I have to adjust that camera
a little bit because I'm going to sit down. When I was at my lowest a few
weeks ago in excruciating pain and tormented in my soul at times fearful that I was losing my
mind, As you know, I had severe reaction to some medication and
spent five days with horrible hallucinations. But it wasn't
all horrible hallucinations. There were struggles in my soul. And I found myself repeatedly
reciting scripture in my own mind. Whether I was speaking
audibly or not, I don't know. I really don't. More often than
not, as I was reciting the scriptures, I would hear Shelby reading to
me or reciting the scriptures at the same time, and at times
encouraging me to recite those passages. And I want tonight,
and then the next few messages, to preach to you from these passages
that were so precious to me during this time. Romans Chapter 5,
grace reigning through righteousness. Second Corinthians Chapter 5,
new creature in Christ because of his substitutionary accomplishments.
And Romans Chapter 8, nothing separating me from the love of
God. And another passage was one very,
very familiar to you and I want us to look at it tonight. It
is Psalm 23. If the Lord will enable me to
do so, I want to preach to you from these blessed six verses,
from this sweet psalm, from the sweet singer of Israel. We'll
read the psalm together, and then I will try to open some
of the treasures of the psalm to you, and we'll read the psalm
together again at the conclusion of the message. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me, underscore that. He wouldn't do it if he didn't
make you. 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. O Spirit of God, open to us tonight the words
of this sweet psalm. Write them upon our hearts and
cause us to know as we have not before known, the Lord is my
shepherd. That's the first thing. The Lord
is my shepherd. Of course, the psalmist is talking
about our Lord Jesus Christ, the son of God, speaking of him
as in his mediatorial character, as our representative, our surety,
our substitute. The Lord God promised to raise
up a faithful shepherd and Christ is that shepherd. He is called
the shepherd of Israel. He is that one described by the
Lord in Ezekiel as one shepherd over the house of God. He's called
God's shepherd. the Lord's shepherd smitten for
the sake of his sheep, that his sheep might be gathered unto
the Lord. He is the chief shepherd. He's
the great shepherd. Our Lord Jesus refers to himself
as the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep, who willingly
lays down his life for the sheep, who goes before his sheep and
calls them out. He who is our shepherd is himself
God the Lord Jehovah. the Lord Jehovah in our nature.
Now, listen to what the prophet Isaiah says in one of his descriptions
of him. You don't need to turn there,
but you can look at it later in Isaiah chapter 40. Oh, Zion,
that bringest good tidings, get thee up into the high mountain.
Oh, Jerusalem, that bringest good tidings, lift up thy voice
with strength. Lift it up. Be not afraid. Say
unto the cities of Judah, Behold your God. Behold, the Lord God
will come with strong hand and his arm shall rule for him. Behold, his reward is with him
and his work before him. He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd. He shall gather his lambs with
his arm and carry them in his bosom and shall gently lead those
that are with young. But of all the sweet words, by
which the Lord Jesus is described and identified as our shepherd
in this blessed book. None is sweeter than this. The
Lord is my shepherd. My. My. That rich personal pronoun, my. He's my shepherd. It is one thing
for the shepherd to look out over a flock of sheep and say
these are my sheep. It's something else for the sheep
to lift their eyes to the shepherd and say this is my shepherd. He is as really mine as I am
his. As truly the possession of my
soul as I am the possession of his hand. He is my shepherd. My shepherd Because the father
called him to be my shepherd, appointed him as my shepherd,
and he voluntarily assumed all responsibility as my shepherd
before the world began. The Lord is my shepherd and I
am his sheep. By election, by purchase, by
special redemption, by effectual calling, by birth, I have been
made to be his sheep. And if I am his sheep, now listen
to me, listen to me. I hope you can enter into this.
Larry Brown, if you're his sheep, you are his responsibility. Did you hear me? His responsibility. When I say with the psalmist,
the Lord is my shepherd. I lift my heart to heaven, beholding
Christ on his throne. and I declare in my soul and
declare to my God that all responsibility for this man for time and eternity
is in that man who is my shepherd on the throne of God before the
world was he assumed total responsibility for my soul and the Lord God
gave me to him as a man gives sheep to a shepherd to tend,
to care for, to lead in and out, and to bring safely home again. And Jesus Christ, the Son of
God, from old eternity, assumed total responsibility for my soul
as my shepherd. Being omniscient, he knows his
sheep. He knows who they are. And he
knows where they are. He knows when he will come for
them. And he knows all that he will
do for them. He knows what they have made
of themselves. And he knows what he will make
of them. Being omnipotent, he can do everything
we need for his sheep. He has all power in heaven and
earth. That means he can protect and
defend and save his sheep. All the treasures of wisdom and
knowledge are in him. That means he is the best possible
guide for my soul. The Lord is my shepherd. He orders my steps. He ordered
my steps, all of my steps before ever the world was made. He directs
my steps through this world. He directs my steps through the
valley, on the mountaintop, in the river and through the fire.
