A Life Without Lack

Introduction

During the holiday season, most of us will be surrounded by an abundance of material riches. Our dining tables will be filled with more food than we can possibly eat and our Christmas trees will be lined with plenty of gifts for one another. And yet even though we clearly have more than enough, there always seems to be something we can complain about. A pumpkin pie made out of salt is not the end of the world but some people will find a way to use that to ruin an entire family gathering, to put salt on old wounds (pun intended), or simply to be a Debbie downer. The opposite of Thanksgiving is to have a complaining heart and there is probably nothing that irritates God more than people who complain for no reason. For that very reason, Christians are commanded to do everything without grumbling.

Philippians 2:14 ESV

14 Do all things without grumbling or disputing,

But the fact of the matter is, many of us are prone to complain about the few things that are going wrong in our lives versus being grateful for the many, many things that are going right. A friend of mine sent me a quote from a book that he is reading and it cites a counselor from the Silicon Valley who reports that there are two types of people that she sees her practice. The first is the person who comes to the Bay Area, hoping to make it, and they don’t make it, and so they are dissatisfied. The second type is the person who came hoping to make it big, and they do make it, and they are still just as dissatisfied. Clearly having a lot of material things is not the solution to a life of gratitude because success, riches, and prestige cannot bring contentment to your soul. Without contentment, you cannot truly be grateful because thanksgiving is something flows out of a soul that has found contentment. This morning, I want to continue the message started by Pastor Sergio out of last week and look at what it means to live a life that lacks nothing.

But the fact of the many of us are prone to complain about the few things that are going wrong in our lives versus being grateful for the many, many things that are going right. A friend of mine sent me a quote from a book that he is reading and it cites a counselor from the Silicon Valley who reports that there are two types of people that she sees her practice. The first is the person who comes to the Bay Area, hoping to make it, and they don’t make it, and so they are dissatisfied. The second type is the person who came hoping to make it big, and they do make it, and they are still dissatisfied. Clearly having a lot of things is not the solution to a life of gratitude and

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

I borrowed the title of this message from a book by Dallas Willard on and in order to understand what it means to live a life without lack, we need to answer three questions:

Who is my Shepherd?

What does He provide?

How should I then live?

Understanding the nature of your shepherd is the first step in finding contentment in your life. In the Bible, whenever you see LORD in all capital letters, it is a reference to the proper name of God that was first revealed to Moses at the burning bush. A couple sermons ago, I talked about how this name describes the very essence of God. In the English, Yahweh can be translated by the words ‘I AM’ and this simply refers to the self-existing, self-defining, self-sustaining nature of God. If you boil all of those terms down, it points us to a God who has never needed anything or anyone, and who has never suffered from any sense of lack. We like to think we are self-sufficient but only God is perfectly self-sufficient. God doesn’t need anything from us, he doesn’t need our love, he doesn’t need our worship, he doesn’t need our approval, and he certainly doesn’t need our service or our offerings. And because of that God always operates out of a place of complete contentment and joy. The reason why you and I go through seasons of discontentment and dissatisfaction with life is because we are not self-sufficient, not like the way God is. We are always in need of something else to sustain our lives, not so with God. He lacks nothing and for that very reason, we can trust Him to satisfy the desires of our hearts without malice or ulterior motives.

As creatures living in sin, we often live out of a sense of lack don’t we? For example, when people struggle with a lack of healthy close relationships, it often manifests itself in loneliness or an acute need for community. Generally when you meet someone with this relational lack in their life, they attach themselves in unhealthy ways to their friends or to their significant others. If they meet another person who is lacking in self-esteem and has a need to be needed, you have the beginnings of a co-dependent relationship. Another example, might be when parents (especially new parents) deal with a lack of security or control and they begin to project that need onto their children by attempting to control every facet of their kid’s lives even into adulthood. In fact, all of the negative things that we generally fall into come from some sense of perceived lack. We steal because we feel like we don’t have enough. We lie because we feel like the truth isn’t sufficient. We fall into sexual immorality because we feel like our sexual needs are not being met. We covet and envy other people’s success because we feel like they have more than we do. This would explain why God has no need to sin, because unlike us, He lacks nothing.

