WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:06.660 We are continuing our pilgrimage through the 23rd Psalm. 00:00:06.980 --> 00:00:09.720 We're going verse by verse. We started four weeks ago. 00:00:11.279 --> 00:00:13.800 If you look at the Psalms as a whole, 00:00:14.759 --> 00:00:20.600 a lot of the imagery in the Psalms rings of homeland security. 00:00:21.400 --> 00:00:27.260 Now, none of us live in towns that are in danger of being besieged by Bedouin raiders 00:00:27.260 --> 00:00:29.400 or besieging armies. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:38.380 So when the psalmists write that God is a rock or a fortress or a tower or a horn of salvation, 00:00:39.380 --> 00:00:45.019 God had to do some work to fire up the imagination in order to get the full impact of these metaphors. 00:00:46.240 --> 00:00:52.920 But for some reason, even though most of us are not shepherds and none of us are sheep, 00:00:53.620 --> 00:00:55.359 we get Psalm 23. 00:00:55.359 --> 00:01:00.340 Especially the first half of verse four. 00:01:02.359 --> 00:01:05.640 We understand what a valley of the shadow of death is. 00:01:05.640 --> 00:01:12.560 Now, we may not picture in our minds exactly the kind of valley that David might have had in mind, 00:01:12.700 --> 00:01:14.260 but we know we're pretty close. 00:01:14.799 --> 00:01:18.079 Now, some of us have been through such a valley at least once in our lives. 00:01:18.540 --> 00:01:21.260 Some of us are in such a valley now. 00:01:21.260 --> 00:01:29.980 Be it depression or mental illness, separation and divorce, 00:01:31.680 --> 00:01:34.500 infertility, miscarriage, 00:01:35.640 --> 00:01:40.260 the loneliness that singleness can bring, 00:01:40.260 --> 00:01:42.820 grief, 00:01:42.820 --> 00:01:42.840 grief, 00:01:45.480 --> 00:01:47.020 cancer, 00:01:48.020 --> 00:01:51.560 either yours or one who is close to you, 00:01:53.219 --> 00:01:54.100 unemployment, 00:01:55.560 --> 00:01:56.000 addiction, 00:01:57.740 --> 00:02:00.480 the severe illness of your child. 00:02:00.480 --> 00:02:11.159 A number of you frequently experience the valley of racism on a day-to-day basis. 00:02:11.960 --> 00:02:13.780 Both personal and systemic. 00:02:14.000 --> 00:02:17.759 And that valley, you have found to be a lonely place, 00:02:18.319 --> 00:02:23.580 in part because many of your white brothers and sisters have remained silent on this issue. 00:02:23.580 --> 00:02:31.960 And as ugly and as abhorrent as the events in Charlottesville were yesterday, 00:02:32.200 --> 00:02:32.760 for you, 00:02:33.720 --> 00:02:35.120 it's just another day in the valley. 00:02:38.100 --> 00:02:44.800 Suffering has been a central question of philosophy and world religions since time immemorial. 00:02:44.980 --> 00:02:47.580 There's been enough written to fill a library. 00:02:48.420 --> 00:02:50.620 But what is David saying about it? 00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:52.320 That's what we're going to look at tonight. 00:02:52.319 --> 00:02:54.879 What does David have to tell us? 00:02:55.139 --> 00:02:58.060 What is he telling us with these specific words and images? 00:02:59.079 --> 00:03:00.879 So we're going to look at the valley. 00:03:01.359 --> 00:03:04.819 We're going to look at the shepherd's equipment, his rod and his staff. 00:03:05.519 --> 00:03:07.239 We're going to look at God's presence. 00:03:08.419 --> 00:03:12.419 So, valley, equipment, presence. 00:03:13.259 --> 00:03:14.519 Before we do that, let's pray. 00:03:14.519 --> 00:03:14.579 Amen. 00:03:22.319 --> 00:03:27.579 We would need your help no matter where we were, Lord. 00:03:29.859 --> 00:03:34.599 All of us need your help right now to understand what David is trying to say here 00:03:34.599 --> 00:03:38.340 and what you are trying to say to us across 3,000 years. 00:03:38.340 --> 00:03:47.539 Would tonight you appear to be more of the shepherd that you are to us? 00:03:47.659 --> 00:03:51.180 Would we understand your tender care for us? 00:03:52.300 --> 00:03:53.680 We pray in Jesus' name. 00:03:53.719 --> 00:03:53.900 Amen. 00:03:53.900 --> 00:03:54.020 Amen. 00:03:55.960 --> 00:03:59.300 So let's first look at what David had in mind. 00:03:59.659 --> 00:04:02.860 What he wrote about the valley of the shadow of death. 00:04:02.939 --> 00:04:07.460 That could also be translated the valley of deepest darkness. 