My Shepherd

My Shepherd

Psalm 23

Introduction-

Please turn to Psalm 23 in your Bible.

The easiest way to find Psalms is to divide your Bible in half.

Psalm is a very familiar verse.

I would think between funerals and man’s times of sorrow, it is quoted often, but the heart of David is often missed because it is so familiar.

I don’t believe I have ever used it as my main text for a sermon because it is so well known.

I often say God is doing amazing things in our lives here at Rosedale.

I mean that with all my heart, and the Lord is also ministering to the heart of your pastor and that is good also!

I heard a person saying that preaching is a strong person’s opinion about how we should live.

How dare someone stand up and pretend to know what’s best for others.

That preaching is a poor way to communicate.

I would answer that like this; as your pastor, I don’t think I know it all. I don’t think I have all the answers to life questions in myself. I think as pastor that you pay me to study the scriptures and let you know each week what I have found out, and communicate it the best way I know how with enthusiasm.

Psalm 23 is about David the shepherd, recording words about His shepherd King.

Psalm 23:1-23:6

Prayer-

This psalm is so familiar that for centuries it has been one of the most trusted scriptures.

It is so familiar that people who are not religious and have no relationship with the Lord know this verse.

It would be right up there with the wedding verse “love is patient, love is kind, it does not envy, it does not boast, and the verse ends with love never fails.” 1 Cor. 13

The Bible tells us we shall have difficult times.

Psalm 23 is a warning and a blessing.

God does not say He will keep us from all danger.

Keep us from all difficulties.

He doesn’t say that we will never walk through difficult valleys.

He says this world is messed up and we need Jesus!(paraphrased)

One commentary said that as a society we struggle with this passage because we cannot grasp what it was to be a shepherd. We are not shepherds. We don’t know shepherds.

Shepherds risk their lives for their sheep.

They spend a lot of time with their flocks.

They feed them and protect them at all cost.

Jesus said feed my lambs, take care of my sheep.

Jesus even gave instructions to the shepherd about wandering sheep;

Luke 15:4-

“Suppose one of you had a hundred sheep and loses one of them. Does he not leave the 99 in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?”

David understood what it meant to be a shepherd.

He understood the responsibility of being a shepherd.

He understood fully what he was saying in this psalm.

The Lord is my shepherd. There was trust in those joyous words of David.

The Lord is my shepherd- I shall not want!

The Lord is my provider

The Lord will feed me.

The Lord will take care of me.

The Lord will protect me.

These words are the rock of our foundation.

That will sustain you when you are in times of trouble.

That will get you through difficult times.

We may not be shepherds that watch and protect sheep, but we should be shepherding or mentoring someone, we are should acknowledge the shepherd king in our life- Jesus Christ.

The theme of this psalm is verse (1) “The Lord is my shepherd”

He needs to be Lord if you expect him to meet your needs.

He is the shepherd owner, the manager, best friend. He is Lord!

He choose us, we choose Him, I call Him by name and His name is Jesus

Verse (2) “He makes me to lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters.”

Verse (3) “He restores my soul”

That sounds like a shepherd worth having.

That elaborates the shepherd’s protection in times of great danger and stress.

Illustration- SermonCentral

Billy Graham in May 1996 was awarded the Golden Congressional Medal, the highest honor this country can bestow upon an individual. Billy Graham is his acceptance speech quoted from psalm 23

“The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” He was not just talking about physical wants, but spiritual also. Dr. Graham goes on to say the problem today is “emptiness”. Some of you know what He means.

The human heart craves meaning, yet we cannot fully have it without the Lord.

There is no meaning without Him being Lord.

There is no peace if He is not calming waters.