keeps me with a living breath. Though my weary steps may fall
to the floor, the first may be, as in power I'll be. Oh, spring,
joyous be, as in power I'll be. Oh, spring, joyous be. I think this Word tonight will
be a spring of joy, I hope. We drew a bow at a venture when
we started this study of the Lord's names. We drew a bow at
a venture. But it was of the Lord's doings,
I believe. It was marvelous timing. how these arrows have hit the
heart just when we need them. Truly, the lot is cast into the
lap. Let's see, what are we going to preach on? But the whole disposing
thereof is of the Lord. Tonight is another example of
how our Great Shepherd leads us beside Souls still in waters
of His Word, Jehovah-Rah-ah. That's how you pronounce this
next name, Rah-ah. Jehovah-Rah-ah, meaning the Lord,
our Shepherd. Psalm 23. The 23rd Psalm. I've read this, preached from it, heard others
read it, preached from it. But it was like brand new when
I studied it. Like brand new. Psalm 23. Now this is mostly quoted a few
of them. But this is a psalm to live by. This is a psalm to
live by as well as die by. A psalm of the shepherd. Psalm
means song. A song of the shepherd for the
sheep. Now, before we get to the first verse. This is a psalm
of the shepherd for the sheep. In order for the Lord to be your
shepherd, what do you have to be? Sheep. All right? Old Brother Scott
says, you can't, you can't, he'd say can't, you can't claim the
promise unless you fit the character described in the promise. And
he'd say that about fifteen times. You can't claim the promises
unless you fit the character described in the promise. Now, if all of this is about
a shepherd, then we have to be a sheep. And here's some things
about sheep before we get started. Sheep, number one, are totally
helpless. So you've got to be totally helpless
for the Lord to be your shepherd. Sheep are defenseless. They cannot
defend themselves against anybody or anything. They're totally
defenseless. Sheep are meek and mild. If you're helpless and defenseless,
you would be meek and mild, wouldn't you? You'd cow down. Sheep are prone to wonder. It's the nature of the animal.
They're prone to wonder. We sing that song, Rome to wonder,
Lord I feel it, Rome to leave, God I love. Sheep need to be
led. You got to need to be led to
be a sheep. Sheep need to be provided for.
I mean everything. Sheep have to have everything
provided for. Sheep have to be protected. Sheep are always owned by somebody. There's no such thing as wild
sheep. No such thing. Never has been. Wild sheep. They can't make it. Not five
minutes. No way. Somebody owns them. All
sheep are owned by somebody. Now, if the Lord is your shepherd,
You can't have the Lord as your shepherd if you're not helpless,
if you're not defenseless, if you're not prone to wonder, if
you don't need to be led, if you don't need to be provided
for, if you don't need protection, if you don't like being owned.
You can't have this Lord as your shepherd. But if you like all
of the above, you can say with faith, verse 1, the Lord is my
shepherd. First two words, the Lord is
my shepherd, David said. I don't know who your shepherd
is, he said, but the Lord is my shepherd. I don't know who
your God is, David said, but my God's in heaven. He hath done
what's right. The Lord is my shepherd, Jehovah. God my Savior, Jesus Christ is
my shepherd. Lord is my shepherd." Get a hold
of those words. The Lord. Blessed are the sheep
of his pasture. Oh, how blessed are the sheep
of his pasture. We're going to see this in a
moment. Blessed are the people whose God is the Lord. Sheba,
when she saw Solomon, she said, Oh, happy are thy servants. Blessed
are thy people. She said, God really loved Israel,
making you king over them. The Lord is my shepherd. I have a little farm, as you
all know. Oh, blessed are the animals that come to my farm. I think they've been telling
their buddies, too. Paul Mahan's my owner. You got it made when you come
here. You don't have to do anything. Just eat, sleep. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. He said,
I shall not want. Want doesn't mean desire. Want
means I shall not lack. Since the Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not lack. Notice how this psalm begins
and ends. It says, The Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want. And the end of it says, Surely,
and I will dwell. This whole psalm is absolutes. I shall not want. I will dwell. Surely. I love that. I love the I shalls and the I
wills and the surelys of Scripture. Don't you? Huh? This psalm begins
with an I shall and ends with a surely and I will. I shall
not want and I shall dwell. Now he says I shall not want,
that is I shall not be without anything or everything needful. Now listen, the whole key of
this psalm is the first two words. Because as is your shepherd, so is your safety. Huh? You listen to that word there.
