José Abenchuchan Deaf Missions Council Bluffs, Iowa Series: Perseverance Sermon: 2 of 5 Date: July 8, 2007 REGAINING STRENGTH Hello, I am happy to see you again. As I like to do before I start preaching, I want us to watch The Bible: American Sign Language Translation of Psalm 23. The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name s sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Today I will focus on Psalm 23, specifically on verses 2 and 3a. These verses say, He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. I notice in this passage, David chose to talk about sheep. Why did David choose sheep? Why didn t he choose another animal? David had good reasons to choose sheep. Remember, David worked with sheep as a young boy. He discovered that humans are like sheep in many ways. Before I give you examples, I want to give you quick facts about sheep and lambs: The words sheep and lamb appear in the Bible more than 400 times. Female sheep are called ewes. A grown male sheep is called a ram. Baby sheep are called lambs. There are more than 1,000 different kinds of sheep in the world (just like there are different kinds of dogs like poodles, Dobermans, and German Shepherds). Interesting fact. New Zealand has the most sheep in the world. There are 10 sheep for one person in New Zealand. They have more sheep than people in that country! Lambs can identify their own mother through hearing her voice. Why did David choose sheep to give us a picture of what humans are like? Because during Bible times on earth, many people worked as shepherds. They would understand what David was talking about. Sheep were an important part of shepherds lives, especially so that they could earn money and take care of their families. Shepherds were very common in those days. 1
Now, again, why did David focus on sheep? Sheep are not very smart animals. Sheep are prone to make mistakes and wander. The same is true for humans. Often, we know the right way, but like sheep, we wander and make mistakes. And like sheep, we are not always smart. Here is a very interesting story. This is a true story that happened approximately 10 to 15 years ago. One sheep got close to a cliff and fell over. Many of the other sheep followed the first sheep and fell over the cliff, too. These sheep died. However, the last few sheep that fell over the cliff survived because they were on top of the sheep that had already died. This story shows us how one sheep can lead many to follow the wrong way. That is like us. When someone does something wrong, we have a tendency to copy them and follow them. This is just like sheep. Sheep have a tendency, even when with a flock, to become distracted and wander away from the flock. That s why they need a shepherd to watch them and bring them back with the rest of the sheep. That is the same with us. Even when we follow God, sometimes we wander away from Him. We need reminders to keep us focused on God. We are like sheep. Sheep are very weak and cannot protect themselves. If a wolf were to attack a sheep, the sheep cannot fight back and defeat the wolf. Wolves are too strong for sheep. Humans are like sheep. Without God s help, we are weak. Our enemies and temptations are too strong for us and too difficult to overcome without God. With God s help we are strong. But without Him, we are weak like sheep without a shepherd. A wolf can easily attack a sheep without a shepherd. This is a wonderful analogy. Let s look at this phrase again He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he restores my soul. The phrase he restores my soul means that one was sick and weak before. When a shepherd sees a sheep that can t sleep or is weak and sick, he will give special attention and care to the sheep to make sure it is protected, fed, and properly cared for. All of this helps the sheep to become healthy again. We are like sheep. Sometimes we become sick spiritually. We become weak, frustrated, and discouraged. Sometimes we deny that we are sick, but it is true. We are human. This happens to me, too. Even though I love God and preach His Word, I become weak sometimes. That s why we need God. God can use the church and His people to support us and give us strength to stand strong. We know that sheep become weak and sick. And humans become weak and sick, too. Sometimes we feel like we can t go back to God because of our own sin. We doubt that God can truly forgive our sins. We feel bad and worthless, that we can t go back to God. When you think that way, you are wrong. You are not the only one who thinks that way. We all experience this. We are all sinners. So, don t think you are unique or the worst sinner of all. We are all equal sinners in the eyes of God. That s important. That s why we need to cry to God for help. Tell Him we re sinners and lost. Then He, as our Shepherd, will come to us, help us, and restore us. Then we can stand strong with Him. It s important to think this way. How do we know He will pay attention to us, love us, forgive us, and restore us? Do you remember the story of The Prodigal Son in Luke 15? One father had two sons. One son 2
decided to ask his father for half of his money because he wanted to leave home and be on his own. The father gave him the money. The son took the money and left home. He was thrilled to be in a different country. He partied, drank, and hung out with women. Then, because there was no rain in the land he was living in, it became dry. The son had carelessly spent all of his money. He was broke and had no money. The only way he would survive would be through working. He got a job working with pigs. It was awful and degrading. It was so bad that many people didn t work with pigs. But, the son worked with pigs because he had to. He was starving and hungry, so he ate what the pigs ate. He realized how far astray he had gone. He now longed for the comfort of his father s house and the good life he had left. He examined where he was at in his life and repented. He was sorry for his sins. He decided to go back to his father and tell him that he had sinned against God and his father. He even thought about telling his father that he was not worthy to be his son and was willing to be his servant. He got up and headed back home. His father was standing and waiting for his son to return. When he saw his son approaching, he didn t think about punishing or blaming him. Instead, when he saw his son coming home, he joyously ran to his son and hugged