See everybody tonight? Man, thank you, Grandpa, for leading. I'm telling y'all, y'all don't realize how tiring that is to get up here and try to lead and then try to preach. So that was a blessing to lead for me tonight. All right, let's take our Bibles. Very familiar passage of Scripture tonight, Psalm 23, okay? And don't let Psalm 23 turn your ears off. We really want to take our time and work through the chapter tonight and preach out of this Psalm. In my mind lately, of the last few weeks, and y'all know this, I think I say it every time I preach, but I try to preach where I'm at and where my mind has been. And I think the Lord puts things on your mind and put things on your heart for a reason. And my mind has been lately on just the simple thought of consistent Christians, just people that through my life that have made the biggest impact on me. And lots of times it's not the loudest people, it's people who are just simply faithful to the Lord. and people who are just simply consistent for the Lord. And I actually talked about that last week with the teen class. And I want to preach this simple thought tonight on learning to follow Jesus, learning to follow. And my mind last Saturday, I woke up with the hymn on my heart and singing throughout the day, he leadeth me, he leadeth me. I'd been singing that song out even Brianna had sang it with me. I think some point through that day We kind of been talking about it. I just had that hymn on my heart and a Sunday night I came to church and I went to brother David Byers and I said hey, bro You got a song on your heart or something you like us to sing tonight and he goes well how about he leadeth me and I was like Wow, okay, yeah, yeah, man, I think great minds think alike on that, all right? And so tonight, I just wanna, with this thought in mind, he leadeth me in learning to follow Christ. I wanna go to Psalm 23. And when I say learning to follow, I know some husbands were like, finally, he's preaching a message toward my wife, and that is not the case tonight. I'm preaching to all of us, okay? So Psalm 23, learning to follow. And I'm thankful that God leads us. Amen. Thank God for that truth tonight, that he does lead us. And I want to, the Lord, I was studying last night and I knew I was supposed to go to Psalm 23, and that hymn came to mind, He Leadeth Me. So I said, let me look up the story behind He Leadeth Me and who wrote it and all that. And this blessed my heart. So He Leadeth Me was written by American author Joseph Gilmore. It was birthed out of particular struggle in American history. This hymn was composed in 1862 during the Civil War, a time of upheaval and insecurity. The author was preaching at the First Baptist Church in Philadelphia right after his ordination, and this is what he said. I sat out to give the people an exposition of the 23rd Psalm, which I had given before on three or four occasions, but this time I did not get further than the words, he leadeth me. And I'm so thankful, I had no idea the song had anything to do with Psalm 23, and I was studying, and I just want to read the hymn to you real quick. What e'er I do, where e'er I be, still tis God's hand that leadeth me. Sometimes mid scenes of deepest gloom, sometimes where Eden's bowers bloom, by water still or troubled sea, still tis God's hand that leadeth me. Lord, I would clasp thy hand in mine, nor ever murmur nor repine, content whatever lot I see, since tis my God that leadeth me. And when my task on earth is run, when by thy grace thy victories won, in death's cold wave I will not flee, since God through Jordan leadeth me. He leadeth me, he leadeth me, by his own hand he leadeth me. His faithful follower I would be, for by his hand he leadeth me." Thank God for that truth, amen. So, I want us to come to Psalm 23 tonight, really paying attention to these verses, okay? And I want us to look at it through the lens of consistent Christians. What consistent Christians follow Jesus, okay? So let's look at Psalm 23 as following the Lord. Okay, let's open up in a word of prayer. Lord, thank you for the house of God. Thank you for the services that we had this morning. Thank you, Lord, for God's people who are faithful. Thank you, Lord, that we can come to a place where we can hear the word of God preached, and a place, Lord, that sings the right kind of music, Lord, that honors and magnifies you. Thank you, Lord, for the song service that we had tonight, and Lord, how it spoke to our hearts. I pray that you would bless us tonight, Lord, as we come to the time of preaching. I pray that you would help me, Lord, clear my mind and help me to say all that you would have said. And God, thank you, Lord, that we do, Lord, have a shepherd that leads us. And Lord, that we can trust your guidance in our lives. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. So Psalm 23, let's look at verse number one. David writing here, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I see right off that David makes this personal to him. David could have said he is the good shepherd, he is a shepherd, he is the shepherd, but David automatically made this personal and said, he is my shepherd. I wanna say that I'm thankful tonight that the Lord Jesus Christ is my shepherd, that he is my personal savior, he is my personal shepherd. And may I say tonight that before we, let's get this out of the way, people, that have the Lord as their shepherd tonight are saved people. Amen. If you are not saved tonight, may I say that you are missing out on the greatest guide you could ever have in this life with the Lord as your shepherd. May I say that people who follow Jesus, consistent Christians, have a personal relationship with Jesus. Man, I think sometimes people get saved and they go, thank God I'm not going to hell, but I don't want a personal shepherd. I know about the shepherd. I know about the good shepherd. He's a shepherd. But no, he needs to be your personal shepherd. He needs to be somebody you take personal guidance from every single day. Amen. Take personal guidance from his word every single day. Amen. So he is our shepherd. And David talks about that in verse number one, that he is my shepherd. He makes it personal. In John chapter 10 verse 11, Jesus says, I'm the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. In John chapter 10 verse 14, he says once again, I am the good shepherd and know my sheep and I am known of mine. The Lord is saying, I know my sheep and my sheep know me. Consistent Christians who are following the shepherd know the shepherd on a personal level more than just know of him or know about him. They know him on a personal level. Say if you're gonna follow somebody y'all to know him a man wives I hope if you're following your husband, you know, okay, and I hope that you're following him He is following Jesus. Amen, or it's going to be a disaster So tonight we need to know our set our Shepherd in a personal way and understand There's been so much preaching on sheep with their Shepherd But I do want to point out a few quick points about the Shepherd in the relationship with us with his sheep It is a very special relationship Sheep recognize and follow the shepherd's voice. Sheep have the remarkable ability to recognize their shepherd's voice and will follow him even amidst other flocks. So you can have herds of, and I've seen the videos before where they will have herds of sheep, thousands of sheep, and one shepherd will have a special noise or a whistle or something he does to let the sheep know it's time to go. And you can have all those shepherds doing their own thing at the same time, and that flock, you will start to see it separate, and each sheep follow his shepherd. Amen? So that's why the Lord says in the word of God, You're in this world, but not of this world. Man, you might be amongst other people, you might be in this world, you might be around people at work, things going on, but you better know your shepherd's voice. Man, and if the Lord isn't your shepherd, there's only one other option. The Bible says you're of your father, the devil. So if God is not your shepherd tonight and you don't know his voice, I hate, I know that sometimes might offend people to be, well, my father ain't the devil. That is the truth. If you're not listening to the voice of God, guess what? You're gonna fulfill the lust of your own heart. and you're to fulfill the lusts that the devil wants to place seeds in your life to have you fulfill. So God help us to know our shepherd's voice, amen. The shepherd's role as a protector and provider. Sheep are dependent on the shepherd for their safety and well-being. Shepherd protects them from predators and leads them to safe pastures and water. He also ensures they are well-fed and cared for, tending to any wounds or injuries they may have. A good shepherd builds a strong bond of trust with his sheep through patience and consistency. I don't know about y'all, I'm thankful that the good shepherd has been very patient with me. Amen. And thank God there's consistency with our shepherd. Amen. He is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Thank God he will never change. And thank God we can trust him. Amen. Individual care and attention. The shepherd knows each sheep individually, even calling them by name. Amen. He is concerned about the well-being of each sheep. will even go after a single lost sheep. I think every single one of us would say tonight that I was a single lost sheep, you were a single lost sheep, and thank God he left the 99 to come after one, amen? Came after me. But thank God that he is concerned for each sheep, that he knows each sheep individually. I'm thankful that God knows me by name, amen? So thank God for that truth tonight. Sheep are emotional animals and can form bonds with each other and their shepherd. They can experience anxiety or distress when separated from the shepherd. The shepherd is willing to make sacrifices to protect his sheep, even laying down his life if necessary. Is that