23 The Lord is my Shepherd

Title: THE LORD IS MY SHEPHARD I SHALL NOT WANT

Text:

The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. 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. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Intro: 1. New series taking deeper look into this famous chapter

2. In third grade we recited this Psalm every morning

3. A shepherd looks at the 23rd Psalm- Phillip Keller who grew up as a shepherd in East Africa

4. The 23rd Psalm is a year in the life of a shepherd

5. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want

I. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD

A. Sheep don’t take care of themselves

1. As a kid what kind of animal did you want to be? lion, cheetah, falcon

2. Sheep require more attention and care than almost any other class of livestock

a. No defense system

1) Skunk, porcupine, opossum, chameleon, can't swim, climb a tree, dig a hole

2) A sheep’s best defense is to stay close to the shepherd and remain with the herd

3) Behold, I send you out as sheep in the midst of wolves-

b. Mob instincts- when one panics they all panic

c. Fearful, timid and stubborn all at the same time

d. They are prone to get lost

e. They just are not very smart

3. The Bible compares us to sheep

a. All we like sheep have gone astray, we have each turned to our own way

b. Know that the Lord, he is God! It is He who made us, and we are his; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture

c. When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd

d. The parable of the one lost sheep and 99 others

e. We have a lot of the same qualities

1) Mob instincts- want to fit in, easily give in to peer pressure, easily swayed

2) Fearful, timid and stubborn all at the same time

3) Sometimes we just aren’t very smart

B. The LORD is our shepherd

1. Do you know who our shepherd is?

a. If the Lord is my shepherd I should know something of his character and understand something of his ability

b. How does he treat his sheep?

c. Are they taken care of?

d. Does he have adequate credentials to be our shepherd?

2. He is the good shepherd

a. I am the good shepherd

1) A real shepherd cares for his sheep

a) I am the good shepherd; the good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. 12 He who is a hired hand, and not a shepherd, who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep and flees, and the wolf snatches them and scatters them. 13 He flees because he is a hired hand and is not concerned about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd, and I know My own and My own know Me, 15 even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep

b) He lays down His life for the sheep

· He thinks nothing of his own life when it comes to protecting the sheep

· David fought a lion and a bear

· He fights for the sheep

b. He is the door

1) Shepherds will lay in the gate or mouth to the cave to protect their sheep

c. This whole chapter recounts the ways in which the good shepherd spares no pains for the welfare of his sheep

1) When a young shepherd buys sheep for the first time it is with money that was earned from his own blood, sweat and tears.

2) He is buying them literally with his own body

3) Because of this I felt in a special way that they are a part of him and he is a part of them

4) This is also only the beginning of a long lasting endeavor where he will continue to lay down his life for the sheep if they are to flourish and prosper

3. There is another kind of shepherd- The hireling

a. To him the sheep are just a commodity, dollar signs, a means to and end

b. Its common to see herds that have only polluted muddy water to drink

c. There’s a lack of salt and other minerals in their fields needed to offset their sickly pastures

d. Sheep that are weak, diseased and matted are a reflection of their uncaring shepherd

e. They are in the heartless ownership of the wrong master

f. To the devil we are nothing more than a commodity, a means to and end to get at God

4. David the author of the poem himself a shepherd

a. He later to be known as the shepherd king of Israel

1) You will shepherd my people Israel, and you will become their ruler

b. He says the Lord is my shepherd

c. This chapter is more about the shepherd than it is about the sheep

d. Everyone knows if the sheep have a good shepherd they will be taken care of

e. How well do you know the shepherd?

1) A famous actor was once the guest of honor at a social gathering where he received many requests to recite favorite excerpts from various literary works. An old preacher who happened to be there asked the actor to recite the twenty-third Psalm. The actor agreed on the condition that the preacher would also recite it. The actor's recitation was beautifully intoned with great dramatic emphasis for which he received lengthy applause. The preacher's voice was rough and broken from many years of preaching, and his diction was anything but polished. But when he finished there was not a dry eye in the room. After the event, someone asked the famous speaker what he thought produced the different responses in the crowd. The speaker paused, thought for a moment and said, “I know the 23rd Psalm, but that man knows the shepherd

C. MY shepherd

1. We belong to the Lord

a. He brought us with His own life, His own blood

b. Each shepherd has to put his mark on his flock

c. Each shepherd has his own distinctive mark which he cuts into the ear or a brand or paint marking to define his sheep even at a distance

2. God has marked us

a. I know my sheep

b. marks us with the seal of the Holy Spirit

c. Marks us with His blood

1) the priests had blood place on the right ear lobe, right thumb, right big toe

2) Ear hears, thumb acts, toe moves- all of us

d. The love slave in the Old Testament would pierce his ear on the doorpost-

1) The doorpost is where the blood for the Passover lamb was spread

2) write the law on the doorpost of the house

3. We belong to the right shepherd

II. I SHALL NOT WANT

A. If Jesus is our shepherd we should be content

1. The work of Christ in our lives keeps us from craving or desiring anything more

a. Praise be to the Lord, who is our support day by day, even the God of our salvation

b. Every good thing given and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights

c. Bless the LORD, O my soul, and do not forget all his benefits. He forgives all my sins and heals all my diseases. He ransoms me from death and surrounds me with love and mercy

2. Contentment should be the hallmark of anyone who has put their affairs in the hands of God

a. We say He satisfies. We say He fills the hole in our hearts. We say He is what we are looking for, but do we really live like that?

b. I have learned how to be content with whatever I have. 12 I know how to live on almost nothing or with everything. I have learned the secret of living in every situation, whether it is with a full stomach or empty, with plenty or little. 13 For I can do all things through Christ, who gives me strength

c. Deep seated satisfaction that brings the peace of God

1) Peace that passes all understanding (Peace at a time that it doesn’t make sense to have peace)

3. Are you completely satisfied with His management of your life?

a. Do you trust Him?

B. Greener pastures

1. Even with such a great Shepherd there are some who are not content with his control

a. Somehow they feel the grass must be a little greener on the others side of the fence

b. We’ve all seen the cow or horse straining his neck through the fence

1) If the grass is greener over there just remember they have to mow the yard too

2) If the grass is greener over there maybe you need to fertilize your yard

2. Shepherds have a term for these sheep- “fence crawlers”

a. These are carnal Christians who want the best of both worlds

b. I had a sheep at one time that was restless, discontented, a fence crawler. I came to call her Mrs. Gadabout. It was bad enough to keep having to bring her back but the worst part was that she taught her lambs the same tricks. They simply followed her example and soon were as skilled as her and escaping. In a short time she began to lead others through the same holes and over the same dangerous paths down by the sea. To protect the rest of the flock, she had to go. She was a sheep who in spite of all that I have done for her still wanted something else. One morning I took a knife and killed her.

c. Do not be deceived: "Bad company corrupts good morals."

Cncl: 1. Jimmy Fallon with U2 in the NYC subway

2. I have climbed highest mountains, I have run through fields

I have run, I have crawled, I have scaled the city walls

I believe in kingdom come, When all the colors were bleeding as one

He broke the bonds, he loose the chains, Carried the cross of my shame

Broke my shame, You know I believed it

But I still haven’t found what I’m looking for

3. Are you completely satisfied with His management of your life?

Altr: 1. Do you know the shepherd?

2. Are you satisfied? a deep peace?