Our Source of Certainty in Uncertain Times

Thank you very much, Richard.

Great song that we need to be thankful for,

that our God is faithful.

Don't answer out loud,

but how would you describe life during this pandemic?

Fearful, stressful, frustrating.

What about uncertain?

Over the past two months,

we have certainly been living in uncertain times.

There's been a lot of uncertainty about a variety of things.

What businesses are open?

And if I go, will they have what I need?

Is my job secure?

Some people, they live with that uncertainty week by week.

Some people, how am I going to work my job

and provide childcare for my children?

And most, all of us are wondering,

how long will it be before life turns to some kind of normalcy?

Chuck Swindoll wrote a book,

a devotional book on the Psalms.

He called it Living in the Psalms.

And he gave his chapter on Psalm 23 this title,

The Grind of Uncertainty.

And he begins the chapter with these words,

I have observed that fewer inner battles are more fierce

than the daily grind of uncertainty.

No doubt, you too have encountered one or more of its many faces

as you have struggled with purpose and pain,

job security, financial pressures,

physical handicaps, relational snags,

and a dozen other confusing puzzles

not quickly or easily solved.

It is for the dark hours of uncertainty

that David penned a song we know as Psalm 23.

If we took a poll of what chapter of the Bible

has God used most over the centuries

to bring comfort and hope to Christians,

I believe we would far and away pick the 23rd Psalm.

For the past several weeks,

I've been thinking about and praying about

what passage of Scripture should I focus on,

preach from on our first Sunday back.

This is a special time.

We've been away for nine weeks.

We're here now as God's people,

worshiping Him, studying His Word.

What passage should I preach?

Well, as I thought about that, prayed about that,

I thought about Psalms.

Psalms has something that touches every condition,

every emotion.

I started thinking about the Psalm 100.

It's a psalm about giving thanks,

and we have a lot to be thankful for.

But early this past week,

I think the Lord brought my attention

to the 23rd Psalm.

That's the chapter.

That's the passage that we need to look at.

Now, I can think of several reasons

why this is a good study for us.

First, Psalm 23 is a very familiar passage of Scripture,

and I think it'll help us, do us all good,

to study something that is familiar

during this unfamiliar time we're in right now.

Psalm 23 is also a very comforting

and encouraging passage.

Comfort and encouragement

is something that most of us need a lot of times,

maybe especially now.

And then Psalm 23 is written in a way

to give us assurance on a personal level.

Look at it.

Psalm 23, verse 1.

Psalms 23:1

The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.

Look at it.

The Lord is, present tense, my,

talking about something very personal here,

is my shepherd.

And as a result of that,

I have all that I want,

or more specifically, all that I need.

I want us to begin today

and do about a five or six week study

of this familiar psalm

with a prayer that God will use it

to help us have more certainty

in these uncertain times

because of our personal experience

with the Lord

as our, or let's make it personal,

my shepherd.

Now, David wrote Psalm 23

as an older man,

as the king of Israel.

But as he wrote this psalm,

he thought about his boyhood experience

as a shepherd

taking care of his father's sheep.

You can read about that

in the book of 1 Samuel.

It's important that we understand

the perspective from which David wrote.

He didn't write from the perspective

of himself being the shepherd.

Look at it.

He wrote,

the Lord is my shepherd,

which means he wrote

from the perspective of a sheep

being cared for by the shepherd.

So, the first key to understanding

Psalm 23

and profiting from it

as the Lord wants us to

is this.

If we're going to find certainty

for uncertain times

in Psalm 23,

we must learn to see ourselves

as we really are

before God.

We've got to learn to see ourselves

as God sees us.

Now, in the context of Psalm 23,

we are helpless sheep.

And that is not a compliment.

Don't think in terms of

Mary had a little lamb,

its fleece was white as snow

and all that kind of junk.

Sheep

are not something

that anybody wants to be.

If we did a poll this morning

in this room right now,

if you had to be an animal,

what would you be?

Probably some kind of great dog

or a great cat

like a lion, a tiger.

Maybe a bear.

Some people may want to be

a bird because you like to sing

or something like that.

But I don't believe anybody

would say

if it could be any kind of animal,

they would be a sheep.

Haddon Robinson

explains why

being a sheep

is not complimentary.

Look at this.

A sheep is all of the things

that we do not want to be.

It is defenseless,

dependent,

and stupid.

But when David wrote,

the Lord is my shepherd,

I shall not want,

he was saying by implication

that he was a sheep.

He was defenseless,

dependent,

and foolish.

You and I might as well admit it.

