He Restores My Soul

Good morning. Did y'all stand with us?

I want to welcome all of you here this morning. Those online with us and those of you who are here live with us, welcome to Calvary Chapel. Would you join me in prayer? Father, we thank you for this opportunity to gather this Sunday morning to worship you, to look to you, the author and finisher of our faith, knowing that you are working in us both to will and do of your good pleasure.

Strengthen us with your might, Lord. Give us hearts of worship. Give us a hunger for your word and a desire for things of you, Lord. We give you praise. We come just as we are. We give you thanks, Lord, too.

Oh, nothing compares to the promise I have. You may be seated. And you promise us, Lord, your strengthening, your comfort, all that you do for us, Lord, we give you praise and thanks this morning. We come to you just as we are. Heard a thousand stories of what they were like But I heard the tin in the dead That you're pleased and that I'm never alone I'm loved by you

It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am And I've seen many searching for answers Far and wide, but I know We're all searching for answers Only you provide, cause you know Just what we need It's who you are, it's who I am, it's who I am Love so And heart We speak peace So I can hardly think as you call You're still as you call, as you call You're still into love, love It's who you are, it's who you are Who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am You're a good, good father It's who you are, it's who I am, it's who I am It's who I am, it's who I am, it's who I am Oh, you're perfect You are perfect in all God in the midst of his might He will save you with joy And he'll rest in his love and joy And the sand, the clay, the clouds

Though I've walked through fire I see clearly now I know not the father And you may go I'm the canvas and the clay I know nothing Has been wasted No failure or mistake You're an I'm the canvas and the clay And you may go I'm the canvas and the clay I know nothing Has been wasted No failure or mistake You're an artist And a potter I'm the canvas and the clay You're an artist I'm the canvas and the clay You're an artist Lord, we thank you so much. You are the artist. You're the potter. And Lord, we're still a work in progress.

Lord, you're working in all of our lives right now. We thank you that you've not given up on us yet. Praise God from whom?

The matchless king The saints adore The angels sing And fall before the spirits

And fall before the spirits And has welcomed home Peace like water Lord, we thank you so much. You have a lot of things we have to do. By faith. God who created us Sent his son to come in prayer to you this morning in worship. Looking to you. Knowing that you strengthened us with all might to serve you. Without you we're nothing. We know that.

Who sits at the right hand of the Father making intercession for us. Who said he wouldn't leave us comfortless when he had to leave. And go to be with you in glory as he died on the cross for us. rose from the dead, that he sent the Holy Spirit to lead and guide us, to convince us of sin, righteousness, and judgment, to comfort us, to guide us, and I bless the word as it comes forth, Lord, I ask that you would anoint it, rhyme with the power of your Holy Spirit, to teach it, to preach it, and let it do its work in our hearts, in Jesus' name, amen.

Amen, it's a fellowship.

Good morning.

Glad you could make it this morning. If you would locate your seats and grab a bulletin, we'll go over a few announcements.

First of all, over on the left-hand side of your bulletin, everything's happening as usual this week, so take note of some of the things that are going on and get plugged in and come join us. Over in the middle section of your bulletin, a few things to pay attention to. First of all, we have the church potluck coming up next Sunday after second service, so join us for that. It should be a great time.

Also, the pumpkin chase is coming up this November the 5th, so if you want to help out with that. Please contact Jared. And then also, Operation Christmas Child. Do we have that video? Perfect. Just a reminder, boxes are due back November the 14th, and then we've got a little video to watch, and then I'll share a couple of other things with you. I was not really familiar with Samaritan's Purse when I lived in India until I received

the shoebox. I believe I was 10 years old when I received this shoebox for the first time. It was such a joyful day.

And when I opened the shoebox for the first time, I was super encouraged. Because someone who doesn't even know me was willing to sacrifice resources to share this gift with me. So this was a really amazing experience. After we received the shoeboxes, the relationships continued to go on, because not all the people that received the shoebox were Christians.

But still, they showed up to the Sunday school, and they were able to learn a lot about God, including me. I was not really following Jesus at that time seriously. I think one of my friends received a camera, which was cool at the time. And I received yo-yo. That was amazing. And I received a huge pencil. This is like this big. And I think I still have that pencil.

I did not finish that thing. And I was just extremely thankful for all the things that I received in this box, because I did not pay for it, and someone sacrificed that. So I'm still so grateful for all the things that they shared.

I would definitely encourage people to pack shoeboxes. This can change people's lives. Especially kids' lives, because most of the people don't have many things that you pack in the shoebox. So that shows that you care about them, that you love them, that you want to help them. So that can change people's day, people's month, or people's year, and even their lifetime.

So as one said, thank you so much for your willingness to pack the shoeboxes. You might not see the food one day, but one day you will see it, maybe in heaven. So definitely encourage you to pack these boxes. Change these people's lives. God bless you.

So we've got two weeks before those are due back. So that's going to come really, really fast. So make sure that you are getting those things done. And then Janice said that she is going to be in the back room after the service to answer any questions for folks that are wanting to go to Dallas to work with Operation Christmas Child with packing the boxes down there, and the big boxes that then go out on the trucks that go to the places.

So those are the things that are going on. Also, one thing that I want to mention is that we have a lot of people that are going to be in the back room. One reminder that I failed to put into the bulletin is that time change is next week. We fall back. I think that means, does that mean we gain an hour of sleep? We get back the hour they so ruthlessly robbed from us in the spring.

So we'll all look really, really well rested next week. So those are the things that are going on. For our responsive reading this morning, we're going to be in Psalm 23. Psalm 23. Looking at the New American Standard just so we all sound the same. If you need one, there should be one in a row. And as you're turning to Psalm 23. If you would stand in the honor of the reading of God's Word, Psalm 23.

I will read the odd verses. If you will follow along with Pastor Allen and the even verses. Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the Lord.

Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of the Lord. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You have anointed my head with oil.

