Where can I find true comfort?
WATCH
Hearing the Shepherd, 2 of 4 from January 18, 2025
“When we follow Jesus’ direction He handles all the danger.”
Psalm 23:3-4 by Michael Lockstampfor (@miklocks)
SUMMARY
This sermon on Psalm 23 highlights its relevance for daily life, emphasizing that Jesus, our Good Shepherd, leads us beyond comfort toward growth and purpose. True discipleship requires following His voice, even when it means leaving comfort for challenges. Pastor Michael critiques the Western focus on comfort as a destination, reminding us that rest is just a part of the journey. Jesus knows the safest paths and protects us through life's toughest moments. It's crucial to recognize His voice, trust His heart, and realize that our well-being reflects His character, as He guides us in righteousness for His glory.
REFLECTION & DISCUSSION QUESTIONS
💬 Where are we “stalling out” in following Jesus?
💬 Do you know our Shepherd’s Word?
💬 Do you trust our Shepherd’s heart?
💬 How are we training our ears to recognize Jesus’ voice?
ADDITIONAL RESOURCES
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Well, we started last week a series we've called Hearing the Shepherd, and we're taking a look at a psalm in scripture.
It's kind of a familiar psalm, but. But it's a psalm that we often kind of only refer to at funerals and things like that. And it's appropriate there. I think you will come to see that it's appropriate there. But there is so much in this psalm that is for living that when we just kind of push it into, like, the realm of, oh, we just do that when people die, then we're missing something here.
So I don't know about you. I have been doing a lot of projects at home. Has anybody, like, ever started a project with an idea of, like, ah, this will probably take me, like, an hour or so, and then it's like six hours later and four trips to Lowe's. And then the tool that you just bought broke. You're like, I just bought this thing, right?
Like, this was supposed to take an hour. And then you're mad. Not because it's hard, but it is hard. You're not mad because the thing's not done yet. You're mad because I thought when I started it was only gonna take an.
And then. I don't know about you, but this is me. This is like, I do not, I think, in pictures. And so one of the things that I really, really struggle with is whatever I'm working on, the tool that I need is somewhere else. I've tried to think ahead.
In fact, when I was working in the landscape company, I was not allowed to pack the truck for the day because we would pack up the truck, and then we'd go to the site and we'd start unloading. To do a block work. And you need different set of tools for planting trees than you do for cutting and laying blocks, right? And so we'd pack up the truck for the day. We'd get out to the job site where we're trying to lay some blocks, and my boss would be like, all right, grab the block bucket.
And I'd be like, I got a shovel, sir? He's like, that's not what we're doing today, Michael. You should have put the block bucket into the truck. Yes, you are correct. I should have done that.
But aren't we close to the hardware store? Which is my solution for everything. And he says, we were close to the hardware store. The last time you forgot the block bucket. We already have an extra set of tools, and you left them all at the shop.
Like, whatever I'm working on, I tend to always have the tool that I need in another place. And it's crazy how, like, you're working on something, you put the tool down, you go back to it, you go to pick it up, and it has just wandered off. Like, it is always on the wrong side of the house no matter what you do. And I feel like I spend, like, of those, the one hour I set aside to do this job and the four hours it takes me. 50% of that is me wandering around Lowe's trying to find what I need, and the other 40% is me trying to find the tool that I just had.
I just had it in my hand. Maybe that's just me. You can tell. Okay. I've been working on some projects here the last couple of weeks.
It's just so frustrating when you, like, know you have the tool and it's just not where you need it to be. And having the right tool just makes the right. Makes whatever job you're trying to do that much easier. Right. And so the point of my sermon today is that Jesus is not like me, okay?
So that's the only comfort I have. If you're like Michael, you got some problems. Yes, I do. And my encouragement to you is Jesus is not like me. He always has the tools that he needs right at hand.
So let's start this morning before we take a look at Psalm 23 with the disciples prayer. It's our habit just to pray this together. And I put the words up on the screen. It's lovely when we pray out loud, but more than I want to hear your voice, God wants to hear your heart. And so let's just pause for a moment, and we'll take a deep breath, Maybe two, And let's pray together.
Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. For yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever.
