Turn back with me over to Psalm
23. I don't have any idea how many
times we will look at this beautiful chapter. I'm not sure how many
times we've already looked at it in two years here. Three maybe? I don't know how many times. I always love this chapter. Always. But there are some times that
I need it. There are some times that Psalm
23 is my medicine. And this week was one of those
times. I have a message. The Lord gave me this message
yesterday morning. I spent all day writing it out.
And from the first thought to the first word with a pen, I
have been excited to deliver it to you. I'm so excited to
deliver this to you. Under the heading of Psalm 23,
it says, A Psalm of David. Every true believer on the Lord
Jesus Christ, every true believer, every sinner who is hanging his
soul and his life and his breath on the Lord Jesus Christ can
take out the word David and substitute his own name right there. This is a psalm of Gabe, that's
what this is. Oh, sing unto the Lord. This
is my song. This is my song. I want to show
you the greatest news that frail man could ever hear. And I want
to emphasize frail. The greatest news. The greatest
news that a mortal sinner could ever hear. Verse 1 says, The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I shall not. I want to begin by showing you
three reasons why this is good news. Three reasons why this
is very good news. Turn with me over to 1st Chronicles
16. First Chronicles 16, look at
verse 31. It says, Let the heavens be glad,
and let the earth rejoice, and let men say among the nations,
The Lord reigneth. The Lord reigneth. Why is it good news that the
Lord is my shepherd? It's because the Lord is in control. He's in control. The Lord is
in control. I mean the Lord is in control.
What I mean by that is the Lord is in control. You know how we
say that? Oh yeah, yeah, the Lord's in
control. Oh yeah, yeah. Sometimes you realize the Lord
is in control. The Lord's in control. And He's
my shepherd. He's in control. Go to Psalm 47. Psalm 47 verse 8 says, God reigneth
over the heathen. That's me. God sitteth upon the throne of
His holiness. He is sitting on His throne. Years ago, a dear believer lost
his son. A very dear, sweet believer lost
his son. And a man asked him, where was
God when your son died? He said, the same place he was when
his son died. Seated on the throne. Seated
on the throne. I am in control of nothing. Nothing. But the Lord, my shepherd, he
is. controlling every bit of this, every bit of this. Day
in, day out, every bit of this. Go over to Isaiah 52 with me. Isaiah 52 verse 7 says, How beautiful
upon the mountains are the feet of Him that bringeth good tidings,
that publish peace, that bringeth good tidings of good, that publish
salvation, that saith unto Zion, Thy God reigneth. Thy God reigneth. Our God is
in control. In joy and in sorrow, the Lord
is in control. In sickness and in health, the
Lord is in control. We ascribe it to Him when things
are going well. Oh, the Lord has worked marvelously. The Lord has been so good, look
at what all he's done. In poverty or in wealth, the Lord
is in control. He's in control. So leave all
others and cleave to him and him alone. Because your shepherd
is in control. In Mark 1 they said, even the
unclean spirits obey Him. In Mark 4 they said, even the
wind and the sea obey Him. It all obeys Him. Every bit of
it. You know what that will make
a sinner do? Rest. It will make him rest. Go back
over to Psalm 23. Verse 2 says, He maketh me to
lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He makes me lie down in green
pastures. He leads me beside still waters. And the reason is because my
shepherd is in control. He is in control. That's the
first reason it's such good news. Here's the second one. Go with
me over to Mark chapter 7. Mark chapter 7. Some people brought
to the Lord a man who was deaf and mute. Couldn't hear, couldn't
talk. And the Lord healed him. Mark 7 verse 36 says, And the
Lord charged them that they should tell no man. But the more He
charged them, so much more a great deal, they published it, and
were beyond measure astonished, saying, He hath done all things
well." All things well. Every single thing he does turns
out well. I was able to enter into that
yesterday. Again, you know, the Lord does all things well. Oh
yeah, brother. Hallelujah. Every single thing he does turns
out well. Every single thing he does turns
out well. Something comes along in life
and it tears us all to pieces. How many times has that happened
to you in your years? Okay, it's a big deal at this
moment today. This is my deal. Okay? And I've had other deals in my
life. This is the one I got right now. We think this is it. This is
the biggie. This is the one that's going to bring me down. Do we not look back after He
brings us through it every time and say, that turned out so well? Really. It was amazing. Looking back, it was amazing.
Don't we say that and see that every time? So well. When peace like a river attendeth
my way. You know people sing that song,
I got peace like a river, I got peace like a river. You know
that song? When peace like a river, just peace and peace, attends
my way. When sorrows like sea billows
roll, whatever my lot, thou has taught me to say, it is well. It's well. He hath done all things
well. The word well means good. Good. We know. Our Shepherd has
proven to us that all things work together for good to everybody. No, to His sheep. To them that
love God. who are the called according
to His purpose. Right? I took a look back. Take a look
back. The things that we've been so
worried about, how did they turn out? Well, I tried to think of some
things in my life that have not worked together for good, and
I couldn't think of any. My sins are what drive me to Christ. If it weren't for my sins, I
would not be running to Christ. My sins are what make me hate
me and love Him. Then are you saying that it's
good to sin? God forbid. God forbid. What I'm saying is
my guilt and my shame is what makes me beg Him for forgiveness. My sorrow and my pain is what
makes me cry out. It's what makes me cry out. And
if my soul absolutely hurts for Him, then that's good. That's good. All things work
together for good to them that love God, to them who are called
according to His purpose. Now go with me back over to Psalm
23. Verse 3 says, He restoreth my
soul. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness
for His namesake. Every path He has ever sent me
down has led me straight to righteousness Himself. Every path He has ever
led me down. And He's done that for His name's
sake. He's the Savior. That's who He
is. He hath done all things well.
