Well, good evening, everybody.
I guess the cold has everybody quiet this evening. Let's open
tonight's service with hymn number 127, Hallelujah, What a Savior. Let's all stand together, number
127. Man of sorrows, what a name! For the Son of God who came,
ruined sinners to reclaim. Hallelujah, what a Savior! Bearing shame and scoffing rude,
In my place condemned He stood, Sealed my pardon with His blood. Hallelujah! What a Savior! Guilty, vile, and helpless we,
spotless Lamb of God was He. Full atonement can it be? Hallelujah! What a Savior! Lifted up was he to die, It is
finished was his cry, Now in heaven exalted high, Hallelujah,
what a Savior! When He comes, our glorious King,
All His ransomed home to bring, Then anew this song we'll sing,
Hallelujah, what a Savior! Please be seated. What a Savior. I want to read
from the 10th chapter of John. If you'd like, turn with me there
in your Bibles. John chapter 10. And we'll begin reading at
verse 9. John 10, verse 9. I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved, and go in and out, and find pasture. The thief
cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I am come that they might have
life, and that they might have it more abundantly." The thief
is that man-made, free will, works gospel, a message of salvation
that says there's something left for you to do and all it will
result in is destroying you, killing you, and stealing from
God his glory. Verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep, but he that is a hireling and not the shepherd
whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth
the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catches them, and scattereth
the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because
he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep." There's the
false prophet. There's the man who's promoting
a works gospel or promoting himself. No care for the sheep. I am the
good shepherd. and I know my sheep and I am
known of mine as the father knoweth me even so I know the father
and I lay down my life for the sheep and other sheep I have
which are not of this fold them also I must bring. He's talking to these Jewish
people and now he's referring to us Gentiles. So other sheep
I have which are not of this fold and I must bring them And
they shall hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one
shepherd. Therefore doth my father love
me, because I lay down my life, that I might take it again. No
man taketh it from me, but I lay it down of myself. I have power
to lay it down. I have power to take it again.
This commandment I have received of my father." There was a division,
therefore, among the Jews for these sayings. Gospel always
creates a division, doesn't it? Let's pray together. Our merciful Heavenly Father,
we ask that you would send your spirit in power to cause us,
Lord, to set our affections on things above where Christ is
seated at thy right hand. We pray that you would enable
us to find our rest, our comfort, our hope, and all our salvation
in his glorious person and in his accomplished work. We thank
you for your word. Lord, if you don't open what
no man can shut, we'll will not be able to understand. And so
we pray that you would open our hearts. We pray that you would
open your word. We pray, Lord, that you would
cause Christ to be lifted up. We ask it in his name. Amen. Number 340. Three hundred and
forty in the hardback demo. Let's all stand. Nearer, still dearer, close to
thy heart. Draw me, my Savior, so precious
thou art. Fold me, oh, fold me close to
thy breast. Shelter me safe in that haven
of rest. Shelter me safe in that haven
of rest. Nearer, still nearer, nothing
I bring, not as an offering to Jesus my King. Only my sinful, now contrite
heart Grant me the cleansing thy blood doth impart. Grant me the cleansing, thy blood
doth depart. Nearer, still nearer, Lord, to
be thine. Sin with its follies I gladly
resign. All of its pleasures come and
its pride. Give me but Jesus, my Lord crucified. Give me but Jesus, my Lord crucified. Nearer, still nearer, while life
shall last, Till safe in glory my anchor is cast. Through endless ages, ever to my Savior, still nearer to Thee. Nearer my Savior, still nearer
to Thee. Please be seated. Robert, ever since you read Psalm
23 Sunday morning, that passage has been on my heart, and I hope
that the Lord will enable us to see some things tonight from
Psalm 23, if you'd like to turn with me there in your Bibles.
