The 23rd Psalm

 Temple Baptist Church - 6-13-2021

Psalm 23:1-6

 

Introduction:

 

This morning, I want to look at one of the most notable, quoted of all Psalms as David, a man after God’s own heart—while still just a lad—meditated on his relationship—as a shepherd—with the flock of sheep placed in his care and thought of the Lord—the great Shepherd of the sheep—and His relationship with those who belong to Him.

 

A.  The 23rd Psalm is placed in the funeral service memorial paper and read often at funerals to give peace, but it has nothing to do with the unsaved. 

 

B.  The 23rd Psalm is a Psalm for the saved, not the unsaved.  Though beautiful, it cannot be understood by the natural man as it may only be spiritually discerned by God’s children.

 

C.  The 23rd Psalm is ALL about our relationship to the Lord and His relationship with us.

 

D.  The 23rd Psalm is ALL you need to know about the Christian life.

 

E.  The 23rd Psalm gives blessed assurance and hope to the child of God.

 

1.  The Person of our Salvation – Verse 1a.  “The Lord is my shepherd.”

 

a.  He is our Lord.

 

b.  He is our Leader.

 

2.  The Pleasure of our Salvation – Verse 1b.  “I shall not want”

 

a.  Our Satisfaction in His Lordship.

 

b.  Our Satisfaction in His Leadership.

 

3.  The Provision of our Salvation.  Verse 2 – “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.”

 

a.  He meets our Physical Needs.

 

b.  He meets our Spiritual Needs.

 

4.  The Path of our Salvation – Verse 3.  “He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.”

 

a.  The Path of Restoration.

 

b.  The Path of Righteousness.

 

5.  The Peace of our Salvation – Verse 4.  “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.”

 

a.  He Calms us in the Valley.

 

b.  He Comforts us in the Valley.

 

6.  The Protection of our Salvation – Verse 5.  “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.”

 

a.  He gives us Deliverance.

 

b.  He gives us Delight.

 

7.  The Promise of our Salvation – Verse 6a “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”

 

a.  The Goodness of God.

 

b.  The Grace of God.

 

8.  The Permanence of our Salvation – Verse 6b “and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”

 

a.  The Promise of our Home.

 

b.  The Permanence of our Home.

 

9.  The Prerogative of our Salvation.

 

a.  The Lord is MY Shepherd.

 

b.  The Lord can be YOUR Shepherd.

 

God’s Promise To The Stranger Scattered

Temple Baptist Church - 11-25-2020

Hebrews 13:5-6

 

Introduction:

 

A.  The last part of verse five is one of the more notable and quotable phrases in the Bible.  “I will never leave thee nor forsake thee.”

 

Hebrews 13:5  Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.

 

B.  After the word “have,” we find the punctuation mark, the colon.  Colons are used to show that what follows the colon amplifies or explains what went before it.

 

C.  After the colon, we find the word “For.”  For can be used either for a preposition or a conjunction in a sentence.  Here, it is used as a conjunction which joins words or groups of words together.  It explains why we do not have to covet or be discontent with things.

 

D.  It is also used as a primary article which gives empirical evidence to a value or truth.  We have seen this evidence proven throughout the Bible.

 

1.  Genesis 12:1-2 – God told Abraham to leave the land of his nativity and God would bless him and make him a great nation.

 

2.  Genesis 28:15, God told Jacob to go down to Egypt and He would be with him and keep him.

 

3.  Deuteronomy 31:6-8, God, through Moses, told Israel that He would go before them and keep them.

 

4.  Joshua 1:5-9, God told Joshua that as He was with Moses, so He would be with him and would not fail him.

 

5.  I Chronicles 28:20 – David told Solomon to be strong and of good courage … to fear not for God would be with him, would not fail him, nor forsake him.

 

6.  Psalms 37:25-28 – David declared that God had never forsaken the righteous.

 

7.  Isaiah 41:8-14 – God told Israel that would not cast them away, he would strengthen them, He would hold their hand.

 

8.  Isaiah 41:17 – The Lord told Israel that when they were poor and needy, He would hear them and would not forsake them.

 

9.  Isaiah 43:1-2 – God told Israel that when they came through waters, rivers, and fire—He would protect them.

 

10.  In the New Testament, God delivered Peter from prison, Paul from prison and the “mouth of the lion,” John on the Ilse of Patmos, the Tribulation saints, and on and on.

 

11.  John 16:7, Our Lord promised us the Holy Ghost who would dwell within us

 

12.  Numerous times in both Old and New Testaments, we find God’s faithfulness to His people.

 

E.  This is called empirical evidence that gives credence to truth.  These strangers scattered in Asia had need of assurance of biblical promises that we know.  We have the completed canon of Scripture, but they only had parts.

 

1.  It is the Lord who meets our individual needs.

 

Matthew 6:31-33  Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed?  (32)  (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.  (33)  But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.

 

Philippians 4:19  But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.

 

2.  It is the Lord who protects and keeps us.

 

Psalms 4:8  I will both lay me down in peace, and sleep: for thou, LORD, only makest me dwell in safety.

