Untitled Sermon

The Lord is My Shepherd

Intro: What is the difference between Sheep Herding and shepherding?

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Main Point: God’s Loves Gives Us Everything We Need to follow Him I. God’s Love gives Direction (1-3)

David describes The Lord as the Shepherd. He is the one who leads his flock. David most likely wrote this when he was older, after he had lived through much of the trials we read about in Samuel and Kings. David would know a thing or two about this concept because he was a shepherd himself. A shepherd is a leader. He has to be to get the sheep to follow him. Sheep are not herded or driven, like cattle by force, but they must be led.

The Shepherd clears the way for them, guiding them to where he knows they will be safe for the night, where they have plenty of food and water. Shepherds are veterinarians, caring for the sheep when they are sick or hurt. He also ensures that they don't get lost, because sheep like to wander off. The sheep need direction.

In verse 2 David says He, God, makes me lie down in green pastures After the rainy season, the good grass grows first. So, after walking dry dirt or mud for a little while, the grass grows in and provides a nice lush carpet to lie on and to walk on. The shepherd gets us to the place Where we can rest. When we can rest, we can eat and drink.

Verse 3 tells us that You lead me to still waters. Sheep don't like to drink from the rapids. It is how you drown.

God is leading us to the good spots after the droughts and the rough patches.

Application Point #1 In order to be led in the right direction we have to listen to and focus on God’s voice.

The Shepherds are said to know each sheep by name and the sheep all know their shepherd's voice. Ultimately, the sheep Obey.

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me

Where does his direction take us?

Ultimately, it leads us to the good places, the green pastures, the still waters,

But does that mean your life will become rosy and super pleasant. No. There is no guarantee. But what happens when you focus on the Shepherds voice? You stop listening t to other people’s voices. Other people who claim to be the shepherd. People who say they have the answers.

What consumes your mind consumes your life?

What are you focusing on? In church, in your prayer time, your quiet time.

“You will keep the mind that is dependent on You in perfect peace, for it is trusting in You.”

“We keep looking to the LORD our God for his mercy, just as servants keep their eyes on their master, as a slave girl watches her mistress for the slightest signal.”

When you work with people or you are married for a long time, it doesn’t take very much to get inside each other’s heads.

The other night I asked Veronica if she wanted chocolate chip cookies and she asked, just how married are we?

Because we know each other. The more you spend time with people, the more you know them.

TS: Sheep can be finicky. Sometimes they don’t want to listen. They will wander off pretty quickly and then find themselves in need of protection and rescuing.

II. God’s Love gives Protection (4)

In verse 4, David prays the psalm in verse 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.

Sheep have a lot of predators: wolves, mountain lions, dogs, coyotes, bears, eagles.

One of the main ways they protect themselves is to flock together and follow the sheep in front of them.

Most animals have a flight zone, A flight zone is an animal's personal space. It is where the animal feels comfortable and unthreatened. When a person is outside the animal's flight zone, the animal will turn and face the handler. We call it a personal bubble. Some people’s bubbles are smaller than others or larger.

The world is not a safe place. There are a lot of predators out there. This week has proven that. A shooting and massive fires changed people’s world’s quite literally overnight.

We just passed Halloween and the base security forces squadron runs a haunted house to raise money. Apparently, the wait times were up to 1.5 hours. People like to be scared when its their choice. But the horrors of war or a real-life emergency that you have no control over is a different story.

Richard Winter, from the 506th Easy Company, of Band of Brothers fame, in his book “Beyond Band of Brothers”, jumped into Normandy on D-day, said this on the plane ride over the English Channel. “Instead of sleeping, I fell to say a last prayer. It was a long, hard sincere prayer that never really ended for I continued to think and pray the rest of the ride.” twenty minutes later his plane and all the other planes started taking anti-aircraft fire and they had to jump early.

This is the epitome of walking into the valley of darkness or the valley of the shadow of death.

Then LT Winters did not freak out or worry himself into a frenzy. He looked to God for protection.

Why, because he knew, as David does, that God is with Him

Application point # 2 God is with us

This phrase in is, in the original Hebrew, the exact middle of the Psalm. Here are 26 words before it and 26 words after it.

This is the main point of the Poem. David is recognizing that God is with him.

What ways does he protect us?

"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."

