Psalm 23, May 04, 2024

It's time for the Champions in Christ broadcast with Rhonda Harrison on 1017

Bay FM. Good morning and welcome to Champions in Christ. Thank you for

listening today. Today we're going to dive into the Psalm 23. You know the Lord

is so good and this Psalm is wonderful. It's so full of the truth of God's

Word. All of His Word is truth, but it's so full of exactly who He is and what He

provides. And He does it in such a beautiful way. This is a Psalm of David,

King David, and it's just masterfully written. It starts out, the Lord is my

shepherd. I shall not want. You know that's an amazing verse right there

because if the Lord is our shepherd and we are the sheep and that's what He can

refer us to many times in the Word, you know the sheep rely on the shepherd. They

rely on the shepherd for all their needs being met. They don't have to think

about it. And here in this first verse, the Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.

He's saying he we will not want for anything and he confirms that word in

Psalms 84 11. He says for the Lord God is Son and shield. The Lord will give grace

and glory and no good thing will he withhold from them who walk up

rightly. That's a great promise from the Lord. You know if you have needs today

and we all have needs at different times in our life, maybe every day we need

breath, right? We need air to breathe and God is so gracious and so loving and so

kind and he loves you just the way you are. He doesn't love you because you do

anything for him. He doesn't love you any less if you sent against him. His love

never changes. But if you enter in just like the scripture said, if you walk up

rightly, now our righteousness is filthy rags outside of Jesus. But in Jesus we

have been made the righteousness of Christ because of that blood. The blood

that was shed cleanses us from all sin. So it's not our works that make him love

us. He just loves us. He can't help himself. He's so full of the love of God for

us. He cannot help himself. And so if we continue on, if we go over to Luke in

chapter 15 verse 3, he refers again, he says, and he spake this parable unto

them. He said, what man of you having a hundred sheep if he loses one of them?

Does he leave the 99 in the wilderness to go after that one which is lost until

he finds it? And when he's found it, he lays it on his shoulder rejoicing. You know,

we are lost without God. The sheep are lost without the Lord and he's always

available for us to call upon. If you don't know him today, you can just call

on his name Jesus. We'll talk about that a little later. But I want you to know

that anytime that there's one, even if there's one that's strange, you know,

maybe you're someone who served the Lord for a while or started out with the

Lord and got distracted, got let away. You know, the Lord's knocking on the door

of your heart today. He wants you to come back. He has many good things for you

and he won't withhold them as we just read. But let's continue on. So verse 6,

and when he comes home, he calls together his friends and neighbors saying,

rejoice with me for I have found my sheep that was lost. You know, all of heaven

rejoices when one person gives their life to the Lord and gets forgiveness and

gets restored in that right relationship with God. That's what God wants. Just

like you desire relationship with others, whether it's your parents or

your children or your friends or your spouse, you know, God wants relationship.

He wants us talking to him and speaking with him about everything and you talk

to him just like you're talking to your friend or your mom or your dad. You know,

it's a beautiful thing. And in John 10, 10, John chapter 10 verse 11, he says,

John 10:11

I am the good shepherd. This is Jesus talking and the good shepherd gives life

for his sheep. He laid down his life for his sheep and that's what a good

shepherd in the field does. He will, he will risk his life to save his sheep. He

watches over them. Hallelujah. You know, verse two said, he makes me lie down in

green pastures. He leads me besides still waters. You know, a good shepherd in the

field provides very grassy lands, green grass for the sheep to eat because

that's the sheep's food. And so just as, as with us, he provides everything we

need. He provides our food. He provides our clothing. He provides everything we

need. And Matthew, if we turn there and we go to six, chapter six verse 25 and

26, he said, therefore I send you, take no thought for your life, what you will

eat or what you will drink or what you will wear on your body is not life more

than food and the body more than clothing. Behold, even the birds of the air for

them, they neither so nor do they reap nor do they gather into barns yet your

heavenly father feeds them. Are you not much more better than they? You know, God

