The Everyday Faith Steps:

• Born-again / Saved
• Water Baptized
• Holy Spirit Activated
• Healed + Set Free
• In Community
• Contributing
• Personal Growth
• Reproducing

Faith Scripture:

Romans 1:16-17: 16 For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. 17 For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith for faith, as it is written, “The righteous shall live by faith.”

Psalm 23:

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.

3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

4 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.

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Everything in Psalm 23 is informed by these two things:

• The LORD is our Good Shepherd.
• We act like sheep.

THE TRUTH ABOUT SHEEP — AND US

We assume God calling us sheep is an insult, like He’s calling us stupid. But sheep aren’t as dumb as we think.

They can remember up to 50 faces for two years. They feel real emotions — joy, grief, fear. They can remember complex mazes and get their way through them, months after doing it for the first time. They can solve problems. They have real emotional intelligence.

Sheep aren’t stupid. They’re fearful.

That changes everything about this Psalm. God isn’t holding up a mirror saying “look at these idiots.” He’s holding up a mirror saying “look how vulnerable they are. Look how afraid they are. Look how desperately they need me.”

There are 3 main things I learned about sheep as I was studying.

1. Sheep are Directionless.

Even if you put sheep in a perfect environment with everything they need — green pastures, still waters — sooner or later they will just wander off. If a shepherd doesn’t keep them under constant watch, they’ll drift away and be lost. In Eastern Turkey, about 1,500 unattended sheep fell off a cliff while their shepherds ate breakfast nearby. The first 400 fell to their deaths in a ravine. The remaining 1,100 kept going — not because they wanted to die, but because the sheep in front couldn’t stop, and the sheep behind kept pushing forward.

And that’s who God compares us to…a LOT.

Isaiah 53:6 NLT: All of us, like sheep, have strayed away. We have left God’s paths to follow our own. Yet the Lord laid on him the sins of us all.

2. Sheep Can’t Stop Eating — Even to Their Own Destruction

They wander. Not because they're dumb, but because they're driven by appetite. Sheep cannot stop eating. They will graze a pasture all the way down to bare dirt. They'll eat until they're sick. They'll eat until they literally cannot stand. They don't know when to stop. Fear drives them. What if there's not enough? What if I miss something? So they keep going. They never lie down. They never rest. Does that sound like anyone you know? Here are some examples…

• You doomscroll on tiktok for HOURS a day and wonder why you haven’t gotten anything done / don’t know why you feel so depressed.
• You care more about the latest scandal in your community than you do about serving your community (Sulphur Springs 411)
• You spend more time at ball practice than in the word of God, and wonder why your kids don’t know Him
• You think drinking a little more or turning to substances to make you numb is better than allowing God to help you navigate the hard things in life
• You sacrifice your family on the altar of appearance
• You keep opening the website or the app even though you know all it does is bring you shame and anxiety
• You consume, consume, consume, and wonder why you’re unhealthy in every area of your life.

3. Sheep Get Cast Down

Sometimes a sheep rolls onto its back, legs in the air, completely helpless. Ancient shepherds called it being “cast down.” Without the shepherd coming to lift it, it dies right there in the grass. Some of us came in today cast down. We couldn’t get up on our own either.

Not because we’re foolish. Because we’re fearful. And fear — left unshepherded — will drive you off a cliff following the sheep in front of you.

Psalm 40:2 NLT: He lifted me out of the pit of despair, out of the mud and the mire. He set my feet on solid ground and steadied me as I walked along.

FEAR

Remember this: Fear belongs to Satan. Faith belongs to God.

The enemy doesn’t always come at you like a lion. Sometimes he just keeps buzzing. And this is where it gets interesting — because Satan’s actual name tells us everything about his strategy. Beelzebub is one of the names given to Satan in the New Testament. It means “the lord of the flies.”

The sheep nasal bot fly deposits live larvae directly into the nostrils of sheep while in flight. The larvae crawl up into the nasal cavity and sinuses — feeding, growing — causing the sheep to shake its head violently, snort, stamp its feet, press its face into the ground. The infestation makes the sheep stop eating and stop resting entirely. It loses weight. It loses peace. In severe cases, the larvae penetrate deeper — reaching the brain — and the sheep begins to circle frantically, slam its head against walls, and press its face harder and harder into the ground trying to get relief. In rare but documented cases, it results in death.

Let that sink in.

A fly.

Getting into the head.

Driving the sheep crazy.

Unto death.

Not a lion. Not a tiger. Not a bear. Oh my…A fly.

And the Lord of the Flies knows exactly what he’s doing. He doesn’t fight you face to face — he just keeps buzzing until the thoughts burrow in. 

