#39 - Joby Martin // Faith and Assurance in God's Promises

So in case you hadn't picked up on my style I don't know that I'll do this every single time , but I'm a verse-by-verse Bible teacher , so the majority of the time when it's me is I'm just going to dive into some scriptures for an entire week or two weeks or however long it takes us . And today we're going to talk about one of the most familiar passages .

Even if you're new to Bible study , you've heard of the 23rd Psalm . I mean , if you've ever been to a funeral , you've heard the 23rd Psalm . I think it's very , very , very misunderstood oftentimes because we read so much of ourself into it . But let's read it . I'll read it in the ESV One of the things I memorize it in the King James .

So sometimes it's even hard to get the words right because my memory takes over . But here we go , psalm 23, . The Lord is my shepherd . I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures . He leads me beside still waters . He restores my soul .

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake and even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death , I will fear no evil , for you are with me , your rod and your staff . They comfort me . You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies . You anoint my head with oil .

My cup overflows , and surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever . Those are some beautiful , beautiful words . Now , king David was a shepherd .

He knows very intimately about what this means , and one of the most remarkable things that most of us just read right over is the first half of a sentence . The Bible says the Lord is my shepherd . Do you realize how radical this is ?

If you could see the text I don't know if you can see it , you're probably just listening but if you , when you get home , you look up the 23rd Psalm and it will say the Lord , capital L , capital O , capital R , capital D , is my shepherd . That is the covenant name of God . That is the , the name Yahweh . It's called in Hebrew , the tetragram .

It's really just four letters . In Hebrew they did not have vowels , so it was just those four letters . In English we would say Yahweh , and this is the covenant name that God gives to Moses . At the burning bush when maybe you've heard the story , if not , I'm sure we'll cover it .

Sometimes , the burning bush when maybe you've heard the story , if not , I'm sure we'll cover it . Sometimes Moses is on the run . He thinks he's done for His life's , kind of a train wreck . He's working for his father-in-law of all things , so you know he can't be in the center of God's will . He's tending sheep out in the back pasture .

One day he sees a burning bush , but the bush is not consumed . It wasn't necessarily out of order for a bush to be on fire , but the thing's not burning up . So he goes to check it out and from within the bush , god speaks and he says Moses , moses , take off your shoes , for you are on holy ground .

And Moses takes off his shoes and God gives him this command Moses , I'm going to send you to go to Pharaoh because I've heard the cry of my people and I want you to tell Pharaoh let my people go . And after giving some excuses , eventually Moses says , all right , well , if I'm going to do this and they say who sent me ?

Then what is your name that I can say on behalf of who Am I telling Moses ? Am I telling Pharaoh to let my people go and God says you tell them my name is Yahweh . We translate it I am that I am . It's a tough translation or I be what I be .

The name in and of itself is supposed to in Hebrew is supposed to sound like breathing to breathe in , to breathe out . Yahweh , that God is as close as your next breath and he is reality , just like without air . You won't live . Without God , there is no existence . And this is God's covenant name . It's a really big deal .

The almighty maker of heaven and earth , the one in whom all glory , all honor , all respect , all worship should be aimed at , the one who created us , made us , has a plan for us and one day will judge us . The Lord is his name . And yet David wants us to know that God communicates to us . The Lord , creator of heaven and earth , is my shepherd .

We're going to talk about this this week . But being a shepherd , I know people think it's awesome because of like paintings from Bible books or in Christian history , but it was a very , very , very lowly position where the shepherd took care of sheep which were not worth much at all , and it was a very , very intimate thing .

And so this God of the universe , this king , this judge , wants to be your shepherd . The Lord is my shepherd . Let me ask you is he yours ? Is he yours ? Do you just know about him , or do you know him as shepherd , one that would care for you , know you , love you and be willing to lay down his life for you ?

This is what the 23rd Psalm is all about .