Thanks for checking out the Anchor Faith Message podcast
from St. Augustine, FL.
Now enjoy this message. Psalms 23 Psalms 23.
You know, we know and have been taught here at Anchor Faith
Church that you know, God is a king and we are here as
citizens, come on, and ambassadors in his Kingdom,
Amen. And so we know the facet of God
as King. We know through Scripture, you
know, the Bible calls Godfather Father God.
We know that God is King of the Kingdom, Amen.
But we can also see another facet of God, or, you know, the
nature of God by looking at what the Scripture says is that he is
the shepherd. He's the shepherd, Amen.
So in these next two Wednesday nights coming up, we're going to
be discussing him, looking at the side of him as the shepherd.
Amen. And and looking at some of the
benefits that he talks about with him being our shepherd.
Hallelujah. You know, Pastor actually
brought up a scripture on Sunday concerning the shepherd, and it
just seems like these last few weeks there's been some things
about the sheep hear the shepherd's voice.
We've been talking about this in prayer as well, how important it
is that we are hearing his voice in this day and in this hour
that we are living so that no other voice we will follow.
So we won't follow a stranger's voice, something that sounds
strange, right? And so, you know, in looking and
Psalms 23, let's read it, it says this, the Lord is my
shepherd, the Lord's my shepherd.
Is he your shepherd? He's my shepherd.
He's my king, but he's my shepherd as well.
Hallelujah. And we see here it says I'm
going to be reading out of the amplified.
It says the Lord is my shepherd to feed, to guide and to shield
me. Say my shepherd guides me.
Come on. He feeds me and he Shields me.
Hallelujah. He guides me.
He feeds me and he Shields me. Oh, Hallelujah.
Glory to God. You know, we've talking about
that Iron Dome over Israel. It's like a big shield, isn't
it? Hallelujah.
That's able to penetrate all those fiery missiles that are
coming at them. And he lets us know as our
shepherd, Come on, there is a shield about us.
We know that Scripture talks about this, but he is a shield
so that when all the fiery darts come on, all the things that are
being said, whatever the circumstances are that are just
coming to bombard you one after another after another, He says,
don't worry, I'm your shepherd. Come on, I I am a shield about
you. Glory to God.
I'll be your shield. Come on.
I'll be your shield on the front side.
I'll be your shield on the backside.
Come on. So no matter what, I've got you
covered. Hallelujah.
Because he is a great shepherd. Glory to God.
So He's here to feed us exactly
what we need to be fed. He's here to guide us and lead
us exactly where we need to go, exactly where we need to go,
Hallelujah. And he is that shield about us,
Hallelujah. And then he goes on to say, and
I shall not want. He lets me lie down in green
pastures. Hallelujah, glory to God.
He leads me besides still and quiet waters.
He refreshes and restores my soul.
Hallelujah, He restores life. He leads me in paths of
righteousness. You know why?
For His name's sake. For his name's sake.
So that his name can be glorified.
Hallelujah. And lifted high and lifted up.
Glory to God. Even though I walk through the
sunless valley of the shadow of death.
What does he say? I will fear no evil.
You know why? Because he's with us.
Come on, He's with us. Glory to God.
He is in US. Come on, He's upon us.
Glory to God. He's surrounding us.
Listen, there's nowhere we can't be that he is not.
He is with us. Glory to God, He's with us.
Hallelujah, He says this. You are with me.
Your rod protects me and your staff guides me.
They comfort and console me. You prepare a table before me in
the presence of my enemies. You have anointed and refreshed
my head with oil. Glory to God, Hallelujah.
We're going to get into that later, probably next week.
My cup overflows. Shirley.
Goodness and mercy and unfailed love shall follow me all the
days of my life, and I shall dwell forever throughout all my
days in the house and in the presence of the Lord.
Come on, that is something to shout about.
Glory to God. Hallelujah, the Lord is my
shepherd. Hallelujah, glory to God.
Oh, thank you, Lord. Hallelujah.
Whoa, I could just laugh. I could just laugh.
Glory to God, Hallelujah. I'm excited that He's my
shepherd. Hallelujah.
