Join Pastor Greg Laurie for a time of encouragement, worship, and Bible study.
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Harvest with Pastor Greg Laurie | Greg Laurie - The Lord Is My Shepherd | September 28, 2025
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- Greg laurie: listen to this.
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- Only the person who has said, "the lord is my shepherd" can
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- Also say, "i shall not want."
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- And only the person who says, "the lord is my shepherd" can
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- Also say, "and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever."
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- ♪ this is the day, ♪
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- ♪ the day when life begins. ♪
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- ♪ this is the day, ♪
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- ♪ the day when life begins. ♪♪
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- Greg: you know, we live in such a crazy, chaotic, scary world
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- Right now.
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- Fear is everywhere.
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- People are so stressed out.
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- War around the world, violence in our streets, an
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- Uncertain future.
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- Social media only fuels this fear.
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- And what we need is calm in the midst of the storm.
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- We need an oasis in the middle of that hot desert.
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- A safe place to retreat to.
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- Now, if you were to take your bible, let's try this as
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- An experiment.
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- How many of you have a bible with you today?
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- A bible, not your tablet, not your phone.
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- Okay, take your bible, just kind of randomly open it in
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- The middle.
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- Just open it up in the middle, no particular place.
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- Did it fall in the book of psalms for any of you?
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- Yes, so that's often the case.
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- So if you basically open your bible somewhere in the middle, i
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- Just opened mine, it opened up to the book of psalms.
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- Now, in this beautiful book that we're studying together in this
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- Series that we're calling psalms of david, we have the pearl of
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- The psalms, we have the crown jewel of the psalms, psalm 23.
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- So let's read it now together, psalm 23.
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- And i'm reading from the king james version.
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- Now there's a lot of great translations, but i learned this
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- In the king james version, and i still have it in my memory and
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- I'll tell you what, it's on the screen, so let's all read it
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- Together, ready?
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- "the lord is my shepherd; i shall not want.
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- He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me
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- Beside the still waters.
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- He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the path of righteousness
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- For his name sake.
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- Yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death, i
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- Will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff,
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- They comfort me.
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- Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies:
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- Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
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- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
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- Life: and i will dwell in the house of the lord for ever."
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- Isn't that the best?
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- Psalm 23.
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- And that's all you need to know.
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- God bless and goodbye.
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- I can literally walk away and we've already heard so much, but
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- If you're taking notes because i'm a preacher, i have to give
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- You a sermon now, okay?
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- So here's point number one, very simple, very obvious.
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- The lord is our shepherd. the lord is our shepherd.
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- Now when we think of shepherds, we imagine an idyllic scene.
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- A shepherd calmly watching over his tranquil little flock out in
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- A field somewhere, maybe the sun is setting.
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- But actually, the shepherd was more than just a guy who watched
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- Over a flock of sheep.
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- He was a warrior, he was a protector, he was a provider.
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- David later wrote in psalm 91, he will cover you with
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- His wings.
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- You'll be safe in his care.
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- His faithfulness will protect and defend you.
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- You need not fear any dangers at night or sudden attacks during
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- The day or the plagues that strike in the dark or the evils
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- That kill in daylight.
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- Listen to this, no matter what you are facing remember the
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- Almighty god, the creator of the universe is your shepherd.
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- One night, probably watching over his flock, david wrote
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- These words in psalm 8: "when i
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- Look at the night sky and i see the work of your fingers--the
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- Moon and the stars that you set in place--what is man that
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- You should think about him, what are human beings that you
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- Should care for them?"
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- How true.
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- You know, when i was in maui a couple of trips ago, i went
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- Out one night and just looked up.
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- Oh my goodness.
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- You could see so many stars there.
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- I think, what is the problem with california?
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- It's the same night sky, but it's just beautiful and clear,
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- And and you can see so much.
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- You can just lay down on the beach and look up and see
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- The handiwork of god.
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- And when you do that, you're reminded of the fact that your
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- Father made all of those things.
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- Astronomers estimate there are more than a 100,000,000,000
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- Galaxies, and in each galaxy there are more than
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- A 100,000,000,000 stars, and each of these was created by
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- God, and each has a name according to scripture.
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- Your father, your god, your shepherd created all of those.
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- And notice that david does not say the lord is a shepherd,
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- Though he is a shepherd.
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- He says the lord is my shepherd.
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- See, this is personal.
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- The lord is my shepherd.
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- The lord is your shepherd.
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- I love how we're told over in jeremiah, god says, "i know the
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- Thoughts that i think toward you, says the lord.
