I Have No Needs

Today on Summit Life with J.D.

Greer. Where's the goodness of God now? Again, it's like we know that God is good here. We believe that.

We say that. He's good at the cross and he's good there and the ultimate culmination of his plan, but it's here right now in the middle. This is where we struggle with our perception of his goodness. Hey, happy Friday and welcome back to Summit Life with Pastor J.D.

Greer. As we get ready for the weekend, today we're kicking off a brand new teaching series never before aired called Goodness in the Middle. In this series, Pastor J.D. walks us through the most famous chapter in the Bible, Psalm 23. And this Psalm is all about God's goodness, but knowing God's goodness is a struggle for us sometimes, isn't it? We can see it in the past at the cross and we can see it in the future, knowing he'll return, wiping away all tears and bringing the fullness of joy.

But what about right now in the middle of life's circumstances? Today, Pastor J.D. challenges us to ask the all-important question, what would it look like if we trusted God, not just in the past, not just for the future, but trusted his goodness in the middle? So grab your Bible, turn back to the book of Psalms, and let's jump in. If you have your Bible, if you'll take it out and open it to Psalm chapter 23, if you'll meet me right there. Many of you remember when author Rebecca McLaughlin visited the Summit Church last year.

In her book, Confronting Christianity, she uses an illustration that I just love. She describes a scene from the sixth Harry Potter book that might constitute the most confusing, most bewildering moment in modern literature. And I know some of you are like, wait a minute, are you about to give a spoiler?

Yes, but I feel like this is now part of our shared cultural knowledge. But if you do not know what happens and you don't want to know what happens, close your ears for the next 90 seconds. And when it's safe to listen, I'll do spirit fingers at you, and then you'll know I'm done talking.

Spirit fingers will be your signal to listen back in. Basically, at the end of book six, Albus Dumbledore, who is like the wise sage of the Harry Potter series, kind of like Gandalf, the Godfather, Santa Claus, and Nicolas Cage, all wrapped up into one amazing character. Dumbledore has been severely weakened through his battle with the followers of the evil Lord Voldemort.

And as the battle ends, he's barely standing. Well, Severus Snape, who is a teacher at Hogwarts Castle, is standing in front of him. Now, Snape has always been kind of an enigmatic character throughout the series, and you're not really sure what side he's really on, but you think he's on the good guy's side, but he's a genuinely unlikeable guy. Well, here they are, and Harry Potter sees Albus Dumbledore in a moment of complete vulnerability, make eye contact with Snape, and he hears him say the word Severus, please, to him. But instead of helping Dumbledore, Snape aims his wand at him and kills him.

It seems like the ultimate act of betrayal, a moment when evil triumphs over good and all is lost. But in the next book, you learn that Dumbledore had confided to Snape that he was dying of an incurable disease, and that when he died, he would be able to grant to Harry a power that Harry would not otherwise have, a power by which he could defeat the evil Lord Voldemort. So Dumbledore makes Snape promise that when the moment comes, Snape will let him die so Harry can receive that power. And so what Snape was doing there at the end of book six was actually not an act of betrayal, it was an act of faithfulness. And so suddenly, when you learn all of this in book seven, the meaning of Dumbledore's please, Severus please, is reversed. Dumbledore's death was not a triumph of evil, it was a triumph of good, and it was all according to plan. But you don't understand any of that until book seven, okay?

All right, spear fingers, you can listen again. All of you with ears plugged, I share that story because sometimes life feels for us, does it not? Like we're stuck in book six, like Lord Voldemort is in control. And it seems like if God were really there and he was really in control of the story, it feels like things would be different.

I wanted to do a short series on Psalm 23, because Psalm 23 is about what to do when you're in one of those times, when you cannot figure out what God is doing or why he's not doing something that you think that God should be doing. I will admit to you, this is all very, very personal to me right now, going through some periods that feel like a time of waiting, wondering why God is not answering a certain prayer or why I'm not experiencing this goodness or faithfulness that I've heard so much about or even talked so much about. I'm calling the series, Goodness in the Middle. Admittedly, it's not the best title I've ever come up with, but I call it that because we Christians, I believe, battle with the idea that we believe in God's goodness like over here, like in his essence. And we believe like over here in eternity that one day we're going to experience that goodness.

