Sermon Tone Analysis
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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.
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