March 26th Psalm 23:1-3 Rest & Renew
Focus on the relationship
“The Lord is my shepherd” v.1
“I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me…The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” John 10:14, 11
Rest in His provision
“there is nothing I lack” v.1
“Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.” Matthew 11:28-29
Sense His renewal
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake. Vv.2-3
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well p of water springing up within him for eternal life. John 4:13-14
Opening song
Welcome/highlights/heads up—offering in just about 5 minutes/ “it’s going to be a different Sunday…” /fellowship
Seated: table out, Russ up
One of the most well-known phrases in all of literature is: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I learned it at an early age, 4-5 years old—maybe earlier. I was raised in the city, so I didn’t know what a shepherd was. I’m not even sure I knew what all the words meant, but there was something deeply soothing and deeply satisfying about the words: “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
Beginning today and for the next few weeks, we’re going to let our souls soak in this, the best known of all the psalms.
The Psalms are a part of the section in the Old Testament called the Books of Poetry. They included Job, Psalms, Proverbs, Song of Solomon & Ecclesiastes. The psalms were a collection of songs for worship that the Hebrews would use called the Tehillim: book of praise. It would be similar to the hymn books we grew up with, though they were not bound in a book as we know it; they would be written on scrolls. We call them “Psalms” because the Septuagint, which was a Greek translation of the Hebrew Old Testament translated in the 3rd Century B.C., used the word Psalms (psalmos): to pluck. To pluck; not plucking feathers, but plucking an instrument. I know that sounds funny, but these psalms were set to music and the most common instrument was a lyre: stringed instrument. (pic of lyre)
Chapter divisions in the Bible weren’t added until the 13th century A.D., so the ancient Hebrew wouldn’t know this Psalm as the 23rd Psalm. They would know it by the first phrase or sentence of the Psalm. They would just know it as the Psalm that began with, “The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.”
We’re going to read the entire Psalm each of the next 3 weeks, so let’s stand and read it together this morning. We are using the Holman Christian Study Bible, which we use as our official translation at Rush Creek. I admit that it doesn’t quite have the melodious, sentimental value of the old King James, but the truths of the psalm are powerful no matter what translation, no matter what language.
(stand)
1 The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life;
He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff —they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
as long as I live.
Offering—Song by Audrey Assad “I Shall Not want” As offering buckets are passed Room black; spot on male/female on stools; or just female w/male off light. No words on the screen “Stay seated and soak this song in.”
The title of this series is “Overloaded.” Why? Because there is not a person here that doesn’t feel overloaded from time to time. In fact, my best guess is that many if not most of us feel overloaded ALL of the time, right? Kind of like these trucks? (show all 3 pics at 3 second intervals)
In a life that is fast paced and is full of demands, most of us feel incredibly overstressed, overburdened, and overloaded. If you want to know how to thrive in the midst of a culture that puts us in overload every day, this Psalm is for you. Because this Psalm is read so often at funerals, we tend to associate it with death. But in fact, this song is really about life and how to live it well.
This morning we’re going to study the 1st 3 verses of the Psalm and there are 3 key words I want you to get out of these 1st 3 verses: relationship, rest, renewal
Focus on the relationship Rest in His provision Sense His renewal
Focus on the relationship
“The Lord is my shepherd” What a simple phrase: The Lord is my shepherd.
Let’s talk 1st about the shepherd. The shepherd would have been a well-known figure in ancient times. He would have been known as a brave, yet gentle soul. Brave in that at times he would have to protect his sheep from wolves, mountain lions or even bands of poachers. Gentle in that he would have to take care of the sheep from the elements, the terrain, and even themselves. In the semi-arid climate of the middle east, the sun was so hot, the shepherd would have to get them out of the sun at times throughout the day to prevent sunburn and heat stroke. Conversely, it could get so cold at night he would make sure they huddled close together and didn’t get separated from the rest of the herd and die from exposure. The terrain could get pretty dangerous at time, cracks and crevices that could snag the sheep or break its leg; brambles that their wool could get caught in and not be able to escape. Cliffs that a wandering sheep could just blindly walk over. Sheep aren’t very smart, so they needed someone to take care of them and protect them. If one wandered off, he would call it and usually it would come. If not, he would go searching for it until he found it.
The shepherd was this leading, protecting and caring figure in the life of the sheep all the time; 24/7. Young David knew about this relationship because he grew up as a shepherd boy. And when he thought about his relationship with his sheep, he though about His relationship with the Lord, except in that relationship, God was the shepherd and he was the sheep. And so he sang the song: The Lord is my shepherd.