Another example, might be when parents (especially new parents) deal with a lack of security or control and they begin to project that need onto their children by attempting to control every facet of their kid’s lives even into adulthood. In fact, all of the negative things that we generally fall into come from some sense of perceived lack. We steal because we feel like we don’t have enough. We lie because we feel like the truth isn’t sufficient. We fall into sexual immorality because we feel like our sexual needs are not being met. We covet and envy other people’s success because we feel like they have more than we do.

So how can God fault us for our sin? After all, He created this world that seems to lack so much, that seems to be overrun with scarcity. How can we possibly help ourselves from feeling anxious or fearful or discontent when the world is the way it is? And the answer to that question is though we were not created to be self-sufficient like God, we were created to find our sufficiency in God. In the end, only an intimate relationship with God as our shepherd can help us overcome that sense of lack that we all naturally feel. Two steps to overcoming this sense of lack:

It seems like everyone

First of all, each of us have to admit to ourselves that we are very much like sheep. Sheep are the neediest of the domestic animals and their well-being is almost entirely dependent on their relationship with their shepherd. If you have a bad shepherd, you have a bad life as sheep. But if you have a good shepherd, you are going to be well taken care of with very little to worry about. That is the promise that Jesus gives to us when he says:

John 10:11 ESV

I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

Second, you need to understand that this eternal, self-sufficient God, who doesn’t need you at all has for some reason decided to become your shepherd. I know that some of you didn’t ask for it but He is offering that service to you at great cost. The work of a shepherd was considered to be one of the lowliest in ancient eastern society. This is why the task of shepherding usually fell to the youngest in the family. This is why David was nowhere to be found when Samuel came looking for the next king of Israel. He was busy with the family’s flock of sheep. Back in that time, shepherding essentially meant living with the sheep, day and night, summer or winter, rain or shine. It would mean tending to them constantly, protecting them from danger, and making sure that they didn’t get lost. Good shepherds had to really love their flock and it’s no coincidence that the two greatest leaders of Israel, Moses and King David were both shepherds by vocation before they were called by God. These were leaders who understood and shared the heart of God to care for people as a shepherd cares for the sheep. There is no task too low for God, that He would not gladly do in order to meet your true needs.

As city dwellers, we don’t quite understand that relationship but I do see the way that many of you care for your dogs. When we trust Jesus as our good shepherd, He is able to fill those areas of lack so that we can begin to life with a sense of sufficiency instead of scarcity. We can live from a place of prosperity instead of poverty. We can begin to eat from the table of contentment rather than poisoning ourselves with complaint. Some of us may have a lot of money but

When we trust Jesus as our good shepherd, He is able to fill those areas of lack so that we can begin to live with a sense of sufficiency instead of scarcity. We can live from a place of prosperity instead of poverty. We can begin to eat from the table of contentment rather than poisoning ourselves with the lies of complaint. Some of us may have a lot of money but we still have a beggar’s mentality because you are unable to echo the words of this Psalm, “Because the Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing, I need nothing, and I am content with what I have.” Do you know why is the most famous psalm in the Bible? It’s because it is so radically different from our personal experience and it points us to a life that we are all wanting deep inside. We all want that sense of sufficiency but we delude ourselves into thinking we can achieve it for ourselves. People can never be self-sufficient and you have to deny reality in order to believe otherwise. In this life, we are dependent on the smallest and most insignificant of factors. Without a small little molecule known as oxygen, a substance you can’t even see, you and I will die in a matter of minutes. And even if we have it, unless oxygen levels fall within 5 percentage points, 19 to 23 or 24 percent, your life cannot be sustained.

We work so hard to try and achieve self-sufficiency, not realizing that the fate of our lives is completely in the hands of the only one who is all-sufficient. When you begin to understand that, it’s far easier to submit to Him as your shepherd and to receive the things He has to provide for you. So if God is our shepherd, what is He able to provide for us that will lead to our contentment?