God's going to wipe away every tear and we'll know the fullness of joy. We believe that, but it's right now in the middle. Where is the goodness of God now? Again, it's like we know that God is good here. We believe that.

We say that. He's good at the cross, and he's good there in the ultimate culmination of his plan, but it's here right now in the middle. This is where we struggle with our perception of his goodness. You know what I'm talking about? Have you been there? In fact, let's just be honest. Testify to each other. How many of you have had this question? Just like I've had this question before. I know you talk to me.

You send me notes. Some of you have chronic pain that won't go away no matter how much you've asked God to take it away. You've gathered your small group to pray and your elders to pray over you, but you have not been healed. I know a lot of parents who are waiting on the return of a prodigal child, and it's breaking your heart because there's no pain like kid pain. Why won't God save your kid?

Why won't he send the right influences into their lives? Some of you are walking through the pain of bereavement or the pain of betrayal or a broken friendship or even a broken family. Maybe you're just disappointed with how life has worked out for you. Your career's never really taken off. You've watched as others far less worthy than you seem to have caught a break. Well, why did yours never come? Or maybe you've never gotten married.

Or maybe your marriage is far more difficult than you ever dreamed it would be, not nearly as good and fulfilling as your friends seem to be. A lot of Christians wonder, how can I believe in God's goodness when life around me feels so bad? Well, see, that's what Psalm 23 is all about. Scholars say that David most likely wrote Psalm 23 when he was on the run, either from Saul before he became king or from his son Absalom who staged a coup in the latter years of his kingdom. David's life had started out so well. He was the boy pulled from the pasture, an anointed king who then went out and killed Goliath. But now everything is unraveled. He's been forcibly separated from his family and he's on the run. His wife has left him for somebody else. He's lost a child in childbirth. His family had fallen apart. One of his daughters had been sexually abused by her brother.

Another of his sons murdered that son. David was twice the victim of a deliberate and vicious smear campaign. Even though David had heroically time and time again sacrificed himself for his nation, that nation regarded him in both of those chapters I'm referring to as a traitor and a troublemaker. Y'all, I used to think that David wrote this Psalm in his early years when he was a shepherd boy, but honestly, this Psalm is far too reflective for somebody early in their walk with God. You're going to see the writer of the Psalm has faced worry and fear and disappointment and frustration.

David might have learned the concepts of this Psalm when he was a young shepherd boy, but there is no way that he could have felt them like he does in Psalm 23 until the pain and the frustration of life had rung them out of him. For those of you who are Christians, I know you're going to find our several weeks in this chapter. I know you're going to find it helpful.

I want you to see that a lot of those doubts and emotions that you and I experience in a time of waiting, they're normal. For those of you who are not Christians, I think you're going to find this series at least intriguing. This is, after all, the number one objection that people cite as to why they lose faith in God. If God is so good, why is the world so broken? If God is so powerful, why are there so many perfectly reasonable prayers that go unanswered? A couple of weeks ago, I told you that I've yet to hear a skeptic pose a question about the problem of evil that is not already addressed by a Bible writer.

Y'all, that's not an exaggeration. Every book of the Bible records somebody struggling to understand why God isn't doing something they think he should be doing. That's the context of Psalm 23. Psalm 23 has three main ideas that I want to get across in this series. We're going to focus on one of them each week. Plus, I'll show you how other Bible characters experience these truths.

Here's the first thing. We're going to see that the presence of the shepherd is our life, our joy, our safety, and our fulfillment. Number two, we're going to see that God is always good, but the arc of God's goodness is longer than we typically expect.

