WEBVTT 00:00:00.620 --> 00:00:01.540 All right, good morning. 00:00:04.280 --> 00:00:09.380 If you're, it's holiday time, so this is a time when we have lots of regulars away and lots of people visiting. 00:00:09.540 --> 00:00:15.560 So if you don't know who I am, my name is Rob, I'm one of the pastors here, and I'll be speaking on our holiday series. 00:00:15.880 --> 00:00:21.800 So during the year we have our main sort of longer series during the term time, 00:00:22.059 --> 00:00:29.140 and during the holiday periods we choose to refresh in a passage of scripture that's designed to really lift us 00:00:29.140 --> 00:00:30.940 and do just that, refresh us. 00:00:31.019 --> 00:00:34.620 And so for the next three weeks we'll be delving into Psalm 23, 00:00:35.480 --> 00:00:40.560 perhaps one of the best known passages of scripture, let alone psalms. 00:00:41.480 --> 00:00:43.240 Many of us will actually know this psalm well. 00:00:43.500 --> 00:00:44.740 We'll have sung it even. 00:00:44.939 --> 00:00:47.920 Did you know there was actually, it wasn't selected for this morning I don't think, 00:00:48.000 --> 00:00:49.519 but there is actually a tune to it. 00:00:49.560 --> 00:00:53.939 Maybe it's too old school now for us to be going there, but we've sung it, we've read it, 00:00:54.439 --> 00:00:58.700 we've lived with it, being comforted and consoled by it. 00:00:59.140 --> 00:01:02.759 And that's great because that's what psalms are meant to do. 00:01:03.460 --> 00:01:09.460 They're meant to match the struggles of life to truth about God. 00:01:10.540 --> 00:01:15.040 And that's what I'm hoping that we'll find this morning as we go through Psalm 23, 00:01:15.180 --> 00:01:16.260 at least the first three verses. 00:01:17.840 --> 00:01:24.159 And this psalm, despite how well we know it, will always do what it was intended to do in us. 00:01:24.379 --> 00:01:25.439 It'll grow us. 00:01:25.439 --> 00:01:31.019 And the psalm has three main promises that we'll be looking at over the next three weeks, 00:01:31.060 --> 00:01:34.099 just so you can track the course of where we're going here. 00:01:34.599 --> 00:01:38.679 There's the restoration for the broken and lost in verses 2 and 3. 00:01:39.060 --> 00:01:41.459 Verse 1 is kind of like the heading for the whole psalm. 00:01:41.859 --> 00:01:44.560 Verses 2 and 3, restoration for the broken and lost. 00:01:44.959 --> 00:01:47.079 Verse 4, comfort for the fearful and threatened. 00:01:47.079 --> 00:01:48.819 And then we finish off. 00:01:48.879 --> 00:01:49.659 Oh, have I missed? 00:01:49.879 --> 00:01:51.060 Verse 5 and 6. 00:01:51.519 --> 00:01:53.359 Then blessing for God's chosen people. 00:01:54.819 --> 00:01:58.719 So today we're going to look at that first one, restoration for the broken and lost. 00:01:59.700 --> 00:02:04.579 The promise of restoration for the broken and lost. 00:02:04.579 --> 00:02:11.139 I'm going to suggest that we need that more desperately than ever. 00:02:12.219 --> 00:02:16.259 We are a society that is so lost. 00:02:16.680 --> 00:02:18.879 We barely know who we are in ourselves. 00:02:19.439 --> 00:02:22.400 We struggle to piece life together on so many levels. 00:02:23.419 --> 00:02:26.639 And it's ironic because, in a sense, we've never been more free. 00:02:26.719 --> 00:02:27.800 We're so free to choose. 00:02:28.120 --> 00:02:30.500 Any direction, any identity, any lifestyle. 00:02:30.500 --> 00:02:32.840 No point of reference. 00:02:34.900 --> 00:02:38.039 Authority figures, well, they're forbidden from speaking into my life. 00:02:38.219 --> 00:02:42.020 That would be an abuse of their power if they were to do that, to impose their will on me. 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:49.400 My friends, they can't even challenge my point of view because it's gone beyond actually respecting me as a person. 00:02:49.719 --> 00:02:53.259 Now you actually have to respect my view as well, even if it's stupid. 00:02:54.420 --> 00:02:58.060 We're afraid to say anything because of fear of causing offense. 00:02:58.060 --> 00:03:03.979 Not even my DNA has any voice anymore in terms of who I am. 00:03:06.039 --> 00:03:07.379 Which way is up? 00:03:08.900 --> 00:03:13.080 Even the concept of right and wrong is fluid. 00:03:14.500 --> 00:03:17.280 It seems that as long as I'm not hurting anyone else, it's fine. 00:03:17.500 --> 00:03:18.020 I'm fine. 00:03:18.080 --> 00:03:19.439 I can carry on doing what I'm doing. 