Bible Teaching

Calvary Temple Teaching Library

The 23rd Psalm Pt.2

Psalm 23, "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters." I wasn't aware that Steve taught on the twenty-third Psalm. ["Is The Lord my Shepherd?" March 10, 2005 Sunday PM] I'm sure he's put in a lot of information that will help you as we emphasize a few of these points; the function of the shepherd, the actual logistical things that are involved in that. The Scripture says here as David is speaking of his Shepherd, the Lord, "He restores my soul." Aren't you glad for the restoration of your soul? The soul: the emotions, the intellect, the will; a mind that's constantly being renewed, peace that comes in. "Peace I give unto you; not as the world giveth, give I unto you," Jesus said. In a world of turmoil, anxiousness and fear, the Lord restores our soul. He brings our minds to peace. We're not fearful. We are not doubting where we are on this course. There's a prize that's been set before us, a mark that we're pressing toward. It's a consciousness of our relating to other members in the body in particular; the fact that we've been chosen of God and ordained of God to go and bear fruit and that that fruit is going to remain. That's a constant source of refreshing and renewing, that what we're doing is going to have effect and will remain, praise God! That's the restoring of the soul, not just a soothing where people say, "It's going to be alright." When the Comforter, the Spirit of God comes, He gives ballast and strength to us. He supports us and our youth is renewed like the eagle's. This is the job of the Shepherd. We do get discouraged and we get tired and we get weary. But when it gets beyond us, He says, "I'll never leave you, nor forsake you. I will not leave you comfortless." That refreshing comes, and the mind is restored. The Word of God begins to flow supernaturally as He brings all things to our remembrance that were spoken. The refreshing, the restoration of the Word of God, brings strength.

"...he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake." It's not about us. It's not our reputation. It's not keeping score. He doesn't lead us in the paths of righteousness so we can feel better about ourselves and as the evening ends we can check off another day without getting in the flesh. It's for His name's sake. It's to see people that are living beyond themselves. He leads us into the realm of the supernatural. People look and say, "How is it that you do that"? You say, "I can't. But, God's working in me to will and to do His good pleasure!" For His name's sake He leads us in the paths of righteousness. Everything that we do that's right is for the glory of God. It's for His name's sake. Are you giving Him the glory? The successes that you've experienced, you young people on the court, some of you on your jobs; some of you think you're pretty good at your job. You aren't that good; God's blessed you, amen? There are a lot of people that are working just as hard. There are a lot of people that are smarter that aren't being blessed like you, for His name's sake. So, as Christians we can say, "It's not me. My weapons aren't natural, they are mighty through God." Our wisdom isn't the wisdom of the world. Our strength isn't the dainties of the king. We've eaten the food that's been separate to God, and because of that we're ten times wiser than the world. That's the realm that the Shepherd is going to take us into: an area that's totally separate from the world's methodology so God can be glorified. Isn't it great to be able to just boast in the Lord? "How do you do that?" "I don't. It's God in me, working, willing His pleasure."

So, David, as he's sharing along here, and talking about the goodness of God and the course that He is taking us on; the fact that in this life there are the needs of the renewal, the lying down in the green pastures, the refreshing of the still waters. Many of us are doers. We get worth from our work. But, don't embrace the Martha syndrome; choose the better part. We're all called to work. We've all been called to good works. But, the works will be in our own strength and they'll be for our own glory if we haven't chosen the better part of sitting at His feet and fellowshipping with Him; the moments of refreshment that come beside the still waters, the green pastures. What is it that God's given us to eat? "I found your Word and I ate it and it became unto me the joy and rejoicing of my heart" (Jeremiah 15:16). This bread of truth, that's the refreshing. Shut yourself in; refresh yourself, with the Word of God. Refresh yourself in the times of prayer as you are praying in the Spirit. Out of our innermost being flows rivers of living water, the Scripture says. You want to realize something? You produce your own water as the Spirit of God prays through you. As the anointing of God rises up in you, that refreshing is something that's internal. It needs to be tapped as we draw on the grace of God and just rest; just become quiet, refuse all the busyness of the world, separate ourselves into that quiet, secret place of the Most High and fellowship with God. Hunger and cry out, "Lord, show me Your glory!" Then let Him place you in the cleft of the rock and pass by and show you a revelation of Himself that will transform you forever. That will cause you to come down from that mountain and your face will be glowing, and people will know that you've encountered God. When we come out of the prayer closet, we can come out with that radiance of the glory of God if we'll just get quiet and refresh ourselves with Him. So many of us are just constantly dragged out, tired of working. We're doing stuff; we're trying to do things for God. We need to spend that time fellowshipping with Him. So, go to that quiet place. Go to the green pastures. Drink from the deep waters of the Holy Ghost and let Him restore your soul. "Prepare yourself," as he says in verse 4, for the fact that tough times are going to come. The Shepherd's leading in our lives is not going to be into a life that's trouble free. But, it's going to be into a life that's victorious, that causes us in all of these things to be more than conquerors; cast down but not forsaken, praise God! So, we are a people that are being prepared to finish this course, to be strengthened to endure.