not what the Lord did for me and you, church? He laid down our life so we could have life and have it more abundantly, amen? Come with interesting facts about sheep I thought were very, very interesting. That applies well to us. And sheep can only see 10 to 12 feet in front of them. I didn't know that. But sheep have very near eyesight. They can't see a long way off. That's why they need a shepherd. Amen? And that's why we need a shepherd, church. Tonight, I think sometimes we think, yeah, I can see. I can see a far ways off and I think I can handle this thing. Well, I got news for you, you can't, okay? And you need a shepherd that is going to guide you in the right way, okay? When sheep become aware of danger, they usually run toward it and not away from it. When a sheep all of a sudden senses danger because of their terrible eyesight, they have just as good of a chance to run toward the danger as they do away from it. I said, man, if that don't sound like me, man, I get aware of danger and all of a sudden it seems like I run to it and not away from it. And is that not us as Christians sometimes? We get a sense of something's wrong, but then we don't know what to do about it. That's why you need the Word of God, church. That's why you need a shepherd. Amen. Thank God we have the good shepherd. So David says in verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd. And what's the next phrase say? I shall not want. David is saying, Lord, because I have you, I have need of nothing else. I will not have any want because I have you." Man, church, is that where we are? We really view the Lord as we sang about tonight, satisfied. He is truly satisfies my longing soul. Hallelujah, I have found him. And then I think sometimes, I know me, I get in the mindset where, man, I look around and I think, man, I need more. Anybody ever had that urge? You know, you drive by McDonald's. You go, I need more. Not me. Some of y'all, you know, you junk eaters out there, okay? And we tend to do that spiritually. Sometimes we forget that He is all we need. We have it all here. It is just up to us to walk in it. Amen? So God help us to realize that we don't want for anything, Lord, if we have you. So verse number two. Look at this. He maketh me, the shepherd, maketh me to lie down in what? Green pastures. That means pastures of tender grass. It's a good place, church. Aren't you thankful when God leads you to a good place? Men, thank God. It's always a good place with Jesus. Amen. He leadeth me beside what? Still waters. He leadeth me. Psalm 31 verse 3 says, David wrote, for thou art my rock and my fortress. Therefore, for thy name's sake, lead me and guide me. David was very aware of the truth that, God, I cannot lead myself, and it end up OK. I have to have your guiding hand, Lord, for thy name's sake, lead me and guide me. God, help us to remember that truth that we need a leader, we need a shepherd, amen? So he leads us to still waters, that's waters of quietness. Now, thank God for quiet places, amen? You get a couple of young kids around, thank God for quiet places every once in a while. And I'm thankful in first Timothy chapter two, verse two, the Bible said that we lead a quiet and peaceful life and all innocent honesty. I'm thankful for the times in my life when it is smooth sailing. And I think sometimes we get the mindset, man, if you're not going through something, you're not living for God. No, thank God that He still leads to quiet and peaceful places, amen? Thank God that in this journey as a Christian, that there are times when God is gonna allow you to be in a place of peace and a place of quietness, and thank God for those moments, amen? Treasure those moments, amen? Thank God for them. So, let's look at verse three. So, He leadeth me beside the still waters. Look at this next phrase, read it with me. He restoreth my soul. This word restore means to return a person as a specific thing which he has lost or which has been taken from him and unjustly detained. To replace, to return as a person or thing to a former place, to bring back. To bring back or recover from lapse, degeneracy, declination, or ruin from its former state. So this word restore means to bring back how it was before. To bring something back to what it's supposed to be. Psalm 51 verse 12, David said, restore unto me the joy of my salvation and uphold me with thy free spirit. May I say, thank God He is our Restorer. I don't care what you got going on tonight. I don't care what that you feel has been taken from you, unjustly or whatever the situation. I'm thankful that we serve the Shepherd who is able to restore. And I'm thankful that He, through this Christian life, and then if we will follow Him, Listen, once again, through the lens of a consistent Christian and following Christ, I can't tell you how many times I've seen consistent people go through things that should make them inconsistent. Go through trials and tribulations that you would say they should not be where they are just like