Psalm 23
Sermon • Submitted • Presented
0 ratings
· 9 viewsNotes
Transcript
Two years ago… my dad went in for emergency heart surgery [pause]
The surgery took much longer than expected
It was on Good Friday 2023… and he went in just before 7 AM and was expected to be done before lunch time…
It was dark… evening.. before he finally got out… [pause]
So ? what happened? [pause]
Well… the surgeon was surprised that his heart was stuck to his chest [pause]
This condition is serious and in itself could cause death [pause]
If that’s all the surgeon knew… emergency surgery would have been done immediately to get his heart unstuck…
And think about it… [pause]
? what if a surgeon told you?
“hey- your heart is stuck to your chest, this is serious and you could die.” [pause]
? You would say what? [pause]
“Oh no- this is terrible,
? how could this happen to me- why?” [pause]
and you probably think it is a terrible thing [pause]
Well Dr. Anderson also explained that the reason my dad was still alive… was because this serious condition of having his heart stuck to his chest
that serious problem
kept the other serious problem from becoming deadly [pause]
If you think of an onion… with the layers…
He had many of these layers eroding… and there was just a very thin wall in his heart that was about to burst open… [pause]
That’s what they saw before they opened him up [pause]
Dr. Anderson said “his heart is about to burst open and he will die…
He told us if he goes home… your dad will be dead in less than 3 weeks” [pause]
But you know what happened
that terrible condition of having his heart stuck to his chest… saved his life [pause]
where the hole was forming… was the same spot where his chest and his heart were stuck together… [pause]
the stuckness kept his heart from bursting open [pause] [pause]
? How often have you realized something like this looking back on your life?
where you think
man- ? why would this terrible thing happen [pause]
and then time passes.. and you look back… and you think
“man- I thought that was really bad…
but that was the thing that actually saved me [pause] [pause] [pause]
everyone goes through tough times in life,
and it might be a health issue, a work issue, financial, job, relationship-
whatever it is,
and how ever serious the thing is…
let me tell you this…. the very thing that we think is going to destroy us, [pause]
God can use that thing… as a sidewalk… as a bridge… to save us,
to allow us to safely walk over the rushing waters [pause]
and we look back and think-
“man I thought that thing was going to destroy me… and yet look what God did with it,
He saved me with the very thing I thought would destroy me” [pause] [pause] [pause]
Psalm 23 is one of the most memorized Psalms…
This is one of the most comforting and beautiful Psalms…
One of the most taught Psalms… [pause]
This Psalm 23… for this group… will not need much explaining in what does it say…
But I do want to put a perspective on this that you may not have thought about… [pause]
To do that… I’m giving the “so what” …. at the beginning…
The “so what” is this…
God will allow… that which He hates… to come into your life… in order to bring forth… that which He loves… [pause]
The three main sections of Psalm 23… the field of grass… the valley of death… the heavenly banquet… [pause]
For a moment… I want you to think about them this way… [pause]
God loves for us to be in that field of grass with peace and security [pause]
God allows us to go through the valley… but I believe He hates the valley…
But He allows us to go through that valley because He is going to bring forth things that He loves for us… by going through the valley… [pause]
God loves for us to be at His heavenly banquet [pause] [pause] [pause]
So let’s begin with
? What does it say? [pause]
To begin this Psalm…
David gives us a statement of fact…
And every word after that statement of fact… is a beautiful result… that we need to embrace… [pause]
That while this is well known… we need to store these truths up in our inner man… in the core of our being… [pause]
David begins with the statement of fact… the truth that… The Lord is my shepherd… [pause]
And because The Lord is my shepherd… it follows that… [pause]
1. I shall not want
2. I will lie down in green pastures
3. I will be led beside still waters
4. My soul will be restored
5. I will be led in paths of righteousness [pause]
1 through 5… God loves to have us there [pause]
#6… The Lord is my Shepherd… it follows that…
6. I will walk through the valley of the shadow of death
# 6 the Lord does not love…
But He shows us He loves us… with 7 through 9… that while we are in the valley
7. I will fear no evil… ? why? because
8. I will have the Lord with me
9. I will comforted by Him
10 through 14… God loves to have us here…. This is pointing forward to our eternal home…
10. I will have a table prepared before me
11. I will be anointed
12. My cup will overflow
13. Goodness and Mercy will follow me always
14. I will live in His house… forevermore [pause] [pause] [pause]
? Do we deserve any of these points? [pause]
? Do you deserve any of these truths we find in Psalm 23? [pause]
Only number 6… but not in the context we have
Not number 6 with God…
We deserve number 6 all alone… scared… naked… and running… [pause]
The only thing we deserve is death and punishment… [pause]
But ? how kind God was to David… [pause]
? How kind God is to us… [pause]
That we read David’s words…
And they are for David… they are for us… [pause]
These words are from God… and they are for you…. [pause]
1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2He makes me lie down in green pastures. [pause]
He leads me beside still waters. [pause]
3He restores my soul. [pause]
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name's sake. [pause]
4Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, [pause]
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me; [pause]
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me. [pause] [pause]
5You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies; [pause]
you anoint my head with oil; [pause]
my cup overflows. [pause]
6Surely [pause] goodness and mercy [pause] shall follow me
all the days of my life, [pause]
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever. [pause]
This is God’s Word speaking to you
112 Words… [pause]
and every one of them… is for you… [pause]
[next slide]
1The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
I have this written in my Bible… the meaning of Je-Ho-Vah
Je- The God Who is
Ho- The God Who was
Vah- The God Who will forever be [pause]
When we think in terms of time…
We think “I was”… God says “I am” [pause]
We think “I am”… God says “I am” [pause]
We think “I will be”… God says “I am” [pause] [pause] [pause]
This is extremely encouraging… [pause]
This is saying God reigns… throughout all of time… and beyond time…
Which makes sense… because God created time… [pause]
So it’s not a hard thing at all… for Him to reign over that which He created… and to reign past that which He created... time… [pause]
? What can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus?” [pause]
I echo Paul…
Nothing…
Not even time… [pause]
The God Who is, was and forever will be…
He loves you, loved you, and will forever love you…
And that is not even separated… based on your feelings… [pause]
You may feel that God does not love you…
That can not change the fact that He does love you… [pause]
You have absolutely… zero… control over God…
None…
You have no ability… [pause] your thoughts… feelings…
You have absolutely zero ability to control God… [pause]
And that is one of the best blessings He has given us… because since we have zero ability to control Him… [pause]
We have zero ability to diminish the love that He has for us… [pause]
You don’t feel like God loves you right now because things are hard… ok…
That has zero impact… on His love for you
[next slide]
2He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
If you haven’t dived deep into Psalm 23…
You likely imagine waist high green grass… on a 75 degree day… with a cool breeze… on a pond… having a picnic… with your Shepherd… [pause]
The green pastures is actually rocky and brown… [pause]
If you were to look from a distance at a shepherd leading sheep in Israel in the green pastures…
You would think the sheep were eating rocks… [pause]
That would be your thought “? Why are the sheep eating rocks?”… until you got closer and you actually saw the sheep eating these tiny bunches of green growth, barely visable to the eye [pause]
And these hills have lines drawn into them from where the sheep follow the Shepherd… [pause]
The Shepherd carefully guides these sheep around and around these dry and desolate hills…
To eat these tiny pieces of grass [pause]
? what’s the point of thinking about this? [pause]
God will make you lie down in green pastures… [pause]
That’s not God giving you the numbers to the mega-millions the night before the drawing… [pause]
Green Pastures is God… carefully guiding you… through this life… and giving you exactly what you need… [pause] at the exact time… when you need it…
And… as God is feeding you… I believe there is a sense in which that feeding is restoring Your soul
Leading you in path’s of righteousness [pause]
For His Name’s sake [pause]
That your daily life would be led by Him… and for Him…
In such a way that others… would see Christ in You… [pause]
These first 3 verses…
I believe it brings joy to God’s heart to have you lie down in green pastures and to restore your soul and to be in this peaceful setting… [pause]
The next 3 verses…
I believe God allows this to come… [pause] but it’s not something that brings joy to His heart to have trials come up…
But He allows them to come because of what they produce… [pause] in the long run… [pause]
The last 2 verses…
I believe it brings God joy to prepare a table for you, to anoint your head with oil… to fill your cup
To have you live in His house… for all eternity… [pause]
I believe this brings joy to God
[next slide]
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.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
? why is there a picture of Moses on the screen? [pause]
And ? why is this a picture of him parting the Red Sea? [pause]
16 Lift up your staff,
and stretch out your hand over the sea
and divide it, that the people of Israel may go through the sea on dry ground. [pause]
Moses has a staff…
And by God’s power he splits the Red Sea and gets the people out of… and through… an impossible situation… [pause]
? How much more power for God Himself to have not only a staff… but a rod… in His hand… as He gets us out of impossible situations… [pause]
If God can use Moses to part the Red Sea… God will get you through the valley [pause]
God is infinitely more powerful than Moses
God’s staff… is infinitely more powerful than the staff Moses had [pause]
The Israelites made it through…
Their enemies were swallowed up…
“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies” [pause]
Pharaoh and his army perished that day… [pause]
The Israelites did not have to lift a finger to fight… they did not have to swim across…
They walked… on dry ground … right down the middle… of the Red Sea [pause]
God walks with us right down the middle of our deepest and darkest valley’s… and He will get us through… [pause]
[next slide]
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows. [pause]
it feels blasphemous to say…
so I will just read the Scripture that Luke penned in his 12thchapter [pause]
37 Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes.