So, the Psalmist says it this way: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." As we approach this hour that's upon us, I think as a people, and in this particular nation, there could be some great times of adversity. It's a very interesting thing as the Lord's been opening some doors, as we've shared with you, in ministry. We just heard where all of the doors that had been opened in the racing ministry appear to be closed. I think part of it is because of a fearfulness that came upon this particular organization. When they heard what we were going to provide, they thought they wanted ministry, and when they heard what we were going to bring, they weren't interested. It frightened them. The last word we got is, "No, you can't do any of that. You can't do any outreach. You cannot bring anybody to your pit site and witness to them. You cannot bring the children in and minister to them. You can't do any of these things in your pit areas." So I told the director of this organization, "You contact the president if you want to. If you don't, I will. You ask him this question: 'Should we obey God or men?' Call me, and tell me what he has to say." Now, the fact that we told them that we would work with them is part of what gives them that authority. So, the easy solution to that is, I told her very simply, "We'll just resign and not work with the organization. We'll do what we did in the past. We'll just come in there individually and let our light shine and do what it is that God's called us to do." What are we causing them to do by refusing to compromise? I want to show you. I'm saying this because this is where we are going in the world. They say they want the gospel. But, when you bring them the reality of it, it offends them and it scares them. So, now we're having to bring them to a place where they make a decision. What they're saying is, "You can't bring people there and witness to them." My question to them is, "But, I can bring them over and drink beer with them? We can play loud music; all these fat rednecks just drinking and carrying on, all kinds of noise going on 'til all hours of the day and night?" "You can do that, but you can't preach the gospel. That's the only thing you can't do. You can tell dirty jokes." This is the world that we're living in. You see it at work. You see it in the malls: "Don't [you] dare come in here and pass out Christian literature, but let's freely distribute the Abercrombie and Fitch magazines. Let's put up big posters of Victoria-Has-No-Secrets. But, don't come in here with the gospel." That's the world that we're living in. It's going to become stronger opposition to where, ultimately, they are going to kill us and believe they are doing God's service. Now, that's talking about the apostate religious system that's going to become part and parcel of the great whore. We, the light of the world, are going to become the only non-compromising entity. We're going to be the trouble makers. Everything would be peaceful if we stopped speaking in absolutes; if we stop calling sin, "sin."

So, David, in speaking to us, tells us very clearly that there is going to be this opposition, but His rod and His staff will comfort us, amen? Are you ready to enter in to that realm with no strength in yourself? You know the phrase that we coined a number of years ago? The guys even did a skit on it. You remember, the "sheep on steroids"" You know, sheep are not as a whole, vicious, violent animals; sheep are pretty dumb, docile. So, when we are called "sheep" it's not a derogatory statement. It doesn't speak of a weakness. It's a thing that talks about the need to choose to be weak, to choose to potentially be prey in the eyes of the world. We could rise up. We could fight. But, if you're going to live by the sword, you're going to die by the sword. "Put it away," Jesus said. "Lord, we have this one sword." "That's sufficient." God's wisdom will let us know to what degree we operate in the natural. There are times when there are physical things that you do. It's not just a thing of just saying, "Well, we're going to believe God to send angels and close the lions' mouths." Sometimes you might need to shoot the lion. Sometimes you might need to leave town; they lower you over the wall in a basket. The Spirit gives us understanding and guidance in those areas, but we can't trust in the arm of the flesh.

