OPEN: “Life is short, and death is sure. Sin the cause. Christ the cure.”
Vladimir Lenin - the first communist dictator of Russia - died in 1924. Shortly after his death, authorities decided to maintain his body in a mausoleum. So, for the past 95 years Lenin’s body has been on display in Moscow. Day after day, crowds of people file past and pay their respects. The mummy is encased in a glass coffin where the humidity and temperature is closely regulated and his corpse is said to be extremely lifelike. But that’s all an illusion. When the crowds leave, skilled workmen step in and artificially color the corpse’s face and fill in any lines or small spots of decay with wax. Lenin’s nose and face have been “resculpted” at least a couple of times, and the body has to be “re-embalmed” every other year.
Now, why would they do that? Well … they are trying to defy death.
Over the centuries, many cultures have done that type of thing. Egyptians designed mysterious pyramids to protect their dead. Chinese emperors built huge tombs guarded by armies of statues. Vikings dressed their fallen warriors in armor and sent them off to sea in burning ships. And American Indians buried their dead with weapons and tools to use in the Happy Hunting Ground.
All done to defy the cold grip of death.
And those who couldn’t think of how to DEFY death simply AVOIDED the topic. Louis XV of France refused to allow his servants to talk about death in his presence. A Chinese superstition holds that just mentioning death… invites it. And even today, people tend to ignore talking about death. In fact - they postpone discussing it as long as possible.
A comedian once said: "It’s not that I am afraid to die. I just don’t want to be there when it happens."
But no matter what we do (unless Jesus comes first) we’re all going to die. And a lot of people are VERY uncomfortable with that truth.
Hebrews 2:14 describes this way: “(Mankind had) all their lives been held in slavery by their fear of death.”
Philosopher Jean-Paul Sartre said that death "removes all meaning from life."
And Aristotle called death the thing he feared most because "it appears to be the end of everything."
And you can understand why these folks think this way. Death IS the end of everything… it IS final. AND it is wrong! We shouldn’t have to die! That’s not the way things should have been. God created us to live forever, but sin has robbed us of that blessing.
(PAUSE) In stark contrast to the uneasiness and fear that death creates David makes this simple statement: “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.”
David didn’t try to defy death. He didn’t try to avoid it. And he didn’t even seem to fear it. He regarded death as a place of shadows.
ILLUS: Some have maintained that the place that David was talking about was Kidron Valley. It is deep valley that is literally in darkness most of the day. AND it has been a place of unimaginable evil where worshipers of Baal and Molech offered their children as sacrifices to their gods. In addition - if you were to visit there today – you’d find that this valley is lined with tombs of the dead. In short, it could be a very SCARY place to visit. It’s literally the valley of the shadow of death.
Now, maybe David noticed his flocks being nervous as they passed through this valley. Or maybe he himself had felt uneasy as he led the sheep there. But somewhere along the line David came to the conclusion that “though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil.”
So, why? Why wasn’t David afraid? Well first, David tells us God is WITH HIM.
“I will fear no evil - for you are WITH me.” There’s a difference between going into a scary place alone and going into that same place with someone you feel you can trust.
ILLUS: A woman was telling about her favorite spot at her local zoo – “The House of Night.” It’s a place where creepy and crawly creatures of the night crawl and fly about. She said that one day, when she stepped into the exhibit, it was immediately total darkness. And then… a small hand grabbed hold of hers. She smiled and asked him “And who do you belong to?” A little boy quietly said: “I’m yours till the lights come on.”
Someone once said "I would rather walk with God in the dark than go alone in the light." (Mary Gardiner Brainard) Scary places and scary situations can frighten us IF we have to face them alone. But God says… you don’t have to.
ILLUS: One of my favorite OT stories is the one about Joseph. His brothers hated him, and beat him, and threw him in a pit, and sold him into slavery. For the next 17 years or so of his life Joseph was either a slave or a prisoner. And yet in Genesis 39 we read these statements:
• The LORD was with Joseph
• His master (Potiphar) saw that the LORD was with him
• The LORD caused all that (Joseph) did to succeed in his hands
• the LORD was with Joseph and showed him steadfast love and gave him favor in the sight of the keeper of the prison.