He orders my steps exactly as he sees fit as my good shepherd. Now, what does that mean? The
Lord is my shepherd. Well, this is one certain consequence
of that. I shall not walk. depend upon it, O my soul. As surely as Christ is my shepherd
and I am his sheep, I shall want nothing. I shall want nothing
that is beneficial for my soul. I shall want nothing that is
needful for me to perform his purpose for me in this world. I shall want nothing through
all the days of my pilgrimage here. I shall want nothing of
the blessing of his grace and I shall want nothing of his glory
in the world to come. I shall not want because the
Lord is my shepherd. I shall want nothing for time
and nothing for eternity. He that is the good shepherd
and the great shepherd and Jehovah's Shepherd will never allow his
sheep to go without provision or to lack provision. The words
might be translated this way. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall
not fail or I shall not come short. Because he is my shepherd
and he has called me and gives me eternal life. I shall not
come short of it. None can pluck me out of his
head. Now look at verse 2. He maketh me. To lie down in
green pastures. As we read the Psalm together,
I said underscore that word maketh. It's a present verb. It is that
which he continually performs. He sweetly, gently, with irresistible
force, by his grace, makes his sheep lie down in green pastures. And when you find pastures with
grasses tall enough to lie down in, luscious and green, Those
pastures are rich, fertile pastures. The green pastures are found
in the word of God. And blessed be his name, though
we would never lie down here. When our souls are uneasy, when
our hearts are like the troubled sea, when our minds are terribly
disturbed, We know where we ought to go. You do, and I do. We ought to go to the Word, bury
ourselves in the Word, wrap our souls in the Word, and feed in
the Word. But we will run anywhere else
in our minds until at last He makes us lie down. He makes us lie down in utter
exhaustion and there we lie at ease and rest in rich green pastures. The pastures of covenant promises. The pastures of everlasting covenant
grace. the green pastors of gospel promises
and gospel doctrine, the green pastors of His saving grace,
the green pastors of His Word. He makes us to lie down at the
cross of our Lord Jesus Christ and rest. He makes us to lie
down at the foot of His glory and rest. And there Where sheep
lie down, they find peace and satisfaction. Oh, Lord Jesus. Thank you. For forcing my heart. For bending my will. For making me lie down. in the green pastures you provided
and wherever their pastures are green and luscious and the grass
is tall you can bank on it there's water nearby he leadeth me by
his spirit by the word of his grace he leads me beside the
still waters not torrential rushing rivers, but still waters, not
noisome, fearful-sounding rapid waters, but still waters. These
waters are waters of rest, like the waters of Siloam spoken of
in Isaiah chapter 8, leading the sheep in an easy, gentle
way as they are able. brings us to these still waters
and gives us peace. The streams of this, these still
waters make glad our hearts. What's he talking about? By the
streams of still waters. He's talking about the everlasting
love of God. The still waters of communion
the knowledge of Christ. Not rapid fluctuating things,
not soaring heights of dizziness, but still waters. Still waters
run deep. And he's talking about still
waters of grace experienced in the soul. The still waters of his love
known in our souls. Still waters. I recall back in,
let me see if I can get the dates just right. June, no, July 1967. I'd been dating this pretty blonde
over here for a while. We were sitting in church one
night, and I reached over and took her hand, and she kind of
melted. I didn't hear anything the preacher said after that,
and I don't expect she did either. After service was over, we drove
out to Tanglewood State Park, out to Yadkin River. next to
the power dam and sat down on the hood of my 1965 Plymouth
Barracuda and nobody sat on the hood of my car before. And we
watched the river and watched the moon. And I knew before the
night was over I was going to kiss that blonde. And I did. And I saw skyrockets. I mean the stars went off. And
it was exciting. And I kissed her this morning,
41 years later, and there were no skyrockets. Stars didn't sparkle. But let
me tell you something, the love, that quiet, peaceful knowledge
of her love for me and mine for her, is deeper and firmer than
I could ever imagine it had been 41 years ago. Because we've been
through some things together. And in God's good providence
my Savior and I have been through some things together. Him through
some things for me and me through some things with Him. and the
knowledge of his love. Oh, when first he embraced me
in his arms, I can't tell you, skip, what
skyrockets went off. But the emotions aren't the same
anymore. They're deeper and firmer and
still, still waters for my soul. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. What are these? His love, life
in him, and the fountain of living water within, bubbling up in
my soul by his spirit, making me partaker of the divine nature. All right, look at this next
line, verse three. He restoreth my soul. I've got to hurry. I won't get done. He restoreth my soul. He brings back his straying sheep. No man ever quickened his own
soul, and no man can keep alive his soul. It is ever the nature
of sheep to do just one thing, and that's stray. Find sheep that do anything else.