So, we see it said this way. Turn over to Psalm 57 for just a second. In the fifty-seventh Psalm, verse 1, listen to what the Scripture says as we enter the valley of the shadow of death. Now, what he's speaking of there in the Hebrew is speaking of the death of deaths, natural death. Then, carried over into the second death, or spiritual death, which is the consequence of not being a partaker of the life of God and the justice of God. But, to the natural man, the man that doesn't know God, there is no greater enemy and there is no greater fear than death: not knowing what the afterlife might bring. Most saying they don't believe in any after-life. "When you die, you're just like a dead dog and you don't exist anymore." Then, why are you so afraid of it? It would seem you would want to welcome it. It would seem that life is vanity, it has no purpose. If this short period of time is all there is, why? So, philosophers have dealt with this for years. Men know innately that they were not created to die. So, it troubles them and they are fearful because of that anxiousness. But, God has promised us that we don't have to move in that realm of fear and anxiety. He has brought us a comfort to our souls. In this Psalm he makes a great statement. He says in verse 1, "Be merciful unto me, O God, be merciful unto me: for my soul trusteth in thee: yea, in the shadow of thy wings will I make my refuge, until these calamities be overpast." As you enter into the valley of the shadow of death--the trials of life, adversity, all of the opposition, the threats of the enemy--do you believe that He's going to cover us with His wings? Do you believe that He's going to sustain us until all of these calamities that are being spoken of pass? I like that phrase, "they overpass," they come over us. It's like those during the Passover, as the blood was placed upon the doorposts and the Death Angel passed over them.

It reminds you of that illustration that is so true of what takes place. Many times the prairie fires that take place in some of the Midwestern states. True story was told: in some of the prairie fires that would just sweep over, just in an instant the fire would run through as the winds were blowing. A man came out one day and he was walking through after all of the grass had been charred, just kind of walking through all of this charred grass. He saw a clump that he thought was maybe some grass or whatever, and he just kind of kicked it with his boot. Out from under that clump came all of these little baby chicks. As the fire came the mother just gathered them in, and covered them with her wings. The fire came over and destroyed her, and the chicks were preserved. God covers us with His wings, amen? He's gone before us! You know that place that natural man fears, death? He went there and conquered it, praise God! And, He's risen! He ever lives to make intercession for us! He's gone to prepare a place for us and He's going to come again and receive us unto Himself. That's our hope, and because of that, we don't fear.

The ninety-first Psalm, I think, says it best. Turn over there for just a moment. In that ninety-first Psalm--oh, how many times have you read that? I was sharing with some people just the other day. I think probably the greatest spiritual warfare that I've been in in the last 15 years, or whatever it's been, was the night, Chuck, before we went to the Taj Mahal in India. I was sick. I had a fever. But, I was under a demonic attack that I can only remember the intensity of such an attack one other time in my life. A tangible presence and wrestling with principalities and powers. It's so real that it's a combination of supernatural, if you can ever imagine the feelings that you may have had in a horror movie, of any phobia that you might have, of the times that you ever felt your loneliest and most fearful, and you amplify that intensity. That's what you're talking about in a battle like this. There's only one thing that you do when you're under such a siege of the enemy. That's run into the secret place of the Most High, amen? I can remember for hours that night; didn't sleep that night. The next day we got up and went to Taj Mahal. I think it was a record day, one of the hottest days in the history of the world, anywhere. I'm serious; I'm not just saying it. It was right there as one of the three or four hottest days ever recorded, and I was there with a fever. I didn't know what was ahead, and I knew this opposition. I wondered, "What in the world is going on here?" We're kind of just going through this thing and the next day we had meetings in Jeyaraj's church. Little did I know that God was going to use us in the way that He did. The magnitude of what God spoke through us in those meetings, it's just phenomenal. It's one of the highlights of our life that I can remember God using us. But, prior to those great victories are usually these great battles.

"Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." When you find yourself in those places, do you realize God's getting ready to do something good, amen? Can you bring yourself to that place of realizing, "This is good."? Oh, you hate it for the moment, but listen to what the Psalmist says, "He that dwelleth in the secret place of the most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. I will say of the Lord, He is my refuge and my fortress: my God; in him will I trust. Surely he shall deliver thee..." What a great promise! Our deliverance is sure. These promises are sure to a thousand generations. We will be delivered from the snare of the fowler, from the noisome pestilence. That word, "noisome," is talking about an abundance and intenseness; it's used in reference to a flood. "When the enemy comes in upon us like a flood, [what happens?] the Lord raises a standard against him," amen? What's the bottom line of what we're trying to share today? Are we really trusting in the Lord, or do we trust in our own strength? Are we trusting in our ability to cope, our ability to provide, our ability to understand and to be able to say, "Okay, now I understand what God's doing"? But, what do you do when you don't understand? What do you do when you have no more strength? What do you do when it's beyond yourself? "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want [praise God!]. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul."

