A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.A Psalm by David. Yahweh is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing.A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.A Psalm of David. Jehovah is my shepherd; I shall not want.
42 sermons cite this verse
… He comes through with child support payments. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. Makes me lie down in green pastures. Leaves me beside still waters. Restores my soul. Leaves me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He ain't delinquent with child support. Anybody ever had a child support payment? Child support payment. No weapon formed against you can prosper. Child support payment. What they meant for evil, God turns for good. Child support payments. Oh my God. And so Jesus says, when you know God, is going to be on time with child support payments. You better live every day in your bag. In your bag. I'm in my bag, y'all. I'm in my bag. That's the culture. Y'all know that when you're in your bag, it means you're in a zone. Stuff is happening. And you're doing stuff even beyond your own capacity. …
… Spit, God. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Spit, God. God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in the time of trouble. Spit, God. Order my steps in your word, dear Lord. Order my steps in your word. I've got to quit. Here's the last thing. I'm done. Finally, the text says this, and it shouts me. text says that Peter, watch this, had a platform. He then pivoted and now the text says he's promoted into purpose. Jesus says something and I'm going to slow this down because this is the part that a lot of us have been brought up under a teaching that is white evangelical. It's white Christian nationalism. and ain't got nothing to do with the deal. Here it is, here it is. He says, from now on, you're going to fish after people. And so the Billy Graham types, they've made this into an evangelism text. From now on, you're going to win souls. Fish after people. No. …
… to David to write, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is in charge of me. The Lord is responsible for me. The Lord provides for me. The Lord will guide me. The Lord will talk to me. The Lord will heal me. The Lord is my shepherd. I know you can say those five words, the Lord is my shepherd. I know you can say those words, but my question is, can you say them? Can you really say them? The Lord is my shepherd. Can you say them triumphantly? The Lord is my shepherd. Can you say them personally? The Lord is my shepherd. Can you say them trustingly? The Lord is. my shepherd. That the one who existed before time began has placed himself in charge of me. He goes ahead of me. He comes up behind me. He stands to the right. He stands to the left. He leads me. The Lord is my shepherd. Friends, I would say to you that those five words are the fount out of which the river of hope Let's go. …
… by the record of the supernatural interventions of God. He says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I mentioned it this morning, second service. I'll say it again here. be more connected to what God has said about you to the point where you declare it over your life. In other words, this is what I mean. Declare over your life. I shall not want. I shall not want for anything. I shall not. There is no lack. I am not in lack. There is no lack in Him. I am rich in Christ. I may have a challenge here. I may have a challenge there, but I don't see the unseen realm. And I am in Christ where there is no limitation, no restriction, no restraint of answers and breakthrough. When this was declared, the Lord is my shepherd. He's my pastor. And because of that, I shall not want, I will never lack for anything. I will never lack. Yeah, but Bill, you don't know my circumstances. …
… That's amazing. I read Psalm 23 one time too, you know? But he's saying, but it's no picnic. We shouldn't think that it's all gonna be a walk in the park. We shouldn't be so naive as to think that following God is not going to involve adversity. It is not going to involve difficulty. And so what I want to do with you today is to teach you how to think about the suffering that you face while you follow Jesus so that it really can be possible for you to grow in your suffering. If you anticipate it, if you expect it, and if you have a plan for it, You won't be caught off guard by it. And you do not have to be shipwrecked by life's difficulties. If you know they're coming, if you're ready for them, if you have a plan for them, they don't have to catch you off guard. And I believe in Jesus' name that some of you, some of us, are going to grow in tremendous ways that we never could have grown otherwise had it not been for our hardships. …
… So up here on the screen, let's read this together. The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the right paths for his name's sake. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. And then he says, maybe. Thank you. Your rod and your staff comfort me. You prepare a banquet for me in front of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now I want you to notice first that this psalm begins and ends with the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. And it ends with, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. This psalm is all about God. …
