The Lord Is My Shepherd

As you can see on the screen, the title of my message tonight is, The Lord is My Shepherd, from Psalm 23.

And if you would, turn in your Bibles to Psalm 23 as I read a brief introduction. Of late, we've had several beacon folks go through difficult trials. Some have suffered physically with sickness. Others have struggled emotionally through the loss of a loved one to death. Still others have struggled mentally with hardships that have accompanied the pandemic that has gripped our world. For some, the struggles have been recent and are still very raw.

For others, the struggles have lasted months, if not years. And tonight, we want to consider a text that has given comfort to millions down through the years, Psalm 23. But before we look into the text, I want to read a poem entitled, Abiding in Him. My heart and my hands were weary from the burden of my load. I pled with God to change my path and grant an easier road. From deep within my soul, He said, I'll strengthen and provide. Abide in me, my precious child, when you are sorely tried. God showed me that the path I'd trod was fashioned step by step through fires that purged the dross from me, His image to reflect. I learned of God as near before and sought to seek His face. The greater was my soul deep pain, the sweeter was His grace. Romans 8, 26, an English Standard Version says, likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness.

For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. I made the comment in my introduction that some people had gone through the loss of a loved one recently. And I think most in our church know that my brother-in-law passed away this last week.

And quite honestly, I got the phone call around 2.15 Friday morning from my wife who was in California with my sister-in-law. And she told me that they had called Becky and the girls, his two daughters and Jane to the hospital. The difficult part about that was eventually they allowed Becky and one of the girls to go on to see John.

And dressed them in a suit and had them stand behind plexiglass and they basically watched him die, which was very difficult. While I mention that, and I want to repeat Romans 8, 26 again and tell you the reason, likewise, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. I will tell you that after I got the call from my wife between 2.15 and 5.15, give or take, I, like the rest of my family, agonized.

It was obvious that John was not going to make it. We did not want to lose him, but we did not want him to suffer. And I will tell you that I've had this experience before and I'm sure that many listening to my voice have also. I didn't know what to pray. And all I could do at one point was to tearfully say, God, God, God.

And this may sound strange, a strange pairing, but my attitude was of intense submission. And I think if you've ever been there where you just don't know what to pray and you want to bow the knee to the sovereignty of God and yet you are intensely hurting, the Holy Spirit steps in and you have such peace even just saying, God, God, God. 2 Corinthians 12.9 says, My grace is sufficient for thee, for my strength is made perfect in weakness. I want to read Psalm 23 at this time and then we'll share some thoughts. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

Yea, though I walk through the valley at the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil.

My cup runs 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. David begins Psalm 23 by acknowledging a personal relationship with his shepherd. He states, The Lord is my shepherd. The words the Lord refer to the name Jehovah. It's the sacred name of the self-existent, eternal I am that I am.

It's the name of God who has no equal. Listen to these verses. Psalm 113 verse 6, Who is like the Lord our God, who dwells on high, who humbles himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and in the earth? Every time I read that verse, I think, David, if you only knew then what we know now about the heavens. He says that God humbles himself to behold the things that are in the heavens and the earth. And that's basically based upon David's knowledge.

There were a lot of stars up there, but he had no clue. Isaiah 55, 8 and 9, For my thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways, says the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. Finally, a familiar verse, Romans 11, 33, O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God, how unsearchable are His judgments and His ways past finding out. I give these verses, beloved, because it's my conviction, and I trust yours, too, that God had an eternal plan that included everyone, including my brother-in-law, including you, including me. There are no accidents.

There are no surprises. He ordains His perfect providence and fulfills it perfectly. And our confidence and our contentment grows with our understanding of who the Lord is. Our reaction, and this is important, our reaction to trial may vary among Christians, but the remedy is the same. The remedy is the shepherd. We can approach grief. We can approach pain. We can approach sickness differently as individual Christians.

And yet that's one thing we have in common. The remedy is the shepherd. The word affirmation means to express a strong belief in or dedication to someone or something.

Let me read that again. The word affirmation means to express a strong belief in or dedication to someone or something. How often do you affirm your love for and dedication to the Lord?

