BESIDE STILL WATERS | Psalm 23:1 | A Good Shepherd | Philip Anthony Mitchell

welcome to the victory broadcast if this ministry has impacted you in any way please consider supporting the spread of the gospel by visiting us online and choosing the giving option that works best for you now we pray that this message will stir your heart and build your faith get ready to receive the word of god [Music] my family so glad to see all of you in this virtual space this morning or whenever you're consuming this message i think we can all be honest just with the times we are living in and with some of the things that we are dealing with right now in our hearts that we we all need to be led beside still waters we all need that peace and calm that comes only from the lord jesus christ who gives us a peace that passeth all understanding family before we jump into the proclamation of god's word on this great sunday morning i do want to continue to acknowledge that we hear your cries and we know your desire right now for us to gather again as a church as sure as i'm preaching to you this morning there is no one uh that wants to gather more than me i would have given anything to just be in the room with you right now delivering uh this message and this series that is dear to my heart and but we are unable to do that those of you who are new you know that victory is temporarily a portable church and as such we do not have a facility that belongs to ourselves we have been under the grace and mercy of coretta scott king high school where they have allowed us to gather as a family to spread the gospel to bring in new sons and daughters and multiply disciples for the last several years and that location still remains closed to us with a tentative reopening in the fall of this year august or september and we are believing that we can return to that facility and we are also searching actively for an alternate location or a first permanent location and have even contracted a real estate company to help us to do that and in the meantime family you can join us uh in that search by just praying that god will grant us wisdom in that search praying that god will grant us favor in what is right now a very difficult atlanta market both commercial and residential and just being faithful in your generosity and above all family i just want to remind you like we was in the book of acts before there was a church building before there was a church facility before the the edict of milan in 8300 when constantine declared christianity the national religion of rome and they started building buildings and basilicas and tying the bible to pulpits in buildings there was no building there was a people there was no basilicas there was a people there was a people gathered there was a people scattered they met in homes they met in courtyards they spread the gospel they gave generously they multiplied disciples they shared what they have in common we don't need a building to be the church we are the church wherever we are and so whether we gather together in a room or scattered across the city of atlanta we are the church of jesus christ and i would say we are a end-time church there is no gathering like victory in the city and i don't say that because i'm the pastor i sit at because i know the spirit that rests on our family we are gospel preaching people we are a gospel spreading people we are people sensitive to what god is doing we are the sons of issachar we are rightly discerning the times and knowing what to do about it we are not spreading cotton candy and garbage we are bruising our knees in prayer and coming up from studies in god's word and preaching the unadulterated gospel and whether we do that in a building and we do that from couches or we do that through virtual platforms [Music] we are still the church and i'm asking you to continue to be the church until god gives us a place when we can gather again [Music] do that for me family be the church in your home husbands wives be the church in your job brothers and sisters be the church be salt and light in the community be the church represent the gathering that you are a part of [Music] until we can all meet again i say grace and peace to all of you whoever you're watching me right now and to all of our friends who stream in from cities all around the country and even a few pockets around the world we not only welcome you to victory online but we want to also welcome you to week one of what i'm calling a very special a very important and what i pray will be a very inspirational and life-changing series for you and for me called beside still waters i feel like so many of us right now we need still waters we need that calm of god's presence with all of the drama happening our society social drama political drama police drama black community drama white drama racial drama [Music] we need distilled waters of the lord jesus christ and so i just pray that as we are living in difficult times and a lot of us are dealing with difficult situations whether we acknowledge that or not that you will be deeply ministered to during the course of this series and that the lord will lead us besides still waters which is a metaphor for comfort and restoration and peace for our souls it is a metaphor for comfort and restoration and peace for our souls our family where do we begin in our series i want to read to you [Music] what is arguably and undoubtedly the most well-known the most famous and the most loved passage of scripture in all of the christian corpus that we called the bible it was the first passage that my parents when i was a young boy in queens new york they made me memorize i did not know any parts of the bible i did not have a relationship with god for myself i did not understand god i did not even like church but my parents made me memorize this as a little boy and i knew it from maybe the age of seven on