WEBVTT 00:00:09.419 --> 00:00:14.279 Welcome to ECB's weekly sermon podcast. ECB is 00:00:14.279 --> 00:00:16.579 an international church in Bangkok, Thailand, 00:00:16.760 --> 00:00:19.820 with dozens of nationalities worshiping together. 00:00:20.120 --> 00:00:22.980 We invite you to connect with us from wherever 00:00:22.980 --> 00:00:27.199 you are through our website ecb .asia or our 00:00:27.199 --> 00:00:31.059 mobile app. And now we pray that you are blessed 00:00:31.059 --> 00:00:35.240 by this week's sermon. In this series, what we 00:00:35.240 --> 00:00:37.640 are doing is we are unpacking five different 00:00:38.200 --> 00:00:41.479 uh psalms or poems songs that are collected in 00:00:41.479 --> 00:00:44.899 this book that we call uh the psalms and it's 00:00:44.899 --> 00:00:46.820 right found right in the middle of your your 00:00:46.820 --> 00:00:49.259 bible so if you're new to the faith that's where 00:00:49.259 --> 00:00:52.320 you're going to find it and these 150 psalms 00:00:52.320 --> 00:00:56.359 are written by people from different times different 00:00:56.359 --> 00:01:00.979 eras but what they're all doing is they are using 00:01:00.979 --> 00:01:04.879 poetry and songs to connect themselves to god 00:01:04.879 --> 00:01:08.530 in this language of prayer So these are to be 00:01:08.530 --> 00:01:13.109 sacred companions for us. And so the intent of 00:01:13.109 --> 00:01:15.909 this series is this. We would like to offer you 00:01:15.909 --> 00:01:19.950 and us as a community five of these songs, and 00:01:19.950 --> 00:01:23.109 we're at the last one today. This is like a mini 00:01:23.109 --> 00:01:26.930 playlist to get you, if you have not made the 00:01:26.930 --> 00:01:30.049 book of Psalms something that shapes and forms 00:01:30.049 --> 00:01:33.329 your life, this is made to invite you into that 00:01:33.329 --> 00:01:36.379 space. Now, what are some of those that we've 00:01:36.379 --> 00:01:40.400 done? We started with Psalm 93 in a proclamation 00:01:40.400 --> 00:01:44.659 that God's got you. From there, we turn to Psalm 00:01:44.659 --> 00:01:48.519 119. God knows you intimately and he's always 00:01:48.519 --> 00:01:53.299 drawing you to himself. Then Psalm 19 that declares 00:01:53.299 --> 00:01:55.719 that God can be known. And we see this in the 00:01:55.719 --> 00:01:58.000 world around us, things we see and don't see 00:01:58.000 --> 00:02:01.359 and experience the fact that God is there and 00:02:01.359 --> 00:02:05.530 he's the creator. And then Psalm 147, which is 00:02:05.530 --> 00:02:09.629 that God heals you. Before we turn to our psalm 00:02:09.629 --> 00:02:12.229 today, I want to pray once again. And we are 00:02:12.229 --> 00:02:15.110 putting ourselves in a posture before God saying, 00:02:15.270 --> 00:02:17.009 hey, would you please speak to us? Would you 00:02:17.009 --> 00:02:19.370 encounter us in this space? We want to be shaped 00:02:19.370 --> 00:02:22.110 and formed in the image of Christ. We'd like 00:02:22.110 --> 00:02:24.310 you to help us to do that. So would you join 00:02:24.310 --> 00:02:28.909 me in prayer? Father, we are thankful for your 00:02:28.909 --> 00:02:32.629 word. Thank you that you are a God that wants 00:02:32.629 --> 00:02:35.189 to be known and you have done everything possible 00:02:35.189 --> 00:02:37.770 to make yourself known to the point of sending 00:02:37.770 --> 00:02:40.789 your very son that we just sang about again and 00:02:40.789 --> 00:02:43.530 again and again, the visible image of a God that 00:02:43.530 --> 00:02:49.409 we cannot see. Thank you. Holy Spirit, for those 00:02:49.409 --> 00:02:53.210 who are in Christ, you dwell within us. Would 00:02:53.210 --> 00:02:57.770 you empower us to not only see the beauty of 00:02:57.770 --> 00:03:01.719 who you are, but to listen well so that we would 00:03:01.719 --> 00:03:04.099 be changed going forward from here, that we would 00:03:04.099 --> 00:03:08.259 be more like your son Jesus, more like you created 00:03:08.259 --> 00:03:11.740 us to be from the beginning. So as we look at 00:03:11.740 --> 00:03:15.580 another psalm, a very well -known psalm that 00:03:15.580 --> 00:03:19.479 has meant a lot to many of us, we invite you. 00:03:19.599 --> 00:03:22.360 You are welcome in this space. Do your work. 00:03:22.840 --> 00:03:25.240 We pray this and seal it in the name of Jesus. 00:03:26.219 --> 00:03:30.729 Amen. Well, there's a true story from the country 00:03:30.729 --> 00:03:34.069 of Turkey, or Turkiye is, I think, the correct 00:03:34.069 --> 00:03:38.150 pronunciation of that, that is of some sheep 00:03:38.150 --> 00:03:42.810 and some shepherds. And one day, the village 00:03:42.810 --> 00:03:45.530 shepherds took hundreds of sheep up into the 00:03:45.530 --> 00:03:48.330 mountains, and they got up to a place where the 00:03:48.330 --> 00:03:51.909 sheep could graze. And as the day progressed, 00:03:52.069 --> 00:03:53.949 the shepherds finally decided that they were 00:03:53.949 --> 00:03:56.090 going to go and take a break to have a meal. 00:03:57.259 --> 00:03:59.500 So they left the sheep grazing and they went 00:03:59.500 --> 00:04:02.680 nearby and began to have this meal together. 00:04:02.819 --> 00:04:05.240 But it was at that point that something very 00:04:05.240 --> 00:04:09.860 unfortunate happened. This is a true story. One 00:04:09.860 --> 00:04:14.319 of the sheep jumped off a cliff. It's about 15 00:04:14.319 --> 00:04:20.100 meters down. And one by one, the rest of the 00:04:20.100 --> 00:04:25.480 sheep, 1 ,500 of them, followed this sheep. off 00:04:25.480 --> 00:04:31.579 the edge of a cliff. How peculiar. What in the 00:04:31.579 --> 00:04:36.759 world is happening in this story? So is this 00:04:36.759 --> 00:04:40.180 a mass suicide by these animals? And if that's 00:04:40.180 --> 00:04:44.560 the case, that's very strange. Or perhaps maybe 00:04:44.560 --> 00:04:47.220 this just points to the fact that sheep are really 00:04:47.220 --> 00:04:52.399 dumb creatures. Either option is not very good 00:04:52.399 --> 00:04:55.480 for us because God's preferred, one of his preferred 00:04:55.480 --> 00:04:58.759 metaphors for you and for me to understand who 00:04:58.759 --> 00:05:02.860 you are and who I am and who he is in our relationship 00:05:02.860 --> 00:05:10.000 is to compare us to sheep. So here's the invitation 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:13.019 then is rather than allow that to come to you 00:05:13.019 --> 00:05:15.759 as an insult and to be like, well, I'm not like 00:05:15.759 --> 00:05:20.500 that. Allow the shocking comparison. to speak 00:05:20.500 --> 00:05:23.959 to the very nature of who you are and to ask 00:05:23.959 --> 00:05:30.759 these two questions. Who am I? Who are you? And 00:05:30.759 --> 00:05:34.720 how can you live the good life? We want to know 00:05:34.720 --> 00:05:36.800 this, right? We struggle to live the good life. 00:05:36.939 --> 00:05:40.860 And so if God is comparing us to sheep, is there 00:05:40.860 --> 00:05:42.720 something we can learn about their existence 00:05:42.720 --> 00:05:46.759 that helps us to know how to live the good life 00:05:46.759 --> 00:05:52.379 and to understand who we are? Now, one of the 00:05:52.379 --> 00:05:55.740 best passages that captures this is the best 00:05:55.740 --> 00:05:59.779 known psalm, Psalm 23. And it begins, the Lord 00:05:59.779 --> 00:06:02.839 is my shepherd, I shall not want. We know this 00:06:02.839 --> 00:06:06.279 psalm very well. And we're going to turn to this 00:06:06.279 --> 00:06:09.579 psalm this morning and look at it not as just 00:06:09.579 --> 00:06:15.600 some words of comfort, but a roadmap of spiritual 00:06:15.600 --> 00:06:19.839 restoration. It gives an outline, a framework, 00:06:19.959 --> 00:06:23.019 if you will, about what it looks like to walk 00:06:23.019 --> 00:06:27.079 in a way like a sheep before his or her shepherd 00:06:27.079 --> 00:06:30.579 and to be shaped into what we were always intended 00:06:30.579 --> 00:06:33.860 to be, the good life. And it's going to do this 00:06:33.860 --> 00:06:36.079 in four different stages. But here's what I'd 00:06:36.079 --> 00:06:38.339 like us to do before we get to those stages is 00:06:38.339 --> 00:06:40.240 I'm going to have you stand back up again and 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:43.079 we are going to read all six verses of this psalm 00:06:43.079 --> 00:06:49.170 together as a community. We ready? The Lord is 00:06:49.170 --> 00:06:53.509 my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie 00:06:53.509 --> 00:06:57.490 down in green pastures. He leads me beside still 00:06:57.490 --> 00:07:02.129 waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths 00:07:02.129 --> 00:07:06.370 of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though 00:07:06.370 --> 00:07:09.310 I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, 00:07:09.569 --> 00:07:14.579 I will fear no evil. You are with me. Your rod 00:07:14.579 --> 00:07:18.120 and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare 00:07:18.120 --> 00:07:21.699 a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 00:07:22.019 --> 00:07:26.620 You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. 