Note this. The Lord, the creator of the universe, who became more than your shepherd, He became the sacrificial lamb that saved your eternal soul. You know, sometimes it's difficulties that make us stop to ponder who the Lord really is and what He has done for us and is doing in us. The second part of the verse is the words is my shepherd. The Lord is my shepherd.

The words are in the present tense. They speak of ongoing personal assurance and confidence. A person must be born of the Spirit before he can be led by the Spirit. Being born of the Spirit obviously includes two things, believing in the personal work of Jesus Christ and confessing our sins before the Lord.

More than knowledge and lip service, it involves placing your complete and exclusive trust in Christ. I give this illustration and I've probably shared it before. It's something like going up in a plane to skydive. You get up there and you probably have your heart pounding.

I know mine would be. And you think, well, thousands upon thousands of people have done this safely before. But you will never be a skydiver until you jump from that plane and then there's no return. You have left the point of return. And in a sense, when we accept Christ as our Savior, when we repent of sin, we have become a new creation in Christ.

There is no turning back. And I am very burdened at times for some of the young people who over time have demonstrated lip service and a head knowledge without a true saving knowledge of Christ. Let's praise the Lord for those who do know Christ in an intimate and personal way. In John 10, Jesus said, I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives his life for the sheep. I am the Good Shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish.

Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. It is an eternal relationship, an eternal relationship with Jesus Christ. Then David next speaks of provision by his shepherd. The second part of verse one and verse two. I shall not want, he makes me to lie down in green pastures.

The words I shall not want speak of resources for the body. And I'm sure you as a Christian have had the Lord demonstrate his faithfulness in that area of your life. We're to trust God as our protector and our provider and then demonstrate contentment with his provision for us.

I am sobered when I read these next words. Christ taught us to pray, give us this day our daily bread. Have you ever had to pray that? Lord, if you don't give me my bread today, I'm not going to eat.

I have never had to pray that and yet I need to make certain that I've got that attitude to be content with daily bread. Hebrews, I should say Paul wrote, and my God shall supply all your need according to his riches and glory by Christ Jesus in Philippians 4. I shall not want speaks of resources for the body and the words he makes me to lie down in green pastures speaks of rest from fretfulness and fear.

Lie down in green pastures. Second Corinthians chapter one verses three and four, wonderful verses. Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercy and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation.

Why? That we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. He comforts us in part so that we can comfort others. And then Hebrews 13, five, the second part of it, he himself has said, I will never leave you nor forsake you. And commentators say that in the Greek there are five negatives, so that you could read that verse as follows.

It's like saying there is absolutely no way whatsoever that I will ever, ever leave you. What assurance we have no matter what difficulty and trial we may be going through at the time. David's personal relationship with his shepherd not only gave him resources and rest, it gave him, thirdly, peace through his shepherd. It says he leads me beside the still waters. Blind Fanny Crosby said, when my spirit clothed the mortal, wings its flight to realms of day. This my song through endless ages, Jesus led me all the way.

What a wonderful, wonderful thought. One of my favorite verses of any hymn. When my spirit clothed the mortal, wings its flight to realms of day. This my song through endless ages, Jesus led me all the way. The word still waters speak of a time for reflection. I want to read a Spurgeon quote. I'll do it slowly.

It's not super long, but it's so packed as many of his things are. Still waters speak of a time for reflection. Listen to this if you would. Spurgeon says, it should be among our day thoughts and night thoughts to remember the flight of time, the changeful character of earthly things, the brevity of both joy and sorrow, the preciousness of life, our utter powerlessness to recall the hours once flown, and the irresistible approach of eternity. He says, day bids us labor. Night reminds us to prepare for our last time. Day bids us work for God, and night invites us to rest in him. Day bids us look for endless day, and night warns us to escape from everlasting night. Truly, folks, none of us, none of us know what a day will bring forth. We need to take time to reflect. Isaiah wrote, you will keep him in perfect peace whose mind has stayed on you.

Why? Because he trusts in you. Philippians 4, Paul writes, be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Not only does he have peace through his shepherd, but this leads us to the most important aspect of the psalm, I believe, and that is this, he has purity through his shepherd, verse 3. He says he restores my soul.

