Thankful for a Shepherd who Protects and Provides- Psalm 23: 5-6

All right, we are coming to the end of our series on Psalm 23, and I hope that it's been

good for your soul. Has it blessed you going through this Psalm together? Yeah. All right.

Thank you. I appreciate that. That's not for me. I said the Psalm, so not me and my words.

Let's understand that. But I thought this was so good to just take this Psalm that is so well

known and so beloved to so many, and one that we hear pretty much only at funerals and take some

time to walk through it and see all that we have to be thankful for in our good shepherd. And as

we come to these final verses, we see a compelling and somewhat surprising picture of a feast in the

midst of enemies. And here's the funny thing about that. I know most of us can just read over that.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, and then we go right on with the Psalm.

Can we just all take a moment though and think about how difficult it is or would be to eat at

a time like that? Can we all appreciate that? To eat when you're surrounded by enemies, because if

you're anything like me, when I'm worried about something, when I'm stressed about something,

when I'm concerned, I can't eat at all. I went and preached the final night of a Bible conference

this past Wednesday. I didn't start preaching until 6 30 p.m. I got done at a certain time,

but I didn't eat pretty much the entire day leading up to that sermon because I was so nervous about

going to preach there. But that's how we are, right? When we're nervous or anxious, it's very

difficult to eat. And yet, here the Bible says that God prepares a table before us in the presence

of our enemies. And it actually reminds me a lot of the final chapters of the book of Acts. If you

remember your Bible, those final chapters of Acts, what's happening is Paul is a prisoner and he is

put on a ship that's headed to Rome. And so he's on this ship as a prisoner. He is surrounded by

literal enemies. And an angel of the Lord comes to him and says, hey, this whole ship is going down.

There's going to be a huge shipwreck. There's going to be a lot of loss, but your life will be spared

and all the lives of everyone on board will be spared if they will just stay on board with you. And

Paul said, okay, cool. So he goes and talks to the men and he says, so take heart, men, for I have

faith in God that it'll be exactly as I've been told. And so Paul's not worried at all. And in fact,

he is so much at ease. Do you know how the story goes? You know what he does next? Yes, because you

see it on the screen, right? He begins to eat. The Bible says in Acts 27 35, when he had said these

things, he took bread and giving thanks to God in the presence of all he broke it and began to eat.

So here is Paul who is literally eating a meal in the midst of enemies and he's not concerned. There's

chaos, there's disorder, there's a shipwreck coming, there's going to be great loss. These people are

still going to put him in a Roman prison. And yet Paul's like, I'm not going to miss a meal. My

question is, how is he able to eat at a time like that? And it's because the Lord had already

prepared that table before Paul. The Lord had already told him, yeah, things are going to be

bad, but your life is going to be spared. Things are going to get hard, but everybody on board,

their lives will be spared as well. And so with the assurance of God's protection, Paul was able

to eat in the midst of enemies. And that's the picture that we have here in the final verses of

Psalm 23. It's the picture of a shepherd who goes before his flock to prepare this beautiful

grazing ground in the midst of surrounding enemies who promises abundance and protection and

provision and a cup that overflows. But I want to issue a word of caution here. Many people, when

they read these final verses, they believe that it's speaking only of heaven. When people read

these final verses, they believe it's speaking only of some far off future. When they think of

the table in the midst of enemies, when they think of the overflowing cup and the bounty,

they say this is some far off future. And while that is certainly included here, I want to let

you know, church, that this is not just some far off future. This is a present reality. God prepares

us a table now in the midst of our enemies. You don't have to wait till heaven for your cup to

overflow. If you were in Christ, let me tell you something, Christian, your cup overflows now. The

blessings of God are with you now. And they're only going to get better as we head towards heaven and

as we head towards eternity. But this is a present reality, not some far off future. And that's good,

right? It's good that we don't have to wait on these things to come, that God promises them now.