00:07:27.040 --> 00:07:31.259 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all 00:07:31.259 --> 00:07:35.079 the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the 00:07:35.079 --> 00:07:38.240 house of the Lord forever. Go ahead and take 00:07:38.240 --> 00:07:43.939 your seats again. By the way, this would have 00:07:43.939 --> 00:07:46.379 been the practice of God's people for all of 00:07:46.379 --> 00:07:48.699 time is to read his word aloud together like 00:07:48.699 --> 00:07:51.480 that. And it's different than when we read it 00:07:51.480 --> 00:07:56.660 on our own. The author of this psalm is King 00:07:56.660 --> 00:07:59.000 David. From everything we know, it's King David. 00:07:59.040 --> 00:08:03.879 And King David has a really, a life that we want 00:08:03.879 --> 00:08:07.040 to pay attention to. Why? Because on one level, 00:08:07.060 --> 00:08:12.550 he was a shepherd, really a nobody. But on the 00:08:12.550 --> 00:08:14.709 other level, he eventually became a powerful 00:08:14.709 --> 00:08:20.490 king. He lived in an anonymous way, and he lived 00:08:20.490 --> 00:08:25.189 as somebody who everyone knew. He was an artist, 00:08:25.410 --> 00:08:29.829 a musician, but he was also a fierce warrior 00:08:29.829 --> 00:08:33.350 and led all kinds of battles that were successful. 00:08:34.690 --> 00:08:38.799 He was a family man. and brought order not only 00:08:38.799 --> 00:08:41.240 to his family, but the nation that he ruled over. 00:08:42.220 --> 00:08:46.340 But he also caused incredible disorder, not only 00:08:46.340 --> 00:08:48.639 within his family, but in the nation that he 00:08:48.639 --> 00:08:52.700 was leading. David was also called a man after 00:08:52.700 --> 00:08:56.080 God's own heart, something that any of us would 00:08:56.080 --> 00:08:58.159 say, Lord, would you please say that about me? 00:08:58.279 --> 00:09:04.019 May that be the case. But David also committed 00:09:04.019 --> 00:09:08.779 some sins that were so atrocious, shocking, including 00:09:08.779 --> 00:09:12.259 committing adultery with one of his friends and 00:09:12.259 --> 00:09:17.100 fellow servants, his spouse. And then to make 00:09:17.100 --> 00:09:19.659 things worse, trying to hide this, he ended up 00:09:19.659 --> 00:09:23.379 having this friend killed so that he could cover 00:09:23.379 --> 00:09:27.820 over what he had done. So when David writes a 00:09:27.820 --> 00:09:30.860 psalm, he's not writing from some experience 00:09:30.860 --> 00:09:33.980 he wrote or read in a book or heard somebody 00:09:33.980 --> 00:09:37.639 talk about. He's writing his direct experiences. 00:09:39.279 --> 00:09:42.639 And so for that, I want to invite you to listen 00:09:42.639 --> 00:09:45.139 well to that because not only does he have a 00:09:45.139 --> 00:09:47.340 wide range of experiences, but he's inspired 00:09:47.340 --> 00:09:51.259 by the Holy Spirit to write what he wrote. So 00:09:51.259 --> 00:09:55.919 let it speak to us. There's a quote by Dallas 00:09:55.919 --> 00:09:59.399 Willard that says the following. It says, self 00:09:59.399 --> 00:10:06.159 -sufficiency is the enemy of the soul. We were 00:10:06.159 --> 00:10:09.080 made to live in the constant presence of God, 00:10:09.279 --> 00:10:14.700 not in the illusion of independence. So self 00:10:14.700 --> 00:10:16.720 -sufficiency is the enemy of the soul. We were 00:10:16.720 --> 00:10:19.500 made to live in the constant presence of God. 00:10:19.840 --> 00:10:23.100 So God confronts our illusion that independence 00:10:23.100 --> 00:10:25.960 and the habits we form to maintain this illusion 00:10:25.960 --> 00:10:29.639 are gracious, and then he graciously restores 00:10:29.639 --> 00:10:32.659 us under that care. And this is what you and 00:10:32.659 --> 00:10:36.149 I have in common with a sheep. We are deeply 00:10:36.149 --> 00:10:40.669 dependent on our shepherd. We are made to be 00:10:40.669 --> 00:10:44.789 intertwined with the God that we follow. So what 00:10:44.789 --> 00:10:46.850 was happening with those sheep? We'll get to 00:10:46.850 --> 00:10:50.570 that in just a moment. But another way of saying 00:10:50.570 --> 00:10:54.049 that Psalm 23, it offers a poetic framework with 00:10:54.049 --> 00:10:57.529 four different parts, four different stages of 00:10:57.529 --> 00:11:00.450 our spiritual journey. And these stages, all 00:11:00.450 --> 00:11:03.129 of us are invited to. To go through them in life. 00:11:03.230 --> 00:11:05.330 Now, I want to be clear. We like to break things 00:11:05.330 --> 00:11:08.269 up and make them really nice and organized. That's 00:11:08.269 --> 00:11:11.090 not how life works, is it? These are all messed 00:11:11.090 --> 00:11:14.029 up and intertwined and connected and they circle 00:11:14.029 --> 00:11:16.350 through it. And there's this saying that we have 00:11:16.350 --> 00:11:18.929 around the leadership team here that is the ing, 00:11:19.009 --> 00:11:22.149 ing, ing. What is that saying? It means that 00:11:22.149 --> 00:11:26.629 we are always being transformed. So we are being 00:11:26.629 --> 00:11:30.980 changed into. So it's an ongoing process. So 00:11:30.980 --> 00:11:33.279 you may think, okay, I've got this part of this 00:11:33.279 --> 00:11:35.120 stage settled. Let me move to the next stage. 00:11:35.639 --> 00:11:38.779 Done. Let's go on to the next. You're going to 00:11:38.779 --> 00:11:40.519 have to come back here again and circle through 00:11:40.519 --> 00:11:43.039 that and go on to the next one. But the core 00:11:43.039 --> 00:11:46.700 thing that you need to hold on to is that God 00:11:46.700 --> 00:11:49.440 is more fiercely committed to your transformation 00:11:49.440 --> 00:11:52.950 than you are to it. So keep your eyes on the 00:11:52.950 --> 00:11:55.190 shepherd as we go forward. And these four points 00:11:55.190 --> 00:11:58.029 will be what guides us as we move along. So in 00:11:58.029 --> 00:12:00.289 the very first stage, what God is going to invite 00:12:00.289 --> 00:12:03.309 you to is an awareness of a life of lack and 00:12:03.309 --> 00:12:06.350 what we do when we have this feeling that something 00:12:06.350 --> 00:12:09.710 is lacking in our life. Raise your hand if you 00:12:09.710 --> 00:12:11.570 feel like something is lacking in your life. 00:12:12.970 --> 00:12:15.830 Oh, there's, okay, there we go. It took a little. 00:12:16.169 --> 00:12:18.870 Some other people, a little honesty to like sheep. 00:12:18.970 --> 00:12:20.429 You need to have one raise their hand and then 00:12:20.429 --> 00:12:25.710 the rest will do so. So what David is going to 00:12:25.710 --> 00:12:28.830 do in this first part is address this illusion 00:12:28.830 --> 00:12:31.230 because that is what actually God does to us. 00:12:31.370 --> 00:12:35.009 And Psalm 23 begins in this well -known phrase 00:12:35.009 --> 00:12:38.470 that we know, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall 00:12:38.470 --> 00:12:41.730 not want. Now, we've talked about this a few 00:12:41.730 --> 00:12:43.529 times in the Psalms when it's all capitalized 00:12:43.529 --> 00:12:46.129 Lord and anywhere in scripture, it's Yahweh, 00:12:46.269 --> 00:12:49.129 which is God's preferred name. It's the one he 00:12:49.129 --> 00:12:51.830 gave to Moses, who was a shepherd also in that 00:12:51.830 --> 00:12:55.149 situation. And this is identifying a specific 00:12:55.149 --> 00:12:59.769 God, the God, the only one and true God is my 00:12:59.769 --> 00:13:03.909 shepherd. That's a bold claim. But not only that, 00:13:04.009 --> 00:13:07.590 let's add to it that I shall not want. That's 00:13:07.590 --> 00:13:11.259 another bold claim, right? Is that a weight on 00:13:11.259 --> 00:13:13.279 our shoulders that say, oh, I can't want, I can't 00:13:13.279 --> 00:13:16.200 want, I can't want? Or is that something different? 