1 / 50

Psalm 23: recharging amidst busyness

Psalm 23: recharging amidst busyness. Mike Taylor Forest Community Church Sunday 29 July 2018. “I’m so busy!”. “I’m so busy!”. … and proud of it?. The sabbath. One of the Ten Commandments. Don’t take on as much as you can fit in. You need gaps in between. Beware of “prestige”.

bmamie
Download Presentation

Psalm 23: recharging amidst busyness

An Image/Link below is provided (as is) to download presentation Download Policy: Content on the Website is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use and may not be sold / licensed / shared on other websites without getting consent from its author. Content is provided to you AS IS for your information and personal use only. Download presentation by click this link. While downloading, if for some reason you are not able to download a presentation, the publisher may have deleted the file from their server. During download, if you can't get a presentation, the file might be deleted by the publisher.

E N D

Presentation Transcript

  1. Psalm 23: recharging amidst busyness Mike Taylor Forest Community Church Sunday 29 July 2018

  2. “I’m so busy!”

  3. “I’m so busy!” … and proud of it?

  4. The sabbath One of the Ten Commandments

  5. Don’t take on as much as you can fit in You need gaps in between.

  6. Beware of “prestige”

  7. These are onlypractical points The real issue: how to find resteven when you’re too busy.

  8. These are onlypractical points The real issue: how to find resteven when you’re too busy. “The peace of God, whichtranscends all understanding” — Philippians 4:7, NIV.

  9. Psalm 23 It's about rest, protection and celebration.

  10. Psalm 23 It's about rest, protection and celebration. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion 2. The valley: a time of testing 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning 4. Gazing into eternity

  11. Psalm 23 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.He lets me rest in green meadows;He leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength.He guides me along right paths, bringing honour to his name.Even when I walk through the darkest valley,I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me.Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me.You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies.You honour me by anointing my head with oil.My cup overflows with blessings.Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life,And I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

  12. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion The Lord is my shepherd:I have all that I need. (v1a)

  13. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion The image of God as shepherd pervades the Bible:

  14. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion The image of God as shepherd pervades the Bible: We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. — Psalm 100:3.

  15. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion The image of God as shepherd pervades the Bible: We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. — Psalm 100:3. He will feed his flock like a shepherd.He will carry the lambs in his arms,holding them close to his heart.He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. — Isaiah 40:11.

  16. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion The image of God as shepherd pervades the Bible: We are his people, the sheep of his pasture. — Psalm 100:3. He will feed his flock like a shepherd.He will carry the lambs in his arms,holding them close to his heart.He will gently lead the mother sheep with their young. — Isaiah 40:11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherdsacrifices his life for the sheep. [...] My sheeplisten to my voice; I know them, and they follow me. — John 10:11, 27.

  17. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion The Lord is my shepherd:I have all that I need. (v1a) To benefit from ashepherd, we must behumble enough toacknowledge we are sheep.

  18. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion He lets me rest in green meadows;He leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength. (v2-3a) A place of rest, of plenty, of peace.

  19. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion He lets me rest in green meadows;— or, more literally —He makes me lie down in green pastures. (v2, NIV) Sometimes it's not enough just to invite us; he has to compel us.

  20. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion He lets me rest in green meadows;He leads me beside peaceful streams.He renews my strength.— or, more literally —He restores my soul. (v3, KJV) Not just the body (“strength”) but the soul.

  21. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion He guides me along right paths,bringing honour to his name. (v3b) Christianity: simple but not easy; Easier if you stay on right paths.

  22. 1. The pasture: restoration after exhaustion This is all very pleasant …

  23. 2. The valley: a time of testing Even when I walk through the darkest valley …

  24. 2. The valley: a time of testing Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid. (v4a)

  25. 2. The valley: a time of testing Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. (v4a, KJV)

  26. 2. The valley: a time of testing [I will not be afraid] for you are close beside me. (v4b) Death itself is defeated by the Shepherd.

  27. 2. The valley: a time of testing The shepherd does not lead us out of the valley, or around it; but through.

  28. 2. The valley: a time of testing He is present in the valley, not waiting on the other side.

  29. 2. The valley: a time of testing Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (v4c) Why both a rod and a staff?

