How to Find Rest in a Restless World | Phil Kniesel

This week, Pastor Phil continues our Psalm 23 series with a message about what happens when we let God lead our lives. Even when life feels busy, anxious, or out of control, God offers rest, clarity, refreshment, and purpose. You’ll be challenged to let go of striving and allow God to be your guide, discovering peace that runs deeper than circumstances.

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Transcript

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- Hey, this is Phil Kal, lead pastor at Hope City Church. Thanks for tuning into our podcast. My prayer is that this helps and encourages you, gives you some practical ways to live out your faith and ultimately fills you with hope. Enjoy the message.- Have you ever heard a song and felt as if you could have written the words yourself? I mean, we've all been there. Maybe it was after a breakup and you hear, if I could turn back time and you're like, yes, that's my autobiography. Or you hear, I hate myself for loving you, and you think same Joan Jets same. Or if it's a really rough day, maybe you hear Kickstart my heart because honestly, you just need the jumpstart. Songs are like that. They hit differently depending on the season we're in. Scripture does that as well. Now we go to the Bible each week at Hope City because we believe the Bible is God's word and we just don't believe it's old advice. We believe it's living guidance and it gives us insight into who Jesus is and was. And since we believe following Jesus is the best decision anyone can make, it just makes sense to go there. And often scripture acts as words we could have written ourselves. And some of the most relatable words are found in the book of Psalms. Psalms essentially was the Spotify playlist of the ancient Israelites. And we're in a series looking at one of those Psalms specifically Psalm 23. You just heard it in the video. And this psalm was written by King David near the end of his life, and he was reflecting on how God carried him through everything that he faced. David didn't have an easy life, but most of us don't. David had brothers who despised him. His dad didn't really believe in him, so he kept him home to 10 sheep while he sent the rest of the brothers off to train for war. But David also stepped up and fought Goliath with a slingshot that's basically an ancient paintball gun. And he won. And despite this victory, his life moving forward wasn't as smooth as the stone he used. He had massive family issues, enemies that wanted him dead. He committed adultery and murder and some of his children even died. Kids these days would say he was a hot mess. And so with all this in the rear view mirror, he sits down and writes Psalm 23, and I'm gonna read it to you again. And as I do, I want you to notice how this psalm is deeply personal. Notice words like I, me and my, this isn't a psalm about the world. This is a psalm about my experience with God. And I'll just say, if you want to maybe close your eyes as I'm reading this and listen, the Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right path for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil for you are with me. You're roding, 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 overflows. Surely your goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now, for some of you, when I read that, something inside of you just went, man, I need that. And by the way, this is a Psalm worth memorizing and consistently repeating over your life. Last week, pastor Ken talked about how the Lord is our shepherd, meaning the God who sees all, who is unchanging, who can do anything and everything, who is compassionate and lovingly faithful that God is your shepherd, that God can be the one leading your life. But David goes on, he says, he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. Dallas Willard, he's a theologian on spiritual formation. And he was once asked to describe Jesus in one word, and he thought about it for a little bit and then he responded with this word, relaxed, relaxed. It's not that Jesus was disengaged, he had the full range of human emotions, but he didn't live chronically stressed. He had moments of anger, he had strong words, but he also could sleep in a boat in the middle of a storm relaxed. How about you? Like when you hear the words, he makes me lie down. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. Immediately. Some of you are captivated. It's like, that's what I need. I'm so tired, I'm exhausted. I need some refreshing. I've had too many knocks in life. I need a break. That's actually why the words of Psalm 23 are so arresting. And it's interesting that at the end of his life, David chose to describe himself not as a king conquer or poet, but as a sheep totally dependent on his shepherd. Psalm 23 reminds us that the good shepherd is caring for us. It tells us we don't have to be in charge of everything because the Lord is in charge. It acts as an invitation. And what does the Good Shepherd invite us to? Well, in those two verses I just read verses two and three, there's four things and I want us to look at that. And the first one is this. The good shepherd invites us