00:13:16.240 --> 00:13:18.879 Well, let's go ahead and look forward to this. 00:13:19.960 --> 00:13:22.799 The sheep did not jump off that cliff because 00:13:22.799 --> 00:13:25.080 they were dumb or because they were suicidal. 00:13:25.820 --> 00:13:29.700 The sheep jumped off that cliff because of something 00:13:29.700 --> 00:13:34.659 that was part of their design and an instinct 00:13:34.659 --> 00:13:37.769 kicked in at that point. And it's an important 00:13:37.769 --> 00:13:40.090 thing for us to pay attention to. And in order 00:13:40.090 --> 00:13:43.970 to do that, there's a wonderful book by a shepherd 00:13:43.970 --> 00:13:48.169 named Philip Keller. And I came across this book 00:13:48.169 --> 00:13:50.649 a number of years ago, and it has been deeply 00:13:50.649 --> 00:13:53.850 influential to me. It's a beautiful book. This 00:13:53.850 --> 00:13:57.690 man grew up in Kenya, East Africa, and learned 00:13:57.690 --> 00:14:00.269 from nomadic shepherds there what it was like 00:14:00.269 --> 00:14:03.460 to take care of sheep. Then he moved back to 00:14:03.460 --> 00:14:05.919 his home country of Canada and he became a shepherd 00:14:05.919 --> 00:14:09.120 full -time. That was his job. And on the weekends, 00:14:09.240 --> 00:14:11.700 he was a different kind of shepherd. He was a 00:14:11.700 --> 00:14:13.600 pastor, which is the same word for shepherd, 00:14:13.779 --> 00:14:17.059 in a church. So he made his income from taking 00:14:17.059 --> 00:14:20.600 care of sheep, the animals, and then he did pastoring 00:14:20.600 --> 00:14:24.840 as a way to follow what God is saying. He also 00:14:24.840 --> 00:14:27.519 had a life with all kinds of ups and downs and 00:14:27.519 --> 00:14:31.259 struggles. He lived through... was born, I believe, 00:14:31.340 --> 00:14:33.559 in the 30s and so lived through all kinds of 00:14:33.559 --> 00:14:38.600 things, including his wife dying of cancer. And 00:14:38.600 --> 00:14:41.460 so he doesn't speak to you from some place without 00:14:41.460 --> 00:14:44.580 understanding. He speaks to you like King David 00:14:44.580 --> 00:14:47.720 with this understanding of what it's like to 00:14:47.720 --> 00:14:50.879 be a shepherd. And so this book, A Shepherd Looks 00:14:50.879 --> 00:14:55.279 at Psalm 23, it's going to give you a verse -by 00:14:55.279 --> 00:14:58.759 -verse, idea -by -idea capturing of what it is. 00:14:59.279 --> 00:15:03.320 to be, or to understand Psalm 23 better. So here's 00:15:03.320 --> 00:15:05.600 what I'd like to do. I'd like to offer this book 00:15:05.600 --> 00:15:08.419 to somebody completely free. If you raise your 00:15:08.419 --> 00:15:10.120 hand, I think I just saw you. Go ahead and come 00:15:10.120 --> 00:15:11.799 up, and I'll give you the book, and then I'll 00:15:11.799 --> 00:15:21.220 tell you the conditions of it. Yeah. Okay. So 00:15:21.220 --> 00:15:23.799 here are the conditions of it. You can go ahead 00:15:23.799 --> 00:15:27.519 and take a seat. What I'd like you to do is as 00:15:27.519 --> 00:15:29.500 you're reading that book and you're just learning 00:15:29.500 --> 00:15:32.100 probably more than you ever would like to know 00:15:32.100 --> 00:15:36.220 about sheep, later I would love to have a conversation 00:15:36.220 --> 00:15:38.059 with you and you just share how the book has 00:15:38.059 --> 00:15:41.460 impacted you. And that's for two reasons. One, 00:15:41.580 --> 00:15:44.440 because God is going to do a work in and through 00:15:44.440 --> 00:15:46.700 you through that book, but it also helps me because 00:15:46.700 --> 00:15:49.600 I feel like I know too much about sheep and I 00:15:49.600 --> 00:15:51.580 want somebody else to share in that pain as well. 00:15:51.679 --> 00:15:57.120 So yeah, there's a lot in there. So Philip explains 00:15:57.120 --> 00:15:59.460 the following. He says that when the basic needs 00:15:59.460 --> 00:16:03.899 of sheep are not met, they are going to instinctively 00:16:03.899 --> 00:16:08.840 act to satisfy those needs. So if there's a path 00:16:08.840 --> 00:16:10.580 in front of them, they're going to begin walking 00:16:10.580 --> 00:16:13.720 on it in order to try to find something to solve 00:16:13.720 --> 00:16:18.059 whatever need they have. Similarly, there's another 00:16:18.059 --> 00:16:21.799 instinct. If the sheep that begins moving and 00:16:21.799 --> 00:16:26.159 acts upon something does so, and they're a leader 00:16:26.159 --> 00:16:29.720 by any means, the other sheep are going to instinctively 00:16:29.720 --> 00:16:32.779 follow that one. So what likely happened in Turkey 00:16:32.779 --> 00:16:34.899 is the lead sheep, or one of the lead sheep, 00:16:35.080 --> 00:16:37.860 all of a sudden was aware that there was a need. 00:16:37.919 --> 00:16:39.940 Maybe the grass right in front of him or her 00:16:39.940 --> 00:16:43.539 was not to his liking, and he saw a path, and 00:16:43.539 --> 00:16:46.840 so he just started following it. And then the 00:16:46.840 --> 00:16:48.639 other sheep were like, oh, he's going there, 00:16:48.659 --> 00:16:51.500 I'm going to follow him as well. And that's likely 00:16:51.500 --> 00:16:54.159 what happened with this tragic event in Turkey. 00:16:56.649 --> 00:16:59.049 So to start this psalm with the declaration that 00:16:59.049 --> 00:17:01.370 God is my shepherd and that I lack nothing speaks 00:17:01.370 --> 00:17:04.569 to a profound choice that you have and that I 00:17:04.569 --> 00:17:08.450 have. Who is your shepherd? You and I were never 00:17:08.450 --> 00:17:12.470 meant to follow another person. If you are following 00:17:12.470 --> 00:17:15.849 a pastor, a shepherd, only follow him as long 00:17:15.849 --> 00:17:19.049 as he is following Christ. As Paul says, follow 00:17:19.049 --> 00:17:22.490 me as I follow Christ. You are only meant to 00:17:22.490 --> 00:17:25.960 follow your true shepherd, God. And this goes 00:17:25.960 --> 00:17:28.039 for all other kinds of ways of following. We 00:17:28.039 --> 00:17:31.200 follow people all over the place, right? Always 00:17:31.200 --> 00:17:34.099 allow God the shepherd to be the one who guides 00:17:34.099 --> 00:17:38.799 you in that. Why is this such a problem? Why 00:17:38.799 --> 00:17:41.480 do we have this choice? Well, let's go back to 00:17:41.480 --> 00:17:45.140 the beginning, a story with Adam and Eve, who 00:17:45.140 --> 00:17:48.960 God helps them to realize, or sorry, God's enemy 00:17:48.960 --> 00:17:52.079 points out to them that there's something lacking. 00:17:52.670 --> 00:17:55.210 And he does this through this tree, right? And 00:17:55.210 --> 00:17:57.430 he says, hey, I know that God has put you in 00:17:57.430 --> 00:18:00.049 this garden and he said he's taking care of all 00:18:00.049 --> 00:18:02.410 of your needs, but let me give you a different 00:18:02.410 --> 00:18:05.890 vision. There's something he's keeping from you. 00:18:06.430 --> 00:18:12.369 There's something more you need. So mistrust 00:18:12.369 --> 00:18:16.650 God, trust me and follow me and you'll see that 00:18:16.650 --> 00:18:18.690 your eyes are going to be open. So let's read 00:18:18.690 --> 00:18:21.430 the passage from Genesis. It says, now the serpent, 00:18:22.269 --> 00:18:24.970 was more crafty than any of the wild animals 00:18:24.970 --> 00:18:28.650 that the Lord God had made. He said to the woman, 00:18:28.829 --> 00:18:33.170 did God really say you must not eat of any tree 00:18:33.170 --> 00:18:36.970 in the garden? Do you notice the lie here? The 00:18:36.970 --> 00:18:41.130 truth was there's one tree you're not supposed 00:18:41.130 --> 00:18:43.609 to eat of, and instead they took this to a whole 00:18:43.609 --> 00:18:46.390 different reality. He said, did God say that 00:18:46.390 --> 00:18:52.099 you can't have what you need? When the woman 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:55.339 saw that the fruit of the tree was good for food 00:18:55.339 --> 00:18:58.880 and pleasing to the eye and also desirable for 00:18:58.880 --> 00:19:02.079 gaining wisdom, wisdom in our own sight as opposed 00:19:02.079 --> 00:19:05.880 to God's is a form of mistrust. She took some 00:19:05.880 --> 00:19:08.339 and ate it. And now here's the following sheep. 