He Restores My Soul

So he starts off in verse 1 by saying this. He says, He refers to the Lord as his shepherd. Now, this is why I think this is kind of interesting and why I think it's towards the end of David's reign. It's King that he wrote this, at least one of the many reasons why I think this. Oftentimes in ancient cultures, the king was actually referred to as the shepherd of the people

because he was the one who led the people in a much more tangible sort of way than a lot of times we see leaders lead today. Usually kingdoms were a little bit smaller at that point in time. And so they oftentimes referred to the king as the shepherd. And so it's kind of interesting that as David is speaking, probably as the king, he at this point in time refers to the Lord as his shepherd.

And I think the reason why he refers to the Lord as his shepherd is because he refers to the Lord as his shepherd. The reason why he refers to the Lord as his shepherd is because though David was the king and really the shepherd of the nation of Israel, he knew that there was only one true king and there was only one true shepherd. And that was the one who had been leading him his entire life. The one who had been guiding him through difficult times and times that were failures, times that were great victories, times that were absolute defeats that he'd seen in his life.

And so when he thinks back on who he knows God as, he says, the Lord is my shepherd. There's something else I'd like to point out to you about that very first line. and that's the fact that he refers to the Lord as my shepherd. Did you take note of the fact that he didn't refer to the Lord as the shepherd? Although the Lord is the great shepherd, he doesn't refer to the Lord as a shepherd because that's true too.

He is a shepherd. No, he refers to him as my shepherd because it's very personal. It's very personal for David because that's who God was in his life. God was not just the entity that he knew he was supposed to follow. God was not just the way that he knew he was supposed to live his life. It wasn't just a list of do's and don'ts that he had that he followed in his life.

No, the Lord was actually his shepherd, which indicates that there was great personal relationship that was involved with the sheep. You see, there's a personal aspect to it because that's exactly what the shepherd was to the sheep. The shepherd actually lived among the sheep when they would be out at pasture. It wasn't like he'd leave them out there and then he'd stay in his house where it was nice and warm and cozy.

No, he actually lived with the sheep. And so he got to know all of the sheep. As a matter of fact, we're told in the New Testament that Jesus says, And so as the shepherd lived among the sheep, he would get to know each one. He knew which one had a tendency to wander off. He knew which ones would tend to get scared. He knew which ones were prone to the stomach trouble.

He knew which ones were prone to run off of the cliff because one thing we'll continue to talk about is the fact that sheep are, well, stupid. Which is why God calls us sheep. And he knew all of those things about all of those sheep. And he knew what each one individually needed. He knew that some of the sheep needed him to come down hard on them. He knew that some of the sheep needed him to speak tenderly to them

because he knew his sheep. And so when David thinks about the Lord as his great shepherd, he says, And then he finishes off that verse by saying, I think in this translation actually says, I shall not want. But that's the idea. He says, I lack nothing. Now, usually when you and I think of lack, when you and I think of the fact that we don't need anything, we're reminded of the fact that God provides for our physical needs.

And I think that that's an important thing that I don't want to run by, especially in the world we live in right now, that God is the God who provides for all of our physical needs. Whatever it is that we think that we need, it's not actually provided by the supply chain. It's not actually provided by all of the things that we're so worried about in our culture right now. God is the one that supplies all of our physical needs.

And I think David saw that as starting off as a poor shepherd, boy, and then moving into the palace as the king, he saw that all along the way, it was actually God who always supplied all of his physical needs. But you see, I think the greater lesson that David is speaking of when he says, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want is he speaking of the fact that he has no true spiritual need because God has covered all of those. God has covered his need for love. God is the keeper of his soul, the garter of his heart.

He knows that God is ultimately his greatest place of security in a very spiritual, spiritual way. And this is another one of the reasons why I think David wrote this when he was older, because you know what? I'm starting to learn the older that I get all of the things of this earth will absolutely, totally and completely pass away. There's only one thing that's going to last forever.

And that's my relationship with the Lord, because in this world right now, where we can sense the fact that everything's going to burn up and I need us to realize that in this world that we live in, everything is going to burn up at times. It feels like someone just flicked the BIC and, and they just, hit the lighter and maybe it's getting a little bit closer to burning up than it was before. And all of us all of a sudden are going, and there's really only one thing that's necessary. And that's the spiritual needs that I have in my life.

Because when we shed all of the things of this world, the only thing that will last forever is my relationship with the Lord. And so he says, the Lord is my shepherd and I lack nothing. He goes on from there to say, he makes me lie down in green pastures and he leads me beside quiet waters. If you've heard me teach for very long at all, you know, my great love for the lawn.

