I am so glad to be here with you to read God's Word. Today we are looking at Psalm 23. So I'll let you turn there. It's often called the Pearl of the Psalms. But before we read Psalm 23, I wanted to just tell a quick story, the story of a woman named Jessica Hannah.

After reading this woman's story, I immediately thought of Psalm 23. That's why I want to open with it. Psalm 23 is about the Lord being our shepherd and when I heard Jessica's story I thought this was someone that knew the Lord as her shepherd. In 2020 Jessica was 14 weeks pregnant with her fourth child when the doctors discovered stage 4 terminal breast cancer. As she sought treatment she refused the abortion.

She said, abortion was not necessary at all. My prognosis did not change. My treatment plan did not change. And on May 31st, 2021, Jessica announced the birth of her fourth son, Thomas. Two weeks later, Jessica's scans showed no sign of cancer.

She credited little Thomas with saving her life. Had she not been pregnant, she would not have found the cancer. On December 12th, 2022, Thomas was a year and a half old, Jessica's stage four cancer had returned and it was considered terminal.

And at that time she said, in my life, as I look back, I praise God for the hard times because those were the times he called me closer to him. This past April, on April 6th, Jessica died peacefully, surrounded by her family, and her husband said that she suffered joyfully without fear. Her kids and her husband saw her as someone who suffered joyfully and without fear. And I am convicted by her confidence. Inspired by her confidence.

Her confidence is, yes, a stark contrast to the world around us, but her confidence is a stark contrast I feel sometimes to me. I've suffered and gone through a lot less and complained a lot more.

In terms of hardship, I've gone through a lot less and I have felt more hopeless. I want her sort of confidence, her sort of faith because that is what confidence is. The word confidence means with faith. Confidence is having faith, dependence, trust. I'm inspired by her faith. She knew who her God is. She knew who her God is. She knew him. She trusted him. She followed her shepherd, even when she went through the valley. So I want all of us, as we read Psalm 23 together, I want us to think of people like Jessica in our lives. I want us to think of people who know who their God is, that we are inspired by their level of faith and their good shepherd.

Today's message is called, The Lord is Mine. And we will see from Psalm 23 that the Lord is my shepherd who leads me, my protector who is with me, and my Savior who loves me. If you haven't opened to Psalm 23 yet, I'm going to read it. And the reason we go to scripture is because in the Bible Jesus says, if you abide in my word you are truly my disciples and you will know the truth and the truth will set you free. That's why we go to scripture. And in Psalm 23, it says this,

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside still waters.[a]

3 He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness[b]

for his name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c]

I will fear no evil,

for you are with me;

your rod and your staff,

they comfort me.

5 You prepare a table before me

in the presence of my enemies;

you anoint my head with oil;

my cup overflows.

6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me

all the days of my life,

and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord

forever.[g]

Let's pray Father we pray that you do speak through your word this morning. Jesus, remind us of your grace, remind us of your faithfulness, remind us of your goodness. Holy Spirit, please help us here and now and as we leave here to follow you as you guide us.

Amen. Psalm 23, it's a psalm about his reliability. Psalm 23 is also probably the most well-known of the psalms. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will not be afraid. There is an objective beauty to that possibility of confidence. Even though I walk through the valley, the shadow of death, I will not be afraid. It's my favorite psalm. I know it holds a special place in many of your hearts as well. It was on your grandparents' wall. It was read at a funeral or at a wedding.

This has been a powerful word for our church family and I'm right there with you. The peace of God is on display in these words. So I want to read it one more time. It's short enough, we can do that. And I want you to just breathe in the peace of God

as this Psalm invites you to have further faith in our Lord, our shepherd. 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 namesake.

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. The Lord is my shepherd who leads me."

We have here an analogy of a sheep and a shepherd. And many of us don't have a lot of interactions with sheep unless you do 4-H or you go to a petting zoo. But I think the psalm makes the image really clear and clear enough. We are needy people and we have a shepherd who gives us what we need. My wife and I just got into the chicken world. We've raised quail for a couple years now and we decided to upgrade to chickens and those birds would die if I did not feed them and give them water.

I do, so they're alive and well. I remember to feed them and give them water and what they need, I do take care of them. And that's the whole point of this entire Psalm is that God knows what his sheep need. God knows, Psalm 23 is saying he does take care of his sheep. Notice the intimacy here.

