At our Bible conference last
week, John Chapman, one of the messages that he brought was
out of Psalm 23. And I began to think on Psalm 23.
The first thing I did was I started telling myself, well, I can't
preach out of Psalm 23. John just preached on that. That's
pretty stupid, isn't it, Neal? I kept looking at it, and I thought,
no, this is where I gotta go. Turn with me to this blessed
chapter, Psalm 23. You know, the scripture says
in Isaiah 53.6, It says, all we like sheep. Now this is, you know, this is
out of the gospel, according to the prophet Isaiah. And I
got to looking at what Isaiah, now Isaiah, this is gonna sound
silly to you, but I'm gonna remind everybody, Isaiah was one of
the Old Testament prophets. But I want you to listen to what
he's writing under the inspiration of the Spirit of God. All we
like sheep have gone astray. You know, none of us by nature
are satisfied. None of us, we're not satisfied.
All we like sheep have gone astray and we have turned everyone to
his own way, we're all haughty, we're all arrogant by nature,
that's us. But for the Lord's people, the
Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. The Lord laid, but
the Lord, and I got to look at that again, and the Lord hath
laid on him. You know, that's written in past
tense. The Lord hath laid on him. The
Lord hath laid on him. All we like sheep gone astray,
we've all turned our own way. And the Lord hath laid on him,
the iniquity of us all, all of his people. The Lord has done
it. Everything with God is now. Now. I know in time, you and
I, we think, We think in time, that's the only way we can think.
I've said before, we speak of eternity and we know something
about it, but we really don't. I just don't know how to talk
eternity. Before the world was made, before
God formed all the things that he did, the lamb was slain. from before the foundation of
the world. Now, in the mind and will and
purpose of God, it's done. But he had to come in time and
accomplish this. But here the prophet was moved
to write this, all we like sheep have gone astray. That's all
of us, all of us. That's just as real for us tonight
as it was When Isaiah was moved to Penance, we've all gone astray. The Lord has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. You know we'd all like to think
that we always make the right decisions, that we all know what
we ought to do. We've thought it through, prayed
about it, and stuff like that, and we know what we should do.
I'm gonna tell you this. And you that believe know this.
We don't know what to do. We do not know what to do. You
know what we need? We need one that'll lead us and
guide us and direct us according to his will and purpose. We need
a shepherd. We need a shepherd. We need a
shepherd that loves us, that cares for us, that will give
his life for us. That was one of the characteristics.
I read you have two of when David, King David, I mean, he took on
a lion. I mean, he took on some fierce
animals for the sake of the sheep. He was not gonna let those animals
harm the sheep. Now that's a beautiful picture
of the Lord Jesus Christ. He laid down his life for the
sheep. He loves the sheep. While we
all think that we know what to do, we don't, we don't. We need a shepherd. David said
concerning the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord, the capital L, capital
O, capital R, capital D, Jehovah is my shepherd. Jehovah, omnipotent,
omniscient. Oh, ever ready, ever there for
the sake of his people. We need one because we by nature,
by carnal nature, we walk in a way that is ignorant. We need a shepherd. We need a shepherd that has no
lack. God, God Almighty, The Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. Do you, just stop and think for
a minute. The Lord is my shepherd. That's
what David said. I was going over my notes this
afternoon. Started looking at this a couple
of days, two days ago, three days ago. And I got to looking
at this this afternoon. The Lord is my shepherd. And
then he says, I shall not want. I looked that up. I shall not
lack, I'm not gonna lack. I'm not gonna lack for anything
that is good. I'm not gonna lack for anything
that is for my eternal good and my temporal good. It may be hard
on the flesh, I'm not going to lack. The Lord is my shepherd.
I'm not going to lack. I'm not going to want. Then I
got to thinking about what is it that a believer doesn't lack? What is it that a believer shall
not want for? Well, obviously the first thing
I think about, he's not going to lack for salvation. He's not
going to lack for the for the Lord's blessing on it. But I
began to sit there and muse on that. He shall not lack. That's
where the Spirit of God left it. He shall not lack. I got to thinking about you.
I'm thinking about this congregation here. And I thought to myself,
about these sheep. I can tell you one thing, I'm
not gonna lack. I'm not gonna lack being able
to worship with you. I'm not gonna like that. God's
not gonna let me like for being to fellowship with his people. Then I got to think about with
that worship and the joy of the Lord, I'm not gonna like for
peace, peace with the brethren. I mean, we're all fallen creatures. We all find ourselves in times
of distress and disappointment and this, that, and the other,
but you know what? I couldn't go to bed. If we had words or
something like that, I couldn't go to bed tonight with it being
like that. I'd have to call you up, say,
listen, I'm sorry. I just, I'm so sorry. We're not
gonna lack for peace with God. We're not gonna lack for peace
with the brethren. We're not gonna lack for the
joy of the Lord. We're not gonna lack for life
eternal. We're not gonna lack beholding
Him that which He has prepared for all those that love Him.
