Sermon Tone Analysis

Robert Robert M. Sapolsky, in his book Why Zebras Don’t Get Ulcers, wrote of a time when John Henry once raced a steam drill tunneling through a mountain.

Sapolsky said,

“He beat the machine, only to fall dead from the superhuman effort.

Sherman James, an epidemiologist at the University of Michigan, named a syndrome after John Henry, saying people with it believe that anything can be conquered as long as you work hard enough.

They are the ones who, when completing questionnaires, answer yes to statements such as, “When things don’t go the way I want, it just makes me work even harder,” or “Once I make up my mind to do something, I stay with it until the job is completely done.”’

They believe that with enough effort and determination they can regulate all outcomes.

There is nothing wrong with having a strong work ethic.

The Bible teaches that work is a good thing, and that man was made to be productive.

We rightly criticize idle lazy people.

Paul goes so far as to say you are to keep away from a brother who walks in idleness and if a brother chooses not to work he will not eat.

Paul even goes so far as to say have nothing to do with an idle brother (2 Thessalonians 3:6-15).

Paul advocates for the Christian to take responsibility their own family through a strong productive work ethic.

That being said, we know that working one’s self to death, in the same way John Henry died of exhaustion, is beyond a strong work ethic.

It’s likely idolatrous and stems from, in my estimation, a restless heart.

Restlessness is exactly what is says it is.

It’s a heart that does not rest.

It is not satisfied nor content.

It’s always wanting more from this world: more house, more car, more savings, more health, more power, more prestige.

Restlessness is part of the creational groan since the fall.

All of us born under Adam’s curse suffer from some form of restlessness.

For some, we work ourselves to exhaustion in our jobs in order to have financial security.

For others, we work ourselves to exhaustion in fitness and dieting to have a perpetual clean bill of health.

Still, some of us work ourselves to exhaustion in our relationships in order to never be alone.

And yet, some of us even work to exhaustion in our walk with God believing that if we do more for him he will do more for us.

You do this because you are convinced you are the sole proprietor of your destiny, and you might even believe the lie that God only helps those who help themselves.

Psalm 23 might be the most read Psalm at funerals.

I think it is because death reveals how restless we truly are.

Death holds a degree of power over all of you and I. From the moment you are born death is imminent.

And as we have seen, even this last week, death does not discriminate between the old and the young, the rich and the poor, the abled or disabled, or any ethnic group.

Funerals force is to look death in the face.

Death looks at you and says I am going to take away your hopes and dreams.

I’m going to get you before you get to do all the traveling or all the homemaking, all the parenting or grand-parenting, or any of the career stuff or retirement stuff you wanted to do.

Death pushes you to go hard and fast, either on the one hand to get the most out of the American Dream, or on the other to try to escape death, which we know is a lost.

Intuitively, I think we know this world is not meant to provide the rest we are searching for.

The Bible says that God put eternity in your heart and only His eternal rest can satisfy your heart’s restlessness.

So many of us don’t believe that to be true.

At the heart of your restlessness is a lack of confidence in God’s desire and ability to lead you, comfort you, provide for you, protect you, and to eternally secure you in his house forever.

David offers a cure for your restlessness by showing us a portrait of God as our shepherd.

Psalm 23 portrays God as

The Good Shepherd who desires to lead you, comfort you, protect you, provide for you, and secure in you in his house forever.

The Bible describes God’s people as sheep.

Sheep are wonderful animals, but they are prone to restlessness.

They are easily startled.

Sheep will will instinctively follow the sheep in front of them without any discretion, even if it means more danger.

Sheep will get lost and isolated from the herd, which makes them easy prey for predators.

Therefore, sheep thrive when there is a shepherd to lead them, care for them, protect them, and provide for them.

David says,

Yahweh is your shepherd (Psalm 23:1)

What kind of shepherd is He?

Yahweh is a Kingly Shepherd.

In Ancient Israel, as well as other middle eastern cultures, the metaphor of a “shepherd” was used to describe the king.

The king of the nation was to rule over his people with care by providing food and shelter and protecting them from the dangers of other nations.

David addresses God as Yahweh, his sovereign name.

Yahweh is King over all of heaven and earth.

Since Yahweh is the one true King over all of heaven and earth, the title shepherd is spot on.

The Psalmist describes Yahweh as a kingly shepherd when he says

Yahweh is a personal kingly shepherd.

David emphasizes the intimate relationship he has with God.

He says,

David reveals the one true King as who knows him personally, intimately.

Kings and rulers of the earth are known by many people, but very few people know actually know the king.

I know of President Biden.

I might even know a lot about President Biden, to the point I could write a biography about him.

He, however, does not know me.

We do not have an intimate relationship.

David says, that God knows him and he knows God.

It’s personal.

Yahweh is my shepherd.

God knows you.

Listen to how well God knows you.

David reveals God’s knowledge of you in

Your Good Shepherd knows you inside and out.

He knows your name.

He knows your voice when you sing and when you shout.

He hears you when you laugh and when you cry.

The Bible says that God knows you so well that when you weep he keeps your tears in a bottle, meaning he knows the depths of your gut wrenching grief.

He knows every hair on your head, every thought in your mind, and every word on your tongue.

There is no being in heaven or earth that knows you as well as Yahweh knows you.

Knowing that Yahweh knows you this well is paramount to your relationship with Him because knowing is the foundation of trust.

When two people know each other, truly know each other, like a husband and wife know each other, trust is cemented in the heart as the foundation for intimacy.

Trust is the most vital component to any relationship.

If you are going to allow God to lead you and comfort you and provide for you and protect you, then you must trust Him.

If you are going to trust him, you must know that he knows you.

David says, “The Lord is my shepherd.

He knows me and I know Him.

I trust Him.”

Trust is the bed you lie down on to rest.

Its the green pasture the sheep settle down on by still waters.

Friends, before we move on to the rest of psalm, do you know Him?

He knows you.

He knows what you are about.

He knows you are complicated and messy.

He knows your thoughts are not his thoughts and your desires are not his desires.

Yet, he invites you to know Him.

Take a moment and answer that question.

Do I know God?

If you don’t knows him, now is the time to come and ask he him for his rest.

He will give it to you.

If you do know him, let the remaining few minutes encourage you to know him better.

Let Him lead you like a Shepherd, a good shepherd.