Before God,

we too

are sheep.

Yet in the depths

of our proud hearts,

that is a very difficult

admission

to make.

I don't want to be a sheep.

I don't want to think of myself

as dumb

and defenseless

like a sheep is.

But we can't get around it.

In both the Old

and New Testament,

a lot of times,

God's people,

Christians,

are referred to

as sheep.

Here's one

that's probably

most in this room

you know this,

from Isaiah 53.

All we like sheep

have gone astray.

We have turned

everyone

to his own way

as opposed to

God's way.

Jesus described us

as Christians,

his people,

as sheep,

and he,

our good shepherd,

in John 10.

We'll look at that

more

a little bit later

in this series.

The only way

that we will ever

find comfort

in Psalm 23

is to admit

that we

spiritually now,

spiritually,

before God,

we are like sheep.

We are totally

dependent on

our shepherd.

We just can't

make it on our own.

Now,

I know

some people

are thinking,

well,

I'm not dumb.

People aren't

dumb,

and you're right.

This does not

mean,

this idea

of us being

sheep,

does not mean

that we should

think of ourselves

literally

as a dumb,

sheep-like

animal.

As human beings,

we are created

in the image

of God.

And we should

never lose sight

of that.

As human beings,

we are created

in the image

of God.

We are God's

highest,

most special

creation.

We have

many God-given

qualities,

intellectually,

physically,

ability,

a lot of physical

abilities,

socially.

And all that

makes us far

superior to

the best animal,

the most intelligent

animal.

But let's

remember this.

Ever since Adam

and Eve sinned

in the Garden

of Eden,

sin has made

human beings

as spiritually

impoverished

and needy

as sheep.

We really are

before God

spiritually lost,

separated from

God.

That's what sin

did there in the

Garden in the

beginning.

God created Adam

and Eve.

They enjoyed

perfect fellowship

face-to-face

with Him.

But when they

sinned,

what happened?

They hid

from God.

Sin separated

them.

They knew

they were wrong.

Something had

gone wrong.

They couldn't

see,

look at God

as they had

in the past.

Sin messed

up that

relationship.

Think about

this.

On our own,

we are defenseless

against the devil,

against the

forces of evil

in this world

that oppose us,

that tempt us.

And think about

this.

We demonstrate

our spiritual

foolishness by

allowing ourselves

to be shaped

more by the

influence of this

world, this world

that opposes God,

than being shaped

by the truth

of God's Word.

God's Word.

That's why Paul

writes in Romans

12, don't let

the world squeeze

you into its

mold, because

that's what we

naturally do.

And that shows us

just how foolish

we are.

So, if you look

at Psalm 23,

if you've been a

Christian for any

length of time,

if you grew up in a

home where the

Bible was ever read,

you ever went to

church, you know the

23rd Psalm, if you

want to really

experience comfort and

hope from it, first,

look at yourself as

God looks at you.

You are a

spiritually lost

sheep.

You are without hope

in terms of having a

right relationship with

God, being able to

live life in a way

that will please Him

and serve His

purpose.

We are sheep who

are in desperate

need of God's

shepherd-like

guidance, protection,

and loving care.

Jesus emphasizes that

loving care part in

John 10 that we'll be

looking at.

Now, once we

understand who we

are in this Psalm,

then we're ready to

start looking at the

main player, the

focus of the Psalm,

the Lord.

Look at this.

If we're going to

find certainty for

uncertain times in

Psalm 23, we must

learn to see God as

He really is.

And David's real

clear.

David begins with

the Lord.

Now, whenever you

see the word Lord in

all capital letters as

it is in this English

translation, it's

translating the Hebrew

word Yahweh.

That's God's most

sacred name.

And it means that God

is self-sufficient and

God is self-existent.

Let's think about that

for a moment.

To say that God is

self-sufficient means He

has absolutely no

needs.

God needs nothing.

God has no need for

more wisdom because He is

all-wise.

God never has to look

around and try to find

more power because He is

all-powerful.

You know that God never

could become more

loving because as

Scripture calls Him, He is

love.

When we think about God

being self-sufficient, that

means that God has all the

resources at His disposal in

who He is, what He

possesses, He has all the

resources He will ever need

to meet our needs.

God is, if you're a Christian,

think about it, is my

shepherd, my protector, my

guider, my comforter.

And then look at this.

To say that God is self-existent

means that He has always

existed as God.

Put it another way, He is

timeless.

He is above time, beyond

time.

Don't dwell on that too

long because that will

blow your mind on it.

To be above time and space

like God is, time is a

creation of God.

Think about it this way.

