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All right, so Psalm 23, I'm looking forward to preaching for this one. I guess when you look at all the psalms, this is the most famous psalm of them all. A lot of the unsaved world are even familiar with some of the words in Psalm 23, and it is a beautiful psalm. It does serve many, many purposes. It can be read sometimes even during funerals, during weddings. There's pretty much every occasion this psalm has some truth to it, but quite often a lot of people turn to Psalm 23 when they're brokenhearted, when they need to be comforted, when they need to be reminded that the Lord is looking out for them. And so if you look at verse number one there, it begins by saying, The Lord is my shepherd. That's the title for the sermon this morning. The Lord is my shepherd. And then it says, I shall not want. So what does that mean? I shall not want. You'll be satisfied. You'll have your needs met. You'll be taken care of. But notice, David is able to say this about the Lord, that he is his shepherd. Now I want us to think about this for a moment. And of course, Jesus Christ is the shepherd of us all. He's the pastor of us all. But you must understand, in order for you to have a life that is fulfilled, that is satisfied, you have your needs met, you must set Jesus as your shepherd. Now listen, we're like sheep. We have a shepherd, but don't we sometimes as sheep go astray? Don't we sometimes not fulfil the will of the shepherd? The shepherd is leading us one way, but we decide to go some other way. And so while we do have Jesus as our shepherd, many times we do not follow the leading of the shepherd. So please keep your finger there. It's a short psalm. We're going to be going to many other passages to flesh out what David is saying here in this psalm. But if you can please first turn to John chapter 10. Go to John chapter 10 for me please. John chapter 10. And let's have a look at in what sense is Jesus our shepherd? John chapter 10 verse 11. John chapter 10 verse 11 reads, these are the words of Jesus Christ, I am the good shepherd. I am the good shepherd. The first sense that we can say that the Lord is our shepherd is by recognising that he is the good shepherd. What does that mean? He will do us good. If we have Jesus and we set him as our shepherd, only goodness can come to us. He's not going to harm us. He's not going to hurt us. He's going to lead us into those green pastures. He's going to do us good. Now the unsaved world do not have Jesus as their shepherd. They are not understanding the goodness of God at this present time. But we can know that our desire to follow the shepherd, if we do that, it only results in our good. And if we don't follow the lead of the shepherd, guess what? It's not going to result in goodness. It's going to result in some bad things in your life. Let's keep going. It says the good shepherd, Jesus says, giveth his life for the sheep. Verse number 12. So what Jesus Christ is telling us is he will look after his sheep. When he lays down his life, that means we are saved because of his sacrifice. He's not going to allow another shepherd to come and destroy you as long as you have Jesus Christ as your shepherd. Verse number 14, he says it again, I am the good shepherd. He says it three times for us. I'm the good shepherd, the good shepherd, the good shepherd. Then he says, I know my sheep and are known of mine. Now there is one thing for people to know God. In fact, many even in the unsaved world know God, but it's a totally different thing for God to know you. The only way for God to know you is if you are one of his sheep, you are one of his children. You know something that's amazing about shepherds, they can have flocks in the hundreds and somehow they know their sheep. They can differentiate which sheep is which. I don't know that because I look at sheep and they all look the same to me. But I suppose if you're spending every day with your sheep, you're looking after them, you're loving those sheep. You're nurturing them. You're going to understand. You're going to be able to see the differences. You're going to be able to identify between different sheep. And so Jesus Christ knows each one of us because he's our savior, because he is our shepherd. Verse number 15, as the father knoweth me, even so know I the father and lay down my life for the sheep. And then he says this in verse number 16, and other sheep I have which are not of this fold. Of course, he's speaking about the fold of the Jews that he went to minister to. He's speaking about us, brethren. He's speaking about you and I when he says these words. And then he says this, them also I must bring and they shall hear my voice and there shall be one fold and one shepherd. Does it seem like to you that Jesus is interested in having many folds? No. But how many Baptist churches are you going to listen if you were attending today, the priest is going to say, hey God has one fold, that's a special sheep of Israel, God's chosen sheep, and then he's got kind of the leftovers. That's you. You're the plan B in his life and he can't wait to go back to the first fold because that's his mission, that's his purpose. No. Jesus Christ teaches there is one fold and one shepherd. You know, Jesus is not a racist. Jesus is not a respecter of persons. You know, we're all the same. We're all sinners and we all need salvation. There is no goodness of us without Jesus Christ. And so when we believe on Christ, whether we're Jew or Gentile, we're brought of this one fold and we have one good shepherd. That would be the actions of a good shepherd. To love us equally if we're all in Jesus Christ. And so he brings us into one fold. You see from point number one here, the good shepherd is the shepherd of the saved. If you are saved, you have Jesus as the good shepherd because he laid down his life for you. But now please turn to first Peter and we have gone through first Peter recently so probably just bringing back some of your memory here. First Peter chapter five. First Peter chapter five. Not only is Jesus the good shepherd that lays his life down for the sheep, but the Bible also says that he is the chief shepherd. Look at first Peter chapter five and verse number two. Speaking to pastors, it says feed the flock of God which is among you and so I'm a shepherd in a sense that I'm feeding the flock of God. And I have authority in this church. But then it says here, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy lucre but of a ready mind, neither has been lords over God's heritage but been ensembles to the flock. And then it says this in verse number four. And when the chief shepherd shall appear, you shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away. I'm so glad that there is a chief shepherd. I'm so glad there's a chief pastor. Because that takes a little bit of the pressure off me as your pastor. Because I know I'm not always going to do things right. And it's my desire as your