• You’re not enough.
• You don’t have what you need.
• It’s too late.
• What if you never get married?
• Everyone at your job hates you.
• Nothing will ever change.
• What if you never have kids?
• What if your kids hate you?
• You can’t make a difference.
• Jesus didn’t really die for you.
• You’re too far gone.
• You’ve wasted your life.
• You’ll always be messed up.
• This sickness will kill you.
• Aren’t you afraid?
• Aren’t you embarrassed?
• Keep scrolling.
• Buying that will make you feel better.
• You’ll always be anxious.
• If you really surrender, your life will be boring.
• What if you wind up just like your parents?
• What if you never get your dream job?
• You’ll always be an addict.
• What if everyone finds out you’re a fraud?
• What if you lose it all?
• You’ll always be lonely.
• Nobody really cares about you.
• God could never use someone like you.
• God doesn’t hear your prayers.
• God doesn’t love you.

You know what sounds a lot like flies? Lies. These are LIES. And lies feed fear.

And once these flies get in, you can’t shake them loose on your own. The sheep can’t get the flies out by itself. It just runs in circles, exhausted, slamming its head, unable to rest, unable to eat, unable to be still.

• Anxiety that won’t stop no matter how many times you swat it away.
• Lies on repeat that burrow deeper the more you fight them.
• Running in circles — restless, worn down, unable to lie down in peace.

That is the Lord of the Flies at work. That is FEAR at work.

This is why God says “do not fear” 365 times in Scripture — once for every single day of the year. Not as a suggestion. Every day’s worth — because He knows His sheep. He knows fear will be our daily battle. He knows the flies will keep coming back.

So He didn’t just tell us not to be afraid. He became our Shepherd. And one of the greatest things about Shepherds is they spend a lot of time with sheep.

THE SHEPHERD KNOWS WHAT YOU’RE AFRAID OF

David wasn’t just writing a beautiful poem. He was a shepherd himself and he knew exactly what sheep fear. And the lines of this Psalm are direct answers to our fears.

"The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want." (v.1) — The fear of scarcity. Not having enough. Of never being enough. Not having what you need. Being left to fend for yourself. The Shepherd's answer isn't just "you'll have enough" — it's I shall not want. Total provision. Not survival, abundance. A life of green pastures. Why? Because He’s with you.

"He makes me lie down in green pastures." (v.2a) — The fear of never being able to rest. 

Sheep will not lie down unless they feel completely safe. 

• no fear
• no friction in the flock
• no flies
• no hunger

All four of these conditions have to be met. Left alone, a sheep almost never rests. It is perpetually anxious, perpetually moving, perpetually consuming. The Shepherd doesn’t suggest rest. He creates the conditions for it. He addresses the fear first — and then comes the stillness. Matthew 11:28 ESV: “Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” 

He leads me beside still waters." (v.2b) — The fear of being overwhelmed. Life moving too fast. Being scared of your own reflection.

Sheep are terrified of moving water. Their wool absorbs water like a sponge, and if they fall into a rushing stream, they’ll drown under the weight of it.  They know they need water. They’re desperate for it. But fear keeps them from drinking. So the shepherd goes ahead, finds a place to dam the river, and creates a still place — because a good shepherd doesn’t just point to what you need and say “go get it.” He leads you somewhere you can receive it without fear.

John 4:14 ESV: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” 

"He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His namesake." (v.3) — The fear of being too broken to come back. The fear of being lost. The fear of your own reputation.

He restores (brings back). The shepherd is constantly returning the sheep to where they need to be. And He walks ahead. The sheep don’t figure out the path, they just follow the One who already knows it. He guides them for His name’s sake — the Shepherd’s reputation is tied to getting you safely home.

"Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil — for you are with me." (v.4) — The fear of darkness. The fear of the enemy. The fear of the unknown. The fear of walking into something you can’t survive on your own.

In ancient Israel, when fall approached, shepherds had to move their flocks from the highlands down to the lowlands before winter. The only way through was the valley. Dark, narrow passes. Bandits. Wild animals. Real danger, real darkness. The shepherd didn’t reroute around it. He went through it...with his sheep. Notice something. Every verse up to this point, David talks about the Shepherd in third person. “He makes me lie down. He leads me. He restores my soul.” Describing God from a distance. But right here in the darkest moment of the psalm, it shifts.

“For you are with me.”

Not “He.” You.

Things get personal in the dark. The presence of the Shepherd feels closest in the valley — not because God is any more present there — but because that’s where you finally stop looking at everything around you and start looking at Him. From the mountaintop, you have perspective. In the valley, you have to have trust.

HE KNOWS YOU AND HE CHOSE YOU ANYWAY

Before David wrote Psalm 23, God already knew what David would do. He knew about the adultery. He knew about the murder. He knew about every failure and cover-up. And He still called him. Still anointed him. Still said He had found in David a man after His own heart.

A shepherd doesn’t choose his sheep because they’re impressive, and he doesn’t leave his sheep when they wander off.

And so it was with David. God chose him in spite of his weaknesses and the sins he knew in advance would be committed. 

