Psalm 23

 

        Psalm 23

What comes to your mind when you think of Psalm 23? 

On our kitchen wall we have a rug type thing with the Psalm 23, and below the psalm there are two lambs beside a stream, and they are sitting in green grass. So when I think of Psalm 23, that's what I think of.  

When I read verse one when I was younger, I imagined the psalmist to be saying: The Lord is my Shepherd that I do not want. 

And I remember thinking: Why put that in there? 

But that is not what it means. It means: 

The Lord is my Shepherd, I do not want anything else. He is all I need.

Or it could mean: The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not lack anything.

What is a Shepherd? My definition would be someone who looks after sheep. 

Often in the bible we are referred to sheep. Our Lord is our Shepherd. He looks after us. 

A Shepherd's job is to look after his sheep. He tends to them when they are sick. When the sheep is wounded, he looks after the wound till it is healed. 

LUKE 15:3-7.

So Jesus is our Shepherd. He looks after us. He tends to us when we are sick, and looks after our wounds till they are healed. 

Verse 2. 

"He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters."

This takes my mind to those two lambs lying on the fresh green grass while a peaceful looking stream runs beside them. 

Have you ever felt like those two lambs? Not a care runs through their head. They know their Shepherd has everything under control. They don't sit there worrying that the stream might over flow onto them. No!! They are content to lie there, knowing their Shepherd is watching them with their saftey on his mind. 

Are you content to lay on the soft green grass Jesus has led you to? Are you content to lay beside a still stream, knowing that the Good Shepherd is watching over you with your saftey on his mind? Or are you worried that the stream will overflow? 

MATTHEW 6:27

Verse 3.

"He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake." 

I will give you my paraphrase of this verse. 

"He brings my soul back to a usable condition. He leads me in a way where I will do right for his name's sake." 

He brings my soul back to a usable condition for him!! He makes is usable for the things he wants me to do. He leads me in a way where I will do right for his name's sake. 

How often in a day do you do right for Christ's name? When you help your mum around the house, do you do it for your name's sake? Or your Shepherds? When you go to work, do you work hard for your name's sake? Or your Shepherds?

Verse 4.

"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."

Have you ever lost a loved one? Can you remember thinking 'why God?' 

Have you ever been close to dying? Have you ever hurt so much physically that you thought to yourself 'I must be close to death!!'

Here's good news for you, my friend. You don't have to fear ANY evil because Jesus, your Shepherd, is there. 

Why do you think that the Shepherd's staff and rod are a comfort to the Psalmist?

Maybe its because that he knows that Jesus uses his rod and staff to keep him on the right track? 

Maybe it gives him comfort knowing that when Jesus, his Shepherd, uses his rod to chasten him, It's because his Shepherd loves him. 

Verse 5.

"You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows." 

Wow!! The Shepherd prepares a table for his sheep in the presence of the sheep's enemies. That is the last place i'd think of eating!!! But even when our enemies surround us, we can still feast on what God has given us!! We can be thankful even when we think its impossible.

My cup is truly overflowing right now!! And it always is! God is sooo incredibly generous with his blessings!! Thank-you, Lord, for your amazing blessings!!

Verse 6. 

"Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Goodness and Mercy are our companions if we have Jesus as our Shepherd. I am so thankful for these companions. 

And guess what!!! I am gonna dwell in the house of my Shepherd!! What an incredible promise!!! I am looking foward to being with my Shepherd in his house forever!!! And i'm looking forward to seeing those of you who have Jesus as their Sheperd there too!! 

God’s promises for us as his children

 

God's promises for us as his children 

We are HIS children! Therefore any promise in the bible applies to us if we are is children.

Please take note that the word 'PROMISES' is PLURAL!!

Firstly, we need to realize and remember just how amazing God is.

"Wonderful, merciful Savior. 

Precious redeemer and friend.

Counsellor, comforter, keeper... Almighty, infinite Father, faithfully loving your own."

NOTE: Faithfully loving his own!! (I love that) 

We are like a canvas. God is painting our picture. And along with that picture, he has given us some precious promises. I want to take a look at some of the promises he has given to individuals in the bible, and then also some promises he has given to us. 

I am going to look at 3 people in the bible that God personally promised something to. 

So the first person I would like to look at is found in Exodus 3&4:1-17. 

Here we see Moses. A Hebrew by birth, but raised an Egyptian. He flees after killing an Egyptian, and then is called by God to go back and deliver the Hebrews WITH THE LORD'S HELP!!! 

The promise is made in chapter 3:12."But I will be with you." 

God fulfilled that promise when Moses went back. God was always with him, and he continued to be with him even out in the wilderness. EVEN when Moses didn't do as he was asked. 