they were before this thing. And how were they able to do that? Because maybe they lost something in the trial. Maybe they went through situations of great sacrifice and great burdens to carry and bear. What happened? They clung to the word of God and they clung to the promise that he restoreth my soul. And thank God we can claim that tonight, that he is the restorer of our soul. May I remind you that this world wants to rob you of the joy of your salvation. Then the devil wants to rob you of your testimony, and this old flesh wants you to live in condemnation. I tell the teens this the last few weeks. It seems that God's people, sometimes we say we're following the Lord, right? We say we're following the Lord, but we look up and we're going a different direction. That word follow means to follow in the same direction. How many times have you said or have you seen Christians say, I'm following Jesus, but we're going a totally different direction? And God help us tonight, if we're going to follow the Lord and we are going to be consistent Christians, God help us not to live in condemnation. Because this flesh, what happens is, it's not perfect. At least mine isn't. And I got a feeling yours isn't either. And what happens is we fall, we mess up, and instead of obeying Scripture and getting forgiveness for that and turning away from and repenting, we will hold on to that sin or whatever it is and we will walk in condemnation. And if you carry that condemnation around long enough, guess what's gonna happen? You're gonna look up and Jesus is way on up here, and you're way on over here doing your own thing, and you're not following the one who you're called to follow. So God help us tonight to not let this world rob us of the joy of our salvation, that we would let the Lord restore us, amen? Thankful for that promise and that we can claim it from the scriptures. Look at verse three. So he restoreth my soul. Here's that phrase again. He leadeth me in the paths of what church? righteousness. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness." God will always lead in the paths of righteousness. I cannot tell you how many times that I have seen in our church over 20-something years, people who say, well, the Lord is leading me to do this. And then they go totally against what this says. I'm thinking of a name tonight. Some people might know him, some people might not, and I'm not gonna say the name, but this man came to dad and he said, I remember dad telling me years later afterwards, he said, preacher, God is leading me to take this job. This job was gonna take him out of church for six months at a time. He would be away from his family for like three to four weeks at a time, and then he would get to come home for a week and be gone from his family for three or four weeks at a time. And this was a man who already was struggling with things as a child of God and who needed consistency in his life, right? And what did he do? And I'm not saying that, I've heard people say that, well, your pastor knows the will of God for your life more than you do. I don't believe that. Last time I checked, every single one of us are called to follow Christ, not just our pastor, okay? So tonight I believe you can know the will of God for your life on your own But it is what does the Bible say in a multitude of witnesses? There's great counsel. There are safe counsel in multitude of witnesses and multitude of People giving you what you need giving you a good advice Okay, and he came to this pastor and he asked preacher I believe God is leading me to do this and of course our pastor said well, you know out of church for six months Doesn't really sound like something God would just lead you to do. Be away from your wife three weeks out of a month. Doesn't really sound like that's going to benefit your home. Now, this man wasn't driving a 2025 Cadillac Escalade, but he was doing all right, okay? He was doing good. That man today is divorced from his wife, very rarely sees his kids. His kids are nowhere in church, nowhere near church. Their lives are destroyed, wrecked, and ruined. What am I saying? When we say follow Christ, that means we are following this church. That means that we are glued to this, and that we are following everything this book says. And the fact is, is sometimes we like to put a cliche over it, dress it up, and say, I'm a Christian, and hey, maybe you are in church every Sunday, and you say, that's following Christ. There is a whole lot more to following the shepherd than just showing up to a church service at 11 a.m. on a Sunday morning. and God needs you every day, and you need you every day to follow the shepherd, amen, and make much of Christ in your life, because I don't know about y'all, I am capable of making one wrong decision, and guess what? Divorcing my wife, my kids never in church again, I'm one wrong decision away from that, okay? And so tonight, it is so important we hear, we talk about following Jesus, that we are literally living our