You don't need to turn here,
but I'm going to read a couple of verses in Hebrews chapter
8. This is the covenant, this is
God speaking, that I will make with the house of Israel after
those days, saith the Lord. Now if we're saved, this is a
covenant God's made with us. These are the things God's done
to us and for us. I'll put my laws into their minds,
and I'll write them in their hearts. And I will be to them a God.
I'll be their God. They shall be my people. They shall not teach every man
his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord. For all shall know me from the
least to the greatest, and I will be merciful to their
unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember
no more. Boy, if I have this covenant
salvation, I'm sure in good shape. I'm a blessed fellow. The Lord is mine. I'll be their God. I'll make
myself, I'll be their God. And they shall be my people.
And the spirit of obedience will be in their minds and hearts.
And they'll all know the Lord. What's eternal life? Knowing
the Lord. John 17 to 1 John 5. This is
life eternal, that they might know Thee. God is mine. This is the title of my message. And I'm taking my text from Psalm
16. Psalm 16. This is a cry of all God's people. Preserve me, O God, for in Thee
do I put my trust. Is there anything else we can
trust in? No, not at all. Our trust is
in the Lord. O my soul, thou hast said unto the Lord, Thou
art my Lord. My goodness extendeth not to
thee, but to the saints that are in the earth, the excellent
in whom is all my delight. We delight in the saints of God
here below. And our goodness does extend
to them, it does reach to them, it is a help or a hindrance to
them. 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. The Lord is the portion of my inheritance, and of my cup, and he maintains my lot. There
is so much in that little verse. Therefore the lions are fallen
unto me in pleasant places. Yea, I have a goodly heritage. I will bless the Lord who hath
given me counsel. My reigns also instruct me in
the night. Watch as I have set the Lord
always before me. And because He is at my right
hand, I shall not be moved. I shall not be moved. The Lord
is mine. What a wonderful, wonderful,
wonderful thought. If the Lord is yours, that means
Christ is yours. That means you're an heir of
God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ. That means this world
is yours. And one day you'll rule and reign
with Him, be like Him, live with Him forever and ever and ever. My heart is nearly overwhelmed
by this little portion of Scripture. The Lord is my portion. I think about all the people
in this world who have so little, and yet if they have the Lord
as their portion, they're so rich. I thank the people in this
world who have so much. And if the Lord is not their
portion, oh, how poor they are. How poor. If the Lord is not
their portion. The Lord, the true and living
God, the sovereign, eternal creator, sustainer, benefactor, ruler,
judge, that God, the God of this book, Not for my making, but for His.
His purpose. His will. His grace. And His
power. The Lord is my portion. The true
and living God. The sovereign, eternal, creator,
ruler, benefactor, judge. He's mine. He's mine. He's mine. And I'm His. By His covenant. By His mercy. By His purpose. Verse 6, He's the portion of
my inheritance. He's the portion of my cup. He maintains my lot. Consequently, in verse seven,
the lines have fallen unto me in pleasant places. I have a goodly heritage. All in the purpose, power, and
grace of God. As I think about these words,
set thinking about them once again, could not keep from thinking
about what my portion has been thus far in this life. I remember
writing an article in the newspaper, a long article, years ago. what
I've lived through in this world, in this United States of America. The greatest nation that ever
existed, most blessed people on the face of God's earth. And
I've lived through the best times this nation will ever see. Unless
God's pleased to intervene and make a great change. As far as decency, morality,
honesty, prosperity, I've lived through it. I've been through
it. Right after coming after the Second World War, I was there. As far as the fear of the Lord
and respect for His Word, I've seen those people. You won't
hardly believe it, you young ones here this morning, but when
we used to We didn't go to town every day. We didn't go to town
every week before we went to town. We would go in and come
back on Saturday afternoon, and people would be sitting on their
swings on the front porch or sitting under a tree, reading that book. When's the
last time you ever did it? You never did. Some of you never
did. Too busy. Too busy. God have mercy on us. Too busy to read the Book of
Life. Book of Life. Looking back, that was a wonderful time. Looking
at it compared to our day, It was a glorious time. People didn't
have much after the war out in the country in a way. They didn't
have much. They talk about the poverty line
today. They had a lot less and they
weren't, they didn't know they were poor. Everybody's in the
same boat. At the present, I've lived through
these wonderful times. Came back from the service, wonderful
wife. Now I've got family and grandchildren
