SPEAKER_02 0:00

And uh that's what the word of God does for us tonight. So we're so we're so thankful. Let me read this verse again. But thanks be to God who in Christ, I love these key words that we should focus on, Sandy. Okay, I'm gonna give it to you right now. Are you ready? Okay, but thanks be to God who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession. Always, isn't that something? Always leads us in triumphal procession. Through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of Him everywhere. Wow. Well, tonight we are we're privileged to have a tag team bringing the Word of God tonight, okay? And that is gonna be uh Jamie, and then we'll hear from uh Mike Shreve. So we're mixing it up tonight, people. Amen. So uh yeah, let's get ready to hear the word of God. Our hearts are prepared, and Jamie's gonna come and talk to you about probably a familiar scripture.

SPEAKER_01 1:04

So, yeah, I am gonna talk about a very familiar scripture. Um, one that's probably so familiar, most of you have it memorized. I'm gonna read you the 23rd Psalm. I'm gonna read it to you in two translations because I feel like when we there's a really familiar verse, we kind of skip over the good parts. So first I'm gonna read in the ESV. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he laids me beside still waters, he restores my soul, he leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So when I'm struggling with a verse, or it's really, really familiar, or I'm trying to explain it to the kids in the back, I like to go to the message translation, which is a paraphrase. It puts things in everyday language, and it always gives me something a little bit more to think about. So I'm gonna read from the message now. God, my shepherd, I don't need a thing. You've bedded me down in lush meadows, you find me quiet pools to drink from. True to your word, you let me catch my breath and send me in the right direction. Even when the way goes to death through death valley, I'm not afraid when you walk at my side. Your trusty shepherd's hook makes me feel secure. You serve me a six-course dinner right in front of my enemies, you revive my drooping head, my cup brims with blessing. Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. I'm back home in the house of God for the rest of my life. So David penned this as a song of comfort, and it's familiar, we hear it a lot at funerals, but I feel like we can really miss what's in here. So I want to break this down. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. God is in control. He is Jehovah Jirah, which means God our provider. In him, there is no lack. And this doesn't mean that we can go, you know, make a thousand wishes, and I'm gonna go home and find a brand new Mercedes in my driveway, because that's not how it works. It means that what I need, God is gonna provide. What I actually need, when I align my desires with his, and when my needs match his needs, that's when I'm gonna see that provision. He's gonna give me food to eat, he's gonna have a shelter over my head. It might not always look the way that I want it to, but God is never going to leave us in lack. Just as a shepherd makes sure his sheep has food, water, and safety, God looks out for us. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside still waters, green pastures, a place of abundance. God doesn't guide us out into the desert and say, good luck, rest well. Green pastures provide lush sustenance for the sheep and a safe place to rest. God provides rest for our souls. In Psalm 4.8, uh we hear, in peace I will both lie down and sleep. For you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Now I spoke a bit about fear on Sunday morning, and this is a verse that I like to go to when fear tries to get me in the middle of the night. I will lie down and I will sleep in peace. For you, O Lord, make me dwell in safety. Just like a sheep in a green pasture with a shepherd overlooking, there's rest, there's security. Um, in the book of Mark, we hear about Jesus and the disciples. They go out on a boat, and what happens? A massive storm happens. The boat is getting tossed around, the water's coming in, it looks like it's gonna sink. The disciples are absolutely freaking out, and Jesus is sound asleep. And the disciples are like, Lord, don't you care that we're dying, we're perishing here. Don't you care? And Jesus gets up and just very calmly, peace, be still. And that's all it took. And that raging storm stopped. The waters went still, everything went calm. All it took was a word from him. And the disciples are like, Who is this guy? That even the wind and the waves obey him. They were thinking, We're a second from death here. And then Jesus says one word and we're all fine. I mean, what is that? And Jesus is like, What why don't you believe? Where is your faith? The disciples are all flabbergasted, they're wondering who he is, and Jesus is saying, Where is your faith? They've seen him do all these incredible miracles, and if the disciples who actually got to see these miracles face to face struggle a little bit, that doesn't make me feel