The Lord Is My Shepherd | Comfort and Reassurance in God's Word

Pastor Greg Laurie recommends a great film about the 40th President of the United States. We have a movie that's going to tell you the story of this man who changed the world. Ronald Reagan was a man who believed in Jesus Christ. You're going to be inspired by it in this brand-new film starring Dennis Quaid.

It's called Reagan, and it's our gift to you for your gift of any size. Available on DVD and digital download at harvest.org. Coming up today on A New Beginning, from Psalm 23, Pastor Greg Laurie points out the parallels between shepherds and the good shepherd. The shepherd was more than just a guy who watched over a flock of sheep.

He was a warrior, he was a protector, he was a provider. Listen to this, no matter what you are facing, remember the Almighty God, the Creator of the universe, is your shepherd. As many Bible students know, the book of Psalms is a collection of songs. It's a spiritual songbook, primarily written by David. He was called the sweet psalmist of Israel. They're rich in captivating imagery and candid confessions to the Lord.

They offer great comfort and reassurance. And Pastor Greg Laurie is currently presenting a new series in Psalms here on A New Beginning. Today, we'll draw some fresh hope from words we've read many, many times before. You know, we live in such a crazy, chaotic, scary world right now. Fear is everywhere. People are so stressed out, war around the world, violence in our streets, an uncertain future.

Social media only fuels this fear. And what we need is calm in the midst of the storm. We need an oasis in the middle of that hot desert, a safe place to retreat to. Now, in this beautiful book that we're studying together in this series that we're calling Psalms of David, we have the pearl of the Psalms. We have the crown jewel of the Psalms, Psalm 23. Next to the Lord's Prayer, this is probably the best known passage of Scripture in all of the world. This particular Psalm, Psalm 23, has brought hope to millions of people through the world, through the years.

Pastors have used it to bring comfort to those in hospital beds and even on death beds. People have passed into eternity hearing these words. Psalm 23 is an absolute masterpiece from beginning to end.

And every believer should commit it to memory. If you're going to memorize this Scripture, and you should, you've got to start with Psalm 23. How many of you have memorized Psalm 23? Oh, I'm so tempted to call on you. I'm so tempted. But I'll admit to you, I know Psalm 23, but when I recite it from memory, I get things out of order.

It's very easy to do. It's a very interesting Psalm, the way it's structured. But I remember hearing the story of a Sunday school class that was happening at church. And the teacher said, okay kids, next Sunday I want you to memorize Psalm 23. And so they all were working on it.

One little boy was really struggling. And so that next Sunday came and the kids got up and recited it. And it was his turn. And he got up and he said, the Lord is my shepherd. And he paused and he said, and that's all I need to know. And he sat down. I thought in a way that's true.

In the very simplest way of looking at that, that's all you need to know. So let's read it now together, Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Isn't that the best? Psalm 23. And that's all you need to know. God bless and goodbye.

I can literally walk away and we have already heard so much. But if you are taking notes because I am a preacher, I have to give you a sermon now. Ok. So here is point number one. Very simple.

Very obvious. The Lord is our shepherd. The Lord is our shepherd. Now when we think of shepherds we imagine an idyllic scene. A shepherd calmly watching over his tranquil little flock out in a field somewhere.

Maybe the sun is setting. But actually the shepherd was more than just a guy who watched over a flock of sheep. He was a warrior. He was a protector.

He was a provider. A David of course who was the author of this psalm mentioned to King Saul when he was preparing to go fight Goliath in the valley of Elah in 1 Samuel 1734. He said as a shepherd when a lion or bear came and took a lamb from the flock I went after him and attacked him and rescued it from his mouth.

That is hard core. Maybe we should say they are more like a ninja than a shepherd. This is a courageous person that watches over a flock of sheep. The Lord is your shepherd. The Lord is your protector. David later wrote in Psalm 91 he will cover you with his wings. You will be safe in his care. His faithfulness will protect and defend you. You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during the day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils that kill in daylight.

Listen to this. No matter what you are facing remember the almighty God the creator of the universe is your shepherd. One night probably watching over his flock David wrote these words in Psalm 8. When I look at the night sky and I see the work of your fingers the moon and the stars that you have set into place what is man that you should think of him? What are human beings that you should care for them? How true. You know when I was in Maui a couple of trips ago I went out one night and just looked up oh my goodness you can see so many stars there.

