Sermons

Introduction

So, let's look together at Psalm 23. It's extremely well known, much beloved Psalm. We'll see if the Lord will use this today to, I hope, encourage and inspire and just strengthen your heart.

"A Psalm of David: 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 the 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 mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever."

[Prayer] Lord, we ask for Your help this morning through Your Holy Spirit, that we would be alert, that our minds would be sharp, that our hearts would be in tune. But I pray that my words would be nothing more, nothing less than an explanation of Your Word as You have revealed it to us. I pray that You would guard my lips from saying anything that would be unhelpful, but instead would seek simply to serve these dear people by helping them understand even more of who You are for us. We ask it in Christ's name. Amen. [End]

Well as you know, Psalm 23 is certainly one of the most well-known chapters of the Bible. Christians and non-Christians alike are familiar with the words. These words find themselves in lyrics and song. They find themselves in art. They find themselves in home decoration. Often these are words that are read during a funeral. And that's fitting, that's appropriate. There is much help and encouragement here in times of grief. But in all actuality, these are not so much words about dying, these are words about living.

This is a psalm of the living. In fact, out of six verses, only one even mentions death, the rest are very clearly how we are to live. And David is going to use the metaphor of a shepherd with his sheep to describe for us the love that God has for His children. That's logical, because as we know, David himself was a shepherd, so he would be very familiar with all that a shepherd would have to do. David, when he was much younger, spent time caring for sheep; and even just in saying that, it reminds us that the LORD is always preparing us for what lies ahead.

When David was a young man tending the sheep, he had no idea how the LORD was going to use him or call him, he was just being faithful in what seemed to be a fairly routine, common task. In reality, it was in the midst of the mundane that the LORD was preparing him to be used to write this psalm that is probably the very most well-known words of Scripture that exist.

God is not wasting anything in your life. Even these days you're going through right now, for some of you may feel like they are so monotonous and so mundane, you may wonder, "Is God doing anything?" Let me assure you, God is doing far more than you're even aware.

The language also is helpful for us. We can see this even just on a quick glance through it. In verses 1 to 3, David is describing God. We know that even by the pronouns. He speaks here of, "He makes me lie down," and, "He leads me. He restores. He leads." But then you see a switch. Verses 4 and 5 are much more personal. It's no longer "He," it's "You." It's in this time of the valley, it's in this time of the darkness that David reminds us that you don't just speak about God, you turn and speak to God.

That's a very important reminder, especially for those of us who teach, those of us who are leading Bible study classes or those who do what I do, standing in front of a congregation, this is a good reminder that our lives cannot just be about telling people about God, we must always be talking to God; that our theology and our prayer life must be absolutely coupled together. We don't want to tell other people about simply the God who is. We do that; but in so doing, we remind ourself of the sweetness of fellowship and communion we have with God directly.

The Presence Of The Shepherd

So as we walk through Psalm 23, let's do so with these three headings. First, let's look at, "The presence of the shepherd. The presence of the shepherd." The danger is that these words would be so familiar to us that we may too quickly let them move by. I don't want to do that this morning. Let's consider these very first words, "The LORD is my shepherd."

You know that in English, when you see L-O-R-D in all caps, that that is a reference to God's covenantal name. This is referring to Yahweh, the personal name of God. I just want to remind you that in English, even with that clarity that it gives us in our English text, it can seem to be a title, "The LORD is my shepherd." But this is much more than a title, this is His name. This is the personal name of God. It is Yahweh, it is the LORD Himself.

"He is my shepherd." This speaks of relationship. This speaks of intimacy. This speaks of closeness. This is, as one author put it, theological shorthand, the name, meaning that "I will be exactly what My people need Me to be."

And it is the LORD who is our shepherd. This is present tense, this is current: "He is my shepherd." This isn't that He may be a shepherd or He can be a shepherd, or He is potentially a shepherd. This is David affirming with all of his heart, "The LORD is absolute, guaranteed. The LORD is my shepherd."

It was James Montgomery Boice who said, "Shepherds had to live with the sheep 24 hours a day, and the task of caring for them was unending. Day and night, summer and winter, in fair weather and foul, they labor to nourish, guide, and protect the sheep. Who in his right mind would choose to be a shepherd? Yet, God has chosen to be our shepherd." It was Charles Spurgeon who said that "The sweetest single syllable in the Bible is Psalm 23:1, "The LORD is my shepherd."