As is your shepherd, so is your safety. As is your savior, so
is your salvation. Huh? As is your surety, so is
your assurance. As is your shepherd, so is your
safety. The Lord is my shepherd. I hear and see preachers all
the time talk about, God can, God can, Jesus can, He wants,
He wants, He wants, He wants. I don't want a shepherd like
that. I don't want a God like that. I don't want a God that
just can. I want a God that says, I have,
I will, and I will, yes, and you shall. The Lord, as He is
your shepherd, so is your safety. Since the Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not want, I shall never lack anything, anything. Now, look at the first thing
the shepherd has his sheep do. Now, if the Lord is your shepherd,
not the law, but if the Lord is your shepherd, the first thing
he does is he maketh me to lie down. That's what Christ said. He said,
these hirelings have got you doing, doing, doing, don't they,
huh? Got you laboring heavy laden, don't they, huh? He said, come
unto me, I'll make you lie down. He maketh me to lie down. You
know the first thing you, that's the first thing you teach a dog.
What's the first thing you teach a dog? Anybody in here that's
got a dog, what's about the first thing you want to teach them?
The reason being is because dogs are just, Boom, bam, boom, bam,
bouncing off of, you know, going after this, going after that,
wild and crazy and acting, getting into all kinds of trouble. You
say, lie down. Isn't that the first thing? If you're a good trainer, you
don't have to holler. Lie down. Isn't that the first
thing you teach them? So does our Shepherd. And it
says, He maketh me. Rick, when you teach a dog to
sit or lie down, you're going to have to literally push it,
aren't you? Every time. You've got to literally
push its rump down and push its body down. I'm trying to teach
my new dog, my neighbor's dog. I'm trying to teach her now.
She's mine. I'm trying to teach her to lie
down, and I have to make her lie down, Heidi. You're bad on
the avenue. Lie down. He'd make us. Doesn't the Lord have to make
us? Lie down in green pastures. Right here's a green pasture.
These are the green pastures. This is what sheep feed on. Nothing
else. Nothing else. Green pastures. The other day, I forget what
day it was. One of those days when it was
about 70 some degree. And all this warm weather and
sunshine has got my pastures looking green. Right out in the
middle of that pasture is a great big old patch of Kentucky bluegrass. It's green, but they call it
blue. And I went out there, it was
about three o'clock in the afternoon, and I could not help myself. I just, ah, just lay down. Well, here comes Anthony. And
Annie. And Heidi. Here come the horses. We all just... There's nothing... You ever done it? There's nothing
like it. Is it? There's nothing like it. And I'm telling you, if the Lord
ever makes you just Lie down. May he make us lie down in Psalm
23. It will restore your soul. Green pastures, nothing like,
and leadeth me beside the still waters. Still waters. Nothing more peaceful, nothing
more beautiful than a green pasture and a farm pond. Isn't it? Or a beautiful lake. Nothing, nothing. One time the
Nibers came to visit us, and we took them to Smith Mountain
Lake. And there was a place down there where a huge, green, just
lush, pasture-like place, and then that beautiful lake, and
those Blue Ridge Mountains in the background. And we had a
picnic this late. Nothing more beautiful. Nothing
more peaceful. Sun beating down. Lovely, lovely. God's Word. Still water. His word has a stilling effect. Still water. They say sheep won't
drink from turbulent water. I know it's so with horses. They
don't like turbulent water. They like still water. They're
afraid of water by nature. They like still water. God's
word It does not fill us full of turmoil, but rather peace
and stillness. This is one of the first things
He teaches us, John. Be still and know that I am God. And we have to learn that from
these pastors in the Word. You know, sheep, people ask me
all the time, how much does it take to What's the cost to feed those
horses? Well, if you've got good pasture, and if you have good
water, it doesn't cost a dime. In the
summertime, the grass is good, and the water doesn't cost anything. They live long before man ever
got a hold of them. They lived on grass and water. They don't need southern states'
feed. That's just when you want to
spoil them, you know. But green pastures are still
where they live, and we live on that. And so do we. So do
we. This is what we live on. This
is what sheep live on. You can't live without it. Can't
live without it. God's Word. Can't live without
it. An elephant. Nobody feeds elephants. They
live on grass. Well, He can take care of us.