I enjoy a good green lawn. I think it's a beautiful thing. I was so disheartened this year when my lawn turned brown because those evil worms that I still am holding a grudge against decided that my yard would be the best place for them to snack for like five days. And then they destroyed the entire thing. I plan on going to war next spring with them. But I love it because there's just nothing quite as inviting as a rolling hillside.

Am I right? When I was in Bible college, the guy that was the head groundskeeper was the nicest, angriest guy you've ever seen in your life. He looked like Santa Claus, right? No joke. I, if we'd have been a school that had a Santa Claus, he would have been our man. But he always said, do not walk across my grass because that's my yard. This entire place is my yard.

And I'm the old man that says, don't walk across the grass. He says, see that hillside that's full of all that beautiful grass. You can walk on it for one reason. If you need to go and sit in the grass and read your Bible and pray to God, you can walk to your spot, get your Bible out, read, and then walk away from your spot. But that is not your sidewalk. The sidewalks are your sidewalk.

And so I oftentimes took advantage of this beautiful rolling hillside. It was lush and green and I would go and I would lay down on the hillside. And I would always start off by reading. And if you're anything like me, you know that reading always leads to what? Not yet. I'm spiritual. Now it's time to pray, which always led to sleeping, right? I'm not that spiritual.

It always led to that, but it was always so inviting because you'd lay down and you could feel the warm sun, but the cool breeze, especially this time of year in Southern California, the warm sun with the cool breeze. You're laying on this really soft grass and you're like, that's the image that's being created with David. When he says he leads me to pastures of tender grass. Because it's a place where they can rest.

Well, here's the thing about sheep dealers. Two reasons why sheep won't lay down in the tender grass. It's either because they're scared or it's because they're hungry. They won't lay down when they're hungry and they won't lay down when they're fearful. And isn't it wonderful that the good shepherd leads them to a place where they can eat so that they can take in everything that they need so that they can truly lay down and rest.

You know, I think some, one of the reasons why sometimes we, as believers in Jesus Christ don't have much rest is because we've been filling ourselves with the. Wrong thing. We're actually really hungry, but we're filling ourselves with the wrong thing. I told first service this morning, many of you probably spent some time at the Arkalala festival this weekend, much like myself.

And you probably ate an incredible amount of things that dietary guidelines tell you not to eat it. And after you ate all of those things, you probably came home last night and you probably did the exact same thing I did. I just need a salad right now, right? I need a salad with some chicken in it and not like fried chicken, at least. Not really fried chicken,

but like some grilled chicken. And then I need to eat an apple, right? Because I just, I need something healthy. Well, I think sometimes that's how we are as believers in Jesus Christ. We've spent our time filling ourselves with all of the junk food of the world. And really, we're like, man, I'm miserable right now. But you know why we're miserable? It's because what we really needed was the sustenance that can only come from the word of God.

And so you're not resting because you're filling yourself with the wrong things. If you're spending more time, watching Fox news than you are spending time in the word, you're probably not going to rest very well. If you're spending more time watching Netflix than you are spending time in the word, you're probably not going to rest very well. You know why? Because you're filling yourself with the wrong thing.

You're filling yourself with all the things of the world and it's like junk food. And eventually you're going to go, Oh, I need a salad. I need something that's really good for me. I need the word of God, but not only is it because they won't lay down because they're hungry, they won't, they won't lay down because they're fearful. What are they fearful of? Who knows?

They're sheep, right? They're dumb. What are you and I fearful of? We usually were fearful about our relationship with Jesus. We lack that real security that we need in our walk with God. And God wants to remind all of us on a continual basis, which by the way, he does really good job of doing in his word. He reminds us of that great security that we have in him.

Have you ever stayed in a hotel where you were scared? I think I've shared with you the story about, about the hotel that we stayed at and in Colby, Kansas, that was awful. It was dirty. It was nasty. And we couldn't sleep. You know why? Because we were really insecure. You know why we were insecure? We did not know what was living in that hotel. And we were like,

not able to sleep very well that night. Why? Because we were insecure because we were fearful. And I think many of us as believers in Jesus Christ are living an insecure life. We're either insecure because we feel like maybe God's actually doesn't love us as much as we think that he does. Maybe I'm not living. I'm not living my life the way God wants me to live.

Or maybe God won't actually provide for all of my physical and spiritual needs. And he wants us to get back to the truth that he is who he says he is. And we can rest in that. But you know else? I appreciate the fact that it says he makes me to lie down in green pastures is because sometimes even though we're full and even though we're secure in Christ, we still aren't very good at resting.