This is personal. This is a relationship. This is a promise that God's people cling to: "The LORD is my shepherd." And because He is, we trust in Him. It is with the establishment of not just that there is a shepherd, but who the shepherd is. It is none other than the LORD Himself, the maker of heaven and earth, the God who is omniscient, the God who is omnipresent. The God who is omnipotent, that's the LORD, and that One is our shepherd. And because He is, David can say, "I shall not want. I'm going to have everything that I need." It is precisely because of who is our shepherd that David can say, "Therefore, I will have everything I need."

On Friday, I was holding my new grandson, and as I was looking at him, it occurred to me – I mean, this isn't profound, we all know this – but it just occurred to me when I was holding him, he is 100 percent dependent on somebody else to keep him alive. We know that. I don't say that to be profound, but just to think about that reality, while you're holding a baby, he can't feed himself, he can't protect himself, he can't dress himself, he can't do anything. He's absolutely, completely dependent to survive.

Now, my grandson will be six weeks tomorrow. But if in his mind, if he were capable to understand that truth, if he were able at six weeks old to comprehend that the only chance he has to survive is depending on someone else, if he could grasp that, I know exactly what his question would be. He would say, "If I'm dependent on someone else to survive, I only have one question: Who am I depending on?" That makes all the difference in the world, all the difference in the world. It's not about being dependent, it's the question of, "Who are you depending on?"

My grandson's been blessed with two great parents who love him with all their heart and love the Lord. My grandson's in good hands because he's depending on the right one. It's that same idea to which we bring to Psalm 23. We are completely dependent upon the Lord. Here's the good news: the One we are dependent upon is the One who knows all things. "The LORD is my shepherd, and because He is, we shall not want. We have everything that we need."

One of the things He gives us, we see in verse 2: He gives us rest. It says, "He makes me lie down in green pastures." The sheep are fearful animals. They are easily frightened, easily panicked.

A pastor, later turned author, spent eight years of his life as a shepherd before he became a pastor, and he writes in one of his books about some of the things he recalled from when he was doing the work of a shepherd in terms of sheep and rest. And he says, "There are four things that must be true for sheep to be able to sleep." See if this sounds familiar to you. "One, they cannot be fearful. Two, they cannot be having friction with another. Three, they have to be free from pests. And four, they cannot sleep if they're hungry." Sound like anybody you know?

You don't sleep very well if you're afraid. You don't sleep very well if you know someone's upset with you. The sheep don't sleep with their pests. I'm assuming if you lay down in bed and you see a spider crawling across the comforter, you don't say, "Oh, well at least it was a small spider." No, you get up and move, like, the house; like, it's over. House goes on sale, you move somewhere else, right, because you can't sleep if there's pests around. Same with the sheep. And they don't sleep if they're hungry.

It's no wonder David includes this, that "He makes me lie down in green pastures," because David knew exactly what was necessary, what the shepherd had to do to enable the sheep to rest. Ultimately, the reason why the sheep can rest is because of the presence of the shepherd, because the shepherd has provided all the sheep need to be able to rest.

And we see that.  Look even just at the verbs and who is doing the work: "He makes, He leads." Verse 3, "He restores, He leads." This is the work that our shepherd is doing for us, enabling us to rest. And He doesn't just give us rest, He also gives us guidance. "He leads me," it says. "He makes me lie down, and then He leads me beside still waters." He gives us rest and He gives us guidance. "He leads me."

And I want you to understand that you can cling to the promise of Psalm 23 on your hardest day, absolutely. But not only then: you can cling to this promise every day. God is faithful, and He is your shepherd on your most difficult season, and He's just as faithful and near to you tomorrow morning when you wake up to go to work. He's not just a shepherd when life is hard, He's with us every day, helping us to lie down, leading us beside still waters.

It's worth noting that sheep are instinctively afraid of fast-moving water. They won't drink if that water is rushing by. And so what a shepherd would have to do is take large rocks and dam up the water because the water needs to be still water for the sheep to drink. To say, "He leads him aside still waters," does not mean – it's not a promise that your life is going to be peaceful and easy and smooth. It's the promise that the LORD in any situation will provide for you exactly what you need in that moment.

