Participants:
Series Code: TDYFW
Program Code: TDYFW210034S
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00:01 I want to spend my life
00:07 Mending broken people 00:12 I want to spend my life 00:18 Removing pain 00:24 Lord, let my words 00:30 Heal a heart that hurts 00:34 I want to spend my life 00:40 Mending broken people 00:46 I want to spend my life 00:51 Mending broken people 01:09 Happy Sabbath, and we are so thankful 01:12 that you have joined us for Family Worship 01:14 this evening, aren't we Rise? 01:15 My name is Pastor James Rafferty. 01:17 This is my wife Rise Rafferty, 01:19 and this is our first time doing a Family Worship at 3ABN 01:21 since we've joined the team here, 01:23 and we're just thankful that you've joined us. 01:25 We're going to be studying Psalm 23. 01:27 And we have some illustrious guests with us. 01:30 Actually, they're part of the 3ABN team also. 01:32 To our right we have, Jason Bradley, 01:35 who is manager of Dare to Dream. 01:38 And he's a co-partner with me 01:40 in our series on Salvation in Symbols and Signs. 01:44 And then, Jason, we're glad you're here. 01:45 I'm glad to be here with you. 01:47 And this is a little different. 01:49 We've done more than 112 episodes 01:51 of Salvation in Symbols and Signs. 01:53 But now, I get to be on Family Worship with you guys 01:56 and she does exist. 01:57 She does exist. 01:59 Amen. Yeah. 02:00 And unlike Salvation in Symbols and Signs, 02:02 where I do all the talking, 02:03 you're going to do all the talking this time. 02:06 I don't think we signed up for that one. 02:09 And at the other end of the table, 02:10 we have Ian and Angela, Vandervalk. 02:13 Yeah, thank you for having us. 02:15 You guys are kind of new to 3ABN also. 02:16 How long have you been here? 02:18 We have been here just short of a year. 02:20 All right. 02:21 And you are a vital part of the production team. 02:25 You do... What do you... Tell us what you do exactly? 02:28 Well, currently I'm a floor director. 02:31 So anything that's going on in all the studios 02:33 prior to production, 02:35 during the production, even after production. 02:37 I just kind of manage the studios 02:38 making sure everything's ready. 02:40 The hosts and guests are taken care of 02:41 so it's a lot of fun. 02:42 You do a great job with that. 02:44 Angela, what are you doing back there? 02:45 Well, I do, I run camera and I do makeup. 02:48 You make us look good 02:49 and you do a good job with that. 02:51 I love it. Yes, it's a blessing. 02:52 Making sure everything's off and we're ready to go. 02:55 So we're so thankful, again 02:57 that you could join us this evening. 02:58 We are going to be studying Psalm 23, 03:01 which I believe is kind of like 03:03 the Lord's Prayer of the Old Testament. 03:06 And we're going to see some parallels 03:07 between the Lord's Prayer in the New Testament 03:09 and the Lord's Prayer in the Old Testament. 03:12 David was, you know, this, a type of Christ. 03:15 Christ was called the Son of David 03:17 at many times in the New Testament 03:19 and so we're going to see some beautiful parallels here. 03:22 But before we get started with our study, 03:24 Rise, would you like to have prayer for us? 03:26 Okay. 03:28 Father in heaven, we're just so thankful 03:30 that we could gather around this table 03:31 and partake of spiritual food together. 03:34 We just pray that as we ponder Your Word, 03:37 that You'd send Your Holy Spirit 03:39 to give us understanding. 03:41 That we would live this time with You 03:44 with a clear insight into a chapter, Father, 03:47 that we've probably known since we were kids. 03:49 And we really want to be led by the Shepherd. 03:52 We want to know 03:53 and hear Your voice and be your sheep. 03:55 We just ask for Your blessing on us now in Jesus' name. 03:57 Amen. 03:59 Amen. 04:00 Well, like Rise said, I think many of us 04:02 have known Psalm 23 since we were kids. 04:03 I didn't. 04:05 I knew the Lord's Prayer 04:06 because I was raised in a Catholic home, 04:07 and that's something that we memorize 04:09 along with the Our Father. 04:10 But I didn't really know the Bible, 04:12 and I wasn't familiar with this particular Psalm, Psalm 23. 04:16 So for those of our viewers who aren't familiar with it, 04:19 and just for us in general, 04:20 I think it'd be good for us to read through it. 04:22 I'd like us to start with Ian, with you, 04:24 if you could just read verse 1. 04:25 There's what? 04:26 Six verses so we could all read a verse 04:28 and I can finish it up. 04:29 Actually, why you read verses 1-2 04:30 because the first one is real short and then, 04:33 Angela, you can go with verse 3. 04:34 All right, so starting in verse 1 in Psalms 23, 04:37 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want. 04:41 He makes me to lie down in green pastures. 04:43 He leads me beside the still waters." 04:46 "He restores my soul, 04:48 He leads me in the path of righteousness 04:50 for His name's sake." 04:53 "Yea, though I walk through the valley 04:55 of the shadow of death, 04:56 I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. 04:59 Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me." 05:02 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. 05:06 You anoint my head with oil, my cup runs over." 05:10 "Surely, goodness and mercy 05:11 shall follow me all the days of my life, 05:14 and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." 05:17 Amen. 05:18 Isn't that a beautiful Psalm, a beautiful prayer? 05:21 It's so short, and yet it's so comprehensive, 05:24 and that's very similar to the Lord's Prayer. 05:26 You know, it's so short and so comprehensive. 05:29 So, what are some thoughts that we get from this? 05:32 What kind of insights did you gather from it 05:35 as you read it and prepared for our worship tonight? 05:39 I love the thought that 05:41 we are sheep and that God is our leader. 05:44 And when I read this, 05:46 I felt such a deep sense of security 05:48 and I thought how often in our lives, 05:50 you know, we're insecure. 05:53 I don't know by nature or just because of life's pain 05:56 and the things that we experience. 05:58 And yet here we see now God wants to lead us 06:01 into a relationship with Him that is so secure in every way. 06:05 Amen. 06:06 So He's our Heavenly Shepherd. 06:08 He's our Heavenly Shepherd. 06:09 He watches over us like lambs, I mean, like. 06:11 Have you ever had lambs? 06:12 No, I want some, but I know I haven't had it. 06:16 We haven't either but when we moved to Oregon, 06:18 some years ago, they were everywhere 06:21 and they take a little bit of care. 06:24 You know, they can get into trouble. 06:25 They can get lost. 06:27 They need to be watched over. 06:28 They need their food, 06:29 you know, attended to as far as not eating the wrong things, 06:32 not eating poisonous things or whatever. 06:34 They need to have a place of shelter for the night 06:36 because they've got a few enemies 06:39 that come after them. 06:41 There's a lot of lessons there in our lives 06:43 as far as God being our Shepherd. 06:45 What are the thoughts you got there? 06:46 Well, I just want to comment on Rise's thought there, 06:49 you know, where insecurity comes from, 06:51 because I think that a lot of times 06:53 we get caught up in what how society says 06:56 that we should be or how society says 06:58 we should look or what society says 07:00 that we should do, 07:01 and we lose sight of the Word of God 07:03 because in the Word of God 07:05 is what we should have our value. 07:08 That's where our value is found so in Christ. 07:11 So I think that can breed about a lot of insecurity 07:15 because social media and all of that stuff, 07:17 you know, they paint these pictures 07:20 but it's so far away from God's Word. 07:22 And so I think that's a powerful point 07:24 that you brought out. 07:26 One thing that stands out to me 07:27 in here is the "Lord is my Shepherd, 07:30 I shall not want" or "I shall not lack." 07:33 You know, when you look at the creation, 07:35 the story creation. 07:38 Everything was created for man before man was created. 