i knew this passage and could recite it without a problem it has been memorized to this day by millions and millions of christians and even non-believers the world over for generations for generations it has lifted the burden of grief more than any philosophy the world has to offer it has put to rest more tormenting thoughts in the hearts of men and women and teenagers and children than the sands on the seashore it has brought hope to countless numbers of those who find themselves discouraged [Music] it has poured out the oil or the bomb of healing on the hearts of those who are sick and broken history tells us that dying believers who were martyred for the faith was reciting this passage as they were being put to death for the lord jesus christ and untold numbers of christians have asked for this passage to be read at their bedside in the final moments before they slipped into eternity it has been it has visited the lowly it has broken the chains off the bound it has lifted people from dark places for thousands of years and for over 3 000 years to be specific it has dry tears it has brought people closer to the lord it has mended wounds it has healed hearts it has strengthened weary people it continues to be recited in times of needs its principles and applications they are immeasurable when believed and stood upon and it is my prayer that they will be a source of inspiration to you these six powerful verses will be a source of inspiration and encouragement to everyone that needs it in this season of your life wherever you are wherever you are so the writer is a man named david he was the greatest king of ancient israel in the ancient near east the time is believed to be a season when he was going through a lot of difficulty and trouble and hardship and where his enemies had increased around him scholars do not know exactly when he wrote this but we do believe it was written around a time when his life was unfolding with drama and possibly when he was running from his son absalom who was trying to take his kingdom from him and his enemies was increasing around him [Music] and in his latter years of his kingship reflecting on how far god had brought him and all the lord had done for him he sits down in his wise old age and pens the most famous psalm and passage of scripture ever written a declaration of trust and confidence he wrote these six powerful verses each of them pregnant with comfort and revelation reading from my favorite version the new king james version today the aged king david in a troubled season looks over his shoulder he sits down and takes pen to parchment he writes the lord in psalm 23 first one is my shepherd [Music] i shall not want he makes me to lay down in green pastures he leads me beside still waters here's what we need he restores my soul [Music] he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's namesake here is reality though i walk through the valley of the shadow of death i will fear no evil because you are with me your rod [Music] and your staff they comfort me when they betray you and talk about you you prepare a table before me in the presence of all of my enemies you anoint my head with oil and my cup it runs over i like this last part surely not maybe surely i'm not wondering [Music] surely your goodness and your mercy we need that will follow me all of the days of my life and this is what we're yearning for as a church and we will dwell in the house of the lord for how long forever i want to read to you or recite to you verse one is where we're going to camp out for this message the lord is my shepherd here's our declaration i shall not want somebody put that in a chance i shall not want i shall not want i shall not want spirit of the living god we feel your presence in this space right now we feel your presence in the studio we feel your presence in our homes we feel your presence in our cars on our jobs wherever we are consuming this message we feel your presence father more than just a sermon or presentation god we want to be ministered to by the power and the truth of your unchanging and forever settled word god in this troubled time in our nation this troubled time in our homes this troubled time in the era of the church god we need to be led beside waters spirit of the living god i pray you would speak to your sons and daughters even now in this studio in that home on that couch on that bed in that living room in that car in that park wherever they are consuming this message wherever my voice is being heard in this country around the world i pray you would minister to that son that daughter [Music] and may we ever fall deeper in love with you and your holy word in jesus mighty and majestic and matchless name we pray amen and amen and amen the lord is my shepherd i shall not want in old family the older i get the more i realize that there are great blessings that accompany those who are aged while i have the awesome privilege and honor of shepherding a great millennial church here in the city of atlanta the older i get the more i realize there are some powerful blessings that accompany the aged those who were called older or elders among those blessings is the wisdom afforded to one through the practice of what i call seasoned observation in the context of this message observation is the process by which one carefully surveys all of life all of his troubles all of his blessings all of his mountaintops and valleys all of his people and then begin to form intelligent and intelligible conclusions through the lens of reflective and matured perspectives we see a good example of this in a book preserved for us in the old testament called ecclesiastes that was written by the son of king david a man named solomon in his older years when he was aged he sat down and wrote a journal called ecclesiastes and in that journal we see the observation of the accumulation of wisdom of a