Pastor Steve Farrar
July 21, 2013 - W1329

Over 200 times God calls us His sheep in the scripture. Psalm 100 says in verse 3: “Know that the Lord himself is God”. It is He who made us and not us ourselves or evolution. He made us.

The Bible says He made us. That's what the word of God says. It's He who made us and not we ourselves. We are His people and the sheep of His pasture.

Oftentimes we look back and we see all the things we did and say, “Oh, I made terrible choices and I waited to come to the Lord and I resisted in the Lord.” Do you think He knew all that before you were ever born? Yes, He knows all things.

To Jeremiah He said, “Before I formed you, I knew you.” (Jer.1:5)

David said, “Your eyes have seen my unformed substance. And in thy book they were all written the days that were ordained from me when as yet there was not one of them.” (Psalm 137)

We don't understand God's ways and God's purposes, but what's great about God is He takes our past mistakes, our failures, our stupidity, and He weaves it, and He brings us out of it - only in His time, in His way; He's a great shepherd.

We're stupid. We're dirty. That's why we not only need a shepherd, but we need a savior to save us from our sins. We're defenseless, so we need a sovereign defender.

Psalm 27 says: “The Lord is the defense of my life. Whom then shall I fear?”

Verse 4 is very familiar, often read at a funeral service: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me.”

The word "death" is not in the Hebrew text. However it should be rendered this way: “I walk through the valley of deepest darkness.”

In like manner, what is the deepest and darkest valley you will ever walk through? Death. If you've lost a spouse, if you've lost a child, there's no valley deeper or darker than that.

You see, death is a terrible thing, but Jesus came and not only conquered sin, but Jesus conquered death.

So the news came that Lazarus was sick. Jesus knew about that and stayed away on purpose because He knew that Lazarus was going to die. And when He showed up, both sisters, one after the other, said to Him ?? because they were expecting Him to come sooner – “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” But Jesus was about to do something, and He didn't want there to be any question that Lazarus was dead.

Jesus sometimes delays what we want Him to do because He has a purpose that we cannot see. Jesus not only is our savior, not only forgives our sin, but He conquered death. And Jesus said to the sisters of Lazarus,

“He who believes in me, even though he die, yet shall he live.” (John 11:25)

Jesus conquered death.

Paul said to die is gain. To die is promotion if the Lord is your shepherd.

I remember talking to a young man in my Bible study in Dallas He was just in his late 30s. He was dying of cancer. It was the last day or two and I was talking to him in the hospital, and I said, “Lance, how are you doing?”  He said, “I'm doing pretty well. But it's coming to an end, isn't it, Lance?” He goes, “Yeah, it is.” I said, “You know, Lance, you're about to have the greatest thrill of your life. You're gonna see Jesus.” And the next day afternoon he was with Jesus. We don't have to fear death because Jesus conquered death.

Even though I walk through the valley of deepest darkness; death, I will fear no evil. Why? Because thou art with me. The moment you take your dying breath, you are immediately in the presence of Christ. To be absent from the body is to be present with the Lord. It's promotion. Promotion.

Moreover, there are other valleys that we'll walk through as believers other than death. There are other valleys that we'll experience. The Christian life is not an easy life. The Christian life is a hard life. Now, there's a life that's harder and that's the life without Christ.

Jesus said that in the world you'll have trouble.

Acts 14:22 says: “Through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God.”

Not some, not few. Many. That means you're going to definitely go through some valleys.

Paul said in 2 Corinthians 1, “You remember our affliction in Achaia when we were excessively burdened beyond our strength so that we despaired even of life itself.”

There are the mountaintops, and God gives us those from time to time and we thank Him. Those are the wonderful times, the times of incredible blessing where He just pours out favor on us, and we thank God. He gives us those seasons.

But there are other seasons where we go through the valley. You might be through a valley of deepest darkness. It might be in your marriage. It might be a divorce. It might be a betrayal. It might be a prolonged illness. There are a thousand different ways that we go through valleys that we don't want to go through.

And you know we all look pretty good here today. But there are people around you in this church that are in the valley of deepest darkness. They're in the worst chapter they've ever been in their entire life. They look fine on the surface, but they're dying inside.