07:44 And then on top of that, 07:45 not only did man receive like purpose, and everything, 07:49 he was supposed to take care of what God provided, 07:52 but then on the seventh day, the Sabbath, 07:56 God rested And so He provided work, 07:59 He provided purpose, He provided food, 08:01 He provided all of that stuff 08:03 and then He blessed us with rest in Him. 08:04 That's right. 08:05 So, I mean, to see the Lord is my Shepherd, 08:08 I shall not want. 08:10 Also in Philippians 4:19, 08:13 "And my God shall supply all your need 08:16 according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus." 08:21 That's just the kind of God that we serve, 08:23 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." 08:25 And when you were talking, 08:26 I was thinking how you're right, 08:28 the world and social media, et cetera. 08:30 I want to get my definition of who I am by these things 08:34 and yet they really tear me down. 08:36 They make me feel insecure because I don't measure up. 08:38 But when I realized and identify who God is, 08:41 I am identifying who I am as well. 08:43 My identity is in Him. 08:45 He's my Shepherd, I'm His sheep. 08:46 I know who I am. 08:48 I don't have to compare myself with social media. 08:49 I love that. Amen. 08:50 Yeah, that's good stuff, 08:52 and the whole idea of not wanting... 08:54 I know when I was a kid, I had a lot of wants. 08:56 You know, we weren't rich. 08:58 You know, in fact, we were very poor 08:59 for some of the time of my teenage years 09:02 and the world told me what my need was. 09:06 The world told me where to get, 09:08 you know, to be defined 09:09 and it was in making money and having things, 09:12 having cars and having clothes and having a place to live 09:16 and all the accessories to go along with that. 09:19 And that's what I sought after 09:20 because I let the world define what my wants were, 09:23 what my needs were and who I was. 09:26 And when I became a Christian, 09:27 when I gave my life to the Lord 100%, 09:30 I remember all that stuff going away. 09:32 I remember being indifferent to it 09:34 and just kind of letting it go 09:35 because the Lord now was defining who I was. 09:38 And in His definition, it was about rest in Christ, 09:42 the Sabbath, you know, the very day 09:44 we're entering into right now that resting in Jesus 09:47 and not worrying about all these other things. 09:49 Yeah, it's good to have them. 09:50 They're convenient and they help, 09:52 but our real value is found 09:55 in our connection with Jesus Christ. 09:56 Amen. 09:58 And I wanted to say because my experience 09:59 was somewhat similar to yours, 10:01 James, where, you know, I was raised Catholic 10:03 so I knew the, Our Father, very, very well. 10:06 You know, Psalms 23, not so much. 10:09 And, you know, I only became a Christian 10:11 and came to the Lord only a few years ago. 10:14 So when going through this prior to coming out here, 10:16 you know, I even had to read that first verse alone. 10:19 When I read that, you know, "The Lord is my Shepherd, 10:21 I shall not want." 10:22 I hope I'm not the only one out there 10:25 but when I first read that, I thought to myself, 10:27 "Why should I not want my Shepherd?" 10:30 Like I didn't get it, my mind went the other way, you know. 10:33 So I even had to ask Angela, my wife, 10:35 you know, I'd be like, "Babe, what is this telling me? 10:37 Why am I supposed to not want my Shepherd?" 10:40 But then, when she explained it to me, 10:42 it just opened up my eyes 10:43 and, you know, light bulbs went off, 10:45 and I was like, "Oh, now I get it. 10:48 Now I understand." 10:49 How we're making that comparison to our Father. 10:52 He's saying the same thing, "The Lord is my Shepherd," 10:54 you know, and the Lord's Prayer, 10:55 Our Father. 10:57 So it's the same guide or same protector, 10:59 you know, that we see in both of these. 11:02 It's so good. 11:03 I like that because it's so easy to misunderstand 11:06 the Word of God and I had a similar experience. 11:08 You know, I've been Adventist now for 37 years, 11:10 but when I first started studying the Bible, 11:12 I mean, bro, it was so frustrating. 11:14 I could not understand it. 11:15 I would be crying, just teary eyed, 11:18 trying to figure out what it meant. 11:20 And to read that the Lord is my Shepherd, 11:21 I shall not want, I can understand that. 11:25 Yeah, of course, you know? 11:27 It's interesting though how when we grow in the Lord 11:31 and when we continue reading the Bible, and mature. 11:35 Now, I believe Angela, 11:36 you were raised in the church, right? 11:38 Yes. 11:39 So you were raised an Adventist. 11:41 So you kind of have little bit of that background 11:42 that we didn't have coming out of Catholicism. 11:44 But even though I had that background 11:47 and I have read Psalm 23 11:51 before but I never really studied it. 11:53 So it makes it different 11:55 when you sit down and break it down 11:56 and I enjoyed studying it. 11:59 And when it says, 12:00 "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want." 12:02 I'm an animal person, so I love the animals 12:04 and so how they depend on me to feed them 12:08 and to give them water and shelter and everything. 12:11 I feel like same thing with God like we depend on Him. 12:15 We need to depend on Him for everything, 12:17 right, to take care of us and to love us. 12:19 And, you know, even when things go bad 12:22 we need to still depend on Him and trust in Him. 12:27 And I really like that I shall not want, 12:31 how God just does supply all our needs, everything. 12:35 Like when we moved over here from Georgia 12:38 and God called us here, 12:39 my husband want to serve the Lord 12:41 and the Lord send us here. 12:43 And even though I came kicking and screaming, 12:47 'cause we were in military, so sick of the moving. 12:50 So I was like, "We're moving again." 12:51 And he was like, "I'm getting out of the army." 12:53 So I was like, "Yay." 12:55 And then God sent us here to move again. 12:56 But even when we came here, we were like, 12:59 just trusted in God 13:01 because we had no place to live. 13:03 You know, we didn't know what we're going to do. 13:05 We had a house still in Georgia 13:07 and rent in there and God just... 13:09 We just trusted in Him and that's what our Shepherd, 13:13 our Heavenly Father wants us to do is to trust in Him. 13:16 And He tests our patience. 13:18 He really taught us patience 13:20 and He tested our patience and we just... 13:25 He supplied everything, the house, acres 13:28 or everything we needed, 13:29 God supplied for us, like everything. 13:31 And I'm just so thankful for my Lord, 13:33 my Heavenly Father to be our Shepherd. 13:35 Amen. 13:36 It is amazing though, isn't it? 13:37 When you're in the situation 13:39 because now you're looking back and you're saying, 13:41 "Oh, God just keep blessing." 13:42 But when you're in the situation 13:44 and you have to make the decision like 13:46 the Israelites to get into the water and then it parts. 13:48 You know, they had to touch the water 13:50 before it would part and you guys had to do that. 13:52 You had to step out. 13:53 I was walking through the shadow of... 13:55 Valley of death. 13:56 Yeah. 13:57 I know what was going to happen. 13:59 What I love about that verse, and that point you just made is 14:02 but you're walking through. 14:04 We need to walk with the Lord and keep on walking 14:06 and sometimes the end journey is going to be... 14:10 Well, every time the end journey 14:11 is going to be a little bit different 14:13 than the way there. 14:14 The way there is like 14:16 the valley of the shadow of death, 14:17 but the end journey is what God is getting us to. 14:19 And so if we stop in the valley of the shadow of death, 14:21 if we stopped with our doubts, you know, with our unbelief, 14:23 with our, you know, distrust or whatever, 14:25 we're going to be stuck 14:27 in the valley of the shadow of death. 14:28 If we're going to sit there we're going to absorb it all. 14:29 Yeah, but He wants us to keep going 14:31 because He wants us to get to our destination. 14:34 And what you guys went through and moving out here by faith 14:36 is just one little step in the journey of faith 14:42 that gets us to that promised destination 14:44 that is eternal life. 14:46 And what He wants to do 14:47 is every one of those little steps that we take, 14:50 we enforces the faith we have in Him to get us 14:52 to that final journey. 