Psalm 23:1 - The Lord Is Our Shepherd - Pastor Kyle Kearbey

I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green

pastures. He leads me beside still quiet waters.

He restores my soul. He guides me in the paths

of righteousness for his namesake. Even though

I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I 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 have anointed my head with oil. My cup overflows.

Surely, goodness and loving kindness will follow

me all the days of my life. I will dwell in the

house of the Lord forever. Let's go to the Lord

in prayer. Father, we come to you this Lord's

Day, and as we approach your... Holy Word. Father,

we ask today that your Spirit would bless the

ministry of your Word. Father, the Spirit of

God would accompany the ministry of the Word

of God to work in the people of God. Lord, that

you would use it to sanctify, edify, and build

up. But Father, we also ask that you would use

it to draw men unto yourself. to convert lost

sinners who don't know the Lord Jesus Christ

by faith and repentance. Father, we ask that

you would be with us at this time because we

recognize that if you are not in our midst, that

if the Spirit of God does not accompany the ministry

of your Word, then Lord, everything we say and

everything we do is in vain. But Lord, if you

bless it, if your Spirit uses it, Then, Father,

we will be encouraged and strengthened and edified

and built up. We will grow. We will be nourished.

Father, we ask these things in the name of the

Lord Jesus Christ. Amen. There are some individuals

who I think most people would recognize are more

inclined to fall to extremes, either to the left

or to the right. in whatever it might be in life.

It could be hobbies, it could be family issues,

it could be any number of things. But I think

that there's a tendency in every person, to a

degree, to fall to the right or fall to the left

and to be unbalanced, in a sense, in their life

with regards to any number of things. We could

think about Christianity in general. We could

think about the Christian life or church life

in general. Some might be more inclined to what

we would call personal Christianity. A personal

relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Others...

might be more inclined to corporate Christianity,

such as corporate gatherings and church life

and corporate activities. Now, there's extremes

on both sides. The Bible teaches us, and what

we need, and what I hope we learn from this text

today, Is that we need a balance between these

two. And that they're not in opposition to one

another. But they're actually meant to complement.

And they're designed to aid one another. We need

to be believers who have a vital personal communion

and fellowship with the Lord Jesus Christ. Personal

Christianity. But we also must be believers who

are involved in the corporate life of the church.

So we give ourselves to corporate Christianity.

When those two come together, Christians will

be what they ought to be. They will grow. They

will be sanctified. They will be mortifying sin.

They will be growing in grace. This is the design

that God has given to us as believers. If you

just take one, then you're going to be an unhealthy

Christian. If you just take the other, you're

going to be an imbalanced Christian. We need

to bring both together. We're going to consider

two things today that will contribute to our

understanding. The first is the one or the Lord

who relates to David as a shepherd. We read in

Psalm 23 .1, The Lord is my shepherd, I shall

not want. Then we read at the end of verse 6,

And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So the one that relates to David as a shepherd,

the Lord. And then the second thing we're going

to consider is the personal sense in which the

Lord relates to David and the personal sense

in which David relates to the Lord. Because we

read in this text, the Lord is my shepherd. The

text does not say the Lord is a shepherd, or

the shepherd, or your shepherd, but the Lord

is my shepherd. So there's a personal aspect

that's vital for our understanding of true Christianity.

So first, the Lord who relates to David as a

shepherd. Notice that David addresses, The Lord,

capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D. Not

capital L and lowercase o -r -d, but all capitals.

He's addressing the Lord God. The personal name

of God. One of the things that... we see throughout

the scriptures, old and new, is that the authors

were very specific and very cautious in how they

addressed God. And how they related to the living

God. And how they handled His name. And how they

handled... his works, or how they handled his

word. Why are the authors like this? Why are

they so specific? Why does he say L -O -R -D

capital and not minuscule? Because the Lord has

revealed himself uniquely and distinctly and

specifically in this way. And they're cautious

to address him in this way. This name or title

for God carries with it the idea that he is the

sovereign, self -existent, all -sufficient God

that always has been and always will be. If you

would, turn with me to Exodus chapter 3. In Exodus

Exodus 3 · chapter mention Exodus 3 · chapter mention

chapter 3, we're shown the significance of the

name. The significance of the name and the way

that David is addressing the Lord. In Exodus

3, we'll go ahead and read a few different portions

of this text. In verse 10 we read, Therefore

come now, I will send you to Pharaoh, so that

you may bring my people, the sons of Israel,

out of Egypt. But Moses said to God, Who am I

that I should go to Pharaoh and that I should

bring the sons of Israel out of Egypt? And he

said, Certainly I will be with you. And this

shall be the sign when you have brought the people

out of Egypt. You shall worship God at this mountain.

