Green Pastures & Still Waters // Good Shepherd Series (Part 2) // Pastor Drew

Oh, the Lord is my sheer.

I shall not want

me by wers till my fears are gone.

Though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, I know you are

with me, my father,

my friend.

Your goodness and mercy

will follow me all of my days.

I know by your still waterers I'm safe.

>> Let's go. Come on.

What an incredible joy it is to get to

rest and to sit in the presence of the

Lord.

This is something that I I always value.

I always want for us to be able to take

intentionality to be able to dive into

into these moments with the Lord like we

just had in worship. This is something

that we just did with our team.

Actually, some of our core leaders uh

every year we'll bring a group of people

down to Houston uh for the CMN, Church

Multiplication Network Conference. And

guys, we had a great time. We had this

is the group of people that came with us

and uh it was so cool. It was so much

fun. If you see one of them uh today,

would you find a ask them what stood out

to you? What did God speak to you?

Because there was so much so much that

he spoke so much that when you take time

and intentionality to say, "Lord, I'm

right here and I got nothing else to do.

I got nothing else on my agenda but just

to receive from you. I you'll you'll get

something from him every time. I just

believe that to the core of my being.

I've experienced that. I I'm so grateful

uh Pastor Morgan for the way that you

lead us into these moments where we can

just take time. The worship's beautiful.

The the the prayer time is beautiful.

And just to be able to sit and listen

and seek the voice of God is

extraordinary.

Absolutely beautiful. But

if we're going on a trip, that means I

have to do one of my least favorite

things in the entire world.

Packing.

I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. Is it

is it is the bane of my existence. Is

the kryptonite to my joy. It is like it

is so bad. I I truly every day my least

favorite part of every single day is

picking out my outfit. I'm not good at

it. I don't necessarily know what I'm

doing. This morning I picked out this

shet and then I had four shirts that I'm

like, I DON'T KNOW WHAT SHOULD GO

UNDERNEATH IT. BABE, can you help me

out? And guess what? She picked out a

totally different shirt. She's like,

bad, bad, bad, bad. Nope, none of those.

We're going to pick out a new one

because I I've just I don't see it. I'm

not good at that. Uh it's not a it's but

I recognize that it's important in terms

of like how people receive you and will

they listen to you like and so I see

it's important. I see I'm not good at it

and it's just stressful. And packing is

like taking all the worst times of the

week and combining it into one lump. I

hate it. It is so hard. But

I'm a warrior.

I am more than an overcomer. Amen. In

Christ we are more than overcomers. And

so I got I'm Sunday night. I'm getting

ready and I'm like, "Let's go." I am

like whistling. I'm like singing. I'm

like, "Nothing's going to bring me down.

I'm getting ready to pack. Here we go."

And it's like this defiant joy, right?

Like the world around me is coming

against me. I've got Goliaths on uh in

the valley with me, but don't worry,

I've got God on my side, and I will

conquer this Goliath of the suitcase.

And I and so I I come in with this

attitude and I already guys I was so

amped because I already had one outfit

picked out prior I was wearing it

earlier and I was like I'm going to wear

this outfit to CNN and that it's like

pre like so I set it aside. I was like

I'm on a good start. I look back in my

closet and I go

and I have no clue where to start. And

so I I start as I go through and then

it's just it's this slippery slope. I

it's bad. I will like turn around and

I'll trip on the shoe that I had just

set out. I will uh set out outfits and

I'm like that shirt goes with two pants.

I can't wear two pairs of pants. What am

I doing? Why? How many pairs of shoes do

I need to do? Those shoes go with that

outfit. Does like I I don't know how to

do any of this. I'm not sure if that

looks good. I don't know how to put this

together. I don't want to show up and

like I got I got a lot of friends here

and I don't want to show up and they're

like, "Oh, hey Drew. Interesting choice

today, right? Like I only see him once a

year some of them." And so I'm like,

"Man, I I" And so I just slid down this.

It was terrible. I fully gave in. My

heart was like a mess. I was I was a

disaster. Morgan's sitting there and

she's like, "We I I got an errand to

run. It's late. Would you be able to

come with me?" And I'm like, "Yes, I'll

come. Hold on." I'm just

I'm just staring at the suitcase like

something's magically going to fill up

inside of it. And it's just going to and

I don't know what I'm doing. And so

eventually she takes a bath. I finish

up. I go and I just take a second and I

go downstairs. And I didn't need

anything downstairs. I just went

downstairs to get away just to pray. And

I'm like, "I did it. I took down

Goliath. I felt like he took out my left

leg, but at the same time I took him

down, right? Like I kind So I came back

up to the bedroom ready and filled with

joy and I'm like, I have been restored.

