Turn with me if you would back
to Psalm 23. We are in Psalm 23, so often,
so often I was telling someone that if the Lord tarries and
the Lord allows me to stay in the ministry, I believe that's
gonna be one that when you look it up in sermon audio, it's just
gonna be list after list after list. I just constantly come back to Psalm 23. And when
I do, I usually begin that message by explaining why we are once
again in Psalm 23. I'm not gonna do that tonight
other than to say I just needed it. I just needed to be here. Just needed
to be here tonight. You know, technically, I'm a grown adult. Even though I don't always feel
like one, or I guess technically I am. Technically
I'm a grown man. But do you know, honestly, as
a grown adult, do you know what I want and what I need? And I'm being very, very serious
here. Do you know what I sincerely and desperately want and desperately,
desperately need? I want to know that someone is
in charge of me. I want to know that. I want to
know that someone is taking care of me. I understand that I'm
a grown man. I understand that. but I need
to know that somebody is taking care of me. Somebody is watching
over me. Somebody is in charge of me. I do not want to be out in the
wild, out in the wide open, subject to every danger that's
on every side. I want to be in the safety of
a fold. That's where I want to be. I
was looking so forward to coming here tonight. I love being in
the fold. I just do. I like being here.
And in this life, I want to be in the safety of a fold. I want
to be in the protection of a safe haven. I want to be in the provision
of somebody who cares for me. I want a shepherd. That's what
I want. I want a shepherd. That's why
I need this song so often. It's because verse one says the
Lord is my shepherd, the Lord, Jesus Christ. The Lord Jesus Christ himself
is my shepherd. It gives me so much comfort.
Every time I hear I have a shepherd, it truly does. I could not imagine
going through this life without the comfort of knowing that some
people do not have the comfort of knowing that. And I just couldn't imagine going
through this life without it. Let me show you something in
Matthew 9. Turn with me over to Matthew
chapter 9. Matthew 9, the end of the chapter,
verse 35, it says, And Jesus went about all the
cities and villages teaching in their synagogues and preaching
the gospel of the kingdom and healing every sickness and every
disease among the people. Verse 36 says, but when he saw
the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them because
they fainted and were scattered abroad. as sheep having no shepherd. I could not imagine the horror
of being a helpless, defenseless, lost sheep without a shepherd. Just a lost sheep out in this crazy world without a shepherd. I looked up the job of a shepherd
on the internet. The responsibilities of an actual
shepherd. There are still men in the world
who shepherd. And I looked up what are the
responsibilities of a shepherd? What is the job of a shepherd? And this is what it said. It
said shepherds must be on call for their sheep around the clock. And I like that. Around the clock. Nighttime's always harder than
daytime. But a shepherd must be on call for his sheep around
the clock. It said a shepherd's primary
responsibility is the safety and welfare of the flock. Now
think about that, all right? If a man is going to be a shepherd
and take the responsibility of a shepherd and let it be known,
I'm a shepherd, then his primary responsibility is the safety
and welfare of the flock. I just adore that. I wrote in
my notes, repeat that a bunch of times. That's the primary
responsibility. Safety and welfare of the flock.
It said, a shepherd must graze the animals, herding them to
areas of good forage. He must bring them to places
of good food. He must be constantly bringing
them to good food. While keeping a watchful eye
for plants that are poisonous to the sheep. All right. Now forget about all the outside
dangers, forget about wolves and forget about all those things. A shepherd has to watch out for
the danger that a sheep will bring upon himself. Not only
does a shepherd have to watch out for outward dangers, a shepherd
has to watch out for the dangers that a sheep will just bring
upon himself. A long time ago, I read in another article that
sheep follow each other, and if one jumps off a cliff, they
will all jump off the cliff. Blind leaders of the blind. And
most animals know, most animals out in the wild, they know not
to eat poisonous plants, but apparently sheep don't. They'll
just eat it and eat it. It said, a shepherd is the sheep's
only defense. And it is the shepherd's responsibility
to use any means necessary to protect the sheep from danger. It said, like all other animals,
sheep are susceptible to disease. And they must also be monitored
during the lambing process, delivering lambs. I love how it said, our
Lord will very gently lead those that are with young. It said,
because they work in isolated areas, far from veterinary services. It is the shepherd's responsibility
to administer medication and to respond to all injuries. and
needed medical treatment. The shepherd also has to be the
physician. Has to. It said during the lambing season,
the shepherd must make frequent checks on the ewes at all hours
of the day and night. He cannot take his eyes off of
them. He has to keep his eye on them
at all hours of the day and night. It said many animals shed their
own hair in the spring, but sheep must be shorn. I know you've seen pictures of
sheep just loaded with wool, just absolutely loaded with thick,
thick wool who have been laying in the mud. You've seen pictures
of sheep that they've just been laying in mud and filth, and
it is just matted in their wool. It's just caked onto them and
into them, and it's just filthy, nasty. They just stink. Horrible. They can't get rid of it. They
won't and they can't. They must be shorn. They must
be. The internet said if a sheep
shearer is not available, it's the shepherd's responsibility.
