It's hard to sing after that
song. That just thrilled my heart. As they were singing that, I
thought about that Samaritan woman. He said, I must and need
to go through Samaria. You know why? He's going to meet
a sheep and a whale. He's going to cross her path.
And he's going to give her a drink of living water. What a shepherd. To me, that's one of the, to
my heart, one of the dearest pictures in all the scripture
of the Lord describing himself, setting himself forth in that
character as the shepherd of his sheep. And we look like it's
not, we tried to, the good shepherd who gave his life for the sheep.
When they came, he said, if you come for me, you take me and
you let these go. And you know what they did? They
let them go. Because he said so. He said so. And you know what that shepherd
did? He laid down his life. He gave his precious soul as
an offering for sin to redeem his people because they had to
be bought. God the Father chose them and
gave them to the Son, but they still had to be redeemed. The
prize had to be paid and it was paid. And I'll tell you this
morning, if it's paid, it is paid. Who shall charge anyone
of God's people? Anyone of God's elect was in.
Nobody. Nobody. Why? The shepherd died. He died, but he didn't stay dead. Don't you know they thought,
well, we've got him now. We're done away with him. We're
going to put a stone over his tomb, and we're going to put
soldiers there, and we're going to seal it. Man, we're going
to keep him in there. If he was just any man, he would
have stayed in there. He's the man, God said, of my
fellow. He's my shepherd. And you know
what he did? He came out. He came out. And it says in Hebrews, you're
going to be turning to Psalms 23, but in Hebrews chapter 13,
verse 20, now the God of peace, the God of peace, God, the Lord
Jesus Christ made peace to the blood of the cross. Now the God
of peace. Now I want you to watch this
statement. I don't understand it. I'm just going to say this.
So you'll think about it. That broad again. He could have
said he raised him, but he didn't. He said the God of peace that
brought again, he brought him. And that word means he fetched
him from the dead, our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep
through the blood of the everlasting covenant. Make you perfect in
every good work to do his will, working in you. that which is
well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ to whom be glory
forever and ever. Amen. I found this verse to kind
of give me just a little light on that where he brought him
out in Acts 13 verse 17. He said, the God of this people
of Israel chose our fathers and exalted the people when they
dwelt as strangers in the land of Egypt. You know who that was?
That was his sheep in the land of Egypt. And with a mighty arm,
with a high arm, you know what he did? He brought them out of
it. And that pretty well illustrates
it. What did he do? How did he get them? He brought
them out. You know what he did to our shepherd?
I know our shepherd said, I have power to lay it down and I have
power to take it again, but God brought him out and set him on
the throne. You know what he's doing now? He's gathering his little sheep,
every one of them, and everything that his sheep need are found
in him. If you're looking anywhere else,
you're looking in the wrong place. In the wrong place. Psalms 23. Most of you wouldn't even have
to open the Bible. You could just recite this by
memory. And I think sometimes that's
a detriment to us. We think we know it. I don't
need to read that again. We could read this every day.
Couldn't we? Every day. Every day. The Lord is my shepherd. He says the Lord, Jehovah, he
is this sovereign God is my shepherd. He could have
said our shepherd. He didn't say he was my shepherd. David speaks with confidence
and he said this Lord, this one is my shepherd. He wouldn't do
much good if he was just Todd's or Gabe's or Paul's or somebody.
He's mine. If God gives you the ability
to look to Him and rest in Him and gives you faith to rest in
Him and say, He's my shepherd, my shepherd, what more could
I want? What more could I want? You know
what that does? That satisfies the heart of a sheep. What more
could the sheep want? They want the shepherd. They
want the shepherd. A lot of people can recite this
psalm and they know the psalm by heart in their head. But I'm convinced there's very
few people that know the shepherd. And there's a big difference,
a big difference. You can know all the facts right
here and not know it in here. And that's where it's at. It's
a hard work, hard work. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall
not want. This is the believer's comfort.
