Jesus is My Shepherd

1 You’ll remember, friends, that when I first came to you to let you in on God’s master stroke, I didn’t try to impress you with polished speeches and the latest philosophy. 2 I deliberately kept it plain and simple: first Jesus and who he is; then Jesus and what he did—Jesus crucified.

People have distorted views of Jesus. Setting the record straight.

Jesus is my best Friend, The Teacher, the Miracle Worker

Jesus is My Shepherd

John 10:10–11 NLT

10 The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life. 11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

Jesus favorite description of himself - shepherd.

Calls us - sheep or flock.

Other descriptions -

family,

body - has different parts

Flock

Psalm 100:3 NLT

3 Acknowledge that the Lord is God! He made us, and we are his. We are his people, the sheep of his pasture.

Closest English Word to the word Shepherd - Pastor

Jesus is my pastor. We all need a pastor. I am your pastor, but we need Jesus as our pastor as well.

1 Peter 5:2–4 NLT

2 Care for the flock that God has entrusted to you. Watch over it willingly, not grudgingly—not for what you will get out of it, but because you are eager to serve God. 3 Don’t lord it over the people assigned to your care, but lead them by your own good example. 4 And when the Great Shepherd appears, you will receive a crown of never-ending glory and honor.

Goal - I want you to know Jesus that way. That you have the comfort, the love and the care of Jesus as your pastor.

Best description of a shepherd is Psalm 23 (read together)

Psalm 23:1–6 NKJV

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake. 4 Yea, 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 runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

He is not just the shepherd… he is MY shepherd. I want you to leave here with a deep relationship with the one who loves you.

1. The Shepherd provides.

Psalm 23:1 NLT

1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need.

He provides for us. This doesn’t mean that we will not go through tough times. He will allow us to go through those to learn some things, but God has always been faithful to me.

ILL - daddy providing for us.

Philippians 4:19 NLT

19 And this same God who takes care of me will supply all your needs from his glorious riches, which have been given to us in Christ Jesus.

Jesus is the shepherd and he will take care of our needs as long as we stay up under his care. We don’t want to get out from under that. All we have to do to stay under his care is to honor him with our purse strings. It shows that we recognize him as our source and that we look to him to provide out needs.

Jesus, our shepherd, will meet all of our needs as long as we stay under the care of Him.

2. The Shepherd restores.

Psalm 23:2–3 NKJV

2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

He has to make us lie down and rest because we won’t do it ourselves. We don’t even know Jesus as our peace.

John 14:27 NLT

27 “I am leaving you with a gift—peace of mind and heart. And the peace I give is a gift the world cannot give. So don’t be troubled or afraid.

We need to know him as our peace.

He wants to lead us to Green Pastures - GP is the WOG. It’s where we are fed. It’s better than the Buffet Line.

Get off, Get by yourself and feed on the comfort of God’s word. Get some worship music going and feast of the WOG

Restore - return back to the part of departure. We all get off a little and the WOG brings us back… Jesus brings us back.

3. The Shepherd leads.

Psalm 23:3 NKJV

3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.

He leads us on right paths...

There are a lot of choices out there… not all are evil, but they are not the right path. But God has a right path for you. this is the path that has God’s name on it and it will bring fulfillment.

The reason you need to be active in ministry - DREAM TEAM. We all need to find the path that has HIS name on it. We need to find the path that makes an eternal difference.

We need to submit our plan to his plan. How do you know?

John 10:3–5 NLT

3 The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep recognize his voice and come to him. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4 After he has gathered his own flock, he walks ahead of them, and they follow him because they know his voice. 5 They won’t follow a stranger; they will run from him because they don’t know his voice.”

Shepherds are all out on the hillside with the sheep. Every now and then a shepherd will stand up and yell, and start walking and the sheep will follow them… The sheep know the shepherds voice.

When my dad would call, I would pick his voice out of a crowd…

All of us have friends that when we call, they know it’s us.

You may have difficulty hearing Jesus voice. Spend enough time with him so you know his voice.

4. The Shepherd supports.

Psalm 23:4 NKJV

4 Yea, 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.

We don’t have to be afraid because God is with us.

2 Timothy 4:16–17 NLT

16 The first time I was brought before the judge, no one came with me. Everyone abandoned me. May it not be counted against them. 17 But the Lord stood with me and gave me strength so that I might preach the Good News in its entirety for all the Gentiles to hear. And he rescued me from certain death.

Everyone might be gone. God is there. He is there at the bedside as a loved one dies. He is there when you are facing trials… God is always there… he never leaves us.

Story of being robbed. It’s a violation.

Our Great shepherd is packing… he is watching over our soul.

5. The Shepherd defends.

Psalm 23:4 NKJV

4 Yea, 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.

The rod is not a rod of discipline. It’s not meant for you. The rod was intended for the wolf… the enemy. The enemy is afraid of the shepherd because he has the rod which protects us.

Psalm 23:5 NKJV

5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.

We can eat while Jesus fights out fight for us. Last night when you went to dinner, there were people on foreign soil fighting for you. People right here riding around in our neighborhoods fighting for you and for me.

That’s what God is doing… he is fighting for you

John 10:11 NLT

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd sacrifices his life for the sheep.

6. The Shepherd blesses.

Psalm 23:6 NKJV

6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.

You may have been raised thinking God was a mean and angry God - I apologize for the people that said those things. He is a good God.

David was convinced that God’s goodness would chase you down.

Hebrews 13:20–21 NLT

20 Now may the God of peace— who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great Shepherd of the sheep, and ratified an eternal covenant with his blood— 21 may he equip you with all you need for doing his will. May he produce in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, every good thing that is pleasing to him. All glory to him forever and ever! Amen.

Here is what we need to do...

How do we respond?

ILL - if you have a dog, they love to get close.

We need to know the shepherd.

John 10:14 NLT

14 “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me,

We need to get close. Know is an intimate knowledge… we need to get close.

Heads Bowed - Eyes Closed.

Some of you need to get close…

If you are hear and you are not i the flock… some never in the flock, some have just been away. You need to get close.

How? Submit yourself to Jesus. Let him be your Great Shepherd or Pastor.

Salvation Prayer

Who wants to be included in this prayer for Jesus to be your shepherd? Hands up...

Jesus, be my pastor… be my Lord. Today I surrender the control of my life to you. I give you my life.

Me. Pray for them… bring life… restoration… support… bless them with every good thing.

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