Advance to the Abundant Life (Part 2 of 4)
Living in the Overflow of the Lord
Psalm 23:1-6
Sermon by Rick Crandall
McClendon Baptist Church - August 12, 2007
*We live in a day of discontent. Jason Lehman put it this way:
-It was spring. But it was summer I wanted -- The warm days, and the great outdoors.
-It was summer. But it was fall I wanted -- The colorful leaves, and the cool, dry air.
-It was fall. But it was winter I wanted -- The beautiful snow, and the joy of the holiday season.
-It was winter. But it was spring I wanted -- The warmth, and the blossoming of nature.
-I was a child. But it was adulthood I wanted -- The freedom, and the respect.
-I was 20. But it was 30 I wanted -- To be mature, and sophisticated.
-I was middle-aged. But it was 20 I wanted -- The youth, and the free spirit.
-I was retired. But it was middle-age I wanted -- The presence of mind, without limitations.
-Then my life was over, and I never got what I wanted. (1)
*Many people today are living out that frustration. But in John 10:10, Jesus said, “I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.”
*Here in the 23rd Psalm, David said, “My cup runs over.”
-You can live in the overflow of the Lord! Here’s how:
1. First, belong. You must belong to the Lord.
*As David said in vs. 1, “The Lord is my Shepherd.” (I belong to Him, and He belongs to me.) David didn’t just know about the Lord -- He knew the Good Shepherd in a personal way. And what a Shepherd He is!
*Unfortunately, it’s hard for us to understand, because there aren’t a lot of shepherds living in West Monroe. But author Philip Keller can help us. Philip grew up in East Africa, surrounded by sheep herders similar to those in David’s day. Then Phillip spent 8 years as a sheep rancher. He wrote about it in his book, “A Shepherd Looks at the Twenty-third Psalm.”
*Pastor Alan Smith gives this insight from Philip’s book:
Let me tell you what a good shepherd is like. He loves his sheep. For him there is no greater reward, no deeper satisfaction, than that of seeing his sheep contented, well fed, safe and flourishing in his care. That’s what his life is all about, and he gives everything he has to it.
He goes to a great deal of trouble to provide them with the finest grazing, ample winter feed and clean water. He provides shelter from the storms, protection from the enemies and the diseases and parasites to which sheep are susceptible.
From early dawn till late at night the good shepherd is alert to the welfare of his flock. He gets up early in the morning and goes out first thing to look over his flock. He examines the sheep to see if they are fit and content and able to be on their feet. He can tell if they have been molested during the night, whether they are ill or require some special attention.
Throughout the day he looks over his flock to make sure everything is all right. Even at night, he sleeps with "one eye and both ears open", ready at the least sign of trouble to get up and protect his sheep. (2)
*That’s the kind of shepherd you can have in Jesus! And what a Shepherd He is! In vs. 2, David said: “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.”
*Philip Keller says that in order for sheep to lie down 4 things are required:
1-First, they must be free from all fear. Sheep are very easily frightened. A stray jackrabbit jumping out from behind a bush can stampede a whole flock. When one startled sheep runs in fright, all of the others will follow behind it in blind fear, not waiting to see what frightened them. But nothing quiets a flock like seeing their shepherd in the field with them.
2-And sheep will not lie down unless there is harmony in the flock. When there is this tension between rivals, the sheep can’t lie down and rest. They must always stand up and be ready to fight. But when the shepherd is around, they forget their rivalries and stop fighting.
3-And sheep will not lie down unless they are content. If flies or fleas are bothering them they will not lie down. The shepherd must provide them with relief.
4-And sheep will not lie down unless they are full. A hungry sheep is always on its feet, searching for another mouth of food, trying to satisfy its gnawing hunger. Shepherds had to search hard for green areas to feed their sheep. (2)
*In Jesus Christ, we have a Good Shepherd who will do all these things and more! He calms our fears, comforts us and gives us peace that passes understanding. He feeds us with life-giving spiritual food -- the Word of God. He even gave His life for us.
*Jesus talked about this in John 10, where He said:
11. “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
14. I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15. As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.
*The Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, took the punishment for our sins.
*I read about a dad who helped his son understand this sacrifice in a small way. The boy’s name was Tom. Sometimes Tom liked to nibble on his crayons. His favorite color was red. At school, he found out that he could have fun on the playground by chewing up a little crayon, tapping a girl on the shoulder and saying "blah."
*I did the same thing to my sister at least a couple of times. But one day, Tom thought it would be a good idea to do it to his teacher -- “Blah!”
*She was not impressed and sent him to the principal’s office. The Principal asked why Tom had been sent to him. He asked, so Tom showed him -- “Blah!” Tom was spanked.