How do you know you were in a valley of deepest darkness? You know it when you say to yourself, “I don't see any way I'll ever get through this.” That's how you know you're in a valley of deep darkness. You can't see any way out of this thing that you're in. You're out of strength. You're worn out. You're fatigued. You're exhausted. You're not sure you can last through the day. Ever been there? Most Christians have. If you haven't, you will be, and once again, I'm just here to encourage you. But you ought to know you're going to face this because this life is not easy. Life is hard. And there's a reason why we go through these things, but we have to get perspective.

There is a place in New Mexico called Carlsbad Caverns. If you're ever nearby, believe me, it's worth visiting. We've gone twice with our kids as we drove from Texas to California a couple of summers. Carlsbad Caverns is a national park. There are these caverns, and this is crazy. They've installed elevators and ranger stations, and you can take a self?guided tour, but you go 48 stories below the earth into these caverns. 48 stories, not 48 feet. 48 stories. What I want to know is who's the first guy that went down there? But now it's safe.

Sometimes life gets so dark, you can go like this, and, see, you're petrified to take a step, absolutely petrified. This happens in life. We get hemmed in by circumstances, by situations, and we see absolutely no way out. We're not sure what to do. We are absolutely paralyzed by the darkness. Ever been there? And it's not an issue of trying to get through the day. Sometimes the pressure is so great and the darkness is so great and you're trying to make it ?? you're just hoping to make it through lunch. That's a tough place to be.

Deuteronomy 32 says: “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God."

It's not an idle word for you. It is your life.

Psalm 119: “How can a young man keep his way pure? By keeping it according to thy word.

I have hidden Thy word in my heart that I may not sin against thee.

Open my eyes that I may behold wonderful things from thy law.”

You need a word? Go to His word. This is the living word of God. I oftentimes, if I'm stuck, I just ?? I just start going through the Psalms. Lord, I need to hear from you. What do you have for me? I just start working my way through. I'm looking. I'm looking. I'm looking. And boom, there it is. Just got to open your Bible. If you're in a dark place, if you're in depression, if you're in despair, don't you dare close this book. That's what the enemy wants you to do. And you call a friend that knows the Lord because in an abundance of counselors there's victory.

Let me tell you something. Every valley of deepest darkness, it has a sequence to it. There is a timeframe to it. You will not perpetually be in the valley of deepest darkness. It has a beginning, it has a middle, and it has an end. And you say, "Where am I?" I don't know. But He knows. And He will walk you through it.

At times God blesses us. We love the blessing. We want it to be this way for the rest of our days. It won't be because we are to mature and grow, and we grow through hardship. And we grow through trusting God. What God does with His people is He leads them from crisis to crisis.

He will stir up a crisis, put you in it. You see no escape. When Israel began their exodus from Egypt they got trapped between the sea in front of them, two mountains on both sides and Pharaoh's army. And what did God do? He made a way where there is no way. That's what He does. Because we walk not by sight. We walk by faith.

This is the Christian life. Some of you are in a crisis, and you say, well, Steve, I'll be honest with you, I kinda ?? this is kinda my fault. Well, you think God doesn't know that? Sometimes we come up with our own crises. But, you see, there's an invisible hand behind everything. God is in charge of everything. If you're in crisis, what He's going to do - He wants you to call on Him and look ? He puts us in situations where there's no way out, there's no escape, and we call on His name. And what does He do? He makes a way, and His name is honored. And when He does that, you tell your kids, and you tell your grandkids because down the road, they're gonna be in crisis, and they'll remember, “Oh, I remember He took my folks through that. He took my grandpa through that. He took my grandmother through that.” Tell them about the deeds of the great God to a generation that is yet to be born. This is what we do.

He puts us in crises to lead us out of crises. It builds our faith for the next time. And there will be a day where there is no crisis, but not on this earth. See, not until Jesus comes back.

In Eph. 2:8 it says, “For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves.”

You would literally translate it this way: “For by grace you have been saved with continuing results.” You know what that means? He doesn't just save you once. He keeps on saving you your whole life. He saves you all the way to the end.