I'm excited that I'm reminded when I read through His word
that He is my shepherd. Glory to God.
John, chapter 10. I believe this is where Pastor
came out of on Sunday, but I want to read verses one through
15. And are they amplified?
It says this, I assure you, and most solemnly say to you, he who
does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up
from some other place, come on. This is saying, listen, there's
only one way. Come on, There's only one way to
the shepherd. There's only one way through the
Kingdom of God, and that is by him.
This is what he's saying here, the door into the sheepfold.
But if you climb up from some other place on the Stonewall,
that one is a thief and a robber.
Come on, there's not going to be anybody in the Kingdom
illegally. It's not going to happen.
Mama's not going to get you in unless you confess Jesus Christ
as your Lord. Grandmama's not going to get you
in and smuggle you in by her, Her grace and her whatever.
No, there's only one way in, and it's if you confess Him as your
Lord. Come on as your shepherd.
Glory to God, Hallelujah. Glory to God, Hallelujah.
Where was I verse 2? But he who enters by the door is
the shepherd of the sheep. Hallelujah, the protector and
provider. The protector and provider, the
doorkeeper opens the gate for this man and the sheep.
What? Hear the voice?
Hear his voice and pay attention to it.
Hallelujah. Say pay attention.
Come on, pay attention. Isn't that what you tell your
kids after you've said stuff several times?
Come on now, pay attention to what I am saying.
Hear my voice and pay attention to it, He's saying and knowing
that they listen. He calls his own sheep by name.
That's personal. And he leads them out to
pasture. Hallelujah.
Say he knows my name. He knows my name.
Come on. He knows my name.
Come on. I wish I could sing it like
Tasha Cobb. He knows our name.
We're in the sheepfold. And you ought to be thankful
that he knows your name. Let me get to my place.
And then he says this. He calls his own sheep by name
and leads them out to pasture. And when he has bought brought
all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the
sheep follow him, because they know his voice and recognize his
call. They will never follow a
stranger but will run away from him because they do not know the
voice of strangers. Jesus used this figure of speech
with them but they didn't understand what he was talking
about. South Jesus said again, I assure
you and most solemnly say to you, I am the door for the sheep
leading to life and all who come before me as false Messiahs self
appointed leaders are thieves and robbers, but the true sheep
did not hear them. I am the door.
Anyone who enters through me will be saved and will live
forever, and we'll go in and out freely and find pasture.
Listen to what he says. Spiritual security.
The thief comes only in order to steal, kill and destroy.
But I came that you may have life and have it to an
abundance, to the full, till it overflows.
Here he is saying this. I am the Good Shepherd,
Hallelujah, I am the Good Shepherd.
Say he's a Good Shepherd. Oh, he is a Good Shepherd.
Glory to God, the Good Shepherd. And he lays down his own life
for his sheep. But hired man who merely just
serves for wages, who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of
the sheep, when he sees a wolf come and deserts the flock, runs
away, and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them.
The man runs because he is a hired hand who serves only for
wages and is not concerned about the safety of the sheep.
But I am the Good Shepherd, and I know without any doubt those
who are mine, my own and my own no me, and have a deep personal
relationship with me, even as the Father knows me.
I know the Father and lay down my very own life, sacrificing it
for the benefit of the sheep. Hallelujah.
Jesus is the Good Shepherd, Hallelujah, that laid his life
down for us so that we can walk and be LED into those green
pastures. Hallelujah.
Be fed properly. That's what a green pasture
represents. Be fed properly and taken care
of, nourished properly, Hallelujah.
Given everything we need to be able to sustain life because he
is a Good Shepherd and he's never going to lead us to a
pasture that's not going to feed us, that's not going to take
care of us. Hallelujah.
Now look at Matthew 935 through 38.
It says this. And Jesus went about in all the
cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues, and preaching
the gospel of the Kingdom, and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people. But when he saw the multitude,
he was what moved with compassion on them, because they
fainted, and were scattered abroad as sheep, having no
shepherd, So then sayeth he unto his disciples, The harvest truly
is plentiful, but the laborers are few.
