Untitled Sermon (11)

The Lord Is My Shepherd

This is the day that the Lord has made - Let us rejoice and be glad in it!

Greetings in the Name of the Lord.

Introduce myself

Introduce our topic

A Psalm of King David

Very familiar

We will look at it in at least two parts.

Let me read it. If you know it and want to say it with me feel free.

As you know, this Psalm begins with the phrase, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Since this was written by David then that is a very accurate thing to say, the Lord is MY shepherd.

For some people we would have to say, “the Lord wants to be your shepherd.”

We know who the Lord is here. He is God. So, something has to happen in a person’s life before they can actually say that.

He wants to be our shepherd but if we are not reconciled to him then he isn’t our shepherd.

So if you know Jesus as your savior then you can say with King David, “the Lord is my shepherd.”

Isn’t that a great thing? So much so that many people this Psalm is really not so much about the Shepherd as it is about the sheep. A Psalm rejoicing because God is their shepherd.

This image is a image that is often used of God. In fact, Jesus said he was the good shepherd. Jesus told the story about the 99 sheep who were safe and secure and the one that was lost. The shepherd went after that sheep to find him and bring his back to safety.

There is another place in Scripture where God speaks of shepherding. He calls the leaders of Israel their shepherds. And God is not happy because these leaders are actually fleecing the flock. In other words, they aren’t caring for people the way God would want them to.

Ezekiel 34:13–14 (NLT)

13 I will bring them back home (god will intervene) to their own land of Israel from among the peoples and nations. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel and by the rivers and in all the places where people live. 14 Yes, I will give them good pastureland on the high hills of Israel. There they will lie down in pleasant places and feed in the lush pastures of the hills.

The main idea behind God as shepherd is about his wonderful care for His sheep. The Psalm eloquently points this out in wonderful poetic figures and images.

Let’s look at a few of them this morning.

I shall not want.

This is like a summary statement. If you have a good shepherd you will be okay.

A good shepherd is all a sheep needs since a good shepherd, by his very nature, will always supply the needs of the sheep.

If he needs protection

If he needs water

If he needs direction

If he needs provision

And so on . . .

Let me remind you of a few things here.

There is a sense, that if we have Jesus, or God, of a good shepherd, that is all we need.

That is one of the things I think God is constantly trying to teach us.

My mom used to get homesick for her family in Michigan. And I would hear my dad say to her (kidding of course), “what’s the matter, you have me.”

Last October, my friend, Rick, contracted COVID 19. He was hospitalized in ICU for 11 days. His family couldn’t see him. Sherry had to quarantine for about a week.

On October 30th Rick passed away.

I was talking to Sherry about Rick being alone in ICU. She said Joel, “He wasn’t alone. He had such a sense of the presence of the Lord that he was okay.”

Wow!

The Lord was his shepherd he didn’t lack anything!

One last thing. Our shepherd knows exactly what we need! Satan has forever been trying to get God’s people to believe that God is not good and that he begrudgingly gives to us, if he even gives at all.

Eve believed that lie. God is not all you need. He is keeping good things from you.

That is a lie!!!

Let me put the next three statements together:

He makes me lie down

He leads me beside quiet waters

He restores my soul

What does that sound like to you?

Emotional care!

This pandemic has been awful. It has been difficult. It has been hard and often sorrowful.

But did you ever think about some of the good things that this pandemic has produced?

Working at home – families are spending more time together

No sports – you can get along without football/baseball/etc.

The realization that we really don’t “need” some things to survive.

My friend posted on Face book that his wife’s care still had a quarter of a tank of gas that he put in the car last summer.

Listen, God is a good shepherd.

We should desire to know him above everything else. If I have him, “I shall lack noting.”

I have often asked at a funeral, if the family would take someone back even if it meant spending the rest of their earthly life on some strange Island.

Numbers 6:24–26 (NLT)

24 ‘May the Lord bless you

and keep you.

25 May the Lord smile on you

and be gracious to you.

26 May the Lord show you his favor

and give you his peace.’