… at a disadvantage. The odds may be against you, but God has already equipped and empowered you for every season. David said it this way, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. One version says, I have everything I need. That's a powerful place to live from. Not, I'm not attractive enough and I don't have the talent. This problem's too big. As long as you think you're lacking, you're going to get stuck. You have to change your mindset. Get out of that not enough mentality. Can't do it too big. Do like David having, I have everything I need mentality. I am well able. That's how David could defeat a giant with just a slingshot. That's how he could outlast King Saul who was so jealous. That's why he didn't get discouraged when his father left him out in the shepherd's fields. He knew number one the lord is my shepherd. I'm not doing this by myself I have a protector a defender a way maker And number two he believed that the lord his shepherd had put in him everything he needed That he wasn't lacking that he wasn't deficient He didn't go around thinking. I wish I had more courage then i'd face that giant Wish I had more talent then I could become a king if I had more strength. I could deal with saul We wouldn't be talking about David if he didn't believe that he had everything he needed for each season he was in. …
… This is what David meant when he wrote, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Only the person who can say, The Lord is my shepherd can then say, I shall not want. And if you're saying to me right now, You're always wanting. It always has to be the next thing, the bigger thing, the latest thing, or whatever. Is the Lord really your shepherd? Have you really come to know Him the way you need to? Contentment is not a state of account, as I said, but a state of heart. Real contentment is found in making the most of the least. Real contentment is found in making the most of the least. Now look at what Paul says in verse 13. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me. Now understand, Paul had the very unusual experience of dying and going to heaven and coming back to earth again, which, you know, actually wouldn't be that great of a thing. …
… Very familiar passage. The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the right paths for his name's sake. And even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me. You prepare a banquet for me in front of my enemies, and you anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Thank you. Now there are a lot of metaphors in this passage. David is a shepherd and he's using the shepherd motif, talking about all the ways that God wants to bless your life. And today I want us to focus on the meaning of verse 4, which is this phrase, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. …
… because you memorize it in king james that's perfectly fine all right let's stay together the lord is my shepherd i have everything that i need he makes me lie down in green pastures He leaves me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leaves me in the right path for his name's sake. And even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Very good class. You all get an A and you all get a cookie. now this phrase even though i walked through the valley of the shadow of death there's actually a canyon in israel called the valley of the shadow of death i'm sure david had been through it many many times some of these canyons were very narrow at the bottom and could be 800 feet tall and so when you're looking up on either side the only time you'd get the sun is actually at noon day And so in the middle of the day, you could be in the bottom of this canyon and not see the sun because the walls were so tall and the canyon was so narrow, the sun only shines when it's right overhead and it would be in shadows most of the day. …
… I feel this. David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. we, you have to understand want for nothing is kind of like the old English, to want for nothing means you have nothing it doesn't mean I want something, no it means you have nothing, to want for nothing that was the language back then, to want for nothing a better translation is, I lack nothing I lack nothing. To be fully integrated into that word that says I lack nothing changes everything about how you show up. Because a lacquer shows up differently than one who has no lack. A lacquer, hear me. a lacquer shows up defeated shows up in a deficit will compromise because a lacquer sees themselves as missing something watch this and a lacquer will become idolatrous uh-huh why why because a lacquer does not perceive that they are provided for So they're in search for what God provides. And if that provision comes, whatever means through which that provision came becomes their God. …
… aloud together, okay? The Lord is my shepherd. Let's start over. The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need. Now stop there. The original King James Version says, I shall not want. But literally, it means in the Hebrew which was originally written in, I don't lack anything. I have all I need. And almost every modern translation translated, the Lord is my shepherd. I have everything that I need. Okay. So let's say that one again. The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything that I need. Okay. Now you already know one verse. So turn to the person next to you and say, you're brilliant. Okay. You're brilliant. You got one verse down. These are not long verses anyway. Now let's read verse two. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leaves me beside still waters. All right. And then the next line is the beginning of verse three. So let's read that. He restores my soul. Now, what you just read talks about what the good shepherd, your heavenly father, and Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, wants to do in your life. And he says, I want to give you rest. I want to give you refreshment and I want to give you restoration. He says, first I want to give you rest. He makes me lie down. And he says, first I want to give you rest. Then he says, I want to give you refreshment. …
