The Comfort of the Shepherd's Rod and Staff

Good morning family. I like that some of us also look at the full verse. I hope we all do, even if you don't say the whole verse.

It's good to look at it. Jesus said in John 8 12, I am the light of the world and he who follows me will not walk in darkness but will have the light of life. And when I think about that verse, I often think about Jesus being a candle and me simply coming near him.

You know how you can light another candle by holding a candle to it. Jesus is the light of the world and if you bring your candle to him, you will have the light of life. In him was life and that life was the light of men.

Read in John 1. And Jesus has life and the secret, dear brothers and sisters, your children even remember this, the secret to having life, to having purity in your thoughts, to having love, to having joy, peace, is very simply follow Jesus. Come near him. Picture yourself like an empty candle that has no light in itself and coming and being lit by him.

He is the light of the world. He has life and he will light your candle as well. Some of the best teachers I've been around and by that I mean not just spiritual teachers but even in earthly things, have been ones who have been able to communicate or to pass on their passion and their love for what it is they're trying to teach.

And for example, I've met piano teachers who were not as much interested in how well you could play but that you would love the instrument and that is the difference between a good teacher and a bad teacher, very simply. I've had teachers in my life who were really keen to get me to play well, which sounds like a good thing, but those were the kind of teachers that whenever it was time for a lesson I dreaded it because I hadn't practiced and I was afraid that I would go to this lesson and my teacher would be upset at me because I didn't practice because how are you ever going to be good at playing the piano if you don't practice? And so piano lessons were a dreaded, dreadful thing. And then I've had, I've seen other teachers who were not as much interested in whether you practiced or not and how well you could one day play the piano but that they could pass on their own love for the instrument to you.

They loved the instrument clearly and their love of music whether it was the piano or something else, it was so overflowing that it was contagious and they would pass it on to you. The same with soccer for example. There are some soccer coaches who are very interested in what you can do or they want to win their team to win and then there are other coaches who are just so enamored, so taken up with the game and a love for the game that love overflows, that passion overflows into whoever they're with and they're they're happy to spend their free time training other kids and coaching other kids and maybe they get paid some for it but they do it out of a love for the sport.

And the same with you think about math or whatever it is. I'm sure you've had people in your life who you could tell they were good teachers because they were passionate about what they were trying to teach and it wasn't about whether you would do as good at whatever it is that they were trying to teach you and for a good teacher it really shouldn't even matter whether you get a hundred percent in the grade as much as that you learn to love that subject, that you learn to love math for what it can be or love soccer or piano or whatever it might be and then there is the greatest teacher of them all and that is the Holy Spirit himself. I have come to see through my years of seeking to follow the Lord that the key to the Christian life is very simply this is to come to have a love for Jesus.

Under the Old Testament it was a commandment you shall love the Lord your God with all your heart soul mind and strength. Under the New Covenant I think of it like this you get to love the Lord your God because it's the most enjoyable thing and if you have come into the New Covenant and it's still a I have to love God oh I don't have love for God and it's a burden. I want to tell you even though you're living in 2024 AD spiritually you're still in BC you're still in the New Covenant and in the Old Covenant.

Under the New Covenant if we understand it correctly and we allow the teacher to do the right thing in our lives we our response will be I get to love you God that's the most enjoyable thing and in order for that to happen I must have a teacher who himself loves Christ right and no man can ultimately do that some men can do that to a certain extent but there is one teacher and that is the Holy Spirit. John chapter 16 let's turn there tells us that the Holy Spirit will make Jesus so wonderful in your eyes that you'll just want to love Him. He is the best teacher at loving Jesus and if dear friends please listen this is a key this is really a secret I hope it will unlock the Christian life for you if it has been locked up I hope it'll unlock the New Covenant for you if it has been locked up like it was for me for many years recently it's becoming more and more unlocked because I've understood that the Holy Spirit has one mission here on this earth and in my life the more I open my heart up to the Holy Spirit the more he's going to get me to realize that loving Jesus is the most exciting thing to do in the same way that a good piano teacher is not as interested in whether I practice my scales and whether I messed up or not but do you love the instrument and it's changing my life brothers and sisters really I'm not here to sell you anything I'm not here to lead you on into anything else except this that the life that God wants us to live is that through the Holy Spirit you get to see how wonderful Jesus is and how loving Him can be an exciting life and Jesus said if you love me you will keep my commandments and that is not something that is burdensome but it's light and becomes an enjoyable life over time it won't happen overnight I'll be honest and it's still there are times when obeying and denying myself and taking up my cross is painful that's because myself is still so strong but I'm unlocking a little bit of that secret of the joy of knowing what it the joy of loving Christ and it's the Holy Spirit's job to do that and if you've seen that the Holy Spirit is the best teacher he knows Jesus more than anybody else he's a person you know the Holy Spirit is a person he's a teacher just like Jesus is a person I hope you expect to get to heaven and see the Father the person the Son Jesus Christ the person and the Holy Spirit the third person of the Trinity the preferred person of the Trinity and I hope on earth that you are getting to know the Holy Spirit as a teacher who is making loving Christ enjoyable to you that you are that loving Jesus and as a result obeying him is an exciting thing because he says in John chapter 16 verse 13 when he the spirit of truth comes he will guide you into all the truth for he will not speak on his own initiative speaking about the Holy Spirit but whatever he hears he will speak and he will disclose it to you what is to come he will glorify me he will paint such a beautiful picture of Jesus that you will realize wow Jesus I love you so much and very simply if loving Jesus above all the other loves of this world which is more money a better job a nicer house a fancier car a retirement saving all these and and all the other pleasures on you know whatever