He never changes.

That's hard to imagine

because everything changes.

You say you don't like

change?

Well, die.

Die or get used to it

because everything changes.

During the, I don't know,

maybe a couple of weeks

ago, Lisa was looking for

something.

She found some old

pictures.

My hair was jet black.

I didn't have to suck in

this, I didn't have a

belly.

Think about what you look

like five years ago.

Think about what you look

like ten years ago.

Think about twenty years

ago.

All you have to do to know

that change is constant is

just look at yourself in the

mirror day by day.

We change.

Our children grow up.

They have children.

Our parents and

grandparents, they die.

They die.

They're no longer a part of

our lives.

Everything about life

changes.

This coronavirus pandemic

has been an unexpected and

harsh reminder of how

quickly things can change.

But change was not

introduced into our country

or culture or homes as a

result of this pandemic.

everything changes but God

is what I'm getting at.

God is the one

constant.

God's character never

changes.

God's promises never

change.

God's power

will remain the same

forever.

God's power

will remain the same

forever.

We can have confidence in

the Lord as our shepherd

because he will always be who

he has revealed himself to be.

He will always do what he has

promised to do.

That's hard to get our heads

around to think about it because

nobody else does.

Nobody else can do that.

It's sad.

Some of you have

experienced this with your

parent or grandparent or

aunt or uncle.

My dad when he died was not

the person he'd always been

because of Alzheimer's.

A lot of us in this room

right now, we can't do what we

used to do the way we used to

do it.

We just don't have that kind of

strength or stamina now.

But God, he will never be

changed by some kind of

disease.

He will never be changed by

what happens in this world.

His power will never be in any

shape, form or fashion

diminished.

This is the Lord that David

says is my shepherd.

Now if you're a Christian, make

that personal.

Say it to yourself or even if

you want to, say it out loud

right now.

The Lord is my shepherd.

This is a statement of fact that

every believer can say, can claim

every moment of every day.

No matter how uncertain things are

where you work or the school

situation.

The Lord is my shepherd now.

And that should make a tremendous

difference in how we face our

uncertainty.

Let's make this even more personal

by looking at what Jesus said in

John chapter 10.

John 10 · chapter mention

Jesus describes his relationship

with all who trust him as the good

shepherd who knows, loves, and cares

for his sheep.

Let me give you an example.

John 10 verses 14 and 15.

John 10:14

Jesus said, I am the good shepherd.

I know my own and my own know me.

Just as the Father knows me and I know

the Father.

And I lay down my life for the sheep.

That's how much he loves us.

That's how much he gives of himself

for us.

Now I want you to look at this next

one.

Jesus also says that his sheep,

his followers, Christians,

his sheep know his voice

and they follow him.

This is in John 10 verses 27 and 28.

John 10:27

My sheep hear my voice.

He's talking about through his word

and through his spirit.

My sheep hear my voice and I know

them and they follow me.

Now see, Jesus is describing a fact

about who all real Christians are

and what they do.

We as he is,

we hear his voice.

He knows us

and we follow him.

He says, I give them eternal life

and they will never perish

and no one will snatch them

out of my hand.

We are eternally secure

through faith in Jesus.

We are living in uncertain times.

But wasn't life uncertain

before this pandemic ever

rared its ugly head?

There's uncertainty

in our homes

from time to time.

There's uncertainty

related to jobs.

There's uncertainty

about our health.

Uncertainty is just part of life.

We are spiritually

helpless sheep

who need the good shepherd Jesus

to guide us through

this uncertain world

and the end

to lead us into heaven

where all certainty will end.

Can you say right now,

can you

as an individual,

can you say right now,

the Lord is

my

shepherd?

Are you

one of the Lord's sheep?

You know his voice.

As you read his word,

you hear his voice.

Not literally.

As you read his word,

as you live

as a Christian

with the spirit of God

living in you,

you hear him

leading you,

you experience his

leading you,

prompting you

from within.

Are you one of the Lord's sheep

who hears his voice

and you follow him?

You obey him.

None of us does it perfectly.

None of us does it every day.

No one does it

to the absolute

nth degree.

But if we are

children of God

and dwell by the spirit

of God,

we'll have the desire

and we will put forth

the effort

to hear his voice

and follow him

on a regular basis.

Now what I want us

to understand is

this all applies

to people who believe.

David wrote

the 23rd Psalm

as someone

who knew the Lord

as his shepherd.

He was a believer.

Jesus in John 10

was describing

his relationship

with his followers.