… God promises that. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not lack anything. He says if you'll do it my way, If you'll take one day off a week and it's to rest my body and recharge my emotions and refocus my spirit in worship, God says, you know what? I will give you more time. Proverbs 14, 30. A relaxed attitude lengthens your life. Envy rots it away. And what did I say? Envy is one of the reasons we overwork. I want what they've got. He says, instead of being envious, why don't you just get this relaxed attitude? It will lengthen your life. It will add hours to your day. Remember my value to God. Enjoy what I already have. Limit my work to six days a week. Fourth thing God says to do. This is your good shepherd giving you advice from his word. I must adjust my values. Now why do I say this? Because to reduce the busyness in your life, you're going to have to change the way you think about what's important. …
… At first level, I see where you're what you're driving at, because David says, OK, if you want to know what shepherds do, let this sheep testify. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. And so is the shepherd. It's the job description of the shepherd to meet every need that the sheep may have. It's in the job description of the shepherd to protect the sheep, to provide for the sheep. And so sheep find themselves according to the shepherd that is leading and feeding them. Sheep find their needs are met. And so in a sense, Amos, as one who had been a rancher shepherd, again, that's Ron Sider. Ron Sider looked at the Hebrew and said he wasn't just a shepherd. He was a rancher. And when you look at the fact that he's also tending what, sycamore trees, he's doing more than just one thing. And so it's important to just kind of see it as not one of the impoverished shepherds of the land, but a shepherd. …
… who is the good shepherd, who guides the sheep. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me chill out, lie down in green pastures. He restores my soul. goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And so if God gives you yes, no option, and you say yes, you're not just saying yes to what you want, but you're saying yes to trusting him. He is good. Remember week one, we started with this verse. I wanna look at it again. God says this, I'll instruct you and teach you in the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. This is God. Here's what he says to you. I will instruct you. He'll show you the next step. I will instruct you. I will teach you the way you should go. I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Sometimes it's supernatural writing on the wall. A lot of times it's open doors, closed doors, frustrated plans and everyday choices. …
… We got two passages tonight. Psalms 23 verses 1 through 4. And then Mark, put your finger in there as the old people say, put your finger in Psalms and then skedaddle over to Mark, the 10th chapter, verses 46 through 52. Thank you. when you have psalms 23 say amen amen let's read it together just verses one through four the lord is my shepherd i shall not want he maketh me to lie down in green pastures he leadeth me beside the still waters He restores my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Now go with me to Mark, the 10th chapter. i'll be reading from the esv version english standard version and you can just follow along it's on the screen as well and they came to jericho and as he was leaving jericho with his disciples and a great crowd bartimaeus a blind beggar the son of timaas was sitting by the roadside and when he heard that it was Jesus of Natharus he began to cry out and say Jesus son of David have mercy on me and many rebuked him telling him to be silent but he cried out all the more son of David have mercy on me and Jesus stopped and said call them and they called the blind man saying to him take heart get up he's calling you …
God of mercy, as we enter into Lent, may your spirit guide us to places we might not necessarily want to go. We turn to you because you, O Lord, have the words of life. Help us to hear what you have to say and grant us the courage to live it out. This we pray in Christ's name. Amen. repent and thou shall be saved. Is that what you came here to hear today? I mean, is life going well with you? When you look out at the world, is it as it should be? Do you find yourself crying out to God in fear or because of injustice? Do you hope that God would finally come and fix all that is broken? You wonder, when will the day of the Lord get here so that we can have peace and justice for all? be careful what you wish for the prophet Joel proclaims that the day of the Lord is coming and is near however he goes on to describe the day as one of darkness and gloom on that day there will be a great and powerful army but it is not to bring liberation and freedom to the oppressed. …
Psalm 23, right after it. Psalm 23 says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Ooh, do I like that scripture right there. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not, what's the last word? Want. I shall not want. What the Bible's saying, if I got God, I'm good. If I've got God, I'm blessed. I want to preach a message today. we're in a series called we want you here we want god here we're inviting god in our life write down the title of today's message is called dealing with my discontent i want to talk to you about how discontent you've been because a lot of people struggle with discontent because we want to have more and we want to go further so i'm not happy with what i have and i'm not happy with where I'm at. I think when you follow God, you should be happy with what you got and where you are. I'm thankful for my family. I'm thankful for my city. I'm thankful for my church, and I'm thankful for the city that God blessed. Come on, clap if you're thankful today. …
