Let's open back up to Psalm 23.
There are some times as we're searching for a blessing
in God's Word that it seems like nothing blesses
me quite like Psalm 23. Really. What a blessing this Psalm is.
I've preached from this Psalm more than any other chapter in
this Bible. And that doesn't matter to me.
It's just so fresh and it's so sweet and it's so restful and
it's so peaceful. And spiritually speaking, there
are times, sometimes we look at all of the counsel of God. And spiritually speaking, there
are times that what my soul needs is to just sit down in God's
green pasture. Beside God's peaceful river.
With God's sheep. Sometimes that's what I need.
Spiritually speaking. Sometimes we just need a minute.
You know what I mean? Sometimes we just need a minute.
A peaceful minute to just think on our God and think on his goodness
and think on his glory and think on his blessings to us. Verse
one says, Psalm 23 verse one says, the Lord is my shepherd. I am so thankful. I feel so blessed
inside. And my heart is so grateful to
know and be able to say, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I'm going to make a statement
to you and then I'm going to explain it. Okay. I'm going to
make a statement and then I'm going to explain it. Jesus is
not my shepherd. That's a funny statement, isn't
it? This Jesus that everybody's talking
about. They all talk about Jesus. This
Jesus that religion talks about. I don't know who he is, but he's
not my shepherd. That man is not my shepherd. This Jesus who wants to save
you, but can't, if you won't let him, that is not my shepherd. This Jesus who is waiting for
you to do something is another Jesus. That's what Galatians
1 talks about another Jesus. And I don't know who that Jesus
is. I don't know him. I don't think they do either.
They talk about him, but I don't think they do either. What will you do with Jesus?
I'm not going to do anything with him. I don't even know who
he is. Not that man. I'm so grateful
in my heart. I'm so thankful in my heart that
I know the Lord is my shepherd. You know what I'm talking about? Aren't you so thankful that now
you can say. Now you can say now that through
God's word, we've seen the Lord. Aren't you so thankful that you
can say because of this scripture, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord. There are some people
in here who know what I'm talking about. Turn with me over to Isaiah 40. Isaiah 40. This Jesus that everybody's talking
about. That man is no shepherd at all.
He's no shepherd at all. I'm so glad he's not my shepherd. With him, you have to give. You have to give to that you
have to work for that shepherd. That shepherd is a slave driver. Not the Lord. Not the Lord. Look at verse 11, Isaiah 40 verse
11. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. Like a shepherd should like a
shepherd does. He's going to do all the giving.
The Lord is going to do all the feeding just like a shepherd. The other Jesus says, now this thing is up to you.
Here's the plan, but you're going to have to walk that Roman road
alone. That's what the other Jesus says,
not the Lord. Look at verse 11, Isaiah 40 verse
11. He shall gather the lambs with
his arm. and carry them in his bosom,
and shall gently lead those that are with young. I'm so glad the
Lord is my shepherd." Go with me back over to Psalm 23. Verse 1 says, the Lord is my
shepherd. I shall not want. Want means lack. I shall not
lack. If the Lord is your shepherd,
what do you lack? What do you like to be in his
fold? What do you lack? Let me tell
you what I lack in my flesh outside of his fold. If I'm my own shepherd,
let me tell you what I lack. I lack spiritual life. Just as a human being, just living
in this planet, a regular man, I'm dead. I'm dead. And a sinner who is dead has
no idea what I'm talking about. They hear what I'm saying and
that is puzzling to them. No idea what I'm talking about.
You know why they don't understand? They're dead. They can't comprehend
it. They can't enter into it. Turn
with me to Genesis chapter 2. Genesis 2 verse 16 says, And the Lord God commanded the
man, saying, Of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely
eat. But of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, thou shalt
not eat of it. For in the day that thou eatest
thereof, thou shalt surely die. Now, two questions. First one
is, did man eat it? Yes. Here's the second question. Did man die? Yes. There's a saying that we all
need to remember. We all need to never forget this.
When it comes to anything concerning the scripture, this statement
is the first thing we need to remember. This is the first thing
that needs to pop into our minds. Wrong on the fall, wrong on it
all. Wrong on the fall, wrong on it
all. If you and I have no idea what
truly happened in the garden, then we have no idea what truly
happened on the cross. That's just the truth. Because of sin, I died. I died. And in my flesh, I lack any ability
to live. I lack it. Because of sin, I died. I didn't just become a bad person. Does that make sense? I didn't
just... I wasn't a good person and then evil came over me and
now I'm a bad person. I died. I died. Separated from God. Accursed
from God. I died. And in this flesh, I lack the
ability to quit sinning. Because of sin, I died. And in
my flesh, I lack the ability to quit sinning. I can't stop.