00:03:19.819 --> 00:03:21.219 But what about me? 00:03:21.780 --> 00:03:23.039 What if I'm hurting? 00:03:23.039 --> 00:03:28.620 What if I'm hurting me in the path I'm choosing? 00:03:30.500 --> 00:03:32.000 Where is the solid ground? 00:03:34.199 --> 00:03:41.519 Well, the solid ground for King David, the author of this psalm, is God. 00:03:41.520 --> 00:03:48.340 King David was one of the most powerful men in the region of the ancient Near East at the time that he wrote this psalm. 00:03:48.719 --> 00:03:51.420 Yet he faced internal and external conflict. 00:03:51.760 --> 00:03:54.360 And he knew that there was only one person that could guide him through. 00:03:54.439 --> 00:03:58.100 Despite all his power, he relied on the Lord as his shepherd. 00:03:58.939 --> 00:04:01.200 And he opens the psalm with those words. 00:04:01.379 --> 00:04:02.100 In verse 1, 00:04:02.099 --> 00:04:08.280 That's a huge statement. 00:04:09.120 --> 00:04:10.079 It's full of depth. 00:04:11.299 --> 00:04:12.659 And let's take it piece by piece. 00:04:12.719 --> 00:04:14.299 Let's take even the first two words. 00:04:14.359 --> 00:04:16.459 The Lord, as we have it in English. 00:04:16.819 --> 00:04:18.120 That is the Lord. 00:04:19.920 --> 00:04:21.959 The one and only God. 00:04:22.159 --> 00:04:23.240 Ruler of everything. 00:04:23.899 --> 00:04:26.420 Just as we saw in Romans 11.36 a few weeks ago. 00:04:26.839 --> 00:04:28.639 Well, a few months ago now, sorry. 00:04:28.719 --> 00:04:29.399 Not a few weeks ago. 00:04:29.399 --> 00:04:35.139 For from him and through him and to him are all things. 00:04:36.039 --> 00:04:38.359 To him be the glory forever and ever. 00:04:40.179 --> 00:04:44.399 And if we were just to stay in the book of Psalms and look at the last six psalms. 00:04:46.279 --> 00:04:48.659 Well, they're just all about the praise of God. 00:04:48.719 --> 00:04:50.620 In fact, the last psalm finishes with the line, 00:04:51.039 --> 00:04:54.839 Let everything that has breath praise the Lord. 00:04:56.239 --> 00:04:57.379 Praise the Lord. 00:04:59.399 --> 00:05:00.779 David's point. 00:05:02.199 --> 00:05:04.839 There is only one God. 00:05:06.039 --> 00:05:09.859 So every other God is an imposter. 00:05:11.919 --> 00:05:18.419 And this one God, says David, deserves your wholehearted devotion. 00:05:19.379 --> 00:05:20.539 Everything that you are. 00:05:20.540 --> 00:05:25.220 Now I say this knowing that some of us here aren't Christians. 00:05:25.600 --> 00:05:27.920 And that's probably going to sound pretty arrogant to you. 00:05:28.920 --> 00:05:33.120 In fact, probably going to sound pretty arrogant to some of us who are Christians. 00:05:34.680 --> 00:05:37.000 So let's just have a little bit of a talk about this for a moment. 00:05:37.180 --> 00:05:39.320 Because this is the very starting point of David's psalm. 00:05:39.680 --> 00:05:40.680 We need to get this right. 00:05:40.680 --> 00:05:49.840 We struggle with David's claim that there is one God, the Lord. 00:05:49.939 --> 00:05:53.540 This is the only person that can actually make sense of life and everything in it. 00:05:53.540 --> 00:05:57.280 We struggle with that because it's an absolute. 00:05:58.439 --> 00:06:02.980 It means that every other option that you can come up with is wrong. 00:06:04.400 --> 00:06:09.180 And we don't like that because we've bought into the idea that you respect each other's beliefs, as I said earlier. 00:06:09.180 --> 00:06:13.759 Now let me just get this straight. 00:06:14.139 --> 00:06:19.720 David didn't say this because he was an ignorant man born, you know, 3,000 years ago. 00:06:19.840 --> 00:06:20.759 So he knew no better. 00:06:21.579 --> 00:06:28.420 David was actually living in a context where the tolerance that we think we've just come up with was already in existence. 00:06:28.560 --> 00:06:29.740 There were multiple gods. 00:06:31.060 --> 00:06:33.019 You could, you know, you could take your choice. 00:06:33.120 --> 00:06:35.180 Every family almost seemed to have their own gods. 00:06:35.180 --> 00:06:39.000 But certainly every community of people, every ethnic group did. 00:06:39.180 --> 00:06:44.560 David wasn't ignorant of this issue when he wrote the psalm. 00:06:44.860 --> 00:06:45.959 It's not a new thing. 00:06:48.079 --> 00:06:50.439 So David was actually considered offense then. 00:06:50.519 --> 00:06:51.660 So why did he say it? 00:06:52.939 --> 00:06:58.060 Well, you could say that he was being faithful to who God claims to be. 00:07:01.000 --> 00:07:06.500 You could say that he said these things because he believed that he was right. 