God Is With Us: Psalm 23

Well, good morning, church family.

My name is Nathan Newman.

It's a privilege to be here this morning preaching God's word.

Pastor Tom asked me to preach, and we just followed up our series in Hosea.

So I was thinking, what would be a good tie-in between services?

Well, if you remember, Hosea was written about 200 years after the reign of King David.

So he would have known these songs of David, which are memorialized in what we call the book of Psalms.

So we're going to be looking at Psalm 23, which I invite you to turn to now.

You can find it on page 428 in the Bible in the chair in front of you.

Psalm 23.

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

For even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil.

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we ask that you would make this word profitable to us.

Help me to preach.

Help us all to listen to your spirit.

Help us to see you speak to us.

Lord, we ask for your blessing.

Amen.

Psalm 23 is perhaps the first psalm that is memorized as a young child, and it's the last psalm to be recounted at death.

So I wanted to spend a few moments in this psalm that's so precious to Christians throughout the generations.

You might recognize it in pop culture as well if you're a Marvel fan in comic book number 526 of the amazing Spider-Man.

You know that they often quote scripture, and so Peter Parker has been seemingly defeated by his enemy.

That's Spider-Man, by the way.

And what does he do when he is on his deathbed?

He turns to Psalm 23.

Or perhaps you're a movie fan, the Titanic.

They're boarding the lifeboats, and you see collectively they begin to recite the 23rd Psalm.

My favorite comes from a true life story that happened not far from here.

You might know the story of Beamer, Todd Beamer, on United Airlines Flight 93, which was bound for the U.S.

Capitol building.

We know his last words, his famous last words, let's roll, because he was on the phone with the United Airlines operator for about 15 minutes before they charged the cabin and took over the hijackers and downed that plane.

Right before his famous last words, Todd, a strong believer, a Wheaton College grad, he recited the 23rd Psalm as passengers around him and the operator together recited those precious words.

I'm a chaplain at Arlington Cemetery, and the most frequently requested passage that families request for me to reflect on is Psalm 23.

Why?

What is it about these precious words that have given strength to so many in their darkest times?

What's my prayer that we're going to learn some by the power of the Spirit of how these words have meant so much to us?

Maybe you're here this morning and you really feel the weight of the world around you.

You're in the valley.

Now I don't know all of your stories, but I know some.

I got a text from one of my college friends just yesterday telling me that her mom was calling hospice.

She had days to live.

Suffering is a universal experience.

I preached on this passage for my very first sermon at my grandmother's church in Greenville, Kentucky, to an audience that was mostly my family.

But 20-year-old me wrote about this passage.

Its words have strengthened those in the greatest degree of suffering, and its sweet poetry has stilled many anxious hearts.

I had no clue.

Bless his heart is what we would say in the South.

Now, I hope that over these last decade plus that I've improved as a preacher and grown much in grace, but little did I know how much those words would be true even in my own life.

Maybe you're a young person here who's bullied in school, and when you walk in those doors, your heart begins to race.

Place that should feel safe to you.

Maybe you're experiencing the betrayal of someone closest to you.

Perhaps that person's even in the church.

I know I have.

But I have good news for us who are in the valley, and that is that God is with us.

We have one point this morning and one point of application.

The main point that I want us to look at as we focus in on these verses is that God is with us.

And if there's one verse that's grounded me over these last few years, it's Psalm 23 and verse 4.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

And for a moment, I want you to picture with me what that person looks like who's walking in this valley.

As David is imagining, what comes to your mind?

Is it someone who's crouching in fear?

Who's looking at the depths of the shadow?

That's not what I picture here.

That's not what I think David is imagining.

The psalm depicts the faithful here with their head held high.

Not only that, but their eyes are fixed on forever.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

His eyes are not on the shadows and the things that lurk there.

They're full of assurance that God is with them.

There's a sort of fearless confidence in this shepherd who is guiding his people.

A God who's with his people.

And I love this picture here because we don't worship a God who is like a distant cheerleader at the end of the valley, hoping and just encouraging us to make our way through this life.

No, the God of the Bible enters into this world.

He came to this world to dwell among us, to be with us in the midst of our valleys, in the midst of our suffering.

Who is like our God?

David is not able to say this out of his own self-confidence.

Because we read in these early verses that it is God who makes us lie down.

It is God who gives us rest.

It is God who leads us in these paths of righteousness.

