We should turn back to the 23rd
Psalm. This evening we're going to observe
the Lord's table together. I remind you the Lord has given
two ordinances, baptism and the Lord's table. And the Lord's
table is just as important as baptism. That's mighty important,
isn't it? And the Lord said, this do in
remembrance of me, And he said, in doing this, you show forth
the Lord's death until he comes. When we observe the Lord's table,
we're saying, my only hope is his death. And when he said, gave the warning about not discerning
the Lord's body, when we take the Lord's table, we're discerning
that all of our salvation was accomplished by what he did in
his body. And we rejoice in that. I've entitled this message, Is the Lord My Shepherd? Not every son of Adam can truthfully
say, the Lord is my shepherd. This passage of scripture is
probably one of the most well-known scriptures that most people have
heard of. The Lord is my shepherd. Not everyone can truthfully say,
the Lord is my shepherd. And it's my prayer that everybody
in this room will be enabled by the grace of God to truthfully
say, the Lord is. My shepherd. I was thinking about
this, um, this week and just the glory of being able to say
the Lord is my shepherd. Just couldn't get it off my mind.
That's why I wanted to preach on it this morning. I feel impressed
to bring this message is my shepherd is the Lord, my shepherd. Wouldn't
it be glorious if you can leave this place knowing the Lord is
my shepherd. Jehovah, the self existent one. That's what the word means. He
has no needs. I love to think of him in this
light. He has no needs. There's certainly nothing I can
give him that he needs. He said, if I was hungry, I wouldn't
tell you. The cattle on a thousand hills
are mine. He's not worshiped with men's
hands as though he needed anything. I love to think of his independence,
Jehovah. The self-existent one, that has
so many implications. He has no needs. He has life in himself. You and
I are so utterly dependent. He is absolutely independent. Jehovah is my shepherd. Now, this is actually one of
the eight names for Jehovah in the scripture. And do you know
all eight of those are found in this Psalm? Let me make good
on that. I've already read Jehovah Rahat,
the Lord is my shepherd, but we also find Jehovah Shalom,
the Lord is my peace. He makes me lie down in green
pastures. He leads me beside still waters. waters of peace and quietness. Jehovah Shalom. He's called Jehovah
Rafa. I am the Lord that healeth thee. He restores my soul. He refreshes
my soul. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will
provide. Thou preparest a table for me
in the presence of my enemies. Jehovah Shammah, the Lord is
present. Thou art with me. Jehovah, the Gesticum, I am the
Lord that sanctify thee. He said, I will dwell in the
house of the Lord forever. He is our sanctification being
found in him. Jehovah Tzedkenu, the Lord, our
righteousness. He leads me in the paths of righteousness. Jehovah Nisi, the Lord, our banner,
his rod and staff, that's his sovereignty and the staff to
lean on. That's who we lean on. That's our banner. That's our
message. So all of the character. of Jehovah is found in this 23rd
Psalm. The Lord, Jehovah, in all of
his glory, in all of his power, in all of his self-existence,
as God, Jehovah is my shepherd. Shepherd. In Hebrews 13 20, he's
called that great shepherd of the sheep. I want him to be my
shepherd. Peter said in 1 Peter 5, 4, when
the chief shepherd shall appear, he shall give you a crown of
glory that fadeth not away. Now this chief shepherd that
gives this crown of glory, here's how. The glory thou has given
me, he says to his father, I have given them. I'd like you to turn
to John chapter 10 for a moment. John chapter 10. He says in verse 14, I am the
good shepherd. Now this is the same shepherd
David was speaking of in Psalm 23, the one who is That great
shepherd, the chief shepherd, the good shepherd. I am 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. Did you know that not every son
of Adam is a sheep? It's very important. There are
sheep and there are goats. That's what the word of God declares. The only way the Lord is my shepherd
is if I am a sheep. Look in John chapter 10 verse
24, you're there in John 10. Then came the Jews round about
him and said unto him, how long dost thou make us to doubt? If
