2020-05-03 Psalm 23:3 THE SHEPHERD’S RIGHTEOUS LEADING

THE SHEPHERD’S RIGHTEOUS LEADING (Psalm 23:3) May 3, 2020 Read Psalm 23:1-3 – A lady failed to show up for work one day, so her boss called, expecting a sob story about how sick she was. Instead she said. “When I was driving to work, I took a wrong turn – and then, I just decided to keep on going.” Ever done that – figuratively speaking? Life is filled with crossroads – places where a decision is required. In some cases, the decision we made his little significance. In other cases, it makes all the difference. So, which way to go? Most of us feel, “It’s my life; I’ll decide.” And we can. God gifted us the ability to choose. The problem is, we can’t really see beyond today. No life decision comes with a guarantee. We choose, and hope for the best. That’s all you can do – unless – the Lord is your Shepherd. One great thing about having the Lord as your Shepherd is you get guidance from someone who not only knows the future, He lives in the future! So, David says, “He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” Two possible interpretations there. It could mean the Shepherd leads us morlly to do right things morally. Or it could mean He leads us to make right decisions in our path through life. So which is it? The good news? It’s both. To be led in morally right paths is to make right life decisions. And to make right life decisions is to live a morally upright life. Our Shepherd will always lead us on paths that are right for us, and right for God. Prov 4:26) Ponder the path of your feet; then all your ways will be sure. 27) Do not swerve to the right or to the left; turn your foot away from evil.” Don’t go astray morally, and you will be on the right life path. Given our fallen nature, we need guidance to get this right. Here’s David’s pattern to benefit from God’s guidance. I. The Shepherd Leads We’ve learned that David did us no favors in likening us to sheep. They are not very smart and require a lot of careful handling in order to prosper. Among other things, they are direction-impaired. You could drop Lassie off in Timbuktu and he would still find his way home, right? We’ve seen it on TV. But not a sheep. They have no homing instinct. Just the opposite. You can put them on rich grazing land near plenty of water and, left to their own devices, they will wander away to a barren area with undrinkable water. 1 In David’s day, wagon wheels were very wide – 18-20 inches usually. The ruts made by such wheels were often used as a path to guide the sheep back to the fold. But sometimes robbers would make fake paths which were not easy to discern. They could lead people and sheep astray and into danger. If a lost sheep were to follow one of those paths, it could cost his life. David’s point is that we are like sheep in many ways. With many possible paths before us, it is not always clear which way to go. We don’t know what is at the end of any of those paths. True – we can research and investigate possibilities and analyze trends, but we can never be sure. Somewhere there is a path that most honors God – a best path. But there are also bad and merely good paths stretching out before me. I have to choose, and as someone has said, “You make your choice, and then your choice makes you.” The problem is, I don’t really know what lies out ahead on any given path. I used to work with the RUC – Northern Ireland Police. One man, Sam Benson, farmer by day, policeman by night told how he went to church one Sunday but was called in bc they needed a driver. He changed clothes, picked up his sergeant and they began patrol. Near a place called Pomeroy they came to a fork in the road. Sam asked which way. The Sarge said, “It doesn’t matter,” so for no reason, Sam chose left. Forty minutes later another patrol came to the same fork. They took the right and a mile down the road, the IRA detonated a bomb hidden in a culvert under the road. They were blown to kingdom come, an explosion so great they never recovered the bodies. That’s a caution for all of us, isn’t it? We’re not independent travelers. We’re always a few pages short of the whole story. We need a guide who’s been where we’re going. And as a Xn, we have one. Yahweh – the self-sufficient, self-existent, eternal one – He’s our Guide. And he’s not only been there – He is there. He occupies past, present and future at one and the same time. He’s worthy of our trust. Rev 22:13: “I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last, the beginning and the end.” You can’t get more comprehensive than that. He knows because He’s been there. He knows because He is there. Listen – He even knows what might have been. He told unbelieving neighbors in Capernaum, Mt 11:23b: “For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.” He knows what would have happened had conditions been different. So if you’re looking for a Guide, and we all need one, you could never do better than this. 2 But we have to get out of the way and honestly seek His guidance, not our own. If you were to go to Rockefeller Center in NYC, you would see a great statue of Atlas holding the world on his shoulders. There he is, beautifully proportioned, with muscles straining, barely able to stand under his burden. Then, if you were cross 5th Ave to St. Patrick’s Cathedral, you’d see a stained glass of the boy Jesus – 8 or 9 years old, holding the whole world in one hand with no effort at all. It illustrates our choice – carry the world on our own shoulders or give our world up to Him – not asking Him to bless our decisions, but seeking to know and bless His decisions. Our Shepherd is a worthy guide who will lead us in paths or righteousness. Prov 3:6: “In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make straight your paths.” He’s ready whenever you are. And if you’ve strayed: Jer 31:9: “With weeping they shall come, and with pleas for mercy I will lead them back, I will make them walk by brooks of water, in a straight path in which they shall not stumble.” II. The Sheep Follow If you went to Israel today, you’d see flocks of goats or sheep being driven by the shepherd. But not in David’s day. Those sheep followed the Shepherd. So David says of his Shepherd: “He leads me in paths of righteousness.” He leads. And He always leads in the right paths which are righteous paths. But obviously, the only way His leading is of any benefit is if I follow. So, the Shepherd leads, but the sheep must follow. This point is obvious for sheep, but it needs constant reinforcement in our lives bc our natural human bent is to follow Self, not the Shepherd. Sometimes we do this unconsciously without thinking. Sometimes our straying is very conscious. But we do it anyway. We think our way is better than