So we're talking about reasons to be thankful. And this morning we see that we should give thanks

for a shepherd who protects and provides for his sheep. We should give thanks for a shepherd who

protects and provides for his sheep. I think everybody in here this morning would agree that

God provides for them, that God protects them. But I don't know that we're always as aware of

what that looks like as we should be. I mean, if your job pays you and gives you a paycheck, you

think your job is the source of your income. But let me tell you something, God is the one who blessed

you with that job in the first place. And so actually your income is a blessing from God. So

we know that certain things happen. What we don't always understand is how God actually provides for

us and protects us. So that's what I want us to consider this morning. How does God actually

protect us and provide for us? How does God protect us and provide for us? And I want you

to see what the Bible says here, beginning in verse 5, you prepare a table before me in the

presence of my enemies. Now we're just gonna pause here real quick, okay? I say real quick,

y'all know me too well for that, but let's just pause, okay? Because many people think that David

has switched up the analogy at this point, right? For the whole Psalm, he's been talking about a

shepherd and his flock of sheep, and that's been the analogy. And now they say he's changed the

analogy. It's no longer a shepherd with sheep, but now it is a host hosting a banquet with some

guests, right? But I don't think David has switched the analogy as much as we might think. For

instance, did you know that modern Israelis and ancient Israelites alike would refer to the high

table, the high plateaus of the green pastures as the table lands? You remember last week in our

discussion of the valley, we said that the shepherd had to take their flock through the

valley in order to get to those high plateaus, those green pastures that awaited them on high.

Those green pastures were referred to as the table lands. And so I don't think the analogy has

switched as much as we might think, but the thing is the table lands had to be prepared. And so

before the shepherd would take his flock, he would go through the valley, he would make it to those

high plateaus, the table lands, and he would spend a great deal of time taking out the poisonous

plants because they were notorious for having poisonous plants that would kill the sheep if

the sheep were to just wander over there on their own. And so the shepherd would go and he'd pick up

all the poisonous plants, and most shepherds would take some salt and some minerals with them,

and he would sprinkle it all around the pasture so that it would benefit the flock when they got

there. And so when the shepherd finally led his sheep to those high plateaus, listen, the table

lands had already been prepared before them, and they had been prepared in the presence of enemies.

And so here's the picture. I would have drawn this for you if I could draw, but I can't draw,

and that's actually okay for you because you don't want to see me do it. So imagine this scene,

right? You have this high green pasture that's been prepared, and it's at the very top of these

mountains and these ranges, and on all sides you have these cliffs. And here's what would happen,

the table lands were inhabited by wolves, coyotes, cougars, bears, and all of these predators would

hang out on the rocky cliffs and hide behind the high rock faces, and they would watch the flock

constantly. They were always walking back and forth looking down at the flock just waiting for

one sheep to venture away from the flock. And if that sheep ever did venture away, the predators

would strike. And so what the shepherd had to do is the shepherd would keep one eye on the flock

and one eye on the predators. He wanted to make sure his flock was staying together, and he wanted

to make sure he could see where all of those predators were going. But this is the picture,

as long as the sheep stayed in the flock and near to the shepherd, they could graze in peace,

even in the presence of enemies. It doesn't matter if there's bears around, it doesn't matter if

there's wolves around, because as long as the shepherd is there and as long as the shepherd is

attentive, those things can't do anything to the sheep. And so here's what I want you to understand

this morning, protection of the sheep is directly proportional to proximity to the shepherd. My

buddy Brad would be very happy with me for all those P words, I typically don't do that one,

that one's for him. Protection of the sheep is directly proportional to proximity to the

shepherd. In other words, if you wander away from the flock and from the protective watch of the

good shepherd, you're going to be easy pickings. I'm the type of person, I like to watch animal

planet type shows. I don't know why, I don't know what that says about me, but I do, I think they're

really interesting. And so I remember I was watching this one episode on predators, and they were

in Africa and they were following this group of three lionesses as they were hunting. And these

three lionesses, they were hiding out in the really tall grass and they were looking at a herd of

water buffalo. And they were stalking them for hours, just waiting for a chance to strike and

they weren't doing anything. And I thought, okay, well, this is a waste, right? But after some hours,

one water buffalo, thinking he was safe, decided to just start wandering off on his own. And those

lionesses went and did what lions do. I mean, they laid waste to that guy immediately. It was the

second he left the protection of the herd, he was picked off just like that. I mean, I think Mary

