Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] Well, let's pray this morning. So Father, we do come before you today and we thank you as we once again peer into the Word of God. We thank you for this Beautiful Psalm, Psalm 23. There was so much material there. We're going to finish the message today. Part two. Lord, we thank youk that yout're not only our good shepherd, but yout're also a royal host. And we're going to look at what that means today above everything. Lord, we know that we live in an anxious filled world. As a matter of fact, some people have described this age as the age of anxiety. And so Lord, we pray today as we hear how great and loving and caring you are, that all our anxious thoughts will flee as we cast them up to Thee. We thank you for that. In Jesus name, Amen. You may be seated.
[00:00:50] So last week I began a two part series, Already knew at the beginning and I didn't even hardly finish part one. So I'm going to fin that this morning how to Find Peace in an Anxiety Filled World. And we're going to look at Psalm 23. And while the analogy of a shepherd with a sheep was explored last week, let me just hit some of those highlights and then we'll move to the second point of the message where there's a change in imagery. Psalm 23, as I pointed out last week was written by King David, who in his youth actually cared for his father's sheep. And now, in a time of danger and difficulties with enemies before him, he expresses his amazing confidence that the Lord is His shepherd. And I don't know what you're going through this morning. I don't know what you've been going through this past week. Some of you have a little bit of an idea. I've been in communication with people, but I want to encourage us that we can have confidence God will see us through. Whatever you're experiencing, God will see you through. Just remember, he's the God who created the universe. He's the One who delivered millions of people, couple maybe 2 to 3 million people during a time of slavery. And he brought them into the Promised Land, even though they sojourned in a wilderness for 40 years. And the Bible says He provided for all of their needs. Isn't that amazing? How many think that's unbelievable that God could take care of people for 40 years in a desert, allowing them to be able to. They said their clothes didn't even wear out. Isn't that amazing? They didn't worry about fashions in those days.
[00:02:29] But anyways David's confidence in life is based upon his understanding of the nature of God and his personal relationship with God. And while the first picture of God's amazing care for us is a metaphor of shepherd caring for his sheep. Let me just finish off where I left off and we'll begin back in that imagery for a moment. Then I'll come to the second image here in a moment. But even though it says in Psalm 23:4, even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. What does he mean by the darkest valley? I know some translations say in the shadow of death. Now, the original, the origin of the word translated darkest here in the Hebrew is amawa, which the first part speaks of a valley and mawa speaks of death. Okay? And that's why when they put the two words together, people literally give us the meaning shadow of death. But Bruce Walke and James Hewson. Bruce Walke is an Old Testament scholar, and I had the privilege of actually having him as a professor for the book of Proverbs. You can imagine these people now are just. They know the language and he's explaining the meaning of this term. Now listen, what they write here, it says this gloss, that's a fancy word for explanation, may be misleading. For in using amawa does not signify clinical death. So it's not talking about physical death, is what he's saying in its other 17 uses, which are all poetic. It refers to literal darkness in opposition to light, usually with an implied sorrow or fear. So he says, even though I walk through the times in my life where I am sorrowing and grieving the most, or I am in the midst of great fear in my life, why is this important to understand? Because it widens the concept beyond just this area of death itself. It's moving towards all crisis in our lives. Tremper Longman gives this insight. He said verse four envisions God's guidance through a time of utmost distress. Now, how many can imagine looking at David's life, if you know anything about scripture, I mean, Saul wanted him dead, and so for 13 years he's chasing him all over the wilderness. How would you like to have, you know, somebody that has that kind of authority and power, the leader of a nation with an army chasing after you to kill you for 13 years, how many say that would be kind of distressful? Anybody here probably relate to that? It probably put your life in a totally different pattern of living. You're not living an ordinary Life, you're a fugitive running it, says the psalmist. Now continuing this path, this metaphor path. The psalmist imagines the path leading through this darkest valley, or according to another translation, the valley of the shadow of death.