values his creation and he provides for them the birds of the air, the fish in

the sea, the animals in nature. He provides rain for nature. He provides all of

it yet they don't do anything for him. They don't, they don't go and do as we

can, of course, because they're in different type of creation, but how much

more valuable are you to God? He values you so very much. He loves you so very

much. And so he will make us to lie down and greet. You don't have to worry

about your needs being met. God provides your needs. He loves you. He will

continue to provide your food, your clothing, anything you need. Call upon

him, ask him. There's another scripture that says we have not because we ask

not or we ask amiss. What does that mean that we would consume and upon our

lust? In other words, we're asking for things that we really aren't good for

us. And so sometimes we won't get those things, but God is there to provide the

good things for you. And he not only provides physical food, but spiritual

food. That's what the word of God is all about. The Holy Bible. You know, if you

go in and there's several different translations that are good ones, there

are some there that aren't so good. But if you start digging in the word of God,

you'll get to know him better. Just like as you spend time with other people, you

get to know them better. You have to spend time in his word and spend time in

worship and praise and spend time talking to him. That's how we get to know this

awesome loving God. Also in verse two, he says, he leads me besides still waters,

still waters. What is that referring to? Peace. Do you need peace today? You know,

if we turn to Matthew chapter 11 verse 28, he says, come unto me, all of you that

Matthew 11:28

are in labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest. Do you need rest

today? You know, God created everything in six days and on the seventh day, he

rested. You know, he wants you to have a day of rest. Rest is important to the body

physically. It's important to the mind mentally. It's important to the spirit

spiritually, and you can enter into that rest with him and he will give you great

peace. You know, God says great peace have those whose minds are stayed on him.

You know, if you think about the Lord, the I have to say change your thoughts. If

your thoughts are not good and all you have is worry and concern and doubt and

unbelief and or aggravation or you're angry because someone treated you poorly.

I say change your thoughts. Cast those things off. It's not helping you in any

way to focus and to stay your mind on things like that. The Bible says to to

think on things that are good and pure and holy and of a good report. And if

there be any virtue or any praise, think on these things. That's what the Word

says. We're to think on good things, really, really good things. So anything

that's good, anything that's pure, anything that's holy, you know, sometimes we

have to turn that TV off. We have to put that phone down because you're reading a

lot of social media and a lot of social media is not going to be good food for

your heart or your mind. And remember what goes in the ear gate and what goes in

the eye gate will drop down eventually to the heart and will come out the mouth

and will come out in your actions. So if you want to be peaceful, the Lord will

lead you to that place of peace. That's in his word. That's in his presence. That's

in speaking with him and his Holy Spirit will come along aside of you and he

will give you peace. And this is peace that passes understanding in the midst of

the storm. You will have peace. You may be going through the most horrible time in

your life right now, but you can say, Lord, I need your peace right now. Would

you come and pour out your peace upon me? He'll come right where you're at because

he never leaves you. He never forsakes you. You know, verse three, verse three says

he restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his namesake.

Wow. Wow. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. You know,

God is such a good, good God. He restores our soul, restores our soul in the

original Hebrew means to recover, to refresh, to rescue, to fetch home again.

You know, we were once with God before sin, before Adam came. And then when Adam

came and that sin came, it just trickled down through the bloodline until Jesus

came and eradicated it. Hallelujah. With his pureness, he was the sinless lamb

that laid down his life for the sheep. Us that we could have that relationship with

him. Hallelujah. That excites me. That is so exciting. You know, in John three, three,

it says truly, truly, I say, and do you accept a man be born again? He cannot see

the kingdom of God. You know, all the promises of God are yes and amen to those

who believe. You know, you have to believe in him. You have to give your heart to him

and repent of your sin. But then all these promises, the word of God is so

full of God's promises for you. There's so many in the word. If you just take the

time to check them out. You know, Proverbs 4, 18 says the path of the just is as a

shining light that shines more and more unto the perfect day. You know, he leads

us in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. His path is always good.

Remember the devil's bad and God is good. God is good and the devil's bad. You know,

the Lord keeps it really simple. Your path will be that of light, not darkness.

