This transcript was generated by whisper.ai.

(upbeat music) Welcome back for week five, day three of our look through the
book of Psalms. Today we're looking at Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me
beside quiet waters.

He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Even though I walk to 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 love will follow me all the days of my
life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Psalm 23 is one of the most favorite of all the Psalms. It's also one of the
favorite chapters of all the scripture. Every year when surveys are done of the
favorite chapter in the Bible, Psalm 23 almost always comes out on top.

It's a Psalm that you can look at in a lot of different ways. And today I want to
talk together about how it tells you where to get the rest that you need. You
might know this Psalm.

What I want to do the next few minutes is to do this Psalm together, to act on its
truths. Believe me, if you'll just take a few moments to do what this Psalm
says, it will make a difference in your attitude. It's the reason that it's one
of the most popular chapters.

It's not that it's sentimental, it's that it's powerful. This Psalm has the
power to change you even in the next few moments. This Psalm gives soul answers.

It tells us how to find rest. So in the next few moments, and obviously we're
just hitting the high points of Psalm 23, six ways to get rest for your soul.
Number one, you depend on your shepherd.

To get rest for your soul, you have to look at what your soul is resting on. The
Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. Not be in want, that means you
won't be overwhelmed and driven by what you don't have.

It's easy to be in want. You think your car is just fine until your neighbor
gets a new car, and then you're in want. You're happy with your job until your
friend gets promoted and then you're in want.

To be in want is to get trapped into thinking I want that because that would
make me happy, that would fulfill my life. So how do you break through? You do
what the Psalm says, you recognize Jesus Christ is your shepherd.

Now, truthfully, the most difficult part of accepting Jesus as your shepherd is
seeing yourself as a sheep. This is where we often get messed up. We want Jesus
to be the good shepherd and we want to be the sheep dog.

We want to be the sheep dog barking in control, telling all the other sheep where
to go. The Bible does not compare us to a sheep dog. I am a sheep who needs a
shepherd.

And in leaning on that shepherd, that's where I get that need for rest, that
need for want, that need of want that's in my life met. You put confidence in
your shepherd, that's the first way that you get rest for your soul. Number two,
you trust God to refresh your soul.

Your soul needs to be refreshed, our souls get thirsty. The Bible says in verses
two and three, he makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet
waters, he refreshes my soul. And if your soul weary right now, that sounds so
good.

Green pastures, quiet waters. Most of us don't know how to handle green
pastures, places of abundance in our lives. We say, we gotta get that mowed, or
we say, how can I get it to produce even more green grass?

Or we think in different ways. We think, I don't deserve this, I don't deserve
all this abundance, I don't deserve this green grass, everybody else doesn't
have it, I don't deserve it. And we feel guilty about where we are.

Or worst of all, we look at others and we say, I think maybe their pasture is
just a little bit greener than my pasture. And we get caught up in comparison.
If you're going to lie down in green pastures, rest there, you're going to have to
learn to accept and enjoy the places of abundance that God has put into your
life.

Not feel guilty about them, accept and enjoy them. Not compare them to others,
accept and enjoy them. What I'm saying is this, stop running through green
pastures or running from green pastures.

Just stop, lie down, enjoy God's abundance. It's good for your soul. Third
truth, you want to get rest for your soul, number three, you follow God's path.

There's a lot of paths you can follow. The path of least resistance, the path of
greatest gain, but every path isn't the right path. Every path will not provide
rest for your soul.

Verse three, he guides me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
Righteousness, righteousness just means right, the right path. You'll never find
rest for your soul if your life is headed in the wrong direction.

'Cause the farther you get in the wrong direction, the more uncomfortable your
soul gets. I meet people all the time who are trying to feel at peace with the
life that they have. What they really need is to find the strength and hope to
turn their life around, to get on the right path.

So right now, what do you know that God wants you to do that you haven't done
yet? That's where you start. That's your first step to getting on the right
path.

You move from the in want life, the I want life, to the I trust God for what he
wants life, and you find rest for your soul. Number four, you want to find rest
for your soul? Remember, God is with you.

God is with you in the good circumstances, he's with you in the bad
circumstances. God is with you. Verse four, even though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

You rot in your staff, they comfort me. Now notice, it doesn't say if I walk
through the valley of the shadow of death, it says even though I walk. He
assumes it.

You're going to go through the valleys, you can't escape them. They are an
inevitable part of the road, of this life. And unless you learn to deal with
that truth, you're never going to be able to rest.

You're always going to be anxious about the valley that you just left, or nervous
about the valley that's just ahead, you're going to think there's something wrong
with you that you go through valleys. I know that sometimes the fear of what
you're facing keeps many of us from finding the rest that we need. Even in the
valleys, you can find rest, knowing that God is with you, rest for your soul.

God doesn't lie to us and tell us there are no valleys, because we all know that
that's not true. He tells us that he will be with us in the valleys. You are
with me.

God is with you in the valley that you're in right now. You'll never be alone.
He tells us that he will comfort us in the valleys.

Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. That comfort comes from his presence.
The rod was a club that was used to fend off enemies.

The staff was a crooked stick that was used to guide and discipline the sheep.
The rod was used for protection. The staff was used for correction.

In God's protection and correction in all of it, he comforts us, he guides us,
and he lets us know that he is with us. So right now, whatever you're facing in
life, whether it's good days or bad days, just picture in your heart and mind
the truth that God is with you. That's where you find rest for your soul.

Number five of these six things. Number five, you appreciate what God has given.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. So is your cup half empty or half
full?

In Psalm 23, the cup is overflowing with appreciation for what God has given.
Every one of us can look at our lives and see things that we don't have. One of
the most important habits of a healthy soul, of a rested soul, is the habit of
appreciating what you do have, in fact, overflowing with appreciation for what
God has given.

That kind of thanksgiving gives rest to your soul. And then, number six, the
final thing is you focus on all and forever. So often, we focus on the here and
now.

Psalm 23 encourages us to focus on the all and forever. That's where you find
rest for your soul. Verse six, surely goodness and love will follow me all the
days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, all and
forever.

One of the most important skills in life is learning to practice in the here and
now while you focus on the all and forever. You can't ignore the here and now.
You have some things you gotta get done today, but you can't get your identity
from the here and now.

That comes from the all and forever. All the days of my life, God's goodness,
God's love, not some of the days of my life, all the days of my life, the days
that I feel God's love, the days I don't feel it, the days I call on God's love,
the days I don't call on it, God's goodness and love are there, all. And
forever, I will dwell in the house of the Lord.

That is your ultimate future guaranteed. So right now, as you look to what you
have to practice in this day, focus on the all and forever. These six truths, I
want to invite you to pray these truths together from Psalm 23 as we close this
look at this wonderful Psalm today.

Would you pray with me? And just in prayer say, Lord, you are my shepherd. I
depend on you.

You give green pastures and quiet waters. And so I ask you to restore my soul.
And although I will walk through the valleys of suffering, I remember that you
will be with me.

You prepare the table and fill the cup. I thank you for what you have given. I
want to live in that place of gratitude and thanksgiving.

Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I praise you for this.

I praise you in Jesus' name. Amen.