00:04:08.640 --> 00:04:13.900 And we're not talking about really broad, shiny, green, lush valley. 00:04:13.900 --> 00:04:22.300 In the Holy Land, at the bottom of valleys, winter streams have cut long, deep crevices into the rocks. 00:04:22.879 --> 00:04:27.579 And there's such a canyon like this in the old city of Petri. 00:04:27.639 --> 00:04:30.879 You have to travel through this canyon to get to the old city. 00:04:30.959 --> 00:04:32.180 Has anybody ever been there? 00:04:32.240 --> 00:04:33.180 Can you confirm this? 00:04:33.399 --> 00:04:33.519 Yeah? 00:04:34.079 --> 00:04:34.519 Okay, good. 00:04:35.780 --> 00:04:38.819 So it's narrow, and it's 30 feet high. 00:04:39.220 --> 00:04:42.340 And when it rains, it creates a flash flood in this valley. 00:04:42.339 --> 00:04:44.959 And one such flood occurred in 1957. 00:04:45.359 --> 00:04:47.259 There was a group of French tourists there. 00:04:48.319 --> 00:04:52.859 Now, two of the women who were in the front heard screaming, among other things, behind them. 00:04:53.219 --> 00:05:02.079 So they bolted up into, like, this side crevice to hide themselves from whatever was coming. 00:05:02.219 --> 00:05:10.000 And then they turn around and see a wall of water rush by, along with boulders and mangled bodies. 00:05:10.000 --> 00:05:13.519 And then they turn around and see a wall of water rush by, along with boulders and mangled bodies. 00:05:13.519 --> 00:05:15.620 And then they turn around and see a wall of water rush by, along with boulders and mangled bodies. 00:05:15.620 --> 00:05:18.560 They encountered a valley of death. 00:05:20.699 --> 00:05:24.560 These gulches are not uncommon in the Holy Land. 00:05:25.019 --> 00:05:29.560 There's an Armenian shepherd named Mishakh Krikorian. 00:05:29.560 --> 00:05:36.839 And he recorded his observations about Psalm 23 a few decades ago. 00:05:37.100 --> 00:05:42.800 And he tells about a particular valley just south of the Jerusalem-Jericho road. 00:05:43.319 --> 00:05:44.060 He writes, 00:05:44.060 --> 00:05:50.459 There is an actual valley of the shadow of death in Palestine, and every shepherd knows of it. 00:05:51.060 --> 00:05:54.060 I had the good fortune of having at least a passing view of this valley. 00:05:54.780 --> 00:06:02.439 It is a very narrow defile through a mountain range where the water often foams and roars, torn by jagged rocks. 00:06:02.439 --> 00:06:12.819 The path plunges downward into a deep and narrow gorge of sheer precipices overhung by battlements of rocks, which almost touch overhead. 00:06:13.360 --> 00:06:17.120 Its sidewalls like the stone walls of a great cathedral. 00:06:17.939 --> 00:06:24.139 The valley is about five miles long, yet it is not more than 12 feet at the widest section of the base. 00:06:24.139 --> 00:06:32.959 The actual path on the solid rock in places is so narrow that the sheep can hardly turn around in case of danger. 00:06:35.839 --> 00:06:40.399 David was probably thinking about one of these valleys when he wrote this song. 00:06:41.439 --> 00:06:45.300 Travelers in his day would be very wary of a gulch like this. 00:06:46.479 --> 00:06:52.219 They would march slowly and silently in order to avoid being seen or heard by bandits. 00:06:52.220 --> 00:06:56.420 The fear of death would be constantly on their minds. 00:06:56.960 --> 00:07:01.580 They would tremble and expect trouble and death at any time they were passing through. 00:07:02.920 --> 00:07:06.020 So, let's observe three things about this valley. 00:07:07.100 --> 00:07:10.820 The first thing about the valley we should know is that it's not the final destination. 00:07:11.940 --> 00:07:16.860 Now, having heard this psalm numerous times at funerals, 00:07:16.860 --> 00:07:21.740 and having seen it spoken as the Titanic was going down in James Cameron's film, 00:07:22.220 --> 00:07:27.980 you might think that the valley of death, the valley of the shadow of death, is the end of the trail, but it's not. 00:07:29.020 --> 00:07:31.300 David doesn't have that in mind because he's a shepherd, 00:07:31.420 --> 00:07:36.160 and he knows that the shepherd is leading the sheep through the valley en route to a destination. 00:07:36.740 --> 00:07:40.440 A shepherd often does this because, even though it doesn't look like this to the sheep, 00:07:40.439 --> 00:07:42.800 it really is the best route. 00:07:43.639 --> 00:07:48.279 If he wants to get up into the mountains where some good pasture is to feed the sheep, 00:07:49.240 --> 00:07:53.420 the best way to go is not over mountaintops, but up through the valley. 