God the Shepherd

Service Outline:

Welcome

Song Service (4-5)

watch the time. Make sure announcements and preaching start around 10:30.

Announcements

Sermon

Introduction

Continuing series on See the Victory

We’ve talked about victory through unity in Christ

We looked at how childlike faith helps us see the victory that God has already won

This morning, we are looking at sheep

Seems odd to look at sheep at a time like this

All week, I’ve told you to be bold in your faith and life

Talking about sheep seems to be a step in the opposite direction.

However, I’m not talking so much about us being sheep, but as God being shepherd, and how that should be a great comfort for us in this time of crisis!

Psalm 23:1–4 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. Even 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.

1) The Shepherd provides

Psalm 23:1 ESV

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.

There is a lot of concern out there about how people are going to make ends meet, especially as establishments are being closed, people are being sent home to be quarantined. One of the major concerns is how am I supposed to make ends meet? The bills don’t just go away. How are we going to make this work?

David reminds us that God is the good shepherd that will provide all our needs

Matthew 6:25–27 ESV

“Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?

God loves you and he will look out for you in this time. He knows your needs.

One of the identifiers of a good shepherd in Jesus’ day was that a good shepherd knew each and every one of his sheep.

God knows you so intimately that he knows the number of hairs on your head. Some of us have fewer hairs to count then others, but it doesn’t change the fact that God knows.

2) The Shepherd Leads and Guides

Psalm 23:2–3 ESV

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

David paints this picture of serenity and calm

In the midst of everything you see in the news and social media, I think we can all agree that we need a little more calm and serenity in our lives.

A sheep will not lie down until it knows for certain that everything is right in it’s world.

I think some of us can relate to that sentiment, and the truth is that there are a lot of things trying to steal our peace.

You may be quarantined, or you may be someone who is still working and in the back of your head you’re concerned that you might get sick.

Allow God to lead you into peace. Whether that is resting in him first thing in the morning as you have your devotions, or a quick prayer while you’re at work. God never stops guiding us. A shepherd could never leading the sheep, and God never stops leading us either. Allow God to be your guide

3) The Shepherd Protects

Psalm 23:4 ESV

Even 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.

A shepherd’s rod and staff each served different purposes

the straight end of the staff was used to guide and direct the sheep

the hook was used to reign in wayward sheep

the rod was the weapon of defense against animals and thieves

it was also the tool for disciplining sheep who tended to wander

it was also used during examination for insects and disease

both served different purposes, but both were there for the sheep’s good

in order for a sheep to go anywhere, there had to be an element of trust in the shepherd because of how skittish sheep can be

David is talking about sheep that will go in the most dangerous and darkest places because of how good their shepherd is

God is the good shepherd who will protect us. It may look like we are going into scary and unforeseen situations, but we serve a God who is never surprised, and only has our best interests at heart. He will protect you, he will reign you in when you start to stray.

Which brings us to our last point

3) The Shepherd Saves the Scattered

Matthew 18:12–14 ESV

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep, and one of them has gone astray, does he not leave the ninety-nine on the mountains and go in search of the one that went astray? And if he finds it, truly, I say to you, he rejoices over it more than over the ninety-nine that never went astray. So it is not the will of my Father who is in heaven that one of these little ones should perish.

As you look in your bible, did you notice what looks like a typo?

It goes verse 10 to verse 12. Where is 11?

Verse 11 isn’t in every one of the original manuscripts that translators reference when they put together their translations

That was more of a fun fact then anything

I want to end with this encouragement. In this time of isolation, whether you are quarantined or just self-isolating, it can be easy to feel forgotten. You have too much time to think and stew on different things, or you simply haven’t heard from anyone in a while. The trouble is we start to think that maybe even God has forgotten about us

God has not forgotten you. As I said earlier, a good shepherd knows each and every one of his sheep. That why this parable would have been so powerful. Every one would be able to picture that caliber of shepherd.

Well God is that caliber of shepherd. Scripture tells us that as we draw near to God, he draws near to us. God has not forgotten you, in fact he is probably pursuing you even more in this time. Take advantage, draw near to him, listen to the gentle whisper of his voice.

John 10:27 ESV

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

Listen for the Shepherd’s voice. Let God speak life, encouragement, and truth into your mind and heart. Do not let this time go to waste but take advantage of it. After the last song, there will be a few slides with information and links to material you can go to and study. I encourage you to write down the links and check them out.

Let’s Pray.