Telling the Truth

Guest (Male): God is the great shepherd, loving us, feeding us, protecting us. Welcome to Telling the Truth with Stuart and Jill Briscoe. Today, Jill continues the series about how God is still using the Bible to change lives, including yours, with her message, "The Cry of My Heart." She'll begin in just a moment.

Today's culture is a revolving door of ever-shifting views and beliefs. That's why it's so important to test these new ideas against the timeless truth of scripture. It's the best defense against the world's confusion. We want to help ground you in the foundations of your faith by sending you Stuart Briscoe's six-message series on the book of 2 Peter, "Six Things We Must Never Forget."

The "Six Things We Must Never Forget" series is our thanks for your gift to help keep Telling the Truth going strong, sharing life-giving teaching from Stuart and Jill with more people all over the world. So request your copy when you give today and get help staying grounded in truth in today's shifting culture. Call 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org. Now here's Jill with more of her message, "The Cry of My Heart," on today's Telling the Truth.

Jill Briscoe: When God looks at us, he calls us by a name we don't know yet—we will one day. He has a name for each of us, it says in the scriptures. But he doesn't say, "Number 10, shape up. Number 13, get back on track. Number 14, what do you think you're doing?"

I think of Hagar, running away with her problem inside her—her baby Ishmael—to certain death in the desert because Sarah was treating her so dreadfully and cruelly. And God called her name, "Hagar, Hagar!" It's probably the first time she heard her name since she was sold as a slave in the Egyptian market as a teenager. "Hagar, Hagar!" Wow.

The sheep know his voice, and he calls them by name because we're family. We're a flock of sheep. Remember in Psalm 139, he is familiar? Remember what the word was? Family. We're family. We're a flock, and he calls us by our name. The sheep know his voice.

God is a personal God. We're not a number; we have a name. He loves us. How do we know he loves us? Well, Psalm 23, which I'm sure you probably know by heart—I certainly do. "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."

Forever. How do I know he loves me? How does the shepherd love his sheep? Well, he feeds them and he leads them. Those are the first two things, isn't it? Green pastures—he makes us to lie down in green pastures. He leads us beside the still waters. All of that.

I love the picture of the green pastures. The greenest grass grows in the valleys, did you notice? The greenest grass grows in the valleys—the valleys of the shadow of death, the valleys of darkness, the valleys of danger. It's incredible what he feeds you with in the valleys. Grass. He makes sure. He leads the flock. He knows where the greenest grass is, and sometimes it is in the valleys.

So he leads us to the valleys, but of course, he stays with us. He feeds us. He leads us. And incidentally, God's grass grows overnight. But don't rush over verses or passages of scripture you think you know. Go there, even the most familiar, over and over again because overnight he'll grow you a little bit of grass and nourishment that you'll just need for that day at that time.

For God is a God of perfect timing—it's one of his names. God of perfect timing. And he knows you'll just need that little bit of grass in that verse that he knows you're going to read on Thursday. And you might get there and say, "I know this. Maybe I can find something really to help me in Malachi." And God says, "No, read Psalm 23 again. Read something really familiar. I will grow you nourishment that you need at this time in this place." Yes, he will.

He feeds us. And incidentally, a sheep never lies down until its stomach is full. It says in Psalm 119:62, "At midnight I will rise to give you thanks for your righteous laws." At midnight. "I will praise you with an upright heart as I learn them." The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul. This will revive you as you feed in the green pastures.

As you hang your heart over the word of God, as you say, "God, I'm not hungry. Make me hungry." And take a step back. "I'm sorry I'm not hungry. Make me sorry I'm not hungry." Go as far back as you need. "I'm sorry I'm not sorry." I don't care where you start, but talk to him about it. Don't pretend until you know the experience of lying down because your spiritual stomach is full—is absolutely full.

He'll guide you. He'll guide your steps. So many people say to me, "How can I know the will of God?" Look! This is how. This is how you know the will of God. He'll show you the right path. He'll tell you the right time. He'll help you with the right words.

"How am I going to know the will of God? What does God want me to do with my life?" Find out. Spend a lot of time with the shepherd instead of other people, perhaps. Just spend time with him. He'll guide your steps by his word.

Psalm 119: "Guide my steps by thy word so I will not be overcome by any evil." Guide my steps by your word. How am I going to find out about my steps? What should I do? What should I be? How has God made me? "Train up a child in the way he should go, and when he is old, he shall not depart from it."

Actually, I heard Chuck Swindoll's marvelous sermon on that years ago. Train up a child according to his bent, it means. What's that? How God has made him. Not how you want him to be, not working out your own ambitions through your children. Train up a child how God has made him. Yes. And he will know the steps of his path and his job and his life and his whatever. Help him to find that out. Train up a child according to his bent. Right. He'll guide you in the right paths for his name's sake.

Guest (Male): More powerful teaching from the Briscoes is heading your way. So don't go anywhere. We've made a wide array of resources and content available to you online for free at tellingthetruth.org and on the Telling the Truth app. There you can listen, read, and watch powerful teaching from Stuart and Jill on relevant topics like the sovereignty of God, the importance of the church, and how to grow closer with Jesus Christ.

