The Lord is My Shepherd

God wants to be known as the owner of the flock

The picture of the shepherd and the flock is an important one in Scripture.

This picture begins in the Garden. The people of faith become shepherds, because their lives are centered around the Picture of Redemption: The shedding of the blood of the innocent on behalf of the guilty.

Joseph is the first to call the Lord his Shepherd.

Genesis 48:15 CSB

15 Then he blessed Joseph and said: The God before whom my fathers Abraham and Isaac walked, the God who has been my shepherd all my life to this day,

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David says that the Lord is His Shepherd

Psalm 23 CSB

A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, 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 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

ps 23

In our passage today, , we learn that the Shepherd David writes about is Jesus. We are going to look at this and unpack what God promises His people concerning Jesus.

Jesus later confirms what Ezekiel says…He is the Shepherd God promised:

John 10:11–18 CSB

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

john 10 11-

The writer of Hebrews reminds the church that our Lord is the great Shepherd who will work in us to provide everything good so that we may do the will of God.

Hebrews 13:20–21 CSB

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant, 21 equip you with everything good to do his will, working in us what is pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.

Hebrews 13:20 CSB

20 Now may the God of peace, who brought up from the dead our Lord Jesus—the great Shepherd of the sheep—through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

Hebr

So let’s look at Ezekiel and spend some time glorying in our great Shepherd—our Lord Jesus Christ.

God pursues His people

God does not wait for us to come to Him.

God’s people (the sheep) have been led by shepherds that did not love them…that served themselves.

The sheep have been scattered.

But look at what God is promising to do!

God will not allow His people to be destroyed by their bad leaders!

Ezekiel 34:11–16 CSB

11 “ ‘For this is what the Lord God says: See, I myself will search for my flock and look for them. 12 As a shepherd looks for his sheep on the day he is among his scattered flock, so I will look for my flock. I will rescue them from all the places where they have been scattered on a day of clouds and total darkness. 13 I will bring them out from the peoples, gather them from the countries, and bring them to their own soil. I will shepherd them on the mountains of Israel, in the ravines, and in all the inhabited places of the land. 14 I will tend them in good pasture, and their grazing place will be on Israel’s lofty mountains. There they will lie down in a good grazing place; they will feed in rich pasture on the mountains of Israel. 15 I will tend my flock and let them lie down. This is the declaration of the Lord God. 16 I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice.

Ezekiel 24:11–16 CSB

11 Set the empty pot on its coals so that it becomes hot and its copper glows. Then its impurity will melt inside it; its corrosion will be consumed. 12 It has frustrated every effort; its thick corrosion will not come off. Into the fire with its corrosion! 13 Because of the depravity of your uncleanness— since I tried to purify you, but you would not be purified from your uncleanness— you will not be pure again until I have satisfied my wrath on you. 14 I, the Lord, have spoken. It is coming, and I will do it! I will not refrain, I will not show pity, and I will not relent. I will judge you according to your ways and deeds. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’ ” 15 Then the word of the Lord came to me: 16 “Son of man, I am about to take the delight of your eyes away from you with a fatal blow. But you must not lament or weep or let your tears flow.

eze 34 11-

God will search for them

ezek

He leads them to green pastures to feed

God will rescue them

He leads them to green pastures to feed

He make them lie down in in green pastures

He saves the lost

He heals the sick

APPLICATION:

Do you need to be pursued today?

Maybe you have been led astray by a bad leader, some bad teaching, some bad decisions made by the church you were apart of…I want to encourage you this morning:

if you have sincerely submitted your life to Jesus, God is promising to pursue you!

Maybe you have run from God. You have spent the last period of your life not pursuing the Lord. You are in the midst of a prodigal journey…I want you to know that God is promising to pursue you.

Maybe you are praying for a child or family member or friend who has made choices that resulted in them living far from the Lord… I want to encourage you this morning:

The Lord is pursuing people!

Jesus commanded the church to preach the gospel to every person everywhere.

God protects his people by removing the counterfeit leaders.

We don’t have to fear those who distort God’s word.

Ezekiel 34:16–22 CSB

16 I will seek the lost, bring back the strays, bandage the injured, and strengthen the weak, but I will destroy the fat and the strong. I will shepherd them with justice. 17 “ ‘As for you, my flock, the Lord God says this: Look, I am going to judge between one sheep and another, between the rams and goats. 18 Isn’t it enough for you to feed on the good pasture? Must you also trample the rest of the pasture with your feet? Or isn’t it enough that you drink the clear water? Must you also muddy the rest with your feet? 19 Yet my flock has to feed on what your feet have trampled, and drink what your feet have muddied. 20 “ ‘Therefore, this is what the Lord God says to them: See, I myself will judge between the fat sheep and the lean sheep. 21 Since you have pushed with flank and shoulder and butted all the weak ones with your horns until you scattered them all over, 22 I will save my flock. They will no longer be prey, and I will judge between one sheep and another.

What can happen and is happening at this point in history…their are bullies in the flock…the fat and the strong sheep, the goats. They are ruining the pasture and the sheep and the rams don’t have good pasture to feed on.

