There is a very popular chapter in the word of God that everyone knows and recites every now and then, we always hear this chapter and most of us know this powerful chapter from our youth. We recite this chapter that is so known that we are used to it. But do we really believe it in our lives and does it work for us? we are so used to it, that if anything happens to us, it is this chapter we immediately speak out of our mouth.
This book is in the Psalms and it is in Psalm 23: 1 - 6
The Lord is my Shepherd [to feed, to guide and to shield me],
I shall not want.
He lets me lie down in green pastures;
He leads me beside the still and quiet waters.
He refreshes and restores my soul (life);
He leads me in the paths of righteousness
for His name’s sake.
Even though I walk through the [sunless] valley of the shadow of death,
I fear no evil, for You are with me;
Your rod [to protect] and Your staff [to guide], they comfort and console me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.
You have anointed and refreshed my head with oil;
My cup overflows.
Surely goodness and mercy and unfailing love shall follow me all the days of my life,
And I shall dwell forever [throughout all my days] in the house and in the presence of the Lord.
The Psalm is so powerful and this is about Jesus Christ Himself been our shepherd, but do we as the body of Christ really believe and trust that Jesus is our Shepherd? Because if we truly believe in Him as our Shepherd then we are not to focus on the situations that we come across everyday of our lives. We all go through different circumstances everyday, and there is no day that is often free from things that is happening not only in our lives but in our world today.
David wrote this Psalm when he was going through things that was beyond him and trusted that the Lord will be his shepherd and relied on God to be his shepherd and because David believed in the Lord, the Lord was his Shepherd throughout his life time. If we as the body of Christ can trust in the Lord as our Shepherd like David did then we can actually be delivered from everyday problems.
Meaning of a Shepherd?
A person who herds, tends, and guards sheep.
A person who protects, guides, or watches over a person or group of people.
A member of the clergy.
The Shepherd, Jesus Christ.
Therefore, we can see that we have Jesus our Shepherd that does all this things in our lives and even more, if we really believe Him to be our Shepherd. As a Shepherd He will care for us, He will protect us in this time that we are in right now, He will guide us everyday, He will watch over us and be the Shepherd of our lives.
The Lord is our shepherd.
Jesus came as our Shepherd to show us the way back to the Father. Because He is simply the Way, the Truth and the Life - John 14:6.
Jesus been the Shepherd of the sheep helps us to live in this world that we live in today. Jesus came as our shepherd and there is no other Shepherd that can reveal to us the truth except Jesus our true Shepherd. He is the only good shepherd as well - John 10:14
John 10: 1 - 18
Parable of the Good Shepherd
I assure you and most solemnly say to you, he who does not enter by the door into the sheepfold, but climbs up from some other place [on the stone wall], that one is a thief and a robber. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep [the protector and provider]. The doorkeeper opens [the gate] for this man, and the sheep hear his voice and pay attention to it. And [knowing that they listen] he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out [to pasture]. When he has brought all his own sheep outside, he walks on ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they know his voice and recognize his call. They will never follow a stranger, but will run away from him, because they do not know the voice of strangers.” Jesus used this figure of speech with them, but they did not understand what He was talking about.
So Jesus said again, “I assure you and most solemnly say to you, I am the Door for the sheep [leading to life]. All who came before Me [as false messiahs and self-appointed leaders] are thieves and robbers, but the [true] sheep did not hear them. I am the Door; anyone who enters through Me will be saved [and will live forever], and will go in and out [freely], and find pasture (spiritual security). The thief comes only in order to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have and enjoy life, and have it in abundance [to the full, till it overflows].
I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd lays down His [own] life for the sheep. But the hired man [who merely serves for wages], who is neither the shepherd nor the owner of the sheep, when he sees the wolf coming, deserts the flock and runs away; and the wolf snatches the sheep and scatters them. The man runs because he is a hired hand [who serves only for wages] and is not concerned about the [safety of the] sheep. I am the Good Shepherd, and I know [without any doubt those who are] My own and My own know Me [and have a deep, personal relationship with Me]— even as the Father knows Me and I know the Father—and I lay down My [very own] life [sacrificing it] for the benefit of the sheep. I have other sheep [beside these] that are not of this fold. I must bring those also, and they will listen to My voice and pay attention to My call, and they will become]one flock with one Shepherd. For this reason the Father loves Me, because I lay down My [own] life so that I may take it back. No one takes it away from Me, but I lay it down voluntarily. I am authorized and have power to lay it down and to give it up, and I am authorized and have power to take it back. This command I have received from My Father.