00:07:54.899 --> 00:07:57.939 Okay, so it's not the final destination. 00:07:58.480 --> 00:08:00.779 And the second thing to observe is that it's unavoidable. 00:08:00.779 --> 00:08:05.699 The valley of deep darkness is a section of the trail that cannot be avoided. 00:08:06.319 --> 00:08:08.579 There's no bypass or magical escape. 00:08:09.159 --> 00:08:12.159 The only way forward is through the valley. 00:08:13.059 --> 00:08:18.199 So if we haven't gone through the valley yet, chances are we will. 00:08:20.099 --> 00:08:22.959 And David knows that he will one day pass through it. 00:08:22.959 --> 00:08:26.500 But he never contemplates dwelling there. 00:08:27.259 --> 00:08:28.979 The valley is not the place to stay. 00:08:30.680 --> 00:08:35.379 That's the third thing to observe, is that David fears no evil while he is there. 00:08:36.720 --> 00:08:39.779 The gloom of the valley itself isn't harmful, 00:08:40.879 --> 00:08:44.159 but the fear it generates can be paralyzing. 00:08:45.620 --> 00:08:49.480 Now, we don't have to fear because we look back on the whole story of the good shepherd 00:08:49.480 --> 00:08:51.500 from beginning to end, 00:08:51.500 --> 00:08:53.679 and we know that if we are Christians, 00:08:54.200 --> 00:08:58.700 then we have been united to Christ in his death and resurrection. 00:08:59.440 --> 00:09:01.039 His death and his resurrection. 00:09:02.519 --> 00:09:04.620 Why did Jesus have to die? 00:09:04.700 --> 00:09:09.460 This question was posed to me by my five-year-old son just a couple days ago. 00:09:10.039 --> 00:09:11.899 We were at the Cleveland Museum of Art. 00:09:12.000 --> 00:09:14.679 Really great museum, if you've never been there. 00:09:16.539 --> 00:09:19.879 And a Christian says, 00:09:19.879 --> 00:09:20.360 Hey, Daddy! 00:09:20.360 --> 00:09:20.720 Daddy! 00:09:21.399 --> 00:09:22.259 There's God! 00:09:22.860 --> 00:09:25.060 And I look, and there's a picture of the crucifixion. 00:09:25.419 --> 00:09:26.240 Like, okay. 00:09:26.659 --> 00:09:30.159 So, you know, wanting to appear to be, like, a rather nuanced father, 00:09:30.759 --> 00:09:32.100 I say, kind of in a loud voice, 00:09:32.200 --> 00:09:34.940 Well, son, that's not... 00:09:34.940 --> 00:09:39.060 That is Jesus, the Son of God, who is dying on the cross. 00:09:39.700 --> 00:09:41.039 And then he says, 00:09:41.240 --> 00:09:42.779 Why did he have to die? 00:09:42.779 --> 00:09:44.439 It's funny, because, like, five days earlier, 00:09:44.539 --> 00:09:45.939 somebody else had told me from our church, 00:09:46.319 --> 00:09:47.600 Hey, my daughter just asked me, like, 00:09:47.620 --> 00:09:48.699 Why did Jesus have to die? 00:09:48.959 --> 00:09:49.639 And sure enough, 00:09:50.279 --> 00:09:53.799 the quiz came back from my own son. 00:09:54.259 --> 00:09:54.819 So, anyway, 00:09:55.100 --> 00:09:57.279 what would you say 00:09:57.279 --> 00:09:59.279 if a five-year-old asked you, 00:09:59.639 --> 00:10:01.179 Why did Jesus have to die? 00:10:01.339 --> 00:10:01.980 What would you say? 00:10:01.980 --> 00:10:04.159 Well, 00:10:05.019 --> 00:10:08.100 maybe it would go something like this. 00:10:09.779 --> 00:10:13.920 He died because we have two big enemies 00:10:13.920 --> 00:10:15.740 as human beings. 00:10:16.580 --> 00:10:18.759 Our two enemies are sin. 00:10:19.019 --> 00:10:19.279 You know, 00:10:19.620 --> 00:10:20.779 the things you do 00:10:20.779 --> 00:10:22.840 when you disobey your parents 00:10:22.840 --> 00:10:23.940 and when you get selfish. 00:10:24.900 --> 00:10:26.480 So, sin is one of our enemies 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:28.280 and death is our other big enemy. 00:10:28.800 --> 00:10:32.020 And we can't fight those enemies on our own. 00:10:32.260 --> 00:10:34.820 We need somebody else to fight those enemies for us. 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:37.280 There's only one who can do that, 00:10:37.320 --> 00:10:38.160 and that's God himself. 00:10:38.260 --> 00:10:41.620 So, Jesus sent his Son to defeat death. 00:10:41.620 --> 00:10:43.580 And the way he defeated death 00:10:43.580 --> 00:10:45.580 was rather surprising, 00:10:45.920 --> 00:10:46.880 pretty clever, 00:10:47.820 --> 00:10:48.800 although very dangerous. 