Psalm 23-Confident In The Care of the Good Shepherd

Key Elements

In Psalm 23, the Psalmist communicated the goodness of God pointing his readers to God’s provision, protection, and sustaining care throughout the entirety of their lives.

Main idea of the message: No matter what season you may be walking through in life, you can live with peace and confidence knowing that God is good and in His goodness, He provides, protects, and sustains those who trust in Him.

I want my audience to remember and reflect on the goodness of God in their lives.

Intro

We bought our first house here in Alexander City in 2009 and at the time I was a youth minister. So, I was gone a lot especially at night. We would have different events and mission trips and youth camps. So there were many times that Kristi would be at home by herself with our three boys who were in elementary and middle school at the time. So we decided to get an alarm system put on the house. The company came out and installed sensors on all the doors and windows so that there was no entry into the house that wasn’t covered. And it was monitored as well. So any time the alarm went off, whether it was because we forgot to disarm it or something happened that triggered it, the company would call and we would have to give a password. All of this made Kristi feel much safer if she was at home with the boys by herself. So, early one morning we are sound asleep. It’s like 3am. And all of a sudden the alarm goes off. We are awakened by this loud, piercing noise that scares all of us to death. And, naturally, I jump up out of the bed, but I’m the type of person that when you startle me when I’m asleep, I don’t wake up well. So, I jump up and I run to the middle of the room and for whatever reason I’m running around in circles at the foot of the bed. Now, in my mind, I was awake and I was thinking I need a gun or something really big to hit whoever has come into the house. At the same time, Kristi sits up in the bed to find me running around in circles and realizing I’m not fully awake, she yells “Brett, stop running and tell me what you need!” And at that point, I get fully awake and say “I need something large to hit somebody with.” So, she gives me the biggest flashlight we have. I open our bedroom door and turn on the hall light and I make my way down the hallway to the living room/kitchen area ready to take out whoever I find there. As I’m walking down the hallway, the boys are opening their doors to dad in the hallway with a large flashlight, they’re crying, I’m telling them to get back in their rooms, and I’m prepared to attack. I get to the end of the hallway, my heart is beating 90mph and I jump into the living room and prepare to attack. And to my relief, no one is there. I cut the alarm off, the alarm company calls, and eventually we determine that it is a loose sensor on the kitchen door leading to the carport. Needless to say, I don’t think I went back to sleep that night. Now when we had that system installed, we expected it to work flawlessly. We expected it to only go off if somebody was breaking in. We expected round the clock security-every window and door covered. No way anyone could get in the house. The purpose of a security system is so we can rest easy even when we aren’t in control. But the problem is that no matter what type of system you have, at some point all security systems are going to malfunction or fail.

And security, I think, is what we all long for in this life. Think about it. We try and provide security for our families, we try and secure our futures, we try and secure our health and our finances. But the truth is no matter how hard we try, there is nothing in this life that provides the ultimate security. Life is unpredictable. We can’t control anything in this life that happens. And sometimes danger feels like it’s just one step away. But this morning as we look at Psalm 23, we are reminded of a far greater security, one that is not man made but God provided. For it is here in this Psalm, that David reminds us of the goodness of God by pointing his readers and us to God’s provision, protection, and sustaining care throughout the entirety of our lives. Psalm 23 is more than just poetry, it’s more than just a Psalm that we read on special occasions. Psalm 23 is a daily reminder that when the Lord is our shepherd, our soul is secure because God Himself is watching over our every step and is walking with us on the path of life and because of that, we can be confident in the care of the Good Shepherd, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

Let’s read this Psalm together. Psalm 23, the Psalmist says...

So, here’s the main idea we want to focus in on as we walk through this Psalm today: No matter what season you may be walking through in life, you can live with peace and confidence knowing that God is good and in His goodness, He provides, protects, and sustains those who trust in Him.

Message

Our text in Psalm 23 highlights two powerful promises that assure us of the Shepherd’s goodness and guidance in our lives:

1. God’s goodness is personal in our everyday lives. (vs. 1-3)

To really get the full idea of what David is trying to communicate here in Psalm 23, we have to begin where David begins. When we look at other places in scripture, both the Old and the New Testament, even in other Psalms, we see many pictures of God. All of these help us understand, in some way, who God is and different parts of His character. Think about what God is compared to all throughout Scripture: He is compared to a lion, an eagle, a lamb, the sun, a light, a consuming fire, a fountain, a rock, a hiding place, a tower, and a shield. These are all images that communicate the power and the awesomeness of our God. And although no comparison could give us the full picture of who God is, here in this Psalm, we see a different approach by David when talking about who God is. He opens up this Psalm and in the very first line, what does He say, “The Lord is my shepherd,...” If you’re not careful, you’ll read write past it. “The Lord is not just a shepherd, the Lord is not just the shepherd, the Lord is my shepherd.” It’s such a small word, it’s made up of two simple letters, yet it can have the greatest impact on your life and mine. David says “Yahweh, the Lord God, The one true and living God, the Great I AM of Exodus 3:14, who is not bound by time or space and holds the universe in the palm of His hand, the one who always has been and always will be, the Alpha and the Omega, this one is my shepherd.” This God who is so powerful and so mighty and so holy and so righteous, He is mine and I am His. This is the God who loves us so much that He created us for a relationship with Him and, when sin separated us from Him, He sent His Son Jesus to provide a way for that relationship to be possible again, all so that you and I can say “The Lord is my shepherd,...” He’s not a distant being who is out of touch with you and I, no, David is saying “God is personal and God is real and God is good and His goodness is personal and present in our everyday lives.”

And this is where we have to start to really begin to see who God is and to really experience the impact a relationship with God can have on our lives. God is real and God is personally involved with every moment of our everyday lives and has created us and desires to use us for His glory to advance the Gospel in this world. And this personal nature that we see about God in this Psalm is what sets the tone for our two promises today. It’s what changes the game for us when it comes to our relationship with God and its influence on our everyday lives. You see, because God is good and because God is personally involved in our lives, there is no part of our lives that He’s not aware of and sovereign over. And that ‘s good news for all of us. That’s life changing news for all of us. Because it means that our surrender to Him as Savior and Lord is not us relinquishing control of our lives in a negative way, no, it is us surrendering ourselves to the sovereign God of the universe who knows what’s best for us and works all things for His glory, first, and for our good. And because He is personally involved in our everyday lives, His goodness is evident in the reality that...

a. He provides for our every need. (vs. 1)

Look at Vs. 1, what does it say? “The Lord is my shepherd, I have what I need (I shall not want; I don’t need a thing).” This is where it all begins for the person who knows Jesus as the Good Shepherd. The God of the universe, the One who is not bound by time and space, the One that spoke the universe into being, this One is my Shepherd. The One who parted the Red Sea, who caused the sun to stand still, who fed 5,000 with loaves and fish, who walked on water, who raised Jesus from the dead, this One is my Shepherd. And again, He is MY Shepherd. David wants to emphasize the personal relationship between he and his God, so much so, that he uses a total of 17 personal pronouns in these six verses. Which translates to those of us today who are followers of Jesus. If you have surrendered your heart and life to Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord, this One is your Shepherd as well.

And no matter what we face in life, no matter what situations life throws our way, if we have surrendered our hearts and lives to Jesus, we know Him as the Good Shepherd and this Good Shepherd is powerful, this Good Shepherd is mighty, this Good Shepherd is strong, and this Good Shepherd loves us and because He is God Almighty, we lack nothing. You see, sheep, left to themselves lack everything. They don’t have what they need and eventually, because of that, they’re destined to be consumed by their surroundings; but when cared for and provided for by a shepherd who loves them, they lack nothing. And not only that, they have what they need in abundance. And the same is true for you and I who know Jesus as Savior and Lord. Think about your life. Have you ever not had what you needed? There may have been times you didn’t get everything you wanted, but God has always provided what you needed. And even in the times when it seemed like there was no hope, God was and is there. This is the Good Shepherd. This is our God who is watching over us, who is living inside of us, who is all sufficient, inexhaustible, and unchanging. We who know Jesus as Savior and Lord can face anything because Jesus is the Good Shepherd and we will never lack anything we need.

He provides for our every need and...

b. He points us in the right direction. (vs. 2)

Have you ever been lost? It’s not a good feeling. Even with modern technology like google maps, it is still possible to get lost. I would probably say that most fights in marriages probably could be tied to the couple fighting over directions to get somewhere. It’s a scary feeling to be lost, especially at night. You start thinking about every horror movie you’ve ever seen. But there is such a feeling of relief and peace that comes from knowing you’re going the right direction.

The Psalmist continues in Vs. 2, he says, “He lets me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters.” I love the picture the psalmist is painting for us here. In ancient Israel, a shepherd that was caring for his sheep could sense when they were getting thirsty by how they were acting. As he is leading them, sensing their weariness, he would lead them to a stream so they could drink. But an interesting fact about sheep is that they are afraid of running water. So, the shepherd would take some rocks and dam up a stream and the current would slow down turning a rushing stream into a peaceful pool of water for them to drink from. The Good Shepherd is always guiding His sheep to a place of peace. And Jesus, our Good Shepherd, is constant and compassionate guiding us every step of the way. He does not manipulate or force. He does not coerce us but He leads us right where we need to go. In times of confusion, He is our clarity; in times of doubt, He is sure; and when we are lost, He lights the way. He shows us how to live and when we ask, He gives us the answers we need. And when life is raging all around us, He leads us to places of peace. And as we depend on Him to lead us and guide us through this life, we do so walking through this life with peace and not panic. We trust that God is involved in the small details of our lives and not just the big events. And we live this way because we have the assurance from Jesus, the Good Shepherd, that He walks with us and He leads us and guides us through every stage of this life and He does it for His glory.