You can also request this month's featured resource as thanks for your gift of support to help share the abundant life Jesus offers with more people around the world. Visit us online or download the app today and experience life with Telling the Truth. Now let's go back to Jill and her message, "The Cry of My Heart," on today's Telling the Truth.

Jill Briscoe: So what happens when the shepherd sees us, even though he's provided the food—and maybe we're not eating it—and the still waters and the peace and the prayer and all of that, that perhaps the still waters represent? And he's saying, "Come on, come on," and we don't do it.

One thing that happens if we do not follow the shepherd closely—and David speaks to this in nearly every Psalm I open and read—it defames God. If we as a little sheep look scraggy and ill-kept and dirty and malnourished and disobedient, what does that say about the shepherd? And so it's very important for his name's sake we follow the shepherd. For his name's sake. That's the idea.

And if we look so little redeemed, people are not going to want to know our redeemer. It's awfully important that we get and stay on track and we do not stray. Do not stray. And of course, he is with us in the valley of death, we know that. His rod and his staff comfort us because we are afflicted, we believe, and we stay close.

Because a rod and a staff are not a comforting weapon. He uses the rod to poke us in the right direction. "Get on! Get on the right track." And he uses the staff with the hook to get our wool and hawk us out of the hole we've deliberately fallen in. It doesn't feel very good. But because he has a rod and staff and he disciplines us in a sense and he prods us into the right place, then we follow him.

So the rod and the staff—let him rescue us, let him poke us and punch us with that thing because it's a loving thing that he does. And one day we'll go to the big fold and we'll live forever with him.

Great joy in following the shepherd. "You anoint my head with oil." Oil speaks of joy. The oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness, the Bible teaches us all about joy.

So as I look at Psalm 23, this wonderful Psalm that talks about being fed and led and guided and cared for, and even when permitted pain is permitted, what we learn of the shepherd in the valley is worth everything we learn about him on the hills. And when it's done, we can look back and say, "I wouldn't have missed the knowledge of Jesus I know now because he allowed me and permitted me to walk through the valley and he was with me. And his rod and his staff actually, they strangely comforted me. Yes, they did. He is my shepherd; I shall not want."

So what's the sound of his voice? How many people still ask me—and you have asked me, many of you—"Jill, what does it sound like? You talk about sitting on the steps of your soul and listening and having conversations with God. What are you hearing?"

And many people ask me that. What does his voice sound like? A man's deep baritone? A thought in our head space? You will recognize the voice of God as you hang your heart over this as usual. You will recognize it, and it will be a sure thing and a sweet thing and a safe thing.

"All your words are true," Psalm 119:160. It will have the ring of truth. If you are getting thoughts and you're reading your Bible and you're still wondering, "Is this his voice? What am I listening for here?" It will have the ring of truth. All your words are true. And you will know the truth. What does that mean? How will we know the truth? How will we know the voice of truth through the scriptures? That's a very, very important question.

Now, there are many nuances, facets of the word of God or truth. I'm just going to run through them for you, and they're all in Psalm 119. In just eight verses that I read you at the end of that Psalm, six nuances of the word are there.

The word or promise refers to anything God has spoken, commanded, or promised. Jesus said, "Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God." If you are reading something that God has promised, that is truth. So you're hearing something, promise you something? Check it out. Is this something that sounds like God has promised you? Has promised you? How can you find that? Get a concordance, look up whatever it is you need in the thing that you are reading, a word. Look up other verses. Remember, the little references in your Bible are pointers here and there and everywhere else, and check it out.

Any word that proceeds from the mouth of the Lord. "The law of the Lord is perfect, reviving the soul." Then another word that's used is law, Torah. We've heard that if you ever go to Israel, you'll hear. And that's the law of Moses—any instruction flowing from the revelation of God for faith or action. If you are hearing something in your head space as you read his word about trust, about faith, it's true! It's him. The devil's not going to talk about trust and faith. It's him.

Laws—23 times it talks about another word that's used, laws given by the supreme judge himself—the judgments, they're sometimes called. All his judgments are liberating. They are liberating. "You shall know the truth, and the truth will make you free." Some people think, "How can laws be liberating?" People think liberating is no laws, no rules, I can live like I want and make my own rules up. Actually, that's bondage. You try it; you'll wish you'd never been born, perhaps.

It's liberating to be given boundaries, actually. Makes you feel safe and secure. "The commands of the Lord are radiant, giving light to the eyes." Coming back to "How do I know the will of God?" They light up your understanding, give light to your eyes. "This is what I meant to be. This is what I should be doing."

This is what you are testifying, that's the word. The law of the Lord will testify. "The Spirit will bear witness with your spirit that you are a child of God," the New Testament says. The Spirit will bear witness with your spirit. Yes! This is how he's made me. This is my gift. This is what I should be doing. Yes, wonderful! How will that happen? Be in this. Hang your heart over it. Be brave. Say, "Go on then, tell me. Help me. I'm listening." Dare! Go on, dare, and see what God will do through his word in your life.