My cup overflows. 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. And Father, we thank you for being our good shepherd. Lord, I thank you that you are the one that we can rely on. The one that we can run to. The one that we can rest in. And so Father, I pray that as we spend time in your word now, Lord, that as hearts have

different things going on in them, Lord, heaviness for different reasons, Lord, pain for different reasons, guilt over sin, whatever things are going on in the hearts of the people, I pray that your word would minister to them in the way that you see fit. Holy Spirit, I ask for an overflowing for myself to be able to bring forth your word with power. And I ask for an overflowing of your spirit for your people to be able to hear what it is that your spirit wants to minister to us this morning. And we just thank you, Father, in Jesus' name.

Amen. You may be seated. And stay in Psalm 23. I called a little bit of an audible over the past couple of days after I gave the information about the bulletin. We were going to be in Matthew chapter 6, and I had already started studying. And... And then the events of this week began to unfold. For those that don't know, it's been a tough week for the community.

Most of you have probably seen either on some form of social media or the newspaper or you saw it on the news that we lost one of our high school seniors here in Arc City this week. And so it's been a tough week on the community. And so not only that, but it's been kind of a tough month, right, for myself personally. I've lost some people that I've been really close to this month.

And then other communities have been affected by things this month. And then I got to thinking, but, you know, it's kind of just been a hard year. There's been a lot of loss that's been faced this year. There's been a lot of angst over this year. I don't think there's any time I have a conversation with anybody that it doesn't end up coming back to some of the things that are going on in the world that are causing great stress

in people's lives this year. And... Although, from this, some really good memes have come about, like the fact that we may be shopping on ships this year for Christmas. I've appreciated those memes that have gone around. So there's been some funny things that have happened, but it's been a tough week. And so, as I was thinking about this, honestly, this has kind of been on my heart all month.

And that's the 23rd Psalm. And it's not the first time I've taught it. Matter of fact, it's not even the second time I've taught it. It's actually the third time I've taught this from up here. The first time was about 20 years ago. When I was going through my own, one of my own dark valleys that I was going through. And the Lord ministered to me through the 23rd Psalm.

And that's what I was able to deliver to the body here. And then once, four years ago, I taught the 23rd Psalm when our church body here was going through a very difficult time. And now, it's what the Lord laid on my heart again. And I tried to say, no, I'm just being ridiculous. But it just seemed like the Lord just kept impressing this upon me. Because for me, personally, Psalm 23 is where I really turn for a lot of comfort.

It's what the Lord has ministered to me over and over again. And I think what gets me the most is it's the Psalm that never stops speaking to you. Because no matter what place you're in in your life, you, just like David, are simply one of God's sheep. And whatever stage you're in in your life, He's still our Good Shepherd. Psalm 23, of course, has been written by David.

Often times, you'll see it referred to as the Psalm of the Good Shepherd. But I usually title it something a little bit different. I've given it not anything about a shepherd this morning, but I always call this the Psalm of an old sheep because I think David wrote this later in his life after God had taught him a good number of lessons. I think it was much after many of the great failures that David had, much after many of the great victories that David had, and after a lot of learning that God had brought David through that he wrote this 23rd Psalm as he reflected on the faithfulness of God in his life.

And so, as I was preparing it this time, the title that I gave to it is, Psalm 23. he restores my soul. Because that's who God is for us, right? He's the God who restores. And so as we get into the 23rd Psalm, I'm going to just take it verse by verse, and we'll just discuss what each verse has to say and how each verse points us to Jesus as the good shepherd.

So it starts off by saying, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. The term shepherd there can also be exchanged for king, because in ancient cultures, they oftentimes referred to their king as their shepherd, because he would be the one that would lead the people. He would be the one who was leading the people, not as a superior over all of the people, but as one who really cared about the people and guided the people into the right places. And so when David begins this Psalm, he says, the Lord is my shepherd. Interesting, because I think he was an old king by

this point in time, and I think he'd been a king for a very long time, and yet when he thought that he was a good shepherd, he was a good shepherd. And so he said, the Lord is my shepherd. And so when David begins this Psalm, he says, the Lord is my shepherd. Interesting, because I think he was thought on his own life, when he thought on who he really was, he didn't refer to himself as a king.

No, he referred to Jesus as his king and as the one who is truly his shepherd. The word shepherd literally means to feed, to care for, or to protect because that was the role that the shepherd played in the life of the sheep. And that's who the Lord had been for him. The Lord had been the one who had cared for him, who had fed him, and who had protected him. But something else sticks out to me

about this very first verse as he says, the Lord is my shepherd. And that's that little word, my, because it's very personal in nature. David doesn't say the Lord is a shepherd, although the Lord is a shepherd. He doesn't even say that the Lord is the shepherd, although the Lord is the great shepherd. But no, because David wrote this about his God, because David wrote this about his

king, he said, the Lord is my shepherd. You see, there's something, there's something very personal about this because there was something very personal about the shepherd with the sheep. You see, in this culture, at this point in time, when a shepherd had sheep that were out to pasture, the shepherd didn't just go out every now and then and check on them. The shepherd lived with the sheep and got to know the personalities of all of the sheep.

He knew which ones needed the extra correction. He knew which ones needed the extra care. He knew which ones were prone to run. And he knew which ones were prone to be scared because he lived among the sheep. That's how well the shepherd knew each of his, sheep. As a matter of fact, Jesus in the New Testament said, my sheep know my voice and I call them all by name. And so when David says, the Lord is my shepherd, there's something

very personal because he knew that his entire life was spent with God right there with him. And God knew him inside and out. God knew him good, bad, and ugly. God knew the things that he was really proud of and the things that he was really ashamed of. And God knew him by name and David knew his voice. And so he says, the Lord is my shepherd. And then the next thing he says in that first verse is he

says, I shall not want. That word want, that phrase, I shall not want means I lack nothing. He has everything he needs because the Lord is his shepherd. See, I think this is the thesis statement for the entire Psalm 23. I think it's the statement that he'll spend the rest of the Psalm defending is that the Lord is his shepherd and he lacks nothing. Now, what does it mean to

lack nothing? Well, I think to lack nothing can probably take on two different things. One is to have different forms in our minds. The first thing that oftentimes we think of when we think of the fact that the Lord is our shepherd and we lack nothing is that he covers all of our physical needs. And that is a wonderful truth about who God is. That's a wonderful truth about who our

