Psalm 23
The Lord is.......
Today I want to especially stress the first three words of this wonderful portion of God's Word.
The Lord is.............
Not the Lord was or the Lord will be (although both are true)
but, He is......
Here is the greatest fact in all the universe....The Lord is!
The Lord is a reality.
The Lord is alive!
Were it not for this reality our faith would be in vain.
Hebrews 11:5 says, "But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him."
Praise God! The Lord is......
The Lord hears the cry of His people and He meets their every need. The Psalmist David believed this. Verse 1- Psalm 23 - David says, "The Lord is.........I shall not want."
The 23rd Psalm sets the Lord as a very present help.....not a past or a future help.
Again, He is a helper of the past and of the future but, today we will emphasize the present.
In fact, every verb in Psalm 23 is in the present tense. God is a present tense God.
He was the Lord yesterday, He will be the Lord tomorrow but, bless His great name,
He is the Lord - TODAY!
All we need to do folks is live one day at a time.
The One who made this day is the Lord of the day.
I shall not want................because He is my Lord today.
I will fear not evil..............because He is my Lord today.
He prepares a table before me today.
His goodness and mercy follow me today.
He anoints me today.
My cup runneth over today.
All because The Lord is.........
Psalm 23 is for today!
We are living in valley days.....perilous days.
But, The Great Shepherd is caring for His sheep, because The Lord is.
The Lord is the Lord and He always will be The Lord!
He is not going to leave us here in the valley.
Bless God, He is going to lead us through.
I'm listening for His voice. I'm no longer listening or looking for the signs. I am listening for the sound. I am listening for the voice of the rapture. Amen?
1 Thessalonians 4:16-17King James Version
"For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord."
Thank God we won't stay in this valley.
There is a higher place for us in the hills of glory.
These valley days shall be victory days!
The Lord is......
The Lord is LOVE, PEACE, JOY, WISDOM
RIGHTEOUSNESS, SANTIFICATION, and POWER.
He is SAVIOR, HEALER, BAPTIZER, and COMING KING.
He is the lily of the valley
the bright and morning star
He is the fairest of 10,000 to my soul.
My - if I tried to tell you all that He is we would be here forever. This is the difficulty that the Psalmist David had also. So, he just put it in all inclusive terms and said,
"The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."
The Lord is.....
Isn't this the message of the Christmas season?
The angel said to Mary in Luke 1:28, "And the angel came in unto her, and said,
Hail, thou that art highly favoured, the Lord is with thee: blessed art thou among women."
The angelic hosts said to the shepherds in Luke 2:11, "For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Saviour, which is Christ the Lord."
The Lord is......The Lord is with you.
Immanuel (Hebrew: עִמָּנוּאֵל meaning, "God with us"
The Lord is with us.
Prophets, good men, teachers all appeared on this earth before. But, this time the Lord took off His royal robes, clothed Himself in human flesh and laid Himself upon the straw.
A miraculous incarnation of deity!
The Lord is with us!
Companionship... The Lord came to share our surroundings and earthly life.
Yes, with its tests, trials and its troubles.
He has not left us alone to pioneer this valley.
He is touched by the feelings of our infirmities because He tried the way before us. Hebrews 4:15 says, "For we have not an high priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin.
He is with us.
The Lord is with us.
The Lord is....
Hallelujah!
It would NOT be strange to think of the Lord with angels. But, the Lord came to be with us. You and I. The Psalmist said to the Lord, concerning men in Psalm 8:4, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? That visitation climaxed when God became man and walked the earth in the person of God's Son so that redeemed man could one day walk in Heaven and dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Long before Bethlehem, the Psalmist David said in Psalm 23, "The Lord is......"
You see, His beginning was not under the Star of Bethlehem.
He always was and ever shall be!
He is the Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end......
and everything in between!
Jesus said, "Before Abraham was.......I am."
(John 8:58, Jesus said unto them, Verily, verily, I say unto you, Before Abraham was, I am.)
David said, "The Lord is......." (Psalm 23)
Jesus says, "I am......"
"I am the bread of life" (John 6:35)
"I am the living water" (John 4:10-14)
"I am the door" (John 10:9-16)
"I am the way" (John 14:6)
"I am the truth" (John 14:6)
"I am the life" (John 14:6)
"I am the resurrection" (John 11:25)
"I am the good shepherd" (John 10:11)
The Bible says in Matthew 18:20, "For where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst of them."
The Lord is......
The Lord is here, right now to meet your need.
He does not want you to want. He wants you fed.
He does not want you to fear. He wants you to rest.
He wants to lead you in to green pastures.
He wants to lead you through your valleys.
Will you trust Him?
Reach out today and take His hand.
Let Him lead you.
Today, let Him be your Lord.
