WEBVTT 00:00:00.959 --> 00:00:02.240 Let's pray. 00:00:04.719 --> 00:00:08.400 Father God, we just thank you for adopting us as your very own children. 00:00:08.560 --> 00:00:14.160 It's hard to imagine, but uh we thank you for that, for being our our true Father. 00:00:14.400 --> 00:00:15.199 We praise you for that. 00:00:15.359 --> 00:00:18.559 Holy Spirit, we just thank you for being our teacher and our counselor. 00:00:19.440 --> 00:00:29.760 We ask you to teach us this morning that you translate what I say to each of us, and so we can just get something directly from you, something that will help to change our hearts and our lives. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:34.000 And Jesus, we thank you for being our Savior, for making a way for us to reconnect. 00:00:34.240 --> 00:00:35.600 We praise you and thank you for that. 00:00:35.679 --> 00:00:37.119 It's in your name we pray. 00:00:37.439 --> 00:00:38.079 Amen. 00:00:39.280 --> 00:00:44.640 Well, there's a book written three years ago, and it just shot up the New York Times bestseller list. 00:00:44.799 --> 00:00:48.320 In fact, it uh stayed up there, number one, for a year and a half. 00:00:48.479 --> 00:00:57.039 I remember going into a borders, and they've got a big wall that has the 20 current um fiction bestsellers. 00:00:57.359 --> 00:00:58.880 And uh that was on one wall. 00:00:59.039 --> 00:01:12.799 Then there was another wall the same size next to it, and this book was on every space on the wall, and there were stacks of it on the floor, and at each checkout counter there was uh there were stacks of this book. 00:01:13.040 --> 00:01:15.359 And the book was was called The Shack. 00:01:15.599 --> 00:01:17.760 It was written by William Young. 00:01:18.159 --> 00:01:25.439 He wrote it really for his six children, and uh, but two pastors were really touched by it, and they decided to publish it themselves. 00:01:25.519 --> 00:01:33.040 They spent$300 in marketing, and uh the thing just it just it just blew up blew up. 00:01:33.200 --> 00:01:36.879 People that bought it would buy dozens of copies and start giving them out and buy cases. 00:01:36.959 --> 00:01:43.840 I've got a friend who lives in Minneapolis, and he literally bought a garage full of books. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:51.359 His whole garage was full with boxes of of this book, and he put up a website, and anyone that wanted to, he would send them a book for free. 00:01:51.599 --> 00:01:54.959 And so he and his kids and his wife did that every weekend. 00:01:55.120 --> 00:02:00.319 They would uh address and mail books until until they were all gone. 00:02:00.640 --> 00:02:11.520 If you haven't read the Shack, it it really speaks to different things, but it but to me it tackles the question of how can a loving God allow um bad things to happen to innocent and and good people. 00:02:11.680 --> 00:02:21.680 Now, William Young, who wrote it, was uniquely qualified to write because horrific things happened to him as a young man, and God definitely loves him. 00:02:22.879 --> 00:02:30.159 As impactful and popular as the shack was, it was also very polarizing and controversial. 00:02:30.400 --> 00:02:32.240 You know, I loved it by the way. 00:02:32.400 --> 00:02:35.680 Um, but the good thing is we don't have to agree on books, you know. 00:02:35.840 --> 00:02:36.560 You may not have it. 00:02:36.639 --> 00:02:37.599 It doesn't really matter. 00:02:37.759 --> 00:02:39.840 The uh um but I did. 00:02:39.919 --> 00:02:51.680 But what was most controversial was that that God the Father Papa, as uh as he was in the book, uh, was portrayed for most of the book as an African-American woman. 00:02:52.400 --> 00:02:58.879 And I'd flip people out, you know, and it's just uh scandalous and it's it's uh blasphemous. 