Meadowbrooke Church

The Triumphant Shepherd

Nobody expected Jesus to rise from the dead, not even His disciples and those closest to Him expected Him to get up and walk out of the tomb.  It did not matter to His disciples that Jesus said that He would “suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and the scribes and be killed, and after three days rise from the dead” (Mark 8:31), because what He said fell upon deaf ears at the time. On the day of Jesus’ death, everyone believed that He had lost, and evil had won.  There was no coming back in the minds of all who watched Him die, and for good reason!  When a person was sentenced by Rome to be crucified, it was a sentence that was equally horrible as it was terminal. Jesus died and was buried in a tomb.
 
When Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome went to Jesus’s tomb, they went to anoint a decomposing and dead Jesus to cover up the stench of death while His disciples mourned. What these women were expecting was a very dead body.  When they arrived at the tomb and found the stone moved, they were alarmed not because they expected the resurrection, but because they thought someone messed with the body (see Mark 16:1-5).  This is why the young man, who most likely was an angel, said to them: “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him” (Mark 16:6).  What was their response? They were terrified: “...they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had gripped them; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid” (Mark 16:8).
 
What the disciples saw as defeat, the angels viewed at the edge of their seats, if Peter and the rest could have heard the chatter from heaven, maybe they would have heard: “You just wait and see what’s coming!”  If it were possible to hear the angels, and if they were listening closely enough, maybe they would have heard all of heaven ask: “Did you not hear what Jesus said when He was with you?  Did you not hear Him say, “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep.... No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father.’” (John 10:14-15, 18)? 
 
Some of you are feeling the way the disciples and those closest to Jesus felt in the wake of His death.  Some of you are feeling like the disciples did when they woke up on Sunday morning: stuck, unsure, afraid, frustrated, angry, and hopeless.  I want you to know today that there is a hope within your reach that can swallow up your paralysis, uncertainty, fear, frustration, anger, and hopelessness.  For me to do that, I need you to see some things in the 23rd Psalm.
 
Everyone Experiences the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Death is the great antagonist and for some strange reason, we act as though we will never experience it, and when it does come... we are surprised by it.  Just before Frank Sinatra died, he said, “I’m losing.”  The comedian, Groucho Marx’s last words were, “This is no way to live!” Caesar Borgia (chay·zaa·ray bor·zhuh) said on his deathbed: “While I lived, I provided for everything but death; now I must die and am unprepared to die.” 
 
In Psalm 23:4, we come to a very familiar sentence that has served to comfort the anxious and fearful: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.”  Death is something that we all must face and not one of us will be able to escape it. 
 
The “valley of the shadow of death” is not only death, but the deep darkness of sin, and it is a deep darkness that “envelops all humankind.”[1] The valley of death is a darkness that no one is exempt from, even if you are a Christian.  You see, the valley of deep darkness represents the curse our world is under and the curse that affects us all, and that curse is sin. This is why our world is a mess, this is why there is sickness and disease, and this is why we have to say “goodbye” way too often and sometimes way too soon.  The Bible says that all of us are guilty of sin (Rom. 3:23), and that it is something that has been passed down from one generation to the next. Here is what the Bible says: “...through one man sin entered into the world, and death through sin, and so death spread to all mankind, because all sinned.... Nevertheless death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the violation committed by Adam” (Rom. 5:12, 14). 
 
What the valley is to you really depends on whether or not you can say with the Psalmist: “The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need.”  You see, there is one group of people who will be swallowed up by the valley and then there is another group of people who will walk through the valley.  The question is this: “What group do you belong to?” 
 
Not Everyone Remains in the Valley of the Shadow of Death
Jesus said of the 23rd Psalm: “I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep” (John 10:11).  Here is what the Bible says about all of us: “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way...” (Isa. 53:3). Or to say it another way, “all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Rom. 3:23).  All of us have sinned and fall short of meeting the standard of a Holy God.  So what was God’s solution to address our sin problem?  Listen to the rest of Isaiah 53:3, “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the wrongdoing [sins] of us all to fall on Him.”
 
Jesus said, “I am the Lord of the 23rd Psalm” but He did not stop there, He went on to say, “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep” (vv. 14-15).  The way that you know that the Lord of the 23rd Psalm is your Shepherd is whether or not you believe who He claimed to be and that when He laid down His life for you because of your sins, that His death on a cross is sufficient for the forgiveness of your sins.  And listen, if you really believe in Jesus, if you really belong to Him, and if you really know Him... you will believe the things that He said about Himself:
“I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty.” (John 6:35)
 
“I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life.” (John 8:12)
 
“I am the resurrection and the life; the one who believes in Me will live, even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die. Do you believe this?” (John 11:25–26)
 
Anyone can say the things Jesus said, and everyone will die one day.  If all that Jesus did was lay down his life for the sheep, then all that He is... is a dead martyr and nothing more.  But consider what Jesus said to the disciples that they missed, most likely because of how impossible they found it to believe what He said to be:
I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me, just as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My life so that I may take it back. No one has taken it away from Me, but I lay it down on My own. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back. This commandment I received from My Father.” (John 10:14-18)
 
What the disciples missed was the most important part of what Jesus said: “I lay down My life for the sheep.... I lay down My life so that I may take it back.... I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it back.”  In other words, “I will die for your sins to redeem you, and then I am coming back by way of a resurrection!”  It should not have surprised any of the disciples or the women who knew Jesus that the tomb was empty on the third day, but because the resurrection was so impossible and so beyond the limitations of their imagination that the Good Shepherd, the Lord of the 23rd Psalm, could die for sins and then conquer death by rising from it.  This is why the angel said to the women when they arrived at the place Jesus was buried: “Do not be amazed; you are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who has been crucified. He has risen; He is not here; see, here is the place where they laid Him” (Mark 16:6).
 
Conclusion
We all want a “happily ever after” story.  We go to the movies, and we watch sporting events just so that we might experience the impossible! We want to experience the Fellowship of the Ring and Frodo and Sam’s impossible mission to destroy the evil ring of Sauron.  For you romantics in the room, you want Jerry Maquire to walk through the door finally believing that the love of his life is his wife, Dorothy, and maybe your heart fluttered when Dorothy told Jerry to shut up, followed by the words: “You had me at hello.” If you like the kinds of movies I like, then you wanted to stand and shout just before the great battle scene in Avengers: End Game. 
 
However, when it comes to experiencing the impossible for real and in our lifetime, we are shocked. When fantasy and reality merge and the impossible really happens, we are shocked.  Perhaps you think your game is over because you are at the bottom of the 9th with three balls, two outs, a man on second, and you are down by one run! But wait, there is still a player on second and one more pitch to go over the plate.  
 
It was during the first game in 1988 World Series that Kirk Gibson, who played for the Dodgers, was injured and unable to run.  It was surprising that he was put in as a pinch hitter at the bottom of the 9th inning with two outs.  Gibson hobbled up to the plate to everyone’s surprise.  With Mike Davis on first base, Tommy Lasorda was hoping Gibson could hit a ball far enough to get Davis to home for a game tying run. Gibson fouled two pitches for two strikes, swung at another ball down the first base line for a foul, and eventually ended up with 3 out of 4 balls giving him a full count.  What this meant was that if he got another ball, he would be forced to walk or if he got one more strike, he would lose the game against the A’s by one run.  When Dennis Eckersley, the closing pitcher for the A’s, threw a backdoor slider, Gibson swung with just about all his upper body to hit the pitch and sent the ball over the right-field fence for a homerun.  The Dodgers won the world series that year, the only time Gibson was able to step up to the plate was that one time at the bottom of the 9th in the first game to hit one of the greatest homeruns in baseball history.  After Gibson stepped on home plate, the announcer said this: “In a year that seemed so improbable, the impossible has happened.”
 
There is a greater event that happened that did not happen before, nor has it happened since, and that event was the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  When He walked out of the tomb on Sunday, the impossible happened, and because it happened, it changed everything.  The resurrection of Jesus Christ affirms all that He did and claimed to be!  Because of the resurrection, we can know and experience Him to be the Bread of Life, the light of the world, the resurrection and the life, and the Good Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm. 
 
Jesus’ tomb is empty and because He defeated sin and the grave, He alone is qualified and able to guide me “in the paths of righteousness... even through I walk through the valley of the shadow of death.” His rod and staff comfort me because He swallowed up the deep darkness of the valley through His resurrection!  Jesus not only walked through the valley of the shadow of death, but He also defeated it and came out on the other side as the victor and Lord of Life!  Jesus Christ is risen from the grave!  If you don’t know Him, then the 23rd Psalm is not for you and there is no going through the valley of the shadow of death. 
 
But, if you do know Him, then not only will He lead you through the valley of the shadow of death, but there is a table at the other end of it and because of the Good Shepherd, Psalm 23:6 is for you and all who hope in Jesus as the Lord of Life: “Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me all the days of my life, And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever.” Amen.
 
[1] Christopher Ash, The Psalms vol. 2 (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 271.

The Shepherd Who Guides and Restores

In Genesis 1:1, the Bible begins with a simple but profound sentence.  Most English translations of the Bible begin with ten words and end with ten words. In Genesis 1:1, we are told: “In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth.”  In the final verse of the book of Revelation the Bible concludes: “The grace of the Lord Jesus be with all. Amen” (Rev. 22:21).  What these two verses tell me is this: We are alive and are here today because of God and by His grace. 
 
In Psalm 23, we discover that it is by the grace of God that I am brought into the fold of His sheep, and it is for His glory that He has done so.  The invitation to be included as one of His sheep has nothing to do with my performance and everything to do with His grace and glory, as John Piper put it: “God is the beginning and God is the end of all my righteousness. The path of righteousness has his grace as its starting point (for he leads me into it) and it has his glory as its destination (because his leading is for his name’s sake).”[1] What happens in the in-between is the messy part.  After He finds us, it is His goodness and faithfulness that keeps us with no intention of letting go.
 
The 23rd Psalm sounds like a pilgrimage because it is.  Remember that there are five images in this Psalm.  We looked at the first image, which was: “The Abundant Life” (vv. 2-3a).  God lets and makes me lay down in green pastures in that He causes me to do so.  How does He cause me to lay down in green pastures?  He does so by removing all that prevents me from doing so.  I was made to lay down in green pastures by waters of rest, but without the Good Shepherd we blindly go astray; according to the prophet Isaiah we were both hopeless and helpless: “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way...” (Isaiah 53:6).  The next four images are as follows:
Image #2: The Secure Life (v. 3b)
Image #3: The Hard Life (v. 4)
Image #4: The Victorious Life (v. 5)
Image #5: The Everlasting Life (v. 6)
 
It is to the “Secure Life” that we now turn our attention.  What is it that makes His guiding in paths of righteousness for His namesake that brings security to those who belong to Him?
 
Where Does the Shepherd Lead?
Where does the Shepherd lead and how does where He is leading relate to our security?  For starters, it is in the nature of His guiding that brings His sheep security: “He guides me in paths of righteousness.”  The nature of His guiding is that it does not end and that it is ongoing; it is not a onetime event where the sheep are guided by Him such as a prayer that is said or a decision that was made. 
 
So, what are the “paths of righteousness” that He guides me into?  We are given an answer through the nature of David’s prayers like the one we find in Psalm 5, “Lord, lead me in Your righteousness because of my enemies; make Your way straight before me” (v. 8).  The answer to David’s prayer is Psalm 23:3, and those paths of righteousness are descripted for us in scores of verses in both the Old and New Testament.  One such passage in the Old Testament is Psalm 1:1-3,  
Blessed is the person who does not walk in the counsel of the wicked,
               Nor stand in the path of sinners,
               Nor sit in the seat of scoffers!
 
But his delight is in the Law of the Lord,
   And on His Law he meditates day and night.
 
He will be like a tree planted by streams of water,
               Which yields its fruit in its season,
               And its leaf does not wither;
               And in whatever he does, he prospers.
 
The paths of righteousness according to Psalm 1 includes delighting in the Law of Yahweh and meditating on His Law day and night.  The Law of the Lord is the Word of the Lord.  That which you delight in is where you desire to spend your time.  If you delight in a particular person you will want to spend time with that person.  If you have a hobby or job that you delight in, you will look for ways to spend time participating in that hobby or job that you delight in.  The evidence that you delight in the Law is seen in the amount of time you spend in the Law. 
 
The one who delights in the Law of the Lord will thrive in the kinds of ways we were meant for.  God wants you to thrive and considering the fact that it is His image we bear, thriving must include our Creator.  Later in the Psalms, David wrote: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path” (Ps. 119:105).
 