I trust you're just like me in this regard, that if it were up to me, I would never be sick. If it were up to me, I wouldn't go through any storms in my life. If it were up to me, I would never have someone hurt me, or let me down, or say something untrue about me, or be unfair or unkind. If it were up to me, I would pretty much get my way all the time. And yet, what I know is that in the seasons of struggle and disappointment and frustration, the LORD is my shepherd in those moments, providing for me everything I need right in the midst of the struggle.

To say, "He leads me beside still water," is not a picture that your life is going to always be smooth and pleasant. It's the promise that the shepherd, when the water is rushing, will actively work and move the rocks in place to steady things so that even in the midst of the turmoil, you can find rest. It is because the LORD is our shepherd that we have everything that we need. It's because the LORD is our shepherd that we have rest and guidance and contentment as verse 2 pictures.

In verse 3, we also find restoration: "He restores my soul." The word "restores" in the Old Testament here is used two ways. The same word is used in Psalm 60, for example, to describe someone who is in sin and is returning. It's also used in Ezekiel 34 to speak of someone who is being sustained and renewed. Both are true: the LORD restores our soul.

If today you find yourself straying from the LORD, if you find yourself in a place of rebellion, and you may say, "Well, that's a strange thing to say. Everybody here is at church." Let's not pretend that everybody that comes to church on a Sunday morning is walking with the LORD. There are plenty of people in churches today whose hearts are far away from Him.

If that's you, return. This day, return to your first love. If you find your heart drifting, if you find your heart cold, if you find your life prayerless, let Him today restore your soul and return to your first love. And if for you, you are pursuing the Lord, that's a wonderful thing; let Him even today restore you in the sense of renewing you and strengthening you. As 2 Corinthians says, "The outer man is wasting away, but the inner man is renewed day by day." Let your shepherd renew you every single day.

He says, "He leads me in paths of righteousness." The paths that He leads us on speaks of two things. Make note of these two different things. One is He gives us direction; and second, He gets us to the right destination. There's a sense of direction, but it also speaks of a destination. You say, "Well, isn't that the same thing?" Not exactly.

A few months ago, I was in Los Angeles. I'd been teaching at The Master's Seminary and preaching at their chapel and doing some work with the students in the classroom after I preached in chapel, and one of the pastors at the church, one of the professor at TMS had invited me to come to dinner with his family that night. And so I made note of his address. My plan was to go to a store in Los Angeles I was wanting to get to after teaching in the seminary before I went to dinner. And so I had put the directions to the store in my phone to see how far it was, if I had time to get there. I ended up being asked to stay and be a part of another class that I wasn't planning to teach in, and so that day ended much later than I expected. And so I was having to go straight from the seminary right to my friend's house for dinner. And so I got in the car and opened up the directions in my phone and begin to drive.

Now you need to know about me in full disclosure here. I've lived in Oklahoma City – my birthday is this week. I've lived in Oklahoma City for 51 years, and I could get lost in Oklahoma City tomorrow, not because it's that hard, I'm just that dumb. And so I am very easily made lost, certainly in Los Angeles, California all the more.

So I get in the car and I'm glued to my phone with the maps, and I begin to follow it, wanting to go to my friend's house for dinner. And it's telling me turn left, turn right, merge here, all those kinds of things. And about 15 minutes later, I just think to myself, "I don't think this is right," and I second guess myself because I'm so bad at directions and so bad to find my way around. But pretty soon I'm thinking to myself, "I know what the scenery looks like, the direction I'm going, and I've never seen this part of the mountain before."

And so I pull off on the side of the interstate and I look at my phone to think, "What is going on?" Well, the directions it was giving me, the directions were exactly correct to get me to the store I had looked up earlier that I was wanting to get to. I had inadvertently forgot to switch the directions to my friend's house. So my phone was taking me exactly the right direction, but I was going to end at the wrong destination, which reminds me exactly how this world is.

This world wants to lead you to a path. And this world is happy to tell you how to get rich; it can do that. This world is happy to tell you how to become famous; it can do that. This world will tell you how to become influential; the world can take you on that path. And if you follow the path of the world, it literally, truly can make you rich, powerful, famous, and influential. And what you find, if that's all you have in your life, is while the path got you to the direction you were looking for, that the destination in which you have landed is far from home.

Only the LORD as your shepherd can lead you home. He not only gives you the directions of how to get there, but leads you to the destination your soul so longs to find. "He leads me in paths of righteousness." Why does He do it? Well, that's the end of verse 3, "for His name's sake."