And I wonder if you heard reading this psalm the shift and the intimate language.

The first four verses are referring to God in the third person.

But there's a shift here in verse 4 to second person pronouns.

Look at it again with me.

I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

Why would David fear when he knows that the shepherd walks with him?

He knows the way, and so he can confidently walk before the Lord no matter the circumstance, no matter what surrounds him.

He knows that there are deep shadows that surround him.

And this psalm, I think, teaches us to have confidence in him to the end, because God is with us.

And once you see this theme in Scripture, you can't unsee it.

That's how it was for me.

My family, we recently went to Disney World for spring break, and one of the things that they tell you to do there is to look for all the hidden Mickeys around.

You know what I mean?

The little mouse ears.

And once you know to look, you can't help but see them everywhere.

They're in the waffle maker and the pancakes that you get in the morning.

They're embedded in all of the images, hidden for little kids to find while you wait in line for an hour and a half to ride a 60-second ride.

But it helps us to look for things.

And so I hope what we're going to do is we're going to look at some of these, and I want you to tell me if you see this theme, jump off the page, like I did.

We're going to read as many as time permits.

So we're going to do this old-fashioned, alright?

Bible sword drill style.

I grew up in the South.

So if you can't use your phone, that's cheating.

So get out a Bible in front of you.

Alright, and we're going to close them together.

This is how we had to do it back in the day.

Alright, you got your hand over the Bible, and then we're going to go to, are you ready?

Exodus 33, 14 through 17.

Granted, it's in your program, but we're going to do this.

We're going to start it here.

Alright, Exodus 33, 14.

I'm going to start there.

Just listen to this theme over and over as we find it in the pages of Scripture.

My presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.

And he said to him, If your presence, this is Moses saying to God, if your presence will not go with me, do not bring us up from here.

For how shall it be that I be known that I found favor in your sight, I and your people?

Is it not?

And you're going with us.

So we are distinct.

I and your people from every other people on the face of the earth.

So what is it that is distinctive about the people of God?

This is Moses.

We're going to work our way through.

It is that God was with his people.

His presence was with them.

Are you ready?

Alright, close them again.

Alright, Leviticus 26, 11.

Alright, and if you have to use the table of contents, that's totally okay.

Because I have to do that sometimes too.

Especially Hosea.

Wasn't that hard to find sometimes?

Alright, Leviticus 26, 11.

Alright, this is in the context of the blessings and the curses of the covenant.

Leviticus 26, 11.

I will make my dwelling among you, my tabernacle, and my soul shall not abhor you.

And I will walk among you and will be your God, and you shall be my people.

I am the Lord your God who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that you should not be their slaves, and I've broken the bars of your your yoke and made you walk erect.

Again, this idea that God would dwell with his people, that he would tabernacle, be with them as a presence, is again a theme that we're seeing developed throughout all of Scripture.

Okay, you don't have to close your Bible this time.

We'll go over just a few to Deuteronomy 31, 6.

Just a few chapters, a few books over.

This is when Joshua is to succeed Moses.

We know those famous words in Joshua 1, verse 9.

Joshua 1:9

Be strong and courageous.

Why?

What is the source of our strength and our courage?

For God is with me.

Alright, Deuteronomy 31, verse 6.

Deuteronomy 31:6

Again, similar language.

Be strong and courageous.

Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you.

He will not leave you or forsake you.

It's time to enter into the land.

Don't be afraid, because God is with you.

Alright, Isaiah 41, verse 10.

Isaiah 41:10

In the middle.

Psalms, Proverbs, Isaiah.

Isaiah 41 verse 10.

Isaiah 41:10

Fear not, for I am with you.

Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you.

I will help you.

I will uphold you with my righteous hand.

Beautiful words.

Alright, Matthew 28.

We're gonna go to the New Testament.

Matthew 28.

A great commission.

Oh man, this is a tricky one.

There we go.

Matthew 28.

18 through 20.

And Jesus came and said to them, All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me.

Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I've commanded you.

And behold, I am with you to the end of the age.

The story from Genesis to Revelation is a picture of God with his people.

And that changes everything for them.

A few years ago, I had the privilege of meeting, at the time was the youngest Medal of Honor recipient.

His name was Kyle Carpenter, Marine, who was awarded the Medal of Honor for throwing himself on top of a grenade to protect a fellow Marine.

He spent three years at Walter Reed, had over 40 surgeries to restore his body.

He suffered immense trials.