00:19:09.559 --> 00:19:12.200 She also gave some to her husband and he walked 00:19:12.200 --> 00:19:17.140 off the cliff as well. Well, who was with her 00:19:17.140 --> 00:19:20.410 and he ate it too, right? Both of them are just 00:19:20.410 --> 00:19:23.529 as culpable in this situation. They both acted 00:19:23.529 --> 00:19:27.230 on their instinct in a way trusting a false shepherd 00:19:27.230 --> 00:19:31.910 rather than the true shepherd. And so their eyes 00:19:31.910 --> 00:19:36.369 of both of them were opened and they realized 00:19:36.369 --> 00:19:39.529 they were naked. Here's this need that they see. 00:19:39.690 --> 00:19:42.329 So what did they do? They acted upon that need 00:19:42.329 --> 00:19:46.210 and they sewed fig leaves together and made a 00:19:46.210 --> 00:19:49.339 covering for themselves. Now, if you know scripture 00:19:49.339 --> 00:19:51.900 well, God actually comes and he encounters them 00:19:51.900 --> 00:19:54.599 and he calls Adam and Eve out of hiding. And 00:19:54.599 --> 00:19:57.839 what is the first thing he does for them? He 00:19:57.839 --> 00:20:01.500 makes a covering for them. He makes a covering 00:20:01.500 --> 00:20:05.640 for them. Because what he wants to do is confront 00:20:05.640 --> 00:20:09.519 our instinct for self -sufficiency. And he's 00:20:09.519 --> 00:20:11.660 saying, I will take care of you. I know you were 00:20:11.660 --> 00:20:13.940 the one who decided to mistrust me and head in 00:20:13.940 --> 00:20:16.559 a different direction. I will be the one to bring 00:20:16.559 --> 00:20:19.319 you back home. And that's the psalm that we're 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:23.220 looking at here. So David begins the psalm addressing 00:20:23.220 --> 00:20:25.920 this fundamental problem and instinct, one that 00:20:25.920 --> 00:20:29.720 you and I actually do share with sheep. To be 00:20:29.720 --> 00:20:31.960 our own shepherd or under the care of any other 00:20:31.960 --> 00:20:36.339 shepherd than God himself is a disaster. This 00:20:36.339 --> 00:20:39.000 is why David in this countercultural and yet 00:20:39.000 --> 00:20:41.740 necessary spiritual resistance, he says, the 00:20:41.740 --> 00:20:47.859 Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. How does 00:20:47.859 --> 00:20:50.539 God actually restore trust in that situation? 00:20:51.359 --> 00:20:53.980 Well, he continues on and he says, he makes me 00:20:53.980 --> 00:20:57.599 lie down in green pastures and he leads me beside 00:20:57.599 --> 00:21:02.140 still waters. This is provision. So in a recognition 00:21:02.140 --> 00:21:06.299 of lack, God says, I will provide for your needs. 00:21:06.799 --> 00:21:09.279 And I'm going to bless you with that. I'm going 00:21:09.279 --> 00:21:13.680 to provide for you. Now, depending on the translation, 00:21:13.920 --> 00:21:16.559 this make you lie down, some of you, if you have 00:21:16.559 --> 00:21:18.160 your Bibles open or you've been looking through 00:21:18.160 --> 00:21:22.039 the app, it may say, lets me lie down in green 00:21:22.039 --> 00:21:24.200 pastures. Well, letting and making are two different 00:21:24.200 --> 00:21:26.539 things. If you bring them together, you really 00:21:26.539 --> 00:21:28.440 have the picture of what David is saying here. 00:21:28.559 --> 00:21:30.319 And to do that, you've got to understand sheep. 00:21:30.819 --> 00:21:34.180 And this goes back to that book. So the shepherd 00:21:34.180 --> 00:21:37.349 Philip. realize that there's four things that 00:21:37.349 --> 00:21:40.150 sheep need in order for them to actually lie 00:21:40.150 --> 00:21:42.710 down. So if you invited a sheep to come and lie 00:21:42.710 --> 00:21:44.910 down and these things were not taken care of, 00:21:44.930 --> 00:21:48.170 the sheep will not lie down. You can try to force 00:21:48.170 --> 00:21:50.069 that sheep to lie down. It'll just get back up 00:21:50.069 --> 00:21:52.690 again. And they're not going to want to do that. 00:21:52.750 --> 00:21:55.029 What are those four things? Well, they need to 00:21:55.029 --> 00:21:59.829 be free from fear. Free from fear. They need 00:21:59.829 --> 00:22:02.769 to be free from friction within the flock, the 00:22:02.769 --> 00:22:07.099 group. They need to be free from flies or insects 00:22:07.099 --> 00:22:09.900 that bother them, and they need to be free from 00:22:09.900 --> 00:22:14.960 hunger. They sound like pretty needy creatures, 00:22:15.079 --> 00:22:17.420 don't they? We're kind of needy creatures as 00:22:17.420 --> 00:22:20.380 well, aren't we? For a sheep to lie down and 00:22:20.380 --> 00:22:22.740 rest, these need to be taken care of, and that's 00:22:22.740 --> 00:22:25.319 exactly what the psalmist says here. He makes 00:22:25.319 --> 00:22:27.559 me lie down, so he's done the work to make it 00:22:27.559 --> 00:22:30.140 so the sheep can lie down in that green pasture. 00:22:32.619 --> 00:22:34.759 What does this look like actually as we follow 00:22:34.759 --> 00:22:37.619 Jesus? For those of you who have been walking 00:22:37.619 --> 00:22:40.519 with him for a season or maybe even if it's new 00:22:40.519 --> 00:22:44.000 to you, oftentimes the turning point from when 00:22:44.000 --> 00:22:48.140 you, your old life to your new life is characterized 00:22:48.140 --> 00:22:52.160 by huge transformation. You're heading in one 00:22:52.160 --> 00:22:54.940 direction and it is truly a U -turn in a different 00:22:54.940 --> 00:22:59.109 direction. God's word. satiates your hunger like 00:22:59.109 --> 00:23:01.470 you've never known before and you just begin 00:23:01.470 --> 00:23:03.710 to read it. I've heard brothers and sisters, 00:23:03.869 --> 00:23:06.049 especially those who are in countries where they 00:23:06.049 --> 00:23:08.210 can't practice their faith and they come upon 00:23:08.210 --> 00:23:10.329 a Bible and they just read it and read it and 00:23:10.329 --> 00:23:14.450 read it. They're just feasting upon it. It also 00:23:14.450 --> 00:23:18.269 speaks to the fact that we're going to have these 00:23:18.269 --> 00:23:21.670 incredible feelings of God's love for us in this 00:23:21.670 --> 00:23:24.539 season. In the beginning season. And so you hear 00:23:24.539 --> 00:23:28.039 baptism stories where it's just profound transformation. 00:23:28.400 --> 00:23:31.819 And that is the way God gifts us in this stage. 00:23:32.000 --> 00:23:35.380 But he does more than just giving us this rest 00:23:35.380 --> 00:23:38.880 in him of this new way of life. He also renews 00:23:38.880 --> 00:23:42.940 us. And it says, he leads me besides still waters. 