In September of 1938, a man from Long Island purchased a barometer. When it arrived in the mail he was disappointed to find that the needle appeared to be stuck. It pointed to the sector on the barometer that was marked “hurricane.” He SHOOK the barometer several times… but the needle never moved. So, he sat down and wrote an angry letter to the company and mailed it the next morning as he drove into New York City. That night, when he returned home, he discovered that the barometer missing... and so was his house. The barometer had been right. While he’d been gone, a hurricane had come and destroyed his house.
That man didn’t TRUST the barometer, and it nearly cost him his life. (Pause) What (or Who) you trust… can make all the difference in your life. The 23rd Psalm is a Psalm about TRUST - trusting in God. “The Lord is my shepherd… I shall not want.” I TRUST HIM!
ILLUS: There was a Sunday school teacher who asked her class if any of them could quote the entire twenty-third psalm. A little four-and-a-half-year-old girl raised her hand. She stood up and said: “The Lord is my shepherd, and that’s all I want.” (“I Shall Not Want”, a book by Robert Ketchum)
In Psalm 23 - David is essentially telling us – God is MY shepherd and He’s all I want. I TRUST Him! In fact, David trusted his entire life to God. God was all that David wanted! And Psalm 23 was David’s way of telling us that he knew how much God loved Him and protected him.
ILLUS: Now, the problem is… a lot of people struggle with that. There was study published by USA Today a few years back. They found that over 31% of Americans saw God as “Authoritarian.” He was almost always angry. He wanted us to shape up and fly right. And if we didn’t – He’d punish us. About 16% of Americans pictured God as “Critical” and “Judgmental.” He was still unhappy with us, but He has no intention of offering either divine HELP or divine WRATH. A 3rd group (over 24%) believed God was “Distant.” He may have created earth, but He didn’t have any intention of getting involved in our lives. So, over 70 % of Americans in that survey believed that God either DOESN’T like us, or DOESN’T care what happens to us! Those folks would have a hard time believing that “The Lord Is My Shepherd, I shall not want.”
Their doubt about whether God cared for them reminds of the parable Jesus told about a rich man who gave money to his servants. He gave 5 talents of gold to one servant, 2 to another, and 1 to the 3rd. When their master returned the first man and 2nd man doubled their master’s money… but then "The man who had received the one talent came. ‘Master,’ he said, ‘I knew that you are a hard man, harvesting where you have not sown and gathering where you have not scattered seed. So, I was afraid and went out and hid your talent in the ground. See, here is what belongs to you.’ "His master replied, ‘You wicked, lazy servant! So you knew that I harvest where I have not sown and gather where I have not scattered seed? Well then, you should have put my money on deposit with the bankers, so that when I returned I would have received it back with interest. "‘Take the talent from him and give it to the one who has the ten talents… And throw that worthless servant outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.’ Matthew 25:24-28 & 30
THAT DIDN’T TURN OUT REAL WELL!
The disobedient servant HID what he’d been given because he was afraid. And he was a called wicked and lazy servant BECAUSE didn’t trust his master. He was NOT driven by FAITH - he was driven by FEAR, and he paid a price for that.
Hebrews 11:6 says “without faith (trusting God) it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him.”
There’s a powerful promise found in II Chronicles 16:9 “The eyes of the LORD run to and fro throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him…”
God is basically saying – commit to me; chose to follow me; and I’ll be your good Shepherd. I will strengthen you… I will protect you… I will supply for you.
So, let’s consider what Psalm 23 tells us about God. 1st – it tells me that God leads us. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. HE LEADS ME! Oddly enough the sheep don’t usually know WHERE they’re going. The shepherd doesn’t consult the flock. He doesn’t ask their opinion. He simply gets out in front and He leads - because He knows where the best fields and the best water and best grass are.
ILLUS: Someone once noted that the reason God doesn’t always tell us His plans is because we wouldn’t believe Him if He told us. And if we did believe Him… we’d have a “better” idea.
