In this sermon, the preacher emphasizes the importance of relying on divine resources in times of distress. He shares a story about a missionary couple who found themselves surrounded by hostile forces and without any interest in the gospel. However, they found comfort in knowing that God was with them and that they were delivered from the evil one through the power of Jesus' shed blood. The preacher encourages the audience to turn to the Word of God and allow the Spirit of God to minister to their souls, finding peace and stability even in difficult circumstances. He concludes by reminding them of the title "Jehovah Shalom," the Lord who gives peace, and the need to be in the center of God's will.

Anyone, do you ever remember seeing this before? One person remembers seeing this before. It's been a while ago, but we had a request concerning sometimes those vistas that come to your doors. They're called Jehovah's Witness. They make quite a bit. I have quite a bit to say about the names of God. Do you know God's name? Well, I think we have here a fairly complete list, according to what is compiled here, of the names of God as found in Scripture. And the beauty of what I'd like to say tonight is to apply this to the 23rd Psalm, the six verses of the 23rd Psalm, which we'll be reading, and then we'll make some comments concerning of God. So turn to Psalm 23, and since Earl White is back there at the back, everyone can hear him real good. He's going to read the 23rd Psalm for us. Earl, if you will, read that for us. Thank you, Earl. You have before you on that sheet mention of the use of these names of Jehovah in the scriptures. The first one is found in Genesis 22 and verse 14. If you're familiar with that, that's the response of Abraham after he had offered up Isaac, and he responds with mention of the name of God as the Great Provider. So you can readily see the significance of that name as it applies to the experience of Abraham. God is a Great Provider, and it's not hard to apply that when you think of the 23rd Psalm, and the Lord is my shepherd and I shall not want. It speaks of sufficiency, the sufficiency of our shepherds to provide our needs. Someone's well said, when you have the Lord as your shepherd, I only want what I need. Because God is able, if we let him have control of our lives, he is able to control even our wants. I'm thinking of the wonderful provision that is made by the Lord himself in the course of his earthly ministry. What he provided was always enough and more. When he fed 5,000, you remember that they gathered up the fragments, 12 baskets full. His provision is always sufficient, and when you think of the provision of the Lord, you are aware that he can provide all your needs according to his riches in glory in Christ Jesus. The sufficiency of our God. It's wonderful to be able to read the 23rd Psalm and relate to all that perhaps the psalmist felt in his own heart. This is a psalm of David, a man that was experienced in the area of shepherding, caring for sheep, and he was able to project himself into that life situation in which he needed a shepherd. And he refers to the Lord as my great provider. He is my shepherd. I shall not want. And you know, the stories that I've read about shepherds is that they will stop at nothing to provide what is necessary for the sheep that they are responsible for. And it's so easy to understand when you read in the New Testament concerning the good shepherd and his care for the sheep, that our Lord Jesus Christ never stopped short in providing all that we needed. And I read the Word of God and I think about the value of being a child of God, and I know that God's grace is sufficient. And I know there's an abundance of his mercy and his grace bestowed upon us every day of our lives. So we can relate to this wonderful God, our provider, the one whose sufficiency is always, is always assured in every circumstance of life. So there's no problem in relating that first Jehovah Jireh, the Lord who provides to the very first verse of Psalm 23, Jehovah shalom. And we had one of those representatives from the work up in Charlotte, the chosen people, and he greeted us with shalom. And you know it means peace, peace. And when you think of the Lord who gives peace, therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. The wonderful salvation that we have has provided us with peace, peace with God. We've been perfectly reconciled through a reconciling work that the Lord Jesus Christ has so perfectly carried out in accomplishing the will of God. We also read in that fourth chapter of Philippians where each one of us, if we are willing to prove that we cast aside all of our anxiety, we cast ourselves upon the Lord, we trust him, and we offer our prayer up to him in every circumstance of life, we are assured that the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will fill your heart and your soul. Indeed that's a wonderful promise. Well, he makes me to lie down in green pastures, and he leads me beside quiet waters. Sustenance is something that is recognized when you look after sheep. They have many varied needs, and above all else, they need to be cared for in a very special way. They tend to be rather dumb. I don't think that when you think in terms of Christians being called sheep, that it's not necessarily a complimentary title, because sheep are dumb. They tend to roam away from the best place to graze, the place of safety. They tend to get in trouble. You have no difficulty as far as the Christian life is concerned in knowing that sometimes it's so easy to get off the straight and narrow. It's so easy for us to go far afield, out of the will of God, and away from where he is able to provide and sustain and keep us. That picture of peaceful enjoyment, of all that the Spirit of God would minister to us and to our soul's needs, so often we wander away from that, and we begin to act as if we're not sure what course to take. I would, in my own experience, say this, open the book, get back to the Word of God, let the Spirit of God minister the things of Christ to your own soul, and therein you soon find that you are brought to that place of quietness where you can lie down and be comforted, be sustained, be provided with everything that you need to stabilize your life, even sometimes in very hard circumstances. The third title, and incidentally