For their own good, for the sheep's own cleanliness, he must be the
one to do it. So the shepherd is the one who
has to feed them, and protect them and heal them and keep a watchful
eye on them and keep them clean. That's what a shepherd has to
do. That's what a sheep needs somebody
to do for it. And that's what I need somebody
to do for me. That's why I find so much comfort,
so much happiness, so much peace every time I hear these five
words. The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd. He is
the one who will feed me. He's the one who will feed me. He is the one who will protect
me. He is the one who will heal me. He is the one who will keep his
eye on me. And he's the one who will keep
me clean. I'll dirty myself again and he'll
keep me clean. The Lord is my shepherd and the
Lord is your shepherd too. If you need what I need, If you're
in the same condition I'm in with the same need that I have,
then he's your shepherd too. He is the shepherd of every sheep
who needs a shepherd. You know, election is just so
beautiful. It is so wonderful. So many have. ruined that precious,
precious declaration by thinking, you know, God has chosen these
and shunned everybody else. It's not the case at all. Man
by nature, he doesn't need a shepherd. Election is what makes men and
women need a shepherd. That's what it does. If you want
to know what election is, it makes dirty, filthy sheep who
have no need in themselves for a shepherd. All of a sudden it
makes them cry, I need a shepherd. And if that's what you need,
then he is the shepherd of every sheep who needs a shepherd. Every
sheep who on his own is lost and hungry and defenseless and
sick and vile and filthy. If that's you, like it's me,
then go to Matthew 11 with me. Matthew chapter 11. If we are truly miserable, helpless
sheep in need of a shepherd, then this is what the Lord has
to say to us. Matthew 11 verse 28, he said, come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. I will give you rest. I'll give you rest that I don't.
That's something I don't want to leave. I don't want to leave
that statement. I'll give you rest. I will take the labor. I'll take the load and I'll give
you rest. And I'll rejoice while I'm doing
that for you. I will rejoice while I'm giving
you rest. Look with me at Luke 15. Luke 15 verse 3, he spake this
parable unto them saying, what man of you having an hundred
sheep If he lose one of them, doth not leave the 90 and nine
in the wilderness and go after that which is lost until he find
it. And when he had found it, he
layeth it on his shoulders rejoicing. And when he cometh home, he calleth
together his friends and neighbors saying unto them, Rejoice with
me for I have found my sheep, which was lost. I found my sheep,
which was lost. That's a good shepherd. He said,
my sheep will go astray, prone to wander. Lord, I feel it. And
he said, I'll leave everything and I'll go after that sheep.
And I will not stop until I find that sheep. And I'll lay that
sheep on my shoulders. I won't whip that sheep and drag
that sheep. I'll lay that sheep on my shoulders
and I'll carry the load and I'll be so happy rejoicing and I'll
come back and tell all my friends, rejoice with me, I found my sheep. That's a good shepherd. That's
the great shepherd, the chief shepherd. He's the shepherd above
all shepherds. He's the shepherd who did for
his sheep what no other shepherd would do. Look with me at John 10. John 10 verse 1, He said, Verily,
verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into
the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same as a
thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the
door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth, and
the sheep hear his voice, and he calleth his own sheep by name
and leadeth them out. And when he put it forth his
own sheep, he goeth before them and the sheep follow him for
they know his voice and they do. We do, don't we? Verse five,
he said, a stranger will they not follow, but will flee for
him from him for they know not the voice of strangers. This
parable spake Jesus unto them, but they understood not what
things they were, which he spake unto them. Then said Jesus unto
them again, verily, verily, I say unto you, I'm the door of the
sheep. All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers, but
the sheep did not hear them. I'm the door, if by me, if any
man enter in, he shall be saved and shall go in and out and find
pasture. The thief cometh not, but for
to steal and to kill and to destroy, I am come that they might have
life and that they might have it more abundantly. Verse 11,
he said, I am the good shepherd, The good shepherd giveth his
life for the sheep. He said, I'm the shepherd. I'm
the door of the fold. And the scripture says he made
himself to be a sheep. He actually allowed himself to
be led as a sheep to the slaughter. And like a lamb done before his