thou be the Christ, tell us plainly. As if he ever spoke in obscurity. Jesus answered them, I told you. And you believe not. The works
that I do in my Father's name bear witness of me. He controlled
the weather. He raised people from the dead. He created matter. He did what only God could do. The works that I do in my Father's
name, they bear witness of me. But, verse 26, you believe not
because you are not of my sheep. The reason you don't believe
because you're not a sheep. He doesn't say you're not a sheep
because you don't believe. He says you believe not because
you are not of my sheep as I said unto you. My sheep hear my voice. I know them. And they follow
me. Let me read a passage from Matthew
chapter 25 in verse 31, when the son of man shall come in
his glory and all the Holy angels with him, then shall he sit upon
the throne of his glory. And before him should be gathered
all nations and he shall separate them one from another as a shepherd
divided his sheep from the goats. There are only two kinds of people
in this world. Sheep and goats. And he shall set the sheep on
his right hand, but the goats on his left. Now look in verse one of John
chapter 10. 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. Anybody that tries to get into
the sheepfold apart from the door, which is Christ, is 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 putteth forth his
own sheep, he goes before them. And the sheep follow him, for
they know his voice. A stranger will they not follow,
but will flee 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, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the
sheep. I'm the only way they get in. All that ever came before me
are thieves and robbers. Now, don't miss this. If you
put anything before Christ, why I'm saved because I did this,
that's a thief and a robber. If you put any work before Christ,
it's a thief and a robber. He's before all things. If you're
elect, it's because you're in Him. He came first. If you are redeemed, it's because
He redeemed you. He came first. Nothing comes
before Him. If you believe He gave you life,
He gave you that faith. Nothing comes before Him. He is before all things. By him, all things consist. He says, all that ever came before
me, they're nothing but thieves and robbers. But the sheep didn't
hear them. The Lord said, they hear my voice.
They hear his voice in the gospel. This is not the preacher's opinion.
This is not a denominational distinctive. This is the word
of God. They hear his voice. If my voice is the only voice
you hear, it's not going to do you any good at all. None. But
all of you hear his voice when he speaks by his spirit and you
know, this is his word. This is not man's word. This
is his word. The Lord says with regard to his sheep, my sheep
hear my voice. I know them. I know them. Now this can't be said of every
son of Adam. He said to a group, depart from me, ye that work
iniquity. I never knew you. Oh, he knew
who they were. He knew exactly who they were,
but he never loved them. He never knew him to be his own.
I never knew you, but he knows his sheep. I love that scripture. Now that you've known God or
rather are known of God, I, oh, don't you want him to know you?
And the scripture says, this is what the Lord says with regard
to these sheep. They follow me. Now, think of a sheep following
the shepherd. Most people, when they think of following Christ,
they think, well, that means you need to imitate him. Would
I say anything against that? I want to imitate him. I want
to do exactly as he did. I want to, and you do too, if
you're a believer, you want that. But do sheep imitate the shepherd?
No, they follow him. They follow him. How do they
do that? They look to him. Following Christ
is keeping your eyes only upon Him, looking to Him alone at
all times, looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our
faith. It's not looking down at your feet to look at your
walk to see how you're doing. You'll lose Him if that's what
you're doing. It's not looking to the side to see how somebody
else is doing and comparing yourself to them. You'll lose it. It's
not looking behind you to find some kind of evidence and works
in your life that'll prove that you're saved. Well, I can see
this, I must be saved. I did this, I quit doing that.