Then Moses said to God, Behold, I am going to

the sons of Israel, and I will say to them, The

God of your fathers has sent me to you. Now they

may say to me, What is his name? What shall I

say to them? God said to Moses, I am who I am.

And he said, Thus you shall say to the sons of

Israel, I am, has sent me to you. God furthermore

said to Moses, Thus you shall say to the sons

of Israel, The Lord, the God of your fathers,

the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the

God of Jacob has sent me to you. This is my name

forever. And this is my memorial name to all

generations. Go and gather the elders of Israel

together and say to them, The Lord, the God of

your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac, and

Jacob, has appeared to me, saying, I am indeed

concerned about you and what has been done to

you in Egypt. Now, in this text, there's a few

significant things that are taking place. We

have the Lord specifically identifying himself

as I am. This means that he always has been and

he always was and he always will be. That he's

infinite, that he's eternal, that he's not dependent

or he's not contingent on anything outside of

himself. That everything else depends upon him.

He is the eternally existent God. the one being

that always has been and always will be, but

it also emphasizes his sovereignty, his power,

and his might. But in the same breath, we find

that this sovereign God is the one who is redeeming

Israel and bringing them out of Egypt. So the

God who is eternally self -existent and the all

-sufficient Lord is a redeeming God. Is a God

who buys back His people out of the bondage of

slavery and brings them out to worship Him. He's

a redeeming, covenant -keeping God. And He even

relates back to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob. He's

the God that keeps His promises. So when we see,

capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D, we

should think big, sovereign, self -existent,

all -sufficient God. But we should also think

redeeming, gracious, saving, promise -keeping,

covenant -keeping God. Now, as we consider the

fact that David is addressing the Lord as his

shepherd. We can come to certain conclusions

about how David is thinking about his shepherd.

If he's addressing the Lord as his shepherd,

brothers and sisters, what is the character and

the nature of the one who treats him as a sheep

in his flock? This means that David's shepherd

is the divine shepherd. The sovereign shepherd.

The all -knowing shepherd. The all -powerful

shepherd, brothers and sisters. The omnipresent

shepherd. The infinite and eternal shepherd.

This is who David is addressing as his shepherd

in this text. The God who is eternally self -existent.

And all sufficient. But also the God who redeems.

The God who saves. The God who brings his people

out of Egypt. And keeps his word. What are the

implications on that? For how the Lord is a shepherd.

And how the Lord shepherds his people. We could

think about this by. considering an example of

a human shepherd and the limitations and the

inadequacies of a human shepherd. We think about

David himself, a great man, a godly man that

the Lord used, a man after God's own heart. But

David was just a man, wasn't he, brothers and

sisters? He could only be in one place at one

time. When he was out shepherding his sheep,

when he was out protecting his sheep, he only

had so much strength. He only had so much time

and energy. He could only see so far. He only

knew so much about his flock. He only knew so

many things about the individual sheep. He may

or may not know the need of... the individual,

particular, unique sheep, because he may not

have seen it. He may not have recognized it.

But what about the divine shepherd? What about

the sovereign shepherd? What are the implications

on the fact that it is the Lord who is the shepherd

of his people? Does he have those limitations,

brothers and sisters? Does he need to sleep and

slumber? Does he need to rest and go down to

bed at night? Does he need to lay down and rest

in the midst of the sheep? Our shepherd does

not sleep. Our shepherd does not sleep. Is he

limited with regards to what he knows and what

he doesn't know with regards to the life of his

people? Are there certain things that... escape

his view in their life. No. He's the all -knowing

shepherd. He can lead his people into the right

pastures, brothers and sisters. Why? Because

he knows the right pastures perfectly. He can

provide for his people. Why? Because he's the

sovereign shepherd who is all -powerful and has

all might. There are many implications on this

reality. But it kind of leads us to a question.

If David is addressing the Lord as his shepherd,

and he says that the Lord relates to him as his

shepherd, it brings us to a question, and some

might be tempted to think this in their life,

and I'm sure that many of us have asked this

in our lives. all -knowing, sovereign, self -existent,

all -sufficient God who redeemed the nation of

Israel out of Egypt, can He really and does He

really relate to me individually? Does He really

know my situation? Does He know my struggles

and my difficulties and my hardship? Can I really

relate personally to such a mighty God? Or is

He too big? Is He too expansive? Does He really

care about my situation? Does He really care

about my life? Does He really care about the

difficulties, the struggles, the trials, the

hardships? That I am personally going through

in life. My family. As an individual sheep. Maybe.

