The Lord Is My Shepherd
First B Jackson
2023-06-18

Automatically transcribed. Where this and the recording disagree, the recording is the record.

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Well, good morning, church. How are we doing? Good. It is good to see you. Glad to be here together.

Glad to worship together. And and here's a a word of encouragement from Psalm 30 to lead us into worship. It's you, God. You've turned my mourning into joyful dancing. God can do that.

Only God can do that. You've taken away my clothes of mourning, and you've clothed me with joy. God, thank you for the joy that you give, the grace that we recognize in you, that even when things are hard, that we can see, God, your grace and your goodness. And we'll sing of it, and we'll look to you this morning and praise you with our heart, soul, mind, and strength. In Jesus' name, amen.

Would you stand? We'll sing together.

Amen. Y'all can have a seat. Few announcements this morning. First of all, just so you're not wondering the whole time, I went to the dermatologist. I've had a year of trying to figure out what's going on with this, just this finger, this finger and this finger.

And I went to the dermatologist and she gave me some stuff, supposed to clear, whatever. But she said, pay attention to what you're doing regularly that is involved in those three fingers, and it is playing the bass. I'm allergic to this thing.

It's on me. It's on me. I've doing it twice a week.

And so I'm figuring out how to play without it causing me trouble, but, that's what's happening with the glove. We'll we'll see if it works. This thing is not working. There we go. Monday night's at first B.

What's happening?

Yes. So, we are on tomorrow at 06:00 meal, music, message, and, Matt Littelman's small group will be, serving dinner, and we're in Mark chapter 12, where Jesus says, give to God what is God's, and specifically, that's to worship him and have trust and faith in him with a heart, soul, mind, and strength. So that's tomorrow at Monday night, and know that you're welcome to come down the hall, 06:00.

Thank you. Alright. Right now, me. I mentioned this last week. If you if you are

going

And we're sense to you can talk to one of us. Probably Nick then would be the best guy. He's right there in the back of the room, and he'll get your email address signed up for you, and you can get signed on if you'd like to do that. It's something that the church, pays flat rate amount. It doesn't matter how many of them there are.

So if you're under the sound of my voice here on the Internet wherever, feel free, sign up. This is coming up pretty quick. June the this is Friday and it's Wednesday and Friday, twenty eighth and thirtieth of June. The Emane Melele choir from Uganda is gonna be playing at the press church. It ought to be a good show.

It ought to be fun. So if you wanna go to that, it's twenty eighth and thirtieth. This is coming up fast too. We've got Vacation Bible School right here. First be nine to noon, June twenty sixth to twenty eighth.

I don't see Liz. She's probably doing children's ministry stuff downstairs. But if you would like to volunteer, sign up or sign up a child, you're welcome to do that first bjackson.org, and she would love to have you calling in. Church directory, another one to see Nick about. The church directory, we are looking for, if you want to be involved in the directory, we'd like a horizontal picture of you.

Everybody knows what horizontal is? Okay, just making sure because we get a lot of vertical pictures sent in. But Nick will take a horizontal photo of you and your family in the back after church today if you would like to be in that. Just see him and he can get your particular information and then we can be better connected. First B camp out is coming up.

That summer is rolling. So July seven through the ninth. We usually do this in August at the end of the summer. We usually do it in a different place. Mike Demetrius is the guy to talk to about this.

July 7 through the night down at Palisades. If you want to, you can call Mike at that number right there. And that's a fun time to get together and be together. If you would like to know this stuff before this little blurb moment on Sundays, you can get our e mails by going to firstbjackson.org. And I think is that it?

The shaky shake hand time. We've kind of reinstituted. I know introverts. I know. I know.

It's been a good run, but it's going to come back at some point. And I think that that point has already happened. So I want to mention something. Today, sermon time is going to be about community, really about being sorry, there's another announcement that's probably many of you all know, we lost a dear, dear friend, a dear, dear member this week on Wednesday. And it's hard for a lot of us.

And Steve Marsteller passed this week, and it's really hard. And so take time to take care of one another. That's what the sermon is gonna be about, but I can't help it. I just gotta say it right now. I love y'all.

Would you stand up and shake hands, and we're gonna bring you back together with some songs.

As long as there is breath in our our lungs, may this be our song and our prayer too when our our faith is lacking, God, would we look to your faithfulness? Because you cannot disown yourself. That is who you are. You are faithful. Even if we are faithless, you remain faithful.

And, God, I pray that as we sing out to you in faith, that our faith would increase, that it would grow, that we would be encouraged. In Jesus' name, amen. Can I share a couple of verses with you? Words to encourage us, church. It's one from first Peter.

