I Shall Not Want

Now open your Bibles to the book
of Psalms, verse 23. The Lord, the Lord is my shepherd. Wherefore God
hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above
every name that at the name of jesus every knee should bow and
every tongue should confess in heaven in earth under the earth
that he is lord he is lord to the glory of god the father for
this cause He died and was buried and rose again, that he might
be Lord of the dead and the living. And if thou shalt confess with
thy mouth Jesus to be Lord, and believe in thine heart that God
hath raised him from the dead, thou shalt be saved. For with
the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth
confession is made unto salvation. The Lord is my shepherd." And
this word, Lord, is not to be taken lightly. He said, you call
me Lord with your lips. You say the word flippantly,
carelessly, meaninglessly. But he said, you say well when
you call me Lord, for so I am. But you call me Lord with your
lips and your heart so far from me. He's Lord. The Lord. The Lord of Lords and
King of Kings. He is Lord. God made Him Lord. He's Lord by sovereign decree. He said, all power is given unto
me. The Father made him Lord. I've
heard preachers say, won't you make Jesus your Lord? You can't
do it. God beat you to it. God's already
made him Lord. He's every man's Lord. He's Lord
by sovereign, divine, eternal decree. It pleased God to make
him Lord. Wherefore God hath highly exalted
him, and already given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, and every tongue
should confess, He is Lord." He is Lord. He's Lord not only
by sovereign decree, but He's Lord by conquering death. He
died that He might be Lord. He died that He might be Lord.
This is why he died, that he might be Lord of the dead and
the living. But he's my Lord not only by
divine decree and sovereign decree and conquering death, but he's
my Lord by crowning faith. I've received him as my Lord. All hail the power of Jesus'
name. Let angels prostrate fall. Bring
forth the royal diadem and crown him Lord of all. Oh, that with
yonder sacred throng we at his feet may fall. We'll join that
everlasting song and crown him Lord of all. He's my Lord. The
Heavenly Father made him my Lord. He died on the cross that he
might be my Lord. And one day the Spirit of the
living God came and revealed him to me and I bowed to him
and I received him as my Lord. But his Lordship, now get this,
his Lordship is based on his ownership. The scripture says
he has the keys of hell and death. They belong to him. They belong
to him. He owns all things. Look right
across the page at Psalm 24. The earth is the Lord's. It's
his. And the fullness are of the world,
and they that dwell therein. His lordship is based on his
ownership. The Father hath given all things
to the Son. Not some things, not most things,
all things. Isn't that what Scripture said?
The Earth is the Lord. The Father hath given all things
unto the Son. I like what that old black preacher
said years ago. He didn't have to put his signature
on the sunset. He's the owner. He didn't have
to build a fence around the meadow. He's the owner. He didn't have
to carve his initials on the mountain. He's the owner. He
didn't have to put his brand on the cattle of a thousand hills.
He's the owner. He didn't have to take out a
copyright on the song that the birds sing. He's the owner. He didn't have to sign a deed
to the gold and silver in the earth. He's the owner. He didn't
have to stake a claim on the universe. He's the owner. He
doesn't need your permission to conquer your heart. He's the
owner. He doesn't need a court order
to open the grave. He's the owner. And he doesn't
need a building permit to make a new heaven and a new earth.
He's the owner. He Lord. You believe that? O man, who art thou that replies
against God? Shall the thing formed say to
him that formed it, Why did you make me thus? Can I not do with
my own what I will? He's the owner. The Lord. Look at Psalm 23 again. David
said, The Lord. And he's not a figurehead either.
He's the Lord. He's not a puppet king. He's
the Lord. He didn't have his power delegated
to him by the will of some creature. He is the Lord. The Lord. God made him Lord. He, by conquering
death, bought this world. It belongs to him. He's the owner. I love that. He's the owner. His lordship is based on his
ownership. He is the Lord. And David said,
The Lord is my shepherd. He's my great shepherd. That's
the only kind of shepherd he can be, is a great shepherd.
But great sinners need a great Savior, don't they? Hebrews chapter
13 verse 20 says, Now the God of peace that brought again from
the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep.