We're just not good at that in our culture. Right? I think one of the worst things that's happened to us. It's technology and the reasons why I think technology is so bad for us is because technology has given us a bunch of free time. And that sounds like a really good thing in theory, right? But you know what we do with our free time? We fill it up. We fill it up with a whole bunch of activities and then we get stressed about all of those activities.

And God's like, no, I want you to rest. And so you know what God does for us as the good shepherd and the gentle, loving way that he always does? Sometimes he makes us to rest. I'm reminded of when I was a, a really little kid. I did not like to take naps when I was a kid and now older Ryan looks back on younger Ryan and is like you were an idiot, right? Because now I'm like,

hey, you know what sounds great in nap. You don't have time for a nap, but I didn't like to lay down and take a rest. And so you know what my parents would have to do? They would have to make me to lie down. Why? Because I was a knucklehead that would get up and run around. And so they make me lie down always in a very gentle way, right? Um, but, but they make me lie down.

But here's what, what always ended up happening. I would end up falling asleep for like an hour and it was like the greatest, most peaceful, you know how great naps are, right? Don't take one now, but you know what I'm talking about? That's what God does with us. Sometimes only God doesn't actually physically make us go and lay down in a bed. God does other things for us.

Sometimes God cancels all of our plans. Sometimes God cancels everything and we're like, well, I don't have anything to do now. What should I do? And God's like, you should rest. You should spend time with me. You know what else God does for us in a really merciful way? Sometimes, sometimes God, allows us to get sick so that all you can do is lay in your bed and rest because your

body was like, I can't do it anymore. And God was like, you can't do it anymore. Why don't you rest? He makes us to lie down in green pastures. It also says he leads us beside quiet waters, literally quiet waters of rest, which is pretty amazing because you know what else water reminds me of? I think you probably know where I'm going here. The word of God, right?

Because it's referred to as the living water. Uh, and so, uh, here's the interesting thing. A couple of things about sheep to pay attention to. By the way, I learned all of my information about sheep from a book called, uh, uh, a good shepherd looks at the 23rd. So a shepherd looks at the 23rd Psalm by Philip Keller. It's a great book. If you ever are looking for just an interesting read,

it's a, it's a really good one to pick up on. One of the things he points out is that first of all, sheep don't always drink enough water because in the mornings when they're eating the grass that the shepherd has led them to, there's do on it. And so they feel like they've got, they've got moisture in their mouth, but they haven't actually taken enough in and they can dehydrate really easily, partly because they're living out, uh, in the wilderness and partly because they're wearing a wool coat all the time. And so, uh, so they don't always drink enough liquid and much like you and I, we just don't pay attention to ourselves, the our health, the way that we should.

And so the shepherd has to make sure that they drink. But here's the other interesting thing about sheep. The water has to be perfect because sheep are high maintenance, right? What are we again? I think you know where I'm going here. We're sheep. We're high maintenance people. Right? Listen, the quicker you own that quicker, Jesus can deal with it. So, uh,

but everything has to be perfect for the sheep, right? If the water's too stagnant, then the sheep won't drink it because it stinks. Can't blame him for that. I don't like stagnant water either. I would look and go, ew. And so they won't drink it if it's stagnant. But if the water's running too fast, if the stream is a really rapidly moving stream, they won't drink it because it's scary,

right? Like if I had a head full of wool and I stuck my head down in there, you know what? I know what happened to me right down the stream, right? Sheep know that. And so they won't drink it. It's too fast. It has to be still water that's moving, but not moving too fast. And so the shepherd knows exactly where to lead them, to give them exactly what they need so that their bodies can remain sustained.

You ever wonder why God only gives you so much at one time? Why God only gives you so much of his word at one time? Like, oh man, I wish I could just learn it all right now. No, it would be like falling into a rushing river. God gives you exactly what you need for exactly when you need it and exactly the way that you need it. Why? Because that's who he is. He is a God who knows exactly what we need because he's the good shepherd that lives

among the sheep and he knows you by name. He leads us beside quiet waters of rest, goes on from there in verse three to say, he restores my soul, guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. I've always appreciated this verse, but it hit me a little harder this time, I think, because I'm. I'm well aware of the need of restoration that so many people have in their lives right now.

I think I'm well aware of the restoration that God's doing in me with some things right now. And so it's kind of interesting that this is what David says. This is another one of the many reasons why I think David wrote this when he was an older guy, because I think David looked back on his life and remembered the restoration that God brought in his life. And he said, he restores my soul.

Because that's who God is for us, is he is our restoration. The word restore here is a great word. It means to return to its normal state. So the idea is to return. Think about it. When our soul is in restoration or is in need of restoration, what do we need to do? We need to return to the Lord. Come, let us return to the Lord, as it says in Hosea, right? Why?