*At home that evening, Dad asked how school had gone that day. Tom almost told him, but he remembered his father’s warning that if he got a spanking at school, he’d get one at home.
-“Anything happen at school today?” -- “Not much,” Tom replied.
*A little, later: Same question -- same answer. -Then Dad explained that the principal had called. Uh oh: Bad at school, then caught in a lie. Dad sent Tom out to the garage. (That meant a spanking with the old Ping-Pong paddle.)
*Tom could see his dad bring the paddle back: “Whoosh -- pow,” but no pain.
-Again, “whoosh -- pow,” but no pain.
-After the third swing, Tom realized that Dad was taking the spanking for his son.
*That’s what the Good Shepherd did for us in an infinitely greater way. He took our pain. He even died for His flock. But are you a part of His flock? Do you belong to Jesus? Do you know the Good Shepherd in a personal way?
*In John 10, Jesus also said:
27. My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.
28. And I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish; neither shall anyone snatch them out of My hand.
*That the kind of relationship the Lord wants with you.
-By turning to Jesus and trusting in His cross -- By receiving Him as Lord and Savior, we get a personal relationship with Him that will last forever.
2. You can live in the overflow of the Lord, if you belong, and behave.
*We will never be able to live in the Lord’s overflow, if we don’t learn how to behave, but the Good Shepherd is here to help us. As David said in vs. 3, “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
*The Good Shepherd wants to lead you in the paths of righteousness, but first you have to realize that we are sheep.
*Now if you could be any animal, what would it be? Some might say, “I’d like to be a horse or a soaring eagle.”
*When I took our dog, Lucky, to the vet last year, one lady was sitting there with her little Yorkie on her lap. She was talking to another lady about how special their dogs were to them, and all the trouble we go to for our dogs. Then she added, “Our pastor said that if there was anything to reincarnation he would like to come back as his mother-in-law’s dog!”
*Well, maybe a dog -- But I don’t think you’ll ever hear anybody say, “I want to be a sheep!” But God calls us sheep. And the truth is that we are like sheep in some not-so-good ways.
*As Joel Preston says:
-Sheep are stubborn. Sheep can get easily lost because they tend to go their own way. Like sheep, believers have a tendency to go their own direction rather than follow the divine Shepherd’s plan. So Ps 119:176 says, “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.”
*Second, sheep are smelly. Sheep do nothing to cleanse themselves. They do not bathe, roll, scrape, or lick. They remain filthy until the shepherd finds a way to clean them. The same is true with Christians; we cannot cleanse ourselves without the help of the Lord Jesus Christ. But through His blood and through His Word, Jesus can cleanse us from all sin.
*A third bad thing about sheep is that they are dumb (4) -- Not the smartest animals in the world. Philip Keller tells us that sheep require more attention than any other livestock. They just can’t take care of themselves. Unless their shepherd makes them move on, sheep will actually ruin a pasture, eating every blade of grass, until finally a fertile pasture is nothing but barren soil. (1)
*Sheep need a Shepherd to lead them the right way. And God calls us sheep. Just like David, we have to realize that we are sheep and let the Shepherd lead us. But there is a process of learning to walk with the Shepherd. It goes something like this: Step, step, stumble, stand. -- Step, step, stumble, stand.
*We need the Good Shepherd to help us get back up when we stumble. That’s why 1 John 1:8-9 says, “If we say that we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” We stumble, but the shepherd gets us back on our feet.
*Alan Smith tells us about an old shepherd’s saying from England: A “cast” sheep. This is a sheep that has turned over on its back and can’t get back up again. It happens frequently. And when it happens, all the sheep can do is lie on its back, with its feet kicking frantically in the air. Sometimes it will bleat, but usually it will just kick.
*If the shepherd doesn’t arrive within a short time, the sheep will die. That’s one of the reasons why a shepherd is always looking over its flock, counting them to see if they are all on their feet. If one is missing, he thinks, “One of my sheep is cast and I’ve got to find it.”
*Many times a shepherd will search for hours for a single sheep, only to find it on its back, lying helpless. He will turn the sheep over on its side, rub its legs to restore circulation -- then lift it to its feet. After a while the sheep will stumble and stagger, and then eventually walk steady and sure.
*And Alan said, “That’s probably what David had in mind when he said, ‘He restores my soul,’ because that’s how our Lord treats us.” (2)
*That makes sense because the word picture for “restore” can mean “he brings me back from the point of death.” We stumble and fall, we become so helpless, but our faithful Shepherd is right there to help us get back on our feet.
*Step, step, stumble -- then stand with the Shepherd’s help. God wants us to get to the point where we are stepping a lot more than stumbling. But when we stumble, He will help us to stand! “He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake.”