No! You keep your eyes only on Him. You look nowhere else. It's what sheep do. They follow
him. Now, if the Lord is my shepherd,
I must be a sheep. Of all the animals the Lord uses
to describe his people, what does he pick out? A sheep. Not a lion. Not a bear. Not a swift flying
eagle, not a horse, but a sheep. Sheep are dumb. Sheep are dirty. They're dirty
animals. They can become so dirty. This
is true. They're wool filled with such
dirt that they can fall over and they can't get back up unless
the shepherd sets them back up. Like a turtle on their back,
they can't roll over. The weight is so great that only
the shepherd can set them back up. They are easily, easily led astray. You know, David, said, I've gone
astray like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant. And you know,
when they go astray, they can't find their way back. They can't. They lack the ability to find
their way back. The shepherd's got to come after them. You know,
sheep are defenseless. They don't have claws. They don't
have fangs to protect themselves. They're completely dependent
upon the shepherd to do everything for them. That's a sheep. Completely dependent upon their
shepherd. That's a sheep. Is the Lord my shepherd? Well,
he is if you're a sheep. My sheep. The Lord's got a people
he calls his sheep, my sheep. Hear my voice. I know them and
they follow me. The sheep of which he said, my
father, which gave them me is greater than all. The sheep are
the elect. Now do you hear that? That's
who they are. The sheep are the elect. David said with such confidence,
the Lord is my shepherd. He's yours just as much as he
is David's if you're a sheep. Now, let me give you some counsel. Don't try to figure out if you're
a sheep. Don't try to figure out if you're
one of the elect. Don't do that. What if I'm not
elect? Don't even ask that question.
That's none of your business. Your responsibility is to believe
the gospel right now. Believe what God says. Don't
think, well, what if I'm not elect? What if I'm not a sheep?
What if Christ didn't die for me? Quit thinking that way. That's
not the issue. The issue is, do you believe on Christ? If you do, you're a sheep. who so believeth that Jesus is
the Christ is born of God. The only evidence that you're
a sheep is that you believe the gospel. Don't think, well, do
I have sufficient evidence in my life to prove to me I'm saved?
Is my life changed enough and good enough to think, well, he
must've done something for me? Don't think that way. That's
evil to think that way. That's nothing but self-righteousness.
There's no merit at all in that. Do you believe on Christ? That is the one issue. Who is he that overcometh the
world? That he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God. And by that, I mean the God of
the Bible, the creator, the sovereign God. Do you believe that Jesus
Christ is the Son of God, God the Son, the second person of
the Trinity, the creator, the absolute sovereign of the universe?
Do you believe that? Do you trust him only as your
only ground of salvation? That's what sheep do. They believe. He said, you believe
not because you're not of my sheep. What do sheep do? They
believe. They believe the gospel. Now, do you believe that he is
God, the son able to save you with no help from you? With no
contribution from you? Do you believe that He by Himself
purged our sins? No help from us. Do you believe? Then you can say with just as
much confidence as David, the Lord is my shepherd. Now, Since the Lord is my shepherd,
I shall not lack rest." Look what David says back to Psalm
23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. Let's stay
there for just a moment before we go on. I shall not want. I
shall not lack. I shall not be in need. I shall
not be missing anything. I shall not want. I shall not
lack. To this extent, Paul said in
him dwelleth all the fullness of the Godhead bodily and you
are complete. You lack Nothing. Now, as far as the way I feel,
I feel lacking all the time. Inadequate, not measuring up,
failing, falling. But what does God's word say
with regard to every believer? You are complete. I shall not want. I shall not lack. This is the heritage of every
sheep. I shall not want. Because he's my shepherd, I shall
not lack rest. He maketh me to lie down. in green pastures, the pastures
of his word, he makes me to lie down. You see, there remained
at the rest for the people of God, a lying down, a resting
for he that's entered into his rest has ceased from his own
works. You know, this is what sheep
do. They cease from their own works. They say they can't be
saved by the works. to him that worketh not." Is that you? You know that you cannot be saved
by your works. To him that worketh not, but
believeth on him that justifieth the ungodly. His faith is counted
for righteousness. The Lord said, come unto me all
ye that are weary and heavy laden, and I'll give you rest. Ceasing from your labors, resting
in what he has done. I need no other argument, I need
no other plea, it is enough that Jesus died and that he died for
me. If Jehovah's my shepherd, I'm
not gonna like rest. And then he says in verse two,
he leadeth me beside the still My marginal reading says waters
of quietness, peace. If the Lord is my shepherd, I
am not going to lack peace. Now the only way that there can
be peace, true peace, if you ask the average person, do you
have peace? Oh yeah, I have peace, everything's
good. It's good, I'm good, got peace. But the only way you can
truly have peace is if you have no sin. If you have any sin,
no peace. Not really. You can claim it,
but it's not real. The only peace there is is to
have no sin. Now, Jesus Christ, the Lord,
took my sin in his own body. on the tree and he put it away. He was delivered for our offenses.
