The Lord is My Shepherd - Part 2

Anybody working on memorizing the psalm?

Big idea from yesterday?

What is the reason from yesterday why we can trust in the good shepherd?

So far we have that one reason why we can trust in the good shepherd. He will meet out needs. Today we are going to look at 3 more reason why we can trust in and follow the good shepherd.

Psalm 23 (ESV)

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.

Verse 2 starts with this phrase 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.

The Good Shepherd gives abundant life.

Two things I want you to notice about that phrase.

1. What the shepherd does

2. Where the shepherd does it.

That first phrase “He makes me lie down” is fascinating. In Phillip Keller’s book on Psalm 23 which I will be referencing several times this morning. He explains there are four different things that must happen before a sheep is willing to lie down.

Apparently it is almost impossible to get sheep to lie down unless these 4 needs are meet. They must be free of fear, free from tension, free of aggravation, and free from hunger.

I want to very briefly look at those four things.

The sheep must be free from fear. Sheep are notorious for being skidish. They jump and run from anything. As long as they sense any danger, they will not be comfortable enough to lie down. No matter how green the pasture might be. They are constantly on the look out for predators. They worry that at any moment something may jump out and attack them. They live with constant anxiety and fear. And it makes it impossible for them to lie down and find rest.

But Keller, who is a shepherd by trade explains, that there is nothing as reassuring to the sheep as to know that the shepherd is nearby. When the sheep trusts the shepherd and the shepherd has proven to the sheep that he will take care of them just knowing that the shepherd is nearby calms their anxiety and allows them to rest and lie down.

The same is true for the Christian. How often do we fret and worry and make it impossible to truly find rest. We too are skidish people. We worry about so many things. We worry about our jobs. We worry about what the government is going to do next. We worry how we are going to pay the bills. We worry about what people think about us. We worry about our kids. We spend so much time in worry and fear and it’s made it impossible to find rest and it’s left us exhausted and burnout.

But the text says the Lord is my shepherd he makes me lie down.

If you are nervous this morning. If you find yourself anxious over something. If even now you are having a hard time focusing because there is something going on in your life that is causing you to worry.

Hear this, “our Shepherd is near, and He will keep you safe.”

Robert Murray once said, “If I could hear Christ praying for me in the next room, I would not fear a million enemies.”

Take a deep breath Jesus is near.

The Lord is my shepherd. He make me lie down in green pastures.

The sheep must be free of fear but they must also be free from tension.

Again sheep are a lot like us. They too have a pecking order in a sense. In every herd there is a hierarchy. And apparently what happens is sheep are constantly jostling for position. Sheep want to be as high up on the chain as possible.

This causes anxiety. They worry that someone is going to take their spot. Or they are looking for opportunities to take the next spot and rise up in their little social order.

Ironically Keller explains that the sheep on the bottom of the totem pole are the most content and most happy. They don’t have to worry about someone taking their spot in the order because they are at the bottom. I think there is something that we could learn from that.

How often do we find ourselves fighting for power and authority. OR comparing ourselves to others. Trying to get ahead. It is that desire. That friction that keeps us from finding rest. That keeps us from lying down in the abundant life that is promised to us.

Listen to what Keller says about his sheep, “This continuous conflict and jealousy within the flock can be a most detrimental thing. The sheep become edgy and tense, discontented and restless. They lose weight and become irritable. But one point that always interested me very much was that whenever I came into view and my presence attracted their attention, the sheep quickly forgot their foolish rivalries and stopped their fighting. The shepherd’s presence made all the difference in their behavior.”

The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. Let him attract your attention. Forget the silly fighting and jealousy we often find ourselves in. Look to Jesus. Let him calm your tension and find rest in him.

The sheep must be free from aggravation. It is very common for sheep especially in the summer to deal with pests. Often bugs will get into their nose and lay eggs. As you can imagine this is torture for the sheep. It drives them mad. They can even kill themselves trying to beat the bugs out of their head. Obviously this make it impossible for the sheep to lie down.

It’s up to the shepherd to care for this problem. Often shepherds will have an oil that they pour on the sheep. We will look at this more next week. But this oil will keep the bugs away from the sheep and free them from the aggravation and allow them to lie down.

Do you ever find yourself annoyed or aggravated. I do. Sometimes it’s that little annoyance or aggravation that if not dealt with properly leads to real frustration and anger. We say things like ahh it’s driving me nuts. Or I’m going crazy.

When we feel this way it makes it impossible to find rest in Jesus. Sheep will try to rid themselves of the bugs by banging their heads on rocks. And I wonder if sometimes our solution to the problem is about as good as banging our head against a rock.

