PSALMS 23 LETS BREAK IT DOWN

Our Father, which art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come, thy will be done in earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our debts as we forgive our debtors. Lead us not into temptation. Deliver us from evil. For thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory forever. In Jesus' name we pray. Thank you, Jesus. Thank you. Thank you, our Lord and Savior. We thank you. Hey, folks, this is Reverend Mary coming to you in the holy name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior from Along The Way Ministries. And this ministry was given to me by our Heavenly Father August 14, 2006. And as a disciple of Christ, I am bound in the spirit of love and obedience to do the will of God. So go ye, therefore, and preach and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Ghost. This scripture can be found in Matthew chapter 28, verse 19. Praise the Lord. Folks, we're going to talk about Psalms 23. Psalms 23 is a powerful, profound, moving scripture. And I found out in life that sometimes people are afraid of this scripture and they don't read it very often because there's a misunderstanding about it. This scripture was made, was created by God to lift us up, to give us hope in some of the worst times we might encounter. Let's expound on Psalms 23, verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not mourn. And this is why, people, stay with me here. John 10, 11. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for his sheep. You know, somebody else might run off and leave you. But this is what my Savior says. This is his eternal promise to you. Psalms 3, excuse me, Psalms 37, 25. I have been young and now I am old. Yet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread. Folks, he will take care of you. No doubt about it. God takes care of his own. Psalms 23. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leaveth me beside the still waters. You know, he prepares the way. He takes care of his own. God takes care of his own. When you look across a green pasture and, you know, the cows in the lot grazing, eating green grass. You know, we're talking about well-fed animals that eventually will be a blessing, you know, on somebody's table. Beef, you know, good beef. And it's served, you know, and it's healthy. And it's because the animal was well cared for. You know, it was living on fertile ground. Well, take this into consideration. What more do you think our Heavenly Father will do for you? Think big. Think out of the box. Think everlasting, everlasting goodness. Praise the Lord. Let's do some faith building here. Let's be touched by the Word of God. Let's be healed by the Word of God. Okay. One of God's many names is El Shaddai. El, mighty power, strong God, Shaddai. He who supplies and satisfies in it. The God who is more than enough. God has endless supply to meet our every need. God is powerful. Nothing is too great for Him. He is mighty, mighty. Praise the Lord. Psalm 23. We're still on Psalm 23. I will repeat. He leadeth me beside the still waters. The essence of peace is in the hands of the Lord. Psalms 91 verse 7. A thousand shall fall at thy side and lo thousands at thy right hand. But it shall not come nigh thee. That means, folks, that it won't come near you. Only with thine eyes shall thou behold and see the reward of the wicked. That's the backside. It's kind of like looking in your rearview mirror. Praise the Lord. And all you can see is the backside going opposite direction. Because thou hast made the Lord, which is my refuge, even the most high, thy habitation. That where you live, there shall no evil befall thee. Neither shall any plague come near you. It will not come near your house. That is the promise of God. For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. You know, this makes me think about Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. These names were given to the Hebrew children. They were in captivity in Babylon. Nebuchadnezzar II was over them. And their real names is Hananiel, Mishael, and Michael. And forgive me if I don't say them correctly. But they were called Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. And they were thrown in a fiery furnace. The scripture says that they were thrown in a fiery furnace. And even the people that were appointed by the king to throw them in there were seen, they were burned to a crisp. Because the temperature of the fire was so exceedingly hot that they didn't survive. But praise God, the children of Israel, they were in that fire. They were thrown in that fiery furnace. And I think he was the king himself, if I'm not mistaken. He was the one who looked them in that distance, in that direction, and saw four men. He saw four men in that furnace. And it was said that it was the Son of Man, Jesus Christ, was in that furnace with those anointed children of God, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. The Bible says not even a hair on their head was singed. Their clothes did not smell of smoke. The fire did not touch them in any kind of way. Well, that same God that