Only He is able to provide rest. Phillip Keller was a pastor who spent eight years as a real shepherd and out of that experience he wrote, A Shepherd Looks at . One of his insights was the fact that sheep don’t lie down easily. They are extremely flighty creatures because of their timid and vulnerable nature. (That is the word that I have often used in my mind to describe people here in the Bay Area. ) Keller observed that there are four conditions that need to be met in order for sheep to rest.

Free of fear.

There can’t be any danger around them. Nothing that threatens them. They have to be in a safe place.

Free of friction

I’m not sure what kind of relational conflict sheep get into but unless they are on good terms with each other, they can’t rest.

Free of flies and other pests

Sheep don’t do well with the small annoyances of life and little things like flies trigger them. (Drama on the job or not feeling like you are being challenged or understood.)

Free of the need for food

If sheep for any reason feel like they won’t have enough food they simply will not lie down, they will wander without even knowing what they are looking for. Isn’t that just like many of us who have to pad our savings account because we think there will never be enough. Even smart successful men like John D Rockefeller fall into this trap. When he was asked, “When do you know you have enough?” His famous reply was, “One more dollar.”

It’s easy to see how God provides the right circumstances so that we can find rest. He is our refuge and fortress. Perfect love casts out fear. He teaches us how to live in peace with one another, forgiving and loving one another. He free us from the troubles of life that plague us especially the ones that come from our spiritual enemy. But most important, He gave us Christ to be our bread of life and the source of living water so that we will never hunger and never thirst. This is the only way we can find rest!

God provides guidance. (I know P. Sergio shared this last week but I wanted to emphasize it again.) Even with a good shepherd, sheep are prone to wander. They are notorious for their stupidity. They have this incredibly strong instinct to follow each other, which makes it pretty easy to follow each other to the slaughter house. One goes in and they will all follow. (This sermon is actually making me kind of hungry.) If one sheep decides to go off a cliff to their death, the others will soon follow. They simply cannot be left alone because they are always in need of constant supervision and guidance. They have to be led to the right pasture otherwise they will starve to death. They have to be brought to the right place along the river or else they risk falling in and drowning because their fleece is too heavy when it is wet.

As people, who are like sheep, we also have this basic need for guidance because we are so prone to wander into sin. We follow one another down this cliff. We put ourselves right in the path of sin and all of its destructive consequences and many times we blindly fall into it without even knowing it.

Isaiah 53:6 ESV

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

b. Not only has Christ died for our sin, he can now lead us in paths of righteousness, away from life-destroying dangers of sin.

3. Jesus provides the restoration of life. Verse three tells us that God restores our soul. The Hebrew word translated as soul can also be translated as life and I think given the context of this Psalm, I think it is better rendered as God restores my life. Again Phillip Keller writes about how sheep can lose their lives so easily. There is a phenomena where sheep will try to find a hollow area or depression in the ground to lie down comfortably. But if they are on the heavier side or if they have a heavy coat of fleece, they can easily lose their balance and their center of gravity shifts so that all four feet end up in the air. Once that happens, they start to panic and paw the air frantically but no matter what they do they regain their position. In that position, they lose circulation to their legs and gases begin to build up in their body and in a matter of hours, they are dead. It seems like an absolutely comical situation and one that is so far removed from us self-sufficient humans. But over the years, I’ve heard many, many people talk about centering themselves, finding balance to their life, which has to mean they know they are imbalanced and off center in their life. What they may not know is that the more they struggle on their own, the more frantic their life becomes. You need a shepherd to restore you back to life.

Now here is the amazing fact, these are just a few of the fundamental things of life that God can provide for you and if this just a small sample, it’s no wonder that David was able to say, I have no need, I have no lack. And David isn’t the only one that echoed these sentiments. The apostle Paul also famously stated:

Philippians 4:11–12 ESV

Not that I am speaking of being in need, for I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content. I know how to be brought low, and I know how to abound. In any and every circumstance, I have learned the secret of facing plenty and hunger, abundance and need.