I don't suppose there's a more familiar passage of scripture. There are no sweeter words that
have provided more comfort to the hearts of God's people than
Psalm 23. At the same time, it is probably
the one passage in God's Word that's most abused and misunderstood
of all of scriptures. I personally have been called
to the bedside of dying people who had no interest in the gospel,
but wanted me to read Psalm 23. To them, it was nothing more
than pious platitudes, everything's okay. And I don't guess there's
a funeral you go to that somebody doesn't read Psalm 23. Now, in order for us to understand
anything about Psalm 23, we have to see it in its context. And by that I mean that it follows
Psalm 22. You can't understand Psalm 23
without having some understanding of Psalm 22. Psalm 22, you remember,
my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? There's no more
clearer picture of the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ on Calvary's
cross than there is to be found in Psalm 22. Look what he says,
Why art thou so far from helping me, and from the words of my
roaring? O my God, I cry in the daytime,
but thou hearest not, and in the night season, and am not
silent, but thou art holy. We have a glorious description.
Look at verse 12. Many bulls have come past me.
Strong bulls of Bashan have beset me round. They gaped upon me
with their mouths as ravening and roaring lion. I am poured
out like water. All my bones are out of joint.
My heart is like wax. It is melted in the midst of
my bowels. The Lord Jesus Christ is described
so so clearly and so horribly as he offers himself to the Father
as the sacrifice for his people. And the Father accepts that sacrifice,
but in so doing, because God's holy, God was forced to forsake
His only Son. And the Lord Jesus Christ being
forsaken by God is the only hope that we have that we will not
be forsaken by God. And the only way we can say the
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want, is to believe
that what the Lord Jesus Christ did on Calvary's cross was all
that God required for the salvation of our souls. To believe the
gospel. To disobey the gospel is far
worse than breaking any of God's holy laws. I don't care what
crime a person commits in breaking or violating a law of God. I
don't care how heinous their sin is. There's a remedy for
breaking God's law. The gospel. Not believing the gospel? There
is no more sacrifice for sin. There's no remedy for unbelief.
There's no hope for not believing that when the Lord Jesus Christ
bowed his mighty head on Calvary's cross and said, it is finished,
that the work of redemption was completed, that God was satisfied,
that God raised him from the dead, and now in believing what
he did, as the hope of my salvation, I'm able to say, the Lord is
my shepherd. I shall not be in want for anything. Now, in order for us to see the
Lord as our shepherd, if he's caused us to believe the gospel,
then he's caused us to see ourselves as sheep. many similitudes in
the scriptures given to define the nature and character of God
and the nature and character of his people. And one of them
that's repeated over and over again is the shepherd and his
sheep. What a glorious picture of the
relationship, we just read about it in John chapter 10, the relationship
that Christ has with his church. If God's made you to be a sheep,
then you know. You may not have ever been around
an actual sheep, but you know that sheep are dumb. I mean,
I've read up on them. I've not been around them much,
but I understand that they're dumb animals. And the Lord Jesus Christ said,
Father, I thank thee that thou hast hid these things from the
wise and the prudent and revealed them unto babes. Now a child
is ignorant. The child has no knowledge, no
understanding. Even so, Father, it seemed good
in thy sight." Has the Lord made you to be a sheep? I mean, a
dumb sheep. Turn to me to 1 Corinthians chapter
1. 1 Corinthians chapter 1. You know, I've always read this
passage of Scripture thinking about how the gospel destroys
the wisdom of the world. But in reading it for preparation
for tonight, I saw myself in this like I'd never seen myself
before. And I hope that you'll be able
to see yourself here in these verses. In 1 Corinthians chapter
1, look at verse 19. For it is written, I will destroy
the wisdom of the wise and bring to nothing the understanding
of the prudent. Was there a time when you were
wise in your own eyes? Was there a time when you were
prudent? You know, there was a time when I thought I had all
the answers to life. Now I don't even know the questions. The gospel just destroys the
wise and the prudent and makes us to be babes. Look at the next
one. Where is the wise? Where is the
scribe? Where is the disputer of this
world? Hath not God made foolish the
wisdom of this world? Yes, he has. You know, like I
said, I've always read these thinking, well, that's what the
gospel does to the world and to the religions of the world.
