The Lord Is My Shepherd
Introduction:
A. How do you think of God?
1. Some people think of Him as a tyrant...
a. Because He punished people in Bible (flood, Sod./Gem.).
b. Because He says He will sentence ungodly to eternal punishment.
2. As a hyper-tolerant Father...
a. Who will punish no one.
b. Who says we must obey Him, but really doesn't mean it.
B. We need to have an accurate view of God.
1. So we can know what to expect of Him, and know what He expects of us.
2. So that we will not misunderstand, and lose our souls.
3. So that we can trust in Him, and be comforted in knowing how He loves us.
To understand God better, let's consider how David describes Him in the 23rd Psalm.
I. "The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want" (1).
A. The LORD (Jehovah).
1. The everlasting one.
Before the mountains were brought forth, or ever thou
hadst formed the earth and the world, even from everlasting
to everlasting, thou art God (Psalm 90:2).
2. The all powerful, and all knowing one.
In know that thou canst do everything, and that no thought
can be withheld from thee (Job 1:3).
3. The creator and sustainer of all things.
All things were made by him; and without him was not anything
made that was made (John 1:3).
B. Is my shepherd; I shall not want.
1. His being my shepherd means He is my owner.
a. We are bought with a price - I Corinthians 6:20.
b. We bear His name = christian.
c. We need to submit to His will - I John 5:3.
2. Since He is my shepherd, "I shall not want."
a. He has promise to provide - Mat.6:33.
b. We should never doubt it! - Titus 1:2
c. He can supply all our needs - Ephesians 3:20.
II. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures, He leadeth me
beside the still waters (2).
A. Sheep only lie down when they are content.
1. Here we have a scene of sheep who are content.
a. They have plenty of grass = green pastures.
b. They have plenty to drink = still waters.
c. They feel secure, for the shepherd is with them, therefore
they are able to lie down.
2. For sheep to prosper they have to be content.
a. They have to have food, and water to prosper.
b. They also need to lied down.
c. If they are nervous, and jumpy they will not prosper.
B. We, as His sheep need to be content, and lie down in green pastures.
1. He will do His part.
a. He knows what we need, and He will provide - Mt.6:31-33.
b. He provides us with every good & perfect gift (James 1:17).
c. He will provide for us throughout our lives - Psalm 37:25.
2. We need to do our part.
a. He has promised to provide, but He expects us
to work for a living - I Thessalonians 4:11.
b. We need to ask when we are in need - I John 5:14-15.
c. We need to trust in Him to do so.
III. He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake (3).
A. He restoreth my soul.
1. Sheep have a tendency to go astray (wander off).
a. They don't intend to. They are just busy with doing
what they do in life (eat).
b. But, when they wander off they are very vulnerable,
so the shepherd has to go looking for them, and bring
them back to the fold...where they are safe.
2. We, as God's sheep, also need to be restored at times.
a. We may not intended on wandering off, but we become
so absorbed in the things of life that we slowly wander
away from God's fold (the church).
1) We miss one Sunday, and then another, and before
we know it...we have not been there for a long time,
and once we have wandered off like that we can find
it hard to come back.
b. We may also be in danger of wandering off when:
1) The only time we pray is when we meet to worship.
2) We do not bother to study God's word on our own.
3) We never spend anytime with the brethren.
4) We are not involved in serving God in any way.
c. But, God will restore us.
1) Through His word - Psalm 119:105.
2) By the preaching of His word - II Timothy 4:2.
3) Through brethren - Galatians 6:1.
B. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His names sake.
1. Sheep are creatures of habit.
a. They will do down the same paths time after time.
b. They will also follow the other sheep wherever they go.
2. We can be like sheep.
a. There are paths in life (things we do) we go down all the time.
1) We do these things w/o thinking because we have always
done them.
2) We may do these things because everyone else does them.
b. But, we need to make sure that the paths that we choose, or
the things that we do are righteous.
3. If we will let Him, God will guide us in the paths of righteousness.
a. He's given us all things pertaining unto life & godliness - II Pt.1:3
b. II Timothy 3:16-17.
4. There is a path of righteousness God would have us to follow. He
would have us:
a. Dress modestly - I Timothy 2:9.
b. Speak carefully - Ephesians 4:29.
c. Think purely - Philippians 4:8.
d. Live godly - I Peter 1:16.
III. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will
fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me (4).
A. The valley of the shadow of death.
1. Shepherds lead their sheeps through valleys.
a. To reach their destinations.
b. These valleys have grass to eat, but are full of dangers.
c. But, the shepherd does not leave them until they arrive safely.
2. Our shepherd leads us through the valley of the shadow of death.
a. We go through the valley of life as we press toward our
destination = heaven.
b. But, there are many dangers we are going to face.
1) Predator (Satan) - I Peter 5:8.
2) Companions - I Corinthians 15:33.
3) Materialism - I John 2:15.
B. But, we need not fear, for He is with us.
1. We can know that He is with us.
a. He said He will be with us to the end of the world (Mt.28:20c).
b. He said He would never leave us or forsake us (Hebrews 13:5).
c. He knew what the 7-churches of Asia were doing (Rev.2&3).
d. He knew when Stephen was stoned (Acts 7).
e. He knows when a sparrow falls to the earth, and He knows
what we are going through (Matthew 10:31).
2. If He is with us we need not fear.
a. Romans 8:31.
b. Philippians 4:13.
Conclusion:
A. God is not a tyrant, nor is He hyper-tolerant (overlooking everything).
B. God loves us, and is like a shepherd:
1. Providing for us.
2. Protecting us.
3. Keeping us from going astray.
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