He just relates generally and broadly. To all

the people of God. Corporately in a sense. Broadly.

To the church in the world. But not individually.

After all. The Bible. does clearly teach this,

that God relates as a shepherd to the whole flock

of God. That's a biblical truth. We need to understand

that and grasp that. We could look at a couple

different verses. We can look at Psalm 78. Psalm

Psalms 78:52

78, verse 52. And we read these words. But he

led forth his own people like sheep and guided

them in the wilderness like a flock. He's talking

about the whole nation. All the people of God.

His own people. He's talking about the flock

in general. We could look at Psalm chapter 80.

Psalms 80 · chapter mention

Verse 1. O give ear, shepherd of Israel. You

who lead Joseph like a flock, you who are enthroned

above the cherubim, shine forth. He's the shepherd

of Israel, the nation, the whole people. These

verses teach us that he clearly and obviously

relates to the people of God as a national group

in the Old Testament in particular. In the New

Testament, the church is called a spiritual group.

So maybe God still only relates to his people

in this broad, general, group, national sense.

There's other texts like Jeremiah 31 .10 or Ezekiel

34 which clearly indicate that God relates to

his people in this non -personal sense. But that

brings us back to our original question. Does

the Lord relate to me? In my life? In my situation?

Does he relate to each individual saint that

he has saved through the blood of the Lord Jesus

Christ? This leads us to the second thing we

have to consider this morning. The personal sense.

In which the Lord relates to David as a shepherd.

Now in this psalm. Consider several things. We

read the Lord is my shepherd. David says that

God relates personally to him. And that David

relates personally to the Lord. But let's read

through the rest of the psalm. And think about

the personal. pronouns in the psalm. I shall

not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures.

He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores

my soul. He guides me in the paths of righteousness

for his name's sake. Even though I walk through

the valley of the shadow of death, I 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 have anointed

my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness

and loving kindness will follow me all the days

of my life. And I will dwell in the house of

the Lord forever. Psalm 23 is very, very clear,

brothers and sisters. That David can relate to

the living God in a personal sense, and that

the living God does relate to this one man in

a personal, individual sense. It's not merely

a corporate identity or corporate relationship,

but it is an individual dealing that the sovereign

God has with David himself. God still has personal

dealings with his people. It's so clear in this

psalm. There's two aspects involved in this personal

sense in which the Lord relates to David as a

shepherd. The first is this. The Lord relates

to David. As a shepherd individually. Meaning,

he's not relating to all the people of God. He's

relating to David as an individual. We think

about this. This must mean that God is relating,

he's providing, he's guiding, he's directing

David as a person. As a man. As an individual

who believes in the promises of God. He knows

his heart. He knows David's mind. He knows David's

thoughts. He knows all about David's inner life.

But it's not just David. It's David's life. That's

everything that we see in this text. That God

knows his struggles. His difficulties. His valleys

and his green pastures. He knows his needs as

a person. As a man. He knows his struggles. He

knows his hardships. We could look at Psalm 139.

If you have time, I would encourage anyone just

to... meditate and dwell on Psalm 139 for a good

portion of time to find hope, encouragement,

conviction, and challenge in their own Christian

life. Listen to these words in Psalm 139. Oh

Lord, you have searched me and known me. Immediately.

There is absolutely nothing impersonal about

that statement. God has searched the depths of

David's heart. He has searched his motives, his

intents, his desires, his longings, and God has

in fact known David in the deepest parts of his

being. You know when I sit down and when I rise

up. You understand my thought from afar. You

scrutinize my path and my lying down and are

intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even

before there is a word on my tongue, behold,

O Lord, you know it all. The Lord knows. You

have enclosed me behind and before. and your

hand is upon me. The Lord knows the individual

hearts and minds and situations of each individual

sheep in the flock of God. That means that he

intimately understands every situation that his

people go through. It's as though He only knows

yours. It's that personal. It's that individual.