00:23:43.759 --> 00:23:47.099 Again, to understand the sheep will not drink 00:23:47.099 --> 00:23:50.710 from rushing water. They need the water to be 00:23:50.710 --> 00:23:54.569 still, but the water can't be like a pond that 00:23:54.569 --> 00:23:57.190 is just sitting there and with lots of parasites 00:23:57.190 --> 00:24:00.710 in it because why? Well, a sheep like you and 00:24:00.710 --> 00:24:06.890 I is made up of 70 % water. So if they're either 00:24:06.890 --> 00:24:09.809 deprived of water, they're going to die soon. 00:24:10.309 --> 00:24:14.150 If they drink polluted water, they will die eventually 00:24:14.150 --> 00:24:18.259 as it slowly attacks them going forward. And 00:24:18.259 --> 00:24:21.359 here's the thing about sheep too. They will follow 00:24:21.359 --> 00:24:25.599 one another in that instinct behavior where they 00:24:25.599 --> 00:24:28.460 say if a sheep is in front and ends up coming 00:24:28.460 --> 00:24:31.420 upon some water and ends up urinating in that 00:24:31.420 --> 00:24:33.579 water and keeping on walking, the sheep behind 00:24:33.579 --> 00:24:36.759 will just drink straight from that water. It's 00:24:36.759 --> 00:24:39.799 disgusting. And within that then there's these 00:24:39.799 --> 00:24:43.940 parasites that begin to kill the sheep. So a 00:24:43.940 --> 00:24:46.500 good shepherd knows this and he leads them to 00:24:46.500 --> 00:24:51.339 still water where they can lie down and where 00:24:51.339 --> 00:24:53.339 they can enjoy the water that he has prepared 00:24:53.339 --> 00:24:55.140 for them. Now, what does this look like for us 00:24:55.140 --> 00:24:58.200 as followers of Jesus? Well, for those who follow 00:24:58.200 --> 00:25:00.740 Jesus, who find ourselves to consider him to 00:25:00.740 --> 00:25:03.200 be our shepherd, we have the indwelling spirit 00:25:03.200 --> 00:25:06.980 within us that renews us. Moment by moment, day 00:25:06.980 --> 00:25:10.319 by day, reality by reality of what we used to 00:25:10.319 --> 00:25:13.309 be and what he's calling us to. And the scriptures 00:25:13.309 --> 00:25:16.049 picture this as flowing water that just brings 00:25:16.049 --> 00:25:20.470 life into a space. And that's often an unseen 00:25:20.470 --> 00:25:24.089 way within us. And this is part of God's provision 00:25:24.089 --> 00:25:27.990 to us. So for those who declare that the Lord 00:25:27.990 --> 00:25:30.970 is my shepherd, things have changed drastically. 00:25:31.190 --> 00:25:35.609 Their life has been renewed. And so asking you 00:25:35.609 --> 00:25:39.890 a question this morning, can you declare I lack 00:25:39.890 --> 00:25:48.230 nothing? I lack nothing. It's okay if you can't 00:25:48.230 --> 00:25:52.170 because your need is actually a way that the 00:25:52.170 --> 00:25:55.549 shepherd turns your attention to him to continue 00:25:55.549 --> 00:25:59.849 to provide for you. So when you are aware of 00:25:59.849 --> 00:26:03.029 something that is lacking, turn to the shepherd. 00:26:03.509 --> 00:26:06.549 That sheep and turkey, if he had turned to the 00:26:06.549 --> 00:26:09.349 shepherd, it would have been drastically different 00:26:09.349 --> 00:26:11.779 for all of them. Even though the shepherd was 00:26:11.779 --> 00:26:13.720 a little ways off, if he had turned to him, it 00:26:13.720 --> 00:26:16.059 could have changed the whole day going forward. 00:26:16.180 --> 00:26:21.339 So turn to your shepherd in that. Well, you may 00:26:21.339 --> 00:26:24.119 ask, well, this sounds like the good life. Look 00:26:24.119 --> 00:26:26.019 at the sheep back here in this green pasture. 00:26:26.140 --> 00:26:28.759 Why would I want to go anywhere else? I'm just 00:26:28.759 --> 00:26:31.680 going to sit here and continue to consume and 00:26:31.680 --> 00:26:35.839 enjoy God's provision over and over and over 00:26:35.839 --> 00:26:40.799 again. But there's a problem with that. God does 00:26:40.799 --> 00:26:45.240 not want us to stay just receiving from him. 00:26:45.359 --> 00:26:48.559 He wants to take us on a journey of deeper intimacy 00:26:48.559 --> 00:26:52.339 with him. And just like sheep, there's a reason 00:26:52.339 --> 00:26:55.059 for them needing to leave the green pastures 00:26:55.059 --> 00:26:56.920 at a certain time, which we will get to next. 00:26:58.319 --> 00:27:01.539 He's going to take us from comfort -based faith 00:27:01.539 --> 00:27:05.259 to a different way of engaging with him. And 00:27:05.259 --> 00:27:07.910 I want you to listen to this. Comfort -based 00:27:07.910 --> 00:27:13.029 faith is longing for life now at the cost of 00:27:13.029 --> 00:27:17.309 intimacy with the life giver. It comes at the 00:27:17.309 --> 00:27:19.730 cost of intimacy with the life giver. So the 00:27:19.730 --> 00:27:21.549 good shepherd, he's fully committed to restoring 00:27:21.549 --> 00:27:24.049 us. He's going to take us to where he can begin 00:27:24.049 --> 00:27:27.509 to restore intimacy with him. And here's how 00:27:27.509 --> 00:27:31.490 it starts. It says, he restores my soul. Great. 00:27:31.960 --> 00:27:34.279 I'm so glad, God, you've restored my soul and 00:27:34.279 --> 00:27:37.299 he leads me in paths of righteousness for his 00:27:37.299 --> 00:27:41.119 name's sake. Back to the book and understanding 00:27:41.119 --> 00:27:44.160 a lot about sheep. Sheep will continue, as I 00:27:44.160 --> 00:27:46.799 said before, to just gorge themselves. If they 00:27:46.799 --> 00:27:48.940 are in a green pasture, they will eat and they 00:27:48.940 --> 00:27:50.859 will eat and they will eat and they will return 00:27:50.859 --> 00:27:53.579 to their same routines that have brought them 00:27:53.579 --> 00:27:56.680 this nourishment again and again and again. Now, 00:27:56.759 --> 00:27:59.799 if I go to the same path and I come back and 00:27:59.799 --> 00:28:02.029 then I go to the same path, I'm going to end 00:28:02.029 --> 00:28:05.089 up making a rut in the ground, right? I'm going 00:28:05.089 --> 00:28:08.309 to make a divot there. And while I'm doing it, 00:28:08.309 --> 00:28:10.210 I'm also eating a lot, which means I'm getting 00:28:10.210 --> 00:28:14.230 bigger than I'm designed to be. And one of the 00:28:14.230 --> 00:28:17.029 things that the shepherd wants to do is lead 00:28:17.029 --> 00:28:19.950 us out of these green pastures, not only to care 00:28:19.950 --> 00:28:23.490 for the ground, but also because it's good for 00:28:23.490 --> 00:28:28.420 us to go out. We need to do this. Now, we don't 00:28:28.420 --> 00:28:30.180 know exactly what David is talking about here, 00:28:30.259 --> 00:28:33.960 but Philip tells us or gives us an insight into 00:28:33.960 --> 00:28:37.619 sheep that is possibly what is happening here 00:28:37.619 --> 00:28:41.640 with the idea of restoring a soul. Here's what 00:28:41.640 --> 00:28:44.160 it is. If I go again and again as a sheep and 00:28:44.160 --> 00:28:45.759 I'm getting larger and larger and continuing 00:28:45.759 --> 00:28:51.039 to eat, sheep will actually fall down. And because 00:28:51.039 --> 00:28:53.279 of the way they are designed, they are not meant 00:28:53.279 --> 00:28:55.980 to be very large. They will end up on their back. 00:28:56.860 --> 00:29:00.380 unable to turn back over. Now, it sounds kind 00:29:00.380 --> 00:29:03.240 of funny, but I'm going to show you what ends 00:29:03.240 --> 00:29:05.000 up happening with it, and then we're going to 00:29:05.000 --> 00:29:07.240 talk about it. So they've fallen in this thing. 00:29:07.339 --> 00:29:11.339 They end up on their back like this, and then 00:29:11.339 --> 00:29:13.779 all they can do is just move their legs, and 00:29:13.779 --> 00:29:16.980 they're like this, right? And they frantically 00:29:16.980 --> 00:29:20.839 do that in their own self -sufficiency, trying 00:29:20.839 --> 00:29:25.019 to turn themselves right side up. But they can't. 00:29:25.640 --> 00:29:28.380 They can't. They need the shepherd to come and 00:29:28.380 --> 00:29:31.799 restore them, turn them right side up, and lead 00:29:31.799 --> 00:29:35.059 them to paths of righteousness for whose namesake? 