… In every valley, I belong to him. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I'm guided. I got a good shepherd. I'm guarded. He's the gate. He's the light of the world. He is my risen, resurrected King, and I'm getting up out of this situation, and I came to praise the Lord. I did not come to feel sorry for myself. I came to praise the Lord. I did not come to impress my neighbors with proper church behavior. I came to praise the Lord. If you knew what he brought me through, you wouldn't call me crazy. You would lift your hands. and praise Him too. Ah! Say amen! What are we gonna do? How are we gonna get out of this? We can get out with a hallelujah! With a hallelujah! Last one for real, man, so... That's it. I don't know what I would do without God. I don't know where I'd be without Jesus. I have a kind of idea, and it doesn't look good. …
… Bible. We're going to put this up on the screen for you as well. And it goes like this. This is the new King James version. It says, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Let's pray. Father, I thank you for your word. I thank you for the truths that are contained in this psalm, this powerful and simple declaration of who you are. Lord, I pray that you would open our eyes today to see just how you want us to enjoy you, to interact with you, and to be led by you. I pray that you would speak through me and touch lives and change lives today. In Jesus' name, amen. Amen. We've titled this message, hold on wait for it a rested development that's very important the space is very important a rested development some of you heathens are like oh arrested development like the tv show …
… and know that we are not just wandering aimlessly, but the Lord who is my shepherd, I shall not wander. Uh-oh, there's a revelation. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Uh-oh, uh-oh, wait a minute, wait a minute. This recolors Psalm 23. Because in Psalm 23, we claim a lot of promises. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for you are with me. you will prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies you will anoint my head with oil and my cup will overflow goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life you will restore my soul wait a minute wait a minute we claim those promises but don't realize the context the context is in Psalm 23 and 1 where it says the Lord is my I wish somebody would catch it to say the Lord is my shepherd is to confess that I am a nomad To say the Lord is my shepherd is to say I am bought with a price. …
… In fact, why don't you read this with me? The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not one. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. There's the word leadeth. He restoreth my soul. he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. I want you to notice that. The psalmist in this beautiful passage saying, God, you are leading me. You're leading me like a shepherd and I am your sheep. You know, I'm one of your lambs. Lead me. This is the prayer of a Christian. We invite Christ to lead us. So to be Lord, which is what we call Jesus, is a central title for Jesus in the New Testament. Jesus is Lord. Lord means master, sovereign, ruler, leader. And so at the very heart of our lives, the very essence of who we are, we seek to be led by Jesus, who incarnated, who put flesh on God. And so we're people, if we're a follower, if we're a Christian, we're people who've said, Jesus, I will follow you. You remember Jesus' invitation to his disciples when he began preaching and ministering, he said to his disciples, he'd come to them and say, come follow me. That's the central invitation he gave, come follow me. And so he invites us today to follow him. If you're a Christian, you've said, I'm following Jesus. He's the Lord. He's master, sovereign, ruler. …
… Because we're living in it. he said the Lord is my shepherd I shall not be in want he makes me lie down in green pastures he leads me beside quiet waters he restores my soul he guides me in paths of righteousness for his namesake even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Because I'm so strong. Nope. What's it say? For you. are with me. even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of evil, of the shadow of death, I will fear no. evil. You're with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What a powerful phrase. …
… in the name of Jesus. Chains break. Dry bones wake. I do not intend to name every bone in the valley. I intend to go through it. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, this is not a place for me to build a house. This is not a place for me to build an identity. This is not a place for me to lay down and die. I'm taking this gun out of my mouth, and I shall Live! God can get you out of this. I'm not telling you what I think. I'm not telling you what I feel. I'm telling you what I've seen. I'm telling you what I know. God can get you out of this. But he wants something more when he does. He wants glory out of it. And so the Bible says that they grumbled, and we would too. Y'all are kind of mad right now because I'm preaching a little long. …
… All right, give me my camera. This psalm… It's not Psalm 23. Everybody knows Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. It's a relatively obscure psalm. You see how she had that circled? She has that Psalm 77 circled like a serial killer. I realized why. She's got it all underlined. I said, bring the Bible to church. I have to show the people something. She was circling everything in this Bible all the way down to, has his unfailing love vanished forever has his promise failed for all time. Then on her Bible, that's the part where that page ends. I told her, I was like, that's not the best part of Psalm 77. She's like, yeah, that's what I was reading right after your dad died. Thanks a lot. I was like, yeah, no, that's a good part of Psalm 77 too, obviously, when you're going through things. But I said, read the rest and hit me a couple hours later. Now, my dad died of ALS. It was over 10 years ago, and it was in June of 2013. This psalm meant a lot to her during that low time of her life, and so she was reading it like we do, and we come to this place. I thought it was through, and she had just lost her husband. …