each one of those Old Testament references that are given, Jehovah Shalom, Judges 6.24, was the experience of Gideon after he had an encounter with an angel and provided a meal, and was given some instructions concerning what he was to do about those prophets of Baal, and which he responded and carried out so beautifully, and how God blessed him. The Lord who gives peace, I'll tell you what, he needed to be sure that he was in the center of God's will, because he was fixing to undertake something for the Lord and for the glory of God that wouldn't be too popular among those Baalites, and those of even his own household that were followers of Baal. In Exodus 15.26, here's a reference, Jehovah Rathika, and the Lord who heals, and there's need for healing. If you make this application to what would be most apropos to this 23rd Psalm, he restores my soul. Well, isn't it amazing how easy it is for one of God's children to wander away again and need restoration? And everyone should be alert and on the lookout for his fellow believer. That's what we're encouraged to do, and most of all to take that person to prayer and to take them to the Lord. He restores my soul. Restoration. Anytime a sheep got away from what was the desire of the shepherd, he had to do something to restore that sheep, whether he liked it or not. And so often that happens to us. Sometimes we have to be drawn back from certain circumstances in life. It may even be things that we have justified in our own eyes as being suitable, something that Christian liberty would allow in our lives, and yet we are away from the Lord, out of the will of God. We need to be restored. God will restore us. God delights in healing any problem that arises in the life of one of his dear children. The shepherd had a good acquaintance with restoration, knew what it meant to restore a sheep that perhaps had wandered afield. He guides me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. And here, when you look at this wonderful thought of the Lord our righteousness, that is in that fourth title of God, Jehovah Sidcanu. And you turn to the book of Jeremiah, and you see that the prophet had a loving relationship with God that he based always upon the righteous acts of God. He never made any charge against God of acting in an unrighteous manner in dealing with him or any of his people. And certainly when we think in terms of being restored, being guided in the paths of righteousness, it's to uphold the holiness of God that puts a demand upon each one of us. Remember, we are ambassadors for Jesus Christ, our Lord. Remember, we have taken his name. We are Christians. And others in this world, when they hear of our profession of faith in Jesus Christ, make a judgment concerning that person, that person that we talk and speak of so highly. He must be like we are. His standards, his values, they must be our standards, our values. What are they? Certainly they should always bespeak of that which is righteous. It's for his namesake. Does it mean anything to us to be sure that we do not besmirch or do anything that would be a discredit to the name and the person of our Lord Jesus Christ? That's so important, and the psalmist, I believe, is making this very clear to us even in his own relationship with the Lord. After all, there is a beautiful thought that runs continually through the psalms, and it is this, that the psalmist continually speaks out his own experience. It's not just rhetoric. He is telling you more than likely something that he has experienced, an experience in which he had to draw upon those divine resources that were available to him. And he proved his God to be more than all that he had ever expected in the way of a resource, a comfort, the peace. Anything that relates to this life and the distress that can touch our lives, the psalmist is reminding us of these things. And when you come to that fourth verse, and how many times we have read this verse with those that are sometimes having to walk in that valley of the shadow of death, it's a view of providing peace even in the enemy's territory. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for thou art with me. And that latter part of that statement is a thing that just sometimes seals us as far as what we really need in the time of distress. The Lord who is there. Isn't it wonderful to know that the Lord said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. I will never leave you nor forsake you, regardless of the circumstances, no matter where you might be, even if you are out of my will. Isn't it wonderful to know that God doesn't stop loving us when we're out of his will. When we need restoration, when we're in the enemy's territory, when we're walking through the valley of the shadow of death and the distress that is so great that you can feel it, you can sense it all around you. And those words come to us, fear no evil, don't fear the evil one. And I'm so thankful we have in the New Testament words that encourage me. It says, resist the devil and he will flee from you. And how many times in the course of life Christians have had to claim the wonderful power of the precious shed blood of the Lord Jesus Christ to resist the devil. How many testimonies have we heard in the course of our lives when Satan sought to attack and to destroy one of God's dear blood-bought children, and they claim the precious blood of the Lord Jesus. I'm sheltered under the precious blood of Christ and all of the assaults of the enemy to discourage and to distress and to destroy. He was resisted, he had to flee because one that is mightier than Satan greater is he. Remember this, the one that dwells in your heart, this is the word of God, greater is he that lives in your heart, greater is the one that is in you than the one that is in the world. So walk through that valley of the shadow of death. Doesn't mean that it won't be distressing, doesn't mean that in the course of life there won't be tears and sadness and sorrow, but there's a promise even in the face of all that this raises for us in the way of opposition. Fear not the evil one because I'm with you and I'll never leave you. Those are comforting words. The Lord our banner, Jehovah-nissim. When you look at that fifth verse, the preparation of a table before me in the presence of my enemies, the song of solemn says his banner over me is