Amen. And then I was like, all right,

babe. I'm ready to go on that errand.

She's like, it is 10:30. I am not going

Isaiah 10:30

on that errand anymore. It is too late.

AND I'M LIKE,

OH MAN, WHAT'S GOING RIGHT? AND I GOT

RIGHT BACK DOWN TO where I was five

minutes prior. Man, I need Jesus. Guys,

that's a little insight into my mind.

I'm sorry. I'm sorry that uh it's just

my my heart. It's so easy. Usually I can

overcome this, but sometimes there's

Goliaths in the way, right? And

sometimes I got I got these these

weaknesses and it's outfits and it's

packing and the suitcases and I hate

them. Anyway, so uh I need help. I

regularly, this is the whole picture of

restoration, of getting moments when I'm

like, the day is great, but I'm rooted

in Christ. The day is terrible. One

conversation, one bad thing may happen

and it may lead me into this spiral,

right? All of our hearts can do this.

And instead of following where my

heart's going, I am asking the Lord to

fill me, to satisfy me, to fulfill me.

And that's what we're talking about

today as we talk about green pastures

and still waters, reading in Psalm 23.

We're in a series right now going

through this uh this chapter, and it's

so powerful. Uh it is if you missed last

week, it's a great start to be able to

help get the foundation going. Check it

out online. But one of our challenges is

to have memorized

Psalm 23

on your own to be able to carry it in

your heart to be able to keep it at all

times so that I don't need to open up my

Bible in order to get the truth of the

words of scripture. So, just outside the

doors, we've got a whole bunch of these

printouts, and it'll be able to give you

a an opportunity. You can use this, take

this home, put it in your car, rehearse

it, recite it as you are driving, put it

in your on your bedroom, uh, your

bathroom mirror so you can start

practicing it. But what we're going to

do today, we're going to read it out

loud. So, can we stand up? We're going

to read this together as we're getting

this thing in our heart. We're getting

this in our heart. So, go ahead. Can we

pull up Psalm 23:es 1-6? Whole chapter

right there. All right, read it with me

out loud. 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. 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 shall follow

me all the days of my life, and I shall

dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen. Amen. Come on, we can be seated.

Let that minister to your heart.

Today, we're going to be Last week, we

really just focused on like five words.

The Lord is my shepherd. We're going to

hit a little bit more today. We're going

to talk about uh verses really verses 1

through3 and continuing to build on what

this means. Verses 1 through three

continues after the Lord is my shepherd.

Can we pull it up? I shall not want. He

makes me lie down in green pastures. He

leads me beside still waters. He

restores my soul.

And it starts off,

I shall not want. Did that confuse

anybody first time you read this? The

Lord is my shepherd. I don't want him.

That's how I first understood it when I

first heard this passage years ago when

I was a kid. And I was like, I am so

confused. I don't know why he's saying

this. It's kind of like uh I I always

wondered why in our God is an awesome

God, if you know that old hymn, why we'd

call God's power dumb power.

because it says our God is an awesome

God. He reigns in on heaven above with

wiz dumb power and love our God. I'm

like why are we saying that? Like that's

not that doesn't make sense. As you dive

into this, the reality is is that I

shall not want begin to set up sets up

this next section of what we're covering

today. Verse two and the beginning of

verse three. And it's this idea of like

I shall not lack.

I do not I I I have no lack because the

Lord is my shepherd.

And this is true.

But

if you look at David,

there's not really a season of his life

that this makes sense as a statement. He

is either a shepherd that lacks a lot

and can only have what he can carry in

his sack with him or

he is running from a king who's trying

to kill him

and he's lacking in shelter. He's living

in caves. He is in in a place where he

has nothing and just all these all these

other nothing misfit people begin to

come and crowd around him and he's like

man I got I don't know what's happening

either that or he's king

and it's like kind of silly to say like

I have I I I lack nothing's like well

duh not because of God but because you

literally own everything in the kingdom

so I think you're just fine. It's almost

silly for him to highlight that and to

correlate that with a shepherd. Now, the

reality is is that this is this is not

necessarily I I shall not want, I shall

not lack. It's a little bit more like I

need nothing else. I'm fully content.

