“THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH”

1. I have a book in my library entitled, “What can I say to a friend with cancer”.

2. This book is not very thick; it only has 160 pages.

3. Many of these pages are dedicated to personal letters.

4. People wrote to the author and told him about their medical problems.

5. The problems described in these letters tie into Ps. 23:4—

6. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.”

7. These words were written and based upon a particular background.

8. When summer comes, shepherds take their sheep into the hill country.

9. To get to these areas, drives are necessary.

10. If you used to watch old westerns, you saw actors on cattle drives.

11. Shepherds did and still do a similar thing with sheep.

12. During these sheep drives, danger is always present.

13. Rivers could flood; avalanches are possible; sometimes there are rock slides; sheep must be kept away from poisonous plants; there are predators that must be kept from the flock; and perils such as snow, sleet, and hail are sometimes a problem.

14. In order for a shepherd to get his flock into the high country,

15. He must help his flock overcome every peril.

16. He must also guide the sheep through dark valleys.

I. THIS IS THE BACKGROUND FOR THE EXPRESSION THAT DAVID USES.

A. This background material tells us that Ps. 23:4 is not a good funeral text.

B. I have heard preachers use this passage at funerals.

C. Preachers will parallel death with what David wrote.

D. The deceased will be described as going through the “valley of …”

E. Ps. 23:4 does not address the subject of death.

F. David was writing about navigating through troublesome waters.

G. He had in mind guiding sheep through hazardous territory IN LIFE.

H. The parallel for us is not death; it’s trying times.

I. Perhaps some of you have visited someone who was in a medical facility.

J. The person you visited had severe injuries.

K. As you spoke with the injured party, you heard these words:

L. “I wish that I would have died.”

M. I have heard these words more than once.

N. Each time that I hear these words,

O. The point of Ps. 23:4 is being expressed.

P. The injured person is walking through the valley of the shadow of death.

Q. We have a world full of people who are in this condition.

R. Going back to the book I mentioned at the start of this lesson,

S. I want to read excerpts from 3 different letters.

T. I picked these 3 letters because I can pronounce all the words.

U. READ THE 3 LETTERS.

1) One of these letters talks about the death of a child.

2) Another deals with cancer.

3) The remaining letter deals with an incurable problem.

4) To these three, we might add a letter about AIDS.

5) We might include a letter about a disabled person.

6) Letters from people who are divorced might be included.

7) A battered husband/wife would have something to say.

V. Many, many people are in the valley that David describes.

W. Some of these people may be in our families.

X. Some may be our next-door neighbors.

Y. There are certainly people in the workplace who are in this valley.

Z. While at FHU, I heard a lecture that touched on spousal abuse.

1) In more and more cases, men are the objects of abuse.

2) There are wives who are battering their husbands.

3) Men are coming into the workplace with cuts and bruises.

4) When these men are asked, “How did this happen to you?”,

5) A common response is, “I fell off a ladder.”

6) The following week, new bruises appear.

7) The excuse this time is, “I fell down the stairs.”

8) These statements are coming from men who have a 20-year safety record.

9) Sometimes there are signs that people are in the valley David described.