man who was aged and had taken time to sit down and survey all of humanity there are some things i see more clearly now in the fourth decade of my life that i did not see so clearly in the second decade of my life let me say that again there are some things i see more clearly now in the fourth decade of my life that i did not see so clearly in the second decade of my life and one of the most significant observations i have made in the fourth decade of my life it is that human beings no matter our education no matter our background no matter our socioeconomic status human beings by nature are frail and often foolish living beings let me say this again one of the major observations i have made in the fourth decade of my life as i sit down and i cut and i carefully survey social media as i sit down and i continue to read and dive deeper into god's word 17 years of studying god's word as i look at all the trouble i see in our society as i look at all the hell that people go through as i look at all the things that are posted on social media as i look at all the things that people are running after all the things people value all the things that people think are important all the things i once thought was important in this fourth decade of my life i realized no matter our no matter our age no matter our background no matter our education our ethnicity our socioeconomic status i have realized from care for opposition observation that human beings by nature watch are frail creatures and foolish human beings the evidence of that is clearly represented in some of the things that are present in this chat and in this room evidence of our frailty evidence of our foolishness is all around me in the studio it's all up and down this chat the evidence is in the room where reminds evidence of our frailty weary hearts bouts with anxiety fear and worry we deal with these things often bouts with uncertainty and lack of clarity living but unsure where am i going unresolved brokenness and internal issues in our heart for which we still don't have answers for or remedies for unsuccessful searches for purpose and meaning people with money and still don't feel purpose people with fame and still don't feel purpose people who have everything that we would want in our covetous nature and go home miserable and unhappy at the end of the day mental file cabinets that we keep of bad decisions and regrets that we have from things that we did that we wish we can go back and change that one decision that one season that one relationship that i ruined that i should have kept seasons of wasted time wasted opportunity and wasted resources blindness due to ignorance and pride that does not allow us to see in humility untold numbers of men and women across our society and across the world and different religions bowing down to false gods and really living lives of complete self-deception the over-abundance of vain ambitions that will get us nothing when we die wanderers and life travelers without a clue of what life is really all about and the worst of all the evidence are the lives of those who enter eternity without the safety of the lord jesus christ life is look right at me a one trip journey we do not get a do-over in this life life is a one trip journey we do not get a do-over in this life it is a one-trip journey from the womb to the tomb some of us are momentarily traveling that journey aimlessly we're on that journey between the womb and the tomb but have no idea what we're doing or where we're going others of us are traveling that journey more purposefully somewhere between the woman and tom we got a revelation of this is who i am this is who i belong to this is what i know i'm supposed to be doing and the question for all our consideration is who is navigating your journey who is the source of the leadership of your one life journey who is or what is your gps your gas money and your seatbelt what is guiding you what is feeding you what is keeping you safe in psalm 23 we have preserved for us not only the most beloved passage in all of scripture check it for yourself but we have a powerful observation of an aged and wise king who was honest about the frailties of his own humanity and watch reflecting over his life his journey so far and all the trouble that was around him at the time he decided to write psalm 23 in a difficult season of his life he makes this bold and unparalleled declaration anywhere found in the scripture psalm 23 verse 1 the lord capital l o r d yahweh is my shepherd second declaration i shall not want now family this verse is pregnant with three babies of revelation and i want to deliver these three babies for you we can't even get to verse two through six because this first verse is pregnant with triplets and if we don't understand this first verse the rest of psalm 23 is not going to make any sense to us can i deliver these three babies of revelation to you in this first message of this series thank you family exclaims the lord is my shepherd now i want you to notice very carefully the words in the text he does not say the lord is a shepherd as in one for someone else he does not say the lord is the shepherd as in one for everyone as he's mentioned in other places in the old testament this is the only place where a man exclaims that we know of in the word of god where he says the lord is my shepherd a personal attachment to and this statement that david makes when he says the lord is not a shepherd we know that the lord is not the shepherd we know that but the lord is my shepherd david essentially makes two significant decisions when he says the lord is my shepherd now look right at me the first decision david makes is a decision to be led when he says the lord is my shepherd he is inadvertently making a decision to be guided by the lord secondly when he says the lord is my shepherd he is making a decision to be guided