How Jesus Shepherds Us: Psalm 23

Well, it's the first Sunday of the month again, so we're back to a promise, a promise of God.

And this morning we're going to look at Psalm 23, a familiar psalm for many of us.

But it's this is a psalm that holds forth much promise to us.

And so we again encourage you this month to be take a shot at memorizing this.

Pray it in.

Seek to see how the Lord might, in knowing him better, allow us to live it out.

So we're going to begin with Psalm 23.

Here another reading of God's holy word.

The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want.

He makes me lie down in green postures.

He leads me beside still waters.

He restores my soul.

He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

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.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil.

My cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Amen.

Let us pray.

Oh gracious Father, we thank you for, Lord, uh being in our midst this morning.

Truly, uh, it has been good to be reminded of your tenderness and your care toward us as our good shepherd.

We pray and we ask now that as we we hear from you now in your word, Lord, give us to just taste something more of your goodness.

Lord, we we thank you that for the blessing that we do receive reward when we seek you.

So Lord, allow us to open our hearts to you now.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

So there's a story told of an actor, and this actor was really good at uh giving recitations, especially when it came to the classics.

And what was known, uh customary to him, is that after the end of the evening, when he had given these recitations, he would always finish with Psalm 23 and a recitation of that psalm.

And so he would begin, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

And he would get through the psalm, and and as he had just begun and just finished, he would be met with this great applause and celebration over his giftedness to be able to bring the psalm to life.

One night, though, just before the actor was about to give his customary recitation of the psalm, he was taken aback because this little boy came up to him, and the little boy said, Sir, I have a request for you.

May I give a recitation of the psalm?

And the man, uh thinking to himself, uh, what I do here, I thought, well, it'd be good to examine my talents against his, I guess.

And so he said, Sure, come on up.

And he invited the boy up on the stage.

The boy softly spoke and began to say the psalm of Psalm 23.

What was different, though, is when he had finished, it wasn't met with applause, it wasn't met with great standing ovation.

This particular instance, it was met with quiet, the sound of tears, weeping.

The man was quite puzzled by this, and he was amazed and alarmed, and he and he came up to the boy and he said, Young man, with all my learning and training, I've never been able to get that kind of, evoke that kind of response from the audience.

Tell me, what is your secret?

And the young boy replied humbly, he said, Sir, you know the psalm, but I know the shepherd.

You know the psalm, but I know the shepherd.

And I share that story because my prayer is that we would all, like this young boy, be able to say, I know the shepherd.

And that's why the psalm is the new focus of the promise this month.

For many of us, I know it's a familiar psalm.

Uh, it's a psalm that's perhaps traveled with us, as it were.

Uh, the psalm has led me to consider many times how Jesus shepherds me.

I've looked to these words many a time to show me how Jesus shepherds me in the midst of my need for comfort, times when I've experienced seasons of great loneliness, times when I've experienced near-death experiences, when fears have filled my heart, and when I've needed assurance of his help and nearness.

Uh Charles Spurgeon said, for all these reasons, this is the pearl of the psalms.

And it's in the season in my life once again that I'm back at this psalm.

I've been praying in the psalm each morning this year since January, intend to do so for the rest of the year.

And I've been asking when I wake up as I recite the psalm for the Spirit to give me the ability to know my good shepherd just a little bit more than I've previously experienced.

And so we pray in the psalm this morning, and I invite you to do this this month.

I trust that the Spirit would do that.

He would give you greater, a clearer and brighter view of your shepherd and his cure and all your experience to date.

And so there are three P's that I want us, and I've said I've come up with three P's so it's easy to remember, of how Jesus shepherds us.

The first by his provision, the second by his protection, and then the third by his plenitude.

And I know we don't use that term very often.

I'll explain that when we get there, what I mean by that.

But we note in these six verses in this text that David gives us a full picture of the shepherd's daily round.

Being a shepherd himself, he knew this round well.

Walking, resting, facing danger, celebrating and returning home.

The burning question, I think, for David on his mind was no doubt, I do this for my sheep, but who does this for me?

And the answer we see is the Lord.

And so we this morning we ask, well, how does he how does he do it?

How does he do it?

It's a provision.

The psalmist begins, verse 1, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

It's very personal, isn't it?

My shepherd.

But what sets this shepherd apart from every other shepherd is that he is all sufficient.

Our Lord is unlike any shepherd in that when something is asked of him, he isn't depleted in any way.

He is still full and complete.

When he's called upon to help us, Jesus doesn't grow weary.

He doesn't need to take a break.

He is never tapped out emotionally or physically.

He is always fully whole and able to help us.