Because that's where restoration comes from. And so as I was thinking about this, as I was thinking about the fact that David was in a place. At times in his life where he needed restoration, sometimes we're in a place where we need restoration. I thought, what are some of the areas that we need restored from? What are the things that happen in our lives? What have I seen happen in the past year or so in people's lives that they need restored

from? And I thought of a handful of things. The first thing I think our souls need restored from is we need restored from sin. Because even as believers in Jesus Christ, we can still stumble into sin. And may I say, even as believers in Jesus Christ, we can still run headlong into sin. Sometimes I think we lessen. We lessen the blow of what we've done by saying, whoops, I stumbled.

Listen, you're a believer in Jesus Christ. You knew better. That doesn't mean that God's not able to restore you. It doesn't mean that his restoration is removed from you because that's who he is. And when we fall into those sins, he has the absolute distinct ability, distinctive ability to restore us. If you don't believe me, just think about the story that Glenn told when he came up

here. Because the reason why Jesus asked Peter those three times? Do you love me? It's because how many times did Peter deny Jesus? Three times. What was Jesus doing when he did that for Peter? He was restoring him. You see, it was always God's plan for Peter to go and feed the sheep and tend the flock and tend the lambs. But he walked away from that for a little while when he decided he was going to deny

that he'd even known Jesus. So what did Jesus do? He returned him. He restored him. So that he could be who? God had called for him to be. And so he's able to restore from sin. But not only that, he's able to restore from depression. I think depression is hitting our culture harder than I've ever seen it hit it before. And depression has always been an issue in our culture.

But right now, between lockdowns, between the loss of loved ones, between suicide and all of the things that are happening, depression is on an absolute rise right now. And let me give you the greatest marker that I can see that proves that. I just heard a report on the radio the other day. Do you know that liver transplants, the request for liver transplants is at an all-time high?

You know why? Because the consumption of alcohol is at an all-time high right now. You know why the consumption of alcohol is at an all-time high right now? What they'll tell you is, is because people were stuck at home with nothing to do. But what I'll tell you is, it's because people were stuck at home with no hope. And they only knew one way to deal with it.

And the only way to deal with it was to go to one of the many essential places it was allowed to be open called the liquor store. And they started buying alcohol and they started trying to drown all of their fears and all of their anxieties. And all of their depression and alcohol. And you know what they're finding? It didn't work. Because there's only one place that you can be restored from depression.

There's only one place where there's restoration for that kind of thing. And it's in Jesus Christ. He's the only one that can truly restore from all of that stuff. And let me tell you, friends, there's a lot of reasons to be a little down right now. But in all of those reasons to be down, I want to give you one reason that trumps them all to have hope. And to have faith and to have joy.

And that's the fact that we serve a great God who loved us enough to come and die for us to restore us. But the only way he can do that is if I take all of those things to him. Is if I keep coming every day to the good shepherd to allow him to restore me. And so he restores from depression. The next thing I think that he's really good at restoring us from is he's really good at

restoring us from discouragement. You're like, Ryan, you just said depression. Isn't that the same thing? I don't think that it is. You see, depression is anxiety built up in the heart that causes us to look down. It's suppressed feelings inside that we don't know how to put out that cause us to be really sad and to be depressed. Discouragement's when we just feel like nothing's ever going to go right and we can't do anything

right. I don't know how many of you feel like that right now. Do you ever have that moment where you're just like, am I ever going to make anybody happy? Am I ever going to do it the right way? We get really discouraged because we feel like all of our greatest efforts always just fall flat. It's a tool of the enemy. I think it's one of the greatest tools of the enemy to discourage us from doing what

God has called for us to do, but he's able to restore from that. Not only that, but he's able to restore from grief. And I know that that's a heavy one right now on a lot of people's hearts.

There's a lot of kids at the high school right now that I know are going through this. I wasn't able to be out at the football field Friday night when they had the thing that took place Friday night, but I saw the pictures of it. I was amazed at the number of kids that were there to simply say that they hurt really bad. And they're going through a lot of grief right now.

I mean, it hurts. I didn't even know this kid, and it still hurts. Because I was in Bible class on Wednesday, and Bible class ended, and one of the young ladies in my class got a phone call, and so she had to run out real quick to take the phone call. And I said, hey, where'd she go? And they said, she got a call. And I said, okay. And all of a sudden, as I'm packing my stuff up in my room, I heard.

No one had to tell me what kind of a phone call she got, because I know exactly how it feels.