[00:05:25] The latter more traditional rendering derives from splitting the two Hebrew words awa into two words, and one is valley, the other is death, the shadow of death. Kenneth Bailey shares that there are many such valleys in the region. As a matter of fact, former shepherd Kirion describes such a valley that's just south of the Jerusalem Jericho road. He writes, there's an actual valley of the shadow of death in Palestine, and every shepherd knows of it. It is a very narrow defile through a mountain range where the water often foams and roars. Torn by jagged rocks, the path plunges downward into a deep and narrow gorge of sheer precipices, overhung by frowning sphinx like battlements of rocks which almost touch overhead. So you can just imagine the picture. I don't have one, but you know, there's rock overhead, and you're in this little defile, the mountainous sides on both sides. And he goes on to describe it, its side walls rise like the stone walls of Cathedral. The valley is about five miles long, and yet it's not more than 12ft at its widest section of the base. The actual path on the solid rock is so narrow that in places the sheep can hardly turn around in case there is danger.
[00:06:43] So by expanding the idea, what David is writing is, he's saying, in times of anguish, in times of despair, in times of sorrow, in times of grief, in times of anxiety, including the approach of death in our life. The point is that God will be with us all through those moments. He'll never leave us, he'll never forsake us. It conveys the idea that God will take us through this life's darkest moments, even through the door of death itself, until we come safely with him to the other side to live with him eternally, we can be assured that the Lord will not forsake us. The picture of the shepherd leading has moved to being with us. Therefore, we need not to be fearful of any evil. So he's moved the picture from the Lord leading to the Lord being beside us, being with us in those moments, you know, you ever have those moments in your life, you go, God, where are you? You ever felt abandoned? Sometimes there's a sense of, you know, I just feel an absence of God's presence. I'm in this terrible place. But we need to understand that even in that moment, that's the moment David is trying to paint for us. He says, no, God is with you in that darkest moment. He's with you in that sense of abandonment. He's with you in that place. He's not deserted you. You're not alone. He's there with you. Even though we may feel fearful, but we need not be fearful of evil. God will protect us. God will deliver us from all fear. Isn't that beautiful? And so you and I can walk with a quiet confidence. Yes. I feel like I'm a little lost right now. I feel like my navigational equipment is gone. I feel like, you know, there's a little bit of despair maybe trying to build up in my soul. But I know you're here, Lord, I'm going to trust you. I'm not going to let fear define my life right now. Because really, fear is torment and it doesn't come from God. God doesn't bring fear into our lives. God's not given us a spirit of fear, but of love, power, and of a sound mind. And then it says, his rod and the staff, they comfort me. Now, that word comfort is interesting here in the text because it's not the idea of sympathizing with us. I think sometimes when we think of comfort, we always think of somebody kind of sympathizing with us. No, it's a deeper word than that. It's actually encouraging us. How many know sympathizing is one thing, but to be encouraged by someone, that's even better. And that's the idea that he's trying to bring across here. And it says his rod and the staff, they really encourage us. Listen to what Paul writes to the Romans. He says, for everything that was written in the past was written to teach us, so that through the endurance taught in the Scriptures and the encouragement they provide, we might have hope. Wow. Just go back and say something to ourselves. Scripture is designed to encourage.
[00:09:47] Scripture is designed to give us hope.
[00:09:50] You know, if you're discouraged, read Scripture. Read lots of it. It will stimulate your heart. God primarily uses his Word to lead and encourage us. And I think this is probably the greatest argument. It's one of the arguments that I think we need to understand why we need to spend time in God's Word, why it grounds us, it strengthens us, it warns us, it encourages us, it comforts us. God can give you and myself a very specific word to sustain us in a moment of challenge and difficulty. Can I just encourage you? You know, let's develop a habit. I keep bringing this up because I really want you to develop this habit. What is the habit, Pastor, when you get up, that you spend time in the word of God, because that's God speaking into your life. You don't know what you're going to face that day and, you know, spending time. I think I'm going to use a word. I don't know how other people use it, but it's going to center you, it's going to ground you, it's going to keep you positioned so that when you're going through your day, there are things that you're going to glean, you know, and that's why I. Even when I. When I get up in the morning, I get my journal out and I take my pen and I pray and I look at the scriptures and I'm writing many things that I'm reading there right into my journal. And I'm now making it my prayer. It becomes part of my prayer life. I incorporate the prayers of the psalmist. I incorporate the prayers that I see evident in scripture, and I apply them to myself and to others. It's very, very powerful. God can help us because we're in his word now. The rod and staff, they comfort or encourage us. Here we have two instruments that the shepherd is employing. The rod and staff. Keith Bailey or Kenneth Bailey, says the rod is really. It's like a scepter or a weapon. It's the shepherd's primary offensive weapon for protecting the flock from enemies. The instrument itself is about two and a half feet long, so that's 30 inches. Okay, a rod. And he says at the end, there's a mace like ending into which heavy pieces of iron many times are often embedded. This is a formidable weapon.