Praise be to the God and father of our Lord Jesus Christ. In his great mercy, he's given us a new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. Is that not good news? That is so huge for us. That's what gives us hope because we serve a risen savior.

We serve a living God, and he's alive and he's in well in us. And another from Hebrews, let us hold unswervingly to that hope that we profess. For he who promised is faithful. That lay between us. I'll hide the mountain I could not climb.

In desperation, And you can have a a seat here for a moment. This is a worship through giving part of the service. I'd like the the ushers to come on forward. And we're gonna sing your words, your words. This is good news from first Peter.

For you've been born again, but not to a life that will quickly end. Your new life will last forever. That's a promise from Jesus. Why? Because it comes from the eternal living word of God.

Before we sing, pray with your friends. God

almighty, thank you for this gathering. Thank you for this little flock. Thank you that you love us. Thank you that you that you offer restoration, that you offer healing, that you offer help in time of trouble. Lord God almighty, I pray that that we would that we would stick together, that we would take this community seriously.

The ones of us who know you and trust you and love you, Lord, but also that we would care deeply for those who don't yet know you, Don't know to trust you. God, may may they see in us something that is something that's appealing, something that is helpful, winsome, desirous. Lord God Almighty, I pray that you'd, comfort our hearts, that you would give us your words as this song is gonna say. Lord, they will last forever. A lot of what we spend a lot of time on is wood, hay, and stubble, Lord.

I pray that you would give us your words, that they'd sink deep into our lives, and that they would that they would grow us, that they'd grow up, that there'd be fruit that comes out of it. In Jesus' name, Lord, we ask you to bless this offering, bless everything that's put in these plates, whether it's literal or metaphorical. I pray that you would take every conversation and do something with it, Lord. I pray that you would you would build up your kingdom. In Jesus' name, we pray.

Amen. Amen. Alright. It's time. Children's church happening downstairs.

So last week, we were in Luke 15, and my norm would be in Luke 16. I did all Luke 15 last week. Luke 16, notoriously difficult passage if you want to get ahead of me. Luke 16 is a pretty difficult one to interpret and to present. So I'm going take another week on that one.

Yesterday, right here in this room, we did Moosey Woodling's funeral. Did you all know Moosey? So Moosey is an institution, my goodness, 100 years old. She lived to 100. They did her one hundredth birthday party up at the National Museum of Wildlife Art, and she passed the following January, this January.

So during her service, she had a lot of selections. When you live to be 100, you think at some point, I might pass. You get sick and you think, I might not make it. So she had a very detailed funeral plan that she prepared sometime in the mid-60s. Okay?

And then in the early '80s, she had another one that was not as detailed and then another one that was not as detailed. And the last one was handwritten, actually in October 2020 during COVID. She wrote out, I might not make a she was thinking, I might not make 100. I might not get there. But she it was very it wasn't very detailed, honestly.

It was pretty light, but she did have passage after passage after passage after passage of scripture, and they were so good. And so as I'm standing up here contemplating all the events of the week, Psalm 23 just landed on me so well and helped so much. I'm trying to preach a funeral, and it's helping me. And so I wanted I hope it will help you all. I'm just going to share it.

And I don't again, Tanya says never promise a short sermon. I don't have many slides, okay? Shepherd and friend. Derek Kidner is a great expositor of theologian and scholar. And he's got I've I've mentioned this little book before.

It's great. Psalms one through 72. I might just read some of what he has to say. But I want to remind you of something we hit last week. This, this is the beginning.

There were three parables in a row. Remember, it's the parable of the lost sheep, then the parable of the lost coin, and then prodigal son, if you want to call it that, but I think it was more loving father, right? Loving father that pursued that prodigal as far as he could. He was looking for his return. He was watching for him every day.

When he saw him, he hiked up his robe and took off running at him. He was looking forward to that return. That's good. And then with the older brother, which I think some of us contend to be, he was looking for him too. Where's the older brother?

And he went out after him too. So what man among you, if he has a 100 sheep and has lost one of them, doesn't leave the other 99 in open pasture and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? When we sing the hymn that says, Prone to Wander, Lord, I Feel It. Do you do you feel it? I had a professor in seminary who, was very into victorious Christian living, and he had a very high standard for himself.

He was an Air Force guy. He was a navigator. And he said, I don't he just he would stand and he would cross his arms and he would that verse because he didn't even want to say that he was prone to wander. But are we? I think in our thoughts, we are.

I think if we have high standards, we get really frustrated with ourself if we don't live up to those high standards, and we wonder how God could still want us, could still be looking for us. There's that loving father in this Luke 15 was looking for him. He gave him what he asked for, and he was looking for him to come home. He was he was looking forward to his turn. And when he saw him, he was just grateful.

