Bibleline Radio Show – 2014-02-28 – The Valley Between The Mountains – Psalms 22-24


Transcription:

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We pray that you will enjoy our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ and that today’s message will be a blessing to you and your family. Take your Bible and turn with me to the book of Psalms. The book of Psalm, the Old Testament, very, very interesting chapters found in the book of Psalms, chapter 22. You and I know that as we study the 22nd Psalm, that it’s a reference to Jesus Christ. what happened to him, what he said, how he felt.

When he was going through the darkest hours of his life, that’s what makes the Psalms so good. When you read about King David and all that happened to him, to be able to, in the darkest moments of your own life, be able to go and find a Psalm that ministers to your soul because see this is the book that ministers to the soul really helps you an awful lot. Now the book of Proverbs, yeah that’ll kind of give you some wisdom upstairs but how you think and how you feel your emotions all the despair that the distractions of life and all the problems and misunderstandings and all your hurts and your failures but there’s a Psalm written just for you you and me.

But here I want you to do me a favor, where it has their Psalms 22. Just write down this word. Where it has Psalms 22, write the word good shepherd. Just write good shepherd. Write in your notes, it’s okay. And because I want you to understand that The Bible talks to us about Jesus being a good shepherd. He was the good shepherd in John chapter 10, where it says the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. He says, I lay it down.

I have the power to take it again. So he was the good shepherd. He didn’t run away from his responsibility. He says, for this hour I came into the world, and that he did. Now look over there in Psalms 23, and write down the word great shepherd. Because see, he is the great shepherd, and it’s a wonderful thing, but I want you to hold your place here and look there in the book of Hebrews, and chapter 13. Hebrews in chapter 13.

At the close of this awesome book to the Hebrew Christians, it makes a statement in verse 18 that I want to share with you. Verse 18 says, pray for us. For we trust we have a good conscience in all things willing to live honestly. Now I know this is a description of everybody in this room. You want people to pray for you that in all good conscience you can live a life of honesty. Verse 19, but I beseech you the rather to do this that I may be restored to you the sooner.

Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus. That, and you ought to underline this in your Bible, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant. . God made a God made a covenant. Our salvation would totally depend upon him giving to us as a free gift ever lasting life without the works of man. This is what He is going to do all by Himself, where it says in Hebrews 1 and verse 3, He had by Himself purged our sins.

A body has now prepared me. No more sacrifices for sin. Jesus Christ did it all for us. He is not only a good shepherd that was willing to give his life, but he is the great shepherd that provided us an everlasting covenant, everlasting life. Now, while you you’re right here, a turn over there to the book of 1 Peter chapter 5, and you’ll notice that there’s another interesting statement that’s made here. In verse 1, It says, the elders which are among you, I exhort, who am also an elder witness of the sufferings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed.

BeforeOTAL=/ THERE was to be a crown of glory, there was to be a crown of forms. So this is the main thing that most of the Old Testament saints of prophets never did understand the difference between the sufferings of Christ and the glory that would follow. In verse 2 he says, feed the flock of God which is among you. Taken the oversight thereof not by constraint but willingly, not for filthy looker but of a ready mind, neither as being Lord’s over God’s heritage but been examples to the flock.

And when and here we have this word the chief or the shepherd, the chief shepherd shall appear. So when you go back there to the book of Psalms, Psalms 22 you write down the good shepherd and in Psalms 23 he is a great shepherd but in Psalms 24 he is the chief shepherd. So go back there to the book of Psalms. And notice there in chapter 22, where we have chapter 22 also right there, because it’s good to have some things written in your note because it’s sometimes difficult to remember everything, but write down Mount Calvary.

Mount Calvary. Because when you read chapter 22, you’re going to be studying what happened to the Good Shepherd on Mount Talery. That’s why it’s important to put these three chapters together. Now what I want you to do is take the 24th Psalm where you have wrote the chief shepherd and also write down the word Mount Zion. Mount Zion. Mount Zion? Well, that’s when Jesus Christ comes back to the earth and His feet will touch upon Mount Zion. And he come back at this time and power and great glory.