But this is what the gospel did for me. All disputing, all wisdom,
all controversies were quieted, and I was forced to say, yes,
Lord. Yes, Lord. Look at verse 21. For after that in the wisdom
of God, the world by wisdom knew not God. That was me. I was part
of the world. I thought I was figuring things
out. The world by wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them which believe. Now that
takes a person, that takes a work of grace, to bring a person from
the point of thinking that they've got God figured out, thinking
they've got life figured out, thinking they've got it all worked
out, they've got, I know what I'm gonna, you know, I'm doing
my part, doing my best, and the gospel just shuts you up and
leaves you dumb. Lord, I don't know anything.
I'm but a little child, completely dependent. And that's the other
thing about sheep, is they are dependent. Not only are they
dumb, they're dependent. They must have a shepherd. Sheep
can't survive on their own. The shepherd has to feed them,
the shepherd has to water them, the shepherd has to take them
from pasture to pasture. They'll stay in one spot and
chew the grass till they're eating dirt and won't know to move to
another place if the shepherd doesn't come. They are completely
dependent, how dependent you and I are on the Lord Jesus Christ
as our shepherd. Not only are they dumb and and dependent, but they are defenseless. Sheep are defenseless. Turn to
me to Jeremiah chapter 45. What are you going to do to defend
yourself against the accusations of law? The law says guilty. If the law
exposes us, we're just going to find ourselves. We're defenseless. We've got no accusation. We've
got no defense to make. We've not been able to keep God's
law. Oh, we need a shepherd, don't we? We need a shepherd
to defend us against the accusations of the law so that we can say
in Romans chapter 8 verse 1 there is now therefore no condemnation
to who to them who are in Christ Jesus the Lord Jesus Christ is
my shepherd I'm no longer defenseless but look at verse 4 chapter 45
of Jeremiah at verse 5 and seekest thou great things for thyself
Seek them not. Behold, I will bring evil upon
all flesh, saith the Lord, but thy life will I give unto thee
for a prey, P-R-E-Y, not P-R-A-Y, in all places with the thou goest. I'm gonna come and bring judgment
on this world. All flesh is gonna die. I'm gonna
give you your life. I've come that you might have
life and have it more abundantly. I am the way, the truth, and
the life. But your life in this world is going to be a prey. You're going to be at the bottom
of the food chain. You're going to have the hounds of hell. You're
going to have the guilt of your own sin. You're going to have
the law. It's all going to be pursuing you. You're going to
be the prey. You're defenseless. What do you
need? A shepherd. Oh, Lord, I need
a shepherd to protect me from the wolves, from the accusations
of the one who would be accuser of the brethren, from the accusations
of the law, from the shame and the guilt of my own conscience.
Lord, I need a shepherd. Has the Lord made you to be dumb,
dependent, and defenseless? That's the only people. People
say, well, I want you to read Psalm 23, the Lord's my shepherd.
They don't see themselves as dumb. They don't see themselves
as dependent and defenseless. They certainly don't see themselves
as dirty. You know, the scriptures speak
of being cast down. That's actually a picture of
what happens to a sheep. If a sheep gets in the mud and
gets too much mud bound up in its wool and it can't stand up,
it'll fall over. And it will die in that position
if the shepherd doesn't lift it up. If a sheep gets cast,
it'll die right there. It's got to be stood upright.