Amen. Amen. Let's navigate together to Psalm 23. If you want to turn, it's in the blue Bibles on page 573 in the blue Bibles. 573, Psalm 23 or.
I equipped you last week with the opportunity to memorize Psalm 23. So you've got your little memory card. You've got the text here on the one side. You've got the first letter of every word on the other side. So you kind of quiz yourself and make sure that you've got this kind of memorized.
So that when you find yourself in a situation where this might be helpful, the Holy Spirit doesn't have to convince you to open your Bible. He'll just bring it back to mind just like that. It's kind of a cool deal. Psalm 23. I'm going to read the whole Psalm together, and then we'll focus in on just a couple of verses here in the middle.
All right? Are we looking for a Bible? We got one. Okay, we'll wait. We're journeyed together.
We can wait. We're not in a hurry.
Page573 in those blue Bibles.
Psalm 23 is a Psalm of David. It says this. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads 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. The Lord blesses the reading of his word.
Last week, we asked a couple of questions. Just in those first two verses, we start off. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
He restores my soul. And we kind of ask just three questions of those verses. Who is the Lord? Like, when we say, who is the Lord? And it's like, what are we talking about?
We're talking about that Lord in all caps is like, the personal name of God, Yahweh. Or sometimes it's pronounced Jehovah. Like, that is like the covenant God who loves his people and pursues them and chases them down. Then we talked about, like, what is a shepherd? A shepherd is somebody who, like, keeps sheep.
That's like, they manage livestock. That's kind of their occupation. But we also kind of observed that in the ancient world, it was not uncommon for Kings to call themselves a shepherd. And so, likely as David the King is writing the psalm, reflecting on his time as A shepherd, king, keeper, now installed as a king. Like, he has this kind of dual image, kind of overlapping one another, as both a rural person, but also a royal psalm.
And then is the Lord my shepherd, which is really like the question that this psalm begs, because David's writing from his experience. He says, yahweh is my shepherd, and so I have everything I need, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He provides everything that I need, and he makes me take it. He makes me come down.
He leads me beside waters of rest where I can be refreshed. When he restores my soul, he gives me everything that I need. And that's nice for David, but the question is, is he my shepherd? So the next couple of phrases are going to build on some of that. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake, he leads me. Hold on a second. Hold on.
I liked where we started. We started at the oasis. We. We started with the waters of rest. We started with the fields of green.
We started with all of the all you can eat buffet, salad bar deal. We had the shepherd caring for us and making us lie down. Like, I'm all about you making me take a nap. Like, you can make me do that all day long, Lord. Okay.
But then we have a turn. He leads me in paths of righteousness. Like, hold on, hold on. I thought we got there. I thought we had arrived.
Like, you had us in a place where it was restful and we were refreshed and, like, that's where I want to live. And now you're leading me away from here into a land which later on is described as through the valley of the shadow of death. Like, Jesus. That's not what I wanted to do. Like, I signed up for all the blessing and the riches and the provision.
I did not sign up for a road trip through a dangerous part of the country. What are you doing to me? Sorry, that's probably just my internal dialogue. You never feel that way with Jesus. Here's the deal.
Refreshment is a stop along the way, not our destination.
We get ourselves in trouble. And maybe this is just a Western American problem. I don't know. It might be a human problem, but we get ourselves in trouble when we think that the refreshment and the restoration is destination My life should be a vacation, but it's a stop. Along the way, he is leading us and guiding us and taking us somewhere.
If a flock like we're continually at rest, it's not actually going to grow. The sheep will get real fat at first, but they will eat all, all of the grass down to the mud in that area. Like, they'll, they'll just keep chomping and chomping and chomping until it's gone. And then, guess what? There's no more grass to eat, which means now the sheep are going to get sick because they got nothing to eat.
And if the sheep, like, spend too much time around the same body of water, they start to get, like, fussy with each other and they'll butt each other out of the water. And then, like, when I see that you're going to go get water and I don't want you to go get water, I'm actually going to go and I'm going to stomping the stream so it's all muddy. So you don't want to drink it. Like, I don't want to drink it, but I definitely don't want you to drink it. So a flock at rest.
It doesn't take long for the sheep to exhaust all the resources and then turn against one another.