You see, he came in humiliation in chapter 22 and was crucified because he came as a lamb. In chapter 24, he comes back as the lion of the tribe of Judah. And this is the way they thought he would come the first time. That’s why many did not accept him. Now whenever we read the book of Acts chapter 17 where it says the apostle Paul went into the synagogue and reasoned with the people of Tassalonica three Sabbath days, opening an alleging that Jesus Christ was the Messiah.

It means that He used the Old Testament Scriptures to show, to prove, that Jesus Christ was the promised Messiah and that He had to suffer. And that’s how he gets into the death, the burial, and the resurrection of Christ before he actually sets up his kingdom. So chapter 17 of the book of Acts is awesome. So I want you to take now and look there in chapter 23 of the book of Psalms where it has the great shepherd. And you know, and I know, that if you have a mountain on one side and a mountain on the other side, well, it must be a valley in between.

And this is where he says in Psalms 23, yea, though I walk through the valley. Well, as we look back to what Christ did on the cross for us, that he came and died and paid for our sins, shed his blood, it made a complete payment for the sins of the world. And he says, one day he’s coming back. But you and I are supposed to walk through this valley believing that the God who kept his word back there, and we believe he’s going to keep his word in the future, it should make a difference on how we view things in the present.

Because of that, this is why David used of God to write this Psalm about the valley. So look into 23rd Psalm. He says, the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is your shepherd? Yeah, that’s good. That’s good. That’s good. But I want the Lord to be my shepherd. That means that you need someone to guide you. You see, after we trust Jesus Christ as our Savior because of what He did on the cross, we need someone to walk with us through the valley in the shadow of death.

We’re always living under the fear of death. We’re going to die. And so therefore there’s problems in this period of time in the present. We have enemies, we have all kind of things that goes on, and we get tired and weary and warm. Where the Lord says some wonderful things here, now just read them, you’ve heard the 23rd Psalm a multitude of times. He says, the Lord is my shepherd and I I shall not want. Want for what if he’s your shepherd?

If you have him, you really don’t need anything else. You ever heard that song Christ is all I need? You sing it, and I sing it until he starts taking away the things that we want. Or the things we think we need. Christ is all I think I need. He’s supposed to be all we need. Because if you have him and lost everything else, you’re still a winner. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makeeth me to lie down in green pastures.

You know sometimes I believe the Lord forces us to stop. He put roadblocks in our way sometime, closes doors, sometimes even takes away all of our beautiful opportunities to make our dreams become real. Sometimes God has to slow us down. You know, sometimes I can jog pretty good on flat ground or downhill. I jog easier downhill. But when I, um, have to go up hill, it really makes the old ticker start getting faster and faster and faster and I start sweating.

I get tired fast. It’s like this guy was digging the ditch. Real slow. This boss says, do you do anything fast? He says, yes sir. I get tired fast. I get tired fast. You know, there’s things in life that kind of makes you think things through. I used to go to a gym all the time and, you know, hit those machines. They got a new one at the gym now. They got a new machine in. Could only use it for half an hour as I started to feel sick.

It was great though. It provided me with everything I needed. Kit-cats, Mars bars, Snickers, potato chips. This new machine in that gym, I worked on it for half an hour and I’m really non-jingin. you Some of y’all will never get that. We got to go through life. Some things make sense. Some things don’t make any sense at all. But in the midst of everything, you know, you can get advice from a lot of people. I’m very quick to accept all kinds of advice from anybody, but slow to act upon it.

Because I remember and know and understand, and so should you, that someday you’re going to have to count to the Lord for why we did what we did. And the Lord tells us that we need a shepherd. You know one of the things that I can say is I look back on life. I’m thankful for that day that I did trust Christ as my Savior. But I do know, I’m gonna get to heaven one of these days. It’s gonna be, I just gonna happen.