This is our assurance at all times and in all places. What is my assurance? What is
my confidence? He is my shepherd. No matter what's going on, if
he's my shepherd, everything's fine. If he's my shepherd, I
don't have to worry about anything. Like Gabe said, God help us just
to forget everything else. and think about him. What does
the song say? Let us forget about ourself and
concentrate on him and worship him. And worship him. You know what little sheep like
to do? They like to gather at the feet of the shepherd. The shepherd will never desert
his people. When a lion or the wolf comes
around, don't worry. He won't forsake you. I shall
not want. Listen, Psalm 34 9, O fear the
Lord, ye his saints, for there is no want to them that fear
him. The young lions do lack and do
suffer hunger because they just seeking after the things of this
flesh, the carnal appetites of this flesh. But they that seek
the Lord shall not want any good thing. That's it. That's it. Romans 8, 32, as Todd read, he
that spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all,
how shall he not with him also freely give us all But if you
have all things, what more do you want? There's nothing else.
You've got all things. All things. Verse two. He maketh. Who does it? He does it. He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures. What do sheep need? What do sheep
want? Well, they have to have food. He makes us to lie down
in green pastures by constraints of love. He constrains us to
lay down and rest in green pastures. You know when a sheep lays down,
it's rested. Where's it rested? In green pastures. You know where you find rest?
From this book right here. This word. He rests. Get me something that I can rest
my head on. He leadeth me. He maketh me. Constrains me. Constrains me
to lay down and rest. These green pastures. It's our soul's food. We feed
upon Christ and his sacrifice. They're green pastures. They're
not dead. They're green. They're alive.
And let me tell you, sheep won't lay down just anywhere. Did you
hear that? Sheep won't lay down anywhere.
Goats will lay down anywhere. They'll lay down on the top of
a car. It doesn't matter. Anywhere.
They don't mind. They'll just lay down. And it doesn't matter
what they eat. They'll eat ten cans. It doesn't matter. But
not sheep. Not sheep. People say, well,
I believe in Christ, and I love Christ, and I love the gospel.
And they're sitting over there where somebody's lying on God.
They ain't sheep. I'm not trying to be mean, I'm just trying to
be honest. His sheep lay down, they find rest in him. Song of
Psalm 117, tell me O thou whom my soul loveth where thou feedest,
where thou makest thy flock to rest at noon. Sheep can't stand
the heat. And the shepherd leads them to
a place, and at noon they rest. We've been looking at the life
of David. The other day it talked about,
you know, when David met King Saul in the cave, it said David
and his men were in the sheep goat, the sheep coat. You know
what that is? That's a little place, like a
little corral, where you put your sheep. And that's where
David found rest. And you know what he was doing? He was leading God's sheep, and
they found rest in that cave. You know why he probably knew
where that cave was at? He probably took his father's sheep in there
before. You know what Moses was before God taught him? He was
keeping sheep on the backside of a desert. You know why? He's
going to send Moses and use him to bring his sheep out of Egypt.
And you know where he's going to take them? Right where he
fed those other sheep. I will feed them in a good pasture,
and upon the high mountains of Israel shall their foal be. There
shall they lie down in a good fold, and in a fat pasture shall
they feed upon the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock. Did you hear that right there?
He said, I will feed my flock. Who feeds them? He does. He does. And if he don't feed you, you're
not going to get fed. That's just a fact. We preachers
can study and we can look and we can agonize, but unless God
Almighty feeds you, you will go away hungry. I will feed my,
I'll feed them, I'll feed them, and I will cause them to lie
down, say a prayer. I can just see that little sheep
laying down, he ain't got a worry in the world. Isn't that nice? Isn't it nice
when God allows us to worship him? It's like we ain't got a
worry in the world. We don't. We don't. Read on. He leadeth me beside
the still waters. Revelation 7, 17, for the lamb
which is in the midst of the throne shall feed them. and shall lead them into living
fountains of water, and God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes. Sheep will not drink from rushing
water. They're scared to death. They're
just such a timid animal. They want still water. They want
living water. And you know what? He calms the
water. Remember our Lord on the ship
that day with the disciples and a storm come up on the Sea of
Galilee? And he's in the ship asleep, and they actually think
they're going to die. And they go wake him up. They
said, Do you not care that we perish? And you know what he
does? And do you think that ship's going down with him on it? But
we do. We think, Boy, it's going down.
He walks out on the bow of that ship. You know what he says?