to rest. David said this, he makes me lie down in green pastures. Notice it's not. We choose to lie down, but rather we are made to lie down. The good shepherd makes you lie down because he knows what you need. The good shepherd knows what's best for his sheep. We all like the concept of rest until it's forced. We all like the idea of relaxing on a beach in Hawaii. We just don't like someone else telling us we need it. Now don't put your hand up, but how many of you are tired? According to Stats Canada, over one third of Canadians, between ages five and 79 fail to meet the daily recommended sleep amount. And I'm like, yeah, that's true. Especially during playoffs, right?, about half the Canadians have trouble sleeping. Over 80% of Canadians do not feel well rested when they wake up 64% then have mood swings, lower energy and decreased productivity as side effects of a bad night's sleep. We're just tired people. And maybe the best thing would be to give you all a nap for the next 20 minutes and then you go home. . But add to this, we live in a world that celebrates hustle. We have a culture that glorifies doing multitasking, staying busy from endless zoom meetings to having your device with you all the time to parenting your kids through social media. We've become a generation that is always on. And then we rush around trying to meet this engagement, fulfill that obligation, and in our hurry we can miss the things that are most important. And so God says, Hey, you need to lie down. I'm gonna make you lie down. And he has many ways to help us lie down. Sometimes it's an illness, sometimes it's a heartbreak or an accident. Sometimes it's through a friend or his spirit. Sometimes it's through loss. These things make us stop and reevaluate our lives. He, he makes us lie down. Did you know that the only time sheep will take the initiative and lay down on their own is when they feel safe and well fed? Otherwise, sheep stay standing because they live in constant fear and paranoia. But if they're well fed and cared for by the shepherd, if he is present with them in the field, they will lay down on their own because their fear is quieted. Now it just takes a moment and our life can be forever changed. The unknown then can cause us fear. But when we know that the good shepherd is always present, suddenly things are not so terrifying. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Alright, for a moment I I, I just want you to listen to this. Listen to this. That's peaceful, right? It's relaxing green pastures. What's going on in your heart right now when you hear that? See, green pastures were not common in Palestine due to rainfall, due to the terrain. The grass was often thin and patchy. So finding a green pasture would check, this would be like the Oilers coming back from a two nothing deficit and taking the series, it would just be amazing. green pastures, they're filled with food and nourishment for sheep. Green pastures then represent fuel for our lives that comes through rest. Some of you, you need that. There's this pull inside of you as I'm talking. Go man, I would love that while my friend listen, God is inviting you to rest. Will you accept that invitation? So firstly, the good shepherd gives us the invitation to rest. Secondly, he gives us the call to clarity. David says it this way, he leads me beside still waters. Now notice it's the good shepherd who does it again. He leads me. It's not us. And still waters when translated from the Hebrew is waters of rest. So it's not a dead stagnant swamp where algae grows Alberta beach, anyone still waters not rushing or violent waters with undertow, not waves or whirlpools or the unknown. Here's a fun fact. Sheep only drink from quiet waters. They're not gonna approach any water that poses a threat or danger. And this is such a great picture of how God can lead us to places where we can hear him clearly and receive from him deeply for a moment. Imagine a snow globe when you shake it up, everything inside of it is chaotic. When you settle it down, when you let it sit, clarity returns. And some of you, you feel like your life is absolutely chaotic right now. Everything is shaken around you. And the more stirred we are by all the things going on, whatever it is, whether it's your circumstances, the media stress, the opinions of others over things that shouldn't matter, the less clearly we see God's direction and he wants to let things settle so we can see clearly He wants to bring you to still waters. And so friend, what kind of chaos are you in? It could be a life situation, it could be a health diagnosis. It could be constant connectivity. It even could be something like decision fatigue. It's a real thing for us today. I mean, last month I was in Toronto and I went out to the Cheesecake Factory. Anyone ever been there? Have you seen that menu? It's massive. There's like pages and pages and pages and deciding what to eat was a little overwhelming. And then for dessert, I wanted a cheesecake. And there was pages of options. Life seems to be like that. Like think about the last time you wanted to watch a movie. You take an hour scrolling Netflix Prime and Apple TV to try to find one that you actually wanna watch. You