Sermon for March 22, 2020
Notes
Transcript
Sermon for March 22, 2020
Good morning everyone,,, it looks like this will be our new normal for a little while until we are able to meet back in our churches again,,, but until then I hope that you will continue to watch and listen as we study together by video.
This morning I'll be reading
And I'll be reading from the King James Bible.
This is a psalm that should be familiar to us all. It's a psalm that David wrote that has given comfort to Christians for many years. It's one of many psalms that comfort the soul no matter what trouble we seem to be going through at the time.
1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters. 3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 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. 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
God bless the reading and the hearing of your word this morning.
Let us pray:
Dear Lord,,, as we begin this morning,,, with everyone listening by video,,, we ask that you open our ears to hear and our hearts and minds to receive the message that you have for us today,,, In Jesus' name I pray,,, Amen.
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As this coronavirus outbreak has spread this week,,, we made the decision to have this sermon broadcast by video so that we could stay inside as much as possible in the coming days.
Hopefully by making some hard decisions we can get this virus under control and get things back to normal a little quicker.
In the mean time,,, it will take understanding from all of us as we struggle with decisions that have been made and future decisions that still need to be made!
One of the things that I want to remind all of us to do,,, is to be sure that "we are the church" during this time of having to isolate ourselves away from our church building.
Because,,, as much as I love it,,, and as much as it means to me to be able to kneel down at the alter and pray,,, it is just that,,, a building.
A building where we worship usually,,, I agree,,, but I believe we need to remember that we need to take God out into the world with us,,, not keep Him here in this building or any other building.
That's what the flame being carried out every Sunday by the children represents,,, is Jesus' light being carried out into the world for all!
And hopefully,,, when all of this is over and we return to church,,, just maybe we will appreciate the opportunity that much more because of this time that we have had to spend away.
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As I told you at the beginning,,, this is a psalm that is,,, or should be,,, familiar with us all.
This psalm is one that has been memorized for ages,,, read during personal times of struggle,,, and at countless funerals.
It's used so much because of the comfort that it does bring to us all.
What better time than now to look at this psalm this morning as we struggle with all of the questions that we have today.
Questions that we just don't have the answers for,,, but we as Christians,,, know the One that does!
That's what David knew when he wrote this psalm and it's here for us to read thousands of years later.
(4:12)
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In verse 1 it says: 1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Using the image of a shepherd came naturally for David.
He grew up tending sheep.
He knew what it took to watch over a flock.
He knew how danger was always just around the corner,,, over the next hill,,, hiding somewhere close by,,, ready to pounce on the unsuspecting sheep.
He also knew that the sheep were prone to wander off on their own unless they were watched carefully.
The shepherd kept the flock together and safe.
The sheep also knew the voice of the shepherd and they knew that it was safe to follow him wherever he would go.
David was also trying to paint a picture of God as a shepherd to illustrate the way that God took care of him.
He knew the way that God had watched over him all of his life.
He knew that God had kept him from danger time after time.
He knew God well enough that he recognized His voice when He spoke and he knew that he could follow Him wherever He would go!
He also knew that God would take care of his every need,,, that's why that he could say,,, "I shall not want".
The prophesy of the coming Messiah written about by Isaiah in chapter 40 verse 11 uses this same metaphor where it says: 11 He protects His flock like a shepherd; He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.
He gathers the lambs in His arms and carries them in the fold of His garment. He gently leads those that are nursing.
Jesus identifies Himself as the Good Shepherd in where He says: 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me,
He is also called the “Great Shepherd” and “the Chief Shepherd” .
The picture of God taking care of us as a shepherd takes care of his sheep should be very comforting to us,,, especially once we understand how much a shepherd does for the flock.
(6:31)
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Verse 2 says: 2 He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
A good shepherd knows where the green pastures are,,, the safest way to get there,,, and once he arrives with the flock,,, they settle in for awhile to rest and to enjoy the tender grass that the sheep need for nourishment and growth.
It's the same way for the still waters.
The good shepherd knows that if the water is running to swiftly the sheep run the risk of falling in and drowning so it's much better for them to be close to clean but still waters so that the flock can satisfy their thirst in safety.
Again,,, David knew that God would know how to take care of him.
He knew that God would lead him to a place where he would be safe,,, where he could rest and receive nourishment that he needed both physically and spiritually!