The Lord is the one who guides me. The Lord is the one who protects me. The Lord is the one who cares for me. The Lord is the one who is gentle and kind. The Lord is my shepherd.
In fact, Jesus invoked this imagery and applied it to Himself: “I am the good shepherd. I know My own sheep, and they know Me…The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” John 10:14, 11
Who is your shepherd? Who do you look to to protect you and care for you and bind your wounds? Do you know Him? If not, why not? He’s the good shepherd? And if you do, are you focused on that relationship more than all other relationships? No one else can prove the protection and care that Jesus does. If you’re a believe, focus on this: He chased you, He chose you, He rescued you, He redeemed you, He sought you, He saved you, He adopted you and He adores you! Focus on Him. Life is out of balance until our relationship with God is in balance.
2 Songs about Jesus and His love/sacrifice/care
Rest in His provision
“there is nothing I lack” Think about that: nothing I lack. That is VERY difficult for us to accept, isn’t it? We are surrounded by thousands of opportunities to feel lack; to feel like we don’t have enough, own enough, experience enough.
Maybe the most impossible thing to experience in our lives in today’s world is this thing called contentment. Discontent reigns in our lives. And why is that? We live in the wealthiest and strongest nation in the history of the world. We have so much stuff some of us have to rent storage facilities because we don’t have enough space for all our stuff. And still we long for more stuff, more activity, more experiences.
You know, a sheep didn’t really have a lot. In fact, all he had was the clothes on his back—get it? Wool? On his back? What the sheep did have was a life under the care of the shepherd and that was enough.
Is Jesus enough for you? When your marriage is struggling, is Jesus enough for you? When your health fails, is Jesus enough for you? When you lose a loved one, is Jesus enough for you? When you go through financial hardship, is Jesus enough for you? When you have been rejected, disrespected, and cast aside, is Jesus enough for you?
"You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they find their rest in you." St. Augustine
Jesus said, “Come to Me, all of you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. 29 All of you, take up My yoke and learn from Me, because I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for yourselves.” Matthew 11:28-29
You and I will never be content and experience deep, soul-satisfying peace until we stop expecting the things of this world to make us rich—and begin to find our wealth in the inheritance God has given us in Himself.
“Come as you are” Crowder
Sense His renewal
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.
Sheep never stop eating which is why the shepherd has to keep them moving or they’ll gorge themselves and also eat the grass down to the root. So it is significant that the sheep are lying down in green pastures. That indicates that they are content and satisfied. They won’t drink from moving water, so shepherd has to build a damn so they will drink from quiet waters. The paths along the steep hillsides are wrought with danger, so the good shepherd leads them along the right path.
All of this is paints a picture of renewal. In fact, David says flatly: “He renews my life.” Jesus is talking about this renewal when He met the woman at the well.
Jesus said, “Everyone who drinks from this water will get thirsty again. 14 But whoever drinks from the water that I will give him will never get thirsty again—ever! In fact, the water I will give him will become a well of water springing up within him for eternal life. John 4:13-14 He is the source of renewal. Yes, sleep helps. Getting away helps. Margin helps. We should incorporate all that into our lives. “You better rest yourself before you wreck yourself” Kevin DeYoung But ultimately Jesus is the source of renewal that strengthens us when nothing else in this world will.
It’s interesting: David is not praying in this Psalm; he’s not asking for anything. What’s he doing? He’s rejoicing in what God has done in His life; in what God is doing in His life. He finds strength in that; He finds renewal in that.
We used to sing a song: “Count your many blessings; name them one by one.”
That’s the song David is singing: “The Lord is MY shepherd. Because that’s He is, there’s nothing I really lack. I am content in where He has me… and what He’s providing for me… and how He’s caring for me. I’m responding to His voice and I’m trusting that His way is the right way, not my way. Yeah, I’m good…REAL good!”
Is it good with you? Is it REAL good with you? Is it well with your soul?
(begin vamping Bethel “It is Well”)
It should be. It can be. Unfortunately, many if not most of us go through the days of our lives depleted, depressed, overwhelmed and overburdened. To get the renewal, you have to go to the Source; you have to focus on your relationship with Jesus. You have to get to the point where it’s not Jesus plus; it’s Jesus period; where He’s really all you need. And then let that relationship and His word guide you through life and charge your batteries and renew you—especially in the storms of life that are draining you.
(Bethel: “It is Well”) Dismiss
