The Strength of Stillness in a Noisy World: Psalm 23

I got a twenty point list for you on what you need to know it's not that

complicated believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with your whole heart give your

life to him you can get born again in a prayer that last five seconds and he

will take the old spirit out and the Bible says put a brand new spirit inside of

you it's the only way to be acceptable in heaven by the way welcome to the city

light church podcast thanks for joining us today as we look into God's word and

discover the hope and truth that he has for us if you want to connect with

city light church feel free to visit us at city light NYC dot com that city

light NYC dot com faster boy on Jansk and his team believe that the power of

the Holy Spirit is already working in our hearts and minds as you listen to

today's teaching remember that you are deeply loved by God that you are

surrounded by his grace and that he has a real hope and a future for you I want

to minister to you this morning from Psalm 23

such a rich Psalm the most popular Psalm there's a reason why it's the most

popular Psalm there's a reason why every household with a median age of 60

plus has a plaque of Psalm 23 somewhere if you're in a long island it's in the

bathroom next to the decorator soap right above footprints on the sand there's a

plaque of Psalm 23 me growing up in Queens in a one bedroom apartment we didn't

know what decorator soap was so I remember the first time I saw this is so

pretty there's a little bar of Irish spring and then off to the side of

dish with these like seashell pink I'm like this is the one I want to use my

friend can you use those nobody ever uses those I didn't know they called out to

me it seemed more appetizing than that worn out bar of Irish spring with three

hairs in it I wanted the pink Rosie seashell and of course it is a very

popular Psalm and then when you look at its popularity it's usually in the

movies at what time in the movie do you hear Psalm 23 the funeral how did a

Psalm full of victory full of prosperity become the death Psalm that's most

closely associated with a funeral always in a very depressing scenario raining

like it is today everybody wearing black like I am today and then you have

the depressed morose minister come out and yeah I walk through the valley of

the shadow of death and you get more depressed listening to Psalm 23 let's

renew our minds it's not a funeral Psalm it's not a death Psalm it's a

prosperity Psalm it's a victory Psalm it's a Psalm full of the goodness of God

and this is our reality and this is who the Lord is showing us he is amen David

and by the way most people think that this was young David young David because

he's talking about you know he's got this pastoral theme of meadows and sheep

and he's talking about the Lord being a shepherd so they assume this was David

like as a teenager when he'd be playing on a harp or a liar and

tending sheep but this isn't this is one of David's old isoms oldest I mean in

terms of his age this was him in other words later in life after he had seen the

ups and downs of life after he had had mileage with the Lord and experiences

with the Lord and history with the Lord this is his testimony after a lifetime

of serving Yahweh God and he says the Lord is my shepherd and that is key

because he doesn't say the Lord is us shepherd he personalizes it he

appropriates this quality of the Lord for himself which is vital it's so

important because I found that most people don't doubt God's ability most

people who come to faith in God or believe in God don't doubt his ability also

yeah God can do anything God is almighty but they doubt his willingness especially

