Psalm 23 series, part 4. Preached by Chris Broom, October 14, 2007

Don’t you want to be led beside quiet waters?

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He Leads Me Beside Quiet Waters - Outline
This sermon continues our series on Psalm 23.

Introduction: Revelation 7:9

Water is an incredible thing! It quenches our thirst. It’s refreshing. We need it to Live.

Roughly 70 percent of an adult’s body is made up of water.

At birth, water accounts for approximately 80 percent of an infant’s body weight.

Somewhere between 70 and 75 percent of the earth’s surface is covered with water.

The average person in the United States uses anywhere from 80-100 gallons of water per day. Flushing the toilet actually takes up the largest amount of this water.

Were you ever really thirsty and then you finally found a water fountain, only to drink lukewarm water with a weird taste? What did you do? Spit it out, right? Sheep are more stubborn than that. The Shepherd can be leading them to the most amazing snow-fed waters and the sheep will stop to drink from puddles filled with bacteria and urine. The Shepherd must lead the sheep or they’ll drink this contaminated water, and it won’t just taste bad, it will hurt them.

God wants desperately to lead us to refreshing, soul quenching waters, but most people refuse to allow God to lead them. Instead, like sheep, we stubbornly follow the dictates of our own desires.

Jeremiah 2:13
“My people have committed two sins: They have forsaken me, the spring of living water, and have dug their own cisterns, broken cisterns that cannot hold water.”

God knows where pure, thirst quenching water is, and yet we forsake him thinking we know how to satisfy our own needs. We don’t know where to look, and therefore we build these broken cisterns.
Why would we do this?

Revelation 12:9 teaches us that Satan leads the whole world astray.

How does he do it? One way is in 1 Corinthians 15:33-34.

“Do not be misled: ‘Bad company corrupts good character.’ Come back to your senses as you ought, and stop sinning; for there are some who are ignorant of God–I say this to your shame.”

Mark 8:38

What are you ashamed of? Jesus’ words or our sinful generation?

Luke 9:57-62
Are you ashamed of Jesus’ words as he challenges those that follow him?

Nickleback has a song called “If Everyone Cared.”
“If everyone cared, and nobody cried.
If everyone loved, and nobody lied.
If everyone shared, and swallowed their pride.
We’d see the day when nobody died.
I’m singing amen, I’m alive. amen, I’m alive.”

- In 1984, BOB GELDOF, a music journalist turned punk rock front man was inspired by a news report about Africa’s famine epidemic and began his fight against world hunger. Geldof organized the world’s first global charity concert LIVE AID. Performances by 100 artists around the world were viewed by 1.5 billion people. Live Aid raised 150 million pounds in one day. He Led Them.

- In 1976, BETTY WILLIAMS, a receptionist and mother of two witnessed three children killed during a political turmoil in Northern Ireland. Within two days of the tragic event, Williams obtained 6,000 signatures petitioning for peace. She then led 10,000 people on a peace march to the children’s graves. The peaceful march was disrupted by protesters. One week later, Williams organized another march. This time the march was 35,000 strong. Betty Williams was awarded The Nobel Peace Prize in 1976. …She Led Them.

- In 1961, two students in Portugal raised their glasses in a toast to freedom. They were imprisoned for seven years. British lawyer Peter Benenson was shocked by the events. To rally support for the students, he wrote a letter to his local paper. The response was so overwhelming that a committee was formed to organize the campaign. It quickly grew into a world-wide movement known today as AMNESTY INTERNATIONAL. He led them.

- In the 1920s, a boy from a small South African Village dreamt of a day when equality would prevail over his country. After years of activism, he was charged with political treason and sentenced to life in prison. His dream of equality never died. In 1990, after 27 years in prison, NELSON MANDELA was finally released. Mandela then led South Africa to its first ever democratic presidential election. Nearly 19 million people voted. Nelson Mandela won the election, ending the racist apartheid regime that divided South Africa for 46 years. He Led Them.

- Never doubt that a small group of committed people can change the world. Indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has. - MARGARET MEAD

Categories: Lord is my Shepherd, Sermons