HE IS THE GOOD SHEPHERD (Part 2)

Introduction

-{Psalm 23}

-As I continue our study from last week, we are looking to Christ who is our Good Shepherd, taking care of His sheep. What Christ does as a Shepherd reminds me a lot about what mom’s do. Mom’s take care of little ones and protect them and provide for them and guide them and love them. Mom’s really do pastor and shepherd those who are unable to care for themselves.

-Jesus does the same for us. He is the shepherd who takes care of us sheep. Now, I know, we all like to think of ourselves as pretty smart and savvy and well able to care for ourselves. But we can’t. There is a reason why we are compared to sheep and not some other animal. Sheep are very helpless animals. There really is no weaker animal than a sheep. They are in need of constant help. They are in need of constant protection. They are in need of constant guidance. And they can’t provide for themselves. Sheep are stubborn, hardheaded, pig-headed animals. Sheep are not the most intelligent of animals and they can’t survive on their own.

~There was a rancher once who made a comparison between sheep and cows. He alluded to the fact that if you take an old cow and put her out in the bush by herself, in the middle of nowhere, in some fashion she will make it. If that cow gets stuck in something she will fight and fight until she frees herself. But not a sheep. If that sheep is in the middle of nowhere and gets stuck, that silly thing will just lie down and die.

~I can’t help but think of a viral video that made the rounds last year of a sheep who was stuck in some small, tight ravine, and couldn’t get out. Some guy was nice enough to pull that sheep out, only to watch bounce away and then jump right back into the ravine and get stuck again.

-Mom’s hear that and think that might be a good description of their kids—well, that’s a good description of all of us.

-Now, we don’t like that comparison with sheep that I just made. I mean, if it was up to us we’d want to be compared to a lion or something. But the Bible doesn’t say, THE LORD IS MY LION-TAMER, I’M KING OF THE JUNGLE. The Bible says that the Lord is my Shepherd, and praise Him that He is because that is exactly what we need. And David writes about how the Lord is our Shepherd. And I want us leaving here today with a greater knowledge of our Good Shepherd and what our relationship is to Him and what it is that He does for us.

Psalm 23 ESV

A Psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

-Last week I began the study of this Psalm and touched upon several aspects:

1) The Shepherd’s personal possession

-Through Christ we have been purchased and we belong to God through Him. He knows us personally by name and we hear His voice and follow Him.

2) The Shepherd’s perfect provision

-God has given us Himself and we find our satisfaction in Him and are at peace knowing that He provides what we need for our journey on this earth.

3) The Shepherd’s refreshing revival

-The Lord is able to take our broken and wrecked souls and restore them to fullness.

4) The Shepherd’s righteous road

-The only right path is God’s path through Jesus Christ, and He leads us in that way if we choose to follow Him.

-But now, let’s look at the rest of the psalm:

5) The Shepherd’s powerful protection

-v. 4 says that EVEN THOUGH I WALK THROUGH THE VALLEY OF THE SHADOW OF DEATH, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL. Sometimes, while God leads us through paths of righteousness, those paths go through some dark valleys.

-We naturally associate this psalm with funerals because the psalmist uses the phrase valley of the shadow of death. But there are lot of other dark valleys we might go through. We might go through the valley of the sickness of a loved one; we might go through the valley of depression; we might go through the valley of a broken marriage, broken family, or some other broken relationship; we might go through the valley of financial problems or job difficulties.

-The dark valleys are not just personal problems, but can be strongholds of sin in our lives. Some here might be in the valley of the root of bitterness; some here might be in the valley of addiction (be it drug, alcohol, pornography, food); some might be in the valley of pride or the valley of worry. There are a lot of dark valleys.

-But here’s the thing about the dark valleys. Nowhere does the verse say that the Good Shepherd takes us out of the valley. But it does say that He walks with us and He protects us while we are in the dark valley. It says even though we are walking through that valley, I WILL FEAR NO EVIL, FOR YOU ARE WITH ME. God doesn’t leave us alone in the valley, He’s walking next to us through the valley. We are not abandoned. We are not forsaken. God is present in our valleys.

-And it’s a good thing too, because there are a lot of enemies that try to get us while we are in the valley. In the valley we are at our most vulnerable. We are at our weakest in the valley. We are easy prey for the lion that roars against our soul. But v. 4 uses wonderful word-pictures that describe the protection that God gives in the valley of shadows. The psalmist says YOUR ROD AND YOUR STAFF, THEY COMFORT ME.

