Bill Johnson - The Lord is My Shepherd, I Shall Not Want
The fastest land mammal is a toddler who’s been asked, «What’s in your mouth?» I will drink you under the table. I whisper this to my coffee as we hide from morning people. Don’t forget to drink water and get some sunshine—you’re basically a house plant with complicated emotions. I wish mosquitoes sucked fat instead of blood. Can I have an «Amen» on that one? Alright, one more, one more. I’m going to get a bumper sticker that says «Honk If You Think I’m Sexy,» then I’m going to sit at a green light until I feel better about myself.
Alright, alright. We had a great testimony this morning. One of our staff had someone from their past who was quite resistant to them being involved here. Many years later, I think about ten years, they ended up with cancer and came here for a healing room on Saturday night. They arrived in time for service on Friday night and walked in the back, then fell flat on their back, which happens to some of us. They fell under God’s power and felt the healing love of God—a kind of fire moving through their entire body. They went back home, where they were scheduled to begin radiation the very next week, but when they got home, they couldn’t find any cancer whatsoever. They’re here completely healed.
One of the most fun miracles happened at a leaders' event that I did in Bradford. I’ve been doing it for the last six years, I think, and there was a guy there who broke his arm. There’s a woman who got up out of a wheelchair; she had been in a wheelchair for about ten years. Another woman had a hunched back with a large growth on her back and could only see the ground due to her physical position. That lump just disappeared; she stood up straight, put the crutches down, and walked without them. There was a guy who broke his arm while kickboxing and had a metal plate put in. It stuck out about an inch beyond the regular bone. He had a bunch of friends with him, and they were praying. Nothing happened. Then one of them felt he needed to forgive himself, and as soon as he did, they watched the plate disappear. Come on, Michael—my assistant Michael Vtin is a medical doctor, so I love having him there because he examines all these people. He examined the guy and found nothing wrong—no metal plate left whatsoever; he couldn’t discern any plate.
But maybe the coolest miracle was Tim Eldridge, who heads up this particular event. He and his wife, Sue, were walking with another friend of mine across the food court, which is in between two of the main buildings on their campus. A guy came up to them and asked what the event was about. Tim explained that it was a Christian conference with leaders from around Europe. The guy asked, «Why do you ask?» He said he had been having visions and dreams since he got there. So Tim shared the gospel with him, and after hearing it, the guy asked, «What do I do?» You know you’ve got fish jumping in the boat when they start doing it that way, so he got born again right there in the parking lot.
Greatest miracle of all! We’re going to pray for anyone with PTSD, bipolar disorder, dyslexia, or any kind of brain issue. I want you to stand because we’re going to pray for you. I really have confidence that the Lord is healing this today. It’s always on His mind, but I felt strongly this morning when I came in early that this was something He wanted to address. For those watching on Bethel TV, get in on this because the healing word knows no distance; it’s as present in your home as it is here. Bethel family, you know what to do—surround these folks and simply lay hands on them. Declare the peace of the Lord, the shalom of Heaven, to come over them and heal everything that was stolen or damaged. Some of them have issues because of trauma, so we declare trauma has no more effect on these lives in Jesus' mighty name. We rebuke trauma and ask for healing grace, Lord; release Your healing presence. In fact, peace is the word I want you to declare over them—literally over their mind and heart. The peace of God should be released to them right now in Jesus' name. Healing of the brain for those with dyslexia and similar afflictions—be released and healed now in Jesus' name. I want you to bless them in the name of the Lord. Declare it to them, and then just declare that a sound mind is their portion. Amen? Amen! Alright, you did good, you did good. You may be seated.
Several years ago, I had a real challenge physically. I ended up with a small growth in one of my intestines that they found and had to remove. Long story short, they got it out and everything is fine. However, for a season, I couldn’t eat or could eat very little, and then for a while, I couldn’t eat anything at all; I couldn’t even drink. They fed me intravenously, and that wasn’t nearly as fun as they said it would be. It’s a great weight loss program, but it’s not what you want to do. I spent a lot of time in a recliner until I got to the hospital, and then I was in bed for a while. During that time, I would read, as I do anyway. I’m constantly in the Word, but during that period, I made it a practice to read not just for teaching but for myself—to learn and take out of whatever I happened to be learning and then share that with you. That’s my practice.