II. AS CHRISTIANS, WE HAVE THE RESPONSIBILITY TO BE LOOKING FOR THESE KINDS OF PEOPLE.

A. Jesus did.

B. I want to take you on a little trip through the gospel of Matthew.

C. This trip begins in Matthew 4.

D. I am omitting the 1^st 3 chapters because that material is an introduction.

E. The baptism of Jesus is not recorded until the 3^rd chapter.

F. By the time ch. 4 opens, Jesus is ready for public service.

G. At the beginning of Matt. 4, we read about the temptations.

H. Midway through the chapter, we read about how some of the apostles were selected.

I. Then in v. 23 we find out who Jesus reached out to.

J. If you have found Matt. 4:23-24, let’s read these vss. Together. READ.

K. The people Jesus dealt with early on were in the valley of the shadow of death.

L. These people were going through some rough times.

M. The Lord was ready and willing to deal with these people.

N. In our trip through Matt. I will be skipping the next 3 chapters—5, 6, 7.

O. These 3 chapters contain the “Sermon on the Mount”.

P. Basically, these 3 chapters contain the teaching that Jesus did.

Q. Let’s skip over to chapter 8.

R. In this chapter we immediately read about two more problems.

S. One man had the disease of leprosy; he would have been an outcast.

T. The second situation involved a centurion who lived in Capernaum.

U. This man had a servant who had several men companions.

V. I am inclined to wonder why Jesus met up with these men.

W. Were His dealings with these men a matter of random chance?

X. Did Jesus just “happen” to meet up with this leper and centurion?

Y. Or, was it the Father’s will for Jesus to meet these men?

Z. If it was the Father’s will, then Jesus approached people who were in the valley.

A. The leper was in this valley because there was no known cure for leprosy.

B. The centurion’s servant was also in the valley, because there was no known cure for paralysis.

C. Jesus came to this kind of people and offered help.

D. This help is recorded in vss. 3 and 13. READ Matt. 8:3; 13.

E. In v. 14, Peter’s mother-in-law was sick with a fever.

F. She may not have been extremely ill. In any case, she was healed.

G. The people who are described in Matt. 8:16 were also healed. READ.

H. People believed that Jesus was interested in those who were in the valley of the shadow of death.

I. This belief caused people to seek out the Lord.

J. Permit me to read just a few more references from Matt. 8, 9, and 10.

K. The next comes from – Matt. 8:28; 9:2; 9:18; 9:27; 9:32; 9:35.

L. As when we came to chapter 10, the story is even more marvelous.

M. Let’s look at v. 1 of Matt. 10. READ.

N. Instead of 1 person seeking out those in the valley of the shadow of death,

O. There were 13. (and this number grew)

III. IS IT ANY WONDER WHY JESUS AND THE APOSTLES WERE WELL KNOWN BY PEOPLE?

A. This shouldn’t surprise us.

B. When people of the world see someone who cares about them when they are in the valley of the shadow of death, they take notice.

C. About 10 years ago, a member of the church was diagnosed with cancer.

D. This man and his wife decided that they would not use drugs/radiation.

E. They would rely upon a different diet and prayer.

F. After a period of time, the cancer went into remission.

G. About 4 years ago, the cancer came back.

H. This time there was not hope of remission; it was bone cancer.

I. I don’t think I will ever forget the last 6 months that this brother lived.

J. People from the hospice organization came to help this husband/wife.

K. The effort that this group put forth put the church to shame.

L. I am not saying that the congregation was not helpful.

M. If the efforts of the congregation and the efforts of hospice could have been weighed, hospice would have been far heavier.

N. The care hospice rendered to this couple made an impression.

O. I didn’t know how much of an impression until this brother died.

P. The widow in this story needed help with some funeral details.

Q. I was one of the people who went to the funeral home with her.

R. As details were being finalized, the funeral director asked,

S. “Would you like to arrange for any kind of memorial?”

T. In other words, “Do you want to give an organization a financial gift to honor your husband?”

U. I was sure that this widow was going to say, “NO”.

V. I knew that she was not going to receive a huge death benefit;

W. She and her husband were not extremely well off;

X. I knew she was wondering how she could pay for the funeral costs.

Y. In spite of her limited funds, this woman said,

Z. “I want to make a donation to hospice.”

A. I attribute this decision to what is said in Ps. 23:4.

B. When people are really in need of help, and someone helps them, an impression is made.

C. If we want to be a light to the world,

D. And we want to help others to be Christians,

E. The method Jesus modeled for us is a great one to use.

F. I used to think that people need a great amount of Bible knowledge to be a successful soul winner.

G. I have learned that knowledge is helpful; I don’t discount it.

H. Many times people are not at the point of needing knowledge.

I. When in the valley of the shadow of death:

1) People want someone who will care about them.

2) People want someone to help them see their problems through.

3) This is something that we can do.

4) There are opportunities every week in this area.

5) One of the most clear-cut examples that I can recall happened a few years ago.

J. A woman who was a member of the church had an unfaithful husband.

K. After years of unfaithfulness, this woman decided to get a divorce.

L. A divorce for this woman was like going through the valley of the shadow…

M. Teresa offered to go with this Christian when she stood before the judge.

N. This willingness made an impression on this sister.

CONCLUSION:

1. The church will grow, God will be pleased, and we will be doing the will of the Father if we reach out and help those who are in the valley of the shadow of death.

2. We as Christians can function as shepherds.

3. We can take people who are about to go under the water, and lead them to dry ground.

4. Perhaps some of you feel that you are about to go under.

5. You want a Christian to take hold of you and help you through the valley.

6. Tonight if you will let your need be known, brethren from here will help you.

7. If you need to become a Christian, and you want someone to stand beside you, please come forward as…