Philippians 1:6 says, “He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion in Christ Jesus.” It's not on you. It's on Him.

Let's go back to Psalm 23. He'll give you daily guidance. If you go to verse 5, this is a fascinating verse here because in verse 5 we find that He gives us the essentials of life. There are certain essentials that you must have. He says in verse 5: “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” This is kind of fascinating to me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

If you're a sheep in Israel, you don't want a rookie shepherd. The primary task of a shepherd in Israel is to feed the flock. The primary task of a pastor is to feed his people. There are a lot of churches around. There aren't many churches where people are fed the word of God. We live off the word of God. We thank God for faithful pastors that bring the word of God to us.

So in Israel, the job of the shepherd is to feed the flock. Sometimes there is drought. Sometimes the normal pasture ground is overgrazed. Consequently, the shepherd has to go outside of his normal geographic boundaries to look for grass. So the sheep are starting ?? he's out in front of the sheep. They're starting to get fatigued because he can't find grass for them. But then he finally finds green grass. Now, here's where you don't want a rookie in Israel. Because the rookie shepherd will see the green grass and just run them right in. That's a mistake.

The veteran shepherd will immediately turn, and he will gather the sheep and he will just make them lie down. And then by himself he will then walk every square foot of the 25, 30 acres. And he's walking very carefully looking for holes in the ground that could be signs of poisonous snakes called adders. Adders are notorious for coming out of the ground, nipping the nose of a grazing animal, and killing it.

So every time he sees a hole, he will lubricate it with linseed oil and pitch around and in the hole. And then after he has lubricated every hole, he goes back, gets the sheep to graze the grass.

And as they're eating the grass, they have no idea that 18 to 24 inches below the ground, these adders are attempting to come up out of the ground and nip their noses and kill them. But because of the wisdom, because of the foresight, because of the greatness of the shepherd, the snakes and their skin up against the viscosity of the oil, they cannot get up out of the holes. And unbeknownst to the sheep, the sheep are literally eating in the presence of their enemies.

God has never said that he will take away our enemies. He has said I will take care of you in the presence of your enemies.

I'm gonna tell you something, folks. It's been convenient for 200 years to be a Christian in America. Those days are over. There is room for every viewpoint except the gospel of Jesus Christ. Just know it, be prepared for it. If you love Christ, they're not gonna love you. We're gonna face persecution. Just know it's coming.

It's all right. God knows that. He's your shepherd. He's your defender. Say, “Lord, help me to stand alone”, and He'll help you to stand alone. It's not easy, it's not comfortable, but historically the church has been persecuted. We've just had an easy run for a long time.

And here's what's gonna happen. A lot of you have been praying for revival. You know how you get revival? Through persecution. You know where revival breaks out all over the world? Where there's persecution. That's where revival is. That's where the spirit of God is moving.

So you may get your prayer for revival, but not in the way that you had hoped. But we don't have to fear. Just know that hard times are coming, and follow the shepherd. He's got your back. He's got you covered; right? You don't have to be worried. You don't have to be anxious. The eye of the Lord is on those who fear Him, on those who hope for His loving kindness.

You might say, “Hey, Steve, I'm really in a tough spot at work. I don't know ?? I don't know how long they're gonna keep me at work because they know I'm a Christian and they ?? I'm just ?? I know guys that have been demoted for being Christians. I know guys that have been ?? that have had to leave firms. And how am I gonna make it? How am I gonna take care of my family? How?” Let me give you Psalm 46.

“God is our refuge and strength. He is a very present help in trouble.” In the new American Standard Bible, which I use because it's very true to the Greek and Hebrew. Literal word?for?word translations. You will find they will have alternative roughhewn, rough literal translations out of the original language in the margin.

And if you looked at Psalm 46:1, can I give you how it reads in the margin? God is our refuge and strength. Watch this. He is abundantly available for help in tight places. I love that.

Well, well, well, I'm getting flak at work because I'm a Christian. So be it. You may. But he is abundantly available for help in tight places.

“Well, I might lose my job.”  Well, only if He allows it because He controls them. They cannot fire you on their own. It has to be with His permission because He runs your life and they can't thwart His plan and will for your life. Your destiny is not in their hands. It's in His hands.

