Psalm 23:1-6 NIV

He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.

For though the righteous fall seven times, they rise again.

Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.

And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

2. You will walk through troubles.

Even though I walk through the darkest valley,

“I do believe; help me overcome my unbelief.”

“There is very little time and occasion for openness in most of our gatherings because we fear it. We think it may lead to confrontation, anger, and divisiveness. We are not open because we fear what others will think of us and do to us. If we honestly compared the amount of time in church spent thinking about what others think or might think with the amount of time spent thinking about what God is thinking, we would probably be shocked.”

3. A life without fear is possible.

I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

“My intention is to help you realize that fear and worry are worthless—indeed, vain—emotions.”

Mark 4:35-41 - Jesus Calms the Storm

The secret of overcoming fear is companionship with God.

4. A life without fear is only possible if we fix our eyes on Jesus

Psalm 23

He makes me lie down in green pastures

"To give God my best requires rest."

1. You need physical rest

Practical tips to help you sleep:

“What kind of sheep lies down in a green pasture? A sheep that has eaten its fill. If a sheep is in a green pasture and she’s not full, she’ll be eating, not lying down.”

2. You need spiritual rest; sabbath rest.

Then he said to them, “The Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. So the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath.”

There remains, then, a Sabbath-rest for the people of God; for anyone who enters God’s rest also rests from their works, just as God did from his. Let us, therefore, make every effort to enter that rest, so that no one will perish by following their example of disobedience.

He leads me beside quiet waters.

Philip Keller wrote that there is no more important “quiet water” than the early morning grazing of the sheep in moisture-soaked grass.

Start your day in prayer & Bible reading and worship

Drink from Me and you’ll never thirst again. In fact, I’ll give a fountain of living water springing up into eternal life.

On the last and greatest day of the festival, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them.” By this he meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in him were later to receive.

He restores my soul

“He causes my life to return.”

Chris the Sheep

Let God restore you from your pain.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you.

Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Let Jesus restore you from guilt and shame

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Psalm 23

Over the next 4 weeks we are going to be doing a deep dive on living a life without lack. I would encourage you every morning to pray the 23rd Psalm over your life or whomever the Lord brings to your mind.

What does it mean that the Lord is my Shepherd?

Jesus gives us a pretty good outline of what that looks like in John 10:1-14

1. We get to decide who will follow

a. John 10:2-6

b. We see here that the sheep have two options: They can follow the good Shepherd or they can follow the stranger.

c. “The most important thing about you is your mind, and the most important thing about your mind is what it is fixed upon. So the object is to have your mind always fixed on the Lord. This is only possible through constantly renewed effort, choosing to “retain God in [your] knowledge” (Rom. 1:28) and to “set your mind on things above, not on things on the earth” (Col. 3:2).” – Dallas Willard

d. There are so many things trying to grab our attention. What are we going to fix our minds upon?

e. Simply put: We become what we behold.

2. There’s an enemy that exploits lack.

a. John 10:7-9

b. This is why we lack!

c. This has been the enemy’s tactic from the very beginning – To convince us that we are lacking (missing out on/being cheated out of) something by being connected to the Father.

d. In Genesis 3 we see the start of this – Adam and Eve have perfect connection with God, the enemy comes in to start convincing them that they were in need of more.

e. Human desire is infinite by its nature; it cannot be satisfied. You must take your stand against it because you cannot satisfy it. You can never get enough money, if you want money. You can never get enough power, if you want power. You can never get enough love, you can never get enough glory. It is impossible. – Dallas Willard

f. Matthew 19:16-24

g. So what do we do!?–We turn to God.

3. There’s a God that eliminates lack.

a. The idea that we will never be satisfied is so fundamental, this is the truth that every person who wishes to follow Christ must understand. Jesus spoke directly to the point: “Unless you lose your life for my sake, you cannot follow me. Unless you take up the cross, you cannot follow me” (Matt. 16:24 PAR). The cross means the acceptance of limitation on desire. Without establishing this for yourself, there can only be frustration and worse, for you simply cannot satisfy desire.” - Dallas Willard

b. Jesus wasn’t crucified so that we wouldn’t have to be, he was crucified so that we might participate in death too. He taught us how to die to self... I am crucified with Christ.

c. John 10:11-15

d. God shows up where He is wanted.

e. Luke 15:1-7

f. God wants to give us exactly what we need, when we need it.