I can't quit. In this flesh, I have eyes to
see this world, and I have eyes to see religion, but I lack eyes
to see Christ. I'm blind. To see who Christ really is,
the true Christ. In this flesh, I have ears to
hear this world. I can hear the things of this
world. I can comprehend the news. I
can hear the things of religion. I can hear what it says. But
I lack ears to hear His voice. I lack ears to hear His voice. But I want to show you something.
If the Lord is my shepherd. If the Lord is my shepherd. Turn
with me over to John 10. The Gospel of John chapter 10. We're going to now start looking
at some good news. John 10 verse 1 says, Verily, verily, I say unto you,
He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold but climbeth
up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he
that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.
To him the porter openeth, and the sheep hear his voice. And he calleth his own sheep
by name. Chris, when he was reading that,
kept saying, the Lord is my shepherd. He is not just the shepherd,
the Lord is my shepherd. He calleth his own sheep by name,
and leadeth them out. And when he putteth forth his
own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. If the Lord is my shepherd, I
am not going to lack ears to hear. He's going to do all the
giving, and He's going to give me ears to hear. And if the Lord
is my shepherd, I'm not going to lack discernment to know if
what I'm hearing is the truth or a lie, to know if what I'm
hearing is my shepherd or somebody else. Look at verse 5. It says, And a stranger will they not
follow, but will flee from him, for they know not the voice of
strangers. This parable spake Jesus unto
them, but they understood not what things they were which he
spake unto them." Is this real? Talk about hearing his voice. Is that real? Is that real? Do the Lord's sheep really hear
his voice? God said they do, didn't he? If somebody said, Gabe, talk
to me, talk to me. And I said, would I be talking to him? The only way I can talk to them
is if I use words, right? I have to use words. How does the Lord speak to his
own? He has to use words. We don't just hear a voice in
a dream somewhere. He uses his words. It's got to
come through the word. Right? If we are going to hear
from our God, if we're going to hear His voice, He is going
to use His words. His words. He gives spiritual eyes to see
Him in His word. See Him in His word, not just
doctrine. Not just doctrine. I love true
doctrine. True doctrine, the definition
of it is His words. Everything that Christ said is
called doctrine. It is for our learning. But we're
not hung up on doctrine, we're hung up on His words. Because
He said them. He gives us spiritual eyes to
see Him and His word. I'm reading them out loud right
now. I'm reading these words and we're listening to them right
here with this voice out loud. And anybody on this planet can
hear what I'm saying who has physical ears to hear. But if we're going to hear from
Him, all we can say with this is, we heard the voice of Gabe
Stoniker. Here's the question. Do His sheep
hear His voice? His voice. If we hear from Him
through His Word, then we are going to hear Him with this heart. That's what's going to happen.
How do we hear his voice? With this heart, with this ear,
this spiritual ear right here. We're going to hear his voice
in his word, in our heart. If the Lord is our shepherd,
we're not going to lack eyes to see. We're not going to lack
ears to hear. None of God's sheep will. None
of God's sheep will. Look right here in John 10 at
verse 7. Then said Jesus unto them, again, verily, verily,
I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep. All that ever came
before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
I am the door. By me, if any man enter in, he
shall be saved and shall go in and out and find pasture. If the Lord is our shepherd,
we are not going to lack an entrance into the fold. Not one sheep
is going to say, I want to, but I can't. I want to come in. I want to come to Christ. I want
to come to the Lord, but I have no way to come in. Not one sheep
is going to say that. If I have the Lord for my shepherd,
I have the door. Isn't that wonderful? I'm not
looking for the way I'm not walking around. I've got the door. Verse nine also says, if the
Lord is my shepherd, then I have a pasture. I have a place to
just go lie down and rest. Does this life ever get you so
wearied? That all your soul craves is
just a place to lie down for a minute and rest. It does me. Well, listen to this. The Lord
is your shepherd. The Lord is your shepherd. And
this is what he said. I go to prepare a place for you. To do what? Lie down and rest. He said, come unto me and rest. I can't. I'm too worked up. I'm too overwhelmed. Go to him
and he will make you. He'll make you. I'm so thankful
that he maketh me to lie down in his green pasture and rest.