It would be a place where the waters are still so there would be no danger of falling in and drowning,,, again,,, either physically or spiritually!
He knew from past trials and troubles that God has taken care of him in the past and He would continue to take care of him today.
(7:46)
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Verse 3 says: 3 He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
When a shepherd leads the sheep to the green pastures and beside the still waters and allows them to get the nourishment and rest that they need,,, they are restored physically.
The flock is healthy and can multiply as they are taken care of.
A shepherd knows the correct paths to take that allows them to reach their destination every time and it's by traveling these paths that the flock is kept safe.
David knew that when he listened to God that he would be led to a place where he could restore his soul physically and spiritually.
He also knew that he would be much safer if he stayed on the path that God had chosen for him to travel.
He knew from bad experiences in the past that failing to listen to God was usually the first step that led to them.
(8:42)
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Verse 4 says: 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.
No matter where the shepherd led the sheep,,, they followed him because they knew that he would protect them everywhere that they went.
Even if it was down through the valleys of deep darkness where danger could lie in wait,,, the sheep knew that the shepherd would use whatever means that he could to keep them safe.
This is where the rod and staff would really come into play.
It would be used to guide the sheep as they went down the paths and it could be used to fight off wild animals if they tried to approach too close.
David knew that God was with him as he walked through those same valleys of deep darkness where danger could lie in wait.
He knew that God was watching over him and would keep him safe.
David also knew that God would guide him back onto the correct path,,, either by gentle nudges,,, like a shepherd using the hook gently guiding a sheep back onto the path,,, or if needed,,, harder jabs that would get his attention,,, and make him go back the right way.
But no matter where they were at,,, David was comforted because he knew that God was with him.
(10:04)
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Verse 5 says: 5 Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
In verses 1 through 4 David has been using the image of a shepherd and here in this verse it changes to a banquet hall where a table has been prepared for him,,, even right in front of his enemies.
Hospitality in that day and time required more than just a meal to be provided.
According to my Faithlife Study Bible it was understood that if you were invited to the table,,, then you were safe,,, even if your enemies were invited too,,, since the host was responsible for the safety of his guest.
A host would also anoint his guest with oil as they entered to eat.
So David was using this imagery to set up the picture that God has prepared a table for him,,, his head was anointed with oil as a guest,,, so even in front of his enemies he was safe.
And because of all the blessings that God had given him,,, his cup was running over.
(11:13)
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Verse 6 says: 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: And I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
David realized that God's abundant love would follow him all the days of his life.
My Bible Knowledge Commentary says that God's blessings on His people remain with them no matter what their circumstance may be.
And it was because of God's many and abundant blessings that David will dwell in the house of the Lord for ever!
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David knew that God would do all of the things that a good shepherd would do and would even go above and beyond those things!
That's what we need to remember as we spend our days trying to isolate ourselves from each other to stop the spread of this virus.
That no matter what happens,,, God is in control,,, He has a plan in place to get us through this if we will just listen to Him as we go to Him in prayer.
Prayer is what this country desperately needs right now more than anything else.
And not just from a few of us but from everyone,,, if that would happen,,, this virus wouldn't stand a chance.
I also want us to remember that to reach God's blessings,,, sometimes we have to go down the mountain and into the valley to make it back up the mountain on the other side of the valley.
Those of us that are Christians today,,, we know that there have been times in our past when we have been down,,, but through the grace of God,,, we made it up again,,, just as we will make it through this valley with the Good Shepherd leading us!
We need to be sure that we are ready to tell others that we will make it,,, we've been through tough times before but God has seen us through them,,, and He will help us through this as well!
We also need to remember this psalm and the comfort that these words have brought to so many people that needed it.
According to my Wesleyan Commentary it says that this psalm appears to have been written by David when he was older and had experienced many of the blessings of God,,, and that's why he was able to write this psalm so well.
The words of this psalm has comforted so many because of the way that it was written.
David was able to paint a picture of God's wonderful blessings that the people of that day could truly see and understand.
And with just a little bit of study,,, we can understand it too.
As I said at the beginning,,, today we have so many questions that cannot be answered.
David knew when he wrote this that there had been times in his life when he wondered how things would turn out too!
But he had faith in God and he knew that God knew the answers,,, even if he didn't.
So,,, I know that if David was here today,,, he would tell us to put our trust in the "Lord",,, and dwell in His house forever!
(13:25)
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