so bad about the days that I struggle. Jesus created still waters, and that's what God does in the troubled waters of our trials. He leads us to the still waters to find peace and refreshment for our souls. He restores my soul, he leads me in path of righteousness for his name's sake. In his presence is fullness of joy. In his presence we find refreshment and restoration. We aren't left out on our own trying to figure out what the right path is. He guides us and we just have to listen. Uh Jeremiah 33, 3 says, Call to me and I will answer you, and I will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known. Now, some of you know I'm a crocheter. I love to crochet. I love to make things, I love to turn strings into things. That's what I say. And more often than not, I need a pattern to help me do what I need to do. I don't have all the stitches memorized. I can't tell you how exactly to go make a coat. I'm gonna need a pattern, I'm gonna need something to follow. So I was making a sweater and it was a new pattern, so I'm following along, and something doesn't seem quite right with this pattern. So me in my infinite wisdom, I make adjustments and I adjust and I adjust and I adjust, and I think this pattern, the the author just didn't know what they were doing. Well, what ends up happening, half of my sweater comes out upside down. I thought I knew better than the creator. This person that poured their blood, sweat, and tears into this pattern, telling me each and every little stitch to make, I thought I knew better than that. And so I ended up spending half an hour picking the yarn out and going back and actually following the pattern. And how often do we do that to God? He's got the whole picture, we've got just a snippet. I heard someone once say it's like we're looking at the back of the tapestry, we're looking at the tangled strings, we're looking at the mess. We can't see the other side, which is a masterpiece, which is something absolutely beautiful. We think we know better than the Creator, and we end up in trouble. So that's why it's so vital that when God's leading us down the path of righteousness, we don't decide we know the shortcut. You're gonna end up with your sweater upside down. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me, your rod and your staff, they comfort me. We are absolutely guaranteed tough times. We are guaranteed we are going to have trials. And even in the book of James, he says to count up pure joy when you endure trials of many kind. Not if, not maybe, when, because these trials they are coming. We live in a broken world that is definitely against us, and these trials are gonna hit, and they're gonna hit hard. The good news is we're never alone in this. Deuteronomy 31, 8 tells us, it is the Lord who goes before you. They're not bright animals. They're gonna do their thing, they're gonna go wandering off, and sometimes they will wander straight off a cliff because they just don't have the knowledge of what's safe and what's not. And that's why that rod and that staff is so important. Now you might think, well, rod and staff, that's harsh. No, it's a gentle guiding tool. The the shepherd isn't smacking the sheep with it, he's using that crook to gently pull them back, to gently guide them in the paths that they need to go. It keeps the flock together, it draws them away from harm, towards safety and shelter, and they're used with great care. And in Bible times, the shepherd used the rod and the staff to fend off predators, literally rescuing sheep from the shadow of death. I remember watching my dad with a sheep, and there was one time one of his sheep was dying, and my father literally performed CPR on this sheep, trying to save its life. And if a man, a human, fallible man, can take that kind of care with a dumb animal that's gonna walk off the walk off a cliff, how much more care does our Heavenly Father take with us? How much more does he care about what's going on in our world, the things that are putting us into turmoil? He uses that rod and staff to giantly guide us to bring us back to where we're supposed to be. That path of righteousness, that guiding light that's right there, and there's there for a reason because we can't do it on our own. We need that rod, we need that staff, and sometimes we need that rod and staff to hurt a little bit, but it's always there as a gentle force to say, nope, I want you on this path. I know the way, I've seen the end, I've seen the pattern. We can take comfort knowing that they're there to protect us. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows. Now I'm gonna borrow from Spurgeon, because he said it way better than I could. A good man has his enemies. He would not be like his Lord if he had not. If we were without enemies, we might fear that we were not the friends of God, for the friendship with the world is enmity with God. Thou preparest a table, nothing is hurried, there's no confusion, no disturbance, the enemy is at the door, and yet God prepares a table, and the Christian sits down and eats as if everything were in perfect peace. Oh, the peace which Jehovah Jehovah gives his people, even in the midst of the most trying circumstances. Have you ever thought about sitting down and eating a meal in the midst of chaos, in the midst of being attacked on every side? The last thing on your mind is I'm gonna sit here and I'm going to have a nice peaceful meal. God is saying, Don't worry about all that. I've got you. Sit here with this perfect peace, enjoy your meal, know that I'm gonna protect you. My rod and my staff are gonna keep the predators away. And lastly, surely in goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We are not stuck here on our own, just trying to scratch and claw our way through life, on a dark path with a dim flashlight. God is our shepherd and our guide, and he's laid out exactly what we need to do. Um, Daryl loves Psalm 34, 6. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles. And in the book of Job, Job had troubles. Um, I'm assuming we're all familiar with the story of Job. He had everything taken from him. He was beaten up one side and right back down the other, and his friends are like, curse God and die. Just get it over with. And Job was steadfast, and he was told, Surely you will lift up your face without blemish, you will be secure and you will not fear. You will forget your misery, you will remember it as waters that have passed away, and your life will be brighter than the noonday, its darkness will be like the morning. We are not put to shame by asking God for help. It can be hard to ask for help, and it can be hard to go to God and say, Yeah, you gave me this path and you told me exactly what to do, and I decided it to do it my way, and now it's a mess. It can be hard to come back to God with that and be like, I messed up. But he's there, he's waiting, he's got his arms open wide, and he all he cares about is that we've come back, that we're asking that forgiveness. First John 1 9, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness. He's gonna bring us back into that fellowship with him, he's gonna take us to that green pasture and let us lie down between beside those still waters in perfect peace. I just I love this song of peace, and I'm gonna close with a little bit that I shared Sunday from another song of peace. Um, Isaiah 26 3. Um the entire uh chapter 26 is a song of peace, and I highly recommend that you take some time this week and read it because it is incredible. But Isaiah 26 3 is a core verse for me. You keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you because he trusts in you. Because he trusts in you. Now God tells us the perfect peace is ours to have. It's not shifting, it's not fading. The Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send, will come and will teach us all things, will be a great comforter. We're not meant to be out here on our own. And that's why this psalm was put on David's heart, and that's why it was penned down to remind us that the Lord is our shepherd, there's nothing we're going to lack, there's nothing we're going to want, there's nothing that we have to fear. I encourage you as you face the coming days and trials before you to rest in the arms of the shepherd, lie down beside the still waters and rest in his perfect peace.

SPEAKER_00 14:31

Thank you, Jamie. That was really good. Of course, the entirety of scripture is awesome and amazing, huh? So I'm going to be reading from 2 Timothy chapter 2, basically the first seven verses. Paul saying, You therefore, my son, being Timothy, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus. The things which you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses, entrust these to faithful men who will be able to teach others also. Suffer hardship with me as a good soldier of Christ. No soldier in active service entangles himself in the affairs of everyday life, so that he may please the one who enlisted him as a soldier. Also, if anyone competes as an athlete, he does not win the prize unless he competes according to the rules. The hard working farmer ought to be the first to receive his share of the crops. Consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. That was from the New American Standard. And for I'm guessing many of us, that's probably a fairly familiar passage. Sorry, I'm scrolling down too. There we go. Um and so sometimes, just out of getting a little bit of a different take on it, I like to, I think even as Jamie had mentioned, but basically look to another translation. Um so this one, this time, I'm gonna read it one more time through, but this is from the Passion. Timothy, my dear son, live your life empowered by God's free-flowing grace, which is your true strength, found in the anointing of Jesus and your union with him. And all that you've learned from me, confirmed by the integrity of my life, deposit into faithful leaders who are competent to teach the congregations the same revelation. Overcome every form of evil as a victorious soldier of Jesus, the anointed one, for every soldier called to be in active duty must divorce himself from the distractions of this world, so that he may fully satisfy the one who chose him. An athlete