He Leadeth Me!
Psalm 23:3b
Introduction:
Cf. Psalm uses the imagery of a Shepherd and his sheep to describe relationship of the Lord to those who belong to Him.
Lord = Shepherd
Saved = Sheep
Oh, sheep are such cute, fluffy little creatures… well when God compared us to sheep; He wasn’t flattering us. Sheep are helpless little animals that cannot survive on their own. Sheep need a Shepherd… Friend, you and I need the Lord!
Defenseless = they don’t have long horns, sharp teeth, or powerful claws to ward off predators. Completely dependent upon the care and protection of their Shepherd – look: v. 5
Directionless = have no sense of direction and are easily lost. A bee = hive; bird = nest; dog, cat, horse find its way back home but not a sheep. If a sheep strays 10 yards from its pasture it cannot find its way back.
They must be brought back – (v. 3a) “He restoreth my soul.” (lit) puts us back on the right path.
Just as a sheep struggles finding its way… so you and I struggle finding our way through life.
Life = maze… seems at every turn hit a dead end. God never intended for us to navigate life on our own. Ask David, how he made it through life? He would simply reply, “by following my Shepherd.”
Illust: Fanny Crosby was blinded as a baby by a man posing as a doctor… she came to know the Lord as her Savior and Shepherd as a young girl and became a prolific poet and writer hymns and gospel songs.
On one occasion Fanny had a financial need in her life. She did not know where she would get the money she needed, so as she had done many times before, she went to God in prayer. It was long until there was a knock at her door. A complete stranger was at her door and gave her the exact amount for which she had been praying.
Fanny said, “I have no way of accounting for this except to believe that God, in answer to my prayer, put it into the heart of this good man to bring me the money. My first thought was, it is so wonderful the way the Lord leads me. Moved by the thought she immediately wrote the words to the hymn, “All the Way My Saviour Leads Me.”
Frist Stanza:
“All the way my Saviour leads me –
What have I to ask beside?
Can I doubt His tender mercy,
Who through life has been my Guide?”
I. THE PROMISE OF HIS LEADING!
Look: v. 3 – “He leadeth me”
John 10:4,5 – Good Shepherd… “When He putteth forth His sheep, He goeth before them, and the sheep follow Him: for they know His voice.”
The Lord leads His Sheep; He doesn’t drive them!
Illust: I reminded of the story of some tourists driving through the English countryside when a flock of sheep come bounding down the hill and frantically ran across the road in front of them. Running behind them was a seemingly angry man waving a stick and yelling at the sheep driving them along before him. Confused the stopped the man and asked, Sir, I have always heard that a Shepherd leads his sheep. It seems sir you are driving them. The man replied you are right! A Shepherd does lead his sheep, but I am not the shepherd. I am the butcher!
John 10:10 – “The thief cometh not but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly. “
Satan like a butcher = drives the sheep
Lord Jesus as a Shepherd = leads His sheep!
John 10:9 – “I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out and find pasture.”
He alone is the way, the truth and the life! No man comes to the Father but by Him! He alone is the way to a right relationship with God!!!
It’s at that moment, when we trust Jesus Christ as Savior… that we become one of His Sheep!
Just as a Shepherd walks before his… guiding them and directing them in green pastures, so the Lord desires to go before His sheep, leading us and guiding us through life!
Ps. 32:8 – “I will instruct thee and teach the in the way which thou shalt go: I will guide thee with mine eye.”
Prov. 3:5,6 – “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; an dlean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge Him, and He shall direct thy paths.”
Prov. 8:20,21 – “I lead in the way of righteousness, in the midst of the paths of judgment: that I may cause those that love me to inherit substance; and I will fill their treasures.”
Isa. 30:21 – “And thine ears shall hear a word behind thee, saying, This is the way, walk ye in it, when ye turn to the right hand and when ye turn to the left.”
It is one thing to follow someone’s directions… quite something else to follow someone who knows the way!!!
Psalm 23:3 Look: v.3 – “He leadeth me” = at one end is “He” = The Lord and on the other end is “me” and in between ‘He’ and ‘me’ is lead!