exclusively by the lord not the lord is one of my shepherds look right at me because we know how to go down i'm guided by this one season i'm guided by him and another season not the lord is one of my shepherds the lord is my shepherd so i make a decision to be led and i make a decision to be exclusively led by the lord now family this is important because david could have chosen anything else to lead him for there were no shortages of shepherds in david's life just the same way there is no shortages of shepherds in my life or your life in the times that we are living in wrong voices and wrong beliefs can be a pseudo shepherd somebody talk to me you could believe the wrong person and the wrong thing and be led by a pseudo shepherd an article on the website that contradicted something in the bible so now you are hebrew israelite and now you're being led by a pseudo shepherd unbridled ambitions never mind what god has for my life is what i want and me forcing him to bless what i want unbridled ambition can be a pseudo shepherd unmitigated brokenness i keep ruining relationships ruining opportunities hurting people because i won't address the issues from my past and i keep being driven by issues and toxicity and brokenness and damage in my marriage and my kids and my relationship and my opportunities because unmitigated brokenness can be a pseudo shepherd unhealthy desires in our hearts can be a pseudo shepherd pride and arrogance can be a pseudo shepherd all manner of things can be pseudo shepherds all men of things are leading and guiding human beings even right now as i'm talking to you david exclaimed firmly that the lord is my shepherd he is showing a type of humility and even deeper a self-awareness that i need someone to guide me other than myself gosh it is a recognition of a need for someone else to guide me protect me make provision for me other than myself david who in his youth was a shepherd the youngest of his brothers given the unwanted task of caring for sheep he understood the life and the dynamic between shepherds and sheep he would have understood from his own personal experience the role and the impact of a shepherd on the lives of the sheep that they cared for he would have been well familiar with the blessing that she received as they were submitted and followed after loving shepherds he would have recognized the frailties and weaknesses of sheep as he tended for them in his youth the troubles and dangers they would endure and the dangers they would not be able to endure without a shepherd david as a former shepherd had a unique perspective about the dynamic role between shepherd and the life of sheep history tells us that one time when david was a teenager taking care of sheep watch a lion rolled up on the herd he was out there on the planes history tells us the exact planes that david heard the sheep a thousand years later a group of angels would announce the birth of jesus christ on that same field and three thousand years before this sermon is being preached to you david sometimes writing this letter in his lifetime when he was a young boy he was a shepherd tending sheep and a lion came out from the wilderness somewhere and tried to attack one of the sheep in his herd and david tells the story that when that lion came he went and defeated and killed that lion that had tried to attack that sheep another time he said a bear came out from the wilderness and tried to attack one of his sheep and he as a young soldier he would become went out and killed the beer and protected the sheep from that beer he was able to kill the bear without wounding the sheep he was able to kill the lion without wounding the sheep he knew exactly how to feed them lead them care for them and even protect them from adversaries that they could not fend against themselves david had that experience and in writing psalm 23 as an older man david looked over his life and how far god had brought him and realized god has been to me all these years what i was to those sheep when i was out on that field i realized as i write this psalm that the lord has been the lord continues to be and the lord will be my shepherd how many of us can testify to god being a good shepherd look right at me see some of you say oh that's david's story yeah but if you ever been protected from something that you could not fend off for yourself then you know what it is to be shepherded by a good shepherd somebody say amen if you've ever received something that you know you could not do for yourself then you know what it is to be shepherded when you look over your shoulder have you ever been the recipient of provision protection guidance if you know what all of this stuff feels like then you and you are christian then you already know what it is to be a flock being led by a shepherd you know what it is to have a good shepherd you know what it is to be cared for to be comforted to be led to be guided to be provided for it to be protected then you know what it feels like to be led by a good shepherd you can identify with what david felt when he wrote the psalm you should be able to say amen somebody in the chat right now just say amen see but let's go even deeper as i as i give birth to the second revelation family david declaring that the lord is my shepherd he had enough wisdom to recognize that if god is a shepherd then what does that make me a sheep so david in his wisdom recognize that if the lord is my shepherd then i must be a sheep this is particularly telling of david's self-awareness he calls the lord his shepherd that means he automatically sees himself as a sheep you see because this message is difficult for those who are self-reliant for those who are prideful and feel like i don't need a shepherd i don't need a god i don't need no protection i don't need no provision i don't need anyone watching over me just keep living we see how long that perspective