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in
every good work to do his will." Great Shepherd. He's not only
the Great Shepherd, he's the Good Shepherd. He said, I am
the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. And Peter said in 1 Peter 5 verse
4, he's the Chief Shepherd. And when the chief shepherd shall
appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. This great shepherd, this good
shepherd, this chief shepherd, is my shepherd. Doesn't that
make your heart beat a little faster? He's my shepherd. No ifs and ands and buts about
it, no perhaps so, no maybe. The Lord, the Lord, is my shepherd. If he's not your
shepherd, he's mine. I lay claim to it. I don't want
any other shepherd. I say with the apostles, to whom
shall we go? I want the cheap shepherd. I
want the great shepherd. I want the good shepherd. The
Lord is, not shall be, he is my shepherd. Present tense, he is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. I have not wanted prior to this
time, I do not want now, and I shall not want. Because the
Lord is my shepherd. Not because of who I am, but
because of who He is. Not because of what I've done,
but because of what He's done. Not because of what He's made
of me, But because of what he has done, he's my shepherd. And
because he's my shepherd, I shall not walk. And that's the only
reason, is because he's my shepherd. I may be the weakest of all the
sheep, but I shall not walk. Which of you having a hundred
sheep, ninety and nine in the foal and one out in the wilderness,
doth not leave the ninety and nine and go out and find the
one that wandered away? I may be the weakest one of all,
but I shall not want. I may be the dumbest, but I shall
not want. I may be the wandering sheep,
but I shall not want. I may be the black sheep, but
I shall not want. I may not have all I wish, but
I shall not want. I may grow old in people, but
I shall not want. David said, I've been young and
now I'm old. I've never seen his sheep begging
bread. Never. I may walk the valley
of death, but I shall not want. I may lie in the grave, but I
shall not want. I may stand before the awful
majestic throne of the eternal God, but I shall not want. because the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not walk for rest because
he maketh me to lie down. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. What are these green pastures?
You know what they are? The green pastures are the precious
promises of this book right here. That's what they are. Upon what
does a sheep feed? One of God's sheep. Peter, do
you love me? Lord, you know I love you. Peter,
do you love me? Lord, you know all things, you
know I love you. Feed my sheep. preach the word. And he maketh
me to lie down in green pastures, his word, the green pastures
of his word, always fresh, always rich, never exhausted. I don't have to look for food
on the bare ground. I don't have to root among the
roots. I don't have to push away the
stones. I don't have to look around through
the dust and the ashes. I just lie down in all these
green pastures. And I cease from my works, and
I cease from my labors, and I cease from my striving, and I cease
from all these fleshly activities, and I just lie down. I lie down
in these tall green grass of his precious promises, and I
just eat and eat and eat. I find here all I need. He maketh
me to lie down and rest. I'm not in a hurry because there's
plenty here for me for eternity. Never exhausted, always fresh,
always precious, always rich, always satisfying. If I'm depressed,
it's satisfying. If I'm concerned, if I'm convicted,
if I'm troubled, If I'm sorrowful, this is all I need. I lie down
in green pastures. I shall not walk for rest, and
I shall not walk for peace. Look at that next line. He leadeth
me beside the still waters. He leadeth me beside the still
waters." Providentially. Last night I was visiting with
Brother Ronnie Lewis. We were talking about the ocean
standing on the beach at night and how fearful it is. Oh, the
darkness just seems to settle down on that vast body of water,
and it's so troublesome. And the waves are roaring, and
you hear the surf, and the deep swelling ocean, and it creates
fear. As Ryder said, it seems to be
reaching out to get you and pull you in, and you want to back
away. But these refreshing waters by
which the Lord leads his sheep are not fearful. He leads me by the still waters. I have peace. The soul of the
wicked is like the troubled sea, churning, always churning, always
trouble, but he leads me by still waters. By still waters. Oh, everyone that thirsteth,
come to the still waters. the water that quenches the thirst,
the water that refreshes the soul. The Lord has quietened
the swelling tide, and he has said, Peace be still. And he
leads me by the still water. I shall not want for rest, I
shall not want for peace, and I shall not want for forgiveness,
because he restoreth my soul. I was lost, but Jesus found me,
found the sheep that went astray, threw his loving arms around
me, and drew me back into the way. The shepherd went out to
search for his sheep, and all through the night on the rocky
steep he searched, he searched till he found him, and with love
bands he bound him, and I was that one lost sheep. I lost an
awful lot back down in that garden. When Adam, my father, my representative,
my federal head, stood before God Almighty, I stood in him. But when he violated God's law
and when he put his greedy hand on the throne of God and said,
I will possess even that, I lost everything. I lost that image
of God. I lost the fellowship of God. I lost the truth of God. I lost
the weight of God. I lost the life of God. I lost
everything in Adam. My soul became a lost soul. In Adam, we became sinners and
judgment and condemnation and death passed upon all men. But that second Adam came, bone
of my bone and flesh of my flesh. That second Adam came. The first
Adam was of the earth, earthy. The second Adam was the Lord
from heaven, the Lord who is my shepherd. The Lord came from
heaven, bone of my bone and flesh of my flesh and as my representative,
as my federal head, as the surety of that everlasting covenant,
he came down here and walked this earth, was born under the
ceremonial law, born under the moral law, born under the judicial
law, born under the law of the home, born under every law, and
by his obedience I'm made righteous. I kept the law. That's right.