00:07:06.500 --> 00:07:13.360 And that this decision wasn't just a possible decision amongst many, but this was a life or death decision. 00:07:14.399 --> 00:07:15.819 It was that important. 00:07:17.879 --> 00:07:23.500 Let me try and explain this to you in terms of mine and Joe's life at the moment. 00:07:23.500 --> 00:07:29.120 Our sister-in-law has been diagnosed with cancer. 00:07:30.660 --> 00:07:32.199 She knows the diagnosis. 00:07:34.199 --> 00:07:37.680 The treatment options are really effective if they begin treatment now. 00:07:37.680 --> 00:07:41.660 But she's denied them all. 00:07:43.500 --> 00:07:47.639 Not because she wants to die, but because she's a Buddhist. 00:07:48.459 --> 00:07:53.620 And she believes that with the power of positive thinking, she can cleanse herself of this cancer. 00:07:53.620 --> 00:07:59.920 She believes that she can heal her own body with the power of her mind. 00:08:00.579 --> 00:08:03.720 It's a sincere belief. 00:08:05.240 --> 00:08:06.720 But it's not working. 00:08:07.980 --> 00:08:09.840 She's been given two years to live. 00:08:12.220 --> 00:08:13.540 So what do I do? 00:08:14.340 --> 00:08:15.540 What does Joe do? 00:08:15.540 --> 00:08:18.620 I respect her. 00:08:19.340 --> 00:08:21.540 I respect that she has her views. 00:08:23.319 --> 00:08:26.379 But I'm going to want to tell her what I believe to be the truth. 00:08:27.640 --> 00:08:31.920 I tell her that she's wrong and that she's dying and that there is hope. 00:08:34.120 --> 00:08:37.139 Friends, that's what King David is doing here as he writes this psalm. 00:08:37.139 --> 00:08:48.340 The king of Israel, during its golden age, knew that nothing else was enough except to turn independence to the one true God. 00:08:50.419 --> 00:08:56.259 And this mighty one true God over everything is knowable. 00:08:57.799 --> 00:09:02.220 We know this because this God is known to David by name. 00:09:02.319 --> 00:09:05.720 The word he uses here is Yahweh, the covenant name of God. 00:09:05.720 --> 00:09:09.000 The personal name that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. 00:09:09.320 --> 00:09:11.480 It means I am who I am. 00:09:12.060 --> 00:09:13.600 I will be who I will be. 00:09:13.980 --> 00:09:15.940 He's the ultimate reference point. 00:09:17.680 --> 00:09:20.720 It means the God who promised to bless his people. 00:09:21.100 --> 00:09:23.100 It means the faithful and true one. 00:09:25.399 --> 00:09:31.879 When all around us is unstable and changing and falling apart, this God is stable. 00:09:32.720 --> 00:09:33.759 Rock steady. 00:09:35.100 --> 00:09:35.660 Faithful. 00:09:35.720 --> 00:09:43.320 And the metaphor that David uses to try and convey this to us is one that's very familiar to him. 00:09:43.379 --> 00:09:45.680 He was a shepherd before he became a king. 00:09:47.000 --> 00:09:50.360 And so he takes up this term, shepherd. 00:09:51.879 --> 00:09:55.639 And he says the words, the Lord is my shepherd. 00:09:55.639 --> 00:10:01.580 Again, there are two aspects to what David says here. 00:10:02.740 --> 00:10:04.439 First, he says he's my shepherd. 00:10:06.000 --> 00:10:08.439 And now a shepherd in David's time was a lifetime calling. 00:10:08.600 --> 00:10:09.720 It's all in. 00:10:10.139 --> 00:10:12.659 The shepherd lived with his flock 24-7. 00:10:14.019 --> 00:10:18.379 It wasn't like it is now, living in a homestead and the sheep are out there, barbed wire around and so on. 00:10:18.379 --> 00:10:21.000 He lived with his sheep. 00:10:21.500 --> 00:10:23.299 He knew his sheep by name. 00:10:23.559 --> 00:10:25.659 And he is everything to that flock. 00:10:25.659 --> 00:10:28.539 He is the guide, the protector, the physician. 00:10:30.059 --> 00:10:32.299 This all-powerful God. 00:10:32.299 --> 00:10:42.279 Devoted to his people like a shepherd to his sheep. 00:10:43.899 --> 00:10:45.459 To live with us. 00:10:45.460 --> 00:10:50.639 To be our guide, our protector, our physician. 00:10:54.540 --> 00:10:58.180 And you see there that it's more than simply him being a shepherd. 00:10:59.259 --> 00:11:01.320 But it's that he's my shepherd. 00:11:03.120 --> 00:11:05.160 We can say that he is my shepherd. 00:11:07.180 --> 00:11:10.780 Now, Hannah, our daughter, when she was young, she had a love for horses. 