Pray ye therefore, the Lord of the harvest, that He will send
forth laborers into his harvest. You know how good of a great
shepherd Jesus is that He knew that when He left, you would
still need a shepherd in your life, in the earth, in the earth
to lead you, to feed you, to help guide you into all truth.
And you know what he said? And Jeremiah 315, it says this.
I will give you spiritual shepherds after my own heart and
in the final time who will feed you with knowledge,
understanding and judgement. You see how good He is that He
knew that the sheep were scattered.
They're everywhere and that when he left that they would still
need a shepherd to take care of them in the natural.
Even though he is our spiritual shepherd, Hallelujah, this is
how good he is that he said you still need a shepherd in the
earth. Not one of us are to be without
a shepherd in our life, someone to care for us, to lead us, to
guide us into knowledge, into the truth, into understanding,
into the judgement that is to come if we do not call on this
Great Shepherd. Amen.
So he left you pastors after his own heart to make sure that they
would feed you the knowledge that you needed.
Hallelujah. So you are.
I want to say thank you that you honored us as pastors this past
Sunday. I want to say thank you for all
the cards and the gifts and the love.
And thank you that you honor all the pastors on staff, Pastor
Mike and Angie, Pastor Vanessa, Pastor Chase and Alyssa.
Because when there is honor there, knowing that they are
shepherds over our soul in the earth and that God ordained
that, you're going to then be able to receive from that.
But if you don't honor it and you don't think you need it,
well then actually you're saying to Jesus, who was the great
shepherd that said we needed a shepherd in the earth.
You're saying that towards him. And Pastor Tim and Bridget,
Let's go to first Peter chapter 5, First Peter chapter 5 and
verses one through 4, it says. Therefore, I strongly urge the
elders among you pastors, spiritual leaders of the church,
as a fellow elder and as an eyewitness called to testify of
the sufferings as Christ as well as one who shares in the glory
that is to be revealed. Shepherd and guide and protect
the flock of God among you. You see that this is what He's
telling us as ministers to do. Shepherd the flock, guide the
flock, protect the flock among you, exercising oversight, not
under compulsion, but voluntarily according to the
will of God, and not motivated for shameful gain, but with
wholehearted enthusiasm, not lording it over those assigned
to your care. Do not be arrogant or
overbearing, but be examples of Christian living to the flock.
Set a pattern of integrity for your congregation and when the
chief shepherd so he's what's in one scripture called the Good
Shepherd. Now he's called the chief
shepherd Hallelujah. So when the chief shepherd
Christ appears, you will receive the conquerors unfading crown of
glory Hallelujah, glory to God. So there is a crown of glory
waiting for us who have talked and walked and lived before the
congregation exactly how they should be in the earth.
Psalms 100 and verse 30. Excuse me, no, go to Acts 20.
I skipped that. Acts 20.
I'm just laying a foundation because I I think it important
that you see all through Scripture where he talks about
the shepherd. Verse 28 through 30.
It says take care and be on guard for yourselves and for the
whole flock over which the Holy Spirit has appointed you as
overseers to shepherd. Look at the same thing that
Jesus that Jesus as the Good Shepherd says that he would do.
He lets those know that are overseeing you.
How they should be the shepherd should tend, should feed, and
should guide the Church of God, which he bought with his own
blood. And I know that after I am gone,
false teachers, ferocious wolves will come in among you, not
sparing the flock. Even from among your own selves.
Men are going to arise speaking perverse and distorted things to
draw you away, or to draw away the disciples after themselves
as their followers. You see that?
That's why it's so important that you're in a sheepfold and
that you have a shepherd over your soul so that you can be in
that covering and under that protection.
So that when the wolf or false teacher or false prophet tries
to come in, no, the shepherd can see them come on a mile away,
can sniff them out and deal with them so that they do not affect
the fold. Hallelujah, Psalms 103 says
this. Acknowledge that the Lord is
God. He made us, and we are His.
We are His people, the sheep of his pasture.
Hallelujah, we're the sheep of his pasture.
So let's look at how the shepherd leads us.