But even more intently, I would come to the Scriptures and read. I spent a lot of time in Psalms and today we’re going to study Psalm 23. I think I read the 23rd psalm every day for two or three months, alongside other things I was reading. I would review prophetic words and watch prophetic ministry times. I tried to familiarize myself with what God says about my life instead of the circumstances surrounding me. It was a very difficult time. I wouldn’t wish it on anyone, but I’m so glad I was able to go through that journey and know the peace of God through every twist and turn. Don’t underestimate peace because it’s the manifestation of His mind over you. The peace of God is the manifestation of His mind having an effect on your environment because He’s not nervous about anything. If you’re anything like me, you can easily make a mountain out of a molehill, taking the simple and making it very complex. It’s a gift—I have that gift. If you hang around me long enough, I’ll show you how to do it.
But what happens for many of us as we walk with the Lord is that we tend to exaggerate the size of our problems so we feel justified in our fears. We exaggerate our problems so that our anxiety feels logical. Yes, we need to read the Bible—that’s what we need to do! I can tell we’re going to. Let’s read the Scripture together. We’re going to read the 23rd Psalm, and I’m going to read it to you out of three translations. So, that’s a bonus today. We’re going to do the New King James, which is what I study out of; then we’re going to do the Passion Translation, which will be extra passionate; and then we’ll do the Amplified, which is extra loud. So, we’re just going to have a good day.
Let’s read this together: Psalm 23. How many of you memorized this, maybe even as a child? Yeah, it’s probably the most well-known portion of Scripture on Earth. It is quoted in TV shows when someone dies, and a priest is doing a funeral. Oftentimes, they will quote at least part of the 23rd Psalm. It’s famous or well-known for good reason. It is that good. The problem is that we’re too familiar with it. Some of the richest things I often come across in my reading are those moments when I say, «Lord, help me to read this for the first time again.» Sometimes, just simplifying things or changing translations can help, as it allows me to hit it from a different angle.
Have any of you ever written something, and when you were through, you proofread it and everything was perfect? Yet someone else read it and said, «Hey, you forgot a word here,» but when you read it, you saw the word? I have entire paragraphs that I see on the page in my mind, but they aren’t there. That’s why God gave us editors—created by God to help us not look foolish when we certainly could. Sometimes we do that automatic reading thing, and familiarity causes us to skip over things we really need to hear as though it were the first time. So, I pray today has that effect on you as it has on me.
Psalm 23:1: «The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Yea, 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.»
Now let me take the Passion Translation: «The Lord is my best friend and my shepherd. I always have more than enough. He offers a resting place for me in His luxurious love. His tracks take me to an oasis of peace, the quiet brook of bliss. That’s where He restores and revives my life. He opens before me pathways to God’s pleasure; He leads me along in His footsteps of righteousness so that I can bring honor to His name. Lord, even when Your path takes me through the valley of deepest darkness, fear will never conquer me, for You already have. You remain close to me and lead me through it all the way. Your authority is my strength and my peace. The comfort of Your love takes away my fear. I’ll never be lonely, for You are near. Listen to this phrase: You become my delicious feast even when my enemies dare to fight. You anoint me with the fragrance of Your Holy Spirit; You give me all I can drink of You until my heart overflows. So why should I fear the future? For I am being pursued only by Your goodness and unfailing love. Then afterwards, when my life is through, I’ll return to Your glorious presence to be forever with You.»
That was good! One more: «The Lord is my shepherd to feed, guide, and shield me; I shall not lack. He makes me lie down in fresh, tender green pastures; He leads me beside still and restful waters; He refreshes and restores my life. He leads me in the paths of righteousness, which is uprightness and right standing with Him—not for my earning it, but for His name’s sake. Yes, even though I walk through deep sunless valleys (the shadow of death), I will fear no dread or evil, for You are with me; Your rod to protect and Your staff to guide— they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; my brimming cup runs over. Surely, Your only goodness, mercy, and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life. Through the length of my days, the house of the Lord and His presence shall be my dwelling place.»