I kept the law perfectly, wholly, without blame, in every jot and
tittle. This sinner in Christ kept the
law. And he imputed unto me by his
perfect obedience a righteousness which God himself is well pleased. And then he went to that cross.
And there the Lord in his body took my sins and my judgment
and my guilt and my sentence and my hell and paid my debt
and there all the wrath of a holy God was poured out on him and
he died and the Lord was buried but the Lord rose again and he
ascended to the right hand of the Father where he is right
now praying for me he restored my soul He restored my soul. I shall not want for rest. I
shall not want for peace. I shall not want for forgiveness.
He restored it. He put it back where it belongs. My soul. He didn't leave anything
for me to do. He did it all. He didn't leave
any payment for me to make. He did it all. He didn't leave
the saving of it, nor the keeping of it, nor the perfecting of
it to me. He did it all. And I shall not
want for holiness. He leadeth me in paths of righteousness. Oh, I tell you, when I read that,
and I think about my nature, I don't even know, Charlie, where
they are, let alone walk in them. I don't even know where they
are. I think sometimes I know what righteousness is, and then
again I don't know. Righteousness. Oh, I know we've
got our standards. That always makes me want to
throw up when I see a church advertise a church with a standard. It is not my nature to find the
paths of righteousness. It is not my nature to know the
paths of righteousness. It's not my nature to walk in
the paths of righteousness, but he leads me there. Without him
I don't have any righteousness. I'm walking in his footprints.
I'm walking in Him. I don't have any righteousness.
You don't either. Your righteousnesses are what?
Filthy rags. God'll spew them out of His mouth.
Your standard is not worth the paper it's written on. Your constitution
and your bylaws are not worth the time it'd take to burn them.
He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. It's his path! He made it! He walked in it! And he leads
me there. And without his constant presence
and his supply of grace, I'd lose my way. I can't even continue
in the paths of righteousness without him. His restraining,
keeping grace. Don't you know that? He did it. salvations of the Lord. He maketh
me to lie down. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. He restores my soul. He leadeth
me in paths of righteousness. And it's not so that folks will
look at me and say how holy he is, but so that folks will look
at Christ and say how good he is. Not so that folks will look
at me and say, oh, how he loves Jesus, but so that folks will
look at me and say, oh, how Jesus loves him. Wonder why. Wonder why. That through the
ages to come, he might show the exceeding riches of his grace
in his kindness toward us. You've missed it, unless you
see that. God never set out to make you
something for folks to brag on. He set out to make you a trophy
of His grace. His grace. That's the only reason.
He saved you for His name's sake. He saved them for His name's
sake, and that's the only reason. Nothing good in you or about
you. I shall not want the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd, and
I shall not want. I shall not want for companionship. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for thou art
with me. You know, so many people have
confined this verse to the day of death and they've missed a
blessing. I see here the entire journey of life. This whole walk
from cradle to grave is a valley of death. This whole walk, this
whole journey, everything on this earth, in this earth, about
this earth, has the touch of death. Death is written on every
face. Death is written on every tree.
Death is written on every blade of grass. Death. We're walking. Every word is
meaningful. Listen. Walking. We're walking.