He gives us Friends

Jonathan first protected David by giving him wise counsel. Good Christians will wisely select their friends, friends who are able to counsel them from the Scripture. “The righteous should choose his friends carefully, for the way of the wicked leads them astray” ().

He gives us a Spouse

Your spouse will probably be the most honest person in your life. Eve was given to Adam because he lacked a helper.

He gives us Mentors

David, in fleeing, ran directly to Samuel. Samuel was the old prophet and priest of Israel. He had anointed David as its future King. Samuel would provide spiritual counsel and advice to David. Samuel could speak into David’s life like no one else could.

Who is a mentor in your life or who do you mentor? Do you have someone you trust to ask advice of?

He gives us the Holy Spirit To guide us and convict us when we are doing something against God’s will

We are ultimately protected from is wrath through the sacrifice of Jesus

"Be strong and courageous. Do not fear or be in dread of them, for it is the Lord your God who goes with you. He will not leave you or forsake you."

"The Lord your God is in your midst, a mighty one who will save; he will rejoice over you with gladness; he will quiet you by his love; he will exult over you with loud singing.\

TS: God is the with us and he saves us. He also provides for us while we are here. He gives us what he needs us to have to accomplish his mission of us.

III. God’s Love gives Provision (5-6)

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

You have anointed my head with oil;

My cup overflows.

6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

During the battle of the bulge, General Patton was preparing for an offensive to defeat the Germans.

After working out the logistics, each member of the Third Army (approximately 250,000 at the time) was issued a small card on the 22nd of December, 1944. By this time, the Battle of the Bulge was underway. On one side of the card was the famous prayer: Almighty and most merciful Father, we humbly beseech Thee, of Thy great goodness, to restrain these immoderate rains with which we have had to contend. Grant us fair weather for Battle. Graciously hearken to us as soldiers who call upon Thee that, armed with Thy power, we may advance from victory to victory, and crush the oppression and wickedness of our enemies and establish Thy justice among men and nations.

The next day, the weather cleared and remained perfect for about six days while the Third Army pushed North to relieve the 101st Airborne at Bastogne.

The table is not a dining room table, but a flat spot in the fields or hill country that the shepherds would stop at to eat. David is saying that God has prepared a safe place to rest and he has plenty. His cup overflows. He has enough provisions. God fed the Israelites in the wilderness. He made sure David and his men had enough as needed.

Even in the face of enemies, God prepared the way for the Allies to win.

Application Point #3 God is able to provide what you need and he does

And God is able to make all grace abound to you, so that having all sufficiency in all things at all times, you may abound in every good work.

And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.

The young lions do lack and suffer hunger; But they who seek the LORD shall not be in want of any good thing.

Abraham called the name of that place The LORD Will Provide, as it is said to this day, "In the mount of the LORD it will be provided."

Not only does he prepare a table, but he prepares a place for us in heaven. With Christ’s sacrifice for us, when we believe with our hearts that Christ death was sufficient for us to make us right with God. we have been made right with God

Imagine being a shepherd living outdoors most of the time and looking up at the heavens. Knowing that you have been brought to your resting place for the night, with enough food for your flock and yourself.

And Knowing that God has chosen to be our shepherd. The great God of the universe has stooped to take just such care of you and me. This is an Old Testament statement, of course. But Christians can hardly forget that the metaphor was also taken up by Jesus and applied to himself, thus identifying himself with Jehovah, on the one hand, and assuming the task of being the shepherd of his people, on the other.

"Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, so that there may be food in My house, and test Me now in this," says the LORD of hosts, "if I will not open for you the windows of heaven and pour out for you a blessing until it overflows.

Conclusion

How does this change the way you live and work and deal with adversity in your life?

General Patton was so confident in God, even though he was a brilliant general, he understood God’s power and that God would provide for him during the battle. So was Lt Winters and So was David.

Do we really know if we are going to live through something like D-Day or a massive Fire or even get home from work that day? No. But we trust God. We have faith in God.

We can have confidence in God because he has a proven track record. If you look back at your life, I’m sure there are times when you had no idea how you made it through whatever trials you went through. Under all the circumstances David went through, He was confident that God was with him.

But when you did, how thankful were you? Did you pray and realize that God gave you everything you received or did you think that you did yourself?

Are you being led by the shepherd? Are you responding to His voice or are you listening to other voices that steer you away from Him?