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- Thoughts of peace and not of evil to give you a future and
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- A hope."
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- He could have just said, i know the thoughts that i think toward
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- Everyone, and that would have been true, but that's not what
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- He said.
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- I know the thoughts that i think toward you.
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- This is personal.
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- The lord is your shepherd.
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- Paul said, christ loved me and gave himself for me.
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- Oh, it's true christ died for the whole world.
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- Jesus said it best, "for god so loved the world, he gave his
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- Only begotten son," but paul personalized it.
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- He gave himself for me.
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- The lord is your shepherd.
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- God has particular thoughts that are good toward you as an
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- Individual, even if others forget you, god never
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- Forgets you.
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- Number two, god is our shepherd, and we are his sheep.
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- We are his sheep, and that is not a compliment.
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- Sheep are really one of the dumbest animals on the face of
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- The earth.
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- He could have said we're a lot of things.
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- He could have said we're his dolphins.
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- Dolphins are very intelligent.
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- Were his, dogs even, even cats do better than sheep.
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- We have a cat in our neighborhood.
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- I love this cat.
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- I know you think i hate cats.
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- I actually like some cats.
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- And i like this cat.
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- And he's old, and he's wise, and he has no fear.
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- And i saw him the other day, he's just walking across the
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- Street, like he's a lion.
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- He acts like he's a lion.
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- He's walking across the street.
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- And some person's walking a dog and the dog starts lunging at
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- This cat, and the person's holding it back with a leash,
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- And the cat just like looks at him like, hey, you're lookin'
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- At me?
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- You want some of this?
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- You know, forget about it.
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- I mean, i don't know why i made him italian all of a sudden,
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- But or a new yorker, but i just love the attitude of this cat.
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- You know, cats have skills.
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- They can jump so high, they can fall off the greatest heights
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- And survive.
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- You've heard the expression a cat has nine lives.
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- They've got their claws, they've got their teeth.
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- Sheep have nothing.
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- They can't run, they can't claw, they can't bite.
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- They're like leg of lamb for the taking.
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- They might as well just walk around with mint jelly.
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- Here i am.
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- Make a sweater out of my fur and then have me for lunch.
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- It'll all be good.
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- They are completely dependent upon the shepherd.
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- Greg: did you read that new story about 300 sheep, i think
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- It was in china, who walked around in a circle for 12 days.
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- It was a story in the news everywhere, and there's this
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- Video of the sheep just walking around in a circle.
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- People were trying to figure out why were the sheep doing that?
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- Who can explain this mystery?
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- I'll explain it for you right now.
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- Why did the sheep walk in a circle for 12 days?
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- Simple answer, because they're stupid.
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- Yes, it's true.
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- These are not smart animals.
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- And it's interesting that the bible compares us to sheep
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- 'cause we're just like them.
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- The bible says, "all we like sheep have gone astray.
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- We've turned everyone to his own way."
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- So the way the whole circle of sheep probably got started is
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- One sheep said, i'm gonna like walk around in a circle who
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- Wants to join me?
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- The other sheep said, let's go, everybody, we're going in
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- A circle.
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- It won't be that bad.
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- Let's go.
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- And on they went.
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- And you know, it's interesting because in psalm 23, david
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- Writes, "the lord is my shepherd, i shall not want.
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- He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside the
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- Still waters.
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- He restores my soul."
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- Then he says, "yea, though i walk through the valley of the
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- Shadow of death, i will fear no evil, for you are with me, your
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- Rod and your staff, they comfort me.
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- So a shepherd of that time would have two primary instruments,
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- A staff, that long crooked instrument to pull in the
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- Wayward sheep and a rod, which is basically a club.
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- He would use it to discipline a wayward sheep and to also deal
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- With predators.
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- Listen, god loves you so much that he is gonna keep you in
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- Line and when you go astray, he'll use that staff.
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- Now come on back.
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- Now don't do that anymore.
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- You're not listening to me and he might have to use the rod
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- Whack, are you listening to me?
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- I'm doing this for your own good.
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- God loves you and disciplining your life from god is a reminder
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- That he loves you.
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- So remember to walk closely with him.
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- He has a plan and a purpose for your life that is better than
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- Any plan you have for yourself.
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- Something to think about.
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- Greg: number three, our shepherd is our provider.
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- Our shepherd is our provider.
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- Verse 1, "the lord is my shepherd.
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- I shall not want.
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- He makes me lie down in green pastures.
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- He leads me beside the still waters."
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- Not only are sheep defenseless, they're also helpless.
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- They're completely dependent on the shepherd for provision.
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- And you are too.