lasts right david was self-aware and declaring the lord a shepherd he saw himself as a sheep and it's important for us to consider the fact that david saw himself as a sheep because if you read the scriptures david doesn't only consider himself of the sheep but over 200 times in the scriptures you and i are referred to as sheep over 200 times in the scriptures you and i are referred to as a sheep let me say this one more time okay more than any other animal as a picture of human beings more than 200 times you and i are referred to in the scriptures as sheep let me say this one more time more than any other animal pictured in the scriptures you and i are referred to over 200 times as sheep so i know you think you are a beast and you fly with eagles and all of that but more than anything the bible calls you and i a sheep now family in our society i'm going to be honest we don't know much about sheep we don't see shepherds grazing sheep on peachtree going downtown towards lenox mall we don't have no concept for that it wasn't until december 2018 when my wife and i was in israel where i saw for the very first time shepherds grazed and no shepherds heard and sheep in israel and there's a lot of us we don't know anything about sheep and so i took the liberty to do some research about sheep and i want to share some very important details with you about sheep in cultures where sheep are herded they are generally an object of personal property they are not wild animals watch this they are owned they are also frequently purchased at a very high cost sheep are not cheap in societies where herding is the way of agriculture and life watch this sheep require more meticulous care than any other form of livestock more than lambs more than horses more than any other form of livestock sheep require more meticulous care than any other form of livestock sheep are known to be unable to take good care of themselves i'm talking about you sheep are also defenseless creatures with no known methods of protecting themselves it's not like it's not like snakes that got venom or dogs that bark or cats that got claws sheeps are animals that have no natural defense system they don't know how to protect their own selves sheep would generally die or suffer without some type of shepherd guiding them and leading them sheep are prone to stray and wander away from flocks does that sound familiar to anybody who's read the bible isaiah says man we all like sheep have done what have gone astray right and wandering also sheep are not apt to make their way home unlike dogs dogs would get lost and they'd be end up on the back steps looking for food sheeps are not like that if sheep's one away they don't have the capacity to find themselves back to the fold they don't know how to make it home once they have wandered away it's no wonder then the scripture says of jesus that he leaves the 99 gosh and he goes after the one why does he leave the 99 it goes after the one because the one does not know how to find themselves back on their own gosh that's why when we care for other sheeps who are brothers and sisters we go and bring them back because when they wander from the flock they don't have the common sense to come back on their own because sheeps are wanderers with no capability of returning to the flock in fact the only time sheeps are mentioned in the scriptures in a favorable light is when they are under the care of a good shepherd gosh this is why the scripture says of jesus in the new testament my sheep know my voice and another that will not follow that the only time the bible speaks good about sheep is when they are underneath the care of a good shepherd watch but of all the traits that i learned about sheep this one is the most known about sheep that sheep are perhaps notorious for being unintelligent creatures they are stupid animals highly intelligent creatures they are stupid they are dumb they do not have intelligence i am not insulting you i'm talking about sheep right don't look at your husband look at your wife i'm talking about sheep right sheep are known for being stupid unintelligent dumb creatures in my research this week about sheep and danger i found a article from 2005 where fox news and other major news organizations have reported an incident that took place in istanbul turkey one of the places where the gospel spread where ephesians was written to ephesus was there and in 2005 fox news and other news organizations reported that in istanbul turkey a area of the world where herding sheep is a normal part of their society a group of shepherds had herded all their sheep into this one area for the sheep to be together was maybe 1500 sheep in this one area packed into a small space the shepherd herded their sheep into this area so they could get a break and they went off to eat breakfast with each other to have community and fellowship with each other and they left the sheep unattended while the ship was unintended one sheep had a bright idea he walked to the edge of a cliff and jumped off the edge of a cliff another sheep saw that sheep jump off the cliff they turned around from the flock and followed the first sheep off the cliff another sheep saw that sheep jump off the cliff they turned from the flock and followed that sheep off the cliff and then another sheep fell off the cliff another sheep jumped off the cliff another sheep jumped off the cliff by the time the ships were jumping off the cliff it was 450 dead sheep laying at the bottom of a rabin 449 sheep followed one stupid sheep off a cliff not one of the 449 had enough common sense to realize the others are not coming back and because that was part of the economy of those sheep at the end those 450 dead sheep cost those shepherds and their families an estimated a hundred thousand dollars worth of revenue because of those deaths now we sit and we laugh at those kind of things and