14:53 It's like a down payment. 14:55 And sometimes on this earth 14:56 we think we get content with a down payment 15:00 and God say no, no, no, no, no, no. 15:01 Sometimes He has to take the down payment away 15:03 just to get our eyes back on the ultimate goal 15:06 because we're not there 15:08 until the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. 15:09 Amen. 15:11 You know, I love how 15:12 with the shepherd and the sheep, you know. 15:14 If you think about sheep, 15:16 and the shepherd like sheep know, their shepherd's voice. 15:20 So how do we learn the voice of God? 15:22 By studying His Word and growing in Him. 15:26 You mentioned about the ultimate goal. 15:28 There was a picture of a little girl 15:31 she had a bear in her hands. 15:33 It was this little tiny bear. 15:35 And then there was a picture of Jesus and Jesus 15:38 was just looking at her, just so kind and so peaceful. 15:41 And He had something behind his back 15:45 but that little girl was holding and clenching tight 15:47 to that little bear. 15:49 But Jesus had this huge bear behind his back 15:53 that He just needed her to let go of the tiny bear 15:57 and receive the great gift that He had for her. 16:01 I mean that's just like us. 16:02 You know, sometimes we hold on to these things and it's like, 16:05 God wants to give us so much more, 16:07 but we get caught up in this temporary type of situation. 16:10 Yeah, amen. 16:12 You know, the next verse... 16:13 I love how the Word of God speaks 16:15 to each person differently, 16:16 which is why I think this is so cool, right, 16:18 to gather around and really talk about 16:20 what we see in the Word of God. 16:21 But the next verse where it says, 16:23 "He makes me to lie down in green pastures." 16:26 And I was thinking, "Sheep..." 16:28 You know, like James was saying, 16:29 we've lived in Oregon, 16:31 where most of the time sheep were always eating. 16:33 They're always foraging. 16:35 They're always standing up 16:36 and more and more and more and more food. 16:38 You're like, you know, they don't get fat. 16:40 They just digest all this green mass, and anyway. 16:42 They don't get fat, they get food. 16:45 I was just thinking, 16:47 "What does it take for a sheep to lie down 16:49 when there's food everywhere, right or what?" 16:52 They're content. 16:53 And so this is how my brain works a little weird. 16:57 It's not weird, honey. 16:59 Okay, just who I am. 17:00 You're Puerto Rican. 17:03 So we have this part of our brain, 17:06 that's the pleasure reward pathway, right? 17:08 And we can do things that stimulate it. 17:10 So we can go do drugs, we can do alcohol, 17:13 we can do gambling, sex, 17:16 you know, on and on and on, 17:18 and it stimulates this pleasure reward pathway. 17:20 Well, our nature is such that it's not like, 17:22 "Oh, we get a hit," and we're like, 17:24 "Oh, that's good." 17:25 That was good for the... 17:26 You know, suddenly like, it breeds contentment. 17:28 They found that actually 17:29 when you stimulate that pleasure reward pathway, 17:31 we go back for more and more and more 17:34 and so all the big huge food companies, they know this, 17:37 so they intentionally are marketing us food 17:41 that stimulates that pleasure reward pathway 17:43 so we're not content. 17:44 We go back for more and more and more 17:46 putting more money in their pocket. 17:47 They did this research with monkeys and with rats. 17:50 And they put little electrodes there right, 17:52 and all the monkey had to do was push this bar, 17:56 and they'd experienced pleasure. 17:59 And they found that these monkeys and rats 18:01 started pressing this bar like four or five times a second, 18:05 so some of them died. 18:08 They didn't drink water. They didn't eat food. 18:10 They're just pressing this thing, why? 18:12 Because if we're just stimulating this pleasure 18:15 reward pathway, it breeds discontentment. 18:17 Contentment is actually a synonym for happiness. 18:20 And when we are truly happy, we're like, "I'm content. 18:23 That's good." 18:25 And it's not always driving us 18:27 for how can I get more and more and more, right? 18:29 That's discontentment and so anyway, 18:32 all that to say that when I read this, 18:35 I'm picturing God leading us in our lives to such a place 18:40 where we finally are like, 18:41 "I am so deeply satisfied and content. 18:44 I'm experiencing such love and depth of life. 18:49 I'm just laying here among the grass." 18:51 In the presence of the Lord. 18:52 Yes, I'm not having to constantly, 18:53 you know, be hunting, on the hunt all the time. 18:56 And I'm sure you guys have experienced that in your lives. 18:57 Absolutely. 18:59 I love how you said that because I mean, 19:00 that really resonates 19:02 to my whole experience in my whole life, 19:04 you know, prior to even giving my heart to God. 19:06 It was always finding 19:08 that thing that can provide pleasure, 19:10 that thing that can just might even 19:12 temporarily make me happy, you know. 19:14 And it wasn't until I finally just let go of the world 19:18 and just finally came to Christ. 19:20 That's when everything became peaceful. 19:22 That's when everything, 19:24 you know, in my life started to make sense. 19:25 For both of us. 19:26 Yeah, I mean, 19:28 everything in both of our lives was kind of chaotic, 19:32 you know, until we came to the Lord. 19:35 So that whole description that you gave, 19:40 as far as you know, Christ leading us 19:41 to somewhere where we're content 19:43 to somewhere where we're happy. 19:44 I mean, you'll never experience true happiness or true peace 19:47 until you find the Lord. 19:49 I mean, I know it because I've experienced it. 19:52 I'm sure, Jason, I'm sure we all here 19:53 have experienced it. 19:54 So I love how you brought that out. 19:57 Yeah, green pastures, 20:00 the application we're making there, 20:02 Rise, I really love that. 20:03 He makes me to lie down in pastures. 20:06 Not to eat in green pastures but to lie down. 20:08 Because I'm satisfied, I'm filled. 20:09 Because I'm content, you know. 20:11 I was thinking of a verse here, 20:12 and I found that, it's in 1 Timothy 6. 20:14 And it says, "But godliness with contentment is great gain. 20:18 For we brought nothing into this world 20:20 and it is certain that we can carry nothing out." 20:23 Of course, I love that verse. 20:24 It's like, "Oh, that's right. 20:27 We're not taking it back to heaven." 20:29 We're not carrying anything out of this world, you know? 20:32 So God is bringing us back to the place 20:35 where even though He created this whole world for us 20:38 in the beginning, right? 20:40 We were content in His presence. 20:42 Everything else was surplus, everything else was extra 20:45 and we were just content in His presence. 20:47 But I really love the way that you brought that out, 20:49 Rise, in this verse 20:50 because I never would have caught that. 20:52 He makes me to lie down in green pastures. 20:54 He's the Shepherd, we're sheep. 20:57 When do you see sheep lying down in green pastures? 20:59 When they're content, 21:00 otherwise they eat and eat and safe. 21:02 They feel safe. 21:03 Yeah, otherwise they're eating, eating, eating. 21:05 Yes, that's good. 21:07 So what do we get on the rest of that verse? 21:09 "He leads me beside still waters." 21:13 Well, the first thing that popped out to me was, 21:15 you know, I was thinking 21:17 whitewater rapids and still waters. 21:19 I mean, that's kind of thing that immediately, 21:22 kind of, just popped in my head. 21:23 And I just thought, you know, "God isn't going to lead us 21:26 into the Lord's Prayer. 21:28 He's not going to lead us into temptation." 21:30 And similar here, He's not going to lead us 21:32 into something that's going to be chaos for us 21:35 or it's going to, you know, bring us down 21:37 or do something that will be difficult for us 21:39 to get through some kind of trial trip. 21:41 He's not going to take us there. 