I defy you. Find sheep that do anything else. The reason they have to be pinned
in is because they stray, and they will never come home. Cattle
will come home. Dogs will come home. Cats will
come home. Sheep won't come home. All sheep know how to do is stray. They're the dumbest, dirtiest,
most ignorant creatures on this earth, and that's what I am. It is ever the propensity of
my heart to stray from him. Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel
it. Prone to leave the God I love,
here's my heart. Oh, take and seal it. Seal it
for thy courts above. But blessed be his name. He never
waits for his sheep to return to him. He comes and restores our souls. He never waits for prayer to
be found in our hearts. He comes and puts in our hearts
a cry after him. He never waits for us to turn
to him. He turns us to himself. He restoreth my soul. Be glad,
children of God. Oh, be glad. Bobby, if you're
his, he won't leave you alone. He won't leave you alone. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness. What's he talking about paths
of righteousness? Well, if he leads us in paths
of righteous behavior, certainly that's true. He leads us in paths
of revealed righteousness in the scripture, certainly that's
true. He leads us in paths of justifying righteousness, certainly
that's true. He leads us in paths of righteousness,
giving us a righteous nature in the new birth, certainly that's
true. But principally, this is what he's saying. The paths in
which he leads me are right paths. The Lord does all things well. What he has done, is doing, and
shall do is right. Nothing but right. What He does
with you is right. What He does with me is right. And blessed be His name. It is He who has made this sinner
righteous. and he leads this sinner in righteousness
throughout this world in the paths that are right according
to his purpose. Look at verse four. He leadeth
me in paths of righteousness for his namesake, yea, though
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. In this world We walk through
the valley of the shadow of death continually. We're not just talking
about when we come to leave this world, but we are, as Paul said,
dying daily. We continually walk here in the
valley of the shadow of death, and soon we shall walk through
the River Jordan into our heavenly inheritance on the other side. But even then, just the valley
of the shadow of death. Now, we tend to fear shadows. And there's not any reason. A
shadow can't hurt you. A shadow can't touch you. A shadow
may cast darkness over you, but that's all it can do. A shadow
can't feel you or be felt by you. No need to fear the shadow. And children of God, when we leave this world, we
will leave the valley of the shadow of death and never die. Lindsey Campbell is not going
to die. And Don Fortner is not going
to die. Did not our master say, he that believeth on me shall
never die. We will simply leave the shadow
and enter into life. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. I kept repeating those words in the midst of horrible turmoil, with horrible deadness in my
soul, with real concern that perhaps
I was losing my mind, with a real thought that I might soon
leave this world. And with all those things said,
I speak confidently and truthfully and tell you no fear of evil. You remember where Jude speaks
of Michael contending with the devil when Satan would raise
up Moses' body? Satan raised up Moses' body continually
for days and nights. Kept raising up Moses' body.