This is just a glorious Psalm that needs to be revisited. Verse one says, «The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.» Oftentimes for us, we don’t have a financial problem; we have a lordship problem. The issue of lordship begins here: «The Lord is my shepherd.» It doesn’t ignore that there’s conflict, warfare, or darkness; it simply gives us insight into how He takes us through that process—not for defeat or fear, but for triumph, that His name would be exalted and we would be strengthened.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. We are the worst at diagnosing our own problems and circumstances. Many who think they have relational problems actually have lordship problems, and many who struggle with fear and anxiety actually suffer from the absence of lordship. I can take any small problem and make it so large in my mind that I forget who Jesus is. But no problem seems impressive when faced with the one who defeated everything on our behalf.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. Sometimes, the Lord yokes us together with people—maybe in a work context, a family upbringing, or any number of things. When you’re yoked with someone, the yoke only hurts when you try to go in a different direction than they are. When you try to sit when they are sitting, the reality is that the Lord uses the circumstances around us to teach us to walk like Jesus. Sometimes, the pain we feel, which we’re sure is someone else’s fault, is actually a lordship issue.
We can go home now! The Lord is my shepherd—the master, the ruler, the wonderful, gracious Father, the benevolent, caring leader that we have. He directs my life. And I’ll tell you, my greatest weakness over the last 40 years has been that I assume I know the will of God in a matter. It’s never a choice between something evil and something good or something moral vs. immoral or honest vs. dishonest. That’s not the issue—those have long been settled. It’s the issue of doing the right thing that God has directed versus the right thing hoping that He’ll bless it—a good thing. Sometimes, He covers me, saying, «Yeah, I’ll cover you; just do something in My name.»
But, other times, He leaves me hanging. It’s not like He’s punishing me; it’s as if He’s saying, «Son, if you can feel the pain of the moment you are in, it will help your memory the next time you get into that situation where you think you already know what I want from you.»
Does that make sense to anyone else? I feel like I already know. I saw Him do this, this, and this, so obviously this is what He wants. But that’s not always the case. That assumption gets me into trouble. I receive a lot of encouragement from David and his life; it speaks to me the most. There were times when he forgot to pray or sought the Lord on the most obvious details. He would pray for things I wouldn’t even think to pray for. I just assume, «This is what God wants,» and He’s Lord. He’s the king of glory; He’s the Lord of all lords; He is my savior, my benevolent dictator, my kind and perfect Father. He loves me, covers me, empowers me, but He is Lord, and that should never be forgotten. He is absolutely Lord, and every knee will bow and confess that Jesus Christ is Lord. That day is coming, but we have the privilege of doing it every day of our lives.
Here, He starts this Psalm by describing the condition of a disciple. When it says, «I shall not want,» it doesn’t mean I’m not going to have another need tomorrow. It doesn’t mean I don’t have a difficult decision to make. It doesn’t mean if you have a problem in your life, then Jesus obviously isn’t your Lord—that’s the opposite. This Psalm describes how to live life so that regardless of your circumstances, you can always come into a place of breakthrough. Jesus is Lord, and notice that in the psalm it says «for His name’s sake.» Every victory you and I experience is celebrated by all of creation because they see His plan working.
The Scripture says that wherever two or three of us are gathered in His name, He is in the midst. Well, He’s already in me, but there’s an increased measure of His presence when we gather in His name. So, when two or three of us gather in His name, Jesus stands in our midst, and all of creation celebrates because His plan is working.
So, when He says, «for His name’s sake,» He is describing that it is imperative that all of creation sees and witnesses the effect of His plan. Romans chapter 8 speaks of all of creation groaning and travailing.
Yes, I know. The beauty of cell phones! At one meeting, I said, «Somebody needs to get the Hallelujah Chorus so that when your phone rings, it’s kind of a moment of celebration.» That night they had the Hallelujah Chorus as their ringtone!
The Lord is looking for one simple thing: our acknowledgment of His lordship. It’s not complicated—it may be hard, but it’s not complicated. Jesus is Lord. In that place, there is such rich fulfillment that is possible for you and me to stand in the face of adversity, difficulty, challenges, whatever we might be facing, and say, «Because He’s my shepherd, I actually lack nothing.»
In that context, we can testify of His goodness in our lives. The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Some of you need to be made to lie down! He leads me beside still or quiet waters.
I had a phrase go through my mind here a few weeks ago in Sydney—see if this helps anyone. Many of us struggle with guilt and shame in equal measure to our overemphasis of our own role in our conversion. Do we have a role? Yes! I chose Him, but He first chose me. I love Him, but He first loved me. I put my faith in Him, but that faith was a gift from God. Anytime we overemphasize our responsibility instead of that we are being led into a place of abandonment and trust. Maturity is where I represent Him well—in power, in wisdom, in love—but I remain as a child. I never grow out of dependency; I only grow deeper in dependency.
