When The Lord is My Shepherd
Notes
Transcript
MIS - All our needs are satisfied in God who is our Shepherd.
Introduction
Introduction
This morning I want us to look at:
“ Four (4) Blessings of being Shepherded by the Lord ”
Preface
Preface
1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He leads me in paths of righteousness
for his name’s sake.
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,
I will fear no evil,
for you are with me;
your rod and your staff,
they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
all the days of my life,
and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord
forever.
The Lord is the Shepherd
The Lord is the Shepherd
The Shepherd is that person who cares for the flock of sheep. This was a very common trade for the people of Israel.
But in order to understand who the shepherd is, we need to know the sheep.
Although sheep are useful animals, for they provide wool and meat, they are inherently hopeless animals.
In the wilderness, they are defenseless for they lack:
Fangs and claws.
Speed to run.
Survival instincts.
Hence the importance of a shepherd.
The shepherd compensates for the sheep’s shortcomings.
Where the sheep lacks , the shepherd provides.
“To put it in simple terms, there is no sheep without shepherds.”
We are sheep
We are sheep
“When I look at the sheep, I cannot help but to wonder, why would God create such a helpless animal, knowing very well it cannot survive on its own?”
I cannot speak for God but I am inclined to believe one reason is to show us how helpless we really are without God.
We are sheep.
God is our Shepherd.
I know that doesn’t sound very encouraging. Specially in our times, people like to hear how great and special everyone is.
But sometimes it is good, ⏸️ it is healthy and necessary to be reminded we are nothing more than mere sheep.
Because only then we can see God for who He really is, our Shepherd.
David, the Sheep
David, the Sheep
David understood this truth very well.
Been a shepherd all his young life, he cries out: “The LORD is my shepherd.” (v1a)
David sees himself as a sheep.
But not any other sheep. A sheep under the shepherding of God!
“And because the Lord is his shepherd, David knows he lacks NOTHING!”
Anything and everything David will ever need, is found in God.
The entire Psalm 23 hinges from this premise:
1 The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I lack.
But what is that which David knows he will never lack?
Provision (vv2-3)
Protection (v4)
Justice (v5)
God’s Presence (v6)
He Provides for Me (vv2-3)
He Provides for Me (vv2-3)
Sheep, like many other animals, need grass and water to survive.
However, as we noted earlier, they cannot find the right type grass and right source of water by themselves.
They need their shepherd to lead them to the right pasture and stream of water.
Moreover, if you look at verse 2, you get the sense that God has led David to a place of abundance.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.
“Green pasture”. Not yellow pasture, nor green weed.
“Lie down” - His belly is full of pasture.
“Still waters” - Not rapids, nor shallow.
“In other words, David feels satisfied.”
But he is NOT ONLY physically satisfied.
Verse 3 shows us that David is thinking less in terms of a full belly, and more in terms of a full heart.
3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
God provided for David
God provided for David
“One of the reasons why I love the Psalms is because it gives us an honest and real picture of the Christian life.”
King David was not a super saint as we are often inclined to believed.
He was no stranger to struggles and weakness.
1 O Lord, rebuke me not in your anger, nor discipline me in your wrath. 2 Be gracious to me, O Lord, for I am languishing; heal me, O Lord, for my bones are troubled. 3 My soul also is greatly troubled. But you, O Lord—how long?
4 For my iniquities have gone over my head; like a heavy burden, they are too heavy for me.
4 My heart is in anguish within me; the terrors of death have fallen upon me. 5 Fear and trembling come upon me, and horror overwhelms me.
“And yet, his troubled mind and anguished soul finds rest in the Lord, his shepherd.”
God restores him from the consequences of sin.
But also leads him away from sin, into the path of righteousness.
For the glory of God’s name!
God provides for us
God provides for us
God is not oblivious of our necessities.
He knows all our needs because he created those needs in us.
He created us with a stomach that hunger.
He created us with a mouth that thirst.
