Jehovah My Shepherd

Q: What does the Bible say about the Lord being my shepherd?

Psalm 23 describes the Lord as our shepherd, providing and caring for us like a good shepherd cares for his sheep. Psalm 23 vividly portrays the Lord as our shepherd, affirming that because He is our shepherd, we shall not want. The imagery of a shepherd indicates guidance, provision, and protection. In this psalm, David articulates that the Lord leads His people to green pastures and still waters, restoring their souls. This reflects God's care and sustenance, akin to how a shepherd provides for the needs of his sheep. Therefore, recognizing the Lord as our shepherd emphasizes His sovereignty and faithfulness in meeting both our physical and spiritual needs.

Q: How do we know that God provides for our needs?

The Bible assures us in Psalm 23 that the Lord will provide everything we need, emphasizing His role as our provider. In Psalm 23, the phrase 'I shall not want' assures us that God provides all that we truly need. This assurance is supported by the name Jehovah Jireh, which means 'The Lord will provide.' Throughout Scripture, particularly in Romans 8:28, we find the promise that God works all things for the good of those who love Him. He may withhold certain desires but will never lack in providing what is essential for our spiritual growth and well-being. Christ assures us that He will meet all our needs according to His riches in glory, highlighting the sufficiency of Christ as our ultimate provision.

Q: Why is the concept of the Good Shepherd important for Christians?

The Good Shepherd is crucial for Christians as He represents Jesus' sacrificial love and care for His people. The concept of the Good Shepherd is integral to Christian belief as it encapsulates the nature of Christ's relationship with His followers. John 10:11 records Jesus stating, 'I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep.' This emphasizes the sacrificial love Jesus has for His people, portraying His commitment to protect and nurture them. Recognizing Jesus as the Good Shepherd comforts believers, assuring them that He knows their needs, leads them, and ultimately lays down His life for their salvation. This concept fosters a deeper trust and reliance on Christ, essential attributes of Christian faith.

Q: How does God heal us spiritually?

God heals us spiritually through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ, who paid the sin debt and restores our souls. God's healing is fundamentally spiritual, achieved through the redemptive work of Jesus Christ. In Psalm 23, it is noted that 'He restoreth my soul,' indicating that true healing concerns the restoration of our relationship with God. This healing is made possible only through Christ's atoning sacrifice, where He bore our sins and paid the penalty on the cross (1 Peter 2:24). Through faith in Him, believers receive not just forgiveness but also a new life and restoration of their souls. The healing power of grace is greater than any sin, reinforcing the transformative impact of God's love and mercy on those who trust in Him.

Q: Why is it important to know God is always present?

Knowing God is always present assures believers of His constant guidance and protection in their lives. The concept of God's omnipresence is vital for Christians as it reassures them of His constant companionship and guidance. Psalm 23:4 declares, 'Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; for Thou art with me.' This promise signifies that no matter the circumstances, God is present and ready to comfort and lead His people. His presence dispels fear and instills peace, reminding believers that they are never alone. Recognizing God's continual presence strengthens faith and encourages believers to rely on Him in every aspect of their lives.

If you would, turn with me to Psalm 23. Psalm chapter 23. In researching this, It's a psalm of David. And in researching this, most all the men that I read, nobody knows for sure exactly when David wrote this. It could have been when he was a shepherd out in the fields. Could have been when he was in hiding his many times. It could have been when he was on the throne.

But I liked what Henry in his commentary said, Henry Mahan, he said that The Psalm preceding this is the Psalm of the Cross, Psalm 22. And he said, once a believer, once Christ shows a man why the Lord had to forsake, why God had to forsake God, said that man will see everything that David wrote right here of what the Lord does for him. Let's read Psalm 23, just a few verses. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for his namesake. 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. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil, my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Something I saw when I was reading this song and studying it. Religion, false religion out here tells you that you gotta do something for God. This tells you what God's done for you. For his people, for his sheep. This is about the Lord. And I wanna look at names of the Lord. The Lord here in the first verse, notice it's all capital. When L-O-R-D is all in capital, it's Jehovah. It's derived from the word Jehovah, which means the existing one. He's self-existent. God needs no one or nothing else. He is, he has always been, and he always will be. Everything he does, he purposes.