But in the last 51 years, a great consolation to me is I know and believe with all my heart, My Heavenly Father, my Shepherd, has walked with me and led me and guided me and protected me and blessed me. You are supposed to believe that. Not just the past, not just the future, but in the presence. Do you believe whatever it is that you’re having to face, whatever you’re going through, regardless of how hard it is, do you really have your confidence in the Lord, that God is going to watch after you and protect you.

He makes a statement, He leadeth me beside the steel waters for refreshment to rest your soul. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yay, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Ain’t that good? I will fear no evil for the hour with me. You know what happens to a lot of God’s children? Is they live in fear?

The fear of being a failure, the fear that God will not provide is not gonna come through in time. Sometimes you just have that fear. I don’t want to miss the will of God for my life. So you might live in fear that you’re gonna mess up. Oh, I think sometimes there might be some good fears that kind of restrain you.

And I was walking out of a place yesterday and I was thinking to myself. It was last night about eight o’clock. I thought, Lord, I don’t want to mess up my life. I thought about my brother and my sister and my kids and my grandkids. I don’t want to do things that they would be ashamed of their dad or ashamed of their granddad.

That bothered me. I don’t want them to be ashamed of me. I remember one time when this guy Jimmy Swagger had messed up and it was on the radio and TV all over the news and he was crying and he says, I have sinned, I have sinned and he was begging for forgiveness and all that. Anybody remember that? Some of you do. But anyway, my daughter says, Daddy, don’t you mess up? She preached to me for 15, 20 minutes over the phone.

And she says, because you’re traveling all over and you’re doing this and going there, you better watch yourself. I loved it when my daughter was blessing me out because she wanted Daddy to do right. So my kids, they don’t want their Daddy to mess up or for somebody to think about me something they shouldn’t. you know the worst thing you can do in your life is cause people not to think the best of your shepherd. You know how you can give people the impression of your God and your shepherd by the thing you say and do.

By believing that God that created the heavens and the earth died on the cross, paid for all of your sins, he’s coming back again and then for you to live in the present as though God is dead. That’s terrible for you to act and think and live as though you don’t have a shepherd, as though you don’t have a God. Like somebody assassinated, I mean he’s dead. God is dead. Now you know he’s not, but do you live like he’s dead?

Do you worry like there is no God? There’s nobody can do anything for me. It’s impossible. Well, ye though I walk to the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me, the sins of mine enemies. Thou anointed my head with oil, with oil, and over, surely goodness and mercy. Shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

That’s a wonderful song. I usually refer to this Psalm, well in most cases, at a funeral. It’s always seemed to be fitting for those that are, you know, have lost their loved ones and trying to figure out how to go on. And so we believe this is supposed to help comfort them a little bit. But you see, you don’t have to just lose a loved one. This can be for every area of your life. I have a shepherd. He is my shepherd.

He’s mine. But in Psalms chapter 22, I want to show you something. Look in verse 6. Look what Jesus said. This is in His darkest moments. Up on the cross, I am a worm, no man, a reproach of men, despised of all people, all that see me laugh at me. And who is he? Why is God? He’s the one that created the heavens and the earth. He came unto his own and his own received him not. to them that believe, of course, He gives them eternal life.

But He was rejected of men. If you read Psalms 53, you’ll see that. And He says that all these things that had happened, that happened to Him, He says, look, just look there in verse 14, I am poured out like water. All of my bones are out of joint. My heart is like wax. It is melted in the mist of my bowels. My strength is dried up like a potchard and my tongue cleave to my jaws. And thou hast brought me into the dust of death.

For dogs or Gentiles have compassed me. The assembly of the wicked having closed me. They pierced my hands and my feet. Any questions about who this might be? Any doubts? I don’t have any question. I don’t have any doubts about all of this. But I know that all this is written for our admonition for us to know. And yet this was written almost a thousand years before Christ came. Look up there in verse 26, the meek shall eat and be satisfied.

They shall praise the Lord that seek Him. Your heart shall live and you are on the line these two words for how long? Forever. This is eternal security. You see, he died for us, but now get to what else he says in verse 28. He says, for the kingdom is the Lord’s and he is the governor among the nations. All they that be fat upon earth shall eat and worship. All that go down to the dust shall bow before him.