00:10:49.240 --> 00:10:50.300 He actually had to die. 00:10:51.220 --> 00:10:52.620 Jesus, the Son of God, 00:10:52.620 --> 00:10:57.000 died in order to rise again from death, 00:10:57.600 --> 00:10:57.960 thereby, 00:10:58.299 --> 00:11:00.120 I don't know if a kid would understand the word thereby. 00:11:00.340 --> 00:11:00.480 Okay. 00:11:01.759 --> 00:11:02.320 Thereby, 00:11:02.620 --> 00:11:04.899 defeating death. 00:11:05.960 --> 00:11:07.060 And now we, 00:11:07.259 --> 00:11:07.860 as Christians, 00:11:08.179 --> 00:11:09.440 when we love him, 00:11:09.700 --> 00:11:11.060 when we put our trust in him, 00:11:11.100 --> 00:11:12.060 and when we're baptized, 00:11:13.019 --> 00:11:15.019 now we are united to Christ. 00:11:15.419 --> 00:11:17.860 We're not on the same team as Christ. 00:11:17.960 --> 00:11:18.879 That's not what it means. 00:11:19.120 --> 00:11:21.360 But we're one with him. 00:11:21.360 --> 00:11:22.080 And so, 00:11:22.200 --> 00:11:23.620 because we're united to him, 00:11:23.980 --> 00:11:25.120 we have died, 00:11:25.519 --> 00:11:27.259 and we have risen again. 00:11:28.480 --> 00:11:29.300 Isn't that great? 00:11:30.779 --> 00:11:33.100 Sin is no longer our master. 00:11:33.840 --> 00:11:35.779 And death is not the end. 00:11:35.879 --> 00:11:37.560 Our enemies have been destroyed. 00:11:38.259 --> 00:11:39.919 We no longer have to fear death, 00:11:39.919 --> 00:11:42.659 because we've already experienced victory. 00:11:42.659 --> 00:11:45.100 Paul wrote in his letter to the Corinthians, 00:11:45.819 --> 00:11:47.480 in chapter 15, 00:11:47.980 --> 00:11:50.699 when the perishable puts on the imperishable, 00:11:50.919 --> 00:11:53.199 and the mortal puts on immortality, 00:11:53.559 --> 00:11:56.059 then shall come to pass the saying that is written, 00:11:56.439 --> 00:11:58.120 death is swallowed up in victory. 00:11:59.179 --> 00:11:59.799 Oh, death, 00:12:00.559 --> 00:12:01.419 where is your victory? 00:12:02.559 --> 00:12:03.439 Oh, death, 00:12:03.799 --> 00:12:05.139 where is your sting? 00:12:05.139 --> 00:12:07.939 The sting of death is sin, 00:12:08.179 --> 00:12:10.059 and the power of sin is the law. 00:12:10.679 --> 00:12:12.039 But thanks be to God, 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:15.419 who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ. 00:12:15.419 --> 00:12:22.319 So having been set free from fear, 00:12:22.879 --> 00:12:26.139 we look to the good shepherd for comfort. 00:12:28.199 --> 00:12:30.799 What does David see when he looks at the shepherd? 00:12:30.799 --> 00:12:34.139 He sees his rod and his staff, 00:12:34.459 --> 00:12:37.339 the essential equipment for the shepherd. 00:12:38.039 --> 00:12:39.219 And there are two separate things. 00:12:39.299 --> 00:12:40.719 A rod and a staff are not the same. 00:12:40.799 --> 00:12:41.939 There are two separate things. 00:12:42.580 --> 00:12:44.820 The rod is the shepherd's weapon. 00:12:45.640 --> 00:12:48.360 It's about two and a half feet long. 00:12:48.780 --> 00:12:49.740 It's made of wood. 00:12:50.700 --> 00:12:51.980 And it's shaped like a mace. 00:12:52.060 --> 00:12:54.300 So it's long and sturdy and thin. 00:12:54.680 --> 00:12:56.740 And at the end, there's a round ball. 00:12:56.860 --> 00:12:57.800 Now into this ball, 00:12:58.360 --> 00:13:01.020 a shepherd would pound some iron nails 00:13:01.020 --> 00:13:03.800 to make it even more lethal. 00:13:05.300 --> 00:13:10.040 And this is a thing that you use to whack something on the head. 00:13:10.500 --> 00:13:10.660 Right? 00:13:10.659 --> 00:13:13.600 And we heard Wes read earlier 00:13:13.600 --> 00:13:17.100 what David said to Saul about his experiences as a shepherd. 00:13:17.819 --> 00:13:18.279 David said, 00:13:18.500 --> 00:13:20.519 Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. 00:13:21.519 --> 00:13:23.100 When there came a lion or a bear 00:13:23.100 --> 00:13:24.439 and took a lamb from the flock, 00:13:24.539 --> 00:13:26.159 I went after him and struck him 00:13:26.159 --> 00:13:28.000 and delivered it out of his mouth. 00:13:28.079 --> 00:13:29.500 And if he rose against me, 00:13:29.759 --> 00:13:32.600 I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 00:13:33.360 --> 00:13:34.439 That's not the sling. 00:13:34.579 --> 00:13:36.019 Sling is a long-range weapon. 00:13:36.559 --> 00:13:37.419 It's a short-range. 00:13:37.419 --> 00:13:41.779 He needed a rod and crushed the skull of his enemies. 