And all she could do was just wail, because it hurts. Because that's what loss does for us, right? It hurts. And every now and then, it feels like that hurt can never truly be healed. But friends, I want you to know something. God is the God of restoration. He is the God who is able to take that which is broken and shattered, and He's able to wrap it up, He's able to put it back together, and He's able to restore it back to the place

that it was before. He's able to restore it back to normal. But listen, the only way He can do that is if He is your good shepherd. And if as the good shepherd, you keep coming back to Him. And giving Him all of those feelings, and all of those fears, and all of that hurt, and all of that pain, so that He can do the work that only He can do in your heart. Because He is the God who restores.

There's one last thing that occurred to me that God's able to restore us from, and I think it's really important. God's able to restore from guilt. God's able to restore from guilt. And you're probably thinking, Ryan, you already said God can restore from sin. Two different things. One is sin. The other is the action that was done. Guilt is the inability to let go.

Because that's what guilt does for us. You see, when you struggle with guilt, here's what you do. You know you've confessed it. You know you've dealt with it, but you just keep turning it over and over again in your mind because you just can't let it go. You can't let go of the fact that you did that thing. You can't let go of the fact that you failed in that way.

You can't let go of the fact that you screwed up. like that, and even though you've confessed it, even though you've forsaken it, you can't let go of the feeling that you did it. But I want to tell you something. I want to give you some hope, those of you that deal with that. God is able to take those feelings of guilt, and he's able to make it your statement of victory. Because you're right, you can't change it, but God can use it.

Because God is in the place, God is in the business of taking our greatest failures and turning them into something beautiful. Because he is the God who makes all things work together for good to those who love him and to those who are called according to his purpose. That's what he's able to do, because he is the God who restores. And so David, in the way that only a man of great experience can, says, he restores my soul. He goes on from there to say,

he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. You see, once God restores us, he doesn't restore us just so that we can be joyful that we're restored, although that's a really good benefit. He restores us because he now has a plan for you. He has something he wants to do with you. And so as he restores you, as he puts those pieces back together, he then says,

now that you're restored, this is what I want you to do. I'm going to guide you in a path so that you can bring glory to my name. I'm going to give you a gift so that you can now glorify me with the things that you do. I think I've shared with you before the fact that one of my darkest valleys that I went through, which we'll talk about in just a minute, was doubting whether or not I really belonged to Jesus. And it was a fearful moment, a fearful time that I had in

my life because I just questioned my salvation for a very long time. And so I said, Lord, do I really belong to you? And he said, yes. He showed me that specifically through scripture, that I really had put my faith in you. And so I said, Lord, do I really belong to you? And he said, than him and I did belong to him. I said, Lord, what does that mean? And so he showed me the cross

and he showed me that all of my sins were placed upon him at the cross and I didn't bear them anymore. And that was the great joy that I had is that I belonged to him because of what he did for me at the cross. And then I said, what do you want me to do? And he said, I want you to tell everybody else about it. And so here I am. I can't do anything else. Not only because I can't do

anything else, but because this is what God's given me to do. Because this is the path he put me on and my greatest desire is that I bring glory to his name. That's all I want. He goes on from there to say, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Even though I walk through the valley

of the shadow of death, literally the darkest valley is how that can be translated. Now, I don't know about y'all, but as believers in Jesus Christ, sometimes we go through some really dark valleys. We've talked about a few of them when we talked about restoration. Some of those valleys that we go through can be pretty deep and they can be pretty dark. And I know I've been through a few of them in my life, some that I would really rather not relive.

And it was in one of those dark valleys that I gave this message for the very first time. And I remember in the midst of that dark valley, as I was preparing this message, I came to this verse. And I remember saying, Lord, I can't teach this verse. Because I don't feel this way right now. I'm in the dark valley, but I'm actually afraid. I am scared right now. And Lord, I don't know what to do with this.

And you know what he told me? He said, tell them about it. I was like, Lord, that's not what pastors are supposed to do. Pastors are supposed to get up and talk about how they have victory now because of the great lesson that I'm now about to teach you about how to have victory, right? That's what they're supposed to do. And God said, that's not what I want you to do.

I want you to tell them how scared you are. And that's exactly what I did. And at that point in time, God said, and that's what I always want you to do. I just want you to tell people what's really going on inside of you. I just want you to be very transparent and honest about your weaknesses and failures. And that's the only way I know how to be. That's why I tell you stories

about the fact that I fall down sometimes or run into walls or sometimes let a word out of my mouth that Jesus doesn't like that I have to confess. Because all I know how to do is be transparent and tell you the truth. And that's what I do. And that's what I do. And that's what I do. And that's what I do. And that's what I do. And that's what I do. And that's what I do. And that's what I do.

