and His glory.

When a man came to Jesus asking, “What is the greatest commandment?” Remember what Jesus said? “Love the Lord your God with all your heart, soul and mind.” All means all. All doesn’t mean 23 hours a day. All doesn’t mean 99%. All means all.

And until you realize this, you will be sleepwalking through your life of faith. Church will feel like a burden. Reading the Bible will feel like a burden. Praying will feel like a burden. Because God just becomes a box to tick on your to-do list so you can move on to the other stuff.

That’s not the Christian faith. David says in verse 8, “I have set the Lord always before me.” Twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. Always. I will live facing God, I will direct my life toword God. I will walk toward God.

So please understand that God must be your everything. And everything you do must be for God. That’s what it means to say “The Lord is my chosen portion.” That’s what it means to take refuge in God.

Let’s look at the third and final declaration.

“My whole being rejoices” (v.8)

Finally, David declares that God will save him, spirit, soul, and body.

Psalm 16:9–10 ESV

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.

Now, David answers the question implied in verse 1. Preserve me O God. From what? From death and Sheol and corruption.

Could you show me your right hand? If you’re left-handed, show me your left hand. How often do you use this hand? Can you think of anything you do without it?

When David says “God is at my right hand,” he’s saying that God is so close by, and He is so readily available to help you.

And so David goes on to say “Therefore my heart is glad, and my whole being rejoices; my flesh also dwells secure.”

But then he gives another reason.

“For you will not abandon my soul to Sheol, or let your holy one see corruption.”

So not only is God the all-powerful Creator, He is also an all-loving Father who makes Himself available to you.

The oval office in the whitehouse belongs to the most powerful man in the entire world. The president of the United States. Not just anyone can walk in there. You need to be extremely important or useful to even have a chance of stepping inside. But I want to show you a picture. Take a look.

*SHOW PICTURE*

That’s John F. Kennedy. And that below is his son, who can just walk in at any time.

Now, God the Father

Conclusion (v.11)