love. And I can't apologize for telling that story concerning that dear missionary couple that I heard about, that I read about, in which they were there, they were in a place that was so strange to them. They were surrounded by hostile forces on every side. They had not met one person that showed any interest whatsoever in the gospel of Jesus Christ. They were discouraged and one Lord's Day morning as they gathered simply together with another missionary couple and they remembered the Lord. There was such a consciousness of the presence of Jesus Christ in their midst that this dear lady said, I look and I beheld these words, thou prepares the table before me in the presence of my enemies, thou hast anointed my head with oil, my cup is running over. She said, my cup began to run over. We need the cup running over experience. God forbid that we had a cup that wasn't full and God willing that the cup would be running over. You've heard the story of the old fellow that was asked the question, is your cup full and running over? He said, yes and the sauce is running over as well. There is that fullness when God provides the preparation in this life for the things that become so precious and so dear to a believer. And if I can relate this to David as the shepherd and his own experiences, so many times the Lord had provided a table. It was God's provision for him. He was surrounded by enemies on every side. There's so much that you read about this and when you think about it and meditate upon it, that causes you to be aware that it's so easy to relate it to our own experiences. My cup overflows. Oh for God's people to have the overflowing cup. I believe that's when our lives become a real blessing to others. More than enough. My soul is so full. Those that love to go out and make the gospel of Jesus Christ known to others, I can't hold it within any longer. I've got to tell someone. I've got to share it with others. Our cups, let them be overflowing. And finally, the Lord who satisfies, sanctifies and gives to us the assurance that in the end, regardless of what life may offer and what it may be like, there's a wonderful promise. This promise is one that I think supports what we believe in the area of the eternal security of every believer in Jesus Christ. Surely goodness and loving kindness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And praise God, I hope it catches up with you too. It's not enough just to have it following you. Be so conscious of what God is doing for you that you enjoy it now. Surely goodness and the loving kindness will follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The soul of the believer has an eternal abiding place. It's in heaven. It's with Christ. An eternal abiding place. My Lord said he was going away to prepare a place for me. He said he desired that I might be with him where he is. He said he was coming again to receive us unto himself. He even tells his heavenly Father, Oh Father, it's my desire that they be with me where I am. John 17. We do have an abiding place. It's one that Jesus Christ our Savior and our Lord has prepared for us. And believe me, his acceptance at the right hand of God in that position and place of authority assures me that when I get there, when I get there, no one will question my presence there. The joy and all that is associated with security and peace in a person's soul is found in Christ. You don't read just the New Testament to find these wonderful gems of truth. That sustain and strengthen you as a believer in Jesus Christ. They're found over and over again in the word of God. All you have to do is look at God's dealings with his people. How he sustained them. How he gave them peace. How he healed their souls. How he gave promises of a place, an abiding place, near to his own heart. And all because he desired that we be with him where he is. Wonder of wonders that God would ever find so much delight in the likes of us. But praise God he does. And the Lord Jesus Christ desires that we be with him where he is. There is an eternal abiding place. For all of those that are safe and secure in Christ, let us be busily engaged in telling one and all in this world, God loves you and Christ died for you. And the provision that he has made for your soul is a place of perfect security and peace. Well, the next time one of these people show up at your door, you can keep this little handout. And if they want to have you recite for them the names of God, you pick it up and you use it. And while you're using it, you can remind them of this, that Jesus Christ is God. And he that has seen the Son has seen the Father. Jesus Christ is the embodiment of God. Even while he was in the flesh here upon the face of the earth, he never ceased to be God. And the JVs are all mixed up in their theology and in their understanding of who the person of Jesus Christ really is. And all they can do is play games with names. But believe me, they need to know. And I would encourage you, if you have an opportunity and you don't mind a little bit of confrontation sometimes with someone that's not on your side, talk to them in love and seek to win them for our Lord Jesus Christ. Let us pray. Our Father in heaven, we thank thee and praise thee for thoughts concerning thy loving greatness. The majesty and the glory of our God is revealed in the face and in the person of our Lord Jesus Christ. For David the psalmist, these words that have been read down through the ages by your people, these words that have provided comfort and peace for so many that walked through those places where there was so much to be feared. Even in the enemy's camp, and O our God, in this world today where we are just surrounded by so much that's a part of a world that refuses to accept your Son. O our God, comfort us ever with that assurance that you are with us, and that we are delivered even out of the hands of the evil one because of the mighty sustaining power of the Son of God and his precious shed blood for the salvation of our souls. We thank thee and praise thee for these moments together tonight. Bless us and grant we pray thee that the experience of having our cup run over and provide blessing for others will be our experience every day until we see the face-to-face Lord Jesus. For we ask this in the precious and worthy name of our Savior, the Lord Jesus. Amen. The service is over.