The Holy Spirit is often described as an oil. Which brings comfort and healing. It is the Holy Spirit that makes real in me the presence of Christ and what comes with that is peace and calmness.

Often when I’m angry with my wife over a little thing that she does. The answer isn’t confronting her and asking her to stop. That can turn a little thing into a big thing. A better way to handle it is simply going to Christ and admit, Lord, I’m annoyed, I can’t find rest, will you help me with this.”

And just as the shepherd pours oil over the sheep and it rids them of their bugs. Jesus pours the Holy Spirit over me and it rids of the thing that is bugging me. Not by removing the bug as is done with the sheep but rather by changing me.

The Lord is my shepherd. He frees me from aggravation.

The sheep must also be freed from hunger and this is solved by where the shepherd causes the sheep to lie down.

The verse says He makes me lie down and He does it in green pastures.

There is nothing better to the sheep than green pastures. A green pasture is heaven to the sheep. All the food It could need and a soft place to lie down. Lying down in a green pasture is the abundant life for the sheep.

And it is the exact kind of life that Jesus promises His followers.

John 10:8–10 (ESV)

8 All who came before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. 9 I am the door. If anyone enters by me, he will be saved and will go in and out and find pasture. 10 The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.

That doesn’t mean there won’t be trials along the way we will look at that next week. But for those who follow Jesus He promises that he will give them an abundant life. Notice the difference from that and that last verse.

The Lord not only meets our needs but once we’ve learned to trust Him fully He gives us everything we could ever want.

That may sound like the prosperity gospel. Trust in Jesus and he will give you the desires of your heart. But that could not be further from the truth.

In John 15 just a few verses after Jesus tells us if we abide in Him we will have His joy and our joy will be full. He tells us that when the world hates you know that they hated me first.

The abundant life comes along with hatred from the world.

Just a few verses after Jesus tells us that the gates of hell will not prevail over the church. That the church will have victory. He tells us that if anyone would come after me let him take up his cross

The victorious life. The abundant life comes along with persecution.

Right before Paul tells us that through Christ all things are possible. HE tells us that he has learned to be content with hunger and need.

The abundant life comes along with unmet physical needs.

But the Lord is my shepherd. I shall have lack of nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

The more the sheep trusts it’s shepherd the more it learns to want the things the shepherd wants. The more we learn to trust our Shepherd we learn to want the things our Shepherd wants.

Following Jesus doesn’t mean we will have all that we ever wanted. It means so much more.

The reason why the prosperity gospel is garbage is not because it promises to much but because it doesn’t promise enough. The prosperity gospel stops at material blessings and good health.

The gospel of Jesus Christ promises God. And God is infinitely better and more enjoyable than anything this world can offer.

He makes me lie down in green pastures. He gives me abundant life.

If we are going to find rest in the Lord and lie in all the goodness that He is which is described as green pastures. We must be free from fear, friction, pests, and hunger. What we find is only the Good Shepherd frees us from those things. Only once we find freedom from those things in the Lord will we be able to find rest.

The Lord is my shepherd. He makes me lie down in green pasture.

The quality of our life depends on our shepherd and our trust in our shepherd.

Trust in Jesus the Good Shepherd this morning. He’s come that you may have life and have it abundantly.

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.

The text says, He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul.

The Good Shepherd restores our soul

Sheep like humans are about 60-70 percent water. Water even more than food is crucial for animals and humans alike. There’s a reason when people fast they still drink water. People can only go about 3 days without water before they die. Water is crucial for us and for sheep all the same.

So it is of upmost importance that a shepherd will bring the sheep to water. But notice that word lead. Sheep must be lead to the water. I actually just heard last week from someone who cares for sheep that if they move the watering bowl even if it is not that far away they must lead the sheep to the new placement of the watering bowl or the sheep will die of thirst.

Remember being compared to sheep is not a compliment. Sheep are kind of dense animals. Animals who are almost hopeless on their own. And even if they do find water they are not wise enough to find water that is healthy.

They will drink waters from potholes or polluted ponds where they pick up all kinds of disease or parasites.

If a sheep is going to have a healthy life they need a shepherd who will lead them to water.

We spent a week in Utah last week and had a wonderful time there. But because of the heat and elevation and the physical activity we were doing, dehydration was a real risk. So the director of the camp had to continually remind us to drink more water.

Every time we got together he reminded us to drink water. If we had not gone the bathroom recently he make sure we were shamed because clearly that means we weren’t drinking enough water. He had to constantly remind us that sugary drinks were not a substitute. That we must drink water.