Philippians 4:

If you know the journey of David and Paul’s life, these statements seem absolutely absurd. David spent years running for his life from a crazy king that was trying to kill him and dealing with the drama of a dysfunctional marriage that nearly led to a civil war. Paul was jailed multiple times, stoned nearly to death, and shipwrecked, lost at sea. And these men had the audacity to say, “I have no need, I have everything I could have asked for, I have found the secret to contentment.” Common sense would tell us, Paul needed a better boat and David needed a better wife.

So what is this secret that Paul speaks of and how do you and I live in it. The secret to the contentment that these two men found is understanding that no matter where life takes you, the goodness and mercy of God follows us. That same secret is available to everyone who dares to walk in it!

Conclusion

Let’s first talk about the goodness of God. If God doesn’t need us, doesn’t need to be loved by us, doesn’t actually even need our worship, why in the world did He create us? The answer is that it was purely out of his goodness. In we read that everything that God created was described as being good. This is a vast understatement. It’s not like when you ask someone how they are doing and they say good. This is like good with a millions o’s between the g and the d. Amazingly, incredibly good, indescribably good. Once there was nothing and then at His word, there was all this goodness that came into existence. But what we see around us, the things that we can describe as being good is but a fraction of the infinite and eternal goodness that is in God. Human beings are simply a manifestation of God’s goodness, we are an extension of his goodness, and we were originally created to do good and to be good. That was what was meant to be enough for us, to completely satisfy us. And for free, sentient, moral beings made in the image of God, the highest good is to love and worship the Lord. There is nothing better than the worship of God and everything else in life was meant to flow out of that worshipful heart.

And this is exactly where we run into our problem. Because of the idols that we have created in our hearts, the goodness of God doesn’t seem like it is enough for us. Whatever idol we set up for ourselves, it always under performs and it always under delivers. But that is exactly where the mercy of God comes in. Until we can get to that place where God’s goodness is enough for us, until we can fully trust in his goodness, we will sin, we will complain, we will be discontent. And it is the mercy of God that will carry us along until we actually understand the true nature of God’s goodness. This is why David wrote that God’s goodness and mercy has followed him all the days of his life. The story of David’s life is that God was so good to Him even when he didn’t deserve it, even when he did the exact opposite of what was good. That is God’s mercy for us!

Trusting in the goodness of God takes a lifetime of experience, it does not happen overnight. If you know the journey of David and Paul’s life, it seems almost absurd that they would put such faith in God. David spent years running for his life from a crazy king that was trying to kill him and dealing with the drama of a dysfunctional marriage that nearly led to a civil war. Paul was jailed multiple times, stoned nearly to death, and shipwrecked, lost at sea. And these men, after all of that, had the audacity to say, “I have no need, I have everything I could have asked for, I have found the secret to contentment.” Common sense would tell us, Paul needed a better boat and David needed a better wife. But through their struggles, they found something for greater than these insufficient answers to life, they found the goodness of God.

As believers, we sing about God’s goodness, even talk about it, but until you personally taste and see the goodness of God in your life, you cannot walk in it. Knowing about God and having a personal experience of God are two completely different things.

Psalm 34:8 ESV

Oh, taste and see that the Lord is good! Blessed is the man who takes refuge in him!

Jonathan Edwards talks about how someone can describe a food to you but until you taste it yourself, you have no idea of what it really is. So if I describe to you what honey tastes like. It’s like a thick, sticky, sweet, gooey molasses. You have no idea what I am talking about unless you have it yourself. So it is with God. The goodness of God is what you can experience throughout your life, it is what you can build your life on, because His goodness goes on and on.

Jonathan Edwards (the American theologian) talks about how someone can describe a food to you but until you taste it yourself, you have no idea of what it really is. For example, if I describe to you what honey tastes like. It’s like a thick, sticky, sweet, gooey like molasses. You have no idea what I am talking about unless you have it yourself. So it is with God. The goodness of God is something you have to experience for yourself but when you do, it becomes the immovable foundation of your life, something you can actually build your life on. It is what give us the strength to look at the sin and suffering around us and to say, “Whatever was meant for evil, God will change it for good.” During this Thanksgiving week, I pray that you will reflect on the goodness of God and not just the circumstance of life and as you taste and see his goodness, your heart will overflow with gratitude!

what you can build your life on, because His goodness goes on and on.