We're not going to like that. The Lord is my shepherd in this
world and we shall not want, we're not going to want for anything
good. There's going to be some things
that He's not going to give us for our good and his glory. But
we're not gonna lack for anything. Whatever we need, whatever we
need, my God shall supply all your need according to his riches
in Christ Jesus. We're all here, most of us, some
of us a little bit younger than others, but we're all pretty
well getting some age on us. We'll get tired, get weary. But you know what? We're not
gonna lack for the assurance of this truth, of the Lord saying
to his people, I will never leave you. I'm never gonna leave you.
That comforts me. That comforts me. Because sometimes
I get to thinking, you know, what if, what if? What if this? What if that? What about her?
What am I gonna do? I will never leave you. I'll
never forsake you. I'm never gonna lack for his
love. He said, I've loved you with
an everlasting love. I'll never lack hungering for
his righteousness. He gonna give me all things that
I need. But I tell you one other thing I got to think about this
afternoon. God's people, those that are his sheep, that he's
loved eternally, I'm not gonna lack dying in the faith. I'm
not gonna like living this world without him. He promised that.
David said, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I shall not lack. Christ is the shepherd. He knows,
he knows the need of his people. And that comforts me. That comforts
me. The more I think about it, the
more I think, oh, the glory of the omniscient, omnipotent, omnipresent
shepherd, the shepherd, shepherd of the sheep. David, who penned
these words, God uses means in teaching his people. Now, David
was a shepherd. That's what he did. You know
how David grew up, and he had some sheep, and he learned. He
learned. Scripture says the Lord learned
in the things that he suffered. He learned. That's an amazing
thought to me, but in his association with his people. But you think
what we've learned as the Lord has led us, guided us, directed
us. Think what you've learned. Been
some experiences, as I said a moment ago, that hadn't been real pleasant
to the flesh. But now you that know Him, you
that's gone through some trials, I'm looking at you, I know, you
know and I know, we've gone through some things in this world. Lord
promised that we would. And really, truthfully, I'm not
talking about what the flesh desires, I'm just talking about
what we spiritually know. Would you truly want it any other
way, knowing that that was the way of the Lord? No, you wouldn't. I've thought through what I'm
saying right now. I can tell you right now. I've got some
dear friends. Dear, dear friends. I'll tell
you about one of them just a moment ago that went through. Got a
dear, dear, dear friend out in Texas right now. He and I talk. We talk often. We share each other. We got a dear buddy. We've got
one in Kentucky going through some tough times right now. And
I'm thinking, for all these that know the Lord, they wouldn't
change anything. Why? Because the shepherd ordered
it. This is the direction of the
shepherd. Whenever David would be out there with the sheep,
watching over those sheep, He would guide them and direct them
according to the wisdom that God had given him to be a shepherd,
a natural shepherd. Why? Because he loved them. He
loved the sheep. They weren't gonna want for anything
that David could supply. I tell you this, is the Lord
gonna cause us to lack? Is he gonna leave us to himself?
Listen, Don Fortner told me one time something that he said to
his son-in-law. His son-in-law came to him and
he said, he wanted to know, he said, Don, can I borrow your
crescent wrench? Don said, I gave you my daughter.
You think I'd withhold a crescent wrench from you? The Lord's not gonna withhold
anything that's good for us. He'll withhold nothing temporal,
especially nothing eternal. We have bread to eat, natural
bread, but oh, we've got the bread of life himself. Bread
of heaven. We have water. My doctor told
me, he said, you make sure you stay hydrated. Make sure you
drink a lot of water. I thought, well, that's good
for me, but let's talk about the water of life. drinking of the water of life.
You that know Him, you know what we're doing right now. We're
eating and drinking, spiritually speaking. Eating and drinking
of Him. I got dressed. I've had to change
my, the way I dress. Normally I tuck my shirt in.