00:11:10.779 --> 00:11:19.159 She was no good at maths, but a friend of ours who has a farm offered her a field to keep this horse in. 00:11:19.659 --> 00:11:21.959 But she had to provide all the needs for this horse. 00:11:22.079 --> 00:11:30.959 And with no ability at maths whatsoever, she managed to come up with a spreadsheet that itemized every bill and expense this horse would have. 00:11:31.500 --> 00:11:36.659 And it was amazing how much effort and thought she'd put into caring for this horse. 00:11:36.659 --> 00:11:44.379 We were so thankful to our friends for offering to house this horse for us that we bought her a rabbit instead. 00:11:46.120 --> 00:11:47.799 And she loved that rabbit. 00:11:49.379 --> 00:11:51.279 She loved it so much. 00:11:52.480 --> 00:11:53.819 And she bought another one. 00:11:53.919 --> 00:11:56.659 And unfortunately, that rabbit turned out to be pregnant when we bought it. 00:11:56.699 --> 00:11:58.319 And so we ended up having nine rabbits. 00:12:00.199 --> 00:12:02.559 And she knew each one of them by name. 00:12:03.699 --> 00:12:04.679 Their personalities. 00:12:05.179 --> 00:12:06.259 Their special needs. 00:12:06.659 --> 00:12:09.480 She loved them and cherished them. 00:12:11.679 --> 00:12:13.879 And that was just a childlike love. 00:12:17.259 --> 00:12:19.959 Just a childlike love in comparison to this. 00:12:20.980 --> 00:12:27.719 You see, when David calls the Lord his shepherd, he really means that he belongs to God. 00:12:28.299 --> 00:12:30.860 We like to put ourselves in the position of the shepherd type role. 00:12:30.860 --> 00:12:34.539 But what he's saying here is, no, no, we're not the ones in control. 00:12:35.820 --> 00:12:40.720 We're the ones submitting to the one who is in control and who loves us dearly. 00:12:40.720 --> 00:12:45.940 David is saying he belongs to this shepherd. 00:12:45.940 --> 00:12:54.100 And that this shepherd looks upon him with love and calls him mine. 00:12:54.100 --> 00:12:58.240 And calls me mine. 00:13:01.240 --> 00:13:02.120 And calls me mine. 00:13:02.120 --> 00:13:03.860 Pledges to protect me with his life. 00:13:05.700 --> 00:13:08.700 Imagine the indescribable power of the one true God. 00:13:08.700 --> 00:13:12.980 The mature commitment of that faithful God. 00:13:12.980 --> 00:13:20.379 How much more does it mean that this God will shepherd us? 00:13:20.379 --> 00:13:30.120 David goes on to explain just how much by saying, the Lord is my shepherd. 00:13:30.120 --> 00:13:32.879 I shall not want. 00:13:33.879 --> 00:13:35.500 The second half of verse 1. 00:13:37.519 --> 00:13:39.779 I shall not want. 00:13:41.779 --> 00:13:43.440 Sounds like a blank check, doesn't it? 00:13:44.620 --> 00:13:46.019 Better than a genie in a bottle. 00:13:48.259 --> 00:13:53.600 You'd think, well, if that's the case and the people who God is shepherding with all that power 00:13:53.600 --> 00:13:59.820 and that desire to care for his people, the people that he's shepherding should be easy to spot. 00:14:00.120 --> 00:14:05.539 Perhaps they're the happily married ones, the ones with 1.9 children. 00:14:05.899 --> 00:14:10.299 The house with more rooms than children, which seems to be more and more of the case. 00:14:10.399 --> 00:14:12.580 Nice car, more of them than children as well. 00:14:12.940 --> 00:14:14.960 Steady job earning at least $85,000. 00:14:15.220 --> 00:14:16.860 And that's just the average for Australia. 00:14:18.440 --> 00:14:22.000 Surely God's sheep are going to be achieving more than that. 00:14:24.139 --> 00:14:26.399 But is that what David's talking about here? 00:14:26.399 --> 00:14:31.840 It's important to remember that this verse 1 is actually the heading for the psalm. 00:14:32.139 --> 00:14:33.340 It's the main point. 00:14:34.399 --> 00:14:39.319 So to get to the meaning of the main point, we actually need to read how David actually explains that point in the rest of the psalm. 00:14:39.480 --> 00:14:41.919 And that's where we start to get into verses 2 and 3 of it. 00:14:41.919 --> 00:14:48.620 We need this rest of the psalm to understand the breadth of who David is declaring God to be to us. 00:14:51.399 --> 00:14:56.079 And so as we read into the psalmist, we get to this point where we discover that he gives us rest. 00:14:58.199 --> 00:15:00.959 See, first David actually speaks from within that shepherding metaphor. 00:15:00.960 --> 00:15:07.540 And he says in verse 2, he makes me lie down in green pastures and he leads me beside still waters. 