we think that that's not important but all in our society right now just imagine the amount of unsuspecting sheep right now as i'm preaching to you that are being led astray by cliff jumping sheeps as i'm preaching to you right now there are cliff jumping sheeps preaching messages and leading other sheeps off of cliffs there are cliff jumping sheeps all over social media their cliff jumping sheeps with instagram platforms their cliff jumping sheeps on youtube their cliff jumping sheeps leading churches and ministries and bands and preaching sermons and leading other unsuspecting sheep straight off the cliff they're cliff jumping sheeps who have grudges and attitudes and don't know how to forgive and feel offended they jump off a cliff and they lead other stupid sheeps with them right off a cliff they are cliff jumping sheeps that run from flocks where god planted them under good shepherds and they take other stupid sheep with them away from the flocks where god had planted them all in our society right now they are cliff jumping sheep because sheeps are unintelligent animals the backside of verse one david says i shall not want this is both a declaration and a decision first i shall not want means my needs will be supplied by the shepherd gosh i shall not want secondly means i decide listen to be completely satisfied with my lord and whatever my shepherd provides for me in the season that i am in when david says the lord is my shepherd i shall not want he makes a decision that is first that i will be supplied by my shepherd and secondly if my shepherd does not give it to me i do not need it in this season it is a declaration of confidence and trust in the shepherd that no needs will go unmet he doesn't say the lord will provide all of my wants but the lord will provide all of my needs it is the declaration and the shepherd's ability to provide it implies such a confidence in the shepherd's care that if i don't have something right now in my life then the shepherd has determined that i don't need it right now in this season if i'm single then the shepherd has determined that that might be his will in this season if i don't have what i've been praying for then maybe the shepherd has determined that i don't need it right now in this season he has not promised to give us all of our wants but he has promised as a good shepherd to meet all of our needs and the question is can we be content with the care of the shepherd even when our interpretation of our needs is different than the interpretation of the shepherds if the shepherd says you don't need this cannot be content with what i have the status that i have the level that i have the resources that i have if the shepherd determines this is what i have for you in this season can i be content with that can i trust the shepherd that he knows what is best for me when it's best for me why is best for me and how it's best for me can i trust that the shepherd when he when he does not give me what i want that he knows that that is also best for me can i trust that the shepherd when we are being led down a path can i trust the place where he's taking me to even if it feels uncomfortable or unfamiliar can i trust the shepherd when i disagree with him when i disagree with what he has said when i disagree with his conviction when i disagree with the road he's taken me on in my life god has taken me a long time god they got married before me god this ministry is doing this god how come you gave them a husband and you're gonna give me a husband god i've been faithful i've been praying for all these years i see all these crazy people getting married but you still won't send my bow ass can i trust the route that the shepherd is taking me on even when it feels unfamiliar uncomfortable or i don't agree trust always requires faith family and faith involves some measure of uncertain confidence often following a shepherd as a type of blind trust built on the confidence of the sheep that he has in the shepherd and that confidence is also built on the character of the shepherd do we believe i'm done look right at me finished do we believe do you believe that the lord is a good shepherd do we believe that the lord is a good shepherd do you trust the path that he has you on do you trust where he's leading you do you trust his ability to provide for you every single thing that you need and do you trust him enough that even if you don't have it that that's his best for you in this season if the ministry is not the size you want it to be can you trust that maybe you're not ready for what you've been praying for if you don't have that thing you're asking for can you trust you don't have it because you're not ready to have that thing you've been asking for maybe he's trying to do something your character before he gives you a husband maybe he's trying to do something in your soul before he gives you a wife maybe he knows if he gave you what you was asking for you will ruin it or it would ruin you can you trust that the lord is a good shepherd that he knows what's best for you when it's best for you how is best for you why it's best for you can you trust the seasons that he has for you can you trust that he knows your age he knows where you are where you came from and where he is taking you can you trust that you're not behind can you trust that your path may look different than someone else's can you trust that he has your best interest in heart and if you took a good look of your life you have everything you need right now in this season for life and godliness and if you can't put your finger on it as something tangible you have everything on the inside you need for life and guidance you have this holy spirit you have his word you have his promises you have his comfort you have this hope you have his assurance that he will never leave you nor forsake you do i know pain i know pain well do i know