3. You can live in the overflow of the Lord, if you behave, and behold.
*Take a good look at what the Shepherd is doing in your life. David did this in vs. 4&5:
4. 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.
5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
*I know we can’t see all that the Lord is doing with our eyes, but just like David, we can see much of it with our hearts. As Hebrews 2:9 says, “We see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels, for the suffering of death crowned with glory and honor, that He, by the grace of God, might taste death for everyone.” We see Jesus. In vs. 4, we see Jesus here with us as we go through valleys in life.
*Alan Smith reminds us:
There are going to be valleys in life for all of us. Some of us have many valleys, some few. Some of us have deep valleys, some not so deep. But, somewhere in our journey, we must all cross the valley of the shadow of death
-Its time may be unknown, but it’s certain to come. . .
-We cannot walk this valley with our husband or wife.
-We cannot walk it with our business partner.
-We cannot take our friends or relatives. (2)
*But how wonderful to know that we never have to walk through the valleys alone. The Good Shepherd will always be there with us.
*Take a good look at what the Shepherd is doing in your life. In vs. 5, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil. . .” The Good Shepherd always protects and provides for His sheep. There will be an abundance. He anoints our heads with oil.
*For sheep, this is because they have a big problem with insects -- flies, mosquitoes and gnats. So, at the beginning of fly season, shepherds will mix up an oil concoction. In Palestine, they used a mixture of olive oil, sulfur and spices, and applied this to the heads of the sheep. (2)
*But the kings were also anointed with oil. And this reminds us that, believers, we are children of the King! And we can say to the Lord: “You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over! -- All because of Your goodness, love and grace.”
*In a “Dennis the Menace” cartoon, Dennis and his little friend, Joey, are leaving Mrs. Wilson’s house with their hands full of cookies. You may remember that Dennis was a menace, especially to Mr. Wilson. So as they left with the cookies, Joey said, “I wonder what we did to deserve this?”
*Dennis gave this great answer: “Joey, Mrs. Wilson gives us cookies not because we’re nice, but because she’s nice.” (5)
*Take a good look at the goodness of God in your life.
4. You can live in the overflow of the Lord, if you behold, and believe.
*David was putting his full trust in the Lord in vs. 6, when he said, “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.”
*This takes us straight back to the cross, because the only way we can live forever is through the cross of Christ. Charles Spurgeon pointed out that we cannot get to the 23rd Psalm without going past the 22nd Psalm -- The Psalm of the cross. (6)
*Only after we hear the Lord say,
1. “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?
14. I am poured out like water, And all My bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
15. My strength is dried up like a potsherd, And My tongue clings to My jaws; You have brought Me to the dust of death.
16. For dogs have surrounded Me; The assembly of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet . . .”
*Only after we hear the Lord say these things, and believe that He went through the suffering for us, can we say: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.” We have to believe that the cross was for our sins.
*Usually, we think of the Lord’s cross or maybe the three crosses on Calvary that day -- But there were many more. The cross was used as a death instrument for almost a thousand years. Countless people were cruelly put to death on a cross. Somebody had to make those crosses.
*So someone wrote a fictional drama about a little boy who lived in Jerusalem during the time of Christ. It is only a story, but it has a good point. This little boy helped out in his parent’s carpentry shop. But he hated his chore -- helping make a cross. His parents insisted that he had to help because Rome had given them a contract for construction of crosses.
*In Scene 2 the boy is crying. “What’s wrong?” his parents asked.
*He answered, “I went to the market place and I saw Jesus of Nazareth, the Man we love to hear preach, and He was carrying OUR cross! They took Him to Golgotha and nailed Him to MY cross.”
*The parents insisted, “Oh no, son, that wasn’t our cross. Other people in Jerusalem build crosses. That wasn’t our cross.”
*“Oh yes, it was! When you weren’t looking, I carved my name on the cross that we were making. When Jesus was carrying His cross, He stumbled right beside me, and I looked, and my name was on His cross!” (1)
Conclusion:
*My name was on His cross, too. So was yours. He died in our place. He went to the cross to die for our sins. But He rose again to give us eternal, abundant life, if we will receive it by receiving Him.
*Start living in the overflow of the Lord!
1. SermonCentral sermon “The Lord Is My Shepherd” by Melvin Newland - Psalm 23:1-6
2. SermonCentral sermon “The Lord is My Shepherd” by Alan Smith - Psalm 23:1-6
3. Original source unknown, found online at www.churchchrist.net/Sermons/Salvation.htm
4. Adapted from SermonCentral sermon “HOW TO BE TRULY SATISFIED” by Joel Preston - Psalm 23:1
5. Found in Cross & Crown Sermon “Concluding Galatians” by James McCullen - Gal 6:11-18
6. The Treasury of David by Charles Haddon Spurgeon
