August 10, 2025
Safe In My Father's House
- Matt Nickoson
Sermon Notes
Psalm 23:1-6 MSG
God, my shepherd!
I don’t need a thing.
You have bedded me down in lush meadows,
you find me quiet pools to drink from.
True to your word,
you let me catch my breath
and send me in the right direction.
Even when the way goes through
Death Valley,
I’m not afraid
when you walk at my side.
Your trusty shepherd’s crook
makes me feel secure.
You serve me a six-course dinner
right in front of my enemies.
You revive my drooping head;
my cup brims with blessing.
Your beauty and love chase after me
every day of my life.
I’m back home in the house of God
for the rest of my life.
Psalm 23:6a NIV
Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life.
“But what about when one’s body breaks down? What do I say when I stand by helpless, as I have had to do, and watch a life partner die by degrees under appalling pain? What is my reaction when my job folds up and there is no money to meet bills? What happens if my children can’t make their grades in school or get caught running with the wrong gang? What do I say when suddenly, without good grounds, friends prove false and turn against me?” – Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23
“These are the sort of times that test a person’s confidence in the care of Christ. These are the occasions during which the chips are down and life is more than a list of pious platitudes. When my little world is falling apart and the dream castles of my ambitions and hopes crumble into ruins, can I honestly declare, “Surely—yes, surely—goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life”? Or is this sheer humbug and a maddening mockery?” – Phillip Keller, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23
“Follow” = the idea of a vigorous act of chasing with intent to overtake something.
Your beauty and love chase after me every day of my life. – Eugene Peterson, Psalm 23:6a The Message
Luke 15:3-6a NIV
Then Jesus told them this parable: “Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Doesn’t he leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it? And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home.”
Our YHWH is the ultimate chase-you-when-you're-lost God.
Ezekiel 34:11-12 NIV
“For this is what the Sovereign Lord says: I myself will search for my sheep and look after them. As a shepherd looks after his scattered flock when he is with them, so will I look after my sheep. I will rescue them from all the places where they were scattered on a day of clouds and darkness.”
Ezekiel 34:16 NIV
“I will search for the lost and bring back the strays. I will bind up the injured and strengthen the weak, but the sleek and the strong I will destroy. I will shepherd the flock with justice.”
"Most of Scripture speaks to us; the Psalms speak for us." - Athanasius of Alexandria
Psalm 119:176 NIV
I have strayed like a lost sheep.
Seek your servant,
for I have not forgotten your commands.
I will live every day right in the middle of “The Lord is my Shepherd” and “surely your goodness and love will follow me”.
Deuteronomy 31:8 NIV
“The Lord (YHWH) himself goes before you and will be with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
Psalms 139:1-4 NIV
for the Lord (YHWH) will go before you,
the God of Israel will be your rear guard. - Isaiah 52:12b NIV
You have searched me, Lord,
and you know me.
You know when I sit and when I rise;
you perceive my thoughts from afar.
You discern my going out and my lying down;
you are familiar with all my ways.
Before a word is on my tongue
you, Lord, know it completely.
Psalm 139:5 NIV
You hem me in behind and before,
and you lay your hand upon me.
Psalm 139:6 NIV
Such knowledge is too wonderful for me,
too lofty for me to attain.
Psalms 139:17-18 NIV
How precious to me are your thoughts, God!
How vast is the sum of them!
Were I to count them,
they would outnumber the grains of sand—
when I awake, I am still with you.
Psalm 23:6b NIV
and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Can you confidently say, “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever?”
John 14:1-3 NIV
“Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in me. My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.
Once you nail that down, you will have the power to confidently say: “If God leads me to it, He will lead me through it”.