He makes me lie down. Right here in John 10, look at
verse 10. It says, 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. I am the
good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. If the Lord is my shepherd, I
will not lack life. I am not going to lack life. Even though we just said we're
all dead in our trespasses and sins, if the Lord is my shepherd,
I'm not going to lack life. Verse 11, we just read it, I'm
the good shepherd and the good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep. If the Lord is my shepherd, I'm
not going to lack a substitute. I'm not going to lack a substitute.
I'm not going to lack having someone who will lay down his
life for me so that I might have his life. The end of verse 10
says, have it more abundantly. A few years ago, it's been a
long time since I've told this story, but a few years ago in
Rocky Mount, Hannah and I had a little dog named Annie. And we had a quarter acre lot
on our house. And our house took up most of
it. And then I only fenced the backyard So Annie had less than
a half acre of land. And that's where she lived. We
let her inside some, but she was an outside dog. And Annie was alive. She was
alive. She breathed air. I watched her body. And she ran. And she ate. And she slept. And she did all those things.
She was alive. But if for one day Annie could have become converted
into a human being, human being like us, and if she could have sat down
at our table and had a filet mignon and a lobster tail, all
we ever gave her was dog food. If she could have grabbed a fork
and a knife and slowly enjoyed it, Or if she could have gone around
to some of these universities and talk to some of these professors
of these great universities and learned. Things that amazing
things. Or if she could have opened up
the scriptures just for one day and learned about Jesus Christ. Or if she could have. Gotten
an airplane and gone to Paris. and experienced the world, the
culture of the world, not just the backyard. And then if she
would have the next day gone back to being a dog, she would have gathered all the
dogs around and said, y'all, I have experienced life more
abundant. More abundant. If the Lord is
my shepherd, I will not lack life More abundant. There's a life coming that you
and I cannot imagine. We can't imagine it. We already
said, Paul said, I heard things. I was caught up to the third
heaven and I heard things that it's not possible for a man's
mouth to say. Hannah and I, we speak words.
It's not possible for that dog's mouth to say. And if the Lord
is our shepherd, we will not lack life, more abundant. More abundant. Right here in
John 10 verse 12 says, but he that is in hireling and not the
shepherd whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming
and leaveth the sheep and fleeth. And the wolf catcheth them and
scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth because he
is in hireling and careth not for the sheep. I am the good
shepherd and know my sheep and am known of mine. As the father
knoweth me, even so know I the father, and I lay down my life
for the sheep. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall hear my
voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. If the
Lord is our shepherd, we will never be left alone, never. We're not gonna lack fellowship.
Fellowship with Christ, fellowship with his sheep. We're not going
to lack love and unity in God's fold. We're not going to lack
it. Now look at John 10 verse 25.
It says, Jesus answered them, I told you and you believed not.
The works that I do in my father's name, they bear witness of me,
but ye believe not because you are not of my sheep as I said
unto you. My sheep hear my voice, and I
know them, and they follow me. And I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them
out of my hand. My Father which gave them me
is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of
my Father's hand. If the Lord is our shepherd,
we are not going to lack the ability to believe God. We are
not going to lack the ability to believe God's word. Outside
of Christ, man cannot believe God. Faith is not of yourself. It has to be a gift. But if the
Lord is our shepherd, we will not lack the ability to believe
God. And if the Lord is our shepherd, we will not lack eternal life. And he says right here in verse
27, my sheep hear my voice, I know them, they follow me. I give
unto them eternal life and they shall never perish, neither shall
any man pluck them out of my hand. My father which gave them
me is greater than all and no man is able to pluck them out
of my father's hand. If the Lord is our shepherd,
we're not gonna lack security. We're not gonna lack safety,
we're not gonna lack love, and we're not gonna lack the comfort
of our Father's hand. Never, we will not lack it. Doesn't
just taking one minute and stopping to realize that make you just
wanna fall back in the pasture and listen to the Lord's voice
as the sound of many waters and just rest? Just rest. He said, come unto me and rest.
Well, let's close by going back to Psalm 23. Psalm 23. Says 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 restoreth my soul. He leadeth
me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. 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. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil,
my cup runneth over. Surely, goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. I call those green pastures of
rest. That's just good. That's peaceful. I hope the Lord will bless that. Let's stand together.