Restore means to bring back, to repair, to refresh. Like sheep, we are prone to wander. Think of David's prayer in Psalm 51. He ended up saying, restore unto me the joy of your salvation. The sweet psalmist, the man after God's own heart, had to pray, Lord, restore unto me the joy of your salvation. And then the words, he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake, speak of right living. It speaks of right living, guiding our life by the word of God. And notice this, David says paths of righteousness. He's speaking of more than one path. And the imagery, according to commentaries, is one of several meandering, parallel paths, all following the shepherd.

What do they mean by that? The details in the lives of his sheep can vary. We can take different paths, but the destination is the same.

We are all headed home. We are headed toward our destination, and that is heaven, and that's something to rejoice in. The words for his name's sake tell us the motive behind our shepherd's leading. He restores our soul, and he leads us in paths of righteousness for his glory. Praise the Lord. For those who have become Christ's sheep through saving faith in who he is and what he's accomplished, there are great benefits for time and for eternity. In the last part of this psalm, verses 4 through 6, we see some of those listed.

First of all, presence of the shepherd. He says, yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Walk through the valley of the shadow of death. That speaks of a steady gate, not running in fear, nor standing in stagnation, not staying in the valley, but walking through the valley.

This speaks of a temporary journey that leads to joy unspeakable and full of glory for us. It's the valley of the shadow of death, and shadows are not reality. One commentator that I read said the shadow of a dog does not bite, a humorous way of putting it.

But what he was saying is just reemphasizing shadows are not reality. It's not the valley of death itself, for death has lost its sting, and the grave has lost its victory for Christians because of Christ's triumph on the cross. Then David goes on and he says, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. He doesn't deny that evil may come into our lives.

Now, here's the thing that I felt was interesting. The word evil in this context means adversity, affliction, displeasure, grief, hurt, misery. David said that he would fear none of these things because his all-powerful, all-knowing, I am that I am shepherd is with him come what may. And that's something that all of us can rejoice in if we do know Christ as Savior. The more we know about our shepherd, the greater will be our comfort in times of difficulty. And I've shared this verse many, many times from Asaph in Psalm 73, 26, one of my favorite verses, probably my life's verse. My flesh and my heart fail, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever.

Take that apart. My flesh, I'm at the end of my physical rope. I'm beyond helping myself. My flesh fails.

Then he goes on to say my heart fails. I'm at the end of my emotional rope or maybe my spiritual rope. I am done.

I'm at the end. But God is the strength of my heart. My essential self is focused upon God and he is my portion forever. Not only does he give us the presence of his shepherd, but also protection from the shepherd.

We see that in verse four, the latter part of it in verse five. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil.

My cup runs over. The shepherd's rod was to guard the sheep against danger. The shepherd's staff was to guide the sheep in the right direction. So he would protect them as well as guide them.

And then we see a public victory. You notice there he says that you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. God provides abundant supply of our needs in the presence of enemies that are in affront to our comfort. Now you might say, well, brother, I don't have a whole lot of enemies. Well, you may not have physical, flesh and blood enemies, but perhaps you've got burdens that act like it. I mean, it is just bearing down upon you, weighing you down. And the Lord of Psalm 23 is the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort that we mentioned earlier, who comforts us in all of our tribulation.

Beloved, there's no doubt about that. We can have a victory that is a testimony in a way that would glorify the Lord. You know, when we go through the trials and they see how we handle them, that is an encouragement, a challenge. It can be a means of edification for the Christian and evangelization for the lost when they see us go through what we do. Quite honestly, I do not know how the unsaved handle it. I don't know how they handle it. Quite frankly, I dreaded speaking tonight.

I dreaded it because I didn't know if I could handle my emotions. And I am just amazed at God's grace and His mercy and His showing us how dependent we are upon Him. And with Him doing that and giving grace and giving mercy and giving strength and giving calmness and giving clarity, He brings glory to Himself.