It's an amazing story in a book that you can read if you're interested, called You Are Worth It, Building a Life Worth Fighting For.

And he has a real self-depreciating humor.

He said, jumping on a grenade really changed my life, which is quite an understatement.

But he he tells a story in that book about a time when he was taking an Uber to go to a conference to speak.

And as is often true for service members, especially if you're in uniform or if you've got a purple heart and it's very clear, people will say, Thank you for your service.

You gotta know what to say.

Well, in that moment, uh Kyle said something that he'd never said before.

He said to this man, not thanks, I really appreciate it, but he said, You are worth it.

You're worth protecting, you're worth fighting for.

You are worth the time I spent in a hospital bed and the deep scars on my body.

You are.

And why did he respond this way?

It's a great question to ask.

This is what he said.

He'd been through the deepest and darkest valleys, endured many trials, but he responded, when you know a person is willing to be with you in the fight, no matter how unpleasant the circumstances, you begin to view your circumstances differently.

A great leader communicates by his or her actions that you're worth their time, their energy, and their sacrifice.

Now, he'd served with great warriors and great leaders who embodied what Jesus says, that no greater love has anyone than this, than that he would lay down his life for his friends.

Now, if you're still awake, then it is an important and fair question to ask.

How can we connect these themes of shepherd and of God being with us to Jesus, the great shepherd?

And how does this change the way that we view or understand our own circumstances and suffering?

Turn with me back a few chapters in Matthew, if you're still there, to Matthew chapter 1.

Matthew 1 · chapter mention

Brian was sharing about the names of God earlier in the service.

Well, this is another.

Matthew 1, 23.

Behold, the virgin shall conceive and bear a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which means God with us.

You see, we're pretty forgetful people.

If you read more of the Old Testament, you'll hear that refrain spoken often of the people of God, that they forgot him.

So God had to send a permanent reminder into this world that he would do what he said he would do, that he would dwell with his people in his son Jesus.

And in John's gospel, Jesus says, I am the good shepherd.

And the good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep.

It's a beautiful picture of God's love for us.

Do you believe this?

Do you understand how radical it is that the God of the Bible, the one who created the world and everything in it, entered into our time, our space to redeem a people for himself and promised from the beginning to be with them until the very end.

And Jesus went on to do that on a hill outside of Jerusalem, to lay down his life willingly to be raised again on the third day, so that all who put their hope and trust in this good shepherd would know him for eternity.

And understanding that God is with us, it's the only thing that helps me make sense of suffering in this world.

If you really believe that Jesus is who he says he is, that he is the Son of God, or even if you want to believe that Jesus is the Son of God like this, just imagine with me for a moment the difference that it makes in our life.

If we understand God's presence in this way.

Because the question is not if trials will come, but when trials will come, how will you respond?

How will we respond in these moments?

Because there will be that cancer diagnosis.

You won't get into the school that you dreamed of.

You'll face your own tragedy in your family.

There will be more diseases and more wars and rumors of war.

And I know this personally.

Just a week later, my daughter, Philippa, was born.

Pippa, as many of you know her.

And she's named after him.

And I wish you could have met him and heard his extraordinary face, his extraordinary face.

Listen to how he responded to suffering before he passed.

He received news that no cancer patient ever wants to hear.

In his own words, it was not the news we were hoping for.

The doctor stated that the scans look the same as two months ago.

But despite this news today, God is still good.

My healing is promised, whether it be here or heaven.

How could he say that?

How could someone say that who is who's going through the most immense suffering and pain that anyone could on this side of heaven?

It's because he believed in the good news, even in that shadow of Death.

Unfortunately, his cancer did spread and he lost his life, but his faith never wavered.

And truly, we may never understand why the Lord puts us through such trials in this life.

But by God's grace, we know that our trials, our sufferings are not trivial to him.

And they're not the end of the story.

How do we know that they're not the end of the story?

It's because God fulfilled his promise.

He took on flesh, dwelled among us, suffered, and died on our behalf so that we might have salvation.

And the good news is, he is coming back to make all things new again.

Turn with me one final time to the book of Revelation, chapter 21, the last book of the Bible.

Revelation 21 · chapter mention

Turn to the end, then turn left a few chapters.

Revelation 21, beginning in verse 3.

And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man.

He will dwell with them, and they will be his people.

And God himself will be with them as their God.

He will wipe away every tear from their eye.

There will be no more death.