00:02:59.120 --> 00:03:04.639 But there was something in that metaphor that helped people understand the goodness of a loving God. 00:03:05.520 --> 00:03:11.039 Well, 3,000 years ago, there was a song that was written that became wildly popular. 00:03:11.280 --> 00:03:16.240 At the time, it too was thought of as scandalous and blasphemous. 00:03:16.479 --> 00:03:19.599 It was written to praise the goodness of our loving God. 00:03:19.919 --> 00:03:22.479 And it started with five simple words. 00:03:23.280 --> 00:03:26.159 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:03:27.439 --> 00:03:33.280 See, that doesn't hit us the same way as it did the Jewish people of that day. 00:03:33.439 --> 00:03:37.599 Because we consider shepherding an honorable profession. 00:03:37.840 --> 00:03:46.639 Uh most of us love animals, you know, and and uh to care for them, but but a big part of it is that Jesus calls himself the good shepherd. 00:03:46.719 --> 00:03:49.439 But in that day, shepherds were the low of lows. 00:03:49.599 --> 00:03:54.159 I mean, they were considered irresponsible, they were considered thieves. 00:03:54.319 --> 00:03:59.120 It was something that someone did if they couldn't find anything else to do. 00:03:59.599 --> 00:04:06.400 When Joseph was in Egypt, he wanted his brothers to move close to him, but not in the city where uh where everybody was. 00:04:06.479 --> 00:04:11.120 And so he had a place picked out, it was Goshen, and it was nearby, but but it wasn't there. 00:04:11.520 --> 00:04:13.439 And this is what he told his brothers. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:25.120 Then he said, When Pharaoh calls for you and asks you about your occupation, you must tell him, We your servants have raised livestock all our lives, as our ancestors have always done. 00:04:25.360 --> 00:04:29.120 When you tell him this, he will let you live here in the region of Goshen. 00:04:29.519 --> 00:04:33.120 For the Egyptians despise shepherds. 00:04:35.120 --> 00:04:42.160 The only person that would ever think to refer to God as a shepherd was a shepherd. 00:04:42.800 --> 00:04:43.759 You know, like Jacob. 00:04:43.920 --> 00:04:44.959 Jacob was a shepherd. 00:04:45.120 --> 00:04:46.000 He married Rachel. 00:04:46.160 --> 00:04:48.720 Rachel was a shepherd when they met. 00:04:49.920 --> 00:04:56.639 And one time Jacob says, God, you've been a shepherd to me my whole life. 00:04:56.959 --> 00:05:01.439 But the Jewish people, they didn't allow shepherds a place in the society. 00:05:01.600 --> 00:05:04.319 I mean, when they voted, a shepherd couldn't vote. 00:05:05.600 --> 00:05:08.800 You know, a shepherd couldn't serve on a jury. 00:05:10.879 --> 00:05:18.319 That is why it was so remarkable when the angels came to announce Jesus' birth that they announced it to a group of shepherds. 00:05:18.879 --> 00:05:23.199 How he didn't come to the religious leaders or to the to the kings and the powerful. 00:05:23.360 --> 00:05:26.079 It was because he came to the lowest of lows. 00:05:28.160 --> 00:05:29.120 The shepherds. 00:05:30.959 --> 00:05:33.279 Yet this song still starts. 00:05:37.279 --> 00:05:41.040 Only a shepherd would write a song like that. 00:05:42.560 --> 00:05:43.920 Shepherd like David. 00:05:44.560 --> 00:05:46.319 He was a great songwriter. 00:05:46.480 --> 00:05:49.439 And he was uniquely qualified to write the 23rd Psalm. 00:05:49.600 --> 00:05:51.759 As a boy, David raised his family of sheep. 00:05:55.759 --> 00:06:02.560 And it's one of the most memorable descriptions of our relationship with Jesus that has ever been written. 00:06:03.279 --> 00:06:05.199 The Lord is my shepherd. 00:06:05.600 --> 00:06:07.199 I have all that I need. 00:06:17.120 --> 00:06:20.959 He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. 