But for those of us who decide to CHOOSE God, and CHOOSE to let Him lead us, and CHOOSE to follow Him… life can actually become exciting. It can be an adventure. It’s kind of like God telling Abraham “Go to the place that I tell you.” Hebrews 11:8 By faith Abraham obeyed when he was called to go out to a place that he was to receive as an inheritance. And he went out, not knowing where he was going.
ILLUS: Sometimes, knowing God leads us can comfort us in ways the world doesn’t understand. An atheist once admitted: “Over the years, I’ve come to think I’m missing out. My friends and relatives who rely on God – the real believers, not just the churchgoers – have an expansiveness of spirit. When they walk along a stream, they don’t just see water falling over rocks; the sight fills them with ecstasy. They see a realm of hope beyond this world. I just see a babbling brook. I don’t get the message.” (Dana Tierney, Reader’s Digest May 2004)
So sometimes, when God leads us, it’s comforting. But other times it can be a bit SCARY. I personally believe God has led me into situations I wouldn’t have volunteered for.
ILLUS: One of those times was when I went to Purdue Bible College. Since I was planning to go to Bible College the next year, I was intrigued by an offering in the syllabus called “Religions of the West” (dealing with Judaism, Christianity and Islam) I thought – “This will be great! I can take this class and get a leg up on my studies to be a preacher.” I figured they’d teach me all about these religions so I’d at least know something worthwhile to prepare for Bible College. That’s what I had in mind.
Unfortunately, that’s not what the instructor of this class had in mind. The first day I walked into class it was apparent that this professor’s objective was to destroy people’s faith in Scripture. He started out attacking the Old Testament. He stated that Moses didn’t write the first 5 books of the Bible and started talking about a JEDP theory I’d never heard about before.
Now, bear in mind, my entire theological education was what I had learned in Sunday School, but I raised my hand anyway. He called on me and I stated that this wasn’t what I’d been taught, and he just gave me a patronizing smile and said that “the majority of scholars agree with me.” Then he went on to the next attack and I raised my hand again “that’s not what I’d been taught” and again he’d say, “the majority of scholars agree with me.”
Do you remember the movie “God’s Not Dead”? Remember that college student who was so intelligent and skilled in challenging his professor? Well… that wasn’t me. I wasn’t nearly that smart. In fact, I was a bit on the slow side. But eventually I began to realize that if he attacked the Old Testament when dealing with Judaism, he’d do the same thing to the New Testament when he got to Christianity. So, I went to the Campus House and got materials I thought would help me stand up against him.
Sure enough, when he got done trashing the Old Testament, he moved on to attack the New. He started out by saying that Matthew didn’t write Matthew and Mark didn’t write Mark and Luke didn’t write Luke and John didn’t write John. They’d all borrowed from something called the “Q Source”. This time I was ready. I raised my hand. He said “What?” And then I explained he was wrong because this scholar and this expert said this or that or the other thing that debunked his statement (to be honest, I couldn’t tell you what I said that day, I just remember thinking it sounded good). The prof paused for a couple moments and then said “Well, the majority of scholars agree with me”… and we were off and running.
Every time he’d attack the Bible I had a ready response. Then it came time for mid-terms, and I sat down to take the test. At the bottom of the test I wrote that I was sorry to have challenged him so much in class, but he’d been attacking something that was important to me. I promised I’d never interrupt his lessons again. He was going into Islam, and I frankly didn’t care about Islam. I was done with the professor… but God wasn’t.
I swear, in the next class, this is roughly what he said: Islam got him to black Muslims. Black Muslims got him to racial prejudice and racial prejudice got him to WWII. And then he said the reason we dropped the bomb on the Japanese and not the Germans was because the Germans were white and the Japanese weren’t. Now I’m kind of history buff… and that didn’t sound quite right. But I’d made a promise I wouldn’t cause any more trouble in his class so I just kept my mouth shut. But people tell me that when I’m frustrated – I sigh. And I must have sighed at that point because the teacher looked right at me and said “Alright Strite. What’s wrong now?” I hadn’t said anything! But since he asked, I responded that from everything I’d ever heard we didn’t have the bomb when Germany surrendered. He responded: “We did too. We had it in 1942!” You need to understand, this was in the era of the war in Vietnam… and the government lied about all kinds of things back then. I figured – well, maybe they lied about this too! And I just slumped at my desk – defeated again. And that’s when God nailed him. One row back, and about 4 seats over, a young woman raised her hand. She said “I’m sorry sir, but you’re wrong. My father worked on that project, and we didn’t have the bomb when Germany surrendered.”