But in order for this promise to be fulfilled, he had to do as he was commanded. He was to go back to Egypt.

The second person we will look at is found in Luke 1:26-38. 

Here we see Mary.  God gave the promise of a son who would be king. Mary had her reputation at stake when she found out what would happen to her. But she believed in God and his promise. Also, he gave a second promise, which is found in verse 35. The Holy Spirit would come upon her, and the power of the 

Most High would over shadow her. WHAT AN AMAZING THING TO BE PROMISED!!!! 

And also later on in the book we see the promise fulfilled. Mary herself states that in verses 46-55. 

But in order for that promise to be fulfilled, Mary needed to obey the Lord. She needed to give birth to a

son. 

The third and final example we will look at is found in John 14:1-4. 

Here we find the disciples listening to the promises of God. The promise is found in verse 3. 

Jesus is going home to prepare a place for them, and he also promised  to come back for them. WHAT A TRULY AMAZING PROMISE!!!

But in order for that promise to be fulfilled, they needed to obey the command: To not be troubled. 

Something I want us to take note on is: God doesn't only give promises to PERFECT people. He gave promise to a murderer, to a young girl who was not perfect, and also to disciples who were unbelieving. All clearly NOT perfect. Therefore these promises can apply to us if we have truly been born again and we are God's child. 

Now we will look at 7 promises God has given to us.

1) Joshua 1:9.

The promise is given with a command. How often God gives us promises along with commands!! Moses was given the command to rescue the Hebrews. Mary was commanded to have a baby boy. The disciples were commanded to not be troubled. 

They all had to do something hard!!!! 

With this promise we are told to be STRONG and COURAGEOUS!! We are not to be frightened or dismayed!! Why? Because the Lord our God is with us wherever we go. 

2) Psalm 31:23 

COMMAND: love the Lord.

PROMISE: preserve the faithful. 

God keeps the faithful. He looks after them.

3) Isaiah 35:4 

COMMAND: be strong and fear not! 

PROMISE: he will come and save us! 

Oh how we often need saving!! And usually its because we didn't follow God's command.

4) Isaiah 43:1-5 (I LOVE this promise!!!) 

COMMAND: wait upon the Lord.

PROMISE: when we pass through deep waters, he'll be with us. When we go through rivers, he wont let them overwhelm us. When we walk through the fire, he wont let us be burned or be consumed!! 

He loves us. He honors us. He is with us!!!!

5) Isaiah 40:31(also another of my favourites) 

COMMAND: wait upon the Lord. 

PROMISE: he will renew our strength. We shall run and not be tired. We will walk and not faint. He also promises in Isaiah 43 that he will make a way for us in the wilderness, and streams in the desert!! WOW!! 

6) Jeremiah 1:8 

COMMAND: believe in him.

PROMISE: he will deliver us.

7) John 3:16

COMMAND: believe in him.

PROMISE: we shall have eternal life. 

WOWZA!!! That is the most amazing promise of ALL promises!!! 

The bible is full of amazing promises. They are waiting to be claimed. But our problem is, we think we are strong enough. We don't need God's amazing promise. 

Oh how foolish we truly are!!! We stoop so low as to decline an offer so great? 

When was the last time you received a promise? When was the last time you fulfilled the command, and let God fulfil the promise? 

O Christian, do not live in such a way! Claim his promises! They are for you. Search God's word for all his promises and claim them!!! Do not be afraid! They are YOURS!!!!

A broken vessel

 A Broken Vessel of Honour

Lord, you are the potter, and I am the clay.

You mold me, you re-make me,

You do it exactly your way. 

No one can change or alter the vessel you've formed.

They may hate it, and it's name they may deplore,

but you are still molding it, making it beautiful as never before. 

You take the ugly, broken-down vessels that are unwanted by all,

and you reform it, and build it strong so as never to fall.

You remake it with such love in your hand, thinking only of the beauty that will come from it.

When you are finished, a vessel of beauty sits there.

The vessel has gone through re-molding, and of pain it has had it's share.

Now it is completed. Transformed till it looks like new.

All glory and honour is given back to you

Having Hinds Feet

Accept with Joy:

Accepting the things that God puts in my life with a joyful heart.

 Not complaining or wishing that he didn't put it there.

Bearing without bitterness/bearing with love:

Always forgiving the wrongs that others do to me. Loving the hardest things, even when it feels impossible.

Treat others like royalty:

Treating others like kings and queens. Making them feelspecial and important, even when they are hard to be around.

Reaching out to the lowest of humanity.

Every circumstance, if it is reacted to in love and

forgiveness and obedience to God's will, can be

transformed.

Once we learn these lessons, God can transform our

feet into Hinds feet.