pastor to lead this church to be a good example. It's my desire to always preach the truth. But brethren, I'm just a man. And just chalk it down, every pastor is going to let you down. One way or another, it's going to happen. And brethren, if I haven't let you down already, I'm going to let you down sometime in the future. Just guarantee, just know that. But when that happens, just remind yourself, well actually, Pastor Kevin's not my chief shepherd. He's not the chief pastor. He's not the head of the church and I'm not. Thank God. Because I also need a chief shepherd. I need somebody over me. Of course that's Jesus Christ. It's a wonderful thing to know that he is chief. You know what that means? That he is the ultimate leader. He is the ultimate example. He is the one that's going to feed you. Even if your pastor's doing a bad job feeding you the word of God, he's going to feed you. He's going to lead you in green pastures. He's going to direct and lead you. So what does this mean, brethren? If he's the chief, if he's above me in authority, then that means if I preach something that is wrong, if I tell you to sin, not that I'm going to, but I hope not, right? But if I tell you to do something, you just say, well actually, Jesus said I need to do it this way. Pastor Kevin's not perfect. He might get something wrong, but if you know your Bible's well enough, if you know the chief shepherd well enough, you're going to follow after him. It's my goal to point you to the chief shepherd. It's my goal to teach you what the chief shepherd says. But as I said, look, we're all fallen human beings. We all have a sinful nature. I can make mistakes, can't I? But that's why you need to know what the chief shepherd says. You take your instructions primarily from the chief shepherd. He is the ultimate leader. And so if I fail in an example, you know, don't quit church. Don't quit serving God. Just remind yourself, I've got to have my eyes set on Jesus. He is the ultimate example for me. He is the ultimate leader. I've been let down by pastors. You've been let down by pastors if you've been in church long enough. But Jesus Christ will never let you down. Okay? Never let you down. Please go to Hebrews 13 now. Hebrews chapter 13. The Lord is my shepherd. And so my question to you Brevin is, is the Lord your shepherd? Or have you set me as your chief shepherd? If you've done that, change it immediately. I'm the shepherd of this church. I'm the pastor of this church. But don't forget, set your eyes on Jesus. You know, if I fail you, if I disgrace myself, disgrace my ministry, if I become unqualified for some, disqualified for some reason, I hope not. But if it happens, please don't get so discouraged. Have your eyes on Jesus and understand, you know, men, you know, we're just men. We're just trying to serve God at our best, fullest capacity. You know? And there's a possibility that man will fail you. As I said, I guarantee you, I'm going to let you down sometime in the future if I haven't done that already. Okay? Look at Hebrews 13 verse 20. Hebrews 13 verse 20. And so set Jesus as your chief shepherd. Have your eyes set upon Jesus. Hebrews 13 verse 20. It says, Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep. So it's not just the good shepherd, it's not just the chief shepherd, he's also the great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. So what is this teaching us? Jesus being the great shepherd, this speaks of his greatness, right? This speaks of his majesty. This speaks of his godhood. And so we ought to worship Jesus as our Lord God. He is above all things. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. Alright? The great shepherd. We could not have a greatest shepherd than Jesus Christ. Praise God, he has all power in heaven and in earth. And so he is above all. And at the end of verse 21 it says, To whom he be glory forever and ever. And so our job as his sheep, as the sheep of the great shepherd, is to give him glory. In all that we do, we come to church to give him glory. You know, when you go and work, go and give him glory. When you spend time with your family, give God glory. Okay? He's the great shepherd. He's worthy of our worship. He's worthy of our praise. Okay? And so, is the Lord your shepherd? Say yes, because I'm saved. Praise God! But have you set him as your chief shepherd? Are you taking instructions from Jesus Christ? Are you following the commandments of him? Because if you're not, if you're living for yourself, if you're not following the footsteps of Jesus, then you're right now like that strange sheep that goes astray. And Jesus Christ will have to sometimes forcibly bring you back into the fold, bring you back following after him. Is he your great shepherd? Are you giving him worship? Is it just at church? Do you only come to church and give him praise? I hope not. Please get into the habit of giving him praise every day in your house. Sing him praises. Be thankful. Before you sit down and have a meal, give him thanks for what he's given you. You know, he is the great shepherd. And so if you can please go back to John chapter 4. John chapter 4. And in Psalm 23, not only did it say the Lord is my shepherd, it said I shall not want. Okay? So if you're straying away from God, if you're a sheep going and doing your own thing, you are going to have wants. You're not going to find satisfaction. You know, the world promises you satisfaction. It promises you a happy life, the world. And many times, the generation that grows up in church, that grows up in a Christian home, they're used to following the guidelines that the Bible has set out for our lives. But every now and again, the curiosity comes and the world seems to be happy. They seem to be enjoying life. There seems to be things there that my flesh desires. But then when you get into the world, you'll find sooner, before you know it, you'll be surprised at how lonely the world is, how sad, how much sorrow the world gives you. And you'll never find true satisfaction there. Okay? We find satisfaction. Our wants are fulfilled only if we have Jesus as our shepherd. John chapter 4 verse 13. Jesus answered and said unto her, Whosoever drinketh of this water shall first again. Hey, that's talking about the water on this earth. Okay? What this earth provides will never satisfy you. You'll always be thirsty. Verse number 14. But whoso drinketh of the water that I shall give him shall never first. But the water that I shall give him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life. You know, when you're saved, you will never thirst again. You have everlasting life. Okay? You never need to look for everlasting life somewhere else. You have it once you believe in Jesus Christ. Okay? So your satisfaction has been, you've been satisfied. You know, your desire to know that you'll be fine when you pass away, that you'll be in the presence of the Lord, that you'll be in the paradise of God rather than in some hellfire, you know, that has been satisfied as soon as you've placed your faith on the finished work of Jesus Christ. All right? So praise God that, you know, we shall not want, we have no concerns about our eternal destination because Jesus Christ is our shepherd. If you can go back to John 10, you're in John. Go to John 10, 27. John 10, 27. John 10, 27. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me and I give unto them eternal life there it is again. And they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. Hey, what comfort that should give us. What satisfaction that should give us in our spiritual life. And so, you know, the fact that we will not want, number one is that we are satisfied in our position before God because the good shepherd laid his life down for the sheep. You know, we have an eternal future which we can never lose. You know, no matter what happens to you from this day forward, brethren, you'll be in the presence of Jesus Christ. You'll be, you know, at home in heaven. And I'll just read some other passages to you. If you can please go to Matthew chapter 6. Go to Matthew chapter 6 for me. I'll read to you from Philippians chapter 4 verse 19. Some beautiful words here. It says, but my God shall supply all your need. All your need, brethren, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Do you believe that? Do you have the faith to believe that no matter what we go through, no matter how bad this pandemic gets right now in this life, no matter what problems you struggle with, no matter what your financial position right now is, that God will supply all your need, okay? But again, this need is supplied if we have Christ as our shepherd. If we're following after him, we're taking his direction, his commandments. You can't just assume that if I just walk away from God, it's all going to be fine. If I don't do what he says that I should do that he's going to supply our money, no. You've got to follow after the shepherd. Do what he says. You're in Matthew 6 31. Jesus says, Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? Or what shall we drink? Or where we fall? Shall we be clothed? For all these things do the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. Praise God. God knows that we need these things. Verse 33. But seek ye first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things shall be added unto you. You know, I don't know when the end times are going to come, brethren. I don't know when that great tribulation of the antichrist persecuting the people of God. I don't know when the mark of the beast will be introduced where you can only buy and sell if you have that mark of the beast. You know, many Christians are afraid, and I understand why. It's not something you really want to go through, right? Tribulation of being persecuted by the beast. But what does Jesus promise us? Does he say, Well, I'll only supply your need, except during the tribulation. I'll only supply your need, except when the mark of the beast is introduced. Is that what he says? I'll only give you food, water, and raiment, you know, until the tribulation. Jesus Christ is very honest here, very blunt. He will always supply all our need. The heavenly Father knows our needs. And so, you know, some people get concerned about what if the future, what happens when the mark of the beast comes? If we're that generation to go through, I go, I don't want to see my children suffer, and I can go through hunger. They're not going to go through hunger. Otherwise, Jesus is lying. You know, God cannot lie, brethren. He promises us, have the faith to believe he's going to provide our every need, okay? Somehow, if we're that generation, somehow, even now, during this pandemic, if our shops get empty again, right? Not just of toilet paper, but of food, somehow we're going to eat. Somehow we'll have food, you know? And if God has to drop matter from heaven, then that's what's going to happen. Whatever it takes, brethren, he can provide the need for his people. Let's go back to Psalm 23, please. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd. Psalm 23, verse number 2. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. And so these are two great truths there. Number one, he makes us lie down. He gives us rest, doesn't he? But he also leads us to the still waters, okay? So hey, there are times when Jesus just wants you to rest. Right now, if you're in church, you're sitting down, listening to the preaching. Hey, this is a great time to just sit down, relax, listen to the word of God, meditate on these things. Hey, find some rest. Jesus Christ gives us rest in green pastures many times, but sometimes he also needs to lead us to get some still waters somewhere else, okay? To give us, you know, to satisfy our thirst, okay? Now if you can please go to Ezekiel 34. Go to the book of Ezekiel 34. Let's talk about these green pastures. Ezekiel 34, verse 9. Ezekiel 34, verse number 9. And I want to emphasize to you the need or the, you know, you must, you must set your eyes on the chief shepherd, on the good shepherd, okay? I'm going to do the best I can to serve this church, to be your pastor, okay? That is my true desire, you know, my desire is to go to the grave as a pastor. You know, now that I've taken on this role, this responsibility, I want nothing more than to just see out my life in this role, okay? That's my desire, okay? But look at Ezekiel 34, verse 9. It says, Therefore, O ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord. Thus saith the Lord God, Behold, I am against the shepherds, and I will require my flock at their hand, and cause them to cease from feeding the flock. Neither shall the shepherds feed themselves anymore, for I will deliver my flock from their mouth, that they may not be meat for them. And so you know what? God has a great standard for his shepherds, for his pastors, you know, and there are many pastors, and that is me, even within the IFB world, that fail, they get disqualified, or they do it for their own selfish interests, okay? And you can see here that God gets to a point where he's against the pastors of Israel, alright? And he stops them from feeding the flock, okay? Whatever it is, whatever, you know, situation God, you know, at some point he's done with a pastor. You know, if I get disqualified, you know, I'm not going to pass her again, okay? If I can't feed the flock, that's it, that's the judgement that can fall upon me. And so it's important for me to be careful, to keep myself clean, to keep myself pure, to keep myself loving the people of God, rather than think about this job as some selfish, you know, Lord of the flock, you know, position. I don't want that, I don't want that position. I never wanted that position, so I'll be surprised if it ever comes to my way where I feel that way, right? But, you know, this is a warning to the pastors that he will stop people from feeding the flock. He will stop pastors from preaching the word, is what he's saying, okay? And