This chapter says it all that Jesus is the Shepherd of the sheep. It is very encouraging to know that we have someone as our Shepherd that will do the impossible in our lives on a daily basis if we allow him to as our Shepherd. He says to us that He is the Door which means that He is our protector and provider, He also opens the door for his sheep to follow Him as He leads. Jesus says to us that as our Shepherd who He calls by name we can go in and out to find pasture.
When we have Jesus as our Shepherd He knows us by our name individually and goes ahead of us. when Jesus appeared to me, he was in front of me and I was behind Him, I was surprised when I heard Him call my name and I had to ask Him how He knew my name. As soon as I asked Him , He looked back at me and said to me, I know everything about you! and we continued to walk together.
Jesus as our Shepherd says to us that as He is our Shepherd we would not recognise the voice of those that are not the real Shepherd and instead of following them we as the true sheep would run away from them. A true Shepherd will not neglect his sheep, when the sheep needs help.
Our Shepherd says this to us in Matthew 7: 15 - 20
Beware of the false prophets, [teachers] who come to you dressed as sheep [appearing gentle and innocent], but inwardly are ravenous wolves. By their fruit you will recognize them [that is, by their contrived doctrine and self-focus]. Do people pick grapes from thorn bushes or figs from thistles? Even so, every healthy tree bears good fruit, but the unhealthy tree bears bad fruit. A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, nor can a bad tree bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire. Therefore, by their fruit you will recognize them [as false prophets].
And in the following verses
1 John 4: 1 - 6
Testing the Spirits
Beloved, do not believe every spirit [speaking through a self-proclaimed prophet]; instead test the spirits to see whether they are from God, because many false prophets and teachers have gone out into the world. By this you know and recognize the Spirit of God: every spirit that acknowledges and confesses [the fact] that Jesus Christ has [actually] come in the flesh [as a man] is from God [God is its source]; and every spirit that does not confess Jesus [acknowledging that He has come in the flesh, but would deny any of the Son’s true nature] is not of God; this is the spirit of the antichrist, which you have heard is coming, and is now already in the world. Little children (believers, dear ones), you are of God and you belong to Him and have ready] overcome them [the agents of the antichrist]; because He who is in you is greater than he (Satan) who is in the world [of sinful mankind]. They [who teach twisted doctrine] are of the world and belong to it; therefore they speak from the [viewpoint of the] world [with its immoral freedom and baseless theories—demanding compliance with their opinions and ridiculing the values of the upright], and the [gullible one of the] world listens closely and pays attention to them. We [who teach God’s word] are from God [energized by the Holy Spirit], and whoever knows God [through personal experience] listens to us [and has a deeper understanding of Him]. Whoever is not of God does not listen to us. By this we know [without any doubt] the spirit of truth [motivated by God] and the spirit of error [motivated by Satan].
Matthew 24:24
For false Christs and false prophets will appear and they will provide great signs and wonders, so as to deceive, if possible, even the elect (God’s chosen ones).
2 Corinthians 11: 13 - 15
For such men are counterfeit apostles, deceitful workers, masquerading as apostles of Christ. And no wonder, since Satan himself masquerades as an angel of light. So it is no great surprise if his servants also masquerade as servants of righteousness, but their end will correspond with their deeds.
Deuteronomy 18: 20 - 22
But the prophet who presumes to speak a word in My name which I have not commanded him to speak, or which he speaks in the name of other gods—that prophet shall die.’ If you say in your heart, ‘How will we know and recognize the word which the Lord has not spoken?’ When a prophet speaks in the name of the Lord and the thing does not happen or come true, that is the thing which the Lord has not spoken. The prophet has spoken it presumptuously; you shall not be afraid of him.