shearer, our Lord opened on his mouth. like a lamb dumb before
his shearer. Sunday, we mentioned how our
Lord washed the disciples' feet with the towel that he girded
himself with, and he wore their filth on himself. Well, like
a sheep before his shearer, and all that matted filth must be
cut off. Our Lord, wearing all of our
filth, all of our shame, all of our sin, went before the shearer,
opened not His mouth, led as a lamb to the slaughter. And why did He do that? Why did
He do that for the sheep? It's because the Scripture says
the Lord laid on Him. The Lord laid on the shepherd
all the filth of the sheep. all the iniquity, all the sin
of all His sheep. And in Him bearing the sin and
dying to put away all their sin, that was Him sustaining them. In that moment when He did that,
that was Him sustaining them. And that was Him protecting them. You know, we have worries and
trouble in this life, but the great worry and trouble is yet
to come. And he said, I'm going to protect
you. Our God said, no man can see
me and live. That's why I'm going to put you
in a safe place and I'm going to cover you and I'm going to
protect you. And our Lord doing that for His
sheep, that was Him sustaining them, that was Him protecting
them, that was Him healing them. That was Him keeping them. He
said, I kept them. That was Him making them clean. By the one sacrifice of Himself,
He perfected His sheep forever. Verse 11 right here, He said,
I'm the good shepherd, The good shepherd giveth his life for
the sheep. But he that is an hireling, and
not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf
coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth
them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because
he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep. but I'm the
good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine. As the
Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father, and I lay down
my life for the sheep. In other sheep I have, which
are not of this fold, them also I must bring, and they shall
hear my voice, and there shall be one fold and one shepherd."
Verse 27, he said, my sheep hear my voice, And I know them, and
they follow me, and I give unto them eternal life, and they shall
never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand."
That makes me want the Lord to be my shepherd. And the good
news from our God is, He is. The Lord is our shepherd. Now go with me back to Psalm
23. Verse 1 says, the Lord is my
shepherd. There's a reference right there
to Isaiah 40. It says there that He's going
to lead you and He's going to feed you like a shepherd. He's
going to carry you in His arms. It says, the Lord, the Lord Jesus
Christ is my shepherd. I shall not want. If we could just believe that,
if we could just trust that, our Lord Jesus Christ is going
to see to that. We are not going to lack. We
are not going to lack. We are not going to be without
anything. We need mentally, physically,
emotionally, spiritually, eternally. We're not going to lack. When that day comes that we're
standing before Him desiring to enter into His kingdom, it
will not be said to one of His sheep, there is still something
that you lack. You remember whenever our Lord
said that to that man? He said, there's one thing you
lack. The Lord, that man came to him
and said, I've done all those things. I got all these. He said,
nope. Nope, there's one thing you lack. That will never be
said to one of God's sheep. That's amazing. When they walk
up, it will never be said to them, there's still one thing
that you lack. You lack something necessary
for you to enter into these green pastures of rest. Never be said,
not if the Lord is our shepherd. Verse one says, the Lord is my
shepherd, I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green
pastures. He leadeth me beside the still
waters. That's what His Word does for
us. We come in sometimes in such
turmoil and in such distress, just absolutely torn all to pieces.
All of us do. Just absolutely torn all to pieces. And then we open His Word together. We sit right here in the fold,
in the fold, in the green pastures of the fold. We open His Word
together and we hear again what He has to say to us. We hear
His voice. We know Him. We don't follow
strangers. We hear again what He has to
say to us, and every time we truly hear it, it makes us lie
down for one minute. We just get one minute in here
to just lie down. It makes us lie down in these
wonderful, beautiful green pastures and we enjoy again, we had it
before and when we went out in the world and it's turmoil and
chaos and we come back in and we enjoy once again these quiet,
peaceful, still waters of the Word. And when we do, it restores
our soul. That's what verse three says.
He restoreth my soul. He restores my soul. He leadeth
me in paths of righteousness for his namesake, not paths of
worry and doubt and confusion and sin. We find those paths. That's all we find out there.
