Psalm 23: The Names of God That Reveal Themselves at All Times

Introduction

"Who is God to you?" Pastor Kitayama of Kobe Christ Glory Church in Japan asks this question at the start of his message and keeps coming back to it until the end. He continues the series begun the month before on the seven names of God, with a subtitle that sets the thread for the whole message: the Lord reveals himself in every circumstance, in the trial, when you need healing and restoration, in the middle of the battle.

This Sunday he studies the four remaining names: Adonai Roi, the LORD is my shepherd; Adonai Tsidkenou, the LORD our righteousness; Adonai Shalom, the LORD is peace; Adonai Shamma, the LORD is there. He makes a single request: that each person leave with at least one of these names and make it their own. When you confess, "My God is like this," your faith grows.

The starting point is Psalm 23, a confession of faith by David. In the pastor's translation, the word "Lord" appears four times, "you" three times, and "I" or "me" fifteen times. Saying "Jesus is God" and saying "Jesus is my God" are not the same thing.

Outline of the Message

1. What You Think About God Matters

The pastor shares a memory from about two years ago, with the permission of his eldest daughter, who was three at the time. One Saturday morning she came to wake him up: "Daddy, it's time for daycare!" That day he realized she saw him as a friend her own age: she respected her mother as her mom, but she came to get him so they could play.
The issue is perception. Some people see God as someone frightening, picky or harsh.
Two or three years ago, at a service for middle and high school students, he told them that if their picture of God was distorted, it was not their fault: older Christians had instilled it in them. He apologized to them on behalf of those older believers.
What you believe about God, you end up passing on. So you need to go back to the Word, receive from it who God is, and then pass that on to others. This is how the church becomes a channel of blessing, and it starts in childhood.

2. Adonai Roi: The LORD Is My Shepherd

David had tended flocks. He knew the work: feeding the sheep and protecting them at the risk of his own life. He speaks from experience when he says, "Yahweh is my shepherd; I shall lack nothing" (Psalm 23:1).
In verse 5, the Lord sets a table and anoints the head with oil: in the culture of the time, this was the most honorable welcome you could give a guest.
The pastor pauses on the phrase "in the presence of my enemies." God does not wait for the enemies to leave or for the problem to be solved before setting the table. At work, in your family, at school, in the middle of tension, he comes to tell you the meal is ready.
Even if the problem is not solved, the Lord takes care of you. He does not abandon you in the presence of the enemy.
The good shepherd lays down his life for his sheep (John 10:11). He leaves the ninety-nine to look for the one that is lost until he finds it (Luke 15:4). No one came back to God by their own strength: he is the one who searched for us, found us and carried us on his shoulders with joy.

3. Adonai Tsidkenou: The LORD Our Righteousness

Jeremiah prophesies at a time when God's people are in great danger. At the beginning of Jeremiah 23, the leaders who were supposed to feed, protect and guide the people have failed. Judah will be destroyed by Babylon, Jerusalem and the temple laid waste, the people taken into captivity: this is judgment on a people who broke the covenant.
Yet in the middle of this crisis, verses 5 and 6 announce a righteous Branch from David, whose name will be "Yahweh our righteousness." This messianic promise points to Jesus Christ.
In the Bible, righteousness refers to the righteousness of God himself, to righteous acts, and, when it comes to salvation, to being recognized as righteous before God.
Who can boast of their own righteousness before God? No one. Even the chosen people could not walk straight.
The pastor tells a story that was passed on to him, stressing that it is only a story. To restore order, a king decrees that every guilty person will have both eyes put out. The first person convicted is his own son. The king refuses to make an exception, then stands up, runs to his son and declares: let one of his eyes be taken, and let the other be paid for with mine. The king's justice and the father's love meet.
God is just: he does not say "it's not a big deal" in the face of sin. He is also love and wants to save the sinner. The answer is the cross: there God showed his wrath against sin (Romans 3) and his love for us while we were still sinners (Romans 5:8).

4. Declared Righteous by Faith

To be justified means that God declares righteous the one who believes, because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ. You have no righteousness of your own; God declares you righteous because of Jesus' righteousness. This is justification by faith, and through it you receive eternal life.
Becoming a Christian does not end the fight against the sin that remains in you. You fight it every day, and you repent every day as you walk with the Lord.
Despite this lingering sin, a verdict of acquittal has been pronounced over you.
"What makes us acceptable before God is not that we are good people." The foundation is in Jesus. This is the gospel, this is grace. That is why we must always come back to the cross and set out again from the cross.