Truly, [pause] I say to you,
He this is talking about the Master…
In this parable the Master represents Jesus…
He will dress himself for service [pause]
and have them recline at table, [pause]
and he will come and serve them. [pause]
? can you imagine that? [pause]
Jesus comes to serve you… [pause]
Yeah… your cup… will overflow… [pause]
I feel uncomfortable even saying this out loud- but it’s in our Bibles…
That the Master will dress Himself for service and come and serve them [pause]
Psalm 23 says our cups will overflow… [pause]
Hardly anything we can count as a guarantee… we can’t even guarantee that we will die… because the Lord may come back before we die… [pause]
But I can confidently guarantee you that our Lord Jesus Christ coming to us…
It’s a guarantee that your cup will overflow… [pause]
I believe the cup overflowing is not just blessings being put on… but also a removal of bad things being taken away… [pause]
Because those valley experiences bring forth good… but the valley leaves scars…
Some of those scars… some of the pain… some of those tears… remain with us until our last breath here on earth [pause] [pause] [pause]
Revelation 21 tells us He will wipe away every tear from our eyes [pause]
Every tear… [pause]means this is individual… [pause]
And wiping… [pause]
This language requires that He will physically wipe away the tears…
This is not a hand wave over the masses… and now the pain and tears are taken care of… [pause]
No… Revelation 21 tells us… that He will individually come to every single one of us
He will wipe away those tears… [pause]
And there may be new tears… but if there are new tears… they are only tears of joy [pause]
Because God promises us in heaven there is no more death… mourning… crying… pain…
It is all gone
He has made all things new… [pause] [pause] [pause]
And writing about heaven is exactly how David closes Psalm 23… [pause]
[next slide]
Ok- so we went through what does it say…
And this is familiar territory… so we moved quickly through that…
Now our second question…
? what does it mean? [pause]
This picture gives us a good representation of how we can feel…
I want you to use your imagination for a minute… [pause]
Try to use your imagination… so that you picture this in your head like a movie… not the picture on the screen yet…[pause]
But picture flat lush fields of grass… with fruit trees… [pause]
And your walking through these beautiful fields for about an hour… the sky is blue, the air is cool… you can feel the warmth of the sun on your face… [pause]
It’s morning time… and you can feel the air and hear the birds… and know the joy of this beautiful morning… [pause] fresh hilltop air [pause]
And you’ve been able to see these mountains the whole time, from a distance… [pause]
It’s about that 75 degree day… gentle breeze… you’ve had a quiet, gentle, and clean creek… that you’ve been walking beside the entire morning…
So you’ve had fresh water… [pause]
And now you finally come to this place on the screen… [pause]
This is before you… [pause] You’re feet are still in the lush grass… [pause]
But the next step is dry cracked ground… [pause]
the creek stopped flowing a couple hundred feet behind you… [pause]
And you’re map is telling you… on the other side of this mountain range… is a beach with all kinds of fruit trees, fishing… and just beautiful scenery…
It’s even better than what you have just walked through [pause]
75 degree weather… a warm ocean… sunny…
It’s all there once you get through this valley.. and past these mountains… [pause] as we kinda picture that with our imaginations… [pause]