It's got to be cleaned off. Isn't that where we are? Cast
down by our sin. The Lord is my shepherd because
I am a dirty sheep. I'm in need for him to wash away
my sins by his precious blood. I'm in need of him to present
me before the Father, the robe of righteousness. That's what
I've got to have. Otherwise, I will be cast. And the fifth thing I want you
to see about sheep is that they are domesticated animals. Sheep
are domesticated animals. They're not wild animals. They
belong to a man. They belong to a shepherd. And
they live in the family of a flock. And that's that's the way God's
sheep are Lord. I've been I'm not my own I've
been bought with a price I belong to my shepherd and I'm and I
and I need to be congregated amongst the flock of God's sheep When animals do see that they
are a prey they they congregate together don't they So In order for us to have any
blessings from God from Psalm 23, we have to have some understanding
of Psalm 22. We have to know what the Lord
has done in order to save his people. And if he's done that,
then he's made us to be sheep. And now look what he says in
Psalm 23, thee. I love that definite article. The Lord, not a Lord,
not a God, the Lord. The scripture speaks of the gospel. There's not, there's not, Paul
says in Galatians chapter one that they, that, well turn with
me there, Galatians chapter one. Verse six, I marvel that you
are so soon removed from him that called you into the grace
of Christ unto another gospel, which is not another, but there
be some that trouble you and would pervert the gospel of Christ. But though we or an angel from
heaven preach any other gospel unto you than that which we have
preached unto you, let him be accursed. There's only one gospel. There's only one God. And in
2 Thessalonians chapter 2, it speaks of the lie. Because men
had no love for the truth, God sent them a strong delusion that
they would believe the lie. The lie is that I can do something
to earn favor with God. The lie is that I have the power
of free will. The lie is that I have the power
of good works. The lie is that I've got the
power of wisdom. And the God who is the shepherd
says, no, that's the lie. That's the lie that men are deceived
by. And then the scripture speaks
of the blood. You see, there's not a lie. There's not a gospel. There's not a shepherd. There's
not a blood. It's the blood. I like that definite
article, the, because it makes, it makes salvation definite.
We've got a God who has a definite nature. His nature is that of
immutability. He changes not. Oh, you sons
of Jacob, I am the Lord and I change not. I'm the same yesterday,
today, and forever. And that's the only reason you're
not consumed. I've established a covenant of grace before time
ever began. I need to know that our God is
the God who has a definite nature of immutability. That's the hope
of our salvation. He has a definite nature of sovereignty. He does whatsoever He wills.
No man can stay His hand. He's the potter. We're the clay. He makes from the same lump of
clay some vessels of honor and some of dishonor. Oh, He's got
a definite character of sovereignty. He's definitely holy. When the
Lord Jesus Christ cried from Calvary's cross, as we just read
in Psalm 22, my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me? He
answers that question in verse 3 when he says, but thou art
holy. That's why you forsook me. God
can't change his holiness. His holiness absolutely demands
punishment for sin. He said, I'll not allow the guilty
to go unpunished. He's holy. Holy, holy, holy. The only attribute that's brought
to the third level of repetition in all of Scripture in Isaiah
chapter six, when Isaiah saw the Lord Jesus Christ sitting
upon his throne, what did he say? Holy, holy, holy is the
Lord God of hosts. He's the Lord, the Lord, my shepherd. And not only does that little
definite article, these speak of his definite nature, but it
speaks of his definite purpose. Our God's not shooting in the
dark. He's not trying to save anybody. He's not doing his best
to get it done. When the Lord Jesus Christ went
to Calvary's cross, he accomplished the purpose that he went there
for, the salvation of his people. You shall call his name Jesus,
for he shall save his people. Don't you like having a God that's
definite? It's not just a willy-nilly,
well, you know, it might be this, it might be that. Seems to me,
or could be. No, when the Lord speaks of the
gospel, and the lie, and the blood, and the Lord, it's definite. Definite. His salvation is definite.
He saved a particular people with a particular sacrifice.
according to a particular will and purpose. I need something
that's sure. That's what David said. This
is all my salvation, all my desire. Though we make it not to grow,
it's ordered in all things and what? Sure. Sure. People read Psalm 23 and they
have no understanding of the definite person of God, the definite
nature, the definite work that he's accomplished. And here he
gives us, we've only got the first word of the first verse
so far, but he gives us another thing to hang the hopes of our
souls on. And that is that he gives us
his name. He doesn't say, I'm a God or a Lord. He said, I am
the, and you know, every time you see L-O-R-D all in caps in
the Old Testament, it's Jehovah. That's the name that the Lord
Jesus Christ gave to Moses at Mount Sinai, at the burning bush,
before he went to bring the children of Israel out of Egypt. He said,
I've heard my people's cry. And that bush was on fire and
it wasn't being consumed, was it? And so this name that the
Lord Jesus Christ has, it's His covenant name. He's not consumed
by the fiery wrath of God's judgment that fell upon him on Calvary's
cross. He consumed the fire, didn't
he? He satisfied the demands of God's righteousness and put
away the sins of his people once and for all. The Lord. The Lord, that's who he is. And
the Lord Jesus Christ takes this name to himself. That's the reason
there was so much division. Oftentimes they wanted to kill
him because, what'd they say? He being a man makes himself
out to be God. Why? Because he was taking the
name of God to himself when he said, I am the good shepherd. I am the bread of life. They knew what that meant. I
love it when they said, well, we're the children of Abraham.