5. Adonai Shalom: The LORD Is Peace

In Judges 6, the Midianites plunder Israel's harvests and threaten its survival. Gideon hides in the winepress to thresh his wheat. The angel of the LORD appears to him and says, "Yahweh is with you, you mighty man of valor!" (Judges 6:12). The pastor smiles: in Gideon's place, he would have turned around to see who was being spoken to.
Gideon answers frankly: if the LORD is with us, why is all this happening to us? You too pray and nothing changes, you believe and the worry remains, you know the promise and the situation does not move.
Gideon sees himself as small: his family is the weakest and he is the youngest (Judges 6:15). God does not ask him to count his strength but to remember that he is with him. He tells him to go, because he is the one sending him.
In verse 17, Gideon asks for yet another sign. The pastor admits that this is why he loves him: despite so much encouragement, he could not be sure. Like us, who hear the Word every Sunday and in our devotions without always being convinced. The Lord, full of gentleness, answered him.
Gideon then builds an altar and calls it "the LORD is peace" (Judges 6:24). Yet the Midianites were still there. No victory had been won.
Normally, we find peace once the problem is solved: work sorts itself out, the relationship calms down, the illness heals. Gideon does the opposite. "Faith is not the complete disappearance of fear. Faith is listening to the Lord's word in the middle of fear."
Do not lock your fear away: bring it before the Lord. And say with Romans 8:31: "If God is for us, who can be against us?"

6. Adonai Shamma: The LORD Is There

Ezekiel 48:35 gives the restored city its name: "Yahweh is there."
Where is the Lord? Here. God is not limited by time, but to make himself understood, the pastor speaks of past, present and future. Looking back, you realize he was there. Today, you can know he is there. And in the week that is beginning, about which you know nothing, he will be there too.
Isaiah 63:9 says that in all their distress the Lord was distressed with his people, and that he carried them from ancient times.
He is there at the heart of your problem, and he will be there in the new stage you are about to enter.

7. The Lord Reveals Himself Throughout Psalm 23

According to one theory, David wrote this psalm at the end of his life, looking back: it is the confession of a man who saw God at work all along his journey.
Without David necessarily intending it, the pastor finds the names of God in every verse. Verses 1 and 6: Adonai Roi and Adonai Yireh, the shepherd who provides and whose goodness follows David all the days of his life.
Verse 2: Adonai Shalom. David was hunted by his own sons and by those he thought were his friends; lying down in a green pasture could have cost him his life. Yet he says: with the Lord, I am at peace.
Verse 3: Adonai Rapha and Adonai Tsidkenou, the God who restores the soul and leads in paths of righteousness.
Verse 4: Adonai Shamma. "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me." The pastor admits that he himself has many fears and worries.
Verse 5: Adonai Nissi, the LORD my banner, who gives peace and victory in the presence of the adversary.
The same God reveals himself in your life. He has been your Ebenezer up to now, he is Immanuel, and he promised to be with you always, to the end of the age.

Key Takeaways

What you believe about God, you pass on: receive from the Word who he is, then pass it on.
The Lord sets the table in the presence of the enemy: he takes care of you before the problem is solved.
You have no righteousness of your own; God declares you righteous because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, revealed at the cross.
Faith does not erase fear: it listens to the Lord's word in the middle of fear.
The Lord was there yesterday, he is there today, he will be there tomorrow.

Personal Application

Who is God to you? Does your picture of him come from the Bible or from what was passed on to you?
Which "enemy" is still in front of you, and how can you sit down today at the table God sets?
Are you still counting on your own righteousness to be accepted by God? What would change if you came back to the cross every day?
What fear are you keeping hidden, and could you bring it to the Lord this week?
Which of these four names do you want to make your own and confess this week?

Verses Cited

Frequently Asked Questions

What are the four names of God studied in this message?

Pastor Kitayama studies Adonai Roi, the LORD is my shepherd (Psalm 23:1), Adonai Tsidkenou, the LORD our righteousness (Jeremiah 23:6), Adonai Shalom, the LORD is peace (Judges 6:24), and Adonai Shamma, the LORD is there (Ezekiel 48:35). They complete the three names covered the month before in the same series on the seven names of God.

What does "the LORD our righteousness" mean?

No one can claim their own righteousness before God. God is just and does not turn a blind eye to sin, but he is also love. At the cross, his wrath against sin and his love meet: because of the righteousness of Jesus Christ, he declares righteous the one who believes. This is justification by faith.

Can you have peace before the problem is solved?

Yes. Gideon builds the altar he calls "the LORD is peace" while the Midianites are still there and no victory has been won. For Pastor Kitayama, faith is not the absence of fear: it is listening to the Lord's word and trusting him in the middle of fear.