brought Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, praise God, out of the fiery furnace, he is the same God that watches over us right today. Praise the Lord. For he shall give his angels charge over thee to keep thee in all thy ways. Praise the Lord. Our Heavenly Father is able to do this. He is willing and able. Praise God. Get out of his way, people. Get out of his way, and he will show you. My mama used to say, I can show you better than I can tell you. God is able to do just that. This is the third verse of Psalm 23. He restores my soul. He leads me in the path of righteousness for his name's sake. Remember, you were dead in your sins, lost, did not know what to do. And God did this. He did this for all of mankind. He did not leave you out. Chapter 53 of Isaiah. Surely he hath borne our grief and carried our sorrow. Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. Talking about Jesus, people. Glory, hallelujah. We're talking about our Lord and Savior. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon him. And with his stripes, we are healed. Hallelujah. He was oppressed, and he was afflicted. Yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers, is dumb. So he opened not his mouth. People, he kept his mouth closed for all of mankind. He died for all of us. Glory, hallelujah. Praise God. Thank you, Jesus. Psalms 23. It's the fourth verse. 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. People, the Lord knows just how the spirit of fear wracks on us. God knows. That is why in the book of Proverbs, you will find chapter 3, verse 25 to 26. Goes like this. Be not afraid of sudden fear, neither of the desolation of the wicked when it comes. Listen to the words of the scripture. For the Lord shall be thy confidence, and shall keep thy foot from being taken. And in verse 24, it also says, it's reassuring. When thou lies down, thou shall not be afraid, and thou shall lie down, and thy sleep shall be sweet. Praise God. Keep your mind focused on Him. The name of Jesus defeats all wickedness, all fear. Say His name. Repeat His name until you begin to realize that you are not alone. He is with you. Now, take a deep breath and give Him praise. Hallelujah. Tell them how totally awesome He is. Glory to God. Tell them you adore Him. Praise God. Because He is so, so, so, so good. Tell Him that too. Hallelujah. Number five. Folks, when people mistreat you, talk about you behind your back, lie, cheat, steal from you, when things are bad, and you could use the comfort of a friend, of a good friend, look around, and if there is not a soul in sight, and it feels like your back is against the wall, if you're hurt, cry. But do not let anger consume you. Instead, cry out for Jesus. Go to your knees. Ask God for help, and He will deliver you. Hallelujah. And know this for a fact, because He did it for me, He has done it for me so many times. And I'm so grateful. And what He has done for me, He'll do for you. I am nobody's special. I breathe the same air you breathe. I share the same mighty God you serve. And I escape sin and death by the hands of the same mighty God that you did. I say that to say this, that I am no different. He will treat you no different. What He did for me, He'll do it for you. The madness, He will overcome. I'll show you how to overcome the madness. He will change your life. He said, I will open the windows of heaven and pour you out a blessing, lest you not be room enough to receive. And your tears are sweet smelling savor to the Lord. Praise God. He knows how to wipe your tears away. He knows how to replace those tears with joy. Can I get a witness? Can I get somebody else to say praise God, glory to His name? Hmm. How about Luke 638? Give and it shall be given unto you. Good measure. Press down and shake it together and run it over. Shall men give unto your bosom. For with the same measure that you meet with all, it shall be measured to you again. That is the word of God for the people of God. Thank you, dear Heavenly Father. How about that? Can you conceive of anything better? I can't see that we could. We serve a just and righteous God. And to God be the glory. And folks, listen to this. You know, this is truth. You will see unrighteousness, evil, darkness. There will be people that will hurt you despite how good you have been to them. We live and we learn, you know. And remember this, don't measure the evil that someone do to you by what you need to do to them as far as returning evil for evil. That's just like putting fire on fire. You can't put fire out with fire. You got to throw something else on it. Something that will give you a positive reaction, praise the Lord, a positive outcome. So, you don't return that evil for evil. I want you to remember, always remember, that God is a virtuous God. Jesus is a virtuous Savior. Remember the scripture where the woman was a heretic for, she had been doing this for like 12 years. And there was a crowd gathering around her because they knew Jesus was in the midst. And she said, if I could just touch the hem of his garment, she said, I know I'd be made whole. I mean, we serve a