Well, He leadeth me beside the still water. Jehovah Raya, I
shall not want for, now look at this, there's several things
here He's showing us. I shall not want for rest. I
shall not want for refreshment. I shall not want
for restoration. Verse 3, He restoreth my soul. He restored. God's Word is soul
restoring. Now, more particularly, what
is God's Word? Who is God's Word? Christ is the Word incarnate. Christ restored Everything to
me that I lost in the garden, He restored it. Everything. He
restores me to favor with God. He restores me to righteousness,
but it's better than that. He restores me to life. I was
dead. Have you ever, anyone in here ever restored something? Car? House? Now if you restore
furniture, If you restore something, that means it's something that's
decaying and wasting away and it's fit for destruction. All
that's going to happen is it's going to be nothing. It's going to be destroyed. Something
that's restored. He restoreth my soul. The soul
that sinneth must surely die. For he restoreth my soul to righteousness,
to perfection. to God, he restores it. The soul
goes back to God. Now, look at this. He restores my soul, and I shall
not want for his direction, his leadership. He leadeth me in
the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. He leadeth me. Abraham was chosen, wasn't he? He was called. And he was led. Now, did Abraham ever know where
he was going? Never. He never knew. The Lord never told him. He didn't need to know, Stan.
Didn't. God's doing the leading. He doesn't
need to know where he's going. Neither do we. We don't know
what the next day may bring. Don't need to know. Don't need
to know. God knows. That's all one needs
to know. Who needs to know where you're
going except the one that's leading? See, you ain't got to be a sheep
to like this. He leadeth me. Meaning this, too. Listen to
this. This is a blessing. The one that does the leading
is the one that goes first. And whatever you're going to
go through, He goes through first. Listen to me. The one that does
the leading goes out before you. And He goes through everything
first. He faces everything first. He faces the danger first. He
faces the foe first. He goes through the obstacle
first, doesn't He? Huh? He leads me. He goeth out before
me. He leads me. Read on. It says,
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's
sake. Paths of righteousness. Paths. There's a difference between
paths and the way. Paths. You know, we walk winding
paths. Everybody in here takes different
paths. The Lord leads us. Different
paths, not different ways. Different paths. Different paths. Yet every step
is ordered by the Lord. Every step is right. Paths of
righteousness, or that is, that lead to Christ our righteousness.
Everything about us. Everywhere we go, every step
we take, it may look like we're going the opposite direction. Mississippi River. Mississippi
River, sometimes it flows east, west, north. Sometimes it looks like it's
going north. It ain't going north. That whole river's going south,
buddy. She's flowing south. And we're on the way. We're in
Christ's way. It may appear But these are paths of righteousness,
paths of righteousness, order to make us righteous. And it's
all leading in the direction of Christ, the way. We're in the way. We are in the
way. Yes, we are. And he leadeth me
for his name's sake. He leadeth me for his name's
sake. That's his name, Jehovah-Rama,
Shepherd. So he leadeth. That's what his
name means. He provided for me for his name's
sake. He's Jehovah-Jireh, so he's the
one that does the providing. Right? He leadeth for his name's
sake. That's because who he is. He
saved me. Salvation is of the Lord, because
that's what His name means. For His name's sake. Call His
name Jesus. He shall save His people from their sins. He saved
me for His name's sake. For His honor's sake. For His
glory's sake. See, His honor, His name is at
stake here. His name is at stake here. If
Christ doesn't save every single sheep, what if... You remember
the story of Saul and David? Saul, his father, gave him charges
from asses. Well, he lost all his asses. I think the Lord gave him asses
so he'd show us what he was. I'm not making fun. The Lord
is. He gave him a bunch of asses.