And you know what the Lord said? Before Abraham was, I was. No, he didn't say that, did he?
Before Abraham was, I am. I am. It declares his self-existence. There's no one else that can
take that name to themselves. The Lord. is my shepherd. I shall not be in want. I am the true vine. I'm the resurrection
of the life. I'm the door. I'm the way, the
truth and the life. That's who I am. The Lord is
my shepherd. Oh, I want him to be my shepherd.
I need for him to be my shepherd. I need for Him to defend me. I'm defenseless. I need for Him
to wash me. I'm dirty. I need for Him to
be my wisdom and my understanding. I'm dumb. The Lord, and here's
a precious promises. Remember all the promises of
God are yea and amen in Him. Here's the promise. The Lord
is my shepherd. Oh, that God would put on our
souls a concern for ourselves, for our own salvation. And then He would give us the
grace to be able to say, yes, that one, I believe, we could
say with an Ethiopian eunuch, I believe that Jesus Christ,
that one you just preached to me from Isaiah 53, is the Son
of God. He's my shepherd. He's my only
shepherd, and if I don't have him, I've got no hope and no
place else to go. I shall not want for anything. I love what the scripture says
in Philippians chapter four, verse 19. My God shall supply
all your needs according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Now, what's your greatest need?
Most folks that would read Psalm 23 would come up with all sorts
of things that they would need. And like I said, I've been asked
to read this Psalm at dying bedsides of people that had no interest
in the gospel, and their only need was for somebody to speak
peace to their hearts in some false hope that when they slipped
out of this world, they'd be accepted into heaven. What is
our need right now? Lord said, if I'm your shepherd,
you won't be in want. You know what my number one need
is? Righteousness. Righteousness. I've got none. All my righteousnesses are as
filthy rags before God. I need a righteousness outside
of myself. I need the Lord Jesus Christ
to present himself to God. The hounds of the law are nipping
at my heels all the time, and I need one who silenced the law,
one who is himself the end of the law for righteousness to
everyone that believeth. I need a righteousness before
God, and here's what the Lord says. The Lord's your shepherd,
you'll not be in want for any righteousness because He's got
plenty. He's got plenty. The riches of
His grace in glory in Christ Jesus. He's not short on righteousness,
not in a bit. He's able to present to God everything
that God requires, nothing less. Nothing more. Nothing more can
God ask for, and nothing less can He give. Are you in want
for a righteousness before God? Most folks have got a righteousness. They've got a decision that they've
made somewhere down the line, or some good work, or some intention. You know, I've got good... I may not be perfect, but I've
got a good heart. I said, Oh, we need a righteousness. Psalm 97 verse five says the
heavens declare his righteousness and all the people shall see
his glory. If, if God has declared his righteousness,
then we see his glory. We know we have no righteousness.
Psalm 72 verse 1 says, give the king thy judgments, O God, and
give thy righteousness unto the king's sons, unto the king's
son. Give thy righteousness unto the
king's son. Melchizedek, pre-incarnate, appearance of the Lord Jesus
Christ is called the King of Righteousness and the King of
Peace. The only way that you and I are
going to have peace with God is if we are in want of no righteousness
because we have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's all our righteousness before God. David said, I'll speak of
thy righteousness even as of thine only. Lord, I've got no
other righteousness. Oh, but I'm not in want for righteousness,
because I have a shepherd who's presented himself to God. I'm
not in want for justification. Who is he that condemneth? It
is God that justifieth, yea, rather that Christ that died
and is risen again. When I see the blood of the Lord
Jesus Christ, I'll pass by you. Why? Because that blood so covers
your sin so as to put it away once and for all and to be remembered
no more. Justified before God. We're without
want of justification. We don't need to justify ourselves
before God. We have the Lord Jesus Christ
as our shepherd justifying us. We're not in want of wisdom.