He is always loving.

He knows us deeply and he doesn't stop tending to us, even though we at times are guilty of not tending to him and responding to him.

And so we see these verbs here.

He makes, he leads, he restores, he leads.

You can't help, I think, in reading these verses, be reminded that he's the one who tends to us.

That might be a new thought to some of us.

Perhaps you're more used to thinking of how you relate to him, but no, you can't come away without seeing how he relates to us in these verses.

To see that we are the object of his focus.

He's not like a hired hand who's in it for the money, he's in it to be in relationship with us.

And so the psalmist says he restores my soul, a deeper kind of rest than any circumstance can give us.

How does he do this?

Well, we're told he makes me to lie down in green pastures.

Now that stands out to me right away because uh I've seen this firsthand as someone who's been on a sheep farm and raised on a sheep farm myself.

That is very difficult to make sheep lie down.

Uh it's hard.

You can't make sheep lie down.

I mean, you can try your best, but good luck.

Sheep will only lie down when they feel safe.

Sheep will only lie down when they're provided for and well-nourished.

Sheep will only lie down if they're cared for.

They're not going to lie down around a dog.

They're going to lie down when all these other things are taken care of.

And so we might ask, well, how then does Jesus make us to lie down as his sheep?

I wonder if you've ever thought about that.

Does he demand or does he force us to lie down with a heavy hand?

No.

It's accomplished through being well-nourished, feeling of safety, of having what our souls need.

It's tasting the pleasure that in this life doesn't grow, he won't allow it to grow dim through all the changes of our life.

And so there's a difference between a ministry of feeding and a ministry of instructing.

And that might seem like splitting here, but I think it's an important distinction.

What's the difference?

A ministry of instruction is primarily directed toward the mind and the will, the volition.

It can lead to instant movement and activity, and that can be appealing to many churches and pastors.

Why?

Well, because it's a sense that we're accomplishing something, right?

Tangible results, activity, all of that.

But in the end, it doesn't make our souls rest or lie down.

In a ministry like this, you have the feeling that you're always being told to do more with the information that you've been given.

I think we know what that's like, even if we can't put words to it.

And there's a sense in which, even though the Bible is being preached, the emphasis is on the external or a form of pressure applied to the will.

From the mind to the will.

Understand this.

Now do that.

Now instruction has a place.

Don't hear me say that.

Instruction is important.

It does have a place.

And activity and service is obviously important.

Jesus says our faith needs to be expressed in good works.

And so don't hear me saying that as well, but we're talking about the primary way, the primary diet of a ministry.

A ministry of feeding differs from instruction in that the truth and grace of Christ are brought into the heart.

It looks to bring people to Christ for change.

We're made to lie down in green pastures in that kind of a ministry.

It isn't someone coercing us to lie down.

The making us to lie down is voluntary because we've come to experience soul rest in a way that gives then energy to our serving.

And so I want to be clear on this.

I think it's important.

It's important to us as parents.

What is the primary way that we are feeding our kids or relating to our kids, perhaps, if you're a parent?

Is it by instruction or is it through feeding?

Because there is a time when instruction meets its limit.

You're asked to do something and you yourself want that change.

And yet you know deep down in your heart that you cannot do it.

If it were that simple, you would have done it yesterday.

Because you know that the change you seek is something that is not owing to a lack of having heard it.

Maybe you've heard it many times.

Maybe you've told it to yourself many times.

And if pressure keeps being applied to your will, you begin to grow disillusioned about hope for real change.

Because here's the thing about heart hunger.

If you're truly hungry for something, you quickly find out what can and can't help you.

And we become anxious looking for solutions.

Anxiety being the experience that you're all alone in something that's just too big for you.

You feel anxious because you can't control your circumstances and they overwhelm you.

And so instruction alone can't give you what you need.

The sense is that I have troubles and I'm all alone in something that's just too big for me.

And maybe pause there and ask you, how about you?

What have you been pursuing lately?

Is there something that feels too big to you right now that you feel all alone in?

Have you been hungry to see change in an area of your life that feels insurmountable to get over?

As your shepherd, Jesus will feed your soul with what it needs to be able to change you, to restore your soul, and to make you lie down.

May the Spirit convince you that's you this morning, that you're not alone, that Jesus is all you need, and that life is in the asking and believing.

He will feed you and make you lie down.

But Jesus also leads us beside still waters.

How does that happen?

Well, as sheep, we can often have a hard time not only lying down, we can have a hard time following.

We want to walk down paths of our own oftentimes, don't we?

We heard that just a moment ago.