00:13:43.639 --> 00:13:46.879 The rod protects the sheep from external threat. 00:13:47.879 --> 00:13:50.839 And it's also used to count the sheep. 00:13:51.500 --> 00:13:55.419 The shepherd would hold his rod in front of the pen just high enough 00:13:55.419 --> 00:13:58.839 so that only one sheep at a time can pass through the entrance. 00:13:58.840 --> 00:14:01.620 As the sheep would pass through, 00:14:01.780 --> 00:14:02.960 the shepherd would count them. 00:14:03.600 --> 00:14:06.580 Now, Philip Keller, who Tommy and I have quoted before, 00:14:06.700 --> 00:14:08.820 he's a shepherd and he wrote about Psalm 23. 00:14:09.800 --> 00:14:11.720 He observes that with the rod, 00:14:11.800 --> 00:14:13.100 as the sheep are coming through, 00:14:13.220 --> 00:14:15.240 if there's something wrong with the sheep, 00:14:15.320 --> 00:14:16.960 he can take the skinny end of the rod 00:14:16.960 --> 00:14:18.580 and pull apart the wool 00:14:18.580 --> 00:14:21.740 and see if there's insects or infection. 00:14:21.740 --> 00:14:25.320 And if the whole herd passes through 00:14:25.320 --> 00:14:27.820 and there's one missing, 00:14:28.440 --> 00:14:30.419 the shepherd immediately goes on a rescue mission. 00:14:31.519 --> 00:14:33.180 And that's where his staff comes into play. 00:14:33.600 --> 00:14:35.799 Now, often the staff is used to lean on. 00:14:36.460 --> 00:14:38.480 All those hours he's watching the sheep. 00:14:39.700 --> 00:14:43.220 Often he uses, it's a much longer instrument. 00:14:43.440 --> 00:14:46.820 He would use it to steer sheep in the way they would go. 00:14:46.919 --> 00:14:50.799 But the rod also has like a hook or a crook on the end of it. 00:14:50.799 --> 00:14:56.179 So if the shepherd finds the missing sheep stuck in a crevice, 00:14:56.240 --> 00:14:59.779 he can yank out the sheep from the hole. 00:14:59.879 --> 00:15:03.139 Or if he finds the sheep in a bush and some brambles, 00:15:03.199 --> 00:15:05.839 he can beat apart the thorns and get the sheep out. 00:15:06.139 --> 00:15:07.039 Once he does that, 00:15:07.559 --> 00:15:09.839 he puts the sheep on his shoulders, 00:15:10.319 --> 00:15:11.099 carries him out. 00:15:11.459 --> 00:15:12.759 Now, I don't know if you remember last week. 00:15:13.219 --> 00:15:14.319 There was a picture we showed. 00:15:14.819 --> 00:15:17.219 It was from the Roman catacombs of the good shepherd, 00:15:17.759 --> 00:15:19.079 the staff in one hand. 00:15:19.080 --> 00:15:21.980 With the other hand, the sheep wrapped around his neck, 00:15:22.340 --> 00:15:23.300 bringing him home. 00:15:23.940 --> 00:15:24.520 Isn't that beautiful? 00:15:25.259 --> 00:15:30.420 Can you imagine a more intimate picture of God caring for his people? 00:15:31.460 --> 00:15:33.720 And this is the third thing we're looking at in this verse, 00:15:34.460 --> 00:15:35.120 this intimacy. 00:15:35.600 --> 00:15:37.660 So we've looked at the valley, 00:15:37.980 --> 00:15:39.060 and we've looked at his equipment, 00:15:39.060 --> 00:15:42.400 and now we're looking at the presence of the shepherd. 00:15:42.399 --> 00:15:46.659 There was a significant change in tone in verse 4. 00:15:48.220 --> 00:15:49.559 I don't know if you noticed it. 00:15:50.720 --> 00:15:53.620 Here's where God walks onto the stage in this psalm. 00:15:54.659 --> 00:15:57.519 The psalmist, David, changes from the third person, 00:15:57.720 --> 00:15:58.860 the Lord is my shepherd, 00:15:59.299 --> 00:16:00.740 to the first person, 00:16:00.840 --> 00:16:02.039 I will fear no evil, 00:16:02.220 --> 00:16:03.699 for you are with me. 00:16:03.700 --> 00:16:07.759 In the German language, 00:16:07.820 --> 00:16:08.920 like many other languages, 00:16:08.920 --> 00:16:14.100 there's a difference between the formal and informal form of the word you. 00:16:14.259 --> 00:16:16.220 In English, we used to have this, right? 00:16:16.340 --> 00:16:17.640 The formal was you, 00:16:17.800 --> 00:16:20.940 and the informal, familiar form was thou. 00:16:21.800 --> 00:16:22.620 But in German, 00:16:23.000 --> 00:16:24.480 they still have this distinction, 00:16:24.480 --> 00:16:26.600 and there's all kinds of rules 00:16:26.600 --> 00:16:30.280 to determine when you use the formal versus the informal. 