The issue of lordship will be an issue throughout all of eternity, but it’s never restrictive in a sense of punishment. It’s never restrictive in a sense of confinement of who you were born to be. Instead, it’s a restriction allowing all your efforts to focus on who you were designed to be. It’s a controlled strength, if you will—directed strength.
The lordship of Jesus always keeps your eternal purpose in mind, enabling you and me to stand and represent Him accurately. I really believe that before He returns, there will be a generation—not just in individuals, but a generation—that represents Him well in purity, true holiness, and great power and wisdom. This will automatically mean the transformation of cities and nations as a result!
So, He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside still waters; He restores my soul. The word «soul» often refers to our whole person—spirit, soul, and body. He restores me completely. Sign me up for that one!
He leads me in paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. Here’s that phrase again: «Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.» Here’s one of the most important things I discovered during that particular season for me. I’ll be honest—I was sick, and I kept waiting for that word of the Lord. I kept waiting for that thing that would clarify everything for me. It just didn’t come. His silence is not punishment; it’s because He has already spoken. His silence helps you find what He has already said. It’s not the silent treatment; He’s a gracious Father. Everything He does is out of love.
I was hoping for that breakthrough word, for someone to call or write, and while many wonderful things were given to me during that time, there was never a breakthrough word; it just didn’t come. I was just sick, and many of my friends came and prayed for me; it was wonderful—zero complaints. But I was looking for that breakthrough word and it just didn’t come.
What did come was overwhelming peace. After reflecting on it, I realized two things: first, bold faith stands on the shoulders of quiet trust. The Lord was looking for quiet trust from me rather than the expression of bold faith. He was trying to build something deeper in me—a rest that facilitated quiet trust as the platform for another level of bold faith to spring forth.
Does that make any sense? Here’s the main point I wanted to mention this morning: «Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for You are with me.» I came to the realization that there are measures or manifestations of His presence that you can only find in the valley of the shadow of death. He manifests Himself differently in different contexts and situations. There’s an aspect of His presence you can only find in that context.
Why would He take you through the valley of the shadow of death? Because He believes in the work He has done in you. He’s confident in the great work He has completed in each of us. He is confident enough to trust us in perilous situations. If there were not a true, sufficient new creation that took place inside our hearts when we believed on the Lord Jesus Christ, He would never put us in that environment because we’d be devoured in a heartbeat.
But He enables us to go through those situations. He doesn’t create the evil; He doesn’t create the darkness. He takes us through them, and I tell you, the longest way through a trial is to try to do it apart from the lordship of Jesus. The quickest way through a trial is with Jesus as Lord. There’s only one shortcut: Jesus is Lord. That’s how you get through!
However, what I realized was that I didn’t have any powerful words or thundering encounters. It’s been years, and I’ve hardly even talked about this. I just felt this morning was a good time to share what I experienced. There was never that life-changing moment, but at the end of it, I could tell I had discovered an aspect of His countenance that I could not have found anywhere else. Because that was the treasure, I came out with it; it was absolutely worth it.
He goes on and says, «You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.» Oh boy! Did you see it? He prepares a table before me. What is the table? A table is a place of nourishment, interaction, fellowship, family, and intimacy. Remember Mephibosheth from the Old Testament? His legs were lame, but he was brought to the king’s table, so his lameness was covered at the table of the Lord.
So here is this table of deep fellowship and closeness with God, and He puts it in the middle of the enemies. So many believers can only see the enemies and define their circumstances based on the enemies they see, rather than defining their circumstances by the Lord who is seated across the table in intimate interaction and fellowship.
There is a place of intimacy with Him that causes all these hellish things to dissolve and disappear. It’s not even that they’re gone; it’s that they don’t matter. The Bible says if God be for you, who can be against you? It doesn’t mean no one can be against you; it just means that no one can be against you and be given a chance to vote! No one against you ever gets to vote; they have no ability to contribute to a decision already determined by the Lord.
He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. I think one of the most frequent challenges I observe in people I love and care for is that they become so aware of the enemies around them rather than the Lord who is there. Even in your darkest situation, there is a table of fellowship.