He will not lead you to a path of fear, of unbelief, of doubt, of anger. All of

that is not his path. His path is peace and joy, even in the midst of the storm.

Doesn't mean we won't be without trouble. Doesn't mean those curveballs won't get

tossed our way. But you can hit that curveball right out of the park just by

walking in his ways. God is a lamp into our feet and a light unto our path. He

will always lead you and guide you. He is amazing. And John 16, 13 says when he,

the spirit of truth talking about the Holy Spirit comes, he will guide you into

all truth. This is written in John because it was before it was when Jesus was on

the earth before he had been hung on the cross and resurrected. But now that he's

been resurrected, he went up into heaven and he sent the Holy Spirit down. And when

we receive Jesus, then we get the Holy Spirit and the Holy Spirit because God,

he brings you, he creates you new again. He says you are a new creation in Christ.

Old things are passed away. Behold, all things become new, but we have to renew

our mind because our mind is still in this physical body on earth. You know, you

are a spirit, you live in a body and you have a soul, which is your mind, your

will and your emotions. And that's why when you get born again, you have to

change your thoughts. You have to get the word of God in you, meditate on it. What

does that mean? That's not meditation like other places like New Age and yoga,

all that. That's not the type of meditation he's talking about. He's

talking about focus. Think upon, think about it. Chew on it. Chew on the word of

God, line upon line, precept upon precept here, a little, there a little. And I'll

tell you, the word of God has brought so much life into my life and to every

situation that I, that I turn to it for. God will fill your life with the truth

and with the peace of God. Right now, you're probably sensing his peace because

he's right there in you. The Holy Spirit will come when Jesus has talked about.

So you will fill him within. He is upon. He is around. You know, the Holy Spirit

is amazing. He is our Comforter. If we go to John 1426, it talks about the Holy

Spirit and John 1426. It says, but the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost whom

the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things and bring all

things to your remembrance whatsoever. I've said to you. So the Holy Spirit is

your teacher. He will teach you the word of God. If you will get in the word and

say, Holy Spirit, teach me, you know, he's your counselor, your Comforter, your

helper, your advocate. That's all the words that the Holy Spirit is. He's the

third person of the Trinity. He's equal with God and with Jesus because he's

the power of God. You know, I tell you what, God's word, he is so faithful. You

know, in verse four, he says in Psalm 23, Yay, though I walk through the Valley of

the shadow of death. Do you feel like you're in a shadow of death right now?

Did they give you a bad report? Did they say to you that you don't have a long

to live? Did you get threatened by someone today? Well, let me tell you, there's a

promise from God that even though you walk through the Valley of the shadow of

death, you will fear no evil. That's right. When you lean on the Lord, you focus on

his word, you keep your mind on him. You know, he created the heavens and the

earth. Think about it. The galaxies are still continuing on and he created all

of that. Life begats life. So therefore the life of God is in you and you have

nothing to fear when you trust in the Lord. He said, be of good courage for I

have overcome the world. That's right. Jesus has overcome the world. So you have

nothing to fear when you're in that shadow and you're passing through the

Valley. It says, though I walk through, don't stop and make a camp there. Don't

camp out and plant your roots there. No way. You're going through that Valley and

you're going back up on the mountain. That's right because though the storm

comes, if your house is founded on the rock of Jesus Christ, the storms may

beat against the house, but guess what? You, it will not fail. You will stand. And

the Bible says when you've done everything, stand. God will give you the

strength to stand. Praise God. Praise God. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. And he also

says thy rod and thy staff. They comfort me. You know, the Holy Spirit not only

comforts and strengthens you, but he also is here to convict us, to correct us. God

will correct us the same way our parents or will discipline us and teach us

right from wrong. The Holy Spirit will do that as well. He sure will. If we get in

that word, he will teach us and he will correct us. So we stay on that right

path. Why? Because the Bible says whom God loves, he chasens or corrects or

disciplines. So he will do that for us. He's such a good God. Verse five says,

thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my

head with oil and my cup runneth over. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. I'm telling you