him. The father called for a new robe, shoes, and ring to be put on his son. He asked for his best animal to be slaughtered and gave a huge party to celebrate that his son, who was once lost, was now found. This story teaches us that when we repent of our sins, God will joyously come to us and embrace us. This story illustrates how much God loves us no matter how much we have sinned against Him. He still loves you. He still loves me. This picture of His love is something we cannot fathom. Why? Because when we experience something in this world, when we do something wrong, other people tend to remember what we have done against them. They may remain bitter and unforgiving. We associate this with how God is towards us when we ve sinned against Him. Thus, we feel guilty before God. God is different. When we are truly sorry, He is ready to forgive you, love you, and give you joy being with Him again. God is different. It s important that you realize when you give your life to Him, He will welcome you into His green pastures where you may find true rest. God will lead you beside quiet waters, where He may restore your soul. Where may we go for healing? When I see the world s green pastures, I think of the church. Church is a place where we are fed God s Word. His Word is medicine for spiritual sickness. Through studying His Word, we realize we need to repent. We learn how we may live for Him and follow His will. And my soul becomes restored. Church is the place where people pray for healing. Church is the place where people study God s Word. A place where people fellowship, encourage and support their brothers and sisters in Christ. I sometimes call the church a hospital. I notice people who sin typically have two different responses. One response is to give up and leave. They feel like they cannot go back to church. Another response is to repent of their sins. When they have realized their sin, they feel they can go back to church after they have stopped sinning. Neither response is what God wants. When you sin, God wants you to 3
meet Him as a sinner. Confess to Him that you are a sinner so He can heal you. If you consider yourself strong, no more a sinner, then what s the point of going back to church? That does not make sense. We know we cannot heal ourselves. There is no way to be healed through our own work, our own thoughts, or deciding ourselves that we are forgiven. The only way to be truly forgiven is through His work and power. He makes forgiveness possible. In Luke 15, there is another story, the story of The Lost Coin. One woman noticed that one of her coins was missing. She decided to stop what she was doing, started sweeping the floor, and looked through every corner of her house until she found the coin. She celebrated and told her friends that she found her coin. She invited her friends to join her in celebrating. The lost coin represents those of us who are lost. What is the difference between the lost coin and the lost son? The lost son realized he was a sinner. He humbly returned to his father. The lost coin is like the lost sheep that cannot find its way back. Can a lost coin find its way back to its owner? So, what should the church do? We should seek and find the lost coin and celebrate when we find it. There is another story about a man who had 100 sheep. One of his sheep was lost. He left the other 99 sheep and looked for the lost sheep. It was more important to him to find the one lost sheep. And when he found his lost sheep he celebrated. People in church have a responsibility to seek lost people and help them so their soul can be restored with God. I d like to share one verse with you to help you deal with surrendering sin so that your soul may be restored; I Peter 5:6, 7 says, Humble yourselves That means we must swallow our pride and admit we are wrong. If you can t humble yourself, then you are in big trouble with God. How can He forgive you if you have pride and remain stubborn? Humble yourself so that He can heal you. Humble yourselves, therefore, under God s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you. This means we do not need to worry. What should we do? If there is something we can t handle or feel too weak, we should surrender to God and let Him handle it. He will take over. That s good news! You don t need to worry. You just need to trust Him. Then, you will discover His green pastures and He will take care of you. He will guide you near quiet waters so you can drink the water and feel content. If you are sick, he will not guide you to rough waters. Imagine a weak sheep led to rough, fast-moving water. If the sheep falls into the water, it will not be able to swim. The water will overwhelm the sheep, it will struggle to survive but then drown. That s why God will lead you to quiet waters so that He can help you and restore your soul. Some of you may have a strong addiction to drugs. How many of you can overcome this addiction by yourself? Through my work as a pastor and counselor, I ve seen that it is very difficult to overcome addiction without the support of a special program to help you recover. This is true for the church. Church is a place where you may go for support and healing. I would like to close with Matthew 11:28-30. Jesus says, Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle 4
and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. The word yoke represents His teaching and His power designed to help you heal, not to burden you. He wants to support you. He wants to be alongside you like a strong cow helping another cow carry a yoke. God is strong; we are weak. Thank God that He is very kind to those who are humble, weak, and sick. He will give you rest. That s His promise to those who trust Him. God bless you. 2007 Deaf Missions This printed manuscript is the English translation of a sermon presented in American Sign Language. The sermon may be viewed at www.linkasl.com. LINK is a ministry of Deaf Missions.. Scripture taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION. Copyright 1973, 1978, 1984 by International Bible Society. Used by permissions of Zondervan Publishing House. All rights reserved. The NIV and New International Version trademarks are registered in the United States Patent and Trademark Office by International Bible Society. Use of either trademark requires the permission of International Bible Society. Deaf Missions, 21199 Greenview Road, Council Bluffs, Iowa 51503 www.deafmissions.com 5