He was raised again for our justification. So I stand before God having
no sin. Having never sinned. That's justification. And the
only way I can truly have peace is if I have no sin. He leads me by still waters,
waters of peace, waters of quietness, quietness of conscience because
of the resurrection of Christ, what he accomplished on Calvary's
tree. Because the Lord is my shepherd,
I have peace. Verse three, he restores my soul. He restores my soul. Now that
word is generally translated. He turns back my soul. He turns my soul. He returns
my soul. Now, because my shepherd is the
Lord, he brings me back. That's what shepherds do. David
said, I've gone astray like a lost sheep. And I have a constant
tendency to stray away through sin, through unbelief. And I'll
stay out there unless my shepherd restores me and brings me back. Turn us again, O Lord God of
hosts, cause thy face to shine and we'll be saved. Turn us.
Jeremiah said, turn me and I'll be turned. That's what the shepherd
does. He restores, he turns me, he
brings me back into the fold. What a shepherd. This happens
all the time with every child of God. The Lord is my shepherd. He restores my soul. And look what he says next in
verse 30, because my shepherd is the Lord, he leads me in paths
of righteousness for his namesake. I'm not going to lack righteousness.
And I have it for his namesake. That lets me know it's not something
I've worked out. I only have it for his name's
sake. And I have no doubt that David understood there's only
one righteousness, the righteousness and merits of Jesus Christ. You
see, he leads me in the paths of his righteousness. You know,
Paul said, oh that I may win Christ and be found in him not
having my own righteousness. I don't wanna have anything to
do with that. I don't wanna have anything to do with that. I want
to have his righteousness, not having my own righteousness,
which is the law, but that which is the faithfulness of Christ,
the righteousness, which is of God by faith. I'm not going to
lack righteousness. And here's why. He took my sin. He took my sin and put it away. Now he became sin to this extent. He cried out, my God, my God,
why hast thou forsaken me? He was really forsaken by God.
It wasn't like God was looking at him saying, son, I know this
is not your sin, but I'm going to punish you for it anyway.
No, he took what I deserve. He was forsaken by God. He put that sin away. And just
as truly as he put that sin away, every believer is made the very
righteousness of God in him. Because the Lord is my shepherd,
I will not lack righteousness. Verse four. Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear no evil. Now, because
the Lord is my shepherd, though I walk through the valley of
the shadow of death. Now, when did that begin? Well,
in my experience, 9-9-59. September 9th, 1959, I started
this walk through this valley of the shadow of death. And you
know, everything shadows in my walk. Shadows. I don't know what's
going on. I don't know why things happen.
I don't know why people respond a certain way. I don't know why
I respond a certain way. I'm walking through the valley
of the shadow of death. This life is so transient, it's
so temporary. Death is soon. I'm walking through
the valley of the shadow of death, but because my shepherd is the
Lord, I'll fear no evil. Nothing to fear. You know why
I don't fear anything? Because I trust this character
and he's in control of everything. And somebody says, why does God
let this happen? I don't know, but he did. And
he's got wise and holy and good purposes for everything. That's
who he is. And walking through this shadow
valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil. Why? Because he's with me. That's
all it takes. He's with me. He has promised,
I'll never leave you nor forsake you. He's with me when I'm aware
of it. He's with me when I'm not aware
of it. He's with me when I'm asleep.
He's with me when I'm awake. He's with me when I feel joy. He's with me when I feel sadness. The Lord is with me. Blessed
thing to be able to say, the Lord's my shepherd. Although
I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'll fear
no evil for thou art with me. Then he says, thy rod and thy
staff, they comfort me. Now I'm not going to lack his
presence because he's with me. I'm not going to lack his fellowship
because he's with me. I'm also not going to lack his
comfort. thy rod and thy staff they comfort me." His rod represents
his scepter. He's king. King of kings, Lord
of lords. This speaks of his absolute sovereign
authority. Staff, that's what you lean on.