find one and 10 minutes in, you fall asleep., we need still waters. We need time where we allow God to speak and bring clarity to us. So firstly, the Good Shepherd gives us an invitation to rest. Secondly, he gives us the call to clarity. And this third one, I believe resonates with many of us. He refreshes us. David writes, he refreshes my soul. Some versions say he restores my soul. Now our soul is the totality of both our physical and spiritual makeup. It's the core of who we are to refresh and restore is to return or to bring back. I've actually heard it said that to restore is to restore something. So that's when you tell yourself a narrative about something you're going through. And the good shepherd can refresh or restore you, meaning he can tell you a different narrative about the same circumstance. He can bring hope where you've lost hope. He can bring joy where there is sorrow, he can bring courage where there is fear, he can bring a future where you can't see one. He can restore your story. And here's the thing, this isn't just a one time happening. It's continually, God continually does the work of breathing new hope into our lives. He continually refreshes our soul. Notice the language in this psalm. It's all present tense. He makes, he leads, he restores present tense. It's not just one time. It's yesterday, today, and tomorrow. And the image is of a sheep that's wandered off, maybe even fallen on its back. It's completely helpness. Did you know that the analogy of sheep regarding us is used over 200 times throughout scripture? And here's the thing about sheep. We all know they aren't that smart. like their hair grows like wildfire and they need someone else to groom them because if not, this is what they're gonna look like. If they're not groomed , sheep can't roar. So when they're in a confrontation, the best you get is well, you know that lame sheep call, they have no claws, they aren't fast, they can't fight. They need defending and protecting. They get in all sorts of messes. And that's why the shepherds are there. Here's actually the best way to illustrate it. I want you to watch this video.- Ah,- So good, right? Do you ever feel like that? Does your life ever feel like that? There's this term called cast sheep, and this is when a sheep has rolled over on its back and it cannot get upright without the help of a shepherd. In fact, the sheep can't write themselves and think about that. What a great picture. We can't write ourselves. That's exactly what Jesus did. He righted ourselves with God. He came and died on a cross to forgive our sins because a penalty of sin was death. So he didn't, Jo, however, just die. He rose to offer life both now and forevermore. And when we receive God's gift of love through Jesus, we are made right with God. We are justified just as if we never sinned. Isaiah, an Old Testament prophet, said it this way. We all like sheep. There's that analogy again, have gone astray. Each of us have turned our own way and the Lord has laid on him. That's being Jesus. The iniquity or the sin of us all. We've all gone our own way. And what did God do? He laid it on his son, not on us so that you wouldn't have to live with the eternal consequences of a life without God. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. Psalm 23 says, the Lord is my shepherd. Jesus, I'm the good shepherd. I know my sheep and my sheep know me just as the Father knows me and I know the Father and I lay down my life for the sheep through Jesus's sacrifice once and for all, God made humanity right with him. Do you ever feel like you can't get things straight and most of your life feels upside down? Well, here's the great news. We have a shepherd who has righted the whole thing and who can continually write what you are facing? He refreshes my soul. It's not just about feeling better, it's about being brought back to God's design for your life back to who God intended you to be. It's not just a patch over something, it's a fresh start. Friend does your soul need some refreshing? Jesus said, come to me all who are weary and burden and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you or take my yoke upon you and learn from me for I'm gentle and humble and heart. And you will find rest for your souls. My yoke is easy and my burden is light. Are you tired, burnt out, jaded far from God? God wants to refresh your soul. Friend. Are you living with heaviness? He wants to refresh your soul. He wants to restore your story. And so the good shepherd invites us to rest, gives us clarity, refreshes our soul. And lastly, he gives us direction. You know I heard once about a man who hated his wife's cat. That might be every man actually. But this man hated his wife's cat and he wanted to get rid of it and she wouldn't let him. And so one day he finally decided he had enough. So he put the cat in his car and drove to the other side of town. He let the cat out and drove home with a smile. As he pulled into into the driveway, there was the cat walking to the front door. He couldn't believe it. And so the next day he put the cat back in the car, drove 10 miles away, let the cat out, sped home as fast as he could, and as he pulled into the driveway, there