That's all right. If you would, and you wanna follow
along, please turn to the 23rd Psalm. Psalm 23. It's only six verses, I'm gonna
read it all. 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 the path 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. This is Possibly Actually, I think certainly the
most well-known of the Psalms And it is probably also about
The second best known scripture in the Bible right behind John
3 16 Now John 316's got it beat because
they used to hold up the signs at the football games behind
the goalposts. Some guy in a rainbow wig. And everybody knows it. Matter of fact, like John 316,
this psalm is so popular that nobody ever gives it much thought. You know why? Well, everybody
knows what it means. Now I have found out in my life,
usually, almost always, anything that, quote, everybody knows
is not true. Because you know, everybody knows
God loves everyone. Everybody knows God wants everyone
to be saved. Now, for all you folks who happen
to be listening on television, that's a lie. I'm sorry. God does not love everyone. The
scripture never says it. Matter of fact, it says sort
of the opposite. It says there's some people he
hates. Both David in Psalms 23, and
the words Jesus Christ spoke in John chapter three were speaking
of those that the Lord God Almighty loved. And I'm sorry, that's
not everyone. And that love is only in His
Son. Can I prove that? Not really. I can't prove it so everybody'd
know. There's no way to do that. I can present the scriptures.
I can try and teach the scriptures. I can try and preach the scriptures.
But I can't make you believe. Paul wrote it, the natural man
cannot, cannot, cannot understand the things of the spirit of God. Paul heard a version of this
when his name was Saul of Tarsus, when Stephen was just about to
be stoned. And he says, you uncircumcised
in heart and ears, you do always resist the Holy Ghost. Not just most of the time, not
just part of the time, not just when you want to or when you're
feeling or tired, you always resist the Holy Ghost. It doesn't
matter how you feel. if you're uncircumcised in heart
and ears. Jesus Christ said it this way,
no man can come unless or except it be given him of the Father.
And people will fight about that, people will deny it, people will
twist it, people will rebel against it because that's what we are
at heart. Uncircumcised heart and ears.
We're rebellion. We're rebels. And guess what? Rebels rebel. Because here's the thing. When
Jesus Christ said that they left him by the thousands. And he looked at his disciples
and said, will you also go away? But here, this is what David wrote. The Lord is my shepherd I Shall
not want That's my title Paul I shall not want That's where
I want to get to But before I get that part, I got a deal with
this The Lord is my shepherd The Lord is my shepherd first
things first Who is the Lord that David's talking about? We need to know to whom David
was referring. I can tell you this right up
front. The Lord that David was writing
about is not the one you usually hear on television. The Lord
that David was writing about is not the Lord that is preached
in most churches today. Because in Psalms 115 verse three,
it says this. Our God is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. That's the Lord. That's the Lord
that David's writing of here. The very same one. What? The
Lord who is absolutely, positively, and all-powerfully sovereign. What does the Lord do? Whatever
he wants. Whatever he wants. That's the
argument. God wants everyone to be saved.
If he did, they would be. I guarantee it. Because our God
is in the heavens and he's done. What does that mean? That means
he's doing. And that means he's gonna do because he changes not.
Whatsoever he hath pleased. Isaiah saw the Lord. Guess what? The same Lord is my shepherd.
How did Isaiah see? High and lifted up. On a throne. On a throne. What do people on
thrones do? Guess what? They rule. They reign. They establish their
way. And that's what we don't want.