As we are still standing in that grass.. before we take our first step onto this dry ground [pause]
We can still feel the warmth of the sun against our skin… [pause]
we can still feel that gentle breeze at our backs [pause]
we can still hear the birds chirping behind us… [pause]
We can still feel the presence of the Lord with us…[pause]
And we have an optimistic hope… as we look down at our maps… and see that beach full of fruit trees on the other side… where that sun is cracking through the top of that mountain range… [pause]
We know the valley part is not going to be fun…
but we enter it with hope as we know God will be walking with us… [pause]
But… [pause]
The longer we walk into this valley…[pause]
The lower we go... [pause]
The colder it gets… [pause]
The sun is no longer warming our skin… [pause]
The sun is no longer guiding our path with it’s light… [pause]
There may be parts of this valley where it’s like the middle of the night… in terms of light… [pause] [pause]
It can be just like that with God… [pause]
We felt him there in the beginning…
Now we can no longer feel His presence with us… [pause]
It seems like it has gotten completely dark… and cold
The sun is away… it feels like the Lord is gone [pause]
Let me ask you something… [pause] [pause]
when it’s night time… ? has the sun gone away? [pause]
when we are at the bottom of this valley and we can’t see any light…
? is the sun no longer there? [pause] [pause]
Of course not… [pause]
The sun is always there shining bright… [pause]
And the fact that there are shadows… [pause] tells us there is a sun…
Shadows cannot exist without a source of light… [pause]
And Psalm 23 is reminding us…
“hey- that physical sun might not be visible…
And you might not see God in this situation…
But He is with You… [pause]
He is sustaining You… [pause]
And He is not in the business of ever leaving you.. or forsaking you…” [pause]
and even though you are surrounded by these mountains…
and even know you’re out of food… and out of wate…r and your freezing in the lower part of this valley…
and it’s scary… and dangerous…
and you’re finding it really difficult to see where to take your next step… [pause]
even in the middle of the lowest part of the valley…
where everything seems to have been taken away from you
and it feels like God is nowhere to be found… [pause]
you can almost here God’s voice… booming… to Job [pause]
? Who created the mountains?
? Who formed this valley? [pause]
God reigns over all…
And that’s good news… [pause]
Because since He has ultimate control…
You will make it through… [pause]
? what’s the worst that’s gonna happen?
? you die? [pause]
So you don’t make it to that beach with the fruit trees…
And your body is laying cold… dead… breathless… at the bottom of the valley… [pause]
! That’s good news !… [pause]
because instead of these earthly trees that you didn’t make it to…
Revelation 22 tells us you’ve got a better tree
the tree of life with its twelve kinds of fruit,
yielding its fruit each month.
The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. [pause]
Or… you get to the other side of this mountain… this beach with these beautiful fruit trees and perfect weather… [pause] great… you win… [pause]
You wind up dying in this valley… [pause] great… you win…
Either way… you win… [pause]
And I would say it’s probably even better that we just go be with the Lord… because when you think about a beautiful tropical beach…
? What happens every September and October?