21:42 Where He wants to take us is somewhere where it's, 21:44 again, peaceful, somewhere we can rest, 21:47 somewhere that is calm. 21:48 You know, one of the reasons why He gave us the Sabbath, 21:50 we'll just go go, go, go, go throughout the week, 21:52 and sometimes we can, you know, in our own works 21:55 and the things that we have going on. 21:57 He made that day where we can just stop 22:00 and spend that time with Him and reflect on Him. 22:02 And that's what the still waters was to me is that 22:04 where we can just stop, we can look and reflect 22:06 and just see what He's done in our lives 22:09 and the God that He is. 22:10 Amen. 22:12 I think of a peaceful situation, you know. 22:15 No matter what's going on around us, 22:17 you know, we can still have that peace 22:19 and that only comes from Christ. 22:21 So, you know, there may be a storm taking place, 22:24 but you still have that peace, you know. 22:26 The disciples in the boat 22:27 and Jesus was sleeping through the storm, 22:30 and they're panicking and losing their minds like, 22:32 "Oh, does He not realize what's going on?" 22:35 Of course, He realizes but you know, 22:37 when you have Christ on your side, 22:39 no matter the storm, no matter what you're going through 22:41 or what you're dealing with, what you're faced with, 22:44 you can have that peace. 22:45 And so when I think about the still waters and stuff, 22:48 I think about Christ wanting to give us that peace 22:51 that can't be explained any other way. 22:53 Yeah, He realizes what's going on, 22:56 but do we realize what's going on? 22:57 That's right. 22:59 Do we realize that in this storm, 23:00 Jesus Christ is in perfect rest and perfect peace? 23:02 Do we realize that? 23:03 And if we realize that we're like, 23:05 we're going to get that from Him, like, 23:06 the thing that I think about with this is we love to camp, 23:10 and we love to go camping next to a lake. 23:12 We like water. 23:13 And when you camp next to a lake and most of the lakes 23:16 we camp next to most of the day, 23:18 they're windy, windy. 23:19 They're just going to be windy. 23:21 Water just attracts that wind comes down on it. 23:23 But in the morning or in the evening, 23:25 especially in the evening time, that lake will mirror out. 23:28 It'll just be glass. 23:30 And when that lake gets glass, 23:32 there's nothing like the peace you feel 23:34 when you're next to a lake that's just glassy water 23:37 and then you light a fire. 23:39 You light a campfire 23:40 and you'll see next to a lake of glass. 23:42 And you'd light this campfire and you just... 23:44 This campfire, you know, the coals are in there 23:46 and you're just taking it 23:48 and you're looking at those coals 23:49 and then you're looking at that lake. 23:51 You are in heaven, literally in heaven 23:54 because in Revelation 15 it talks about 23:56 God's redeemed people standing on a lake burning with fire. 24:01 Think about that. 24:02 Yeah. 24:04 See, and we think, "Oh that would be kind of weird. 24:05 Well, I can't sweat... 24:07 How can I be in fire?" 24:08 No, the whole thing is the ambience. 24:11 It's taking us to a place of rest. 24:14 It's taking us to a place 24:15 that's described here in Psalm 23, 24:18 a place of still waters with that fire 24:21 that is so attractive and so mesmerizing 24:24 and brings us so much peace. 24:26 We can just sit there for hours just looking into those coals 24:29 and that's what Jesus is bringing to us, 24:32 in our hearts, in our minds, in our experience. 24:34 I love that. 24:35 Me too. 24:37 All right, what else, anything else in that verse? 24:39 When I think of that verse, 24:41 I also think of just how crazy this world is 24:44 and how busy you are. 24:45 And how, you know, we need that 24:48 quiet still peace and by the waters 24:52 just to reflect our Creator and to think of Him. 24:57 And I know when I go through, 25:00 you know, a trial in our marriage or at work 25:03 or whatever the case may be with your kids 25:05 driving you crazy. 25:07 But whatever you go through, you know... 25:09 He's driving you crazy. 25:11 No. 25:12 But, yeah, so when I'm going through that, 25:14 I don't want to be still, I just want to lean on myself. 25:17 And I think that's where I fall a lot of times 25:19 is I'm angry or upset at the time 25:22 and I don't want to go to God. 25:24 But I need to be still and look at my Creator 25:27 and that sometimes is hard to do. 25:30 And I'm just so thankful that God, 25:32 you know, He tells us to be still. 25:35 And I like that verse, yeah. 25:37 You know, one thing I like about 25:38 this as it just came to my mind is, 25:40 you know, here in Illinois, Southern Illinois, 25:43 I've noticed that you can dig up a big hole 25:47 and in a year or two, it'll be full of water. 25:49 You can, actually, make lakes right on your property. 25:52 I mean, you could buy 28/29 acres 25:55 and dig the whole thing up, right? 25:58 And just let it fill with water. 25:59 You'd have yourself a nice lake right there. 26:00 Wouldn't that be cool? 26:02 Yeah, get to work. 26:04 I'm not doing one that thinks weird. 26:08 I love that. 26:09 I love the idea like having on a lake. 26:12 I love the idea of just being out there 26:14 with the fire and the water and just, 26:16 yeah, I just love that whole idea of that peace, 26:18 and I think that's the image God has given us here 26:20 and in Revelation, yeah. 26:22 Okay, next verse. 26:25 "He restores my soul, He leads me 26:27 in paths of righteousness for his name's sake." 26:32 I think that restoration of soul is gospel right there. 26:36 It is. 26:37 You know, there's a lot of things 26:39 that we need restoring in our lives. 26:43 You know, there's mental restoration, 26:45 there's spiritual restoration, there's physical restoration. 26:48 And I think this takes in the whole thing 26:50 but the most important thing it's talking about is the soul. 26:53 You know, the innermost being 26:55 that the spirit combined with the physical, 26:59 who we are spiritually, 27:01 who we are in our characters 27:03 that God is seeking to restore His character, His image in us. 27:07 And I think we talked about earlier, Jason, about the fact 27:10 that you don't want to take anything to heaven, 27:11 right, you know? 27:12 There's no backpack, but there is this idea 27:14 that our character goes to heaven, 27:16 that our character is preserved. 27:18 We get new bodies so these bodies 27:20 we should take care of them, 27:21 of course, but these bodies are waxing old. 27:24 And so they're going, but the character is, 27:26 actually, going to be in heaven 27:28 the same as it is on this earth. 27:30 And God wants us to develop a character 27:32 that is fit for heaven 27:34 or is going to have a place in heaven 27:36 or find joy in heaven, right? 27:38 Yeah. And I love the thought. 27:40 I come to this verse realizing my soul needs restoration, 27:46 but He's the one that's going to do it. 27:48 You know what I mean? Yeah. 27:49 I don't have to say, "Ah, my soul, 27:51 how do I restore this thing? 27:52 I don't know how to..." 27:53 Like if my car broke down or something like that, 27:55 you know, I'd have no clue, I'd be asking... 27:58 So when I look at my soul, 28:00 the brokenness of my soul and its need to be restored, 28:04 I still don't have a clue. 28:05 And thankfully, He's the one that's going to restore it. 28:09 I love that point. Amen. 28:10 He restores my soul. Yeah. 28:12 You know, I think about Peter when he denied Jesus. 28:15 He denied Jesus three times and then later, 28:18 I think the breakfast by the sea or something. 28:21 And Simon Peter... 28:24 Jesus said to Peter, "Do you love Me?" 28:28 He asked him three times. 28:29 "Do you love Me?" 28:31 And each time he gave him something to do, 28:33 "Feed my sheep." 28:35 And so each time He was telling him, 28:37 "Look, I forgive you, 28:40 and I've got a job for you to do. 28:42 Now, go do it." 28:44 And I think that's beautiful. 28:46 And so when we look at that 28:48 and talk about restoring the soul and all of that stuff, 28:51 I just think that is really like how Christ is. 28:54 And then I remember I heard this pastor, 28:56 he was preaching a sermon. 