I had someone come up to me after service and they said, "You know, the message is really helping me, because I've been there. I know all the doctrine, but I'd lost sight of it. I kept looking to the natural way out." He said, "Finally a brother came to me and said, 'What's God said to you? Have you committed this thing to the Lord? Have you turned and sought God or are you believing all the evil reports?'" It happened to be they were facing some physical things and they were getting all these reports and all these tests. Isn't it time to rise up against the noisome pestilence and say, "Enough! I see what all of the reports say, but by His stripes I am healed, praise God!" You may still choose to use whatever medicine they are prescribing. You may still choose to go through whatever procedure they are recommending. But, now your focus is back on God and at any moment you're expecting the supernatural to come and God's providence to manifest because He's leading us into the paths of righteousness for His name's sake, amen? "He's brought me here that He might be glorified in me in the midst of this thing. Even though I'm going through a process, and even though I'm being preserved, possibly, and it appears from the outward eye that I'm being preserved by man's methods. I want you to understand something. I'm not trusting in those things even though I'm partaking in them. I'm trusting in God and His deliverance is sure. His deliverance is imminent. I'm living in faith and I'm calling things that are not as though they were." Have you lost the ability to do that? Have you just given up and just trusted in the world? When was the last time that you called something that wasn't as though it was, with boldness, believing it, not just parroting a doctrine that you know you should be saying because it's true? "Well, how do I get back to that?" The green pastures, the still waters, just get quiet and shut yourself in the secret place of the Most High. Step back and stop trying to grade yourself by how many pills you might have taken or whatever procedure you might have gone through; it's all irrelevant. None of that will heal you and none of that will keep you from being healed. It's not about your physical healing, it's about the secret place, it's about the presence of God, it's about the glory of God. "Lord, whatever You want to do in my life, I want You glorified."

So, that's what we're talking about, that's what this message is about, bottom line. Everything in our life is trying to rob the glory of God from us and keep us from being agents that would declare His goodness. "Surely he shall deliver thee... He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth [His Word] shall be thy shield and buckler." I shared with you in the past one time--First Assembly of God in Bakersfield; they call it 17^th and O, that was the street it was on. C.M. Ward used to be the pastor there. C. M. Ward Revival Time preacher; some of you don't know who he is, one of the great preachers of the Assemblies of God. Revival Time was one of the great radio broadcasts back in the '50s and '60s. This man was a great orator. He was preaching one time out of the ninety-first Psalm along the lines that we were sharing about those chicks being protected and covered. That the Lord just is there and He's just overshadowing us with His presence; the Scriptural promise that He covers us under His wings, covered with His feathers. This is a true story. This little lady was there, little old lady, one of the old Pentecostal Grandmas with her hair in a bun. She was leaving the church. As she left the church and was walking down--in those days you'd walk home in different areas--a young man came by and tried to snatch her purse, grabbed her. She knew the real authority was the authority of the Word of God. We saw here that we trust in His presence, His truth. His Word is our shield and our buckler. So as the young man grabbed her and he was trying to wrestle her purse from her, this little old lady could only think of one Scripture at that time and she said, "I rebuke you in Jesus' name! I have feathers!" And she began to scream, "I have feathers! I have feathers!" And this guy thought, "I have somebody who's a maniac on my hands." and he turned her loose, praise God! Amen? Do you have feathers tonight? Are you covered with His feathers? Is that what your trust is in? The next time somebody gets ready to try to take advantage of you, tell them you have feathers; covered with His feathers. Do you see yourself as that little chick that's being overshadowed? Isn't it interesting that they so naturally run to Mom? How quick are you to run to be covered?

