Love Worth Finding

Adrian Rogers: Listen to this story from Adrian Rogers about a young girl's take on Psalm 23.

Adrian Rogers: A little girl misquoted the 23rd Psalm, but I believe she had it just right when she said, "The Lord is my shepherd. I've got all I want." That, my friend, is the secret of satisfaction. It is Jehovah Himself. In Him, in the shepherd, are the wellsprings of my heart's desire.

Adrian Rogers: Welcome to Love Worth Finding, featuring the powerful biblical teaching and insights of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. Psalm 23, verse 1, shows us how we can be satisfied no matter what material wealth we may or may not have. It's Jesus Himself who satisfies.

Adrian Rogers: Pastor Rogers said, "In the Lord Jesus, we have sovereignty and sympathy, a king and a shepherd. We have a God who is able and a shepherd who is available, a God in the heavens and a shepherd in our heart." If you have your Bible, turn to Psalm 23 as we hear part two of The Secret of Satisfaction.

Adrian Rogers: Now, there's a danger, and here's the danger: that when we get into the 23rd Psalm, we're on such familiar ground, and we say, "Oh, I know that," and the proverb, "Familiarity breeds contempt," may never be more true, because we are all familiar with the 23rd Psalm, and it is perhaps the best known passage of Scripture in all of the Bible.

Adrian Rogers: And well it ought to be, because it's such a gem of literature. I believe it's one of the seven wonders of the literary world, but it is given by divine inspiration, and not only is it beautiful, it is magnificently true. It is no wonder that it's been quoted in the nursery school and on the battlefield. It is no wonder that it has been quoted at weddings and funerals.

Adrian Rogers: It is no wonder that it's sweet to a little child, and yet perplexing to a scholar. A magnificent, a wonderful, wonderful passage of Scripture. And we know it by heart, many of us. It says, "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 name's sake. 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."

Adrian Rogers: So, first of all, as we look at verse 1, we see what I'm going to call the Sovereign God. Jehovah, the great, great, great I Am, the one who rules the universe.

Adrian Rogers: Now, notice in contradistinction what David is saying: "The great Jehovah is my shepherd."

Adrian Rogers: Now we move from the sovereign to the shepherd. Learn this: that the Jehovah of the Old Testament is the Jesus of the New Testament.

Adrian Rogers: When we say Jehovah, we speak of His deity. But when we say Shepherd, we speak of His humanity. In John chapter 10, the Lord Jesus unlocked the mystery of the 23rd Psalm when He said, "I am the good shepherd."

Adrian Rogers: You want to know who David was talking about? "I am the good shepherd." The sovereign, the shepherd. His deity, His humanity. You see, in the Lord Jesus, oh, here's the wonderful thing about our salvation. In the Lord Jesus, we have sovereignty and sympathy. A king and a shepherd. Sovereignty and sympathy. A God who is able, a shepherd who is available. A God in the heavens and a shepherd in our hearts.

Adrian Rogers: "The Lord, Jehovah, is my shepherd." Three times in the New Testament, listen now, three times in the New Testament, the Lord Jesus is described as a shepherd. He is described, first of all, as the good shepherd. Now, in John chapter 10, verse 11, Jesus said, "I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd. The good shepherd layeth down his life for the sheep."

Adrian Rogers: Now, any shepherd may lose his life for the sheep. That isn't what Jesus said. Jesus said, "The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep." You say it's unthinkable that a shepherd would die for a sheep? It's more unthinkable that God would die for man.

Adrian Rogers: Jesus is the good shepherd who laid down His life for the sheep. Now, listen, when as the good shepherd He laid down His life for the sheep, He dealt with the penalty of sin, for the wages of sin is death, and that's what Jesus Christ paid. And your sin will be pardoned in Christ or punished in hell, but it'll never be overlooked. Unless there's a good shepherd who's died for your sins, you, sir, you, lady, are going to have to face the wrath of an angry God at the judgment with your sins unatoned.

Adrian Rogers: He's the good shepherd. But now, wait a moment. Not only is He shown in the Bible as the good shepherd in John 10, but He's also shown in the Bible as the great shepherd. Look, if you will, in Hebrews 13, verses 20 and 21. "Now the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you perfect, that is, mature in every good work, to do His will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever."

Adrian Rogers: He rose for the sheep. I mean, listen, it speaks now of the resurrection. Now, the God of peace that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep. What good is a dead shepherd? He's no good at all, except that He pays the penalty for the sheep's sin. All we like sheep have gone astray. We've turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid on Him the iniquity of us all. Yes, He carried our sins to the cross. Therefore, He took care of the penalty of sin. But when He rose from the dead, He now deals with the power of sin.

Adrian Rogers: He not only is the good shepherd, He had to be good to die for our sins, but He's the great shepherd. He rose from the dead. That makes Him the great shepherd. And the Bible says, "Now He's able to lead us in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake." It's not just that He died for me, dear friend, He lives for me. And that deals with the power of sin. But wait a minute. He's also called the chief shepherd.