Peace be And it was like glass. Sheep like still water, not troubled
water, where everything's just a mess. That's the way it was
when I was in religion. It was always just a mess. But now, you know what? Sheep
are still, calm, peaceful. And he leads me to him. I can't find him. You can't find
him. And he doesn't drive his sheep.
He leads them. He leads them. Let us just calm down. You can't
calm the waters, but he can. And he satisfies our thirst. You can drink from every other
fountain and you're gonna leave unsatisfied. David said it's
the young heart or the young deer like it pants after the
water brook. He said, my soul pants after
thee. I've got to have a drink of water.
And he's the only one that can give it. He's the only one. Verse three. We could just stay
right here all day. He restoreth my soul. He restoreth my soul. He fetches
it back. He brings it back again. He refreshes
his wandering sheep. He brings them back. He restores
us to God. He restores me daily. He restoreth continually my soul. My soul. We mess up today and
we wander and we go, man, how in the world did I wind up in
this mess? And the next day I'm right there
again. And he's got to come get me.
We get over here in a briar patch somewhere and just get in a mess
and just can't get up. And he says, little sheep, little
sheep. He restores that sheep. You know
what? It's his sheep. He restores it. A sheep, because of our own stupidity,
may wander away from Him for a while, but if it's His sheep,
if it's His sheep, He'll bring it back, guaranteed. Remember
Peter, he said, the Lord said, Simon, Simon, behold, Satan hath
desired to have you that he may sift you like wheat. But I prayed
for thee that thy faith fail not, and when thou art converted,
strengthen thy brethren. And Peter said unto him, Lord,
I am ready to go with thee both unto prison and to death. And
our Lord said, I tell thee, Peter, the cock shall not crow this
day before thou hast thrice denied that thou knowest me. And he
did, warming himself by the enemy fire. Now, if that's not a wandering
sheep, I don't know what it is. And our Lord just turned and
looked at him and broke his heart. And you know what he did? He
restored that wandering sheep. And that same sheep stands on
the day of Pentecost and preaches and 3,000 soldiers He said, do you imagine dealing
with that on your conscience? Do you imagine being David, committing
adultery, and having that woman's husband killed? You live with
that on your conscience. How you gonna deal with that?
He'll send you Nathan, and save the heart of man. You know what
David said in Psalms 51? Restore unto me the joy of thy
salvation. You know what that is? He's got
to restore my soul. I can't. No one else can. But I got good news for you. That shepherd will pick up that
little sheep, he'll lay it on its shoulders, and he'll restore
it to health. He'll carry it, and you know
what he does when he carries it? He hand-feeds it. He said,
that's my sheep. Do you get the picture? Oh, ain't he good? Always so
good. He leadeth me in the paths of
righteousness for his namesake. He leads me. He doesn't drive
me. He guides his sheep in the paths
of righteousness. Religion says here's the path,
walk in it. I couldn't walk in it if I wanted
to. He must lead me. You notice that it says paths
of righteousness. He may lead you in a rough path.
He may lead someone else in a smooth path. But all the paths lead
home. When we was coming up here the
other day, we'd come by and there was this big, steep hill, and
the cattle were walking on the side of this hill, and it looked
like little ridges all along the side of that mountain. You
know what they were? They were little paths. And there was one cattle, one
cow up here and one down here, and they were all going around
the edge of the ridge. And you know what was around
on the other side of the hill? Was the barn. He leads us in paths
of righteousness and He's leading us home for His namesake, for
His honor and for His glory. He leads us in paths of righteousness. Not in righteousness of my own,
but the one He gave me. It's mine. He gave it to me and
it's mine. Didn't He? It's mine. Proverbs 411, I have taught thee
in the way of wisdom. I have led thee in right paths. Proverbs 820, I lead in the way
of righteousness in the midst of the paths of judgment. The narrow way, I always picture
this. You know, it talks about the
broad way which leads unto death and there's a narrow way. I always
pictured the narrow way right in the middle of the broad way
going in the opposite direction. And that's how he leads us. You
know why? They're his sheep. Can you not
see that shepherd and he's got all them little sheep just right
at his heel and they all just a-walking? They're following
him. Through the valley, 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. This is probably the first reason
that most people just read this at a funeral. A death of a loved
one, or a walk through the valley of the shadow of death. It may
have reference to that when we all die, when we all get ready
to cross over Jordan, but I think it has something more than that.