00:06:21.199 --> 00:06:26.800 And even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. 00:06:27.279 --> 00:06:29.120 For you are close beside me. 00:06:29.360 --> 00:06:32.480 Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. 00:06:32.800 --> 00:06:36.399 You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. 00:06:36.639 --> 00:06:39.199 You honor me by anointing my head with oil. 00:06:39.519 --> 00:06:42.720 My cup overflows with blessings. 00:06:43.680 --> 00:06:52.879 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life. 00:06:53.199 --> 00:06:56.720 And I will live in the house of the Lord forever. 00:06:57.920 --> 00:07:11.279 We're going to spend the next few weeks seeing how Jesus really, how he really is our shepherd, how he will take care of us, how he can calm us, how he can give us rest, how we don't need to fear. 00:07:12.639 --> 00:07:20.959 How goodness and unfailing love is what you have to look forward to for the rest of your life. 00:07:21.920 --> 00:07:26.160 I tend to overlook some of the most familiar parts of the Bible. 00:07:26.240 --> 00:07:39.120 You know, things, usually it's things, you know, stories I learned as a kid, like David and Goliath, or uh Noah in the Ark, or Joan in the Well, or John 3.16, or the 23rd Psalm. 00:07:39.360 --> 00:07:44.000 You know, you just kind of like, I know this, you know, and so you just kind of move on and skip over it. 00:07:44.160 --> 00:07:48.800 But there's a reason that these are so popular. 00:07:49.279 --> 00:07:59.600 You know, because they contain so much truth and so much uh encouragement and so much comfort, but none really more than the 23rd Psalm. 00:07:59.839 --> 00:08:01.600 And so that's where we're going to start today. 00:08:01.680 --> 00:08:03.600 And we're going to look just at the first verse. 00:08:03.839 --> 00:08:07.360 The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. 00:08:07.600 --> 00:08:09.439 I learned it in a less current translation. 00:08:09.519 --> 00:08:10.399 You might have too. 00:08:10.560 --> 00:08:12.879 The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. 00:08:14.879 --> 00:08:17.680 The Lord is what we translate to in English. 00:08:17.839 --> 00:08:20.240 David actually says Yahweh. 00:08:20.879 --> 00:08:23.680 He says, Yahweh is my shepherd. 00:08:24.000 --> 00:08:26.720 Now the Hebrew word Yahweh means I am. 00:08:27.279 --> 00:08:28.879 It is God's actual name. 00:08:29.040 --> 00:08:30.079 Sometimes we don't think about that. 00:08:30.240 --> 00:08:33.200 Susan talks about it every now and then, but we don't think about it. 00:08:33.279 --> 00:08:34.960 That God actually has a name. 00:08:35.440 --> 00:08:43.600 He has titles and El Shaddai or Adonai or different things that are titles, descriptions. 00:08:44.240 --> 00:08:48.399 But he has a name, Yahweh, and it simply means I am. 00:08:48.879 --> 00:08:54.799 When Moses was at the burning bush and God is speaking to him, Moses says, Well, who do I say sent me? 00:08:55.120 --> 00:08:59.840 And he says, Tell the Israelites that I am who I am. 00:09:00.799 --> 00:09:10.320 He goes on, he says, Say this to the people of Israel, Yahweh, the God of your ancestors, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you. 00:09:10.559 --> 00:09:14.480 That is my eternal name, my name to remember for all generations. 00:09:15.759 --> 00:09:16.399 I am. 00:09:18.080 --> 00:09:26.000 That word Yahweh, that name Yahweh, was considered so holy that the religious scholars of that day wouldn't say it. 00:09:27.039 --> 00:09:29.440 And they wouldn't even want to write it. 00:09:31.039 --> 00:09:32.799 It was such a holy word. 00:09:34.240 --> 00:09:36.080 But David writes it. 00:09:36.639 --> 00:09:39.519 Yahweh is my shepherd. 00:09:41.039 --> 00:09:47.360 In John 8, Jesus is talking to the same type of religious scholars and leaders. 