28:58 And he talked about the Last Supper 29:01 and the last meal that Jesus had. 29:04 And he said, "Oftentimes, like 29:07 when you think about the Last Supper, 29:10 you think, well, what would I eat? 29:13 What would I have, what would I order for my last meal?" 29:19 What kind of vegetarian meal would I eat? 29:23 I'm not going to say it. 29:29 You also think about, "Who would I have that with?" 29:33 Jesus made the choice and this was powerful. 29:35 When he said this, "Jesus made the choice 29:38 to have His last meal with a very individual 29:41 that was going to betray Him." 29:43 He knew that He was going to be betrayed by Judas, 29:45 and He still chose to have that supper with Judas. 29:48 That's incredible. 29:49 That just kind of... That blew me away. 29:52 Yeah, that's powerful. 29:54 You know, I was thinking about that too 29:56 in relation to what you said about 29:58 giving Peter something to do. 30:00 And I know God has put us in ministry 30:03 to keep us from sin. 30:05 And there's idle moments that can come into our lives 30:08 that are the perfect opportunity for sin. 30:11 And I know in my own experience, 30:13 unfortunately, there have been times 30:15 when I've been idle 30:16 and was getting ready to do something 30:18 that really wasn't a good use of time, 30:20 wasted time really. 30:22 And I got a call from someone or an email from someone 30:25 or I got engaged with some kind of ministry 30:28 where they needed some help or whatever. 30:30 And I found myself responding to that, 30:32 getting involved in that, 30:33 getting caught up in that and when I was done with that, 30:36 just having no inclination to do the thing 30:38 that I was about to do before that, 30:40 you know, ministry opportunity arose. 30:44 And I think that's what God was about with Peter. 30:46 He was saying, "Listen, you know, you're all about, 30:49 you know, who's going to be the greatest et cetera, 30:51 you need to feed My sheep, you know. 30:54 You're all about who loves you? 30:56 Do I love you more than all the others? 30:58 You need to feed My sheep, you know. 31:00 You're all about, you know, 31:01 you think you love Me in this way? 31:03 You need to feed My sheep, just feed My sheep." 31:06 And that's what I think God has called us to. 31:08 That's why we're here. 31:09 That's why we're together even this evening, 31:12 is God has called us to share, 31:14 you know, the Word of God with each other, 31:17 to edify one another right here and then, 31:19 you know, with our viewers with those 31:20 who are listening here this evening. 31:21 Just for them to come in and partake of this time 31:25 that we have together where we get to share 31:27 and talk about what God means to us, 31:29 what His Word means to us. 31:30 And really, I want to encourage our viewers 31:32 that what we're doing tonight is something you can do 31:35 in your community with two or three people or more. 31:38 If you've got a larger family 31:39 where you can just get together on a Friday evening 31:41 and you can just open the Word of God 31:43 to one of your favorite chapters 31:44 or a chapter you don't know, 31:46 something that you're not familiar with, 31:47 you know, like within Ian and I, 31:49 we weren't familiar with Psalm 23 growing up, 31:51 even in a Christian home. 31:52 And just start reading it 31:54 and interacting and maybe like Ian said, 31:57 you know, Angela needed to help him understand, 31:59 "Well, why would I not want my Shepherd? 32:02 What does that mean?" 32:03 And Angela answered, "Well, no, that doesn't mean that. 32:05 Actually, what it means is this." 32:06 And if we all have humble hearts to receive 32:08 and to share, right, with each other, 32:10 we're going to grow. 32:11 And that's the whole purpose that God has for us. 32:14 Yeah, what I hear you guys saying 32:15 that I hadn't thought about 32:16 before is that part of the process of restoration 32:19 was actually Jesus speaking to Peter and giving him 32:23 still a work or a position 32:29 or a place in God's kingdom, 32:32 in terms of what he was to do. 32:33 And I think that's so valuable. 32:35 That means a lot to me. 32:37 And I know that when I have felt like God, 32:40 "Oh, He sees me. 32:42 He wants me to be in this position." 32:43 It has been like you were saying restoring. 32:45 It keeps me focused. 32:46 It keeps me connected. 32:48 I think that's the big connected to the boss, 32:51 the Shepherd. 32:53 And you were talking about Judas, 32:54 but Peter was one of the greatest 32:55 disappointments for Christ too. 32:57 He denied Him three times 32:59 and all the disciples forsook Him. 33:00 So He wasn't just having the supper with the guy 33:02 that was going to betray him. 33:03 He was having supper with all these rascals, right? 33:06 All these guys that are just going to go whack. 33:08 They're all going to vanish. 33:09 Yeah, but in their eyes, they weren't. 33:10 Right, yeah. 33:12 And how we, you know, think, 33:14 "Well, we're not going to do that. 33:15 We're Christian. We're not going to do that." 33:17 We're Adventists. 33:19 Yeah, or Adventists, yes, and how we do 33:21 if we don't keep our eyes fully on Christ, 33:24 our Shepherd, like the sheep, we can just wander away. 33:27 Yes. 33:28 All we like sheep have gone astray. 33:30 And I love that Jesus picked up 33:33 from a lot of these Old Testament verses, 33:35 where He must have read through these verses and realize, 33:37 "I'm the Shepherd." 33:38 And so then He applies that same analogy 33:40 in the New Testament and letting us know, 33:43 "Yeah, I'm the good Shepherd 33:44 that's going to search for the sheep 33:47 who wander away," 'cause we all, yeah. 33:48 I love that because I have wondered away, 33:50 so thankful God continues to look for me every day. 33:54 Yeah, He's the pursuer. 33:56 Yeah. Amen. 33:57 It's interesting too, 33:58 isn't it that when we look at Christ 34:00 because Psalm 22 is about His agony on the cross. 34:02 And maybe Psalm 23 34:04 was His experience before it was ours, 34:07 before we can speak into this, He could speak into it. 34:09 But, you know, on the cross, 34:11 you know, all the Adventists were gone. 34:13 I'm just going to say, Peter and the disciples, 34:14 that's us, we're all gone. 34:16 But there's the thief on the cross, 34:17 you know, who's out there in the world. 34:19 So when this is Centurion, 34:20 you know, sure this was the Son of God 34:22 and remember me when you come into your Kingdom. 34:24 You know, there were people there 34:26 who did acknowledge Christ. 34:27 And sometimes as Christians, we think we're the ones 34:30 that are going to acknowledge Christ to the end. 34:32 And yet in the true story, 34:33 the story that we live and die for, 34:35 the story of the cross. 34:36 It wasn't really the believers 34:38 and the followers and the disciples 34:39 that were faithful to God in that moment 34:41 when He was dying on the cross for our sins. 34:43 But it was the people 34:44 that weren't necessarily His disciples. 34:47 The people that were surprising us 34:50 and the rest of the disciples there, who... 34:54 You know, you can imagine when the thief said, 34:55 "Remember, when you come into your Kingdom." 34:56 Everyone's turn around like, "Whoa, what! 35:00 How did that happen?" 35:02 And the Centurion says, 35:03 "Surely, this is the Son of God. 35:05 Surely this man was the Son of God." 35:07 You can imagine how the soldiers 35:08 kind of responded and looked. 35:10 It only takes one or two and I'm sure that gave Christ 35:14 incredible encouragement when that thief turned to Him 35:16 and acknowledged Him by faith. 35:18 Amen. 35:20 I love that. 35:21 You know the phrase "For His name's sake." 35:25 I always wondered what does that mean, 35:27 like in my present day lingo. 35:30 And I just was thinking because that's who He is. 35:34 His name is His character. 35:35 It's because that's who He is 35:37 that He's going to be my Shepherd. 35:39 He's going to provide for all my needs. 35:40 He's going to lead me in green pastures 35:42 and beside still waters. 35:44 He's going to restore my soul and lead me 35:45 in paths of righteousness because that's who He is. 35:48 I love that thought. 35:49 Praise God. 35:51 I was thinking about that in relationship 35:53 to this verse in Ezekiel and it just came to my mind. 35:58 I think it's Ezekiel 36. 36:00 Thirty four. 36:02 Is it 34? 36:04 I think it's 36. You think it's 34. 