We're not in want of wisdom. God has made him to be for us
all our wisdom. All our wisdom. James put it like this. If any of you lack wisdom, and
really that word is sense, since you lack wisdom, ask it of God,
and he will give it to you liberally, and upbraideth it not. Oh, he
delights in revealing his son to his people. God's made him
to be our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification, and our redemption. We're not in want of wisdom if
we have Christ as our shepherd. He is our wisdom. We're not in want of holiness. We're not in want of it. The
Lord Jesus Christ is our holiness. The scripture says without holiness
we will not see God. We've got to be sanctified. And
he that sanctifieth, and they that are sanctified, are all
as one, whereby he is not ashamed to call us his brethren." We're
holy before God in the Lord Jesus Christ. We're not in want of
righteousness, justification, wisdom, holiness. We're not in
want of a friend. Scripture says if your mother
and your father forsake you, I mean that would be That'd be
awful, that'd be a very rare thing to happen, but if that
happened, I will never leave you nor forsake you. No longer
do I call you my servants, for a servant knoweth not what his
master doeth. I call you friends. We have a friend that sticketh
closer than a brother. Greater loveth no man than this,
that he lay down his life. for his friends. We're not in
want. In those dark hours of loneliness
when it seems like all the world has cut us off and we've got
no place to go, we have a friend in Jesus. What a glorious friend
he is. And we have a counselor. We're
not in want of a counselor. Unto you a child is born. Unto
you a son is given. His name shall be called Wonderful,
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. He gives
counsel to his children. We're not to seek spiritual counsel
from the world. They don't have any idea. But
He will, and He does. And He speaks to His people.
The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not be in want of anything
that I need. I shall not be in want of peace
with God. I have peace with God through the Lord Jesus Christ.
I've got peace with Him. All my daily needs. He said,
consider the lilies of the field. They toil not, neither do they
spin, yet Solomon in all of his glory was not arrayed as one
of these. Does not your heavenly Father love you more? Fret not for tomorrow, for sufficient is the evil of
today. You know what my biggest evil
is? Unbelief. And I got a sufficient
amount of it right now to have to deal with without worrying
about what about tomorrow? What about tomorrow? Lord, I
need you right now. Increase my faith. Forgive me,
Lord, for my unbelief. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not be in want. What a precious promise. This
is a promise from God which has been made yea, yes, and amen,
complete in Christ Jesus. Everything about it is sure in
Him. Notice in verse 2, He maketh
me. Emphasis on maketh me. He maketh me. All these glorious
things we've been thinking about and talking about and that we
believe. And yet we're so prone to wander. We're so prone to
leave the God that we love. If He allows us to, if He doesn't
make us lie down, we won't lie down. We'll take hold of everything,
we'll make a mess out of everything, we'll run from Him, we'll hide
from Him like our father Adam. He has to make us, doesn't He? Someone recently who accused me of not preaching
the gospel. I think I mentioned it Sunday. He said, well, you
don't extend an invitation. You don't invite men to come
to Christ. And I asked him, I said, well,
where do you find that in the scriptures, inviting men to come
to Christ? If God sends you an RSVP, By
the way, if you get an RSVP from somebody, respond. That's what
it means. The R means respond please. Let
folks know if you're going to come or not come. But if you're
not going to get an RSVP from God, you're not going to get
an RSVP from God. It's a command. You come. God commands you to come. If
it was an invitation, I promise you, you remember when the Lord
said that he sent the servant out to invite the people to the
king's wedding? The king's son's wedding. What'd
they say? Well, I've got some oxen to take care of, and I've
gotta go bury my parents, and I've gotta do business over here.
