10-5-25 - The Lord is My Portion

Well, as I said, good morning. It's good to have all of you. As a church, this past week has been fairly busy. And it's not been slowing down. And I wanted to say that I am very grateful for our Don't be rumbling about the work.

Be joyful. Well, let's turn to Psalm 119. We'll be reading verses 57 through 64. This is the het stanza. Familiar verses in Psalm 119, or maybe on the second tier of familiar verses.

And it says that the Lord is my this morning, I want us to consider if the Lord is your claim him

as your and if you would claim that the Lord is your

and if you would claim that the Lord is your if your life actually reflects Yeah. Is to exhort you and to I want to exhort you to claim God as your not of this world. Now, what we're going to do, the structure of this is the majority of it will be on the first verse, and the first half of the first verse, which is the Lord is my Portion. Cause the dwarfs, the rest of the verses sort of flow out from. So we're gonna talk about that, and then we'll look at how of the other verses.

And then,

we'll look at

how the other verses fit.

And then, for the reading of God's word. So, Psalm one hundred and nineteen fifty seven through 64. The Lord is my portion. Your favor with all my heart. Be gracious to me according to your word.

I consider my ways and turned my feet to your testimony. And did not delay to keep your command. The cords of the wicked have encircled me, but I have not forgotten your I shall rise to give thanks to your your righteous purest. The earth is full of your loving kindness. So a It's just a word.

It's just a word. Thanks. The Lord is all capitalized. The idea is when when in Genesis, when you go through the book of Genesis, the word for God is just sort of a generic name for and then once we exodus chapter three, God reveals himself in a unique way to in a unique way to the name that he reveals himself is a name that's spelled Yod or Yod Va We call that the Tetra would not speak that. Maybe a star to the but God had given them.

And so when you read through your and and and and So usually in a double phrase like that, it would be Adonai. Yeah. Why do I A couple reasons, one is and and and and

a

it's very important that we understand the words that we're reading. And so I want you to understand what you're reading. And which the trans they're doing in the text. And they'll tell you things like the reason why Lord is all capitalized is we're referring to this specific covenantal name of God. And so when the psalmist portion, he's talking about something in particular.

He's talking about the God of Israel. He's talking about the God who had covenanted. And so when the Psalmist makes this claim that God is his portion, he's talking about the God who had covenanted. And so when the Psalmist makes this claim that God is his portion, he's talking about something in particular. He's talking about the God who had covenanted.

And Now you say, well, what would happen? A man only has daughters. Well, that actually happens, right? We have the daughters. It's a little However, there is one tribe which is unique and all of the and all of the and all of the and all of the

the tribe of and all of the the tribe of the tribe of the tribe of

God gives instructions about the and the inheritance that the priest should receive to and this is what and this is what and this is what and you shall have no inheritance in their land nor own any portion amongst them. I am your portion and your inheritance among the sons of Israel. So, the the of the land

is so important, half the book of Joshua's given to them.

So, Half the book of Joshua's divination. And all the tribes get it. And it's so important the Lord limits who would be able to be like who women could marry in particular tribes if they didn't have a brother to inherit the territory to conquer and to pass on to their sons, but not

the

11 of the tribes get the land and the cities and the vineyards and all this stuff. And then the Levites don't get and then the Levites don't get and then the Levites don't get and then the Levites don't get and then the Levites don't get and then the Lev Levites

don't and then

the Levites don't and then the

Levites don't and then the Levites don't and then the

Levites don't well, obviously, the other tribes don't have it better. But then when we say the Levites have their inheritance, it's you may feel obligated to say, well, obviously, Levi had it better. Because we know, God's

a

The Levites are actually a A A A A

A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A A

A A A A A A A A A

Leah.

Levi had the best inheritance. When we claim God

as our portion, we are saying that we have an inheritance

that is a and it's a than anything the world has to offer. Thomas Manton, the Puritan pastor says that we are to be spiritual that we are to be spiritual lie. That that's the tribe we should want to associate with. The one who had God as their portion and inheritance. And

then

the portion with which we have and draw is better than anything that the world has to offer or a damn, so much of our are caught up and grasped, and grasps, and grasps, and grasps, and and so at earthly I'm gonna read this quote from Jeremiah. It's just from his book, The Rare Jewel of Christian Content. But he's getting at this point, and he illustrates it real well. A little in the world will content a Christian for his past. Mark, here lies the mystery of it.

A little in the world will content a Christian for his passage. But portion. A carnal heart will be content with these things of the world for his the mystery of true contentment. A contented man, though he is more contented with the least things in the world, yet he is the most dissatisfied man that lives in the world.

And then And then And then And then and then and then and

then and then and then and then and then when it comes through his journey and this And

this And this And this And this And this And this And this And this And this

and the world is just the road I try. A Christian can be content with any amount of provision in this world, but he will never be content with the And how awesome the promises of this world seem to be. And the Christian's portion is God. Earthly portions get lost. Right?