[00:12:04] So God's word is like a weapon. And if you study Paul's armor, he talks about the sword of the spirit. That's an offensive weapon. And I think we need to understand how important it is. Philip Keller goes on to describe how young Africans in Africa develop a rod in their shepherding aspect. It says, he says they seek a sapling, and then they enlarge its base. It's shaped into a smooth, round head, hardwood. And after he completes it, the shepherd boar spends hours practicing with his club, learning how to throw it with amazing speed and accuracy.
[00:12:41] So, you know, God's spirit and word here are being represented. The staff is only used in the care of sheep. It's the one of the chief tools used by the shepherd. It speaks of care and guidance. And the staff is symbolic of the ministry of the Holy Spirit. He's the one that's leading us. He's the one that leads us as a church. He's the one that's leading you and I, as believers, individually, if we will listen to him. And as we're spending time in the Word, the Spirit of God is the author of the Word, and he will guide us.
[00:13:14] It's very beautiful. How do you know when God's guiding you? Pastor it's real simple. He's telling us how to live life.
[00:13:21] It's very practical, I think. Sometimes we try to create all this mystery or we read scripture to suit our circumstances.
[00:13:29] What I want you to start learning how to do is just read scripture and say, what is God saying here and how does that apply to me? What is God saying here and how does that apply to me? What is God saying here and how does that apply to me? And we start learning. And some scripture is really easy to apply. Like James 1:19. He says, Be slow to speak. Oh, I need to restrain myself a little more. Quick to listen. A lot of times people are listening only to give a response. What we need to learn is learn how to listen in order to understand where this person is coming from and hear their heart. How many think we have to learn how to be quick, to listen, slow to get angry? You know, some of us, you know, we tend to just, you know, fly off the handle when, you know, we think we know or we're upset about something. But, you know, we have to ask God's spirit, help me, Lord. Now, this is a great prayer. Lord. I'm reading James 1:19. Lord, would you'd help me to be slow, to speak, quick to listen, slow to get angry? How many think that's a great prayer and you know, God will help you develop that in your life. That's how you incorporate scripture into your prayer life. Jesus calls the Holy Spirit. Another.
[00:14:36] He's called the Paraclete, the one who comes alongside of us. Another helper. He's another comforter. He brings us through the tests and trials of life. He convicts us when we begin to stray from God's word. He points things out. How many of you had those experiences where you're doing something, all of a sudden you feel grieved in your inner being? That's the Holy Spirit going, you're grieving me, you know, stop what you're doing. You ever had those moments where God, you know, you just, I'm doing the wrong thing here. I just need to stop. And it's a good thing to do. Just stop. Say, lord, forgive me I shouldn't be doing this.
