The Good Shepherd

The Good Shepherd!



³I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep. 12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them. 13 The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about the sheep. 14 I am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My sheep 15 As the Father knows Me, own. even so I know the Father; and I lay down My life for the sheep. John 10:11-15


The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. 4 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. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:1-6


The one who wrote this psalm had an intimate knowledge of what it meant to be a shepherd.


David spent all of his growing up years caring for his father’s sheep in the pasturelands of Israel.


In those years he had lots of time to develop a deep relationship with God.


He also had the perfect opportunity to develop his musical talents. God and Sheep are a great audience to share your songs with.


It is these earliest experiences with God that formed his life work. He would be a shepherd not only a flock of sheep but of men and women as well.


He learned to war protecting his sheep.


David said to Saul, "Let no man's heart fail on account of him; your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.´ 33 Then Saul said to David, "You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him; for you are but a youth while he has been a warrior from his youth.” 34 But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36"Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God.´ 37 And David said, "The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."


1 Samuel 17:32-37


Our destiny is being established from the moment of our conception. If we understand our circumstances and if we are seeking God all the events of our lives we can find God’s redemptive purposes for our lives.


That is what David did. He took what many would feel to be a terrifying experience never to be repeated and instead saw it as an opportunity for God to demonstrate His power. God loves this!


So it was with one of the most beautiful poems in the world. He drew on some of the most difficult and discouraging periods of his life and saw God faithfully caring for him the whole time.


The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want.


Psalm 23:1


A good shepherd is a constant caregiver. David saw God’s heart in his own. One who is always protecting, providing One who is always giving His presence.


He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. Psalm 23:2


When David wrote these words he was a fugitive on the run from a man who had thousands of troops and was determined to kill him.


He was living in caves and living from day to day in absolute fear. So where were the green pastures he was led by his shepherd to?


They were in his heart.


I have found that there can be an absolute difference between our outward circumstances and our inward condition.


When we choose God as our Good Shepherd we are continually led to a place of rest no matter what is happening outside us.


It comes down to choosing which reality we will live in. God’s or ours.


He restores my soul;


Psalm 23:3 a


God’s restoration of our soul is what Jesus died for.


Our own wrong choices, the world, and the enemy of souls continually eat away at our inner life.


But as the Good Shepherd Jesus brings the restoration of our souls he paid for with his life.


He lays down his life for his sheep so that they might find life.


He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake.


Psalm 23:3


David depended on God to direct his life.


He did so in a very specific way. He prayed and believed God would lead him. And God did.


Far to often I find that we pray without expecting an answer.


David knew better. His very life depended on God guiding him into safe places.


He knew a good shepherd would do that.


And he believed that God would guide him purposefully and specifically.


God delights in us praying for His specific guidance and expecting him to give it.


Seeing God act our behalf through answered prayer is such a delight to our souls.


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. Psalm 23:4


David walked the valley of the shadow of death often. As he speaks of it here we understand the secret to the life he found in God.


He knew the reality of God’s presence with him.


Paul the apostle found this same secret:


What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who is against us? 32 He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him over for us all, how will He not also with Him freely give us all things? Romans 8:31-32


In the midst of terrible trouble David understood God was as near. He was the good shepherd that would never leave him to the bears and lions.


God’s nearness was what gave David the courage to move ahead. It was what delighted him. God’s presence was the quiet waters and green pastures. It was what restored his soul.


You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Psalm 23:5


The banquet set by God for David did not remove his enemy. But his enemy could not hinder David from feasting with God. Nor should it ever hinder us.


How often do we feel that life keeps us from this place of joy in our Lord. Yet it is not true. It can keep us from the table of the Lord only if we focus on the it as the enemy.


When we choose to live our lives in the joy of God’s presence we find that the enemies of our life are subdued inside us. They cannot harm us.


David ends the psalm by affirming the reality of God’s eternal care. These ³momentary light afflictions´ as Peter called them are reminders that God’s presence with us is the only reality that matters.


His lovingkindness, his mercy, being invited as a special guest to be with him in his home forever makes everything else inconsequential.


The secret that David wants us to find as well is that God’s presence can help us to walk through anything. It is the joy of life when all outward joy has gone.


Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever. Psalm 23:4


And it is so because Jesus is our Good Shepherd.


The Lord is My Shepherd Odcf June 4 2011