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- Well, greg, i don't know, you know, i mean, yes, but also i
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- Built an amazing career through my hard work, my brilliant
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- Investments, and my shrewd decisions, and my deep humility.
- 00:11:23.272 --> 00:11:29.111
- I've become the success that i am.
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- And there's no question that many people go out,
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- Often entrepreneurial folks and they accomplish great things and
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- Make a lot of money.
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- But just remember, god gave you the ability to do that.
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- We're told over in deuteronomy 8:18, "remember the lord
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- Your god.
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- It is he who gives you the power to get wealth."
- 00:11:50.666 --> 00:11:52.802
- Because the bottom line is that beat of your heart right now,
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- That's a gift to you from god, not a gift from you to you.
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- You can try to be the healthiest person you can potentially be
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- And take care of yourself and eat right, but still the beat of
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- Your heart, that's a gift from god.
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- The thought in your head, that's a gift from god.
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- Everything that you have has been given to you by him.
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- The breath you just drew in your lungs.
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- I read an interesting quote, a sad quote really, from steve
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- Jobs when he was on his deathbed, and he made this
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- Statement, and i quote, "at this moment lying on the bed sick and
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- Remembering all of my life, i realized that all of my
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- Recognition and wealth that i have is meaningless in the face
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- Of imminent death.
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- One can find material things, but there's one thing that
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- Cannot be found when it is lost.
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- It's life."
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- End quote.
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- So when you're laying on your deathbed and you realize you
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- Don't have much longer to live, you realize what a precious gift
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- Life is.
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- That's why you don't wanna waste your life and squander your life
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- That god has given to you.
- 00:13:00.769 --> 00:13:02.137
- Jesus said, what does it profit a man if he gains the whole
- 00:13:02.137 --> 00:13:05.608
- World and loses his own soul?"
- 00:13:05.608 --> 00:13:07.943
- But listen to this.
- 00:13:07.943 --> 00:13:09.278
- When the lord is your shepherd, you will not want.
- 00:13:09.278 --> 00:13:13.382
- You'll find contentment.
- 00:13:13.382 --> 00:13:15.684
- Paul wrote in philippians 4, "i've learned how to be content
- 00:13:15.684 --> 00:13:19.088
- With whatever i have.
- 00:13:19.088 --> 00:13:20.923
- I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything, but
- 00:13:20.923 --> 00:13:24.693
- I've learned the secret of living in every situation,
- 00:13:24.693 --> 00:13:28.163
- Whether it's with a full stomach or an empty one, with plenty or
- 00:13:28.163 --> 00:13:32.201
- Little, the secret of contentment."
- 00:13:32.201 --> 00:13:34.403
- What is the secret of contentment?
- 00:13:34.403 --> 00:13:36.205
- It's not what you have, it's who you know.
- 00:13:36.205 --> 00:13:42.077
- Over in hebrews 13:5, paul writes, or the author of hebrews
- 00:13:39.842 --> 00:13:46.015
- Writes rather, "keep your life free from the love of money and
- 00:13:46.015 --> 00:13:49.485
- Be content with what you have, for he himself has said, i will
- 00:13:49.485 --> 00:13:53.923
- Never leave you or forsake you."
- 00:13:53.923 --> 00:13:56.358
- Do you have jesus?
- 00:13:56.358 --> 00:13:58.027
- Then you have more than enough.
- 00:13:58.027 --> 00:14:00.462
- Now maybe you'd like a little more money or a little more of
- 00:14:00.462 --> 00:14:02.932
- This or a little more of that, but the contentment comes from
- 00:14:02.932 --> 00:14:06.368
- Your relationship with god, so you can say, "the lord is my
- 00:14:06.368 --> 00:14:11.006
- Shepherd, i shall not want."
- 00:14:11.006 --> 00:14:14.143
- Contentment should be the hallmark of the godly person.
- 00:14:14.143 --> 00:14:19.081
- Number four, our shepherd is our restorer.
- 00:14:19.081 --> 00:14:23.452
- He restores us coming back to what he says, "the lord is my
- 00:14:23.452 --> 00:14:28.324
- Shepherd, i shall not want.
- 00:14:28.324 --> 00:14:31.593
- He makes me lie down in green pastures.
- 00:14:31.593 --> 00:14:33.429
- He leads me beside the still waters, he restores my soul."
- 00:14:33.429 --> 00:14:38.133
- Oh yes, sheep need restoration.
- 00:14:38.133 --> 00:14:41.003
- Jesus told the story of a shepherd who had 100 sheep.