00:09:47.440 --> 00:09:51.360 He says, Your father Abraham rejoiced as he looked forward to my coming. 00:09:51.600 --> 00:09:53.840 He saw it and he was glad. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:09:56.799 The people said, You aren't even 50 years old. 00:09:57.039 --> 00:09:59.600 How can you say you have seen Abraham? 00:10:00.159 --> 00:10:10.960 And Jesus answered, I tell you the truth, before Abraham was even born, I am Yahweh. 00:10:12.960 --> 00:10:14.639 That's the name David uses. 00:10:14.879 --> 00:10:24.879 So when we read, the Lord is my shepherd, it applies equally to God our Father and to Jesus, our Savior and Shepherd. 00:10:26.480 --> 00:10:29.679 The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need. 00:10:30.960 --> 00:10:35.360 Well, my mind just skips ahead to the I have all that I need. 00:10:35.840 --> 00:10:36.799 What does that mean? 00:10:36.960 --> 00:10:38.559 How is that going to happen? 00:10:38.879 --> 00:10:43.440 But if we do that, we really miss one of the most important words in this entire song. 00:10:44.480 --> 00:10:46.159 The word is my. 00:17:17.759 --> 00:17:22.000 Steep your life in God reality, God initiative, God provisions. 00:17:22.240 --> 00:17:24.079 Don't worry about missing out. 00:17:24.640 --> 00:17:29.200 You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met. 00:17:32.400 --> 00:17:34.880 I have everything I need. 00:17:36.480 --> 00:17:41.680 It's easy to think about finances, you know, when we think about needs and having everything we need. 00:17:42.079 --> 00:17:44.079 But our needs are not just financial. 00:17:44.559 --> 00:17:47.839 In fact, our needs are not even mostly financial. 00:17:48.319 --> 00:17:54.160 And we need love, we need rest, we need our emotions and our minds healed. 00:17:54.319 --> 00:17:59.920 We need strength, we need energy, we need comfort, protection. 00:18:00.880 --> 00:18:05.920 We need to know that good things are going to happen to us, and especially our children. 00:18:07.119 --> 00:18:15.039 We need to know that we'll live forever with our loved ones forever in heaven. 00:18:16.960 --> 00:18:20.559 The Lord is my shepherd, I have everything I need. 00:18:22.400 --> 00:18:27.119 It's not really a statement, as it is an introduction. 00:18:27.359 --> 00:18:29.920 An introduction to the rest of the song. 00:18:30.559 --> 00:18:37.119 Because all of these needs are going to be specifically talked about in this song. 00:18:38.960 --> 00:18:41.119 The Lord is your shepherd. 00:18:41.440 --> 00:18:45.279 You will have everything you need. 00:18:46.960 --> 00:18:48.799 Sometimes we can get discouraged. 00:18:48.960 --> 00:18:49.759 I think we all can. 00:18:52.160 --> 00:18:57.599 We think that life is going to be just one bad event after another. 00:18:58.079 --> 00:19:00.559 You know, we do face tough times in life. 00:19:00.880 --> 00:19:03.920 But your life is not going to get worse and worse. 00:19:04.720 --> 00:19:08.799 Your life is going to get better and better. 00:19:09.759 --> 00:19:12.079 You have a shepherd who loves you. 00:19:13.200 --> 00:19:15.759 You will have everything you need. 00:19:17.359 --> 00:19:22.960 We talked a few weeks ago how Jesus' first miracle was turning water into wine. 00:19:23.599 --> 00:19:29.680 And it had such depth, and it had such meeting there at the wedding feast. 00:19:30.160 --> 00:19:38.000 His first public proclamation of his purpose on earth had similar depth and it had similar meaning. 00:19:42.640 --> 00:19:50.480 When he came to the village of Nazareth, his boyhood home, he went as usual to the synagogue on the Sabbath, and he stood up to read the scriptures. 00:19:50.720 --> 00:19:53.519 The scroll of Isaiah the prophet was handed to him. 00:19:53.680 --> 00:19:58.559 He enrolled the scroll and found the place where this was written. 