Can I be honest. It was kind of annoying. I’m a grown man. I don’t need to be reminded to drink water. But….. I’m a lot more like a sheep than I care to admit. I don’t go looking for water from potholes filled with parasites. That’s disgusting. I drink Diet Mt. Dew. Which is kind of the same thing….

I had to be lead to water. I had to be reminded to drink water. And guess what. The quality of life was improved because I trusted in my leader and because he lead me to water.

The verse says he leads me beside still water he restores my soul. That phrase restores my soul could easily be translated revives my life.

Which makes sense because we all know that restoring effect or the reviving effect water brings the body. An ice cold glass of water on a hot day revives the body. It restores the soul.

That’s what a good shepherd does for His sheep. He leads them to calm waters. HE restores their soul.

Like sheep we thirst for water. But we have more than a physical thirst. We have this eternal thirst for more.

But only Jesus understood properly though His Word will satisfy. You looked at Psalm 1 last week.

Psalm 1:2–3 (ESV)

Psalm 1:2–3 (ESV)

2 but his delight is in the law of the Lord,

and on his law he meditates day and night.

3 He is like a tree

planted by streams of water

that yields its fruit in its season,

and its leaf does not wither.

In all that he does, he prospers.

Jesus said to the woman at the well John 4:13–14 (ESV)

Jesus said to the woman at the well John 4:13–14 (ESV)

13 Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, 14 but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

John 7 says

37 On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. 38 Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.’

Are you thirsty for something more this morning? Know this, only Jesus can satisfy. Have you every gotten something. Maybe its something you have been saving for awhile and you finally purchase it. Or maybe it’s a job promotion. Or maybe it’s that relationship you’ve always wanted. Have you ever gotten it and for a moment you felt like you had everything you would ever need. Finally you were happy.

But before long you noticed something. Like you couldn’t quite place it. It was like you were thirsty again. Like you weren’t satisfied anymore. But how could that be. You finally had everything you could ever want. How could you possibly still want more.

Jesus told the woman at the well. Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again.

Have you ever been really thirsty and drank a huge glass of water. To the point where you were completely satisfied and for a moment you thought I’ll never be thirsty again.

But the thirst always comes back. It doesn’t matter how much you drink. It doesn’t matter what you do. The thirst will always come back.

Only Jesus satisfies. Only Jesus can say come drink from me and never be thirsty again. Only Jesus the Good shepherd will bring us to that kind of water.

How often do we look to others things though. How often do we look for that burst of satisfaction, that burst of pleasure, of happiness only to be left empty again. Not only do those things not satisfied they are very often filled with parasites that slowly kill you.

We need a Good Shepherd to lead us to everlasting water.

Diet Mt. Dew gives that burst of energy followed by a crash. A healthy habit of drinking water produces sustained energy. I know this to be true. But guess what I’m probably going to drink at some point this afternoon. A diet Mt. Dew. Why? Because simply knowing something in my head doesn’t produce results. I have to really believe it and until I really believe it my actions won’t change.

There are all kind of things you can do that may quench your thirst for a moment. But what you really need is to be lead to the water. You need a steady diet of God’s Word poured into your soul. You need to be lead by the shepherd to the shepherd who is the source of all life. But it is no easy thing for the shepherd to lead us to this kind of water that produces in us everlasting life.

Remember in Exodus when the people of Israel were wandering in the desert. Understandably they had grown thirsty and began to complain, something they liked to do often, and they cried out to Moses and asked him to give them something to drink.

So God commands Moses to go to the rock at Horeb and strike it and when He did water came running out and the people’s thirst were quenched.

Remember when our Savior hung on that tree. Where he bled and died for you and me. And the Roman Centurion was commanded to strike our Savior in the side. Do you remember what came out?

Blood and Water

It was the blood that purchased our redemption. It was the water that imparts us life.

Paul makes this connection in 1 Corinthians 10:1–4 (ESV)

10 For I do not want you to be unaware, brothers, that our fathers were all under the cloud, and all passed through the sea, 2 and all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 and all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank from the spiritual Rock that followed them, and the Rock was Christ.

Jesus promises us that if we believe in Him we will drink an everlasting water and we will never thirst again. But he couldn’t just magically give us that water. He had to sacrifice His life for ours.

Jesus says, 11 I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

It’s no small thing for the Shepherd to lead us to this soul reviving water. It took the greatest sacrifice this world has ever known. For the good sphered to lead us to water.

And only once we are willing to drink in this water. Only once we are willing to believe in and put our hope in this love will our souls be revived and we can have life.

Don’t you see. It is Jesus who is the calm water that He leads us to and it is He who will revive your soul and give you life.