great shepherd is. As a matter of fact, we're told in the book of Philippians that my God shall supply all of your need according to his riches and glory in Christ Jesus. And so David, as he had lived, first of all, as a poor shepherd boy, and then as a great king, knew the fact that God was the one who supplied all of his physical needs. He would always make sure that he was taken care of. He would always make sure that he had everything that he needed

to not only sustain his life, but to protect him. But do you know what I think David was actually more referring to when he said, I lack nothing? I think when he said, I lack nothing, he was actually talking about the fact that God supplies also all of our spiritual needs. Because you see, I think there comes a point in time in our lives where we start realizing that we have nothing to do with what we're going to put into our stomachs, what we're going to put on our body, or what's going to cover our heads. We start realizing that the greatest needs that we have are

who's going to take care of my soul? Who's going to bring me comfort when my greatest need is comfort? Who's going to heal my pain when the pain is more than I can describe? Who's going to give me security when it feels like there's no other security? Who's going to give me security when it feels like there's no other security? Out there, who's going to be the one who's going to take care of my soul and my heart? Because we

realize that in the grand scheme of things, one life will soon be passed. And only what's done for Christ will last. Because all of the things of this earth are going to burn up. And doesn't it kind of feel like somebody just flicked the bick and it's about to burn up even faster? And all of a sudden we're starting to go, you know what really may be the most important thing in the world right

now? Is who's taking care of my soul? Because that's the only thing that will live forever. You know what we're told in the book of Ephesians? We're told in the book of Ephesians that God has great and precious promises for us. That he has given us everything that we need for life and godliness. That he has provided us with every spiritual blessing in heavenly places in Christ Jesus.

Because the Lord is my shepherd. We lack nothing. He goes on from there in verse two to say this. He says, he makes me lie down in green pastures and he leads me beside quiet waters. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. That phrase green pastures can also be translated pastures of tender grass. Now perhaps you're like me and your yard got eaten up by the worms.

Anybody's yard get eaten up by those silly army worms. Saddest day of my life when I looked out and went, huh, I know it's dry. My yard looks really, really brown right now. I wonder what's going on. And then I start seeing all these little creatures crawl all over the place and my yard's just, and my heart hurt a little bit that day. Because the pastures of tender grass that at one point in time were my yard were

no longer tender. They were actually brown and burnt up and crunchy, right? Nobody wants to lay down in crunchy grass. That's not fun. And as somebody who loves the lawn, as somebody who appreciates a beautiful yard, I think about those pastures of tender grass. See, when I was in Bible college, the groundskeeper that was there was the meanest, nicest guy you'd ever been around because he

wouldn't let you walk on the grass. There was only one time he'd let you walk on the grass. He said, if you're going to go out and sit down on the grass and read your Bible, that's fine. But walk onto the grass, find your spot, sit down and read your Bible. My grass is not the sidewalk. Don't walk on my grass. And I was like, seems fair enough to me. It seems legit, right? I feel that way too.

And so there was this big hillside in between the dorm that I lived in and a little lake, that sat down there at the bottom. And it was just this rolling hillside. And the greatest thing to do, especially like this time of year when you had like 75 degree days with a nice cool breeze and the shade was just to go and to lay down on that grass and to start off reading your Bible and then decide I'm going to pray. But what you really meant was I'm going to take a nap. And then you

would just lay down on that grass and just take the sweet, peaceful little nap. See, that's the idea that's being created here by David. He says he makes us to lie down in green pastures, pastures of tender grass, someplace that looks really soft. And inviting, there would be a place to lay your head. Well, you know, sheep are interesting creatures. I read a book one time. It's called A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm by Philip Keller.

Great book. You should pick it up sometime. You'll learn a lot about sheep. And you'll learn a lot about the fact that sheep aren't that intelligent of creatures. And isn't it kind of funny that what does God call us? Sheep. Isn't that great? It's like God saying, oh, bless their heart. Ha, ha, ha. Here's the thing about sheep, though. This is what Philip Keller says. He says,

there's two reasons sheep won't lie down. Sheep won't lie down if they're fearful, and sheep won't lie down if they're hungry. Now, I think that that's kind of interesting because fear and hunger are two things that we experience. What does God provide for us? God provides for us, first of all, security for our fear. But God also provides for us sustenance for our bodies. He provides for us everything that we need to be able to rest. You see,

I think sometimes the reason why we as believers in Jesus Christ stop resting in him, stop laying down and resting in those pastures of tender grass is because we are a little bit spiritually hungry and not spiritually hungry because God hasn't provided for us, but we're spiritually hungry because we have sought our spiritual sustenance through the things of the world and not the things of the word. You see, I would venture to say that many of us went and ate a bunch of arcalala food this week, right? And then when you got home last night, all you could think was what? I need a salad, right? Because I want a salad with some chicken in it and a light balsamic dressing because I need

everything that's not deep fried food right now because I just shaved years off of my life this week with the fact that I ate a lot of things that are really bad for my body. You see, it's fun when it's arcalala food that we enjoy and you feel just a little bit extra heavy, but it's a whole other thing when we as believers enjoy it. Jesus Christ, our filling ourselves with things of the world, and all of a sudden we go, I can't lay down right now because I'm hungry for real, true spiritual food. And so why, how does he allow us to, how does he make us to lay down in green pastures? Well, he says, you know, that stuff's

not going to fill you. Let me fill you with the spiritual truths that you need in order to bring rest to your soul. But you see, the other reason they won't lie down is because they're fearful, and I think the other reason why sometimes we as believers in Jesus Christ have a really hard time is because I think there's still a lot of fear in us right now. I think there's a lot of fear for a lot of reasons, but I think sometimes the greatest amount of fear is because sometimes we lack our security in Christ. We see the failures, we see the shortcomings, we see who we want to be and who

we really are, and sometimes we can lack that security in Christ. When we lack that security in Christ, it keeps us from being able to rest in him, and Jesus wants to tell us over and over and over again that you are secure in Christ, that who you are in Christ has nothing to do with the things that you do. It has nothing to do with how you're doing. It has nothing to do with how you're doing. It has nothing to do with how often you read the Bible. It has nothing to do with the church