The Lord is my shepherd, not the world's. Mine. I know his voice. The Lord is mine. I am under his pastoral care, his rod and staff. They comfort me. And also notice who's doing the actions here. It's not the sheep. It's the shepherd. He makes, he restores, he leads. The shepherd's love is on display here for his sheep. He's at work. He makes. I love how the first verb here is such a powerful one. He's not suggesting things. He's not He makes me. It's sometimes good to be reminded that God's grace is not a shot in the dark. His grace is intentional divine providence. It brings results. He makes things happen in the world and in us. When God goes fishing, he's not chumming the water. He just tells the fish, get in the net, and they do.

He makes things happen. When God wants to see a result, He makes the change happen. That's why we say things like, "'He is almighty, He is able,' and that is a grace to us,

because what He's making us do is rest. He makes me lie down in green pastures."

When we use that phrase, He makes me, we usually mean it as a complaint, we shift blame, right? He made me angry. She made me late. But I want you to think of it like this. Think of a good friend who is there for you in just the right way. He made me feel at ease.

She made me happier.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. Another thing the psalm is saying is that he restores. He restores. The good news this morning is so rich it might be hard to hear it. It's hard for me to say it as clear as it needs to be said. The Bible is saying that God is a God of restoration. And some of you are here this morning and you are in need of

restoration. Hear the Word of the Lord. There is good news. You may not be able to hear it, but it's good all the same. It's true all the same. There is hope in Jesus. He filled the oceans with water. He can fill your soul with what it needs. He restores my soul.

And also he leads.

If you've been a Christian a while, you know, we are not just given insurance against hell, but we are led by Jesus into heaven. We're not just given insurance against hell, but we are led into heaven. He leads us through the difficulties of life in a sinful world and he leads us into the joys of life. Think of a shepherd leading a young flock into a new pasture. They're here, but they need to be there. So the shepherd is leading the flock there. And it's going to be a rough path sometimes. Through the woods, over the hills, through valleys, the wolves are lurking around the corner. The weather can sometimes be rough, but the shepherd is with the sheep. He's feeding them, he's protecting them,

he's leading them, he's making sure they rest. And the sheep are cared for.

That's what the Lord does for us.

And we, as we are led by him, we become different people along the way. We become better people along the way. Jesus leads us and that means that Jesus changes us. We call it sanctification, being made new. He is changing us as he leads us, growing us into the type of people who belong on the new green pastures. In a in a fictional story written by C.S. Lewis Called the great divorce if you've read it already where I'm at It's a fictional story of a bunch of people who had not followed God therefore they were not changed by God They get to visit heaven so people from hell get to visit heaven and when they get there they hate it It seems awful to them the grass is not soft and comforting, but it's sharp. It's hard to stand on. It's unbearable Because they didn't belong there they refused to let God lead them and therefore change them But the people who had been following

Jesus For those who had been led by Jesus and changed by Jesus to them. It was comforting It was vibrant But to them, it was comforting. It was vibrant. Jesus led them and made them into the type of people that aren't just able to stand on the grass of heaven but belong on it.

Sanctified. That is the hope that we have in God's leading, that we would be sanctified in Him. who we were meant to be as he leads us and as we follow. This room right now could give story after story after story of how we have seen the word of God change people so drastically, we are still shocked by it.

And some of you, you might be the person in the mirror you don't recognize because of the power of God's changing work in our lives. We've seen him lead and change our brother, our sister, our spouse, our coworker, our father, and it can take a while, but the shepherd hook of Jesus changes us. And God does it all, this text says, for his name is through flourishing sheep.

He intends to make his name great by having a flock that is flourishing. God is our shepherd with a purpose in mind. He intends, God intends to have an amazing flock of sheep that are happy, content, and flourishing. They are two sides of the same coin. God is reminding creation how great his name is through flourishing sheep. Why do you do your job? Make money for security, because it's fun. I don't know. You all do your jobs for different reasons. God has a job. He's doing his job. Why does God do his job?

To make his name great. So the greater the joy in heaven, the greater the name of God. Two sides, same coin. And that's what this Psalm is saying. If the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.

Because I know my eternity is secure. His reputation is on the line. My eternity is secure. His reputation is on the line. But is that true? Do we really lack nothing?