So the shepherd passages, telling us that he's our shepherd and will feed us. And then this wonderful, wonderful, "May my lips overflow, the words of my mouth with praise for you; teach me your decrees."

You know in Deuteronomy, God says, and I need to read it, "Hear, O Israel: The Lord our God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your strength. These commandments that I give you today are to be upon your hearts. Listen: impress them on your children. Talk about them when you sit at home. Talk about them when you walk along the road. Talk about them when you lie down. Talk about them when you get up."

Do we? Do our kids know what this is all about? And specifically, apparently, the Ten Commandments. It doesn't mean we have to be talking to our children God stuff and turning everything into Jesus language, which isn't the point at all. We need to be natural and talk about other things other than Jesus things; it doesn't help.

But just be natural as you walk along the road, as you're around the table, as you're talking into each other's lives, as you get the opportunity, as you're playing games or whatever. As it comes up, as you're watching TV—good ploy, watch it with your kids. Use the opportunity as you're listening to their music—use the opportunity, talk about it. That's what we have to do with the word of God.

"So may the words of my mouth and the meditation of my heart be pleasing in your sight, O Lord, my rock and my redeemer." Let me read you a poem to finish with because God wants us not just to learn the word of God and to love the word of God and to live in the word of God as usual day by day and moment by moment. He wants us to pass it on. Whatever our bent, whether it be teacher or whether it be anything, we are supposed to be using words given by one shepherd to move people from meaninglessness to the Lord.

And I remember being very intimidated by somebody I had to talk to in Nashville, Tennessee, years ago. And as I sat there, I used a little scribble:

Give my words wings, Lord.

May they fly high enough to reach the mighty,

Low enough to breathe the breath of sweet encouragement upon the downcast soul.

Give my words wings, Lord.

May they fly swift and far,

Winning the race with the words of the worldly wise to the hearts of men.

Give my words wings, Lord.

See them nesting down at your feet,

Silenced into ecstasy.

Home at last.

Guest (Male): Now here's Jill with some thoughts about her message.

Jill, when we stray off course, God has promised to poke and prod us back onto the right track. How should we respond when God disciplines us?

Jill Briscoe: We should be prodded back on track. We should listen and obey. Of course, we're talking about the shepherd and the sheep here. It doesn't feel very good being prodded and poked, does it, to do the right thing? But in the end, you'll be glad.

And if we can just get into our minds that if we need poking and prodding because we went astray, we got off track, God pokes and prods for one reason only: he loves us too much to let us end up caught in a bush or falling over a cliff. He's the good shepherd, and he wants us to keep close to him for our sake and for his sake, for everybody's sake. So why wouldn't we allow him to correct us and to direct us and to protect us along the path?

Guest (Male): How should little children and teenagers respond to the poking and prodding of the good shepherd?

Jill Briscoe: They should respond to the poking and prodding, but how does God poke and prod children and teenagers? Through their parents as well as through the scriptures, through their Sunday school teachers, through their youth leaders. God uses under-shepherds—talks a lot about that in the epistles—that God has people who are under-shepherds who care for the flock, the human flock.

And we should learn that we must obey authority. We must respect authority—the scriptures are full of that command—and not disobey. If your parents, if you're a child, say, "Do not drink and drive," do not drink and drive. If they say, "You know, it's probably not a very good idea to go to that event, maybe it's a concert," and they've checked it out. Well, everybody's going, the whole group's going. But they may poke or prod you to do something more useful or healthy, and let them do it. Get back on track. They're trying to save you some angst. They're trying to save you falling into company that's going to take you down a wrong path or lead you into real trouble. And so God promises to poke and prod through under-shepherds, through the scriptures, through church—always listen with a pencil in your hand—and us big children, us adults, we need to do the same.

Guest (Male): Thanks for listening to Telling the Truth today. We're so glad you've joined us, and we pray this message has helped you experience more of the abundant life Jesus promises.

Today's culture is a revolving door of ever-shifting views and beliefs. That's why it's so important to test these new ideas against the timeless truth of scripture. It's the best defense against the world's confusion. We want to help ground you in the foundations of your faith by sending you Stuart Briscoe's six-message series on the book of 2 Peter, "Six Things We Must Never Forget." This series will anchor you in six time-tested truths from God's word so you can stand strong in your beliefs as you remember the deep spiritual truths that are foundational to your faith.

The "Six Things We Must Never Forget" series is our thanks for your gift to help keep Telling the Truth going strong, sharing life-giving teaching from Stuart and Jill with more people all over the world. So request your copy when you give today and get help staying grounded in truth in today's shifting culture. Call 1-800-889-5388. That's 1-800-889-5388, or you can give online at tellingthetruth.org.

Next time on Telling the Truth, more help from Stuart and Jill Briscoe about how to experience life in Christ in all of its fullness. We hope you'll be listening then.