Everything about your life finds its answer in Psalm 23:3. You exist for His name's sake. You are created for His name's sake. You are alive today for His name's sake. You minister and have spiritual gifts for His name's sake. You're a part of this body of Christ for His name's sake. Everything about you finds its meaning and fulfillment that you live and breathe today for His name's sake. That's the presence of the shepherd.

The Pain Of The Sheep

But in verses 4 and 5, we get a bit more personal. Let me show you secondly, "The pain of the sheep," because there is pain in life, and Psalm 23 speaks to it: "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death." Again, it's logical that David would include this because David is a shepherd, he understands this.

There's a reason why the shepherd leads the sheep through the valley. The valleys were the well-watered routes. The valley is where you would find rivers and streams and springs. The valley is where you would find the richest feed. The good shepherd has to take the sheep through the valley. But the valley does have predators. There are animals looming and lurking there. There are also in the valley sudden storms and floods. So you need to know what to do when you go through a valley.

What's your verb in verse 4? "Even though I walk." What do you do when you're in the valley? Keep walking. You don't lie down. You don't quit. You don't give up. You don't despair. You don't turn and run the other way. You keep walking right in the valley, right in the hard time. You keep walking with God, right when your heart's broken, when the prayer is yet to be answered, when the relationship is a mess, when the career is not advancing, when persecution comes, when the child has gone wayward, when your heart is broken.

In the valley, here's what you do: you walk with your shepherd. The believer keeps walking. It says even specifically that you walk with this confidence with the nearness of the shepherd in the pain that you face through the valley of the shadow of death. Two ways that that is interpreted, "the valley of death." It can be interpreted to refer to a valley of darkness, speaking of pain and grief and loss in the valley of death. It can also refer to literally the fact that at some time, you and I will take our last breath.

But here's the connection I desperately want you to see this morning, that the valley you walk through in verse 4 is still a part of the path of righteousness of verse 3, that when you go through your valley, it's still the shepherd leading you on the path of righteousness. And the problem for so many of us is when we face the storms and the frustrations and the disappointments of life, we tend to either think God has abandoned us, or we think, "If I could just get through. I just want to wake up and this be over."

Here's the problem. The valley is a part of getting you to your destination. The valley is a part of the direction we walk to stay on the paths of righteousness. Maybe even this morning you find yourself in a valley and it feels to you that you've been forsaken, where it feels to you that you're all alone. I just want you to know that the same shepherd who is helping you to rest by still waters is the same shepherd who is leading you even through the valley, and all of it is to help you arrive at your destination to be home with Him.

David says, "Even in these valleys, I will fear no evil." What kind of person goes through a valley and has no fear? What kind of person can face the hardest days of life and keep walking? What kind of person can say, "No matter what happens to me, no matter what man does to me, no matter what my circumstances are, no matter how low I feel, what kind of person just keeps walking"? It's the person who understands the truth of verse 4: "I will fear no evil," – here's why – "for You are with me." That's the difference, because the shepherd is with you, not just any shepherd: this is the Lord who is your shepherd. And because He is, you have everything you need. And because He is, even on your darkest day, you keep walking. It's a measure of your confidence in the Lord how you navigate through the adversity.

Have you ever been in an airport, and maybe a connecting flight was late, and you get off one flight and your next flight is coming very soon? Have you ever had it where you had to run in the airport? Let me help you with this. There is no way to be dignified and run through the airport, you can't do it. My wife and I have led a couple of large trips to Israel, and one of the times we were landing in London and our flight was late, and we had a very, very small amount of time to hit our connecting flight, and we had a large group were trying to get through the airport. We're going through security and having to ride trams to get where we're going. And some of our people were quite old; and we're trying to run, and I'm trying to lead dozens of people running through the airport because – here's what I know – if we're late, they're not waiting on us.

Now compare that. If you're the President of the United States and you're going to get on Air Force One to go somewhere and you're late getting to the airplane, you don't break stride, you just walk as slow as you want. Why? That plane's not going anywhere. You're not going to see a President sprinting to get to Air Force One because "They may leave me." No. The confidence of the circumstance determines your movement.

David says, "When I'm in the valley, I walk. I just keep moving. I'm not afraid. I'm not panicked. I'm not running in fear, I'm walking," – why? – "because He is with me.