He points us in the right direction and...

c. He provides peace in every situation. (vs. 3)

Look at vs. 3, “He renews my life; He leads me along the right paths for His name’s sake.” Jesus is the Bread of Life and the Living Water. He satisfies us when life has depleted us and He quenches our thirst when life has drained us. He provides rest when life has worn us out and He revives us when we need strength from the battles we face. This Hebrew word for life can also mean soul. It is God reaching down into the deepest parts of us and providing a stillness that cannot be explained and bringing a strength that cannot come from anywhere else. He restores us and renews us and puts us back on our feet and into the fight when we stumble and fall. He helps us see the big picture and causes us to take our eyes off of what is just in front of us looking at life with an eternal perspective. And He does all of this through His personal presence in our live and the powerful truth of His Word.

You know the older I get the more I come to love the peace that only God can provide and the more that becomes a reality to me. In Philippians 4:7 “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” And for those of us who know Jesus as Lord and Savior, we know this peace. It’s an unexplainable rest when you should be freaking out, it’s a stillness when your world is upside down, it’s a calm when life is raging. And the only explanation is that the Good Shepherd is there and can be trusted no matter what we’re facing.

And He does all of that “for His name’s sake.” He puts His reputation on the line for us, for His name, for His glory and if His reputation is on the line, we can be sure He will not fail. And because of this peace that is present in our lives, we live reflecting a quiet strength, a steady joy, and a deep rooted faith that draws other to ask, “How are you still holding on?” And our answer is “Jesus.”

He provides peace in every situation.

All of this is evidence of the reality that God’s goodness is personal in our everyday lives. But there’s a second promise we see...

2. God’s goodness is personal in life’s hardest places. (vs. 4-6)

One of the hardest things for me to learn was how to minister to people going through hard situations. I would visit a hospital room or walk through the loss of a loved one with a family and just not know what to say. And I remember, asking Dr. Hallmark “what do you say to people in these situations?” And he told me, “They won’t remember what you say, but they will remember that you were there.” There’s just something about being present. Having someone there to walk beside us in life is important especially when we are in a difficult place.

And in vs. 4-6, the psalmist makes a shift. He takes us to a place in life we all experience and he emphasizes that even in the darkest places in life God’s goodness is there as well.

a. He protects and walks with us in the midst of danger. (vs. 4)

Look at vs. 4,… One of the main jobs of the shepherd is to protect the sheep. In ancient times, shepherds would move their flocks from one place to another for grazing which often times involved taking them through narrow valleys between jagged cliffs full of predators ready to devour the flock. As the shepherd would lead and guide his flock, he would use his staff to fend off wild animals by any means necessary. The sheep need not be afraid because the shepherd was present to defend them at every turn. And what an incredible picture this is for us of God, our Good Shepherd. If we have surrendered our hearts and lives to Jesus Christ, there is no situation that we face in life or death where God is not with us. What a life changing truth and what a life changing way to see all things.

Don’t miss what the Psalmist is saying here and what God wants you to hear today: Life is full of dark valleys. Green pastures and restful waters do not exist in this life. And eventually we will all come to the point where this life will end. And the truth that resonates from this Psalm is that those who know Jesus who have placed their faith and trust in Him, have nothing to fear. When we move through the dark valleys of life, when death itself peaks over the horizon and stares us in the face, because of Jesus we have no reason to be afraid. And vs. 4 tells us why, because Jesus the Good Shepherd is with us. Don’t miss this. We are walking through dark valleys being led by Jesus the Good Shepherd. The dark valley is part of the path of righteousness and we walk that path for the glory of God to get to where He knows we need to be and all along the way we lack nothing because He provides everything we need and even when we come to the end of the journey, and we all will, we fear no one and not even death because we know that Jesus the Good Shepherd is with us and has been with us all along.

So, we pray with expectation, confident that God hears and cares deeply for us. And in the difficult seasons of life, times of grief, loss, and uncertainty, we lean on God knowing that our Good Shepherd protects and walks with us know matter what we face.

He also...

b. He prepares and cares for us in the midst of conflict. (vs. 5)

If there’s one thing I avoid like the plague in my life, it’s conflict. I cannot stand conflict, no matter who it involves-family, friends, co workers-I will do whatever I can to avoid conflict and if I know there is a situation that I’ve got to deal with that is going to lead to conflict, I will put it off as long as possible. In fact, I will make myself sick until I deal with whatever it is I have to deal with.