… And where's God taking you, by the way? The Lord says in Psalm 23, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down by green pastures. pastures he leads me beside still waters he leads me down paths of righteousness for his namesake so god doesn't call you into confusion or chaos he calls you into prosperity and into peace do you believe that today and so abraham abraham heard the word of the lord said what i'm about to do in your life your family might not understand it and if you stayed in your comfortable convenience confines you might not understand it so i'm going to take you to a land that i will show you and i want to just tell you this the way god works god works step by step it's a day by day as you obey the lord unfolds oh i'm just i'm just looking at this beautiful couple here in our front row that moved from malaysia to la with suitcases and a word from god come on honor them right now and they're beautiful children. You just got to trust and obey. And so Abraham packed up his fam and moved to a land that the Lord would show him. And as he's there, the Lord gives and reminds him of his promise. Look here now in Genesis 15. Just go to verse 1 there. After this, the word of the Lord came back to Abram in a vision. Do not be afraid, Abram. I am your shield and your very …
… part of the reason that we miss this is that we miss the end of the song what i mean by that well i'm going along in my life and i remember that the lord is my shepherd i shall not want that he provides for me that there are these physical needs and these spiritual needs that God provides for me. And because I think that my life is all about going through my days with plenty and not in want, anytime that I feel a hunger pain or anytime I feel a physical discomfort, I look to God as though God somehow has forgotten or forsaken me. Because my perspective is right here. My entire existence is going from that green pasture to that green pasture. Newsflash, the death rate is one per person. You're not only going to walk through the valley of the shadow of death, you're going to die. coming to Christ doesn't mean that we live in ease and never faced hunger hurt want or death secondly i will fear no evil first one i will not want the second one i will fear no evil this one is amazing why because remember where this is in the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil the lord is my shepherd but even though the lord is my shepherd I sometimes walk through the valley of shadow of death and in fact I will someday die otherwise the end of the psalm makes no sense I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever …
… Get some prayers like Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. When you don't know what to pray, begin to pray his word. Begin to call on his name. The Bible says the prayer of Jabez, Are there any business owners or entrepreneurs? Or maybe you're wanting a promotion at work. You're not satisfied with where you are. Begin to pray the prayer of Jabez. Oh, that you would bless me indeed. That you would enlarge my territory. That your hand would be upon me. And that you would keep me from evil. And the Bible says, so God granted him his request. I don't know about you, but I would like for him to enlarge my territory. I would like for him to do that. Psalms 91 said, I will say of the Lord, he is my refuge and my fortress, my God in whom I trust. God said, because you love me, you will rescue me. What if in the middle of your situation and your dark and broken hour, you just begin to say to God, God in Psalm 91, I don't feel it right now. …
… Look at it. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Doesn't that sound like orientation? He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Doesn't that sound like orientation? He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his orientation. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. but here comes the disorientation. Verse 4, I walked through the valley of the shadow of death. I didn't want to go in the valley, but I needed the valley because I'm going to learn something in the valley I didn't see on the mountain. Thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Here comes the reorientation for 13 of y'all that's going to shout. Thou preparest a table before me, not outside the presence of my enemies, but while them jokers are looking right at me. He anoints my head with oil. Surely, I used to wonder now I can say surely I used to have questions now I can say surely my faith was depleted But now I can say surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life Somebody ought to thank God for your seasons of disorientation Because they taught you how to trust God like you've never trusted him before Go on and take a few seconds and thank God for your challenges Thank God for your tears the songwriter said if I never had a problem I wouldn't know he could solve them and that's what's going on in the text today with the author behind this …
… Of whom shall I be? I'm going to keep my head up, y'all, because the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul, leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. I'm going to keep my head up because God is my father, Jesus, my savior, the Holy Ghost, my power. I'm going to keep my head up. And that's what I say to every one of you. Keep your head up because when you keep your head up, God gives you mental health. In this sick world, what does that look like? I'm almost done. Watch the text. The text lets us know we can keep our head up to begin with because God has an amazing way of blessing us. Here it is with a faith. This is shouting me right here with a faith that enables us to win by rebuilding us from within. I do that because that's really a remixed response to who is it? …
… something so much better, an amazing, amazing shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not covet anything on this earth. you are so enough, more than enough, that our cups are overflowing.