He specifies, end of verse 4, "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me." The rod is used for several things: some of it, protection. The rod would be used to defend the sheep. It was essentially an extension of the shepherd's arm. Remember, sheep have no way to defend themselves. Sheep can't outrun a predator, they can't overpower an attacker. Their only hope is the defense that the shepherd provides. David says, "Your rod comforts me. You defend me."

He says, "Your staff gives me comfort." The staff was this long, slender stick. It had a crook or a hook on one side of it. And the shepherd would use that staff for several different things, but I'll give you just one of the things he would do with his staff. If one of the sheep were starting to stray away just a bit, the shepherd could go behind the sheep and use his staff, and just with the end of it, put it against the side of the body of the sheep, just a way of reminding the sheep, "I'm here, we're okay," move him back in line just a little bit. It's just a way of reminding him, "You're not alone, you're not by yourself, I'm right here with you."

Similar to if you think about couple that's been married for 60 years and they're going walking around the neighborhood, just casually strolling around the sidewalk, and that husband just softly sticks out his hand and grabs the hand of his mate, holds her hand, just saying, "I'm here; I'm with you; we're together." And David says, "Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. They remind me of Your nearness. Everything You're doing for my good, even when it's painful, it comforts me because You are with me." This isn't speaking of "He," not in the pain. Verses 4 and 5, this isn't "He," this is "You." He's not speaking about God, he now speaks directly to God. And I want you to be reminded on your days of pain, you have access directly to the throne of grace.

The Promise Of The Savior

Let me show you one last thing here in verses 5 and 6. Let me show you, "The promise of the Savior. The promise of the Savior," our God who saves. He says, "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies."

There's some debate here. Some theologians feel like David is completely switching metaphors, going from the shepherd-sheaf motif and an entire new way of thinking to a gracious host. I think there's a bit of an overlap here. I think what David is doing here is showing one of the ways that the LORD shepherds His people is as He welcomes us. I'll show you how He does that in just a moment.

But even the shepherd with the sheep, they would have to go out and prepare a place for the sheep to eat. They've got to pick out the poisonous plants, and they've got to clear out obstacles. Even the shepherd would prepare a place for the sheep to eat.

But in verse 5, you also see this imagery of a host who has prepared a table, who has prepared a meal. And he says, "You prepared this table before me in the presence of my enemies," which reminds us that the nearness of God does not mean things will be easy. The salvation of God, the fact that you've been saved by Him, does not mean that the world is going to all of a sudden fall in line.

"You prepare a table for me, but it's right in the presence of my enemies." This tells us that it's not only that the LORD has provided for you, it's that the LORD has welcomed you. You're welcome at His table. He has prepared this meal for you.

He says, "You anoint my head with oil." There were – and this would be used both ways. If you were a host, you would provide a fragrant oil for your guests. It was a way of washing the face and perfuming the body. For the shepherd, he would use oil for a number of things to be able to protect the sheep.

But I want to draw your attention at the end of verse 5: "You anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows." Now we understand from that that if you have a cup that's overflowing, that there's a lot of it there. But let me take you behind the language just a little bit here.

In our world today, if you've got family or friends over for dinner, we've got some subtle cues that we can give to people when it's time for them to leave. You've been there. You invite someone over. You're glad they came and you're wondering, "Are they ever going to leave?" And so we've got our ways and our culture: "Do what now? Okay, yeah. Oh wow, look at that. Look at the time. Is it dark outside already? You probably have to get up early for work tomorrow, I imagine, don't you?" Or if that doesn't work, you yawn, or you just leave and go to bed, tell them to turn the lights out when they leave.

Well, of course in the ancient world, they don't have those same manners and it would be a bit different. In the ancient world, you had a guest over, and one of the ways that you let someone know that they were welcome to stay is you kept their cup full. You don't have a clock on the wall or a watch on your wrist, but what you do have right in front of you is a cup that's essentially keeping time for you. If it's time for your guests to leave, you don't tell them to leave, you just let the cup go empty. It was a way the guests would understand, "My cup is empty, he's not filling it up; I think it's time to go."

But conversely, when you wonder, "I wonder if he's tired of me being here," and the host fills the cup up again. It wasn't just about giving you something to drink, it was saying, "You're welcome at my table."