Hurricanes… [pause]
The beach is not a good place to be in the middle of a hurricane… [pause]
There are no destructive hurricanes in heaven… [pause]
You either make it through and continue on this earth [pause] or He brings you home
And as Psalm 23 ended… when He brings you home… your cup will overflow… forever and ever…. [pause]
He reigns over all… [pause]
And it’s going to work out for good… for you… [pause]
[next slide]
Our last question…
? So What? [pause]
God will allow that which He hates… to come into your life… in order to bring forth… that which He loves… [pause]
In Matthew 17 we read about the Transfiguration…
Jesus is affirmed by the Father…
“This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.” [pause]
On this mountain… in this moment… the disciples are getting a glimpse at the glory Jesus set aside… to come here to earth…
And in a littler while… in a sense… they will even see Jesus set aside His human appearance… in order to save them for eternity… [pause]
Jesus will be beaten and bloodied to the point where He is no longer recognizable [pause]
Isaiah 52:14
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— [pause]
you guys see the Hebrew on the screen…
This is talking about His face being disfigured beyond human form… [pause] [pause] [pause]
? Can you imagine how much God the Father loves God the Son? [pause]
? Can you try to imagine how much love… exists in the Trinity? [pause]
So it follows that the Cross was really… in a way… the ultimate example of God allowing that which He hates… in order to bring forth… that which he loves [pause]
Jesus… hanging naked on a Cross… [pause]
His face so badly beaten… Isaiah writes it was beyond human semblance…
Knowing the Father has this ultimate… and pure love for Jesus… He must hate… seeing Jesus beaten so badly… [pause] [pause] [pause]
For us…
trying to imagine the glory [pause] and the beauty [pause] and the majesty… [pause]of Christ… [pause] [pause]
And then trying to imagine the gore [pause] and the destruction [pause] and the pain… [pause] of the crucifixion… [pause] [pause] [pause]
You contrast those two things in your mind… [pause]
Or you try to… [pause]
we can’t really fully understand either of them [pause]
We are incapable with our finite minds to understand the beauty and majesty of Christ… [pause]
Nor are we capable… of understanding how terrible… the Cross of Christ was… [pause] [pause] [pause]
God allowed the Cross of Christ to happen…
In fact it was the Father’s will… that the Cross of Christ would happen… [pause]
To bring forth that which He loves… [pause]
To bring forth salvation… for anyone… who would put their faith in Jesus and His finished work on the Cross… [pause]
So the Cross of Christ…
is really the ultimate example of God allowing that which He hates… to come about… in order to bring forth… that which He loves… [pause]
[next slide]
Joni Earkeson Tada
Paralyzed from shoulders down at the age of 17 after a diving accident [pause]
Unable to use her arms or legs…
Joni wrote a book and has a ministry that has impacted millions of people… [pause]
God allowed her to go through that accident…
And her experience was used to help so many others… [pause]
And also I believe God used her accident to draw her closer to Him… [pause]
She said this about pain…
“When I'm in pain,
which is often,
especially at night in bed when I can't sleep …
I talk to my pain and I say, ‘You're not going to make me anxious, pain.
You're not going to make me fearful.
I'm going to walk into you.
I'm going to breathe, calmly, serenely.
I'm going to enter you, pain… as though I were Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego entering the fiery furnace,
and I'm going to find Jesus, the Son of God, walking in the middle of the fire with me.’” [pause] [pause] [pause]
If you’ve read the book Wurmbrand you will know this man in the middle picture suffered in unimaginable ways…
? was God happy to see Richard be tortured for 14 years?
I don’t believe so… [pause]
From Richard’s experience… he had a close and intimate walk with God that had such an impact on those around him… that many of the very guards that were torturing Richard wound up coming to Christ…
In his later years… the Voice of the Martyrs organization would be launched… impacting millions of people…
God allowed some of the most brutal torture to happen to Richard… and later so much good came from it [pause]
Corrie Ten Boom [pause]
I don’t believe God found pleasure in Corrie suffering in Nazi concentration camp…
But she writes in her books how she experienced the light of Christ in the darkest of places in those camps… [pause]
She went on to impact millions for Christ through her books and her traveling the world telling people about the love of Christ…
God allowed these terrible things to happen… [pause]
God allowed that which He hates… Severe injury and severe torture… to bring forth… that which He loves [pause]
[next slide]
I’ll end talking about Bob and Chuck
Bob
October 2018
Bob had a fall from a ladder that doctors said should have resulted in paralysis or death… [pause]
I believe God hated to see Bob hurt… and in pain… and being rushed to the hospital… [pause]
I believe God allowed it… because it brought forth things that He loves…
It brough forth many people seeking the Lord in prayer… interceding for Bob… [pause]
It brought forth an increased commitment from Bob to the Lord…
And it brought Bob closer to Jesus [pause]