I think this is the everyday walk. Every day our life is walked
through the valley. of death. All around us is death. Death within, death without.
But we're going through the valley of the shadow of death. And it's
just a shadow. A shadow can't hurt you. A shadow
of a dog can't bite you. A shadow of a knife can't cut
you. A shadow of a gun can't hurt you. And the shadow of death
cannot harm you. We're afraid of shadows. We fear,
by human nature, we fear death. Someone said, I need dying grace. Are you dying? Are you getting
ready to die? When you, to that point, he'll
give it to you. When you need it. And whatever
you need today, going through that valley, he's gonna take
you through. I mean, when that word through
means you coming out on the other side, the valley. of the shadow of death. Now listen
to me, I will fear no evil. Me and Paul was talking about
last night, and Luke it says, fear not little flock. Did you hear what I said? He
said, fear not little flock. And read you a couple verses,
Isaiah 41.10. Fear thou not, for I am with
thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy God. I will strengthen thee.
Yea, I will help thee. I will uphold thee with the right
hand of my righteousness. But now, thus saith the Lord
that created thee, O Jacob, and he that formed thee, O Israel,
fear not, for I have redeemed thee. I have called thee by thy
name. Thou art mine. When you pass through the rivers,
I'll be with thee. and through the rivers, they
shall not overflow thee. When thou walkest through the
fire, thou shall not be burned, neither shall the flame kindle
upon thee. Why, for I am the Lord, thy God,
the Holy One of Israel, thy Savior. I gave Egypt for thy ransom,
Evia, Epia, Ethiopia, and Siwa. I gave those countries for you. Why, since you were precious
in my sight. Thou hast been honorable, and
I have loved thee. Therefore will I give men, I
will give men for you, and people for thy life. Fear not, for I am with thee. I will bring thy seed from the
east and gather thee from the west. Though you walk through
the valley, I don't have to be afraid. You
know why? The Lord is my shepherd. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort
me. This can speak of the rod of
his word and the rod of his strength and the staff of his promises.
They comfort me. Where do you find comfort? Where
do you find comfort? His rod and his staff. Do you need comfort? He's the
only one who can. Thou wrought in thy staff by
which thou governest and rulest thy flock. The enzyme of thy
sovereignty and of thy gracious care, he comforts me. Thou preparest
a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. We sit down
and feast with our shepherd, even with the enemies all the
way around us, and there's not one thing they can do. Nothing is hurried. There's no
confusion, no disturbance. The enemy's at the door, and
yet God prepares a table, and the sheep sit down and eat in
perfect ease. I can just see that shepherd
leading them sheep and they go out there and there's wolves
all around them. He said, little flock, you just sit down and eat. He
prepared, he what? It would boggle our minds to
think everything that God did to bring us to this place this
morning. And you know what this is? In Kingsport, Tennessee,
this is a prepared table for a prepared people. He prepared
a table before you in the very presence of his enemies. And that's where we're at every
day. And he feeds his sheep from his table. And we feast upon
his body and his blood. He anointeth my head with oil,
and my cup runneth over. I tell you, when they were singing
that song, that was about it. It was more than my little cup
could stand. They would anoint their head.
It was for refreshing. In Eastern times, they went to
a house, and when you came, they'd anoint the head with oil. He anointeth my what? My head. My mind. my conscience with all. It's just like he just reminds
you and he says everything's okay. He makes you forget everything
else and you see him and man my cup just can't stand it. My cup runs over. Surely goodness
and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. All the
days of our life, the black days as well as the bright days, the
days of fasting as well as the days of feasting, the dreary
days of winter as well as the bright days of summer, God's
goodness will supply our needs and his mercy will blot out my
sin and I will dwell. in the house of the Lord forever. Mr. Spurgeon said, why I am here,
I will be a child at home with my God. The whole world shall
be his house to me, and when I ascend into the upper chamber,
I shall not change my company, nor even change the house. I
shall only go to dwell in the upper story of the house of the
Lord forever. Amen.