- 00:14:41.003 --> 00:14:43.973
- One went astray.
- 00:14:43.973 --> 00:14:45.441
- So he left the 99 and searched for that one stray lamb until he
- 00:14:45.441 --> 00:14:50.546
- Found it.
- 00:14:50.546 --> 00:14:51.880
- He wrapped it around his shoulders and came back
- 00:14:51.880 --> 00:14:54.149
- Rejoicing, and then he said, "in the same way, there's rejoicing
- 00:14:54.149 --> 00:14:59.021
- In heaven over every sinner that comes to repentance."
- 00:14:59.021 --> 00:15:02.424
- That's by the way, in luke chapter 15.
- 00:15:02.424 --> 00:15:04.860
- And in that same sequence of teachings, jesus then tells the
- 00:15:04.860 --> 00:15:08.630
- Story of the prodigal son.
- 00:15:08.630 --> 00:15:10.699
- That wayward boy, boy ran away from home, went to a distant
- 00:15:10.699 --> 00:15:14.603
- Land, spent all of his money, drug the family name through
- 00:15:14.603 --> 00:15:18.807
- The gutter finally came to his senses and returned home, never
- 00:15:18.807 --> 00:15:23.278
- Expecting to be treated as a son.
- 00:15:23.278 --> 00:15:25.981
- He thought he had forfeited that.
- 00:15:25.981 --> 00:15:28.283
- He just thought if i could just get a job working for my dad,
- 00:15:28.283 --> 00:15:32.121
- That's even better than the way i'm living now.
- 00:15:32.121 --> 00:15:34.523
- But when the father saw him a great way off and jesus told
- 00:15:34.523 --> 00:15:38.527
- This story to show us what god is like.
- 00:15:38.527 --> 00:15:40.896
- The father saw him and threw his arms around his son and said,
- 00:15:40.896 --> 00:15:44.566
- "son, welcome home."
- 00:15:44.566 --> 00:15:46.268
- And he put new clothes on him and a ring on his finger
- 00:15:46.268 --> 00:15:48.971
- Signifying sonship.
- 00:15:48.971 --> 00:15:50.539
- And then he said, "this my son who was dead is alive again, and
- 00:15:50.539 --> 00:15:54.243
- He who was lost is now found."
- 00:15:54.243 --> 00:15:58.514
- So here's the point.
- 00:15:58.514 --> 00:15:59.882
- We may go astray, but that doesn't stop us from being
- 00:15:59.882 --> 00:16:02.618
- Children of god.
- 00:16:02.618 --> 00:16:04.720
- You don't lose your relationship with god, you just lose your
- 00:16:04.720 --> 00:16:07.656
- Fellowship with god.
- 00:16:07.656 --> 00:16:09.691
- And sometimes sheep go astray as well.
- 00:16:09.691 --> 00:16:13.095
- It's called being cast down.
- 00:16:13.095 --> 00:16:15.464
- So what happens is the sheep will go out and wander off on
- 00:16:15.464 --> 00:16:18.100
- Its own, and they'll get cast down.
- 00:16:18.100 --> 00:16:20.836
- David even wrote about this in psalm 42.
- 00:16:20.836 --> 00:16:23.539
- He said, "why are you cast down, oh my soul, soul, why are you
- 00:16:23.539 --> 00:16:27.643
- Disturbed within me?"
- 00:16:27.643 --> 00:16:28.977
- So what it means to be cast down is a sheep, usually the fat
- 00:16:28.977 --> 00:16:32.548
- Ones, i might add, will be eating.
- 00:16:32.548 --> 00:16:34.850
- He'll lay on his side and then he rolls on his back, maybe in a
- 00:16:34.850 --> 00:16:38.220
- Little ravine or a little ditch and he gets stuck on his back,
- 00:16:38.220 --> 00:16:42.491
- Sort of like a turtle, you know how they can't get back up.
- 00:16:42.491 --> 00:16:45.294
- He's stuck on his back.
- 00:16:45.294 --> 00:16:46.728
- That's called being cast down.
- 00:16:46.728 --> 00:16:48.464
- So the sheep's there stuck.
- 00:16:48.464 --> 00:16:50.532
- He has his little life alert, he's trying to get it.
- 00:16:50.532 --> 00:16:53.102
- I've fallen and i can't get up, you know.
- 00:16:53.102 --> 00:16:55.971
- And the only way that sheep is gonna be restored is if the
- 00:16:55.971 --> 00:16:59.174
- Shepherd walks up to the sheep, picks him up, and puts him back
- 00:16:59.174 --> 00:17:02.978
- On his feet again, and we get cast down as well.