Because I think that's how David was here. You see, we read this and we go, oh man, David, in the darkest valley, he says, I will fear no evil. But do you know how David was able to write that? Again, one of the many reasons why I think he wrote it later is because David had been through those times where he was in the darkest valley. And you know what he was? He was scared. We read

two or three different times of David being very fearful. One time he went and pretended like he was a madman. That's right. He actually acted insane so that people wouldn't believe him. And would not turn him over to Saul. That's how scared he was. Another time he was so scared that he actually went and lived with the enemy, with the other people of the land so that Saul

wouldn't come and find him. You tell me he wasn't scared. Fear is the most natural thing that we go through. In that greatest place of fear, you can only do one thing. Give it to Jesus. You got to tell him about it. You got to run to Jesus and say, Lord, this is what I'm scared of. This is what I'm fearful of. This is what I'm fearful of. This is what I'm fearful of. This is what I'm fearful of.

This is where I am right now. And I don't know what to do because your word says I don't have to fear any evil. But you know what I am right now? I'm pretty scared of all of the evil. I'm pretty scared of all of the things. And quite frankly, I don't know if I'm ever getting out of this. And when we get to that point, we're exactly where God wants us. Because then all of a sudden,

I'm not dependent upon me. I'm fully dependent upon him. And may I say, there are some areas of my life right now where 20 years later, I can look back and I can say, yeah, even though I walk through that deep, dark valley, I will fear no evil. But you know what's going to happen? There's going to be another deep, dark valley, and I'll have a decision to make. Will I be scared or will I rest in God?

I'm pretty sure the day that I walk through the deep, dark valley and my trust is in God and I don't get scared will be the day before I go home to be with Jesus. He'll be like, you graduated.

He says, even though I walk through the valley, sorry, I quote this in the Old King James. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. But do you take note of why he says, I fear no evil? He says, for you are with me. That promised presence of God is what allows him to live in a place where he no longer fears any evil. And then he goes on to say, your

rod and your staff, they comfort me. The rod and the staff were the two greatest tools that the shepherd had when he was out there. He said, I fear no evil. I fear no evil. Dehumanize me. I fear had when he was out amongst the flock. And they were very personalized to him. As a matter of fact, he would pick out his own. When he was in the wilderness, he would choose his own rod and

he would choose his own staff. But these are two completely different implements. The rod would have been a little bit shorter and a little bit easier to move around because it was a little bit more of a weapon. It would have had a knob on top of it. Again, very much personalized to the shepherd. The rod had a purpose. The rod was there for authority, for discipline, for examination,

and for protection. It was there, first of all, for authority because when the sheep saw the shepherd with the rod, they knew he's the guy in charge. That's the authority because he has the rod. But not only was it there for authority, it was there for discipline because sometimes the little knob on the end of the rod had to be used on the sheep. And if they were getting out

of line, he would take that rod out and thump them on the head. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I've been thumped on the head real often, but I've been thumped on the, the other end a few times. So I kind of know what they're talking about. And he says, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. But you know what the scripture tells us? Those whom he loves, he disciplines, right? But it was also there for examination. Now, this is an interesting thing

that I found pretty fascinating in reading Philip Keller's book is he said that the rod would be used as the shepherd would walk amongst the sheep. He would take the rod and they had sweet froes, and so he would brush that rod along the sheep because their wool could potentially be hiding any kind of a skin disease that might be down underneath there, or perhaps bugs that were living down underneath there. So he would use that rod for examination. As he would use that rod for examination, he would see the issues that were going on, and then he could address the issues with the sheep so that they could stay healthy. And so the rod was used for examination,

but then also the rod was used for protection because if enemies were coming, if, if animals were coming to try to take one of the sheep, he would use that rod as a weapon to drive those animals away. Now, when I think about this rod, you know what it made me think of? It made me think of the word of God. You know why? Because what's the greatest authority that

we have in our life? We live under the authority of the word of God, right? What is it that brings discipline into my life? It's the word of God because the word of God is living and active. It's sharper than any two-edged sword, right? Also, what examines my life? Word of God, same verse. The word of God reveals the issues that are in me so that it can also deal with them

so that I can be a healthy sheep. Also, the word of God is my greatest protector because what is the word of God? The, take note of the fact that the word of God is the only offensive weapon that we have there in the book of Ephesians. All the rest of them are defensive. The shield, the breastplate, the helmet, feet shod, all those things, those are all defensive weapons. We only have one offensive one

and that's the word of God because it's for protection. And so that great shepherd of the sheep, Jesus, is so perfect in the way that he uses his word to do all of those things. In our lives. But you see, not only does the rod comfort us, but the staff comforts us. The staff was a symbol of concern and compassion. The staff, first of all, would be used to draw the sheep close

to the shepherd because sometimes he could tell which ones were fearful and which ones needed a little bit of extra care and compassion at that point in time. So he would use that staff to pull them just a little bit closer. But not only that, he would use the staff to guide the sheep. Did y'all see the train that was going along that thing? That's like the scariest thing I can

imagine, right? Like I would be sitting to the inside of the train because I wouldn't want my 170 pounds to be the thing that balanced it the wrong way to knock the whole doggone train off the track. And so that would make me nervous. Now imagine you're a sheep that has a tendency to walk off the side of cliffs. The staff would come in really handy because it would guide them.