A flock at rest is an easy target for predators because sheep are loud.
You get a whole bunch of sheep together, baa. And if I'm a wolf, you know what I'm listening for.
And if those sheep are not moving, they are asking to get eaten. Lamb chops.
It doesn't grow. It is an easy target for predators. They're going to exhaust the resources. And as the sheep begin to fight one another, like, the flock itself is going to fragment and it's going to break up and the sheep are each going to think, like, this is not good for me and I'm going to go my own way. And they're going to wander away from where they've been led and find out that the world beyond is dangerous.
And they don't know how to get to the next oasis because sheep do not have a great innate sense of direction. Healthy flocks, flocks that are cared for abundantly by their shepherd, are going somewhere.
Refreshment is a stop along the way, not our destination. And if the Lord is our shepherd, if he is actually caring for everything that I need, he knows that I actually need to move, move on from the place that I am most comfortable. Oh, hold on, Michael. I thought you were going to encourage me. Today, The name is escaping me.
Schaeffer. Francis Schaefer was a theologian he kind of wrote about. He wrote after World War II, and having watched the way that the Christians in Germany interacted with the Nazi Party, he had some theological wrestling to do with. And he said, if I'm remembering correctly, he said something along the lines of, all the enemy has to do is to make us comfortable, because we will sell our souls to whatever makes us comfortable. And Jesus provides for us.
He helps us, he gives us what we need, but he doesn't leave us where we're comfortable. He has a purpose for us, and he is moving us out of that comfortability because it is good for us to move on. We like to think, I just want to stay here forever. And he's like, I know you think would be good for you, but I've seen how that goes. Like, I know you think that the family, we're all sheep together.
That only lasts as long as we have something to go do together. But if we just sit around lounging by the streams, eventually you're going to beat each other up and it's going to be silly. So let's move on. It's interesting. This is a picture of some Bedouin shepherds in Israel.
You can see everybody's kind of going uphill. And do you notice, like, where the shepherd is in the photo? He's in the front. Like, shepherds in Israel, like, they lead the flock. They walk out in front of the flock, and the flock kind of follows behind.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Like, he is going where I need to go. And so I follow Him. He's not telling me.
He's not behind me, commanding me. Get in there. I am going, and I'm inviting you to come with me to the place that is going to be most healthful for you.
But where are we stalling out?
Where are we just laying down and eating the grass to the bare bones? And, man, the way that I did that just doesn't feel like it satisfies anything. But I just keep trying to do the same thing. I just want to get back there to where that thing that I was doing, that. It felt nourishing.
Jesus, I hear you calling me forward, but I just want to. I want to go back to where I was comfortable before. Where are we stalling out in following Jesus? Because a healthy flock is going somewhere.
There's a tour guide who is telling this story and illustrating, like, as we go through the country. In Israel, you'll notice that all of the shepherds, they lead the flock. They walk out in front, okay? And then, of course, you have to have the exception that proves the rule. So the tour bus is driving along, and they come to a stop, and one guy looks out the window.
He goes, that shepherd's walking behind the sheep. You said that never happens. And the tour guide's like, yeah, that's weird. Let's go talk to him. So they go over and they talk to this shepherd and say, hey, like, we noticed that most shepherds.
That most shepherds kind of lead the sheep and they walk in front and you're walking behind. Like, what's the difference in your philosophy? And he's like, I'm not a shepherd, I'm a butcher.
The shepherds lead the flock and the butchers fatten them up. So where are we stalling out and following Jesus? Because the ones that are trying to keep us comfortable and make sure that we just keep may not have our best interest in mind.
So refreshment is a stop along the way. It's not a destination. But then he's like, got a direction for how we ought to get there. He leads me in paths. Good.
He knows the way. I'm sure this was really, really comforting to generations and generations of Jesus followers before gps, right? If you didn't have a gps, you needed a guide to get to places that you didn't know. We now have decided that we don't need that. But, you know, Jesus knows better.
He leads us on paths of righteousness. Well, I just want the easy paths. He's like, yeah, I don't understand the easy paths. The paths that are the right paths. Righteousness, the right paths.