OK, look at how the Shepherd leads us here.
As he says, the Lord is your shepherd, what you shall not
want, and that is want for anything.
The Lord is your shepherd, and you shall not want for anything,
because He's your shepherd. You shall not want for anything,
for any good thing. You shall not want because He is
your shepherd. Look at Psalms 34, nine through
10. Oh, reverently fear the Lord,
you, his Saints, believers, holy ones.
For to those that fear Him, there is no want.
For those who fear Him, there is no want.
Hallelujah. For those who fear Him there is
no want, no lack for any good thing, no want.
If you fear Him, if you fear Him, verse 10 says the Young
Lions lack food and grow hungry, but they who seek the Lord will
not lack any good thing. Those who seek the Lord will not
lack any good thing. Hallelujah.
You know why? Because He is a Good Shepherd.
Hallelujah, glory to God. Look at Luke 1231 through 32.
It says this. But seek the Kingdom of God, and
all these things shall be added to you.
Do not fear little flock, for it is your Father's Say good, good
pleasure. Come on to give you the Kingdom,
and that is everything. Come on within the Kingdom that
you have been promised and that you inherit from Him as heirs of
salvation. Glory to God, glory to God.
So if we fear Him and if we seek Him, come on and His Kingdom
first, guess what? There is nothing, no good thing
that He is going to withhold from us, Hallelujah, because He
is a Good Shepherd and He takes care of his sheep.
Hallelujah, he takes care of his sheep.
Romans 832 It says For he who did not spare his own son, but
delivered him up for all of us, how shall he not with Him also
freely give us all things, All things.
He's freely going to give us all things, Hallelujah.
All things. Y'all are not even acting
excited. Are there some things?
Come on, whatever, I'll get up here and dance myself because I
know what's happening here. Glory to God.
So He is a Good Shepherd and He doesn't want us to want for
anything. Hallelujah, glory to God, and He
has given us freely all things. And then he goes on to say now
#2 He lets me lie down in green pastures.
He lets me lay down in green pastures.
What does this mean? It also means rest.
Just as Pastor April had auction as singing that song that we
would lay in pastures. Come on and rest in Him, glory
to God, rest in Him. Just enjoy what he's done for
you. Rest in Him and his good
pleasures. Come on and what he has done for
you. And so he says, here he rests.
Or what else does he say? He leads me beside still and
quiet waters. Hallelujah, still and quiet
waters. Hallelujah, still and quiet
waters. Just think about that.
Just think, close your eyes. Just think that maybe you're up
in the mountains somewhere. Beautiful mountains and you're
down in the valley and you see a stream going through and you're
walking, taking a nature bath. That's what I call it, walking
in the outdoors, not a nature bath like that.
You're naked. So don't.
Don't imagine that in your mind. If it was up to my grandchildren
and you know, son, they would be butt naked all the time.
But anyway, got y'all off sidetracked.
OK, so you're walking down, you see a quiet little stream down
in the valley and you just hear the trickle, right?
The calming. You're not.
Maybe you're hearing the birds chirping, but then you're also
hearing the calming, peaceful trickle of that Stillwater just
trickling along. And isn't that what we call kind
of like tranquility, right? You know, he created nature and
everything in it. And he said because he created
that, we're without excuse even by the creation of nature.
And so it's good for you to get out sometimes and enjoy nature
because it reminds you. It will remind you of him.
He created it, Hallelujah. So he lets us lay down in green
pastures. I remember driving, you know,
we've driven places and I think it was actually one time when we
were driving up to East Coast camp.
And in Virginia, they have these rolling hills in some places and
big, old pastures, and you just see the beautiful green pastures
and, you know, see flowers. And I've always wanted him to
stop so that I could run out, jump the fence that was in the
earlier days and lay just in the middle of that field in that the
middle of that green pastures. Has anyone ever been tempted to
do that or have done that? Raise your hand.
Yeah. Why do you have that desire to
do it? Because of this right here.
He makes us lie down in green pastures.
Come on. He wants us to be able to rest
in him, to lie down in him and enjoy everything that he has
done for us. Amen.