“Leadeth” = to bring on the way; to guide – present tense… He leads and keeps on leading me. My Shepherd is leading.
Q: Am I following?
II. THE PATHS OF HIS LEADING!
Look: v.3 – “He leadeth me in paths of righteousness…”
“Righteousness” = right, proper paths. Paths that are right for each of us who belong to Him. God like a Shepherd leads us specifically, personally, intimately, and down to the details of everyday life. Nothing escapes His notice! Never lead us down a wrong path.
Quote: C.W. Slemming – “In the morning he leads them out of the fold inot the meadows that are fresh with dew. At noonday, when the sun is high, he leads them into the shelter of a rock or into some other place of coolness, thus bringing them protection; in the evening he leads them on again, bringing them into the fold and then becoming the door of the fold keeping the wolf and bear at bay.”
A. Sure Paths
“paths” = comes from a word that means an entrenchment… it speaks of something that is well-worn or well-defined.
1. Shepherd as Trod
John 10:4 – “When He putteth forth His sheep, He goeth before them…”
Heb. 12:24 – “Looking unto Jesus the Author and finisher of our faith…” = one who blazes a trail.
No path the Good Shepherd will lead you down that He hasn’t been down before… He knows the way through the wilderness… all we have to do is follow!
2. Honor God
B. Safe Paths
Psalm 37:23 – “The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and he delighteth in his way.”
Good Shepherds leads His sheep around obstacles, pitfalls, dangers of life… keep us from that which is destructive to our lives.
C. Sorrowful Paths
Quote: The shepherds leading… “may take one down a path of health, while He will lead another down a path of sickness. He may lead one down a path of prosperity and another down a path of adversity. There may be times when He leads us down paths marked by blessings and at other times, He leads us down paths that are laden with burdens. One day He may lead us down paths that are enjoyable and yet the next may be paths that are sorrowful.
Job = “He knoweth the way that I take.”
Quote: “It is in the deepest darkness of the starless night that men learn to hold on to the hidden Hand most tightly and how that Hand holds them. He sees where we do not, and knows the way that He takes; and though the way be to us a roundabout way, it is the right way.” – A.T. Pierson
Sheep do not see very well… have poor eyesight… times lose sight of the Shepherd’s hand… but they can hear His voice and trust His heart!
Poem: He Maketh No Mistake
D. Satisfying Paths
Illust: Eastern Shepherds have a unique way of getting sheep to follow them. As they walk along the path the shepherd will reach up with staff to high branch with some sweet, succulent fruit… take fruit and was walk along the sheep will crowd in behind the shepherd and nibble at the fruit… the sheep closest to the shepherd get most of the fruit.
Prov. 16:11 – “Thou wilt shew me the path of life: in thy presence is fulness of joy; at thy right hand are pleasures for evermore.”
III. THE PURPOSE OF HIS LEADING!
Look: v.3 – “for his name’s sake.”
“Sake” = on the account of. The paths down which our Great Shepherd leads is on account of His name.
A. For our Good
Rom. 12:2 – “…that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God.”
We do not always know what is best for our lives, but our Shepherd knows.
End of that path we will find good!
B. His Glory
“For His names sake.”
Quote: R.L. Moyer – “All of His leading is to the end that the name of the Lord be glorified.”
Just a casual reading of Psalm 23, you notice that the scene is not stationary; it is a journey. The flocks begin in green pastures, refreshed by the still gentle pools of water, continue along well-worn paths, thread through dark canyons, and meander onto the high tablelands above to graze, and then circle back through fall days to arrive safely at the master’s house at the beginning of winter.
There is coming a day when we come to verse 6. That time when we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. At that moment we may lift up our voices and sing praises to our Great Shepherd.
Words of Fanny Crosby…
“All the way my Saviour leads me
O the fullness of His love!
Perfect rest to me is promised.
In My Father’s house above.
When my spirit, clothed immortal,
Wings its flight to realms of day,
This my song through endless ages:
Jesus led me all the way;
This my song through endless ages:
JESUS LED ME ALL THE WAY!
