Calvary Chapel Staten Island

Guest (Female): Life can be messy, but you don't have to figure it out alone.

Jenny Lusko: Hey, it's the Luskos. Join pastors and bestselling authors Levi and Jenny Lusko on Hey, It's the Luskos for honest conversations about faith, marriage, family, grief, ministry, and all the unexpected moments in between.

Levi Lusko: You'll laugh, you'll be encouraged, and you'll be reminded that God is faithful through every season. You will always come back to Jesus in the end.

Jenny Lusko: That's right. Tune in to Hey, It's the Luskos with Levi and Jenny Lusko, available now wherever you get your podcasts.

Guest (Female): Hello, and welcome to God In Our City, the daily edition. Your host and Bible teacher is Pastor Dave Watson. Pastor Dave has been the pastor of Calvary Chapel on Staten Island for 35 years. In addition, he is the co-founder and president of the New York Institute for Biblical Studies.

To receive a special downloadable gift from Pastor Dave, please go to CalvaryChapelSI.org/GIOC. That's CalvaryChapelSI.org/GIOC. Now, here's Pastor Dave and our show.

Pastor Dave Watson: Hello again, and welcome to the daily edition of God In Our City. My name is Pastor Dave Watson. I've had the privilege of being the pastor of Calvary Chapel since January 1st, 1990, and it is indeed a privilege. If you tune in regularly to this program, you know that it's our goal to share the scriptures with you, to go through Bible text and Bible passages in a very, very, very in-depth, practical way.

This summer, we have been, as a church family at Calvary, going through Psalm 23. We've called it doing a deep dive regarding Psalm 23. The whole series is "One Summer, One Shepherd, One Psalm." We spent five weeks going deep in Psalm 23. What we're going to do a little that's a little different now is I'm going to actually, through these weeks, take you to the sanctuary of Calvary Chapel so you actually hear some of the music and the message preached right from the pulpit regarding Psalm 23.

I think that will be a huge blessing to you. We want to also encourage you to go to CalvaryChapelSI.org/GIOC. There, you'll find study notes, downloadable and free, for each one of our messages. We're on message one this week. You'll want to get and download that. We're on part two of that, but you'll find it right there.

Also, please consider calling and getting the free book, I don't know why you wouldn't, called *A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm*. I know that that will be a blessing to you as well. Just call us at 718-720-5390. Tell us where to send the book. It's free; shipping and handling is on us.

I don't want to take up too much of our time. We've got a great, great, great time in the scriptures today. So let's pray. Heavenly Father, be our teacher and our guide as we look at Your word, as we study Psalm 23. Lord, may we allow You to do something absolutely amazing in our lives as we hear Your word, in Jesus' name. Amen.

Guest (Male): Sheep. We'll delve more into that in just a second. The phrase here is literally in Hebrew Yahweh Rohi. Yahweh is the sacred name of God. If you talk to a Jewish friend and you say Yahweh, they will be taken back a little bit. They do not say the name out loud. It is a sacred name. They speak of God as HaShem. HaShem simply means "the name."

So when I'm talking to a friend who's Jewish and they're speaking about God, they'll call him HaShem, the name. When you read portions of the Hebrew Bible or you hear it read out loud, and the text says Yahweh, a Jewish person, a rabbi, as he reads through, won't say Yahweh. He will say Adonai. Even though the words are clearly Yahweh, he will say Adonai. They cannot speak that sacred name.

Yahweh simply is a verb that means "to be." It means He exists. God exists. He is the covenant-keeping, self-existent, self-sufficient God. This is the one who is the shepherd. Remember in Exodus 3:14, Moses said, "Who shall I say sent me? Who shall I say sent me to deliver you from the Egyptians?" God said to Moses, "I AM WHO I AM." And he said, "Say this to the people of Israel: I AM has sent me to you."

God is the great I AM. That means He needs nobody. He needs nothing. I am because of somebody. You are because of somebody. If the somebody didn't exist, I ain't. I am because of somebody. God is self-existent. Remember in the same passage, Moses comes to a burning bush and the bush is on fire but it's not being consumed. Why is that the case? Because God is self-existent. He needs no fuel to fuel His fire. He just is. Now think of that. He's your shepherd.

The Lord God doesn't need to be our shepherd. You know how sometimes you need to be something? As a mom, you need to be a mom. You want to be a mom. That's why you look forward to having grandkids. Why? So you can keep being a mom. You like being a mom, right? It's the truth. You need to be a mom. God doesn't need to be a shepherd. It's not something He had to do.

God does it because He loves you. God chooses voluntarily to be your shepherd. Though He is self-existent, He's not self-centered. Though He is self-sufficient, He's not selfish. He, the self-existent God, wants to be our shepherd. Ezekiel 34:31 says it this way: "And you are my sheep, human sheep of my pasture, and I am your God," declares the Lord God.

Now, a shepherd at the time of David was an important gig because you needed sheep. You needed sheep for wool, you needed sheep for food, you needed unblemished sheep for sacrifice. So it was an important job. But in times later, shepherds fell into disrepute. They became known at the time of Jesus as being less than honorable and being less than trustworthy. But the time of David, they were thought of in neither way.