Naturally, we do not want God's way. Around that throne, around
the Lord, were angels crying this, holy, holy, holy is the
Lord of hosts. And, this is a part a lot of
people don't understand, and the whole earth is full of his
glory. What? I don't see it. That's
the problem. We don't see it. You understand,
that's why the angels were declaring it. That's why Isaiah got to
see the Lord, that's what they said. Why, the whole earth is
full of his glory, especially when we don't know what's going
on. The Lord does as he wills in
heaven and on earth. Among all the inhabitants of
the earth, ask a fellow named Nebuchadnezzar. He found out
the hard way. and none can stay his hand or
say unto him, what are you doing? Also, the Lord is my shepherd. This Lord, it states of him that
his people, I'm gonna put a word in here, are always willing in
the day of his power. My resistance of the Holy Spirit,
when I had uncircumcised heart and ears, When you had uncircumcised
heart and ears, your resistance of the Holy Spirit didn't even
slow God down. It didn't stop him. You never
thwart, I like that word, thwart the will of God. It cannot happen. Why? Because our God's in the
heaven. He's done whatsoever he hath pleased. His will is done on earth as
it is in heaven. That's why we were told to pray
that. because it's gonna happen. Jesus Christ would never tell
us to pray something that wasn't true and it's not our permission
that makes it true. We are to pray thy will be done
because it is true. Now here's the last thing I wanted
to say about this. The Lord is my shepherd. Jesus
Christ told us he. is the good shepherd. You understand? David's writing of Jesus Christ.
What's that mean? Jesus Christ is the Lord. He's the Lord. David knew who
he was writing about. He's the one who wrote, the Lord
said unto my Lord, sit thou on my right hand, until I, what,
put your enemies under your feet. Gonna make them a footstool.
The good shepherd is the Lord. This is not, as some would make
it, an ethereal spiritual song. This is real. This is actually
very, very, very real. It's more real than most people
know. And here's what David knew. The
Lord is my shepherd. I don't know if he's your shepherd,
but I want you to know if the Lord is your shepherd. Want to
know that the Lord is my shepherd David is stating that he had
a relationship with the Lord Specifically a subservient relationship You understand because here's
the point if the Lord is your shepherd What does that make
you that makes you a sheep? More specifically, it makes you
his sheep. And here's the thing, he's the
shepherd, you're the sheep. He leads us, we don't lead him. We follow him, he doesn't follow
us. And his sheep shall hear his
voice and they follow him. Who said that? He did. I am the
good shepherd. My sheep hear my voice and a
stranger they won't follow. Why? Because they don't know
the voice of a stranger. His sheep hear his word. Most people do not hear his word. Jesus Christ said this to some
Jews in John 8, 43. He said, why do you not understand
my speech? Even because ye cannot hear my
word. Now, if you don't hear his word
and you don't follow him, you got no reason to think he's your
shepherd. Now, is that too simple? It's
not. It's the truth. It's the truth. See, the world likes to think,
oh, Jesus is everybody's shepherd. That's why this psalm is so popular.
He's everyone's shepherd. No, if you're not following the
shepherd, you're not one of the sheep. Because his sheep follow
him. Other sheep I have which are
not of this fold. But what'd he say next? Them
I must bring. And guess what? They're gonna
follow. They're gonna follow. So, that was the introduction. Because now, if the Lord is my
shepherd, if the Lord is your shepherd, here's four words I
don't want you to ever forget. I'm gonna try not to forget it
myself. I shall not want you. I shall not want. Now that word means lack. It's not I shall not wish. I
shall not desire. That's not what he's talking
about. He's talking about I shall not suffer want. If the Lord
is your shepherd, you shall not want. You shall not lack. This is not the work of victorious
living. You understand? This is not a
product of your intestinal fortitude sticking out during the hard
times. I know people who give witnesses
at testimony meetings, and they talk about how bad they've been
treated by God. Now, they don't say it that way,
but that's the way it is. And I understand. But this I
shall not want is not a product of my faithful work. This is a product of my good
shepherd's work. You understand the only reason
I don't lack is because he's my shepherd. That's why David
put it first. You gotta start with the Lord
as my shepherd or you got nowhere else to go anyway. If the Lord is your shepherd,
you shall not lack anything. And this is where I wanna be.