Jesus said something similar to Psalm 1:1-3 and 119:105; He said, “If you continue in My word, then you are truly My disciples; and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free” (John 8:31). The Greek word used for “continue” is menō, which, as you may recall from last Sunday’s sermon, can be translated “abide.”  If you abide, if you remain, if you continue in My word... “you will know the truth and the truth will set you free.”  The Greek word for “know” is ginōskō, which is the kind of knowledge that is much more than head knowledge.  Jesus said, “If you remain, if you continue, if you abide in my word, you will really know [ginōskō] the truth, and the truth will set your free.”  Let me say it a different way so that you get what is being said here: “If you take up residence in the word of the Good Shepherd, you are truly His sheep, and by listening to His voice, you will live!”  Listen, the Shepherd’s guiding does not happen apart from our abiding!    
 
I am not sure if you will find this as cool as I do, but going back to John 10 where Jesus identifies as the Good Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm, He uses the same Greek word for know that He used in John 8:31. In John 10:14-16, “I am the good shepherd, and I know [ginōskō] My own, and My own know [ginōskō] Me, just as the Father knows [ginōskō] Me and I know [ginōskō] the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. And I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd.”
 
Okay, so why does any of this matter and how does Psalm 1:1-3, John 8:31-32, and John 10:14-16 help you understand the 23rd Psalm better?  So here we go: You cannot be led in the paths of righteousness if your knowledge of the Good Shepherd is only about filling your head without your heart being engaged.  I will say it another way: If you are not abiding in the Lord of the 23rd Psalm then you are not finding in Him what you need.  If you do not find in Him what you need, then you will not find in Him the green pastures and waters of rest that you were made for.  If you do not find in the Good Shepherd the green pastures and waters of rest you that were made for, then you will find that the paths of righteousness that He guides His sheep on as displeasing instead of delightful.    
 
Jesus is the Good Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm, and it is He who causes me to lie down in green pastures because He is the green pastures that will never leave me hungry.  It is He who leads me to waters of refreshment because He is the Living Water who satisfies the thirsty soul.  Jesus restores the soul because He makes all things new!  As the great Shepherd of your soul, Jesus guides those who abide in Him in paths of righteousness.  There is no guiding apart from abiding in Lordof the 23rd Psalm!
 
Why Does the Shepherd Lead?
So, why does He do it?  Why does the Good Shepherd guide his sheep in the paths of righteousness?  He does it for the sake of His name!  What does that even mean?  It means that He rescued you from the condemnation of your sins, He gives Himself to you as the Great Shepherd of your soul to meet your need for Him, He provides the green pastures and quiet waters for your good, He renews and restores your soul, and He delivered you from your crooked paths of this world and set you on the straight path of righteousness that only Jesus can provide.  God did it all, and He did it by putting His reputation on the line!
 
Our story is summed up in one verse from the prophet Isaiah: “All of us, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all To fall on Him” (Isa. 53:6).  “To fall on who” you ask?  Ah... I am so glad you asked!  The sins of us all... fell upon Jesus who is the Lamb, the Lion, and the great Shepherd of our souls!  This is why the apostle Peter wrote: “...and He Himself brought our sins in His body up on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live for righteousness; by His wounds you were healed. For you were continually straying like sheep, but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Guardian of your souls” (1 Pet. 2:24-25).
 
In response to all that Jesus accomplished, Paul wrote those glorious words that ought to thrill every soul that belongs to His flock: “What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things” (Rom. 8:31-32)?  And He does so for His namesake!  This is why, when you read Ephesians 1:3-14 regarding how and why God saved you from your sins that we are given three answers:
The Father chose us before the foundation of the world and made us sons and daughters through His Son, and why did He do it that way? He did it, “to the praise of the glory of His grace...” (1:4-6).
 
The Son redeemed us through His blood and now we have the forgiveness of our sins, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us. Why did He do it that way?  He did it, “to the praise of His glory” (1:7-12).
 
The Holy Spirit made our redemption and salvation a guarantee by sealing us as God’s own possession. Why did He do it that way? He did it, “to the praise of His glory” (1:13-14).
 
He chose his lambs for the sake of His name, He redeemed his lambs for the sake of His name, and He marked His lambs as His treasured possession by His Holy Spirit for the sake of His name!  Listen, if the Lord is your shepherd, it is only because you have turned to Jesus for the salvation of our soul: “Turn to Me and be saved, all the ends of the earth; for I am God, and there is no other” (Isa. 45:22).  Listen to what Jesus said concerning all who hear His voice and come to Him for salvation: “My sheep listen to My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me; and I give them eternal life, and they will never perish; and no one will snatch them out of My hand. My Father, who has given them to Me, is greater than all; and no one is able to snatch them out of the Father’s hand. I and the Father are one” (John 10:27-30).
 
Psalm 23:2 is a picture of the secure life because of who it is that causes us to lie down in green pastures, leads us to inexhaustible and quiet waters, restores and renews our soul, and leads us in the paths of righteousness.  The Lord of the 23rd Psalm is the God of Isaiah 46:9-11,
Remember the former things long past,
For I am God, and there is no other;
I am God, and there is no one like Me,
 
Declaring the end from the beginning,
And from ancient times things which have not been done,
Saying, ‘My plan will be established,
And I will accomplish all My good pleasure’;
 
Calling a bird of prey from the east,
The man of My purpose from a distant country.
Truly I have spoken; truly I will bring it to pass.
I have planned it, I will certainly do it.
 
This is why Romans 8:1 is for you Christian: “Therefore there is now no condemnation at all for those who are in Christ Jesus.”
   
Conclusion
So, let me say something you may need to hear.  Just because you belong to the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm, does not mean that you will not struggle with sin.  Just because you are abiding in Jesus and love Him truly, does not mean that you will never be tempted by the enemy’s lies of greener pastures and more satisfying waters.  The enemy is a dragon and a thief who comes, “only to steal and kill and destroy...”  Jesus, the Great and Good Shepherd, has come so that we would have life, and have it abundantly (John 10:10).  There are no greener pastures or quieter waters than what can be found and experienced in Jesus. 
 
The danger for some is that the less that you listen to His voice, the less you will delight in His Word and the less frequent you will want to abide in Him.  Permit me to close with a warning from David Gibson:
Life is a journey, not a viewing gallery; we are always on the move, always traveling, and we’re going with either Jesus’s paths or a different shepherd’s paths. Maybe it’s what you’re consuming online. Maybe it’s the choices you are making with your money or your time. Two degrees of divergence this year might mean a mile’s divergence next year. Take time to consider the road you are walking, who is leading you, and where that path might end. In my experience I have found that wrong steps in life are nearly always the outworking of a prior neglect of listening to Jesus speak in the Bible. When devotion to hearing his voice begins to dwindle, then eventually, inevitably, departure from his paths begins to follow.[2]
 
There is no greener pasture outside of Jesus, for He alone is the Lord of the 23rd Psalm. Amen.
 
 
[1] J. Josh Smith and Daniel L. Akin, Exalting Jesus in Psalms 1–50, ed. David Platt, Daniel L. Akin, and Tony Merida, Christ-Centered Exposition Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2022), 174.
[2] David Gibson, The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host (Wheaton, IL: Crossway, 2023), 49.

The Shepherd Who Leads and Provides

The second verse in the 23rd Psalm is a peculiar one for those of us not accustomed to the undeveloped lands of the Bible.  When you read of “green pastures” and “quiet waters” you most likely think of Goshen County, WY which produces more beef cattle than any other Wyoming county in our state.  When I read Psalm 23, I think of the New Jersey Highlands consisting of lots of green and lots of water.  But the “green pastures” that David had in mind was a dry and rocky set of rolling hills with tough grass sparsely scattered throughout.  The grass was so sparsely scattered, that if one of the sheep wandered off, he would most likely starve to death if any of the predators in the region didn’t find him first, and depending on the season, water was even more difficult to find.   
 
Because sheep are the most helpless of animals; they are not just dependent on the shepherd but are in absolute need of a shepherd for survival.  Sometime ago there was a story out of Istanbul that reported the death of four sheep.  Their shepherds reportedly neglected their flock by leaving the sheep to roam free so that they could eat breakfast.  The sheep followed their leader right off a cliff; one by one, four hundred of them fell nearly 50 feet to their deaths.  The loss of sheep was estimated to be $74,000. 
 
In the ancient world, shepherding was the least respected of occupations and required the full attention of the shepherd all the time.  If a family had sheep, the youngest son was expected to serve as a shepherd.  Because David was the youngest of eight sons, his job was to shepherd the sheep for his father Jesse.  When David wrote this psalm, he wrote from his own experience, and like all other shepherds, David lived with the sheep. 
 
To appreciate this Psalm, we need to understand why it is structured the way that it is.  There are five images that include the critical role of the shepherd as he leads, guides, and provides for his sheep; each Sunday, we will consider one of the five images we are given.  So that you know where we are going, I will list them for you here:
Image #1: The Abundant Life (vv. 2-3a)
Image #2: The Secure Life (v. 3b)
Image #3: The Hard Life (v. 4)
Image #4: The Victorious Life (v. 5)
Image #5: The Everlasting Life (v. 6)
 
Today we will consider the first image, which is where the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm is ultimately leading His sheep, and that is the abundant life.
 
What is the Way to the Abundant Life?
For a sheep to “lie down” four things need to happen: They need to be free of fear, friction, flies, and hunger.  Phillip Keller spent eight years as a shepherd before he became a pastor, in his book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, he wrote of what it takes to get sheep to lie down:
It is almost impossible for sheep to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met. Owing to their timidity they refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear. Because of the social behavior within a flock sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind. If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Only when free of these pests can they relax. Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free from hunger.”[1]
 
It is only the shepherd who can provide the kind of trust, peace, deliverance, and pasture that the sheep need.  Yet, of the five images in this Psalm, David begins with the one about rest.  The first thing that we receive from Yahweh as our Shepherd, is rest.  How does He provide us with rest?  According to the NASB2020,
“He lets me lie down in green pastures...” 
“He leads me beside quiet waters.”
“He restores my soul...”
 
The Hebrew word for “lets” is the Hebrew word “rbṣ” and most translations translate this word as “make.”  If you are using the NIV, the ESV, or an older version of the NASB, Psalm 23:2 reads something like this: “He makes me lie down in green pastures...”  So which is it?  Does Jesus, as our good Shepherd “make us lie down” or does He, “let us lie down in green pastures”?  The Hebrew word for “lets” is both causative and imperfect so literally it can be translated, “He causes me to lie down in green pastures...” So, why does all matter?  Our Shepherd removes from His sheep every agitation and threat that would keep us from the kind of rest we were made for and the rest that we need. 
 
However, the presence of Jesus in our lives not only causes us to lie down, but He also takes us to quiet waters; in Hebrew, “quiet waters” is literally “waters of rest.”  Where the quiet waters are, so there is life for all that surrounds those waters, and where there are green pastures and still waters in the dry and rocky climate of a cursed world, there is renewal.  What kind of renewal you ask?  The kind that restores the soul of the sheep.  The Hebrew word used for “restores” means to “turn back” or “return.”  The place that the Psalmist is describing is the place where those who “hunger and thirst for righteousness” (Matt. 5:6) will be filled and refreshed by resting in the Shepherd of the 23rdPsalm.
 
It is Jesus who said, “Come to me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28).  It is the Lord of the 23rd Psalm who said: “I am the bread of life; the one who comes to Me will not be hungry, and the one who believes in Me will never be thirsty” (John 6:35).  The Good Shepherd said, “The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:10).
 
According to Psalm 23, the Christian life begins with rest, and the kind of rest we receive is the abundant life that can only come through Jesus.  But what is the abundant life?  Is it prosperity in the world’s eyes?  Is it the pain free life?  What is the abundant life that Jesus came so that we, as His sheep, would have? 
 
What Kind of Abundant Life Does the Shepherd Provide?
The abundant life is a life rooted in Jesus.  The abundant life comes out of the abiding life.  So, what is the abiding life you ask?  Jesus told us what the abiding life is in John 6:54-56, “The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For My flesh is true food, and My blood is true drink. The one who eats My flesh and drinks My blood remains in Me, and I in him” (John 6:54–56).  The Greek word for “remain” is “menō.” If you are using the ESV or an older version of the NASB, you will see the word “abide” instead of “remain.”  To remain or abide is to rest in Jesus and to rest in Him is to take up residence in the life of Christ.  How does one do that?  You do it by taking into your mind, heart, and soul all that Jesus is and all that he taught and commanded us to do.  The same Greek word is used in John 15:5, “I am the vine, you are the branches; the one who remains in Me, and I in him bears much fruit, for apart from Me you can do nothing.”
 