So let's look at this in Matthew 11 and 28 and verse 29.
It says, come to me, all who are weary and heavy laden, burdened.
I love the way the amplifies reading this by religious
rituals that provide no peace. Do you know even in spirit
filled Kingdom teaching, faith, teaching churches that people
can take on a ritualistic service that you have to back up
and say, hey, am I working this in the flesh or am I working
this in rest and peace and come on.
Because especially for those that are bent with that
personality that are, you know, those that are workers, if
you're bent with that personality, you can easily do
it in the flesh and even get caught up.
Even though you're spirit filled, even though you know
this is not of works, your flesh will always want to take that on
and it can become religious and ritualistic in your life.
That's why you always have to back up and say, am I doing this
because I just love God and because he's a Good Shepherd,
and because in Him there is rest and I don't have to work this
thing, I can rest in Him and flow with him.
And that's what grace is about, flowing in the rhythms of grace
in your life through every season and tapping into it so we
all could. You know, isn't that what
Galatians says? Who so easily bewitched you?
You started this thing out in the Spirit.
You were doing this by the spirit, but you got called up
into doing it through the flesh. You see what I'm saying?
So he doesn't want us doing that because it's going to burn us
out. That's what it says.
It's going to keep us burning down or like we're we're never,
it's like a, a hamster on that wheel.
You're working, running that wheel, but you're never getting
anywhere. That means you're doing it in
the flesh and you're not doing it in his rest.
You see that? So he says, come on, all who are
weary, heavy, burdened by religious rituals that provide
no peace, and I will give you what rest, refreshing your souls
with salvation. Verse 29 take my yoke upon you
and learn from me. Well, you know what he's saying.
Learn how to lay down in those green pastures.
Learn how to take a minute to what we call smell the roses.
You see what I'm saying? And so he says, listen.
Learn from me, following me as my disciples, for I am gentle
and humble in heart and you will find rest.
Listen to what it says, renewal and blessed quiet for your
souls. This is how you know you're
resting in God is when your mind is in control.
You have soul control that you're in rest because you've
actually learned how to quiet your mind.
You're not letting all the thoughts, all the concerns, all
the processing, all the things that just keep you wound up in
your mind. I mean, it is like you're wound
up tight, like one of those little top things or whatever
you're, you want. You're wound up in your mind and
that is why you actually have no peace.
When he says we're going to see that he is the Prince of Peace.
And so we have to ask ourselves, why is there no peace?
When he says he is my Good Shepherd, He's going to lead me
into rest. He's going to lead me into
quiet, still waters. He is going to be there to give
rest to my soul. Hallelujah.
So Psalms 91 one says this. Those who live in the shelter of
the Most High will find rest in the shadow of the Almighty.
There is no reason why you should not be at rest period,
period there. You should be at rest no matter
what's going on. Our spirit should be at rest.
There should be peace for our soul.
We should be at rest internally. That is a promise from our Good
Shepherd. Rest, resting in him.
Hallelujah. Glory to God and the way that
it's going to be found as if we come to Him and if we allow
ourselves to be up underneath what the shelter of the most
high, that's that protection again.
So when you're up underneath that shelter, you're being
protected from everything that is going to try to cause unrest
within you, right? You you hear of how they call
when something's going on into other countries, they're in
unrest because wars are all kinds of things are going on.
But we can be up underneath the shadow of the Good Shepherd.
Come on in the midst of all kinds of things that's going on,
all the wars, all the things in the natural and you know, things
that may be warring that you're struggling with or things that
are happening. But if you'll get up underneath,
come on the shadow of the Almighty, if you'll let him be
the Good Shepherd to you, you'll find rest in the midst of those
things, right? Hallelujah.
And it's important, as He says here, He lets me lie down and
green pastures. That means it's OK to rest your
physical body. Your body will actually let you
know when you need to rest it because the spirit man is alive
and ready to run. As long as you are feeding it
properly and as long as you're taking care of your spirit man,
it's always ready, willing to go, to run, to do.