Sue was telling me last week about her son-in-law who has a flock of sheep. And three of them decided

to wander away from the flock and her son-in-law found that they had been killed by dogs and

destroyed. Those sheep, as soon as they left the protection of the flock and nearness to the

shepherd, they didn't last long. Or another way to think about this, think about a charcoal grill.

I don't know if you cook with protein. Give me a second, guys. Thank you. That's actually what I

meant to say because you shouldn't be cooking anything but protein on a grill. And all God's

people said, amen. But imagine a charcoal grill, if you would. You look inside a charcoal grill,

and every single one of those pieces of charcoal is burning hot, right? Yes. What would happen if

you were to take a pair of tongs, pick up one piece of charcoal, and set it on its own? Would

it stay hot very long? No, it's going to cool off very quickly. When it's in with the other charcoal,

they all fuel each other, and they fuel each other's fire, and they help each other burn hot. But as

soon as you put it on its own, that fire burns out. So I want to tell you this morning, church, in the

same way, if you distance yourself from the spiritual community, if you distance yourself

from the watchful gaze of the good shepherd, then every bit of spiritual fire you have will

begin to cool off. If you step away from the flock of God, you make yourself an easy target. Yes,

God prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies, but our protection is directly

proportional to our proximity to the shepherd. And you know this is true, don't you? I mean,

think about it, you might be on fire for the Lord for a time. And I know many people have gone

through this phase where they're on fire for God, and they're just all about Jesus, and they're

coming to church, and they're just fueling their fire. But then what happens? They miss one Sunday,

and then they miss the next Sunday, and then the next Sunday, and then the next, and it just gets

easier and easier and easier to miss the next one. Does it not, church? And every bit of spiritual

fire you had, gone. Just like that. The second you start to distance yourself from the spiritual

community. You see, this is why you need the church. I know there's all sorts of people today who like

to claim that you can be a Christian and not go to church. Okay, you can also be a water buffalo

and not be part of a herd. See how long you last then. You see, we have this bad idea about the

church today that the church is just someplace that I have to go to, it's part of my checklist,

it's part of my religious activities. The church is not primarily someplace you go to. The church

is a family you belong to. Do we understand that? The church is a good gift from God. God has given

us a body of brothers and sisters to come alongside of us, to strengthen us, to walk with us,

to help us, to support us, to encourage us. Listen, to stir one another up to good works. The church

is a good thing and I'm tired of many people in the world acting like it's not. I'm tired of many

Christians acting like it's not. Like you can just dismiss the church or ignore the church. The church

is a great gift from God. You see, notice this about this passage. Yes, the Lord prepares a table

before us in the presence of our enemies, but notice this, this is a communal meal. He's not

taking one sheep alone, is he? The shepherd is leading the flock up there. This meal is a communal

meal and so part of the shepherd's protection is the fact that he has placed us among a flock and

not on our own. It's the fact that he has given us the church as a means to protect us from

surrounding enemies. Or think about sin and temptation for a moment. If you distance yourself

from the Lord and aren't following him as closely as you once did, how easy is it for the enemy to

attack you? When you aren't walking with Jesus, when you aren't spending time in daily prayer,

daily Bible reading, how likely are you to give in to sin and temptation? You understand something,

church. You understand it is impossible to pursue Jesus and sin at the same time, right? They go in

two opposite directions. You can never be pursuing Jesus and sin at the same time, but when you're

not walking with Jesus, that's when the enemy is going to pounce on you. That's when the enemy is

going to attack you. That's when you're going to start giving in to sin and temptation. But here's

the other side of that. Just because you are walking with Jesus, and let's say you're one of

those good little Christian men or women and you say, I am walking with Jesus. I am praying daily.