when they're under guilt and shame and condemnation they doubt his

willingness for themselves so that quickly mentally a cent oh yeah the Lord

is us shepherd yes but is he your shepherd I don't know is he my shepherd maybe

better people's shepherd but not my but it's whosoever will when you claim

him as your shepherd then he'll release his shepherd in qualities to you the

Lord is my shepherd I shall not want now when I first got saved and I did this

in the first service and several people immediately agreed when I first got

saved I thought that just man you shouldn't want anything you know be Christian

don't have any desires other than for crust of bread and maybe covering over

your head and don't don't be somebody who wants stuff you know like I want peace

no no no I'd like my bills paid no no don't want anything and of course want

means lack I shall not lack because the Lord himself is my shepherd to feed

guide shield and protect me I will not lack now I came face to face with this

scripture when city light was just a couple of months old and I'm gonna tell you

how the enemy tried to work in my head and maybe you can relate of course city

light first started in the hotel ballroom in Midtown Manhattan and you know

you never forget the early numbers and that ballroom back in two thousand and

two cost five hundred dollars and don't think ballroom like like this size

ballroom that fits 75 people on the 14th floor like we really made people work

and try to find us if you showed up on the 14th floor of the courtyard by

Marriott on 3rd Avenue between 50 second and 53rd you really wanted to be

there it was five hundred dollars and then with taxes and whatever other

fees it was five fifty and the church was a couple of dozen people that was

a great Sunday would go down and it's low as to three people a few months in so

it was a poorly attended life group and the offerings

or a life group of three people is fine but okay well it's he said no it ain't

but it's certainly finer than a church of three people I'll never forget that

Sunday when we had three people but they're all digress let me not I felt like I

was preaching and dying at the same time and while I'm dying and preaching the

Lord the whole time just saying I'm with you I'm with you I will do it I'm my

mind is scrambling on how will you how can you possibly do it but he did it he

did it to where we grew to four locations and six weekend services and

thousands of people have come in and you know New York City such a transient

place so it is harder to build people because people come in they do a few years

and they leave but we've baptized thousands and thousands have been baptized in

the Holy Spirit and we still get letters of people who remember us 10

15 years ago how they came in and got transformed their lives hallelujah but

back to me with the 550 and offerings were usually about $600 eight people

come offering $600 30 people come offerings 600 and I was couldn't be

happier like because the whole the ballroom cost 550 so the Lord met the

ballroom cost you know I wasn't thinking well we should be nice if we had

staff if we had a worship leader because it was an iPod that was doing the

worship you know I couldn't even get my faith at that place I was just so so

touched that people believed in our vision so much that somehow $600 appeared

on a Sunday and after a few months of that I realized this is not a sustainable

model I mean I knew it but I wanted to celebrate a victory but then reality

hits you and here's how the enemy came to me he would show me Christians who

were suffering so you have the Lord is my shepherd I shall not lack and then he

would go to work I mean my mind show me Christians who did lack and taught me

and go out what about them where is your God who says you will not lack where is

he in their life which is a fair question when you see the tension of who God is

and how he said he'd reveal himself to you in a practical way but then there's

people not living that way a fair question is why and so I asked the Lord why and

I heard the glorious divine response deep in my spirit he said none of your

business you don't know you don't know where they are and they're

walk with me you don't know where their faith level is you don't know what

they're believing before you don't know there's the whole story you don't know but

here's what you can know you and the decision that you've made so what are you

going to believe son and then say that moment where I had to decide once and

for all well no matter what I'm seeing around me here's what I believe the

Lord is my shepherd I shall not want I shall not lack I don't care what I see

going on around me I can't go in and diagnose everyone else's problems but I

can for me and my family make a stand that whatever's happening I'm not going

to let my circumstances form my theology I'm going to make sure that my

theology is based on one thing and one thing only not my feelings they change

not my circumstances they change but the unchangeable word of God and that

tension between what God said he do and who he said he is the tension between

that and what you're actually experiencing the gap lessons and becomes

non-existent as you stubbornly cling to the truth of God's word can you say amen

so let's just say that the Lord is my shepherd I shall not lack

amen he makes me to lie down in green pastures you see the prosperity there

it doesn't say a bunch of dried out and tumbled down weeds it's fresh tender

juicy green pastures he makes me to lie down in green pastures he leads me

beside the still waters he makes me to lie down that's prosperity that's

his abundance that's where his provisional care is and then he leads you

beside the still waters now the Hebrews they had a relationship with the

waters and tempestuous or tumultuous waters were considered a very bad

omen that's why the scriptures will always highlight if the sea was rough

that's why the Bible says in Revelation God before he's thrown there is a sea as

of glass it doesn't really say sea of glass that would be weird because you

couldn't wear high heels if you tried to walk on that sea but it just means

it's a still sea not a ripple not a wave what does that mean that means in the

presence of God there there there is no tempestuous no tumultuous problems there

is peace there is no drama hallelujah hallelujah so we can believe God and lean

into him and trust Lord you come into my life you bring me into green pastures

this is a Psalm to stand on a Psalm to memorize a Psalm to whisper when you get

up in the morning and when you go to bed at night Lord you take me to green

pastures and then your will for me is to lead me beside still waters where

there's no drama hallelujah hallelujah how many would you would you like a

quieter life with no drama I've been contemplating that lately how my

greatest promotions my greatest growth spurts with the Lord or financially in

the natural or in other areas of life they came always after period of stillness

and no drama and then I just started thinking about how our lives just the

way culture has shifted with us having all the information of the world and the

amount of screen time and the way we relate to one another it's shifted to

everything is louder exaggerated and more brazen everything like to really

help the church grow my personality should be different like that guy on

YouTube hey my name is chas go ahead smash that like button hit subscribe we're

gonna go right now to you know I should be always in your feet he past your

bow bow bow bow here we got to freshen you an exciting thing happening at

city light and then okay it's your time for a breakthrough next Sunday we

got an even fresher fresher more fresher more exciting thing happening this

Sunday you thought last Sunday I mean how many times can you there is something

about stillness that our culture wants us to reject but there is a glory in

the stillness in the peace that's where your roots grow deep that's where the

Lord can come and work on you that's when you can get comfortable actually just

existing and being yourself yeah hallelujah hallelujah the greatest financial

breakthrough in my life came in 2020 when things got way quieter of course I don't