was the cat yawning and walking into the house. So he was furious. Next day he puts the cat back into the car, drives way out into the country, goes down a dirt road with no street sign, finds the deepest part of the woods and drops the cat off there. And he was certain this time he succeeded in his mission. A few hours later, the man calls his wife at home and says, honey, is the cat there? And the wife's like, yeah, why do you ask? The frustrated man said, put her on the phone. I'm lost and I need directions. David wrote this. He guides me along the right path for his name's sake. Other versions say he leads me in paths of righteousness. The good shepherd gives us direction. He's leading. You're not having to lead yourself. God leads to paths that are aligned with his purposes. And he actually does this through two ways, through his word and through our obedience. Psalm one 19 says it this way, how can a young person stay on the path of purity? I would say, how can an individual follow the right paths? Here it is by living according to your word. I seek you with all my heart. Do not let me stray from your commands. I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Little further in, in that same chapter, it says, your word is a lamp for my feet and a light on my path. There's direction from his word. See, the good shepherd doesn't just lead us to rest. He leads us to right living. And David knew this. Remember David was the guy who committed adultery and murder. And yet he says he was guided to right paths. And here's the thing about living in righteousness. You live with a clear conscience. You have no guilt, you have no shame. That's really when your soul finds rest and peace. And the fact that there are right paths means that there are also wrong paths. And the good shepherd, he leads us on the way that brings purpose and direction. Write past, reflect God's character and always bring glory to his name. They're not just about morality, they are about mission. We are meant to reflect the goodness of God in our lives. So those, those are the four things the good shepherd invites us to. But here's the tension. If he offers us rest, clarity, refreshment and direction, why are so many of us still running on empty? God wants to make you lie down in green pastures. He wants to lead you beside quiet waters. He wants to refresh your soul and guide you along right path. He wants to do this. But the question is, will you let him? Will you allow the good shepherd to do what he wants to do? You don't have to fix a single thing. You have to let the one who is the fixer fix. You don't have to walk in your own strength. You have to let the one who is your strength give you strength. You don't have to force yourself to relax, you have to let the one who brings peace allow you to rest. You don't have to try to figure it all out. You just have to let the one who leads lead. Let Him make you lie down. Let him bring stillness to your chaos. Let him refresh what feels drained. Let him lead you to purpose that outlasts your pain. And I think, I believe actually that's so many of us know we should let him do this and we even want him to do this. But for whatever reason, so many of us resist. And I think it's because we can fall into three traps that keep us from allowing or letting the good shepherd lead. And the first one is despair. Despair says, why bother? You believe God can move in other people's lives, but you quietly wonder if he's passed you by. So you keep showing up but you stop opening up, you look around and it seems like everyone else is making things work and you feel like you're missing something. So you say, yeah, okay, I guess I'll show up to church a couple times a month because then someone at the front can at least gimme something to try again. And what what you end up doing is you settle for this valley of dry bones, kind of faith. There's a God. Sure, yeah, I believe in him, but it just kind of stops there. Despair, friend, hear this. God does his best work in dry bones places. And if you're there, that's exactly where he wants to meet you. The second trap is distraction that says, I don't wanna let the good shepherd lead. I will just lead myself, which means I live for myself. Distraction, more money, more stuff, more pleasure. All this to cover the ache in the soul, to make us feel something now. And you're chasing happiness, but you stop believing for healing. All those things don't lead to still waters. They just leave you thirsty. And the third trap is self-discipline. This says, all I have to do is try harder. It's reaching for control. And when you do this, you actually rely on your weakest form of strength, which is yourself. Anyone else have a stack of books on your nightstand that you have should have read by now that talk about how to do things right, self-help and listen, this kind of stuff creeps into the church. Sure, the Lord is my shepherd, but what I need to do is this, this, this, and this. And then I will be okay. Self-help becomes our shepherd. We trade surrender for strategy. Hope city, the best response for you to find yourself in a position of rest, clarity, refreshment, and direction. The best response is to let the good