00:20:17.359 --> 00:20:22.640 He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the tenant, and sat down. 00:20:23.440 --> 00:20:26.880 All eyes in the synagogue looked at him intently. 00:20:27.519 --> 00:20:29.039 This is such a cool scene. 00:20:29.200 --> 00:20:30.880 You can imagine this whole synagogue. 00:20:31.039 --> 00:20:34.720 Jesus stands up, he reads, he sits down. 00:20:35.359 --> 00:20:38.000 But for some reason you could hear a pin drop. 00:20:39.200 --> 00:20:42.480 Everyone is staring at Jesus. 00:20:43.680 --> 00:20:47.119 The reason is he did not read Isaiah 61. 00:20:48.160 --> 00:20:48.720 Right. 00:20:50.240 --> 00:20:53.119 See, these guys knew Isaiah 61 by heart. 00:20:55.599 --> 00:20:58.240 But Jesus cut off the last verse. 00:20:59.519 --> 00:21:10.319 In Isaiah 61, it says that the time of the Lord's favor has come and the time of God's anger against their enemies. 00:21:12.160 --> 00:21:16.640 But for whatever reason, that's a whole nother message, a whole nother time. 00:21:18.000 --> 00:21:19.519 Jesus didn't read that. 00:21:20.000 --> 00:21:21.759 He stopped halfway through. 00:21:23.680 --> 00:21:30.400 He said that the time of the Lord's favor has come, and he stopped there and he sat down. 00:21:31.599 --> 00:21:34.559 And everybody's like, what's going on? 00:21:34.799 --> 00:21:36.480 And they're staring at him. 00:21:37.759 --> 00:21:39.680 Then he began to speak to them. 00:21:40.319 --> 00:21:46.720 The scripture you've just heard has been fulfilled this very day. 00:21:48.720 --> 00:21:50.319 You know what made them so mad? 00:21:50.799 --> 00:21:52.960 They tried to kill him on the spot. 00:21:54.880 --> 00:21:56.400 But it was true. 00:21:57.039 --> 00:21:58.000 It was true. 00:21:58.319 --> 00:21:59.680 The time of the Lord's favor. 00:22:00.640 --> 00:22:01.920 Has come. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:11.039 Your life is not going to be one bad event after another. 00:22:11.359 --> 00:22:30.559 In fact, surely, as David wrote, for sure, as we would say, God's goodness and unfailing love is going to pursue you all the days of your life. 00:22:32.160 --> 00:22:34.480 In Jeremiah 29, it says, I know what I'm doing. 00:22:34.559 --> 00:22:35.920 I have it all planned out. 00:22:36.240 --> 00:22:38.559 Plans to take care of you, not abandon you. 00:22:38.720 --> 00:22:41.279 Plans to give you the future you hope for. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:49.039 In 1 Peter 5, it says, give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you. 00:22:52.480 --> 00:22:54.000 Please don't worry. 00:22:56.559 --> 00:22:58.960 Many of us are facing really big challenges. 00:23:00.559 --> 00:23:01.440 Really big. 00:23:01.599 --> 00:23:06.400 I mean, today you might not be sure how you can get through. 00:23:06.640 --> 00:23:08.400 You know, David faced big challenges. 00:23:08.559 --> 00:23:12.240 Lots of times he was not sure how he was going to get through. 00:23:13.359 --> 00:23:17.680 I had them all listed, but I decided not to read them because it's actually, man, it's a bunch. 00:23:18.319 --> 00:23:20.000 I mean, he faced so many challenges. 00:23:20.079 --> 00:23:24.000 Some of them he brought on himself, like us. 00:23:24.720 --> 00:23:27.599 Some of them, they just happened to him, like us. 00:23:29.680 --> 00:23:31.519 But there were big challenges. 00:23:32.799 --> 00:23:37.519 And by the end, he got through them. 00:23:37.920 --> 00:23:40.720 And he said, The Lord is my shepherd. 00:23:41.039 --> 00:23:43.920 I have everything I need. 00:23:46.000 --> 00:23:47.279 It's true. 00:23:49.440 --> 00:23:50.720 It's true. 00:23:52.000 --> 00:23:54.480 We each have a shepherd that loves us. 00:23:55.359 --> 00:23:59.440 And we will have everything we need. 00:23:59.759 --> 00:24:02.559 You will have everything you need. 00:24:04.559 --> 00:24:06.319 You don't need to worry. 