and healthy and happy and sweet and wonderful. But when I came
back from the service, I bought 10 acres of land with a wonderful
barn on it and built a house on it and all of it together
cost me $10,000. Later on, I bought a 100-acre
farm, making good money, didn't have any worries about paying
it off. Times sure have changed. I don't think I ever have enough
money in the bank nowadays to cause anybody to be envious or
jealous, but I have got some. I got some. I have no inheritance waiting
for me down here. And any moment I may be separated
from all that I have down here. And I won't be sorry, I'll be
glad. Enter thou into the joy of thy Lord. That doesn't sound
like sadness, Betty, it doesn't. Sounded like graduation day. And of all these temporal things,
the Lord is a portion of my cup. That's what that's referring
to, temporal things. The Lord is a portion of my cup. He gave it all to me, whatever
I have. Whatever degree of intelligence I have, it's not much, but God
gave it to me. Didn't have to give me any. I could have been like the maniac
running around in the tomb in the graveyard, cutting himself,
crazy. But He gives to all life and
breath and all things, health, morality, all these things are
in the hands of God. Decency, the true light we have,
it all came from the Lord. 1 Corinthians 4 verse 7. What do you have? God asks you
this question. What do you have that you didn't
receive? Nothing. Nothing. If you received it, why do you
boast in it? God made the difference. One
short, one tall, one dark, one light. One strong, one weak. One very intelligent, the other
not so intelligent. God made the difference. On purpose. On purpose. Came from the Lord. As believers,
we look to God for these things, and we give God the glory. What
gets us in trouble, according to the Scriptures, is when neither
were they thankful nor give God the glory. They weren't thankful. They didn't give God the glory.
It's just like it was meant for them, and it came to them, and
God had nothing to do with it, and they did it on their own. And God just let them go. He
said, you turn your back on me, I'll turn my back on you. We look to God for all these
things. In reality, in reality, we live
on Him and He's our portion. It's all in Him, from Him, for
His glory. The psalmist said this one time
to show where things come from. He said, I was young one time,
and now I'm old. And I've never seen a righteous
man forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. God always supplies. You know why? Because there he
is with his children. He takes care of them. Turn back to Psalm 3 just a moment. These are such simple and yet
comprehensive little verses. Psalm 3, verse 5, I laid me down
and I slept. We all do that sometimes in the
mercies of God. And I awoke because the Lord
sustained me. If you wake up in the morning,
it will be because He sustained you through the night. I found out recently that during
the night when I was supposed to be sleeping, I would go nearly
a minute without taking a breath. Sleep problem. And yet, I waked,
for the Lord sustained me. And therefore, because He is
who He is, and I'm His, He's mine, I'll not be afraid of ten
thousands of peoples that have set themselves against me round
about. Let them gather. I hope they
don't, but I think I won't be afraid. I won't be afraid. Psalm 4, verse 8, I will both lay me down
in peace and sleep for thou, Lord, only make us me to dwell
in safety. What a God. What a God. What a God we have. What a portion. And then, nextly,
God is the portion of my inheritance the portion, the sum, and the
substance, even we might say the totality of my inheritance
because it's all in Him. It all rests with Him. If you
have Christ, you have it. If you don't, you don't. God
is a portion of my inheritance. We have an inheritance reserved
in heaven for us, all believers. who are kept by the power of
God, we have an inheritance reserved in heaven that's incorruptible,
undefiled, and fadeth not away. Now, fadeth not away means this.
It never loses its beauty and attractiveness and its wonder.
Spurgeon said you can listen to the music you love the very
best. And if that's your diet day after
day, you soon get tired of it. But he said, you never get tired
of this inheritance. It just grows more and more beautiful
and wonderful. It's infinite. It's infinite. Boundless, faceless. It's infinite. What a God. What a portion. God
is a portion of our inheritance. I grew up hearing people talk
about golden streets and Pearl, gates of pearl and all that stuff
in heaven. That seemed to be what their
hearts were fastened to. That seemed to be what attracted
them to this heavenly country. But Christ, those are just trimmings. If those pearls are real, if
those jewels are real, if those golden streets are real, literally
real, they won't mean much to the saints of God. Not like gold
does now. When they get up there, they
walk on it. They just walk on it. They just walk on it. But now
they love to sing and shout about those golden streets. God himself
is the light of that city. The light. God himself is the
glory of that city. God himself in Christ is all
and in all in that city. He's everything. Men won't be
gazing around looking for golden streets and precious jewels.