Adrian Rogers: Now, in 1 Peter chapter 5 and verse 4, the Bible says, "And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." And there you have the ministry of our dear Lord. As the good shepherd, He had to be good to do it. He died for our sins. As the great shepherd, He had to be great to do it. He rose to take care not only of the penalty of our sin, but the power of our sin. And then as the chief shepherd, one day He's coming to take us from the presence of sin. One day He's coming to take us out, folks. And I tell you, the more I read the papers, the more I listen, the more I look around, the more I believe it must be soon.

Adrian Rogers: I believe our Lord is at the door, and I believe that the chief shepherd is about to appear. I believe He's about to call His sheep upward. I believe He's about to say to us, "Come on now. I am the chief shepherd. You follow me." And you see, He, my dear friend, is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Jehovah is our shepherd. He is the chief shepherd.

Adrian Rogers: But now, wait a minute. I said I was going to talk to you about the secret of satisfaction. You see, every passage of Scripture has a key to understanding it. And in Psalm 23, the key is hanging right on the front door. The key is in this verse: "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want." You have the sovereign, that's Jehovah. You have the shepherd, that's Jesus. Jesus is the Jehovah Shepherd of our lives. And that, my friend, the sovereign plus the shepherd leads to the satisfaction. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want."

Adrian Rogers: That's the only way that anyone will ever have satisfaction. You will never, ever, ever, ever, ever have even a modicum of satisfaction until you can say it, mean it, "The Lord is my shepherd." It's only when you can say that that you can say, "I shall not want." So many people think that the secret of satisfaction is having a God who can give you everything. That is not the secret of satisfaction. The secret of satisfaction is the Lord Himself. Jehovah is my shepherd.

Adrian Rogers: You see, your needs will never be met until they're met in Him. Things will never satisfy you. Things will never satisfy you. So many people misunderstand Psalm 37, which says, "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He'll give you the desires of your heart." They think that means if I love Jesus, I can have a pink Cadillac. That isn't what that means.

Adrian Rogers: "Delight yourself in the Lord, and He will give you the desire of your heart." What that means is when you delight in the Lord, the deepest needs of your heart will be met. The desire of your heart is Jesus. That's what your heart yearns for. That's what you were made for. For Him. The Bible says, "It is in Him that we live and move and have our being." In Him.

Adrian Rogers: You'll never be satisfied apart from Him until you can say, "The Lord is my shepherd." Not what He gives me, but He Himself. What did God make a fish to do? To swim in the sea. What did God make a bird to do? To fly in the sky.

Adrian Rogers: Now, you take a fish out of the sea and put him in a tree, he'll be an unhappy fish. You take a bird out of the sky and put him in the sea, and he'll be an unhappy bird, because both are out of their element. What is the element that you were created for? God Himself. And until you know Him, you'll be like a fish in a tree, like a bird in the sea. You'll be out of your element, you'll be like a square peg in a round hole. Friends all around me are trying to find what the heart yearns for, by sin undermined. I have the secret. I know where it is found. Only true pleasure is in Jesus abounds. Jesus is all this world needs today.

Adrian Rogers: Blindly men strive for sin darkens their way. Oh, to pull back the grim curtains of night. One look at Jesus, and all will be light. When a man can say it and mean it, "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want."

Adrian Rogers: Now, let me show you what David did. David, under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, took this sacred name, Jehovah, and he welded it or melted it to another name. Jehovah, my shepherd. Jehovah, my shepherd. The Hebrew says, "Jehovah Ra-ah." Jehovah Ra-ah. That's one of the names of God. Psalm 23:1.

Adrian Rogers: Did you know there are seven times in the Bible where the name Jehovah is conjoined to another word to make a new name for God? Let me give you these seven. They will bless you. Are you ready?

Adrian Rogers: Number one, Psalm 23, Jehovah Ra-ah, Jehovah my shepherd. Number two, Genesis 22, Jehovah Jireh. Jehovah Jireh. What does that mean? The Lord my provider. The Lord will provide.

Adrian Rogers: Then, here's a third one, Jehovah Rapha, R-A-P-H-A. That's the Lord that heals. Exodus 15. Here's the next one, Jehovah Shalom. You know what the word Shalom means? It means peace. And it means the Lord our peace. It's one of the names of Jehovah. And then here's another one, Jehovah Tsidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. And then Ezekiel 48 gives us Jehovah Shammah, S-H-A-M-M-A-H. The Lord ever present. And then Exodus 17, Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner. All right, now those are seven names for deity. Are you ready for a blessing?

Adrian Rogers: Now you're going to understand a little bit what David meant when he said, "The Lord is my shepherd." Listen to this. "The Lord is my shepherd." Who is that? That's Jehovah Ra-ah. "I shall not want." Who is that? Jehovah Jireh. The Lord will provide. He restoreth my soul. Who is that? Jehovah Rapha, the Lord that heals. He leads me beside the still waters, He makes me to lie down in green pastures. Who is that? That is Jehovah Shalom, my peace. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Who is that? That's Jehovah Tsidkenu. That is Jehovah Tsidkenu, that is the Lord our righteousness. And then, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies." Who is that? My friend, that's Jehovah Nissi. The Lord our banner, when the enemy shall come in like a flood, then shall the Lord hold up a banner before him.