agree with the way things got way quieter but the Lord used it he used it and I

took that time out to seek the Lord to really get more hands on with my kids

play with my kids and we were just bonding as a family and to study Bitcoin and I

already put any responsible amount into it didn't even fully understand it did

that in 2019 and then in 2020 I started going down the rabbit hole and then

that stillness began studying it in the natural and going to the Lord and

saying Lord could this really be could this really be a financial solution the

world has been looking for and didn't even know it could this be really be an

answer to corrupt bankers and the corrupt Fed and the devaluation of the

dollar and of true store value and your word says that false balances are an

abomination to you and what they're doing to our currency which is really our

currency encapsulates our energy it's stored energy it's your life's work and

then they just debase it we've experienced 40% plus inflation since this

period of 2020 the lie they'll say 17 or 20 I'll throw out all sort remember

when they were calling it Putin's inflation what does he got to do with us

printing dollars and now your your dollars are worth 40% less than in 2020

huh anyway I digress again but it was in that place of stillness hallelujah let

him take you to a place of no drama and everybody says I'm moving in silence

I love it when people post I'm moving I got quiet moves and so why are you

telling me 35 times how you're moving in silence go move in silence come

but emerge back up and let us all admire what the Lord has done but can't you see

I'm moving in silence you know does anybody want to notice how I'm moving in

silence verse three he restores my soul now this is precious because you're

soul is your mind your will and your emotions your spirit if you've named

Jesus and received him as your Lord and Savior your spirit is cleansed your

spirit is brand new your spirit is sinless and get comfortable saying that my

spirit is perfect my spirit is cleansed we didn't come into this world with a

perfect spirit we came into this world with a spirit stained with sin that's

why Jesus said you must be born again and now that we've received him as our

Lord and Savior we've got born again by the way if you're wondering how do I get

born again I got a 20 point list for you on what you need to know it's not that

complicated believe on the Lord Jesus Christ with your whole heart give your

life to him you can get born again in a prayer that last five seconds and he will

take the old spirit out and the Bible says put a brand new spirit inside of

you it's the only way to be acceptable in heaven by the way you have to be

perfect to enter into heaven you heard me that's what the scripture says well how

can a man be perfect exactly that's the conundrum that's why Jesus came died on

the cross removed your sin from you if you receive him and give your life to

him and you got a brand new spirit but the soul and people use soul and spirit

interchangeably often and they're not interchangeable the soul is your mind you're

willing you're the soul is where baggage is the soul is where our hurts are our

fears our paranoias when enemy comes to deceive us it's in the soul realm the

Greek word suke our psyche and the Bible says that he is a soul-restorer thank

God amen I'm gonna be a lot less crazy today than when you gave your life yeah

amen I mean I'm not where I need to be but thank God I'm not where I used to be

amen he restores myself he leads me this is key he leads me in the paths of

righteousness for his name sake now this is a little bit of a different take we

know that he will lead us we know that he'll give us a victory because he loves

us the scriptures clear on that but this is a little different angle that I want

you to get now he'll do it for his name sake in other words he's got a

reputation and he's got a vested interest in seeing you come through and

succeed and he will not let you fail when you trust that he will lead you he'll

give you the thing for his name sake his name won't be blasphemed among the

heathen he'll do it for his name sake verse four yay though I walk through the

valley of the shadow of death the valley of the shadow of death is Steinway it

is Broadway it is whatever street you live on that's the valley of the

shadow of death please note that it's not called the valley of death it's called

the valley of the shadow of death and this actually was a literal valley in those

times a valley with all sorts of oral sorts of rock formations boulders

jutting out that will cause animals to cast bizarre shadows so it was a known

thing that shepherds would go and they would see what appeared to be a ravenous

wolf or a mountain lion mountain cat something that could really hurt them and

they would flee and terror than someone else would check it out and it was just a

desert hair a jackrabbit a bunny but the shadow it cast looked like a ravenous

lion so what is the Lord trying to get across to us that 99% of the things you're