I'm fully satisfied. I'm completely

fulfilled

with that first five words.

The Lord is my shepherd.

There is nothing else that my heart

covets after.

There is nothing else that I am striving

to achieve.

It is only this one thing I ask and this

I shall seek is to dwell in the house of

the Lord all the days of my life. This

is what I shall not want means. Yet

here's the reality.

How often do my prayers

sound like the Lord is my shepherd I

shall not want but my heart is the Lord

is my shepherd SO HERE'S THE THINGS I

want God

right how MUCH HOW MANY TIMES ARE OUR

PRAYERS God this and then this and then

this and then this my dog has a has a

bad foot and my my my knee's been

hurting me and I got this big thing

going on at work at the end of the week

and I got to get help with her. Help me,

God. Help me with this. Help me with

this. Help my kid. They are crazy. Help

my parents. They're nuts. My in-laws,

take them out. I DON'T KNOW WHAT. LIKE,

I GOT ALL THESE REQUESTS THAT I've got

right for God. We got all these things

that we're asking to God. And instead

of going, I have you.

I have no other needs.

I'm fully satisfied with you. See, lack,

living in lack was the majority of

David's life. Living in lack was the

majority in in in earthly lack was the

majority of those who were closest to

Christ. The Apostle Paul is regularly

beaten and imprisoned and ashamed and

kicked out of towns and all this. And

and he says in Philippians 4, he says,"I

know what it is to be in need. And I

know what it is to have plenty. I have

learned the secret of being content in

any and every situation, whether

well-fed or hungry, whether living in

plenty or in want.

These are the all things that I can do

through Christ who gives me strength.

It's I need nothing else. And I want God

to be convinced of that by the way I I

seek him in prayer

that I have desires. He wants to know

those desires. I have wants. I have

needs. I have things. But there are

requests laid at the feet of God instead

of demands to the genie in a bottle. I

need you to do this. I want this. I want

this. I want this. And my heart's not

attached. My heart's more attached to

those than it is to the Lord.

got to fix this inside of me. And so we

see that the the good shepherd, my

prayer is that all of us would be able

to echo this heart posture. The good

shepherd fulfills

and satisfies me.

I'm fully satisfied and made content

in him. In him alone.

And see the shepherd satisfies by a few

things that we see in this passage. We s

we see that the shepherd satisfies first

by his provision.

He sh he satisfies us by his provision.

We see this in uh verse three where it

says he makes me or verse two he says he

makes me lie down in green pastures. He

leads me beside still waters. Now this

is something really interesting because

if you look at the land that David was

writing about as he is writing this as

he was a shepherd himself where did he

shepherd it looks like we got a couple

pictures here of what it looks like in

the Palestinian wilderness

and if it is it's a lot

it is a lot of brown

it is a lot of dead it's a lot of sand

it's a lot of dirt. And if you see a

little bit, you can like, oh, I can kind

of make out some trees and some shrubs.

We got another picture here. It's a

little closer up. And you can see, oh,

okay. Yeah, there is some some grass,

but the side of that hill

may be the green pasture

that you're being led to.

It may be that like that's what that's

what it's like. The shepherd

has to lead the sheep to green pastures.

And it's really interesting because

they'd go, this is why the shepherd

would lead them to a hillside

and they got like a day or two before

they got to go to the next one and they

got to find a new spot

or because they have eaten it down. If

they keep on going, it won't have green

grass for them the next time that they

come.

And so they they have to keep on moving

from hillside to hillside, from pasture

to pasture.

And they are it it's the reality is that

the shepherd, a bad shepherd

says, "If you want to just stay where

you're at, if you don't want to grow, if

you don't want to find new pastures, if

you want don't want to take on new land,

that's fine. Just stay where you're at.

Just stay exactly where you are. You

don't need to grow. You don't need to be

formed. You don't need to be changed.

You have made it. You've arrived. You're

at the green pasture. Stay there. The

bad shepherd lets the sheep then feed

and graze on that until there's nothing

but dirt and they have actually

destroyed the entire field.

And it will not produce grass and and

and and good things again unless it is

stewarded by a good shepherd again.

The good shepherd says, "That was great.

We've had a day. We've had a day to be

able to stand and live in this good

place. I know all the good is not done

here, but I want us to keep on moving.

