THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

I shall not be in want………read the full psalm. Today we will focus on the next 6 words.

* David calls God his shepherd. And says: I shall not be in want.

* In other words, God is my shepherd …what else do I need? Nothing ! David believed God would supply all his needs. He could say - I am content. I do not lack anything.

* But do WE really feel this way? Can we truly say - I am content. I am happy with what I have? My salary? My house? My family?

* We want more stuff, we want nicer stuff, we want lots of stuff.

* God knows best what each of us needs - (ask the audience what do we need daily): eg. water, food, shelter, clothing, good health, good friends, to be loved, etc.

* Yes we need money too, but how much?

* Pro 30:7-9 The writer here is scared if he gets too much he will forget God! There are plenty of warnings for rich people in the Bible. It is very hard for them to go to heaven.

Proverbs 30:7-9
7 "Two things I ask of you, O LORD; do not refuse me before I die:
8 Keep falsehood and lies far from me; give me neither poverty nor riches, but give me only my daily bread.
9 Otherwise, I may have too much and disown you and say, 'Who is the LORD?' Or I may become poor and steal, and so dishonor the name of my God.

We live in a world where Money, Beauty, Glamour, fancy cars, big homes, expensive TVs…..are being advertised. And that if you have these, then you will be happy; content; at rest; at peace. Sure….these things will give you satisfaction…….for a while. Then you will want a bigger home, a more expensive car, a bigger TV….When will it end? In trying to get these things, you might wander away from God.

* We all have desires. When we want something (that God has given to someone else), we get envious and wish / desire that for ourselves. Fights and quarrels result because of this.

James 4:1-4
1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? Don't they come from your desires that battle within you?
2 You want something but don't get it. You kill and covet, but you cannot have what you want. You quarrel and fight. You do not have, because you do not ask God.
3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
4 You adulterous people, don't you know that friendship with the world is hatred toward God? Anyone who chooses to be a friend of the world becomes an enemy of God.

* Instead of asking God for what we need, we try to get what he has given to someone else (v2). But God shall not answer our greedy desires.

* Think about David as a shepherd. David was the youngest in his family. Probably he was ignored. He used to live away from home, in the wilderness and look after his father's flock. He had no one to talk to. He was surrounded only by an innocent yet a dumb flock. He had many needs (find a good grazing place for the sheep, water, safety, etc.) and his hope was in God only. Just imagine - David's meeting place with God was in the open fields. Green pastures. Quiet waters. Dark valleys (picture millions of stars above).

CHALLENGE

Where is your meeting place with God? How much do you value your relationship with him? What effort are you making to seek him, talk to him….in quiet places where you can see his creation……get up early….go outside for a prayer walk. When you are close to God, you will feel, you will say like David - I shall not want. You will trust in the Lord for your daily needs. He will meet your genuine needs.

EXERCISE

* Have you counted your blessings recently? What are you most grateful for? Write this down..take 2 minutes. OK. Now write down the things you want most right now. Take 2 minutes.

* Now, which will have a greater impact on you - losing all the things for which you are grateful for OR gaining all the things you currently want?

The Christian life is not a problem free life, bad things still happen; but God is near to us, and while God may allow bad things to happen, God can and will help us through them.

* If you are worried / anxious, you need to ask, through prayer for help, where you allow God's presence to lift you up. God is near. Tell God about your joys and concerns, make your requests known and then thank God for listening to you. Paul in Philippians says that when we do these two things, i.e. rejoice in the Lord, and 2. present our requests to him with thanksgiving, then the Peace of God that passes understanding will fill us, and will keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.

Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

* God has been providing us every single day….think about it. But fear and anxiety can easily cripple us in life. This is the lesson of the thorny ground (Mt 13:22) Jesus compared this ground to those who are consumed by the worries of the world, the deceitfulness of riches, and the desire for other things.

Matthew 13:22
The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

* You are deceived if you think that material possessions will make you happy. But more than this, you are deceived if you think you possess the capacity to make yourself rich. All things come from His hand. Many times, God answers our prayers and gives us more money, etc. but then instead of giving more we give less, we get even more greedy…little by little our commitment falls, we get caught up in the world and we slowly wander far from God.

* God gave the Israelites manna for 40 years. Every day. They were to gather just enough for the day (Ex 16:15-18). They were not supposed to save any manna for the next day (Ex 16:19-21) But some did. In Ex 16:22-30 - On the 6th day of the week, they were told to gather for 2 days. Yet some disobeyed, went out on the 7th day to gather (v27). We are like them. We want more. We worry about the future. We are not content with what we have for today. Worry, worry, worry.