You will do the same thing. I'll do the same thing. If he
just extends an invitation, we're gonna find something else to
do. If God leaves us an out, we're going to take it. He's
got to make us. And so He sends His servants
back out into the highways and hedges. That's where the street
people lived. That's where the beggars lived. That's where the
people that didn't have a home lived. And He said, compel them
to come in. And they'll come. They'll come. He maketh me. Do you need to
be made? You need God to make you come.
You need God to make you believe. You need God to make you repent.
Coming to Christ is not a choice. And walking after Him is not
a choice. If He gives us a choice, we will
always choose against Him. He has to make us. And I'm so
thankful He does. Lord, cause me to come and I'll
come. Bid me to come unto thee, don't leave me to myself. We're
just so, we're so drawn. It's like I said Sunday, you
know the thing that we hate about this world is the influence that
it has on us. We're so easily influenced by
it. We're so drawn out by it. And
if He doesn't cause us to come, He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. I'm going to be on my feet trying
to fix everything if He doesn't make me. We have to be shut up
to Him. And how many times do we see in the
scriptures, I was thinking about about Naomi and Ruth. You remember when they were leaving
Moab and Ruth wanted to go with Naomi and Naomi kept compelling
her to stay. No, stay, stay. And Ruth finally
said, no, your God is my God. Your people is my people. Nothing's
going to separate me. I'm going with you. And so many churches are based
on invitations. Oh, won't you let Jesus have
his way in your heart? He's begging you. Won't you?
No, he can be. The invitation is leave if you
can. And if you can, you will. If you can, you will. That's
what the Lord said when he fed the 5,000 and they were thronging,
here's the Messiah. He's the one we've been waiting
for. He's the, boy, you talk about, we're listening to a lot
of politicians right now making a lot of promises they're not
gonna be able to fulfill. Well, here the Lord had just
fed 5,000. He's raising dead people and healing sick people.
He's gonna make Israel reign. What'd the Lord say to them?
You're following after me only so that you can have your bellies
full. If you really want to be my disciple, you've got to be
willing to take up your cross. That means identify yourself
with the death of the Lord Jesus Christ. Die to yourself, knowing
that his death is the only hope that you have for life. Take up your cross and follow
me. follow after me." And the disciples
are left wondering, you know, Lord, you just ran off of 5,000
people. And the Lord looked at his 12
and said, will you leave me also? Aren't you going to follow him?
That's what he was saying. Aren't you going to go with him? That's
the invitation. And what'd they say? Lord, where
are we going to go? Where are we going to go? You've
shut us up to yourself. You alone have the words of eternal
life, and we know and are sure that thou art the Christ, the
Son of the living God. We've got no place else to go. You've
taken away all our options. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. Oh, and what pastures these are. You know, I understand out west
there was a, Robert, you probably know more about this, a big controversy
years ago about the cattle herders and the sheep farmers, because
the sheep would go in and they would chew the grass right down
to the ground. They'd be eating dirt. And there
was no grass left for the cattle. And that's the way, you know,
sheep would be. But, and a lot of, A lot of pastures,
you know, we read about those hirelings in John chapter 10. They would take us to those pastures
that had been gnawed down to the ground. They want us to eat
dirt and die in thirsty land. Here's talking about green pastures. I mean, this is a lush field
of green grass where you're able to lie down and be filled. And you can be sure wherever
there's green grass, there's going to be water. And so he
says to you, wait, what is this grass? It's the word. It's the
gospel. It's the gospel. It's the glorious
declaration of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
He's the one that we rest in. He's the one that we lie down
in. He leadeth me. green pastures, tender grass. I'll show you this passage. Turn
with me to Ruth, I think. Yeah, I don't know if it's, Yes, it is Ruth. Ruth chapter
3. Ruth chapter 3. Then Naomi, her mother-in-law, said
unto her, My daughter, shall I not seek rest for thee? that
it may be well with thee, and now is not Boaz of our kindred,
with whose maidens thou wast? Behold, he went with barley tonight
in the threshing floor. Wash thyself therefore, and anoint
thee, and put thy raiment upon thee, and get thee down to the
floor, but make not thyself known unto the man until he shall have
done eating and drinking, and it shall be. when he lies down,
that thou shalt mark the place where he shall lie, and thou
shalt go in and uncover his feet and lie thee down, and he will
tell thee what thou shalt do." Mark the place where your kinsman
redeemer lied down and get to his feet. And look at look at
verse Verse 18 in that same chapter, then said she, sit still my daughter
until thou know how the matter will fall for the man will not
be in rest until he has finished the thing this day. Well, that's where we lie down.