He couldn't even keep his asses. He lost them all. So, man's king
can't keep anybody. Now, David never lost a sheep. There's no record in this book
that David ever lost a sheep. Wherever he went, he left somebody
in charge of him. As a matter of fact, when he
was but a boy, A lion came after one of his sheep. A lion! This ain't no fairy tale. This
is God's Word. A lion! David slew a lion with
his bare hands. A bear got ahold of him. He went and got that one lion
and slew that bear. David never lost a sheep. He's
a good shepherd. Huh? Oh, is David a good shepherd? Oh, he's a good shepherd. Well,
not the Lord. He's my shepherd. He's never,
he's the good, he's the great, he's the chief shepherd. They're
going to call him the chief shepherd because he never loses a sheep. In the history of the world,
he's never lost a sheep. He said, I give unto them eternal
life, and they shall never perish. Nobody's going to pluck them
out of my hand. A lion, a bear, it doesn't mean. A wolf. roaring lion? Satan hath desired you. He can't
have you. I'm a good shepherd. I'm your
shepherd. Peter, you better be glad that I'm your shepherd.
The Lord is my shepherd. For his name's sake. You see,
his name's on the line here. All right, since Jehovah-Jireh,
Jehovah The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want for courage
and companionship. Verse 4, Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art
with me. Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, I'll not want for
courage. I don't care what He said, Johnny
Cash, you seen that? You got to walk that lonesome
valley. You got to walk it by yourself. He's a liar. Christ said you don't have to.
There ain't none of his sheep will. Though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. Why? Because
thou art with me. I'm a helpless, hopeless sheep,
but the Lord is my shepherd. though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death." Shadow. He calls it a shadow. Shadow
of death. The Lord changes things, doesn't
He? To keep us from being afraid.
Lazarus is sleeping. Oh, well, good. He'll be fine. Yes, he will. Good, good. He's sleeping. Good. He's dead. Oh, bad. He's sleeping. Shadow. Death is just a shadow. Shadow. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 15,
I believe it is, he said, O death, where is thy sting? O grave,
where is thy victory? Where is thy sting? Do you know
how that when a bee or a wasp or something stings you, if it
stings you, There's nothing to be afraid of. The stinger's removed. Doesn't matter. Doesn't matter
how big the wasp is, it can't hurt you. The stinger's gone.
Death, where is thy sting? An old Puritan writer said, Death
stung itself to death when it stung Christ. He removed the
stinger. The sting of death is what? Sin! Get a hold of that, chief. The
sting of death is sin. None of God's people will ever
feel the sting of death. Christ said he won't even taste
it. It'll be like going to sleep. Now, we are afraid of shadows,
aren't we? Darkness, the unknown, shadows.
Shadows are an unknown. You don't know what lies in those
shadows. But you know the scripture says
the night and the dark are alike unto the Lord. He walked through it and came
out. He went into that shadow of that
tomb, Barbara, three days, came out. Little children are
afraid of shadows, aren't they? Well, the Lord is my shepherd. Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art with
me. If the Lord is my shepherd, who
can be against me? If the Lord is my shepherd, who
can harm me? Who can separate me? I'll go through a shadow,
that won't separate me. Death won't separate me. Jehovah-Rod. Christ is my shepherd. Thy rod and thy staff. Look at
this. Thy rod and thy staff. They comfort me. Got your attention now. We need object lessons. Thy rod
and thy staff may comfort me." Moses carried one, Aaron carried
one, David carried one, our Lord carries one still. Thy rod and
thy staff. What is the rod and the staff
of the Lord, our helper? What is it? That's right. Whenever I ask
you any question, If you just say Christ or Word, you'll have
the answer. From now on, everybody gets a
frightened look on their face when I ask a question. I'm not
asking anybody in particular. I won't do that. I won't put
you on the spot. But I'll give you a key. I'll give you a clue.