I think what is the problem with California? It's the same night sky but it's just beautiful and clear and and you can see so much you can just lay down on the beach and look up and see the handiwork of God and when you do that you're reminded of the fact that your father made all of those things. Astronomers estimate there are more than a hundred billion galaxies and in each galaxy there are more than a hundred billion stars and each of these was created by God and each has a name according to scripture your father your God your shepherd created all of those. And notice that David does not say the Lord is a shepherd though he is a shepherd. He says the Lord is my shepherd.

See this is personal. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is your shepherd. I love how we're told over in Jeremiah God says I know the thoughts that I think toward you says the Lord. Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and a hope. He could have just said I know the thoughts that I think toward everyone and that would have been true but that's not what he said. I know the thoughts that I think toward you.

This is personal. The Lord is your shepherd. Paul said Christ loved me and gave himself for me. Oh it's true Christ died for the whole world. Jesus said it best for God so loved the world. He gave his only begotten son.

But Paul personalized it. He gave himself for me. The Lord is your shepherd. God has particular thoughts that are good toward you as an individual.

Even if others forget you God never forgets you. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. We love to hear stories of how lives have been changed through Pastor Greg's teaching like this one. I was just listening to the pastor this morning talking about I can do all things through Christ with strength in me which is crazy. You cannot say that about anything else and I was a drug addict for 10 plus years and I prayed many days for God to help me and get me through this and it wasn't my timing it was God's timing and it was perfect and I'm almost two years sober today and I got baptized July 14th. You can do all things through Christ and he will strengthen you.

I believe that if you're in trouble and you need help and you honestly cry and pray after God and ask Jesus to come into your heart you will change for the better. You'll be content. You'll love life. You'll love God.

You'll love your friends. Have a good day. God bless you.

Love you. Do you have a story to share? If so why not call us and give us all the details. Here's the number 1-866-871-1144. It's a special number for this purpose. 866-871-1144. Well today Pastor Greg is helping us explore the encouraging words of David in the book of Psalms.

Let's continue. David wrote this, when my mother and father forsake me the Lord will take me up. That's in Psalm 27. David knew what he was talking about. David was not the favorite son in his family. In fact when the prophet Samuel came to Bethlehem the hometown of David to find the next king of Israel because the Lord had told him that in the house of Jesse was the next one who would ascend to the throne to take the place of the wicked king Saul who had been rejected by God. All Samuel knew was one of these boys was God's choice. So he comes to Jesse's house.

He says I'd like to meet your sons and Jesse parades out these seven strapping boys and one of them was taller than all the rest. His name was Eliab and so Samuel's walking down the line. The Lord says that's not the one. Next one that's not the one. Next one that's not the one. Then he sees Eliab tall handsome. That's got to be the one. This guy's like a movie star.

It's like he came out of central casting. This has to be the next king of Israel. The Lord says that's not the one. Then the Lord says to Samuel I don't judge by outward appearance. I look on the heart.

Wow. But we all judge by outward appearance don't we? We make evaluations on how people look.

Even when you take a photo. Let's take a group photo then you take it. I'm going to post it. Let me see it first.

Why do you want to see it first? You want to make sure everyone looks really good. You could care less about those people. You want to know how you look and if you don't like the way you look you say please don't post that photo. We care about the way we look and we should. Some of you should care more about the way you look honestly. But just kidding. But not really. But anyway. But we place so much emphasis on the outward appearance. Did you know that 16 billion dollars a year is spent on cosmetic surgery?

That's Newport Beach only. But we do make evaluations on appearance. Now some of you are not old enough to remember this so this is a little history lesson for the kids. We had two men who were running for the presidency and it was Richard Milhouse Nixon and John Fitzgerald Kennedy. They had a debate. It was on television and radio. Nixon was a very competent intelligent communicator as was Kennedy.

But come on now. Who's the best looking of the two? So those that watched it on television thought Kennedy won the debate. Those that listened on radio thought Nixon won the debate. Why did they think Kennedy won the debate over Nixon? Because he looked better. And we notice when people look better.

Don't say you don't because you do. Even babies are judging us. Studies have been done that have revealed that babies as young as one day old are drawn to a more attractive face. So if you want to know if you're attractive or not.

Go to a baby. Hi. If they look at you and smile.

Good. If they turn away. Poor little babies. You know they're stuck in a high chair.

People come oh hello hello hello. And the baby's like. You don't don't want to look at your unattractive face any longer. God looks on the heart.