shepherd do what he wants to do in your life. And that means the best response is not even yours.'cause he wants to come to you. He wants to work in you. He wants to move in your life. And the question remains, will you let him? Jesus, he stands at the door and knocks, will you let him in to do what he wants to do? You see Psalm 23, it's not a to-do list, but an invitation. It's not a strive but to trust, not to hustle, but to follow, not to fix, but to be found. Friends. You don't need more willpower. You know what you need? You need more shepherd. Jesus said, I know my sheep and I laid down my life for the sheep. And you know what that says? It says that you are valuable. It means he knows your name. It means he knows your ache and he still chooses you every single time. Amen. And so will you let him lead? Will you let him carry what you've been trying to manage all alone? Will you let him bring you to rest and still waters? He's not asking for perfection, he's asking for permission. Will you let him make you lie down, lead you to quiet waters, refresh your soul and guide your path? The best way to do this is simply saying, come Jesus, come. Come, good shepherd, come and lead me. And here's the promise. He will. If you allow him to do what he wants to do, he will. Will you let him hope. Today I'm gonna ask you to stand if you're able to, and I wanna speak these verses over you one more time before I pray for you. But why don't you allow them to be your prayer? I'm gonna ask you maybe to close your eyes as I do this. Here's your prayer. The Lord is my shepherd. I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet waters. He refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name's sake. God, I thank you for those words. Words that you declare over our lives, words that say you bring rest, clarity, refreshing, and purpose. And so collectively and individually, we say, come Jesus, come. Come, good shepherd. Come. Come lead our lives. Come do what only you can do. We're tired of trying to do this on our own. We surrender to you completely and fully and we say we give it all to you. And so I pray for those here today who just need rest. God I pray for that in their life in the days ahead, may they find moments where they can rest. I pray for those who need clarity in their life. I ask God that you come alongside of them in the next few days and speak clearly and show direction for someone who just needs their soul refreshed today. Holy Spirit, breathe on them, refresh their soul. And God goes needing direction. May they look to you, may you guide their paths. And I thank you that we can trust you for this. I thank you that we can look to you for this. I thank you that you are our good shepherd and we know that we can follow the lead of the good shepherd. So I pray this for my friends today. If you're joining us here at Millwoods or at any one of our campuses and you don't know Jesus personally, maybe you came to church with a friend or you just kind of find yourself here. I said it earlier. Jesus went to the cross to die for your sins. He rose to offer you life, both now and forever. And if you're saying, man, I really want to begin the journey of following Jesus, do you have this tug in your heart? That's the Holy Spirit trying to tell you. This is what you need to do. I'm just gonna pray a prayer. It helps you put into words the beginning of the journey with Jesus. And why don't you just pray along with me? Jesus today I see my need for you and I, I thank you for going to the cross. I thank you for dying, for my sins, for rising and offering me life and hope both now and forever. And so today I put my trust in you. I put my hope in you. I wanna follow you all the days of my life. I wanna make you Lord and leader, help me to know what it means to have the good shepherd being the lead in my life. And so thank you for that Jesus. And Lord, I pray over every individual, every couple, and every family as they go into this weekend and this week I pray that you continue to guide, direct, and steer their paths. I pray that they may walk in the goodness and in the fullness that your Holy Spirit brings to them day in and day out. And may they understand how amazing it is to walk with the good shepherd. I pray for rest, clarity, refreshment, and direction over these amazing people here at Hope City today. And I pray this all in the powerful name of Jesus. Amen. Amen. You know, if you prayed that prayer of surrendering your life to Christ, can I ask you just to scan the QR code that's on the screen or on the C back in front of you? We have a digital booklet that talks about knowing and following Jesus. We'd love to get that into your hands. And uh, it's also our way to connect with you in a large church, just getting to know you a little bit more. If you're in the house and you want prayer over anything, we're gonna have a prayer team available down at the front, left after the service. They would love to pray over. And for you, hope City know this, you are loved, you are prayed for. I'm cheering you on. And this week instead of trying to do it all yourself, allow the good shepherd to lead you. Love you guys. Have a great Sunday. Thanks for being in church.