00:16:30.279 --> 00:16:32.939 And no foreigner can keep this straight, 00:16:33.279 --> 00:16:35.740 and I'm pretty sure 90% of German speakers can't, 00:16:35.779 --> 00:16:36.759 though they wouldn't admit it. 00:16:38.139 --> 00:16:40.639 One rule I learned late in my time there 00:16:40.639 --> 00:16:42.779 is that when you're hiking up in the mountains, 00:16:42.980 --> 00:16:45.220 you always use the informal. 00:16:45.819 --> 00:16:47.679 There's an expression in German 00:16:47.679 --> 00:16:48.899 translated roughly, 00:16:49.439 --> 00:16:50.819 above a thousand meters, 00:16:51.179 --> 00:16:52.439 everyone's on a first name basis. 00:16:54.039 --> 00:16:57.759 Perhaps it's because everyone is sharing the same goal, 00:16:57.759 --> 00:17:00.199 or perhaps when you're up that high, 00:17:00.279 --> 00:17:01.699 everyone has to work together. 00:17:03.299 --> 00:17:05.119 My Austrian friends who I asked, 00:17:05.180 --> 00:17:06.819 they weren't quite sure they had asked their parents. 00:17:07.660 --> 00:17:09.599 But there's something about altitude 00:17:09.599 --> 00:17:12.980 that brings intimacy. 00:17:15.279 --> 00:17:18.039 Remember that the shepherd is bringing his sheep 00:17:18.039 --> 00:17:19.639 through the valley 00:17:19.639 --> 00:17:21.819 because they are on their way to a destination, 00:17:22.019 --> 00:17:23.980 usually up to get to higher ground, 00:17:23.980 --> 00:17:26.240 where there are good places to feed. 00:17:26.240 --> 00:17:29.779 Or they could be on their way home. 00:17:30.200 --> 00:17:31.019 But either way, 00:17:31.400 --> 00:17:34.539 the thing we find in the valley of deepest darkness, 00:17:34.700 --> 00:17:36.759 the thing we find in the valley, 00:17:37.019 --> 00:17:38.359 is the shepherd himself. 00:17:40.039 --> 00:17:42.299 We find the presence of the shepherd. 00:17:42.299 --> 00:17:48.559 I learned how important the presence of a shepherd can be 00:17:48.559 --> 00:17:50.259 when I was with my son, William. 00:17:50.259 --> 00:17:52.359 We were hiking through the Alps, 00:17:52.700 --> 00:17:55.059 and we were really tired and thirsty. 00:17:55.279 --> 00:17:55.839 We sat down. 00:17:55.899 --> 00:17:57.599 We noticed this abandoned shack 00:17:57.599 --> 00:18:00.059 just a ways down the hill, 00:18:00.139 --> 00:18:01.799 a different direction from which we came. 00:18:02.059 --> 00:18:03.259 He was wondering what it was. 00:18:03.319 --> 00:18:04.759 So I was curious. 00:18:05.000 --> 00:18:06.019 Maybe they had water there. 00:18:06.480 --> 00:18:07.519 So I said, 00:18:07.579 --> 00:18:08.480 let me go look. 00:18:08.720 --> 00:18:09.700 I know you're tired. 00:18:09.700 --> 00:18:10.519 I want you to stay here. 00:18:10.900 --> 00:18:12.100 And I'll go look at it. 00:18:12.400 --> 00:18:13.740 And he didn't think that was a good idea. 00:18:13.960 --> 00:18:14.740 But I convinced him, 00:18:14.759 --> 00:18:15.180 it's okay. 00:18:15.920 --> 00:18:17.019 Everything's beautiful here. 00:18:17.100 --> 00:18:17.980 It's safe. 00:18:18.420 --> 00:18:19.180 It's lovely. 00:18:19.680 --> 00:18:21.799 I'll just be right over that little hill. 00:18:22.720 --> 00:18:23.740 So I'm walking down. 00:18:24.100 --> 00:18:26.279 And as soon as I dip below his eyesight, 00:18:26.700 --> 00:18:29.120 he's five or maybe six at the time. 00:18:29.120 --> 00:18:32.180 And he starts crying and yelling, 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:32.759 Daddy! 00:18:33.680 --> 00:18:34.200 Daddy! 00:18:35.200 --> 00:18:35.720 Daddy! 00:18:35.920 --> 00:18:36.980 Like, how irrational. 00:18:37.220 --> 00:18:37.480 William, 00:18:37.960 --> 00:18:38.819 it's okay. 00:18:38.819 --> 00:18:40.379 I'm right down here. 00:18:41.519 --> 00:18:42.659 That doesn't help. 00:18:43.359 --> 00:18:44.259 What he needed 00:18:44.259 --> 00:18:46.119 was the presence 00:18:46.119 --> 00:18:47.319 of his father. 00:18:48.200 --> 00:18:49.439 Not just an awareness 00:18:49.439 --> 00:18:50.639 that he's kind of near, 00:18:51.159 --> 00:18:52.079 but he needed 00:18:52.079 --> 00:18:53.960 the actual presence 00:18:53.960 --> 00:18:54.720 of his father. 00:18:54.799 --> 00:18:56.399 So as soon as I came back over the hill, 00:18:56.460 --> 00:18:57.980 he stopped crying. 00:18:59.980 --> 00:19:01.480 And so it is with our shepherd. 00:19:04.079 --> 00:19:05.240 In the valley, 00:19:06.179 --> 00:19:08.059 so many things lose their value. 00:19:08.819 --> 00:19:12.220 And what we come to value the most 00:19:12.220 --> 00:19:13.700 is the presence of the shepherd. 00:19:15.259 --> 00:19:17.119 Be thou my vision, 00:19:17.460 --> 00:19:19.399 O Lord of my heart. 