There was no punitive anything there. Right? There's no punishment there. So when he's found it, he puts it on his shoulders rejoicing. Last week, I acted this out.

He's not kicking the sheep for having done wrong. He's lifting them up and putting them on his shoulders and calling all his friends, the community and saying, Hey, that which was lost is now found. So rejoice with me because I found my sheep that was lost. I tell you in the same way, there'll be more joy in heaven over a sinner who repents than over 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance. I have always read that 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance.

I've always read that as almost a dig at the Pharisees. Y'all think you're better than that. There's much more joy in heaven when a sinner who's a sinner and knows it admits it. I've always thought of this as being those who have, oh, yeah, you all, you all too good for that. You don't need repentance.

That's what the way that I've read it. But I think he's saying in community, we can live victorious life, and we can help each other in that open pasture of community. Are you with me? If we wander away from that, in a way, we're kind of forfeiting a real blessing. Right?

We're forfeiting a real blessing that community offers that that nothing else, the body of Christ. That's the way we're described. The body of Christ. All believers throughout all time, but right here, right now, this is this is us, the believers, and this community offers something. And if we wander, and we're prone to wander, Lord, I feel it.

If we wander off, we get in a place of isolation. It's very, very difficult to get out of that on our own. We have the world, the flesh, the devil working against us, and the body of Christ is not having a say at that moment. Right? And so I wanna just go to Psalm 23.

I think that's enough. I think the 99 righteous people who have no need of repentance is it is possible to walk in victory, but we are also prone to wander. Does that make sense? Both of those things are true. And I think to be able to hold in one hand an emotion and hold in another hand an emotion that's conflicting with it presents us with a difficult time.

But I hope that there'll be some catharsis in knowing this is very difficult and yet God's word is true. Does that make sense? This is very difficult, but God is faithful, and he is gonna complete the work that he started. One way or another, he is gonna do that. Here we are.

That's all we're covering today, and new scripture we haven't covered before. Psalm 23. One time, we were in Costa Rica in language school for a year. It was in the middle of our time in Latin American service. But we went down there and Max Lucado, you all know who he is.

He he had a daughter that was in the same school with us for just a couple weeks, and she stayed with us while we were there, which was cool. And he came in and just like pastors, I mean, if if there's a blessing and you're the pastor, expect it. The only way you're not gonna have to say the blessing is if there's another pastor in the room and he he caught their eye first. Right? It's just the way it is.

So Max Lucado is at a language school for missionaries. Who's doing chapel that week? You know? Well, he did, and he he did this. Not the whole psalm.

He just did this. He held up his hand, and he said, the definite article. Not another one. The Lord, master of all. Right?

The Lord. He is the Lord above every above every other spiritual being above all. The Lord is oh, boy. Continuous action existing. It exists.

It is my Okay. That brings it home. And then shepherd. What a loving thing. Up to this point in Psalms, you read them straight through from the beginning one through 22, God has presented as all kinds of stuff, but it's not as intimate as shepherd.

It's not as close as Shepherd. Almighty, deliverer, and all good things, but Shepherd is a very, very close relationship. And if he's my Shepherd, I'm the sheep. Sheep are not very smart, by the way. They're just not.

The Lord is my shepherd. That's enough to contemplate right there. You could hang on to that one for a while. The Lord of the universe, master of all, creator of all. He's my shepherd.

He's that close to me.

I'm a dumb sheep.

Knowing that, that he's Jehovah Jireh, that he has all of the resources, I shall not want. My brother, when we were little, this might embarrass him, maybe he won't listen. My dad always paid for stuff when we were little, it's Father's Day too, Happy Father's Day. My dad always paid for stuff. He had the wallet and we didn't ever really think about that too much.

We'd go out to eat and we'd go to Bonanza, stand in the little line and go through and daddy would pay. And somebody asked him one day, we were all together and somebody asked Toby, he's like 14, 13 or 14. And he said, You got your wallet? And he said, Yes, he's right there. He's 13 or 14.

You know? He's right there. He knew his daddy would pay for what he needed. Right? I shall not want.

The Lord is my shepherd. Dwell on that. God Almighty is my shepherd. If I feel like I'm lacking, I I need to remember this. I shall not be in want.

I mean, Paul does say, I know I've been in plenty and I've been abased. Right? I've had a lot and I've had a little. He's writing it from prison. But I've learned the secret of being content.

I shall not want. I've got what I need. He's singing songs when Lord shakes the prison open. Didn't even run from that. Right?