Our riches rust. They're stolen. They fail. Honor is fleeting. Fame is fleeting.

Friends can come

and go. They betray us.

They betray us. Unsatisfied. And when you die, they're gone. He who dies with the most toys, dies. But a heavenly portion is what?

It's free. Sufficient. And and and we have to remember that the way we use sufficient is not how it's used when the Puritans are talking about it. Right? We think of sufficient as being bare minimum like it's it's adequate, right?

But that's not a biblical concept of God being sufficient. It can't hold more. It's the cup that runs over. So the earthly port so a heavenly portion is free. It's it's and this world, we don't fully realize what it means to have the Lord as our portion.

It's not until we get to heaven that we'll actually realize it. And then it's going to take us all of eternity to actually learn

what it means. And then it's going to

take us all of eternity to actually learn what it means. But how true is this? AVA. AVA. AVA.

AVA.

AVA. AVA. AVA. AVA.

AVA. AVA. AVA. AVA. A we A little further down, and we'll talk about this more in a minute, but the psalmist considers his what What makes you angry?

How much do you worry about your stuff and about money? You know, when I think about what makes us angry and upset, sometimes it makes me wonder if we care more about this world than the one to draw. And we think that our portion here, the toys we have here, the stuff we have here, and better to us than the portion that we have in the Now, don't hear what I'm not saying. I'm not saying that this world doesn't matter.

The world matters.

Our bodies matter. Our bodies matter. Our bodies in this world are vitally important to us. But why they're important to the Christian is drastically different than why they're important to the world. For the believe, this world matters because it is all that they have.

Of course they have a mad scrabble over. And today because tomorrow they will die, and they will have nothing to eat, drink, or be merry about at that. If this world is all that they have, then they are going to fight and argue and live and act in such a way as if this world is all that they have.

And it is Christians that ought not to be. And it is Christians that ought not to be. And it is Christians that ought not to be. And it is Christians that ought not

to be. And it is Christians that ought not to be. And It's Christians. That ought not to be us. Because this world is not all that we have.

It's important because how we live and act and move here has and so that we will bring a greater joy and pleasure and glory to our father and It's not irrelevant how we live here. But we don't live here for the good things of this life. To striify our father and to stri after that greater and So we ought to consider what our fear and our anxiety say about now? Maybe a good question to ask would be, what would our co workers, your husband, and your wife say? What

would

others say as they look at your family? That your

to

It's living

for something.

A as his inheritance. The Lord is my portion. I have promised to keep your words. Faith and obedience are in the

and and and

and and and and and and and and

and and and and and and and

forms, and forms, and forms, and forms, that he is the goal, the end

of our life, that he is the one that brings meaning and forms, and forms, and forms, and forms, and forms, that he is the goal, the end of our

life, that he is the one that brings meaning and forms, and Because resolve is necessary for us. To strengthen us when times of temptation come. Because our hearts are hard I mean, the the most common ways that we see this are in baptism. This is who we will be and these are the things we're promising to do and then we should consider the vows that we've made. And that should help strengthen us.

If nothing else, maybe our desires are going one way, but we gave our word. So we won't follow the desires.

Ought

to resolve to follow God wherever he leads, whatever commands that he gives. And their whole life is lived in fear of a and who's going to inherit them with all the right? So they're constantly living and trembling and the whole plot of the story is, well, they offended the person and now they're trying to get back at the person's good graces because they want to inherit the. Right? Well, it's not that we earn our a free gift.

It's gracious, right? He says, be gracious to me according to your word, the promises within scripture. But we ought to live in such a way as that we gain the favor of a and so We need gods, and so We need gods, and so So some of you have a lot of difficulties right now with and you And you have to think, whose favor am I living for? Who do I want to have peace with? Soma.

And the somas is saying the favor that we need is God's favor.

And

our families for truth and righteousness and and obedience to him and his word than about the favor. And there's a and coming before the Lord in well done, good and faithful slave. Enter the joy of my And you're gonna hear those words, live for God's favor. And and seeking his favor because he is your you can have hope in the fear of loss of a relationship and in the because God is gracious, and he operates according to his word, and in it are rich and deep and and deep and and and and and

and and and and and

And it says, if you love them more

than me, you're on and it's not just father and mother, but father it is father and mother, but because those are like

the closest relationship. And it says, if you love them more than me, you're on The Psalmist goes on and it's a I have and turned my feet to your Sallmist claims God as his portion. He promises to keep God's word. He says, I have sought your and when he is maybe In his own eyes, when he enters a room, no one is as smart. Today is a community.

We ought not to partake of communion if we have not rightly judged our Are we walking in our own way or in the way of the Right? We ought to consider our ways, which is what some of us need to hear. Some of us do have a tendency to consider our way.