Normally I'll have, you know, especially on Sundays, I'll have
a suit on, tie. That kind of stuff, it doesn't
fit just like it should right now with everything else that
I've got on. So I've got some clothes. These
are adequate. I'll wear this. But I'll tell
you this. Robed in the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ. Oh,
what a garment. What a garment of beauty. A garment
of God's supply. Told me I needed to rest Told
me I need to rest, I need to not spend quite as much time
reading all the time and maybe back off. Sounds like something
that some of y'all have told me too. I see you, Glen Jean,
looking at me. Yeah, I know, I know, I need to rest. But let's
talk about him, resting in him. Just resting and musing in the
Lord. Resting, resting in the Lord. is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He makes me. He makes me. He maketh me to lie down in the
blessed glory, knowledge, truth, of His covenant mercy. I just
lie down, just rest right there. You know, to a man or woman that
doesn't know the Lord, to lie down in the green pastures
of God's truth, the pastures of life, the green, flourishing,
fresh, growing, truth of the gospel. Just lie down in that. Just refresh, be refreshed. By nature, a man or woman is
not going to want to do that. I mean, by nature, we don't want
to come week after week after week and do the same thing. I guarantee you, most of you
could probably take read a scripture or something like that, and look
at it, and the Lord began to show you some things in it. You
know what it's all gonna come back to? The Lord's glory, his
honor, his praise, his majesty. The gospel is all about him.
But David says, he maketh me to lie down in green pastures,
flourishing pasture, beside the still waters calm. I just, I love it when it's just
calm. The older I get, the more I like
just calm down. I just can't, you know, go 75
miles an hour like I did at one time. This gospel right here,
these green pipes, he maketh me, maketh me. He gives me a
heart, Psalm 110, three. He maketh me. He maketh me, gives
me a willing heart. I want to do, this is what I
want to do. This is what I want to do. This is what I enjoy doing. I want to meet with you. He wants
to get together. If there's fewer of us, more
of us, but we fellowship. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. I lie down, lie down safely. I lie down comfortably. Oh, he leadeth me beside the
still waters, the still waters. I looked at that and I thought,
oh, the blessing of the still waters of his justice, justice,
being satisfied by the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ. He
leads me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul, leadeth
me in the paths of righteousness. Oh, I looked at that today and
as I looked at that, he restoreth my soul. That gracious blessing
of the Lord, whereby the Lord takes the sheep of his pasture
and knowing that we're ignorant, we're wayward. I mean, if you
wanna talk how, hold your place right there. Turn over to Romans
7. We do well to read these verses
often. Romans chapter 7. The apostle Paul, Says in verse 20, Romans 7 verse
20. If I do that which I would not,
it's no more I that do it, but sin that dwelleth in me. I find
then a law that when I would do good, evil is present with
me. Now you that know him know, you
know what Paul is saying here. You experience this. I delight
in the law of God after the inward man. You that know him do too,
you do. I know you do. Oh, but look at
23. But I see another law in my members,
warring against the law of my mind and bringing me into captivity
to the law of sin, which is in my members. Oh, wretched man
that I am. Who shall deliver me from the
body of this death? Whenever the Lord told Peter,
Peter told him, he said, everybody else will forsake you. But I'll never do it. I'll never
do it. Others will leave you. But you
can count on me. You can count on me. I've told
people, I said, be careful what you promise the Lord. Lord, if
you get me out of this mess, I'll never, I'll never do that
again. I'll never do that again. Don't say that. Just don't say
that. Because I'm gonna tell you something.
Lord told Peter, he said, before the cock crows two times, you're
gonna deny me three times. I'll not do it, I won't do it.
And when he did it, the Lord looked at him. The Lord just
looked at him. That's all I had to do, just
look at him. You know, that can just, I've told you before, I
read that passage of scripture, it just breaks my heart, you
know, I think about myself, you know. He restoreth my soul. He restores
me. I need to have my soul restored. Lord, Lord, bring me back. I'm
so weak, I'm so frail, I'm so flighty. He restoreth my soul
and leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. I don't even know. I don't know
what's right. He leadeth me in that which is
right, in the paths of truth, the truth of himself. He leads
me in the path of himself, the path of righteousness. Why does
he do that? Well, thanks be unto God, he
tells us. For my namesake, I did that for
me. I did that for me. He leads us
in his path. The Lord is my shepherd, my shepherd. Makes me lie down in green pastures,
restoreth my soul, leads me in paths of righteousness for his
name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou
art with me, thy rod and thy staff. They comfort me. Yea, though I walk. We're in a world that we're traveling
through. I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. This
life is the valley of the shadow of death. Death has no dominion. Death has no dominion over God's
people. We're going to die, but we're not under the curse of
the law. We're not under God's curse. Though I walk in the, he says,
though I walk in the valley of the shadow of death. Just a shadow,
it's just a shadow. We're walking through this land,
there's a lot of people walking through this land. And in this