So what does it mean to have the abundant life?  Does the abundant life mean that you have a pain free life?  If the abundant life means that the Shepherd’s will for you is to be comfortable with little to no suffering in this life, then what do you do with our Shepherd’s words to his sheep: “In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world” (John 16:33b)?  The New Living Translation is closer to Jesus’ point: “Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world.”  If the green pastures and quite waters do not include the kind of agitation and trouble that suffering brings, then what do you do with Jesus’ warning to his disciples: “You will be betrayed even by parents, brothers and sisters, other relatives, and friends, and they will put some of you to death, and you will be hated by all people because of My name. And yet not a hair of your head will perish” (Luke 21:16–18).
 
If the green pastures and quiet waters that the Jesus leads his people to does not include suffering and even death, then what do you say to the fathers, the mothers, the children, and the friends of the 70 Christians who were taken from their village at 4am on the morning on February 13th of this year by a rebel group with ties to the Islamic State?  They were taken by force to a Protestant church where they were slaughtered with machetes and hammers; those 70 Christians were our brothers and sisters in the faith.  They heard the call of Jesus and followed Him (see John 10:14-16), yet when their bodies were discovered, each of them was also beheaded.  Where are the green pastures and quiet waters of those 70 beheaded Christians from the Congo if the 23rd Psalm is also for them?   
 
Those 70 beheaded brothers and sisters are now included among the martyred saints described in Revelation 6:9-11,
When the Lamb broke the fifth seal, I saw underneath the altar the souls of those who had been killed because of the word of God, and because of the testimony which they had maintained; and they cried out with a loud voice, saying, “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?” And a white robe was given to each of them; and they were told that they were to rest for a little while longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who were to be killed even as they had been, was completed also.” (Rev. 6:9–11)
 
Those 70 Christians among the masses in heaven who are asking the question: “How long, O Lord, holy and true, will You refrain from judging and avenging our blood on those who live on the earth?”  Notice the answer they received: “rest for a little while longer, until the number of your fellow servants and their brothers and sisters who are to be killed even as you have been killed, is complete” (v. 11).  There will be more who will be massacred, butchered, and slaughtered in the name of the Good Shepherd, but that is not the end of their story! In March another 47 Christians from the Congo were martyred for following Jesus, and to date 287 Christians have been killed for their faith since Christmas of 2024. So, where was their green pasture?  Where were the quiet waters for those followers of the Good Shepherd?
 
We are given an answer in Revelation 7:9-17.  We are told that right now all 287 of those who died for their faith in the Congo sing, and they are joined with other brothers and sisters who followed the Good Shepherd to their deaths, “from every nation and all the tribes, peoples, and languages.” Today, they shout triumphantly: “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb” (Rev.  7:9ff.).  But that is not all that we are told, for what they have is infinitely more precious than the comfort and safety we all hope to have in this life. I want to show you something from Revelation 7:13-17 that will help make sense of what is promised to us in the 23rd Psalm:
Then one of the elders responded, saying to me, “These who are clothed in the white robes, who are they, and where have they come from?” 14I said to him, “My lord, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones who come out of the great tribulation, and they have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15For this reason they are before the throne of God, and they serve Him day and night in His temple; and He who sits on the throne will spread His tabernacle over them. 16They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat; 17for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.”
 
Do you see the answer for where the green pastures and quiet waters are for those who suffer, especially for those who suffer for their faith in the Good Shepherd?  God currently shelters the scores of martyred Christians with His presence according to Revelation 7:15, but do you see what verses 16-17 say and how familiar it sounds to Psalm 23?  Let’s look at these verses again: “They will no longer hunger nor thirst, nor will the sun beat down on them, nor any scorching heat; 17for the Lamb in the center of the throne will be their shepherd, and will guide them to springs of the water of life; and God will wipe every tear from their eyes.” The reason why these Christians, and every other Christian in heaven no longer hungers or thirsts is because they are in the presence of the Lamb who is their shepherd.  The sun no longer beats down on them with its scorching heat because they have been delivered from the wilderness of a cursed world! The Lamb is the spring of water of life, and it is because of the triumph of the Lamb that every tear will be wiped from their eyes.
 
Conclusion
Listen, the 70 who were beheaded, those who suffer in this life, and every other Christian who belongs to the Good Shepherd had the green pastures and quiet waters during their life on earth because they had Jesus, and they found that their hunger and thirst for righteousness was satisfied in Him.  Although the 70 Christians from the Congo lost their lives, they did not lose what belonged to them, for they have what is promised to every Christian in the 23rd Psalm because they have the Lamb who is their Shepherd. 
 
Psalm 23 is not some cute passage for coffee mugs, t-shirts, and memorial cards!  It is so much more.  If Jesus is your shepherd, you have all that you need in Him.  If you have Jesus, then you have the green pastures and quiet waters promised to all whose Lord is their shepherd.
 
My question for you dear friend, is this:
“Who is the Lamb of God to you?” 
 
“If Jesus is your shepherd, then in what ways are you abiding in Him?”
 
“How can you expect to experience the kinds of green pastures and quiet waters promised in Psalm 23 if you are not going to Jesus to satisfy the kind of hunger and thirst that only He can satisfy?”
 
[1] James Montgomery Boice, Psalms 1–41: An Expositional Commentary (Grand Rapids, MI: Baker Books, 2005), 209.

The Lord of the 23rd Psalm

The Psalms are the song book of the Bible, and as you are probably aware, songs and poems are written out of the deep well of the human heart.  The difference between the Psalms and every other song or poem is that the Psalms are inspired by God Almighty and are the Word of God.  Of all the Psalms, it is the Psalm before us that is most familiar.  In my opinion, what the Lord’s prayer is to the New Testament, Psalm 23 is to the Old Testament.  It is that familiar, and it is familiar for good reason.
 
Think for a moment what it is that Psalm 23 says of all those whose God is the Lord: He does not leave His sheep to themselves, but leads them to the place of life, nourishment, and rest with the assurance that He will not lose any that belong to Him.  As the Shepherd, He promises to be with His sheep in the face of death and will stand before them in the face of the enemy.  As the Shepherd of His sheep, those who belong to Him will only know His faithfulness and love which is a promise that not even death can take what belongs to the Lord, who is the Shepherd.
 
No wonder why this Psalm is often included in so many funerals or read at the bedside of the sick and dying. However, there is a danger with the amount of exposure we have had with the 23rd Psalm, and that danger is as the saying goes: “Familiarity breeds contempt.”  By being so familiar with the Psalm, we can lose respect for what it says or miss the point of the Psalm altogether.  My hope is that in the weeks to come, you will gain a better understanding of what this Psalm means for you and that over the weeks to come, you will experience the Lord of the 23rd Psalm.
 
Who is The Lord of Psalm 23?
For you and me to appreciate the 23rd Psalm, we have got to understand who the shepherd of the Psalm is.  For starters, He is not just any old shepherd, He is the shepherd to all who truly know Him to be the Lord. One of the ways we can lose respect for this Psalm is to assume that it applies to any and all people.  In the very first verse we are told that for the Lord to be the shepherd of any person, that person must belong to Him.  The key word used in this verse is known as a “possessive determiner”, and that word is “my.”  The way that you can know that He is your Lord is found in the second half of the first verse: “...I will not be in need.”  You can know that you are not in need because you have the Lord as your shepherd, and the way that you know that He is your Lord is because you understand that there is no other “lord” in this world that gives you what only He can give you. 
 
I have officiated many funeral and memorial services over the years, and my fear is that for some, the 23rd Psalm was printed on their memorial card more for the beauty of the Psalm than for how the deceased loved, followed, and identified with the God the Psalm describes.  Before you can ever claim the kind of comfort and assurance the Psalm is meant to provide, you must answer who the Lord of the 23rd Psalm is first.
 
The Shepherd of Psalm 23 is Yahweh
The Lord that David refers in Psalm 23 is Yahweh.  The first time the Hebrew people were introduced to God as Yahweh is in Exodus 3 when Moses encountered God through the burning bush.  Just so you know, there are many different names for God used to describe His character and nature; the name used that is God’s covenantal name is Yahweh.    
 
After 40 years of working for his father-in-law Jethro in the wilderness, God called out to Moses from a burning bush.  Moses was in the wilderness because he had killed an Egyptian guard, buried his body in the sand, learned that it was known that he did it, and had fled Egypt and went into hiding.  As Moses got closer to the burning bush, God told him to remove his sandals in His presence because the ground he was standing was now holy.  God then told Moses that He heard the cries of His people and planned to use the now 80-year-old man to deliver the Hebrew people from the bondage of slavery in Egypt.  God was not going to send Moses into Egypt before Pharaoh alone, for God assured him: “I will be with you” (v. 12).  Moses then asked what name he was to give to the Hebrews when he went back into Egypt; here is what he said: “Behold, I am going to the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you.’ Now they may say to me, ‘What is His name?’ What shall I say to them” (v. 13)?
 
God’s answer gets at the heart of what Yahweh means: “I AM WHO I AM.  This is what you are to say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you’” (v. 14).  At the heart of God’s answer are four facts about God for why the Israelites should believe God would deliver them: Yahweh is the Creator who is above all other gods man may make.  Because Yahweh is the Creator, He sustains all things, governs all things, is sovereign over all things, and owns all things.  As Yahweh, God is eternal, for He had no beginning and will have no end; He is the Alpha and the Omega, and as the Alpha and Omega, He is the first and the last.  The essence of what Yahweh means is found in verse 14, “And God said to Moses, ‘I AM WHO I AM’; and He said, “This is what you shall say to the sons of Israel: ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
 
God told Moses: “You tell the Hebrew slaves that I AM WHO I AM sent me to you.”  To wrap our minds around what God told Moses, I need to ask you in terms of your occupation or what you are currently doing day to day each week, “Who are you?”  I am not asking if you are a Christian or not, I am asking what is it that requires your time?  If I were to ask you to write down who you are, you may write: “I am an electrician.” Or “I am a teacher.”  You might write down, “I am a programmer.”  You might write down, “I am a stay-at-home mother.”  “I am a dad, a mom, a grandmother, or grandfather.”  Here is the thing with all of that, the answer you give today to that question will one day change.  One day you will not be able to work, one day you will retire, one day your children will move out of your home to begin a family of their own, and one day you will die.  However, with God, He is “I AM WHO I AM.” 
 
One pastor said that what God said to Moses through the burning bush is the equivalent of saying: “I BE WHO I BE.” The point is that we change, but the Lord does not change, nor will He ever change.  Why?  Because Yahweh is infinitely and perfectly self-sufficient and self-existent; if you belong to Him, He is your shepherd and there is no other god or lord that you need!  David Gibson, in his book, The Lord of Psalm 23, put it this way: “...the one whom you need to shepherd you neither needs you nor needs to be shepherded himself as he gives himself to shepherd you.  He shepherds you from his eternally undiminishing fullness, and he is never the poorer for it.”[1]
 
The Lord of the 23rd Psalm is unchanging, and it does not matter what you think of Him or what you make of Him, He is eternally who He has always been, what He still is today, and what He will always be: He is the Great I AM WHO I AM; He is Yahweh!  However, what He may or may not be to you is your Shepherd.  There is only one way to come to know Yahweh as your shepherd.
 
Jesus is the Shepherd of Psalm 23
What dominates this Psalm is the promise of a life much fuller and richer than anything that any other god or lord can offer.  The life that the Lord of the 23rd Psalm provides is the abundant life!  The kind of life that the Shepherd of Psalm 23 provides is one that includes food to satisfy the hungry, water to quench the thirsty, security for the vulnerable, and rest for the burdened sheep who come to the Shepherd out of a desperate awareness that all that the Shepherd is and has, is all that the sheep need. 
 