00:15:11.220 --> 00:15:15.560 Gareth read that better than I just did, but he's Welsh and, you know, Welsh and sheep. 00:15:15.860 --> 00:15:19.879 They have a close relationship, so he probably gets that better than I do. 00:15:20.379 --> 00:15:25.139 But what it is, is it's a poetic expression of God's care for us as his sheep, isn't it? 00:15:25.720 --> 00:15:29.160 It's a poetic way of saying that the Lord guides me and provides for me. 00:15:30.960 --> 00:15:35.740 And yet digging a little deeper, we can see how David drew on his knowledge of God's faithful provision. 00:15:35.879 --> 00:15:41.139 You see, the phrase still waters could be translated waters of rest. 00:15:42.100 --> 00:15:47.620 It's the word used to describe where the people of the Exodus, as they were wandering through the wilderness, 00:15:48.080 --> 00:15:51.400 stopped to rest as the Lord led them. 00:15:51.400 --> 00:15:58.740 You remember the Lord led them as a cloud of smoke during the day and flame during the night. 00:16:00.960 --> 00:16:04.519 Ezekiel actually picks up this imagery that David is using here. 00:16:04.600 --> 00:16:10.680 He picks it up in Ezekiel 34 to actually project it into the future, to prophesy the future of an exiled Israel. 00:16:12.379 --> 00:16:17.300 So this word rest actually promises more than holiday, more than the holiday period that we're in now. 00:16:17.560 --> 00:16:19.420 It's more than an absence of movement. 00:16:19.419 --> 00:16:23.740 It's the assurance of our shepherd's presence. 00:16:24.839 --> 00:16:29.479 It's the promise of safety, security, rescue. 00:16:29.480 --> 00:16:38.560 And even as we start to break these things open, I need to just explain a little bit more to you here as well, 00:16:38.639 --> 00:16:42.680 that sometimes Hebrew poetry actually uses repetition to explain a point. 00:16:43.039 --> 00:16:44.920 And that's what we see here in verse 2. 00:16:46.539 --> 00:16:50.080 One line and then the next line say almost the same thing. 00:16:50.159 --> 00:16:52.460 They kind of fill out the same theme. 00:16:52.460 --> 00:16:59.040 What we also have here, though, is verse 2 and verse 3 explaining the same thing. 00:16:59.240 --> 00:17:00.280 They're not different points. 00:17:01.180 --> 00:17:02.320 They're actually the same points. 00:17:02.440 --> 00:17:04.380 Verse 3 is an explanation of verse 2. 00:17:04.680 --> 00:17:06.340 And David's explanation is this. 00:17:06.720 --> 00:17:12.319 What does it mean to actually be, you know, in lovely, nice green fields or beside quiet waters? 00:17:13.220 --> 00:17:14.440 It means this. 00:17:15.440 --> 00:17:17.779 He restores my soul. 00:17:17.779 --> 00:17:24.039 He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 00:17:27.160 --> 00:17:28.519 Let's just start at the beginning of that. 00:17:28.920 --> 00:17:30.660 He restores my soul. 00:17:32.379 --> 00:17:35.899 This is a phrase that I've been rolling around in my head for the last few weeks. 00:17:36.420 --> 00:17:38.759 What does it mean to have my soul restored? 00:17:41.139 --> 00:17:47.160 Well, to restore, if I was actually to look at a translation, the possible meanings that it could mean in the Hebrew, 00:17:47.779 --> 00:17:51.039 to restore means to bring back what was lost. 00:17:52.420 --> 00:17:58.299 Can you think of a shepherding story in the Bible where that lostness was applied to shepherding? 00:18:00.299 --> 00:18:02.700 To turn back from a wrong path. 00:18:04.559 --> 00:18:06.960 Or repent. 00:18:08.639 --> 00:18:10.779 Have you heard that word used in the Bible at all? 00:18:10.779 --> 00:18:13.160 Can you recall that? 00:18:14.680 --> 00:18:19.519 Or it can mean to return to a previous and better state. 00:18:21.660 --> 00:18:23.279 Almost like a recreation. 00:18:24.960 --> 00:18:27.819 Have you heard that promise come up in God's word before? 00:18:27.819 --> 00:18:31.939 Your house. 00:18:33.059 --> 00:18:33.939 Your car. 00:18:34.099 --> 00:18:34.740 Your job. 00:18:34.879 --> 00:18:35.659 Your super plan. 00:18:35.759 --> 00:18:37.059 Your children's success. 00:18:38.299 --> 00:18:42.419 These things may be sources of comfort and joy and security for you. 00:18:43.419 --> 00:18:47.799 But these are not the shepherd's primary concern in these verses. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:18:51.799 He is concerned for our souls. 00:18:52.099 --> 00:18:52.819 Our very selves. 00:18:52.819 --> 00:18:53.539 Our very selves. 