I am reading my Bible daily. I am gathering with the church. Listen to me. That doesn't mean the

enemy is going to go away. Do you understand that? It's a meal in the presence of enemies. So just

because you're doing all your Christian duties, that doesn't mean the enemy is going away. But

what it does mean is that the enemy can't do anything to destroy your soul because you're

protected by the Good Shepherd. I may be surrounded by enemies on all sides, but as long as I am in the

shadow of the Good Shepherd, the enemy can do nothing to me because my shepherd will not allow

it. And so to eat at this table in the presence of enemies, it means that I can enjoy all the

blessings God has given me without fear of what the enemy can or will do to me. And this attitude,

this mentality by Christians, it makes no sense to the world. When Christians are at peace in a

crazy world, and our world is pretty crazy. Have y'all read the news this week? Pretty crazy stuff

going on in the world. And what doesn't make sense to the world is when they come to us and they go,

hey, have you heard that Russia is threatening nuclear attacks against anybody who would be

allied with Ukraine? And it's going to be considered an attack from NATO if they allow Ukraine to use

these missiles. World War Three is coming. This is what I'm hearing all throughout the week. World War

Three is coming. Russia's got nuclear weapons. They're going to be in team with Iran or possibly

China and North Korea, and all of this is going to happen. And America is coming down, and all this

is in chaos. How could you possibly eat at a time like this? Because God's already prepared this

table before me. You think anything going on in the world has taken God by surprise? You think

God didn't know that Vladimir Putin was looking for any excuse to use nuclear warheads? Do you

think God didn't know what 2024 would be like? Of course he did. So I'm not concerned about it,

but what might that mean for your country? It could mean a lot of bad things. I'm not concerned

about it because the Lord has prepared a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Even if

they kill us, folks, we get to go to glory. So what can the world truly do to us? I mean,

this is why Paul says in Romans 8.31, what then shall we say to these things? If God is for us,

who can be against us? Of course, many people can try to stand against us. You can tell us to be

quiet. You can take me off Facebook and YouTube, which they've done before. You can try to ban

books. You can say we can't gather. You can throw us in jail. You can torture us. You can kill us.

None of it matters because my shepherd watches over me. The Lord has prepared this table before

me in the presence of my enemies. And because I know he has gone before me and I know that this

moment has been prepared for me, I will fear no evil. This is what it means to enjoy God's

blessings in a world surrounded by enemies. So we have the shepherd for protection. We have the

flock for protection. And there's another form of protection here. Look at the final part of verse

five. He says, you anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. If you recall last week, we said that

it was during the summer months that the shepherds would move their flocks from the lowlands to the

high plateau table lands. Right? Y'all remember that? Because summer months, there's not a lot of

food in the lowlands. And so they had to move their flocks through the valleys to the table lands.

Well, this whole Psalm has a very summer feel to it because shepherds have a saying. They say

summertime is fly time. And that's because during the summer months, flies constantly swarm around

the sheep and pester them to death. And there's one fly in particular that causes the sheep the

most trouble. And it's called the nose fly or the nasal fly. Anybody want to guess why it's called

that? Because this is what this delightful fly tries to do. No, not you, Jordan. You can't. Okay.

These flies will buzz around the head constantly, trying to get into the nose. And once they do,

it's going to bury its way up into the head where it's going to continue to buzz and buzz and buzz.

And then it's going to lay its eggs, which form these tiny like worm-like larva creatures, which

will then cause infection and eventually could cause the sheep to go blind. Sounds delightful,

does it not? I mean, that sounds absolutely horrific to me personally. I've got enough voices in my

head. The last thing I need is something in there buzzing around constantly just driving me crazy.