00:29:35.500 --> 00:29:37.819 For the shepherd's namesake, because he knows 00:29:37.819 --> 00:29:40.160 what you need better than you know what you need. 00:29:40.880 --> 00:29:44.039 And he's going to lead us in that way. So here's 00:29:44.039 --> 00:29:46.380 what my invitation is. Why did I just do that? 00:29:46.519 --> 00:29:49.359 Because I want an image to stick in your minds 00:29:49.359 --> 00:29:53.799 every time you think, man, God, I remember back 00:29:53.799 --> 00:29:57.240 to those days. when everything in my life was 00:29:57.240 --> 00:30:00.640 changing so fast and I loved it, let me just 00:30:00.640 --> 00:30:03.799 go back there. Because he's leading you on to 00:30:03.799 --> 00:30:05.619 something else. And what is it that he's leading 00:30:05.619 --> 00:30:09.839 you on to? He is leading you away from the green 00:30:09.839 --> 00:30:12.900 pastures into something else, which is the dark 00:30:12.900 --> 00:30:16.359 valley. And in order to do that, let's talk about 00:30:16.359 --> 00:30:20.579 a few other things here. A good shepherd doesn't 00:30:20.579 --> 00:30:23.579 just join the sheep. where they want to go, but 00:30:23.579 --> 00:30:26.500 he leads them to where they need to go. As we 00:30:26.500 --> 00:30:28.720 practice the way of Jesus, it's common to find 00:30:28.720 --> 00:30:30.900 ourselves stuck in those ruts, but he's going 00:30:30.900 --> 00:30:33.559 to call us out from them because he loves us. 00:30:34.420 --> 00:30:37.400 He wants to confront our instinct for comfort 00:30:37.400 --> 00:30:41.200 and bring us to something new. And he's going 00:30:41.200 --> 00:30:44.420 to do that, actually, in a special way. But before, 00:30:44.660 --> 00:30:48.039 let's look back at these three verses. What word 00:30:48.039 --> 00:30:52.910 has been circled? He. In this part of the poem, 00:30:53.309 --> 00:30:55.970 the shepherd or the sheep is looking at the shepherd 00:30:55.970 --> 00:30:58.990 and saying, he's doing this for me. He's doing 00:30:58.990 --> 00:31:01.190 this for me. He's doing this for me. There's 00:31:01.190 --> 00:31:04.230 a relationship there, right? But it's kind of 00:31:04.230 --> 00:31:07.890 like he's far out there. He's helping me. But 00:31:07.890 --> 00:31:10.069 something changes when we get to the next portion 00:31:10.069 --> 00:31:13.069 of scripture. It says, even though I walk through 00:31:13.069 --> 00:31:16.130 the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear 00:31:16.130 --> 00:31:21.170 no evil for you. Are with me. Do you notice the 00:31:21.170 --> 00:31:24.130 change there? It's not he's helping me. It's 00:31:24.130 --> 00:31:28.710 you are right here beside me. You are with me. 00:31:28.930 --> 00:31:34.049 Your rod and your staff comfort me. They're with 00:31:34.049 --> 00:31:36.289 me right here. Now a rod and a staff, they're 00:31:36.289 --> 00:31:39.069 symbols of both authority and the ability to 00:31:39.069 --> 00:31:41.990 guide. And so it's saying, yes, even though I 00:31:41.990 --> 00:31:43.890 go through the valley of shadow of death and 00:31:43.890 --> 00:31:46.710 I don't understand why I'm here and my fear has 00:31:46.710 --> 00:31:50.299 been activated in this place. that you are with 00:31:50.299 --> 00:31:52.880 me and you're drawing me into an intimate relationship 00:31:52.880 --> 00:31:56.640 with you even in this space. If I'm left in the 00:31:56.640 --> 00:31:59.700 pasture where I'm just gorging myself, I don't 00:31:59.700 --> 00:32:02.980 really need God. But if he leads me into that 00:32:02.980 --> 00:32:07.039 valley, a dark valley where it's just me and 00:32:07.039 --> 00:32:09.000 I'm afraid and I'm alone and I don't know what 00:32:09.000 --> 00:32:11.960 is next, his presence becomes something that 00:32:11.960 --> 00:32:15.440 is deeply important to me and I cling on to him 00:32:15.440 --> 00:32:18.779 in that. To help us understand this, there's 00:32:18.779 --> 00:32:21.640 an author, Alicia Britt Scholey, who tells the 00:32:21.640 --> 00:32:25.599 story of her own father. They lived in the southern 00:32:25.599 --> 00:32:27.200 part of the United States where there's these 00:32:27.200 --> 00:32:30.920 really strong thunderstorms. So these are storms 00:32:30.920 --> 00:32:34.599 that your house is shaking. There can be tornadoes. 00:32:34.599 --> 00:32:36.440 There's different things like this. It can be 00:32:36.440 --> 00:32:38.960 terrifying, especially as a child. Lightning 00:32:38.960 --> 00:32:41.940 coming across the sky. Now, for any of you who 00:32:41.940 --> 00:32:44.960 work with kids or who have children, if a child 00:32:44.960 --> 00:32:48.619 is scared, saying, don't be scared. How successful 00:32:48.619 --> 00:32:52.480 is that? Don't have fear. They're actually probably 00:32:52.480 --> 00:32:56.339 going to fixate on it even more. But what Alicia 00:32:56.339 --> 00:33:00.099 tells is that what her father would do to help 00:33:00.099 --> 00:33:04.079 her overcome the fear is he would lead her outside 00:33:04.079 --> 00:33:07.359 onto the porch, and they would sit together, 00:33:07.500 --> 00:33:11.400 the dad and the daughter right there, in the 00:33:11.400 --> 00:33:14.079 middle of the storm just raging around them. 00:33:15.079 --> 00:33:19.480 And because of his presence there, things changed. 00:33:19.799 --> 00:33:22.220 And she came to the point where now when she 00:33:22.220 --> 00:33:25.400 hears a storm, goes through a storm, she's reminded 00:33:25.400 --> 00:33:28.839 of that experience, of the gift of the presence 00:33:28.839 --> 00:33:32.960 of her father being there with her. Valleys are 00:33:32.960 --> 00:33:36.180 not pointless detours or bugs in the operating 00:33:36.180 --> 00:33:39.980 system of life. They are features of our journey 00:33:39.980 --> 00:33:42.500 and they're part of the path. We don't sign up 00:33:42.500 --> 00:33:44.910 for them. We don't run to the... closest dark 00:33:44.910 --> 00:33:47.990 valley in order to force our restoration to go 00:33:47.990 --> 00:33:50.789 forward. But there will be seasons in our life 00:33:50.789 --> 00:33:53.509 where we will end up in a dark valley. And that 00:33:53.509 --> 00:33:55.289 doesn't mean that there's something wrong with 00:33:55.289 --> 00:33:57.289 the journey. That means God is doing a new thing 00:33:57.289 --> 00:34:04.630 in that space with you. So our instinct when 00:34:04.630 --> 00:34:08.869 facing fear in the valley is to try harder to 00:34:08.869 --> 00:34:11.710 get back to the green pastures of providence. 00:34:12.559 --> 00:34:14.719 But remember that the valley is an invitation 00:34:14.719 --> 00:34:18.579 for intimacy with God. And who accompanies you 00:34:18.579 --> 00:34:21.639 in that valley? Jesus himself. John describes 00:34:21.639 --> 00:34:24.599 it this way. He says, perfect love casts out 00:34:24.599 --> 00:34:27.519 fear. Not trying really hard to not be fearful, 00:34:27.719 --> 00:34:31.219 but perfect love casts out fear. The only one 00:34:31.219 --> 00:34:33.480 who can give you the perfect love that you were 00:34:33.480 --> 00:34:36.460 designed for is the shepherd himself. So draw 00:34:36.460 --> 00:34:39.460 near to him. And that is what helps your fears 00:34:39.460 --> 00:34:47.300 to begin to go away. So this is where trust forged 00:34:47.300 --> 00:34:50.179 in green pastures and still waters deepens into 00:34:50.179 --> 00:34:53.480 relationship as we cling to our shepherd. And 00:34:53.480 --> 00:34:55.820 God invites you to allow your fear to awaken 00:34:55.820 --> 00:34:58.920 that awareness, not to feel bad about your fear, 00:34:59.019 --> 00:35:01.699 not to try harder and beat yourself up over it, 00:35:01.719 --> 00:35:03.760 but realize that that's an invitation to turn 00:35:03.760 --> 00:35:07.320 to him. Well, the journey of restoration continues, 00:35:07.500 --> 00:35:11.159 confronting another aspect of our tendency of 00:35:11.159 --> 00:35:14.030 self -sufficiency. And in this stage, perhaps 00:35:14.030 --> 00:35:16.050 a continuation of the valley we've journeyed 00:35:16.050 --> 00:35:18.110 through, we're now confronted with the illusion 00:35:18.110 --> 00:35:22.409 of control. What does control look like within 00:35:22.409 --> 00:35:25.329 our lives? Well, control looks like things that 00:35:25.329 --> 00:35:28.710 we can shape and form and change in order to 00:35:28.710 --> 00:35:31.329 pursue the good life that we're all longing for. 00:35:31.590 --> 00:35:34.429 So I'm going to do everything I possibly can 00:35:34.429 --> 00:35:36.550 to fix relationships around me because I want 00:35:36.550 --> 00:35:39.170 peace and harmony. And God asks for that, right? 