00:18:53.539 --> 00:19:01.759 And again, the second line explains the first. 00:19:02.500 --> 00:19:03.859 He restores my soul. 00:19:05.099 --> 00:19:08.539 He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 00:19:11.299 --> 00:19:13.519 We read here, paths of righteousness. 00:19:13.700 --> 00:19:16.579 If we're wanting to understand what restoration of soul looks like, 00:19:16.579 --> 00:19:23.079 then right up front, David wants us to understand that it involves walking the path of righteousness. 00:19:24.240 --> 00:19:24.980 The rescue. 00:19:25.399 --> 00:19:26.399 The finding the lost. 00:19:26.519 --> 00:19:28.299 The turning back from a wrong path. 00:19:28.699 --> 00:19:30.619 The internal healing here is specific. 00:19:32.939 --> 00:19:37.559 These are all referring to a return to living under God's rule. 00:19:38.639 --> 00:19:40.480 Living the way we were created for. 00:19:40.919 --> 00:19:42.619 Straightening out what has been bent. 00:19:43.139 --> 00:19:45.179 To live like God in the world. 00:19:45.180 --> 00:19:49.060 To declare his glory through how we live. 00:19:51.700 --> 00:19:57.039 And man, in this society, in this age, we see the rules and moral codes as things that steal our freedom. 00:19:57.840 --> 00:19:59.840 That limit our self-expression. 00:20:00.180 --> 00:20:01.440 And so we rebel against them. 00:20:03.980 --> 00:20:11.279 I read this week that the Indonesian students are demonstrating against a new law that restricts their sexual freedom. 00:20:11.400 --> 00:20:12.500 Sex outside of marriage. 00:20:12.500 --> 00:20:16.759 They're rebelling against that. 00:20:17.559 --> 00:20:21.640 Ironically, they want to restrict the freedom of the governing officials because of the corruption that exists in the government. 00:20:22.019 --> 00:20:23.240 So there's this thing playing off here. 00:20:23.400 --> 00:20:26.059 We want our freedom, but hey, don't you have it in this area? 00:20:29.059 --> 00:20:34.059 Let me just say, I have seen nothing good and I have experienced nothing good from pursuing sexual freedom. 00:20:34.059 --> 00:20:38.740 Moments of pleasure weighed against years of regret. 00:20:41.440 --> 00:20:44.379 Unfettered freedom does not enrich life. 00:20:45.819 --> 00:20:47.740 We know there's right and wrong. 00:20:47.740 --> 00:20:55.980 We see it written on the pained faces of the people who encounter us when we do them wrong. 00:20:57.559 --> 00:21:01.079 We feel it in our own hearts as we experience the same from others. 00:21:02.420 --> 00:21:04.000 Wrong hurts us deeply. 00:21:05.380 --> 00:21:07.940 Right enriches us all. 00:21:07.940 --> 00:21:12.920 And God is the shepherd who knows the difference. 00:21:14.360 --> 00:21:15.700 And he knows us. 00:21:16.400 --> 00:21:19.000 And he knows the right path for us to be walking. 00:21:19.100 --> 00:21:20.940 The one that we struggle to find alone. 00:21:25.279 --> 00:21:28.039 We struggle to find that path because of the next verse. 00:21:28.039 --> 00:21:30.940 Next part of the verse. 00:21:31.980 --> 00:21:33.440 For his name's sake. 00:21:36.759 --> 00:21:38.420 For his name's sake. 00:21:39.659 --> 00:21:42.339 We spend our time trying to run our own lives our own way. 00:21:42.500 --> 00:21:44.319 Messed up, crazy, stupid lives. 00:21:44.839 --> 00:21:46.819 Glimpses of meaning and purpose for sure. 00:21:46.920 --> 00:21:49.480 But glimpses, well, with no guarantees. 00:21:53.279 --> 00:21:54.960 Everyone doing what they choose. 00:21:56.420 --> 00:21:57.839 Now we've made that into a virtue. 00:21:57.839 --> 00:21:59.220 And what is it doing for us? 00:22:01.019 --> 00:22:05.220 And here in one little phrase, David undoes us. 00:22:06.539 --> 00:22:09.939 He reveals the truth that it's not about me. 00:22:11.059 --> 00:22:13.679 It doesn't work when it's all about me. 00:22:15.199 --> 00:22:17.740 Everyone trying to be kind to one another even. 00:22:18.119 --> 00:22:20.799 But each ultimately still all about themselves. 00:22:21.240 --> 00:22:24.079 My freedom is always at the expense of someone else. 00:22:24.079 --> 00:22:28.379 But my life was never meant to be about me. 00:22:29.079 --> 00:22:31.000 It was meant to be lived for God. 00:22:32.199 --> 00:22:35.439 We were meant to be a community of people living for God. 00:22:35.440 --> 00:22:37.820 All pointing in the same direction. 00:22:37.820 --> 00:22:40.559 All pulling in that same direction. 