Could you imagine? Right? This is how bad it is for the sheep. The sheep trying to deal with this,

it's often said that they will beat their heads against rocks, trees, plants. They will thrash

around an underbrush. And in extreme cases, sheep have been known to kill themselves just to get

some relief from this constant buzzing of the flies. But the shepherd has a safeguard against

fly time. Do you know how ancient shepherds used to protect their flocks during fly time? They would

apply a homemade antidote to the head, which was a mix of linseed oil, sulfur, and tar. And the

shepherd would smear this over the sheep's nose and head as protection against the flies. And Philip

Keller, the shepherd I've mentioned many times at this point, he writes that there was an immediate

change this oil would bring about. He says, once the oil had been applied to the sheep's head,

there was an immediate change in behavior. Gone was the aggravation, gone the frenzy,

gone the irritability and the restlessness. Instead, the sheep would start to feed quietly

again, then soon lie down in peaceful contentment. Now, I read all that and set that scene for you to

just say, can we not all be like a bunch of sheep during fly time occasionally? Are we not constantly

pestered by these little nuisances in our lives that drive us crazy, that make us want to beat

our heads against posts and rocks and underbrush and everything else? Some of you, it's your kids,

so I feel for you there, okay? But do we not have these things that come into our lives,

they're little nuisances that just eat at us and pester us and we get focused on them and it makes

us turn into a bunch of crazy people who act like a bunch of wild beasts. Do you know what I'm talking

about? Yeah? I'll give you, all right, I'm gonna tell you this and I'm scared to tell you this,

but I'm gonna do it because I love you as your pastor and I hope you love me and I'm trusting

you, okay? We all good? Everybody say yes, yes? Okay, here we go. The worst thing anyone can say

to me, you see why I'm trusting you, is, hey, can I talk to you about something later? My wife knows,

yeah. The second someone says that to me, I'm like, well, there goes my whole day. So much for being

productive today, that's just it, because what I do, that's one of my little flies. As soon as someone

says that to me, I'm like, well, why can't you talk now? What's the problem now? What's going on? What

did I do? What didn't I do? Was there something I should have done that I didn't do? What is it that

he possibly wants to talk about? What if this happens after that situation, or what if it's gonna

be this and then I have to do this and then that's gonna be five more phone calls and all this kind

of stuff and just fly, fly, fly, fly, fly, fly. That's what it is. That's me, okay? Anybody relate

or is that just me? Okay, we got like three other people who are crazy like me. Y'all my people,

I love you. I'm trusting you with that one, so. But the point is just this, that we have these

little flies that come into our lives and they will pester us to death. And so my question is,

what is God's solution for fly time? The Bible says here it's oil, right? So how does God anoint

us with oil? What is the oil with which he anoints us? And what's really interesting is the New

Testament always has the word anoint in relation to the Holy Spirit. The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians

1, 21 to 22, and it is God who establishes us with you in Christ and has anointed us,

who has also put a seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee. For 1st John

2, 20, but you have been anointed by the Holy One and you all have knowledge. Or 1st John 2, 27,

but the anointing that you receive from him, it does what? It abides in you, just as the Holy

Spirit abides in you. And you have no need that anyone should teach you. But as his anointing

teaches you about everything and is true and is no lie, just as it has taught you, abide in him.

And so the New Testament talks about anointing in relation to the Holy Spirit. But we have to

pause here again, okay? Because we have to ask a very important question. Is the Holy Spirit what

David had in mind when he wrote the psalm? Because if the answer is no, then we can't go with our

interpretation. Because it's something I always tell people when you're reading the Bible. The

Bible can never mean something to you that it did not mean to the original readers. Everybody good?

So if David didn't have the Holy Spirit in mind when he wrote this psalm, we should not read the

Holy Spirit into the psalm. But I think he did have the Holy Spirit in mind for two reasons.

Number one, because David was a shepherd. And so he was very familiar with fly time and rubbing

oil on the sheep's noses. And number two, because the Bible says in 1 Samuel 16 13,

then Samuel took the horn of oil and anointed him, there is David, in the midst of his brothers.