We can have a public testimony with public victory during the trials that God brings into our lives. And then we see not only does He have the presence of His shepherd and protection from His shepherd, but also prospects from His shepherd because of His shepherd. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The goodness of God takes care of our steps while the mercy of God takes care of our sins. The goodness of God takes care of our steps. He directs us. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord and He delights in His way, but God's mercy takes care of our sins. He's willing to forgive us of all unrighteousness as we confess it to Him. Christ emphasized the wonderful truth that those who place their faith in Him are eternally secure.

He said in John 10, my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. And I give them eternal life and they shall never perish. Neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father who has given them to me is greater than all and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand.

I and my Father are one. Beloved, we cannot possibly imagine the wonder of living in the house of the Lord forever. We read that verse, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever, but have you ever stopped to just try to contemplate what that will be like? Nor can we imagine the woe of those who are denied entrance because they've rejected Christ.

And I said earlier, we do not know what a day will bring forth. We believe at this church that salvation is of the Lord from A to Z. He's sovereign in salvation, yet He's chosen to use weak instruments like you and like me to be a testimony to the lost. If we're burdened for those in our family, if we're burdened for neighbors and friends who don't give evidence of truly having saving faith in Christ, we should be witnessing through our lips and our lives because truly we do not know what a day will bring forth. I praise God. I know that I will see my brother-in-law again.

How do you know that for sure? Because of his life. He loved Christ. He served Christ. He guided his life by Christ.

That should be our testimony as well. In Matthew 25, Jesus said, when the Son of Man comes in His glory and all the holy angels with Him, then He will sit on the throne of His glory. All the nations will be gathered before Him and He will separate them one from another as a shepherd divides his sheep from the goats and He will set the sheep on His right hand but the goats on the left. Then the King will say to those on His right hand, Come, you blessed of my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. Then He will also say to those on the left hand, Depart from Me, you cursed, and everlasting fire prepared for the devil and his angels. And these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life. You know, I have no idea and I don't think any person does of what it's going to be like when Christ returns and takes us to be with Him.

I would imagine that the experience of seeing Him will blot out the thought that not all of our loved ones are going with us. I don't know the answer to that, but when you read the last part of that verse, these will go away into everlasting punishment but the righteous into eternal life. There is a head and a tail of joy inexpressible and a sadness inexpressible. When you think about loved ones who will not be with you in heaven. What a contrast between the destination of sheep who possess Christ as Savior and shepherd and goats who merely profess Christ as their shepherd. Those who have assurance that they are one of God's sheep can rejoice in the things that we've mentioned, His provision, His peace, His purity and protection. And you can look forward to the prospects of faith becoming sight and hope becoming reality forever. If you have any question about your relationship with Jesus, flee to Him by faith. Flee to Him by faith. Ask God to forgive you of your sins and to cleanse you of all unrighteousness. Ask God to apply the righteousness of Christ to your eternal account as you trust entirely and exclusively in Him as your Savior. Ask God to lead you in paths of righteousness for His name's sake. For those of you who are listening as I close and you are Christians, you have a deep sense in your heart that Christ is your shepherd.

He is your Savior. I want to challenge you to contemplate more as I've been challenged upon God. If I had spoken on preparing for persecution, one of the analogies that I was going to use and will use as the Lord leads me to speak on that in the future, you don't wait until game day to prepare. You don't wait until game day to prepare. And beloved, I say that to say this in this message tonight.

You don't wait for game day to prepare. Know God. Grow in your knowledge of God so that when trials come, tough, hard trials come, you and I can say, God, God, God.

Because what we're doing in saying that, I believe, is just saying I turn it all over to you. It may crush me emotionally, but when I don't understand what you're doing, I trust who you are. Quiet waters and green pastures from the gracious hand of God who will guard and guide my footsteps with the shepherd's staff and rod. Through the shadows of death's valley, amidst life's toils and trials and tears, God the Spirit, ever present, comforts me amidst doubts and fears. As my saving sanctifier, good and merciful each day, my provider and protector lead each step along my way. Living hope is mine in Jesus. In his house forevermore, I will glory in the presence of the Lord whom I adore. Please bow for the benediction. Now may the God of peace who brought up our Lord Jesus Christ from the dead, that great shepherd of the sheep to the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you complete in every good work to do his will, working in you what is well pleasing in his sight through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.