There are a number of statements Jesus said about Himself that include the phrase: “I Am...” Just about every time He used that phrase, it unhinged the religious leaders of His day because they understood where that phrase was coming from, for it came from Exodus 3 when God said to Moses that He, Yahweh, was “I AM Who I AM.”  One of those statements is found in the gospel of John and the way that He said it, there can be no confusion what it was that He was claiming: “I am the good shepherd, and I know My own, and My own know Me...” (John 10:14).  Jesus said the only way to know the shepherd of the 23rd Psalm is by knowing who He is, believing in all that He claimed to be, and acting on what you know and believe concerning Him.  Consider some of the things Jesus said about Himself:
“If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. The one who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, ‘From his innermost being will flow rivers of living water.’” (John 7:37–38)
 
“Come to Me, all who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is comfortable, and My burden is light.” (Matt. 11:28–30)
 
The reason Jesus was able to say these kinds of things was because He was, and is, and will forever be the good shepherd of the 23rd Psalm!  This is why He said, “Truly, truly I say to you, I am the door of the sheep. All those who came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the door; if anyone enters through Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I came so that they would have life, and have it abundantly” (John 10:7–10). Again David Gibson offers the following insight of what it means to have the Shepherd of the 23rd Psalm: “Psalm 23 is about abundant life. It is more about the happiness of living than the sadness of dying, and all of the happiness is bound up with being able to say that this Lord who is a shepherd is also my shepherd.”[2]
 
So I ask you dear friend, who is the Shepherd to you?  Is He your Shepherd because He is your Lord?  Is He your Lord because you have found Him to be the Bread of Life who alone satisfies your hunger for more?  Is He your Shepherd because in Jesus you have found Him to be the Living Water who alone is able to quench your thirsty soul? Can you honestly say, “The Lord is my shepherd, I will not be in need” (Ps. 23:1). It will not do to only have Psalm 23 posted on your memorial card after you die unless you have found Jesus to be your life today. 
 
So, have you responded to His call?  You do know that Jesus was talking about you when He said, “I have other sheep that are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will listen to My voice; and they will become one flock, with one shepherd” (John 10:16).  Have you heard the voice of the Good Shepherd, and do you listen to His voice?  Or can it be said of you by the Lord of Psalm 23, “Now why do you call Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ and do not do what I say” (Luke 6:46)? 
 
There is a 460-year-old Catechism that has been passed down from generation to generation for the purpose of reminding and encouraging Christians of all ages that just as the God Moses encountered is unchanging, so is the great Shepherd of our souls, Jesus Christ, who “is the same yesterday and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8).  The catechism I speak of is the Heidelberg Catechism, and it begins with this question: “What is your only comfort in life and death?”  Its answer is as follows:
That I, with body and soul, both in life and in death, am not my own, but belong to my faithful Savior Jesus Christ, who with His precious blood has fully satisfied for all my sins, and redeemed me from all the power of the devil; and so preserves me, that without the will of my Father in heaven not a hair can fall from my head; indeed, that all things must work together for my salvation. Wherefore, by His Holy Spirit, He also assures me of eternal life, and makes me heartily willing and ready henceforth to live unto Him.
 
If you do know the Lord of the 23rd Psalm, and I suspect that you do, then Psalm 23 is for you in both life and death!
1 The Lord is my shepherd,
 I will not be in need.
2 He lets me lie down in green pastures;
                He leads me beside quiet waters.
3 He restores my soul;
                He guides me in the paths of righteousness
 For the sake of His name.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
 I fear no evil, for You are with me;
 Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
 
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;
 You have anointed my head with oil;
 My cup overflows.
6 Certainly goodness and faithfulness will follow me
 All the days of my life,
 And my dwelling will be in the house of the Lord forever.
 
Amen.
 
[1] David Gibson, The Lord of Psalm 23: Jesus Our Shepherd, Companion, and Host (Wheaton, IL: Crossway; 2024), p. 16.
[2] Ibid., p. 22.

Jesus & The Four Warnings

"A City on a Hill"

When I was a child, I remember the sense of security I had while Ronald Reagan served as our president.  I also remember his farewell address to our nation and the great sense of loss that I felt knowing that he would no longer be serving as our nation’s president.  John Winthrop preached in 1630 upon arriving in Massachusetts; in his sermon Winthrop declared his fellow pilgrims: “For we must consider that we shall be as a city upon a hill. The eyes of all people are upon us.”  He also said of their future in Massachusetts:
Beloved there is now set before us life and good, Death and evil, in that we are commanded this day to love the Lord our God, and to love one another, to walk in his ways and to keep his Commandments and his Ordinance and his laws, and the articles of our Covenant with him, that we may live and be multiplied, and that the Lord our God may bless us in the land we go to possess. 
 
John Winthrop’s sermon had a profound impact upon President Reagan for he placed that line about Winthrop’s hope and expectation that one day that land he and the pilgrims discovered, “...will be as a city upon a hill.”  I still remember President Reagan’s farewell address to our nation; I was in eighth grade at Neshaminy Junior High when I heard it.  Reagan’s address is just over 20 minutes long, and although we do not have the time to listen to it, I would like to share with you his concluding remarks that I believe have affected our nation more than some of you may realize:
I've spoken of the shining city all my political life, but I don't know if I ever quite communicated what I saw when I said it. But in my mind it was a tall, proud city built on rocks stronger than oceans, wind-swept, God-blessed, and teeming with people of all kinds living in harmony and peace; a city with free ports that hummed with commerce and creativity. And if there had to be city walls, the walls had doors and the doors were open to anyone with the will and the heart to get here. That's how I saw it, and see it still.
 
And how stands the city on this winter night? More prosperous, more secure, and happier than it was eight years ago. But more than that: After 200 years, two centuries, she still stands strong and true on the granite ridge, and her glow has held steady no matter what storm. And she's still a beacon, still a magnet for all who must have freedom, for all the pilgrims from all the lost places who are hurtling through the darkness, toward home.
 
We've done our part. And as I walk off into the city streets, a final word to the men and women of the Reagan revolution, the men and women across America who for eight years did the work that brought America back. My friends: We did it. We weren't just marking time. We made a difference. We made the city stronger, we made the city freer, and we left her in good hands. All in all, not bad, not bad at all.
There is a phrase introduced to our nation from another campaign that I was going to use for the title of this sermon... a phrase I have heard many Christians say or embrace that I have chosen not to use.  I know that when some use the phrase, it has been and continues to be used out of a hope and desire for America’s good. However, I have instead chosen the phrase: “America is a shining city on hill” used by a president I still admire and respect. 
 
Jesus is Eternally the Same (vv. 7-9)
What I dislike about a sermon series like “Christians Say the Darndest Things” is that today you will receive an exposition on Hebrews 13:7-14 without the benefit of seeing the wounder of chapters 1:1-13:6.  We are skipping right to the end without gazing at the Christ who is, “the heir of all things, through whom God also made the world.”  Right out of the gate in the book of Hebrews, we discover a Jesus who is, “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact representation of His nature.”  In Hebrews we discover a Jesus who, “upholds all things by the word of His power.”  The Jesus of Hebrews 13:8 is the same Jesus who, “When he had made purification of sins, He sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high” (Heb. 1:1-3).   
 
Because Jesus is, “the radiance of the glory of God and the exact representation of His nature” (1:3), He is the Ancient of Days (Dan. 7:9).  Jesus is the great “I AM” (John 8:48-59) because He is equal with the Father as the eternal Son (John 5:15-23).  Jesus is He who was and is “the Light of mankind” because He is the Word who was in the beginning with God through Whom “All things came into being through Him, and apart from Him not even one thing came into being that has come into being” (John 1:1-4).  This same Jesus became flesh through the miraculous conception in Mary’s womb while still a virgin, He was born and lived among mankind yet without sin, and He lived for the purpose of dying for sinners like you and me on a cross.  This same Jesus was buried in a borrowed tomb, and on the third day... He defeated sin and death by rising from the grave.  For this reason, this same Jesus is highly exalted and upon Him is, “the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is the Lord, to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2:8-11).
 
Jesus is the same yesterday in that when God the Father spoke creation into existence, it was Jesus the Son who completed it: “for by Him all things were created, both in the heavens and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones, or dominions, or rulers, or authorities—all things have been created through Him and for Him” (Col. 1:15-16). The reason why the earth remains in orbit and every atom and molecule remains in place is because the One who is also the same today is responsible for holding, “all things together” (Col. 1:17). 
 
Jesus is the same yesterday in that He was the One before Whom Abraham bowed (see Gen. 18:1-22).  Jesus is the same yesterday in that He is the One who wrestled with Jacob (see Gen. 32:22-33). Jesus is the same yesterday in that He appeared before Joshua as the captain of the Lord’s army, and it was before Him that Joshua removed his sandals and worshiped (Josh. 5:13-15). Jesus is the same yesterday in that He was the One who was seen by King Nebuchadnezzar in the furnace as He kept Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego from perishing in blazing fire of the furnace (see Dan. 3:8-30).  Jesus is the same yesterday.
Listen, the same Jesus who provided Peter, John, and James the miraculous catch of fish that compelled Peter to fall to his knees and respond: “Go away from me, Lord, for I am a sinful man” (Luke 5:8), is still the same today! The same Jesus cured lepers, made the lame walk, the blind see, and the dead rise... is still the same today!  The same Jesus who died for sinners and rose from the grave is still the same today!  The same Jesus who commanded us to make disciples (Matt. 18:19-20) and promised, “you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be My witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judah, and Samaria, and as far as the remotest part of the earth” (Acts 1:8), is still the same today! And listen, the same Jesus who promised that He would come back in the same way that He ascended into heaven (Acts 1:9), is the same Jesus yesterday, today, and forever!   
 
The point is that if you get Jesus wrong, or if you miss Him, or if you choose any person, thing, or ideology over Him... you will get everything else wrong! The message of Hebrews is that Jesus is a treasure that no other treasure can compare.  This is why we are told in verse 8 to, “Remember those who led you, who spoke the word of God to you; and considering the result of their way of life, imitate their faith.”  Those who truly spoke the word of God to you are those who did not get Jesus wrong! 
 
Jesus is the same yesterday.
 
Everything in this World is Consistently Unsatisfactory (vv. 10-11)
Because Jesus is the same yesterday, today, and forever... His life, death, and resurrection provide for us a more permanent solution to our sin problem.  What this means is that Jesus’ cross is a better altar unlike ones used under the Old Covenant.  The carcasses of the animals slaughtered on the Day of Atonement during Passover were taken out of the city to be burned; if they were thrown into a pile with the city and burned, they would have defiled the city.  Not so with Jesus, for while living, he was led outside of the city to become a curse for us on the cross we deserved (Gal. 3:10-14), and by dying for our sins outside the gate, His blood is what makes us holy. 
 
What is the point?  Here is the point: There is no person, there is no religion outside of Christianity, and there is no government that can do (if you are not a Christian) or has done (if you are a Christian) what Jesus alone can do.  Paul Washer put it this way in his sermon preached to pastors some time ago answering the question as to how Jesus’ death on a cross for a few hours on a tree to save a multitude of men from an eternity in hell:
“Because that one Man is worth more of them put together. You take mountains and mole hills, crickets and clouds. You take everything. Every planet, every star, every form of beauty. Everything that sings, everything that brings delight, and you put it all on the scale, and you put Christ on the other side and HE outweighs them all, HE outweighs them ALL! Brethren, this is the one we chase after!”[1]
 
Compared to Christ, everything in this world is not only temporary but unsatisfactory.  Jesus is the living water, and all the promises of this world together cannot compare.  They are all broken and cannot deliver what they promise to deliver!  The Old Covenant only provided a temporary solution to the sin problem of the Hebrew people; the work of the priests required them to remain standing for the need of a sin covering was ongoing.  This is why just three chapters prior, we are reminded in Hebrews 10:1 of the following: “For the Law, since it has only a shadow of the good things to come and not the form of those things itself, can never, by the same sacrifices which they offer continually every year, make those who approach perfect.”  Then in Hebrews 10:11-13, we are told of the only one qualified to address our sin problem: “Every priest stands daily ministering and offering time after time the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins; but He, having offered one sacrifice for sins for all time, sat down at the right hand of God, waiting from that time onward until His enemies are made a footstool for His feet.” (Heb. 10:11–13)
 
So, why is it that we are chasing after the shiny things of this world that cannot deliver what only Jesus is able to provide?  Christian, if you have the One who is the same yesterday, today, and forever, why are you looking for something different?  Why would you long for anything else when you have He who is the “Bright Morning Star” (Rev. 22:16)?
 
Jesus is the same today.
 
If You Have Jesus, You are Waiting for Something Greater (vv. 12-14)
These next verses serve as the crescendo of the entire epistle, and they begin with the word “Therefore” and if the author of Hebrews was texting you Hebrews 13:7-14, you would see “THEREFORE” in all caps because it is a very big THEREFORE!  In other words, in light of all that has been said from the very first sentence of this epistle to verse 11, “Jesus also suffered outside the gate, that He might sanctify the people through His own blood” (v. 12).  What was accomplished on His cross for our sins outside the gate on Golgotha’s hill has done infinitely more than anything else you have chased after thinking that person, or thing, or ideology would bring you purpose, peace of mind, or pleasure.  They cannot give you what only God is able to deliver! 
 