[00:15:10] You know, David, it's interesting in mentioning the rod, that ancient weapon used by shepherds to protect their flock, knew its value. David shares with King Saul that he is a shepherd. As a shepherd boy was attacked by both a bear and a lion, and with his rod, he came to the sheep's rescue. I'm telling you, it's a very formidable weapon. Let me give you the text. And, you know, I looked at this text, and I got so excited about it. Look what it says. David says to Saul, your servant has been keeping his father's sheep. Because, you know, Saul says to him, there's Goliath out there. And he goes, how can you, a mere boy, take on a giant? David goes, hey, don't worry about the giant. I'll tell you my. I'll give you my resume. This is my resume, how I can handle things. He said, your servant was keeping his father's sheep when a lion or a bear came and carried off the sheep from the flock. Now, for some of us, we see a bear take a sheep when we go, good riddance. You know, like, I'm not going after that bear. How many know that's a little terrifying experience? Or a lion carrying off a sheep. But this is. David's a good shepherd, and this is why he's saying, the Lord is my shepherd, my good shepherd. He said, listen. He said, I went after it. How many of you say, yeah, I'd just go running after that bear, right? But David says, I ran after that bear, and I rescued the sheep from its mouth. So how did he do that? Here's my picture. The bear is running with the sheep in its mouth. David is running with his rod, and he just whacks that old bear. The bear gets interrupted, drops the sheep from its mouth, turns around and says, who hit me?
[00:16:47] And it says, when it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, okay? I struck it and I killed it. Now, I don't know about you, but when I read these words, I don't think David grabbed them by the hair and started punching them out. I don't think that would have done a lot of damage. But with a rod 30 inches long as a weapon, he was wailing on that bear.
[00:17:13] Are you getting a picture here? This is a pretty formidable picture. I seized it by hair, struck it. I killed it. Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear. What is David telling us? He's a good shepherd. David says, I'm willing to risk my life for the sheep, and not only That I understand. I have a formidable weapon, this rod. Now, I know he killed the giant with a slingshot. I get all of that. But David knew how to handle the rod. And the question I'm going to ask each one of us as Christians is, do you know how to handle the rod of God's word?
[00:17:48] Do you know how to go after things? Yeah, it's an interesting point, isn't it? Because we have an adversary that's trying to rob people and we need to know the word of God. Okay, so, you know, I think David struck these animals with a rod. Pictures of God's word used in defense against the attack that comes to us. The battlefield is our mind. So many thoughts come in that are in opposition to God's promises and principles that are found in God's word. I think if we have an idea, a thought or whatever, we need to take captive those thoughts. That's what Paul tells us to do. We're to grow in our understanding. We're to submit to the thought of God's word in obedience to his word. If we have a thought that's contrary to God's word, we need to take that thought captive. That's what Paul is telling us. The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of this world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds. But where are those strongholds?
[00:18:49] We demolish arguments in every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God. Where is that happening? It's in our minds. This is the battlefield, guys. We take captive every thought and make it obedient to Christ.
[00:19:04] So what do we need to do? We need to figure out what scriptures can combat the thoughts that come to our mind that we know are not godly. We just take them captive.
[00:19:15] And as we know these truths and as we apply them to our lives, we win spiritual battles. And that's how we're comforted or we are encouraged.
[00:19:25] So this is in contrast, I think, to the temptations and thoughts that are contrary to the word of God. These thoughts can torment us, fill us with anxiety. And I think our culture is structured, our society is structured to create discontent in your life. I don't know if you know that. That's the way it's designed. It's built to create it. You say, well, how do they do that? Well, the basic, I think the basic particular premise that we're really living in right now is we're told every single day that we're not enough and we need this product.
[00:20:02] The advertising industry is designed to make you Unhappy.
[00:20:06] It's designed to make you discontent. Did you know that? So you know, if you shut that stuff off, you'll be less. You go, I don't need all this stuff. There's a lot of things we think we need, we don't need. And that's how they make their money, folks. They're trying to tell you you need a product that you don't really need. And so we go out and get the product. And most of us, we don't realize that we're just emotional buyers.
[00:20:29] We don't think about it, but we are. But let me move on. Okay, so here's the second picture that we need to understand from Psalm 23. We've looked at the shepherding concept. The second is a royal host. The shift moves from shepherd and sheep to a royal host. And his guest tables were only found in wealthier homes. And the host was responsible to meet certain needs. It says, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. I think when we read this text, we miss some of the intensity and meaning behind what is being expressed in this passage.
