Psalm 23: Benefits Of Our Relationship With God Part 1
Scriptures: Psalms 23
Introduction
I read something recently in an email that made me think about Psalm 23. The last time that I preached a message from this text was in October 2000, so it has been a while. In this message I want to share with you seventeen benefits you should be enjoying based on your relationship with God as found in Psalm 23. Psalm 23 was written by a man who understood his relationship with God. David, a man whom God said was after His own heart, was a shepherd. In this song, Psalm 23, he wrote of the relationship he had with God. He compared his relationship with God with something he was very familiar with, the relationship between a shepherd and his flock. In this song, David considered himself as the sheep and God the Shepherd. To really appreciate what David was sharing, you need to understand a few facts about shepherds and sheep.
I. Sheep and Shepherd Facts
Sheep are not the brightest or smartest animals on the earth. As a matter of fact, they are so needy that they require the constant oversight of the shepherd. Sheep are very timid and have been known to flee from blowing paper. A thunder storm will actually send them into a panic. If the sheep is crossing a stream and get scared, it will literally drown without even fighting for its life. If the sheep are in a barn and the barn catches fire, they will burn to death without trying to escape because they will be frozen with fear. Another fact about sheep is that the wool that covers their bodies is so heavy that if they fall down and are lying on their backs, they cannot get up. They are incapable if righting themselves and must lay there until someone picks them up or they die. Sheep only recognize the voice of their shepherd and will not follow any other shepherd. They will not be led by a voice that they do not recognize. Can you see the similarities between sheep and us?
Let examine quickly the role of the Shepherd as Jesus describes in John 10:14-27? In those verses Jesus speaks of the shepherd as being critical to the survival of the sheep. The shepherd knows his sheep; understands their ways and their nature to stray; will defend their sheep against all attackers; rejoices when a lost sheep is found; willing to feed them and ensure their needs are met; is skilled at pasturing his sheep and will carry one in his arms if one becomes feeble. This is the relationship that David was referring to when he wrote Psalm 23. David considered his role as shepherd and all of the responsibilities he had for his sheep and thought about his relationship with God. When He thought about that relationship, he realized that God was his Shepherd and that he too was one of God’s sheep.
II. Benefits Of Being In A Good Relationship With God
Benefit #1: “The Lord is my Shepherd” This is our Relationship with God.
David opens Psalm 23 with the true nature of our relationship with God, we are sheep and God is the Shepherd. Because God is the Shepherd, all of those responsibilities that a shepherd has for his/her sheep God have for us. Understand, as God’s sheep and in comparison to God, we are stupid, whether we like it or not. Also just like sheep, we often walk in fear and are sometimes paralyzed by our fear. We also, in comparison to sheep sometimes fall down without the ability to get up needing God’s help to get back on the right track. The first benefit that we find in Psalm 23 is that we have a relationship with God where it is His role to watch over us and our role to follow where He leads. Remember, another word for relationship is “connection”. We are connected to God!
Benefit #2: “I shall not want.” This is our Supply!
God is the source of all of my need being met. Do you know that there are a lot of people who actually believe that they are their source? They work long hours to move ahead because they truly believe everything that they accomplish is on their shoulders. I believe in hard work, but I do not believe that my job is my source. My pay check says Merck, but God is my source. Had it not been for God I would not be employed by Merck. Merck can one day go away, yet God will remain. My faith is in God, not in Merck. God uses Merck to meet my needs and the needs of my family. Paul said in Philippians 4:19 that “My God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” David acknowledged this when he said “because” the “Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” The Lord anticipates our needs and is already making provisions for us. Isaiah 65:24 says “It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking I will hear.” God said before we even ask He is already answering. That is the God we serve. Even though our ignorance, discomforts, pride and unthankful hearts may make us think we are in a barren land, when we allow God to open our eyes, we will recognize the fountains, streams, mercies and blessings that are all around us. The second benefit is you have a supply source that anticipates and answers your need even before you realize that you have a need, today, tomorrow, forever.
Benefit #3: “He makes me lie down in green pastures.” This is our Rest.
Jesus said in Matthew 11:28 “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Because we are in a relationship with God, we are able to receive rest. The shepherd leads his sheep to green pastures, not pastures that are barren. The green pastures offer the sheep food and rest. Once they have eaten their fill from the green pastures, they lay in those same fields and rest. When you are in your home at night, after you have eaten and are preparing for bed – that’s resting in green pastures. When you come home from a hard day’s work and you can relax in your easy chair – that’s resting in green pastures. The third benefit as pointed out in Psalm 23 is that you can and will rest in green pastures.
Benefit #4: “He leads me besides the still waters.” This is our Refreshment
Remember earlier when I shared with you that sheep are timid and how raging waters will scare the sheep making them fall in and drown without their shepherd? Because the shepherd understands this, he leads his sheep towards the still, restful waters so that they can be refreshed without being scared. When you look at what is going on in your life, are you in need of some refreshment? It is available to you because you have a Shepherd who cares about you. God way leads to peace, physically, emotionally and especially spiritually. The fourth benefit is that you will be refreshed.