We lie down in that green pasture where he has finished the work. and he didn't rest until it was
done. He leadeth me beside the still
waters." Sometimes I, like Elijah there,
and you remember when he ran to Mount Horeb and There was
the fire and the storm and the wind and the renting of the rocks
and, you know, wanting some sort of fantastic revelation and manifestation
of God's presence and of His voice. You know, that's just
an appeal to the flesh is all it is. When the Lord speaks,
He speaks in a still small voice. And the reason for that is that
he's told us to be still and know that I am God. Here's where he leads. If the
Lord's our shepherd, so that we're not in want of anything
that we need, and he's caused us, he's made us to lie down
in green pastures, then he will lead us beside the still waters,
not a raging river, Not strong rapids that are shallow. No,
deep waters run deep. Still waters run deep, don't
they? And that's the way the Lord feeds
His sheep. He takes them to still waters
because there's depths in His grace and in His mercy for sheep
that are in need of a shepherd. And I'll close with this. Verse three, he restoreth my
soul. Now that word restoreth is the
word return. And if you're like me, you're
constantly in need of the shepherd taking his shepherd's crook and
finding you, sheep are just, Well, they're just prone to wander.
All ye like sheep have gone astray, each one into his own way. And
we're in constant need of the shepherd to bring us back into
the fold, aren't we? To correct us and to gently guide
us. You know, when the Lord Jesus
Christ ascended back into glory after the resurrection, he took
with him the names of those for whom he lived and died and he
restored them in himself back into glory. We fell in our father
Adam and the Lord Jesus Christ restored us. He said, I go and
prepare a place for you. I will come again and receive
you unto myself so that where I am there, you may be also. Oh, he did. He restored us eternally
once and for all. All the blessings of God are
in Christ in the heavenlies right now. He restored my soul once
and for all when he offered himself back to the father as my advocate. And he continues to send his
spirit to return us back to himself, to draw us back to himself. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his namesake. Notice it's paths of righteousness,
plural. Yes, he leads me to himself to
find all my righteousness in him, but that's not really what
that's referring to. He leadeth me in the paths of
rightness. What that means is, if you're
a child of God, if you're a sheep, and He's your shepherd, every
single path that you've ever been on in your life was right. And the one you're on right now
is right. For His namesake, for His glory,
let's pray. Our Heavenly Father, we're thankful
for the precious promises of thy word. We ask, Lord, that
your Holy Spirit would keep us from turning your word into just,
oh Lord, just a meaningless words that would comfort our
flesh. Lord, that you would speak powerfully and effectually to
our hearts. Cause us, make us, Lord, to lie
down. Lead us beside still waters. Give us the confidence that you
are the Lord. And that every path that you've
taken us down is for thy namesake. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Brother Tom. 296 in the hymn. Let's stand. All the way my Savior leads me,
what have I to ask beside? Can I doubt His tender mercy,
who through life has been my guide? Heavenly peace, divinest
comfort, here by faith in Him to dwell. For I know what e'er
befall me, Jesus doeth all things well. For I know what e'er befall
me, Jesus doeth all things well. All the way my Savior leads me,
cheers each winding path I tread, gives me grace for every trial,
feeds me with the living bread. Though my weary steps may falter,
and my soul a thirst may be, Gushing from the rock before
me, Lo, a spring of joy I see. Gushing from the rock before
me, Lo, a spring of joy I see. All the way my Savior leads me,
O the fullness of His love. Perfect rest to me is promised
in my Father's house above. When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day, This my song through endless
ages, Jesus led me all the way. This my song through endless
ages, Jesus led me all the way. I don't work with him. He's looking at me.