What they would actually do is they would take that staff and if they were walking close to an edge that the sheep could potentially walk off of because, because they're stupid, is the shepherd would just take that staff and sort of press it against the side of the sheep so it would be a guide to sort of push them. If you will, it was a guardrail for the sheep. Is that not the perfect picture of what Jesus does with his word for us as he puts up those guardrails and says, whoop, too far. And then of course the staff was used to be able to free sheep from entanglements because of the hook would be able to pull it away from something that was dangerous. He said, your rod and your staff comfort us. And I'm so much reminded of

what Jesus is saying. What Jesus is able to do in our lives with his word as he comforts us. He goes on to say, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You've anointed my head with oil and my cup runs over. He says, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. What does he mean by that? He means that despite impending danger, there can still be peace and

abundance. No matter what kind of danger is lurking around us, and right now it feels like there's danger lurking around us, there is still a place of peace and abundance. There is still a place of peace and abundance that we can feel because no matter what's happening with the rest of the world, who has promised to be our provider? God has promised to be our provider. No matter what's happening in my own heart with the grief or the pain, whatever's

happening in me, who has promised to be the one that restores me? Jesus. And so what can I do in the place of impending danger? Well, I can rest. I can have a place of abundance and protection. I remember the very first time I taught this, I was able to say the one time of peace that I had in my life. When I was preparing this message, preparing this message was my own table in the presence of my

enemies because that's what God's able to do for us. Not only that, but he says, you anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. Now this anointing of the head with oil is pretty interesting because again of a little bit of the biology of sheep. Now remember, sheep had that closely knit wool and they were living out in the wilderness. Here's what would happen to them. As they were

living out in the wilderness, flies would be buzzing around their head. And as the flies would be buzzing around their head, some would get caught in their wool. When the flies would get caught in their wool, it would lay eggs on their head. And as those eggs would hatch, all they could hear was the buzzing of the flies and the itching of the situation. It sounds pretty horrific, right? So you know what the shepherd would do when he

would notice this? I left one part out. You know what the sheep would do when they started to hear the flies and the buzzing? They'd begin to beat their head against rocks because it was driving them insane. So you know what the shepherd would do? He would take note because again, he was among the sheep and he knew his sheep. It's not normal for them to hit their head on a rock. And he would take oil and he

would pour it over the head of the sheep. And you know what that oil would do? First of all, the oil would kill the bugs. Second of all, the oil would bring a soothing feeling to them. It would soothe the sores that perhaps had formed on their head. But you know what else it would do? It would be a protection against any other flies buzzing around their head because they would avoid the oil because

they didn't like it. Now, you have probably never actually gotten flies caught in your hair. Jesus knows I don't get flies caught in my hair. Maybe in my beard, but not the hair. You've probably never beat your head against a rock because a fly is stuck in your hair. But you know what I bet you have done? I bet you've had anxious thoughts get caught in your head. I bet you've had anxiety, worry, and all the things

that go along with it stuck in your head. And though you've maybe never actually beat your head against a rock to deal with it, you certainly felt like you were going to go insane. And proverbially speaking, you felt like you were beating your head against a wall trying to deal with all of those things. And someone reminded me after first service of something that I think is important to pay attention to as well because there's been a problem that's arisen amongst young folks. And the problem that's

arisen amongst young folks is self-harm. You know, I believe that there's a reason why that takes place. And I believe the reason why that takes place. It's twofold. Number one, I believe it's demonic. But number two, I believe it's anxiety in the heart that they don't know how to deal with. And the only thing that they know to do to try to make the pain in here go away. So I'll cause some pain out here. And you know what God does? He doesn't

actually take a flask of oil and pour it over our heads. You know what he does instead? He takes his Holy Spirit. And he overflows us with his Holy Spirit because you see the Holy Spirit helps drive those thoughts. The Holy Spirit heals from all of those wounds. And then the Holy Spirit protects us from the things that are coming. So that's what the Holy Spirit's able to do. And all it takes is

