Sermon Tone Analysis
Overall tone of the sermon
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Opening Prayer
The message tonight
God’s will to be revealed
Softening of hearts
Revival in this church...
Revival in this neighborhood...
Revival in this town...
This county...
This state...
This country
And the farthest regions in this world
And the farthest regions in this world
May the gospel reach the remotest of areas
All the Glory to our heavenly Father
In Jesus Name...
Amen
Opening Illustration
Today we will focus on the first half of .
As you open your Bibles to this Psalm I would like to open with this illustration:
In one of the Superman movies, Superman saves a man from a burning building.
He rescues him from the top floor and is carrying him to safety by flying through the skies.
IN ONE of the Superman movies, Superman saves a man from a burning building.
He rescues him from the top floor and is carrying him to safety by flying through the skies.
The man looks at Superman and then looks down to the ground.
“I’m scared, Superman.
Look how far down that is.”
The man looks at Superman and then looks down to the ground.
“I’m scared, Superman.
Look how far down that is.”
Superman gives him a great answer.
“Now if I delivered you from the burning fire, what makes you think I am going to drop you when I’m carrying you to safety?”
Superman gives him a great answer.
“Now if I delivered you from the burning fire...
What makes you think I am going to drop you when I’m carrying you to safety?”
If God has delivered you from a burning hell, what makes you think He will drop you before He safely puts you down?
If God has saved us from hell...
If He saved us from the chains of sin...
If He saved us ultimately from the wrath that was set before us...
Tony Evans, Tony Evans’ Book of Illustrations: Stories, Quotes, and Anecdotes from More than 30 Years of Preaching and Public Speaking (Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers, 2009), 90.
What makes you think He will drop you before He safely puts you down?
So, lets look at the fist half of ...
As we dive deeper on what it means for God to be our Shepherd
Reading of the Text
Today we will focus on the first half of Psalm 23
Background
Let’s look at some background information before we diesect the text
This passage is part of a psalm that is probably one the best known passages of the Old Testament
It is a testimony by David to the Lord’s faithfulness throughout his life
It is a hymn of confidence
Charles Spurgeon in his masterpiece commentary on Psalms, titled, The Treasury of David said this about :
John F. MacArthur Jr., The MacArthur Study Bible: New American Standard Bible.
(Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 2006), .
“The position of this Psalm is worthy of notice.
It follows the twenty-second, which is peculiarly the Psalm of the Cross.
There are no green pastures, no still waters on the other side of the twenty-second Psalm.
It is only after we have read, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!” that we come to “The Lord is my Shepherd.”
We must by experience know the value of the blood-shedding, and see the sword awakened against the Shepherd, before we shall be able truly to know the sweetness of the good Shepherd’s care.”
C. H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David: , vol. 1 (London; Edinburgh; New York: Marshall Brothers, n.d.), 353.
So, I would like to focus on six facts about God from this passage:
God’s Shepherding
God’s Provisions
God’s Leading
He Leads
God’s Restoring
God’s Guidance
God’s Motivation
God’s Shepherding
Verse 1a: The LORD is my shepherd
Before we understand the shepherd we must first understand the sheep
The LORD is my shepherd,
The sheep are the people of God, His elect, genuine followers of Christ
And the attributes of the sheep are as follows:
First, sheep are dumb, actually one of the dumbest animals in the world
Maybe this sounds mean...
You be the judge...
This is a excerpt from a real news report:
Hundreds of sheep followed their leader off a cliff in eastern Turkey, plunging to their deaths this week while shepherds looked on in dismay.
Four hundred sheep fell 15 meters to their deaths in province near Iran and broke the fall of another 1,100 sheep who survived.
So, one sheep wandered off a cliff and 1,499 others just followed along.
Yes, 1,500 sheep, each walked off a cliff, one after the other.
Second, sheep are directionless
Even if a sheep has all it needs in a particular area, they are prone to randomly wander off and get lost
Peter talks about this in his letter:
Finally, sheep are defenseless
Sheep can’t fight, they can’t run away, and they can’t scare away predators....
So what does a sheep do when danger comes?
They flock together with others in a pack and run in circles in complete panic
Sheep are in desperate need of a shepherd
The Shepherd is God
The image of God as shepherd is rich with meaning...
The shepherd stays with the flock...
His sheep are totally dependent upon him for food, water, and protection from wild animals
R. C. Sproul, ed., The Reformation Study Bible: English Standard Version (2015 Edition) (Orlando, FL: Reformation Trust, 2015), 854.
The image of God as a shepherd points to his continual direction, guidance and care for his people.
The image of God as a shepherd points to his continual direction, guidance and care for his people.
The church is God’s flock
Psalms mentions this:
Attributes of a shepherd include:
The shepherd leads and guides his sheep to safety...
Provides for his sheep their needs...
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