Psalms 23 - Thanksgiving Battle Cry

This is my manuscript for my Sermon that I gave on Monday Afternoon.

Artist: Cate Robbins, she calls this a self portrait with her shepherd.

 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.  

(NIV biblegateway.com)

Introduction: 
On August 28, a new movie was released into the theater made by the Kendrick Brothers. Similar to other of their movies this movie has a lot of lessons the main one in this story is that God fights the real battle. The movie is War Room. If you have not seen it. I think it should be on the “Christian movie bucket list” that everyone needs to see. One of the character reminders me a lot of David who wrote this Psalm and the thankfulness the shared for their Shepherd.

Transition to move 1:

David had a lifetime worth of battles he faced but he always had faith that God was on his side.

Move 1:

In Psalm 23, David calls God his shepherd. One of the many great things about David is that he went throughout his life with not just one job but several. One of these was being a shepherd of his father sheep. Philip Kelly points out that David later in his life is called the shepherd king. David learned his lesson when and relied God after the enemy led him astray more than once.  The character that in my opinion is much like David, Clara, she's a widow she's deciding factor in this move. She is a faithful prayer warrior her husband worked in the war room for the military. SHE doesn't fear like verse in 4 (read the verse) the trouble of this world. Miss Clara had the confidence that she was in God's hands. The best thing about miss Clara is she forces the audience to see the true enemy in this battle is the devil. Most of her day is sitting in her prayer closet and prays for every occasion in her life and has a wall of remembrance much like this Thanksgiving Psalm.

Transition to move 2:

David and fictional Clara brings thier battles to the Lord and find rest, what about us?

Move 2:

This Psalm has largely impacted my life and has been with me in some of the battles I have faced. My father was a gracious student of the Lord's book. One of the many verses he taught me to memorize was this very psalm. He also wrote many different verses and songs that go together and gave them to churches we went to for resources for a church devo. When I was 10 he pasted away from brain cancer. In the year or so that he was fighting it, I remember the trust that he had in the Lord! As young as he died my father do not let the devil take him down in agony during the fight.  My dad was committed to know that if he died he was going to see his shepherd and find rest by his rod and staff. I hope we  all have a chance of meeting some one like this who takes this Psalm 23 not just a Thanksgiving prayer for the battles that he has delivered us from but a comfort that he is our place of rest.

Transition to conclusion:

Times have changed in this world from when David wrote it till now main one being that Jesus died on the cross for our sins.

Conclusion:

I given three prime examples of people who has brought their own story to intwined with the Psalm. I don't know about you if you seen War Room or not I think we all need to be a lot more like David and his dependence on the Lord Shepherd. For the enemy can sit at our table but the shepherd is on our side. Read along with me once more Psalm 23, the thanksgiving battle cry and I hope you embrace it in your own life.

 The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing.
²     He makes me lie down in green pastures,
he leads me beside quiet waters,
³     he refreshes my soul.
He guides me along the right paths
    for his name’s sake.
⁴ Even though I walk
    through the darkest valley,
I will fear no evil,
    for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
    they comfort me.

⁵ You prepare a table before me
    in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
    my cup overflows.
⁶ Surely your goodness and love will follow me
    all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord
    forever.