Dear Christian, Jesus sanctified you by dying for you, his corpse was in that tomb for three days, and the proof that Jesus sanctified you is in the fact that He marched out of that tomb three days later!  Who or what can give you what Jesus has provided?  If you are a Christian, Ephesians 1:7-8 is about you: “In Him we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of our wrongdoings, according to the riches of His grace which He lavished on us.”   
 
What Jesus provided on the altar of the cross is only available for those who receive it, and those who receive it will never be the same because of Him.  The evidence that you have received what Jesus has made available to you is a desire to follow Him.  To any and all who wish to know Him, must follow Him, for Jesus said: “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it; but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it. For what good will it do a person if he gains the whole world, but forfeits his soul? Or what will a person give in exchange for his soul” (Matt. 16:24–26)? 
 
What we read in Hebrews 13:13 is no different: “So then...”  So what?  In light of the fact that Jesus is, “the same yesterday and today, and forever” (v. 7), and what has been provided on the altar of His cross for our sins (v. 10)... “let us go out to Him outside the camp, bearing His reproach” (v. 13).  The only reason anyone would do that is if they understood Jesus to be infinitely more precious and valuable than any person, any thing, any ideology, any city, or nation of this world. 
 
We chase after Jesus because in Him is life is and because He is life, He alone is the “Light of mankind” (John 1:4).  We chase after Jesus because He is, “the Light of the world” and the one who chases after Him, “will not walk in the darkness but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12).  Because we chase after Him and not the shiny trinkets of this world, He said of His Church: “You are the light of the world.  A city set on a hill cannot be hidden.... Your light must shine before people in such a way that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father who is in heaven” (Matt. 5:14, 16). 
 
If you are a Christian, you are the light of the world because you have been redeemed by the blood of the Lamb of God!  He is the Alpha and Omega and He is the first and the last (Rev. 1:8, 17).  It is before Him that the nations will stand in judgment and a day is coming when it will be from Him that earth and heaven will recoil in response to His holy and majestic presence!  If you are a Christian, you belong to Him and because you belong to Him, you have no reason to fear Him who the tribes of the earth will mourn when He comes again (see Matt. 24:30).
 
This may shock some of you and it may offend others of you, but you really need to hear this: America is not a shinning city on a hill!  Here is what the Bible says about America and the nations that surround her: “Behold, the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are regarded as a speck of dust on the scales” (Isa. 40:15). 
 
Because we follow Jesus, we chase after another shinning city, we chase after His city... a city, “which has foundations, whose architect and builder is God” (Heb. 11:10).  Because Jesus is the same yesterday and today, and forever, we live as foreigners, aliens, and strangers even in the United States of America.  America cannot be our shinning city on a hill because we are promised something infinitely greater: “For here we do not have a lasting city, but we are seeking a city which is to come” (Heb. 13:14).  Here is what Revelation 21:23-27 says about the city we really belong to:
And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illuminated it, and its lamp is the Lamb. The nations will walk by its light, and the kings of the earth will bring their glory into it. In the daytime (for there will be no night there) its gates will never be closed; and they will bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it; and nothing unclean, and no one who practices abomination and lying, shall ever come into it, but only those whose names are written in the Lamb’s book of life.
 
If America is a shinning city on a hill, it is nothing more than a tiny piece of glitter in comparison to the city we really belong to, and what makes the city we are seeking, that is to come, infinitely more beautiful is the Jesus who outweighs them all.  He is the same yesterday and today, and forever!
 
[1] Shepherds’ Conference 2016 | General Session 9 - Paul Washer (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bkqVZm9-7jc)

“Living My Truth...”

“My truth...”  “Speaking my truth...” “Your truth...” I have read a number of articles to try and learn what is meant by “My truth.”  There are a number of suggestions such as:
“The way I see things may be different than the way you see things.”
 
“Be true to yourself.”
 
“A pretentious substitute for a non-negotiable personal opinion.”
 
“The way I see and understand something may be different than the way you see
and perceive it.” 
 
“I know some stuff, and it’s likely that may change over time.”
 
In a recent trailer for a show on Hulu titled, Faces of Music, one of the cast members stated what I think is the current understanding of “Your truth” with the following words: “It is not about right or wrong, it’s about your truth.”   
 
Maybe there is no real definition of what “Your truth” really means and maybe that is the point.  The reality is that we live in a day and age when truth is determined by one’s experiences and feelings which is nothing new, just a different dress.  So, is there such a thing as “your truth?”  The good news is that the Bible does address the question of truth.
 
The Unknown but Knowable God
Permit me to begin with a story. About 600 hundred years before Paul ever set foot in Athans, there was a plague that came upon Athens that none of their gods could answer or fix.  The leaders of that city learned of a man who was a prophet of what they called the “unknown God.”  They summoned a representative of this unknown god from Crete, and he instructed them what was needed for the plague to be lifted.  This representative requested two flock of sheep be brought — one white flock and one black flock.  He prayed to this unknown God and asked that all the sheep that he caused to lay down to graze, would be sacrificed to this god on a new stone alter.  Well, there were sheep that did lay down to graze, so they were sacrificed on alters to the unknown God and the plague was lifted as a result. 
 
This unknown god was worshiped and then forgotten over time until two of Athens’ elders found one of the altars and refurbished it.  One of the things they had done to this altar was that they etched into it an inscription that read: “TO THE UNKOWN GOD.”  This was the altar the Apostle discovered while walking through Athens.  This was the only God the Athens had no idols for whom they did not create or know.  This is the God who, according to the Bible, “…has planted eternity in the human heart” (Eccl. 3:11b; NLT).
 
What the altar to “THE UNKOWN GOD” teaches us is that we grope around for something to make sense of our world and to discover something more than what is visibly before us.  The reality is that each of us is born spiritually blind just as the Bible states: “...the god of this world [Satan] has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they will not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God” (2 Cor. 4:4).  It is not all that different with our society’s pursuit of truth. 
 
This whole business about speaking your truth or standing in your truth reminds me of the six blind people who heard about a strange animal, called an elephant, that had been brought into their village.  Because none of them were aware of an elephant’s shape or form they thought they would inspect the creature by touching it. One of the blind men grabbed the elephant’s trunk and said, “This elephant is like a big snake.”  Another blind man felt the elephant’s ear, and said the elephant seemed like the shape of a fan.  Another who felt the elephant’s leg, said, “this creature is a pillar like the trunk of a tree.”  The blind man who placed his hand upon the side of the elephant said it is like a wall that breathes. The blind man who felt its tail, described the elephant as being like a rope.  The blind man who felt its tusk, stated that the elephant is like a spear. 
 
People trying to figure out what truth is or what their purpose is in life are like those blind men. There may have been some truth to what they felt but could not understand what they were touching unless they understood that what was before them was much greater than individual experiences.  We live in a world full of blind men groping in the darkness trying to make sense of it without considering the Creator who made it all.   
 
God is Too Big to Be Manipulated (vv. 22-25)
There was a god to be worshiped for just about every occasion in Athens.  We are told that Paul’s spirit, “...was being provoked within him as he observed that the city was full of idols” (v. 16).  It is important to point out that his spirit was provoked, but it was not because he thought those who worshiped those idols knew better.  The provocation that he felt was not unlike the kind of provocation you might feel if a family was asleep in a house on fire, the provocation you would feel in your spirit would be the recognition that you had a moral obligation to do all that you could to wake the family up and get them out of the house before it was too late. 
 
What we can learn from Paul in the way he addressed the Athens is that he used their culture as a bridge to introduce them to the God they did not know who was too big to be manipulated like the gods they created.  By bringing the gospel to Athens, Paul shared how there was only one true God who was knowable only because He has made Himself known.  He alone “made the world and everything that is in it…” and He, “…does not dwell in temples made by human hands…”(vv. 24-25).  The God who made everything is not served by human hands like the hundreds of idols that filled Athans.  What Paul meant is that the God they thought was unknowable did not need to be cleaned up, polished, or fixed, because as Creator... He cannot be manipulated. As Creator and since He made everything, God is in need of nothing. Not only does the One true God need nothing, but He also cannot be treated as an idol because unlike the idols people create, He alone, “gives to all people life and breath and all things.”  What this means is that God does not adjust or yield to what we think truth is.  Because He is the Creator, by default... we are the creature; manipulating God is as impossible as it is for a statue to manipulate the artist who made it.
 
Apart from God, we are blind and what spiritually blind people are able to see are the shadows of spiritual truth.  People genuinely know that both good and evil exist.  The Greek Mythology of the Athenians proves this as do the stories we read and watch.  I believe that all humans, although spiritually blind, are able to see and sense the reality of the existence of God and his truth.  The Athenians groped in the darkness in pursuit of truth while their only hope was the gospel of Jesus Christ that allows us to know the truth of who God is and how to live in the world He created. 
 
Our Purpose Is Too Significant to Be Ignored (vv. 26-29)
When God created mankind, He created us with a deficiency that could only be met by Him.  Why else would the Apostle write that God created men and women, “if perhaps they might feel around for Him and find Him, though He is not far from each of us” (v. 27).  God has created in us a deep longing for Him because He has made us in His image.  In verse 28, Paul said to the Athens: “for in Him we live and move and exist...”  Think about that statement for a moment.  Our living and moving and very existence is found and experienced in God.  In other words, our purpose in life is found in Him.  Every study out there that has been done about the importance of finding your purpose in life reveals how important having purpose is. 
 
We humans are like the farmer who was seen by his neighbor shooting at his barn. As the neighbor got closer to the farmer’s barn, he noticed the many targets panted onto the side of his barn, and at the center of every single target was a bullet hole put there by the farmer’s gun.  The neighbor commented to the farmer: “Wow! You are an amazing marksman, your ability to hit the bullseye from that distance is impressive!  What is your secret, and can you teach me?”  To which the farmer replied: “It is really not that hard, for I first shoot my hole and then I draw the target around it.”  To live life like the Athens or to make up truth as you go without any consideration of who God really is, is to shoot for what we think is important and then draw the meaning of life around it. We shoot for security and then draw the meaning of life around it.  We shoot for relationships and then draw the meaning of life around it.  We shoot for what we think truth should be and then draw the meaning of life around it.  When we do that, we are like the blind person groping around in the darkness only to left with a creation out of our own imagination!  
 
Because the people Paul was speaking to probably had little understanding of the Hebrew Bible, he used the pagan poets of the day to illustrate the truth of God.  So Paul told these guys: see, even those whom you respect have said: “for in Him we live and move and exist...” Which was a statement probably taken from the same guy who 600 years ago introduced the Athenians to the unknown God.
 
The point is that we are not the creator, we are the created.  We live and move and have our being in Him because He is the One who fashioned us, not out of necessity, but out of love.  The most loving thing God could have ever done for you and me is that He created us that we might find our joy in the One in Whom we “live, and move and exist...” (v. 28).  Paul then quoted one of their poets to show that although such poets groped in the darkness, God was not far from them: “for in Him we live and move and exist, as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we also are His descendants.’”  Paul did not stop there: “Therefore, since we are the descendants of God, we ought not to think that the Divine Nature is like gold or silver or stone, and image formed by human skill and thought” (v. 29).  In other words, God is not what we make of Him, but instead our purpose, joy, and satisfaction ultimately can only be found in and through Him. 
 
Conclusion
God, the Creator, the Ancient of Day, the One who has and is “declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times things which have not been done” (Isa. 46:9-10) has invited you and I to know Him and to enjoy Him on a level far above the rest of creation, and He did it through His Son, Jesus Christ!  Jesus Christ, the all-sufficient payment who was sacrificed for our sins to reconcile us to God the Father.  What Paul said in conclusion to those gathered on Mars Hill is the equivalent of a mic drop: “So having overlooked the times of ignorance, God is now proclaiming to mankind that all people everywhere are to repent, because He has set a day on which He will judge the world in righteousness through a Man whom He has appointed, having furnished proof to all people by raising Him from the dead” (Acts 17:30–31).
 
God did not nor is He currently overlooking sin in the same way a negligent parent overlooks the bad behavior of their child.  No! God has and is currently overlooking the sins of people since that salvation is still available to sinners, that the offer of redemption and reconciliation through Jesus Christ is still offered to sinners everywhere. To suggest truth is what you make it is ignorant, to grope for this religion and that religion is to grope in ignorance.  Here is what Jesus said about groping in the dark:
For God so loved the world, that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but so that the world might be saved through Him.... And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed. (John 3:16-17, 19-20)
 
Today is the day to quit groping in the dark and to take hold of the same Jesus who has declared: “I am the Light of the world; the one who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life” (John 8:12).  He is Him who said: “I am the first and the last, and the living One; and I was dead, and behold, I am alive forevermore, and I have the keys of death and of Hades” (Rev. 1:17b-18).
 