He knows the right way to get to where he's going. In fact, he's been all over this land back and forth with all different kinds of sheep for generations, that he knows alternate paths. When that one gets blocked, he knows how to get around to where he's going. He knows how the land works together. And so he's going to lead his flock in the way that is best for them.
Because sheep don't have the perspective to discern the best path.
They have a knack for walking right into dangerous situations. My professor was telling a story about he was camping with these Bedouin shepherds and kind of following along, and there was this one goat that just kept wandering off and, like, would wander off and just wander right towards the edge of a cliff to where it was, like, dangerous to go and get him. And about the fourth time, this goat had wandered out, and it was, like, out on this little precipice, and he, like, didn't have enough room to even turn himself around, and he, like, wasn't comfortable backing up, like, so the shepherd had to go out and get a crook. And like. Or no, he had a lat.
He had a rope and, like, roped him around and dragged him back over off the edge and, like, get him back with the flock. And my professor looks at the shepherd and says, this is the fourth time you've saved that goat. How do you do it? Like, how are you so patient with this goat? This goat's stupid.
You should just eat it. And the shepherd looked at my professor and said, it's just a goat. It's just a goat. He doesn't know.
And I'm so thankful that the Lord is my shepherd and he's a good shepherd and he knows that oftentimes I'm just a goat trying to go my own way and continuing to think that, like, I'll find the better way. There is a safe way to go.
That's not popular for me to say, there is a safe way to go. There's a way that you can live your life that is right and morally good. Right? Like, oh, of course. That's where.
Yeah, I knew I was going to come to church and the pastor was going to tell me I needed to make good moral decision, blah, blah, blah. Okay, the right path might seem boring, but is much more safely pleasant.
He's like, God, I want you to be my shepherd. I want you to lead me in the ways that I ought to go. I want you to take care of me. I want you to make my life easier. And he's like, okay, you can come be a part of my flock.
And then you're like, all right, thanks for letting me be part of your flock. Now I'm going to go my own way. I'm going to find my own way, and I'm going to go off and I'm going to walk along the edges of this danger and I'm going to get some. Get myself stuck out on a ledge, and then I'm going to cry out lamb chops. And the shepherd's going to come along.
Just. Why are you keeping. If you want to be a part of the flock, then just walk in the path that I'm leading you. And I'm. I'm here with you.
We're going together. Like, I'm. Just come along. Like, no, I want to do my own thing. It's like, yeah, you can go do your own thing, but it's dangerous out there.
Like, it is not good for you. If you want to be safe, then be with me in the way that I am going. But we like to think that the more fun path is the one that will be more pleasant. It is not to say, as we are going to see. It's not to say that, like, the paths of righteousness are not without danger, but it is to say that there is a right path.
There's times where we look at God's relationship advice and we're like, he's kind of old. He doesn't really know what he's talking about. This is how things go today in modern times. And then we have all these modern problems, and we're like, God, why don't you help us with these modern problems? He's like, well, modern problems have an ancient solution.
You do what I told you to do in relationships and you won't have these modern problems.
I don't know.
Do you know that Jesus used sheep as illustrations in his sermons? He's a better preacher than me, so let me use some of his sermon. In John, chapter 10, he talks about the way that sheep kind of work. He says, the sheep, like, hear their shepherd's voice. And he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
And when he's brought out all his own, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice. A stranger they'll not follow, but they'll flee from him, for they do not know the voice of strangers. So what Jesus is saying is like, sheep, like, they recognize the voice of their shepherd and they follow their shepherd. The image is something like this. A sheepfold is like most of a circle wall in just the middle of the field.
So if you've got a number of different shepherds that are all kind of coming into the same area at night, they want to protect the sheep. And so all of the shepherds herd their sheep into this, like, ring. And then the shepherds sleep in that door. When Jesus says, I am the door to the sheep, he means I'm the one who's on the night shift sleeping in the way so that nothing can get in or out, right? He says, in the morning, when it's time to leave, the shepherd gets up, he calls his sheep, and out of all the sheep that are in that cage, and the ones that belong to him come with him and just follow him out.