the things that the world seeks all those other things will fade in comparison you will know and your response will really be I get to love Jesus as opposed to I have to love Jesus and if even children if if you think about your life as a Christian now looking forward and the devil's planting thoughts in your mind of all these things that you won't get to do all the sinful pleasures in the world that other people in the world will get to do but you won't get to do like having a boyfriend when you're in middle school high school and having a girlfriend or talking about liking boys and liking girls and or chasing after money or having a nice car and all these things if you're battling with those things then very simply the Holy Spirit wants to be your teacher and to show you that Jesus and loving him and being with him is far more enjoyable than all the other pleasures of this world because he will glorify me that term that word glorify simply means that he will paint such a beautiful picture like I think of it like this I don't want to use a crass example so I'm going to use this example reverentially and carefully it's like somebody who's trying to convince a young lady who's let's say 23-24 years old there's this handsome young man who wants to marry you and he is the most handsome loving wonderful person there is in the world and you're and you ought to marry him and meanwhile this girl is seeing all these other seemingly handsome men who are trying to get her attention and that's what the world is like it's trying to get your attention trying to get your spiritual love by saying oh you can feel like this or you can have this and look at all your friends they get to have that and all and all these other things and here along comes another person who's not interested in marrying you the Holy Spirit is not interested in marrying you he's not the bridegroom but he wants to tell you how wonderful Jesus is and if you will invite the Holy Spirit into your life and seek for that's what we mean by the baptism of the Holy Spirit so many people when they say they seek for the baptism of the Holy Spirit they imagine speaking in tongues and dancing and singing loud and all of that why do we speak in tongues if you speak in tongues why do you sing and shout and dance if you sing and shout and dance there's no command that says you have to but why would you it ought to be because you've come to know Jesus that's it it's like the young 23 year old girl who's been told I'm gonna marry this wonderful young man and I've seen this beautiful picture of what he looks like and he's so handsome and oh he loves me so much and he's made all these sacrifices for me he's prepared a home for me we're gonna be together not after I died beginning now I get to be with him and then I'll be with him in heaven for all eternity and the Holy Spirit has been painting that picture and painting that picture and painting that picture and showing me and I'm knowing Christ as a result of it and all these other young men who come to me and try to get me to marry them I say no thanks money success pleasure reputation all the things of this earth they're losing their appeal and the secret dear friends even dear children is let the Holy Spirit show you Jesus let the Holy Spirit show you Jesus let him make Jesus so wonderful and precious to you that you say I want to sing about this Jesus they were so precious to me and then you'll sing and if you run out of English words the Holy Spirit say oh you love him so much you need more I'll give you some tongues that you can speak in and if he does it that's fine oh that's okay you don't have to speak in tongues but love Jesus and let the Holy Spirit so fill your heart with love this is the ministry of the Holy Spirit Romans chapter 5 the person and the work of the Holy Spirit is one of the most confusing things for many Christians the devil has succeeded I believe that the devil the reason the devil really has allowed the ministry and the teaching of the Holy Spirit and his work to be the most counterfeited and corrupted of all of the doctrines I think of all of the doctrines I think the ministry and the work of the Holy Spirit is the most counterfeited and corrupted and I believe the reason for that personally is because the devil knows that if you were to really come in touch with the Holy Spirit and really understand his true work Jesus would become so precious to you it would free you from the things of this earth and he doesn't want that he wants you to be taken up with the things of this earth and he knows that I got to keep the Holy Spirit a dark mysterious secret and to convince people that oh baptism the Holy Spirit yeah sing and dance and have loud music and babble a bunch of let your tongue loose and let it fly for a little bit that's it but Jesus remains unloved and you still are defeated by lust and by the love of money and all these other things like happens in Christian circles where they speak about the Holy Spirit and you know that you've really come to know the Holy Spirit when Jesus is all you want to talk about and if you would go to that 23 year old young lady and say hey why you've got this sparkle in your eye and why you've got this spring in your step and she'll say I got to talk to my fiancee for about an hour this morning and I didn't consider it a sacrifice to have to get up early to hear from him this morning because I love him and he spoke to me and he he showered me with love from his word and I didn't mind getting up at 4 in the morning if that's what it took I'm not preaching a law that you should get up at 4 but I'm hoping to point you to a life of being filled with the Holy Spirit where Jesus becomes precious and loving him is the most exciting thing it's not a burden Romans 5 verse 5 hope does not disappoint for many Christians their Christian life is a disappointment maybe when they met Jesus and they were born again and they felt that burden roll away like it did for Christian in pilgrims progress they were so excited but since then it's been a life of continual disappointment I want to ask you an honest question your brothers your sisters your children since the day you were born again and you really came to know the love of Jesus has your Christian life sort of been on a downward spiral a disappointment you thought I was so excited when I met Jesus and I knew his love for me but since then it's just not been that the hope that you had for what your life would be like has become a disappointment has it been in any way then take Romans 5 verse 5 to heart don't be discouraged don't let your head hang down lift up your head you the devil is blinded you that's all I can say the devil is blinded you perhaps other Christians are blinded you but the true Christian life is not a disappointment hope does not disappoint because the Holy Spirit sheds abroad a love of God in our hearts I want to tell you if you don't know the Holy Spirit in a way that's shedding abroad his love in your heart your life is just going to ultimately result in disappointment eventually it's just a matter of time maybe even holding on up to this point but if there isn't a fullness of the Holy Spirit that is shedding abroad overflowing poured out to overflowing that's not happening in your life through the Holy Spirit you're headed on a path that's ultimately going to lead to disappointment your hope will not disappoint if now let me pause for a moment you know it says your your hope does not disappoint you see that has nothing to do with how other Christians are many people say oh I was a Christian and I was in this church and I was disappointed because of my experience there or somebody else treated me like that and they've said they were Christians or look at all the hypocrites you know people like to say oh I don't go to church because it's full of hypocrites you know hope will that the disappointment of hope comes very simply from this that you don't have the love of God shed abroad through the Holy Spirit you can't blame somebody else's hypocrisy for it it's become so common for pastors to be exposed for living in sin and the higher they are the bigger the sin it seems like and so many people think well why should I go to church why should I be a Christian when it's so full of hypocrisy that has nothing to do with the disappointment of life your hope will disappoint if you don't have the Holy Spirit shedding abroad the love of God in your heart but if you have the Holy Spirit shedding abroad God's love in your heart it will not disappoint no matter how many people fall by the wayside and even if you're the last Christian standing you'll say I have a hope that does not disappoint because the love of God has been shed abroad in my heart it has nothing to do with other people and praise God if we do that we get to be a part of a fellowship where other people are after the same thing you may still be disappointed by hypocrisy I can't guarantee that but don't fix your eyes on other people fix your eyes on Jesus and how will that happen through letting the Holy Spirit open up Jesus to you so this is the role of the Holy Spirit and one of the ways in which the Holy Spirit has been lighting up Jesus for me is as a shepherd that's what I'd like to speak on so let's turn to Psalms 23 Psalm 23 a Psalm we all know well but Psalm that I've been repeating to myself very often in the last few weeks I thought I would speak on that Psalm 23 Psalm 23 let's read beginning in verse 1 Jesus is my shepherd Jesus is my shepherd is he is he leading you is he caring for you you know how I watch sheep when they're around a shepherd when they're near the shepherd they just almost like cuddle up to the shepherd they feel safe when they're around the shepherd have you felt safe this last week as everything has come up situations have come up surprises have come up things you didn't weren't expecting have come up circumstances kind of try to shake you but as Jesus been your shepherd is Psalm 23 verse 1 true in your life don't be discouraged if it hasn't been God Jesus wants it to be this week Jesus is my shepherd I shall not want I don't have any needs he's meeting them yes I have needs but he meets them he provides each day I mean didn't you get enough to eat as much as you needed maybe not as much as you wanted but as much as you needed for everything he makes me lie down in green pastures what was this last week like was it a green pasture or do you say well no Lord that boss he kind of yelled at me and then that other co-worker didn't do his job and it fell on me or that driver cut me off on the road the green pastures weren't there because of all these other people that you put me around has nothing to do with the people around Jesus is your shepherd and in the midst of Lincoln Avenue or whatever highway I-25 or whatever road you're driving on he wants you to be a green pasture for you he makes me lie down in green pastures or in front of the kitchen sink or the laundry pile or the homeschool table or whatever it might be he's makes me lie down in green pastures in the hospital room let it be a green pasture whatever the Lord may lead you I love that hymn of Madame Guillaume whatever climb whatever place I'm safe when thou art there this is what the psalmist wrote he makes me lie down in green pastures he leads me beside quiet waters has it been a quiet water in your home this week has it been a quiet water in your workplace in your thoughts when nobody can see maybe all this come around you but in your thoughts it's troubled waters it's a stormy sea and the shepherd is not there Jesus wants to be your shepherd when he's there it's quiet waters it's not the circumstances that make the waters quiet it's the shepherd because he's there he's in the boat and all is well he restores my soul has your soul been troubled is your soul been heavy you're carrying a burden in some way you're worried about your children's future you're worried about something else maybe there's a circumstance if you don't know the answer to there's a relationship that's broken that you wish was different he'll restore your soul he guides me in the paths of righteousness have you been unsure how do I navigate through this Lord I seem to be keep falling into that old habit how do I avoid that he leads me he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake and even though I'm walking through the valley of the shadow of death I fear no evil I have no fear Oh how Christians live with fear what's gonna happen oh it's gonna this thing has happened it was probably gonna get worse the characteristic that the shepherd is in your life and in your presence is that there's no fear if there's any fear even for a second dear brother dear sister remember this if there's even one minute where you had fear in your life it's not because of the circumstances because the shepherd was not there you should you sent him away or you wandered away from him hear him calling you he's looking for you he's coming to help you from that cliff that you might have fallen over fear is over on the other side of the cliff but he's coming to look for you to take you back in his arms come back to Jesus be near him reach out to him if you're in the middle of that circumstance in your you're not sure what to do even if you're busy doing something sitting at work at your computer or driving in the car or working on something with your hands or doing something in the kitchen or at home or whatever it might be or on the phone with somebody and you're trying to figure out an answer come back to the Shepherd even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death you thought you were gonna die in that circumstance I don't know did any of you face a situation this week where you thought you were gonna die I didn't but maybe you did there have been circumstances in the past where I thought I'm gonna die this is it even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death that's sort of like the worst possible case even if you are in the worst possible case where the doctor says you've got ten minutes to live I'm not afraid look at David you know David wasn't quoting anybody it came from his heart he had the Holy Spirit not living within him but God comforted him in such a way how much more us dear brothers dear sisters you don't need to quote Psalms 23 if the Holy Spirit is teaching you in the in the depths of your heart Jesus is your shepherd yeah you know I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I feel no evil why because you're with me you prepare verse 5 a table before me in the presence of my enemies you've anointed my head with oil my cup overflows and surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me every single day what was Saturday like what was the end of your day like yesterday at the end of it was there goodness and mercy following you what was Friday like what was the end of your work day like when you're driving back from work or you're signing off on your computer what is it you're going to bed at night and you're you're about to nod off or you're sitting on the couch tired and you're nodding off what is the end of your day like has it been goodness and mercy following you like a trail this is the promise surely goodness and loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life children when you go to bed at night you know you ought to be able to look back at the day and think man there was goodness and mercy in my life yeah there was trouble yeah there was a storm yeah this other thing happened I didn't expect this to happen but goodness and mercy followed me and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever I skipped a phrase in there and that's for me was the crux the presence of the Lord as a shepherd meant that his rod and his staff are there with me how was a shepherd make himself known to me and this is where the Holy Spirit opened up the work of Jesus and the person of Jesus and to see his rod and his staff working in my life you see the shepherds holding a staff rod I rod and they staff they comfort me you're looking for comfort your brother your sister your children in a world that's full of trouble in this world you will have tribulation Jesus said if you're in this world if you're living in this world you're guaranteed to have tribulation troubles like we say in our home trials and tribulations we know they're coming but thy rod and I staff they comfort me in the midst of those trials and tribulations you can find comfort you know God wants you to have comfort not after the trial and the tribulations over because that you can have in the world oh I had I was sick with kovat but I got better and I was fine okay what about comfort in the middle of your trial while you're there in the doctor's office and you don't know what they're gonna say while you're there praying over your sick child who's got a raging fever and you don't know when it'll break or if it will break well you're sitting there and the boss is yelling at you and you've got this work problem and you're thinking about your children's future or you're thinking about some other circumstance you're battling some sin that seems to harass you and entangle you in the midst of that what will comfort you it won't be an emotional thing no emotion no soulish feeling can comfort you when all hell is breaking loose around you there is only one thing that can comfort you and that is the staff and the rod of the Good Shepherd and all that you would come to know the rod and the staff I thought I would talk about four ways in which the rod and the staff of God of the Shepherd are a comfort for us on that first one on the next slide I want you to know God makes it personal when your enemies taunt you because you are his child when your enemies taunt you and by your enemies I don't mean the person who cuts you off on the road I hope you know that's not your enemy that's your neighbor love him your enemy is your flesh your enemy is the forces of darkness in the heavenlies who come and accuse you and taunt you you're never gonna make it you're always gonna be a failure you'll never overcome in that area you're always gonna be the same self-centered defeated person and your flesh that tempts you away from Christ these are your enemies and where your enemies taunt you God makes it personal God takes it personally when the devil accuses you he says you're accusing Santos you're accusing me that's how God looks at it you know why that's important for me and why I wrote that there the Holy Spirit opened it up for me as it were I always thought that when I fell or if I fell and when I fell my enemies taunted me because I fell my flesh was going to find another way to get me to fall again and God is sitting there up at heaven says oh I see you fell again yeah you why can't you ever get it I thought every the whole world was against me all the way from the presence of God to the devil and his host my own flesh and everybody else around me all the whole world the whole universe is against me what hope do I have and then the Holy Spirit showed me a shepherd who says no when the devil taunts you when your flesh taunts you they're taunting me I'd take it personally because you're my child just like any one of you children or parents if somebody some bully comes in tries to beat up on your child wouldn't you take it personal if somebody comes in to you and says my child your child is like this you'll take it personally even if you think it's probably true you will defend your child and you'll say I'll deal with my children but don't you ever dare take a pick up a pick a fight with my child that's my child you're talking about and if you and I being evil parents would do that for our children how much more your heavenly father when the devil comes at you that your father in heaven makes it personal let's turn to Isaiah chapter 37 this was in our reading a few days ago Isaiah 37 we read in if you read Isaiah 36 and 37 stories also told three times actually I think somewhere in 2nd Kings and in 2nd Chronicles and here again in Isaiah 36 and 37 where this Rob shock a king or army of a commander came against the people of Judah and taunted them and at one point he's there he's yelling in a language that that everybody can understand you know they're yelling and they're taunting and they're saying you guys are never gonna make it and some of these servants these officers of the Jew of Judah come to them and say hey can you use a different language because we don't want everybody else to get discouraged let's talk privately and the guy says no I'm not I'm gonna yell even louder does this remind you of your lust that taunt you and the devil that taunts you Rob shock here is a picture of the devil and his hosts and your lust in your flesh that are out to make fun of you and taunt you let's begin reading Isaiah 37 verse 10 if you missed it in our reading in the last few days or last week whenever it was please go back and read it's a wonderful story read it all three versions if you want so Isaiah 37 he says in verse 10 after this is what the the enemy Rob shock a is telling the people of Judah thus you shall say to Hezekiah king of Judah do not let your God in whom you trust deceive you saying Jerusalem will not be given to the hand of the king of Assyria and for me this is a picture of the devil saying oh you think God's gonna save you oh it'll work for all those other people but you won't it won't work for you your God's not gonna save you you're too bad you've fallen into that same sin too many times you're never gonna get it everybody else will you won't does the devil test you with those thoughts he does mean he has for years he still brings it even now but I don't let him anymore I don't let him bring me into discouragement and and weigh on my mind and bring discouragement and condemnation into my life anymore because I've come to know the Good Shepherd and so behold verse 11 you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the lands destroying them completely so will you be spared see that person's falling that other person's falling that other preachers falling to sit you I wreak havoc in them I destroy their marriage I destroy their home I'm going to do the same with you do you think you'll be spared is the devil coming in taunting the people of God did the gods verse 12 of those nations which my father's have destroyed deliver them even guess on and Haran and Reza and the sons of Eden who are in Talasar where's the king of Hamath the king of Arpet the king of the city of Shepheram and of Hern and Irva all these names I don't know he's going through a list of people who have fallen and doesn't matter how many there are and he sent this letter to the king of Judah and Hezekiah because he knew God did the right thing Hezekiah verse 14 took the letter from the hand of the messengers and read it and what did he do get into a panic think oh man who's going to help me let me find another king he did that at a different occasion but this time he did the right thing and that's what he went up to the house of the Lord and spread out the letter before them the next time somebody sends you an email that you don't like that's accusing you of a whole bunch of things take it before the Lord and just say Lord what do you say the next time somebody says something about you you hear they're spreading rumors about you about your children take it and spread it out before the Lord the next time the devil brings an accusation to you don't let him don't let it enter into here take it and spread it out before the Lord say Lord is there an evidence of truth in this yes I know I'm not like you I have a long way to go before I'm made perfect but I will not allow the devil to bring an accusation into my life because God makes it personal when your enemies taunt you you're his child and if they are accusing you you're his child he's gonna he takes it personally and so he says verse 15 Oh Lord of hosts we're 16 the God of Israel who is enthroned above the chairman you are the God you alone of all the kingdom of the earth you've made heaven and earth incline your your Oh Lord and here he opened up your eyes Oh Lord and see and listen to all the words of Sennacherib who sent them to approach the reproach the living God look at what he says Lord even though that they're accusing us they're reproaching you the next time the devil comes and accuses you of something you know like we sing is that second verse of that him right behold him when Satan tempts me to despair and tells me off the guilt within upward I look and see him there who meant made an end of all my sin look up and say Lord he's throwing the accusation at me but I'm yours stand up and defend me make it personal Lord he will they're approaching you the living God truly Oh Lord the king of Assyria the kings of Assyria have devastated all the countries in their lands yes it's true so many people are living in sin and it's true that he has wreaked havoc in my life all these years and have cast their gods in the fire verse 20 now Oh Lord our God deliver us from the hand that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that you alone Lord our God and then God sends a prophetic word through Isaiah Isaiah the son of Amoz sent word to Hezekiah saying thus says the Lord the God of Israel because you have prayed to me about this situation because you didn't start to get worried and anxious about how you gonna figure out all these things because you prayed to me I'm going to save you Oh what a word I hope somebody needed to hear that today because you have prayed to me about this situation this is the word that the Lord has spoken against him I'm going to fight for you she has despised you and mocked you the virgin daughter of Zion she has shaken her head behind you the daughter of Jerusalem whom have you reproached and blaspheme and against whom have you raised your voice and heartily lifted up your eyes against the Holy One of Israel tell this to the devil the next time he accuses you devil you think you're accusing me no you're accusing Jesus Christ himself and he's gonna fight for you and the devil will run away the devil doesn't want to pick a fight with Jesus you know that right he tried and he lost horribly he was defeated permanently on the cross he's not gonna pick a fight with Jesus again and if you establish your faith on the victory that Jesus won you will see the devil flee this is what it means to flee at the name of Jesus it's not just saying in the name of Jesus children why do we pray in the name of Jesus do you know why because the devil doesn't want to fight against Jesus if he can get you to fight against him one on one by yourself he knows he stands a chance with fear and worry and discouragement and self-condemnation for the moment you not just say in the name of Jesus as a way to finish your prayer or start the prayer but you really say Lord it is your battle I'm yours make it personal Lord so the next time you pray in Jesus name picture Jesus saying oh you said my name okay now it's personal now the devil has to fight with me and it's over the battle is over before it's even begun in the name of Jesus through your servants you have reproached the Lord and you have said with mine versus verse 24 my many chairs I came up let's skip to verse 25 no verse 35 I will defend this city to save it for my own sake and for my servants David say see how God made it personal this is my servant David and this is my city this is my child my daughter my son I'm going to defend her I'm going to defend him now it's not you fighting against the devil and waiting for like hoping Lord are you pleased with how I'm battling against Satan no this is God battling against Satan on your behalf because you're his Zechariah here's a verse Zechariah chapter 2 and you hope you all children know where the book of Zechariah is it's the second last book of the Old Testament Zechariah chapter 2 this is spoken to a people who are some still living in Babylon and to live in Babylon means you're still kind of in this battle between do I really want to be a hundred percent for the Lord or for the world and I'm in this in between 50-50 a little bit of the world and a little bit of the kingdom of heaven and and he says verse 6 Zechariah 2 verse 6 you there hold there flee from the land of the north declares the Lord for I have dispersed you as the four winds of the heavens declares the Lord whole Zion escape you who are living with the daughter of Babylon you who are halfway in the world and halfway in the kingdom of heaven you who are still living with the world in your heart escape for that says the Lord of hosts after glory he has sent me against the nations which plunder you what is he saying there the nations which have been plundering you I am going to go after them for my glory's sake I'm going to get some glory by defeating the lust in your flesh if you will allow me through the Holy Spirit to defeat the lust in your flesh I'll get glory out of it because you'll know it was by my power against the nations which plunder you for he who touches you touches the apple of his eye you see when the devil pokes you and tries to hit you you think you thought it was your eye you know the eye the picture of the God God is using here the eye is one of the most is perhaps the most sensitive part of our body the eye so much so that God has given us eyelids that close even if a little bit of dust anything comes in quickly I don't know of any other part of the body that's so sensitive that it needs to be protected it needs to be forward-facing and outward-looking because I need to see but anything coming your eyes will reflexively close something object coming in your eyes will close eyes are very very very sensitive and God has picked that most sensitive part of our body to say if somebody tries to poke you in that most sensitive place that hurt from the past that other memory that relationship that's really really just digs you and the devil seems to keep nigging niggling there and nagging you in that area if he's poking you in your most sensitive area he's poking my most sensitive area he says he who touches your you touches the apple of his eye this is how much the Lord loves you so God makes it personal when your enemies taunt you the next time you're tempted with discouragement fear anxiety worry and self-condemnation the next time you fall and you discouraged over that falling you think I'm never gonna make it are the enemies are your enemies taunting you God's makes it personal that's why I like that you know if you can see that picture the shepherds coming after the wolf you see he's got a vengeance the sheep are behind him God puts himself between the sheep and the wolf the shepherd puts himself between the sheep and the wolf he makes it personal he doesn't leave the wolf to fight the sheep alone no a good shepherd will put himself between the sheep and the wolf and that's who Jesus is he'll put himself between you and the devil 100 times out of 100 and a thousand times out of a thousand a million times out of a million Jesus will always put himself between you and the devil remember that and I hope it'll change the way you live your life okay secondly God will bring fruit out of your life in secret before him in that second one and you know that example of that rod thank you was the shepherd using the rod to to this to to fight against the the wolf in Numbers chapter 17 we read about a rod Aaron's rod that budded Numbers chapter 17 Numbers 17 verse 5 so the story here is essentially that God was trying to prove this was after the rebellion of Korah, Dathan, the Byram and the earth opened up and swallowed them all up and God was saying you Moses and Aaron are my have my authority and then more people rebelled and God wasn't going to destroy them also by opening up the earth but he said okay I'm going to show you and he basically told Moses take Aaron's rod and take the rod from each of the other 11 tribes or 12 tribes and put them in the ark of the testimony which was this closed box so you take all these rods and put them in the closed box and then the next morning you will see everybody wrote their name Levi Judah Simeon Reuben Dan etc etc etc they're all in there and they put Aaron's rod in there as well and the next morning they came and overnight I mean what would you expect you know Xander has a little pile of sticks he has in the box hidden away somewhere do you expect that one day you'll find that one of those little sticks has grown into a tree not at all it's dead it's a piece of wood it's just it's a rod it's just sitting there no you don't expect it unless God does a miracle and these rods these piles of rods were put into the ark of the testimony closed up in the most holy place and overnight God breathed his life as it were what does it take for a rod to bud it doesn't even need to be connected to a tree it needs to have life in it that's it and normally scientifically it'll get life from the tree that's how a branch buds but this branch if you separate it from the tree and put it by itself now the only way for it to continue to bud is if somehow that life that the tree had can come into itself and God is the one who put the life in the tree and he's the one that breathed into that rod as it were Aaron's rod and this is a beautiful picture what was God trying to teach us through that dear brothers and sisters that if you are content to live your life in secret before God he will bring fruit out of it don't live for the applause of the masses and your reputation in front of people and what look for a public ministry a lot of people thinking oh I want a ministry I want to preach or I want to do this won't do that I want to be a missionary I want to do all these outward things okay maybe the Lord will call you to do that but the most important thing whether you have a public ministry or not is your secret life before God beginning in your motives and your ambitions and your thought life and then in your marriage where it's just you and your wife you and your husband how you speak to each other and then with your children how you are in the home and then in the local church and expanding out from there but it begins in that secret place picture your life hidden like it says in Colossians 3 our life is hidden with Christ in God let your life be like Aaron's rod put into the ark of the testimony and the lid put over it and now it's just you and God that's it there like a rod has no capability I mean we know what happened but what do you think Moses and Aaron were expecting to happen they didn't know God just said put it in there and the next morning all of a sudden there's leaf and flowers coming out of this rod you think what happened what happened we know nobody can go into the most holy place how did it happen God bore witness and the rod for me is another rod the rod of comfort is this knowing that I will put everything before my my Savior I'll put everything before God I will entrust everything to him is are you perplexed about something do people misunderstand you are people taking advantage of you put it before the Lord and trust everything to him who sees everything in secret put it in his hands let your contentment come from dwelling before God in secret learn to live there there's so many people that are seeking for ministry and wondering what is my ministry what is my place I'll tell you this your place is first of all to dwell with God in secret is to walk alone with God it's one of the things that has always blessed me in the writings of A.W. Tozer he seemed to really latch on to this the Saint must be content to walk alone with God and if you learned contentment and walking alone with God then you really understand the joy of the church because the church is not about who's here and who are my friends and do I relate to them or do I not relate to them no I'm here because Christ is here and he has led me to this place and I'm seeking him I want to walk with Christ so the joy and the authority that comes from God bearing witness that he has seen your life in secret and you know if if it had taken one week for that to happen then leave it there for a week if it taken a month or a year or 10 years or 50 years or however long it takes let your budding rod be there in secret before God alone hidden in the presence of God where nobody else can see and one day God will bring it forth to life he'll give you a ministry he'll give you fruit that will remain so God will bring fruit out of your life in secret before him all right thirdly the rod is also a picture of discipline this is something that may be hard to fathom number three God disciplines you with his rod when you when I read Psalm 23 verse 4 thy rod comforts me what do you think about you know Psalm the Proverbs 13 I think says spare not the rod he who spares the rod hates his child but the one who disciplines his child loves him when you think about the rod you know for me it was a belt you know that would be like saying that would be like my dad saying my belt comforts you and I would think no I don't think of comfort when I think of the object that was used to discipline me but that's exactly what God is saying the rod with which you have disciplined me Lord is the source by which I found comfort has the discipline of the Lord brought you comfort have the circumstances in your life with the Lord discipline you and needed to discipline you brought you comfort then you need to if not then you need to be filled with the Holy Spirit you need to invite the Holy Spirit to come and fill your heart where you see Jesus the disciplinarian you see why Jesus is disciplining you it's not because he hates you it's not because you've done bad things no he loves you so God disciplines you out of his deep love for you thy rod and thy staff they comfort me and if the Holy Spirit can show you that shepherd disciplining his sheep a father disciplining his children out of love Proverbs chapter 13 that's the verse I was quoting earlier Proverbs chapter 13 in the literal translation of this word in my margin it shows that Proverbs 13 verse 24 he who withholds his rod hates his son he who withholds his son his rod hates his son now a practical word of advice parents you should discipline your children not advocating necessarily corporal punishment always but if you're not disciplining your children all of them and I know you might have some favorites that you think well you know they're my I have a soft spot for them all of them need children sons and daughters alike and however the Lord leads you to wisely discipline them in a way that doesn't hurt them it's necessary otherwise you hate your child you don't discipline your child you hate them that's just God's Word verse 24 he who withholds discipline from his child hates his child but he who loves him my margin says seeks him diligently with discipline seeks him diligently with discipline that means as diligently as you work to provide for your children and as diligently as you embrace them and cuddle them and snuggle them with kisses diligently discipline them as well why because you love them and the devil wants to paint a picture of first of all for us as parents that discipline is somehow not good for my child oh I love you oh I'll let it slide this time no you hate your child if you're letting it slide and likewise God would hate you if he let it slide and that's why he can't let it slide as long as it takes he's going to discipline you not because he hates you but because he loves you deeply as a verse in Job chapter 5 which I read the other day which was very interesting to read just how it's worded Job chapter 5 you know even though we we know that God rebuked Eliphaz, Bildad and Zophar for not bringing Job comfort there were a lot of things that they said which were actually true and one of those was this verse 17 Job 5 verse 17 behold how happy how joyful is the man whom God reproves so do not displace the discipline of the Almighty if you wonder why your life is not as joyful maybe you've been running away from the discipline of the Lord it's sure in God's word just plainly written how happy is the man whom God reproves it takes the Holy Spirit I can't convince you I can't somehow be like hey man just just believe it no don't pretend the Holy Spirit wants to make Jesus so precious and wonderful to you that when Jesus disciplines you you take it as joy as happy as I got disciplined by the Lord and oh it was the best thing for me now how is the Lord going to discipline you probably through some godly man who's going to speak a word of rebuke into you into your life the next time somebody godly speaks a word of rebuke and tells you something out of love for you how are you going to respond you can respond with Job 5 or 17 how happy I am that God loved me enough to give me shepherds who love me and spoke the truth in love to me or is it going to be oh how dare you speak to me like that you don't know what I'm going through or you don't fully understand my circumstance or it could be through a boss it doesn't have to be a spiritual person God could use any circumstance to discipline behold how happy is the man whom God approves so do not displace the discipline of the Almighty and this is quoted in Hebrews chapter 12 let's turn their Hebrews 12 verse 5 have you you have forgotten the exhortation which is addressed to you as sons look at the we've heard about the Hebrews 11 men and women of faith and he's telling us about Jesus now fix your eyes on him we're trying to fix our eyes on Jesus to see the Good Shepherd to have the Holy Spirit make him glorified make him more glorious and I'm seeing Jesus a Good Shepherd who what who disciplines me a loving Shepherd who disciplines me he says my son do not verse the middle of verse 5 do not regard lightly the discipline of the Lord nor faint when you are reproved by him for those whom the Lord loves he disciplines and he scourges every son whom he receives he receives a son he says okay I'm gonna have to spank you I'm gonna give you a scourging a beating as literally what that word scourges means this is a mark of God's deep love for us and so when we persevere under that affliction I want to show you another verse that we passage that we read a few days ago Isaiah 54 Isaiah 54 verse 7 or let's begin reading in verse 6 let's go back actually sweet verse 4 for in fear not for you will not be put to shame and do not feel humiliated for you will not be disgraced you will forget the shame of your youth and the reproach of your widowhood you will remember no more for your husband is your maker whose name is the Lord of hosts and your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel who is called the God of all the earth for the Lord has called you like a wife forsaken and grieved in spirit even like a wife of one's youth when she is rejected says your God for a brief moment I forsook you and he didn't actually forsake you you can say we know that it seemed like that he was disciplining us but with great compassion I will gather you in an outburst of anger I hit my face from you for a moment but with everlasting loving kindness I will have compassion on you says the Lord your Redeemer for this is like the days of Noah to me when I swore that the waters of Noah would not flood the earth again he's reminding the people of Israel to what it was like in the days of Noah he doesn't say look at how bad you were that I had to destroy you know he says remember how I swore that I wouldn't do it again he destroyed the entire earth but saved Noah so I have sworn verse 9 that I will not be angry with you nor will I rebuke you for the mountains may be removed and the hills may shake but my loving kindness will not be removed from you and my covenant of peace will not be shaken says the Lord who has compassion on you Oh afflicted one storm-tossed and not comforted because you've been running away from the rod and the staff that he intended to bring you comfort you who have not been comforted you have been afflicted you have been storm-tossed behold I will set your stones in antimony and your foundations I will lay on sapphires I will make your battlements of rubies and your gates of crystal and your entire wall of precious stones all your sons I have claimed this promise for my children I hope you will to all your children will be taught of the Lord and the well-being of your children will be great claim it come to the Lord let him discipline you let him afflict you let him allow you to go through that and you'll see the richness of the promise the goodness and the mercy