- 00:17:02.978 --> 00:17:06.181
- So david says, "why are you cast down, oh my soul?"
- 00:17:06.181 --> 00:17:08.750
- That's what he's referring to.
- 00:17:08.750 --> 00:17:10.285
- Why are you so disturbed within me?
- 00:17:10.285 --> 00:17:12.254
- And then correcting his thinking, he says, "put your
- 00:17:12.254 --> 00:17:15.390
- Hope in god, for i will yet praise him, my savior and
- 00:17:15.390 --> 00:17:18.927
- My god."
- 00:17:18.927 --> 00:17:20.295
- Christians also fall prey to sin when we become complacent and
- 00:17:20.295 --> 00:17:27.035
- Lower our guards.
- 00:17:27.035 --> 00:17:28.403
- David later in his life, of course, fell into sin with
- 00:17:28.403 --> 00:17:31.039
- Bathsheba, and that story begins with at the time when kings go
- 00:17:31.039 --> 00:17:36.078
- Forth to battle, david was on his rooftop, so he's kind of
- 00:17:36.078 --> 00:17:42.084
- Resting, he's not leading his troops as he normally did.
- 00:17:42.084 --> 00:17:45.687
- He's idle.
- 00:17:45.687 --> 00:17:47.022
- He sees the beautiful bathsheba bathing herself and you know,
- 00:17:47.022 --> 00:17:50.025
- The rest of that story.
- 00:17:50.025 --> 00:17:51.960
- And then nathan comes and confronts him and says, "god
- 00:17:51.960 --> 00:17:56.565
- Knows what you've done.
- 00:17:56.565 --> 00:17:57.900
- You need to repent of this."
- 00:17:57.900 --> 00:17:59.334
- And when a believer goes astray, our objective should be to
- 00:17:59.334 --> 00:18:03.038
- Restore them, not destroy them.
- 00:18:03.038 --> 00:18:06.208
- "he restoreth my soul."
- 00:18:06.208 --> 00:18:07.876
- And we should seek to restore others because we all stumble
- 00:18:07.876 --> 00:18:11.914
- And fall.
- 00:18:11.914 --> 00:18:13.248
- We all get cast down at times.
- 00:18:13.248 --> 00:18:14.917
- We all mess up.
- 00:18:14.917 --> 00:18:16.718
- "he restoreth my soul," and we should want to restore others
- 00:18:16.718 --> 00:18:20.088
- As well.
- 00:18:20.088 --> 00:18:21.423
- Paul writes in galatians 6, "dear brothers and sisters, if
- 00:18:21.423 --> 00:18:24.760
- Another believer is overcome by a sin, you who are godly should
- 00:18:24.760 --> 00:18:27.963
- Gently and humbly help that person back onto the right path
- 00:18:27.963 --> 00:18:32.100
- And be careful not to fall into the same temptation yourself."
- 00:18:32.100 --> 00:18:37.439
- Okay, so number five, our shepherd is our guide.
- 00:18:37.439 --> 00:18:41.643
- Our shepherd is our guide.
- 00:18:41.643 --> 00:18:45.147
- David writes, verse 4, "yea, though i walk through the valley
- 00:18:45.147 --> 00:18:49.218
- Of the shadow of death, i will fear no evil, for you are
- 00:18:49.218 --> 00:18:53.455
- With me.
- 00:18:53.455 --> 00:18:54.823
- Your rod and your staff, they comfort me."
- 00:18:54.823 --> 00:18:56.625
- Am i talking to somebody right now that's in a very deep, dark,
- 00:18:56.625 --> 00:19:01.230
- Scary valley, so to speak?
- 00:19:01.230 --> 00:19:05.734
- Perhaps it was unexpected circumstances that have
- 00:19:05.734 --> 00:19:08.737
- Overwhelmed you.
- 00:19:08.737 --> 00:19:10.539
- Perhaps it was a time or is a time where you even feel that
- 00:19:10.539 --> 00:19:15.143
- God has abandoned you.
- 00:19:15.143 --> 00:19:17.846
- Maybe it's a valley of sickness, maybe it's a legal problem,
- 00:19:17.846 --> 00:19:23.652
- Maybe it's a family problem, maybe it's some other kind of
- 00:19:23.652 --> 00:19:28.156
- Problem, an addiction problem.
- 00:19:28.156 --> 00:19:30.892
- And you're in this valley and it seems like you're never going to
- 00:19:30.892 --> 00:19:34.196
- Get out of it.
- 00:19:34.196 --> 00:19:36.398
- Well, david was no stranger to calamity and hardship.