It's as though He only knows your life, your

heart, your situation, and nobody else's. But

because He is the Divine Shepherd, He does in

fact know all His people's persons and their

lives, their hearts and their minds. and their

paths and their ways and their lives. This is

the hope of Psalm 23, is it not, brothers and

sisters? This is where we find comfort and strength

and boldness in our lives from this psalm. The

fact that God doesn't just know everybody's heart

and mind and life and situation. He doesn't just

lead all men. He doesn't just lead Bob down the

road. He doesn't just lead the person sitting

next to me. But if a person has faith in Christ,

you can find hope and comfort in the fact that

the living God knows your situation. Your heart

and the things that you wrestle with. But that

also means, brothers and sisters, that He knows

your sin. That He knows Your temptations, your

inclinations, your desires, your longings, nothing

is hid from this great God. Nothing is kept back.

Nobody can stay His hand or cover His face. He

knows it all, brothers and sisters, yet. He is

your shepherd. So there's this personal sense

in which the Lord relates. To David. And this

is the basis for all our hope. And our confidence

and comfort in this psalm. But there's another

sense. And it's this. That David relates personally

to the Lord. As his shepherd. Now consider a

few observations from this text. In this text.

David is speaking. Of his own situation. His

own life. From his own lens. And he's conscious

of his own need for the Lord in his presence.

But also I think it's important for us to grasp

this. It's as though it's just the Lord and David.

There's no other actors in this song. It's just

God and David. So when David says, I will walk

through the valley of the shadow of death, he's

speaking of himself. It's not somebody else that

he's referencing. It's a personal act on his

part. He's using his mind to think about the

Lord and his provision, his guidance and his

direction. He's using his will that he will determine

that he will walk in these periods in his life.

He will be led. He is the one that is assured

and confident of the Lord's blessings and the

Lord's favor upon him in life and death by the

quiet waters and in the dark valleys. It's personal

on the part of David. Seeing this and understanding

this, we must conclude that David relates personally

to the Lord in faith or by faith. The way that

David relates to a personal God is through personal

faith in that God. Throughout his life. And in

the various situations in his life. David. In

David we see. A whole souled devotion. Submission.

Reception. And exception. Acceptance. Of the

Lord's plans. The Lord's purposes. And the Lord's

provision in his life. This is David. receiving,

submitting, and giving himself to the Lord who

is the shepherd of his life. It's faith, brothers

and sisters. But we also see that in David, there

is a personal, justifying, saving, active faith

that is determined to walk with God in all of

life. single situation. And then, we also find

in this psalm that it's not just that it's an

active faith in the Lord as His shepherd, but

He has the assurance of faith in His life as

well. We read this in verse 6. Surely, goodness

and loving kindness Will follow me all the days

of my life. We also read in verse 5. Or verse

4. Your rod and your staff. They comfort me.

David has an assurance in his heart. In his mind

he's been persuaded. And convinced. Of the goodness

of God. And the Lord's faithfulness toward him.

And he knows it. There's no doubt whatsoever

in his heart. He is assured that God has been

good to him and that the Lord will continue to

be good to him all the days of his life. So when

we think about this personal sense, I want us

to understand that God relates individually to

his people. but also that each individual who

knows the Lord Jesus Christ by faith and repentance

will personally exercise faith toward God or

the Lord as their shepherd. There's this mutual

relationship that's present in the two. So if

you are here today and you are in Christ, You

have turned from your sins and you have trusted

in Jesus Christ as the good shepherd who laid

down his life and took it back up again of his

own authority. If you are here today and you

believe that, be comforted. Be strengthened.

Because the Lord knows your heart, your mind,

your life, your situation, your struggles, your

hardships, your trials, and everything about

you, brothers and sisters. And the promises in

Psalm 23 are personally for you as a believer

in Jesus Christ. Every single one. This means

that you can take it and we can say you will

not want. You will not need. We can apply Psalm

23 in such a way that it says He will make you

lie down in green pastures. He will lead you.

beside quiet waters and so on. You can have comfort

in your situations because of his rod and his

staff, because these are personal promises to

individuals, not just the church corporately

or as a whole. He knows your habits, your struggles.

He knows your sinful patterns in life. He knows

the temptations in your life which tend to grasp

your heart a little bit more. He knows your proclivities

in life. He knows your family situation. He knows

them all, but he's committed, because of the

work of the Lord Jesus Christ, to shepherding

you through them. He will not desert you. And

He will not forsake you because of the work of

the Lord Jesus Christ for God's people. But we

also learn and we understand it's not just that

God relates to the believer. We've seen clearly

in this text that true Christianity will always

be personal. Christianity. Every single time.

You cannot be a born again believer if you have

not personally been changed and transformed by

the Spirit of God. You cannot be a believer if

you have not personally received a new nature.

If you have not been called by the Good Shepherd.