My point is this: I won! But not because I was clever or smart. I won because God was strong. I won because God fought for me and set this professor up to be exposed as a false teacher in front of an entire class who probably thought I was nothing more than a nuisance.
Some of my best stories come from those experiences, and looking back to those situations I’ve become convinced that it was THEN that God led me into those green pastures, and beside those still waters, and along those paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. And in every one of those experiences God got the glory and I got an adventure.
ILLUS: Now – by contrast – those who don’t have our shepherd don’t have it anywhere near as good. Someone once rewrote Psalm 23 and called it the “unbelievers” psalm: “I have no Shepherd, I’m constantly in want. In discontent I graze in parched fields and I can’t find any water to quench my thirst. My soul is weary; I wander in the paths of sinfulness, seeking pleasure. And when I walk in the darkness of danger and death, I’m afraid, because I’m all alone. I have no one to protect me; no one to comfort me. I can’t even find any food to strengthen me. My enemies surround me and look for opportunities to hurt me. My life is empty. Even though God’s goodness and mercy have been available all the days of my life, I’ll be banished from the house of the Lord forever.”
I wouldn’t want to live like THAT! I’d much rather experience the unknown with God and the adventure of following God. Someone said: "I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light."(Mary Gardiner Brainard)
So 1st - God LEADS us. He leads us into HIS pastures, beside HIS still waters in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. And I have found it’s always an adventure.
And 2ndly - God PROTECTS us. Now, notice Psalm 23 doesn’t say that we’re NOT going to have difficulties in our lives. What it does say is this: “I walk through the valley of the shadow of death” (and) I’m going to be in the presence of “my enemies.” The valley of the shadow of death is real (unless Jesus comes first, we are all going to die), and the presence of our enemies is real. And God doesn’t always sweep those threats away. Sometimes He’s going to lead me through the valley of the shadow of death. Sometimes He’s going to prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies - but the key phrase is this: I WILL FEAR NO EVIL!
Why shouldn’t I be afraid? Because – while those dangers are real - they don’t really have power over us. The valley of the SHADOW of death is real, but for us it’s merely a shadow. Yes, we’ll die… but we know the grave can’t hold us. And our enemies are real, but God prepares a table for us right there in front of them. And when we trust our shepherd those folks have no power over us. They might be able to hurt us… but they can’t control us. And that bugs our enemies to no end.
ILLUS: When David watched his father’s flock he faced real dangers. There were dangerous animals out in the hills, and he was a young man out there all by himself. But when David was about to face Goliath, he told Saul "Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God." I Samuel 17:34-36
David had no fear of fighting Goliath because he’d already faced and defeated ferocious animals, and he’d been able to destroy those enemies because the Lord was his shepherd. God would lead him through the valley of the shadow of death. As one person put it: “David didn’t look at the size of the giant. He looked at the size of his God." (https://mikeschmitz.com/page/53/)
My point is this, when God is your shepherd… you shall not want. He will lead you and He will protect you and seek to strengthen you. His eyes rove to fro across the world looking for someone who will CHOSE Him, and follow Him.
CLOSE: Now sheep in the field do not get to CHOOSE their shepherd. The shepherd chooses them. In the days of the Bible, when a shepherd bought a sheep, he’d take a firm hold on that sheep, pull out a long, sharp knife and cut a distinctive earmark into the ear of the sheep. In that way, even from a distance, it would be easy to recognize HIS sheep.
The difference for us, is that – unlike the sheep – we actually get to choose whether or not we will let Jesus mark us as His. His mark is the Spirit He places inside of us when we CHOOSE - To Believe that Jesus is the Christ the Son of the Living God. To Repent of our sins. To Confess that Jesus is our Lord. And lastly, to allow ourselves to be Baptized into Him Acts 2:38 tells us that we receive His Spirit when we choose Him. “Repent and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins, and you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.”
INVITATION