God is saying that He will act. He knows what is happening to His flock. He will protect His flock by removing those who are destroying the pasture.

God is going to judge between those who are really His and those who are counterfeits.

APPLICATION:

We also live in a day where there are many who destroy the pasture…as a pastor, I deal with it all the time:

I witness to someone who has listened to some teacher somewhere that has filled their head with ideas so that they question whether or not I am telling the truth. Does that happen to you?

I continually compete with the celebrity teachers who have changed the definition of faith…who have changed the meaning of God’s word.

I am at a point in my faith journey where I am convinced that every believer ought to read through God’s word over and over until Jesus comes back or until they die. Every believer ought to be able to explain God’s word. Every believer is called to become a disciple-maker.

Not every believer will teach a class, not every believer will start a small group Bible Study, but every believer ought to be able to sit down with someone who does not know the Lord and does not understand the Bible…and explain it to them.

Everywhere I have gone with this message, I have met resistance…even on the mission field…even in the church.

There is a freedom in what God is promising here. He will remove those who distort God’s word among His people.

I don’t have to worry about all the teachers who spread falsehoods on TBN, or all fo the teachers who spread their false ideas in their books at lifeway…and you don’t either. God has promised to remove those bullies from the flock.

We simply must keep beating the drum of Bible Literacy. Keep teaching God’s word with integrity and passion. God is promising to protect His people from counterfeit leaders.

God provides a Shepherd who loves the sheep and guards them for their good.

eze 34 23

Ezekiel 34:23–31 CSB

23 I will establish over them one shepherd, my servant David, and he will shepherd them. He will tend them himself and will be their shepherd. 24 I, the Lord, will be their God, and my servant David will be a prince among them. I, the Lord, have spoken. 25 “ ‘I will make a covenant of peace with them and eliminate dangerous creatures from the land, so that they may live securely in the wilderness and sleep in the forest. 26 I will make them and the area around my hill a blessing: I will send down showers in their season; they will be showers of blessing. 27 The trees of the field will yield their fruit, and the land will yield its produce; my flock will be secure in their land. They will know that I am the Lord when I break the bars of their yoke and rescue them from the power of those who enslave them. 28 They will no longer be prey for the nations, and the wild creatures of the earth will not consume them. They will live securely, and no one will frighten them. 29 I will establish for them a place renowned for its agriculture, and they will no longer be victims of famine in the land. They will no longer endure the insults of the nations. 30 Then they will know that I, the Lord their God, am with them, and that they, the house of Israel, are my people. This is the declaration of the Lord God. 31 You are my flock, the human flock of my pasture, and I am your God. This is the declaration of the Lord God.’ ”

Our great Shepherd is Jesus!

This is simple enough to understand.

God is the owner of the flock and the pasture.

Jesus is the great Shepherd of the flock.

The question we haven’t yet answered, is this: Why is it important to God that we understand Jesus as our Shepherd?

God wants us to know Jesus as the Shepherd, because:

He wants us to know ourselves as sheep.

Sheep are one of the dumbest animals alive. If one sheep jumps off a cliff to certain death, the rest of the sheep will follow.

if the sheep are allowed to graze without supervision, they will wonder off and get lost.

Sheep are one of the most defenseless animals alive. They cannot defend themselves, they can’t run from danger, they can’t even act in any scary way to make a predator second think an attack.

God wants us to know Jesus as Shepherd, because He wants us to admit that we are like sheep. God wants us to get to the point where we agree with Him that we are without knowledge, without direction, without defense…that we need Him.

If you are not 100% convinced that unless Jesus intervenes in your life you are sunk…God wants you to remember that Jesus is the Shepherd…you are a sheep…without Jesus, you are sunk.

He wants us to glory the majesty of how Jesus has rescued the flock.

Every other leader on the earth leads people at a benefit to themselves.

Leaders get rich off of their followers, they enjoy the power given to them by their followers, they enjoy the authority given to them by their followers…every leader on earth asks their followers to sacrifice themselves so that they can lead…we must pay them taxes out of our hard earned money…we must give them our sons and daughters to fight their wars... but not Jesus. This isn’t the way He leads.

Our great Shepherd—in order to rescue the sheep—became a sheep Himself. He gave His life so that the flock could follow Him. He demonstrated His love for us and asks that we love Him for it.

Jesus doesn’t rule for any prize other than the sheep themselves.

Jesus forgives our sin and asks that we only marvel at His grace.

Jesus provides eternal life removed from all suffering and asks that we only look forward to it.

Jesus declared His word and asks only that we know it and obey it and share it.

Jesus gave us the Holy Spirit and asks that we only not grieve Him.

Jesus declared His authority and only asks that we pray in His name.

Jesus rose from the gave and asks that we only believe it.

Jesus is King and asks that we only respond to his banquet invitation.

Jesus

Jesus is Lord and asks that we only declare it to the nations.

Jesus established the church and only asks that we worship Him together in unity.

Jesus died on the cross so that we can be forgiven of our sin, He rose from the grave to prove His power over sin, He promised to return to judge all people according to their faith in Him…and He asks that we only follow Him.

Follow the Shepherd today!