So the one true God, the self-existent God, Yahweh, gives us another name for Himself. He is our what? Shepherd. Shepherd. Shepherd. The word "pastor" that we put on those of us who do the particular ministry that I do, that word means what? Shepherd. That's all that word means. The pastor is the shepherd.

Now I told you that if the Lord is our shepherd, we are the what? Sheep. The Lord is my shepherd, so I am a sheep. Psalm 95:6-8 says, "Oh come, let us worship and bow down; let us kneel before the Lord our God, our Maker! For He is our God, and we are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand. Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, on the day of Massah in the wilderness," talking about a particular time when they hardened their hearts.

But the thing I want us to see is as our creator, we are the sheep of His pasture. Now, please don't take offense to this, but sheep are dumb, directionless, and distressed. That's what they are. If you are a sheep, and you are, what are you together now? Dumb, directionless, distressed. Look at the person next to you and say, "I've got some good news and some bad news. The good news is you're a sheep. The bad news is you are dumb, directionless, distressed."

Who wants to think of themselves that way? Nobody. But we are. On the website Sheep Facts, it says if you see a sheep on its back, lend a hand. A sheep cannot get up from that position. If left on its back too long, it will eventually die. Wow. Sheep are curious but dumb animals, often unable to find their way home even if the sheepfold is within sight. So sheep can see the fold and not figure out, "Oh, I need to go there."

Now I came across a video that explains a story that happened in 2005. In 2005, 1,500 sheep had a tremendous problem because the shepherds had gone to dinner. Let's see what happened.

Guest (Male): A suicide sheep jumped off a cliff, and 1,500 other sheep followed the first one. This may sound surprising to you, but this has happened in Istanbul, Turkey. First, the scene began with just one sheep jumping off the cliff to die. The shepherds had left around 1,500 sheep to graze, and they relaxed while having their breakfasts. In a few moments, they saw all the 1,500 sheep following the first one and jumping off the same cliff, as reported by the Turkish media.

This led to the death of 450 animals altogether. Wondering how the others survived? Aksam newspaper stated that the others who jumped after the 450 sheep did not die as the fall was cushioned after the death of the earlier ones. Since there were a lot of dead bodies already, the rest of the sheep survived by falling on the wool or the soft pile of the other dead sheep. Nevzat Bayhan, one of the members of those families that lost their sheep, stated that there is absolutely nothing they can do with them now because they are all wasted.

Guest (Male): You see what happened? One sheep jumped. That sheep, by the way, lived. Then 1,500 sheep followed. 450-something of them died. But then the rest survived. Why? They landed on the bodies of the other sheep. Sheep can be led to do dumb things.

How many of you had one of your parents say, when someone said, "Oh, so-and-so's doing it," and your parent said, "Well, if all the kids went out and played in the middle of the highway, would it make it right for you to do it?" We can be like sheep. I want to start with a question, though, or move to a question. If the Lord isn't my shepherd, who is?

Well, perhaps you're self-shepherding. You've decided you don't want the Lord to be your shepherd. You've decided you'll self-shepherd. The problem with that is Proverbs 14:12: "There's a way that seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death." "I don't want to self-shepherd; I'll hire me a shepherd. Maybe I'll get me a guru who can be my shepherd. Maybe I'll find someone on the radio or TV who can be my shepherd."

Listen to what John 10:12-13 says about hired shepherds: "He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. He flees because he's a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep." Maybe you chose the wrong shepherd and you have a foolish shepherd.

What does a foolish shepherd do? Zechariah 11:15-16: "Then the Lord said to me, 'Take once more the equipment of a foolish shepherd. For behold, I am raising up in the land a shepherd who does not care for those being destroyed, or seek the young, or heal the maimed, or nourish the healthy, but devours the flesh of the fat ones, tearing off even their hoofs.'" You can choose a shepherd who all they want to do is fleece the sheep.

You say, "Well, I'm not doing that; I'm going shepherdless. I'm not going to shepherd myself, I'm not going to get me a foolish shepherd, I'm not hiring a shepherd, I'm going to be shepherdless. Who needs a shepherd?" Ezekiel 34:4-6: "The weak you have not strengthened, the sick you have not healed, the injured you have not bound up, the strayed you have not brought back, the lost you have not sought, and with force and harshness you have ruled them. So they were scattered because there was no shepherd. My sheep were scattered; they wandered over all the mountains and on every hill. My sheep were scattered over all the face of the earth, with none to search or seek for them."

The problem with being shepherdless is there's no one to come and get you when you have been stupid. I've had interesting conversations with my kids, and you all know I am still a sarcastic person in recovery, right? Okay, maybe I'm not in recovery. But because I'm a shepherd of my family, I've said to both my oldest daughter and my son, I've said, "You need to tell me where you're going." "Why do you need to know?"

Parents, don't do this at home. I said, "Because I want to know where to start to look for the body." We need a shepherd. Well, if the Lord is not my shepherd, who is? And if the Lord is not my shepherd, why not? Why isn't He my shepherd? Well, maybe because I've chosen to be a wandering and rebellious sheep. The scriptures tell us in Isaiah 53:6, "All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all."

Perhaps I've decided to rebel and wander. I prefer that. Or perhaps I am as if I was an abandoned sheep. "Woe to the shepherds who destroy and scatter the sheep of my pasture!" declares the Lord. "Therefore thus says the Lord, the God of Israel, concerning the shepherds who care for my people: 'You have scattered my flock and have driven them away, and you have not attended to them. Behold, I will attend to you for your evil deeds,'" declares the Lord.

A sheep without a shepherd is spoken of this way: as harassed and helpless. When He saw the crowds, Jesus had compassion on them, right? Because why? They were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. Maybe I'm a lost sheep. We read in the book of Luke, the 15th chapter, the fourth and fifth verses: "What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the one that is lost until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing."

If today you are a lost sheep, I want you to know God is coming for you. The reason why you're here is God has brought you here. Why? God is coming for you. The worst thing to be, the worst thing to choose to be, is a self-sufficient sheep. One of the most popular phrases we hear in our culture is "I got this. I got this. I can make this happen." God is self-sufficient; none of us are.

It's a hassle being dependent on other people, but we are. And I should not ever think I can be self-sufficient. Psalm 49:13-14 speaks of the self-sufficient person, and it says, "This is the path of those who have foolish confidence," together now, "I got this." "Yet after them, people approve of their boast. Selah. Think about it. Like sheep, they are appointed for Sheol; death," watch this, "death shall be their shepherd; and the upright shall rule over them in the morning. Their form shall be consumed in Sheol, with no place to dwell." So they can say, these self-sufficient ones, "Death is my shepherd." Wow.

Pastor Dave Watson: Well, thank you so much for joining us. I hope you enjoyed today's message. I hope it spoke to your heart. I hope you listened carefully. I hope you said yes to the things that God would have you to say yes to. I want to again encourage you, if you've not done so, to simply go to CalvaryChapelSI.org/GIOC and order, free, the book *A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm*.

Phone number: 718-720-5390. Just call that number to get the book free. Also, take advantage of our free downloadable study guides. There'll be five study guides there. You'll want to download all of them. We're on study guide number one today. You know, as you read the 23rd Psalm, it's as if the psalmist, it's as if David, had a personal relationship with the shepherd.

And the reason that is, is he did. He had a personal, life-changing relationship with the shepherd. And you know what? Each of us can have that same life-changing relationship. We need only to give our hearts to Jesus Christ. We need only to commit our lives to Him. Believe. Believe that He died for us and rose again.

Believe that He came to be our savior, our shepherd, and our Lord. And then simply say, "Lord, I need You. I need You." If you've not done that, please, please do so. Let's bow our heads right now, and in this moment, if you've never invited Jesus into your life, if you've never decided to follow Him and to allow Him to be your Lord, savior, and shepherd, why not right now say, "Yes, Jesus. Yes, You died for me and rose again. Be my savior. Yes, Jesus. You are the Lord. Be my Lord. Yes, Jesus. I recognize You as my shepherd. I commit myself to You in Your name, Lord Jesus. Amen."

Listen, while you're getting the free stuff, please go to CalvaryChapelSI.org and consider making a donation to God In Our City. Every donation is important. Every donation is a huge blessing. Every donation makes a difference. It allows us to do incredible things for the Lord. And that's what we're trying to do, trying to please the Lord, trying to bring glory to God, trying to make a difference on our island.

We see ourselves as undershepherds to our community. So that's our goal. So if you would go to CalvaryChapelSI.org/GIOC, hit the donate button. There's a spot that you'll see then for "God In Our City" in the dropdown menu. Don't take from your local church. Don't take from anything else, but please consider making a gift to God In Our City. Please, we thank you for joining us. Please join us again tomorrow for another edition of the daily edition of God In Our City.

Guest (Female): Thanks for listening to God In Our City with your host, Pastor Dave Watson. We hope the show was a blessing to you. Again, to receive a downloadable gift from Pastor Dave, go to CalvaryChapelSI.org/GIOC. That's CalvaryChapelSI.org/GIOC. Please check out Pastor Dave's blog at NYCShepherd.com. That's NYCShepherd.com. Please invite a friend and join us every weekday for another edition of God In Our City.

Guest (Female): Life can be messy, but you don't have to figure it out alone.

Jenny Lusko: Hey, it's the Luskos. Join pastors and bestselling authors Levi and Jenny Lusko on Hey, It's the Luskos for honest conversations about faith, marriage, family, grief, ministry, and all the unexpected moments in between.

Levi Lusko: You'll laugh, you'll be encouraged, and you'll be reminded that God is faithful through every season. You will always come back to Jesus in the end.

Jenny Lusko: That's right. Tune in to Hey, It's the Luskos with Levi and Jenny Lusko, available now wherever you get your podcasts.