He created us with a skin that is sensible to cold and heat.
He created you with a heart that longs for:
Joy
Love
Fellowship
“God created you and me with these necessities for the same reason he created helpless sheep: ⏸️ to remind us of our ever-present need of a Shepherd.”
He makes me lie down...
He leads me...
He restores my soul...
He leads me.
He alone can satisfy our needs.
Illustration
Trying to quench your thirst with sea water.
It will only accelerate your thirst.
I can’t help but to ask you this question today...
What are you thirsting for today?
What are you longing for today?
What are you yearning for today?
Is it…?
Financial security?
Physical health or healing?
Companionship?
Brothers and sisters, friends, don’t drink from that sea water.
“Our problem is not what we lack, but where we turn to for provision.”
“Turn to your Good Shepherd. He will take you where you need to go.”
“...Which takes me to our second blessings. When the Lord is our Shepherd...”
He Protects Me (v4)
He Protects Me (v4)
“You would think that when we follow our Shepherd, he will always lead us to the green pastures and still waters.”
In a broad sense, that is true!
But just because the “meadow” (/medow/) is our destination, doesn’t mean our journey will not take us through the “valley of death” to get there!
“In other words, our shepherd will not always lead us through the easy road.”
4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.
David’s Valley of the Shadow of Death
David’s Valley of the Shadow of Death
David is not thinking here about a particular location, but a particular season in life.
For David, it could mean:
When he was running from King Saul.
When he suffered the consequences of his sin with Bethsabe.
When his son Absalom killed his half-brother Amnon and rebelled against David.
“Regardless of the particular setting, David was well acquainted with this valley.”
Illustrations
In the fictional novels of Harry Potter, there is being called “Boggart” which only function is to transform itself in that which the person who encounters it fears the most.
Think of the Valley of Death in the same way.
For some, it may be the lost of a love one.
For others, an illness that deteriorates your way of life.
To some, may be:
Rejection by others
Infidelity in your marriage
Losing your children
Not having children at all
Whatever that may be, there is a reason why David calls it “the valley of the shadow of death.”
⏸️“...And yet, David is not afraid of his worst fears.”
Why? Because he is not alone - “I will fear no evil, for you are with me.”
There are great threads in the valley, indeed.
But none is greater than his Shepherd!
Illustration
When I was a kid I would crawl in my parents bed when I had nightmares.
I didn’ think those monsters couldn’t reach me at my parents bed.
But I knew my parents would look after me no matter what.
Being so close to my parents, brought me comfort.
It is the same presence of God that encouraged Joshua when God called him to lead Israel into the Promised Land.
9 Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go.”
God gives the same command to Jeremiah when He called him at a young age .
8 Do not be afraid of them, for I am with you to deliver you, declares the Lord.”
Moreover, it is the same command Jesus gives to his disciples.
19 Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, 20 teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”
Our Valley of the Shadow of Death
Our Valley of the Shadow of Death
Plainview Baptist Church, it is my understanding that you are stepping into a season in the life of your church where there is much uncertainty.
For some of you it may feel as if you are going down into the very valley.
But I want to challenge you, even more, I implore you to make every effort to draw near His presence.
Seek His face in prayer.
Seek His mind in the Scriptures.
Yield your heart to the direction of the Holy Spirit.
Allow me to get a little personal with you
“At times, the Holy Spirit will guide you away from people who only wants to use you.
“Other times, the Holy Spirit will reveal areas in your lives where you need to grow, perhaps even repent.”
That is the purpose of the rod and the staff. - “your rod and your staff, they comfort me.”
Shepherds would use their rods to protect the flock from preying beats.
Shepherds would use their staff to direct sheep back to the flock when they began to wander.
“In both cases, He is protecting us from danger outside of us, as well and inside of us”
And David calls this, “comforting”.
I know not the way he leads me, but well do I know my Guide. What have I to fear?
Martin Luther
“I wish I could say more but I have to move on to our third blessing. When the Lord is our Shepherd...”
