The Shepherd and His Sheep.
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4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Fear- to be afraid, scared, frightened.
Hills Dept. Store- probably 4 years old. I am out of the cart, holding mymothers hand.... and I let go to look at something. I came back and it was not my mothers hand. I was horrified.
Presence
Presence
Thou art with me.
The reason God gave the Holy Spirit is Presence. someone to be with us. Look at John 14.16
16 And I will ask the Father, and he will give you another Helper, to be with you forever,
He fulfilled that, and the result is peace. The
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.
The presence of God (the Holy Spirit) brings peace.
When we are facing fear, we want someone. I wanted my mother.
God knows our fear. He understands a lack of the presence of His Father when He died on the cross. That is why He said things like this to his disciples before he left.
18 “I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.
Fear desires someone else- doesn’t it? Someone to be “with”.
That explains the Holy Spirit- and it explains David’s understanding of the phrase, “Thou art with me” in Psalm 23.4.
Isaiah understood it this way in Isaiah 43.1-2
1 But now thus says the Lord, he who created you, O Jacob, he who formed you, O Israel: “Fear not, for I have redeemed you; I have called you by name, you are mine. 2 When you pass through the waters, I will be with you; and through the rivers, they shall not overwhelm you; when you walk through fire you shall not be burned, and the flame shall not consume you.
Isaiah knew that the Presence of God would be the absence of fear.
But, please note the following sobering reality. Isaiah still had to pass through the waters. Isaiah still had to walk through the fire. It was just that God would be with him.
And the sheep still walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Whatever that is- but they are able to walk through it with the Shepherd.
The last command to the disciples included the promise of His Presence with them.... Matthew 28.19-20
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
The shepherd removes fear by His Presence. But wait, there’s more in Psalm 23.4
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
His Rod.
Protection
Protection
Thy rod comforts me. The rod is for correction, protection,
In biblical times, a shepherd consistently used both a rod and a staff to tend the flock. Both were used to protect the sheep, each in a very specific way.
The rod was used to fight off wild animals and to count the sheep and direct them. The rod prodded them during the day in the fields and at night into the sheepfold. A willing sheep would respond to the prodding, but a stubborn, strong-willed sheep would not.
While sheep might not be as dumb as often suggested, they do have characteristics that give some merit to that claim. They’ll indiscriminately eat just about anything, regardless whether it is something that could harm or kill them. They endlessly wander, seemingly without direction. And many sheep stubbornly resist the shepherd’s prodding. That’s why the staff, with a crook at the end, is needed. The shepherd uses the staff to more strongly exert his authority and to gently, but firmly, pull the sheep back to the fold and keep the sheep moving in the right direction. He can also use the crook of the staff to pull the sheep from harm.
Rod-rod of protection.
Where in your life have you seen God protect you? Where has God taken out his rod and protected you?
Where have you not seen God protect you? In other words, what has God kept you from that you never knew?
Provision
Provision
Staff-staff of correction. (Note, the rod is more for protection while the staff is more for correction.)
Thy staff comforts me. The staff is for direction, for salvation.
11 My son, do not despise the Lord’s discipline or be weary of his reproof,
1 Whoever loves discipline loves knowledge, but he who hates reproof is stupid.
Look at Hebrews 12.6-11
6 For the Lord disciplines the one he loves, and chastises every son whom he receives.” 7 It is for discipline that you have to endure. God is treating you as sons. For what son is there whom his father does not discipline? 8 If you are left without discipline, in which all have participated, then you are illegitimate children and not sons. 9 Besides this, we have had earthly fathers who disciplined us and we respected them. Shall we not much more be subject to the Father of spirits and live? 10 For they disciplined us for a short time as it seemed best to them, but he disciplines us for our good, that we may share his holiness. 11 For the moment all discipline seems painful rather than pleasant, but later it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness to those who have been trained by it.
Presence
Protection
Provision
The Presence Of Fear Is The Absence Of Faith
The Presence Of Fear Is The Absence Of Faith
Fear is the absence of faith- I will fear no evil is more about what’s missing than what’s present. Even in the valley of the shadow of death, fear is not present because God is. The shepherd is there, so there is nothing to fear.
If the presence of fear is the absence of faith, then the presence of faith is the absence of fear.
Perhaps a better bottom line would be:
The Presence Of Faith Is The Absence Of Fear
The Presence Of Faith Is The Absence Of Fear
Good, but not good enough
The Presence Of Faith Is The Presence Of God
The Presence Of Faith Is The Presence Of God
Fear is something. Faith Is SomeOne.
It goes back to why we were created.... relationship.
Ask yourself- where is the loneliest place you could be? It is the most fearful place you could be. Hell.
Hell has been defined many ways, but more than anything it is defined not by what it is but by what it isn’t. It is defined by who’s there and who is not. Hell is the absence of God’s Presence.
All through history, God has tried to be with us. the garden, the shekinah glory, the fire and the cloud, the tabernacle, the temple, Jesus, the Holy Spirit- all bring the Presence of God (Thou art with me.).
You and I have never been as lonely as hell would be. In the story of Lazarus and the rich man, the rich man knows taste, sound, touch, heat, and loneliness- he can see his brothers, He can see everthing He is missing.
But no one is with him.
The Loneliest Place on Earth is the Cross of Christ. And yet, everything Jesus said is about the relationships he had.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they are doing.
The crowd,. the Roman Soldiers. Pontius Pilate. Herod. Everyone who was wronging him- he asked for forgiveness for them.
It was about others.
Today, you will be with me in paradise.
to the thief on the cross. relationship. “with me”.
Behold your son: behold your mother.
Not only taking care of his mother.... taking care of John. relationships.
My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?
Rhetorical question? About his feeling of abandonment. It is getting very lonely. relationship
I thirst.
Roman soldiers. A cup of cold water . (vinegar). Or thirsting for his father (as the deer pants for the water, so my soul longs for you O God.
It is finished
Death is imminent. No one around is included. He is completing his tasks. or task. If you understand the word- His work of redemption, of forgiveness, etc., is complete- and all of that was about relationship.
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.
Relationship. Trust. Faith. Eternity.
What are you afraid of? God can handle that.
23 Nevertheless, I am continually with you; you hold my right hand. 24 You guide me with your counsel, and afterward you will receive me to glory. 25 Whom have I in heaven but you? And there is nothing on earth that I desire besides you. 26 My flesh and my heart may fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. 27 For behold, those who are far from you shall perish; you put an end to everyone who is unfaithful to you. 28 But for me it is good to be near God; I have made the Lord God my refuge, that I may tell of all your works.