00:24:07.279 --> 00:24:11.119 You will have everything you need. 00:24:13.039 --> 00:24:14.960 Surely, for sure. 00:24:16.799 --> 00:24:25.119 For sure, God's goodness and unfailing love is going to pursue you all the days of your life. 00:24:28.000 --> 00:24:33.119 If the worship team wants to come up, we're going to finish in a minute by singing one more song. 00:24:35.359 --> 00:24:39.440 It's just kind of an introduction into the song that David wrote. 00:24:39.759 --> 00:24:43.599 The next few weeks we're going to look at what it means to have Jesus as our shepherd. 00:24:43.759 --> 00:24:44.559 What does it mean? 00:24:44.720 --> 00:24:47.680 I mean, practically, in an everyday sort of way. 00:24:47.839 --> 00:24:50.880 What does it mean to us to have Jesus as our shepherd? 00:24:51.039 --> 00:24:53.039 How can we have peace and rest? 00:24:53.440 --> 00:24:55.839 How does he restore our souls? 00:24:56.160 --> 00:24:59.839 I mean, how do we not fear evil in a world like this? 00:25:00.880 --> 00:25:03.119 Will we really live with him forever? 00:25:04.000 --> 00:25:05.440 What will that be like? 00:25:06.559 --> 00:25:10.319 And we'll answer each of those questions and a bunch more. 00:25:10.720 --> 00:25:15.519 We already read in John 10 how we get to have Jesus as our shepherd. 00:25:15.839 --> 00:25:19.440 We just walk through the gate into his pasture. 00:25:19.839 --> 00:25:20.880 That's it. 00:25:21.119 --> 00:25:25.519 We just walk through the gate into his pasture. 00:25:26.319 --> 00:25:29.039 In our own way, in our own words. 00:25:29.920 --> 00:25:31.359 Jesus, I'm going to trust you. 00:25:31.519 --> 00:25:32.319 Jesus, I need you. 00:25:32.480 --> 00:25:33.839 Jesus, please help me. 00:25:36.000 --> 00:25:37.440 It's what he's been waiting to hear. 00:25:37.519 --> 00:25:39.519 And then he kind of takes over from then. 00:25:39.839 --> 00:25:41.599 He fills us with his spirit. 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:43.119 Our spirit comes alive. 00:25:44.640 --> 00:25:46.079 He strengthens us. 00:25:46.880 --> 00:25:49.039 He helps us to make good choices. 00:25:50.160 --> 00:25:53.359 He changes us from the inside out. 00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:58.960 We just have to walk into his pasture, and we can do that today. 00:26:00.240 --> 00:26:06.640 You know, that scandalous song that David wrote is just as true this morning. 00:26:07.680 --> 00:26:10.160 That the Lord is your shepherd. 00:26:11.359 --> 00:26:13.920 What an amazing, amazing thing. 00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:17.279 Let's stand and let's pray. 00:26:20.480 --> 00:26:22.000 So, Father God, we thank you. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:28.480 We thank you for being so good to us to adopt us as your very own children. 00:26:29.200 --> 00:26:30.160 We praise you for that. 00:26:30.319 --> 00:26:33.279 Holy Spirit, we thank you for your transforming power. 00:26:33.839 --> 00:26:35.359 And please transform us. 00:26:35.440 --> 00:26:40.319 And Jesus, Jesus, we thank you for being our shepherd. 00:26:42.720 --> 00:26:44.319 We do trust you. 00:26:45.279 --> 00:26:48.960 We do, but we're scared too at times. 00:26:49.119 --> 00:26:50.880 And so help us to trust you more. 00:26:51.039 --> 00:26:53.599 Teach us what it means to have a shepherd like you. 00:26:53.759 --> 00:26:57.279 Give us your joy and your peace. 00:26:57.519 --> 00:26:58.640 And we thank you for that. 00:26:58.799 --> 00:27:00.079 We thank you for your love. 00:27:00.400 --> 00:27:01.359 And we love you. 00:27:01.519 --> 00:27:03.039 It's in your name we pray. 00:27:03.279 --> 00:27:03.920 Amen.