when that happens, then you know that the Lord was against that pastor. He was against that shepherd. Look at verse 11. For thus saith the Lord God, behold I, even I, will both search my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his flock in the day, that he is among his sheep that are scattered. So will I seek out my sheep and will deliver them out of all places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the countries and will bring them to their own land and feed them upon the mountains of Israel, look at this, by the rivers, remember he leads us beside the still waters, and in all the inhabited places of the country, then he says this, I will feed them in a good pasture and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their fold be, there shall they lie in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. And so, you know, there are some pastors that are just toxic. There are some pastors that are just doing it for their own interest, their own, you know, I don't know, you know, for money, or, you know, whatever it is, brethren, for their own selfish desires, you know, God's going to put a stop to those pastors, okay, they're not going to be able to preach to you. And you know what, what happens when these pastors no longer can feed the flock of God, as you can see in that passage, there are going to be sheep that are scattered throughout, in different places, alright. But listen, this is why you must set Jesus as your shepherd, this is why. This is why, because you don't want to go down with the sinking sheep, you know, ship, right, you know, the captain of his ship, you know, apparently, I don't know if this is true, when his ship is going down, he just stays with his ship no matter what, you know, I'm the captain of this ship and you go down the ship. No, you know, don't be like that to a pastor, don't have so much love and reverence to a pastor, you know, beyond what is right. Now you should respect me, you know, you should understand that, hey, you know, I'm trying to feed you the word of God, I'm trying to put work and labour in preparing sermons, you must understand that, because that's going to help you appreciate when you hear the word of God preached. But listen, if I fail, don't let it make you fail in your Christianity. You know, these wicked pastors want nothing more than the sheep to be scattered. But you know what, if you have Jesus as your shepherd, you put him first, say, well, Jesus, this pastor let me down, but I'm going to set you, I'm going to set you as my chief shepherd, I'm going to put you as my primary chief and great and good shepherd, Lord, then he promises to bring those scattered sheep back into another fold, you know, back into the pastures, to lie down and to be able to go to the still waters. And brethren, so, you know, I hope to never see you out of church, you know, even if I let you down. You know what, go find another church, go find another pastor, go set Jesus, he'll lead your paths. Say, Pastor Kevin, have you let us down? Have you done something? No, I'm just giving you a warning. Because I'm just a man, that's why, I'm just a man, okay, doing the best that I can. But you know what, these verses are so important for me to understand that if I fail in my responsibility, God will put a stop to my ministry, you know, and you know, if God ever puts a stop to my ministry, I just want you going to the best church you can, you know, finding the best pastor you can. The last thing I want is for you to be scattered everywhere, not going to any church, not finding any green pastures. You know, it's a sad thing when you see Christians who have a zeal for God, have no desire for church, have no desire to be under a pastor, it's a sad thing, you know, they've left the fold, you know, they've distanced themselves from Christ and they're not going to find satisfaction in those places. And the Bible says in Proverbs 16, 9, this is speaking about, you know, the Lord leading us beside the still waters, it says, A man's heart deviseth his way, but the Lord directeth his steps. Okay, and so you know what, when you're making decisions, when you're being led by Jesus, and you're kind of wondering, should I do this, should I do that, you know what, just devise your way. Just make sure the way you're walking is a way that you can follow Christ, that you can serve Christ, you know what, and if you have that in your mindset, he's going to direct your paths, he's going to direct you to those still waters, he will give you the waters, he will give you the nourishment you need in order for you to make the right life decisions. Back to Psalm 23 verse 3, Psalm 23 verse 3, the Bible says, He restoreth my soul, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake, so he restoreth my soul. Of course, this is speaking about the fact that we can get discouraged, can't we? You know, we can get downcast, but hey, when you need restoration, when you need to be encouraged and comforted, you go to the shepherd, you go to Jesus Christ, and it says, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Okay, and so what we gather here, yes, Jesus wants you to rest, and he wants you to be fed, he wants you to have the drink of the still waters, he wants to lead you, but it's not just to remain like that, you know, it's not just to remain immobile and resting your whole time, no. Once you have been rested, once your soul has been restored, once you have been fed, once your thirst has been quenched, what's the next thing you do? You walk the paths of righteousness, alright, for his name's sake. Alright, so what is this? This is, you know, not just being a hearer of the word, but a doer. Okay, it's great to just sit down and learn from God and to be fed the word of God, but listen, if you don't get up and walk, you're going to get fat, right? You're going to put on weight, like just like, you know, if all you did, like eating is great, putting food in your mouth is wonderful, okay, but if you stay immobile, if all you did was just sit down and not get around, you're going to just put on the weight, aren't you? You're not going to be able to be the one that walks in righteousness, as it were, right? And so, you know, if I can just read to you from James chapter 1 verse 23, it says, for if any, be a hearer of the word, which is good, alright, but then it says, and not a doer, he is like a man beholding his natural face in a glass, for he beholdeth himself, so he sees himself in the mirror, and goeth his way, and straightway, straightway, forgetteth what manner of man he was. What's the application here, brethren? Well, when you're being fed the word of God, okay, it's like you're looking in a mirror, you're saying, well, this is what I'm doing well, this is what I'm not doing well, this is what I need to change, right? But if you don't fix it straightaway, you're going to forget, you're going to forget what manner of man you were, okay? So what's the encouragement there? When you