What are you talking about? He kept pointing me to law and
works, and law and works, and law and works, and law and works. And the Lord Jesus, as he stood
before Joshua and spread the stone, the foundation stone on
which his soul is built, taking away my filthy garments, washing
me clean again in his blood, would not allow Moses' body to
be raised up. and graciously, sweetly forced
me to cling only to Him, acknowledging I have no righteousness, no goodness,
no merit, no worth, no desert in myself, even in the utter
coldness of my own heart. I will fear no evil. How come? Thou art with me. Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I say rejoice. Let your
moderation be known unto all men. The Lord's at hand. He's with you. When you pass
through the rivers, I'll be with you. When you pass through the
fire, I'll be with you. In the world you'll have tribulation,
but be of good cheer. I've overcome the world. My peace
I give unto you. I'm with you. I'm with you. When you can see him, Bob, he's
with you. And when you can't, he's still
with you. When you feel his presence, he's with you. And when you feel
nothing, he's still with you. When you know the strength of
his warm embrace, he's with you. And when you feel utterly alone,
he's still with you. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou
art with me. Now watch this. Thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort me. The rod and the staff of the
shepherd are actually one thing. Perhaps the rod refers to the
rod of chastisement and the staff to the staff of strength. I've often told you the shepherd
had a sheep that just kept straying and straying and straying and
straying. Couldn't get the sheep to fall
in line. He'd pull him with the crook
and he'd run off again. And finally, he took that long
staff and broke one of the front legs of that little lamb, picked
it up, put a splint on it, bandaged it, and carried it in his arms
until the leg was healed. And then he put him down. And
he carried the sheep for so long, next to his bosom, that from
that day on the sheep just stayed right at his heels all the time. So the Lord chastens his own that we might be weaned of this
world and follow close at his heels. Perhaps the rod refers
rather to the rod of his strength and the staff of his promises. His rod, oh, His strength made
perfect in weakness. The strength of His grace sufficient
for me. The staff of His promises, of
His provisions, of His care, they comfort me. Read verse 5. Thou preparest a table before
me. in the presence of my enemies, in the presence of men who oppose
me, maybe, in the presence of my own sinful flesh, certainly,
in the presence of Satan and the demons of hell, most definitely. He prepares a table, a table
upon which he graciously feasts my soul. And that table is himself. He is the bread and the water
of life. He prepares a table before me,
and he anoints my head with oil. Thou anointest my head with oil,
with your spirit, with your grace, until at last my cup runneth
over. So full, so bounteous, so free,
so indescribable is his grace and his goodness that he causes
this well of living water within to overflow. He he causes the
cup, this cup of mine to overflow with his bounteous grace and
by his spirit. Verse six. In the light of all these things,
surely. Surely. Goodness. And mercy. Oh, God's free grace, love and
favor. God's mercy. Goodness. And mercy. Both spiritual goodness
and temporal mercy. Both temporal goodness and spiritual
mercy shall follow me, pursue me, chase me all the days of
my life. I'm nearly 58 years old. And for 58 years, these two sweet
hounds of heaven had been nipping at the heels of this chosen sheep,
goodness and mercy. And they had been continually
nipping at my heels to chase me, to chase me into the arms
of my Redeemer and into his house at last. 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 will dwell abide in his house
In that house prepared for me before the foundation of the
world. In that house prepared for me by the entrance of Christ
into that house as my forerunner. Into that house prepared for
me whatever it is in the world to come in that place called
heaven. I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. Alright? Let's see if we can
read this psalm together. 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 prepares the 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. Sunday night, back in the office,
Brother Rex Bartley asked a very important question. He said, Brother Don, how is
it that we deal with our sin and our failures, recognizing that God has ordered
all things and everything is exactly according to his purpose,
and yet we look back and see what horrible mistakes we've
made, so many places where we've failed in our responsibilities,
our sins against God. How do we look on those things
with confidence in God's providence that he has ordered all our steps
exactly according to his purpose? And I responded this way, we
must never Find any excuse for our sin. Find none, children
of God. Make no cloak for your evil.
Accept, acknowledge your responsibility for everything about you that's
evil, everything. And at the same time, recognize
and rejoice in God's good purpose and his overruling grace. There
are two words given in scripture. One, in Isaiah 35, I believe
it is, the scripture speaks about God coming to us in grace. And
it says, God shall wipe away tears from their eyes. And he does that throughout this
sojourn here. While your eyes bubble up with
tears of sorrow and repentance, as David in Psalm 51, as Jeremiah
and other prophets speak of their own weeping and crying before
God. God graciously takes the blood
and righteousness of Christ and with the handkerchief of grace
wipes tears from our eyes. The other passage very similar
to it, speaking of that same grace, but speaks of that grace
in heavenly glory. then Revelation 21 declares,
He shall wipe all tears from their eyes. And when we look back on life's
finished story and know how much we owe, we look back on every
day and every event with continual wonder, recognizing that he has
led us all our days in paths of righteousness for his namesake. And goodness and mercy have chased
us into glory. Amen.