Adrian Rogers: "I will fear no evil, for thou art with me." Who is that? Jehovah Shammah, the Lord ever present. What David was saying is this, that the Lord is my shepherd, not the things that He gives me. The things He gives me are only a representation of who the Lord is Himself.

Adrian Rogers: Now, question, is the Lord your shepherd? Is the Lord your shepherd? Well, I'll give you clues to how you can find out. You really want to know whether the Lord's your shepherd or not? I'll tell you how you can find out. Is the shepherd your Lord? That's the way. You see, the only way that you can say, "The Lord is my shepherd" is for you to be able to say, "The shepherd is my Lord."

Adrian Rogers: Not everybody can just stand up and quote the 23rd Psalm and claim it for their own. Turn with me now for just a moment to John chapter 10. Let me show you what I'm talking about. In John chapter 10, the Lord Jesus is talking to the unsaved Pharisees. And He says in verse 26, "But ye believe not, because ye are not of my sheep, as I said unto you."

Adrian Rogers: Now, there are some unbelievers who are not part of the sheep. Now, if you're not part of the sheep, it's impossible for you to say, "The Lord is my shepherd," if you are on Satan's goats. "The Lord is my shepherd" only if you can say, "The shepherd is my Lord."

Adrian Rogers: Now, notice the description of a person who can say, "The Lord is my shepherd." Verse 27, "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." When you say, "My shepherd," then the shepherd says, "My sheep." And a sheep is someone who hears His voice, someone that He knows, someone that follows Him. Have you heard His voice? Have you received Him as your personal Savior and Lord? You see, my dear friend, it is a personal relationship with the shepherd. "My sheep hear my voice, I know them, and they follow me."

Adrian Rogers: But not only is it a personal relationship, it is a permanent relationship. Notice in verse 28, "And I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish." Now, any earthly shepherd is going to lose some sheep, but the good shepherd has never lost one. Never lost a sheep. "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish."

Adrian Rogers: You say, "Pastor, do you believe in the eternal security of the believer?" I do. "Why do you believe in the eternal security of the believer?" I believe in the eternal security of the believer because of John 10, verse 28. "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish."

Adrian Rogers: Hey, you're looking at a man who can't die. You say, "Oh, sure you can die." No, I can't. It is impossible for me to die. Jesus said, "He that liveth and believeth in me shall never die." Well, you say, "What if you die?" If I do, I won't be dead. I won't be dead. All I will have done is to move out. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice, I know them, they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, eternal." How long is eternal? Never ends. Never ends.

Adrian Rogers: These people who believe you can get saved and then lose it. Suppose I were saved for 10 years and then I lost it. What kind of life did Jesus give me? 10-year life. I mean, if I had it 50 years and lost it, I had 50-year life. Friend, whatever it is, if it's eternal and you ever lose it, it wasn't eternal. Whatever it is, if you ever lost it, whatever you had wasn't eternal.

Adrian Rogers: But Jesus didn't say, "I might give them." He says, "I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish." It is a personal relationship. "My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me." It is a permanent relationship, and the reason, dear friend, it is permanent is because it is a protected relationship. Look, if you will, in verse 29, "My Father which gave them me is greater than all, and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand."

Adrian Rogers: My dear friend, when you get saved, you come into the almighty hand of an almighty God. Jehovah is my shepherd. Jehovah is my shepherd. Do you think that shepherd's going to lose a sheep? He can't. "I give unto them eternal life. They shall never perish." My friend, if you got it by works, then you can keep it by works, but if you got it by grace, you're kept by grace. We're saved by the grace of God. "I give unto them, I give unto them, I give unto them eternal life."

Adrian Rogers: A little girl misquoted the 23rd Psalm, but I believe she had it just right when she said, "The Lord is my shepherd. I've got all I want." I've got all I want. That, my friend, is the secret of satisfaction. It is Jehovah Himself. "The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want." In Him, in Him, in the shepherd are the wellsprings of my heart's desire.

Adrian Rogers: The Lord, my friend, is the good shepherd. He laid down His life for the sheep. He died for you. The Lord is the great shepherd. He rose again from the dead to guide you and to lead you. When you give your heart to Jesus, He doesn't just say, "All right, sink or swim." No, He comes to guide you and to lead you in the paths of righteousness, to keep you. He's the chief shepherd. He's coming soon. He's coming soon, and you need to be ready.

Adrian Rogers: Would you pray a prayer like this and invite Him into your heart? Just talk to Him. Dear God, just speak to Him right now. Dear God, I know You love me. I know that You want to save me. Jesus, I was like a sheep going astray, but You died for me. You paid my sin debt. Thank You, Lord Jesus, that You paid my sin debt. Lord Jesus, I believe that You were raised from the dead.