And that's what the Lord was saying to the prophet. Hey I'm looking on the heart. And my choice is not in this line of young men. This magnificent seven standing here.

These are not the ones. And so Samuel says to Jesse. Do you have any other sense?

Yeah I got one more. He's out in the field. He's kind of weird. He's a musician. Probably writing a new song. He's a poet. Weird kid.

Yeah bring him in here right now. So they bring in young David. And God says that's the one. This young boy was the one God had chosen to be the next king of Israel. And what did David do for a living? He was a shepherd.

Number two. God is our shepherd and we are his sheep. We are his sheep.

And that is not a compliment. Sheep are really one of the dumbest animals on the face of the earth. He could have said were a lot of things. He could have said were his dolphins. Dolphins are very intelligent.

Were his dogs even. Even cats do better than sheep. We have a cat in our neighborhood. I love this cat. I know you think I hate cats.

I actually like some cats. And I like this cat. And he's old and he's wise. And he has no fear. And I saw him the other day he's just walking across the street. Like he's a lion. He acts like he's a lion.

He's walking across the street. And some person's walking a dog. And the dog starts lunging at this cat. And the person's holding him back with a leash. And the cat just like looks at him like hey you're looking at me. You want some of this. Forget about it.

I mean I don't know why I made him Italian all of a sudden or a New Yorker. But I just love the attitude of this cat. You know cats have skills. They can jump so high. They can fall off the greatest heights and survive.

You've heard the expression a cat has nine lives. They've got their claws. They've got their teeth. Sheep have nothing. They can't run. They can't claw. They can't bite. They're like leg of lamb for the taking. Now might as well just walk around with mint jelly. Here I am.

Make a sweater out of my fur and then have me for lunch. It'll all be good. They are completely dependent upon the shepherd. They can't run fast. They get themselves in trouble. And and then they go astray all the time. This is why the bible says all we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way.

I read an article about what happened in Turkey in 2005. One sheep walked off a cliff. Okay that's crazy. Just walked off the cliff. And 1,500 other sheep follow. That's how stupid they are. One one sheep walks off.

The other's like okay form a single line. We're going off the cliff today. Everybody come on.

It's not that bad. Let's go. And they would have all been dead but the fact of the matter is only 450 sheep died because the ones that hit the ground first were like a cushion to absorb the others. Crazy. We say oh sheep are so stupid. Oh and we're not.

We're not influenced by peer pressure. Look at the things that people will do. Look at these crazy TikTok challenges. I looked this up.

I thought well what are these TikTok challenges. I've heard about a few of them. These are real.

I'm not making this up. These some of these things have gone viral. So basically someone does it.

They film it and challenge others to do it as well. One of them was called the Nyquil Sleep Chicken Challenge. So you took chicken and you basted it in Nyquil.

Nyquil is a cold medication. And you ate it. That's a challenge.

Brilliant. Then there was the corn cob challenge. Someone took a corn cob attached it to a spinning drill bit.

Fired it up. Tried to eat it. One guy broke his tooth doing it. Gets stranger. The cereal challenge. You lay on the ground and someone pours cereal in your mouth. Then they pour milk in your mouth.

That makes a lot of sense. This one is crazy. The skull breaker challenge. You go up behind a person knock their feet out from under them with the hope that their head will hit the concrete and you film it. That's the challenge.

And there is a blackout challenge. You choke yourself and film it. This is stupid behavior people. We are just like sheep. Oh but they are doing it.

I want to get more likes on my post when I am doing it. You know. It is just crazy. And so sometimes the shepherd has to save the sheep from themselves. Because they are so wayward.

They are so foolish. And he has to be and he has to be there watching over them. The Lord is our shepherd.

Number three. Our shepherd is our provider. Our shepherd is our provider. Verse one. The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. Not only are our sheep defenseless they are also helpless.

They are completely dependent on the shepherd for provision. And you are too. Well Greg I don't know you know. I mean yes but also I built an amazing career through my hard work. My brilliant investments. My shrewd decisions and my deep humility. I have become the success that I am.

And there is no question that many people go out often entrepreneurial folks and they accomplish great things and make a lot of money. But just remember God gave you the ability to do that. We are told over in Deuteronomy 8 18 remember the Lord your God. It is he who gives you the power to get wealth. Because the bottom line is that beat of your heart right now that is a gift to you from God. Not a gift from you to you.