• the LORD was with (Joseph). And whatever he did, the LORD made it succeed.
At least 5 times in that ONE chapter we’re told - over and over again – God was with Joseph. Why? Why would this phrase show up that many times in one chapter? Because if you didn’t know God was with him… you’d wonder where God was. Joseph endured terrible hardship and misery but he was always conscious of the fact that God had NOT left him.
• Hebrews 13:5 God promised us “I’ll never leave you and I’ll never forsake you.”
(Pause) Not only did David believe God was with him… he believed God would DEFEND him. “I will fear no evil because you are with me. Your rod and your staff they comfort me.”
Now I’m not going to get into real deep theology on this. All we need to know is that the rod and staff were often used by the shepherd for 2 purposes:
1st - To keep the sheep in line.
2nd - To use as a weapon against the natural enemies of the flock (wolves/bears/lions).
The safety of the sheep depended upon the shepherd being willing and able to protect the flock. Left on their own there was no way the sheep could ever protect themselves against the wolves and lions and such. They’re not BIG enough. They’re not STRONG enough. They’re not QUICK enough. They’re probably one of the most vulnerable animals ever created. Without the shepherd … the sheep are dead meat.
ILLUS: You remember the story of David and Goliath, don’t you? David decides to go out and face the giant… and the Philistine said to David, "Come to me, and I will give your flesh to the birds of the air and to the beasts of the field."
Then David said to the Philistine, "You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied. This day the LORD will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the LORD saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the LORD’s, and he will give you into our hand."
You know what David was saying don’t you? I’m NOT AFRAID of you because GOD IS WITH ME!!! He Will Deliver YOU into my hand. David had a shepherd. He knew that WITHOUT God he didn’t have a prayer - but that was never gonna a problem because he had no intention of ever being without God.
(Pause) Not does God promise to be WITH us and DEFEND us… He’s going to LEAD US. That’s the power of the opening words of this Psalm “The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He LEADS me…”
ILLUS: I’ve got a GPS in my phone. When I want to find my destination I’ll just say something like: “2347 S. Burlington Ave. Logansport, IN” (the address of our church building) and punch a couple of buttons and my phone will direct me to destination (most of the time). But the problem is, there’s been too many times when my phone won’t even tell me what I want to know until I’ve already made a commitment on which way I’m going to turn.
I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve had to turn around somewhere because my phone didn’t LEAD Me where I needed to go. WHY? Because it’s just a dumb phone. It’s just a collection of computer parts that don’t really THINK!
BUT GOD is different. God not only THINKS… HE KNOWS where you need to go, and He will lead you through the valleys of shadows and doubts.
One last thought. David called this place of doubts and fears the valley of the SHADOW of death. What causes shadows? Well… shadows are caused by something that is near me. The reason the Kidron Valley is in shadow most of the time is because the valley is deep and narrow. The walls of the canyon close IN on the valley. The shadow is caused by the nearness of the walls of the canyon.
The Bible is very honest with us. It tells us that there are things in this world that crowd in on us; that wall us in; that seem to trap us in shadow. And into a world that is like that for us, Jesus tells us: "In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world." John 16:33
We live in a world damaged by sin, and we will walk in the shadows… sometimes. But take heart: Jesus has overcome this world. He’s with us, and He will defend us, and He will lead us. He is the good shepherd.
But there’s something else about shadows. One person said it this way: "Never fear shadows. They simply mean there's a light shining nearby." (Ruth E. Renkel)
A young mother was putting her daughter to bed one night. Her husband was gone and they were there all alone, and while the moon was out, the wind howled menacingly in trees. Both the mother and daughter were uneasy, though the mother did her best to hide her fear. Then the young girl asked her mother if the moon was God's night light. "Yes, dear," the mother replied.
"Does God turn out his light when he goes to sleep?" the daughter continued. "No honey, God never sleeps."
Then the child quietly said: "Well then, if God's going to stay up all night, there's no sense both of us staying awake." And with the gentle faith of child, the girl turned over and fell asleep."
She Knew God would there for her… and His Light was the proof.
As Jesus said: “I am the light of the world, he that follows me shall not walk in darkness but have the light of life.”
INVITATION