that you belong to or any of those kinds of things. Your security in Christ has everything to do with the fact that you've been purchased by the precious blood of Jesus Christ, and the only way that you can truly find rest is to keep going back to Jesus and saying, these are the things that I'm having a hard time resting in. This is the fear that I have, and I need you to bring security to my heart, and he'll tell you every single time, you belong to me if your heart really belongs to Jesus. If you've never come to Jesus as your Lord and Savior, you don't have that kind of security. You can't lay down because you're too fearful, and you need to come to Jesus and allow

him to be the security of your heart. He says, he makes me to lie down in pastures of tender grass, but I also appreciate the fact that he includes that little word makes. He makes me to lie down in pastures of tender grass, and I think he includes that forceful statement because even when we're full and even when we're secure in Christ, we struggle to rest as Christians, do we not? We live in a, we need to do more society. We live in a, if your schedule's not

full, you're probably doing something wrong society, and sometimes not only physically, but spiritually, we think we need to just keep going, just keep working, and God's like, that's not biblical. Rest is biblical. Rest is a gift from God, and sometimes he has to make us to lie down in green pastures. Let me give you a little bit of an illustration. When I was a young

boy, I didn't like to take a nap. I hate myself for that now, but when I was a kid, I hated taking a nap. I was just like, no, I'm going to miss something. I don't want to lay down, but you know what? Because my parents loved me, you know what they'd make me do? They'd make me lie down, and when they'd make me lie down, sometimes mildly, forcefully, when they'd make me lie down, you know what happened every time?

I'd fall asleep, and it was great, and I felt good and rested and ready to go because I was forced to lay down and rest, and sometimes that's what God does for us. How does he do it? Sometimes God does it by canceling all of the things that are going on around us, and all of a sudden, we look around and go, well, what am I going to do? There's nothing else going on, and God's like, well, you could just rest. We're like, oh, that seems like a good

idea. Sometimes God causes us to rest by allowing something physically to happen to us to where we can't do anything. Have you ever had one of those times where you're like, I feel so bad. All I can do is lay here on my bed, and God's like, finally, finally, you're calmed down enough. Maybe I can talk to you a little bit. He makes me to lie down in green pastures,

and then he says he leads me beside quiet waters. The phrase there is quiet waters of rest. If you were reading the New Living Translation, he leads me beside quiet waters of rest. Sheep need a lot of water. They need to be able to stay hydrated, but here's what happens to sheep. When sheep eat the grass first thing in the morning, there's a lot of dew on it, so

their mouths can feel like they have taken in enough water. They can feel like they have taken in enough water. They can feel like they have taken in enough moisture, but their bodies are actually dehydrated. I think sometimes we can be kind of like this in a physical sense. I looked this up last night to make sure that I was correct, but you know, they say that the minute that you get thirsty, you're

already in the process of dehydration. It's just that you haven't sensed it in your thirst just yet. So if you get thirsty, you go, oh my gosh, I really need to drink something when really you should have been staying hydrated all along. Well, you see, God leads the sheep by the quiet waters of rest because they don't always know that they need to take a drink of water.

Because they're not that bright. And so he leads them to these quiet waters of rest where they can take in what they need because he knows that if he doesn't lead them there, they'll never take in that moisture. But you know what else is kind of funny about sheep? The water has to be perfect. Sheep are high maintenance. You see, if the water is stagnant, they won't drink it because it's

nasty. It looks nasty. I can't blame them. I don't want to drink stagnant water. But if the water is rushing too fast, they won't drink. You know why? Because they're scared. They're scared of that sweet wool getting caught in the water and getting swept down the stream. Also understandable. And so the water has to be perfect. It has to be flowing, but flowing

quietly and in a very still sort of way. And so the good shepherd always finds exactly where they need to go to take in exactly what they need to so that they can remain hydrated. And isn't that true of us? Isn't it true about the way that God gives his living word to us? That if it's a little bit too deep, we go, Lord, I don't understand what that means. But if it's the same thing we've

read over and over again, we go, I've read that before. And so God's really good at giving us exactly what we need, exactly when we need it as we get into his word, because that's who he is for us. That's why the lessons that you learn in God's word now, maybe a few years down the road of you walking with Jesus, look a little bit different than the lessons that you learned five or ten years ago when you were walking with Jesus, because he knows exactly what water is to lead you next to because he's the good shepherd. He goes on from there to say in the next verse, I think this phrase is what has stuck out to me the most this time, probably every time, but definitely the most this time out of this psalm, because that's who God is,

he's the God who restores. The word restore here literally means, to return, to return to its former state. That's what the word restore actually means. The idea is that who you were before, you fell into whatever thing you need restored from, God's going to restore you back to that place. And then he takes you even further, even further in a really good way. But as I was thinking about it, I thought, you know,

isn't it kind of interesting that David is able to write, he restores my soul, because we're reminded of the fact that sometimes David's soul, needed restored because he went through things. He went through some really terrible things in his life. He did some really terrible things in his life and God restored all of those things. And so I was thinking about what kind of things we end up needing restored from.

This is one of the areas where I feel like I'm growing a little bit in my understanding of what this scripture has to say. You see, I think there's a handful of things. First of all, I think that we're restored from sin. We're restored from sin. You see, even as believers, we're restored from sin. We're restored from sin. We're restored from sin. Believers in Jesus Christ, we can end up falling into sin.

And when we fall into sin, you know as well as I do, that all of a sudden we go, what happened? Where did I go? Where did I go wrong? And we end up falling into things that we really don't intend to, but that's what happens to us, and we end up needing restored. When we come to Jesus and say, Lord, I'm sorry. I see the sin in my life, and I'm sorry that I committed the sin.

He is so faithful to restore our souls, to return us to that place, to get us back to our first love where we can then return to growing in him as he sees fit because he restores us. He returns us to that place where we started. But not only that, I think sometimes God has to restore our soul from depression. I tell you this because I think that this is a genuine issue that's going on in our culture right now.

Depression has always been the greatest mental illness that we deal with, but in our world now, I keep reading more and more articles that because of pandemic, because of shutdowns, because of supply shortages, all those different kinds of things, depression continues to be on the rise. Do you know that people needing liver transplants has increased exponentially over the last year? You know why that's happened? Because more people consumed alcohol during the pandemic during the last year and a half than they ever have before, which has resulted in an even greater rate of the need for liver transplants because people are drinking themselves to death.