That's what you lean on. His absolute comfort and leaning
only, His absolute sovereignty and leaning only on Him that
comforts me. The comfort of the gospel. Comfort
ye, comfort ye my people, saith the Lord. Speak ye comfortably
to Jerusalem and say unto her, your warfare's accomplished. Your sin is pardoned. You've
received the Lord's hand double for all your sins. I'm not gonna lack comfort because
my shepherd is Jehovah. Verse five, I'm not gonna lack
provision. Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of mine enemies. Because the Lord is my shepherd,
I'm not gonna lack provision. All, listen to this. All he requires
of me, he provides for me. Now rest in that. All he requires,
you take that as far as you can take it. All he requires of me,
he provides for me. He prepares a table before me
in the very presence of my enemies. And I know the first thing that
I think of when I think of that is, you know, the folks that
don't like me. They're going to have to sit there and watch
while I'm eating at the table. That's really not what it means. My enemies are my sins. David said, my sins are ever
before me. They're not before the Lord,
but they're before me while I'm in this flesh. And the Lord prepares
this table of grace, of acceptance, of forgiveness of my sins for
me in the very presence of my enemies. One of these days, these
enemies will be no more. They'll be gone. But in the meantime,
I'm given the table of grace in the very presence of my enemies. Thou, verse five, because my
shepherd is the Lord. This is what my shepherd does.
Thou anointest my head with oil. Now this is speaking of the oil
of His Spirit. The oil of His grace. Thou anointest
my head with oil. This continual anointing, the
anointing of God the Holy Spirit. Why do you believe? Because you've
been anointed with oil. The oil of His Spirit. The oil
of His grace. Why do you love Jesus Christ?
Because you've been anointed with the oil of His Spirit, with
the oil of His grace. Streams of mercy never ceasing
call for songs of loudest praise. My cup runneth over. You know
what that means? It means it's always full for
one thing. It's always full. I'm always
complete. in Christ and it's so full. I mean, it's full to the brim
all the time because of what he did, whether I feel it or
not, it's still full all the way to the brim running over
because I am complete in him. You can't add one drop to it. You can't get any more loved.
You can't get any more accepted. You can't get any more saved
than you are in Christ Jesus. My cup runneth over. It's plumb full and running over
because of the freeness and richness of his grace. Now David says, surely, I like
that word, don't you? Surely, here's God's two sheepdogs. And
that word follow is pursue. Pursue, it's stronger than just
follow, pursue. You know what a sheepdog does?
You know when a sheep gets out? Sheepdog runs them back in. Now I'm giving this sureness,
God's two sheepdogs Goodness and mercy are always pursuing
me. God's goodness, God's mercy,
non-stop pursue me. Oh, what a glorious thing to
have Him as your shepherd. Surely, goodness, it's all good
because He's You know, when I say it's all good, it really is all
good. Well, what if you're getting ready to die? It's all good.
What if you got cancer? It's all good. It's all good. And it's all mercy. Surely, goodness
and mercy shall pursue me all the days of my life. And I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now, who's the house
of the Lord? The Lord Jesus Christ. Look to
Psalm 27, verse four. One thing have I desired of the
Lord, that will I seek after, that I may dwell in the house
of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of
the Lord and to inquire in his name. temple. Now, this is exactly
what Paul meant when he said, Oh, that I may win Christ and
be found in him. This is the one thing I desire to be in the house of the Lord.
Does that mean to be in this building? No. We're going to
the house of the Lord. The house of the Lord is His
people. It's His perfect, but what? Oh, I just want to be in
a worship service hall. No, you don't. I mean, you rejoice
when you're enabled to hear, but I don't want to be in this
room. I always want to be in Christ. I don't want to be anywhere else.
I want it to where when God looks at me, All He sees is His Son. I want to dwell in the house
of the Lord forever. What's it mean to be in the house
of the Lord? Of Him are you in Christ Jesus. Who of God is made
unto us. Wisdom and righteousness and
sanctification and redemption That according as it's written,
he that glorieth, let him glory in the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. If you trust Christ only right
now. My dear friend, the Lord is your
shepherd. You shall not want. Let's pray.