So the question here is

are you as a Christian

are you seeking

to listen to

the voice

of your good shepherd

as he speaks

through his word

and through his spirit

on a regular basis?

And are you listening

to him because

you love him?

You trust him?

You know that his way

is right.

His way is best

even if it's hard.

You know the only way

anybody can live

with confidence

and certainty

in our uncertain times

is to humbly admit

we can't do it

on our own.

We are spiritually

helpless like sheep

and we really are

totally dependent

on our shepherd God,

our shepherd Lord

to give us wisdom.

to guide us

in the right way.

To help us stay

on the right path

in life.

Now if God

has shown you

that your problem

is not that you're

a weak Christian

it's just you're

not a Christian

well you need

to admit that

and thank God

for making that

clear to you.

And the way

you should respond

is to don't argue

but to humble yourself,

admit your need,

turn from your sin,

repent,

change your mind

about how you're

living and put

your trust in Jesus

as your Savior.

Call upon Him

to save you.

I want us to look

at one more thing

quickly that will

also give us

certainty.

Look at this,

number three.

If we're going

to find certainty

for uncertain times

in Psalm 23,

we must learn

to enjoy

and be content

in our relationship

with God.

Now think about

what that's saying.

The Lord is my shepherd

with an emphasis on

I shall not want.

I think Chuck Swindoll

does a good job

of explaining this point.

Look at it.

He says the key thought

is this,

because the Lord

is my shepherd

I shall lack nothing.

Some of you have

a translation that says

the Lord is my shepherd

I shall lack nothing.

Swindoll says

no uncertainty

should frighten me

because the Lord

is my shepherd.

Look at what he says.

I shall not lack

rest or provision.

Why?

He makes me

to lie down

in green pastures.

I shall not lack

peace.

Why?

He leads me

beside quiet waters.

I shall not lack

restoration or encouragement

when I faint,

fail, or fall.

Why?

He restores my soul.

I shall not lack

guidance or fellowship.

Why?

He guides me

in the paths

of righteousness.

I shall not lack

courage when my way

is dark.

Why?

Even though I walk

through the valley

of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil

for you

are with me.

I shall not lack

companionship.

Why?

You are with me.

Can you honestly

say things like that?

Can you honestly

say that you have

come to the point

in your relationship

with the Lord

that you enjoy Him?

You know Him.

You love Him.

You enjoy Him.

And you are content

with the things

He has provided

for you.

Now we're going

to be looking

at the many ways

God provides for us

as we go on

in this series.

But the main

question now is

does your

personal relationship

with the Lord

bring you

joy

and

contentment?

Now

I am not asking

if you're finding

joy and contentment

in the things

that God gives you.

We're talking about

are you finding

joy and contentment

in God

as your Heavenly Father

and in Jesus Christ

as your Savior

and Lord?

Just about

every Sunday

my sons

daughters-in-law

and grandchildren

come to our house

for lunch.

Lisa and I

we get a lot

of joy

and contentment

by just

having them

with us

like that.

It has

nothing to do

with what they do

because they don't

do a doggone thing

but come and eat

our food.

Our joy

comes from

spending time

with them.

We are content

to know them

and love them

and experience

their love

and just

share life

with them.

Well that's

how the Lord

wants us to

enjoy and be

content with

Him.

And when that

does happen

we will be able

to say

like David

because the Lord

is my shepherd

I have all

that I need.

Let's pray

together.

Lord

show us

now

how you

want us

to respond.

Show us

as Christians

Lord

if

people in

this room

say

I do

enjoy my

relationship

with you.

I am

content

in having

you

and what

you provide.

affirm

them

their God.

Just draw

them close

to you

and affirm

that kind

of love

and commitment

and contentment.

But Lord

if that's

not true

for Christians

convict

them

of their

failure

to seek

joy

in you

and be

content

in knowing

you

and having

what you

provide.

help

them

dear God

to confess

their

selfishness

or any

kind of

specific

sin

that's

keeping

them

from

enjoying

you.

Show

them

how they

need to

change

some

things

in their

lives.

And Lord

if there

are people

in this

room

who are

not

believers

believers

don't let

them

rest

easy

till they

turn from

their sin

and trust

Jesus.

In fact

right now

God we pray

that you

will just

overwhelm

them

with

brokenness

over their

sin

heartfelt

repentance

and cause

them

their God

to call

upon Jesus

to save

them

to want

that

and surrender

their lives

to him.

With every

head bowed

and every

eye closed

listen to

the Lord

and just

obey him.

It'll just

be a time

of your

personal

commitment

so that

you can

leave here

knowing

the Lord

is my

shepherd.