And then the next shepherd stands up and he calls his sheep, and the next ones go up and they all follow him out. Even if they're saying the same thing, the sheep can tell the voice of their shepherd and follow him as he calls them, right? So as Jesus is attempting to lead us in paths of righteousness, I have to ask if we recognize his voice. We say, that's my shepherd. I hear him calling me, and I'm going to follow where he leads me.
You should not try to walk in right paths because Michael will think less of you. Or you should not try to walk in right paths because people at church are going to be judgy about it. You should walk in right paths because your shepherd is calling you and wants to give you life.
The mechanism of, like, the flock together trying to encourage one another to go the right way is not because we want to condemn people, but because we want people to live.
So do we know our Shepherd's word? We recognize his voice. Do we know his word? Do we know his history? The story of how he's interacted with.
With other flocks and other sheep across generations? Do we recognize his word? Do we know his instructions? Because sometimes he tells us what to do, and when he tells us what to do, his intent is that we do what he said to do. I don't know about you, but there's sometimes where I will tell somebody something and they will look at me and they will do the opposite thing of what I told them to do.
And I'm like, I don't understand. I'm not pointing any fingers. I'm not talking about anybody in here. But I'm saying there's times where you, like, tell somebody to do, and they're like, don't do the thing. And then you're like, I gave you the instruction because I thought that you would do that and that it would be better for you, right?
Do we know our Shepherd's word? Do we know how he encourages us? Because here's the thing that I know that he knows. He knows that we're just sheep.
He knows we're just sheep, and he is willing to meet us in our sheepishness and to be patient with us while we wander and to bring us back and to lead us in the way that we ought to go. Do we know his encouragements? Do we know his warnings? Do we know our Shepherd's word? And ultimately, like, that's.
That's good. Hear me? That's good. One of our core values is you should trust the Bible. I want you to know what the Bible says.
But more More than knowing exactly what the Bible says. Do you trust your shepherd's heart because he's not telling you what to do because he wants to condemn you or rub your nose in the ways that you failed. He's telling you what to do because he wants you to live. He wants you to fulfill your purpose. He wants you to be a blessing.
Do we know our shepherd's word? Do we trust our shepherd's heart? He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake.
Hold on. His namesake. I thought he was leading me in paths of righteousness so I could be taken care of. Because everybody knows that when I read the Bible, I need to read the Bible about what it says to me. He leads me in paths of righteousness.
Okay, I'll do what's right for his name's sake. Hold on a second. I thought I was the center of attention here. Jesus, I thought you were taking care of me. I'm the sheep here.
Like, what do you mean, for your name's sake? What are you trying to do? The reputation of the shepherd is gauged by the health of his sheep.
The reputation of the shepherd is gauged by the health of his sheep. You know this because you've got neighbors and you've got family members who will say, I do not trust Jesus because of the way I've seen the sheep mistreat one another. The reputation of the shepherd is gauged by the health of his sheep. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
What he does is more important than what he's called. But we are called by what we do.
Jesus is the good shepherd. And his character is demonstrated over time. And he has for thousands of years continued to demonstrate his heart of compassion, continued to demonstrate his desire to communicate and to lead others. And we're the ones who will walk off onto a cliff and fold our arms and go. The shepherd never talks to me.
I just feel so far away from him. Which is not to say that there aren't times where, like, he lets us feel that distance. I'm not saying it's always the case. Sometimes, like, there are dark seasons, but sometimes you just walked away and plugged your ears.
Do we know his word and do we trust his heart?
When we follow Jesus direction, He handles all the danger.
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. When we follow Jesus direction He handles all the danger. There's danger on the paths of righteousness.
I'm told the way is narrow and there are few who take it. And there are dangers.
Even though I walk. Hold on. I'm walking on paths of righteousness. That means we're skipping through the meadows, right? I'm following the shepherd.
I'm doing everything right. I'm locked in. I hear his voice, I'm following his instructions. I'm telling the other sheep they can follow the shepherd with me. This is going to be great.
Why is it so dark around here?
Why are the canyon walls looming? Why are there snakes in the rocks and scorpions on the stones? Why. Why are people tripping and falling around me? Like, this is hard.
I thought this was the right road and it's difficult. Even though I walk. The right paths of life are not without dangers. I think my clicker stopped clickering. You just give me the next one.