Please stop drinking from dirty parasite filled water.

Stop drinking from the dirty pothole or as Matt Chandler would call it the well of ourselves. Remember those who went through recovering redemption. How there are 4 different wells we go to in order to satisfy our thirst. Those wells are filled with parasites and they will kill you.

Stop looking to yourself to be enough. You will never be able to quench your own thirst.

Stop drinking from polluted well of others. Stop making other people your gods. They will never be enough and it will only hurt you and them. You need something more. Something better. Something that will actually satisfy that longing and thirst.

Stop drinking from the well of this world. That sin. That wickedness will never be enough. Oh it comes with a fleeting pleasure. It quenches the thirst for a minute. But drinking from the world is like drinking saltwater. It only leaves you wanting more.

Would you come to Jesus this morning? Would you put your faith and trust in him? He is the Good Shepherd and will revive your soul. He will satisfy your thirst.

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

The Good Shepherd leads us in paths of righteousness

Sheep are known for being creatures of habit. If left alone they will follow the same path every day to the same pasture every day and graze on the same pasture every day until the pasture is completely barren and unable to provide for the sheep.

But that won’t stop the sheep. Even after the pasture is barren the sheep will continue to follow the same path every day until it leads to destruction.

Sound like anyone else you know? Day after day following the habits of our sin nature. Day after day taking the same paths to our sin. Day after day leading ourself to barren pastures. Pastures with no hope of meeting our needs and providing us life.

But we are creatures of habit aren’t we? Even after we have learned how destructive that path may be without even thinking we find ourselves heading back down there again.

Isaiah 53:6 says, “All we like sheep have gone astray everyone has turned to their own way.”

We’ve all turned away from God.

We need a shepherd. But not just any shepherd will do. We need the Good Shepherd who will leads us away from the path of sin and onto paths of righteousness.

If you are here this morning and you are one a well worn path of sin. Today is the day to repent and follow Jesus.

We won’t take the path of righteousness on our own. We must in humility submit to the leadership of our shepherd and let Him guide us.

Would you come to Jesus this morning? He is the Good Shepherd. He will lead you out of your sin and into paths of righteousness.

You don’t have to visit the same paths every day. There is hope. There is grace. His name is Jesus. Let Him lead you today.

You may be thinking but I’ve gone too far. I’ve walked away too much. He’s had to come find me too many times. Surely, He’s done with me. That is a understandable response. I’ve felt those things. I’ve said those things.

All that means is you don’t understand your shepherd.

Luke 15:1–7 (ESV)

The Parable of the Lost Sheep

15 Now the tax collectors and sinners were all drawing near to hear him. 2 And the Pharisees and the scribes grumbled, saying, “This man receives sinners and eats with them.”

3 So he told them this parable: 4 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6 And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’ 7 Just so, I tell you, there will be more joy in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who need no repentance.

The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. You may be caught in a thicket of temptation. You may be about at rock bottom. You may be hiding. Too ashamed to come out. Too afraid to ask for help.

Be the shepherd is coming. Jesus is coming and he’s looking for you.

But look at what the verse says, does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? 5 And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing

He will not give up. He will not stop coming for you. He will not stop searching for you. Until he finds you. And when He finds you He will reach down and pick you up and put you on his shoulders and lead you in paths of righteousness. And he will rejoice.

That’s our shepherd. The Lord is our shepherd.

He’s coming. He’s gonna leave you lost. He’s not going to leave you stuck. The shepherd is coming and he will find you.

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

But the text isn’t done. There is one more little phrase left and we cannot miss this phrase.

for his name’s sake.

Why does he provide all our needs? Why does he give us an abundant life? Why does he restore our soul? Why does he lead us in path of righteousness?

It could be easy to read these verses and think we are at the center of it all. We are the main character. But the verse explains why he does all of these things.

It’s for the sake of his name.

Psalm 31:3 says For your name’s sake you lead me and guide me.

Have you ever heard the difference between cats and dogs?

When dogs see you pet them, clean up after them, give them food and water they think your god.

When cats see this they think their god.

We must not do this. When we see all that God does for us it is easy to think that we are God. But were not. We are not the main character of our story. God is. Everything we do must be about God because everything God does is about God.

When we are so content in Jesus that all our needs are met. God is glorified.

When we are so overjoyed with Jesus that we have an abundant life. God is glorified.

When we are restored through the life giving water of Jesus. God is glorified.

When we are lead into paths of obedience for the sake of His name. God is glorified.

Everything is about God.

And God loves you.

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.

Whose you shepherd this morning?

Conclusion: