2024-04-14AM- He Restoreth My Soul

The speaker begins by referencing Psalm 23 and expresses gratitude for meaningful teaching. They emphasize the importance of knowing and standing for what the Bible says. The speaker then proceeds to discuss the concept of restoration, using various biblical examples to illustrate God's desire to restore and reconcile. They highlight the need for individuals to acknowledge their present need for restoration and emphasize that God is always willing to restore souls. We're going to turn to the 23rd psalm. Maybe you can quote it all the way through, but go ahead and turn there with me this morning. Psalm 23. Brother Michael, you're probably thinking, great, another sermon on the 23rd psalm. You probably can't count the number of times he's heard the 23rd psalm. I was listening to an audio book yesterday, and it was a pastor who had written a book on preaching, and I like to glean whatever I can from whatever information I can get it from. He told one of the most discouraging things for a man who gets up behind the pulpit. He said, they're going to forget 90% of what you say. Awesome. Awesome. All right. So it's better than Isaiah. Isaiah was told, they're not going to listen to you at all. None of them are. So I'm glad today for our church, and I will say that this kind of teaching that we had this morning and the teaching that we've had here is my dream. It really is. I have for years sat in teachings that are so generic and so all-encompassing. You can make it. Keep up the fight, you know, familiar phrases, full of cliches. So I'm glad to hear the kind of teaching that's just my heart to know what the Bible says to be able to stand for it and for people to be strong in it. I can live right when I know why I'm living the way I am. I don't have to just rely on tradition. I don't have to rely on this is what our movement does, but to know what the Bible says, and I'm thrilled with it, and I really appreciate it this morning. All right. Psalm 23, we'll begin reading in verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. Yea, though I walk through 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 in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth 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. Father, thank You for our time together this morning. Thank You for the presence that we have felt and know that You are here among us. Thank You, God, for the promise that we may dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I pray for the encouragement of the saints today, the edifying of Your church. I pray that You'll change whatever You see needs to be changed today. I ask for the outpouring of Your Spirit in this message. Make me a preacher. I ask You to anoint my voice. Help me to say it in the way, Lord, that it can be heard and retained, and it will help today. Bless this congregation, I ask in Jesus' name, Amen. I want to use for a title there just that first phrase in verse 3, He restoreth my soul. He restoreth my soul. If I were to stand up here today and ask for a response and say, how many here have experienced in times past where God has restored you? There would be lots of head nodding. There would be hands that were raised, because there's many experiences in our past that we would say, boy, did He bring me out of that. Oh, didn't He restore me at that time. And if I were to ask everyone in this place, do you feel like that there will be a point in the future where you feel like God's probably going to have to restore my soul once again? There'd be the same nodding of the heads, the hands would go up. But while we can reminisce of what God has done, and while we can think about the times that God will help us in the future, what's really important is that right now. And how hard it is for most church folks to admit, I need restoration right now. I need my soul restored right now. We can agree with the psalmist when he said, He brought me up also out of a horrible pit. He established my goings and testified about what I went through and how bad it was. And we can talk about the future at times that I know that when I'm going through it, God is going to bring me through. In 2 Corinthians chapter 1, the apostle Paul wrote, we trust that He will yet deliver us. He's brought us through things. And I know that He will. But we often have a really hard time confessing what our current needs are. What the present needs in our souls right now. But David here in this psalm was willing to step up and say, He restoreth my soul. And it would ring and be read and be quoted for hundreds of years, for thousands of years that David said, He restoreth my soul. This word that's translated from the Hebrew that we see that David uses here and translated into the English as restoreth is found over a thousand times in the Old Testament. Restore. Restore. And depending on the context of how it's used, sometimes it talks about past times. You remember when Joseph's brothers showed up in Egypt and when they went back to see Jacob, Benjamin found the bag of money was in his bag of corn. And when he got there, he said, my money was restored. It's the same word. It was a restoration. Something was happened in the past. There's also a time that the Bible tells us in Genesis chapter 15 and verse 16 about the future state of Israel that they shall come hither again. God had a promise for the people of Israel that they shall return. God told Abraham that He was going to return to him. He would restore to him the time of his life and he would be able to bear a son. And his wife Sarah would give deliverance to that son. And it's that same word, return, restore. It's happened in the past. It's going to happen in the future. But there are times when it talks about right now. When God said in Malachi chapter 3 and verse 7, Return unto Me and I will return unto you, saith the Lord of hosts. Return. It's the same word. Restore. Get back to where it ought to be. Zechariah used the same word and it was interpreted in the English as turn. Get back to the way that it was. Now, we can reminisce about these times that we've come through. About all those times in the past when He has delivered us. We can testify of things in the future. And we can quote the Scriptures out of Hebrew. For He hath said, I will never leave thee nor forsake thee. And I know that's something that He's going to fix in the future. But there are needs often present right now. Right now that need to be fixed. There are people, while we talk about having been pulled up from the pit, there are those who are in the bottom of the pit right now looking up. They need restoration. Restoration right now. And as I was thinking about this message and getting it ready, it seems to me that there is a theme of restoration that is woven through the entire Bible. There's always that point that God is wanting to bring people back to where He had wanted them to be in the very beginning. When God confronted Adam and Eve about their sin in the garden, immediately, He said there's going to come a time when the serpent's head is going to be bruised. There's going to be an answer. It's already on the way. The remedy is in the works right now. There was a time that He spoke through the prophet Joel, I will restore to you the years that the locusts have eaten, the canker worm, the caterpillar, and the palmer worm. He's talking about restoration. He said as bad as things are right now, God's plan is for restoration. And I'm just showing you where through the Bible, in the beginning when the fall of Adam and Eve, God wanted to restore. That when there was a time when Israel had fallen away from God, His plan was for them to be restored. In the New Testament, 1 Corinthians chapter 5, you'll read about the man who was the fornicator. And God, through the Apostle Paul, said this problem needs to be taken care of. There's a discipline that needs to be engaged. And once it's taken care of, just let it be. But in 2 Corinthians, He writes back to the church and He says, Look, here's what I want you to do. I beseech you that ye would confirm your love toward Him. Once that man repented, once that man had come back and responded positively to the discipline that the church had put upon him, He said, confirm your love to Him. Restore Him. Let Him back in. Bring Him back in. Galatians chapter 6 and verse 1 says, Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual, restore such an one in the spirit of meekness. His subject was restore. God's not looking to throw people out. God wants people to be restored. When Jesus came into this world, His whole plan was to restore the broken relationship between God and man. 2 Corinthians chapter 5 says, All things are of God who hath reconciled us to Himself by Jesus Christ. That God was in Christ reconciling the world unto Himself. He said, We pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God. Why? For He hath made Him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in Him. God's plan has been for restoration. It is clear according to the Scriptures that God wants to restore people's souls. In Matthew chapter 12, Jesus restored a man's withered hand. In Mark chapter 10, Jesus recovered the sight of blind Bartimaeus. When John the Baptist in the prison called out and said, Send word. Ask Him. Are you Him that we should be looking for? Should we look for somebody else? Are you Him? This is what Jesus said. Tell John, the blind are seeing, the lame are walking, the lepers are cleansed of debt. Here the dead are raised. God was all about restoring and restoration and recovery and making sure people get back to the place where God had originally designed them. And all these things are wonderful examples of God's desire to restore. When a blind man gets to see again. When a withered hand gets restored like the other one. It's wonderful. And I'd love for my body to have the strength that it once had, to be restored in my body. I'd love for my lungs to work as good as they ever have in the past. But if I never get touched within my body, if things don't change for this body for me, I want to say like David said, He restoreth my soul. Because I can be blind, but let my soul be restored. I can be lame, but let my soul be restored. Those are notable miracles that Jesus had performed. But David said what was really important, He restoreth my soul. There's a difference made inside of me. John chapter 8, when that adulterous woman was brought before Jesus, cast to Him, humiliated in front of everybody. The charges were brought. The woman was... the indictment had been made. And there were eyewitnesses to say just what bad condition that this woman was. But they all found out that day that the interest of Jesus Christ was not in destruction. The interest of Jesus Christ was not in condemnation. But what the Lord wanted to do was to restore this woman when He looked at her and said, Go and sin no more. He didn't want a woman that was dead. He didn't want Him to call for stones and to destroy this woman. His desire was, bring you out of where you are and restore. Back here in the 23rd Psalms, I believe, as I've looked at this psalm, that there are two phrases. Two phrases that the entire psalm is dependent on. The first one is, the Lord is my Shepherd. The second one is, He restoreth my soul. Those green pastures, those still waters, it's all because the Lord is my Shepherd. I walk in paths of righteousness because my Shepherd has restored my soul and He's led me in these ways. I will fear no evil. My head is anointed. My cup runneth over. Goodness and mercy shall follow me. I will dwell in the house of the Lord. All of these are benefits because He restoreth my soul. And in this beautiful psalm, this comforting psalm that's used for so many different occasions, David himself admits, I have a need to be restored. I've got issues in my life that make me realize God has to restore my soul. David does not pretend that he's so strong that he doesn't need restoration. David doesn't say that I've got it all under control and then retreats into the background and hoping that everything's going to work out. He said, I'm in need and God restored my soul. He acknowledges that it's going to take God to step in and make changes in my