trouble i know trouble well do i know loss and drama and failure i know all those things well but you know what else i know well in the middle of all those things and even now god is a good shepherd have i shed tears while he's been a good shepherd yes have i had unanswered questions while he was a good shepherd yes have i been confused with some of his ways and his dealings and his silence from time to time yes [Music] have i ever been disappointed or even mad at god yes has he answered every prayer that i want him to answer when i want him to answer no but in all of that i look over my shoulder and i can testify that he's been better to me than i could have ever been to myself he is a good shepherd and do you trust him as a sheep [Music] in his flock family as a shepherd let me just remind you of these three things the lord he will guide you listen to me as a shepherd the lord will guide you i know so many of us are always struggling with purpose and what am i supposed to be doing or should i take this opportunity and should i take this job or should i quit this job should i move to this state should i marry this person we make all of these major life decisions and we don't never consult with the shepherd when we're only just sheep unintelligent creatures and keep stacking up for ourselves this this this cabinet of regrets and pain from bad decisions instead of being completely submitted to the good shepherd as a shepherd the lord will guide you he will guide you if you let him he is the best gps you will ever have you do not have to figure out the route on your own he's already charted a course for you the bible teaches us this in ephesians that we would walk in the past that already been pre-destined for us to walk in did you catch that that god has already prepared this is a powerful revelation he has already watched this word prepared pads for you and i to walk in the issue is not the path the issue is can we discover them and we discover them as we follow the good shepherd and we don't have to figure out the path on our own he is a good shepherd he will guide you into everything god has called you to do and be secondly as a shepherd the lord will provide for you he is not stingy and he's not stupid he knows exactly what you need and you will have no lacks i shall not want i have everything that i need and if i don't have it i make a decision that i don't need it in this season because i shall not want and when you talk like that it begins to settle your heart with this powerful word call contentment and it delivers you from being jealous of people all the time it delivers you from being robbed of joy all the time it delivers you from competition and being always and always depressed because they have and you don't have i shall not want my shepherd is providing and has provided for me everything that i need [Music] if my platform is not that size i don't need it right now if i'm single i don't need a mate right now if i don't have that job i don't need it right now and if i'm struggling financially he's teaching me how to be a good steward with little right now i shall not want he is a provider and thirdly as a shepherd the lord will protect you you say pastor that's not that important oh yeah you deal with the devil and his demons on your own apart from god's grace we see how long you last you and i are no match for the demonic forces that's trying to kill you and take you out every day you know many car accidents you've been spared from you know many times you could have died and been held out you know many times you could have been lost you know many mornings you didn't have to wake up you know many people was proud on you and the lord destroyed that plot you know how much danger was coming from you and he put his hand between you and that danger you know many times you jumped off a cliff and he grabbed you halfway down and put your feet back on solid ground do you know the unknowable amount of times the lord has protected you from things some of the things we not even smart enough to realize he protected us from you know many bad decisions he protected you from you was just about to quit you was just about to break up that relationship you were just about to ruin that opportunity you was just about to leave that flock you know how many times the lord has protected you from doing stupid things that would have ruined you you know how many times the lord has protected you let me just speak for myself i remember the bullet that grazed my air on a highway heading to the bike rally in south carolina in a shootout in the middle of the highway three inches to the left is the back of my head the lord protected me when i didn't even know him you know many times the lord was protecting us when we didn't even know him i remember the bullet that hit my friend in the back when he was running from beef in a park on hollis ave in queens new york i remember being in a car with a friend drunk drove off a cliff drunk car going over and over and over and we both walk out without a scratch i can look over my life time and time again from bc to the year a d from before christ to after christ how many times the lord has protected me and kept me you know much foolishness i've done in my life falling out of trees when i was a little boy you know much stupid things that i have done that god has protected me from and you two have been protected you know many times i was getting ready to do something i hate the holy spirit saying oh no don't do that but lord why you don't need why just don't do that [Music] say pastor what about all those times he didn't protect me no it wasn't he wasn't protecting we were being rebellious sheep [Music] he will guide you he will provide for you he will protect you jesus called himself the good shepherd [Music] because as the good shepherd he has your best interests at heart watch this family he knows