  30. 2. The valley: a time of testing Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (v4c) Why both a rod and a staff? The rod (Hebrew “shebet”) is a weapon, symbolising strength. “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats,” he said. “When a lion or a bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death.” — 1 Samuel 17:34-35.

  31. 2. The valley: a time of testing Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (v4c) Why both a rod and a staff? The staff symbolises kingly authority: The Lord hath broken the staff of the wicked, and the sceptre of the rulers. — Isaiah 15:4, KJV.

  32. 2. The valley: a time of testing Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. (v4c) Why both a rod and a staff? So we rely on God's power and authority to bring us through dark times.

  33. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. (v5a)

  34. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning Like Elijah, after the Baal confrontation:When Ahab got home, he told Jezebel everything Elijah had done, including the way he had killed all the prophets of Baal. So Jezebel sent this message to Elijah: “May the gods strike me and even kill me if by this time tomorrow I have not killed you just as you killed them.” Elijah was afraid and fled for his life. He went to Beersheba, a town in Judah, and he left his servant there. Then he went on alone into the wilderness, traveling all day. He sat down under a solitary broom tree and prayed that he might die. “I have had enough, Lord”, he said. “Take my life, for I am no better than my ancestors who have already died.” Then he lay down and slept under the broom tree.

  35. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning But as he was sleeping, an angel touched him and told him, “Get up and eat!” He looked around and there beside his head was some bread baked on hot stones and a jar of water! So he ate and drank and lay down again. Then the angel of the Lord came again and touched him and said, “Get up and eat some more, or the journey ahead will be too much for you.” So he got up and ate and drank, and the food gave him enough strength to travel forty days and forty nights to Mount Sinai, the mountain of God. There he came to a cave, where he spent the night. Then the Lord spoke to him. — 1 Kings 19:1-9a.

  36. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning God begins with practical matters: having come through the valley, there's food.

  37. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning Why “in the presence of my enemies”?

  38. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning Why “in the presence of my enemies”? This is about finding joy even in bad circumstances.

  39. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning Why “in the presence of my enemies”? This is about finding joy even in bad circumstances.“The greatest abundance is but a dry pasture to a wicked man, who relishes that only in it which pleases the senses; but to a godly man, who tastes the goodness of God in all his enjoyments, and by faith relishes that, though he has but little of the world, it is a green pasture.” — Matthew Henry’s commentary on Psalm 23.

  40. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning You don't need to escape your enemies,or escape from the valley of the shadow of death Joy is to be found in all circumstances.

  41. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning You don't need to escape your enemies,or escape from the valley of the shadow of death Joy is to be found in all circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength. — Philippians 4:12-13.

  42. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning Not giving thanks for all things,but in all things.

  43. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning You honour me by anointing my head with oil.My cup overflows with blessings. (v5b) Anointing in the Bible is usually commissioning:

  44. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning You honour me by anointing my head with oil.My cup overflows with blessings. (v5b) Anointing in the Bible is usually commissioning:“The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, for he has anointed me to bring Good News to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim that captives will be released, that the blind will see,that the oppressed will be set free, and that the time of the Lord’s favour has come.” — Luke 4:18-19.

  45. 3. The banquet: celebration & commissioning God is not only about making us feel better,but about equipping and sending us.

  46. 4. Gazing into eternity Surely your goodness and unfailing love willpursue me all the days of my life,and I will live in the house ofthe Lord forever. (v6) In the first half of this verse, God pursues us.

  47. 4. Gazing into eternity Surely your goodness and unfailing love willpursue me all the days of my life,and I will live in the house ofthe Lord forever. (v6) In the first half of this verse, God pursues us.In the second half, we choose to stay with him.

  48. 4. Gazing into eternity Surely your goodness and unfailing love willpursue me all the days of my life,and I will live in the house ofthe Lord forever. (v6) All the days of my life is one thing.

  49. 4. Gazing into eternity Surely your goodness and unfailing love willpursue me all the days of my life,and I will live in the house ofthe Lord forever. (v6) All the days of my life is one thing. Forever is another.

  50. Psalm 23: recharging amidst busyness Mike Taylor Forest Community Church Sunday 29 July 2018

More Related