… second only to the 23rd Psalm. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. This particular Psalm is a Psalm of protection, of safety, of deliverance. It's the covenant Psalm of God with His people to keep us and perfect safety. I feel like... I don't know how to, let me try it this way. We did a study recently on wisdom, on Solomon, on Proverbs, that whole package. And if I were to summarize the purpose of Proverbs and the purpose of wisdom, it's to teach us to reign in life. It's to enable us to rule over our finances and not be in debt. It's to help us in our relationships to lead a healthy lifestyle in all of our relationships, family, etc. And not be overcome by the circumstances that are difficult or challenging. And on down the line, to reign in life. If I were to summarize the Proverbs, it would be to reign in life. If I were to summarize the Psalms, it would be that you would have fullness of life. …
… You will be taken care of. Now, see, we want someone to take care of us. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. We want people to take care of us. We all do. And so what happens is, he is absolutely paralyzed before the test because he's hearing a voice like that. Not literally. I haven't taken him to a psychiatrist, but you know what I'm saying. We're talking about the spiritual level. At the spiritual level, he's saying, the only reason that you tremble before something like that is because you think, if I get this, then I'll be taken care of. But what does he have to say to himself? What do you have to say to yourself about the things that you're most afraid of? You have to say, even if I get this, this will not take care of me. If I get this, I will still not be taken care of. I am already taken care of. I'm already loved. You know, you have to take that in. …
… afterward, afterward it yieldeth the peaceable fruit of what? righteousness. He restoreth my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. Before I was afflicted, David said, I went astray. Old Jacob worshipped leaning on his staff, and that sheep that had that broken leg never wanted to stray away from the shepherd again because he had broken, but he had healed. And he had wounded and torn, but he had bound up that wound. Thank God that the shepherd knows exactly what he is doing. Now, dear friend, you can, when it comes, that's the first thing you can do. You can despise it. I'll tell you what else you might do when it comes. You can faint under it. Look again in Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 5. And the Bible says, And have you forgotten the exhortation which speaketh unto you as unto children? My son, despise not thou the chastening of the Lord, nor faint when thou art rebuked of him. Don't despise it and don't faint under. Have you ever seen people faint when chastisement comes? I have. They're stubborn and mulish. They get away from God. God brings chastisement and they just drop out. They just throw up their hands. They just quit. They become spiritual dropouts. That's a terrible thing. God is not doing that to draw you away from Him, but to draw you back to Him. Now don't despise it and don't faint under it, but be exercised by it. Notice verse 11. The Bible says, we are exercised thereby. God has a …
… No wonder he gloried to write Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He restoreth my soul. talk to you today about how to get right with God and how to stay right with God. How to get right with God if you're not right with God, how to get right with God, and if you are right with God, and when you do get right with God, how to stay right with God. Now, if we're not right, we need to get right, and if we are right, we need to stay right. And that's what David is talking about in Psalm 23 and verse 3. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name saved. Now, many of us become what the Bible calls backsliders. Now, backslider is not lost. A backslider is a saved person who's out of fellowship with God. He's somebody who's already been saved. You have to go somewhere before you can slide back. …
His pasture. Now, having said that, how do you handle stress? Well, I believe verse 2 has a lot to say about how to handle stress. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. My dear friend, I want to tell you that when you understand that you may be weak like a sheep, but you have a compassionate shepherd, a caring shepherd, and a courageous shepherd. You see, the hireling life for the sheep. You see in that same chapter in verse 7, John 10 verse 7, Jesus said, I am the door of the sheep. You say, is He the shepherd or is He the door? The answer is yes. The shepherd becomes the door. And what Jesus is saying, there's nobody can get to you except He come through me. You like that? Brother, I like that. You see folks, listen, what you need in order to deal with this stress is number one, He maketh me. …