But do we

then and we

align

with God's way. When you do this, you may leave others behind. It will be worth it. Well, he goes on and he says, I I hastened and did not delay to keep your command. It's not good enough as I was just saying.

It's not good enough to just consider your way, but then you have to And he says, I hastened.

And

then, have you been convicted? I see this problem. I need to say

do

you start rationalizing why you don't actually have to do and not give our fickle hearts, wicked people. And at different points, we're more or less surrounded by these wicked people.

And as we are, we're always given a choice. And as we are, we're always given a choice.

And as we are, we're always given a choice. And as we are, we're always given a choice. And as we are, we're always

given a choice. And as What happens when we're at school or at work when we're being observed by unbelievers, reveals much about us and much of where our hope is placed? It will give us the strength to no matter what they say or do to us, we know we have an inheritance that's beyond their touch. And, strengthen us to withstand the temptations and the pressures put on us by wicked men, because we know we have that of which they cannot comprehend. And and to fear what they can do.

And and it's beyond their capabilities to affect our body. Yeah. And so it can do is touch our stuff or our body. Yeah. And Thomas Manton says that external pressures discover the soundness of our choice.

If God be our portion, the loss of other things will not make us quit his And the pressure that we have of being surrounded by wicked men and their snare. He says, at midnight, I shall rise to give thanks to you, because your of your righteous ordinance. God, it's so Yeah. It's not how miserable his life is and how his enemies are surrounding. Sob.

It's not laying in bed doing it hoping to fall back asleep. He wakes up and he goes and gets up and rejoices and gives thanks. And I this is a foreign const this is a foreign concept. I mean, to think that maybe the wakefulness that we have at night means that we should consider our ways, repent of them, and give thanks to seamless friendship. Bad company corrupts good morals.

See, the proud man has friends who are scoffers, softer kinship than meet Yeah. And someone's house who don't know you from But there is a who said, hey, these are Christians and they need a place to stay. Could they stay in your house? And they welcome you with a there you're a Christian. We're Christians.

And there's just a sweetness to the fellowship knowing that that we may differ on theology and and and are

a

And so it's a bond that unites us deeper than any other rejection, and the unity that we have with believers who fear the -And -And the -And the -And the as their And finally, he says that the earth is full of the Lord's loving kindness. And, you know, probably one of the couple Hebrew words that most people should know or know, his loving kindness, his mercy, his faithfulness, this covenience that he has with his people. But it's God is

faithful. And we should not fear because God is faithful. And we should not fear because God is faithful.

And we should not fear because God is faithful and Joseph, and David, and Daniel, and Peter, and and to me and to me and to me and to me and to me and to me and to world. When has the sun failed to draw? God is full of love and kindness, and it spills out to the whole world. This grace, which is common to man. So we ought to look at that, and we ought to take comfort and strength in the fact that God, and So, The earthly portions are fragile.

It's it's better than any comfort you can find in this world. Yeah. We should be spiritual Levites saying that the Lord is my inheritance. See God's favor. Obey.

And take courage in the fact that God is steadfast in his love. And he delights to give good things to his. Psalmist, the the Lord is our Let's pray. As children of you, Our lives would be markedly different than those around. Administrations turn over.

And as stock markets go up and down, and as we have losses, that our hope and strength is beyond this world. It's a and the delight that we can have knowing that we are not dependent. We have the pleasure of taking the Lord's Supper today. The elders would please come forward. The words of remembrance of and in the same way, he took the cup also after supper.

This cup is the new covenant in my do this as often for as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup. You pro the Lords death on to a their whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup

of the Lord in an unworthy manner shall be guilty of the body and the

blood of the Lord. Man must examine him. And so doing he is to eat of the bread and drink of the for he who eats and drinks, eats and drinks judgment to himself if he does not judge the body. Right. So that we will not be condemned along with the when you come together to eat, wait for one another.

If anyone is at home so that you will not come together for joy. The remaining matters. The remaining matters. The The remaining matters I will arrange when I come. What we have here in the Lord's Supper.

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A day, all those who are his people will come to heaven. And we will And we will And It's a little Rather, we'll have a whole wedding feast. This is to give us hope. It's a promise of the great feast that is to and the joy that it is to come when we are in the presence of the a the Lord's Supper, in the Lord's Supper, Christ is here. Is and a carnal physical sense, so that as we eat the bread, we're not actually chewing up Christ's body.

There's nothing magical about this. The power of the have faith that is united with the power of the Holy Spirit. And in it, we don't rip Christ back down to Yeah. Spiritually. We ascend to be with And that is why there are such strict warnings.

And this is for those who fear and love the Lord, not for those I am with him. But if you're not with him, if you reject his first, you must go back and be reunited. That wrong must be righted. And say that you have unity with and unity with the body. Because we're partaking of one cup and work that we must look at ourselves and see if we're living in an unrepeptant.

And if we need to repent of that before we come to the Lords' day. The but find joy in the and if that's and if that's take joy and find hope

And