- 00:19:36.398 --> 00:19:40.269
- He knew what it was like to suffer.
- 00:19:40.269 --> 00:19:42.537
- He had been through the valley of the shadow of death.
- 00:19:42.537 --> 00:19:45.207
- After he was anointed king, what a wonderful day that was.
- 00:19:45.207 --> 00:19:48.377
- But immediately king saul, threatened by this upstart,
- 00:19:48.377 --> 00:19:53.248
- Makes it the mission of his life to kill david and david has to
- 00:19:53.248 --> 00:19:56.818
- Literally go into the wilderness and flee.
- 00:19:56.818 --> 00:19:59.688
- And then later, after david ascended to the throne and
- 00:19:59.688 --> 00:20:03.025
- Became king, his own son absalom turned on him and betrayed him
- 00:20:03.025 --> 00:20:07.029
- And he was running from absalom.
- 00:20:07.029 --> 00:20:08.797
- So he knew what it was like to go through valleys.
- 00:20:08.797 --> 00:20:11.833
- And i know we'll say, i don't do valleys, lord.
- 00:20:11.833 --> 00:20:16.571
- I just do mountain tops.
- 00:20:16.571 --> 00:20:19.875
- I just like the good times when the sun is out and the birds are
- 00:20:19.875 --> 00:20:24.179
- Singing and the sky is blue and i don't wanna go through
- 00:20:24.179 --> 00:20:27.416
- Those valleys.
- 00:20:27.416 --> 00:20:28.784
- But the fact of the matter is, is if you wanna get to that
- 00:20:28.784 --> 00:20:30.886
- Mountain top, you're gonna have to go through that valley first.
- 00:20:30.886 --> 00:20:35.357
- But you're gonna learn things in that valley you will not learn
- 00:20:35.357 --> 00:20:38.627
- Anywhere else.
- 00:20:38.627 --> 00:20:40.162
- Listen to this.
- 00:20:40.162 --> 00:20:41.496
- Fruit does not grow on mountain tops.
- 00:20:41.496 --> 00:20:42.864
- It grows in valleys.
- 00:20:42.864 --> 00:20:44.766
- When i say fruit, i'm talking about spiritual fruit.
- 00:20:44.766 --> 00:20:49.671
- Job talked about the suffering he went through, and he says,
- 00:20:49.671 --> 00:20:54.109
- "god knows where i'm going.
- 00:20:54.109 --> 00:20:56.378
- And when he tests me, i will come out as pure gold."
- 00:20:56.378 --> 00:21:01.216
- So whatever you're going through, there's a purpose,
- 00:21:01.216 --> 00:21:03.618
- There's meaning in it.
- 00:21:03.618 --> 00:21:04.953
- It's not random.
- 00:21:04.953 --> 00:21:06.588
- God's in control.
- 00:21:06.588 --> 00:21:07.923
- "yea, though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death."
- 00:21:07.923 --> 00:21:11.159
- David did not write, "yea, though i collapse and die in the
- 00:21:11.159 --> 00:21:15.464
- Valley of the shadow of death."
- 00:21:15.464 --> 00:21:17.499
- Nor did he say, yea, though i crawl through the valley of the
- 00:21:17.499 --> 00:21:21.236
- Shadow of death.
- 00:21:21.236 --> 00:21:22.604
- He said, "yea, though i walk through the valley."
- 00:21:22.604 --> 00:21:24.706
- In other words, i'm gonna keep walking.
- 00:21:24.706 --> 00:21:27.042
- I'm gonna get up and i'm gonna keep walking forward.
- 00:21:27.042 --> 00:21:29.478
- I'm gonna keep moving and god is gonna get me through it.
- 00:21:29.478 --> 00:21:33.281
- Your shepherd did not say you're merely going to go to
- 00:21:33.281 --> 00:21:36.084
- The valley.
- 00:21:36.084 --> 00:21:37.419
- He said, you're gonna go through the valley.
- 00:21:37.419 --> 00:21:39.921
- You're gonna get through your valley.
- 00:21:39.921 --> 00:21:42.724
- You're gonna get through your storm.
- 00:21:42.724 --> 00:21:45.026
- Number six, our shepherd loves us.
- 00:21:45.026 --> 00:21:48.430
- Our shepherd loves us.
- 00:21:48.430 --> 00:21:50.399
- Look at verse 4, you rod and your staff, they comfort me."
- 00:21:50.399 --> 00:21:54.569
- Now, do you know what a rod and a staff are?