00:35:40.000 --> 00:35:42.659 And I try as much as possible to be successful 00:35:42.659 --> 00:35:45.119 in whatever job or career I have because I want 00:35:45.119 --> 00:35:47.519 stability and I can provide for the needs of 00:35:47.519 --> 00:35:49.980 those around me and myself. And that seems to 00:35:49.980 --> 00:35:53.719 be a good way to control life as well. We can 00:35:53.719 --> 00:35:56.880 try to control our relationship with God. And 00:35:56.880 --> 00:35:59.059 we can do this by going back to the same patterns 00:35:59.059 --> 00:36:01.159 and routines and keep working at it and saying, 00:36:01.219 --> 00:36:05.579 this is going to be what changes me. But the 00:36:05.579 --> 00:36:07.900 song takes a turn in this stanza and it moves 00:36:07.900 --> 00:36:12.139 to something different. And we have here that 00:36:12.139 --> 00:36:14.739 you prepare a table before me in the presence 00:36:14.739 --> 00:36:19.559 of my enemy. My cup overflows. You annoy my head 00:36:19.559 --> 00:36:23.340 with oil. These are beautiful pictures, but what 00:36:23.340 --> 00:36:27.179 is in the middle of it? The enemy. This is an 00:36:27.179 --> 00:36:30.519 invitation for us to learn to feast even when 00:36:30.519 --> 00:36:34.360 life is not fixed. To feast even when life is 00:36:34.360 --> 00:36:37.590 not fixed. And the only way to do that is to 00:36:37.590 --> 00:36:40.429 journey along with the Savior who comes and restores 00:36:40.429 --> 00:36:44.550 you. There's a well -known story of a lady named 00:36:44.550 --> 00:36:46.849 Corrie ten Boom who wrote a number of books. 00:36:47.230 --> 00:36:51.309 She lived through the time of World War II. She 00:36:51.309 --> 00:36:54.969 and her family worked to the risk of their lives 00:36:54.969 --> 00:36:58.289 to help to rescue Jews from going to the concentration 00:36:58.289 --> 00:37:02.150 camps. So much so that at one point she actually 00:37:02.150 --> 00:37:04.289 was caught, the family, and they were sent off 00:37:04.289 --> 00:37:06.369 to those same camps that they were trying to 00:37:06.369 --> 00:37:10.070 rescue people from. And she recounts a story 00:37:10.070 --> 00:37:12.969 of being in one of those camps and at one point 00:37:12.969 --> 00:37:15.150 the guards made all of the prisoners strip down 00:37:15.150 --> 00:37:18.610 completely naked and walk in front of them for 00:37:18.610 --> 00:37:20.809 whatever reason, something to do with the concentration 00:37:20.809 --> 00:37:26.710 camp and the way they were controlling it. Completely 00:37:26.710 --> 00:37:30.840 humiliating, right? Her sister later ends up 00:37:30.840 --> 00:37:35.219 dying and amazingly, Corrie is freed at the end 00:37:35.219 --> 00:37:38.880 of the war. She ends up traveling around the 00:37:38.880 --> 00:37:42.099 world preaching a message of forgiveness and 00:37:42.099 --> 00:37:45.000 reconciliation. That's what God has asked us 00:37:45.000 --> 00:37:47.760 to do is to forgive as we forgive those who have 00:37:47.760 --> 00:37:52.860 trespassed against us. But she tells this story 00:37:52.860 --> 00:37:55.699 of being in a setting like this and she's presenting 00:37:55.699 --> 00:37:59.489 the message. And it's in Germany. So she's in 00:37:59.489 --> 00:38:02.530 enemy territory after the war, but in enemy territory. 00:38:02.869 --> 00:38:06.230 And she presents this story and this message 00:38:06.230 --> 00:38:08.369 of reconciliation. And they end up walking out 00:38:08.369 --> 00:38:10.829 at the end, kind of this somber attitude. But 00:38:10.829 --> 00:38:13.690 one person walks towards her. And he comes up 00:38:13.690 --> 00:38:17.510 to the front. And she realizes this was one of 00:38:17.510 --> 00:38:21.369 the guards who was there when she and the rest 00:38:21.369 --> 00:38:24.510 were required to walk naked in front of them. 00:38:25.960 --> 00:38:28.440 And the guy comes up and he says, you know, you 00:38:28.440 --> 00:38:31.360 probably don't remember me or recognize me, but 00:38:31.360 --> 00:38:34.119 I was one of the guards at the camp that you 00:38:34.119 --> 00:38:37.079 told about and I just want to ask for your forgiveness. 00:38:38.159 --> 00:38:44.860 Oof. Oof. So Corrie Ten Boom is sitting there 00:38:44.860 --> 00:38:48.039 in the presence of her physical enemy who represents 00:38:48.039 --> 00:38:51.139 all of the way that she was violated in life. 00:38:52.500 --> 00:38:57.039 And she's standing there. And she says, I froze. 00:38:59.360 --> 00:39:01.780 That's the key to this. Because if she could 00:39:01.780 --> 00:39:04.780 do it in her own might, then that control continues 00:39:04.780 --> 00:39:07.099 again and again and again. If we can make our 00:39:07.099 --> 00:39:10.420 spiritual formation happen, then that's actually 00:39:10.420 --> 00:39:12.980 just us doing it and we're not acting very sheep 00:39:12.980 --> 00:39:15.860 -like. So instead what she did is she went to 00:39:15.860 --> 00:39:18.119 move her hand and she just said, God, would you 00:39:18.119 --> 00:39:22.340 help me? God, would you help me? And he prepared 00:39:22.340 --> 00:39:25.780 a table. before her in the presence of her enemy. 00:39:27.340 --> 00:39:32.119 Not just a couple crumbs, but a feast for her 00:39:32.119 --> 00:39:34.840 to have, which she describes this overwhelming 00:39:34.840 --> 00:39:37.619 feeling of not just being able to reach out and 00:39:37.619 --> 00:39:40.579 shake his hand, but for her whole being wanting 00:39:40.579 --> 00:39:45.019 to forgive her enemy. That can only happen because 00:39:45.019 --> 00:39:49.219 of God acting within you. And it's in this stage 00:39:49.219 --> 00:39:51.880 that you are asked to do things that you cannot 00:39:51.880 --> 00:39:54.000 do on your own because if you can, you're going 00:39:54.000 --> 00:39:57.219 to depend on your control. And so you face things 00:39:57.219 --> 00:39:59.500 where you say, God, would you be the one to do 00:39:59.500 --> 00:40:06.260 this? I look back on my own life and I have a 00:40:06.260 --> 00:40:09.639 story with this where, especially compared to 00:40:09.639 --> 00:40:12.230 Corey, it seems quite... It pales in comparison. 00:40:12.630 --> 00:40:15.369 But I had a friend, a colleague of mine, who 00:40:15.369 --> 00:40:19.489 in a meeting ended up accusing me of something 00:40:19.489 --> 00:40:22.690 and betraying me in a way that was deeply painful 00:40:22.690 --> 00:40:27.309 and hurtful. And I remember that evening going 00:40:27.309 --> 00:40:31.809 back home, and I spent the whole night tossing 00:40:31.809 --> 00:40:35.289 and turning, activating every ounce of control 00:40:35.289 --> 00:40:38.929 that I could possibly do to try to fix what had 00:40:38.929 --> 00:40:41.639 happened. Thinking, okay, tomorrow I'm going 00:40:41.639 --> 00:40:43.440 to call him, we're going to do this, and then 00:40:43.440 --> 00:40:44.820 I'm going to go back to the meeting the next 00:40:44.820 --> 00:40:47.199 week, and I'm thinking about all these things. 00:40:47.280 --> 00:40:49.219 And then it would go to, well, it can't really 00:40:49.219 --> 00:40:50.920 be fixed over, so I'm going to forgive him, forgive 00:40:50.920 --> 00:40:54.659 him, forgive him. I woke up the next morning, 00:40:54.699 --> 00:40:56.440 or really just continued on because I really 00:40:56.440 --> 00:41:00.260 didn't sleep much, was exhausted by all my efforts 00:41:00.260 --> 00:41:03.800 of trying to do this. And I remember waking up 00:41:03.800 --> 00:41:05.860 and sitting in this chair before my shepherd, 00:41:05.920 --> 00:41:09.739 and my hands were genuinely clenched. And it 00:41:09.739 --> 00:41:12.139 was a symbol of kind of where I was. And I was 00:41:12.139 --> 00:41:16.739 like, I can't do this. I can't do this. But even 00:41:16.739 --> 00:41:20.860 me saying that to God was all that was needed 00:41:20.860 --> 00:41:24.780 for the Holy Spirit to then help me to lift my 00:41:24.780 --> 00:41:27.679 hands away from them being clenched and slowly 00:41:27.679 --> 00:41:31.559 open. And again, also this feeling of like, I 00:41:31.559 --> 00:41:34.920 want to forgive him. I tried all night long and 00:41:34.920 --> 00:41:38.239 I couldn't solve it myself. But one act of the 00:41:38.239 --> 00:41:40.159 Holy Spirit, the good shepherd working within 00:41:40.159 --> 00:41:43.360 us, and it brings about a transformation we can 00:41:43.360 --> 00:41:46.360 never do ourselves. And that's what it looks 00:41:46.360 --> 00:41:50.579 like to move us from control to receiving, receiving 00:41:50.579 --> 00:41:54.219 from him. And it's here that we turn to the final 00:41:54.219 --> 00:41:58.599 stage, the final stage of where the good shepherd 00:41:58.599 --> 00:42:00.280 is going to lead us. And this isn't really a 00:42:00.280 --> 00:42:04.000 stage. This is our end goal. It's what we call 00:42:04.000 --> 00:42:06.460 the telos. which isn't just, I'm just trying 00:42:06.460 --> 00:42:09.920 to get here. It means I was designed for living 00:42:09.920 --> 00:42:13.659 life in this way to get to this end. So what 00:42:13.659 --> 00:42:17.199 is that end? That end is that surely goodness 00:42:17.199 --> 00:42:20.360 and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. 