When the people heard this, some believed, but most were dismissive.  Think about the message of the cross for a moment.  For those of us who consider the gospel to be the power of God because we have experienced it as such, ours is a hope that sounds like it was torn right from the pages of mythology.  God got a young virgin girl pregnant by His Holy Spirit so that the child of her womb would be both a god and a man to defeat the forces of evil, fix all the ills of our world, then rule as a King on earth and the way that he would do this is to first allow His god/man child to die the most painful and humiliating death possible.  No wonder the word of the cross sounds so foolish to most people.
 
Yet it is through the message of the cross concerning the historic facts that Jesus both died for our sins and rose for the forgiveness of sin, as outrageous as it may sound, that God is rescuing sin-cursed humans from His just wrath.  Paul had shared the greatest news in the universe with the Athenians, and some, like those in our day, dismissed it as foolish.
 
Truth is truth! Whatever you think “your truth” is, if it is not shaped and informed by the God for Whom, “we live and move and exist...” (v. 28a) is to grope in the darkness of our sin and ignorance. 
 
When it comes to those who do not know Jesus, they are still groping in the darkness of their sin and ignorance.  You cannot expect people who do not know Jesus to do anything but grope in the darkness, but you can point them to the light of who Jesus is! 
For the Scripture says, “Whoever believes in Him will not be Put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, abounding in riches for all who call on Him; for “Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” How then are they to call on Him in whom they have not believed? How are they to believe in Him whom they have not heard? And how are they to hear without a preacher? But how are they to preach unless they are sent? Just as it is written: “How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news of good things!” However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, “Lord, who has believed our report?” So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word of Christ.
 
You, dear Christian, are that preacher God has sent into your home, your neighborhood, into the circle of your friendships, your work, and into your world!  The apostle Paul had beautiful feet.  How beautiful are your feet?  God has called you to bring the light of Jesus into the darkness of your world.  That, my dear friend, is your truth.

“I’m Offended...”

What is it about our tribe that we need to make sure it is clear that we are right and everyone else is wrong?  What I mean by “our tribe” is Bible believing, church going, evangelicals who say that we agree with Jesus on everything that He said being right and true.  Just so that there is no misunderstanding about what I mean by the word “our,” I want to be clear that I am including myself in my question about “our tribe.”
 
Let me begin by acknowledging and confessing some things that I know to be true about myself. I have some very strong convictions about some things.  I hold to certain convictions that I hold to that if my heart and mind are left unchecked, I can come off sounding like an arrogant, know-it-all jerk.  There are certain convictions that are good for all people and there are convictions that are good for you.  When it comes to convictions, I believe there are three categories every person has:
There are convictions that I have that I believe we need to have.
There are convictions that I have that I believe you should
There are convictions that I have that I believe are good for me to have.   
 
Convictions that are of “primary” importance are convictions that are so important that to reject those convictions or ignore them is detrimental to biblical orthodoxy (right belief) and orthopraxy (right practice).  Some examples of “primary convictions” include: The origin of the universe, the inerrancy of the Bible as Holy Scripture, the person and work of Jesus Christ (his virgin birth, his suffering, crucifixion, and resurrection), the second coming of Christ to judge the living and the dead, the person and work of the Holy Spirit, and the teaching that God is One and yet three persons (Father, Son, and Holy Spirit) while existing as one God (aka the Trinity). 
 
Secondary issues I hold with an open hand because being wrong on such things does not affect my faith and salvation, nor do they have eternal consequences.  Some secondary issues are really important, and you should hold to some level of conviction regarding them. Secondary convictions may be over topics and matters the Bible does address such as the timing of Jesus’ second coming, leadership roles for men and women in the church, and even the age of the universe. 
 
Then there are those convictions we have that come out of a third category primarily related to issues of conscience that the Bible is not as clear about.  In Paul’s day it was over the use and consumption of discounted meat that came from animals sacrificed to idols.  I heard a quote referenced by Tara Leigh Cobble that I really like and believe to be great advice: “Don’t shout where scripture whispers and don’t whisper where scripture shouts.” 
 
This sermon is not about secondary or tertiary level convictions, but it is about what God primarily wants for your life.  What is it that God wants for your life?  We are told in the verses leading up to James 1:19. Here are some of the verses that clue us into what God wants for your life:
God wants your faith to endure: “Consider it all joy, my brothers and sisters, when you encounter various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have its perfect result, so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.” (Jas. 1:2–4)
 
God wants you to live wisely: “But if any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all generously and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (Jas. 1:5)
 
God wants you to walk humbly: “Now the brother or sister of humble circumstances is to glory in his high position; but the rich person is to glory in his humiliation, because like flowering grass he will pass away.” (Jas. 1:9–10)
 
God wants you to pursue Him in holiness: “Blessed is a man who perseveres under trial; for once he has been approved, he will receive the crown of life which the Lord has promised to those who love Him.” (Jas. 1:12)
 
Listen to What God Wants to Teach You (vv. 19-21)
What does it mean to be offended?  Based on the English dictionary, to be offended is to be insulted, hurt, or upset.  If I understand the Christian life and how it is that God brings change in our lives, it seems to me that for God to accomplish what He needs to in my life, He must insult my assumptions, wound my ego, and upset the trajectory of my life.  Jesus said, “And this is the judgment, that the Light has come into the world, and people loved the darkness rather than the Light; for their deeds were evil. For everyone who does evil hates the Light, and does not come to the Light, so that his deeds will not be exposed” (John 3:19-20).  Jesus said that for a person to be “born again” light must invade and overcome spiritual darkness; for that to happen, God must insult, hurt, and upset a person’s life so that they can go from spiritual death to spiritual life!   
 
In James 1:18, we are told: “In the exercise of His will He gave us birth by the word of truth, so that we would be a kind of first fruits among His creatures.” The word of truth includes the gospel of Jesus Christ, but it is also all of God’s written Word. We know this because of the way verses 22-27 describe how God uses His word to change and shape the lives of His people.  Spiritual life and new birth cannot happen apart from the good news of Jesus Christ; in Romans 1:16, Paul wrote of the gospel: “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.”  What is the gospel?  It is this: “Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, and that He was buried, and that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures” (1 Cor. 15:1-4).
 
What James states in verse 19 is primarily how it is that God uses His word in the lives of His people to live and finish well.  Why does God want this for your life?  Well, again, in verse 18, God used His word (the gospel) so that we can become born again, “so that we would be a kind of a first fruits among His creatures” (v. 18).  Here is the thing about first fruits: The Israelites were commanded to give God the first fruits of their crops which was the best of their crops.  If you are a Christian, you are God’s first fruits, which means you are of great value to Him, and what He wants for you is to thrive as His child!  How one thrives as a child of God begins with James 1:19!  Be “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger...”
 
What does it mean to be “quick to hear, slow to speak, and slow to anger”?  Be quick to listen to what God has to say... period. Be slow to speak your mind... because God has already spoken.  Because God has spoken, and your opinions and perspective do not carry the same weight... be slow to anger by swallowing your pride.  What He has said is what ultimately matters!
 
What God wants for you is so much more than the time you have remaining with your vapor-like mortal life; this is why James wrote four chapters later: “Come now, you who say, ‘Today or tomorrow we will go to such and such a city, and spend a year there and engage in business and make a profit.’ Yet you do not know what your life will be like tomorrow. For you are just a vapor that appears for a little while, and then vanishes away” (Jas. 4:13–14). What does He want for you?  Salvation, for you to stand in His wisdom, for you to walk in Christ’s humility, for His word and the Spirit to produce holiness in you! 
 
God uses His word to form and shape His people through the power of His Holy Spirit.  To listen to His word intently will mean that you must let God’s word challenge your assumptions about who He is, how you live your life, and the world you live in.  This is why we must be both slow to speak and slow to anger.  What does that mean?  Well, if you do not like what God’s word says because of what you would like God’s word to say, you must yield your life, heart, and soul to it.  When the word of God confronts you, when it challenges your assumptions, and when it calls you to action, your best course of action is to yield knowing that God wants to accomplish His good will in and through your life for your joy and His glory.  This is how you address, “...all filthiness and all that remains of wickedness” in your life.  This will not happen in your life if you are passive about His word.
 
Learn to Apply What God Wants for You (vv. 22-24)
How can you become “quick to hear”?  How do you become “slow to speak”?  You do so by apply God’s word to your life.  You do so by humbly yielding to the authority of God’s word over your life (v. 21).  You do so by becoming a “doer” of the word, and not just a “hearer” of the word.  Now you may be asking: “But I thought James 1:19 just told us to be quick to listen to God’s word?”  James does say that, for that is where we must begin, but listening to the word of God does us no good if we are not going to do what it says by applying it to our lives. 
 
Being quick to listen to God’s word is both important and necessary, but to listen to it only is like the person, “...who looks at his natural face in a mirror; for once he has looked at himself and gone away, he has immediately forgotten what kind of person he was.” Mirrors are good, but looking into a mirror in the morning will not fix your hair, brush your teeth, or fix whatever needs fixing before you head out the door in the morning.  The point of a mirror is to show you what you need to do.  When you read your Bible, it is telling you what to do, but if your response to reading it is only to read it, then you are like the fool who agrees with what the mirror reveals but does nothing about what he sees. 
 
To be quick to listen is to be slow to speak because you are more concerned about doing something about what you heard from God’s word!  This is why James does not end with verse 24, but continues to verses 25-27,
But one who has looked intently at the perfect law, the law of freedom, and has continued in it, not having become a forgetful hearer but an active doer, this person will be blessed in what he does. If anyone thinks himself to be religious, yet does not bridle his tongue but deceives his own heart, this person’s religion is worthless. Pure and undefiled religion in the sight of our God and Father is this: to visit orphans and widows in their distress, and to keep oneself unstained by the world. (Jas. 1:25–27)
 
One pastor said of James’ epistle: “He doesn’t want to know the words you heard on Sunday unless they resulted in action on Monday. If anyone thinks he is religious, his Christianity must be practical (1:26). Vertical worship must have horizontal expression. Your faith must be seen in your conversation, your compassion, and your conduct.”[1] 
 
What is the word of God?  The word of God is, “living and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, even penetrating as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart” (Heb. 4:12).  What is the word of God?  The word of God is, “inspired by God and beneficial for teaching, for rebuke, for correction, for training in righteousness; so that the man or woman of God may be fully capable, equipped for every good work” (2 Tim. 3:16-17).
 
So, dear Christian, what are you going to do with what you have heard?  What are going to do with the word of God every time you hear it?  God wants to use it along with the power of His Holy Spirit for your endurance, to grow you in living your life wisely, to humble you for the purpose of forming in you a Christ-like character, and to move you towards the kind of holiness He saved you for and is calling you towards. 
 
Conclusion
Now, listen carefully.  You should care deeply about the primary things the Bible addresses and you should care about what others believe about such things like who God is, the person and work of Jesus Christ, the inspiration and authority of God’s word, and what the Bible says about why Jesus came and what it means to follow Him.  We should and must care about all that the Bible teaches and we should care about whether people have heard about the gospel of Jesus Christ. 
 
We should care enough about what the word of God says that we desire and are willing to humble ourselves for the purpose of yielding our lives to what it says.  We should care about being doers of God’s holy word in all that we say and do.  But... and this is a big “BUT”... When it comes to matters of conscience concerning what you think about third tiered matters that rightly have pricked your conscience, but the Spirit of God has not done the same in my life... what matters is what God has said about it, not so much what Keith Miller or anyone else has said about it. 
Now in saying that, it is good and charitable to listen more and talk less when we are discussing matters of conscience.  What I mean is that instead of assuming the worst about a person’s convictions it would be good to listen to why and how that person has arrived with his/her convictions.  It is also wise and charitable to recognize some of your convictions are good for you, but the Spirit of God may not have moved in a similar way in your brother/sister in Christ who loves the same Jesus as you do.  Just because someone does not agree with you does not mean that person is against you. 
 