If you just say Word or Christ, you'll have it every time. You'll
have the answer every time. What comforts us? Well, of course
it's the Word of God. The Word? Of course it's Christ.
The reason they're called rod and staff, without this, it'd
just be a rod. Without this crook, shepherd's
crook, it'd just be a rod. And a rod, what do you think
of when you think of a rod? You think of correction, don't
you? And we need correction. All the Word of God is given
by inspiration of God. It is possible for doctrine,
for reproof, for correction, for instruction of righteousness,
that the man of God might be thoroughly furnished under all
good works. And we need the rod of reproof, don't we? Spare the
rod, spoil the child. Well, how does God correct us
most of the time? Don't think about a whipping. Don't know. Christ took our whipping. Isn't it a good parent that can
just correct with their word? Christ corrects with his word. Doesn't his word rebuke? When
thou with rebuke doth correct me, David said, oh, God's word
is what rebukes us. People got this thing all wrong.
God's removing this, or God's making me sick, or God's doing
this to teach me something. God's trying to teach me. Not
trying to do anything. God never tries to do anything.
God's trying to tell me anything. God's already said everything.
He's not trying to tell me anything. He's already said everything.
Right? God doesn't try anything. And
if God's going to speak to me, buddy, He's going to speak to
me. He's not going to try. And how does he speak? Through
his words. And it's a rod that I need. Oh, it's a rod that I
need. A rod that's correctional, chastening. and sinful. That's what God,
it chases, that's what, you hear, you understand that? Don't think
of God as a, as a, as removing and afflicting and, no, no, no. Although, you know, whatever
happens is of the Lord, but God does most of His chasing and
His correction with His Word. That's how powerful it is, you
see? God doesn't teach with signs
and visions and wonders. He doesn't correct with, oh,
God tried to kill my child, so now He's taught me something.
No! Not the way He does it. He does
it with His Word. I rob and I staff. I'm sure thankful this is that.
That means safety. That means protection, you know.
That's what that's for. Grab that little... That means
drawing. Thou hast loved me with an everlasting
love, therefore with lovingkindness hast thou drawn me. Protect me. Draw me. And give me direction,
you know. I need a little prodding. The
shepherd does everything with this. Everything. This is the only tool a good
shepherd needs. That's all he is. Didn't Moses
do everything with that rod, that staff? He had a shepherd's
staff. Moses, hold forth thy staff.
He did everything. The sea was parted. The rock
was smitten. Everything. God does everything
with His Word. Everything. Protection, direction,
drawing us, defending us. The shepherd uses this to defend,
to ward off wolves. Our defense is of God. How's
that? Shield and buckler. Huh? That's a shield. Girt with
the truth. Helmet of salvation. God's Word
protects me. Shield of faith. God's Word,
God's Word, God's Word is his rod and his staff. Staff to gather
us. Rod to correct us. God's Word. Everything he does, he uses his
word to do. Lead, guide, and protect. Sum it all up with that. Lead.
Come on. Guide. Come back here. Protect. Stay away. Thy rod and thy staff. There's no comfort anywhere but
in God's Word. Anywhere. I ought to hold that
forth the rest of the time. I've got your attention. And
so it is, if the Lord holds us forth before our eyes, He'll
have our attention. This is it. This is Rod and his
staff. Look at this. I like this. Verse 5, Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine enemy. prepared in the presence of my
enemy. I'll never want for provisions and sustenance while the Lord
is my shepherd. I can lie down and eat right
in the middle of trouble." Right in the middle of trouble, he
says, in the midst of my enemy. We go through this world of trouble.
You folks have been out there, back out in the dog-eat-dog or
dog-eat-sheep world. Right? Dogs don't eat dogs, they
follow each other. Where'd that come from? Dogs
eat sheep though, don't they? Dogs eat sheep work. They've
been out there, you know, right? He's prepared us to take. Right? In the midst of a week, in the
midst of a people, and troubles and all that, a table. This is
the table. Come to the table, he says, come
and dine. All things are ready. All things
are ready. Let's eat. Let's eat. Table, ah, come to the table.