And then if you tap into the supernatural, the anointing can
keep you running. The anointing can keep you
running, but your physical body will eventually not be able to
outlast the anointing. Or you know, you're ready to run
because your body can get physically tired because your
body is not glorified yet and it needs the rest physically,
right? And so we have to rest our body.
That's what he's talking about. Lie down in this green pasture a
minute. It's OK Roll around, chew on
some grass with a straw hanging out your mouth.
Smell the flowers right? Rest for a moment in me.
Let your body physically rest. Jesus rested.
Let it rest so that then during that time of rest I can refresh
you and your soul. He says even when you sleep, his
spirit can speak to you and refresh you and you can wake up
with a download because your spirit is alive.
It's always alive unto God. Hallelujah, and give you exactly
what you need. So and we must be those that
know how to rest up in enter into his rest through him
Hebrews chapter 4 verses one through 10.
Therefore, since a promise remains, listen to this Hebrews,
since a promise, this is a promise remains of entering into
what? His rest.
This is a promise. Praise God that we get to enter
into his rest and just rest in Him.
Every single time there's something going on, just go on
and rest in Him. Don't let all the things
overtake you or whatever the case may be.
Just go and just say, you know what?
I'm just going to walk out my backyard and listen to the birds
chirp for just a minute and I'm going to rest in him.
I'm going to sit. And just rest in Him and just
remind yourself that He is your Good Shepherd, Hallelujah, and
let Him bring you the rest you need.
Now look, look what it says though in Hebrews chapter one
through 10. It says, Since a promise remains
of entering His rest, let us fear lest any of you seem to
have come short of it, So you can come short of entering into
His rest, right? For indeed the gospel was
preached to us as well as to them.
But the word which they heard, This is why you will not enter
into rest. I don't care how many times you
come to church. I don't care how many
conferences you listen to, how many YouTube things you listen
to, you can still not have true rest from God if you don't enter
into it. Listen to why it says because
they heard. That did not profit them because
they did not mix their faith in with those who heard.
So you can hear what to do all day long.
You can hear that He is your Good Shepherd and He wants to do
all these things for you. But listen, unless you actually
put your faith to it, you won't enter into the rest.
That, He says, is a promise for every single one of us.
He says it's a promise to us, but we have to mix our faith
with it. That's with everything that he
says, every promise that belongs to us.
We have to mix our faith with what we have heard.
What does that mean? We have to believe it.
We have to receive it. We have to act upon it.
We have to do it. And the way you do it is say,
you know what? I'm going to sit on my back
porch. I'm going to listen to the birds
and I'm going to say thank you, Lord, You are my Good Shepherd.
I believe that you are my Good Shepherd.
Hallelujah. I believe that you said I will
not want. So this bill I don't really care
about because you said I will not want for any good thing.
Here it is. You take care of it.
I don't have to worry about it. I'm in covenant with you.
I am actually believing that when I tithe, you will rebuke
the devourer. Come on, all of these things, I
believe it. I'm acting lean upon it and you
know what? I'm mixing my faith to enter
into that rest Hallelujah. So we must be people that
believe because it doesn't matter that we're hearing, we
have to believe. It says For we who have believed
do verse 3. For we who have believed do
enter that rest, as he has said I, so I swore in my wrath, they
shall not enter my rest. Although the works were finished
from the foundations of the world.
For he who spoken in a certain place of the 7th day in this
way, and God rested on the 7th day from all of his works, and
again in this place they shall not enter my rest.
Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those
whom it was first preached did not enter because of
disobedience. There's another reason why they
don't enter into rest, because they're actually simply just
disobeying what they've heard. Again, he designates a certain
day saying in David today after such a long time as it has been
said today, if you will hear my voice, there it is again, if
you'll hear my voice, if we'll listen to the Shepherd's voice,
if we'll just yield to his voice and the time and the situation
of whatever it is that do not harden your heart.
But what is he saying in the midst of you that could possibly
be offended because of somebody else that just said something
about you? Don't harden your heart to what
His voice is saying. This is what it's saying.
Don't harden your heart to what you know the word is saying in
the midst of your situation. Don't back bite or or or lash
out at your husband or your spouse because that's not love.