I know a lot of Christians who have, seem to be in active need. We see a range of people inside, outside the church that have a range of stuff. Stuff you see, stuff you can't. We see people that are wealthy and people that are poor. We have high earners, low earners, socially successful people socially challenged, big house, just renting, lots of kids, childless, naturally optimistic, consistently depressed. There are many examples of genuine lack in our lives, whether Christian or not. But the psalm is saying, I could have nothing, and yet if I have Christ, I have everything. Our shepherd will provide what we need to flourish. So it's better to have Jesus than any other abundance. How can we be so confident in him?

How can we have so much faith in him?

How can we have so much assurance in him?

How can you be so sure? Because we know the stakes. We know his reputation's on the line. It says, for his name's sake. So who is this up to, him?

Who's doing this, he is.

We can have assurance in the promise that no matter what we might feel like we are missing, our eternal security is guaranteed by our shepherd. He intends to bless his sheep into eternity. He died for his sheep. I think he takes our eternal joy pretty seriously.

So Psalm 23 kicks off by describing the actions of the Lord and the actions of a good shepherd, he leads, he restores, and the trust and faith of the sheep. So Psalm 23 teaches us to say this, the Lord is my shepherd who leads me. I will rely on him. I will depend on him. I will follow him.

And I will trust that he is taking me down the best path for my eternal joy in his glory, no matter how hard it gets. You have a God who is attentive to your needs, leading you for his glory and your joy. Believe the good news, no matter how much bad news, like wolves, you're surrounded by. If the Lord is your shepherd, you lack nothing.

The Lord is my protector who is with me. 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. This is the poetic core of the psalm, one of the most beautiful lines in all of scripture. And here's the question, if our God is attentive to our needs, then why am I going through suffering?

And this is where the Psalm reminds us of what life is truly like. The Psalms do that. They remind us of what life is truly like. And this Psalm here is reminding us of how good God really is to us.

God is not abandoning us in our suffering. Instead, he is walking with us through it. Just like he did on the cross, he is taking you through it to the other side where he promises not only to make you more holy, more like him, more as you're meant to be, but also he's going to take away the sin of the whole world and make the whole world as it was meant to be. That's what eternity looks like. The world as we know it without the sin. The vision for eternity is a creation redeemed from sin. He is not abandoning us to sin and sorrow,

but he is walking with us through it. And on the other side is a sanctified you and a sanctified creation. God is attentive to our needs, so he isn't leaving us alone in sin, but he is conquering sin in us. We do not overcome our sins or our fears by minimizing them.

We do not overcome our fears by minimizing them. We overcome our fears by realizing the greater power that is at work for his namesake and our joy. We overcome our fears and our sin by remembering our protector. So we too can suffer joyfully and without fear if we know the one who is walking with us, a good shepherd, a savior, a good God.

One time I was at my house, I was a young boy at the time, and there was a terrible storm. And my father and I were in the living room and lightning struck the house, or the field next door, the house. Lightning struck near the house and it was one of the loudest things I had ever heard, the house shook, my heart raced, I was terrified. And my dad noticed. And he said, son, it's okay. And for a second, I thought, maybe it's okay. Because my dad is with me. The terror of 300 million volts splitting my ears in an instant was calmed by the whisper of my father and my heavenly father is always with me that should make the difference for me no matter my circumstances fear not I am with you even though you walk through the valley of the shadow of death even if we have every reason to be afraid. As long as our protector shepherd is with us we can suffer joyfully without fear. The Lord is my Savior who loves 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. So verses five and six kind of give us this new metaphor, the Lord as a host, a banquet, we're guests, but it's also a continuation of the shepherd metaphor because shepherds feed their flock. The Lord, it says the Lord is preparing. You prepare. God is doing something. God is preparing a place for us who have been saved by Jesus.

For those in Christ, no matter how dark it gets, there is joy in the morning of our eternity. He is preparing a place for us in the presence of my enemies. The enemies are at the door. They're looking in the window. They're ready to cause destruction, and yet God isn't grabbing his shotgun, he's preparing a table, because his promises aren't at risk. There's actually no threat to his love, he is prepared.

He isn't caught off guard by our sorrows. The preparations for our flourishing are seen on the cross of Christ, in the empty tomb where Jesus chose to go through the suffering on our behalf to get to the other side, to get us to the other side.

He has begun a good work and he will complete it. And this is what we're offered by our shepherd.