Good food. Verse five, he said, Thou anointest
my head with oil. Thou anointest my head with oil. You don't cry. Who's the head? Christ. Christ is our head. That Psalm 133 says, Oh, how
good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in unity. It's
like the precious oil that flowed down the head and the beard and
the skirts of Aaron. Oh, God anointed Christ accepted
Christ. Christ is our beloved head. He's
our representative. He's our head. He's our head,
but not in secret, in actuality. He's our head. And everything
that comes to us flows through Him. He's anointed my head, and
I give it to Him. Whatever God anointed my head
with, I give it to Him. I'm well pleased. And me too. Huh? Whatever your head gets,
if you just pour oil over your head, your body gets it too.
Huh? Whatever my head gets from God, I get it too. I'm well pleased. I accept you. Here's all the
blessings. Come on up. Well, as he is, so
are we. Wherever the head is, the body
goes, doesn't it? Huh? Wherever the head is, the body
goes. We're seated right now with him. Sure, I found no one
is my head with oil, but now this is literally talking about
us. Our heads with oil, I thought
about a hot day in the summertime, hot sun beating down on a weary
head, taking cool oil. This was a eastern, far eastern,
what's the word, custom, far eastern custom under that Oh,
the hard eastern sun, you know, where a person could come into
your house and you'd take some cool oil. You'd have a cooling,
cool oil. I think it's probably olive oil,
and anoint your head with it. The dust, you know, your hair. Put that oil on your head and
cool. If you didn't have any hair,
you'd sure want some oil on it, wouldn't you? And cool your head
down. Cool it. It's like a soothing
balm under a hot sun. Well, listen, everything that
affects us goes through our head. Well, that's a picture of Christ,
isn't it? But our heads, literally, these heads right here, doesn't
everything have to go through the head? Everything we hear,
Everything we see, taste, everything we think, our heads, and our
heads get the hurting. Our heads get filled up. Our
heads are bombarded. Our minds are troubled, and our
heads ache. Right? And then it goes down
to the heart. Listen to this. Philippians 4, he says, The peace
of God which passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds
through Christ Jesus. Keep your minds. Here it is.
Here's the oil. Brethren, whatsoever things are
true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever
things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things
of good rapport, for any virtue, any praise, think on these things. Feel better already. Let me pour it again. Whatsoever
things are true, This word is true. I had a cool and aching
head. Whatsoever things are honest,
honest, honest, just, pure, lovely, of a good report, any virtue
they pray, think on these things, and the God of peace will be
with you. He'll keep your mind. Keep your
mind from getting trouble. You hear me? That's the oil.
That's the balm of Gilead. This is the balm of Gilead. That
make sense? Think on this thing. And it says,
Jehovah is my shepherd, I shall not want, but to the contrary, my cup running over. I shall not want my cup running
over. Talking about those animals of
mine? I never gave them half of anything. I never filled up,
I never put half a bucket of water in. As a matter of fact,
I've let it run over many times. Run over, run over. My boy, our
Lord says, our Lord says you need mercy? Have
some. Have some more. Have some more. Well, have some more. Huh? I've had enough. No, you'll need
some more. He'd give it. You need some grace?