00:22:41.059 --> 00:22:46.360 All serving one another joyfully and faithfully for his glory. 00:22:46.359 --> 00:22:50.479 Like he serves us. 00:22:53.740 --> 00:22:55.979 Do you see how this comes out in the structure of the psalm? 00:22:55.980 --> 00:23:02.880 Have a think about which word comes first in these verses. 00:23:03.599 --> 00:23:04.880 The Lord. 00:23:05.680 --> 00:23:07.000 He guides. 00:23:07.559 --> 00:23:08.519 He leads. 00:23:09.200 --> 00:23:10.299 He restores. 00:23:11.099 --> 00:23:11.759 He leads. 00:23:11.759 --> 00:23:18.559 He looks into our lives. 00:23:19.160 --> 00:23:20.940 And he sees our lostness. 00:23:21.640 --> 00:23:23.599 He sees where we are straying off the path. 00:23:23.879 --> 00:23:25.559 He sees where we are broken. 00:23:26.099 --> 00:23:27.339 He sees all of these things. 00:23:27.460 --> 00:23:29.000 And he seeks and finds us. 00:23:29.740 --> 00:23:32.099 He guides us back onto the right path. 00:23:32.420 --> 00:23:33.980 He heals us where we're broken. 00:23:35.920 --> 00:23:37.799 And friends, this isn't an overnight transformation. 00:23:37.960 --> 00:23:38.579 Well, it's not for me. 00:23:38.640 --> 00:23:39.400 Maybe it is for you. 00:23:39.400 --> 00:23:41.240 But it's a whole of life experience. 00:23:42.500 --> 00:23:44.380 A journey toward righteousness. 00:23:45.100 --> 00:23:48.680 A steady correction of our course toward living for him. 00:23:49.980 --> 00:23:52.019 And it's always both. 00:23:52.960 --> 00:23:55.800 Being a better person without God being our goal is nothing. 00:23:58.440 --> 00:24:01.360 Being wholeheartedly for God. 00:24:02.220 --> 00:24:04.720 And not living in any way different. 00:24:05.460 --> 00:24:06.060 Is nothing. 00:24:09.400 --> 00:24:11.060 It's always both. 00:24:11.759 --> 00:24:13.600 A journey toward righteousness. 00:24:14.700 --> 00:24:18.740 With a steady correction of course toward living for him. 00:24:19.759 --> 00:24:21.380 For his name's sake. 00:24:23.360 --> 00:24:26.940 And friends, we don't often see this until we look back in our lives. 00:24:27.019 --> 00:24:28.040 I don't know if you've found this. 00:24:28.039 --> 00:24:35.920 Often it's the experience of our shepherd with us through lifelong struggles. 00:24:39.399 --> 00:24:43.420 Often it feels like at times the struggle is going nowhere. 00:24:43.420 --> 00:24:48.560 But regardless of how it feels. 00:24:50.400 --> 00:24:51.940 What David is saying is. 00:24:52.700 --> 00:24:54.960 The Lord is our shepherd. 00:24:54.960 --> 00:25:00.319 And still there's more depth to this. 00:25:03.120 --> 00:25:04.920 You see, even as I say those words. 00:25:05.000 --> 00:25:05.980 The Lord is our shepherd. 00:25:06.680 --> 00:25:09.079 We're going to consider the man who was saying these things. 00:25:09.259 --> 00:25:09.620 David. 00:25:10.299 --> 00:25:12.120 King over God's covenant people. 00:25:13.180 --> 00:25:15.140 King during what was called Israel's golden age. 00:25:15.160 --> 00:25:16.460 And yet he needed his shepherd. 00:25:16.860 --> 00:25:19.360 He wasn't responsible for delivering the promises of his son. 00:25:19.880 --> 00:25:21.819 He knew this was above his pay grade. 00:25:21.819 --> 00:25:29.819 He was the recipient of the promises of his son. 00:25:30.980 --> 00:25:32.319 He was a great man. 00:25:32.379 --> 00:25:34.439 But he knew when he was out of his depth. 00:25:36.899 --> 00:25:41.419 And life in its entirety was something that was out of his depth to control. 00:25:44.500 --> 00:25:46.700 Only one person has managed to fulfill that role. 00:25:47.819 --> 00:25:48.939 And it won't be you. 00:25:48.940 --> 00:25:52.759 Marty shared with the kids earlier. 00:25:53.420 --> 00:25:54.220 The truth of this. 00:25:56.140 --> 00:25:58.059 You take that role on yourself. 00:25:58.259 --> 00:26:00.900 And it will crush you. 00:26:01.640 --> 00:26:02.920 It's not me as your pastor. 00:26:04.080 --> 00:26:08.100 I'm way out of my depth to actually kind of make these truths real for you in your life. 00:26:10.019 --> 00:26:12.700 In fact, expecting these things of me or anyone else in this room. 00:26:12.779 --> 00:26:15.820 Will just disillusion you with me and each other. 00:26:16.019 --> 00:26:16.820 And God's church. 00:26:16.819 --> 00:26:25.619 Our job is to point each other toward the true shepherd. 00:26:27.460 --> 00:26:28.740 Jesus Christ. 00:26:30.019 --> 00:26:33.200 The one who did lay down his life for his sheep. 