All things well. That's the second reason it's
good news. Now here's the third. Go with me to Psalm 34. Psalm 34 verse 8 says, Oh, taste
and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man that trusteth
in him. It's good news that the Lord
is our shepherd because he's so good. He is so good. Psalm 73 says, truly God is good
to Israel. He is nothing but good. Nothing
but good. Go with me to 1 Corinthians 10. Our shepherd is in control. He does all things well, and
He is good. He is so good. Our Lord has said, whom He loves
He chastens. That's what He said. He leads,
He corrects. In Proverbs 3, He said, My son,
despise not the chastening of the Lord, Neither be weary of
his correction, for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even
as a father the son in whom he delighteth." James wrote, my
brethren, count it all joy when you fall into diverse temptations,
trials. When one comes, as soon as you
see it, get happy. That doesn't make any sense,
does it? Oh, but it does. Count it all
joy when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing this, that
the trying of your faith works patience. But look right here in 1 Corinthians
10 verse 13. There hath no temptation, that
means trial, There hath no temptation taken you, but such as is common
to man. But God is faithful, who will
not suffer you to be tempted above that you are able, but
will with the temptation also make a way to escape. that you
may be able to bear it. You know what that way is? It's
Jesus Christ. Oh man, it is Jesus Christ. He
is the way. The only way of escape. Whatever
you're going through, you will endure it. You will. And the reason is because you're
not going to have to endure it alone. You're not. Go to John 14. John 14 verse 18, our Lord said,
I will not leave you comfortless. If you have a margin for the
word comfortless, mine says orphans. I'm not going to leave you orphans. I will not leave you comfortless.
I will come to you. I'll come to you. Go through
a real trial. I mean a real trial and see if he doesn't keep his
word. Go through a real trial and see if he doesn't keep his
word. Isaiah 41 says, For I, the Lord
thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto thee, Fear not, I
will help thee. I will help thee. I will hold
your right hand. The Lord is so good. He is so
good. Can you imagine the God of all
heaven and earth the Creator and Owner and Controller of all
things, taking the time to sit down with a sheep and hold His
hand. That tells you something about
our God. He's so good. That's why it's so good news,
such good news, that He's our Shepherd. He's so good. Go back
to Psalm 23. Verse 4 says, Yea, though I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, we are all so worried about death.
We are all so fearful about death. I am. I am. Don't you wish that somebody
could come back? I kept thinking about Mary Bell.
She is the most recent believer that I know of, that I personally
know, who has gone to be with the Lord. Don't you wish that
a child of God, a believer, could come back from the grave and just tell us it's fine? It's fine. It's wonderful. Not only is it not painful, not
only is it not sad, it's the most enjoyable thing that's ever
happened to you in life. As soon as it happens, you get
to see Jesus Christ. And He carries you to paradise. Don't you wish somebody could
come back and tell us you have nothing to be afraid of? Somebody
did. Somebody did. The Lord Jesus
Christ said, I am He that liveth and was dead, and behold, I am
alive forevermore. Our Lord, after His resurrection,
He walked into that room where His disciples were. Can you imagine
the shock? Can you imagine? What if Mary
Bell walked in the door? They said, Lord, it's you. You're back. He said, I told you I was coming
back in three days. Lord, is it really you? Did you see them drive those
nails into my hands? Yes. Okay. Did you see them pierce that
spear into my side? Oh, yeah. Look right there. You see that? It is I. It's I. But you died. We put you in a grave. What was it like? Does it hurt? Not anymore. The sting of death has been swallowed
up in victory. You have nothing to fear. I'm going to carry you right
through it. I'll be waiting for you. I'm going to carry you right
through it. Verse 4 says, ìYea, 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.î Thatís the Word of God. Oh, the Word of God comforts
me. Man, it comforts me. Verse 5 says, ìThou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest
my head with oil, my cup runneth over. You know what my cup is
running over with? And I mean this sincerely. My cup is absolutely running
over with Christ. It's running over. It's just
running over. It's not running over with material
things. It's not running over with fleshly
things. It's not running over with health. It's not running
over with wealth, but it is running over with happiness. And I mean
that, because it's running over with
Christ. Happy is he that hath the God of Jacob for his help.
If a sinner will feed on the table of Christ, if he hungers
and thirsts for righteousness himself, he is going to be filled. He's going to be filled. He is
going to be stuffed with Christ. And that's a feeling that is
not lonely. He is near. A sinner will delight himself
in fatness. That's what the Word says and
it's the truth. If a sinner's head is anointed with the oil
of Christ, it's going to run down to the beard, it's going
to run down to his heart, it's going to run down to the skirts
of his garments, running over, just running over. So verse 6
says, surely, surely, to a sheep who has the Lord as his shepherd.
This is a promise he can count on. Surely means with certainty. It means verily. It means truly. You can count on this. You can
count on this. Gabe Stoniker, you can count
on this. Verse 6 says, Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever." What a promise! What a promise! And it's only because the Lord
is my shepherd. It's only because He called me
to be a sheep. It's only because He became my
substitute like a lamb brought to the slaughter. This sheep
was supposed to die, but I didn't. I didn't. That's good news, isn't
it? It's good news. Well, let's stand
together.