None, none can keep alive his own soul. None can keep alive his own soul. You can’t determine how long you’re going to live. Your life is in somebody else’s hands. As David made this statement, there is but one step between me and death. And then he made this statement in verse 30. A seed shall serve him. It shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come and shall declare, get this, his righteousness. get this unto a people, get this, that shall be born, that he have done this.

So when Christ did this a thousand years later, and now it’s been 2000 years since then, and we have people that are declaring to the next generation and into the next generation, this is what he did. This is what he did, and this is why he did it. He did it for you and for I, so that we could have the free gift of eternal life. Now look there in the 24th Psalm, the 24th Psalm. Says the earth is the Lord, the earth is the Lord’s.

And the fullness there are the world and they that dwell therein. You see chapter 22 tells me where I was. Chapter 23 where I am, the chapter 24 where I will be. Look what he says here because this is so good. Notice what he makes a statement as you go down through here, he’s talking about the Lord, the King of Glory. You see we’ve gone through Christ as the one who suffered. Now we’re talking about in the future when Jesus Christ comes.

In verse three, who shall ascend into the healed of the Lord or who shall stand in his holy place? He that hath clean hands, a pure heart, hath not lifted up his soul on the vanity and nor sworn deceitfully. He shall receive the blessing from the Lord and righteousness from the God of his salvation. This is the generation of them that seek him, that seek thy face, O Jacob. Lift up your heads, O ye gates, and be ye lift up ye everlasting doors, and then you unwind the line this phrasedL.

the king of glory shall come in. The day is coming when Jesus Christ, the king of glory is about to appear.” Now, I believe that if you look at the world situation, wouldn’t you think as you look at the map of little old tiny Israel and how big Iran is? Never done that. And Israel is on the verge of attacking Iran. This little old bitty nation, a thousand miles away, this great big old place over there, Iran. And then if they start a little war, here you’ve got all these nations, all of them ready to pounce upon them.

How would you like to be a Jew living in Israel? And yet you know, the Bible says if God does not intervene, there won’t be no Israel. But God made a promise. There will always be a remnant. There’ll always be a seed. So I think it’s exciting for the days in which we live. Because you and I know in the next few months, probably something is going to happen. is going to have to give in. Or we’re going to have confrontation.

Israel cannot wait too long or it will be too late. Concern in the Holocaust, they said, never again, never again. But did you know there’s a lot of nations and love to see that happen all over again? And what is Israel done to the world? Did they done anybody? It’s because they rejected their Messiah and they have been hated because of it all over the world. God says this was going to happen, and this happened just like God said.

But there is coming a day when the King of glory is going to return. He is coming back. Let’s have a prayer, shall we? Our Father, once again, we thank you so much for all you’ve done for us. We’re thankful for Jesus Christ who came into the world. Then die and pay for our sins shed his blood so that we could have as a free gift. Have a lasting life in Christ’s name we pray.

You’ve been listening to Bibleline, a teaching ministry of Calvary Community Church in Tampa, Florida with Dr. Ralph Arnold. We pray that you are blessed by today’s message. If you have enjoyed our commitment to the clear gospel of Jesus Christ, you can reach Bibleline and pledge your Your support to keep us on the air in your area by dialing toll-free 1-800-576-3771. That’s 1-800-576-3771. To listen to today’s message again or to obtain a free download of any of our Bibleline programs, just go to our homepage at BibleLineMinistries.org and click on the Radio Broadcast link.

If you are in the area, we welcome you to visit us. The address for Calvary Community Church is 4811 George Road, Tampa, Florida, 33634. Our Sunday morning services begin at 10-30 and at 6 o’clock on Sunday evening. Live broadcast of our services may be seen by clicking on the Calvary Community Church link at BibleLineMinistries.org. Thanks for joining us on Bibleline and now a closing thought from Pastor Arnold. Friend, one day it will happen. The trumpet will sound, and we will be changed.

Caught up to meet the Lord in the air. So live today and every day, believing that the Lord is coming soon and just keep looking up.