life. Changes. Not little tweaks. Not tiny adjustments in my life. But a restoration where everything gets changed. I want to remind you today that there is restoration today that is offered for everyone. Whatever your need is, wherever you've been in your life, however you came into this service today, restoration is being offered. We've all seen cars that there's no way you'd want them. I mean, it might have a for sale sign on it, but it's been in such a bad wreck. That thing's all banged up. I mean, the windows are broken out of it. The door won't even close. It's all out of alignment now. It's badly battered. It's banged up. It's not even drivable. And somebody puts a for sale sign on it as if someone would want something like that. But there are people that are interested in cars like that. I mean, there's a place down here, Clarkson, I remember driving by many times. Wrecked cars. And he's got them all sitting there because he's going to work on them. He's looking that he might be able to restore something just like that. There's places that's their specialty. They're not there to change you. They'll take a wrecked car and they will restore it. Now, in the world that we live in today, there are countless lives that could identify like one of these wrecked cars. People who've been abused. People who've been hurt. People who have found themselves in situations that has brought damage to the soul and to the mind. Words that have been spoken that you've just simply had to absorb and take it. But the pain is still there. But the battered feeling is still there. And oftentimes, it's just like that car that sits on that lot. It's just sitting there. Nobody can drive it. It's not going anywhere. It just sits there, crumpled. It sits there, undrivable and no purpose. And people get to the feeling like that when they've gotten in that place. They don't feel usable anymore. I've been hurt. I've been harmed. And they're idle. They get to feeling useless and worthless because of things that they have suffered in their lives. And quite often, depression follows along with something like this. And you can look at the car on the lot out there, and there could be stories told where it took a family on vacation out west and the wonderful time that they had, but nobody even thinks about that anymore. All they're looking at is that crumpled car right there that's beat up and bruised. And it happens in people's lives, and they need to be restored. They've become very cautious in their movements, very guarded with their feelings. Everybody that they meet, they're suspicious of because of what they have endured. David said, He restoreth my soul. And God's still willing to do something like that today. There's other cars you may have seen, maybe parked out in a field somewhere, or maybe something that's been discovered sitting in a barn somewhere, or in a garage. And no one has seen it in years. And it's covered in dust. And all of its systems are clogged up with dirt that's accumulated over the years. The tires are dry rotted. I mean, you could go in there and you could dump a gas can full of fuel and have the right key, and you could turn it on when you want to, but it's not going anywhere. But because of neglect, but because it's not been used, because it's been parked and no one has done anything with it, it's going to take a lot of effort to get this thing on the road again. And again, there are people who take interest in that. Some people get very excited when they come upon that rare find in a barn, and it gets uncovered. I mean, you and I, it would be useless to us. I wouldn't have the resources to even begin to restore such a vehicle like that. But some people get excited. That's exactly what I'm looking for. And oftentimes there are people in a backslidden state that they could talk about the glory days. They could remember back to a time when I drove down the road. They could remember when I was useful. They could remember when I did things like they were supposed to be. But because of neglect, but because of stepping back, they're covered in the dirt of this world, and they're undrivable. And they have become worthless and useless in this world. But God says, I'm interested. And David said, He restoreth my soul. And if there's a backslider in this place today, God is able and willing to restore. He's got the special tools. He's got the way to walk. He knows just exactly what to do. That's why David could say, He restoreth my soul. There's also cars that get used every single day. They're driven daily. Barely. The odometer's already turned over. It's got lots and lots of miles on it. The oil hadn't been changed, and nobody knows the sticker. Nobody can read the sticker in the window anymore for when the oil change last came. The brakes are grinding. The tires are bald. No maintenance has been performed on this vehicle. It's been abused, and it's been neglected. But it continues to limp along. Every time I need to go somewhere, I put just enough fuel to get me there. And I'm not even sure, in the shape this vehicle's in, if it's going to make it to where I'm going. In reality, this car is failing. But I count on it every day. But I feel like that it'll get me. But it's not going to last long like this. There are too many people who have fallen into this spiritual condition. They're still starting. They're still moving. And I get just enough prayer in to get them through the current crisis. Just enough to get me through another day. Praying has become small and scattered. Bible verses, the only ones are those familiar ones that everybody knows. We pull them out every once in a while and act as though we're inspired by them. Use them, and perhaps even misuse them out of context. Just getting along, but spiritually just sputtering. They're going to give out pretty soon because there's not enough effort being put in to being kept spiritually healthy. There was a time when people would spend time in prayer. When you'd go into the prayer closet, you would shut the door and call out to God. And now you have found that that time has been dwindling away. The excitement of being alone