00:26:33.519 --> 00:26:38.099 The one who lived the life that we should have lived. 00:26:38.099 --> 00:26:41.480 And died the death we should have died. 00:26:41.619 --> 00:26:43.519 As Tim Keller puts it so well. 00:26:44.599 --> 00:26:46.679 The shepherd who knows us personally. 00:26:47.079 --> 00:26:49.939 When he called our name. 00:26:51.839 --> 00:26:53.319 Do you remember that moment? 00:26:54.679 --> 00:26:56.419 When he called your name. 00:26:56.420 --> 00:27:02.100 When we heard his sweet voice. 00:27:06.100 --> 00:27:07.240 And as our shepherd. 00:27:08.820 --> 00:27:10.039 He lives with us. 00:27:10.340 --> 00:27:11.440 We abide in him. 00:27:11.519 --> 00:27:12.640 We are in him. 00:27:12.640 --> 00:27:17.080 So even as I read this psalm. 00:27:17.200 --> 00:27:18.620 Three thousand years later. 00:27:19.720 --> 00:27:21.100 There's a depth to it. 00:27:21.160 --> 00:27:23.020 That David longed for in a sense. 00:27:24.160 --> 00:27:25.280 Knew in part. 00:27:25.680 --> 00:27:26.900 But we now know. 00:27:28.480 --> 00:27:30.780 And we as Christians can say. 00:27:31.160 --> 00:27:33.100 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:27:33.099 --> 00:27:37.719 I shall not want. 00:27:40.019 --> 00:27:41.019 If you're a Christian. 00:27:41.139 --> 00:27:42.139 He's your shepherd too. 00:27:44.379 --> 00:27:46.279 Let me finish with these words of encouragement. 00:27:46.399 --> 00:27:48.439 Because it's not just when you feel. 00:27:48.439 --> 00:27:49.859 His shepherding ways. 00:27:50.719 --> 00:27:51.879 That he's your shepherd. 00:27:52.959 --> 00:27:54.319 But always. 00:27:56.619 --> 00:27:57.179 Always. 00:27:58.139 --> 00:27:59.359 The Lord is your shepherd. 00:27:59.359 --> 00:27:59.399 The Lord is your shepherd. 00:27:59.399 --> 00:27:59.439 The Lord is your shepherd. 00:28:03.099 --> 00:28:05.519 As I finish now. 00:28:05.659 --> 00:28:06.899 I'm going to close in prayer. 00:28:07.879 --> 00:28:09.639 But what I would like to say. 00:28:09.779 --> 00:28:10.579 Is after the service. 00:28:10.659 --> 00:28:12.000 And after the next three services. 00:28:12.539 --> 00:28:14.240 That we go through Psalm 23. 00:28:14.939 --> 00:28:16.619 Joe and I are going to be available for prayer. 00:28:16.639 --> 00:28:17.559 Just down the front here. 00:28:17.599 --> 00:28:18.359 After the service. 00:28:18.740 --> 00:28:19.980 If you're finding that. 00:28:20.899 --> 00:28:22.399 That you're struggling through life. 00:28:23.559 --> 00:28:24.959 And you need. 00:28:25.379 --> 00:28:27.219 God's shepherding intervention in your life. 00:28:27.279 --> 00:28:28.159 You're not feeling that. 00:28:29.259 --> 00:28:30.939 Or you're just weighed down. 00:28:31.059 --> 00:28:32.799 And you just need someone to walk alongside you. 00:28:32.799 --> 00:28:35.200 As the truth of this psalm unfolds in your life. 00:28:36.000 --> 00:28:37.619 Then come down to the front after the service. 00:28:37.720 --> 00:28:39.079 And we'll be around for about 15 minutes. 00:28:39.159 --> 00:28:39.940 And we'll pray with you. 00:28:44.059 --> 00:28:45.799 This is a psalm that was meant to be sung. 00:28:47.460 --> 00:28:48.960 Sometimes we need to speak it to each other. 00:28:50.980 --> 00:28:51.480 Let's pray. 00:28:51.480 --> 00:28:51.519 Let's pray. 00:28:51.519 --> 00:29:01.039 Lord you are our shepherd. 00:29:01.680 --> 00:29:03.559 And we know that we shall not want. 00:29:05.339 --> 00:29:07.460 You make us lie down in green pastures. 00:29:07.519 --> 00:29:09.139 And lead us beside still waters. 00:29:09.299 --> 00:29:11.059 You restore our souls. 00:29:13.920 --> 00:29:15.859 You lead us in paths of righteousness. 00:29:15.859 --> 00:29:17.159 For your name's sake. 00:29:21.379 --> 00:29:22.839 Sometimes kicking and screaming. 00:29:23.019 --> 00:29:24.039 But gradually Lord. 00:29:24.859 --> 00:29:25.519 Grow us. 00:29:25.639 --> 00:29:26.719 Growing us in willingness. 00:29:27.519 --> 00:29:29.799 And desire to follow you wholeheartedly. 00:29:29.939 --> 00:29:31.119 And we thank you for this. 00:29:33.599 --> 00:29:34.579 Lord we pray. 00:29:34.799 --> 00:29:36.099 That the truth of this psalm. 00:29:36.519 --> 00:29:38.419 As it unfolds over the coming three weeks. 00:29:39.059 --> 00:29:40.839 Would be a truth that we carry with us. 00:29:40.839 --> 00:29:41.879 Through all of life. 00:29:42.939 --> 00:29:44.799 Knowing that you truly are. 00:29:45.240 --> 00:29:45.799 Our shepherd. 00:29:47.279 --> 00:29:47.720 Amen.