who doesn't play by the rules will never receive the trophy, so remain faithful to God. The farmer who labors to produce a crop should be the first one to be fed from the harvest. Carefully consider all that I've taught you, and may our Lord inspire you with wisdom and revelation in everything you say and do. So, what I saw, or what I just want to, you know, kind of go a little bit more from a verse five verse thing, just to encourage you and just sharing what God spoke to me through these passages, through these verses, is that the process of discipleship, it's not so much as I see it there, what Paul was related to Timothy and other verses, I don't know the verse right off the top of my head, but it Paul also writes to Timothy, don't let anyone look down on your youth. So there is a process whereby as we grow in the Lord, we should be able to, others should be able to see a reflection of Jesus in how we live our lives. Sometimes, of course, we might be able to, God may direct us to share with someone. A testimony is basically giving glory to God on something that's happened in your personal life. I think as we grow in God, even a fairly new Christian should be, you know, experiencing something of you know being able to give glory to God. And so, as a simple starting point of impacting somebody else's life, is simply giving a testimony of what God did. You may not know all the scriptures, you may not have them memorized or be able to say, you know, 2 Opinions 3.5 says, hopefully don't say that one, but um, you get what I mean. So again, I think that as we grow in Christ, we should be able to be vessels of his grace, of his mercy, of his encouragement to others. So that's what Paul is encouraging Timothy. And really it should, again, as I said, be focused on Christ, centered in Christ, and his victory, his grace, his love demonstrated through us in our lives. And he said to also share these things to people that you can trust. So there's an aspect of discipleship where, again, I really what really there's several things that really resonate with me about this local body of believers. One of them is that we're very relational. Pastor Dan has said several times that you know we're we're meant to be in relationship together. We gather together. And it's by gathering together that we're able to encourage, be able to minister, be able to pray for one another. So again, it's it's something where we're growing together, and that I know that I can, you know, I can talk with Shane, I can talk with Denny, I can talk with Rich, I can, you know, I mean I can talk with several people here and just know that I'm able to not only share a good word, but also receive a good word, that I can go and say, Hey, I'm struggling with this thing. Can you pray with me on that? So it's all just part of this being a body together. And then moving on a little bit to where Paul is talking about being a good soldier of Christ. Um the English revised version has good be a good soldier of Christ, accept your share of troubles. We have a soldier who wants to please this commanding officer, so he does not spend any time on activities that are not part of his duty. I myself never served in any military branch. But I have tremendous, there's several people in my family, uh both direct family and uh on my wife's side of her family. But I have tremendous respect for those who have served and the what they've gone through, not only in being prepared, going to boot camp and going through all of that, but also being serving. It's it's not an easy thing. George was a Marine. I'm sure if you asked him how Paris Island was, he he would not say that it was a resort. It's not a resort island. The things that you go through in boot camp are just it's it's it's horrendous. A lack of sleep, being pushed physically to your breaking point and then beyond, and the things that just being ready for whatever the whatever military life may throw at you, the number of times that you strip and clean your gun, the the the all the different things, so that you can do that completely second nature. And so I'm sure again I'm just gonna pick on George a little because he's right back there, and I know a little bit as far as I can I can regurgitate some lingo. Small amount. But anyway, I'm sure that while George was out on Paris Island, that he wasn't like the CO or you know, the drill sergeant wasn't like, oh, you know what, you got a half hour. Go over there, find find that couch, flip on the TV, I'll make some popcorn for you. You you and I, we we have the luxury, like, you know, whether it's tonight or over the weekend or whatever, we can go home. We can kick back in a lazy boy, we can sit on the couch, we can turn on TV, we can put put in some microwave popcorn or stovetop or whatever, you know what I mean? There's there's a variety of options of things that we can do that is absolutely not available to anyone who is going through boot camp. And so that's that's the kind of thing that, like, that stark reality is what Paul is really trying to. And of course, you know, it wasn't the US Marine or you know, armed services, but