what? That's an awesome scripture because why? Because he prepares a table

before us in the presence of our enemy. What's on the table? Anything you need

strength, joy, peace, kindness, love, finances, healing, a miracle. Maybe you

need a miracle today. God has it on the table. You know, one time in a worship

service, I remember seeing this vision and it was, it was the table of the Lord

and all around. It was so ornate and golden, beautiful design and the chairs

were high back and really, really fancy, like just amazing. I can't describe the

beauty that I saw. And there was this table and it was full of all this stuff

on the table and there was this seat open and the Lord said, why don't you take

your seat at the table? That's what I heard when I saw this vision. In other

words, there is a table God has for you. It's prepared for you in the presence of

your enemies, not when just when things are good, but in the presence of your

enemies. And if you just take your seat, why? How do you have a seat? You have a

seat at the king's table because you're a king's kid because God is the king of

kings and the Lord of lords. So take a seat. He'll anoint your head with oil, oil

for what? For whatever you need. He'll fill your cup to overflowing where you

become a blessing into everyone else's life. That's right. You become a blessing

for everyone else. Praise God. Your life will overflow into others and that's how

we share the good news. The good news. Jesus Christ is good news, right? Alright,

verse six, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That's right. In John 14, God

said that he goes to prepare a place for you. That's right. That's right. He goes

to prepare a place for you. And he says in my father's house are many mansions. If

it were not so, I would not have told you, but I go to prepare a place for you.

And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, receive you unto

myself where, where I am. You may be also and you will know where I go and you

will know the way. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. That's how we get to

him. That's how we get to that place in heaven, that mansion prepared for us. But

I want you to remember the table. The table's here for you to receive, but also

remember the promise of heaven. We're going to go to a song and it's about this

Psalm, Psalm 23. And I just want you, if you're not driving to, to sit back and to

shut your eyes and to let the presence of God come and speak to you through this

song. And I'll come right back at you in a few minutes and talk to you.

The Lord is my shepherd, there's nothing I need. You lead me to the safest places.

You lead me to the safest places. To walk in the middle and light by the stream.

You meet me in the quiet places. You meet me in the quiet places. Your goodness and your mercy will follow me all the days of my life. All the days of my life. And I'll dwell in your house for eternity.

I'll be there by your side. I'll be there by your side.

So I walk through the valley, the shadow of death. I don't have to fear no reason, for I know that you are with me. We thought you'd bless him, covered my head. You feel me too overflowing. My cup is overflowing.

You meet me in the quiet places. Your goodness and your mercy will follow me all the days of my life. All the days of my life. And I'll dwell in your house for eternity. I'll be there by your side. I'll be there by your side.

All the days of my life. All the days of my life.

You'll be at the table before me, right in front of my enemies. You're the shepherd of my soul. You lead me in the right direction. My comfort and my protection. You're the shepherd of my soul.

You'll be at the table before me, right in front of my enemies. You're the shepherd of my soul. You lead me in the right direction. My comfort and my protection.

You're the shepherd of my soul. Your goodness and your mercy will follow me all the days of my life. All the days of my life. And I'll dwell in your house for eternity.

I'll be there by your side. I'll be there by your side. All the days of my life. All the days of my life. All the days of my life.

Hallelujah. Hallelujah. What a great God we serve. Boy, that Psalm is so full of promise and it's promises for you. You may say, Oh, I'm not good enough. Oh, yes, none of us are good.

But Jesus said that we have to receive his gift, the free gift of life, Jesus Christ, to be able to receive these blessings that we're reading about in Psalms 23. It's available. It's for you. So just pray this prayer with me, dear Jesus, come into my life. I need you.

I receive your promises. I receive Jesus, the free gift of salvation. Forgive me of my sin. I repent and lead me in that path of righteousness. And I thank you for it in Jesus name. Amen.

You know, I want you to rejoice. I want you to thank God because all of heaven rejoices when one person gives their heart and their life to Jesus Christ.

I want you to go out and make it a great day. I want you to know that God loves you. We love you and you are a champion in Christ.