If you have not heard His voice. then you cannot

be a child of God. True Christianity is never

less than personal. It will always be something

that is enjoyed and experienced in the soul of

a man or a woman, personally, brothers and sisters.

Now, when we consider that, why must it be personal?

Because in a sense, when a person comes to faith,

their Christianity becomes a part of them. It's

not like it's something they take or leave. They

want it, they don't have it. Their Christianity,

the work of the gospel, becomes a part of them

that they can't shake. That they can't get rid

of. Because God does a work in your life. He

gives you faith and repentance. The Spirit of

God dwells within you. So it will always be personal,

brothers and sisters. But because of this, that

will also mean, That personal fellowship and

communion with the living God is an active part

of the Christian life. That means praying to

the Lord yourself. Reading the Word of God for

yourself. Studying the Scriptures. Meditating

on the Scriptures for yourself. Of your own volition

and your own will. It's not something that others

can do for... It must be something that you enjoy

and you take part of in your own heart, your

own mind, and your own soul. To be a Christian

is to walk with the living God. As though there's

no other person on the planet. And it's just

you. The test for true Christianity with regards

to personal Christianity is this. Take away the

preaching, hypothetically. Take away the preaching

of the Word in your life. Take away the fellowship

meals in your life. Take away the singing as

a group in your life. Take away the church corporately

in your life. Take away your friends. Who talk

to you about the things of the Lord in your life.

Strip every single relational and corporate aspect

of your Christianity away. Get rid of it. Take

it away. Cut it off. And what is left? Is God

still dealing with your heart? And are you still

walking with the living God? Is God dealing with

you? Even if all of that is gone? Is your heart

still yearning and longing for the things of

God if all of that is gone? Are you still wrestling

with holiness and godliness and discipline in

your life if all of that is gone? Are you still

looking unto Christ faithfully, walking with

Him day in and day out, seeking to hear from

the living God if all of that is gone? Or are

you depending on all of those aspects? For your

Christianity, because you don't truly know the

living God, you just know about the living God.

You're just around Christianity. You don't have

true, personal Christianity in your soul. One

of the old authors said that regeneration is

called the life of God in the soul of man. Brothers

and sisters, that's not something that can be

faked. That's not something that can be worked

up. That's true religion. And it is absolutely,

completely, and totally personal. Do you possess

that kind of Christianity in your life? Or are

you riding on the backs of everybody else around

you? Are you riding the wave of the church? Is

this personal for you as a professing believer?

Does this matter to your heart and your soul

and your mind? Does this have to do with your

never -dying immortal soul and your eternal faith

as an individual who ascends against the living

God? Does this have to do, is your soul concerned

with the glory of God and the name of Jesus Christ

in your life? Is it personal for you? That's

the test to see whether you have true Christianity

in your life or not. Strip everything back and

what remains. But none of this is to say that

true personal Christianity is opposed. to corporate

Christianity. It's not. True Christianity is

personal. It's vital. But true Christianity is

corporate Christianity as well. The two have

to come together. Remember who's talking. King

David. David loved the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd.

But King David, brothers and sisters, his life

was intertwined with corporate religion. He was

the king of that nation. And that nation had

religion and spirituality intertwined at every

corner. It was the nation of Israel. He knew

a thing or two about corporate Christianity,

didn't he? Or corporate religion. The two are

not. We need both. The healthiest, most vital

believers will be those who are growing in the

grace and knowledge of the Lord Jesus Christ

personally, walking before the living God personally,

but they will be those whose lives are intimately

intertwined with the corporate church as a whole.

with the body of Christ in the world, with the

local manifestation of that in a setting like

this today. We need to study the Word of God

individually, don't we, brothers and sisters?

But we also need the Word of God preached to

us in a corporate gathering. We need to pray

as individual sinners wanting to know the Lord

Jesus Christ more. But we need to be prayed for.

In the corporate gathering of God's people. We

need to fellowship with the living God in prayer

and communion. But we need the fellowship and

communion of the saints around us as well. This

is God's good design for every believer. That

they be a vital, growing, healthy Christian.

That personally seeks Him. but they walk with

a corporate church, brothers and sisters. That

will lead to you growing and blossoming into

a healthy, vital, powerful, Spirit -filled believer

in Jesus Christ. So, from this text, we know.

That God relates to each individual. Then and

today. But we also know, brothers and sisters,

that each of us who know Christ, who believe

in His life, His death, and His resurrection,

must personally relate to the living God who

is our shepherd.