they had Roman soldiers. And I'm sure there was a whole lot of training that went into being a soldier in the Roman army. It it was it was no joke, you know. The and this little bit of a side thing, but when it comes to Jesus and his resurrection and the guards that were stationed to guard the tomb, like that that was no joke. Basically, those guards, according to what I understand of Roman tradition, if there was somebody who's able to, because they were the like the priests were basically saying, We'll make up this story. The disciples came over and they stole the body and you guys were sleeping. Like for the Roman soldiers, that would you know, we have the common phrase over my dead body, but that would like literally be like if a Roman soldier is stationed and guarding a tomb and somebody's able to get the best on them and steal a body away, that soldier would lose his life, literally. So anyway, that's a little bunny trail. But Paul is talking about that's the kind of the backdrop of the being determined, being diligent, being disciplined in how we approach our relationship with God. And I I'll put both hands in the air. That's a challenge to me because there are many times where I fall short of having that kind of determination, that kind of diligence. And then Paul moves on, moving on and uses another analogy. Athletes in a race must obey all the rules to win. And also in um in Hebrews, I believe, let's see if I can get it to cooperate, my phone to cooperate. Hebrews, the author of Hebrews in 12, 1 through 3, um, I'm just gonna read this real quick. Therefore, since we're surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders us and the sin that so easily entangles us, and let us run with perseverance to the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of our faith. For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning the shame, and sat down at the right hand of the Father of the throne of God, at the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you might not grow weary and lose heart. Again, that was Hebrews 12, 1 through 3. But the the the point of um one of my friends at uh I I work at um Buffalo Academy of the Sacred Hearts at Catholic Girls' School, but one of the teachers there, Mark, um, he runs in marathons. And like, I mean he's he's a little bit younger than me, but he's he's he's got long legs, he's tall, he's got long legs and he's really fit, really thin. And the the you know, the his running schedule and what he does to come you know prepare for running a marathon, I mean it's remarkable. Like, I there's there's a few guys there that I I really um look up to for their discipline. You know, I I try to keep myself healthy, but food is kind of like you know, I I could eat much healthier. So um, but both Mark and then this other guy, Rick, they are very disciplined in the amount of exercise they do and what they put in their bodies, and Rick especially, like he'll fast for like two, three days a couple times a month, just water and black coffee. And I like so anyway, again, Paul, through these things, Paul is setting forth examples and challenges and encouragement for how seriously are you taking your faith, how seriously are you taking your relationship with the Lord? And again, for me, all of these points are are challenges, but yet in verse six and seven, I see the essentially the payoff because Paul says reading verse seven directly, the farmer who works hard deserves the first part of the harvest. And again, I I fall using sticking with this analogy of the discipline and eating and exercising and all these types of things. I fall short from that, but yet I still want to press myself in that direction. Going again, sticking with the same natural thing that'll be healthier for me, I'll have a healthier lifestyle, I should be less prone for, you know, sorry, Dan, heart attack. But just all these different things, and just being able to be more nimble and agile as I get old. And for us as Christians, that goal that we'd set before us is the more I'm able to walk in line with what the Bible says, the more I'm able to walk in line with Scripture and the way God's calling us and responding and recognizing the Holy Spirit when He's speaking to me and have that discernment to be able to say a word right in season, or to be able to withhold my tongue when my brain is wanting to go, da-da-da-da-da-da-da. Whatever the whatever it is, basically being able to recognize and walk in that wisdom and discernment, one of the things that I've mentored several, I just call them goofball, knuckleheads, whatever, but through the through several years, I mentored young men. And often lying is just a part of their core character. And so in the times where there's been some precise instances where I've been able to, God's opened up the opportunity for me to challenge them to come clean and say something that is going to be, it's basically likely to get them in trouble with their parents. Be able to be like, as George says, come clean dirty. But so, because the the way I try to explain it and the way I challenge myself even in that