[00:21:09] Now, I have a book called Biblical Social Values and Their Meaning. A Handbook. And John Pelch and Bruce Molina explain the idea of hospitality. If I use the word hospitality, immediately you come to mind. Yeah, I have my friends and family over. That's not the biblical idea. Okay, I'm going to just shatter something right now. Okay, what do you mean? No, it means something totally different, actually. When you look at the Old Testament, what you're going to find is hospitality was sacred. It was usually offered to strangers. You know, listen, Jesus, I was a stranger and you took me in. It's very fascinating. So what are they talking about? I mean, they didn't have, you know, Hilton's and Hyatt's and all these other type of fancy places people could stay at. They didn't have those kind of arrangements. People stayed in people's homes. When you came in a community, what you were looking for was someone to show you favor. Remember the story of the angels coming into Sodom? Good thing lot reached out to them. That's hospitality. And that's why Hebrews says some of you have shown hospitality and you've entertained angels, unaware you don't even know who you're entertaining. These are strangers. You're taking in strangers and showing hospitality to them. You see, hospitality is the process of receiving outsiders and changing them from strangers to guests. This value clearly serves as a means for Attaining and preserving honor, the core cultural value. So let's go back. This is a shame. Honor culture.
[00:22:38] So this person now comes into a community and every stranger for most cultures was considered an enemy. You don't know where this person's coming from. You don't know what to expect from this person.
[00:22:49] And so with this person coming into the community, they need to find a patron, a benefactor, someone who will basically stand for them.
[00:23:00] Now, in the world of the Bible, hospitality is never about entertaining family and friends. It's always about dealing with strangers. Their reception occurs actually in three stages. This is fascinating. Number one, strangers have to be tested. And you know, when a stranger has been accepted, the first thing that the host does is when they're accepted. There's a ritual of foot washing and it marks the movement from stranger to guest. Now how many already are going with me to John chapter 13? What's Jesus doing? He's washing the disciples feet. What is he doing? He's telling them you're no longer strangers, you're now friends. He says that in that text, in John 13. Isn't that beautiful? So Jesus now is a patron.
[00:23:48] To give you an idea what I'm talking about, if you go back in time, maybe to the Roman culture, in the first century, they believed in patrons. You know, today we have the thing that we all understand as the criminal mafia idea, the godfather, you all heard about that, right? It's the patron idea that comes all the way back into this time. There was a patron. The patron actually took care of a whole bunch of people who couldn't take care of themselves because they were very wealthy. Why would he do that? Because it brought great honor. The more people you cared for as a patron, the greater the honor that was lavished on you. And by the way, that's a high value in that culture. We don't have that as a value, so we don't see any need for it. But in an honor shame culture, to have high honor is what it's all about. That's how these people were functioning. That's what meant that brought meaning and purpose into their life. Okay, so the stranger then takes on the role of a guest. And since transient strangers lacked customary or legal standing within a visited community, it was imperative that they found a patron or a host.
[00:24:54] Now this is so important.
[00:24:57] To offend the guest is to offend the host who is protector and patron of the guest.
[00:25:04] The significance of this is now that the stranger now has been turned into a friend, he's under the protection of the host. And he's being provided by the host.
[00:25:17] So if you wrong the stranger, now, you're wronging the host.
[00:25:24] Now, let me just paint this for you a little bit here as a believer, in practical terms, to attack one of God's children. See, you and I were strangers and he took us in. You and I found our patron in God. You and I are sitting at his table. The enemy can be around us. He says, I prepared a table for you. In what? In the presence of my enemies. So you and I are protected from the enemies. Because the enemy would have to go through the patron to get to us. So the enemy can never get to you and I as God's children, because the Father is watching out for us. Is that beautiful? He just can't come and do what he wants to do in our lives because the Father's there. He's our patron. We need to understand that.
[00:26:15] So that's why Jesus states, when we are ministering to one of the least of these in Matthew 25, we're ministering to him. Isn't that beautiful? So when you and I are ministering to people, we're acting like a patron. We're acting like our Father in heaven. You know, when we welcome a little child in Christ's name, we're actually welcoming Christ. That's what Jesus is saying now.