The right paths of life are not without dangers.
Talking about a rocky, kind of arid, kind of a hot place. And so if you get isolated, if you get off by yourself, if the shepherd doesn't notice you've gone and wandered off by the cliff, like, if you get left alone, you're just going to cook lamb chops and you're going to get cooked. You're just going to. Your wool is going to heat up and you're going to die.
The right paths of life are not without dangers.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. I heard somebody kind of interacting with this text and they're like, yeah, it's the valley of the shadow of death. It's just the shadow of death. And only fools and children are afraid of shadow shadows. I'm like, okay, all right, I can see what you're doing there.
Except that everything that like, casts a shadow is a thing. Like, you should not be afraid of the shadow of my hand. Except that the shadow of my hand shows that it is coming towards your face, Right? Like the valley of the shadow is not some kind of made up thing. It's not just a danger in your brain.
Like death is a thing. We only talk about this at funerals, but we're in Psalm 23, so you'll let me tell you, you're going to die. You're going to die or Jesus is going to take you home.
If you live long enough, you die. It runs in the family.
Shadows are cast by legitimate dangers and the world that we navigate, broken and dangerous. Not only is the world that we navigate broken and dangerous. We have an enemy that is bent on our destruction. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, There may be robbers and thieves in the hills that are hiding behind the next stone that want to knock my shepherd out and haul me off to the butcher.
Life will often take us in the proximity to death.
Michael, that's scary. I thought we were talking about sheep.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. I will not fear.
I'm not going to fear. Even though there's all these scary things that are out there. Even though I'm not sure, like, we had enough at the last pasture, and we're supposed to be going to another pasture, but right now it feels like there's no pastures left in the whole entire planet because we are in the valley of the shadow of death. And it's hot, and there's scorpions and there's snakes and there's robbers, and, like, I don't know if we're actually going to make it. Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I will fear no evil.
I will fear no evil. Not because I'm strong and brave, because I'm just a sheep.
Not because the danger is illegitimate, because it will kill you. Not because I've been a good sheep and I have good karma. And now the world is going to return to me nice things for all of the nice things that I've done to the world. I will fear no evil because the shepherd is with me.
I will fear no evil, for you are with me. You are with me. My professor was telling a story. He spent a significant amount of time doing archeological digs, and one of the sites that he was digging in was actually inside of a cave. So he could go inside this cave and dig up ruins and stuff.
It sounds really, really cool. And there was this little shepherd boy that he had made friends with. And as he was talking to the shepherd boy, he's like, do you want to see the archaeological site? And the shepherd boy's like, that would be awesome. That sounds super cool.
And so he takes him over to the archaeological site, and the kid just kind of stops at the edge of the cave. And my professor's like, hey, come on. This is inside. This is where the dig is happening. It's just around the.
And he's like, nope, I don't go in caves. Don't do caves. Dark in there. Scary. Nope.
Mm, mm. There's things that live in caves, and I don't Want to meet them. And so good luck. Have a good day. Sorry, sorry.
Sorry to waste your time. And he's like, well, come on, we're friends. I'm with you. I'm big and scary. You know, I'll protect you.
He's like, going in there with you for sure. Like, you are flabby white guy. Like, I'm not even. Not even trying to do that. And so he just kind of gave up.
And then later in the afternoon, the little boy's dad came along and was interested in what was going on. And so he's like, okay, well, let's go look at the site. And so my professor's leading his dad in, and little boy walks right behind, right into the cave, right behind his dad. He says, I thought you were terrified. I thought you didn't want to know.
And this little boy just looks up in my face. He says, my dad's with me.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for you are with me.
Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
I don't know if this is an application question, but, like, when do we learn to recognize the voice of the shepherd? Like, at what point do we learn that? Like, I know what your voice sounds like. I know that you're with me. Like, where do we learn that?
Because we. We. I think we ought to be mindful that we should prepare for life's dangers, toils and snares in times of relative peace and security. Like, if everything's going good, that doesn't mean, like, just, I got nothing to do with God because he's. He's got me in the green grass.
Like, listen to what he says in the green grass. Cause he's gonna lead you in the valley of the shadow. Like, like, spend some time. If everything's good, spend some time in the word. Cause I tell you what, you're gonna need it.