and private with God has lost its zeal. All that is starting to go away. And once again, life has gotten to the place where praying on the go is what we do. Instead of taking time, you began to make time with Him, but you got busy again. Consistency has given way to inconsistency. And now you try to convince yourself that you can pray just as effectively while you're driving, while you're working, while you're busy about all kinds of other things. I'm there. It's okay. I can continue to do like this. When a soul gets in this condition, things begin to creep back in that you had one time pushed out of your life. When you go online and you waste time robbing you from communion with God, when social media, which you had sworn off at one time and it was off limits to you, it now becomes beneficial. I can see the good in this. You know, maybe I was mistaken. It's because we quit praying. It's because we quit spending time alone with God. YouTube, the entertainment of this world, has captured your attention again. It affects your attitude. It affects your worship. It affects your desire for holiness and godly living. The Bible tells us in 2 Corinthians chapter 4, it says, Our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. But the experience that this man is having is quite the opposite. The outward man is renewed day by day, while the inward man continues to perish. Things are worked on for the fleshly man, and things are neglected for the spiritual man. And the flesh, all of a sudden, starts getting preeminence in the life of this individual. And what is really needed in a time like this is somebody to get revived, somebody to be restored. That's what is necessary in a time like this. You remember in the book of Revelation, chapter 2, Jesus speaking to the church at Ephesus. He said, look, here's the problem. You have left your first love. And when it's only a cliché to you, when it's just something that we say, and we remember about some church that was long, long ago, it has really become a way of life. But people, no longer in love with God, it has become an accurate description of your spiritual life. But David said, He restoreth my soul. When I find myself in this place, the 51st Psalm, when David found himself in sin, one of the things that he prayed was, Restore unto me the joy of thy salvation. I need a restoration. He recognized the place that he was. Now, those cars that we talked about, that one that's been in a wreck, or the one that's been neglected, or the one that is barely running right now, if something's going to be done for it, it's going to cost. There is going to be an expense that is incurred if this car is going to be restored. It's going to take time. It's going to take money. If you're going to do it right, you're going to have to invest in it. But fortunately for us, that's exactly why Jesus Christ came into this world, to expend the time and the effort to restore the soul. This wasn't cheap. A good restoration never will be. I remember you had that Mustang years ago, and it had been wrecked, and nobody knew what it looked like until you found the pictures in the glove box. And you think, wow, somebody put some effort into this. Somebody spent some money on this. Somebody put some time. And I want to tell you up here today, somebody put some time in this man. He restoreth my soul. The purchase price for our redemption and for our restoration was the precious blood of Christ. When He went to Calvary, the price that was paid at Calvary was an exhaustive price. It was a high price. It was enough to restore whatever condition your soul will be in today. Acts 3, verse 19, the preacher said this, Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out. When? When the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord. That's how it's going to happen, is when the Spirit moves. And when you take a deep breath and you say, I need to be restored. The very last phrase in the 23rd Psalm is, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. All that is because that when He needed help, when it felt like there was no hope, when it seemed like everything was falling apart and I wasn't doing what I was supposed to be doing, He went back to verse 3, He restoreth my soul. That's what David said. Brother Austin, would you come to the piano, please? He is still in the interest of restoring souls. Would you stand with me? I'll tell you, my greatest concern here is when the people of God get on fire and you did run well. But something has come along and it's hindered. And it was okay to hinder for a day, maybe even two days, but you didn't get back on track. You didn't go back to the prayer closet like you had committed to do. That Bible, you pick it up real fast, rush through a couple verses. It's just sputtering along. But God will restore the soul. David said, He restores my soul. So I want to ask you today, whatever condition you might be in, maybe you're that battered vehicle. Maybe you're that one that's been completely neglected. Or maybe it's that one that's just barely getting along, hoping to make it to the next one. I'll change the oil next paycheck. I'll plan for new tires maybe next month. I think next month will be a better time. Praying just isn't convenient today. But I'm going to get back. I want to encourage everyone today to choose this time to get back and let God restore your soul. Would you come in? Let's find us a place and let's talk to God. He restored my soul. He restored my soul. Search us in this house today, God. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, Lord. Thank you, God. Oh, Lord, search us in this house. Know our hearts. Try our hearts. If you'll hear my humble cry. That car driving down the road, nobody else knows it. They hardly even notice. But that driver knows, I'm barely making it. That driver knows I may not get to my destination. Everybody else thinks it's just fine. But God will restore the soul. Renew the commitment today. Savior, Savior, hear my humble cry. While on others Thou art calling, do not pass me by. Trusting only in Thy merit, oh, would I seek Thy face. Heal my wounded, broken spirit.