Permit me to share with you two sets of God’s word that ought to guide every conversation you have about your convictions or the convictions of another brother or sister in Christ:
“Love is patient, love is kind, it is not jealous; love does not brag, it is not arrogant. It does not act disgracefully, it does not seek its own benefit; it is not provoked, does not keep an account of a wrong suffered, it does not rejoice in unrighteousness, but rejoices with the truth; it keeps every confidence, it believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.” (1 Cor. 13:4–7)
 
“The fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. Now those who belong to Christ Jesus crucified the flesh with its passions and desires. If we live by the Spirit, let’s follow the Spirit as well. Let’s not become boastful, challenging one another, envying one another.” (Gal. 5:22–26)
 
At the end of the day, who cares what you think about Donald Trump, what you think of Joe Biden, what you think about this thing or that thing.  What you think about who said what or what network is better than the other network.  At the end of the day your opinions are just that... opinions.  What matters is what has God said about it and what you are going to do with what He has said. 
 
In closing, let me share something with you that God said that you really should apply to your second and third tier convictions before you feel the desire or need to share those convictions with others:
“Who among you is wise and understanding? Let him show by his good behavior his deeds in the gentleness of wisdom. But if you have bitter jealousy and selfish ambition in your heart, do not be arrogant and so lie against the truth. This wisdom is not that which comes down from above, but is earthly, natural, demonic. For where jealousy and selfish ambition exist, there is disorder and every evil thing. But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace.” (James 3:13–18)
 
[1] Tony Evans, The Tony Evans Bible Commentary (Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers, 2019), 1340.

"Forgive and Forget..."

What does it mean to “Forgive and forget” after you have been wronged by someone?  To forgive and forget is to stop blaming someone for something they did and to stop thinking about it.  Maybe you have heard someone say to you: “I forgive you, but I can’t forget...”  What does that really mean?  Can a person forgive and at the same time hold onto the memory of the wrong suffered? 
 
The Bible makes a big deal about forgiving a wrong suffered.  Just in case you are unfamiliar with what the Bible says about forgiving others, let me share a few scripture passages with you:
“And whenever you stand praying, forgive, if you have anything against anyone, so that your Father who is in heaven will also forgive you for your offenses.” (Mark 11:25)
 
“So, as those who have been chosen of God, holy and beloved, put on a heart of compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness, and patience; bearing with one another, and forgiving each other, whoever has a complaint against anyone; just as the Lord forgave you, so must you do also.” (Col. 3:12–13)
 
Included in Jesus’ prayer that He modeled for all Christians is the expectation to forgive others: “Our Father, who is in heaven, hallowed be Your name. Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors. And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil” (Matt. 6:9–13).  Of the seven petitions included in the Lord’s Prayer is the need to forgive those who have sinned against us.  But, just in case there is any confusion as to how serious Jesus is about His followers forgiving others, He followed up his prayer with these haunting words: “For if you forgive other people for their offences, your heavenly Father will also forgive you.  But if you do not forgive other people, then your Father will not forgive your offenses” (Matt. 6:14-15). 
 
What Does it Mean to Forgive?
So, what does it mean to forgive and does forgiving a wrong suffered require that you forget it? Peter asked Jesus a question not all that different: “Lord, how many times shall my brother sin against me and I still forgive him? Up to seven times?”  In other words, when am I off the hook for having to forgive a person who is a repeat offender?  When is enough... enough?  It is believed that the rabbis in Jesus’ day taught that forgiveness should be limited to three instances of premeditated sin.  If this is true, Peter asked his question about forgiving seven times thinking that seven times was more than generous with a willingness to forgive.
 
Jesus’ answer was not what Peter expected: “Jesus said to him, ‘I do not say to you, up to seven times, but up to seventy-seven times.’”  Jesus did not mean 77 times, or 490 times, but an unlimited number of times.  How many times should I forgive the one who sins against me?  As many times as necessary.  Jesus’ answer to Peter’s question leaves us with more questions:
Are we supposed to forgive everyone for every offense against us?
Are we to forgive even when the person who sinned against us is not sorry?
Does Jesus want us to let others take advantage of us?
 
To answer these questions, we need to turn our attention to the parable Jesus told about forgiveness in Matthew 18:21-35. 
 
The Slave Had an Impossible Debt that Could Not be Paid
To further elaborate on His point to Peter, Jesus told a parable to illustrate why forgiving as much as necessary makes more sense than three times or even seven times.  Before we consider the parable, you should note that just before His parable, Jesus explained the process that we are to take when addressing the sins we suffer from others (see Matt. 18:15-20).  If someone sins against us, Jesus told us to go and show that person their fault in private. If we go and that person does not listen, then Jesus said we are to take one or two witnesses in an effort to address that person’s sin.  Ultimately, Jesus said that if a person repeatedly refuses to listen when you try to address their sin, that we are to treat that person as an unbeliever.  So, it is important to understand that Jesus’ parable is not about ignoring the sins of others.
 
According to Jesus’ story, there was a king who wanted to settle accounts.  As the king was seeking to settle accounts, a man was brought to him who owed him 10,000 talents, which was the equivalent of about 160,000 years of wages.   If we were the man in Jesus’ story, our debt today would be in the billions of dollars.  Jesus’ point was that it was impossible for the man to pay off his debt.  Nothing the man could do would ever be enough to pay what he owed. So, the king demanded the man be sold into slavery along with his wife and children.  The only recourse the man had was to beg for mercy that his life and the lives of his wife and children be spared: “So the slave fell to the ground and prostrated himself before him, saying, ‘Have patience with me and I will repay you everything’” (v. 26). We are not told how the slave accumulated his impossible debt, but the fact that it was astronomically high reveals that he deserved justice instead of mercy.  Yet, it was mercy that the master gave the slave: “And the master of the slave felt compassion, and he released him and forgave him the debt” (v. 27). 
 
For the king to forgive the slave of his astronomical debt, the king had to take upon himself the great loss the slave’s debt caused.  The King showed great mercy towards his slave; mercy is when you do not give a person what they actually deserve. 
 
The Slave was Unaffected by the King’s Great Mercy
The mercy the slave received from his master should have changed him.  Because of the great debt that he had been forgiven he should have been a changed man, but he was not.  As soon as he experienced underserved pardon and freedom, we are told that the slave, “...went out and found one of his fellow slaves who owed him a hundred denarii; and he seized him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe!”  What was owed to the slave was nothing compared to the debt he himself had been forgiven, yet he was unwilling to show any form of mercy to the one who owed him infinitely less.  The irony is that what was owed could have been paid back eventually; it was not unreasonable for the man who owed 100 denarii to promise to pay it back.  Yet even though the man was willing to pay every penny back, the servant who had been forgiven much chose to throw the man in prison until he paid back what was owed.  The paradox is that if you are in prison, then working off a debt is nearly impossible.
 
The great mercy the slave experienced with the cancelation of his impossible debt should have changed him, but it didn’t.  Jesus then concluded his parable with the following sobering words:
“So when his fellow slaves saw what had happened, they were deeply grieved and came and reported to their master all that had happened. Then summoning him, his master said to him, ‘You wicked slave, I forgave you all that debt because you pleaded with me. Should you not also have had mercy on your fellow slave, in the same way that I had mercy on you?’ And his master, moved with anger, handed him over to the torturers until he would repay all that was owed him.” (Matt. 18:31–34)
 
If Jesus’ story ended with verse 34, then it would only be a sad story about a slave who remained unaffected by the king’s great mercy.  However, that is not how the story ended.  The story ends with Jesus’ sobering words that serve as a warning to us all: “My heavenly Father will also do the same to you, if each of you does not forgive his brother from your heart” (v. 35).
 
What Jesus Teaches Us About Forgiveness
It ought to be obvious who the characters are in Jesus’ parable, but in case you are not sure, we are the slave in the story who owed an impossible debt to the king.  The King is the holy God we have sinned against.  The One who made the canceling of our great debt possible is Jesus who suffered in our place for our redemption. 
 
So there are some lessons about forgiveness that I would like to highlight that I think you will find helpful from the life of Jesus that is true if you are a Christian and I want to show you those lessons from Revelation 5.
 
Our sins will no longer be held against us (Rev. 5:6)
In Revelation 5:6, Jesus is presented in heaven as the Lamb of God standing victoriously who had been slaughtered for the sins we committed.  Throughout the Old and New Testaments, Jesus is presented as the “Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world” (John 1:29).  Jesus did not take part of your sins away; He addressed all of your sins upon the cross where He was slaughtered! 
 
The Lamb of God is standing in Revelation 5:6 because He did not stay dead!  He rose from the grave and stands as our advocate and sin-substitute! He is, “standing, as if slaughtered...” because He bears the marks of the cross as a perpetual reminder that what He accomplished on the cross was and is all that we need!  Because He will forever be known as the Lamb of God who stands as if slaughtered, there will never be a moment in eternity that His great sacrifice for our sins will ever be forgotten. 
 
Now, you may be saying to yourself: “But Pastor Keith, what about those verses in the Bible that say that God forgets our sins?”  Let’s look at some of those verses briefly:
 
“They will not teach again, each one his neighbor and each one his brother, saying, ‘Know the Lord,’ for they will all know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,” declares the Lord, “for I will forgive their wrongdoing, and their sin I will no longer remember.” (Jer. 31:34)
 
“I, I alone, am the one who wipes out your wrongdoings for My own sake, And I will not remember your sins.” (Isa. 43:25)
 
“For I will be merciful toward their wrongdoings, and their sins I will no longer remember.”” (Heb. 8:12)
 
The verses from Jeremiah and Isaiah are promises concerning the New Covenant that God said would come through Jesus.  The passage in Hebrews is a reference to that promise that only Jesus can make possible.  The Hebrew word used in both Jeremiah and Isaiah not only can mean “remember” but it can also mean “named.”  It is not that God forgets from His memory all our sins, it is much better than that!  Because Jesus was slaughtered for our sins, our sins will never be named for the purpose of being held against us.  Our guilt has been taken away, and Jesus bears the marks of the cross for all eternity as a testament to that reality! Now, against the backdrop of that truth, listen to Psalm 104:12, “As far as the east is from the west, so far has He removed our wrongdoings from us.”
 
God does not forget our sins as though He suffers from amnesia, but He has chosen to never hold our sins against us because they were placed upon Jesus in our place. 
 
Principle #1: If you chose to forgive, you chose to no longer hold the offense of that person against him/her.  
 
 
We are the recipients of God’s great mercy (Rev. 5:9-10)
In heaven, the heavenly chorus includes lyrics of a new song about Jesus: “Worthy are You to take the scroll and to break its seals; for You were slaughtered, and You purchased people for God with Your blood from every tribe, language, people, and nation. You have made them into a kingdom and priests to our God, and they will reign upon the earth” (Rev. 5:9–10). 
 
All our deserved hell Jesus endured to make the forgiveness of our sins possible and redemption a reality!  The way that He did it was with the shedding of His blood. In other words, He died for sinners like us.  In 2 Corinthians 5:21, we read that, “He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.”  Mercy is not getting what we deserved and what we deserved was condemnation, but praise God that He is a God who is rich in mercy, great in His love, and sufficient in His grace (see Eph. 2:4-9)! 
 
Here is what mercy cost Jesus according to Galatians 3:13-14, “Christ redeemed us from the curse of the Law, having become a curse for us—for it is written: “Cursed is everyone who hangs on a Tree”—in order that in Christ Jesus the blessing of Abraham would come to the Gentiles, so that we would receive the promise of the Spirit through faith” (Gal. 3:13–14).
 
Principle #2: We who have received great mercy, are expected to extend mercy even when it is not deserved as citizens of Jesus’ kingdom. 
 
Reconciliation is impossible unless forgiveness is given, and it is received.
This is the final lesson on forgiveness from Revelation 5, and it seems obvious.  Jesus already made redemption and the forgiveness of sins possible for anyone who wants to receive it, but it is not complete for the sinner until it is received by the sinner.  The incalculable scores of angels, along with the 24 elders shout with a loud voice concerning Jesus: “Worthy is the Lamb that was slaughtered to receive power, wealth, wisdom, might, honor, glory, and blessing.”  In response, all of heaven affirms what is already true: “To Him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb be the blessing, the honor, the glory, and the dominion forever and ever” (v. 13).
 
Jesus offers forgiveness through what He already accomplished on the cross and through the empty tomb, but it must be received for reconciliation with God and the forgiveness of our sins to be possible. 
 
When it comes to Jesus’ parable about forgiveness, you alone have to choose to forgive those who have sinned against you, but once you do, you have also chosen to longer hold the offence against that person.  To forgive is an act of mercy that you chose to gift to that person.  However, there is a third principle:
 
Principle #3: Reconciliation cannot be possible unless the person forgiven is willing to receive your forgiveness.  All you can do is forgive those who have sinned against you and to no longer hold their sins against them.
 