world, in this world, without Christ, it's death, it's all
around us. Though we walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, The stain's been removed by the blood of
Christ, but it's still there. We still see it. We see the effects
of it. It's a shadow of death. David said, I will fear no evil. I'll fear no evil. Why? For thou art with me. I'm not
gonna fear because you're with me. I remember there lying down at
night. And, you know, when things go
bump in the night, you know, if your mom or dad's
there, and you know they're there, you know mom and dad's there,
all of a sudden those bumps in the night are not nearly as scary. I think about mom and dad being
there, you know. But they're here. I'd settle
down. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, because
you're with me. Thou art with me. If the Lord is with me, what
do I have to fear? Now this old flesh tells me,
you better be careful. Watch out. You're not gonna make
it. But that new man says, the Lord's
with me. Now there's the comfort of God's
people. Satan is a roaring lion, seeketh
whom he may devour. I fear no evil. You're with me. The Lord, by His Spirit, comforts
me. He assures me. He guards me. Bears me up in the night, in
the valley of the shadow of death. staff, the rod, that staff of
direction, that rod of correction. You know, we all need to be led,
we all need to be corrected. I used to tell my kids, I said,
you know, there's nothing that disobedience needs more than
a good whippet. Well, you know, good whipping
is good for us. I know that don't fit the days,
I get it, but boy, I tell you what, nobody told my mom and
daddy that. Believe me. Best thing the world ever did
to me. My rod, my staff, they comfort me. They comfort me. I told you what I tell my kids. My oldest one was probably the
worst. And I tell him, hey, I'm not
going to let you get away with this. I'm going to whip you because
I love you. I know that didn't make sense,
but it does now. Whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth,
discourages. If you want to see someone that
is not loving to their children, just See somebody that's just
leaving them to themselves. Don't, don't do that. Don't,
don't do that. Thou rod and thy staff, they
comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil.
My cup runneth over. The Lord has in Providence granted
a sufficiency. for his people. All I need, thou
preparest a table before me. The Lord has prepared it. Whatever's
on his table, whatever he's prepared, is prepared by him. What do I
need to eat? I need to eat good food. I can remember as a kid thinking
to myself, I love popcorn. I love popcorn. And I remember
thinking as a kid, I wonder why I just couldn't eat popcorn all
the time. I mean, it's something to eat,
it'll fill me up, I'll eat enough of it. Didn't have sense enough
to know that I needed something else. And an unbeliever does
not know the need that he has to feast upon the person of the
Lord Jesus Christ, to eat of his flesh and drink of his blood.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. I'll anoint my head with oil. Spirit of God, my cup runneth
over. Lord, you've given me a sufficiency.
All that I need, that's what you've given me. A believer dines
on the riches of God's grace. His mercy. He dines there, not
in a hurry. Dine on the remembrance of his
shed blood. broken body, how anoints my head
with oil, the oil of gladness, oil of mercy, the spirit of God
graces God's people daily with whatever they need. And then
David ended up knowing this conclusion, surely, surely, this is a fact,
surely goodness The goodness of God and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever, surely. The word means only, only. That's the seal of his praise,
seal of God's promise. I said a while ago, said it before,
and this is becoming more and more precious to me. I will never
leave you. I'm telling you, nothing like
experience. I'm telling you, you know that. Nothing like experience. You know some things in your
head. I do too. Buddy, experience. There's the
teacher right there. Surely, all this that the Lord
taught him, surely goodness, mercy, gonna follow me. all the days of my life. And
I will dwell. What a promise, what a word of
assurance. I will dwell. Why? Because you're
so strong, Marvin, and you're so capable. No, because God said
I'll never leave you. I'll never forsake you. Surely,
if the Lord has shown mercy, he'll always show mercy. If he's been good to me, he's
always been good to me. And I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. I'm gonna dwell. I got, again
in closing, I got to thinking about this. I'll dwell in the
house of the Lord. I jotted down two things. The constant attendance. If I
do this, surely, David said, I know the scripture says they
went out from us because they were not of us. Or if they had
been of us, surely they would have remained. But they went
out of us, that it might be made manifest that they were not of
us. But by the grace of God, I'm still here. By the grace
of God, the Lord has kept, I don't mean I'm still here physically. By the grace of God, I'm still
here spiritually. By the grace of God. Because
I know if the Lord didn't keep me, I know it wouldn't be. You
know how I know that? Because I've had the experience
of seeing some mothers that didn't stay. You know why they didn't stay?
They didn't want to. They didn't want to stay. That's
why they didn't. Surely, goodness and mercy will
follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever by His grace. I will be in the place
of the redeemed by the good pleasure of Almighty God, being kept in
His hand, seeing His glory, beholding His face with anxious anticipation. God's people look forward to
that. What is my shepherd? I'm not going to want. I pray
God bless us to our hearts for Christ's sake.