And in that moment, you get to choose.
Am I going to enter into the promise of rest in my marriage
or whatever the case may be? And the way I'm going to do that
is I must obey what I'm hearing His voice say in the midst of
the situation. Because if you don't, there will
be no rest. And we know there'll be no peace
in your home. You'll constantly be this
because you're not listening to His voice and mixing your faith
with what He says in the midst of the thing that you're going
through. That's just how it is.
It's what it says today. Don't harden your heart.
For if Joshua had given them rest, then he would have not
afterward have spoken to another day.
There remains therefore rest, listen, rest for the people of
God. For he who has entered his rest
has himself also ceased from his works, as God did from his.
See that Hallelujah, glory to God.
Let me read verse three out of the Amplified of Hebrews.
It says this For we who believe, that is, we who personally trust
and confidently rely on God, enter that rest so we have His
inner peace now, because we are confident in our salvation and
ensured of His power. Just as he said, as I had swore
an oath in my wrath, they shall not enter my rest.
This he said, although his works were completed from the
foundations of the world, waiting for all who would
believe. Do you believe that He's the
Good Shepherd? Hallelujah #3 He leads us beside
still and quiet waters. Still in quiet waters.
Literally serenity. Think of this tranquility,
right? Peace.
This is what he's talking about. This ought to be ongoing in your
life. You can have tranquility.
You can have peace. Come on, you can have serenity
in the midst of every situation, but you have to activate it.
You have to activate and say, I just need you to be my shepherd
today in this situation. I need you to be my shepherd
today. And He'll do it every single
time. Hallelujah.
So He'll lead you. Look at that, He'll lead you.
That again goes back to the sheep hearing the shepherd's
voice. He's going to lead us into a
place of peace in the midst of whatever we're going through.
If we'll say, Lord, I need you to be my Good Shepherd and I
need you to lead me into that place of peace about this
situation. You know what he's going to do?
He's going to lead you straight there, straight there to peace,
straight there to tranquility, straight there to serenity, that
in the midst of whatever chaos is going on in your life, if you
say, Lord, you're my Good Shepherd, I just need you to
lead me into peace about this situation.
And he's going to lead you right there.
And therefore you can be at, what did he say?
Perfect peace, perfect peace trusted in Him that He is the
Good Shepherd. He's going to lead me.
He has never LED me astray. Come on.
He's never forsaken me in the midst of situations.
That's what you've got to continue to call on that every
time, Father. You have led me to a place of
peace in the midst of the situation.
John 14 One, do not let your hearts be troubled, afraid,
cowardly. Believe confidently in God and
trust in Him. Have faith, hold on to it, rely
on it and keep going on. Hallelujah.
Keep going on. Believe also in me, Hallelujah.
He does not want our hearts troubled at all.
Again, He wants to lead us into peace in every situation.
You know, follow peace. That's what Pastor Angie means
when she always says that follow peace.
What are we saying? The Good Shepherd is going to
lead us into a place of peace in this scenario or this situation.
Amen. Hallelujah, glory to God.
Look at John 1427. It says peace.
I leave with you. My perfect peace I give to you.
Not as the world gives do I give to you.
Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid.
Let my perfect peace calm you. Here's those calm still waters.
Let my perfect peace calm you in every circumstance and give you
courage and strength for every challenge.
Glory to God, we get ourselves in some places of challenge,
don't we? We get ourselves in some places
that we need courage to be able to say, Lord, come on, I I'm not
going to let my heart be troubled about this situation.
I'm going to need your peace. I'm going to need courage Come
on in the midst of this because I want to be upset about it.
I want to get anxious about it. I want to get stirred up about
it. But you know what?
The Lord is my shepherd. I've always listened to his
voice, I always will listen to his voice, and he's going to
lead me into peace in this situation.
So Shepard, lead Hallelujah and bring strength for whatever is
the challenge that's going on in the situation.
And we know we can do that also through prayer.
Philippians 4-6 and nine, don't be anxious or worried about
anything. You mean anything, anything,
anything. Just as he said.
I don't even want you to want for any good thing.