36:05 You grab the part in 34 that you're thinking about. 36:08 I'll try to grab the part in 36. 36:10 It's probably going to be neither one of those 36:12 because I know it's not 36 now that I think about it. 36:14 Thirty four is where he talks as God's the true Shepherd. 36:19 No, well, I'm thinking about is where He says... 36:23 Oh, it is, it's in Chapter 36. 36:26 Where He says... 36:31 Verse 23 says... 36:32 Oh no, verse, let's see. 36:35 Verse 22, "Therefore say unto the house of Israel, 36:38 thus saith the Lord God, 36:40 I do not this for your sakes, O house of Israel, 36:43 but for mine holy name's sake, 36:45 which ye have profaned among the heathen, 36:47 whither ye went." 36:49 Which I will sanctify, verse 23 says, 36:52 "And I will sanctify my great name, 36:55 which was profaned among the heathen, 36:56 which ye have profaned in the midst of them, 36:58 and the heathen shall know that I am the Lord, 37:01 saith the Lord God, 37:02 when I shall be sanctified in you before their eyes. 37:06 And I will take you from among the heathen, 37:07 and gather you out of all countries, 37:09 and will bring you into your own land. 37:10 Then will I sprinkle clean water upon you, verse 25, 37:12 and you shall be clean: from all your filthiness, 37:14 and from all your idols, and I will cleanse you. 37:16 A new heart also will I give you, 26, 37:19 and a new spirit will I put within you: 37:21 and I will take away 37:22 the stony heart out of your flesh, 37:23 and I will give you an heart of flesh. 37:25 And I will put my spirit within you, 37:26 and cause you to walk in my statutes, 37:28 and shall keep my judgments, and do them. 37:29 And I will dwell in the land that I gave to your fathers, 37:32 and you will be my people, and I will be your God. 37:34 And I will save you from all your uncleannesses: 37:36 I will call for the corn, and will increase it, 37:38 and will lay no famine upon you." 37:39 This goes on and talks about 37:40 how he's gonna do all these things. 37:42 And then it says, verse 31," 37:44 Then you shall remember your own evil ways, 37:46 and your doings that were not good, 37:48 and you shall loath yourselves 37:50 in your own sight for your iniquities 37:52 and for your abominations." 37:55 Not for your sakes do I this, verse 32, says the Lord God, 37:58 be it known unto you: 38:00 be ashamed and confounded for your own ways, 38:02 O house of Israel." 38:03 Isn't that beautiful? 38:05 Yeah, this makes me think of, 38:06 I don't know where it is in the New Testament 38:08 where it says that, though we are faithless, 38:10 He is faithful still. 38:12 He cannot deny Himself. 38:13 Romans 3, "God remains faithful. 38:16 He can't deny Himself." Amen. 38:17 So He's going to do this. 38:19 And whenever I get to the place 38:21 where I'm just ready to give up on myself, 38:24 like I'm disappointed myself again and again and again. 38:26 Okay, you know, I was impatient with Rise again. 38:29 We had this argument and I should have just, 38:31 you know, been more godly or whatever. 38:34 I think of this promise, 38:36 I think of these things and I think of, 38:38 "God's going to do it for His name's sake. 38:41 He's going to work in me for His glory sake." 38:44 Go and apologize to your wife and just humble yourself 38:46 because this is about God's glory. 38:48 It's not about you. It's not about my character. 38:50 It's about what God's going do. 38:51 And when I do that, I loathe myself. 38:54 I loathe the way I treated my wife 38:57 or the way I acted or things 38:58 that I thought or whatever it is. 39:00 I loathe it. 39:01 Whereas before that, excuse me, 39:03 I'm trying to be more defensive of myself 39:05 and justify myself, you know. 39:07 Well, honey, you know, the reason why I did that 39:12 was because you were making it... 39:14 We went to this thing today this morning. 39:18 Think of Psalm 23. 39:20 Well, the Levite. The Levite. 39:21 You might as well mention. 39:23 It's nothing but family here. 39:28 But it's just this idea of tit for tat. 39:30 It's just this idea, especially in relationships. 39:35 And Jesus hanging on the cross just annihilated that. 39:38 He just annihilated it. 39:40 You know, He said, "Father, forgive them 39:42 for they don't know what they do." 39:43 And He's giving that to us. 39:45 That's our heritage. That's our inheritance. 39:47 That's what He want to give us. 39:48 What you just read here in Ezekiel, 39:50 would this be an example of like the New Covenants? 39:54 Yes, this is the New Covenant. 39:55 This is all about the New Covenant. 39:57 And it's powerful 39:59 because the New Covenant experience is all about 40:01 recognizing God doing something for us 40:03 what we can't do for ourselves, you know? 40:05 Yeah. That's powerful. 40:06 Yeah. 40:08 We can't give ourselves a new heart 40:09 and put a new spirit within you. 40:11 He says He will. 40:12 "I will give you a new heart 40:13 and put a new spirit within you." 40:15 I love that. 40:17 And why is He going to do it? 40:18 Because we've been good, 40:20 because we've decided to get our life together, 40:21 because, no, He's going to do it for His name's sake. 40:26 We can count on His name. 40:27 We can count on Him doing it for His name. 40:29 That's a great motive. 40:30 You know that God wants to do this to vindicate His character 40:32 and show the world 40:35 what He looks like in a human being, 40:37 a fallen sinful human being. 40:38 What He can do in our lives is powerful. 40:41 I think that's why testimonies too 40:43 are so powerful, too 40:45 because you get to hear what God has done 40:47 in the life of someone else. 40:48 Like Ian, you have a very powerful testimony. 40:50 You have a powerful testimony. 40:52 We all have testimonies, 40:53 and so that's a huge blessing to be able to hear like 40:57 some modern day experiences 41:01 of what God is doing in other people's life. 41:03 And nobody can argue your testimony, 41:04 or can't say that's not true. 41:07 Yeah, that's happened. 41:09 And I think that's why God does give us trials 41:11 to help build our character and to grow closer to Him 41:15 and see how He does bring us through the storm. 41:19 And it's through our, you know, I read once 41:22 where our pain is someone else's medicine. 41:25 So the things that we go through, 41:27 these experiences, these trials, 41:28 you know, whatever it is, 41:30 it's not just for us to learn and grow. 41:33 I mean, it is 41:35 but it's so that we can share that with someone else 41:37 so we can help them in their time of need 41:39 because everybody has somebody that they can relate to, 41:43 with something that they've gone through. 41:46 Jason can relate to somebody else that I can't. 41:48 You guys can relate to somebody that we can't. 41:50 So we all have our individual story 41:52 so we can help that person grow as well. 41:54 Amen. 41:56 Praise God. 41:57 And I love that 41:58 because the word of our testimony grows. 42:00 It's not a onetime thing. 42:03 I came to the Lord 37 years ago. 42:05 This is how it happened 42:06 but then there's another experience 42:08 and another experience and another experience 42:10 and all those experiences 42:12 connect with the truth of the gospel, 42:15 and become a testimony illustration 42:17 of how God works in our lives. 42:18 How God work, can work in anyone's life 42:21 if we're just willing. 42:23 2 Corinthians 1 says, you know what, 42:26 you think of the verse, you think that's the verse... 42:28 No you just said, "If we are willing" 42:29 and that's the key right there. 42:31 You have to be willing. 42:32 Yeah. 42:33 And then in 2 Corinthians 1, 42:35 it talks about how that God comforts us 42:38 in all of our tribulations, 42:40 so that we can comfort others with the same comfort 42:43 that He's given to us. 42:44 So we have these experiences 42:46 so that we can help other people 42:48 who go through similar experiences 42:49 because there's nothing new under the sun. 42:51 We're all humans, we're all falling, 42:52 and we're all going through similar experiences. 42:54 Circumstances may be a little bit different 42:56 in personality or whatever, 42:57 but the experiences we're going through are basically the same. 43:01 We've got selfishness and selfish nature, 43:03 and we're dealing with that 43:04 in relationship to our humanity, 43:05 and we're trusting God and His grace 43:08 and overcoming that. 43:09 Amen. 43:10 Should we go to the next verse? 