Ps 23 Journey
- From calmness through a dark valley into renewed security
- Message of Ps. 23 – We are never alone
- The psalm is bracketed with the LORD
- Words that make-up the names of God?
• “Jehovah Raha”… Psalm 23:1
- “The Lord is my Shepherd”
• “Jehovah Jireh”… The Lord my Provider
- “I shall want”
• “Jehovah Shalom”… The Lord my Peace
- “He makes me to lie down in green pastures, He leads me beside the still water”
• “Jehovah Ropha”… The Lord my Healer
–“He restores my soul”
• “Jehovah Tsidkenu” … The Lord my Righteousness
- “He leads me in paths of righteousness”
• “Jehovah Shamma” …The Lord Ever Present
- “I will fear no evil, for You are with me”
• “Jehovah Nissi” … The Lord My Victory – Exodus 17
- “You prepare a table in the presence of my enemies”
A recent CNN pole said that 59% of all Americans would like to slow down and relax more.
What is God’s antidote for our stressed lives
- It’s found in Psalm 23 verse 2.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Psalms 23:2 (NKJV)
The Rescuing Hug
"Rescuing Hug" photo—ran in both Life and Reader's Digest. In 1995, 19-year Nurse Gayle Kasparian unwittingly became involved in a case that melted hearts nationwide when she suggested putting two premature twin girls in the same incubator. Brielle and Kyrie Jackson were born 12 weeks early at a hospital in Worcester, Mass. Brielle weighed 2 pounds and was struggling with a battery of problems ranging from breathing issues and troubling blood-oxygen levels, to heart rate difficulties. Her sister, 2 pounds 3 ounces, was considered the stronger of the two.
When they were a little less than a month old, Brielle had a very difficult day, according to Kasparian. "She was frantic," the nurse recalled, saying that neither she nor the baby's parents could calm Brielle down as her condition worsened and she became increasingly stressed.
"To me, all I can tell you is that this baby was trying to tell me something. I just wasn't getting it." So Kasparian thought she'd try a technique she'd heard only a little about: co-bedding premature twins. After the mother gave permission, Kasparian put the two babies together in one incubator, hoping it would do some good.
The rest, as they say, is history.
"Oh, it was instant, it was so instantaneous that day, I thought my equipment was malfunctioning," Kasparian said. ". . . What happened to that baby, it was miraculous. Nothing else worked." Instantly, Brielle calmed down. The two frail babies nestled together. Brielle's breathing regulated to Kyrie's pace. Her blood oxygen levels improved. Her heart rate improved. Simply experiencing Kyrie's touch seemed to make Brielle stronger, Kasparian said.
"The difference is day and night," their mother Heidi Jackson told the Worcester Telegram & Gazette at the time. "She's just less stressed. She likes being with her sister. She's much more comfortable now."
R.E.L.A.X.
R – Realize God wants you to REST.
- To enjoy life get enough rest.
- American proverb: “Early to bed, Early to rise, makes a man healthy, wealthily and wise?”
Ps 127:2 KJV
2 It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.
Psalms 127:2 (MSG)
It’s useless to rise early and go to bed late, and work your worried fingers to the bone. Don’t you know God enjoys giving rest to those he loves?
Fourth Commandment
Ex 20:9-11
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work: 10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: 11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Ex 23:12
12 Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest: that thine ox and thine ass may rest, and the son of thy handmaid, and the stranger, may be refreshed.
Mk 2:27 KJV
…, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Mk 2:27 NCV
…. The Sabbath day was made to help people; they were not made to be ruled by the Sabbath day.
Why does He want us to Rest
Ps 46:10
10 Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.
Realize God Wants You To Rest.
E – Evaluate your CHOICES
- There is an explosion of choices.
- More channels to watch (200 on SuddenLink)
- More websites to visit (7 million new ones a day)
- More products to buy (Wal-Mart has 100’s of Thousands)
- More activities to participate in then ever before.
. What will we wear? What will we eat? Where will we buy? What activities will we be involved in?
- Simple to complex choices
- We need help to evaluate our choices.
1. Is it HELPFUL? (Supperbowl, Grammy Awards Academy 27th
2. Do I really need it/do it
3. Does it glorify GOD?
Jn 6:63
63 It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.
Jn 6:63 Message
The Spirit can make life. Sheer muscle and willpower don’t make anything happen. Every word I’ve spoken to you is a Spirit-word, and so it is life-making.
Realize God Wants You To Rest.
Evaluate your choices.
L – Limit your Work.
- If you don’t you suffer, Your family suffers Your work suffers
Mk 6:31
31 And he said unto them, Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest a while: for there were many coming and going, and they had no leisure so much as to eat.
What should you do on your day off?
1. Rest your BODY.
2. Recharge your EMOTIONS.
3. Refocus your SPIRIT.
Realize God Wants You To Rest.
Evaluate your choices.
Limit your labor.
A – Adjust your VALUES.
- Change your thinking of what is important
Mk 10:17-22
17 And when he was gone forth into the way, there came one running, and kneeled to him, and asked him, Good Master, what shall I do that I may inherit eternal life? 18 And Jesus said unto him, Why callest thou me good? there is none good but one, that is, God. 19 Thou knowest the commandments, Do not commit adultery, Do not kill, Do not steal, Do not bear false witness, Defraud not, Honour thy father and mother. 20 And he answered and said unto him, Master, all these have I observed from my youth. 21 Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest: go thy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in heaven: and come, take up the cross, and follow me. 22 And he was sad at that saying, and went away grieved: for he had great possessions.
If I’m working just to keep up with latest fad - it’s senseless.
-If I want more stuff and I am working myself to death - it’s stupid. - Stuff doesn’t bring happiness.
Ec 4:4
4 Again, I considered all travail, and every right work, that for this a man is envied of his neighbour. This is also vanity and vexation of spirit.
Ec 4:4 Message
Then I observed all the work and ambition motivated by envy. What a waste! Smoke. And spitting into the wind.
Realize God Wants You To Rest.
Evaluate your choices.
Limit your labor.
Adjust your values.
X - eXchange your pressure for God’s PEACE.
This gets us to the very root of stress. There are three types of fatigue:
1. There is PHYSICAL fatigue. A tired body.
2. There is EMOTIONAL fatigue. Tired emotions and feelings.
3. There is SPIRITUAL fatigue. A dry spirit.
- This is the deepest type of fatigue.
- We need a relationship with God.
- We need God’s presence in your life. Look at Psalm 23:2 again:
He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. Psalms 23:2 (NKJV)
Mt. 11:28 - Come unto me, all [ye] that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest
- We don’t need artificial escapes
You need a pacesetter in your life so you don’t go too fast or too slow. The only person wise enough to set your pace is Jesus Christ because He knows you inside and out. He knows the speed you need to go. When you live with God at the center of your life you’ll have rest and refreshment.