00:19:19.659 --> 00:19:21.299 Not be all else to me, 00:19:21.419 --> 00:19:22.759 save that thou art. 00:19:22.759 --> 00:19:32.339 God's presence meant a lot to me 00:19:32.339 --> 00:19:33.140 and to Jennifer 00:19:33.140 --> 00:19:37.019 when we lived in Austria. 00:19:37.160 --> 00:19:38.160 We lived there three years. 00:19:38.359 --> 00:19:39.759 Do I talk about it all the time? 00:19:40.000 --> 00:19:40.619 I don't mean to. 00:19:42.619 --> 00:19:44.879 Yeah, it was nice to live there, 00:19:44.940 --> 00:19:46.700 but it was really hard in some other ways. 00:19:47.160 --> 00:19:47.940 And in many ways, 00:19:47.940 --> 00:19:50.240 it was a valley of deepest darkness for us, 00:19:50.240 --> 00:19:52.660 particularly with one of our sons. 00:19:52.799 --> 00:19:54.339 Now, they tell pastors, 00:19:55.059 --> 00:19:57.440 do not tell stories about your children 00:19:57.440 --> 00:19:58.400 in front of the church. 00:19:58.480 --> 00:19:59.359 It'll embarrass them. 00:19:59.700 --> 00:20:00.420 They're out of town. 00:20:01.359 --> 00:20:03.980 So this is my one chance to tell the story. 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:08.559 For one of our children, 00:20:08.660 --> 00:20:10.120 it was a really difficult time. 00:20:11.339 --> 00:20:15.059 And it had a lot to do with the anxiety 00:20:15.059 --> 00:20:16.980 he was already feeling and experiencing. 00:20:17.860 --> 00:20:19.319 You know, pair that with 00:20:19.319 --> 00:20:21.720 the difficulty learning the language, 00:20:22.000 --> 00:20:23.460 not understanding anybody, 00:20:23.700 --> 00:20:25.640 not being understood by anybody, 00:20:25.880 --> 00:20:27.099 basically all his classmates 00:20:27.099 --> 00:20:28.140 turning against him. 00:20:28.140 --> 00:20:32.520 And his behavior kind of changed. 00:20:32.980 --> 00:20:35.140 And it was like really disturbing 00:20:35.140 --> 00:20:37.620 because this wasn't like the son 00:20:37.620 --> 00:20:40.220 that we brought to Austria. 00:20:40.840 --> 00:20:43.620 And we went on what was supposed to be a retreat. 00:20:43.759 --> 00:20:46.240 It was not very retreatful for us. 00:20:47.900 --> 00:20:49.600 And we put the kids to bed 00:20:49.600 --> 00:20:50.840 and we're just at our wits end. 00:20:50.940 --> 00:20:52.080 And so we go into the bathroom 00:20:52.080 --> 00:20:53.620 and Jen and I start praying. 00:20:53.619 --> 00:20:58.279 And I start yelling at God, basically. 00:20:58.759 --> 00:21:03.119 Like, God, why are you doing this? 00:21:03.199 --> 00:21:05.699 Like, we obeyed you. 00:21:05.799 --> 00:21:08.699 We felt like you were calling us here. 00:21:09.439 --> 00:21:11.019 And it's our children 00:21:11.019 --> 00:21:13.619 that are suffering for it. 00:21:13.959 --> 00:21:16.279 If you have a problem with us, 00:21:16.759 --> 00:21:18.799 it's between you and me. 00:21:18.919 --> 00:21:20.239 Leave my kids out of it. 00:21:20.279 --> 00:21:21.199 You've made a promise. 00:21:21.699 --> 00:21:22.979 I saw it at his baptism. 00:21:22.980 --> 00:21:24.680 My child belongs to you. 00:21:25.680 --> 00:21:27.539 Then why are you letting this happen to him? 00:21:35.440 --> 00:21:40.279 I realized in that moment, 00:21:40.480 --> 00:21:42.860 that's the closest God had ever felt to me. 00:21:49.299 --> 00:21:51.980 He wasn't a set of propositions 00:21:51.980 --> 00:21:53.440 propositions or a concept 00:21:53.440 --> 00:21:54.400 or a theory 00:21:54.400 --> 00:21:56.140 or a religion. 00:21:57.680 --> 00:21:59.259 He was a person. 00:21:59.960 --> 00:22:00.900 And in that valley 00:22:00.900 --> 00:22:02.360 of deepest darkness, 00:22:02.900 --> 00:22:04.920 I saw my shepherd. 00:22:09.680 --> 00:22:11.700 In my experience working in the church 00:22:11.700 --> 00:22:12.960 for about 20 years now, 00:22:13.019 --> 00:22:14.819 I've seen people walk through cancer. 00:22:14.819 --> 00:22:17.019 from getting the frightening diagnosis 00:22:17.019 --> 00:22:19.559 to enduring the suffering 00:22:19.559 --> 00:22:20.659 that comes from the treatment 00:22:20.659 --> 00:22:23.319 to coming out of it on the other side. 00:22:24.119 --> 00:22:25.019 And many of them, 00:22:25.059 --> 00:22:26.039 not all of them, 00:22:27.139 --> 00:22:28.839 many of them have told me, 00:22:29.159 --> 00:22:30.700 you know what I'm about to say, 00:22:30.919 --> 00:22:31.919 I bet, perhaps. 