In his testimony… which Bob handed out a paper-
I taped it in my Bible right at Psalm 90-
So teach us to number our days that we may get a heart of wisdom. [pause]
I’ve shared Bob’s testimony with people he has never met… [pause]
That’s bringing forth that which God loves…
God loves when we share our testimonies… and others testimonies
? why does God love that? [pause]
Because our testimonies tell other people about the goodness of God… [pause] and our testimonies encourage other people to draw near to the Lord…
As a result of his accident…. Bob shared in his testimony that he set 5 goals [pause]
1. Watch no TV while in brace and only limited amounts of TV thereafter
2. Increase time in Prayer, Bible reading & study
3. Read more devotional materials
4. Increase serving and fellowship
5. Show more compassion and share faith [pause]
1 through 5… God loves everyone of them…
I believe as Bob received these 5 goals… the Lord was smiling upon him as he accepted these goals [pause]
I didn’t know him before his accident…
But I wonder how much closer his walk was with our Lord after the accident… [pause]
God allowed this to happen to Bob because it was working good within him… it was drawing him closer to Christ… [pause]
And it was going to be part of his testimony moving forward that would encourage many others…
[next slide]
Chuck Poulson… February 2024
Having severe heart problems… and in the hospital
Chuck prayed to the Lord… along the lines…
“if you take me now… thank You Lord…
But Lord… I want to stay here… and continue to work for You” [pause]
Chuck could physically feel the Lord smiling upon him [pause]
I don’t believe God enjoyed seeing Chuck go through those heart problems… [pause]
But God allowed Chuck to go through that… because it would bring forth that which He loves… [pause]
It would bring Chuck to an even greater commitment to Jesus… and an even closer walk with Him… [pause]
Chuck would share his story… continue to mentor and continue to parent and continue to serve… [pause] with an even sweeter love for Christ… and an even sweeter love for others… [pause]
I’ve shared with Chuck that his story brings me to Number 6… and we’ll end here…
The Lord bless you [pause] and keep you;
the Lord make his face to shine upon you [pause] and be gracious to you;
the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. [pause]
keep in the Hebrew means to guard… to save life… to protect… to treasure up… to celebrate… [pause]
imagine that… God treasures you up… and He celebrates you [pause]
I would say that sounds too good to be true… but it’s in our Bibles [pause]
The Lord Bless You and treasure you up [pause]
Shine upon you… upon you in the Hebrew is “eleka”
It means to shine upon… shine toward… shine into… shine in within… [pause]
I said that right… to shine in… within… [pause]
That the Lord is going to shine His love into the core of your being… and that is now going to be a light shining within you…
That you have the love of God shining in.. within you [pause]
That the Lord would make His face to shine toward you… into you… within you… and in within you [pause]
That… within your inner man… would be this glow of the love of Christ… that is shining and illuminating the rest of your being…
You talk about my cup overflows… yeah [pause] [pause]
Lift up his countenance… the word is Panaw in the Hebrew… [pause]
it is a turning of His face towards you… and that’s how the NIV has it… [pause] [pause] [pause]
That the Lord would turn His face toward you… and bless you… and treasure you… and keep you
And shine His love all upon you… in within you… towards you…
And that He would give you peace… [pause] [pause] [pause]
This blessing holds…
This blessing holds when we are in green grass and its 75 degrees outside and we are with our Shepherd… [pause]
This blessing holds when Joni is paralyzed… when Richard is being tortured… when Corrie is suffering in concentration camp…
God’s love is shining in and within Joni… and Richard… and Corrie on their hardest days…. and deepest valleys… [pause]
And the Good Shepherd… is with them the entire way… [pause]
This blessing holds… as Bob was falling off the ladder… and all the pain and trauma his body went through after the fall… [pause]
The love of Christ was shining into Bob’s inner man… lighting up the rest of his being in a fresh way to where he would pen these 5 goals that have inspired others… [pause]
This blessing holds as Chuck experienced chest pain…
and the trauma of being rushed to the hospital and not knowing if he would ever make it home [pause]
God’s love was pouring into the core of Chuck’s being… and God’s love was lighting up in a fresh way his inner man… [pause]
In such a way that Chuck could take that NIV version of this verse
“The Lord turn His Face towards you”
And He could feel… the smile… of our Lord… upon him… as he drew even closer… to Jesus [pause]
This blessing holds in these 3 examples of well known Christians... and 2 examples from our men’s group… [pause]
[pause] This blessing holds for each of us… [pause]
We may have times where we’ve been in a valley for years… [pause]
and we might think hope is gone…
and we might ask “? Where are you Lord?” [pause]
He is right where He has always been… [pause]
He is with you [pause]
It is the Lord who goes before you [pause]
He will be with you [pause]
He will not leave you nor forsake you… [pause]
[last slide- table questions]
Psalm 23…
112 words…
everyone of them is for you [pause]