~As one commentator explained, the rod or club was used by the shepherd to fight off wild animals. Most of the time the flock did not know of the danger which threatened them. The battle for their safety took place outside the circle of their knowledge. As far as they knew their lives were serene and secure. Meanwhile, the shepherd was off fighting the enemy, protecting the sheep.

-God is protecting us even when we don’t know He is protecting us. There are lot more dangers in the dark valleys than we can begin to imagine. When we get to heaven we are going to learn about how many times we faced dangers in the valleys, and God protected us and we didn’t even know it. But our God takes care of the sheep in the pasture, on the mountains, and in the valleys. But the psalm not only talks about the rod, but also the staff

~The same commentator explained that the shepherd used the staff primarily to control the sheep. If a sheep was acting contrary to the wishes of the shepherd, or contrary to its own good or the good of the flock, it was a staff with a crook at the end of it which pulled it back into line and disciplined it. At times the pull of the staff was gentle. At other times there was a sharp tug that pained.

-So, think about this. In the valleys, not only does the Good Shepherd protect us from enemies, He protects us from ourselves (and we often times are our own worst enemies). We are prone to wander. We are prone to get ourselves into trouble. In the dark valleys we are prone to take wrong paths to try to get out of the valley. But the Good Shepherd protects us. He uses the rod to protect us from enemies. He uses the staff to protect us from our own stupidity. Even in the darkest valleys, we aren’t alone. We are protected.

6) The Shepherd’s supernatural serenity

-The psalmist in v. 5 says YOU PREPARE A TABLE BEFORE ME IN THE PRESENCE OF MY ENEMIES. Whoever or whatever our enemy might be, God is able to give us serenity and peace of mind and soul even when we are surrounded by trials or troubles or enemies.

-What this refers to is if an enemy was in the general vicinity of a sheep (be it a wolf or robber or whatever), the sheep would be so scared or alert to the threat, that it could not or would not take the time to eat. We all know what it is like, when we are anxious or worried or stressed, we can’t settle down, and we certainly can’t eat. When we are stressed like that we have no peace, serenity, and tranquility.

-King David, the author of the psalm, knew all about enemies. He had enemies surrounding him and pursuing him constantly. King Saul was his enemy. The Philistines were his enemy. Even his own son, Absalom, was his enemy. And yet, it was even during those times of harassment that God gave him peace and serenity. And yet, David is saying that even during those times that he was on the run, God gave him peace.

-This was possible because peace is not the absence of hostility, but it is the supernatural quietness and rest that comes to our soul even during the times of hostility, not because of who we are or because our circumstances change, but because we have a God who is bigger than us and our circumstances.

-So, think about this picture. The psalm doesn’t say that we are able to have peace and rest and able to sit down and eat because there are no enemies around us. Rather, what the psalm implies is that we are completely surrounded by enemies, but we can still sit down and eat in peace and serenity because we have a God who is bigger than our enemies and He has made us overcomers in Christ.

-There are enemies to our souls both in the visible and invisible realms; and really, the invisible realm is influencing those in the visible realm. But, either way, if we are in Christ we have the victory over all of them because Christ is the victor. I can have peace and serenity and tranquility because Christ was won, and I’m in Christ, so that means I have won. The enemies cannot do anything to us that affects us eternally. If they kill us, we go to heaven. If they harass us, they can’t take Christ away from me. I am secure in Christ, and because of that I can sit in serenity wherever I go.

-This is a testimony to the greatness of our God. If we are surrounded by enemies, it doesn’t matter. Our God is with us and He is more than able to protect us so that we can be at peace in life.

7) The Shepherd’s heavenly happiness

-the end of v. 5 says YOU ANOINT MY HEAD WITH OIL; MY CUP OVERFLOWS. First, this verse shows us that part of our shepherd’s great work of happiness is His healing hands working in our lives in the here and now, and ultimately the healing that comes to us in the eternal state.

-The idea of being anointed with oil in this context has to do with the shepherd healing the sheep. As one author explained, at the end of the day when the sheep were led into the fold, it was the shepherd who examined each of them to find if it had been hurt in any way. He had a supply of healing oil, which he daubed on the wounds in order that they would heal without infection.

--What a picture of tender mercy from our Lord. At the end of the day, through all the battles we have gone through, He looks us over, He finds our wounds, He touches us only the way that He can, and heals us. There are so many hurts that we could have. We might need physical healing. God can heal us miraculously if it is His will, or through medicines and doctors and the like. Sometimes he heals by bringing someone home to heaven. It might not be the healing that we are looking for, but God heals according to His will. There may be other wounds just as deep or painful that need healing. We may need healing of our emotions, our attitudes. We may have fears or depressions that need healing – we come to the Supreme Pastor, that Great Shepherd, and He heals us.