But Jesus, as our good shepherd, he leads us beside still waters.

And there's something attractive about still waters, isn't there?

And our farm, sheep farm in New Zealand, we used to have a river that was, uh would run through our farm, and there was a beautiful spot on the river that was very calm.

And it was surrounded by a small embankment with green grass and a few willows, willow trees.

And it was my favorite spot to go down when I went down to the river.

There was something attractive about that and appealing, tranquil about that.

And this is the image that we're given here in the Psalm that Jesus leads us to such places.

Meaning there's a way of living that is good and right, and when follow truly satisfies us.

Why does it satisfy us?

Well, because it's in keeping with how He designed us.

It's the peaceful path.

It's the path that meets with the least resistance and how we were designed and made to live.

And so the paths that Jesus takes us down as our good shepherd are paths of righteousness, their paths of goodness, their paths of peace.

And that's all part of his provision.

And so that's his provision, but also, secondly, his protection.

Jesus protects and comforts us.

We see in verse 4, the psalmist reminds us or speaks of walking through valleys, walking through difficulty, even deathly difficulty.

David faced some, as you know, very hard situations and circumstances during his days as king.

Goliath, you remember, wanted his life.

Saul wanted his life.

His son Absalom wanted his life.

Others wanted his life.

And we may ask, well, what was the difference?

And his response to this is what made the difference is the presence of my good shepherd.

With rod and staff.

They were a comfort to me even in the midst of fears.

Sovereign over all circumstance, able to help.

Notice the shift from the third person to the second person here.

From he to you.

What accounts for that kind of shift?

There's something about trial that seeks closeness and the desire to be more fully known in it.

And that can happen on a battlefield, that can happen in a hospital room, that can happen on a playground.

Fears are stirred up when we walk through the constraints of a valley.

Because here's the thing, when isolated on your bed, when the curtains are closed, when the hospital door is shut, while friends are engaged in life's activities, and fears lie close at hand, Jesus promises to be present with you.

To see you through.

More frequent contact, evidence of Him seeing you in your situation, your difficulty, and your troubles, and your fears, knowing you, providing for you.

Our good shepherd remains with us even when the companionship of others ends.

And it's true even in the greatest shadow, the shadow of death.

I think of Jesus' words when death and danger loomed with Peter.

Peter was in real danger at the end of Christ's life.

His faith was about to be shaken, and Jesus said to him, Simon, Simon, Satan has demanded to have you, Peter, and to sift you like wheat.

But I have prayed for you that your faith may not fail.

And when you turn, when you repent, comfort your brothers.

Peter, I'll see you through.

I'll see you through this, Peter.

I'll see you through this danger.

You're caught up in a thing that's that's that's over your head, something too big for you, and I'll protect you and see you through.

I think we can all draw from this.

Do you believe that for your own soul?

Do you believe that he is working and able to keep you from falling?

That he's that committed to you and your faith.

Believing that will chase away fear.

No valley can rob us when he is determined to save us.

Apostle Paul, not death, no life, angels, rulers, things present, things to come, no powers, no height, no depth, nothing.

And all creation can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

That's a great comfort to me.

I trust it's a great comfort to you.

There's a story of a boy in Scotland whose parents died when he was very young, and having no one to care for him, he wanted to live with his grandfather, who was a shepherd also.

And his grandfather lived near the highlands in Scotland.

Rugged hills, high, rugged rocks, and high hills.

And when the when his grandfather asked the boy to watch over his little flock of sheep, the boy would gaze at the rugged hills with admiration.

This helped him to forget the sorrow that he felt when his parents died.

His grandfather was a fine Christian man who told him many of the stories in the Bible, especially stories about shepherds.

Both how Moses and David had been shepherds.

The young boy would sit in front of the fire at night and listen with great interest to these stories.

The grandfather was careful to tell him about the best of all shepherds, the Lord Jesus, who called the Good Shepherd in the Bible.

He told him how the good shepherd loved his sheep so much that he even died to save them.

The Good Shepherd would never let anything harm them or take his sheep away from him.

This boy had never learned to read, and so the grandfather taught him in a simple way to remember five lovely words about the Good Shepherd.

From Psalm 23, 1.

The Lord is my shepherd.

He took the boy's left hand and he said each word he would point to a finger.

As soon the boy could say the words to himself, holding each finger as he did, The Lord is my shepherd.

His grandfather noticed that the boy seemed to take special pleasure in the fourth word, my.

And he held his fourth finger tightly.

As the boy grew a little older, he was able to take the sheep by himself to the highlands to find pasture.

Late one afternoon the old man became very worried.

The weather was very cold and it had been snowing for some time.