listen to the preaching of God's word, and there is something you need to change, you do it immediately, immediately. You say, well, I heard this on Sunday, I see that in the word of God, I'm failing in this area, I need to change this Sunday afternoon, I need to change this Monday morning, first thing in the morning, this is something that I need to change. If you wait till Tuesday, you're going to forget. It's not going to happen, alright? And so the reason to be led in green pastures and to be fed by God, is so you can then work the works of righteousness, so you can walk in his ways, brethren. Don't be the Christian that just comes to church his whole life and does nothing for God. I was that person for some 20 or so years, right? I mean, part of it to blame is just the church that I was at. I was never challenged. I never knew what God wanted me to do, really. Like I think at most I thought he wanted me to be a missionary in Africa, you know? I wouldn't be able to even give the gospel to somebody, I wasn't even trained how to do anything like that, right? I wasted many of my years in a lousy church, alright? And so God wants us to put into practice the things that we've learned. Yes, the rest is important. Yes, the green pastures are important. Yes, the water, the still waters is important. But that's not it, brethren. Then you walk in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. This is what Jesus wants you to do, to walk in his ways, to follow after his ways. Look at verse number 4, Psalm 23 verse 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. There's a lot of great things in this verse, okay? What do we learn here? That even though Jesus wants us in the green pastures, even though he wants us to walk in paths of righteousness, sometimes in your Christian life, part of that life is you walking through the valley of the shadow of death, okay? It's not always green pastures. Hopefully, you've been encouraged by the Lord, hopefully you've been fed by the Lord, hopefully you've grown and you've put into practice the things that you've learned, so when the valley of the shadow of death does come, you're better prepared to go through that time, okay? What's the idea there? Well, the valley, of course, you know, you have mountain peaks, for example, and then you have the valley between the mountains, and of course, because of the mountains, there's a shadow, it's darker within the valleys, so the idea there is, you know, you're not necessarily at your most spiritual best, you know, you're not necessarily, you know, finding a great victory in your daily life, sometimes you're just going to find yourself in the valley, you know, going from one mountain top to another mountain top, maybe required, you know, obviously required you to sometimes go through those valleys before you can start climbing the next mountain. And so, you know, this phrase, the shadow of death, appears 20 times in the Bible, I don't want to go through all 20 times, many times it's mentioned in the book of Job, and there's a few other references in the book of Psalms, so because we're in Psalms, we'll just stick to the Psalms right now, if you can please turn to Psalm 44, verse 19, let's try to understand what the shadow of death could look like in your life, Psalm 44, verse 19, this psalm is probably a psalm that was written after the Babylon, or during the Babylon captivity, okay, and of course the Jews were displaced from their land, they were strangers, remember, in Babylon, and so Psalm 44, verse 19 says, though thou hast so broken us in the place of dragons, they find themselves in an unknown place, they find themselves in a wilderness, as it were, right, and it says here, and covered us with the shadow of death, okay, and so what is being said here is that, you know, they've been taken out of their comfort zone, right, they're in this place of dragons, they're in this place of wilderness and of wild animals, as it were, so what's the spiritual lesson there? You know, this could be where you may feel like you're an outcast, you know, maybe your family makes you feel like an outcast, maybe you feel like you're a reject, you know, because you're a Christian, because you love the Bible, because you're trying to change your life to fit and mold yourself to the word of God, you might be rejected by many, okay, and be that outcast, and you know, there's nothing more that people want than to be accepted, I mean, don't we just naturally just want to be accepted, it's not like we want people to hate us, people to reject us, you know, we want to be accepted by our families, we want to be accepted by our church brethren, we want to be accepted by our work colleagues, and if you go to school, you know, your school friends, you know, generally speaking, we desire to be accepted, but if you live for that, you're going to find yourself not happy, because it's not going to happen, people are going to reject you, people are just not going to like you for whatever reason, right, you're going to find yourself sometimes in a place of rejection or just being seen as an outcast, you know, in the wilderness as it were, and the Bible speaks about this being covered in the shadow of death, but what I like about this, it says, though thou, the thou there, is speaking of God, thou has so broken us, sometimes God has to break you, sometimes you're full of pride, sometimes you think as a sheep, you know better, oh the shepherd's leading me over there, I think over there's going to be a lot better for me, alright, and in your pride, you walk away from the Lord, and the Lord says, well, you know what, you need to be broken, I'm going to actually lead you myself into that shadow of death, I'm going to lead you, I'm going to allow yourself to be rejected and humiliated, so you have no other decision but to come back to the shepherd to be restored, you know, to have the restoration of your soul, and so, you know, just because you're in the shadow of death, it's not necessarily that, you know, the devil's persecuting me, you know, it could be God just allowing you to go through that process to learn a few things, you know, to bring you low, to, you know, bring yourself humbled before him, please go to Psalm 107, Psalm 107 verse number 10, Psalm 107 verse number 10, another example in the Psalms about the shadow of death, Psalm 107 verse number 10, it says here, such as sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, so what is this about, being bound in affliction and iron, what's that about, that's about imprisonment, that's about bondage, okay, now I don't know if we're going to ever face that as Christians to be imprisoned for what we believe, I don't know if that will ever happen in our lifetime, but it has happened in the past, it has happened in the Bible, where God's people, just being faithful to God, find themselves in prison, okay, and this is being described here as a shadow of death, right, look at verse number 11, same Psalm, it