Now, having said that, how do you handle stress? Well, I believe verse 2 has a lot to say about how to handle stress. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me beside the still waters. There are three things that are pointed out to me in this verse, of course many, many, many more things than three, but three that I've chosen this morning to talk about. And first of all is the security we have in the shepherd. The security we have in our shepherd. I want you to say to yourself, I am secure in Jesus. You see, He He leadeth me. He maketh me. Who is the He? Jehovah, my shepherd. And remember that we said that Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. Jesus is the good shepherd. Jesus is the great shepherd. Jesus is the chief shepherd. He's the one who makes us. He's the one who leads us. Now put this verse in Bible in Matthew chapter 9 and verse 36. The Bible says, but when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion because they fainted and were scattered abroad like sheep having no shepherd. When Jesus saw the people of his day, he saw them scattered, running, frantic here and there, failing, complaining, full of stress. The Bible says he was moved with compassion. You know what that word moved means in Matthew 9 …
… Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the powerful biblical teaching and insights of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. Psalm 23, verse 1, shows us how we can be satisfied no matter what material wealth we may or may not have. It's Jesus himself who satisfies. Pastor Rogers said, In the Lord Jesus, we have sovereignty and sympathy, a king and a shepherd. If you have your Bible, turn to Psalm 23 as we hear part two of The Secret of Satisfaction. Now there's a danger, and here's the danger, that when we get into the 23rd Psalm, we're on such familiar ground, and we say, oh, I know that. and the proverb familiarity breeds contempt may never be more true because we are all familiar with the 23rd Psalm and it's perhaps the best known passage of Scripture in all of the Bible. And well, it ought to be because it's such a gem of literature. I believe it's one of the seven wonders of the literary world, but it is given by divine inspiration and not only is it beautiful, it is magnificently true. …
… Rogers. We can have all the things of this world and yet still be dissatisfied. As we just heard, the secret of satisfaction is found in Psalm 23, verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. This short verse is packed full of promises that when correctly understood can change our perspective. If you have your Bible, turn there now as Adrian Rogers shares more in part one of The Secret of Satisfaction. I want to ask you a question. How many truly, truly satisfied people do you know? You know, people can have all of the things of this world and not be satisfied. John Muir, the great naturalist, was speaking to Mr. Harriman. Mr. Harriman was a railroad magnate an industrialist, a man of great wealth and great influence. And John Muir said to Mr. Harriman, I am richer than you are. He said, well, how is that? He said, because you don't have all you want, and I do. So I am richer than you. …
… verse, here's what you find. God is doing something for us. He is our good shepherd. Listen to what he says. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet or still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me or leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest the table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou noughtest my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness or mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Well, what I'd like to do is I'd like for us to look at this passage of Scripture in the light of that whole idea that God is a caring God, that He cares for us, and He cares for every single detail of our life. …
… Testament from the Psalm of David, the 23rd Psalm, when He likens God to the shepherd, where he says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul, and He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. And yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil. Why? Because the shepherd is with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me." It's interesting language there in the Psalm where David is recalling his own days as a shepherd. You remember when he was still a boy and the troops of Israel were faced against the armies of the Philistines when the giant Goliath came into the valley and called out a challenge for there to be a champion to come forth from Israel who would take on this giant in hand-to-hand combat where winner takes all. Whoever wins the fight wins the day for his army. …
Listen to what he says. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet or still waters. He restores my soul. He guides me or leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest the table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou notice my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and loving kindness or mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now, how many times have you read that passage of Scripture? Where did you usually stop when it says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil? Well, what about this table? And what about the anointing of my head? …