 

Psalms 121:4-8  Behold, he that keepeth Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.  (5)  The LORD is thy keeper: the LORD is thy shade upon thy right hand.  (6)  The sun shall not smite thee by day, nor the moon by night.  (7)  The LORD shall preserve thee from all evil: he shall preserve thy soul.  (8)  The LORD shall preserve thy going out and thy coming in from this time forth, and even for evermore.

 

3.  It is the Lord who fights for us. 

 

1 Samuel 17:45-47  Then said David to the Philistine, Thou comest to me with a sword, and with a spear, and with a shield: but I come to thee in the name of the LORD of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom thou hast defied.  (46)  This day will the LORD deliver thee into mine hand; and I will smite thee, and take thine head from thee; and I will give the carcases of the host of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air, and to the wild beasts of the earth; that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel.  (47)  And all this assembly shall know that the LORD saveth not with sword and spear: for the battle is the LORD'S, and he will give you into our hands.

 

Romans 8:31  What shall we then say to these things? If God be for us, who can be against us?

 

4.  It is the Lord who guides us through this life.

 

Ephesians 5:1  Be ye therefore followers of God, as dear children;

 

John 16:13  Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.

 

a.  Follow the Spirit of God.

 

b.  Follow the Bible.

 

c.  Follow the Pastor.

 

d.  Follow the Old Paths.

 

5.  It is the Lord who is always with us and for us.

 

2 Timothy 4:16-18  At my first answer no man stood with me, but all men forsook me: I pray God that it may not be laid to their charge.  (17)  Notwithstanding the Lord stood with me, and strengthened me; that by me the preaching might be fully known, and that all the Gentiles might hear: and I was delivered out of the mouth of the lion.  (18)  And the Lord shall deliver me from every evil work, and will preserve me unto his heavenly kingdom: to whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

Bless The Lord, O My Soul - Thanking God For A Hedged Life

Temple Baptist Church - 11-22-2015

Psalm 103:1-4

Introduction:

A.  We have been preaching on these verses for several weeks now.  What a blessing it is to sit back and take a look at the whole picture of our lives and know that we are blessed!  David had his share of problems, setbacks, disappointments, and failures but know that God had blessed his life from beginning to end.  Too often, we find the bad times the focus of our attention instead of the big picture.  Life is hard and short!

B.  David tells his soul, the seat of his affections, to bless the Lord.  In Bible College, we often said, “Bless the Lord anyhow!”  It may not be good English but it is good theology and advice.  God is good.

C.  David blessed the Lord for all of His benefits which included, up to this point, his great forgiveness of sins along with his good health.

D.  This morning, I want to look at verse 4: “Who redeemeth thy life from destruction; who crowneth thee with lovingkindness and tender mercies.”  There are two things that I want you to notice in verse 4:

1.  The Lord Redeemed David’s Life from the destruction of sin.

2.  The Lord Replaced David’s Life with something far better.

E.  Here we find the wonderful results of God’s salvation.  I want to use a New Testament story to show what David is talking about.  In Mark 5:1-20, we find the story of the maniac of the Gadarenes.  The story of how the Lord saved a wretched, devil possessed social outcast.  What a beautiful picture of what our Lord did for us when we were saved. 

A.  A Pitiful Condition – The man in our story was in a terrible shape.

1.  His Place Of Residence – “tombs”  He dwelt in the land of the dead.

2.  His Spiritual Condition – “with an unclean spirit”

3.  His Social Standing – “no man could bind him, no, not with chains”  He was an outcast; a social misfit.

4.  His Fierce Countenance – “neither could any man tame him” 

5.  His Restlessness – “always, night and day…crying”

6.  His Self-destruction – “cutting himself”

7.  His Desire For Change – “when he saw Jesus afar off, he ran and worshipped him”

B.  A Providential Confrontation

            1.  Jesus Came To Where He Was – The Tombs

2.  Jesus Came To Him In Spite Of What He Was – Helpless, Hopeless, Hapless

3.  Jesus Availed Himself To Him As He Was – He Changed Him After Salvation

4.  Jesus Came Just For Him And Then Left Without Doing Anything Else – vs. 18

C.  A Personal Conversion

            1.  He Saw Jesus – He Knew Who He Was

            2.  He Came To Jesus – Ran, He Greatly Desired Him

            3. He Worshipped Jesus – He Knew What Was To Be Required Of Him

D.  A Prolific Change – vs. 7-18

1.  The Change Was Immediate – 2 Corinthians 5:17 Therefore if any man be in Christ, he is a new creature: old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new.

2.  The Change Was Drastic - 1 Corinthians 6:11 And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.

3.  The Change Was Evident To Others - Matthew 5:16 Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven

.

                        a.  He Caused The Unclean Spirit To Depart

                        b.  He Caused Him To Sit At The Master’s Feet

                        c.  He Caused Him To Put On His Clothes

                        d.  He Caused Him To Be In His Right Mind

                        e.  He Caused Him To Have A Desire To Follow

E.  A Purposed Commission – vs. 19-20 

            1.  He Was Told To Go To Those He Knew

            2.  He Was Told To Tell Of His Conversion

            3.  He Was Obedient To The Command

Conclusion:  The Lord saved him, changed him, and then filled his life with a new purpose!  The Lord never empties us with filling us.  I do not know where I would be had I not come the Christ but I do know that my life has never been the same thanks of Calvary.