And now the sky was becoming darker and darker.

Then he saw a snowstorm was already turning into a blizzard.

Quickly he put on his coat and his hat, and he raced out of the house and started toward the highlands.

However, the fierce winds and the blinding snow made it impossible.

He would soon lose all sense of direction, and also his old and weary body was unable to go further.

With a heavy heart, the old man returned to his little cottage and slumped down on the chair in front of the fire.

Nothing could be done until the blizzard stopped.

He prayed to God to watch over the young lad to care for him.

He thought of the things he had tried to teach him and hoped that he would not forget them.

The old man spent a long and restless night sitting in his chair.

Next morning the snow had stopped and the sun began to shine, so the old man wasted no time.

He knew the paths through the highlands and he thought that he knew where the lad might be sheltering.

He forced his weary legs to go as fast as he could through the thick snow.

At last he came to where he had often told the young lad to shelter if he ever needed to.

He called as loudly as he could, but there was no reply.

Suddenly in the distance he saw a mound in the snow.

His heart sank as he raced toward it.

Desperately he pushed away the snow, and there he saw the little shepherd lad frozen to death.

The old man wept sadly as he looked at the little boy.

Finally, the old man continued to brush the snow away from the frozen body.

Then he noticed that the little hand, lad's hands, were clasped in a strange way.

His right hand was firmly gripping the fourth finger of the left hand.

The old man remembered that he had been taught the lad to say, The Lord is my shepherd, holding a finger for each word.

There was no doubt that the finger the lad was holding stood for the word my.

If you were placed in a situation of death today or tomorrow, danger, how would you know?

The Lord, and would you be able to say, as this young lad could, the Lord is my shepherd?

I will not fear, for you are with me.

Wrap your heart around that truth.

Squeeze that tightly.

Take that under your week.

Jesus never abandons anyone on who he has set his love.

As your good shepherd, he never loses one of his sheep.

He is present to protect and comfort.

Finally, Jesus shepherds us with plenitude.

What does that mean?

Completeness, abundance, wholeness, fullness.

An overflowing cup is how the psalmist describes it.

Does that language of these verses here?

I wonder if that exceeds your expectations.

You prepare a table in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil, my cup overflows.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

Does that exceed your ex your expectations of Jesus?

Not merely a full cup, but filled to overflowing cup.

Abundance.

Sometimes, you know, I think I know what I need, but Jesus, as my shepherd, he knows better, and he surprises me with his abundance.

We may think we need a new purchase, but Jesus knows better, and instead he might pour out grace to sweeten the marriage.

We think we need more gifting, and he gives us a greater capacity to love.

We think we need to chase happiness, and he gives us joy in our serving.

Where we might be content with less.

And so these words here can be stated as only steadfast love may follow me all the days of my life.

It gives us an assurance of His of goodness.

So present and active is Jesus as our shepherd that both goodness and mercy are always in tow.

That's what the psalmist could say here.

They're always in tow.

They're going to follow me.

They're chasing me, as it were.

With Jesus tending to us, what that means is the days ahead will all be good days.

Is that part of your outlook?

You see, there's something about seeing God's faithfulness in particularly hard times that gives us assurance that He will be there, He will be sure to help us triumph over the things that are yet to come.

We can say with a greater confidence, surely, surely, only goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

With Jesus tending to us like he's done in the past, with Jesus tending to me as he's done so faithfully the present, I can say with confidence that all I need in the future will be taken care of.

Every opposition or conflict, mercy and goodness will be right there.

They are on hand there to be received and held on to.

Because the truth is, today we live Exodus-shaped lives, don't we?

We live on a journey to the promised land.

And the glory that awaits us, and Jesus, your shepherd, will see you through.

Does that bring you comfort to know that?

He will see you through.

It's unto him who is able to keep you from falling and present you faultless before the presence of his glory with unceasing joy.

It's unto him.

So this is a promise to pray in.

It's a promise to live out of.

To know the provision, to know the protection, and to know the plenitude of our good shepherd, the shepherd of Psalm 23.

Amen.

Let's pray.

Oh gracious Father, we praise you and thank you for the way that you so lovingly and graciously tend to us.

Feeding, caring, tending.

Our Lord, we do confess that so often we are prone to walk our own paths, and yet, Lord, we have known you to be so gracious to us and pulling us closer, showing us a better way, causing us to repentance and to find new life, to come back to you as our source of hope, the one in whom all we need.

And so, Lord, may we be able to say, Lord, increasingly, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

I have everything that I need.

Lord, we ask and we pray this now in Jesus' name.

Amen.