And what happens immediately after? And the Spirit of the Lord rushed upon David from that day forward,

and Samuel rose and went to Ramah. And so notice this, the very first time in David's life that he

was ever anointed with oil, what happened? The Holy Spirit comes upon him. And from that time on,

he always connected the anointing of oil with the anointing of the Holy Spirit. And you have to

understand this is yet another way the Lord protects and provides for his sheep. Listen to me,

church, the good shepherd anoints us with the salve of the Spirit. The good shepherd anoints

us with the salve of the Spirit. Just as oil would protect sheep from infections and ward off flies

and pests, so too the anointing of the Holy Spirit protects us from sinful contamination and

relieves us from worldly irritants. But here's the thing, shepherds didn't just rub this oil on their

sheep one time and call it a day. In order to receive maximum relief, the shepherd had to apply

the oil very frequently. And so here's what I want to do. At this point, I'm gonna pause again,

because I have to make a clarifying statement. The shepherd rubs oil multiple times, right? He's

re-administering. So here's my statement. Everybody listen clearly, because I don't want to be misquoted

or accused of being a Charismatic Pentecostal or anything like that. Okay, so listen, as Christians,

we are indwelt by the Holy Spirit one time and never again. Everybody good? Understand? Yes. That's

what the Bible teaches. You're indwelt by the Holy Spirit one time and never again, and there's no

second blessing type stuff, anything like that. However, what we have to understand is the Spirit's

work in our life is continual and ongoing. And so as Christians, we need to be praying for a fresh

anointing of the Holy Spirit's work in our life. Does everybody, that make sense everybody? We good?

So we're not praying to receive the Holy Spirit again. We're praying that God would anoint us

afresh with the work of the Spirit in our lives. And I think you know this as Christians that you

should be praying and asking for this, but I've noticed something. There's a problem with Christians.

Christians pray like our grandmothers pass down recipes. It's just complete generalities, and

there is no specificity to it whatsoever. Do you know what I'm talking about? Have you ever tried

to get a recipe from your grandmother? My mom is following suit in this. Anna will go to my mom and

say, all right, I want to learn how to make this. How do you do it? Add some flour. Well, how much

is some? I don't know, just like this yellow cup that I had lying around in my house. Well, I don't have a

yellow cup like that in my house. How much is that? Well, you know, like a handful. Well, how much is a

handful? My hands are smaller than yours. Well, how long do I cook it? You know, 20 or 30 minutes.

Well, which is it? Because there's a big difference between 20 and 30, all right? So if I'm going to

make this thing, I don't want to burn it. I want to get it right. That's how our grandmas pass down

recipes, right? It's just all general stuff. There's no specificity. And I've noticed that's how

Christians pray. Lord, help me. Help you how? What are you looking for? What are you wanting? Lord,

bless me. How? How do you want to be blessed? Lord, I'm in need. In what way? Lord, I need your

assistance. How? We always throw out these church words that we hear. Bless me, help me, assist me.

And yet we never go into specific details. I want to encourage you to do something this morning,

church. I want to encourage you that when you pray and you're specifically praying for this fresh

anointing of the work of the spirit in your life, to pray specifically and not just generally.

The Bible tells us that the Holy Spirit is responsible for the renewal of our mind. You

read about that in Romans 12.2. You read about it in Titus 3.5. So rather than simply saying,

Lord, renew my mind. Okay, you can pray that, but how about getting specific? What if you were to

pray, Lord, by your spirit, renew my mind today. Keep me from impure thoughts. Keep me from having

a judgmental attitude. Keep me from having a worldly perspective. Take this worldly mind

from me and help me to see things from your perspective. Give me a renewed outlook on life

and on my circumstances. Renew my mind so that my thoughts will align with your thoughts. Do you see

the difference that makes besides just Lord, renew my mind. Go into detail. Tell him how you need him

to renew your mind. The Bible also says in Ephesians 5.18, and do not get drunk with wine,

for that's debauchery, but be filled with the spirit. And so rather than praying a general

prayer and saying, Lord, fill me with your spirit today. Okay, that's fine. Do that,

but then get specific. Lord, I am currently filled with fear and anxiety, with worry,

with doubt, with concern, with uncertainty. I'm asking you to remove these things from me today

and replace them with your Holy Spirit. Remove from me all worldliness and sin, and instead

fill me with your spirit so that I might walk in step with you. That's what it looks like to pray,

a specific prayer. Or John 14 verses 16 through 17. Jesus says, and I will ask the Father and