Don't.

Why? Because Jesus says so.

Exodus 16:15-18
15 When the Israelites saw it, they said to each other, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. Moses said to them, "It is the bread the LORD has given you to eat.
16 This is what the LORD has commanded: 'Each one is to gather as much as he needs. Take an omer for each person you have in your tent.'"
17 The Israelites did as they were told; some gathered much, some little.
18 And when they measured it by the omer, he who gathered much did not have too much, and he who gathered little did not have too little. Each one gathered as much as he needed.

Exodus 16:19-21
19 Then Moses said to them, "No one is to keep any of it until morning."
20 However, some of them paid no attention to Moses; they kept part of it until morning, but it was full of maggots and began to smell. So Moses was angry with them.
21 Each morning everyone gathered as much as he needed, and when the sun grew hot, it melted away.

Exodus 16:22-30
22 On the sixth day, they gathered twice as much--two omers for each person--and the leaders of the community came and reported this to Moses.
23 He said to them, "This is what the LORD commanded: 'Tomorrow is to be a day of rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. So bake what you want to bake and boil what you want to boil. Save whatever is left and keep it until morning.'"
24 So they saved it until morning, as Moses commanded, and it did not stink or get maggots in it.
25 "Eat it today," Moses said, "because today is a Sabbath to the LORD. You will not find any of it on the ground today.
26 Six days you are to gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will not be any."
27 Nevertheless, some of the people went out on the seventh day to gather it, but they found none.
28 Then the LORD said to Moses, "How long will you refuse to keep my commands and my instructions?
29 Bear in mind that the LORD has given you the Sabbath; that is why on the sixth day he gives you bread for two days. Everyone is to stay where he is on the seventh day; no one is to go out."
30 So the people rested on the seventh day.

* Jesus says in Mt 6:25-34 he will take care of our basic necessities. It doesn't get any more basic than our need for food, water, and clothing. He also says 'Your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things, but seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well'.

Matthew 6:25-34
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?
26 Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?
27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin.
29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
31 So do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?'
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.
34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

God will provide for you DAILY.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray in Mt 6:11 saying - give us today our daily bread. He did not say - give us lots of food for the whole week / month/ year, plenty of money so I don't have to worry, a nice big house with lots of servants, etc. The request was for the day. 1 day. Live 1 day at a time.

He was teaching his disciples to depend on God daily.

Challenge

1. Today - instead of wanting more, think how you can give more of your time, in your contribution, etc.

2. How you can use your home / homes for Bible Talks, devos, other meetings to save the lost. Your treasure - is it in heaven or on the earth?

3. Invite a family to your house for a meal (Eze 16:49)

Ezekial 16:49
'Now this was the sin of your sister Sodom: She and her daughters were arrogant, overfed and unconcerned; they did not help the poor and needy.

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1. For home work: Read John 10

2. Read 1 Sam chapters 11 - 20.

3. Memorize Php 4:4-7; Mt 6:32-33

Philippians 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Matthew 6:32-33
32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.
33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.

4. Write down Ecc 5:10; Ecc 7:29

Ecclesiastes 5:10
Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless.

Ecclesiastes 7:29
This only have I found: God made mankind upright, but men have gone in search of many schemes."

5. Read 1 Tim 6:6-10; Ps 49:16-20; 1 Jn 2:15-17; Write down what these verses are telling you.

1 Timothy 6:6-10
6 But godliness with contentment is great gain.
7 For we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it.
8 But if we have food and clothing, we will be content with that.
9 People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.
10 For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many griefs.

Psalm 49:16-20
16 Do not be overawed when a man grows rich, when the splendor of his house increases;
17 for he will take nothing with him when he dies, his splendor will not descend with him.
18 Though while he lived he counted himself blessed-- and men praise you when you prosper--
19 he will join the generation of his fathers, who will never see the light of life.
20 A man who has riches without understanding is like the beasts that perish.

1 John 2:15-17
15 Do not love the world or anything in the world. If anyone loves the world, the love of the Father is not in him.
16 For everything in the world--the cravings of sinful man, the lust of his eyes and the boasting of what he has and does--comes not from the Father but from the world.
17 The world and its desires pass away, but the man who does the will of God lives forever.