us coming to Jesus and saying, Lord, this is what's going on. Will you please deal with these things? And he's so faithful to pour that Holy Spirit into us to deal with all of that stuff. The Holy Spirit is referred to as oil because he brings that soothing that only he can bring. And so he says, Then in verse six, we wrap it up. It says, Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life,

and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Goodness and loving kindness will follow me. I enjoy what the New Living Translation has to say on this verse. It says, Surely goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life. I'm going to tell you something that us as believers need to know. If you're a believer in Jesus Christ and you've walked with him for any given amount of time,

you have absolutely ruined your life because you will no longer be happy in sin. It's a blessing and a curse. If you want to live in sin, it's a curse because you know too much about Jesus. You know too much about walking with the Lord. You know too much of his goodness to ever be content in sin. It's a blessing because you know too much of Jesus to ever be content in sin.

But once you become one of his, even if you start, walking in sin, I promise you he will pursue you and he will drive you nuts until you come to him. I know because as someone who was saved and then walked for a time in rebellion, I can tell you beyond a shadow of a doubt, his goodness and his unfailing love pursued me and it ticked me off. That's why if you are ever around a believer that's living in sin and you try to talk to them at all about the Lord, they'll get angry with you. I can almost guarantee it.

The reason why they'll get angry with you is because the hound dogs of heaven are getting close and they know their time is short. So they're being a little bit bitter about what's going on. But you know what the best thing that happens is? When they finally give up. When goodness and unfailing love has pursued to the point where they finally give up and finally they get back to the Lord being their good shepherd.

He says, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord. Forever. The word dwell carries with it communion. And the house of the Lord is anywhere where the Lord is. And so he says that communion will go on forever. Why? Because the Lord is my shepherd and I lack nothing. Now as we wrap up here this morning, I want to issue a little bit of a challenge, perhaps a time of response for what we've heard this morning.

And the first one's in the form of a question. What's the condition of your heart this morning? What kind of a place is your heart in right now? Are you in a place where you need to be reminded that the Lord is your shepherd? Are you in a place where the Lord needs to become your shepherd because you've never come to him for salvation? Are you in a place where your soul needs restored?

Are you in a valley, a very dark valley, where you need to know that you can fear no evil because the Lord is with you? Perhaps you're in a place where the rod is being used in your life and a place of discipline. I don't know. What's the condition your heart's in right now? But I know this, whatever condition your heart is in, there's one step we always have to take continually

and over and over again, and that's to come to Jesus. Because there can be no restoration. There can be no healing. There can be no dealing with of the dark valleys if you don't come to Jesus. Because he's the place where there's true healing. I was thinking about this this morning and the lyrics of a song. It popped into my head. It's an old hymn. So I copied and pasted a couple of the stanzas

and then the chorus. I want to read them to you. It says, Come ye sinners, poor and needy, weak and wounded, sick and sore.

Jesus ready stands to save you, full of pity, love, and power. Come ye weary, heavy laden, lost and ruined by the fall. If you tarry till you're better, you will never come at all. I will arise and go to Jesus, and he will embrace me in his arms. And in the arms of my dear Savior, oh, there are 10,000 charms. Brothers and sisters, just keep coming to Jesus.

Just keep coming to Jesus. And every time you're around somebody that you see needs that in their life, just tell them the same thing. You gotta come to Jesus. Because he's where there's healing, amen? Let's all stand.

My prayer for us all, is that first of all, the Lord would do this work of the good shepherd in our lives. That we would come to the place of understanding him as the good shepherd in our lives. But also, brothers and sisters, as he does that work in your life, allow him to lead you in the paths of righteousness. In other words, there's people around us, especially in this community, that are desperately in need of hearing the fact that there is a good shepherd, that they can take all of these things too.

And he wants to use you as the instrument to do that. And so as he does that work in your heart, allow him to take that work, and do it in the heart of somebody else. Father, we come before you, and thank you for the time that we've had in your word this morning. And Lord, I just want to pray that you would be with us as a faith community, and that you would be with our community here.

Lord, that your Holy Spirit would be doing the work necessary in our hearts to bring us close to you. Father, lead us and guide us in you. Most importantly, keep us close to you. In Jesus' name, amen. Be blessed. I'm forgiven. Because you were forsaken. I'm accepted. You were condemned. I'm alive and well. Your spirit is within me. Because you died and rose again.

I'm forgiven. Because you were forsaken. I'm accepted. Your spirit is within me. Because you died and rose again. My King would die for me. Oh, amazing love. It's true. It's my joy to honor you. You were forsaken. Amen. I'm accepted. Your spirit is within me. Because you died and rose again. Amazing love.

You, my King, would die for me. All of my choices are you. Thank you, Lord Jesus. Bless each one here.

Amen.