Psalm 23      God Guides Me

Rev. David Holwick   B                      Dealing With Your Deepest Needs

First Baptist Church

Ledgewood, New Jersey

January 9, 2011

Psalm 23


GOD GUIDES ME



  I. It can be a challenge to find your direction.

      A. We can't rely on what worked in the past.

          1) Compasses aren't what they used to be.


             Magnetic north is moving toward Siberia.

             It is enough of a change that some airports have had to shut

                down.

             Airports paint their runways with the degree of their compass

                reading as a form of ID so pilots know where to land.

             Tampa airport had to shut down and update the numbers

                because they had changed so much.


             Some say they shouldn't rely on something so archaic as a

                compass and should convert to a GPS reading.

             But even GPS has issues.


          2) All it takes is for the Sun to burp.


             Last summer a massive sunspot on the sun flared up and

                produced a massive coronal ejection (solar flare).

             Some said it was the equivalent of a "solar tsunami."


             You probably never noticed it.

             But a solar flare back in 1859 knocked out all the telegraph

                lines in America.

             It would do much worse damage today.

             All that ionized material creates electromagnetic surges

                that can knock out power plants and communication grids.


             And satellites.

             All of our GPS units operate by means of satellites in

                geostationary orbits.

             They are so high up they are unprotected by the earth's

                magnetic field.

             One good flare could take them all out. [1]


      B. The inner GPS of many people is challenged.

          1) What we believe, and how we live, is in flux.

              a) Many are switching religions.

                  1> A survey by the Pew Forum on Religion found that

                        more than half of all Americans have switched

                           religions at least once.                #35858

                  2> Sixteen percent have dropped out of religion

                        altogether.

              b) Many are changing their views on morality.

                  1> A recent poll showed that 4 out of 10 Americans

                        think the institution of marriage is becoming

                           obsolete.

                                                                   #62930


      C. Is there something outside ourselves that can show us the way?

          1) The Bible says you can have confidence in what you believe.

          2) You can know where you are going.

          3) You can have a Guide to show you the way.


II. You need to know where you are.

      A. GPS is pretty good at that.

          1) It is accurate to a few feet which is usually good enough.

              a) But if you enter the wrong data, no one knows where you

                    will end up.

          2) Metaphorically, we need to know where we are as people.

              a) What kind of a person are you?

                  1> Is this an honest assessment?

                  2> Would people who know you well agree with it?

              b) We tend to overestimate our goodness.

                  1> When asked to rate their attractiveness, or

                        intelligence, the majority of Americans say

                           they are above average.

                      A> Someone is fooling themselves!

                  2> The Apostle Paul said he was confident of his

                        motives - he had a clear conscience - but he

                           knew that wasn't good enough.

                     He had to add - "But it is the Lord who judges me."

                                                                1 Cor 4:4


      B. Where do you stand with God?

          1) Most Americans are pretty confident of this as well.

              a) Perhaps we should not be.

          2) Jesus says that many people will claim to know him when they

                stand before God, but they will be rejected.

              a) Their claims of faith did not cut it.

              b) Jesus says their evil actions showed their true

                    character.


      C. You can know where you stand.

          1) King David had as many weaknesses as any other human.

              a) Just like politician John Edwards, David messed around

                    even though he was a married man.

              b) And the world found out about it.

              c) David repented, and he suffered consequences, but

                    he renewed his relationship with God.

          2) Recognize your sin nature and confess your need for God.


III. You need to know where you are headed.

      A. Everyone needs goals.

          1) High school and college students are wondering about this.

              a) They are following the expected path for education,

                    but what will they do with it?

                  1> Celeste is getting a college degree online.

                  2> This will expand her opportunities as a nurse.

              b) All of us should continue to strive, to improve.

                  1> But this only makes sense if you know what you

                        are striving for.


      B. There are varying viewpoints on the purpose of life.

          1) Hedonistic.

              a) Pile up the money and possessions.

              b) The two recent Powerball winners will be tempted by this.

          2) Mechanistic, science-only.

              a) There really is no goal or purpose.

              b) Life just "is".

              c) It is like what Solomon says in the book of Ecclesiastes:

                   "Meaningless, meaningless, everything is meaningless."


      C. The Bible's view of life's purpose.

          1) Reconciling with God is the first step of the journey.

          2) Becoming more Christ-like is the ultimate goal.

              a) Do unto others as you want them to do to you.

                  1> Be good even to those who don't like you.

              b) Be forgiving.

              c) Be positive and loving.


IV. You need someone to show you the way.

      A. David recognized God as his shepherd.

          1) He calls him LORD, but also "my" shepherd, a personal

                attachment.

          2) All of Psalm 23 speaks of his confidence in God.


      B. God gives us moral and spiritual boundaries.

          1) David calls this the "paths of righteousness."

          2) The staff in verse 4 is used to control sheep, and,

                by implication, us.

              a) How to live.

              b) What to believe.

              c) The entire Bible is concerned with these issues.


  V. God can guide us even when the way is hard.

      A. Perhaps the psalm's most memorable line is verse 4.

          1) The valley of the shadow of death gets our attention.

          2) This is when many people, even the non-religious, call

                on God.


      B. Death is difficult to contemplate, but we all think about it.

          1) Some fear the pain that often precedes death.

          2) We also fear that we are leaving our lives unfinished.

          3) Will you leave a mark?


         Rabbi Harold Kushner once wrote:


         It is not really death we are afraid of.

         It is not the idea that we are going to die one day that

            scares us.

         It is the anticipation, the sense that our time is limited.

         It is the shadow that falls over our lives because we have the

            knowledge that no other living creature has, the knowledge

               that one day we will no longer be here.


         The British writer Chesterton once wrote a wonderful line.

         He said, "There are people who pray for eternal life and don't

            know what to do with themselves on a rainy Sunday."


         We don't want to live forever.

         We want to live just long enough to have made a difference to

            the world.


         What we fear is not mortality, not death.

         We are afraid that we will come to the end of our lives without

            having had that impact on the world we once dreamed of.

                                                                   #20643


      C. Have you lived well?

          1) Time is flying by.

          2) Live for God.



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SOURCES FOR ILLUSTRATIONS USED IN THIS SERMON:


[1]  Solar Flares - Vulnerability of GPS, by Richard_Hawkesford &

        Richard N. Williams, ezine@rticles, August 10, 2010,

        <http://ezinearticles.com/?Solar-Flares---Vulnerability-of-GPS&id

        =4825433>


#20643 [Kerux sermon]  Through the Valley of the Shadow, by

          Rabbi Harold S. Kushner, 30 Good Minutes (Chicago Sunday

          Evening Club), November 29, 1993.


#35858  Most Americans Switch Denominations At Least Once, Preaching Now,

           www.preaching.com, May 4, 2009; adapted from a USA Today report

           dated April 27, 2009.


#62930  Marriage Is In Trouble, by Chuck Colson, BreakPoint Commentary,

           December 9, 2010.



These and 35,000 others are part of the Kerux database that can be

downloaded, absolutely free, at http://www.holwick.com/database.html

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