WHEN THE SHEPHERD RESTORES THE SHEEP
Dr. Larry Petton – Message #2
Text: Psalm 23:2-3
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"He restores my soul" - Psalm 23:2
Someone has said that there are only two kinds of sheep that belong to the Great Shepherd: those who are BORED and those who are RESTORED!” If you are bored in your faith, you are certainly not following Jesus with your whole heart, for the Christian life is the most exciting adventure on earth!
GETTING STARTED
Scripture Reading – Psalm 23
Illustration – The USS Sultana: Are you carrying too much?
“HE MAKES ME LIE DOWN” - Sheep will only lie down when the Shepherd deals with 4 conditions:
(1) Fear
(2) Friction
(3) Flies
(4) Famine
WHAT DO GOD’S SHEEP HAVE according to Psalm 23?
(1) Rest – v. 2
(2) Life – v. 3
(3) Guidance – v. 2-3
(4) Safety and Security – v. 4-6
WHAT DOES IT MEAN WHEN GOD’S SHEEP ARE “CAST DOWN” - Psalm 42:11
They are stuck on their back and can’t get up! How do sheep usually get “cast down”?
(1) Overweight
(2) Looking for soft places
(3) Wool madded with mud
Interesting – No wool was allowed in the Tabernacle. Why? The wool is a picture of something that gets dirty, a symbol of sin. The Tabernacle was a place of holiness and righteousness and, thus, wool was not allowed.
When believers fall into serious sin, God has to “sheer them” like sheep and clean them up through brokenness. He does this because He loves His sheep and does not want the Enemy to have them. If God leads you to discipline, it shows His love for you (Hebrews 13).
Many have the mistaken idea that when they fall into serious sin God abandons them and gives up on them. Jesus told the parable in Luke 15 about the faithful Shepherd who goes after the one lost lamb because He cares for each sheep.
“HE RESTORES MY SOUL” – This phrase comes from the Hebrew word, yesobeb, meaning “to restore to life again, to replenish, or to return to the orginal state.”
This is REVIVAL to the life of the sheep.
Revival in the Bible is called “Times of Refreshing” (Acts 3:17-19). Are you at point in your Christian life where you need a time of refreshing?
GREATEST VERSE in the Bible on Revival – II Chronicles 7:14
“If my people, who are called by My Name, shall humble themselves and pray, and seek My Face, and turn from their wicked ways; then will I hear from Heaven, and will forgive their sin, and heal their land.”
9 SIMILARITIES AMONG BIBLICAL REVIVALS – By Geoff Waugh
(1) They occurred in times of moral darkness and national depression.
(2) They began in the heart of a consecrated servant of God.
(3) They rested entirely on the Word of God.
(4) They resulted in a return to biblical worship.
(5) They resulted in the destruction of national idols.
(6) They caused a separation of sin.
(7) They caused the people to return to obeying God’s laws.
(8) They resulted in great joy!
(9) They were all followed by a period of national prosperity.
THE MODEL REVIVAL IN NEHEMIAH 8 – When God’s people got right in the days of Nehemiah, the Lord sent a sweeping revival. The people did 6 things:
(1) Weeping over national and personal sin
(2) Restored worship and obedience to God’s commands on worship
(3) Reading the Scripture
(4) Humbling themselves in prayer and fasting
(5) Confessing their sin, as well as the sins of their forefathers
(6) Resolving to correct areas in their lives not honoring to God.
GREAT QUOTES ON REVIVAL
• “Study the history of revival. God has always sent revival in the darkest days. Oh, for a mighty, sweeping
revival today!” - Adrian Rogers
• “God's time for revival is the very darkest hour, when everything seems hopeless. It is always the Lord's way
to go to the very worst cases to manifest His glory.” - Andrew Gih
• “Revival is falling in love with Jesus all over again!” - Vance Havner
• Duncan Campbell, from the Hebrides revival, once said:"Revival is not churches filled with people, but people
filled with God".
YOU NEED REVIVAL WHEN….
• Your Bible has sat unopened since the last time you went to church.
• You’re one person among your church friends and someone completely different in other places.
• Your prayer life is limited to saying grace over meals.
• The most significant people in your life are those who don’t share your faith.
• No one among your friends, loved ones, colleagues and acquaintances disparages you for your faith.
• You compartmentalize your life, keeping your faith neatly boxed away so you can minimize the discomfort
you feel about flagrant, ongoing sin in your life.
• You’re more concerned about what’s happening On your favorite show or with your favorite team than you are
with things of the Lord.
• You’ve ceased to be shocked or heartbroken over personal sin.
• You’ve ceased to be broken by the lostness of those around you who are without Christ.
FIVE STEPS TO REVIVAL – From Jim Eliff
(1) Confess and repent any known sins (I John 1:9).
(2) Refrain from questionable habits or activities that may grieve the Holy Spirit.
(3) Attempt to make right any wrongs between you and someone else.
(4) Commune daily with God through time in prayer and in the Word of God.
(5) Ask the Holy Spirit to fill you daily with His power! (Ephesians 5:18).
HOW DOES REVIVAL BEGIN????
Draw a circle around yourself and ask God to fill that circle with His power and Presence! One life totally on fire for Christ can make a difference in this world. Will you be one?
QUESTIONS FOR DISCUSSION
(1) Which means most to your walk with the Lord – rest, life, guidance or security?
(2) Do you feel that God has ever abandoned you as a believer in Christ?
(3) In the “Similarities to Biblical Revivals” by Geoff Waugh, which one of those points do you most want to see happen for our nation and for our world today?
(4) Have you ever experienced a real revival in your spiritual life?
(5) What do you think about most?
(6) Have you ever asked the Holy Spirit to “fill you” with His power? (Ephesians 5:18; Acts 1:8).