Then number three, we're going to see that God uses our waiting to work good in us. Today, let's explore that first one, how the presence of the shepherd is our life, our joy, our safety, and our fulfillment. For David, it's not anything that the shepherd gives to him. It's the presence of the shepherd himself that is life and joy and peace. Verse one, here we go. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. By the way, want there doesn't mean desire. It's like an old English word for need, like being in one.

David is saying the Lord is my shepherd. Therefore, I don't need anything, which is what some of your translations might actually say. Let me just ask, can you say that right now? Can you say that right now, this morning, I don't lack anything? There's nothing I need in my life to change in order for me to feel safe, secure, and satisfied. Of course, I mean, there are always things in my life I'd love to see change, but even so, even with things I'd like to see change, I can still say I lack nothing. I'm perfectly happy the way things are right now. Could you say that right now? Honestly, when you first read this, you're probably tempted to think, is this guy even living in the real world? I've got no needs right now?

Who could say that? We live in a world of problems and needs. Y'all keep in mind, David had all kinds of pains and problems. Life for David at this point was about as hard as life could get for anybody. He had a broken heart, betrayed promises, unfulfilled dreams, unanswered prayers. And yet David says, I like nothing.

Why? This is the key to Psalm 23, because the Lord is my shepherd and he's close by. And just that all by itself means I've got no ones. You see, some of you think if I could just get the job, if I could just get married, if the kid would just come home, then I would have no needs.

Friend, that is not where happiness or security lie. Thanks for joining us today on Summit Life with J.D. Greer. We'll get back to today's teaching from Psalm 23 in just a moment. But first I want to take a moment to tell you about our newest premium resource, which is also based on Psalm 23. That's right, we've designed a study specifically to help you dig deeper into this profoundly famous psalm in a whole new way. Sure, you might have heard Psalm 23 before.

You might even have it memorized. But what I love most about this study is how the application questions really make you think about what it means that the Lord is our good shepherd and the implications that that has for our lives. Do you have a friend or a family member in need? This resource could be just the right encouragement to help them along the way. And we'd love to send you a copy with your gift of $35 or more to support this ministry.

To give, call us at 866-335-5220 or head over to jdgreer.com. Now let's get back to today's teaching here on Summit Life. Once again, here's Pastor J.D. Keep reading, okay?

It gets even more intense. Verse two, just in case you didn't understand what I said in verse one, he makes me lie down in green pastures. Question, what do sheep normally do in green pastures? They eat.

When a sheep lies down in a green pasture, it can only mean one thing. He's full. So full that he has no more desire to eat and so he just lies down to take a nap. David is so full that even in the presence of what others would call food, he doesn't feel compelled to eat. His soul is full.

We see what has he then been feasting on? The presence of the shepherd. God's presence is for David a satisfaction that no green pasture can ever supply. This is a theme that's going to appear multiple times throughout Scripture.

In fact, let me just give you a few so you can see the power of what David is saying here. In the wilderness wandering, in the book of Exodus, God fed the children of Israel with a substance they called manna. It's a small Ritz cracker-like substance that magically appeared on the ground each morning. It was weird. It really was.

In fact, in Hebrew, the word manna literally means, what is it? They didn't know what it was. It was weird.

It just showed up. It came with weird rules. You were only allowed to gather enough for one day because it went bad overnight, except on the seventh day when you could gather enough for two days.

On that day and that day only, it would stay good for 48 hours. You couldn't keep any of it in the freezer for later. You couldn't mix leftovers into a casserole and call it manicotti or keep some in the pantry to make a batch of banana bread later or a banana and peanut butter sandwich. You couldn't do that.

It had weird rules. Yet, through this strange bread, God met all their nutritional needs while they were in the wilderness. Manna was not supposed to replace food for them for all time. God was not saying, hey, just want you to know that from now on there's no more food. You're just going to eat manna.

