The thirsty and hungry soul is finally satisfied.

The strange thing about sheep is that because of their very make-up it is almost impossible for them to be made to lie down unless four requirements are met.

 

1.    Owning to their timidity they refuse to lie down unless they are free of all fear.

2.    Because of the social behavior within a flock sheep will not lie down unless they are free from friction with others of their kind.

3.    If tormented by flies or parasites, sheep will not lie down. Only when free of pests can they relax.

4.    Lastly, sheep will not lie down as long as they feel in need of finding food. They must be free from hunger.

 

In the CWL we always face petty irritations. The details of life, the actions of other people, even our own irritations can be like flies that irritate the heck out of us.

 

But the word of God and the power of the filling HS are like DEET protecting the skin. Flies, mosquito’s, all kinds of insects carry disease and annoy, but a great bug repellent protects a person.

 

And not only that, but prayer is a great weapon against the fiery missiles of the evil one for ourselves and for others. Satan loves to wear down the saints slowly.

 

Solomon described this as those little foxes that come into the vineyard and slowly destroy the crop. Satan uses details and annoyances from people to wear us down, but a daily dose of doctrine, F/HS, and prayer will both repel the bugs and refresh the believer.

 

Finally, to produce the conditions necessary for a sheep to lie down there must be freedom from the fear of hunger.

 

The green pasture represents the plan of God for the believer. This very plan the Lord executed to the maximum. He put it through every test, every temptation, and every challenge and then at the cross He made it available to anyone who believes in Him.

 

Like the shepherd who has to spend countless hours preparing soil to grow certain grains and legumes and grass for his sheep, the Lord spent 33 years perfecting the plan of God and then 3 hours of worse than hell to make it available to anyone who desired it.

 

Therefore, none of us have any reason to be hungry. The greenness of the PPOG is here for us to eat from.

 

The scriptures portray such a place as a land flowing with milk and honey. This is not just figurative language.

 

The milk flowed from animals who were well fed and at peace. The wonderful fields full of blossoms would attract honey bees and so the honey would flow.

 

Therefore, a land flowing with milk and honey refers to rich, green, luxuriant pastures. This is the PPOG.

 

Israeltrekked through the desert in the hope of finding this promised land, but many of them remained in the desert because they would not follow their shepherd. The next generation under the rulership of Joshua experienced that land.

 

Israelis a picture of the CA believer’s soul. Do you want to wander around in the desert or do you want to be in the land flowing with milk and honey? The land flowing with milk and honey is your execution of the PPOG for your life. The promised land for us is spiritual maturity.

 

Christ has removed all the rocks, torn out all the stumps, ploughed the land, seeded it and watered it with care.

 

The hard, sun-dried clay is the kosmos, and the Lord has overcome the kosmos.

 

He says to us, “Eat your fill and then lay down and rest.”

 

And yet so many believers simply will not. They jump the fence and try and find something better on the outside. It simply does not exist.

 

Ps 23:2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

 

Not only does the Shepherd provide the pasture to quench our hunger but He also provides the water to quench our thirst.

 

And again we are faced with the reality that the sheep cannot find water for themselves. Other animals have a sense of where water is and can find it, but sheep have no sense in this matter, and so again it is the job of the shepherd to lead the sheep to water.

 

Anyone can drink, but no one can find the source without the shepherd’s leading.

 

No one has sought for God. God has called out to man. One such call was made by the Lord in John 7.

 

John 7:37-39

Now on the last day, the great day of the feast, Jesus stood and cried out, saying, "If any man is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. 38 "He who believes in Me, as the Scripture said, 'From his innermost being shall flow rivers of living water.'"  39 But this He spoke of the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were to receive; for the Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.

 

The water here refers to the indwelling of God the HS in every CA believer.

 

It is the Spirit’s job to inform you and empower you to work out your own deliverance; to take the positional righteousness that you possess through His baptism and make it experiential righteousness.

 

The Lord said in Matt 5:6:

 

Matt 5:6

"Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be satisfied.

 

Full and hydrated makes for satisfaction, but only the Shepherd can produce it. Those looking in the world, which is outside of the pasture, become like the Rolling Stones song, “I can’t get no satisfaction…. And I try and I try…”

 

It is interesting to note that sheep get a lot of their water from the morning dew on the grass. Therefore a healthy pasture provides water in the morning.

 

However, wait long enough and the sun will burn it off.

 

This is an analogy to being filled with the Spirit early in your day and not waiting to get your morning routine done before giving a thought to God.

 

One great theologian put it like, “Each day I make it a point to talk to God before I talk to one living soul.” I agree with that fully.

 

A soul without a relationship with God is barren and dried up. People look for all kinds of ways to quench their thirst for the Almighty, only to end up more parched than before.

 

Intellects pursue knowledge, science, and academic careers. Outgoing types pursue social life. The attractive ones pursue relationships or approbation from the lusts of others. The bored look to travel, find hobbies, throw themselves into sports, etc. all to find themselves facing the same hollow, haunting, empty, unfulfilled thirst inside them.

 

JER 2:13

"For My people have committed two evils:

They have forsaken Me,

The fountain of living waters,

To hew for themselves cisterns,

Broken cisterns,

That can hold no water.

 

However, dew is not enough. The Shepherd must supply a fresh water supply either through a stream or river, or through a dug out well.

 

Wells are deep and dark and they require a lot of work to dig out and to maintain.

 

Mr. Keller speaks of being at the bottom of the well, bailing water to satisfy the flock and it was hard, heavy, hot work.

 

Again we see that it is up to the Shepherd to do the work.

 

The Lord, our Shepherd, went to the bottom of the deepest, darkest, and loneliest well that ever existed when He died for our sins on the cross. And what he was doing was bailing us out. He was bailing us out of being dried up and without God forever.