the end from the beginning why would anyone not want to follow a shepherd who knows the end from the beginning who knows everything that happens tomorrow if all of my days were written before one of them saying it came to be psalm 139 why would i not want to follow the shepherd who knows the end from the beginning one of the best days of my life april 14 2004 sitting alone in a room reading the book of proverbs and god spoke to me for the very first time proverbs 3 5-6 trust in the lord with all your heart lean not on your own understanding in all of your ways acknowledge him and i will direct your path and from that day 24 years of age that verse this word that shepherd has been my gps have i always gotten it right no but he has been my gps my gas money my seat belt my guide my provider my protector he has not failed me yet [Music] the burden of direction for your life does not have to be on you that's a heavy burden that's why so many of you are frustrated right now what am i supposed to be doing where am i supposed to be going should i take that job should i do that burden is too heavy follow the good shepherd ask him for guidance and he will lead you into the best life possible providing everything you need along the way and protecting you from danger seen and unseen and then the only question left at the end of this message is preacher pastor philip where will he lead me [Music] i'm gonna answer that question for you in part two of this series besides still waters the lord is a good shepherd he could be trusted you do not have to want just follow that's my prayer for you eternal god in otherwise father i pray over all of these sheep all that they would have a moment right now of self-awareness and clarity that regardless of age or gender or socioeconomic status that they would recognize that we as human beings are frail and foolish and really do not have the capacity to lead us on our own that there is one shepherd who knows how to lead us well and will lead us in this life and safely into eternity i pray for all of these sheep my brothers and sisters even the sheep with the microphone [Music] that you will help us to get a revelation of the good shepherd and that we will remain in his flock being guided by him provided from him and protected by him i pray that in the mighty and majestic and matchless name of the lord jesus christ who called himself that good shepherd amen and amen and amen family look right at me uh i just want to take this moment to [Music] just encourage all of you in this season wherever you are with whatever you're going through in your mind your heart your home your marriage [Music] that the lord is a good shepherd he loves you cares for you keep running back to him seek him find him rest in him and allow him to lead you especially in the season of your life [Music] he has your best interest at heart he will not fail you be led by that good shepherd through all of your difficulties your struggles and your worries family i want to also just encourage you personally as your pastor for some of you i'm just your preacher that yes we want to gather and we don't have a building but we don't need one to be the church the church is wherever you are don't stray from the flock in this season stay connected to the flock that's being led by the good shepherd and just pray and be faithful be generous and believe that god will bring us through this season through this wilderness together and in the meantime we are not negated from the responsibility of being the church and spreading this gospel and praying and caring that there's still a mission happening even though we're not doing that in a physical space right now to everyone right now who has been supporting us financially and with your prayers i cannot thank you enough when i look over our shoulder over the last 13 14 months we would not have made it this far without you so i thank you so much for your prayers and for your generosity they are making all the difference in the world and for those of you who are not part of that group man join that corps and helping us move gospel ministry forward if you are a guest and you're watching you don't have a church home uh you could be in another city and don't have a place to go you keep hearing my voice from week to week you need a earthly shepherd that's following the good shepherd we invite you to be a part of our family albeit virtually keep logging on to this platform follow us on all social media platforms you can jump into a small group gathering we call them v groups you can do that even today and plug into community virtually and we can help you on your journey if you are new believer and have no place to go you can even get your next steps you could text raise to 97 000 and get your next steps on your walk with jesus and just keep coming back we're not going to shut this down when we return to gathering you can continue to be a part of our family albeit virtually in this season of your life to all of my victory family i love you i'll emcee's coming right behind me to share some stuff with you and then we're going to hang out in the chats right here for a few minutes and love on each other as a herd of sheep encouraging each other to stay connected to the flock and to keep following after the good shepherd i love you and you do not want to miss part two of this new series beside still waters go in peace family thank you for listening to the victory broadcast we prayed that message was a blessing to you if you have a story or testimony to share we want to hear all about it send us an email to share at victorychurchatl.org or visit us online under share thanks for listening go in peace

Channel: Victory Church

Views: 1,448

Rating: 4.9207921 out of 5

Keywords: psalm23, philipamitchell, besidestillwaters, agoodshepherd

Id: dAsCmo_sCfs

Length: 61min 41sec (3701 seconds)

Published: Mon May 03 2021