You're going to need to know what his voice sounds like. Because there are going to be imitators and false shepherds all along the way that are trying to call you away in times of relative peace and security. Learn to hear the voice of the shepherd. Because you can't dig and you can't set a strong foundation while the storm is raging. Hire a contractor in the middle of a hurricane.
When Jesus is our shepherd, we lack nothing we truly need. And in order for sheep to be able to rest, they need enough food. They need to be at peace with other sheep. And they need to know that there's no danger like, either real or perceived. So how are we training our ears to recognize Jesus voice?
When we follow Jesus direction, he handles all the danger. Now, his rod and his staff, what are these things?
His rod is kind of like a sapling that has grown up, and they cut it off, and then they pulled out the roots and trimmed the roots off. So it's a stick that has a thick ball at the end of it. And it's really useful for whacking things. Like you whack some wolves, you beat some wolves up. Like it's a nightstand.
It's a bludgeoning tool. That's what it is used for. So your rod comforts me. I know I'm a sheep, and so I know when the wolves come that there is somebody who is pecking. And it is not uncommon for modern shepherds to carry around pistols because they have upgraded the rod, right?
These dangers exist today. And his staff is like a staff that he leans on. It's like that he walks on. Shepherds only got two feet. And so the sheep at least have the advantage of having four to kind of balance themselves off.
But the shepherd, as he's walking through, he needs to walk. So he's got a staff. He can use it for lupin. That's why sometimes they have a crook. So you can grab and pick up sheep and stuff like that.
Like, these are the tools of the trade, and they're never apart. The shepherd is never without them. He's always ready for work. He is always ready to rescue. He is always equipped to protect and to defend his flock.
They are always at hand. There is never a time where a danger shows up and the shepherd is like, I left my staff on the other side of the house. I got to make four more trips to Lowe's.
Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil, for you are with me, and you're equipped for everything that might try to take my life. Your rod and your staff comfort me. They may not be comfortable to wolves, but they're comforting to me because I know that you're with me and you can handle it. When we follow Jesus direction, he handles all the danger. Doesn't mean there is no danger.
It doesn't mean it's an easy path. It means it's the right path, and the shepherd handles the danger. You see the difference? Because sometimes my heart tries to trick me and think that the shepherd's not being good. And I just misunderstood what he meant by goodness.
The rod is also a Tool for counting. As the sheep would come in the fold, he would hold his rod up and, like, touch the sheep as they came through. It's just a way to, like, keep, keep track of them. And so he's counting the number of sheep because he knows who belongs to him. And Jesus talks about this too.
And we read these verses this morning. I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, just as the Father knows me. And I know the Father, and I lay down my life for the sheep. One thing that was interesting, that I never ever considered is that one of the hardships of the life of a shepherd is how many shepherd friends you lose in that profession.
The dangers, even in modern times, are real enough that every shepherd knows shepherds that are no longer with us because something came for their sheep and they ran into the danger. Because when you're a shepherd, you're with the sheep all the time. They can't do anything to defend themselves. You are the first responder, the middle responder, the last responder.
And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. For your are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
Jesus, we need you'd more than anything else.
More than charisma, more than intelligence, more than resources, we need you. There's all kinds of things we like, there's all kinds of things we enjoy, and there are all kinds of things that are good for us. But, Lord, if we take good things and we make them God things, they'll kill us.
And so would you help us to make you alone, the God in our heart?
Would you lead us in the ways that we ought to go, as we've prayed together already, lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Would you teach us that we should not fear because you are with us? And Lord, if there's somebody who's hearing our voice, hearing my voice that is thinking, like, I don't think I recognize the voice of Jesus. I don't think I am a part of his flock. I don't know that I can count on his protection.
Jesus, I pray that today would be the day that you bring them in to your flock.
If that's you, if you're thinking, I want to be a part of that family, then just say something along these lines. Jesus, I don't understand all the things, but I do know I want to belong to you.
You can have all of my life because you say that you alone can forgive all my sin.
So would you make me yours today? And would you lead me in the way that I should go?
Jesus, we thank you for this day. It's in your name we pray. Amen.