-I remember when my kids were real little and they’d seem to get hurt quite often, whether it was a real hurt or something in their own mind. But one way or another they had a boo-boo that they needed tending to. So what would I do? I would kiss it, and we all know that daddy kisses heal anything, right? They would come to me, point to the area where they hurt (because most of the time there was no physical evidence of injury) and I’d kiss it and say it was all better. And they’d believe me and go about their business. That doesn’t quite work with young adults, but it works wonders with little kids—the healing kiss of a daddy.

-We have a heavenly Father who is able to do more than just kiss the boo-boo. We have a Shepherd who takes pleasure in tending to His sheep. We also have a shepherd who brings us happiness for the manifold blessings that He gives to us in life. No, this doesn’t mean that God blesses us materially or physically necessarily (although, if we were hones with ourselves we would recognize that any material or physical blessing we have comes from His hand). But He blesses us tremendously in so many different ways.

-Notice what David says—MY CUP OVERFLOWS. It doesn’t say that my cup is half-full. It doesn’t even say that my cup is full. It says that my cup is so full that the blessings are overflowing.

-The reason we don’t take notice is that our concept of blessing is so misconstrued, and the motivation for what we seek from God has become perverted. We are so discontent with life that we want God to give us distractions and toys thinking that this will make us content, and therefore we construe that as the meaning of being blessed. But some of the poorest people on the earth are some of the most blessed people. Why? Because they see God’s blessings coming in all forms and fashions. It could be the blessing of seeing a beautiful sunrise and knowing that it is a reminder of God’s promises. It could be something as simple as the blessing of a hug. Or it’s the recognition of some small spiritual insight God gave through His Word.

-We miss true happiness because we miss out on what true blessings are. The thing is, God takes pleasure in blessing us in His way. And we are most happy when we seek His blessings in His way. I think of what Jesus said:

Matthew 7:9–11 ESV

9 Or which one of you, if his son asks him for bread, will give him a stone? 10 Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a serpent? 11 If you then, who are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give good things to those who ask him!

-This is Jesus speaking. It’s not a lot of hot air. It is all truth. But it has been so twisted by some that we miss out on what it is really offering. God heals in His way and He blesses in His way, and this is where we find true happiness. But there is more...

8) The Shepherd’s permanent promise

-David says in v. 6 SURELY GOODNESS AND MERCY SHALL FOLLOW ME ALL THE DAYS OF MY LIFE, AND I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER. That is a permanent promise, if God is with me I have goodness and mercy all my days. That doesn’t mean nothing bad ever happens. It means that I am with the One who does good and shows mercy, and I have the ultimate promise that I am going to dwell in His presence for all of eternity. You can’t get more permanent than eternity.

-Our Good Shepherd promises us that if we have placed our faith in Jesus Christ for our souls, and in Jesus Christ alone, He will show us goodness and mercy, and we will live eternally with Him. The wonderful thing about God’s promises is that when He makes a promise it is a guarantee that He will fulfill them.

-As humans we make many promises that we don’t keep. How many men have said, or how many women have heard, promises to the effect of “I’ll climb the highest mountain or swim the deepest sea out of my love for you. I’ll give you the sun, the moon, and the stars.” So, anyone here climbed the highest mountain and swam the deepest sea for love? Me neither. We boast many things, but never really follow through. (Yes, I know that is exaggeration and hyperbole, but still, we’ve never fully even followed through with the metaphor.)

-When God says goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, that is a promise you can bank on. And the word here for “follow” means to pursue relentlessly. God promises that goodness and mercy will chase us down like a cop chasing a robber. Again, the pursuit of goodness and mercy does not mean the absence of hardships, but even in the midst of hardships we see how good and merciful God is to us.

-And in the end, we live with Him forever, dwelling in His house. The apostle John tells us:

1 John 5:11–12 ESV

11 And this is the testimony, that God gave us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. 12 Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life.

-He who has the Son of God will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Conclusion

-Do you have the Son? If you do, God’s goodness and mercy and eternal life will chase you down. That is His promise, and when God promises something, He delivers.

-Our Good Shepherd cares for us as a mother with a child. If you have the Son, Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd protects us from the enemy while we are going through the dark valley. We are encouraged because He gives us peace and serenity that surpasses all understanding. We receive true heavenly happiness as He heals and blesses us. And we are encouraged because we have the permanent promise of goodness and mercy and eternal life.

-If you have never trusted in Christ...

-Christian, maybe you need some tending to by the Good Shepherd. Come to the altar and let the Shepherd take care of you.