This is the proper name of the one true God, Jehovah. In that, there are many other names that are compound names. Jehovah, and then another word to describe Jehovah. But we're talking about God being the existing one. In Exodus, Moses, whenever he called Moses at the burning bush, Moses asked, well, when I go to the children of Israel, who shall I say told me to come? And he said, I am that I am always present. Our God is always present. He has. It's not that he was or is. He he it is he is he's not. He can say I am. We can only say I am in this moment. He says I am because he's always present.

There is no beginning. There is no end with our Lord. Christ in the garden, when the soldiers came to get him, he asked, whom do you seek? They said, Jesus of Nazareth. He said, I am. And they fell down. That was the same God that Moses saw at the burning bush, the same one that said, I am that I am. That was a God. And looking at these names, the first name here is right off the bat, the Lord is my shepherd. Jehovah-rah.

The Lord my shepherd. This begs the question, how does a person have the Lord as their shepherd? How does the Lord have, how does a person have the Lord as their shepherd? Well, there's three ways that a man can have a sheep. And that is that he is given the sheep, he bought the sheep, or he found the sheep. Well, those three things are exactly how the Lord is our shepherd. If we're His, and He didn't come to save everyone, but if He is our shepherd, if He has saved us, then it's these three ways.

He was given the sheep. It said in John 6, 37, all that the Father giveth me shall come to me. And him that cometh to me, I shall let no wise cast out." Oh, what mercy that is. The Father gave him some sheep. Christ came to die for those sheep. And Christ will accept those sheep because the Father gave them to him.

Ephesians, it says, according as he hath chosen us before the foundation of the world, God chose us, He chose His people, chose every believer from Adam to whenever this earth ends, He chose every one of them before the foundation was even created. Now turn with me to Hebrews 2. I'm gonna read a few verses here of our Lord The father give him, the son paid the debt for him. So I'm kind of getting ahead of myself on the paid for. But Hebrews chapter two, verse 11 says, for both he that sanctifies and they who are sanctified are all of one. Christ sanctified his people. And those that he sanctified were all one, were one in Christ because of what Christ did. For which cause he is not ashamed to call them brethren. He calls us brethren. Saying, I will declare thy name unto my brethren in the midst of the church, will I sing praise unto thee. And again, I will put my trust in him.

And again, behold, I and the children which God hath given me. We are Christ because God gave him to him. He is our shepherd because God gave him us as his sheep. And then the next one, he bought us. He bought us with a price. Christ said there in John 10 that I read, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd give his life for the sheep. God gave him some sheep. A price had to be paid.

Our Lord come down and give his life, laid his life down and took it again. He said he had power to lay it down and he had power to take it again. He is God. That's the only way man can be just with a holy God. It's for Christ to have paid the sin debt, paid the sin debt. Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter six. In verse 20, it says, for you are bought with a price.

Therefore glorify God in your body and in your spirit, which are God's. If we're bought, If Christ paid a price for us, bought us with His blood, we have nothing to glory in, nothing whatsoever. It's all Him that gets, our Lord Jesus Christ gets all the glory. He is all in all, that's why it says salvation's of the Lord, has nothing to do with us, nothing. Across the page, chapter seven, first Corinthians in verse 23 says, you're bought with a price, Be not ye servants of men. God bought us. Jehovah bought us. Became our shepherd. We serve him. He is who we serve. Not man. Not anything to do with man. We're passing through here. Passing through.

We look for brighter pastures. and he'll get us there. And then the third thing of how a man can have the Lord as his shepherd is to be found, found of the shepherd. We're told that as sheep, like sheep, we've all gone astray. We've all gone astray. The Lord had to come looking for us. He told the parable And Luke 15 said, man that has 100 sheep, if one goes missing, he'll leave the 90 and nine to go after that one.

Go for one sheep, and then there'll be great rejoicing when he's found that sheep. Our Lord does that. He goes out and finds his sheep. He finds his sheep through the preaching of the word. He has set up what the world considers foolishness in the preaching of Christ. That's how the Lord saves his people. Some people sit here a lot longer than others, but if the Lord ever opens their eyes, opens their hearts to receive this and shows them what they are and who he is, what mercy that he would even consider man. The son of man came to save the lost. He came to save lost sheep.

That's his reason for coming to this earth, was to lay down his life, shed his blood, hang on a cruel cross, and pay a sin debt that we couldn't pay if we tried. We could not pay it if we tried. And then 1 John 4, 19 says, we love him because he first loved us. That's the only reason we love our Lord Jesus Christ, is because he first loved us. God give him a task to do. Give the son, give his son a task. The son performed that task, fulfilled that task. and saved every sheep.

There will be none lost. None will get away. He will save everyone the Lord gives. But it's John 17, he said, all mine are thine, and thine are mine. Everything the Lord gave him, that they're one. They are one, and that everything given, he shall lose none.

He said in John 10, 27, he said, my sheep hear my voice. And I know them, and they follow me. He calls his own. They hear his voice. And they follow him. All of his disciples, when he called them while he was here on earth, he said, follow me. And they did. They knew the voice. They knew the voice of the shepherd. They were his sheep. They followed.

That's Jehovah-Rah, the Lord, my shepherd. Because Christ hath redeemed me and called me, he is my shepherd. And the next one, the second name is Jehovah-Jireh. In our text, it says, I shall not want. I shall not want. Jehovah Jireh is the Lord shall see to it or the Lord will provide.

The Lord will provide. He'll provide everything that his sheep need. Everything that they need. He said everything works according or works for our good according to his purpose. According to his purpose to those that are called according to his purpose. But he shall provide, he shall provide it all.

He may withhold some things from us that we want, but he won't hold back anything that we need for our good, nothing. And the only thing we really truly need is salvation, the Lord Jesus Christ. We need to see him in all his glory, that's all we need to see. doesn't mean anything about our feeble, frail bodies. If He gives us a disease and takes us out of this world to be with Him, what glory, what glory. This name was given to Abraham when God told him to sacrifice his son, showing him what God was going to do to his son. The Lord Jehovah, Jehovah the Father, sacrificed Jehovah the Son, put him on the cross.

But God stayed Abraham's hand and he provided a ram for him in the thicket. God provided. God provided him a substitute. God provided him a sacrifice. That's what the Lord Jesus Christ is. He is our substitute. He is our sacrifice. And we shall not want, because the Lord provides everything we need. The Lord provides all the needs of his people and his sheep. The Lord hath redeemed us with a price, his life. He will provide us with all we need, and all we need is Christ. All we need is Christ. I shall not want. If we have Christ, we need nothing else. That's all we need.

And the next one is he makes me to lie down in green pastures. That is a continuation of I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. Sheep or car or animals that chew the cud. When they're laying downs when they chew their cud, because their needs have been met. That's what Jehovah Jireh did for us. He provided, and all he provided, he met our needs. We have no need of anything. He makes us to lie down in green grass, green pastures.

The margin there says, pastures, of tender grass, tender grass. I've been in a kid, I can remember playing in the grass and it being dry. And it wasn't so tender to be rolling around in that. But he sends the rain, he sends the dew, moistens the grass, makes it tender. It's nice to lay in wet grass then.

But these animals, that's the thing with the sheep. He makes them to lie down. They're satisfied. They've had all their needs met. They're content. They're content. That's what we should be. The Lord, all we need to do is look to Christ and be content. He's done it all. He's done it all for us. Look to Him. Look to everything He's done for us. And the third name, It's Jehovah Salome, the Lord, our peace. Salome means peace. And in our text, it's he leadeth me beside the still waters.

The margin says waters of quietness. I heard a man preaching from this, and I looked it up for myself, and sure enough, Sheep will not drink from a noisy running water. If the water's making too much noise, they will not drink from it. They will stay away. That's kind of what the Lord said about hearing strangers. They won't follow.

But he makes us, he leads us beside the still waters. He's our peace. He's our peace. In Christ, As his sheep, we have peace. We have rest. Another word for it. Second Corinthians 5.18 says we are reconciled to God by Jesus Christ. He reconciled us. The natural sinful man is enmity against God. We can only be reconciled to God by the shepherd that gave his life for us. That's the only way that we can have peace with a holy God. He had to make peace for us. He had to be our peace. He had to be our assurance. He had to pay the sin debt, and it satisfied a holy God.

Satisfied a holy God, and he only sees his son, the Lord Jesus Christ, and all that are in him. Number four is Jehovah Rapha. The Lord healeth. In verse three, it says he restoreth my soul. The Lord restoreth my soul. He healeth, he healeth our soul. If he paid our sin debt, He healed us of our sin. He is our healer. He healeth us. We have no wants. We have no worries. He healed us. He paid our debt, the sin, all that we owed.

He said in Matthew 5, he said, blessed are the poor in spirit, blessed are the meek, Those are the ones that the Lord, he gave them, he made them poor in spirit. He made us meek, humbled us, and he said that the kingdom of heaven is ours. He healeth, he restoreth our soul. He did healeth the disease of sin.

That's what we need most. All our other affirmities, You know, smashing our toes, having the cold that's running around everybody now. Doesn't matter. We need to be healed from our sin. We need to be healed. So that we can stand before a holy God and all he sees is Christ and doesn't see our sin. If he sees our sin. We're we're trouble. Turn with me to Romans 5. Romans 5 verse 20.

The Lord healeth. It says that moreover the law entered that the fence might bound, but where sin aboundeth, grace did much more abound. That as sin reigneth unto death, even so might grace reign through the righteousness unto eternal life by Jesus Christ our Lord. The Lord healeth, he healeth our sin. No matter how great our sin is, the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ is more. The grace of the Lord Jesus Christ is more than our sin. Grace greater than our sin. Grace greater than our sin.

Number five, the name number five is Jehovah Nissi. That's the Lord our banner. In our text, a couple of places, he said, he leadeth. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness. He leadeth. That's what the Lord, our banner, he leads us. He was raised up.

We're told to look and live. The banner, a flag. or sometimes called an end sign, the country's colors, the army's colors. When I was researching this, I realized that back, not so much now, but back in the Revolutionary War, wars like that, where men were fighting face to face, the flag bearer was out in front. If that flag went down, somebody else grabbed it and picked it up.

But our Lord Jesus Christ, he doesn't retreat. He's always going forward, but we need to look at Christ, our banner. We need to look at Christ at all times. And we will go in one direction. Straight as the gate, we'll go one direction if we follow the Lord Jesus Christ. Look to him, look to him as the banner.

In Exodus 17, where this was found, Joshua, he went to fight Amalek. Moses had the rod of God in his hand. And when his hands were lifted, Joshua prevailed. And whenever his hands dropped, Amalek prevailed. But the Aaron and Hur propped his hands up. Propped his hands up, Joshua won the battle. Afterwards, they created an altar, and they called it Jehovah Nisi, the Lord Our Banner. Christ is our altar. He's our sacrifice. He's the priest. He's our substitute, Christ is all and in all. He is our banner.