43:12 We can. What do we got, Rise? 43:14 "Yea, though I walk through the valley 43:15 of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil." 43:21 What leads us to be able to do that? 43:23 Well, it says, "Thou art with me. 43:25 Thy rod and thy staff come from you." 43:26 That's one that helps us, right? 43:28 Yeah, absolutely. 43:29 What else? 43:31 I just think it's amazing 43:32 that Jesus presents trumps fear. 43:34 And fear is the most powerful, 43:37 probably, human emotion that we can experience. 43:40 People who are fearful can do insane things, right? 43:44 Lift cars off of their kids, or... 43:46 You were in the army, 43:48 probably fear leads you to your brain to do things 43:52 that react and respond 43:54 and I think we're just so naturally fearful. 43:58 And just to know that 44:00 there's something more powerful than that, 44:02 Jesus' presence, it's amazing. 44:04 Amen. 44:06 I think about Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego 44:08 when they were in the... 44:10 They were faced with the fiery trial. 44:12 And they were about to enter into death, 44:16 but they weren't going to give in to evil. 44:19 They were going to stand for Jesus. 44:21 And Christ could have sent an angel. 44:24 He could have sent anybody down there 44:27 to stand with them 44:29 but He chose to go stand with them. 44:30 Look at that. 44:32 Daniel 3:25, 44:38 actually, let's look at verse 24. 44:42 "Then King Nebuchadnezzar was astonished, 44:45 and he rose in haste and spoke, 44:47 saying to his counselors, 44:49 'Did we not cast three men 44:51 bound into the midst of the fire?' 44:53 They answered and said to the king, 'True, O king.' 44:55 'Look!' 44:56 he answered, 'I see four men loose, 44:58 walking in the midst of the fire, 45:00 and they are not hurt, 45:02 and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.'" 45:06 That's powerful. 45:08 Jesus standing with them in the midst of their trials. 45:10 So they walked through that valley 45:12 of the shadow of death and Jesus was with them. 45:14 They didn't waver. 45:15 They just, they said, 45:17 even when they were faced 45:18 with the question from the king. 45:20 Come on! 45:21 They said, "We have no need to answer you. 45:23 Even if our God is basically our God..." 45:26 Now I'm paraphrasing, 45:28 "Our God is fully capable of delivering us 45:31 but even if He doesn't, 45:32 we're not going to bow down to your statute. 45:34 We're going to serve our God." 45:36 The KBV version. 45:42 No way, make sure you go back to this version. 45:48 It's so true. 45:49 And that really, can you... 45:50 I just wonder, was it Psalm 23? 45:52 Was that one of the promises that they read, you know? 45:55 "Yea, though I walk through 45:56 the valley of the shadow of death, 45:57 I will fear no evil for thou art with me." 46:00 And they believe that and He was. 46:03 He was actually with them. 46:04 I mean, Psalm 23 is direct connection to Daniel. 46:06 We're going to have to redo Salvation 46:08 in Symbols and Signs now in Daniel 3 46:09 because we never made that connection. 46:12 No, I don't know what you're saying. 46:18 Yeah. Good stuff. 46:20 What I liked when reading this verse, 46:23 I kind of, what highlighted out to me 46:25 or what stood out to me was your rod and your staff, 46:27 they comfort me. 46:29 And I tried to think, 46:30 "What is the importance of a Shepherd's rod 46:32 or a Shepherd staff?" 46:34 So I just started doing what everybody does. 46:36 I go to Google, you know, so. 46:39 I started Googling and I came across something 46:41 which was really interesting. 46:43 I just want to read it real quick. 46:44 And it says, "When traversing rough terrain, 46:46 a Shepherd's rod is an aid to balance." 46:49 So as we're going through that rough terrain, 46:51 as we're experiencing those trials, 46:53 as we're walking through that valley of the shadow of death 46:55 whatever it is for you, 46:57 you have your Shepherd here who's using His Shepherd's rod, 47:00 who's using a staff to... 47:01 You might tip to one side. 47:03 You might be falling to one side. 47:04 You might fall off balance a little bit, 47:06 but He's going to use that rod to help you back up. 47:09 He's going to get you straight. 47:10 He's going to have you going back on course. 47:12 And that's really what just popped out to me 47:14 and then knowing that you're His sheep, 47:18 He's doing this for you. 47:20 You don't even have to really think about it. 47:22 He's going to do it whether you like it or not. 47:24 He's going to be there. He's going to comfort you. 47:26 He's going to guide you whatever that terrain is that 47:29 you're going in your life, my life, whoever's life. 47:32 He's going to help you out and build you. 47:33 That's deep. 47:35 Yeah, I love that. 47:36 Yeah, that rod also means scepter. 47:38 I saw it, you know, when I looked it up 47:40 in the Bible in the Strong's, it means scepter. 47:42 And I was thinking that can also be 47:44 a symbol of authority or of power, 47:49 and protection and strength. 47:51 And when I know that I serve omnipotence 47:55 and that He is the one that's taking care of me 47:57 and providing for me, 47:59 that's a lot of comfort and that comfort, 48:01 that word comfort means to breathe deep 48:05 and a lot of times when people... 48:07 Yeah, when you breathe deep, it's really good for you. 48:11 When you use your diaphragm to breathe, 48:13 it really stimulates your vagus nerve, 48:15 which we won't go into that, 48:16 but super healthy, health promoting. 48:19 But it also switches us from our fight or flight, 48:23 you know, part of our nervous system 48:25 to our rest and digest. 48:28 I can breathe deeply. 48:30 I can relate to life on a completely different 48:32 plane rather than reacting with fight 48:34 or flight all the time. 48:36 No, I'm a state of absolute, 48:38 like we've already been sharing, 48:39 you know, comfort and rest and that comforts me. 48:43 Amen. 48:47 Anything else in that verse? 48:52 I mean, there's so much you could take from it. 48:54 I mean, what is it Isaiah, 48:58 is it 41:10? 49:01 I might have the chapter wrong, 49:03 but you know, let me actually just pull it up 49:06 because I don't want to misquote it, 49:08 so give me one second. 49:14 I'm going to give you one second. 49:17 But it's not more than one second. 49:19 But yeah, Isaiah 41:10, "Fear not for I am with you, 49:22 be not dismayed for I am your God. 49:24 I will strengthen you. 49:25 Yes, I will help you. 49:27 I will uphold you with my righteous right hand." 49:29 And again, to me that just goes right back 49:31 to what I was saying before with the Shepherd's rod, 49:33 lifting you back up. 49:35 He's going to lift you up, 49:36 no matter what you're going through. 49:37 So that, I mean that's the other thing 49:39 that immediately popped in my mind 49:40 when going through this verse, 49:41 was Isaiah 41:10. 49:43 And there's another connection here with this verse 49:46 with the Lord's Prayer, you know, that though I walk 49:49 through the valley of the shadow of death, 49:50 I'll fear no evil. 49:52 And those prayers deliver us from evil. 49:54 That's one of the main themes of the Lord's Prayer, 49:55 deliver us from evil. 49:57 And, of course, as you said, Jason, with Daniel Chapter 3, 50:00 you know, God delivers us but sometimes 50:03 we have to go through the trial. 50:05 It's not like we're just going to get, 50:06 you know, caught out of here, rapture out of here, 50:09 He's going to actually go through with, 50:10 no, he went through the trial. 50:11 He went through the storm, and God was with them. 50:13 The disciples went through the storm on the lake 50:15 and God was with them. 50:16 And we see that with the plagues on Egypt, 50:18 and we're going to see that in the seven last plagues. 50:20 They're going to hurt those who have the mark of the beast, 50:22 but not those who are sealed with the seal of God. 50:24 They're going to go through all those plagues. 