We're not hurrying. We're not running. We're walking. He that believeth shall not make
haste. He's in no hurry. We wait on the Lord. You'd like
to hurry and get through this mess, wouldn't you? But we're
walking. We're walking. He that believeth shall not make
haste. Wait on the Lord. Be of good courage, you'll strengthen
thine heart. Wait, wait, hold it. Don't be
in a hurry. Just wait a minute. We're walking. And you just might have to walk
for 90 some odd years. Some of you may not walk very
long, but some of you may walk a long time. But just don't be
in a hurry. We're walking, and we're walking
through. Now get this, we're walking through. This is not
home. This is not the resting place. This is not our country.
We're sojourners. We're dwelling in temporary tents,
ready to fold them up any moment, ready to fold them up, take them
down, and depart. We're walking through. this valley
of the shadow of death. Why is it called a shadow? Because
death in its substance and power has been removed. It's just a
shadow. He that believeth on the Son
shall never die. And this death is but a shadow.
Only a shadow remains. God has removed the sting. God
has removed the substance. You're not afraid of a shadow
of a dog. It can't bite. You're not afraid
of a shadow of a gun. It cannot kill. And you don't
need to be afraid of the shadow of death. It can't touch you. I'll fear no evil. He didn't
say there'll be no evil. He didn't say there is no evil.
He says, I won't fear the evil. Oh, there'll be some bad times.
There'll be some difficult times. There'll be some sorrowful times.
There'll be some times of weeping. But joy cometh in the morning.
I'll fear no evil. It's there. It's there. You can talk about positive thinking
and all these other things. What we need is not so much positive
thinking as spiritual thinking. Think on the Lord. Set your affections
on things above. I'll fear no evil. I shall not
want for companionship. And listen, I shall not want
for comfort. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. You say,
Preacher, what's that rod and that staff? I wish I knew for
sure. But some have called this the
rod of correction and chastisement. That may be so. If so, they are
comfort, because whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth. If you
be without chastisement, you're not sons. And whom the Lord loveth,
he chasteneth. And this rod and this staff,
if that's the rod of correction, so be it. If that's the rod of
chastisement and trial and correction, all right. Thank God. Thank God he cares enough for
me to correct me. Thank God I'm his son and he
chastises me. And I will forget Walter Gruber,
the missionary to Mexico, telling me about adopting the little
Mexican girl. And she was such a pitiful little
thing when they got her covered with lice and undernourished
and unloved. And they took her in the home
and they just babied her and carried her around on a satin
pillow and never would correct her or whip her. The other children,
they had four or five other children, they whipped them, they corrected
them, and they scolded them. Not this little Mexican girl.
She was the baby, you know. seven or eight years old, but
still the baby. And she got to be real nasty. She got to be
real hard to live with. One day Walter couldn't take
it anymore, and he yanked her up and took her in to study and
wore her out. And she came out just laughing. She said, Now
I know you love me. You're with me. She thought she
wasn't one of the bunch. Everybody else was getting a
whip, and she wasn't. Everybody else was getting a scolding,
and she wasn't. She figured that he didn't love her enough to
correct her. Well, all right. Some have called
this rod the numbering rod. under which the sheep pass, and
they're numbered, and the Lord numbers his own. That's all right,
that's good, that's a comfort, I'm one of his own. He numbers
me. But others say, and I like this,
the rod and staff are the symbols of his sovereignty and his gracious
care. Thy rod and thy staff, thy sovereignty
and thy gracious care, he rules over the flock He directs the
flock, He defends the flock, He provides for the flock, and
this is my comfort, and this is my consolation. He's my Lord. The Lord killeth and the Lord
maketh alive. The Lord maketh poor and the
Lord maketh rich. The Lord lifteth the beggar from
the dunghill and seats him with the kings on the throne. The
Lord. He's sovereign. And then I shall
not walk for daily bread. I like this. Thou preparest,
thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies."
A believer with enemies? The believer is not without enemies.
He would not be like his Lord if he didn't have enemies. His
enemies are the world, the flesh, his flesh, the devil, death,
the last enemy, death shall be destroyed. We have enemies in
us, around us, about us, over us, under us, enemies. But the
Lord prepares a table with the enemy at the door. Nothing is
hurried. There's no confusion. He prepares
a table. And I sit down and I feast as
if these enemies did not exist. He prepares for me a table and
he says, Come and dine. Come for all things are ready.