lives to follow Jesus. I know that was so deep just now, but it is the truth, that we get serious about this thing, okay? And then look at the next part of the verse. So he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. What does that mean? For his honor and glory. Because guess what? Every single one of us have human nature. And if David ended the verse, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. You know what we would be tempted to do? I'm in the paths of righteousness. Look over here at me. I'm walking, I'm following Jesus. I'm doing right. I'm in the paths of righteousness. No. You know what consistent Christians do? People who follow Jesus, true followers and believers of Christ, you know what they say? Lord, this has nothing to do with me. God, I'm just thankful that you are guiding me and leading me, and I'm getting to walk this life as a Christian following you. And Lord, I'm doing all this. Lord, I'm walking in the paths of righteousness for your namesake, that you get the honor and glory. Lord, and that somebody can look at my life and say, hey, if he can do it, I can do it too. Amen? And God gets all the glory from that. So for his namesake. All right, after verse number three, I wrote this in my Bible. And I want us to make this transition. I wrote, he is still leading with an arrow pointed down to verse 4. Okay? So we've seen the green pastures, amen, the pleasant waters, the still waters, and now look at verse 4. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. Now I don't know about y'all, I'm the kind of Christian Scott is that goes, man, he's leading me to green pastures. He's leading me to still waters. He's leading me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death. I don't know if he's leading me through that. That's the attitude as a Christian. as a Christian walking carnally would think. But may I remind you that the verses haven't changed, that God leading hasn't changed from verse three to verse number four. So when we come to verse number four, there's a question, there's uncertainty. This place of the valley of the shadow of death sounds like a dark place. Sounds like the place of burdens. It sounds like a low place, a valley. Has anybody ever been through a valley in your life? You would say spiritually, Scott, I've been in a valley before. May I remind us that Mark chapter 16 verse 24 says, then said Jesus unto his disciples, if any man will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. That taking up one's cross, it means bearing the burdens and challenges of following Christ after often involving suffering and sacrifice. May I say tonight that David in verse four has not forgotten who is leading, okay? And you say, how do you know that, Scott? Because after he says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, what does the next phrase say? I will fear no evil. Consistent Christians, those who follow Christ, don't pick and choose when they follow him. Consistent people follow God wherever he leads. May I say that tonight, there are gonna be times in our lives where we come to low times, times of burdens, and maybe somebody's in that tonight. May I say that as long as you are following the Word of God and you are following Jesus, you're gonna be all right. that though sometimes we go through these trials, and I haven't been through a lot of them, but I've been through a few of them, I'm thankful for those who just remain faithful, take God at His word, and then when you come through the valley of the shadow of death, that you can trust God through that, amen, that He can still lead you and guide you through those times, amen? And then what does the next part of the verse say? It says, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. The rod there, the rod is a shorter, thicker stick, often used for discipline or striking. It symbolizes God's authority and his use of discipline to guide and correct, ensuring the sheep stay on the right path. It can also represent the shepherd's power to defend against dangers. Y'all, I don't know about you, but I am so thankful that God corrects me. that if it's in personal study, or if it's at church, you think everything's okay, and next thing you know, you're coming to the house of God, and what happens? A message is preached, right? And that message is preached, and what happens? Sometime God pulls out a rod, amen, and just rebukes you, and corrects you, and lets you know, hey, the path is this wide, and you are right over here, kind of lingering. Thank God for that. Thank God He corrects us. And I'm also thankful for that rod that it defends against dangers. Amen. We're walking through the valley of the shadow of death. I'm thankful that we have a shepherd who protects us. Amen. The staff. The staff is a longer, thinner stick with a curved end used for leading and guiding. In context of Psalm 23, the staff represents God's gentle guidance and support, helping sheep find their way. It also symbolizes the shepherd's presence and