says because they rebelled against the words of God and contempt the counsel of the most high, so what do we learn there, even though we find that, yeah, sometimes just being faithful to God, you might find yourself in bondage, but also when you rebel against the words of God, hey, if you just make, you know, you can be saved and still just be an idiot, can't you, you can just still be a nuisance, you can still go and cause problems and trouble and find yourself in prison and say, well, man, I'm being persecuted, no, God's put you there, alright, because why, because you've rebelled against the words of God, alright, God, again, he may allow you to be put in prison to learn whatever lesson you need to learn, but you know what, whenever there's a brother in the Lord that's, you know, bound, anytime there's a brother in the Lord that's been held in prison, I don't really necessarily care why that is, I know that I should pray for him, I know that I should love him and I'm going to try to be a support to that person no matter what, okay, but I also recognise that they could be there because of their own stupidity, they could be there because of their own, you know, desire to just wreck and make havoc and sometimes God just needs to put people in there as they time out for whatever reasons, I mean Paul is a good example, Paul was in prison a few times, sometimes just because he faithfully served God, but then the other time, you know, God told him, don't go to Jerusalem, okay, don't go, several times he's been warned by the Holy Spirit, by other prophets coming to him, don't go, God does not want you there, he goes anyway, he finds himself in prison, he finds himself, you know, in jail, so it can happen even in your own disobedience to God, he may just allow you to go through that process, go to Psalm 107, go to Psalm, oh actually sorry, you are in 107, look at verse number 14, sorry just drop down, verse number 14 and then we have this great response though, it says here, he brought them out of darkness and the shadow of death and break their bands in sunder, okay, so just like God may allow you to go through prison or, you know, out of your own stupidity you're there, or just faithfully serving God, you know, God can also, as we see in our Bibles, you know, God can also take you out, you know, he can also deliver you, okay, and so yes this is about being in prison, having your bands in a sunder, arrested, but just take this principle and apply it to any shadow of death that situation you might find yourself in, whatever difficulty, whatever place you find yourself downcast, you know, not serving the Lord, just being disappointed, you know, you can just say to yourself, I am in darkness, I am in the shadow of death, well you know what, God can bring you out of that, God can lift you out of that valley and bring you into the next mountain high, okay, but again you need to follow the shepherd, you need to follow the shepherd, now this is a promise that we will, all of us go through valleys of the shadow of death, but we want to go through it under the leading of God, don't we, if we're following the shepherd and the shepherd says well this mountain, the pastures are done, we need to move to the next mountain, but going to the next mountain requires us to go through the valley, well great, as long as the shepherd's leading me that way, I'm going to go that way, I'm going to follow up the shepherd, right, we need to make sure we have Jesus as our shepherd, because if we find ourselves discouraged, he'll be the one leading us, he'll be the one there, but I don't want to be the sheep that finds myself there, without the shepherd, okay, that would be a more difficult place to get out of, right, you're not prepared spiritually, you're not walking after the Lord, you're not close to the Lord, you're going to find yourself downcast, you know, and hopefully remind yourself the need to bring yourself back into the fold, back into the shepherd. Please, back to, no actually the same Psalm, sorry, yeah, Psalm 23, we talk about the valley of the shadow of death, hey, and if we're being led by Jesus as we go through that valley, it says I will fear no evil, praise God for that, okay, for thou art with me, right, for the valley of the shadow of death, right, but then it says this, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me, okay, so even in the valley of the shadow of death, we can be comforted, we can be comforted by Jesus with his rod and with his staff, okay, so Jesus as a shepherd, he's got both the rod and the staff, and I guess me as a pastor, I've got to learn this, I've got to have the rod and the staff, say what's the rod, what do you think the rod is, okay, the rod is like a club-like instrument, okay, so if there's any sort of, you know, wolves coming to take the sheep, you know, it's the shepherd's job to take that rod, to take that club and, you know, smash that wolf out of there, right, deliver the sheep from the wolf, right, and you know, Jesus speaks about the rod when he speaks in the book of Revelation, you don't need to turn there, Revelation 19 verse 15, it says and out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, this is about his second coming, that with it he should smite the nations and he shall rule them with a rod of iron and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God. Now listen, when I correct my children, when I chastise my children, you know, we use a rod-like instrument, whatever, but it's not a rod of iron, okay, could you imagine being corrected and chastised with a rod of iron, I mean that's got to hurt, and that's a lot of authority, that's a lot of power, you know what, and Jesus Christ as our shepherd, sometimes that rod of iron needs to be applied to our backsides, right, sometimes spiritually speaking, he needs to correct us, the rod of correction, alright, and listen, you know, it's saying here, his rod and his staff, they comfort me, what does that mean, that means if you're being chastised by God, okay, you need to say well this is comforting, can you say that, I mean look, when it's happening initially, it's right away, it doesn't feel good, but the purpose is to give you comfort, the purpose is to correct you, the purpose is to bring you back in line with God, that ought to be comforting to know that if I get too far from God, he's going to take out that rod and use it on me. The Bible says in Proverbs 3.11, my son, despised not the chastening of the Lord, neither be weary of his correction, for whom the Lord loveth, he correcteth, even as a father, the son in whom he delighteth. You know, when you're being chastised by God, it's because he loves you, okay, because he delights in his son, he delights in his children, you know, just like when I discipline my kids, when we do it, it's not nice, they don't like it, I don't really like it, but we do it because we love them, we do it because we want to delight in our children, and we know the fruits of