God’s, so away we go. At times like that the Shepherd has to bring us back – apply discipline in our lives to get us back on His straight and narrow, but ultimately prosperous path. He leads; we follow. Okay. That’s fine for sheep. But how can we follow a Shepherd we can’t see? Great question. Jesus answers in Jn 10:27: “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me.” We follow the Shepherd’s voice. And how do we hear His voice? In His Word, of course. Even David did this. Psa 119:105: “Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path. 106) I have sworn an oath and confirmed it, to keep your righteous rules.” Have you sworn that oath – to keep the Shepherd’s righteous rules? That’s how He leads us in paths of righteousness. But means of His Word. This is why we need to saturate our lives with His Word. This is a lifelong pursuit for sheep who are serious about following the Good Shepherd. Psa 119:9) How can a young man keep his way pure? By guarding it according to your word. 10) With my whole 3 heart I seek you; let me not wander from your commandments! 11) I have stored up your word in my heart, that I might not sin against you.” Jesus says in Jn 14:15: “If you love me you will keep my commandments.” Can’t keep them if you don’t know them. Too many of us know them, but still don’t keep them. But the Shepherd never leads contrary to His Word. Yes, we live in a day when it’s hard to follow the commands of the Shepherd relative to our sexuality, our dating relationships, and marriage roles. It’s not popular. We’ve a million excuses for self-righteous anger and vengeful thoughts and actions. We consider our little wanderings to be inconsequential. But from little beginnings come disastrous endings if we don’t make corrections. On Oct 31, 1983, Korean Airlines Flight 007 departed Anchorage to Seoul. But before the end of the day it was shot down over Russia with all lives lost. What happened? Unknown to the crew, there was a computer error in the Nav system of 1-1/2 degrees. Very small. 100 miles out, no big deal. But it wasn’t long before they were flying over Russian airspace. Fighters were scrambled, and poor communications in the Cold War era led to the plane being shot down. A small error at the start ended in disaster at the end. So what do we do if we find ourselves straying? I Jn 1:9: “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness.” He’ll put us back in the paths or righteousness. No delay entailed. No penance required. Just honest heartfelt confession, and we can be back on the right path again. So you say, “Okay, I get that for clear commands in His Word. I get it. But what about the decision I have to make about taking a new job, or choosing a school, or expanding my business? What about those decisions? Nothing in the Word about those.” And that’s true. But consider this: 90% of what we need to know to make life’s decisions is included in the Word, right? It is. Sometimes by direction precept, sometimes by principle. But it’s there. God has direct commands – speed limit 35 MPH. Adultery is wrong – always. And then He has other signs – “Drive carefully.” Principles to guide us – I Cor 10:31b: “Whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” Can you do whatever you are contemplating to God’s glory? Will it enhance His reputation or possible stain it? 90% of what we need we already have. And here’s the process. If we’re obeying what we already know – pursuing hard after the Shepherd, He’ll not fail to direct us in those other areas. He’ll 4 guide us – thru advice from others, circumstances, the internal voice of the HS. He’ll be there. Mt 6:33: “Seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” What things are those? Check the context – what you will eat, drink, wear, the affairs of life. You follow Him in what you know, and He’ll reveal what you don’t know. Those who follow the Good Shepherd will never find Him lacking. III. The Glory is His So how can we be sure of the Shepherd’s leading? He’s added a guarantee. It’s often treated as a throwaway comment, but it may be the most beautiful statement of all. Why does He lead us in paths or righteousness? For our sake? Yes. But not primarily. Primarily He leads us “for his name’s sake.” That guarantees. It is going to happen. It is ultimately for His glory. Listen – if it was for our sake, He might have dropped us long ago! We’ve caused Him more time and trouble than we would ever be worth, right? I know, the Shepherd does love us. He loves us, not because we’re lovely but because He chooses to love us. In fact, let’s go deeper than that. He loves us because He loves Himself. He loves us “for His name’s sake.” He guides us “for his name’s sake.” It all shows His glory; that’s what guarantees His promises. A lady was on her death bed. Pastor visited and found her at complete peace. Unafraid to die. So, he said, “I love that you are ready. But what inspires such peace of mind?” She replied, “Because His Word says He’ll never leave us nor forsake us.” The pastor said, “What if He doesn’t keep His Word?” She replied, “Well, if God doesn’t keep His Word, I’ll lose my salvation, but He’ll lose His reputation.” She got the picture. It’s a Godcentered world, Beloved. It’s His reputation; His glory; His greatness that ultimately matters. But that is the very thing that seals the deal for us. He’ll never let us down, because He’ll never let Himself down. Conc – Did you ever notice when flying in an airplane that a full cup of coffee doesn’t spill when the plane turns? Doesn’t matter how much it banks, coffee stays in the cup. If a magazine drops during a bank, it goes straight to the floor. Flight attendants walk perpendicular to the aisle, no matter how great the bank. And unless you are looking out the window, you have no idea which way the plane is turning. It’s all inertia. Forces inside the plane equalize so things operate as though you’re upright on the ground. That’s the good news. The bad news is the pilot is subject to the same forces of inertia. So, when flying thru clouds or bad weather, when sight of the ground is lost, he does not 5 know, except for instruments, whether he’s going up, down, left or right. His instincts are totally misleading. As one trainer says, “Instinct is worse than useless in the clouds.” It will lead down a wrong path to destruction; the pilot must fly by the instruments whether it feels right or not. Which is just like a sheep who must follow the shepherd to flourish. Our natural instincts have been damaged in the Fall of Adam. What seems so right may be leading us to disaster. Only by following the leading of the Shepherd in His Word can we avoid the pitfalls of life. He’s leading; the question is, are we following? Let’s pray. 6