afraid of are a mirage and an illusion a fantasy you think a lion is coming to

devour you and it's actually bugs bunny amen hey some of the things you were

terrified of from five years ago do you ever chuckle today nobody you're here

you're breathing you're alive some of you you know what I'd love the Lord it's

just a quickly like play a video clip of some things that you were dreading

and terrorized by five years ago and show you how alive and well you are what

was it that was the valley of the shadow of death it was casting an ominous

shadow but the reality wasn't there amen praise god look people got so not me

some of you were walking around with three masks on a wrap around like the

Michelin man purple gloves up to your elbows you're fine

someone likes to talk about that hallelujah we had communion here and some

people skipped communion it's an oh no but be good I'll be good I'll behave

could I have a clinically preserved communion please no we're breaking the

Lord's body together

please don't be uncomfortable because that makes me want to just talk about it

more how many how many of you here you've had your ninth booster well if you

haven't had your ninth booster you're not vaccinated some of you you tapped out

after the fourth one didn't you when when you started seeing triple you said

maybe I'll stop with these experimental cocktails that don't even work and you

didn't Jesus you didn't but who but if you haven't had your ninth booster you're

not vaccinated it's no longer working you do know that people don't want to

admit this am I excuse me in this church we trust the science so am I saying

anything unscientific if you haven't been boosted in the last six months

your last booster stop working see what you didn't know was you were gonna get

the forever lifetime subscription service you go into Pfizer's headquarters and

you see the marble when the hanging chandel it's you say how did it get that

money yeah from you praise God hallelujah we just need to hear this I'm still

trying to find a good doctor the last few I went to the initial visit it's a

half-hour commercial for the flu vaccine whatever happened to the good old

days where they examine you talk to you about your diet about your sleep about

your stress no just there can be anything doctor my left leg is falling off have

you got your flu vaccine this year it's very very important that you get

vaccinated for the flu I will fear no evil for you are with me I want you to see

that the number one reason to not fear is because he is with you yay the way

walk through this valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are

with me your rod and your staff they comfort me hallelujah does anyone have an

umbrella today's a good day for an object lesson thank you with the crook the

handle so I feel very charlie chaplainess up here now this this part would have

a bulbous end but here's just what I want you to see that the Lord in this

metaphor of him being a shepherd it says that his rod and his staff there's

something that bring us comfort and a lot of times the way people see the

Lord that it wouldn't make sense that this bring them comfort because they

believe that he beats us with this now I actually when I was a victor's age 10

years old I did some shepherding back in the mother country and I was so proud

when it was time to move the sheep and the goats because it would be like a

three-mile distance and it made me feel so big and so adult but really I could

do it even as a ten-year-old because these sheep and goats have been doing

this all they're actually not dumb they're very smart they've been doing this

they're for several years or their whole life so all I had to do was just kind

of just be there and they went from one field three miles away to another one

sign I like a bunch of reindeer you know they all had the bells and of course

I would grab a stick because I wanted to feel more authoritative and I was

and they knew exactly how to go from one field around all the different bends

and the the the rock roads to the other to the other field but occasionally one

of them would go astray just a little bit now when my grandpa was teaching me

how to shepherd the first thing I did was start running and yelling at that

sheep come back here of course with my stick feeling all authoritative

but come back here this one's wet too in the name of the father the son and the

holy

this is the $3 special isn't it it is see they changed it used to be the

littler ones and we should have if we got our props from dollar general like

Bonnie Anderson Bonnie Andrews excuse me okay

I would come chasing the sheep to hit and grandpa said no no no you just

need to come next to that wandering sheep and just just very lightly

yeah most of the time you don't even have to touch it you just come and

go like this and it'll immediately straighten up and clear up and go into

direction it's supposed to go sometimes you just have to gently touch it

that's how the Lord deals with us the bulb is end that's not for the sheep

that's for the wolves the wolves he beats

amen not the sheep that's why Jesus told Peter can you put the three

dollars on my tab thank you

we'll we'll work that out the accounting of all that after service

let's say clean accounting makes for good friendships good and long

friendships so we'll work that out

the bulb is end is for the wolves for the enemies of God

you the Lord will treat gently hallelujah

you are with me you're right on your staff they comfort me you prepare a

table before me in the presence of my enemies

note that he prepares a table a table of provision

but it's still in the presence of your enemies

sometimes we wish that we cannot be in the present the presence of our enemies