You know why? Why? Because they're depressed. Because when they look at the world around them, they go, oh my gosh, what do I do with this now? Because some of them have lost loved ones through this entire process. Some of them have seen loved ones commit suicide through this entire process. Why? Because they're depressed. And so what do you do with that depression?

You take it to Jesus and you allow him to restore you because that's who he is. He's the God who brings joy in that place of depression. He's the God of joy who's able to fill you with all joy and peace in believing. And as it says in the book of Romans, he's the God of all hope who's able to fill you with all joy and peace as you believe the promises that he has for you.

And he's able to restore you from that place of depression. You know what else he's able to restore you from? Discouragement. I think this is one that is mildly different than depression, but it's that place of feeling like you just can't do it right. And I think the enemy's working on a lot of hearts with that right now. Because as we see what's going on, we just get discouraged

and we think it's never going to be right again. I'm never going to be right again. Things are never going to be normal again. And sometimes we get really discouraged because of that. But you know what? As we take that to Jesus, what's he able to tell us? That's because you're only looking at it through your eyes. You're not looking at it through the eyes of the God

who is ultimately in control and has not been taken by surprise by any of these things. Not only that, but he's able to restore us from grief. This is one of the things I've seen this year, is he's able to restore us from grief, from that place of pain over loss. And it's one of the things that I think continues to be a need in our culture, and may I say this week in our community.

Because I've seen some of these kids this week. I've seen some of these kids that lost one of their best friends this week. I watched a football team have to, forfeit their game because they couldn't do it. I see parents going, I don't know what to do now to help my kids because this is hard. I watched a football team march in a parade without a single smile on their face because it was hard.

But I also know the truth of who God is. That God is the God who takes the crushed and the broken and he heals them. He does it in his time. He does it in his way. And it never looks exactly like what we thought it was going to look like, but he always brings that healing to the broken. He takes those things that have been crushed into pieces and he binds them back together

and he restores them back to the place where they can be whole again. But there was one other thing that I thought of when I thought about the fact that God can restore. And that's that God can restore us from guilt. God can restore us from guilt. Now, this is a little bit different than being restored from sin. You see, you can be restored from sin and you can still live in guilt.

You see, some of us have done things wrong in our past. And as we've done things wrong in our past, we know that God has forgiven us, but we have a problem in our life. And the problem in our life is we can't forgive ourselves. And we hold on to that guilt. And we keep turning it over and over again in our minds, thinking if I would have just, if I could have just,

oh man, I wish I could go back. And we do all of these things and we keep turning it over and over again in our mind and it's all that we can think about. And that guilt weighs us down and we can go, yes, Lord, I know that you've forgiven me. I know what your word has to say, but I just can't let go. We have to take those things to Jesus and just keep saying, Lord, I can't let go of this guilt.

This guilt has a hold on me and I cannot stop holding on to it. But you know what he promises to be able to do? To restore our soul. In other words, to, take that guilt away from you because he's already covered it in the blood of Jesus. He's already covered it in his own precious blood and his grace has washed it away. He's able to take that guilt and he's able to turn it into your victory song

because you can say that though I had been crushed, he has healed the bones that he has broken. Because that's what he's able to do with guilt. He's able to turn it actually into our greatest place of victory because we can say this is what I did wrong and this is what God has forgiven me of and isn't he? An amazing God. Isn't it amazing grace? He's able to do that because he is our good shepherd.

And as he restores our soul, he goes on to say, he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. He guides me in the right paths in order to bring glory to his name because he doesn't just restore me for the sake of restoration. He restores me. He restores me for the sake of service because once restored, he now has something for me to do. I think I shared with you all at one point in time

that I went through a time in my life where I said, Lord, I don't know if I'm saved. And I went through a great deal of depression and anxiety over that. And as I did, the Lord revealed to me that, yes, Ryan, you do belong to me. And I said, Lord, what does that mean? And he showed me the cross. And then after he restored my soul by reminding me that I was his

and showing me exactly what that means, I said, Lord, what do I do? And he said, tell everybody else about it. You see, he guided me in the right path to bring glory to his name because that's what he does. He then gives you the job of taking your story, of taking what God has done in you to share with the people that are around you so that he can be glorified, so that he can be the one who people look to in their greatest time of need.

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. The first time I ever taught this, most of you have probably heard this before, but whatever, we're here. First time I ever taught this, as I was studying this, I thought, Lord, I can't teach this verse because he says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

I thought, Lord, I can't do this. I can't teach this right now because I'm scared. I'm kind of scared of a lot of things right now and it would feel kind of disingenuous and a little bit hypocritical for me to stand up in front of people and say, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil because of how scared I was. And you know what God said?

Tell them that. I was like, Lord, that just doesn't seem like the right thing to do. Pastors are supposed to get up and talk about how great everything is and, and how they've learned the lesson and now they're doing it right. And he said, that's not what I want you to say. I want you to tell them how scared you are. And so that's what I did. And for me, that was God's way of saying,

and that's the way I want you to always teach. And that's the way I want you to always preach. Because I want you to be really transparent about your failures. I want you to be really transparent about your weaknesses. Because that's the only way I can be shown as strong in your life. That's why I tell you stories about the fact that I fall down sometimes. That's why I tell you stories

about the fact that I run into walls and do clumsy things and sometimes say things Jesus doesn't like and then have to confess it later. It's because I'm not there yet. I'm a long ways from where I'm supposed to be. But I know beyond a shadow of a doubt that God is faithful. He says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, even though I walk through the darkest possible valley,

I bet each of us could probably tell the stories about the valleys that we have gone through or perhaps the valley that you are going through right now. I know I can certainly point to two or three of them in my own life that are pretty deep and they're pretty dark. But also on the other side of it, I can say that even in the midst of those deep and very dark valleys, David kind of knew what he was talking about when he said, I will fear no evil. But you know how David knew what he was talking about when he said, I will fear no evil?