You see, most people don’t have a financial problem; they have a lordship problem. They don’t have a relational problem; it’s a lordship problem. It’s not an anxiety issue; it’s a lordship issue. That’s really at the heart of so many things. It’s when I try to fix things myself instead of surrendering tenderly, that I exaggerate the size and effect of something.
The Lord is telling us, «Listen, I’ve set you up for victory ahead of time, and just to prove it, I’m going to take you through a dark valley. When we get there, I’m going to put a banqueting table up, and it’s going to be You and Me sitting down!»
Every time you say, «I love You» to Jesus, He puts it on the devil’s intercom. He makes the devil listen to your affection and love for Jesus. He places the table in the presence of the enemy, not for the enemy to kill, steal, or destroy, but so that there is an ongoing testimony of the nature of God and His redemptive purpose in fallen humanity to restore us to a place that reminds the enemy, «You did not win; you only set us up for a greater victory.»
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 comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Has anyone ever had the Chocolate Sundae at Moonstone? Oh yeah, so good! Can you say «will of God»? For those of you who aren’t enlightened, it’s a large goblet on a platter filled with ice cream and then topped with chocolate until it overflows, filling the plate. Will of God!
So, here’s the outcome: your cup overflows; there is more pouring through you than you could possibly contain. You become a fountain of resource and life for countless numbers of people because you remained in a place of trust in the darkest of times. What has happened in you creates a fountain of life that will feed many. The result of the lordship of Jesus is that He can trust you with a greater capacity, greater influence, simply because you found His presence in the darkness and allowed it to be your feeding place. Consequently, you will have more than you could ever ask for—more than is even necessary!
Your cup overflows; your head is anointed. Your thought life is immersed in the anointing of the Spirit of God, and out of your heart flow rivers—not just a river, but rivers of living water. Then it ends with this: «Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.»
The Lord goes before me; I’ve got two angels behind me—goodness and mercy. They just pick up the slack. They keep going, saying, «Keep going! Don’t stop now; there’s no place to stop!» They pick up the things I drop. Goodness and mercy dwelling in the house of the Lord. You were designed to live in the manifested presence of the Lord.
Did I mention the person who got healed came in the Friday night service? Sorry, this is my third service—I forget what I say where. Hi, good morning! Here, a person walks into a room and is healed of cancer without anybody praying for them. Several years ago, one of our international staff was going through customs in San Francisco, and the customs agent had him at the desk. He’s international; he’s got a green card and works here.
The guy looked at him and asked, «Where do you work?» He said, «At Bethel Church.» The agent said, «Is that the church that has a prayer house that’s open?» He said, «Yeah, it is.» The agent said, «Let me tell you a story. A friend of mine is dying of stage-four cancer. He drove up to Redding, walked into the prayer house, and was completely healed of cancer.» Then he looked at the pastor and stamped his passport, saying, «Welcome home!»
What happened? Somebody’s cup was overflowing! Come on! Somebody’s cup was overflowing! That lack mindset has got to go. Lack mindset is only the product of fear; it is not truth. I may be going through a valley of the shadow of death, but I am not a person bound by lack; I’m a person in process.
I like outcomes; He likes process. I like the end result—the breakthrough, the miracle, whatever it may be—He likes the journey. We think differently, yes we do. I want the outcome, and He says, «Ah, but you get to trust Me the whole way.»
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. That doesn’t mean you come to church forever; it means we live in His presence continuously. Everywhere you go, the house of the Lord becomes manifest. It’s always a chance, in a crowd this size, that some people have never made a confession of faith in the Lord Jesus Christ for your salvation, for your healing, for your deliverance.
Jesus went to the cross with you in mind, with me in mind, and He made it possible for every person here, at a moment like this, to place their faith in Jesus Christ for forgiveness of sin and for healing and transformation of a broken life. Everybody in this room needs it; everyone has been brought to this point for this reason.
Jesus Christ is Lord of all, and He’s inviting every person here who may not have a personal relationship with Him into a personal relationship. If you’re here in that position, just raise your hand right where you are. I don’t want to miss anyone. Yes, wonderful; I see that hand. Anyone else? Just raise your hand. Yes, I see that hand. Beautiful!
So, I’m going to ask everyone to stand. For those that I saw, if there are any others, come right up here. We have friends we know and trust up here at this banner. I’d like the ministry team to join us now, and I’d like those two people to come right up here. We have people we know and trust to pray with you.