Well, he'd give it more grace. Has your cup run over with grace? Or you got just enough, just
getting by the skin of your teeth? My cup runneth over. Have some
more. And it endures forever. Try and
exhaust God's mercy and grace. Listen, we're needy people, aren't
we? We're needy people. One of these
days I'm going to run out of grass over there standing. I
have. Molly's going to eat me out of house and home. I have
to sell it off. Her too. But now, trying to exhaust
our Lord's mercy and grace is about like taking that glass
right there and going to the ocean. Fill it up. You going to drain the ocean
dry? You wouldn't do it. No way. And his mercy endureth
forever. Well, look at the next thing,
the last verse. Now, since the Lord is my shepherd. Now, hitch up your breeches,
all right? Since the Lord is my shepherd,
surely Now, if you don't need this tonight,
people, you will need this. Since the Lord is my shepherd,
surely goodness and mercy shall follow me, A-double-L, all the
days of my life." Not one day, Dan. It is not of the Lord's
mercy. It is not God's goodness. Whatever
it may be, all things work together for good to them that love Jehovah. Since the Lord is our shepherd,
who are the call according to his purpose. He's ordered everything
for our good, for his name's sake. All things, surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Someone
called these two things the shepherd's faithful sheepdog. Goodness and mercy. Here goes
the shepherd leading, here come the sheep. Was some Australian
back there? You ever seen sheepdogs work? They're amazing. Who teaches them? They're born
with that instinct. They just nip at the heel. Get
back in the flock, man. Get in the flock. There's danger out here. Get
in the flock. Follow your shepherd. Goodness and mercy. God's goodness
and his mercy. Now listen to these words very
carefully, okay? Surely, goodness and mercy, everything
is God's goodness. Whether we see it or not, it's
God's goodness. Right? Whether we see it or not. Just read all the stories of
God's people, the things they went through. God can't get anything
good out of it. What about the most horrible? to ever occur on this planet.
It's just like the worst thing to ever happen, the most tragic
thing ever. There's a man that lived on this
planet that from the day he was born he was pursued, hated, tracked,
hunted like an animal. Never owned a home. Never had a wife, never had children,
never had a place to lay his head, really. Until finally when
he was 33 years old, an angry mob took him and beat the living
daylights out of him. hung him on a wooden tree, nailed
him on a wooden tree, and had the most horrible, tragic life
ever lived, and horrific or horrendous death ever died. Well, what good
to come out of that? Surely, goodness. Well, that's the worst, isn't
it? And that's the best. Everything about it. And mercy. It's of the Lord's
mercies that were not consumed. His mercies are what? New every
morning. And look at this. Surely goodness
and mercies shall follow it. So that means that
whatever I go through, What follows is goodness. Oh, this is awful. Goodness is ringing up the rear.
Ain't going to be goodness come out of this. Wait! Just wait!
Goodness, surely goodness follows. Oh, how could, this is horrible.
Mercy is on the heels. Mercy is on the heels of this. Every cloud does indeed have
a silver lining. Fear not, ye saints, fresh courage
take. The clouds ye often dread shall
with mercy break upon your head. Right? It's the following. Bringing
up the red. Surely goodness. And look at
this. This is the best. He saved the best for last. He
saved the best for last. And I will dwell in the house
of the Lord forever." Any of those sheep have anything
to worry about being cast out? Huh? What about a black sheep? Huh? He doesn't say what color
they are. They're all black. But I'm the
black sheep of the family. It doesn't matter as long as
you have it. As a matter of fact, I should have put that as one
of the requirements, shouldn't I? For sheep, all of God's sheep
are black. All of them are black. Annie, she ain't nothing but
a family dog. She's not much better than the
day I got her. Straight from the pound. Go ahead and offer
me something, John. The bidding will start at four
million. I wouldn't know why it's castrated.
But she ain't nothing but a dog. But she's my dog. You see, as
your shepherd is, so is your safety. You sat trying to say,
Preacher, once in grace, always in grace, that's exactly what
we're saying. That's what Christ said. Once
my sheep, always my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Isn't
that blessed? Isn't it blessed to have the
Lord as your shepherd? All right, Jerry, let's sing
that song. 297, I believe it is, isn't it? No, it's not here. What? Let me look it up. 287. 287. That's all we've been
seeing here. All right. 287. Let's stand. The Lord God is love and is peace
The Lord God is love and is peace The Lord God is love and is peace The Lord God is love and is peace And with His blood He died on
the way. May the Lord be with us at the Holy Grail. I need every one of you, for
I can't remember. They won't know, nor our provider,
nor our healer.