What does David say? "My cup overflows." This isn't only a picture of the provision the shepherd gives you, this is a reminder that you're welcome in His presence.

You ever wonder if God gets tired of you? You ever think about that? I mean, I'll be honest with you, I get tired of myself. I love being married. I've been married 28 years by God's grace. It's not God's will for one to get married. If it is your will, if it is God's will for me to get married, I highly recommend it. I love it. We've been married 28 years and it is a dream.

But I got to tell you, as much as I love being married, I would hate to be married to me. I don't know how my wife still has a smile on her face 28 years later. Sometimes you just think, "I wonder if – do I really – do I bother you, because I kind of annoy myself."

Well, if you ever wonder, "Does God get tired of you?" Here you go crying out to Him again, "God, I messed up again. LORD, I need your help again." Maybe your view of security, of your salvation is God promised to save you, so He's going to keep His word; but if He could, He might really think again before He would have saved you again.

No, it's something picture David gives us. He's your shepherd. He knows you need help. He knows you tend to stray; that's what sheep do. He knows that sheep can't defend themselves; He's your defender. He knows that sheep are essentially helpless beings; and that's why we have the Holy Spirit, a helper. And if you've ever wondered if God grows tired of you, just listen to Psalm 23: "My cup overflows." This is God, the gracious host, saying to you, "You're always welcome at My table." On your worst day, the day of your greatest joy, either way, you're always welcome at His table.

Verse 5, "Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me." The word "follow" here is actually – it's an energetic word. You could use the word "pursue" to get the idea: "Goodness and mercy will pursue me. Your goodness and Your mercy is tracking me down." It's pursuing you. It's going to catch up to you. "And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

God's mercy and His goodness is pursuing me. And in its greatest, most ultimate expression of God's mercy catching up to you will be when you close your eyes in death and wake up in His presence and find you are truly home. He wasn't just your shepherd for this life, He will lead you safely into eternity.

Conclusion

Just a week or two before we got married 28 years ago, my wife and I were driving around our old college town where we met. And if the stop sign is still there today, I could take you to the exact stop sign where we were when my wife said these words – I've never forgotten them, they are etched forever in my mind. Just a couple of weeks from getting married, Marcy said to me, she said, "Michael, I want you to know that wherever we are, that will be home to me. She said, "Whether we're in a small house or an apartment, or if one day in a big house." And then she said, "Even if we only have a cardboard box, if we are together, that will be home for me."

Why did she say that? Because it's not location that determines home, it's company, it's who you're with. And she was saying to me, "It doesn't matter what state we live in, it doesn't matter what kind of house we have, it doesn't matter how much stuff or how little stuff we may have: as long as we're together, that will be home."

What did David say? "I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever." He will be with the LORD, and that's what makes heaven heaven.

The shepherd, my friends, is with you in your hardest day, and He's with you every day. "He is with you all the days of your life," verse 6, "and forever." You need not fear evil in this life, "for You are with me." And you need not fear eternity, "for you will be with Him."

I'm sure, like me, you've seen some videos of soldiers when they return home. Maybe you've seen the videos of them when they get off a bus or get off the train or get off the airplane, and they've got their military uniform on, and they have their large duffel bag with all their stuff in it. Have you seen some of the videos where the soldiers are walking with their large bag, and then they see their wife or you see their kids and they're reunited for the first time?

You know what I've never in my life seen? I've never seen a video of those where the soldier has his bag over his shoulder, sees his wife, sees his children, and carries that heavy bag and walks slowly toward them, never once. They all do the exact same thing, don't they? What do they do with the bag? They drop it because that's just stuff. That's just stuff. Lay it down. You run to the one that you love.

And I hear people say all the time things to me like, "You know, when I get to heaven, I'm going to ask God these three things," and I think to myself, "Oh, really? You really think you're going to be in the presence of God Almighty and you're going to care about those things?" I'll tell you what you're going to do: you're going to drop that bag of earthly stuff. The things you didn't understand, the things that felt hard, the things that felt confusing, you drop that, and you run to the Shepherd. The One who led you while you were on this earth is the One who will bring you safely into eternity, and you will be with the LORD forever. No reason to fear, for one reason: it is the LORD who is your shepherd.

Lord, we thank You for your kindness and Your shepherding care. And we pray that You would even this day use Your Word to bring comfort and hope and encouragement to the dear saints gathered here this morning in Christ's name. Amen.