God's got more growth for you right now

than we are submitting to yet. He's got

more for you. He's got a new pasture he

wants to lead you to. He's got a new

hill he wants you to conquer. He's got

new things for you. And I've got to

listen to him to see where he's saying,

"I KNOW YOU MAY FEEL LIKE IT'S GOOD

RIGHT NOW, BUT IT'S NOT GOING TO STAY

GOOD. I WANT TO MOVE WITH YOU TO THE

NEXT PLACE. WILL YOU FOLLOW me

even if it's not to the point where my

pain is so high that I'm willing to move

on because I'm like, "Ah, yeah, it ain't

that good anymore." And he's like, "I've

been saying that. I've been trying to

get your attention on that for a while.

I've been whistling. Come on. Come on

sheep, let's go. Let's go. He is leading

us to green pastures.

But he also

leads me to still waters. Now, what is

this? This is interesting because sheep

are incredibly timid, scared creatures.

They will not, for whatever reason, I

cannot figure out why. I've tried to do

the study. I've tried to use a I don't

know why. Why sheep AI doesn't know why

sheep will not eat from moving lapping

water. If the water has any babbling

brook to it, they won't take it. In

fact, there will be a moving water or

river that's got a just a little bit of

wave, a little bit of roll to it, and

they will choose the muddy infested

puddle of dirt and urine, and they will

choose to drink that instead of the

living water right beside them.

In fact, the same thing happens with the

green pastures. If a shepherd doesn't

move them, they will choose to then get

not the good nutritious part of the

grass and the plants and the shrubs.

They'll then start to chew on sticks.

They'll then start to dig with their

teeth in the dirt and get the roots out

of the grass and they'll just try to

whatever can fill their stomach. And how

often do we do the same thing? We look

for something to fulfill me. I'm looking

for something, a cheap version of love,

a cheap version of affirmation. And the

Lord's like, THE REAL THING IS RIGHT

HERE.

Seek me and you won't need and to want

anything else.

See, there is

cheap versions, cheap attention that we

can seek after instead of real love. We

seek cheap things instead of the real

thing. Cheap numbing

instead of real healing.

Cheap avoidance

instead of real victory and restoration.

Cheap relational resolution

instead of real relational connection.

Ever been in an argument and just gone,

"Fine, whatever."

Right? Is the give up? Is the whatever.

I'm just trying to get to resolution.

That's it. Whatever. I don't agree with

you. I don't even like you right now.

But that's where I'm at. Done. Right. I

can be done. So cheap resolution instead

of real connection. Cheap affirmation

instead of real glory. I want you to

affirm me instead of giving the true

glory, honor, and praise to the one who

deserves it. Oh, there's so many cheap

things. There's so many puddles of all

but it's still water. And here's the

problem. Most still water if it's not

moving is infested.

It's infested with larvae and with and

and with parasites and with sickness and

with nasty and with bad and germs and

and all this stuff and it's terrible.

And so a shepherd, here's the

interesting thing, the shepherd

provides. In fact, many shepherds, most

of the green pastures and the still

waters that are provided are provided by

the shepherd himself. A shepherd takes

lots of care to build irrigation

to dig portions of a of a river so that

there will be a little pool over here

that it can keep. It can be still, but

it can still be renewed. It can be

flowed with it with the river and the

brook that is there so the sheep can

gather around and can drink. Here's the

thing. God wants you to be fed. God

wants you to hunger and thirst for

righteousness. And in the same way, he

goes, "I know. I want you to, but I also

know that all you poor you, you can't

feed it off the meat that I have for

you. And so, I'm going to give it to

you. Not only what you need, but in the

way you need it.

In the way that he will that I will hear

his word. He will speak to me.

One of the deepest, most powerful

revelations that God gave me as we were

getting ready to plant a church is we

didn't even know if we would before we

exited and and and left our jobs. One of

the deepest things that God spoke to me

is my ability to speak is greater than

your inability to hear. And my fear was

this place of God, what if I miss it?

What if I'm listening but I miss it? and

I'm trying but I fail. And he says, I'm

better at communicating to your deafness

than you know. I will make myself clear.

Listen. Stay on your knees. Seek him.

Pursue him. Listen for his voice. Look

at the c the things that the

confirmations that the world is giving

all around. Listen. His ability to speak

is greater than your inability to hear.