Proverbs 21:1 says,

“The king's heart is like channels of water in the hands of the Lord. He turns it whatever way he wishes.”

“But what if I lose my job?” Then you've lost your job.

“Yeah, but I don't know what I'm gonna do.” Yeah, but He knows because He's your shepherd, and He has every chapter of your life already planned out.

Is that true? Yes, it's true. So He'll make a way where there is no way. This is what He does. And He's not just available. He is abundantly available for help in tight places. He is able to do exceedingly abundantly beyond anything we could ever ask or think. That's what He does.

As a follower of Christ, as a sheep, you say, “But, Steve, I'm stupid, I'm dirty, I’m a sinner.” Yeah, but He guarantees you getting to the destination because He is the savior, and He keeps on saving.

Note what it says here in Psalm 23:6:

“Surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Wouldn't that be more accurate if it said surely goodness and mercy will follow me most of the days of my life? Let me give you an example real quick.

I had a friend who pastored in South Carolina. One Sunday after the service he had a friend who had bought a small plane because he had a number of small businesses and he couldn't get to them through the major airport, so he bought a little plane. He said, “Hey, I'm gonna take my son flying. Why don't you bring your son? Let's go fly.” They did. They hit the side of a mountain. My friend's son was killed. He was in the hospital for months, didn't know if he'd ever walk again. He did.

Let me ask you something. This verse says, “surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life.” What about that day? Where was the goodness of God? Where was the loving kindness of God when that plane crashed? Wouldn't you be asking that question?

When my daughter Rachel was born 34 years ago, she was so cute I had to go buy a new camera. It's true, I did. I did. I had a real old camera from Boy Scouts. I went out, and I bought a 35?millimeter with three lenses and a real nice bag. My friend Alan knew about cameras, I didn't. I found a deal. He said that's a great deal, so I bought it. So I got this camera with three lenses. It came with a normal lens. I don't know what kind of lens it is, but it was the lens that came with the camera.

When I stand here, I look, and everything says ?? it's just normal. I just see things normal. But I could reach into my bag and I could get out another lens that was long and narrow, and without moving my feet, I switch lenses and my whole perspective changes. I could focus on a doorknob 75 yards away.

When plane crashes come into our lives, when cancer, when divorce, when bankruptcy, when pain comes into our life, we put on the telephoto lens, and we focus on the pain. We focus on the disappointment and the hurt, and all we can see is the pain and we wonder about the goodness of God. And He understands because we're just dust. See, when you had that kind of catastrophe, all you can see is the pain. That's all you focus on. Okay. Did David know anything about pain in his life? Absolutely. How can he say surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life? I think he did this. He reached into the bag, he got a shorter lens, a stubbier lens, and he put it on. You know what that's called? It's called a wide angle lens. He's looking at his whole life. He says ?? what does he say? Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He's looking at his whole life wide angle. How could he say that? Because the Lord is his shepherd, and he knows this. He knows no matter what happens to him, the great things, the hard things, the setbacks, the tragedies, he knows this. He knows Romans 8:28, and we know that all things work together for ?? watch this ?? good to those who love God and are called according to His purpose.

Do bad things happen to Christians? Yes. Did bad things happen to Joseph? His brother sold him into slavery. Was that evil? Yes. And years later he said to his brothers, you intended it for evil, but God intended it for good.

What's the worst thing that's ever happened to you? It's different for everyone. Let me say this as I close. Whatever the worst thing is that has ever happened to you in any way, shape, or form, I can't tell you how, and I can't tell you when, but God is such a great God and such a great shepherd that He will turn the worst somehow to your good, and you will praise Him for it. And you're going to heaven if the Lord is your shepherd. It's the greatest news in the world, and He's the greatest shepherd in the world.

God bless you folks.

Questions:

1. What is the deepest valley you will or have walked though?

2. What’s the worst thing that’s ever happened to you and what will God do for you if He is your shepherd?

3. Why should I fear no evil when I walk through the valley of the deepest darkness—-death?

4. With all the troubles that King David had why did he say surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life?

5. Why do bad things happen to Christians?