[00:26:39] Pilch and Molina continue to explain this host and guest relationship. The guest never leaves the host with the same status as upon arrival for the stranger. Guest leaves the host as either friend or enemy. And if as a friend, the guest will spread the praises, the host. Isn't that kind of what we're doing, that you and I have come into God's family? We have been. We are now moved from being a stranger to the guest.
[00:27:09] And you and I leave the table singing the praises of the host. That's what we're doing. This is the picture that we're getting from this beautiful psalm. Now we know from the story of Jesus appearing at Simon the Pharisee's house. And what happens is Jesus is treated as an enemy. I want you to see that neither did Simon wash Jesus feet, nor did he greet him with a kiss, nor did he anoint his head with oil. Isn't that fascinating? Where are all these things coming from?
[00:27:42] This is what's required of a host, and he's not doing it. It says here in our text we read that our hearts are anointed with oil.
[00:27:50] He says, I anoint your head with oil. It's an idea of acceptance. I've accepted you. You're anointed. As a matter of fact, scripture says you and I are the anointed ones. We've been anointed by God. He's anointed us. He's anointed us with his presence, with his spirit. But here it says he anoints them with oil. But oil is a type of the Spirit Walk in Houston explains the significance of the anointing of the guests. The pouring of olive oil on the guest head, it really speaks of the wealth, the generosity and the care of the host to promote renewal, joy, and healing of this weary and wounded guest. In a climate where dry skin was a problem, especially for travelers, anointing with oil was refreshment. It was refreshing. So here we come to a service. What's happening? We're coming to the Father's house. We're sitting at the Father's table. Isn't that beautiful? He's anointing us with oil. His spirit is refreshing us. How many say, you know, when I leave church, I feel refreshed, I feel encouraged, I feel blessed. I feel there's been something imparted towards me. Well, that's because you're at the Father's house. This is what he does for us.
[00:29:04] And this picture here is more than just a feast. Derek Kidner says, in the Old Testament world, to eat and drink at someone's table creates a bond of mutual loyalty and could be the culmination token of a covenant. Now, remember, when we do the Lord's table, what are we doing? We're renewing our covenant. We're in a covenant relationship with God. There's a mutual loyalty. God's loyal to us, and we're committing loyalty towards him. We're saying, I'm going to be loyal to you. It's important. This was how the Old Testament was sealed in Exodus 24, when the elders of Israel beheld God and they ate and they drank with God. They went up the mountain with Moses. They were eating and drinking. And so again at the Last Supper, when Jesus announced, this cup is the new covenant in my blood.
[00:29:49] So to be God's guest is to be more than an acquaintance invited for a day. It is to live with him forever.
[00:29:57] Now, you know, I was thinking about this. He goes, our cup overflows. It's not a cup of judgment. It's a cup of blessing. That's the meaning we need to gain from Jesus. Message to the church at Laodicea. Remember, this was a church that thought they had it all together. But Jesus said, man, you guys are really Messed up. You were looking at your own riches rather than trusting in God's riches. And he says this to him, these beautiful words. And I love these words. This is actually written to the church, by the way. I know we use it many times for non believers to invite them, but it's an invitation to us as believers. He says, here I am. I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, what will happen?
[00:30:36] I will come in and what do I do? I will eat with that person and they will eat with me. What is he talking about here? He's talking about God back at the table again. He's the royal host. We're actually in his presence. And this presence isn't just a momentary, you know, like with us, you know, we might go over to somebody's house. It's really nice. We have a beautiful meal, we thank them, it's gracious, it'll be a great time. We move on. You know, you could do that and maybe never go back to that home, to that meal. That's not the way it works in God's house. You and I actually have communion with God. You and I are always at God's table. You and I are always. It's speaking of this covenant relationship that we have with Almighty God, and then God's covenantal love pursues us. I love this verse. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. You know, God's goodness and love following us. Well, that word following us, that's a little bit anemic. You know, I'm going to just tell you that right now because, you know, you could follow at a distance. Peter followed Jesus at a distance. But in the Hebrew language, we find some exceptional words are being used here. God's goodness and his covenantal love has said love. I love that word. You can tell I love that because of the idea. God's love is a lot different than what we think it's beyond. You know, I think about it unconditional. That's not even strong enough. Let me paint a picture for you. God's love and goodness are pursuing after us. God's running after you. He's chasing you down.