is if I go and I'm in alignment with God's word to tell the truth and not to be speaking out lies, I'm putting myself in, I'm putting myself under the protection of God. I'm putting myself in God's hands. Who's more capable of securing my future and securing my safety in any given situation? God's hands or Mike Shreve's hands because I'm gonna tell a lie and I'm outside of God's protection, I'm outside of God's grace, I'm probably gonna fall flat on my face and suffer some consequences. Which again, a little a little side thing. Um, early, I think it was probably even when Kim and I were dating or engaged, but I got into my brain. If I make a mistake, nobody's gonna have any blackmail on me. I will tell on myself to my wife faster than anything. Nobody's gonna get any blackmail or dirt on me. I'm gonna run to my wife and be like, I messed up, I did. So the more we're able to walk in alignment and press ourselves to be people of the word, spending time in his presence, spending time in prayer, worshiping God. Worship is a whole lot of different things, not just music, but certainly listening to Christian music, listening to worship music, we will be like that farmer. We will be working hard, and we will be able to get the first part of that harvest, that harvest being God's blessing, God's provision, God's peace that passes understanding. I mean, I don't think you have to go very far down the road, watch very much on TV or the news or anything like that. There are so many things that will try to steal away your joy, your peace, your security. But God is unchallenged in that category. He has perfect peace, peace that passes understanding, peace that defies what's going on in the economy, what's going on in national affairs, political parties, whatever. God's above and beyond all that. So again, the farmer who works hard deserves the first part of the harvest. And then he closes with I'm gonna go back to the other translation because I'm just more familiar with that one. Sorry, just a moment. So in verse, yeah, the last verse, verse seven, consider what I say, for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. As we devote ourselves to time in the word, to being in fellowship, in communion, koinia, whatever phrase you want to have it, but basically being gathered together, encouraging one another, praying for one another, worshiping as a body, as a body of believers, that even when we drop the ball, even when we make mistakes, God is able to provide for us the conviction and be able to give us understanding and grace and mercy, even when things seem to fall apart and sometimes it's of our own doing. That doesn't negate God's love, God's grace, God's mercy, and God's peace towards us. And so that's what I see in this last part. Consider what I say for the Lord will give you understanding in everything. There's nothing that we face that is gonna be is gonna have God go, whoa, whoa, how did that happen? What'd you do that for? Like he's never gonna be caught off guard. So that's what I see in these seven verses, just out of sharing my heart, encouraging and challenging uh from the word of God.

SPEAKER_02 31:07

Thank God for Jamie and Mike bringing the word of God tonight. Amen. Some great, great words, and we're thankful that um the word of God is living and active. It just doesn't um it just doesn't flow into our intellect and make us uh know it all. It flows into our heart and grows us in the character and nature of Christ, and it's his doing. Amen. He causes us to will and to do of his good pleasure. The word of God is living and active, and we thank God for the word tonight that touched our hearts and uh has caused us to uh ponder our lives in light of God's word. Listen to this verse in closing, we're gonna and then we're gonna pray. God is able to make all grace abound to you so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times you may abound in every good work. Isn't that fantastic? And tonight uh we gather as uh the church, the family of God, to give ourselves over to the sufficiency of Christ. Because we have inadequacies, we have insufficiencies, we have weaknesses, we have failures, but we thank God, as we said before, that God leads us in triumphal procession. Amen? So we don't stand in our own victory, we stand in the victory of Jesus Christ tonight. And God is able to make all grace abound to you the ability and the power and the wonder of the working of God in your heart, so that having all sufficiency in all things. Can we ponder and think about something tonight that we're wondering how we're gonna get through? Or there's a situation uh maybe in our mind, our mindset from the past that keeps coming up against us, right? Thoughts about what we were or what people told us that we that we were. His grace gives us this awesome sufficiency in all things at all times, that we may abound in every good work. And like Jamie said, Um He gives us what we need. Amen. We don't always get what we what we want, but we get what we need. Amen? And we thank God for it. Thank you for for the word of God shared tonight, uh Jamie and Mike. Appreciate it.