There should be no more mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.

He said, Behold, I am making all things new.

See, the Bible teaches us how to respond to our trials.

In the military, they always tell you to fall back on your training.

People just don't jump on grenades after all.

And so we need to do likewise.

We have to spiritually train ourselves before these moments happen, so that we're prepared when life comes our way.

If God is with us through our trials, then we don't have to be afraid.

It's a main point of application I want us to remember today.

If God is with us, then we don't have to be afraid, just like David recounts in this psalm.

Lisa Beamer wrote in her book, Let's Roll, that's Todd Beamer's wife, about ordinary people and extraordinary courage, that Psalm 23 wasn't a verse that Todd recited often.

But it was resident in his spirit because he had learned it as a child.

And when the crisis came, Todd was able to tap into a deep reservoir of faith that he had been storing up for years.

What are we doing?

What are we storing up to tap into in those moments when that time for us comes?

Let's store up these timeless truths together.

And we're doing that now as we saw the children go to children's churches.

They're learning and storing up these great truths in their hearts so that when these times come, they're able to pull them out and to remember God's faithfulness, his steadfastness to them.

And let's be clear, this doesn't mean that our life will always be easy or make sense, as I mentioned.

And we see that in this Psalm as well.

We're not promised that.

In verse 5, if you're wanting to flip one more time back to Psalm 23, the metaphor shifts from God as shepherd to God as host in verse 5.

You prepare a table before me.

What does it say?

In the presence of my enemies.

So God is not removing David from his enemies.

He's surrounded on all sides.

And yet God is preparing a feast, a banquet for him in the midst of his circumstances, in the midst of his trials.

He gives him everything that he needs in life to sustain him.

It's a beautiful picture of resting in protection and provision by God's grace, even in the midst of our enemies.

The greatest enemy, of course, which is death.

If God has provided for his people in the past, then he'll provide for them in the future, as we see in the end.

Whether it's a valley or we're surrounded by enemies, God is providing for us.

There's one of two things that'll happen when trials come.

We'll either be driven into despair, or we will be driven into the arms of our Savior Jesus.

There's only two options when that time comes.

Which of those options are you going to choose by God's grace?

Into despair or into the arms of Jesus?

For the person who's in the valley today, someone told me this, which was hard to hear in the moment of that great suffering in our family, but it's true.

The person who endures trials is closer to understanding the heart of God than the person who's not facing adversity.

Now you don't want to hear that when you're in the midst of your suffering.

But it's true.

You're understanding more about the heart of Jesus, how he came to suffer on our behalf when you're in the midst of your own suffering and trials than the person not facing adversity.

The late Tim Keller put it like this Christianity teaches that suffering is meaningful.

There's purpose to it.

And if faced rightly, it can drive us like a nail deep into the love of God and into more stability and spiritual power than you can imagine.

If you've never understood the trials that Jesus faced on your behalf to save us from sin, today is a great day to become a Christian.

Today is a great day to put your trust in this Savior who left heaven and came to earth to put on flesh to dwell among us, to be with his people in the midst of their suffering, in the midst of their valleys.

There's nothing else that can help you make sense of the struggles that we face in this life.

So turn to him in repentance and faith.

Believe in your heart and confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and today you will be saved.

The faithful is the one who trusts in the Lord in the midst of the shadow of death and looks to the future, to the reward that he has in heaven to come.

Grace exploded on the scene like a cosmic grenade 2,000 years ago when Jesus came into this world and he said to us, as it were, you are worth it.

You are worth the scars on my body, the nails in my hands.

You are worth the trials that I endured.

And before he left the world, he promised, lo, I will be with you always to the very end of the age.

Amen.

Let's pray together.

Heavenly Father, we thank you for being our shepherd, for watching over and protecting us.

We thank you that you taught David these great truths as he himself was a shepherd tending to his father's flock as a young boy.

You taught him these lessons, instilled them deep into his heart, so that he wouldn't be afraid of the shadows, that even in the valleys, that he wouldn't fear because he understood your presence with him.

Thank you for preparing a table before us in the presence of our enemies.

Lord, we know that sometimes you don't remove us from our enemies, from our circumstances, from the times and moments that we suffer.

And so in those moments, we ask that you will help us to see your provisions for us.

That you would indeed give us rest, restore our souls, lead us in paths of righteousness, so that we might dwell forever in your house.

We pray this in Jesus' name.

Amen.