[00:32:17] You know, some of us go, I don't even know where God is. No, God's pursuing you.
[00:32:22] He just keeps chasing after you to give you goodness and this beautiful love. How many think that's amazing. Do you like that picture? I love that picture. I want you to see this picture. God chasing after you with goodness and love. Today, God's after me. He just wants to pour goodness and love into my life. Most of us think, no, God's coming and he's going to beat me up. No, he's not. He's going to pour goodness and love into your life. All the days of my life, he says, goodness will come my way.
[00:32:51] Wolke and Houston remind us of God's goodness and love. Remember, it was revealed to Moses. Moses wanted to know what God looked like, what a great thing Moses was. You know, he had a hunger for God. Anybody get that feeling? You know, he communed with God, and all of a sudden he said, I really want to know you, God. God says, you know what? Tell you what, I'll put you in the cleft of the rock, and I'm going to pass by. And this is what they write. Moses requests to see the glory of God. I want to see who you are. And God, great I am, replies, I will cause all my goodness to pass in front of you.
[00:33:23] Let's take a look at what he says in the subsequent event of that encounter. I am passes in front of Moses, proclaiming, I am who I am, the compassionate and gracious God, slow to anger, abounding in. And the Hebrew word is hesed again, love, faithfulness, maintaining love to thousands of forgiving wickedness, rebellion and sin. That's the nature of God. Is that a beautiful picture? God said, I sent my son into the world not to condemn the world, but to save it, to redeem it, to bring it back to myself, to restore it, to renew it, to refresh. He goes on here to say, hesed essentially means. Now, this is a great word, and I love all these Hebrew scholars trying to figure out exactly what it means. It means to help the needy. And it has no precise English equivalent. It refers to a situation where a needy partner depends on another for deliverance, and the deliverer does so freely. Out of all their finer spiritual and sensitive instinct, they show mercy and kindness and love and loyalty. Hmm.
[00:34:33] Isn't that the nature of God? And then Karen Sachenfeld and I have her book on hesed, by the way. It's just on one word. The whole book is on this idea. And she defines it as deliverance or protection, as a responsible keeping of faith with another with whom one is in relationship.
[00:34:50] So what God says is, if I let you guys down, I violate who I am. And I said that last week, so I'm not going to do that.
[00:35:00] So, you know, you could say, you can count on Some people. But you know, Proverbs even says, who can find a faithful friend, Right? That's an interesting statement. Faithfulness is really hard to find. But I want to say this to all of us here today. God will never let you down. God is always there. He's faithful. Now, that doesn't mean that God is going to meet all your expectations. I think that's where a lot of people get angry with God. Well, God didn't do what I wanted him to do. Or I'm disappointed with God. Or he didn't, you know, he let me down because he didn't do what I wanted. No, God has. God will never let you down. I'll tell you why. Because he's leading your life and my life, and he's bringing you and I to himself.
[00:35:42] And he's going to do. He's going to take me through the darkest places sometimes because he's also doing something else in my life. He's changing me from glory to glory, from faith to faith, from strength to strength. He's making me and you more like him. And how many know that's a journey and you know, change is not easy? How many go, I know change is difficult. I would say change is so difficult. And I don't know about you, but do you ever resist change?
[00:36:13] Do you ever resist change? Of course. We all do. Right? It's hard. And so we're changing, changing. And sometimes God has to make us a little bit uncomfortable before we're prepared to change.
[00:36:25] And then all of a sudden we go, okay, I get it. I'm not going to stay like this anymore. This isn't working for me. This isn't working for me. I'm going to change. And all of a sudden, a change happens in our life, and we come to a new place of freedom and joy and hope, and we go, why in the world did I ever hang on to that garbage back there when I could have been experiencing this all along? Isn't that beautiful? We've got to let go of something to get something else. Guys, if you're hanging, you know, it's like trying to tell somebody, hey, you got that junk in your hands, Just drop it. I've got something far better to give you. But no, I've got to hang on to this. And God goes, it's so paltry. I've got something so much better for you. So much better for you.