Some of you super religious folks think that seems unfair…until you need God to show you mercy in your own mess.

Some of you free spirits think that the second chances of God are a license to sin even more.

Both of you are WRONG.

“I am the good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me.” — John 10:14 ESV

Not “I know my own when they’re behaving.” Not “I know my own when they’ve earned it.” He knows you in your wandering. He knows you cast down on your back. He knows you pressing your face into the ground trying to get the flies out of your head. And He still pursues you.

And here’s the best news. Look at verses 5 and 6.

“You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.” — Psalm 23:5 ESV

This anointing is 3 things at once:

• Protection from the flies: a barrier the enemy can’t penetrate.
• Honor: in the Old Testament, oil was poured on kings, priests, and prophets when God set them apart for His purposes. The King treats a wandering sheep like a cherished guest at His table.
• Life: In Hebrew, the word for anoint here also carries the meaning of fertilize — life being poured over places that were marked for mourning. Those scars you’re carrying are not trauma. They’re testimony. After the resurrection, Jesus didn’t hide His scars — He showed them. He invited people to see the pain he endured. But that wasn’t the end! It was just the beginning. It’s the same with us. You don’t have to remain wounded.

Scars are proof of an anointed life. They’re where the healing happened. They’re where the story is. When you’re anointed, you never have to strive. You never have to force your way in. You never have to manufacture your own momentum. And you don’t have to give into fear. The anointing makes a way, and the Good Shepherd leads you to walk in that way.

CONCLUSION

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” — Psalm 23:6 ESV

That word “follow” in Hebrew means to chase, or to hunt down. The same relentless energy a predator uses against the sheep, God’s goodness and mercy are using for you. You are being chased. Not by the enemy, but by His grace.

We come to church wanting green pastures and still waters. We want the feast, the overflowing cup. And when we don’t feel it or see it — when the valley is dark and the flies won’t quit — we complain, we grumble, we give up, and we stare back at where we came from. But here’s what David understood: It was never about what the Lord can give us. It was always about being IN HIS PRESENCE.

The green pastures matter because He’s there.

The still waters matter because He led you there.

The valley is survivable because He’s in it with you.

The table is set with an overflowing cup, because he invites you in.

The oil protects your mind because His hand put it there.

And in his presence, there is an eternal abundance of goodness and mercy. 

Fear is real. You are a sheep — and the Lord of the Flies knows exactly which thoughts to send into your head. You don’t have to pretend the fear isn’t there.

But you don’t have to live in it.

Remember: Fear belongs to Satan. Faith belongs to God.

• 2 Timothy 1:7 NKJV: "For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind." 
• 1 John 4:18 ESV: “There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear.”
• John 14:27 "I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don't be troubled or afraid."
• Philippians 4:6-7 "Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand."

Faith doesn’t mean the flies stop buzzing. Faith means you stop running in circles and turn toward the Shepherd — because you trust that His oil is stronger than their sting.

And some of you today — you need to be anointed. 

Maybe the flies have been in your head so long you’ve forgotten what stillness feels like. Maybe the wounds are still open and the enemy keeps landing right where it hurts. Maybe you’ve been striving and forcing and manufacturing for so long that you’ve forgotten what it feels like to simply be led. Maybe somewhere along the way you lost sight of the Shepherd and started just following the flock — and you’re not even sure anymore where you’re headed.

You need the oil.

You need the Shepherd to anoint your head again — to cover your mind from what’s been trying to get in, to heal the wounds that have been exposed, to set you apart again for a life that is with Him. Not a life of striving. Not a life of consuming out of fear. Not a life of running in circles with the flies in your head.

A life of green pastures. Still waters. A table set right in front of your enemies. A cup that overflows — not because you earned it — but because that’s who your Shepherd is.

Jesus was abandoned and forsaken (“My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”— Matthew 27:46 ESV) so that the last line of this psalm could be permanently, unshakably true for you:

“I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” — Psalm 23:6 ESV

Not for a season. Not until you mess up again. Forever.

“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” — John 10:11 ESV

You are a sheep. That is not an insult. It is an invitation.

You wander. You fear the still waters. You can’t stop consuming long enough to lie down. You get cast down. The flies get in your head. But you have a Shepherd who knows your name, knows your fears, knows your failures and laid down His life for you anyway. Come back to Him today. Let Him lift you up. Let Him lead you somewhere still. Let Him anoint your head.

Hebrews 13:20–21 MSG: May God, who puts all things together, makes all things whole, Who made a lasting mark through the sacrifice of Jesus, the sacrifice of blood that sealed the eternal covenant, Who led Jesus, our Great Shepherd, up and alive from the dead, Now put you together, provide you with everything you need to please him, Make us into what gives him most pleasure, by means of the sacrifice of Jesus, the Messiah. All glory to Jesus forever and always!

I WILL NOT FEAR!!!