that will follow you as a heritage in righteousness verse 14 you will be established you will be far from oppression for you will not fear and from terror for it will not come near you if anyone falsely assails you it will not be far from me it will not be from me whoever sails you will fall because of you behold I myself have created this Smith who blows the fire of coals and brings out a weapon for its work and I created the destroyer to ruin no weapon that is formed against you will prosper and every tongue that accuses you in judgment you will condemn this is the heritage of I would say the sheep of the Lord the servants of the Lord and their vindication is from me declares the Lord I will fight the battle for you God disciplines you out of his deep love for you and you will find a richness of blessing coming behind you all right fourth one and last God will carry you and defend you until the end God will carry you and defend you until the end looks like we lost let's turn to Isaiah chapter 40 I was saying how Isaiah is a chapter where a book where there's this split as it were we were reading the story in chapter 37 and the story finishes in chapter 39 and all of a sudden in chapter 40 the the the mood switches as it were there's been the discipline and the rebuke and the correction and now he says chapter 40 verse 1 comfort Oh comfort my people says your God speak kindly to Jerusalem and call out to her that her warfare has ended that her iniquity has been removed that she has received of the Lord's hands double for all her sins double blessing for all her sins verse 9 get yourself up on a high mountain Oh Zion bearer of good news lift up your voice mightily Oh Jerusalem bearer of good news lift it up do not fear say to the cities of Judah here is your God behold the Lord God will come with might and I picture God rolling up his muscles rolling up his sleeves as it were to show his muscles the Lord your God will come with might with his arm ruling for him behold his reward is with him and his recompense before him and what will he do with these strong muscles verse 11 like a shepherd he will tend his flock in his arm he will gather the lambs and carry them in his bosom he will gently lead the nursing ewes and a few chapters later chapter 46 he says well how long you're gonna do this Lord he says until the end of your life Isaiah 46 verse 3 listen to me Oh house of Jacob and all the remnant of the house of Israel you who have been born by me from birth and have been carried from the womb even to your old age I will be the same and even to your graying years I will bear you for me that's not a matter of whether you have gray hair or not or whether you live to be a certain age it's until the end of your life God has promised to hell hold you my rod and I staff they comfort me I have done it and I will carry you and I will bear you and I will deliver you verse 8 remember this and be assured recall it to mind you transgressors remember the former things long past prime God and there is no other I am God and there was no one like me declaring the end from the beginning and from ancient times things which have not been done saying my purpose will be established and I will accomplish all my good pleasure wonderful wonderful promises I'll close with this verse in the book of Micah Micah chapter 7 it's been it's been encouraging for me for the Holy Spirit to show me Jesus as the one who is strict severe with me but also kind with me behold the severity and the kindness of God and that's what I've been trying to express and here I see this beautifully in these verses in Micah chapter 7 Micah 7 verse 7 as for me I will watch expectantly for the Lord I will wait for the God of my salvation my God will hear me do not rejoice over me if you didn't get anything else I hope you'll take this word say this this week and for the rest of your life do not rejoice over me or my enemy you've been rejoicing over me you've been able to successfully get me into bad moods and get me to do that with my tongue you get me to do that with my eyes and get me to be jealous or get me to be bitter or get me to be unforgiving but do not rejoice over me my oh my enemy though I fall I will rise though I dwell in darkness the Lord is a light for me if you've been dwelling in darkness the Lord is a light for me I will bear the indignation of the Lord I will allow him to discipline me because I have sinned against him yes I know I sinned against him and he will punish me but what will happen after that he will plead my case and execute justice for me he will bring me out to the light and I will see his righteousness then my enemy will see and shame will cover her who said to me where is the Lord your God my eyes will look on her at that time she will be trampled down like mire of the streets it will be a day for building your walls on that day will your boundary be extended and what I saw here was the indignation and the pleading you see that in verse 9 the indignation of the Lord and the pleading of the Lord and this is to me like I committed a crime I got arrested by the policeman and now I'm tempted to think this policeman hates me he arrested me I should have done the crime I know that but you know most criminals they they somehow think that it's the policeman's fault for what they did they resist stop resisting stop resisting the policemen say and most criminals think the policeman's our enemy and the devil wants you to think of Jesus the policeman he is a policeman his laws just God is a policeman and the wants you to get this idea that because God is the one who arrested you who exposed your sin and is punishing you or has you in handcuffs that he's your enemy and then they take you to court and you find you've been given a lawyer and the lawyers the policeman the policeman was the one arrested you but then he's the one that says listen I know I arrested you I had to but I'm now I'm gonna plead your case for you is that a comfort as it will the holy will you allow the Holy Spirit to open your eyes to see Jesus upholding his law and saying you did something wrong it is because you sinned that I am in I'm angry my indignation my discipline of you is necessary but now when I bring you into the court I'm gonna say I'm gonna plead your case for you said father be merciful to Santos I died for him I shed my precious blood for Santos I will bear the indignation of the Lord because I've sinned against him until the very one who is disciplining me is pleading my case and executing justice for me and saying you get to go free Santos I paid the price you're free the policeman and the lawyer in one it's a beautiful picture I hope you'll make it your own not because I said it but because the Holy Spirit has written it in his word we go to that last slide we'll go through all for all four of those very quickly the comfort of the shepherds rod and staff God makes it personal when your enemies tell taunt you because you're his child never forget that God will bring fruit out of your life in secret before him keep your life in secret before him God disciplines you out of his deep love for you and God will carry you and defend you until the end he's your lawyer amen father I pray that not just these thoughts Lord but your Holy Spirit will come and fill every heart here and glorify Jesus make him more precious to us that we might love him and see a shepherd who loves us with his rod and staff in Jesus name