[00:37:10] If the psalm is an expression.
[00:37:13] Oh, let me conclude this thought. If the psalm is, oh, yeah, in the expression of my shepherd leading me out to provide for my needs of provision and protection, leading me safely through life's adversities and enemies of our soul. We'll end safely living eternally with our shepherd. So the question then arises, what should our response be in light of this incredible relationship with God, his wonderful provisions? What should my response be? What can I receive from the truth found here to help me in a fast paced, stress filled, anxiety producing lifestyle? Well, like David, who had many challenges in his life as a king, we need to commit ourselves to experiencing three liberating facts. Number one, since the Lord is my shepherd, we don't have to be discontented. We lack nothing. Everything you need, he has for you. We can find contentment in the knowledge that God Himself is sufficient for us. In him we have all that we need.
[00:38:14] I think it's hard for us to learn this, but it is true. I mean, God's dealt with me on this and I just said to myself, if I need it, I'll get it. If I don't need it, I don't want it. Real simple, I'm content. God knows what's best for me. Number two, because the Lord is my shepherd and your shepherd, we do not have to fear the threat of the evil one. God is always present. And if God be for us, who can be against us? And I'm going to just say this, some of you go, yeah, but maybe God's not for me. God is always for his kids. If you're his child, if you've given your life to Christ, he's always for you. Number three. We can be assured of a life with God unbroken. Fellowship is a reality. We have the guarantee of continually being in the presence of God for all of eternity. Even the ultimate fear, the very fear of death will only pass before us like a shadow as we abide in the presence of the Almighty. Let's stand.
[00:39:18] So now you've gotten a little, hopefully a deeper picture of the psalm. Anybody learn something today? How many are glad that God is your patron? How many are glad that you moved from stranger to guest? Aren't you glad? I'm glad. I'm real glad. But if you've never done that, I want to tell you something. You no longer have to remain a stranger.
[00:39:42] If you will come to God and seek him as your patron, as your protector and provider.
[00:39:51] Listen to me.
[00:39:53] He will take you in beautiful picture. He will wash your feet. It's amazing. The God of the universe humbling himself to wash our feet as a servant. You know, I was at this conference this past week And I had an epiphany moment. You ever have epiphany moments as these guys are speaking? And he kept. He said something and then he showed something. And I went, I never saw this, this way before. Remember? He kept repeating. He kept repeating this in the book of Exodus. And God, he said, led them out with outstretched hands. You ever read that? With a mighty hand. With an outstretched hand. And then he went like this.
[00:40:35] And immediately, what do you think of the cross?
[00:40:40] God exhibited such profound love for us that he stretched out his hands for us. How can we ever question God's love for us? How can we question it? Well, I'm going through a hard time, Pastor.
[00:40:58] I want you to look at his outstretched hands. His love is so beautiful.
[00:41:05] It's there for us.
[00:41:07] Amen.
[00:41:09] You know, our problem sometimes is we look at ourselves and then we get discouraged. I'm saying, stop looking at yourself. You need to look higher.
[00:41:20] I want you to look up to the God who loves you, the God who deeply loves you, who's pursuing after you with goodness and love.
[00:41:32] Stop running.
[00:41:35] Stop running.
[00:41:38] Let God's goodness overtake you. Let God's love overtake you. Amen.
[00:41:45] So, Lord, I thank you this morning. We open our heart to your love. We're going to stop running right now. And we're going to let love overtake us. We're going to let goodness overtake us.
[00:41:58] And I pray today that that's what will happen. We'll leave this place going. I'm in the Father's house. I'm sitting at the Father's table.
[00:42:06] And he's extended to me his love.
[00:42:10] And now I'm experiencing a move from stranger to friend, just like those early disciples. And I can leave the table now singing his praises. What a good host. What gracious goodness and love I've experienced today. And I will experience it every day of my life until I meet you face to face. And I thank you for that. In Jesus name, amen. God bless you as you leave.