- 00:21:54.569 --> 00:21:56.838
- So a staff, that's that long crooked instrument we so often
- 00:21:56.838 --> 00:22:00.008
- Associate with a shepherd.
- 00:22:00.008 --> 00:22:02.677
- And the staff, it's basically a rod.
- 00:22:02.677 --> 00:22:07.482
- It's a club, okay.
- 00:22:07.482 --> 00:22:09.351
- So, the staff was used to pull in a wayward sheep.
- 00:22:09.351 --> 00:22:13.155
- So the sheep's going astray.
- 00:22:13.155 --> 00:22:14.890
- Shepherd reaches out with the staff, pulls them in.
- 00:22:14.890 --> 00:22:19.027
- Sheep goes astray again, shepherd repeats it, keeps using
- 00:22:19.027 --> 00:22:22.497
- It, but then you have that one wayward sheep that won't stop
- 00:22:22.497 --> 00:22:26.701
- Going astray, and we already found out what happens when one
- 00:22:26.701 --> 00:22:29.471
- Walks off a cliff.
- 00:22:29.471 --> 00:22:31.406
- So the shepherd may have to use a rod and give the sheep a
- 00:22:31.406 --> 00:22:35.043
- Good whack.
- 00:22:35.043 --> 00:22:36.978
- Better to have a broken leg than to be leg of lamb.
- 00:22:36.978 --> 00:22:42.751
- So in the same way in our life, god uses the staff.
- 00:22:42.751 --> 00:22:45.287
- Now, greg, i don't want you to do that.
- 00:22:45.287 --> 00:22:47.055
- Come on back here.
- 00:22:47.055 --> 00:22:48.423
- Now, hey, i don't want you to do that, christine, you come back
- 00:22:48.423 --> 00:22:51.126
- Over here.
- 00:22:51.126 --> 00:22:52.494
- Hey, i don't want you to do that, josh.
- 00:22:52.494 --> 00:22:53.829
- That's not my plan for you.
- 00:22:53.829 --> 00:22:55.363
- Hey, sarah, that's not where i want you to go, and you disobey
- 00:22:55.363 --> 00:22:58.667
- And you disobey, and the lord says, don't, don't make me use
- 00:22:58.667 --> 00:23:02.237
- This rod.
- 00:23:02.237 --> 00:23:04.005
- But i will if i have to.
- 00:23:04.005 --> 00:23:05.941
- And then he uses it and we say god doesn't love me.
- 00:23:05.941 --> 00:23:08.677
- No, that's actually an indication that god does
- 00:23:08.677 --> 00:23:11.046
- Love you.
- 00:23:11.046 --> 00:23:12.380
- You say, how do you get to that?
- 00:23:12.380 --> 00:23:14.683
- Because jesus said in revelation 3:19, "i correct and discipline
- 00:23:14.683 --> 00:23:20.322
- Everyone i love."
- 00:23:20.322 --> 00:23:22.757
- Okay, so if you're being disciplined by god, that is a
- 00:23:22.757 --> 00:23:26.161
- Reminder, you are a child of god and you are loved by god.
- 00:23:26.161 --> 00:23:32.300
- On the other hand, if you can go in blatant, open, outright sin
- 00:23:32.300 --> 00:23:36.238
- Without any conviction or any remorse or any guilt, i'm
- 00:23:36.238 --> 00:23:40.876
- Concerned for your soul.
- 00:23:40.876 --> 00:23:42.844
- But if you have those pangs of guilt, it means your conscience
- 00:23:42.844 --> 00:23:45.847
- Is working.
- 00:23:45.847 --> 00:23:48.683
- His rod and his staff, they comfort us.
- 00:23:48.683 --> 00:23:51.753
- Okay, point number seven.
- 00:23:51.753 --> 00:23:53.188
- We're almost done.
- 00:23:53.188 --> 00:23:54.523
- Our shepherd will protect us and get us safely to heaven.
- 00:23:54.523 --> 00:24:02.931
- Drop down to verse 5,"you prepare a table before me in the
- 00:23:59.227 --> 00:24:06.101
- Presence of my enemies.
- 00:24:06.101 --> 00:24:07.736
- You anoint my head with oil, my cup runneth over.
- 00:24:07.736 --> 00:24:11.573
- Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
- 00:24:11.573 --> 00:24:14.676
- Life, and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever."
- 00:24:14.676 --> 00:24:19.014
- The christian has three primary enemies.
- 00:24:19.014 --> 00:24:22.551
- The world, the flesh, and the devil.
- 00:24:22.551 --> 00:24:25.387
- The world with its allure is the external foe.