Amen. Amen.

>> Come on. Come on. Let's go, y'all. I'm

preaching better than that. Let's go.

>> This is it. This is it. He provides the

living water to our thirsty souls. Then

third, we'll go into here. His pre or

second, what we see what the shepherd

provides is he provides his provision

and his presence. Here's something

interesting. This is so interesting.

If a sheep, he says, it makes me lie

down in green pastures.

Sheep

are really resistant to lying down.

And this is actually this is really

interesting. There's uh a shepherd says

that there's four things that a sheep

needs to have

in order to actually lie down. the

things that a sheep needs. They need to

be free from fear.

They need to make sure even if if

there's anything if there's anything

that might look scary, if there's

anything that I'm unsure of what's on

the other side of that bush, I'm unsure

of what's going on around me. I got to

make sure that I am safe. They need to

be free from fear. They need to be free

from pests. There's all these like

biting nets and gut stuff that they'll

they'll get when they're drinking from

this water or when they're around all

this shrubbery and all this stuff that

that and and this is they need to be

free from that or else they're

constantly antsy and they're not able to

lay down. They need to be free from

hunger. A sheep does not lay down until

they are full.

Otherwise, they're constantly grazing.

They're constantly looking for that next

thing. Where am I going to be fed? Where

am I? Even if it's a cheap something, I

just got to fill my stomach. And then

they got to be free from tension.

Within a flock, you will find that there

is there's a hierarchy just like every

other group. You'll see it's the it's

the pecking order, right? It's the

alpha. You see this in lots of different

animals that herd and group together.

And it their same thing happens in a

flock, but usually the the lead is the

biggest, fattest, strongest you, the the

the the lady sheep that just likes to

push her weight around and she'll be a

jerk to all the other sheep and she'll

be like, "That's my grass, so you were

saying over there. I know, but now this

is mine." And they got all these

tension. And if I feel this tension of

of the things that going on around me

within the flock, within the people

around me, how many of y'all know when I

feel someone's EYES BURNING ON THE BACK

OF MY HEAD, IT'S hard to really dive

into worship. It's hard to really

receive from the word. It's until I

actually let that go.

Now, here's the interesting thing is a

is a shepherd can do things to help with

all of these, but a sheep does not feel

fully free from fear, pests, hunger, and

turmoil

until they see the shepherd.

And they can see even if the shepherd's

not with them, they can see from far

away

that he's coming.

And they'll see the shepherd's staff.

And the staff is the thing that he would

use to guide and to reach out and to

help point them in the right direction

and guide them away from the the the

sick waters and toward the good still

waters. to guide them away from the

sheep that's in a bad mood that I don't

want you little lamb to get over by

them. You got to stay over here by me.

To correct the one that needs to be

guided away from all the other sheep

that they're trying to cause problems

with. When I see the shepherd, I can be

at peace. His presence brings me peace.

When there's an enemy around, the sheep

will gather around the shepherd. They'll

gather in nice and tight right around

him. I need to be close. I need to stick

with his presence. I need to be guarded

and guided by him. I don't know what to

do in this situation, so I'm going to

get a little bit closer.

And then we see

the last thing that the shepherd

satisfies us with. It's by his

provision, his presence, and his

restoration.

See, there's

just like you guys are probably a lot

holier than I am, but I need his

restoration

all the time.

All the time. I'm always leading myself

in a in a wrong direction. I always

think I'm following him and then I'm

actually going in my own direction. The

the DL Moody is asked, "Why are you

always asking for the Holy Spirit to

fill you?" And he says, "Because I

leak." And it's this same picture. I

spend time with Jesus in the morning and

then by the afternoon it's like there's

a lot of Drew involved and I don't like

it. I need less of me, more of you and

I've got to I got to get back to this

place. He restores

my

soul.

He restores my soul. I'm always drifting

and in constant need of restoration.

This is where John 10:14 Jesus says, "I

John 10:14

am the good shepherd."

He says, "I know my own and my own know

me." It's this closeness to his

presence. It's this closeness to his

comfort. It's this closeness to him that

I know where to go when I'm facing the

giants of my life. Whether my giant is

as dumb as packing up my suitcase or as

extreme as the diagnosis that I just got

or the mortgage that's coming up that I

don't know how I'm going to pay or

whatever it may be. Whatever your giant

is, whatever the thing is that's giving

you this turmoil and this fear and this

anxiety, he will restore my soul. See,

there's moments that I can have where

life is chaos. And yet, I just feel this

peace.