This is what we're offered by our Savior and our God to be led, to be protected, to have a promise to hold onto, to be chosen as his, to be welcomed as his, as we also say, the Lord is mine. Christ is our shepherd, our protector, and our savior.

And that is consequential.

It means something. It changes things. Our eternal flourishing is inevitable. It's guaranteed because he will see to it. That changes our eternity. And if it changes our eternity, it should change our every day.

The Lord is your shepherd. That should affect your day. He is yours, you are his. If it changes your eternity, it should affect your day. And if it doesn't affect your day, every day. You're either forgetting or you're not actually following him.

Here's the point of it all. The shepherding, the protecting, the saving, the leading, the preparing, the anointing, the restoring, the goodness, the mercy, the love. This is the point of it all, that we would have confidence in our God, no matter the suffering or the fear. That we would have confidence in our God, no matter the suffering or the fear.

This is why we point to God's love all the time, because his love changes things. His love is not an arbitrary emotion or wishful thinking. The love of God is tangible, it is an action, it is a promise. He came to us, traveling from heaven to earth, becoming one of us so we could take our place on the cross. Those are not emotions, those are actions. They're not just emotions. The love of a shepherd changes everything for the sheep because the shepherd's actions toward them and for them.

The love of God is not arbitrary emotion, it's not wishful thinking. The love of God is an action. It's something that He does. It's something that changes us and I think of mark 10 we could go in so many different places in scripture But I think specifically of mark 10 there's this iconic moment where Jesus is before this giant crowd and It stops him in his place and it says he has he had great compassion on them because they were like sheep without a shepherd He didn't stop at the compassion. He then goes on to teach them, and he feeds them in a way only God can. He begins to shepherd them. The crowd was without a shepherd, and then Jesus came to be their shepherd. It changed their lives.

Do we wake up every day knowing and trusting that our shepherd is at work. It's not just thinking well of us. He doesn't just say, I think well of you as if it's some arbitrary emotion, but he promises to care for us and he's at work in our lives.

Psalm 23 is an invitation for you to deepen your trust in your shepherd. This Psalm is an invitation to deepen your trust in your God. Trusting God changes how you worship. Trusting God changes how you read your Bible, your Bible habits, your prayer habits.

Trusting God changes your marriage. Trusting God changes how you keep moving on after that great loss. Trusting God changes how you view the pain that you thought you couldn't manage. Trusting God changes the way you view that fear that used to cripple you. Trusting God, whatever it is, would you believe that there is good enough news that can change not just your eternity, but your day, every day. You can leave this building with confidence and joy and peace no matter what we're going through because the Lord is your shepherd. I know a young adult who served at camp as a leader this past summer,

and he overheard a conversation that one of his cabin boys was having with the other boys. And he overheard this moment of vulnerability where the camper said to them, he was just expressing his fears in life. And he said, I just hope God will forgive me.

And that leader pulled that kid aside and said, you just told everyone that you hope God will forgive you. Can I tell you some really good news. Do you know that good news

That the Lord does love us That Jesus has done the work to forgive us that he is still working on our behalf for his glory and our joy Repent from putting all your trust in something else repent from putting all your trust in money repent from putting all your trust in money. Repent from putting your trust in anything but Jesus.

Your job won't get you into heaven. Your spouse can't give your life meaning. Your wishful thinking can't stop sin and death. If you have a shepherd in anything other than Jesus, then you lack. If you have a shepherd in anything other than Jesus, then you are in great need. Because Jesus is the only one who can save you. He's the only one worthy of being your shepherd. And he can be. Guiding you, protecting you, restoring you, setting a vision, giving your life purpose, leading you into eternal joy forever and every day. If the Lord is your shepherd, you lack nothing. And nothing can change that. I want to end with this final encouragement from Romans 8, keeping in mind the faith that Psalm 23 is inviting us to, keeping in mind that the love of God is promise and action.

Romans 8. What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us. He who did not spare his own son but gave him up for all of us, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? Who shall bring any charge against God's elect? It is God who justifies. Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died. More than that, who was raised and who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us? Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation or distress or persecution or famine or nakedness or danger or sword? As it is written, for your sake we are being killed all the day long. We are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered. No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. For I am sure that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height, nor depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the depth, nor anything else in all creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord. Let's pray.