They'll be gazing on Christ forever and ever and ever throughout
eternity. He's the center of attention
of that heavenly city. God is a portion of our inheritance. In Christ, we have light, life,
love, wisdom, righteousness, sanctification, redemption, everything
needful for time and eternity. It's all in Christ. Comes from
God as a free gift. We have all this by our union
with the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the big vine tree. We're
just little branches. But all of our life maintenance
comes from Him. Sustenance comes from Him. We
live on Him. The life is in the trunk. And
that's what that is. The vine tree. One might wonder,
and I have wondered, if perhaps I could hold on and hold out
to the end. And then we have this next wonderful
statement. God maintains my lot. Not only do I have all these
blessings, God maintains my lot in these things. God maintains
my lot. Be confident, Paul said, I'm
confident of this one thing concerning you saints there at Philippi
and all the saints of God. I'm confident of this one thing,
that he which began a good work in you, he won't quit until you're
exactly like Christ. He'll perform it till the day
of Jesus Christ, Philippians chapter 1 and verse 6. Philippians chapter 2, verses
12 and 13, he works in you both the will and to do of his good
pleasure. It's God's work from God's heart
and God's purpose and God's plan, God's power and God's grace.
He maintains my lot. You might lose an inheritance
down here, that in the providence of God, but you'll never lose
that one. It's reserved in heaven for you who are kept by the power
of God through faith. Reserved. You're reserved for
heaven. Heaven's reserved for you. That's
God's plan. That's God's purpose. Hold out? I think so. Look at Exodus 17
just a moment. We're kept by the power of God
through faith. Exodus 17. Look at this wonderful statement. They had a battle going here.
Had a battle going. And it came to pass in verse
11, when Moses held up his hand that Israel prevailed. They progressed
in the war. They drove the enemy back. And
when he let down his hand, Amalek, the Amalekites prevailed. They
were driving Israel back. But Moses' hands were heavy.
Did you ever try to hold your hands up for any length of time? They do get heavy. And so they took a stone and
put it under him. He could sit down. And Aaron and Hur, stayed his
hands, or held up his hands, one on one side, the other on
the other side, and his hands were steady till the going down
of the sun. They won the war. They won the
war. God holds up our hands. We're
going to win. Gates of hell shall not prevail
against us. We're winners in the Lord Jesus
Christ. By His work, by His power, by
His grace, He holds up our hands, and we're going to win the battle.
God is the portion of my inheritance. Christ is heaven. To be with
Him and like Him is heaven. That's the hope that's set before
us. to be with Him, to be like Him. And when we see Him, we'll
be made just like Him. When we see Him. God's a portion
of our inheritance. God maintains my lot. He never came down here from
heaven to earth to try to do something, to attempt to do something,
to make an offer to people that they might accept or reject.
He came down here to save His people from their sins. He came
down here to bring many sons unto glory. And that's exactly
what He's going to do. He shall see of the travail of
His soul, His sufferings, and be satisfied. Be satisfied. They accomplished what He set
out to do. He shall save His people from their sins. Turn back to Deuteronomy just
a moment. Deuteronomy. This is the foundation of it
all. We've made the foundation in
our day, our acceptance, what we do, what we say, what we pray,
these things. But the foundation of it all
is what God did, what God purposed, what God planned, and what God
does. That's why we trust in Him, not
ourselves. Verse 8, Deuteronomy 32, 8, When
the Most High divided the nations their inheritance, When he separated
the sons of Adam, he set the bounds of the people according
to the number of the children of Israel. For the Lord's portion is his
people. Jacob is the lot of his inheritance. That's why we're safe. We're
in his hands. We're on his heart. We're on
his mind. Each moment of each day. He's our inheritance because
He made us His inheritance. Made us His inheritance. I am
His and He is mine. One other place. Look at 2 Samuel,
just a moment. 2 Samuel 23. 2 Samuel 23. Now these, you've read the life
of David, you're somewhat familiar with the life of David. Now these
be the last words of David. Important words, deathbed words. David the son of Jesse said,
the man who was raised up on high and appointed of the God
of Jacob, the sweet psalmist of Israel, This is what he said.
These are his deathbed words. The Spirit of the Lord spake
by me. His word was in my tongue. The
God of Israel said, the Rock of Israel spake to me. He that
ruleth over men must be just, ruling in the fear of the Lord.