If we truly understand what it means to be forgiven of our sins and what it cost Jesus, we will hold short accounts of wrongs suffered knowing that what Jesus suffered on the cross was and is sufficient for those who have sinned aginst us.  Amen.

“God is Leading Me...”

Have you ever had someone tell you that the motive behind their decision(s) was that “God was leading them?”  Did you ever wonder how it was that they knew God was leading them?  What if He is not leading you and you make that claim?  On some level, does that make you guilty of breaking the 9th Commandment?  In case you have forgotten what that commandment states, here it is: “You shall not give false testimony against your neighbor” (Exod. 20:16).  Is it also possible that by using God’s name as an excuse for your choices in life, that you are also guilty of violating the 3rdcommandment, which states: “You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not leave him unpunished who takes His name in vain” (Exod. 20:7). You need to understand that God is holy, and He is serious about how we treat His name and how we approach Him. 
 
So, how do you know what the will of God is and when is it okay to make the bold declaration that “God is leading you...”? Get some clue how to know God’s will from Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will make your paths straight” (Prov. 3:5–6).  But what do you do with all the factors that affect how we humans make decisions such as:
Cognitive biases: What happens when our decisions are shaped by our biases and affirmed by information and media that confirms our existing beliefs.
 
Emotional state: How we are feeling can have a tremendous effect on our ability to reason and make decisions.
 
Cultural factors: The culture you grew up in or the one that surrounds you today can affect your perception of truth and how you make decisions.
 
Situational factors: Your physical atmosphere, social environment, time constraints, and circumstances that have brought you to your decision all shape the decision-making process.
 
We have so many things competing for our hearts and it can be very difficult to discern what part of the decision-making process is God’s will and leading, and what part is our feelings and wants.  So, how can you decern what the will of God is for your life and choices? I believe Acts 20:17-38 is helpful in that it shows us five things Paul practiced that helped him understand what God’s will was for his life regardless of his feelings and the circumstances that surrounded him.
 
Paul was Concerned About What God’s Word Said About Everything (vv. 20-21, 27).
The reason why Paul spent over two years in Ephesus was for the same reason he completed three missionary journeys, and that was to declare, “...the whole purpose of God.” Paul declared the full counsel of God’s Word while in Ephesus.  Jesus commanded His followers: “Go, therefore, and make disciples of all the nations... teaching them to follow all that I commanded you...” (Matt. 28:19-20), and Paul took that command very seriously.  All that Paul had to offer and give to the Ephesians was the Jesus of the Holy Scriptures.
 
Listen, Paul did not just teach and preach the Bible, his life and choices were governed by the Word of God.  How does one get to the place where he or she is able to declare all that is beneficial from the Word of God without first being in the Word of God privately?  What is the goal of being in God’s word?  Paul answered that question in his epistle to the Philippians: “That I may know Him and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; if somehow I may attain to the resurrection from the dead” (Phil. 3:10-11).  You will not get to know Jesus if you are not listening to His voice through His word, and if you are not listening to His voice, you will not know His will.
 
Step #1 for knowing the will of God: What does the word of God say about it?
 
Paul Made Sure His Choices Lined Up with the Mission of God (vv. 17-19, 24)
What is the mission of God?  “For from the rising of the sun even to its setting, My name shall be great among the nations, and in every place frankincense is going to be offered to My name, and a grain offering that is pure; for My name shall be great among the nations,” Declares the Lord (Mal. 1:11)!  John piper wrote in his book, Let the Nations be Glad: “Missions exist because worship doesn’t” and he was right! Paul came to Ephesus because the Ephesians worshiped all kinds of idols, but they did not worship God because they did not know Jesus.  Paul entered Ephesus with a desire to serve the Lord “with all humility and with tears and trials” because his purpose in life was to make Jesus known first and foremost! 
 
Paul did not think he was better than the Ephesians, but because he had a great and accurate view of who God is, he was willing to die to self for the purpose of living for Jesus.  This is what he said in verse 24, “But I do not consider my life of any account as dear to myself, so that I may finish my course and the ministry which I received from the Lord Jesus, to testify solemnly of the gospel of God’s grace.”  For Paul, his mission would include bringing the gospel to the gentiles (see Acts 9:1-19).  For you, God’s mission may look different, but the one thing that it does have in common with Paul’s mission is to make Jesus known where He is not known. 
 
If you are a Christian, you have been called into the mission of God.  That does not mean that you must become a missionary, although it may.  What the mission of God means for you is simply this: God has called you to your world, which includes your family, neighborhood, work, and church to use your talents and gifts to reach the lost and partner with your local church to accomplish the mission Jesus gave His Church.  Wherever you find yourself, Jesus said of your redeemed life: “You are the salt of the earth.... you are the light of the world” (Matt. 5:13-14).  You are Jesus’ ambassador in your home, in your neighborhood, among your friends, where you work, and as a part of a community of Jesus followers within His Church. 
 
Step #2 for knowing the will of God: Will my decision allow me to continue to participate in God’s mission? 
Paul Was Sensitive to the Holy Spirit’s Leading (vv. 22-23)
Paul was sensitive to the Holy Spirit for two primary reasons: His head and heart were affected by the time he spent in the Word of God, and he strived to walk in a manner worthy of his calling (Eph. 4:1).  The fruit of listening to God’s word and obedience to it, is the filling of the Holy Spirit. From the moment you are born again, you are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (John 14:15-24; 16:7), you are sealed by the Holy Spirit (Eph. 1:13-14), and you are baptized by the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5).  But with the filling of the Holy Spirit comes power and a sensitivity to His leading; this is what Paul wrote to the Ephesian Church and practiced:
“Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption.” (Eph. 4:30)
 
“And do not get drunk with wine, in which there is debauchery, but be filled with the Spirit...” (Eph. 5:18)
 
Jesus promised that to every true Christian who sets their hearts to follow Jesus in faith and trust will receive the Holy Spirit Whom He called, “The Helper” (John 14:16-17).  Jesus promised that the ministry of the Holy Spirit will be to, “guide you into all the truth...” (John 16:13).  This is exactly what Paul experienced throughout his lifetime even when others had a hard time understanding it (as we will see in Acts 21:7-14).  This is why he called the elders together before he left Ephesus to tell them how the Holy Spirit was leading him: “And now, behold, bound by the Spirit, I am on my way to Jerusalem, not knowing what will happen to me there, except that the Holy Spirit solemnly testifies to me in every city, saying that chains and afflictions await me” (Acts 20:22–23). 
 
For Paul, the compulsion he had from the Holy Spirit did not mean that he understood or was aware what the total outcome would be for choosing to leave Ephesus, but the call was clear, and he had to go.  Paul also understood that he would not be able to come back: “And now behold, I know that all of you, among whom I went about preaching the kingdom, will no longer see my face” (v. 25).
 
Sometimes the will of God is a call to leave what is stable and comfortable to a place of uncertainty and danger. Tony Merida, in his commentary on Acts, made the following observation: “The goal of life is not to have a long life but a full life, one lived to the glory of Jesus Christ. For some Christians such faithfulness will involve hardship, persecution, and even martyrdom. Paul’s example here shows how one can endure such experiences: We must value Jesus above everything, and we must rely on the Spirit.”[1]
 
Step #3 for knowing the will of God: Am I walking in step with the Holy Spirit and is He leading me in the decision-making process?  
 
Paul Understood God Was Greater than His Mission (vv. 32-34)
Paul understood two critically important things that are worth considering regarding the will of God: First, God loved the Ephesian Christians infinitely more than Paul ever could.  Second, God didn’t need Paul but chose to use him and would use others in his place after he left.  What was required of Paul and the elders of the Ephesian Church was to trust the God, “Who does great and unsearchable things, wonders without number” (Job 5:8-9).
 
With Paul’s departure there would be dangers for the Ephesian Christians, so he warned the elders; he warned them that savage wolves would creep in among them with the intent to destroy them (see vv. 28-31).  Just because God was leading Paul into another season of life and ministry, did not mean that the ministry God used him to establish was safe.  However, for three years, Paul was preparing the elders and the church for the day when God would lead him elsewhere.  Paul also understood that God would provide the church what was needed in the wake of his departure, so he was confidently able to assure them: “And now I entrust you to God and to the word of His grace, which is able to build you up and to give you the inheritance among all those who are sanctified” (v. 32).  What they needed most, Paul gave them... and that was God and His Word. 
 
Step #4 for knowing the will of God: Understand and trust that God is infinitely bigger than you are and is capable of doing “great and unsearchable things...” without your involvement.
 
Paul Was Committed to Prayer (vv. 36-38)
Paul and the elders did not end with hugs and handshakes, but fervent prayer together as brothers committed to the same mission!  It is critically important to note that before there were any goodbyes, before the decision was official, before Paul got on the boat, he and the leaders of the church prayed.  Verses 36-38 are such a touching conclusion to Acts 20 as it is a reminder that there is no point in going anywhere if God is not leading you and although He may be leading you, it does not mean that it will be easy; consider these verses again: “When he had said these things, he knelt down and prayed with them all. And they all began to weep aloud and embraced Paul, and repeatedly kissed him, grieving especially over the word which he had spoken, that they would not see his face again. And they were accompanying him to the ship.”
 
This was not the first time Paul, and the elders, prayed about where God was leading, based on what we know of Paul’s life, prayer was the culture of his life.  Because it was the culture of his life, he was not getting on any boat before they prayed together!  Ephesians 6:18-19 gives us a glimpse into the prayer life of the apostle: “With every prayer and request, pray at all times in the Spirit, and with this in view, be alert with all perseverance and every request for all the saints...” (Eph. 6:18).  Regarding his departure, Paul prayed all the time, with all persistence, for the glory of God and the good of Christ’s Church!  It is important to also understand that Paul did not pray alone but prayed with those his decision affected most. 
 
Step #5 for knowing the will of God: Bathe your life and choices with prayer with a willingness to die to what you want for the purpose of living for God and His mission for your life.
 
Conclusion
You should know that when you follow the will of God for your life, it may not always be easy, comfortable, or agreeable for those in your life and world.  It will be hard on both those who love you and agitating for those who do not share your love for God and Christ-centered world view.  The safest and most secure pathway forward is to follow Jesus.  When Paul arrived at Ptolemais, he stayed with Philip and while with him, a prophet by the name Agabus took Paul’s belt and bound his own feet and said, “This is what the Holy Spirit says: ‘In this ways the Jews in Jerusalem will bind the man who owns this belt and hand him over to the Gentiles’” (Acts 21:7-11). 
 
When everyone in the house heard what Agabus said to Paul, they begged him not to go up to Jerusalem because they loved him.  Agabus did not say anything Paul did not already know, but it was painful for those who loved Paul to hear and accept.  Paul’s response was both tender and firm: “What are you doing, weeping and breaking my heart? For I am ready not only to be bound, but even to die in Jerusalem for the name of the Lord Jesus” (Acts 21:13).  At this point Paul’s decision was affirmed by the Word of God, the mission of God for his life, the prompting and leading of the Holy Spirit, a confidence in God’s sovereignty and power, and a decision bathed in prayer, so he was sure of what God’s will was for his life and he could not be persuaded.  Those who loved Paul saw this: “And since he would not be persuaded, we became quiet, remarking, ‘The will of the Lord be done!’” (v. 14).
 
So, before you declare that “God is leading you” to take that new job, enter into a relationship or marriage, or to move from anywhere to anywhere be sure to check what you are considering against the same five checkpoints we see in Paul’s life:
 
What does the Word of God say about your decision? If God’s word speaks against it, then it is not God’s will for your life.
 
Will my decision allow me to continue to participate in God’s mission? If your decision will further remove you from God’s mission and His people, then it may not be the will of God for your life.
 
Are you sure the Holy Spirit is leading you? If you are not living in obedience to God, your perspective of what God’s will for your life may be severely perverted.
 
Do you really believe that God can do “great and unsearchable things...” without your involvement but wants to use you anyway and that He is about His glory for your good?
 
Did you pray with open hands before God almighty concerning His will for your life related to whatever is before you?
 
Paul’s decision to leave Ephesus ultimately resulted in his martyrdom in Rome, but if he did not leave, he would not have written Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, Philippians, 1 and 2 Timothy, and Titus... and those glorious epistles would not have been included in our Bibles as holy Scripture.  
 
[1] Tony Merida, Exalting Jesus in Acts (Nashville, TN: Holman Reference, 2017), 315.