It's not because early in his life he was some gung-ho guy. It's because this is an old guy who's lived a long time watching the faithfulness of God and has seen in the process of all of it that even though he walks through the deepest and darkest valley, he truly can fear no evil. You see, many of us think of David, only as the guy that killed Goliath, only as the guy that won all of the victories. But let me tell you a little bit of a story about David that was kind of interesting.

You see, there's this story of David where David is sitting in a cave when he was running from Saul. You don't know very much about David. David was anointed king while Saul was still king because Saul, the very first king of Israel, had committed some sins that caused God to say, none of your descendants are gonna sit on the throne and as soon as you're done, your dynasty is done. And so he said, I'm gonna choose a man after my own heart.

So he chose David. Well, when he chose David, David was a young guy, probably between 15 and 20 years old. When he chose him, he anointed him. Well, David was really close to Saul's family, particularly Jonathan. But slowly but surely, Saul began to realize that David had God's spirit on him and Saul did not. And he began to be jealous of David. So Saul started trying to kill David.

And so David ended up having to take his group of soldiers that had, clung to him and was fleeing in the wilderness from all of these guys. And as he's fleeing in the wilderness one time, he and his men are hiding in this cave. And as they're hiding in this cave, Saul comes in. And when Saul comes into, I love the way the Bible puts this in a really tender, gentle way, relieve himself in the cave, David's men are like, dude, here's your chance.

You can take out Saul. Everything's gonna be great. You'll be king. And David says, nope, can't hurt the Lord's anointed. Here's what I'll do. He goes and he cuts a little piece off of his robe. And as he cuts a piece off of his robe, he feels so guilty and he holds up the piece of his robe that he cut off after Saul leaves the cave and is a little ways away.

And he said, it was within my power to do you harm, but I chose not to. You see, God had delivered him, if you will, into the hands of David if he had wanted to take him. But David didn't take advantage of it. And so you look right now and you go, David's the one with all of the confidence. He's the one that defeated Goliath. He's the one that truly does not have to fear Saul.

But you know what it says? It says in the very next chapter, in the very next chapter, it says, David said, surely Saul will kill me. And he runs and lives amongst the Philistines. Now, wait a second. This is the guy who writes, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Here he is going to live among the enemy because he's scared that Saul is going to kill him.

Why does he do that? Because sometimes we give in to fear. Because sometimes in the deepest and darkest valley, we fear evil and we fear what's going to happen. And we go, Lord, I don't know what I'm going to do now. So I'm going to come up with my own plan. You know who else did this? Abram. And I'm not talking about the time that he had a little situation with Hagar.

Let's go even before that. You see there, Abram was living in the land of Canaan where God had told him to go. And God appears to him and says, all of this land, your land is going to be yours. Your descendants are going to be more than the dust of the, or more than the sand of the sea. And then in the next chapter, you know what it says? There was a great famine in the land.

And so Abram left Canaan and went down to Egypt. And do y'all remember what he did when he showed up in Egypt? He's like, Sarah, listen, you're hot. I'm old. Tell them you're my sister. That way they won't kill me and take you. Fellas, your wife never wants you to lie about the fact that she's your wife, okay? She wants you to own that proudly. But he says, say you're my sister.

Well, of course, he ends up getting found out. But why does he do all of that? Because the greatest man of faith got scared. He got scared and made a really bad decision. But was God done with him because of his bad decision? No. Because what do we see happen in the next chapter? In the next chapter, God restores the covenant. God restores the covenant to him.

And so these lessons that David has learned, particularly the one about, even though I walked through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. They were lessons David learned over time. So if you're in a place where you're going, Ryan, I want to be able to say I fear no evil, but quite frankly, I'm kind of scared. You need to know you're in really good company because a lot of the other people in the Bible got scared.

I'm also reminded of Paul. Throughout the book of Acts, do you know what keeps happening with Paul, the apostle, the really bold guy who would show up anywhere and preach the gospel to anyone? Do you know what kept happening with Paul? He kept having God show up in a dream. And you know what God would tell him when he showed up in the dream? Paul, don't be afraid.

Now, why would God show up to Paul, the guy that all of us look to as one of the greatest examples of a man of faith in the New Testament, of a strong believer in Jesus Christ who always stood his ground? Why would God show up and tell Paul, don't be afraid? Because he was afraid. So at the end of his life, David, he was afraid. David can say, even though I walk through the deepest

and the darkest valley, I will fear no evil. But then he tells us why. He says, for you are with me.

The reason why he tells us he can live that way is because of that promised presence of God. Because he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt with everything that he had gone through in his life, God was always right there with him. God was always the one who was with him, strengthening him, encouraging him, and giving him everything that he needed. And that truth of the promise of the presence of God should be the thing that continues to sustain us.

You say, Ryan, I can't see him. I can't either. Boy, he sure shows up, doesn't he? Ryan, I can't hear him. Listen, when I say God tells me things, it's not always because I hear an audible voice. As a matter of fact, I don't think I've ever heard the audible voice of God. But boy, he sure speaks, doesn't he? Ryan, I can't feel him. Yeah, me neither. And yet at the same time,

you can sense his presence. You can sense his presence all around you. Because that's who he is. He's the ever-present God who makes himself very real to us. I was telling a group of young kids the other day, I said, I challenge whether or not I can hear the voice of God every week. You know what I do? I open up God's word and I say, Lord, speak to me. Speak to me what you want me to hear

out of this, out of the scripture. Speak to me what you need me to know out of what your word has to say. And you know what God's always faithful to do? He's always faithful to speak. Never in an audible voice. But it's amazing how you can read one verse and you can go, I don't care if there's anybody else in the world that read that and got what I got out of it

because that verse was just for me right now. The ever-present nature of God. He says, Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because you are with me. And then he goes on to explain some of the tangible ways that a shepherd is with a sheep. He says, Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Now, a little more about sheep culture

for you, if you will, and that's what the rod and the staff are. Two different instruments that every shepherd would have. He carried them with him everywhere he went when he was out with the sheep. And they were very distinct to that particular shepherd. So first, let's describe the rod. The rod would have been a short stick, something that he could hold easily in his hand