powerful, mighty Savior. And we want to be like this woman. This woman was virtuous because, you know, out of all those people that were standing around, it was a crowd of people. And Jesus felt this woman, this woman's spirit. I mean, she was just touching his garment. He hadn't seen her yet, but he felt her touch and distinguished it from everybody else that was out there. And knew that he had been touched by this woman. And he told his disciples, the virtue has gone out of me. And I mean, he said, somebody touched me. And they was like, Master, all these people, you know, around you. You know, how can you tell, you know, who touched you? I know, he was saying, I know somebody touched me. Not just anybody, but somebody who would leave, hallelujah, if they touched my garment, they would be healed. Things were going to change. They wouldn't be the same. Hallelujah, praise the Lord. We still serve that same Jesus, you know. That same Jesus. That's the one I'm talking about right today. Hallelujah. Well, you know what? Let me read this. Let me read this. Where is it? Where is it? The Bible says, come ye out from among them. What you need to do is separate yourself from evil and wickedness. And remember, you are anointed, you're chosen. And I pray that your cup will run over, spill over on those who cross your path. And that they will experience the anointing of the autumns upon them. And the flow, which is keep on coming. Praise the Lord. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The last part of Psalms 23. Before we depart company on this evening, brothers and sisters in Christ, all those who are seeking the truth, all those who want their life to change and never be the same, get your house in order. See, you're the true temple where the Spirit of the Lord dwells. That brick and that mortar, that structure built by man's hands, that's a place of fellowship. A place, because you know the Lord tells us not to forsake fellowship. So there are community dwelling places where people go and they communicate, they worship together, they fellowship together in the name of Jesus Christ. Hopefully, in the name of Jesus Christ. The real way. The one true way. But what I want to impress upon your mind right now is this. That building, I'm not saying anything against it because I was raised up in the house of God. Raised up in fellowship with people of God. It's been wonderful. Thank God for it. But I want you to know this. That we need to get our house in order. You are the true temple where the Spirit of the Lord dwells. God commands that we do not forsake fellowship. But let me tell you what Matthew says. Matthew 18, 20. Because God don't want you to worry about anything. Worry is the absence of faith. Don't worry. Just be obedient to God's will. Just read the Bible so that you will know what God expects of us. And so you will know him better. Don't take somebody's word for it all the time. Get the proof yourself. First hand. Praise God. Amen. Get the proof so you'll know. Matthew 18, 20. Where two or three are gathered together in my name. There am I in the midst of them. Is that cool or what? Glory to God. So if you are fortunate enough to be in a great congregation with a bunch of believers. That is awesome. That's fellowship. But if you have the opportunity to praise God with two or three brothers and sisters in Christ. And the Holy Ghost is right there in the midst. And the fire is up blazing. You're having a good time in the Lord. Oh my goodness. That is wonderful. I've experienced it so many times in my life. And I've got close friends like that. Sometimes it's on the phone. Sometimes it's in person. It does not matter how you do it. As long as you're doing it according to God's will or according to his way. Because what you want to do is you want to please God. And you can only please him by being obedient. He said obedience is better than sacrifice, people. Glory, hallelujah. So let's be obedient. And let's care about what he feels and what he thinks more than anybody. When two or three are joined together. I will be in the midst. He'll be right there. And you cannot help but have a good time and draw closer to the Lord. And I pray that we're coming upon the Sabbath. And I pray that everybody, under the sound of my voice, and those who are joined with me in the spirit to the four corners of this earth, will find somebody to worship the Lord with. Somebody to have a good time in Christ's will. Somebody to study his word and just be bound to it. Oh, man, that would be so, so wonderful. It's wonderful. You can't ask for anything any better than that. And don't worry about what anybody else thinks. God is who you want to please. So I leave you with that. Until we meet again, people, may the spirit of the Lord dwell with you. And please, if you truly want to live, be alive, not just breathing. Find your way to the throne of grace. Repent and live. We're dead in our sins until Jesus, until we make a bond with Jesus, until we die with him on that cross and be raised again with him. Jesus Christ, the way, the truth, and the life, until we meet again. In Jesus' name.