No, it was just supposed to keep them alive and fed in the wilderness. Manna represented God's presence in a time of emptiness. In John 6, when Jesus fed the 5,000 with the five loaves and two fish, he explained that the manna that the children of Israel ate in the wilderness was a picture, a foreshadowing of his presence with his people through his spirit. He said, my flesh is the bread that came down from heaven. When we feast on him, we can be full even in the wilderness when our bellies are empty or when you're single or when you don't have the job or when the person hasn't come home. When Jesus himself wandered in the wilderness after fasting for 40 days and 40 nights, Satan appeared to him and tempted him how? What was the first temptation?

You remember? Turn these stones into physical bread. How does Jesus respond? He quotes a verse from the Exodus about manna.

He says, no, no, no. Man shall not live by bread alone. Man shall live by every word that comes from the mouth of God. He was saying in the time of wilderness wandering, I don't have to compromise and get out of God's will, and I'm in a place where you like normal bread. I can feast on a better kind of bread, the satisfying bread of God's promises and his presence.

By the way, that's what you're trying to do when you're trying to teach yourself when you fast. You are depriving your stomach of something, food, and in its place, you are focusing on God's presence so that you can learn that in any time of deprivation, God's spirit and his closeness are enough to satisfy your soul. We don't live by bread alone.

Our real life comes from God's presence. David continues. He said, he leads me besides still waters. Again, what do sheep normally do besides still waters? They drink. The fact that these sheep are just strutting along besides still waters means they're not thirsty.

Why? Because the spirit of God is a well of everlasting water springing up within them. He who drinks of this water, Jesus said, pointing to a well, is going to be thirsty again. But the one who drinks of the water that I give to him will never thirst. David in the wilderness is drinking at the well of God's spirit, and he's saying, I'm not even thirsty anymore.

Can you say that in a time of wilderness wandering? Number three, he restores my soul. He gives me the ability to get up and keep going, even when I've got a broken heart or a disappointed dream or an unmet yearning. When I feel like not getting out of bed in the morning, he restores my soul. There's a great book that I read years ago called A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23. It's written by a guy named Phillip Keller, who was an actual shepherd, who explains some of the imagery in Psalm 23 that us non-shepherds might miss. Any shepherds in the house this morning, raise your hand. Any shepherds?

You never know. I just was curious. Keller explains that one of the biggest problems for sheep is that when they fall down, they become what we call cast. When something lies on its back, it's feet up, unable to flip itself back over like a bug. Well, see, left by themselves, those sheep will stay that way until a predator comes along and just eats them. So the shepherd, when he sees a sheep that's cast, will stand them back up, and here's the key. He has to first rub the legs of the sheep to restore circulation. Otherwise, they'll just fall down again and roll back over in their back. That's what God's Spirit does with me, David says.

He restores my soul when life has made me fall so that I can get up and walk again. Interestingly, do you know when sheep are most likely to get cast? Keller says it happens in one of three main conditions. First, he says, when they are in a soft, comfy spot, they roll around and will just end up on their back. Secondly, he says, when they have too much wool, they get top heavy and they just flop over.

Most of all, he says, it's number three, when they're just too fat, they step on a rock wrong and they just tumble over. Y'all, we are so used to talking about a comfortable fat life as the blessing of God. Often, it is not.

In fact, I would say it's the quickest way for you to lose contact with your shepherd. And when God takes some of life's fatness, some of your wool away from you, it can be a blessing because it forces you to lean back in desperation into the presence of the shepherd because that's where real goodness and security lies. Many of us have found that the closeness that we felt toward God, the closeness to God that we experienced in a time of pain or in a time of great need was far greater than what we experienced in a time of blessing or ease. Anybody out there ready to testify to that? It's like Bill Gates. He's not a Christian. It's like Bill Gates says, success is a lousy teacher.

You learn virtually nothing from success. Verse three, David says, he leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake. We're going to come back to this in later weeks, but sheep are terrible creatures of habit. They walk the same paths over and over and over again until the grass is gone. And even worse, all the soil is contaminated with parasites that come from layers and layers of the sheep's waste being piled on the soil. So the shepherd leads them in new paths, paths that are not as familiar, paths where the sheep have to learn to follow again.