He Vindicates Me (v5)
He Vindicates Me (v5)
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
The metaphor seems to swift from sheep ↔️shepherd, to guests ↔️host.
What is David trying to tell us in this verse?
To prepare a table = celebration in the presence of his enemies.
To anoint his head = Symbol of blessings and honor.
Overflowing cup = Sign of abundance.
David’s Celebration
David’s Celebration
David’s attention is now in his Lord’s vindication.
David is not afraid of his enemies, for the Lord is with him.
Neither is He anxious to bring them to justice.
“David longed for justices as much as the next guy. But he quenched his longing in two (2) simple truths.”
God, not David, is the ultimate judge.
“You prepare a table before me”
Not David, despite being king.
Sooner or later, God always does justice.
Maybe not when I want it.
Maybe not in how I want it.
⏸️But God always comes through for those who have been wronged.
Nevertheless, when you see verse 5 in light of Psalm 23, you discover:
“David’s celebration is less about the his enemies’ defeat, and more about his overflowing of blessings.”
My head is covered with oil.
My cup is overflown with blessings.
Our Celebration
Our Celebration
Brothers and sister, if God is your Shepherd, He will vindicate you!
“I know this is a lengthy passage, but I think no passage in the entire Bible describes for us better, what David is feeling in verse 5.”
Revelation 7:9–17 (ESV)
9 After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, 10 and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation [and vindication] belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” 11 And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, 12 saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” 13 Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” 14 I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. 15 “Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. 16 [Look at the Psalm 23 parallelism now] They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. 17 For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
⏸️“Brothers and sister, if God is your Shepherd, He will vindicate you, but you don’t have to wait until then to celebrate God’s goodness!”
You don’t have to wait until your enemies are defeated.
You don’t have to wait until you come out of the valley of shadow of death.
You don’t have to wait until you “lie down in green pastures” and sit “beside still waters”.
🔥You are the Lord’s sheep and He is your Shepherd!
🔥You have been anointed with the Holy Spirit now.
🔥Christ has overflown your cup with his blessings now.
⬇️And He will see that all these promises come to pass.
⏸️Plainview Baptist Church, rejoice in God’s promises today, for your cup is already overflowing with blessings!
“Celebrate God’s faithfulness now, for He has already proven himself faithful.”
As Adoniram Judson once said...
The future is as bright as the promises of God.
Adoniram Judson
⏸“Our forth and last blessing I want us to look at this morning is that, when the Lord is our Shepherd...”
He Pursues Me (v6)
He Pursues Me (v6)
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
“Here is a very import, yet easy-to-miss truth at the end of this Psalm.”
Human reasoning would tell us that, since God is provides for me, protects me, and vindicates me, that I will purse him “all the days of my life.”
But what David tells us is quite the opposite:
At the end of it all, it is God who still pursues us.
“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me...”
Why? Because at the end of the day, we are still sheep.
Prone to wander, Lord I feel it
Prone to leave the God I love
Hymn - Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing
“A sheep is helpless without his shepherd, and so are we.”
12 What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray?
What is one sheep when you have ninety-nine?
Is one sheep worth risking the ninety-nine?
“Honestly, I don’t know. But according to the Shepherd, he/she is worth risking his own life.”
11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Here lays the Glory of the Gospel:
The sheep needs the shepherd to live.
The shepherd doesn’t need the sheep.
The life of the shepherd is far more important that the sheep’s...
...And yet, the shepherd loved the sheep so much that he laid down his own life for the sheep.
⏸️That’s our Shepherd...
Conclusion
Conclusion
I didn’t tell you this at the beginning but do you know what the word “shepherd” means?
Simply put, it means Pastor.
In many languages, including Spanish, the words “pastor” and “shepherd” are the same.
Plainview Baptist Church, you are not without a Pastor, for Christ is your Good Pastor, your Good Shepherd.
“You fix your eyes on Christ, for He will see that you lack nothing.”
[Pray]