watchful care. Sometimes we get the narrative of Psalm 23 that he leads us in these green pastures, amen, places of safety, beside the still waters, places of peace. And we say, oh, his watchful care is there. But then sometimes we come to verse four and we go, I'm in the valley of shadow of death, and it really doesn't feel like watchful care. Guess what? That's probably when the watchful care is being used the most by the Lord, amen? That's probably when God has his watchful hand over you. Thank God that no matter where I go, no matter what I do, I'm thankful that God sees me. He watches over me, amen? And I understand that we can get in sin and things can happen, but I'm thankful that if I follow Jesus, amen, and I listen to his guiding hand, that his watchful care is over me and my family. Thank God for that promise, amen? So David is saying in verse number four, thank God that thou art with me, thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. David is saying your guidance and protection comfort me, Lord. And I'm telling you, I've seen time and time again, consistent Christians who love God and follow him, when they're in green pastures and still waters, still follow. And then guess what? When they're in the valley, in the shadow of death, what are they doing? They're still following God. So thank God for that testimony, amen. People who know the shepherd's voice, no matter the circumstances, and they still follow God no matter what. Thank God for that testimony and the impact that it's had on my life, amen. Verse five, let's look at it. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine, who? Enemies. I don't know about y'all, I'd much rather be in the green pastures beside the still waters than the valley of the shadow of death around my enemies. It doesn't sound like a great place. But guess what David said? He said, even though I'm here, Lord, even though I am in a place where my surroundings are great, God, where my circumstances aren't the best, maybe exactly what I want, I'm thankful, God, that in the presence of my enemies, guess what? You can still prepare a table for me. God, you can still take care of me. I can still trust you. God, I've never seen the righteous forsaken nor his seed begging bread. God, I'm thankful that I am taken care of. God, even though when the surroundings and circumstances aren't ideal, consistent Christians who learn to follow Christ do not allow their surroundings and circumstances dictate if they follow the shepherd's voice or not. You don't allow your surroundings to judge or dictate on whether or not I'm going to trust God and whether or not I can listen to what he's saying and his guidance from his book. Guess what? It's true no matter the circumstances. It's true no matter the surroundings, no matter if your enemies are present or not. Thank God we can trust this book. Amen? Thank God he can prepare a table in the wilderness. Amen? Then David said at the end of verse five, listen to this, and this is a colon, this means that the sentence continues. So still in the presence of his enemies, what does he say? Thou anointest my head with oil. What does David say? My cup runneth over. David is saying, God, you've blessed me so much, Lord, even though my surroundings aren't great, even though my enemies are present, God, you have made my cup run over. David still has the joy of his salvation in this situation. May I say that I've seen, have y'all seen, I'm pretty sure you have, some consistent Christians who have been in terrible situations. horrible surroundings, maybe situations and burdens they're carrying that nobody else understands or knows about. What happens? They still have the joy of their salvation. And they'll still come into church, man, I'm blessed. Thank God my cup runs over. Thank God we can have that. And it's all because of him. And it's all because of the shepherd. Thank God he can still make our cup run over. I did not say this was an easy place. I didn't say this was a bed of roses. I think sometimes we get the mindset that spiritual people are just always on the high. Spiritual people, you know, lose a kid and still come in the next service like, good to see y'all. or spiritual people have problems going on and still come in, you know, hooping and hollering and all those things. I'm not saying that we're not creatures of emotion and things are gonna happen and there are gonna be lows in life. But may I say that thank God we can run to this book and he restores our soul and then he still prepares a table in the wilderness in the midst of uncontrollable circumstances that we have to deal with in this life. And we're gonna get to the next verse and I'll continue. So verse six, surely, listen to this, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. This word surely right here means certainly, infallibly, undoubtedly. David is saying I know for a fact surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. Why is that? Why will surely goodness and mercy follow me and you? It