And actually, this is where I am, even if I don't get it. Because,
here's the question. It's personal. The Lord is my
shepherd, but I shall not want. This is between the shepherd
and every single one of his sheep. None are left out. What about
my circumstance? I shall not want. What about
my condition? I shall not want. Ooh, here,
wait a minute. What about my flesh? That in
my flesh dwells no good thing. I shall not want. I shall not
want. I might be the weakest sheep.
I shall not want. I might be the, I might have
the littlest faith of any sheep. I shall not want. I could be
the dumbest sheep. I shall not want. I might be
the sickest, the oldest, the puniest, the meanest. I shall
not want. Those four words. of grace and
mercy and joy. I might be the newest, the greenest,
the most ignorant. And the most foolish sheep the
world has ever seen. But here's the thing, I shall
not want. I shall not want. I may not know it, but I shall
not want. I may not, oh here it comes,
feel it. but I shall not want. You understand,
this is not always the view of the sheep, but it is the condition
of the sheep. You know why? Because it's dependent
upon the shepherd and not upon you. We live in circumstances. We live in conditions. I got
up this morning stiff because I mixed a little concrete yesterday
and filled a little bitty hole in my driveway. I forgot how
much work it is mixing concrete. But my back hasn't forgotten. But that's my condition. But
guess what? Even waking up stiff and with
my back aching and my knees hurt, Walter with his hip, I shall
not want. I shall not lack anything. And that's the thing. We may
not always view it, but it is our condition. But when you do
view these four words, I shall not want, oh man, when you see
this, if you can by any chance lay hold of it, then you realize
that Jesus Christ is the good shepherd. I shall not want because
the Lord is my shepherd, the good shepherd. I may not have
all I desire, all I wish, all I want. Matter of fact, I never
will, probably, until I awaken his likeness. But I shall not
want. I shall not want. What's the
rest? If you want to, and what I'm
gonna do is add those four words to every part of this next bunch
of the psalm, to the rest of this psalm. He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside distilled
waters. I shall not want. He makes me lie down. My natural condition is to run
away. That's why you gotta have a shepherd
for sheep. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. I shall not want. Why? I rest because of my shepherd. He makes me to rest in him. He leads me beside distilled
waters. I drink. I drink of living water. Why? Because my shepherd leads
me there. My shepherd leads me there. He
restoreth my soul. I shall not want. I have life and I have joy in
my shepherd. In my shepherd. He leadeth me in the path of
righteousness for his name's sake. I shall not want. He's my righteousness. My shepherd
is my righteousness. And you know what? He leads me
where I am to be. You know why? Because our God
is in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. And he is pleased for you to
be here today. He's pleased for me to be here today. I shall not want. Yea, Though I walk through the valley
of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. I shall not want. Precious in the sight of the
Lord is the death of his saints. I shall not want. He that liveth
and believeth in me shall never die. I shall not want. You are dead. And your life is hid with Christ
in God. I remember when Earl pointed
that out the first time. It's the valley of the shadow of death.
It's not the valley of death. I hear a lot of people talk about
it, and that's the way they talk about it, but here it's the valley
of the shadow of death. He that liveth and believeth in me, he'll
never die. Now, he asked, believest thou
this? That's just as true as you must
be born again. That's just as true as what?
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Believers don't die like unbelievers. I'm not talking physically. We
all die. We all die. Until he comes again,
we're all gonna die. But death is not the same for
a believer and an unbeliever. Just look at what Jesus Christ
said about a certain beggar named Lazarus and a certain rich man. I will fear no evil. I shall
not want because my shepherd is all good. Evil can't touch me in him. I've got evil in me. It's there. It fights against
the spirit. The flesh lusteth against the
spirit, but I will fear no evil. For thou art with me. Thy rod
and thy staff, they comfort me. I'll fear no evil. Why? Because
of my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want because he comforts
me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. He comforts me with
his presence. He comforts me with his word.
And he comforts me with his sheep, my brethren and sisters, brothers
and sisters in Christ that he's given. That's a comfort to me.