4. As we decide who to follow — We are given responsibility.

a. If we decide to follow the thief, we will reap temporary satisfaction.

b. If we decide to follow the Shepherd, we will reap transformative satisfaction.

c. John 21:15-22

As you are being led by the Shepherd don’t look around asking questions about this or that, just fix your eyes on Jesus and follow him.

Jesus will bring us to a place where we can confidently say, “I lack nothing.”

Mark 12:41-44

For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also.

I. Jesus Watches Intimately

II. Jesus Watches Critically

God measures your gift, not by the amount but rather by the motive.

III. Jesus Watches Spiritually

Friends, it could very well be that the greatest measure, the greatest indicator of the motivations of your own heart is how you steward the resources of God.

Genesis 28:10-22

1. Ask the Lord to increase our awareness of his presence. (Why Not God)

When we encounter God it will always elicit a response.

When Jacob awoke from his sleep, he thought, “Surely the Lord is in this place, and I was not aware of it.” He was afraid and said, “How awesome is this place! This is none other than the house of God; this is the gate of heaven.”

Everything Good comes from God

Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows.

When we start giving praise to God it’s contagious.

2. God will provide all of your needs

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus.

Then Jacob made a vow, saying, “If God will be with me and will watch over me on this journey I am taking and will give me food to eat and clothes to wear so that I return safely to my father’s household, then the Lord will be my God.

So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.

3. When you are faithful with little, you will be faithful with much.

God is looking for people he can trust.

For the eyes of the LORD range throughout the earth to strengthen those whose hearts are fully committed to him.

What is God asking you to do?

Will you do whatever God is asking you to do?

John 12:1-8

I. Selfishness

A person with a “consumer” mentality arrives at church looking for “what’s in it for me?” instead of being focused on what they can do for Him.

”Therefore if you have not been faithful in the unrighteous mammon, who will commit to your trust the true riches? And if you have not been faithful in what is another man’s, who will give you what is your own?” (Luke 16:11-12).

II. Extravagance

God is the ultimate extravagant giver. He is generous and He wants to do a work in our hearts that makes us more like Him.

“But God, who is rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us even when we were dead in trespasses, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up together, and made us sit together in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus” (Ephesians 2:4-6).

III. Unavoidable Rewards

II Corinthians 9:6-11

1. Live on a Written Budget

“Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Won’t you first sit down and estimate the cost to see if you have enough money to complete it? For if you lay the foundation and are not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule you, saying, ‘This person began to build and wasn’t able to finish.’

2. Avoid Debt

The rich rule over the poor,
 and the borrower is slave to the lender.

3. Foster High-Quality Relationships

Do not be misled: “Bad company corrupts good character.”

4. Save and Invest

The wise store up choice food and olive oil,
 but fools gulp theirs down (devours all he has).

5. Be Incredibly Generous

Each of you should give what you have decided in your heart to give, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver.

Luke 2:5-20

After Mary and Joseph experience this mountain top experience life begins to feel normal. I believe we all have seasons where angels are attending to us where God feels closer to us.

However God is always with us and close.

There is a lot about life, leadership, parenting, work, relationships, and even our own spirituality that feels natural more than supernatural.

Treasure all things in your heart, the highs and the normal.

No time with Jesus is ever wasted.

Luke 2:51-52

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to their own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no guest room available for them.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified. But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news that will cause great joy for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is the Messiah, the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,

“Glory to God in the highest heaven, and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.”

Matthew 6:25-34

For to us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. And he will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

Don’t worry about your past

Don’t worry about the opinion of others.

“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”

“Do not worry about your life.”

“Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?”

For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.”

Don’t worry about growing old.

Worry is an achievement

What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.

Worry is a killer.

Worry is a sin.

Don’t worry about death.

Don’t worry about your enemies.

Don’t worry about what you are not.