that chastisement, we know the fruits of that rod will bring them back under the rules of their parents, to bring them in safety, right, you know, we don't, parents, we don't create rules to make the lives of our children difficult, you know, we don't create rules so they can go, ah, mum and dad, they're so strict on me, we children, we create rules to keep you safe, we create rules so you can respect authority, we create rules so you don't destroy your life, we create rules so you know later, as you grow up, that you need to keep the rules and the commandments of God, you know, and set him as your shepherd, that's why we create rules, children, okay, don't despise your parents for disciplining you, for chastising you, for being a little bit strict, they do it because they love you, and listen, God's going to do it to you as well, okay, you might as well learn this is life, you know, even your parents get chastised, okay, and you say, well I never saw grandma and granddad give you a smack, well, I'm telling you, God's done it many times to your parents, many times, okay, and so, look, all of us, not just children, even adults, get chastised by the Lord, hey, but this should bring us comfort, to know they love me, they're looking out for me, our Lord God does it because he loves us, okay, so if you're being chastised by God, just remember, it's to bring you comfort, okay, Micah 7 14 says, feed thy people, look at this, with the, sorry, I'll read it again, feed thy people with thy rod, with thy rod, okay, so the preacher's job is not just to make things nice and pretty from the Bible, sometimes the preaching has to be a rod itself, sometimes the preaching has to correct some sin, some problem, some issue in your life, and so if your face is getting ripped for some reason, just know it because the pastor's been told to preach, to feed the people with the rod as well, you know what, the rod is to bring us back to those green pastures, you know, we've gotten away from the Lord, we need to be corrected and chastised, oh man, I need to go back to those green pastures and be fed once again the word of God, don't be surprised if sometimes the preaching's a little bit hard, you say, well that offended somebody, oh that visitor came and they walked away, they didn't like that sermon, well maybe the rod was needed at that point in time for whatever reason, maybe that person that walked away needed the rod, to hear the word of God, right, and then it says, feed thy people with thy rod, the flock of thine heritage, which dwells solitarily in the wood, in the midst of Carmel, let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in the days of old, okay, and so it's saying here that in the days of old, there was a time when we were faithfully serving, speaking of Israel of course, but us faithfully serving God, faithfully following his commandments, but when we walked away from those pastures, he needs to feed us with the rod and bring us back, you know, of the days of old where we used to be with the Lord, and so we have the rod, but we're also comforted by the staff, the staff, now the shepherd's staff, if you're not familiar, has a, it's called a crook at the top of the staff, so it's got like a circular thing around it, does anyone know what that's for? I'll ask the kids first, the crook on a staff, that little circular thing around it, what's it for? Someone want to, Sam, was it you Sam, or was it Tim? Sam, alright Tim, what's it for? Yeah, exactly, exactly, alright, so if the sheep's getting, being led astray, then it's to grab it around the neck and bring it back into the fold, okay, so that's the purpose of the staff, right, I mean it's kind of like being used as support for the shepherd himself, yeah, but the staff with the crook is to pull sheep back into the fold, okay, and also to protect it from danger, that sheep might be wandering off into a dangerous area, shepherd can stretch out, use that crook on the staff, bring it back into a place of safety, and so listen, the Lord wants nothing more but for his people to be in one fold, to be together, and also protected from dangerous things, and so the rod and the staff, what God uses as our shepherd to look out for us, look at verse number, go to Psalm 23, go to Psalm 23 verse 5, back to the Psalm, Psalm 23 verse 5, this is probably my favourite part in the Psalm, it says, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. He's preparing a table, it's like if you sit down and have a dinner, right, you tell the kids can you prepare the table, you know when you say that to your kids, maybe you're saying hey, get the forks and knife out, get the cups out, get the plates out, prepare the table, we're going to have a feast, we're going to have a meal, we're going to have a feast, we're going to enjoy some food, and so what this is telling us, that even, you know, if we have Jesus as our shepherd and we're living after his ways, that when our enemies come, and our enemies want nothing more than to see the sheep destroyed, that in their presence, God will bless us, you know, as they're looking at us, as they're seeking destruction of God's people, God's going to step in and bring a table out for us, right, and feed us, and look out for us, and bless us in the midst of our enemies. What an amazing thing that, you know, they're going oh, who is this God that you follow, what's his Bible, and then we're just being blessed, we're being blessed for being followers of Jesus Christ, and it says there, thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over. Not only does he prepare a table for me, he does something very special, anointing, you know, anointing someone's head is not something that was always done, okay, it was normally done if you're putting somebody, you know, if you're anointing someone like in a position of authority, maybe a king, you're putting some oil over their head, or some special occasion for some special purpose. What the Bible's telling us here is that not only will God prepare a table for us, but we're VIP, you know, we're very important people, we've got VIP access, and not only that, our cup runs over. He's going to give us more than we need, brethren. You say, you know, sometimes I go, who was, whose house was I at? I can't remember. But they serve me a drink, and I'm like, because I like to finish everything, you know, I teach my kids, whatever's on your plate, finish it, whatever's in your cup, finish it. So I'm trying to finish my drink, and I'm really full. But then someone, you know, you've got people that are very hospitable, they come and fill your cup. And I'm not really realising, because I'm talking, whatever, I can't remember whose house I was at, they're filling my cup, it's like, oh, there's more there, and I was like, I've got to finish this, trying to finish it. And of course the person that's being hospitable thinks, man, he's really enjoying that drink, I better keep filling it up. And I'm like, I just need to finish