50:26 "A thousand will fall on our side, 50:28 ten thousand on the right hand, 50:29 but it will not come near us." 50:30 Psalm 91 says. 50:32 So we can thank God, 50:34 not only that, He's going to see us through, 50:37 but that He's going to protect us in that time. 50:38 He's going to give us the courage 50:40 to step into that fiery furnace that's seven times hotter 50:43 that the strongest man of the kingdom can't endure, 50:45 but we'll be able to endure it 50:47 because Christ is with us and in us. 50:50 Another beautiful thing about that is that 50:52 when they were in the fiery furnace, 50:53 when they came out, they didn't even smell 50:56 like what they had just gone through. 50:58 You didn't even smell that smoke 51:01 or anything like that and that is incredible. 51:03 You look at people that were once living one life, 51:07 you know, for the enemy, 51:09 and then Christ delivers them from that, 51:11 brings them out of that 51:12 and then their countenance looks so different 51:15 that you don't even recognize 51:16 that those two people are the same, 51:19 you know, that this individual was in that lifestyle. 51:23 Yes. 51:24 That's what I thought of you 51:25 when I saw you before and after conversion. 51:27 I was like, "Wow, what a difference." 51:28 Like you said, transformation, it smells not on you anymore. 51:31 Praise the Lord. 51:32 That's it, yeah. 51:34 Can we get to verse 5? 51:36 I want to hit this because I'm such a foodie. 51:38 I want to hear what you guys have to say about this. 51:40 Good. 51:41 'Cause I do love food. 51:42 Because it's talking about God preparing a table for us 51:46 in the presence of our enemies. 51:48 What do you guys picture when you see that table? 51:53 Well, I think about a situation 51:56 where there's a lot of haters in the world, right? 51:58 So sometimes you have to make your haters your motivators. 52:00 That's right. 52:02 But what happens is, you know, God is the one 52:05 that lifts you into certain positions 52:07 and elevate you and stuff like that. 52:09 You look at Joseph, 52:10 he was sold into captivity and bondage 52:13 and all of that stuff, 52:15 but then he ended up 52:16 second highest in command in Egypt. 52:19 I mean, and then the same people that 52:22 threw him, his brothers 52:24 that threw him into bondage ended up in front of him. 52:29 So I look at that and I think about the table being, 52:34 you know, God elevating you to that position. 52:36 Like if somebody sits at the head of the table first 52:40 or if the... 52:42 How's that saying goes? 52:43 The first shall be last and the last shall be first. 52:46 It's that type of thing. 52:48 That's what comes to mind. 52:49 That's good. I love that. 52:51 And it's interesting, the story you brought up 52:52 because Joseph still wanted to test his brothers 52:55 to see if they changed. 52:56 And one of the ways he tested them 52:57 was they sat down at the table to eat 53:00 and he gave Benjamin his full brother more food 53:04 than all the rest of them, right? 53:05 And you want to see how they're going to respond 53:07 to Benjamin getting all these food. 53:08 Food was the test. 53:09 Food was the test on that table. 53:11 So the spiritual parallel is that, 53:13 you know, God tests us. 53:16 Joseph was the type of God and he gives to one man, 53:19 let's say he give him more than the others. 53:22 And sometimes we want to be, 53:23 you know, pride says, "We covet that" or pride says, 53:27 "We're jealous of that or envious of that." 53:29 And God says, "No, it's a test of your character." 53:31 You know, I'm the one that gives. 53:33 I'm the one that portions out 53:34 and if you're envious or jealous 53:36 that's something you need to get rid of, 53:37 that something that's exposing you, 53:39 a weakness in you. 53:41 And, of course, Joseph's brothers 53:42 weren't envious of Benjamin. 53:44 They had changed, which is really cool 53:45 when you think about that. 53:47 Yeah. That's awesome. 53:49 Come on, what are you thinking, 53:50 registered dietitian nutritionist? 53:54 I like when he does that. 53:57 Rip in. 53:58 No, I was just thinking about the table of showbread. 54:00 I guess I was like, "Oh, I wonder 54:01 what table you could be referring to." 54:03 And I thought of the table of showbread 54:05 in the Holy Place of the sanctuary. 54:08 And that God had fresh bread 54:11 that was put out there once a week 54:14 and that even in the presence of my enemies, 54:18 God's not going to stop. 54:19 He's going to continually provide 54:22 that showbread representing, 54:23 not only physical nourishment, 54:25 but spiritual nourishment 54:26 as well for feeding again, our souls. 54:29 I like the fact that 54:30 before you get to the end of the verse, 54:32 my cup runneth over. 54:33 It's not just talking about the food. 54:35 It's talking about the liquid. 54:37 I like liquid too, you know. 54:38 I like my rice milk and I like my grapefruit juice 54:42 100% squeeze Florida grapefruit juice, 54:46 with that little bit of tang. 54:48 Oh yeah, I like that. 54:50 So, God has actually reserved 54:54 a certain great drink for heaven. 54:57 He's not going to partake of it again 54:59 till we get to heaven, and He partakes of it with us. 55:02 So I think that that is also an important point of that. 55:04 Like overabundance, think about grace. 55:07 And if you guys ever read where, 55:08 you know, the sacrifice of Christ, it was excessive. 55:11 It was like there's more than enough for all of us. 55:14 There's no stinginess on the part of God. 55:17 "You're not going to be able to make it in 55:18 because I don't have enough grace for you." 55:21 It's like surplus, it's overflowing. 55:24 Anyone is invited. 55:26 There's grace enough for all. 55:28 The cup meaning His blood, spilled out for us, 55:31 I guess I just think. 55:32 It was the liberal, the liberality 55:34 of heaven towards every single human being. 55:38 And how does that apply when I think about our food. 55:40 I think that God has given us food to eat 55:42 that we can eat liberally. 55:43 Of these, you may freely eat. 55:45 You know, there's foods that God wants us 55:48 to just take in an abundance and I think about that 55:51 in relationship to the spiritual food 55:53 that God has given us 55:54 that He wants us to take in abundance. 55:56 Give us this day our daily bread. 55:58 Now we've got to hit verse 6. 55:59 It's my favorite. 56:01 I think I love this verse. 56:02 Is it? Okay. 56:04 Yeah, I think it's so gospel rest. 56:05 "Surely goodness and mercy is going to follow us 56:08 all the days of our life." 56:09 And you know you were talking, 56:10 Angela, about God pursuing us. 56:13 And this is what I picture, 56:14 you know, through your life before you became a Christian, 56:16 goodness and mercy were following you 56:18 and that Good Shepherd looking for us 56:21 while we are lost. 56:23 Surely, His, you know, goodness and mercy 56:25 will follow us all the days of our life. 56:27 I just think that's so gospel saturated. 56:29 I love that. Yes. 56:32 You know, it's kind of spooky to think 56:34 that someone's following in this world, 56:37 but not God. 56:39 To know that God is following us, 56:40 that He's right behind us, 56:41 He's got our back. 56:43 Yes, what's that verse? 56:44 "My foot would have well nigh slipped, but He... 56:47 Psalm 73. 56:48 Yeah, but He was there. Yes. 56:49 I would have slipped. 56:51 The only one who can pick me up from slipping 56:52 is someone who's right behind me 56:53 and that's surely goodness and mercy. 56:55 Following us all the days of our life, 56:57 and then, "I will dwell in the house 56:58 of the Lord forever." 57:00 We've got about 25 seconds left. 57:01 Do you want to hit that one? No, someone else. 57:04 I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. 57:06 And that really is God's purpose for us, 57:08 friends, that we would dwell in His house forever. 57:11 God never purpose that we would experience 57:14 evil and sin and pain and suffering. 57:15 Now this planet is not our home in its present state. 57:19 But soon, very soon we're going to be ushered into our home, 57:22 a home without pain and evil and sorrow 57:23 and death and crying. 57:25 And I hope you'll be there, we plan to be there. 57:27 Until next time, God bless. 57:28 Amen. |
Revised 2021-11-18