Look to the Lord Jesus Christ. Number six, Jehovah Sidkenu, the Lord our righteousness. In our text it says, number verse three, he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake. For Christ's sake, that's the reason. It's Christ righteousness. It's for his sake. That's why he leadeth us in the paths of righteousness. We follow in his footsteps. Isaiah 32 one says behold, a king shall reign in righteousness. That's the Lord Jesus Christ. He is our king. He reigns in righteousness. Our righteousness is his filthy rags.

Christ's righteousness is how we can be righteous before the holy God. We need to be righteous before the holy God, and that's by the Lord Jesus Christ and his righteousness. Everything he's done. Remember, I preached last time was, accept your righteousness, exceed that of the righteousness of the Pharisees and the scribes. And that righteousness that exceeds that is our Lord Jesus Christ.

He leads us in the paths of righteousness. Those are his footsteps. We need to follow in his footsteps, look to Christ, follow in his footsteps. The Holy God sees Christ, our righteousness, and our sins are hidden in him. Our sins are hidden. And the last name, number seven, is Jehovah Shemoa. I hope I pronounced that right.

Means the Lord is there, or the Lord is present. The Lord is present. In the next verse, it says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. for thou art with me. The Lord is there. The Lord is present with us. If he saved us, if he's done all these other things, and he's leading us, he's guiding us, he's making us to lie down, he's leading us beside still waters, there's no need to fear any evil outside. Lord Jesus Christ is in control of it all.

He's taking care of it. We need to look to him. We need to follow him. He's there. He's with us. He's our banner. We need to look to him. We need to see him. For he is with us. He's ever present, ever present. He said where two or three are gathered together, he would be there. He's present. He's present with us. We need to look to the Lord. We need to read his scriptures. We need to look for Christ in all that we do. He's present. He's present with us. We get to looking at the world.

We get to looking away from that banner. And we fall. Like Peter, when he was out walking on the water, when the Lord lifted him up on the water and had him walking on the water, he looked at what he was doing, and he fell. He sank. We need to look to Christ. He'll keep us lifted. He can lift us, and he can show us our sins. So we need to look to him. Because he's with us. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Everything after this is just because of the first seven names of the Lord. He prepares the table before me in the presence of my enemies. He anoints my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Look into Christ.

We don't want anything. We don't need anything. He's provided all of it. All our needs are met. My cup runneth over. When he blesses me and gives me the opportunity to come listen to his word, my cup runneth over. All because of what the Lord Jesus Christ did. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. That's the names of Christ. Surely goodness and mercy. He's merciful.

And he's with me all my life. He was with me before he showed me he was with me. Look back and see my path. Where he brought me to him. And he was with me all the way all the way. And I didn't give him a thought. That's the sad part. I didn't give him a thought, but he thought on me. He went and found me.

He was that great shepherd. And by his grace, by his will, I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Like I said, if the Lord takes us All these illnesses, if he gives us an illness that takes us out of this life. We're going to be with. The Lord Jesus Christ. For an eternity. That's got to be better than this. Better than this. All things work together to good to them that are called. According to his purpose, according to his purpose, If y'all would stand with me and I'll dismiss this in prayer.

Jehovah My Shepherd

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Lord being my shepherd?

How do we know that God provides for our needs?

Why is the concept of the Good Shepherd important for Christians?

How does God heal us spiritually?

Why is it important to know God is always present?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Music

Recent Comments

About

Legal

Subscribe

Account

Articles

Featured Authors

Podcast

Recent Comments

Sermons

Featured Preachers

Books

Browse by Format

Collections

Music

About

Legal

Subscribe

Jehovah My Shepherd

Key Quotes

What does the Bible say about the Lord being my shepherd?

How do we know that God provides for our needs?

Why is the concept of the Good Shepherd important for Christians?

How does God heal us spiritually?

Why is it important to know God is always present?

Sermon Transcript

Comments

More from John Sheesley

Related Sermons

Same Scripture

Suggested for You

Where this book stands in the tradition

Plato

Augustine

The Western Christian Tradition

This Book