this thing, I'm going to get done, right? Hey, that's an example of my cup running over, it's too much, I can't take it in, you know? But it's the love, it's the hospitality of that person that's given you more than you need, okay? And so when God prepares this table, he's given us more, more than we need, brethren. Yes, he supplies our every need, but he gives us more than that, right? The Bible says in Luke 6, 38, give and it shall be given unto you, good measure, pressed down, and shaken together, and running over shall men give unto your bosom, for with the same measure that ye meet withal, it shall be measured to you again. You know why God gives us so much? It's so we can give to others. So we can be a blessing to others, okay? And if we just be a blessing to other people, they're going to be a blessing in return, you know? There's this idea in our minds that, you know, I've got to keep things to myself, I can't waste things, but you know what? Give to your brethren, you know, be hospitable, you know, give to the needs of your brethren. God promises you're going to get much more back, pressed down together. You know, sometimes when we are, because we're a big family, you know, the counter bins are not enough normally for our weekly rubbish, right? And within a couple of days, the bins full. So I tell my boys, get a piece of cardboard, put it on top, and sometimes they get into the bin and they trample it down. They press it down, right? And before you know it, it's like, it used to be full, and it's like, it's halfway. That means double the amount can go into that bin, right? Well, that's the idea. When God gives us, he gives us more, he presses it down, you know, uses every space available to give us our needs, our wants, the blessings of God. And I can truly say, honestly, that God has blessed me, and I believe God has blessed each one of us, you know, and given us more than we really need. And we just need to appreciate that when it happens, you know, don't forget to be thankful to God when he blesses you, when he gives you, when he answers your prayers, don't forget to give God thanksgiving. Verse number 6, Psalm 23 verse 6. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Wow. You want that for your life? Every day of your life, to have a good and merciful life, goodness and mercy will follow you all the days of your life. We can live like that. We can live like that, okay? If we have Jesus as our shepherd, if we follow after the shepherd. You know, I was thinking about this idea of goodness and mercy, where does that come from? And I found in James chapter 3 verse 17, you can turn there if you want, but I'll just read it to you, James 3, 13, it says this. But the wisdom that is from above, okay, so we're talking about the wisdom of God. And of course, you know, we have it here in our hands, the wisdom of God, right? The wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, then it says this. Full of mercy and good fruits, mercy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypocrisy. So what do we learn there? If we want goodness and mercy to follow me all the days of my life, where are you going to find it? It comes from the wisdom that is above. It comes from the wisdom of God, the wisdom of God, the Bible, okay? His commandments, His directions, brethren. This is the wisdom. If you want the goodness and mercy to follow you, then you need to walk after the shepherd. You must follow the shepherd. He's left us this book. He's left us New Life Baptist Church, okay? He's left us His Holy Spirit to direct our paths. You know, so what is this telling us? That if you don't walk in the paths of the shepherd, if you don't seek the wisdom that is from above, you're not going to have goodness and mercy following you, okay? All the days of your life. I want you to have a good life. I want you, when you make mistakes, to have the mercy of God. You know, because we all make mistakes. We all are sinners, right? And there's nothing more, I don't want God to just destroy me as soon as I do something wrong. I need His mercy. You need His mercy. Hey, we need mercy toward one another when we do wrong toward one another. We need to be merciful. We need to be good to one another. And we can only do that by drawing from the wisdom that is from above. Not the wisdom of the psychiatrist, not the wisdom of the philosopher, not the wisdom of some false religion. No, it's the wisdom from above. And then I love how verse number six ends. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. For us, the house of the Lord is the local church. He's saying, to the day I die, I'm going to be in church. You know, church ought not to be an option. It's not an option. Just like you waking up in the morning is not an option. Just like you feeding your body is not an option. Just like you taking a breath to breathe is not an option. Just as men, fathers, you go out and work a job to provide the needs for your family. It's not an option. It's not an option. This is just what you do. I must do these things. This is my life. You know, church ought to be just the same thing for you. Not an option. I'm here. Sunday morning, the two services that we have on Sunday, I'm going to be here. Our midweek service on a Wednesday, I'm going to be there. I'm going to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Okay? That's what the psalmist says. That's the green pastures. That's what church is supposed to be all about. The green pastures, the still waters, the comfort. You know, everything that we just read in this psalm, it concludes, church, that's where it's at. That's where I've got to be. If I skip church, then I'm not going to find the blessings of Psalm 23. I'm not going to get the wisdom from above that will give me the goodness and the mercy that I need if I'm not in church. This is the most important part of your spiritual life, Reverend, to get into church, hear the preaching of God's word. He doesn't ask for much. How long does church take? Let's say a maximum, like probably an hour and a half each service, right? So that's three services that we have, an hour and a half, what does that work out to be? Four and a half hours in your week. Okay? Are you able to say, well, just four and a half hours, Lord. That's like two movies. Sit down and watch, don't watch movies. I'm just saying. That's like, I mean, people watch much more television than that, all right, in their lives. People spend more time playing video games than this stuff. People spend more time reading some novel, you know, some book than this. Four and a half hours in your week. Can you say to yourself, I'm going to dwell in the house of the Lord forever? That's what it takes, Reverend, to say, look, those are God's hours. I'm just going to give it to him. I'm going to be in church. I'm going to, not for Pastor Kevin, for the Chief Shepherd, for the Great Shepherd, for the Good Shepherd. You know, that's where he wants to lead us. All right, let's pray.