The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. I'm I'm I'm good because he's good. I'm alright because he's alright. He makes me to lie down in green pastures.

Does it still surprise you all how fast the green grass turns green here? Because the snow could be two feet deep one week, and the grass would be green in less than a month. I'm so thankful for That's that is a picture of abundance. He makes me to lie down. I can just rest in green pastures.

He leads me beside the still waters. It's not a raging river. It's a place where I can take a drink, where I can calm down, where I can bathe, where I can be made clean and whole. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He's got all the resources that I need.

Now I do wanna go back, bring to the New Testament. This is the body of Christ right here. We find a lot of the resources we need right here. This is a green pasture. This is the open pasture of that parable.

He leads me beside the still waters, and he restores my soul. Have you have you felt like your soul was empty? Have you? Yeah. You feel sometimes pretty tapped out.

It feels like, wow, there's a lot of evil in this world, and it feels like it's winning. And it's not, by the way. If it is not working out, It's not the end. He restores my soul. Amen.

I don't think this is time for Hebrew grammar. It says what it says. He restores my soul. If my soul is aching and longing, I need to turn to my shepherd. Meh, right?

Call out to him. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. That's a comfortable setting. He leads me beside still waters. Man, that sounds great.

He restores my soul. There's not anybody else that can do that. He leads me. Amen. He leads me.

Now here we do have to be willing to follow for him to be leading. Right? That that's something that he leads me. Oh, blessed thought. Right?

That's the old song. He leadeth me. He leadeth me. Words with heavenly comfort, fraud. It's wonderful that he leads me, but I gotta be following.

We can resist God's leading, and when we do and we wander off, he's looking for us. Know that he's looking for us. He leads me. He leads me where? In the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Amen. I don't want make him look bad, and he doesn't want me to make him look bad. He's leading me in paths of righteous for his name's sake. When I pray during the operatory, lot of times what I'm praying is to be winsome and attractive and so that people would desire a relationship with God, desire a relationship with the body of Christ. The church gets a bad rap in the world, but how are they gonna know?

How are they gonna know unless we show them? He leads me in the paths of righteousness. We don't have to be right, but he will lead us in the paths of righteousness. And we don't have to explain ourselves. If we're following after his lead, we don't have to explain that.

Does that make sense to you? He leads me in the paths of righteous for his name's sake. When Christ says, I will build my church, he means it. He's gonna do it, and he's gonna do it regardless. But wouldn't you rather be a part of it instead of he did it in spite of what you did?

Does that make sense? Despite my walking wayward and everything else. It's because I'm completely surrendered to the will of God, and I trust my shepherd enough to follow after him. He leads me, requires my following if he's leading in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Think dwell on that for a minute.

The path of righteousness is what he'll lead us in for his name's sake, and then it says, yea, though I walk through the valley, following God, on the path of righteousness, you're going to go through the valley. It's a part of it, of the shadow of death. Of the deepest darkness, good translation of that, even though I walk through the valley of the deepest darkness of the of the shadow of death, that is on the path of righteousness. I'll fear no evil. Amen.

I'll fear no evil. Why? For you're with me. Oh, goes from shepherd to you. Now we're switching from shepherd to friend here.

I mean, there are people who try to turn this into, but when you're talking about being a sheep and somebody sitting at table before you, that's coming. Right? That's kind of mixing metaphors. It goes from shepherd to friend. Even though I'm walking through the valley of shadow of death, I'm on the path of righteousness that's taking me to a place like my master.

Did he suffer? Yeah. Was he ridiculed? Yeah. Was he called everything ugly?

Yeah. Eventually crucified. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'm I'll fear no evil because you are with me, because thou art with me, God. You're with me. So that's an intimate relationship.

Shepherd to sheep is one, but this is even closer than that. You're with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. A staff, you see a shepherd and you tend to think of the big hook, you're holding that and you reach out with the staff. I like the image of the staff.

Come on, get back in line. You know? That's good. The the rod is a cudgel. It's a blunt little instrument.

David used that when he was fighting against the lions that were trying to get the sheep. You know? He popped them with it. It's a weapon. And he's saying, you're with me and I know you're with me.

Lord, you have all of the resources to protect me in difficult times. Your rod, you've got it. It's right there tucked in your belt, I know it. And your staff, you'll reach out and get me. You'll lead me.

I'm comforted by that to know that you have all the resources. Leave room for God. Vengeance is mine, saith the Lord. Leave room for him to do his work. We don't have to retaliate.

We just need to stay in your fold, Lord. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me. Now I mentioned last week that one of the Pharisees' biggest aggravations with Jesus is he ate with tax collectors and sinners. Those dirty, filthy sinners.