Jeremiah 23: 1 - 40
Woe to the shepherds who are destroying and scattering the sheep of my pasture!” declares the Lord. Therefore this is what the Lord, the God of Israel, says to the shepherds who tend my people: “Because you have scattered my flock and driven them away and have not bestowed care on them, I will bestow punishment on you for the evil you have done,” declares the Lord. “I myself will gather the remnant of my flock out of all the countries where I have driven them and will bring them back to their pasture, where they will be fruitful and increase in number. I will place shepherds over them who will tend them, and they will no longer be afraid or terrified, nor will any be missing,” declares the Lord.
“The days are coming,” declares the Lord,
“when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch,
a King who will reign wisely
and do what is just and right in the land.
In his days Judah will be saved
and Israel will live in safety.
This is the name by which he will be called:
The Lord Our Righteous Savior.
“So then, the days are coming,” declares the Lord, “when people will no longer say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the Israelites up out of Egypt,’ but they will say, ‘As surely as the Lord lives, who brought the descendants of Israel up out of the land of the north and out of all the countries where he had banished them.’ Then they will live in their own land.”
Lying Prophets
Concerning the prophets:
My heart is broken within me;
all my bones tremble.
I am like a drunken man,
like a strong man overcome by wine,
because of the Lord
and his holy words.
The land is full of adulterers;
because of the curse the land lies parched
and the pastures in the wilderness are withered.
The prophets follow an evil course
and use their power unjustly.
“Both prophet and priest are godless;
even in my temple I find their wickedness,”
declares the Lord.
“Therefore their path will become slippery;
they will be banished to darkness
and there they will fall.
I will bring disaster on them
in the year they are punished,”
declares the Lord.
“Among the prophets of Samaria
I saw this repulsive thing:
They prophesied by Baal
and led my people Israel astray.
And among the prophets of Jerusalem
I have seen something horrible:
They commit adultery and live a lie.
They strengthen the hands of evildoers,
so that not one of them turns from their wickedness.
They are all like Sodom to me;
the people of Jerusalem are like Gomorrah.”
Therefore this is what the Lord Almighty says concerning the prophets:
“I will make them eat bitter food
and drink poisoned water,
because from the prophets of Jerusalem
ungodliness has spread throughout the land.”
This is what the Lord Almighty says:
“Do not listen to what the prophets are prophesying to you;
they fill you with false hopes.
They speak visions from their own minds,
not from the mouth of the Lord.
They keep saying to those who despise me,
‘The Lord says: You will have peace.’
And to all who follow the stubbornness of their hearts
they say, ‘No harm will come to you.’
But which of them has stood in the council of the Lord
to see or to hear his word?
Who has listened and heard his word?
See, the storm of the Lord
will burst out in wrath,
a whirlwind swirling down
on the heads of the wicked.
The anger of the Lord will not turn back
until he fully accomplishes
the purposes of his heart.
In days to come
you will understand it clearly.
I did not send these prophets,
yet they have run with their message;
I did not speak to them,
yet they have prophesied.
But if they had stood in my council,
they would have proclaimed my words to my people
and would have turned them from their evil ways
and from their evil deeds.
“Am I only a God nearby,”
declares the Lord,
“and not a God far away?
Who can hide in secret places
so that I cannot see them?”
declares the Lord.
“Do not I fill heaven and earth?”
declares the Lord.
“I have heard what the prophets say who prophesy lies in my name. They say, ‘I had a dream! I had a dream!’ How long will this continue in the hearts of these lying prophets, who prophesy the delusions of their own minds? They think the dreams they tell one another will make my people forget my name, just as their ancestors forgot my name through Baal worship. Let the prophet who has a dream recount the dream, but let the one who has my word speak it faithfully. For what has straw to do with grain?” declares the Lord. “Is not my word like fire,” declares the Lord, “and like a hammer that breaks a rock in pieces?
“Therefore,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who steal from one another words supposedly from me. Yes,” declares the Lord, “I am against the prophets who wag their own tongues and yet declare, ‘The Lord declares.’ Indeed, I am against those who prophesy false dreams,” declares the Lord. “They tell them and lead my people astray with their reckless lies, yet I did not send or appoint them. They do not benefit these people in the least,” declares the Lord.