Some of us want to boast in our own strength. We're like that cartoon--I don't know how precise I'll be on the illustration, but I like that little cartoon. The little chicken hawk goes out to get, is it Foghorn Leghorn? I love when he's pulling him, that little guy's pulling that big rooster. Most of us would like to be the chicken hawk instead of the little dependent chick. But, our strength is in our dependence and our ability to run and be covered and not be afraid for the terror by night nor for the arrow that flieth by day. "A thousand shall fall at thy side, and ten thousand at thy right hand; but it shall not come nigh thee." You see, the Lord has led us here into this valley of the shadow of death, but He's not going to leave you there. He's led us here, but He won't leave us here. We're not going to die here if we'll trust in Him. What have you done to prepare yourself for that? You see, the sequence is the green pastures and the still waters precede the valley of the shadow. There are no green pastures in that valley of the shadow of death. You have to choose them in the times that you're not at war. Refresh yourself now when you have strength, when you have the ability. Don't consume it upon yourself, but prepare yourself because this day is coming. "It won't come nigh you," verse 8 says, "only with your eyes will you behold it. Because thou hast made [verse 9] the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most High, thy habitation; There shall no evil befall thee, neither shall any plague come nigh thy dwelling." Teach that to your children in a day when there are so many things that are coming upon us. All of the different sicknesses and diseases, and there's going to be many. If you read the Scriptures, there's going to be plagues that are going to be coming upon us. God's going to sustain us in the midst of them, and just like Israel was sustained in Goshen, we need to believe God for that grace to sustain us in this generation. It doesn't have to come nigh our dwelling.

I shared this so much with our kids growing up. It's a great story, one time during the--those things that come every so many years--Cicadas. There was that thing going on. I remember just teaching on this to the kids. So, we went out into the yard and we prayed, "No plague shall come nigh our dwelling." I taught the kids to believe that. Though everybody around us was going to have them, we weren't having them, bless God! Listen to how simple it can become in a child's heart and how we need to teach them. You might wonder what happened. I'll tell you what happened. We didn't have them in our yard, they left. We went through the whole thing. We didn't have them. We didn't have any of the consequence of them. Forty-two Thrush Road didn't experience the plague. Now, they were there, and they left. But, I like what Star said. It's so simple in little kids. He came running over, "Dad, Dad, I saw one!" I said, "Where?" He said, "Over there." I said (this was just the Spirit of God), "What direction was he headed?" He said, "Out!" Amen? He might still be on the property, but he's headed out, praise God!

Are we going to live that way, are we going to live so separate, supernaturally? "What's the big deal whether the cicadas come on your property or not?" Do you want to know what the big deal to me is? Psalm 91; if I'll accept that, what else will I accept? "Doesn't that sound a little extreme?" The God I serve is very extreme. "Does it make me a better Christian?" No, but He leads us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake, amen? What kind of a testimony do you want to leave for the next generation? Do you want them to believe that there is a God that can keep the plagues from coming nigh their dwelling? What about when the plague is no longer cicadas but tuberculosis, Ebola? A generation being raised up that says, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want," praise God.

Father, we thank You for Your Word tonight and for the opportunity of just worshipping You and knowing You and walking in truth. Our steps are ordered. You've got us right where You want us. Some of us are being purified, and purged, and refined. Others are in that time of refreshing at the still waters. If you're at the still waters, don't think you're going to spend your life there. There's a valley of the shadow coming. If you're in the valley of the shadow, don't think you're going to stay there forever. There is deliverance coming, praise God; you're not going to be left there. So, just rest and cease from your own labors, as Hebrews tells us, that we might enter His rest. "I've gone to prepare a place for you." The time is short, beloved, and He is coming to receive us to Himself. It's not about us getting to heaven; it's about us glorifying God while we are here. That others could see and glorify our Father. That others would know and believe. We are the light. We are the salt. We are the epistles being read. How much glory is your life bringing to God as people are reading your daily decisions? "The Lord is my Shepherd."

Let's stand and just worship Him tonight. As Gary plays for us, we'll take just a moment. "The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and he delights in his way." Let's sing it together, "Lord, You Are So Precious To Me."

Thank You, Lord, for Your love and Your mercy to us. Now, give us grace and strength tomorrow to glorify You. To hear Your voice, to start the day without any control of our lives; not as lords, not as experts, not as the experienced, but as sheep being led by a Shepherd. Looking to You to order each step that You might be glorified. Father, it's our heart's desire in Jesus' name. Amen, amen. Before you go, turn to somebody and say, "The Lord is my Shepherd." Amen.

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