00:22:33.319 --> 00:22:34.200 They say, 00:22:34.379 --> 00:22:37.399 it's the best thing that's ever happened to me. 00:22:38.299 --> 00:22:40.079 This cancer was the best thing 00:22:40.079 --> 00:22:41.240 that's ever happened to me. 00:22:41.240 --> 00:22:42.660 Now, 00:22:42.660 --> 00:22:43.740 why would they say that? 00:22:43.900 --> 00:22:45.519 Because they became 00:22:45.519 --> 00:22:47.839 more intimate with God 00:22:47.839 --> 00:22:50.400 in this valley of deepest darkness 00:22:50.400 --> 00:22:51.960 than they had ever been before. 00:22:55.700 --> 00:22:57.000 Now, just to be clear, 00:22:57.279 --> 00:22:59.859 you can't say to someone 00:22:59.859 --> 00:23:01.620 who is in a valley, 00:23:02.380 --> 00:23:02.960 hey, 00:23:03.019 --> 00:23:04.160 this is the best thing 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:05.599 that's ever happened to you. 00:23:06.200 --> 00:23:07.940 You shouldn't say that. 00:23:07.940 --> 00:23:11.140 But what you can offer them 00:23:11.140 --> 00:23:12.360 and what you should offer them 00:23:12.360 --> 00:23:13.559 is your presence. 00:23:14.500 --> 00:23:15.620 If you're a Christian, 00:23:16.059 --> 00:23:17.259 then the Spirit of the Lord 00:23:17.259 --> 00:23:19.360 lives in you. 00:23:20.680 --> 00:23:21.539 And your quiet, 00:23:21.799 --> 00:23:22.299 attentive, 00:23:22.740 --> 00:23:23.860 faithful presence 00:23:23.860 --> 00:23:25.180 might be that hook 00:23:25.180 --> 00:23:26.080 of the staff 00:23:26.080 --> 00:23:27.279 that the shepherd uses 00:23:27.279 --> 00:23:28.920 to pull someone out of a jam. 00:23:31.779 --> 00:23:32.820 And if it's you 00:23:32.820 --> 00:23:33.940 that are currently finding yourself 00:23:34.640 --> 00:23:37.080 in the valley of deepest darkness, 00:23:37.079 --> 00:23:39.379 you have a faith, 00:23:39.859 --> 00:23:40.960 the Christian faith, 00:23:41.099 --> 00:23:42.279 that tells you 00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:43.279 your pain 00:23:43.279 --> 00:23:44.740 is real. 00:23:45.199 --> 00:23:46.199 It's not an illusion. 00:23:47.240 --> 00:23:48.779 It's not imagined. 00:23:49.319 --> 00:23:50.399 It's real. 00:23:51.220 --> 00:23:51.980 But God is, 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:53.879 God is not detached. 00:23:54.599 --> 00:23:56.159 He's leading you through. 00:23:56.720 --> 00:23:58.480 And he's there with you. 00:23:58.819 --> 00:23:59.779 And this shepherd, 00:23:59.779 --> 00:24:01.779 he himself has experienced 00:24:01.779 --> 00:24:04.939 the deepest of deep darkness. 00:24:04.940 --> 00:24:08.220 He was overwhelmed 00:24:08.220 --> 00:24:09.799 by death. 00:24:11.019 --> 00:24:13.680 And he endured separation 00:24:13.680 --> 00:24:14.980 from his Father 00:24:14.980 --> 00:24:16.360 so that we 00:24:16.360 --> 00:24:18.539 might never be separated 00:24:18.539 --> 00:24:19.160 from God. 00:24:22.019 --> 00:24:23.279 And the good shepherd 00:24:23.279 --> 00:24:23.980 tells us 00:24:23.980 --> 00:24:25.600 in John chapter 10, 00:24:27.000 --> 00:24:27.700 Jesus says, 00:24:28.059 --> 00:24:29.000 I am the good shepherd. 00:24:30.059 --> 00:24:31.100 The good shepherd 00:24:31.100 --> 00:24:32.660 lays down his life 00:24:32.660 --> 00:24:33.279 for the sheep. 00:24:33.279 --> 00:24:36.500 He who is a hired hand 00:24:36.500 --> 00:24:37.460 and not a shepherd, 00:24:37.559 --> 00:24:38.700 who does not own the sheep, 00:24:39.019 --> 00:24:40.119 sees the wolf coming 00:24:40.119 --> 00:24:41.660 and leaves the sheep 00:24:41.660 --> 00:24:42.559 and flees 00:24:42.559 --> 00:24:44.180 and the wolf snatches them 00:24:44.180 --> 00:24:45.379 and scatters them. 00:24:45.700 --> 00:24:46.299 He flees 00:24:46.299 --> 00:24:47.779 because he is a hired hand 00:24:47.779 --> 00:24:48.559 and cares nothing 00:24:48.559 --> 00:24:49.240 for the sheep. 00:24:49.660 --> 00:24:51.480 I am the good shepherd. 00:24:52.779 --> 00:24:54.680 I know my own 00:24:54.680 --> 00:24:57.180 and my own know me. 00:24:58.259 --> 00:25:00.339 Just as the Father knows me 00:25:00.339 --> 00:25:02.919 and I know the Father 00:25:02.919 --> 00:25:05.879 and I lay down my life 00:25:05.879 --> 00:25:06.480 for the sheep. 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:10.539 In the name of the Father 00:25:10.539 --> 00:25:11.359 and of the Son 00:25:11.359 --> 00:25:12.480 and of the Holy Spirit. 00:25:13.299 --> 00:25:13.579 Amen.