False Prophecy
“When these people, or a prophet or a priest, ask you, ‘What is the message from the Lord?’ say to them, ‘What message? I will forsake you, declares the Lord.’ If a prophet or a priest or anyone else claims, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ I will punish them and their household. This is what each of you keeps saying to your friends and other Israelites: ‘What is the Lord’s answer?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ But you must not mention ‘a message from the Lord’ again, because each one’s word becomes their own message. So you distort the words of the living God, the Lord Almighty, our God. This is what you keep saying to a prophet: ‘What is the Lord’s answer to you?’ or ‘What has the Lord spoken?’ Although you claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ this is what the Lord says: You used the words, ‘This is a message from the Lord,’ even though I told you that you must not claim, ‘This is a message from the Lord.’ Therefore, I will surely forget you and cast you out of my presence along with the city I gave to you and your ancestors. I will bring on you everlasting disgrace—everlasting shame that will not be forgotten.”
What the Lord who is the true Shepherd is saying to us that we have some false prophets within us, then we really need to be careful and follow after Him as our Shepherd, He says that He is our Shepherd and therefore, we ought to follow Him at all times. The word of God which is the Bible will help us to know what Shepherd is saying to us. I believe that it grieves the heart of our Shepherd if we as His children do not seek the truth of His word.
The Bible will direct us because it is the voice of God to us in our generation, remember that the Lord said to us that His word is living and powerful and shaper than any two edged sword - Hebrews 4:12. we are to use His word if we do not know what to do, and of course we can also know His will in our prayer time. This is not to say that we cannot have trusted prophets that we can turn to in times of help, but we can check any word given to us in the Bible.
The Lord is our Shepherd.
The Lord is our Shepherd and he says to us that because we have called Him our Shepherd, He will supply all our needs according to His abundance - Philippians 4:19.
The Lord is our Shepherd and He says to us that He will be our protector - 2 Thessalonians 3: 3 -5
The Lord who is our Shepherd says to us that as a Shepherd we should not live in fear - 2 Timothy 1:7.
The Lord who is our Shepherd wants us to live in peace - Psalm 4:8.
The Lord who is our Shepherd will bless us with His health - Isaiah 53: 4 - 5
The Lord is our shepherd and gives us His strength - Nehemiah 8:10
The Lord who is our Shepherd will fight all our battles for us - 2 Chronicles 20:17.
We truly have Jesus as our Shepherd and need to trust Him at all times as our Shepherd. The will of our Shepherd is that we will submit to His will for our lives. He knows us and loves us so much, he had to come to this realm to save us - John 3:16 and this is the work of a true shepherd, He did not leave us in this dark world that is full of wickedness because Satan is the god of this world for a while - 2 Corinthians 4:4.
In Christ as our Shepherd the veil is removed as we continue in the truth of whom our Shepherd is. As the body of Christ we cannot continue to live in darkness, for the Lord who is our Shepherd has taken us out of Satan's kingdom and brought us into His own kingdom - Colossians 1:13.
If we have made the Lord to be our Shepherd, then we should not as His body worry if we find ourselves in situations that are beyond our control. He said to us in His word that all things will work out for our good as His sheep - Romans 8 28. As we put our trust in Him as the good Shepherd.
Remember that He said he will lay down His life for those who will put their trust in Him as their Shepherd, He as laid down His life already - John 3:16; 1 Corinthians 15: 1 - 8; Hebrews 9:24 and will continue to do so till he comes back to take us home - 2 Corinthians 11:2.
A true Shepherd will always tend to His sheep in all circumstance of life because that is what a shepherd would do, Jesus does not run away from His sheep and He said so in Hebrews 13:5 - " I will never leave you, nor forsake you." But the one who is not the true shepherd will flee when he sees us in situations where we need help. He will flee from us simply because he is not a good shepherd.
Jesus the true Shepherd will keep us safe under His wings as recorded in Psalm 91, the wings of our Shepherd is a place of refuge and in this place no harm will befall His sheep and no weapon of formed against us will prosper - Isaiah 54: 17. We have a good Shepherd indeed who will always be there for us in difficult times and in good times as well.
Trusting in the Lord as our Shepherd is our priority in this end times.
Remain blessed.