that had a little bit of a reach. It wouldn't be too short. It would have enough of a reach that he could reach out to deal with one of the sheep and it'd have a little knob on top of it. They would pick it out themselves, and it was specific to them. It had markings on it that were just theirs, and there would be a little knob on the end so that he could do business

because the rod had several purposes. The rod was there as a symbol of authority, discipline, examination, and protection. It was authority because when the sheep saw the rod, they knew that's the rod. And we've seen what he's done with the rod. That's the guy in charge, right? It was a symbol of discipline because when a sheep would get out of line, he would have to reach that rod

out and with that little knob maybe thump one of them on the head. Now, I don't know about y'all, but I've been thumped less on the head and more on the other end of my life, but I've been thumped on the head before by God because you know why? Because Scripture tells us that those whom he loves, he disciplines and he chastens. If you were listening to J. Vernon McGee,

you would say, now the Lord takes me out to the woodshed sometimes, right? Because that's what God has to do with us. He has to discipline us. Why? Because sometimes we get out of line. Sometimes we're not very nice. Sometimes we stop acting like God's sheep and we start acting just like sheep. And so God has to thump us and discipline us. But you know what else the rod was good for?

The rod was good for examination. What do you mean? Well, you see, sheep had that kind of wool that if it gathers too much, you can't see if there's any kind of skin infections or skin diseases on the sheep and you wouldn't know it until it was too late. And so you know what the shepherd would do when he was out walking amongst the sheep? He would take the sheep out of the woodshed

and he would take that rod and he would reach down just on the side of the sheep or maybe on top of the sheep and he would use it to pull back the wool in different places so that he could look and see what was going on to make sure that there were no skin infections on the sheep. You see, that rod played a really important role. You see how it was almost a comfort. It was a comfort because discipline brings comfort to us.

As odd as that sounds, you can talk to anybody who has been through a situation, talk to somebody that's been in an adopted situation, been in a difficult situation growing up and they will always tell you the same thing, that they're great at something, when there was discipline in a home because there were parameters and there was structure and it brought about great comfort because they knew what the boundaries were. Well, in the same way, the rod would do that with the examination. And he would look and he would say, oh, we've got a little bit of an issue here and I need to deal with this. I need to put some medicine on that sheep because he's got an issue that we need to deal with.

And then, of course, the rod was for protection because if another animal came to try to do away with the sheep, to try to do harm to the sheep, the shepherd would do it. He would use that rod to drive off any of the enemies. You know what the rod kind of reminds me of as I describe it in that way? It kind of reminds me of the Word of God because, you see, the Word of God is our ultimate authority in life, is it not?

And when we see the Word, we go, wait, that's what the Word has to say. So if one of us is going to be wrong, it's going to have to be me, not the Word, because it's the authority. And then the Word of God, of course, brings discipline because sometimes it can throw down pretty hard on me when I need it to be thrown down on me. But also the Word of God examines me because that's what it's able to do.

It's like a two-edged sword that's able to pierce and cut between bone and marrow. But then also the Word of God is my greatest protector because what is the one offensive weapon we have in the list of weapons that are given to us and the list of armor that's given to us there in the book of Ephesians? What's the one offensive weapon that we have? It's the Word of God.

How did Jesus overcome temptation? With the Word of God. How did the saints overcome? By the Word of God, right? And so we see that the Word of God and the rod is like that. The rod is kind of the Word of God that Jesus uses in my life to bring comfort to me. But then there's the staff. The staff was the symbol of concern and compassion. First of all, the staff would draw the sheep

close to the shepherd when he knew that one of them needed to be comforted and encouraged. As he would be amongst the sheep, he would see that one was maybe a little bit fearful because storms were rolling in and he would use that staff that had the hook on the end of it. You can paint the picture in your mind, right, of what a staff looks like. And he would hook one of the sheep and bring it a little bit close and bring it a little bit of comfort.

Sometimes with my own dogs at home when they run into the trampoline, I'm like, shoot, if I had a staff right now. Anyway, a whole different story. But not only was it something that was used for pulling close for relationship, for comfort, and for encouragement, but it was a guide at times. You see, what the shepherd would do, according to Philip Keller, is if they were walking along the side of a steep or narrow pass, he would take that staff and he would press it against the side of the sheep so that they would know you'd better stay close to the other side because there's danger.

Because you know what sheep are really good at doing? Running off of cliffs because they're dumb, right? Because they're not intelligent creatures and so they'd run right off a cliff. And so the shepherd would lovingly use that staff and sort of press it against the side of the sheep to tell them you'd better stay away because there's danger lurking on the other side.

And then, of course, the staff was used to free sheep from entanglements if they were stuck in something or perhaps in a ravine. He would use that staff to pull the sheep out. It was a great source of compassion and concern for the sheep. And so he says, you're with me all the time. And all the time, your rod and your staff, they're comforting me. He goes on from there to say,

you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You've anointed my head with oil and my cup overflows. I love this phrase, you prepare a table, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies because it reminds me of the fact that despite impending danger, there can still be peace and abundance. Despite impending danger, there can still be peace and abundance.

Let me tell you one more little story about Abraham. When Abraham came back into the land after he had gone to Egypt, remember he had his nephew Lot with him. He and Lot both had herds, large groups of sheep and goats, and there wasn't enough room for them. And so Lot went down and dwelt in Sodom and Sodom and Sodom. And Abram stayed where he was. Well, at some point in time,

Lot gets himself in trouble down in Sodom and the entire city of Sodom gets taken captive by an enemy king. So Abram has to gird up all of his men and they go down and they defeat this enemy king and they set Lot and the rest of the people of Sodom free. And after that, Abram has a distinct understanding of the fact that he just made enemies for himself in a foreign land. And he goes, uh-oh.

And he's a little bit scared. So you know what happens in the very next chapter? God shows up and says, hey, Abram, don't be afraid. I am your shield, your exceeding great reward. I am your protection and I am your provision. And though you may live in a land full of enemies, I will always make sure there is an abundant table set up for you. You know what else it reminds me of?