is just this side of heaven no matter where you are it's in the presence of

your enemies until you get to heaven where you have no enemies

and some of us we have this desire to experience heaven on earth and we will

and we can and we should but it will be in the presence of our enemies

that's both a victory and something that should give you pause

because they're there still but you'll be the one having victory you'll be the

one supping you anoint my head with oil this is what shepherds did to sheep

to keep the mites and the ticks away olive oil would be rubbed into their

scalping into their body to give them physical relief

but this is a picture with the Lord does to us when we're in his presence

when we read his word when we pray when we worship

heavenly oil comes upon us and there's not a one of us here

that doesn't have some ticks a man sheep a man

we have our twig ticks we have our quirks we have our mites

but the oil of the holy spirit comes in with a heavenly barrier

and brings healing in that area and then one of my favorite scriptures my cup

runs over this is God's way this is God's style i've shared with you many times whenever

you see Jesus to a miracle of provision it's always more than is necessary

can you catch that in your spirit the water to wine

that's it gives you the math right there it's not by accident the scripture says

every jug was 20 to 30 gallons and there was six jugs six water pots

so even if it was an army they couldn't have drunk all that 150 gallons of wine

i know the Hebrews like to get down but give me a break

how many times can you McGillah Hava until you fall over that was overkill

there was so much wine when Jesus fed the 5,000 there were 12 baskets of what

leftovers when he blessed Peter with the fish another boat had to come and help

because Peter's nets were breaking and his boats were sinking he's a too much God

and when he fills up the cup me and my son have this thing he doesn't do it

anymore but come up here i just want them because i don't i don't want i don't

want you to feel like i'm embarrassing you so i just want you to see

what a what a young awesome man a god this guy is such a blessing to me

you can sit down so but remember when we used to go through that thing of how

you'd fill the Pepsi glass all the way to the top

it's like dad this is how you get young kids to backslide if you're

watching you make an example no i'm kidding kidding i'm joking

every kid does this right they feel they don't know that you can make

two trips that you can fill up the cup halfway

drink half and then make another trip right they always fill it up it's like i

don't want to get ripped off so i'm going to fill it all the way up and then

you're walking and it's filling everywhere

god didn't even say he'd fill it up all the way to the tippy top

god said i'm going to make it run over the world calls that waste what that's

waste and god says no no no this is the way i do do things this is my

this is my style i we have to get this in our spirits because so many of us have

belittled god into the stingy minji tightwad

reflection maybe of the scarcity of our own hearts but really he is big

he is abundant and he is generous and when you receive him as you're

shepherd your cup will bubble and tumble and pour forth hallelujah it'll run

over and finally he ends with surely it's a declaration of faith worship

team you can come on up surely say this with me surely goodness and mercy

shall follow me all the days of my life and i will dwell in the house of the

lord forever so many people have faith for negative things to follow them

when i look in the rearview mirror of my life i see who's following me it's

goodness and mercy amen goodness and mercy follow me

and i will dwell in the house of the lord what is the house of the lord it's the

presence of god today under the new covenant the presence of god

back then for david and meant the physical house of the lord

some of you know i used to live in the church building for the first five and a half

years and so i would read this and go no lord deliver me i didn't want to live

in a church building and to comfort myself i'd read some 23 and always say you

know what i mean lord i'm not gonna dwell in the church building forever

you know what in the new covenant context i'll dwell in the presence in the

bosom of Jesus forever all the days of my life hallelujah

i want you just to borrow your heads and i pray that the realities of Psalm 23

reign upon your life this week that you receive him as the good shepherd

he will shield you he will feed you he will protect you he will be there for you

he loves you he'll take you to a place of no drama

and a place of abundant provision called green pastures

hallelujah he'll restore your mind give you stability of soul

yes hallelujah he will restore your soul

and he may lead you and walk with you through the valley of the shadow of death

but you will fear no evil because you know he is with you

and then he'll lead you through the valley into the paths of righteousness

because he's so great for his name sake hallelujah

the holy spirit come with no man can do

and pour forth the miraculous and people's lives in Jesus name

this is the city light church podcast if you've missed any part of today's

message or if you would like to find out more about pastor boy on janskick and

city light church visit us at citylightnyc.com that's citylightnyc.com

feel free to visit us online or in person anytime we would love to connect with you

we pray that you have been encouraged today that you have been reminded how

much god loves you and that you are surrounded by grace

thank you for listening make sure that you subscribe to city light church

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