That meeting we just had last week was a comfort. It was a
great joy and encouragement and I shall not want because he comforts
me. Thy rod, thy staff, they comfort
me. Thou prepares the table before
me in the presence of mine enemies I shall not want I Feast at his
table and message Marvin preach you understand when you eat at
his table You don't want to eat anywhere else You know once you've
tasted and seen that the Lord is good That don't have quite
the same hold on your attention Not as far as the Word of God
is considered Yes, there are, and I'll admit
this, there are a lot of churches in this world. I will not go.
Why? Because I won't get fed. And here's the thing, I love
the way he put this. He says, thou hath prepared a table for
me in the presence of mine enemies. You understand? The same thing
that feeds us, that feeds me, starves other people. the very
same message. The gospel is not food to most
people in this world. They gotta have entertainment
and it depends upon how big the town is and where the town is
sometimes. I have no desire in this world,
Walter, to go near any church in Hollywood. I'm not going near
any church in Nashville unless it's one where we know somebody.
As you understand, they put on stage shows. They have entertainment. They have singing and dance numbers. I don't know. I don't care. Because
all I want is the gospel preached. Because that is what feeds my
soul. The Lord is my shepherd. He's
going to see to it that you get fed. He prepares a table for
you right in the presence of your enemies. surrounded on every
hand. It doesn't matter. He's going
to get you something to eat. Why? He's your shepherd. He's
your shepherd. Because we feast where others
see nothing to eat. And you know what you say to
that, right? Too bad for them. Because the table's set. The
food's on the table. But if you won't eat, you won't
eat. The same message, the same gospel, same gospel messenger, preacher,
is the saver of death unto death as it is to us the saver of life
unto life. In this last verse, surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. I shall not want. Things work together for good
to them that love God to them that are the called according
to his purpose. I Shall not want Goodness and mercy shall follow
me all the days of my life Hmm I shall not want what for
grace for mercy for peace Life, because I have every good thing,
and the Lord is my shepherd. For my shepherd is my holiness,
and wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and redemption. He is my justification. My shepherd shall present me
faultless. Isn't that something to think
about? Faultless what? sinless I Mean
holy it ain't me No, but he's gonna present me faultless before
the presence of his glory Yeah with great joy My shepherd
Your shepherd, if you know him, joys in saving your soul. And in presenting you before
his glory with exceeding joy, faultless, sinless, holy, justified. I like that, I do. Guess what? I shall not want. I'm not going
to lack anything in my shepherd. Myself, I am lacking in a lot
of things, but I have no lack in my shepherd. Oh, he's the
good shepherd because I shall not want. I can die and I can
stand before the father and say, my father, Abba, father. You understand that going boldly
before the throne of grace? That's not just here. You understand? He's our elder brother. He's
our good shepherd. The father sees him when he sees
us. I would say, and I will dwell
in the house of the Lord forever. I shall not want. I live in his
house. We are one fold in the shepherd. We are one fold with one shepherd. And in my shepherd, I stand. And I can stand before God. That
just boggles my mind. I have no idea how in the world
that's gonna, well yeah, I do. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not want. If we could lay hold of this
and keep a hold of it, all we need is the shepherd. All we need is what? The Lord
Jesus Christ. and I shall not want. Help me to understand that. Help
me lay hold of it. I like those four words. I like
them. I shall not want. I don't lack
anything in him. We have it all. He has blessed
us with all spiritual blessings in the heavenlies in Christ. You know, if he's blessed you
with all spiritual blessings, there's none left over. There's
nothing left. What's that mean? I shall not
want. He has blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly
place, in Christ Jesus, who the Lord is my shepherd and I
shall not want. Father, I'm thankful again for
this time, this place. Lord, most thankful for your
son, our Lord Jesus Christ, who is all and in all. He is all
we need. Lord, in reality, in truth, in
love, thank you for your gift. Be with Walter as he comes to
preach your gospel. Help us. Help us, Lord, to believe you, believe your
word, and apply it to our hearts. In Christ's name we pray.