He ate with them. And table fellowship was so important in the Old Testament and the New Testament. We hear lots about it in Galatians, in the Jerusalem Council. Well, who are we gonna eat with? What are the rules?

What are the new rules? If this is the way it is, what are the new rules? You prepare a table before me. It's a sumptuous table, first of all. It's abundance.

Again, God has abundance, and he's preparing it in the presence of my enemies. Okay. So how does this work? Is David writing this because he's holed up in the middle of this camp of enemies all around him on all sides, and he feels oppressed and down, and he's just in this little little outfit right here in the middle of him and he's able to still eat because he's got one who provides. Maybe.

But I think that what he's saying is through what you are doing with your rod and your staff, you are able, Lord, to make a place where I'm able to be in abundance and my enemies are also invited to this table. In the presence of my enemies, I'm sitting here at a sumptuous table. Now you can see them as defeated foe or you can see them as, yes, you're a defeated foe who has been welcomed into the kingdom. Maybe reluctant, but they're invited in. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Jesus says, pray for your enemies. To love your enemies, pray for those who persecute you. The way that you do that, the way that you act brings people into the kingdom of God. Everything else is one up manship. It just is like this, this, this.

You bring a knife, he brings a gun, you bring a gun, he brings a bigger gun. Right? You prepare a table before me of abundance, lord, in the presence of my enemies, and you anoint my head with oil. Celebratory. Right?

That is above and beyond. It's not just foot washing. You anoint my head with oil. Often uses a symbol of the Holy Spirit. My cup runs over.

I have so much, and I think it's good to dwell on so much to be thankful for. I'm very thankful for the body of Christ. I'm very thankful that we have one another. Shirley goodness and mercy. Sherry Turpin's mom is named Shirley, and she calls herself she introduces herself.

She says, I'm Shirley. Shirley goodness and mercy. Shirley goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Okay. God is leading, and I'm following him.

And what's following me is goodness and mercy. It's good. All the days of my life. It's good to rest in this sort of psalm. And and I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

That's guaranteed. That's an Old Testament concept. It's a New Testament concept. You surrender your life to God, his will, his way. You accept his terms, and you've got a place with him forever.

The faithfulness of God is true and good, and you're never gonna be plucked out of his hand. Never. What a man among you if he has a 100 sheep, he's lost one of them, doesn't leave the other 99 in open pasture and go after the one that's lost. For those of us who are right here together today, we're here together. I want you to encourage one another.

We're going to close here in just a second. I do want to say something though. Let's go after the ones. Can we? Go after the ones.

If you notice that someone's dropped off, if you notice that they're going through a hard time, can we just say, Hey, man, you want to go with me and go check on so and so? We need to do that. We need to do that. It was a hard time the last three years because we didn't know who was where. We didn't know where everything was and what was going on.

But if you've recognized that a brother or a sister has stepped back, has just taken a hiatus or whatever, and you know it, let's go after them. Okay, can we do that? All right. Okay. I had all kinds of other stuff, but I think that's enough.

I want to read something right here. I said that and then I took it back. Ezekiel 34 is about bad shepherds. Y'all know Ezekiel 34. It says that there are bad shepherds.

Woe to the shepherds of Israel who have been feeding themselves and not feeding the flock. Religious abuse exists. Ugliness exists. You eat the fat, you clothe yourselves with their wool, you slaughter the fat sheep without feeding the flock. Those who are sickly, you haven't strengthened, You haven't gone after those basically who have wandered.

They scattered for lack of a good shepherd, and they became food for every animal of the field and they scattered. My flock has strayed through all the mountains on every high hill. My flock has scattered all over the surface of the earth. And there was no one to search or to seek for them, but down in verse 11, Ezekiel 34, it says, but the Lord God says this, behold, I myself will search for my sheep and I will look after them. As a shepherd cares for his flock on a day when he's among scattered sheep, so I will care for my sheep directly.

God is doing that. He's also asking you to join him in that. Okay? Let's don't be bad shepherds. Would you stand with us?

We're going to sing Psalm 23. Trevor Morgan put this, it's straight up Psalm 23, put it to music, and I think it's helpful. And would you hang around today too? There's a big breakfast down the hall. Happy Father's Day.

But would you just hang around and take time to catch up with one another and renew some familial bonds here. From first Thessalonians three twelve, it says, may the Lord make your love increase and overflow for each other. Amen. And for everyone else. Just as ours does for you.

Amen. He goes on to say in five eleven of the same book, he says, encourage one another and build each other up. God Almighty, would you make that so? Right here, as we grieve together and as we rejoice together. In Jesus' name.

Amen.