Well, he made a lot of mistakes. David did. And it goes on to
say, and he shall be as a light in the morning. He was a bad
light. He's a bad example of some of
the things he did. When the sun rises, even a morning
without clouds is a tender grass springing upon the earth by clear
shining after rain. And then he says these wonderful,
wonderful, comforting, encouraging, supporting words. Although my
house be not so with God, I fail so miserably. Yet, He hath made
with me an everlasting, unchanging, unchangeable covenant, ordained,
ordered rather, in all things, and absolutely sure. This is
all my salvation, all my desire. God made with me an everlasting
covenant. My salvation is by covenant.
My salvation is of the Lord. God made with me an everlasting
covenant. He said, I'll be their God, and
they'll be my people. I'll put my law in their minds
and in their hearts. And their sins and iniquities
will I remember no more. They're my people. He made us
His people. He made us to be the apple of His eye. Having
said these things, you only have one thing left to say. Surely
the lions have fallen unto me in pleasant places. I have a
goodly heritage. I'm in the hands of the Lord.
God's done all these things by His own purpose and will and
power and grace. He maintains my lot, everything
sure and certain. And so, we can sing the 23rd
Psalm with joy. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. Surely the lions have fallen
to me in pleasant places. Boy, he's had a good life, yeah.
The Lord, the Lord blessed him. The Lord led him and called him
and guided him and kept him. Ordered in all things ensure.
God is mine. And He is a suitable, sufficient,
satisfying portion. Did you hear those three words?
Suitable, just what I need. Fits my need exactly. Sufficient,
all I need. and a satisfying portion. Satisfying portion. If one has
Him, he has that good portion, that eternal portion. Look at
Psalm 63 just a moment. I want you to see this. Spurgeon
got up in front of several thousand people one morning, began preaching. Yeah. Look at these words. And with
the people of God, heart answereth unto heart. We have the same
desires, the same longing, the same faith, the same hope, the
same God. O God, Thou art my God. Early will I seek Thee. My soul
thirsteth for Thee. My flesh longeth for Thee. in
a dry and thirsty land where there's no water, where no water
is. I need God. I long for God. Spurgeon
said that morning, he said, anybody here this morning akin to David. Anyone here this morning spiritually
akin to David. You have the same things in your
heart. You long for God in this dry
and thirsty land, this waste and howling wilderness. Do you
long for the Lord? Listen, next. To see the power,
to see His power and His glory, as I have seen Thee in the sanctuary. I have some longing, not what
I ought to have, not what I wish to have, hope to have. And I
have some longing to see this, to see the power of God work
in this church, work in His country, work in His people. Because His loving kindness is
better than life. My lips shall praise Thee. And
it goes on and on. My lips shall praise Thee. Oh God, Thou art my God. Early will I seek Thee. Your loving kindness is better
than life, and my lips will praise Thee. Philippians chapter 3, the Apostle
Paul said, I count all things but loss and dung. For the excellency
of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. All of this, what I
thought was beneficial to my soul is religion, rituals, law
keeping, all these things. I count them but loss. I have
suffered the loss of them. I count them but no. For the
excellency of the knowledge of Christ Jesus, my Lord. To know
God. They don't amount to a thing.
They're vain, worse than vanity. and the excellency of the knowledge
of Christ. I'll tell you this morning, a
lot of people here, and I don't know what you're interested in,
most interested in, but I know what you better be most interested
in. God and His glory. Christ and His salvation. It
doesn't matter whether you live in a shack or a palace, if you
know God. Because this life, Paul said,
is but for a moment. It seems like I just started.
My brother called me the other day. This past week, he's trying
to write a book, and he was talking to me about things that happened
when we were children. It seemed like that was just
a little while ago. But this week, I'll be 68 years
old and in poor health. May depart at any time. But it's not a bad thing. Death
is a friend to the people of God. Death is a friend to the
people of God. Let's just be sure our hearts
are in the right place because wherever your heart is, that's
because your treasure is there. Your treasure is there. That's
where your heart's going to be. It doesn't matter so much whether
one is in poverty or wealth. God's people pretty soon are
going to be plum well. And they're already so rich. Doesn't matter whether one is
in sickness or health. God's people pretty soon are
going to be completely well. Never another pain or sorrow
or even heartache. Completely well. Made like Christ. Eternal youth. Forever. Unchanging forever. May God bless these words to
every heart. Set your affections on things
above. while it's today, while it's God still granting space
to repent.