Benefit #5: “He restores my soul.” This is our Healing and Restoration
There is a story about a shepherd who had a sheep that was constantly wandering off from the flock because it had not learned to depend on its shepherd. No matter what the shepherd did this sheep would not stay where it was supposed to be. After many attempts at trying to get the sheep to remain with the flock, the shepherd was left with not choice but to break one of the sheep’s front leg. Although this seems cruel, the shepherd did it in order to save the sheep’s life. As long as the sheep was going off on its own, the shepherd could not protect it for it was putting itself into harms way. Every morning and evening while the sheep was recuperating, the shepherd would pick the sheep up and take it to the fields. It would hold the sheep in his arms and feed it. During this time, the sheep was totally dependent upon the shepherd. By the time the sheep was fully healed, it had learned to depend on its shepherd. It followed the shepherd wherever he went and never strayed again. We may go to the doctor and the hospital, but God provides the healing, spiritually, emotionally and physically. God restores us, just as the shepherd did for his sheep. Because of your relationship with God, the fifth benefit is healing and restoration.
Benefit #6: “He guides me in the path of righteousness.” Our Guidance
Have you ever been traveling and gotten lost? Maybe you misread the map or you thought you knew where you were going when you actually didn’t. I hate being lost. Being in a relationship with God spiritually solves this problem because He provides guidance through the Holy Spirit. (By the way it also solves my natural problem of getting lost because the Holy Spirit will remind me to check Map quest before I get on the road, just in case you were wondering.) David understood that God would lead him along the right path just as he led his sheep. A shepherd chooses a path that guarantees that his sheep will be protected from all danger. David took it a step further when he wrote in Psalm 37:23 “The steps of a man are established by the Lord; and He delights in his way. Remember the song the choir sung last week – “Order My Steps”? God will establish our steps if we decide to follow where He leads. If we listen to God’s Holy Spirit, He will lead us. Jesus said in John 16:13 that “When He, the Spirit of truth, comes, He will guide you into all the truth…” We are lost without God guiding our footsteps. One of the benefits of being in a relationship with God through Jesus Christ as pointed out in Psalm 23 is that we have guidance available to us – always!
Benefit #7: “For His Name Sake.” This is guidance with a Purpose.
When I was a child, I learned early to give thanks before each meal. When I would ask God’s blessing over my food, I would end the prayer with these words: “for Christ’s sake, Amen.” When I got older I began to think about what it meant to be saying “for Christ’s sake.” I was the one who would be eating the food and getting the nourishment from it so I was a little confused about what good Jesus would receive. Whenever you do something for the “sake” of someone else, you are doing it for their good. One of the definitions of “sake” is “motive, cause of or on behalf of.” In other words it is doing something for the good, benefit or cause of someone else. When we examine what David said in this verse, “He guides me in the path of righteousness For His Name Sake” he is saying that when God is leading us it is not only for our good, but for God’s purpose, for His cause. When a shepherd would leads his flock the wrong way and his flock is harmed, he suffers ridicule from the other shepherds and is branded as a “bad shepherd.” This reputation follows him for the rest of his days. When God is leading us, He does so not only to ensure our safety, but also because that is the job that He has taken on for our benefit. In a sense, His reputation is on the line. Who would want to serve a God who made His people sick versus a God who provides healing for them? Who would want to serve a God who turned a deaf ear when His people call versus being right on time when they need Him? No one would want to serve a God who they deemed is not worthy. There is nothing about our God that is not worthy of all the praise we can give Him. The seventh benefit is that God leads us for His purpose and only good can come out of it if we are willing to follow.
Benefit #8: “Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil.” During a time of Testing we have Protection.
I shared with you last week about bait which is another word for temptation. Another term that is also used during times when we are being tempted is the term “test.” I do not necessarily like this term because it gives the impression that God will test us to see if we will follow Him. I may be in a minority, but I believe God knows how weak we are and He does not need to spend time proving it versus spending time helping us to be stronger. We have an active enemy doing enough testing of us so that he can throw it up in God’s face when we fail Him. When David wrote this, David again was thinking of his past experiences of his being a shepherd. In the lands where David was a shepherd, there were valleys between mountains that often gave bandits with a great opportunity to ambush the shepherd. One author wrote that some valleys were so deep that to walk through them during the daylight you’d think it was nighttime. David, knowing this to be true, spoke as one of the sheep. The sheep would follow the voice of the shepherd through those valleys without being afraid because they were with their shepherd. David said that during those times when he would be in the midst of danger, he would not be afraid because he knew that his shepherd was right there, guiding and leading him. He knew that he was protected. John made this statement in 1 John 4:18; “There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves punishment and the one who fears is not perfected in love.” What John was saying was that in our relationship with God, the love that we share with Him casts out fear. His love casts out fear of suffering (burning in hell) for eternity; fear of our situations; fear of our enemies; and any other type of fear. Because of our relationship with God, we have no reason to fear because we know God is in the midst and is working through our situations.
I know that I am in the middle of a verse, but I am going to pause here and complete this message on next Sunday. In preparation for that message, I want to share something with you that I have been thinking about for a while. I was standing in front of the mirror a little while ago looking at my face. In the mirror I saw someone that I thought was still a “young man.” Then I got to thinking about the fact that in three years and en months I will be fifty, I became concerned. I was not concerned about growing old as much as realizing that half my life is over (if I live to be 94 years old). I began to consider if I had come close to doing what God had called me to do, not just for the Church, but in life in general. Have you ever stopped and thought about that? This week as you think on your relationship with God based on Psalm 23, consider what you have done with your life to date. Is your relationship with God where it should be? Are you doing what god desires for you to be doing? Until next week, God bless you.