- 00:24:25.387 --> 00:24:28.924
- The flesh with its evil enticements is the internal foe,
- 00:24:28.924 --> 00:24:34.296
- And satan with his temptations is the infernal foe.
- 00:24:34.296 --> 00:24:39.000
- So the world, the flesh, and the devil.
- 00:24:39.000 --> 00:24:41.636
- And every day we're gonna get bared by temptation coming in
- 00:24:41.636 --> 00:24:45.774
- Some way, shape, or form, but god promises he'll prepare a
- 00:24:45.774 --> 00:24:50.645
- Table before us in the presence of your enemies.
- 00:24:50.645 --> 00:24:54.482
- By the way, this is a table for two, you and jesus.
- 00:24:54.482 --> 00:24:59.921
- The devil is not invited.
- 00:24:59.921 --> 00:25:02.791
- Don't give the devil a seat at your table.
- 00:25:02.791 --> 00:25:06.061
- Don't let him enter the conversation.
- 00:25:06.061 --> 00:25:08.897
- The bible says, "resist the devil and he will flee
- 00:25:08.897 --> 00:25:12.267
- From you."
- 00:25:12.267 --> 00:25:13.602
- The problem is, we'll say, i'm not gonna give in to what you're
- 00:25:13.602 --> 00:25:15.704
- Offering, but just for the record, what are you offering?
- 00:25:15.704 --> 00:25:20.375
- Let's hear it.
- 00:25:20.375 --> 00:25:21.743
- Well, he's happy to give you a little sample.
- 00:25:21.743 --> 00:25:24.412
- He's happy to let you take a test drive.
- 00:25:24.412 --> 00:25:26.948
- He's happy to put out what he has that will ultimately pull
- 00:25:26.948 --> 00:25:31.553
- You down.
- 00:25:31.553 --> 00:25:33.221
- So you don't allow that.
- 00:25:33.221 --> 00:25:34.956
- You are the air controller of your mind.
- 00:25:34.956 --> 00:25:37.525
- You are the dj of your set list.
- 00:25:37.525 --> 00:25:41.096
- You decide what songs are gonna be played,
- 00:25:41.096 --> 00:25:43.865
- Not somebody else, not the devil.
- 00:25:43.865 --> 00:25:46.301
- You decide.
- 00:25:46.301 --> 00:25:48.203
- Don't give the devil a seat at your table.
- 00:25:48.203 --> 00:25:49.738
- And i love how he ends: "and i will dwell in the house of
- 00:25:49.738 --> 00:25:52.907
- The lord forever."
- 00:25:52.907 --> 00:25:54.409
- I'm gonna get through this valley.
- 00:25:54.409 --> 00:25:56.344
- I'm gonna get through the challenges of life,
- 00:25:56.344 --> 00:25:58.880
- And my shepherd will lovingly receive me into his presence
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- On that final day.
- 00:26:03.218 --> 00:26:05.387
- Listen to this.
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- Only the person who has said, "the lord is my shepherd," can
- 00:26:06.721 --> 00:26:10.158
- Also say, "i shall not want."
- 00:26:10.158 --> 00:26:12.827
- And only the person who says, "the lord is my shepherd" can
- 00:26:12.827 --> 00:26:16.131
- Also say, "and i will dwell in the house of the lord forever."
- 00:26:16.131 --> 00:26:23.204
- Greg: hi, i'm greg laurie. i've got some good news for you.
- 00:26:27.342 --> 00:26:29.778
- God loves you and god has a plan for your life.
- 00:26:29.778 --> 00:26:33.748
- Here's the problem: we're separated from god by our sin
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- Because we've all broken his commandments.
- 00:26:37.085 --> 00:26:40.255
- But the good news is, is 2,000 years ago,
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- God sent his son, jesus christ, to die on the cross for your
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- Sin, and then to rise again from the dead.
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- The same jesus who died and rose is alive and ready to
- 00:26:49.764 --> 00:26:53.768
- Come into your life right now.
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- Would you like your sin forgiven?
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- Would you like to know that when you die you will go to heaven?
- 00:26:58.006 --> 00:27:01.276
- If so, pray this simple prayer with me right now.
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- Just say, "lord jesus, i know i'm a sinner but i believe
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- You're the savior who died on the cross for my sin.
- 00:27:08.183 --> 00:27:11.252
- I turn from my sin now and i choose to follow you
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- From this moment forward."
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- Did you just pray that prayer with me?
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- If you did, god in heaven has heard you.
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- Let me be the first to say to you congratulations,
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- And welcome to the family of god.
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