You can try to be the healthiest person you can potentially be and take care of yourself and eat right. But still the beat of your heart that is a gift from God. The thought in your head that is a gift from God. Everything that you have has been given to you by him.

The breath you just drew in your lungs. I read an interesting quote a sad quote really from Steve Jobs when he was on his deathbed. And he made this statement and I quote. At this moment lying on the bed sick and remembering all of my life I realize that all of my recognition and wealth that I have is meaningless in the face of imminent death. One can find material things but there is one thing that cannot be found when it is lost. It is life end quote. So when you are laying on your deathbed and you realize you don't have much longer to live you realize what a precious gift life is. That is why you don't want to waste your life and squander your life that God has given to you. Jesus said what is it prophet? A man if he gains the whole world and loses his own soul.

But listen to this. When the Lord is your shepherd you will not want. You will find contentment. Paul wrote in Philippians 4 I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. But I have learned the secret of living in every situation whether it is with a full stomach or an empty one. With plenty or little. The secret of contentment.

What is the secret of contentment? It is not what you have it is who you know. It is not what you have it is who you know. Over in Hebrews 13 5 Paul writes or the author of Hebrews writes rather keep your life free from the love of money and be content with what you have for he himself has said I will never leave you or forsake you. Do you have Jesus? And you have more than enough.

Now maybe you would like a little more money or a little more of this or a little more of that. But the contentment comes from your relationship with God. So you can say the Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. The secret of contentment is not what you have it's who you know. Pastor Greg Laurie with some important biblical insight from Psalm 23 today here on A New Beginning and there's more good counsel yet to come from this message. And then Pastor Greg I know you had a further word you wanted to share. So as you've been listening today maybe you've thought to yourself man I wish I had this relationship with God that is being talked about.

Well you can't. He's only a prayer away. He's only a prayer away. You see becoming a Christian it doesn't take years. It doesn't take months. It doesn't take weeks.

It doesn't even take hours. It can happen in a moment. The Bible describes it as turning from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God. But before that happens the Bible says you need to have your eyes open and here's the amazing thing. It's just like in a flash a light goes on and you say this is all true.

That's how it happened for me. I just heard the gospel and all of a sudden I realized this is all true and maybe you've realized that as well. Let me ask you would you like Jesus Christ to come into your life? Would you like him to forgive you of your sin?

Would you like this relationship with God we've been talking about today? If so why don't you just pray a simple prayer with me? You could pray it out loud if you like but say this to God. Lord Jesus I know that I'm a sinner but I know that you're the Savior who died on the cross for my sin and rose again from the dead. Jesus I turn from my sin and I choose to follow you from this moment forward as my Savior and Lord as my God and friend. Thank you for hearing this prayer and I ask this in Jesus name.

Amen. Hey did you just pray that prayer? If so I want to send you at no charge what we call a new believers Bible.

Here's Dave to tell you more and let me just say congratulations you've made the right decision. Yeah yeah that's right and to help you begin to live this new life this life where you're at peace with God and can begin to enjoy the peace of God let us send you pastor Greg's new believers Bible it's the perfect resource for someone who's new to the faith we'll send it free of charge if you'll just contact us and request it call us at 1-800-821-3300 that's 1-800-821-3300 or write a new beginning box 4000 Riverside California 92514 or go online to harvest.org and click know God. You know pastor Greg we hear from people all the time who tell us how these daily studies have impacted their lives so many have found the Lord and been encouraged through this teaching that's right and we hope our listeners might pray about making an investment so these studies can continue. Yeah it's really true Dave you know and even a little bit helps you know people need to hear the gospel so badly they need to hear the teaching of the Word of God it changes everything because it changes us and I'm so passionate about it and I'm called to do it and I'm thankful for it but I can't do it alone so I'm going to ask folks that are listening if you think more people need to hear the gospel if you believe more people need to hear the teaching of the Word of God then perfectly consider investing in Harvest Ministries and maybe even become a Harvest Partner which means you're someone who stands with us every month in your faithful giving and that opens up a lot of new opportunities for us so thanks for that. Yeah that's right and we really are thankful for your partnership you can reach us any time day or night at 1-800-821-3300 that's 1-800-821-3300 or write A New Beginning box 4000 Riverside California 92514 or just go online to harvest.org. Well next time Pastor Greg offers more insight from this crown jewel of the book of Psalms. Join us here on A New Beginning with pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie.