I Have Everything I Need

Summary

2 Kings 5:1-15, Luke 17:11-19, and Psalm 23

In the sermon last week I challenged the congregation to memorize and meditate on Psalm 23. Today I am renewing that challenge. Learn the words of Psalm 23. They have been a blessing to so many Christians throughout the ages. They can be a blessing also for you!

Let us go through the Psalm, with me saying it and you repeating it after me. Don’t look at the printed version of the Psalm. Just listen to it and then say it for yourself.

The Lord is my shepherd;

I shall not want.

He makes me to lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul;

He leads me in the paths of righteousness

for His name’s sake.

Yea, 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 runs 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.

Today I am going to go through the Psalm and talk about the words in each verse. As you memorize the Psalm and repeat the Psalm, think about the meaning of the words for you.

“The Lord is my shepherd.” Jesus said, “I am the Good Shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.”

We can respond to Jesus by saying, “The Lord is my shepherd.” This can be our statement of faith in Jesus. Yes, I believe that Jesus is my shepherd. I have decided to give my life to Jesus, to depend on Jesus, to live my life for Jesus, to follow Jesus. The Lord is my shepherd.

The most important thing is not that you memorize Psalm 23, but that you hear the words of Psalm 23. Let these words be your own words. Believe that the Lord is your shepherd. J

“I shall not want.” The Good News Translation uses the words “I have everything I need.” The 2011 Norwegian Bokmål translation says “Jeg mangler ikke noe” – “I lack nothing.”

These words are a summary of much of the rest of the Psalm. He makes me lie down in green pastures so I have everything I need. He leads me beside the still waters. I have everything I need. He restores my soul. I have everything I need. Even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. I have everything I need no matter what happens, because my Lord Jesus is with me. He is my shepherd. He is caring for me.

When I say these words “I shall not want”, “I have everything I need”, “Jeg mangler ikke noe”, I try to make them a statement of commitment to myself. There are many things that I think I need, many things that I want, many things that I would like to have. There are times I get discouraged, overwhelmed, tired, confused. Those are the times that I need these words. It’s not in the times when I’m feeling satisfied. No it’s in the times that I want something. Then I need to say these words. I need to remind myself. I need to listen to God’s Word for me. The Lord is my shepherd – and so, I do have everything I need – I – Shall – Not – Want!

He makes me lie down in green pastures. The church gets a magazine called Ordet & Israel. This one came a week and a half ago. It has an article about the 23^rd Psalm. The author cautions us about thinking about the green pastures of Norway when thinking about Psalm 23. Palestine has an arid or semi-arid climate. There are small patches of grass. The sheep need a skillful shepherd that knows how to find those small patches of grass. The sheep could not find grass on their own. They need their skillful shepherd.

He leads me beside the still waters. Here also, Palestine is not like Norway. Water is a scarce resource in Palestine. The streams are often dry. Northern Palestine has the Sea of Galilee, but in southern Palestine, in Judea around Jerusalem and Bethlehem there are no large bodies of water.

The point is that neither the green grass nor the still waters should be taken for granted. The sheep are dependent on the shepherd. We are dependent on the Lord Jesus. The Lord is our shepherd. We cannot find our way on our own. We cannot expect things to be easy for us. But God provides for us. The Lord is my shepherd and he will provide a way.

He restores my soul. The Good News Translation says “He gives me new strength.” The Norwegian says “Han gir meg nytt liv”, “He gives new New Life.” He gives me a new start in life. When I sin or fall short, I am forgiven. I can try again. Each day I can receive a New Life. I can start again. He gives me new strength. He restores my soul.

Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me.

There are times that a shepherd must take his sheep through the dark, dangerous valleys, in order to bring them to those places with the green pastures and the still water.

The translators disagree on the best translation for this phrase. The original Hebrew can be read as meaning “the valley of the shadow of death”, but it also could mean “the valley of darkness.” I think it is appropriate to think of it both ways. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, has gone through death into life. He is with us in life, He is with us when we face death, and He brings us with Him into the Resurrection from death.

Psalm 23 is very popular at funerals and I think that is right, because death is a time when we need these words telling us about God’s Presence.

But there are other dark times in our lives besides the time of death. And it is good to remember that Jesus is with us in all those dark times. So I think of the Psalm both ways. When I walk in the valley of the shadow of death AND when I walk in other dark valleys, I will fear no evil, because my Lord Jesus is with me.

Your rod and your staff they comfort me. A shepherd used his rod as a weapon to fight against the wild animals that would want to kill his sheep. The staff was used to guide the sheep along the path. Both the rod and staff remind the sheep that the shepherd is there, protecting and leading them.

He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. Whatever enemies I face – whatever challenges – whatever sins – whatever times of discouragement – he is still preparing a table for me, he is still taking care of me.

He anoints my head with oil. To anoint someone with oil is a way a person was honored. And so the Good News Translation says “He welcomes me as his special guest,” interpreting the meaning of what it is to be anointed with oil.

My cup runs over. My cup overflows. My cup is billed to the brim. More than any other phrase in the Psalm, this phrase reinforces the meaning of the first verse. I shall not want. I have everything I need. God has given me blessings beyond what I can imagine. My cup is running 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. The message of the Christian faith is both for this life and for the next. We are confident of God’s Presence each day of our life – God’s goodness, God’s mercy – God’s forgiveness, God’s Love. And we have the promise of the Resurrection and eternal life with our Lord.

Again, these our statements of faith. There will be times when we don’t feel God’s presence or God’s goodness. There are times we may doubt the reality of heaven. In the times of discouragement or of doubt – those are the times we really need to know these words – to say them – to remind us of the reality of God’s Love for us.

Yes, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Work on learning the Psalm this coming week. Say it, think about it, meditate on it, make it your statement of faith.

One more time, let us say the wonderful words of this Psalm –