I feel this shalom. I feel this ease and

it doesn't seem to be hitting in the

same way that it has. Yet, there's other

times in my life where a lot's going

right and for some reason, I don't know

why, but that little thing just gets me

so hard and DEEP AND JUST

AND I DON'T KNOW why I'm so anxious. I'm

so scared. I'm so upset. I'm so whatever

it may be about this little thing. I

know it's not a big deal, but it

certainly feels like one. It's so easy

and yet I always need to come back to

his restoration.

There's this poem written by Marsha

Horno

and it's the antithesis

of Psalm 23 and I just think it's so

beautiful

and how it highlights the reality of the

psalm that we usually live.

Can we pull that up?

The antithesis of Psalm 23. It starts

off,

it should be a long one. Psalm 23 there.

No. Psalm 23 antithesis. It should say

at the top. It's a long one towards the

end of the slides. I'll start reading.

The clock is my dictator.

I shall not rest. It makes me lie down

only when exhausted. It leads me into

deep depression. It hounds my soul. It

leads me in circles of frenzy for

activities sake. Even though I run

frantically from task to task, I will

never get it all done. For my ideal is

with me. Deadlines and my need for

approval, they drive me. They demand

performance from me beyond the limits of

my schedule. They anoint my head with

migraines.

My inbox overflows.

Surely fatigue and time pressures shall

follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the bonds of

frustration

forever.

How many of you are honest go, "My life

looks a lot more like that than like

Psalm 23." anybody? Now the reality is

is that the peace and the guidance of

the shepherd

is accessible in every season.

It's not how many tasks you are given

from your from your work. It's not how

hard your job is. It is how deeply I am

tied in and how near I am to the

presence of this shepherd.

Let him restore your soul. Let him be

your rest. Let him satisfy you. Let him

be your food and your drink. Be

satisfied. Hunger and thirst for him.

And I want I I just I've found this and

I want you to be able to carry this with

you. The presence of the shepherd

changes everything.

He wants you right here. He wants to be

with you right now.

He fulfills

and he satisfies me. This is what I

shall not want means.

I trust in him to lead me to the next

place. I trust in him to provide for me

the the the wisdom and the in the

knowledge and the goodness that I need

to be able to quench my thirsty soul. I

trust in him to restore me and to bring

me back into a peace, into a unity and

shalom. It's only found in him.

I love this in uh Isaiah 55

1-2.

It says, "Come everyone who thirsts,

come to the waters.

He who has no money,

come buy and eat.

Come buy wine and milk without money and

without price. Why do you spend your

money for that which is not bread?

Why do you seek the grass and the roots

and the sticks and the twigs and the

dirt to fill your stomach? Why do you

spend your money for that which is not

bread and your labor for that which does

not satisfy?

Listen diligently to me.

Eat what is good.

Delight yourselves in rich food.

This is all about the true food that is

found in the presence of the Lord.

Revelation chapter 7 says it this way.

Revelation 7 · chapter mention

It says, "Therefore, they are before the

throne of God and serve him day and

night in his temple. And he who sits on

the throne will shelter them with his

presence. They shall hunger no more.

neither thirst anymore. The sun shall

not strike them, nor any scorching heat.

For the lamb in the midst of the throne

will be their shepherd,

and he will guide them to springs of

living water. And God will wipe away

every tear from their eyes. This is what

it's like to be led by the shepherd, to

trust in him wherever he's going. And

I've got some great news for you. I've

got some great news. When I look at that

statement, I shall not want, I want you

to know.

You are not enough. Your ability to find

sustenance is not enough. Your ability

to strengthen and cur up your loins and

strengthen yourself and take on the next

day is not enough.

And we need I desperately need a

shepherd to guide me. I desperately need

a flock to surround me. I desperately

need to be part of this kingdom and to

trust that he fully satisfies and

restores me. Can we stand up in here?

When we're overwhelmed with life,

responsibilities, and failures, the

world says, "Here are five simple tricks

to become enough."

Yet, scripture reveals you failed, and

you will fail again. No matter how hard

you try, no matter how much you do, no

matter what you accomplish, you will

finish this life and meet God and find

out

that your actions weren't enough,

but his were.

But the good shepherd,

he's the only one who I can lean on.