00:42:20.599 --> 00:42:24.539 And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord for 00:42:24.539 --> 00:42:29.099 a little bit of time. No, for ever, forever and 00:42:29.099 --> 00:42:31.219 ever. But this isn't something I'm just holding 00:42:31.219 --> 00:42:34.360 onto and waiting. For that to happen, this is 00:42:34.360 --> 00:42:37.460 the feast that I begin to experience now in the 00:42:37.460 --> 00:42:39.920 presence of God, a God who is actually intimately 00:42:39.920 --> 00:42:43.139 connected with me, a union with him, where in 00:42:43.139 --> 00:42:46.599 the words of Romans 12, I have been transformed 00:42:46.599 --> 00:42:50.860 so much in the likeness of Christ that the way 00:42:50.860 --> 00:42:53.760 I think and move and am shaped is according to 00:42:53.760 --> 00:42:56.659 the good, perfect, and pleasing will of God himself. 00:42:58.280 --> 00:43:01.039 And so David reflects on this final journey with 00:43:01.039 --> 00:43:03.599 this celebration at the end. He's taken me there. 00:43:03.679 --> 00:43:05.619 He will continue to take me there. And in the 00:43:05.619 --> 00:43:08.940 end, that will be my final place. It's a place 00:43:08.940 --> 00:43:13.639 of me being a beloved son. I'm no longer a visitor 00:43:13.639 --> 00:43:16.119 receiving something from him, a visitor who then 00:43:16.119 --> 00:43:18.599 knows him a little bit more. I am now a beloved 00:43:18.599 --> 00:43:23.800 child of God. And that's sheep -like nature to 00:43:23.800 --> 00:43:28.699 come into that position. So there we have it. 00:43:28.719 --> 00:43:30.679 We've gone through the four different stages. 00:43:30.820 --> 00:43:33.880 And as I said at the beginning, please do not 00:43:33.880 --> 00:43:35.559 think, okay, I'm going to try to move through 00:43:35.559 --> 00:43:37.539 these systematically because what have you just 00:43:37.539 --> 00:43:40.699 done? Activated your desire to control this. 00:43:41.280 --> 00:43:44.119 That is not sheep -like behavior. Sheep -like 00:43:44.119 --> 00:43:48.579 behavior is to say, shepherd, what's next? Take 00:43:48.579 --> 00:43:51.760 me there. Move me there. Shape me in that way. 00:43:52.940 --> 00:43:56.489 Like sheep, As Isaiah says, we have all wandered 00:43:56.489 --> 00:43:59.349 off and we've all gone in our own way and we've 00:43:59.349 --> 00:44:01.610 all inched closer and closer towards that cliff. 00:44:02.650 --> 00:44:05.309 But as we become trapped in these sinful habits 00:44:05.309 --> 00:44:09.130 and the self -sufficiency, the shepherd is pursuing 00:44:09.130 --> 00:44:11.789 us. He's acting on our behalf. He's changing 00:44:11.789 --> 00:44:13.809 things and he's inviting us to come and follow 00:44:13.809 --> 00:44:18.230 him. And that's what Psalms 23 declares so beautifully, 00:44:18.409 --> 00:44:21.610 so poetically, that you can come and turn to 00:44:21.610 --> 00:44:25.139 him as a good shepherd. And why can you turn 00:44:25.139 --> 00:44:27.920 to him as a good shepherd? Because Jesus not 00:44:27.920 --> 00:44:30.300 only is that shepherd, he was also the perfect 00:44:30.300 --> 00:44:36.559 sheep. He came into this world in the middle 00:44:36.559 --> 00:44:39.539 of everything being out of control, and he modeled 00:44:39.539 --> 00:44:41.539 what it looks like to be completely dependent 00:44:41.539 --> 00:44:44.559 on the Father. And he modeled again and again, 00:44:44.619 --> 00:44:47.619 no matter if he was in a season of high or a 00:44:47.619 --> 00:44:50.019 season of low, when everything was taken care 00:44:50.019 --> 00:44:52.559 of or when he was in a valley. He modeled what 00:44:52.559 --> 00:44:55.539 it was like to turn to his father again and again 00:44:55.539 --> 00:44:59.239 and again. And he even prepared a table and he 00:44:59.239 --> 00:45:04.420 feasted in the presence of his disciples, one 00:45:04.420 --> 00:45:06.519 of which would be the ultimate enemy and betray 00:45:06.519 --> 00:45:10.340 him. And he feasted with those disciples who 00:45:10.340 --> 00:45:13.239 would in that night betray him by leaving him 00:45:13.239 --> 00:45:16.559 to figure out things by himself. But he wasn't 00:45:16.559 --> 00:45:18.480 by himself. He was with his father. So he could 00:45:18.480 --> 00:45:22.300 feast with them in that place. And then, of course, 00:45:22.320 --> 00:45:25.199 we know the story. He was crucified on your behalf 00:45:25.199 --> 00:45:28.039 and on my behalf so that we could be reconciled 00:45:28.039 --> 00:45:30.400 to our shepherd and declare the Lord is my shepherd. 00:45:30.579 --> 00:45:35.440 I shall not want. So here is my invitation for 00:45:35.440 --> 00:45:37.900 us in the next two minutes. Just wanted to be 00:45:37.900 --> 00:45:41.760 quiet in here. And I want you to take this up 00:45:41.760 --> 00:45:44.840 with your shepherd. You can use the words from 00:45:44.840 --> 00:45:48.019 Psalm 23 and just say, Lord, what is it that 00:45:48.019 --> 00:45:51.219 you would like to do with me next? Be careful 00:45:51.219 --> 00:45:53.199 not to go into this saying, okay, let me see 00:45:53.199 --> 00:45:55.420 what I think he wants me to do. Because again, 00:45:55.480 --> 00:45:57.679 you've activated your desire to control. And 00:45:57.679 --> 00:45:59.559 instead say, Lord, would you move me? Would you 00:45:59.559 --> 00:46:02.340 shape me according to your word in this space? 00:46:22.730 --> 00:46:26.349 God, we turn our attention once again to you, 00:46:26.469 --> 00:46:31.190 our good shepherd. Jesus, you came and you identified 00:46:31.190 --> 00:46:33.050 yourself as the good shepherd, one who would 00:46:33.050 --> 00:46:36.769 lay down his very life for the sheep. And you 00:46:36.769 --> 00:46:40.650 did it. And then you rose victoriously, not only 00:46:40.650 --> 00:46:44.269 as the lamb, but the lion. And you hold all power 00:46:44.269 --> 00:46:47.739 and control and authority. And so, yes, this 00:46:47.739 --> 00:46:50.199 life is filled with all kinds of experiences 00:46:50.199 --> 00:46:53.719 as the Psalms declare. And so we cling to you 00:46:53.719 --> 00:46:56.739 and we ask that we would be aware of your presence 00:46:56.739 --> 00:47:01.440 restoring us again and again and again. And that 00:47:01.440 --> 00:47:04.239 we would turn each day in that way to say, Lord, 00:47:04.380 --> 00:47:07.519 I'm here again. Have your way with me. Shape 00:47:07.519 --> 00:47:11.260 me, form me. You're the shepherd and I'm the 00:47:11.260 --> 00:47:16.750 sheep. Do your work, your good work. And we can 00:47:16.750 --> 00:47:19.530 rest assured, as we proclaimed in song earlier, 00:47:19.829 --> 00:47:23.590 that he who began a good work in us will take 00:47:23.590 --> 00:47:28.110 it to a point of completion. And so for myself, 00:47:28.289 --> 00:47:30.869 for my brothers and sisters here today, for anyone 00:47:30.869 --> 00:47:33.989 listening online or for those who will join in 00:47:33.989 --> 00:47:38.230 later, we ask that you would continue to shape 00:47:38.230 --> 00:47:40.349 and form us, and we know that you will do so 00:47:40.349 --> 00:47:43.789 through the power of your Holy Spirit, forming 00:47:43.789 --> 00:47:47.440 us to be like Christ. Thank you for being a shepherd 00:47:47.440 --> 00:47:50.579 that we can trust with our very being. We love 00:47:50.579 --> 00:47:59.219 you, God. In Jesus name. Amen. Thank you for 00:47:59.219 --> 00:48:02.980 tuning in to the ECB Sermon Podcast. Whether 00:48:02.980 --> 00:48:06.000 near or far, if you are looking for community 00:48:06.000 --> 00:48:09.920 or are in need of prayer, we welcome you to engage 00:48:09.920 --> 00:48:14.780 by sending us an email to office at ecb .asia. 00:48:15.599 --> 00:48:18.400 If God is calling you to support our ministries, 00:48:18.400 --> 00:48:21.099 you will find giving options on our website. 00:48:21.940 --> 00:48:25.340 And remember to join us next week. God bless 00:48:25.340 --> 00:48:25.579 you.