John 14:16–17

he will give you another helper to be with you forever. Even the spirit of truth, whom the world

cannot receive because it neither sees him nor knows him, you know him for he dwells with you

and he will be in you. What's interesting there in that verse is the word helper. It comes from

a Greek verb that means to call to one side, which means the Holy Spirit is our comforter, our helper,

our counselor. And so as a Christian, when you need comfort or help in times of trouble and darkness,

you should pray, Lord, comfort me by your spirit. Send him to bear me up at this time.

Let his strength take the place of my weakness. Give me a renewed sense of the Spirit's presence

in my life today. The Lord, the Bible says that the Holy Spirit is also our guide in John 16 13.

When the spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak

on his own authority, but whatever he hears, he will speak and he will declare to you the things

that are to come. And so here's this picture. Here we are running ourselves ragged on a day-to-day

basis, trying to figure everything out for ourselves. Here we are groping around in the

darkness because we have no light when Jesus offers us the light and the guidance of the

Holy Spirit. And yet most Christians ignore this resource completely. We're content to just take

the American approach and pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and white-knuckle this thing and think

we can do it ourselves. I don't need any help. And God says, actually you do. And here's the Holy

Spirit who will be your helper. And so when you don't know what to do, you should pray, Lord,

I don't know where to go. I don't know what to do. I don't know the right course of action in this

situation. I'm at a loss. Give me guidance by your spirit. Have your Holy Spirit show me what I must

do. Have him guide me through the decisions I need to make. And then this is what I like to add to my

prayers. You can steal this from me. And Lord, because I am so hard-headed and prone to miss it,

I need you to make it abundantly clear to me what you would have me do in this situation so that I

will not get it wrong. That's the type of prayer we should be praying, church. God knows your heart,

but he wants you in humility to be open with him and tell him specifically how you need his renewal.

So why would we busy ourselves and drain ourselves swatting it flies all day long

when God offers us the salve of his spirit? If you need wisdom, if you need guidance,

if you need comfort or help or renewal, you need to receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit in your

life. He's the one who protects us and provides for us. And I want you to see where all this

Psalm has been headed. The final outcome of God's flock. Look at verse six.

Surely goodness and mercy. Can we just pause and just think about how good this is for a moment?

How sweet these verses are. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I want to make these verses even sweeter

for you and tell you what they actually say in Hebrew, because that word surely it's not there

in Hebrew. The word in Hebrew is actually only, which is again why they should have translated

this literally, but you know, tradition is tradition. The Hebrew word surely there is the

word only and the word follow is not the word follow. It's the word pursue.

So think about it like that. Only goodness and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life.

And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So here's the picture of this song.

It's saying that as you follow and pursue the good shepherd,

only goodness and mercy will pursue after you like two collie dogs guiding a flock safely back home.

And that is what God has promised us. That's what we get in this psalm about this good shepherd.

We have this assurance that the good shepherd is going to watch over us and protect us and keep us

safe from all enemies because he is with us. And so we need not fear him. We need not fear him.

He is with us. And so we need not fear anything. We have this promise that as long as we keep close

to him, he will anoint us with the salve of his spirit to protect us and provide for us.

And then the best part of all of this, where everything has been leading to,

when our time finally comes and the Lord calls us home, we have the absolute assurance

that when that call comes and we meet Jesus face to face, it will not be for a moment,

but we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. And it's not because I deserve to be there.

It's not because you deserve to be there. It's not because we worked for this or earned this.

The only reason we are going there and the only reason we are staying there is because our good

shepherd has led us safely there the entire way. And we get to enjoy him forever. Amen, church.

Let's pray.