I don't want you to have to worry about anything.
Don't be anxious about it. Don't be worried about it, just
ask me as your Good Shepherd to help you in the midst of it.
Come on, He says this, but in everything, in every
circumstance, in every situation, by prayer and
petition with Thanksgiving to continue.
Make your specific request known to God.
I love that specific. He cares about every detail in
your life. He cares about the specifics
that you're going through because he's a Good Shepherd and
he wants to take care of you and lead you properly in the midst
of whatever circumstance and situation is going on.
And he does not want you to have to be anxious.
He does not want you to have to be worried.
He does not want you to have to doubt.
He doesn't want you to have to fear.
He doesn't want any of that for you.
He only wants peace. He only wants you to walk in
that perfect peace. And we can do that through
again, making our specific request known to God and the
peace of God, the peace. Listen to what this peace does,
which reassures the heart. He wants to reassure your heart.
Listen, you don't have to stress about this.
You don't have to be worried about this.
You don't have to be troubled about this.
Don't fear anything because he's a Good Shepherd.
He doesn't want us to fear any good thing.
He doesn't want us to fear anything.
He doesn't want us to fear, man. He doesn't want us to fear
anything. Anything, anything, Hallelujah.
Who reassures your heart that that peace which transcends all
understanding, that peace which stands guard over your heart and
your mind. Again, your mind can be still.
You need to start say speaking to your mind and say peace be
still to it. Like he stood up and said it to
the raging storms of the sea. Some of you that have that rage
going on in your mind, that's always going, going, going,
going, going, going in your mind.
You need to say in the name of Jesus, peace, be still to your
own mind, to your own mind. Finally, believers, whatsoever
is true, whatsoever is honorable, worthy of respect,
whatever is right, confirmed by listen to this God's Word,
whatever is pure, because we know that the world is calling
what is evil good and good evil. So it's got to be confirmed by
the Word. That's what you are to meditate
on and to think on. Come on the Word of God, that
will prove everything. It's the truth, right?
In the midst of people calling good evil and evil good, all the
things that are going on now, where was I at?
Stand guard over your hearts, your minds, in Christ Jesus, in
your believers, whatever's true, whatever's honorable respect,
whatever's right confirmed by God's Word, whatever is pure and
wholesome, whatever is lovely and brings you peace.
You can watch things, you can listen to things, you can put
things in your ears and in front of your eyes that will not bring
you peace in the natural. So what are you watching?
What are you thinking on? What are you listening to?
What are you meditating on? What are you allowing to go in
your eye gate, your ear gate that is helping not bring peace
to you? Are you listening to crazy
thoughts and crazy things that people are saying to just bring
fear into you? I want to think on and I want to
listen to and I want to only meditate on His Word because
people that have their opinions also have a spirit about them.
And I don't want to hear their opinion on something if it's not
in line with God's Word and it's not coming from the right
spirit. I don't care if they're a
psychologist, a doctor, because a doctor can come in with their
own fear. You're getting ready to die and
are you going to take hold of that?
Because it's sure not going to bring you peace.
You see what I'm saying? So what are we listening to?
Some of the things we're listening to, agitating us, not
bringing peace to the situation, but just stirring up more
thoughts that you're having now to take captive.
So guard. Guard your mind, guard your
hearts, guard your ears and what you're allowing to be put in
you. Hallelujah.
So whatever is lovely brings peace, whatever is admirable and
of good repute, repute if there is any excellence, if there is
anything worthy of praise. Think continually on these
things. Center your mind on them, listen
to that. Center your mind on them and
implant them in your heart. Hallelujah.
The things which you have learned and received and heard
and seen in me. Practice these things in daily
life and the God who is the source of peace and well-being
will be with you. Hallelujah.
Aren't you thankful that He'll be with us and that He will
bring peace in every situation in our life?
But we have a responsibility. Amen.
To be able to call on the Good Shepherd and say Shepherd, lead.
Come on, Shepherd, guide me. Do these things in and through
me in this situation that I'm going through.
Come on, let's bow our heads. Father, we just thank you so
much for your word. Thank you so much for listening
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