That's all we find out there. Worry, doubt, confusion, and
sin. That's all we find. But in the
fold, in the fold of His Word, when He brings us back to the
green pastures of the Word, every time we're led back to the paths
of Christ, who is our righteousness. He leads us in paths of righteousness. The scripture says, His name
shall be called the Lord, our righteousness. Every time we're
led back to Christ, we're led back to righteousness, holiness,
perfection. Verse four says, 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." He will protect us. It's the shepherd's responsibility
to do whatever is necessary to protect the sheep. And you know
what was necessary? The death of the shepherd. He
will protect us. He has protected us. He's going
to protect us. He's going to make provisions
for us. He's going to provide. You know,
as we go through these, I thought about Jehovah Jireh, all the
names of Jehovah. The Lord is going to provide. Verse five says, thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. You prepare
a whole table. Verse five says, he's going to
bless us. It goes on to say, thou anointest
my head with oil. and His blessing is gonna be
more than we can contain. It says, my cup, my cup of rest,
my cup of peace, my cup of restoration in Christ, my cup of security,
my cup of comfort, my cup of provision, my cup of blessing,
my cup. Each one of us can say that,
my cup runneth over. It just runneth over. So realizing all of that, this
is the only conclusion we can come to. Verse six says, surely
goodness and mercy. That means grace and mercy. Surely goodness and mercy shall
follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. Honestly, honestly, if you are
a sheep of the shepherd, if you are a sheep in need of a shepherd,
if you're a child of the father, a bride of the husband, this
is the fact of the matter. Goodness and mercy is going to
follow you all the days of your life. Goodness and mercy is going to
follow you all the days of your life. You can take that as an
eternal promise for God. He did not say goodness and mercy
shall follow you all the days of your life. He didn't say that.
He said, surely goodness and mercy shall follow you all the
days of your life. We may not always see it as being
goodness and mercy. We may not always see it that
way, but the great shepherd of the sheep said, it is. It is. Can't you imagine, you know,
sheep, I can't imagine anything going through the mind of a sheep,
but when the shepherd says, come over here, and the sheep doesn't
want to leave that spot, the green pastures are over on this
side. The great shepherd of the sheep said, it is. It is. It always is. That's all that
it is. To every one of his sheep, this
is what he says, when your time of being herded through this
life is over, and you ever feel like you're just being herded
through this life? Herded through the thorny pastures
of this world, when that's over, he said at the end of verse six,
you are gonna dwell forever in the house of the Lord. After
all this is over, God's sheep will dwell in the house of the
Lord forever. Dwell in the pleasant land of
the shepherd. The pleasant land of the shepherd.
And he worded it this way in Ezekiel 34. I'm going to close
with this, all right? We're going to close with this
one. Go with me to Ezekiel 34. This sounds so good to me. So
good to me. I look forward to this. Ezekiel
34, verse 11. For thus saith the Lord God,
behold, I, even I will both search my sheep and seek them out. As a shepherd seeketh out his
flock in the day that he is among his sheep that are scattered.
So will I seek out my sheep and we'll deliver them out of all
places where they have been scattered in the cloudy and dark day. And
I will bring them out from the people and gather them from the
countries and we'll bring them to their own land. and feed them
upon the mountains of Israel by the rivers and in all the
inhabited places of the country, I will feed them in a good pasture. And upon the high mountains of
Israel shall their fold be. There shall they lie in a good
fold and in a fat pasture shall they feed upon the mountains
of Israel. I will feed my flock, and I will
cause them to lie down, saith the Lord God. I will seek that
which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and
will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which
was sick. But I will destroy the fat and
the strong, and will feed them with judgment. Verse 22, he said,
therefore will I save my flock and they shall no more be a prey.
And I will judge between cattle and cattle. And I will set up
one shepherd over them and he shall feed them. Even my servant,
David, that's speaking of Christ. The top of my page says, this
is the kingdom of Christ. He goes on to say, he shall feed
them and he shall be their shepherd. And I, the Lord, will be their
God. And my servant David, a prince
among them, I, the Lord, have spoken it. And I will make with
them a covenant of peace and will cause the evil beasts to
cease out of the land. And they shall dwell safely in
the wilderness and sleep in the woods. And I will make them and
the places round about my hill a blessing. And I will cause
the shower to come down in his season. There shall be showers
of blessing." That's what we need. Showers of blessing. We need mercy drops to fall all
around us. Verse 30, he said, thus shall
they know that I, the Lord, their God, am with them. And that they,
even the house of Israel, are my people, saith the Lord. And
you, my flock, the flock of my pasture, are men. And I'm your
God, saith the Lord God." Doesn't that sound so good? Our Lord said, fear not, little
flock. It is your father's good pleasure to give you the kingdom.
And why is that? Why is that his good pleasure?
because the Lord is our shepherd. That's why.