He's the only one who I can come to.

When I follow this good shepherd and I

see his staff and I let him guide me to

green pastures and still waters, I can

be fully satisfied in Christ alone.

Amen.

So, what I want to do, I just want to

take a second here. We're just going to

take a couple minutes and I want to take

some time

for communion.

Not the bread and the drink right now.

This is to commune, to be a part of a

community, to be a part of of connection

with him. See, shephering was an

incredibly lonely business.

Is the shepherd sometimes they jump in

with some other shepherds and combined

flocks so they weren't totally alone.

But man, it's the shepherd and a a group

of sheep. And there's this powerful deep

unspoken connection that happens between

the shepherd and the sheep and this deep

love and how deeply the Lord wants to be

with you right now. He says, "Don't come

to me with all your wants.

Sometimes I just want you."

Can we take some time to just commune

and just to be with him? just to sit at

his feet, just to draw near to him as

his children, as his sheep, as his

flock, as those who are here. So, what I

want to do is I just want to step in a

couple minutes of worship here. And I

want you to find wherever you need to

go. If you want to come up to the altar,

come on up to the altar. If you want to

step off to the side and hit your knees,

step off to the side. Whatever you want

to do, I want us to find some time. Get

in a posture of communion and full

consecration. I am fully yours. Close

your eyes. No one else is here. It's me

and the Lord. Me and my shepherd. And I

want nothing else.

Jesus, I pray

that we would be satisfied.

We would be made whole and find that the

only thing that truly satisfies us, that

truly fulfills us, that actually lasts,

living water that causes us to never

thirst again. Living water that causes

for us to never have to keep searching

for that next thing. the next thing that

makes us sick, the next thing that

doesn't fulfill, the next thing that

actually hurts us. Lord, we go to you

and you alone. We trust in you and your

salvation and your fulfillment in the

mighty name of Jesus. Amen.

your presence.

I just want to sit here at your feet.

Yes. Caught up in this holy.

>> Don't miss this. Don't miss this. I

never want to leave.

right here.

>> Oh, I'm not here for blessings.

All the other needs set him aside.

>> Jesus, you don't owe me anything

more than anything

that you can do.

>> What is your want?

>> I just want you. Yes, Lord. The one

thing, one thing,

I'm sorry.

When I've just gone through the motions,

I'm sorry

when I sing another song. Take me back

to where we started.

I open my heart.

>> He's right here. He's with you already.

He's listening. He's by your side. He is

right here. Come on. Do not doubt it.

>> I'm sorry.

And I've come with my agenda.

I'm sorry.

I forgot that you're enough.

Take me back to where we started.

I open up my heart to you.

Come to full yours.

Come to be your presence.

I just want to see you at your feet.

God

only you satisfied.

I'm filled with you. your spirit, your

knowledge, your presence, your

provision. Lord,

he gives. He gives.

He provides.

We seek him first.

Not just one.

Yeah.

Nothing else. Yes. Come on. Say it.

>> Nothing else.

>> Come on.

Nothing else will do.

>> What else will satisfy

you?

>> What do you need? What do you need to

lay at his feet?

What are the other

crunches that you're using to satisfy

your thirsty soul? To satisfy your needs

for affirmation, to satisfy your needs

to numb this pain. What do you need to

lay his feet? And I got nothing else.

I'm sending it all down. I'm giving it

all to you all right here, right now.

Any

we

and you alone are you

nothing else.

Father God, I just pray in this place,

Lord, right here, right now, may we lay

aside all the other things. May we lay

aside all our other all our other

grievances, all the things in our hearts

and in our lives that grieve your spirit

and we lean in to you.

We are satisfied and fulfilled

by you.

I thank you father.

I thank you, Father,

that when we, you promise, when we come

near to you, when we repent, when we

turn back towards you,

when we seek you

humbly and with our whole heart,

I know I will find you.

When I knock,

I know you will open that door.

When I ask, I know you will answer.

I thank you that your presence is right

here. I thank you that your voice is

right here. I thank you that your

satisfaction and your fulfillment is

offered right before us right now.

Would you

make us lie down, find the peace, set

all our worries aside, make us lie down

in green pastures in your provision.

Would you make us, would you lead us to

still waters, to places that have

satisfied us, our thirsty, everlonging

soul, that we can rest in your presence,

in your provision, and your restoration.

In the mighty name of Jesus we pray.