I Shall Not Want” Series

SERMON 1: “I Shall Not Want”

Series: The Shepherd’s Promise

Key Verse: Psalm 23:1 (KJV) — “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.”

? INTRODUCTION:

Let me slow this down and walk you into something the Lord revealed to me...

I was praying—and I don’t mean a cute prayer.

I mean a tired, poured-out, God-I-can’t-do-this-anymore kind of prayer.

I went on and on, telling God how exhausted I was.

How heavy it had been. How I didn’t know if I could make it.

And like a gentle Father, He didn’t interrupt me.

He didn’t correct me.

He let me talk.

And when I finally finished, He asked me one question that changed everything:

“Well… what do you need?”

I said, “I need strength, Lord. I just need strength to make it through.”

And His response?

Still. Gentle. But full of truth and authority.

“I have ordained unto you strength. What you need… is rest.”

And just like that—I realized I had been asking for what I already had…

and neglecting what I actually needed.

🔥 POINT 1: THE LORD IS — Present Tense

“The Lord is my shepherd...”

Before we go any further, let’s deal with this one word: “is.”

David didn’t say:

The Lord was my shepherd

The Lord will be my shepherd

He said:

“The Lord is.”

That means right now.

Not when I’m perfect.

Not when I feel spiritual.

Not when I have it all together.

But right now, in the middle of my mess, He is my Shepherd.

🔍 The Role of the Shepherd:

In biblical culture, a shepherd wasn’t just someone who walked with sheep.

He led them, fed them, protected them, and fought for them.

And our God—

He doesn’t delegate care for His sheep.

He doesn’t send angels to do His job.

He steps in personally and says:

“I’m not a hireling. I don’t run when it gets hard. I don’t walk away when you wander.

I AM the good Shepherd. I lay down My life for you.”

(John 10:11)

🔥 POINT 2: THE SEMICOLON IS PROPHETIC

“The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”

That little semicolon?

It’s not just punctuation.

It’s a prophetic bridge.

It means what comes next is a direct result of what came before.

So because He is Shepherd,

? I shall not want.

Because He’s Provider,

? I lack nothing.

Because He leads,

? I don’t have to chase.

Because He watches over me,

? I can rest.

The semicolon means:

“This is who He is; and because of that, here’s what I have.”

🔥 POINT 3: I SHALL NOT WANT — THAT’S A COVENANT PROMISE

Let’s get this in your spirit today:

“I shall not want.”

Not maybe.

Not if I pray hard enough.

Not if I tithe and fast and say the right words.

No—I SHALL NOT.

This is not just a statement.

It’s a divine covenant.

“Because I belong to the Shepherd—I shall not lack.”

Let’s break it down:

I shall not want for peace

I shall not want for strength

I shall not want for direction

I shall not want for protection

I shall not want for healing

I shall not want for affirmation

I shall not want for love

I shall not want for rest

Every area where you’ve felt like you were lacking—

He’s saying:

“You already have what you need in Me.”

🔥 POINT 4: STOP STRIVING FOR WHAT HE’S ALREADY PROVIDED

God told me:

“You keep asking Me for strength—

But I already ordained that to you.”

“What you’re missing is not power—it’s peace.”

“You don’t need to fight harder. You need to lie down.”

Sometimes we get so used to the pressure

That when God offers peace, we resist it.

We confuse rest with weakness.

We think stopping means we’re failing.

But what if stopping is how He heals you?

Psalm 23 doesn’t start with a battle.

It starts with a Shepherd who says:

“Lie down. I’ve got this.”

🔥 POINT 5: THE LORD IS NOT A HIRELING — HE’S A KEEPER

Let’s go deeper. Jesus said in:

John 10:12-13

“But he that is an hireling… seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth…”

But God is not a hireling.

A hireling watches the sheep for a paycheck.

A Shepherd watches the sheep because they’re His.

God says:

“When the wolves came for you, I stayed.”

“When depression came, I stayed.”

“When grief overwhelmed you, I stayed.”

“When you started to fall off the cliff—I caught you.”

This Shepherd does not abandon His own.

🔥 POINT 6: AFTER ALL OF THIS — HE RESTORES MY SOUL

The Shepherd doesn’t stop at saving you.

He doesn't just catch you mid-fall and dust you off.

He sits you down in green pastures,

He leads you beside still waters,