The path of righteousness is the path of dependence on the shepherd. Verse four, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. Why? Why? Because I see the silver lining in this dark crowd. Oh, because I know that happy days are right around the corner. No, I will fear no evil because you were with me. There's one reason that I'm not afraid and that's you're with me and your rod and your staff. I know they comfort me.

They protect me and they guide me. Do you notice how the pronouns here shift from he to you? David goes from talking about God to us and talking to God in front of us. It's no longer he restores my soul.

It's you're with me. At his lowest point, David stops talking to us about God and lifts his eyes to God. And he says, God, in the worst places, I'm still not afraid because you're with me, my shepherd. And because of your presence, because of your presence, I don't like anything. I fear nothing.

I need nothing. Verse five, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Question, what do you do at a table? You eat.

You fellowship with people you feel comfortable with. I don't know about you, but I try not to eat with people I don't like. I like food, and so I like to be with people I like when I eat food. There's nothing worse to me than a meal where you feel uncomfortable the whole time. If you want to confront me about something, don't take me out to a meal to do it.

All right, just send me a note and we'll meet. But those meals, that's what David is like. This is my place of comfort in the middle of all that is going on.

I'll sit down with you and I'm full, I'm satisfied, and I'm at peace. Some of you may ask, you say, well, wait a minute, wait a minute, JD, if God really is David's shepherd, why does David even have enemies? Isn't that the shepherd's job to keep him away from enemies? Yeah, those are good questions, but they're not what David is thinking about at the moment. David is literally in the presence of his enemies.

They're just a few feet away. And even there, he sits down to a peaceful, joyful, and satisfying meal with his shepherd. In the presence of his enemies, he is at rest and joyful because he's sitting with his shepherd. Let me ask, what is your instinct in the presence of your enemies?

It's usually what? Fight or hide. Fight or flight, depending on your personality. I'm sort of a combo of both.

I'm a smack and run guy, you know, fight and flight. David says, my first instinct is fellowship with my shepherd. I'm at peace, even in the presence of my enemies, because you're with me.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup is full. Is that what your translation says? It's full?

No, it overflows. Even in the midst of fear and worry, I got so much peace and joy that I got something to share with others. Y'all, this is unbelievable, isn't it? In a time of fear and trial, David has joy and peace and comfort enough to share with others. That's Pastor JD with some powerful truth from Psalm 23.

I know one thing, I am really looking forward to this new series in Psalm 23, aren't you? As always, you can re-listen to today's broadcast or any other broadcast from our entire sermon library free of charge at jdgrier.com, thanks to our monthly gospel partners. And speaking of gospel partners, JD, I think we can all agree that they're really the heroes of this ministry. Tell us, what exactly is a gospel partner and how can someone become one? Yeah, Molly, gospel partners absolutely fuel everything we do here at Summit Life. Gospel partners are those individuals or families or couples that give on a monthly basis because they believe in the messages that we share here.

These messages have had an impact on them or their family, and they want to have a role in helping other people here. What we're saying here is we share God's word. You can become a gospel partner today by going to the donate page on jdgrier.com and then selecting the monthly option. I just want to say that I personally, and we here at Summit Life, are so grateful for your commitment to the gospel, for your generosity.

We take the responsibility very seriously to be a wise steward of what you give and to make sure every bit of it is used for the purposes of getting the gospel to the ends of the earth. You can become a gospel partner right now by giving us a call at 866-335-5220. That's 866-335-5220. Or you can always visit our website to find out more and join the team.

That's at jdgrier.com. I'm Molly Vidovich. Thank you for joining us this week. Don't miss the second part of this sermon from our brand new teaching series called Goodness in the Middle, next time on Summit Life with J.D. Greer. Today's program was produced and sponsored by J.D. Greer Ministries.