is not because I've got this, you know, special thing with goodness and mercy, and I've got a special relationship with God that I just, you know, I get mercy all the time. Guess what? Goodness and mercy are following me because of who I am following. Tonight, goodness and mercy are going to follow you as you follow Christ. Okay, and the same thing, I think back to people that have had an impact on my life who literally are consistent in their life, and it seems like they don't waver, and God just has blessed them. They have good things in their life. There's mercy. God just has abundant mercy for them. It is because of who they are following they have those attributes and those things in their life. So God help us if you say, man, I feel like nothing good's happened in my life. And I'm not saying this prosperity gospel, you follow Jesus, you're going to have a $4 million home. I'm not saying all that, OK? But what I am saying is, in situations, you will see God's mercy very abundant in your life. when you are following him. And I've seen that in my own life. I'm not saying a big way. I haven't been through near what a lot of you have been through. But I'm telling you my life, over and over and over again, I've seen God's mercy apparent, even when it is so undeserved. But the only reason it is there is because I'm following Jesus. And so many testimonies I can look at of people in our church and other churches and people I've met and know that have been through things and been through unbearable things that walk out on the other side, And you say, man, God's mercy was so abundant and apparent in their life. And man, look at the goodness of God in their life. Why is that? Because they were following the shepherd. God help us to follow the shepherd. Look at the last part of this verse. Verse six, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And what does it say? And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That forever means to length of days. David is saying, I don't know how long I'm gonna live or how long I'll be on this earth, but as long as I'm here, I will be in the house of God. Just a minute ago when I was saying, you know, spiritual people and, you know, the whole thing of being, you have emotions and losing things and things happen in life. But may I say that people who are following the master, no matter what comes up in their life, you'll still find them in the house of God. That's where you get strength. That's where you get restored. Amen? God will use the brethren. He'll use the house of God. He'll use His Word. He'll use preaching. He'll use even choir singing. He'll use congregational singing. Even people next to you singing off, you know? He'll use them too to restore your soul sometimes. And God will use this place to help restore your soul. And understand that we're not always going to be on the mountaintop. And I'm not saying this charismatic, you know, we got to be shouting the house down or anything. But what I will say is people who are consistent in following the master are in the house of God without fail. Now, that is not all we need to do to be following the master. Don't get that confused, that as long as I'm in church, I'm following Jesus. No, there's a whole lot more to it. But that is one of the things that identifies you as following Christ is when you are faithful to the house of God. Amen? So God help us tonight to follow the Lord, church, that we come to Psalm 23, that lens of consistent Christians. I don't know about y'all, I wanna be consistent. I want to be a consistent Christian. I don't want people to be like, well, you can't trust Scott, or you can't really watch his life because he's just up, down. Listen, would you not say David was in a good place in some of those verses in Psalm 23? And then where was he at? In the valley of the shadow of death, what did he understand? God was still with him. He was still consistent through that. And that's what I want in my life. Because that, those Christians, are the people that impacted me the most as a young person, even now. So I don't know about y'all, I wanna have an impact on the rest of this world too. So God help us be consistent Christians to follow Christ, amen? All right, let's close in a word of prayer. Lord, thank you for your goodness, Lord. Thank you for the word of God, how it speaks to us. Lord, I pray that we would be consistent Christians and follow you. And Lord, that we would remember, Lord, that you are our guide, Lord, that you are our shepherd. Lord, that we would trust your voice, Lord, and hear your voice, Lord, and get to know you. Lord, on a personal level, Lord, on an intimate level, Lord, that we can be, Lord, Christians, we're supposed to be and called to be. Pray, Lord, that you bless our night. God bless us this week. Help us to be a light to this dark and dying world. And Lord, we thank you for all your goodness. In Jesus' name we pray, amen. All right, y'all, here we go. This is the video of VBS. Goodness gracious.