No matter what we do to avoid it, conflict is a part of life. It is one of those things we will have to deal with multiple times in this life. But one of the great promises of Psalm is that in the midst of conflict in this life, God our Good Shepherd prepares and cares for us. What does he say in vs. 5?...

Here we see another shift occur. The imagery has shifted from a shepherd caring for his sheep to the host of a great banquet. One commentary on this passage gives us a little clearer insight, “This is not a completely new image so much as it is an extension and development of the Good Shepherd picture. This King is constantly with us and caring for us in the fields and in the valleys as a shepherd. But he also seats us at his table and in his house (v. 6). He has brought us from the fields, through the valley, and into his home! Here we are both safe and satisfied.” (Daniel Akin)

He says, “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;...” When we are surrounded on all sides by those we consider our enemies, those who bring conflict in life, God sustains us and gives us peace. He prepares a table before us meaning He has knowledge and foresight about what conflicts we will face and we sit at that table of the King, the great host, who bountifully provides for us everything we need to navigate those conflicts. Even in the most overwhelming of times, in the face of consuming conflict, the psalmist testifies that we lack nothing.

He says, You anoint my head with oil;... just as a host in those times would provide oil for the head of his guests to revive them and refresh them after their long journey, the psalmist says the Lord revives and restores our hearts and lives. When surrounded on all sides by our enemies in the midst of conflict, God, by His presence in us, renews us giving us the strength to carry on.

And, just like the testimony of the psalmist, our cup overflows, giving us an abundant supply of grace that only God provides to strengthen us and sustain us causing us to live victorious in the midst of the most difficult circumstances. He is the endless and infinite source for all we need.

And knowing this and realizing this revolutionizes the way we live and the way we deal with conflict in our lives. Because we know that in the midst of situations that bring conflict, we are not alone, that God is with us in a real and personal way and as we navigate those situations, we do so worshipping Him and focusing on Him knowing that He is providing all we need because He is present and He is good.

He prepares and cares for us in the midst of conflict and...

c. He pursues us in love and never let’s us go. (vs. 6)

In vs. 6, we see everything we have discovered so far summed up in this final declaration...

One of the greatest truths of this psalm is the God of the universe, in His goodness and His love, is chasing after us. Let that sink in for a minute. God’s goodness and faithfulness are aggressively pursuing us. And if that is true, that means there is no way we can outrun the Good Shepherd. So, stop running and surrender. Stop running and throw up your hands in surrender to His goodness and His grace. He loves you and has promised that in that surrender there is found an eternal bond that cannot be broken.

Why do we need the Good Shepherd? The Bible makes it clear, we all are sheep that have gone astray, sin has brought a separation between us and God that cannot be mended in and of ourselves. But God, our Good Shepherd, came looking for us, and in His goodness and love for us, laid down His life in pursuit of us and now is calling us to surrender to Him and He promises to never let us go.

The Lord is my shepherd, I have all that I need.

Closing

And so, the question for us today is this: Do you know Jesus, the Good Shepherd? Is He your Savior and Lord? Like Melinda, do you know the Savior that will never leave you or forsake you and gave His life for you so that living with Him forever would be possible but even better than that that He would walk with us while we’re here on earth? And when you breathe your last breath, will you find yourself in the arms of Jesus, the One who gave His life for you?

And this afternoon, if you’ve never placed your faith and trust in Jesus as Savior and Lord, we want to give you that opportunity.

This is the Gospel, that God loves you and created you for a relationship with Him.

That our sin and the mistakes that we make separate us from God and

There is nothing we can do to remove our sin and make us right before a Holy God. And because God knows that

He sent His Son Jesus to be the sacrifice for our sin to pay the price for our sin, to die on the cross, He was buried in a grave, but on the third day He rose and is alive today.

And today if you will repent of the way you’re living your life, admit that you cannot make it without Him and trust Him as your Lord and Savior, He will save you.

You’ll have eternal life in heaven when you leave this earth but the greatest part of all of it is that you will have a relationship with God who by His Holy Spirit comes to live in your heart to forgive you of your sin and to walk with you for the rest of your days.

So, this afternoon, I would ask everyone with heads bowed and eyes closed if you’ve never surrendered your heart to Jesus, we want to give you that opportunity. Right now, where you are sitting, just tell Jesus that you know you need Him. That you repent of the way you’re living your life. Tell Him you surrender your heart and life to Him as Savior and Lord. That you want Him to save you and forgive you and you want to live for Him the rest of your days. Then tell Jesus “thank you for saving me.”

With heads still bowed and eyes still closed, if you just prayed that prayer and became a Christ follower, I just want you to raise your hand so I can see who you are. In just a moment we are going to conclude our time together with a time of worship and commitment and if you made a decision to follow Jesus today, I want to invite you to come this morning and let us pray with you. The altars will be open for whatever step God is leading you to take. Please be obedient to Him today.