It reminds me of a guy by the name of Elisha. And Elisha lived in a time of great famine. If you will, a time of supply shortage. And he lived when there was nothing that could be had to be able to eat. And so there was a widow that had made a room for him to be able to stay because he had done a lot for her family and he stayed at this lady's house. And he said, he shows up to her house one day and says,

do you have anything to eat? And she says, I have enough flour and I have enough oil to make one more cake. I'm gonna make that for me and my son and then we're gonna die. Because there was nothing left to be had. And he said, I wanna challenge you to do, make that cake for me and then I promise you, you will not run out of flour and oil the entire time that this famine goes on.

And so that's what she did. She made this little cake, little loaf of bread for him and she did not run out of flour and oil the entire time that this famine went on. Because even though there's supply shortages, even though there may not be enough stuff, even though we may live in the presence of our enemies, he's still able to prepare a table before us. Because he's our good shepherd and we lack nothing.

He says, you prepare a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. You anoint my head with oil and my cup overflows. This anointing of the oil is kind of an interesting picture that's given to us as well. Because the anointing of the oil carries with it a benefit that you and I don't think about. You see, the sheep lived out in the wilderness and there were flies that would be buzzing,

around their heads and the flies would land within their fur, within their wool and they would lay eggs in there. And as the eggs would hatch, we all know what those are. We'll keep it appropriate, right? We all know what those are and so the eggs would hatch and they would feel this buzzing, nasty feeling in their head and it would drive them nuts. So you know what a sheep would do

is it would feel that feeling in its head. It would start beating its head on a rock because all it wanted to do is to get rid of the buzz and the itch and the feel that it could have from those flies being stuck in there. So you know what the shepherd, the shepherd would do when he would see a sheep that would start beating its head because of what was going on with its wool on its head? He would take that flask of oil and he would pour it over the sheep's head.

You know why he did that? First of all, because it would kill the flies. Second of all, because it would destroy the eggs. Third, it would be a cooling, soothing force for the sheep. Now, you may not have flies living in your hair. Jesus knows I don't. But you may have thoughts that live in your head. And those thoughts that live in your head, those anxious thoughts,

those worrisome thoughts may buzz around your head so much that though you don't physically beat your head against a wall, it sure feels like there's no better way to describe how you feel than beating your head against a wall. And so what does God do? Well, God doesn't take a physical flask of oil and pour it over your head so that you can feel soothed. No, what does God do?

Well, when you take all of those thoughts to him, he pours out his Holy Spirit. His Holy Spirit that helps deal with all of the thoughts. His Holy Spirit that helps soothe and ease your mind. His Holy Spirit that then helps prevent you from all of those anxious thoughts coming into your mind again. You see, he overflows you with the oil of the Holy Spirit that brings so much healing to our hearts and to our minds.

He says, he anoints my head with oil and my cup runs over. And then we come to verse six to cap this whole thing. He 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. Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me. The New Living Translation says, The goodness and unfailing love of the Lord

will pursue me all the days of my life. I like that translation of that verse. Because if you're like me, you can very easily point to times in your life where you weren't maybe doing what the Lord wanted you to do. But the goodness and unfailing love of the Lord pursued you. It chased you down. See, one of the benefits slash curses of being a believer in Jesus Christ

that knows what his love and goodness is means that you have too much of Jesus in you to ever be content in sin. If you want to live in sin, it's a curse. If you want to live for Jesus, it's a blessing. But once you belong to him, he won't allow you to be content in sin. He'll continue to pursue you. He'll continue to chase you down. That's why when you see a believer that's living in sin,

they're usually really angry. You know why they're really angry? Because the love of God is pursuing them. And they can feel it hot on their heels. But that's who God is. He's so faithful to chase us down. He's so faithful to love us. He says, He says, The house of the Lord speaks of the sanctuary of the Lord. And the word dwell speaks of full communion with the Lord.

I love this because he says, I will have deep communion in the sanctuary of the Lord forever. My communion with the Lord will be deep forever. Why? Because the Lord is my shepherd, and I don't need anything else. You see, the day that we became believers in Jesus Christ, not only did he become our great shepherd, but he became our place of sanctuary and communion.

And so that place of sanctuary and communion will never end. When life on this earth ends, the sanctuary and the communion just get that much deeper. And so he says, Because the Lord is my shepherd, and I have everything that I want, I will dwell in perfect communion with him forever. Forever. And so as we wrap up here this morning, I want to ask you a couple of questions.

What's the condition of your heart this morning?

What condition is your heart in as you listen to this 23rd Psalm? Are you in a place where you need some restoration? Are you in a place where you need to be reminded that though the valley seems deep and dark, there's really no need to fear any evil because God is with you? Are you in a place where the word of God needs to correct you? Are you in a place where the word of God needs to comfort you?

I don't know what place you're in in your life right now. I don't know where your heart is right now. But in all of it, the Lord wants to be your great shepherd. But the only way he can really be your great shepherd is if you come to him. Either come to him for your salvation or return to him because he's the great shepherd and you've strayed a little farther from the flock.

Maybe this is God taking his staff and pulling you. Just a little bit closer. But our one hope is to just continue to come to Jesus. As I was thinking about that phrase this morning, I thought of the lyrics of a song. It's an old hymn. So I printed a few of them off. A couple of stanzas in the chorus I printed off. It says this. 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. He will embrace me in his arms. And in the arms of my dear Savior, there are 10,000 charms. Bring your heart to Jesus this morning.

And let him do the work. That only the good shepherd can do. Amen. Let's all stand.

As the Lord does that work of the good shepherd in your heart, I want to remind you that he has paths that he wants to lead you in. Paths that involve a community around you right now that's really hurting. That could really use the hope of Jesus that only the good shepherd can bring. And so my prayer is that as God does his work in our hearts, we look for that opportunity to be used in the lives of other people.

Amen. Father, we come before you and just thank you for the time that we have in your word this morning. Lord, I pray that you would encourage us, strengthen us, and speak to us through it. Father, as you have begun your good work, I pray that you would continue it. And Lord, be with us each as we go out from here. And we just thank you, Father, in Jesus' name.

Amen. Be blessed. I'm accepted.

I'm alive and well. Your spirit is. Your spirit is within me. Because you. Your spirit is. Your spirit is. Your spirit is. My king would die. Is he loved?

Is this you?

This is Jesus. Lord, bless you. Have a great week.