Enjoy yourself thou shall keep him in perfect peace whose mind
is stayed on thee In all thy ways acknowledge him and he shall
direct our paths a Christian is the most miserable Happiest
fellow in the world That's right a Christian is the
poorest richest fellow in the world He's the impiest and the
fullest I can't explain that. I just
know in the midst of all this trouble and trial and tribulation
and temptation and confusion and all of that, that my joy,
my cup runneth over. I know that's hard to explain.
That's what he says, thou prepares the table before me right in
the midst, in the presence of my enemies. In the presence of my enemies.
germs and diseases, loved ones, enmity, hatred, temptation, inward
turmoil, all these things are about me, underneath me and over
me, awaiting me. Oh, the desert, we must cross
the mountains, we must climb the deep waters, we must go through
the darkness, we must go through, and yet my cup runneth over. I can't explain that. But I just
know it so, my cup runneth over. Thou know'st my head with oil,
my cup runneth over. In the darkest of valleys, because
he's my shepherd, and because he prepared for me a table, I
have meat to eat Christ said that you don't know anything
about. He sat down on that well, that
hot, dry day, they'd been walking a long time, and he sent his
disciples in to get something to eat. And they went in, and
he talked to that blessed sinner, and saved her, and she left,
and they came back, and they had the food already, and they
said, eat, master. And he said, I've already eaten. I have meat to eat, you know
not of. They said, somebody bring him
something to eat. Who? Did one of you give him something?
No. No, that's hard to explain. My cup runneth over. Joy. Even in death, joy. Even in disappointment,
joy. Even in failure, joy. My cup
runneth over! It's just so full, it's runneth
over! I know what the world thinks,
a little sorrow comes your way, you're supposed to crack up.
I don't believe so. I know the world thinks if a
little bit of sickness comes your way, you're supposed to
be all shook up and disturbed and throw everything aside and
forget God and everything, but I don't think so. I think in
the midst of the darkest valley, your cup can run over if he's
your shepherd, because he prepares a table for you right there in
the presence of your enemies. right smack in the middle of
them. Huh? That's right. When things are
the darkest, and the road is the roughest, and the adversary
is all about you, the Lord said, now hold on here. Hold on here,
son. Now you sit down and eat. You
sit down and eat. Don't you be disturbed. Everything's
all right in my father's house. But Lord, they're right there
at the door. Now you sit down and eat. I'm on the throne. I'm the Lord and I'm your shepherd.
And they can't touch you without coming through me. They can't
hurt you without laying a hand on me. Now you just sit down. My cup runneth over, and I shall
not want for anything in this life. Surely, surely, surely
as he's my shepherd, surely as he's the Lord, surely as he's
the King, surely, surely, surely, goodness and mercy. That's what
I need, mercy. God's goodness. Lord, show me
your glory, Moses said. I'll show you my glory, Moses.
Show me your glory. I'll show you my glory, Moses.
I'll make my goodness pass before you. I will be merciful. That's his goodness, his mercy.
And his goodness and his mercy, I don't deserve it. Grace is
God giving me what I don't deserve. And mercy is God not giving me
what I do deserve. But his goodness and his mercy
are going to follow me all the days of my life. I won't be without them one day,
mercy and goodness. And I shall not want for anything
in the life to come, because I'm going to dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. I got a reservation, bought and
paid for. My Lord Jesus Christ said, I
go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place
for you, I'll come back and receive you unto myself, that where I
am there you may be also. I shall not walk. The Lord, the
Sovereign, how big is your God? That's how big your shepherd
is. How mighty is your God? How sovereign is your God? That's how big your shepherd
is. And since the Lord is my shepherd, mine, I shall not want
for anything peace, rest, pardon, comfort, companionship, forgiveness, all these things I have in Christ.
Nothing in this life, nor in the life to come, I shall not
walk. I want you to sing with me. 292. A pilgrim was I in a wandering. In the cold night of sin I did
roam, and Jesus, the kind shepherd, found me, now I'm on my way home. 292. Leave off that last chorus
over there on the next page and just sing 292. Let's stand while
we sing.

I Shall Not Want

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