Blessed Promises from the Good Shepherd - Psa 23
Quote:
HUDSON TAYLOR(founder of China Inland Mission) used to hang in his home a plaque with two Hebrew Words on it: EBENEZER & JEHOVAH JIREH They mean ‘Hitherto hath the Lord helped us’ and ‘The Lord will see to it or provide’ One looked back while the other looked forward. One reminded him of God’s faithfulness and the other of God’s assurances.
We are all in need of assurances, security and promises for every moment since we are the sheep of His pasture. In today’s world of financial, political and emotional uncertainty everyone is looking for some kind of assurance.
Illustration:A promise from God is a statement we can depend on with absolute confidence. Here are 12 promises for the Christian to claim.
God’s presence -- "I will never leave thee" (Heb. 13:5)
God’s protection -- "I am thy shield" (Gen. 15:1)
God’s power -- "I will strengthen thee" (Isa. 41:10)
God’s provision -- "I will help thee" (Isa. 41:10)
God’s leading -- "And when He putteth forth His own sheep, He goeth before them" (John 10:4)
God’s purposes -- "I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil" (Jer. 20:11)
God’s rest -- "Come unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest" (Matt. 11:28)
God’s cleansing -- "If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins, and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness" (1 John 1:9)
God’s goodness -- "No good thing will He withhold from them that work uprightly" (Psalm 84:11)
God’s faithfulness -- "The Lord will not forsake His people for His great name’s sake" (1 Sam. 12:22)
God’s guidance -- "The meek will He guide" (Psalm 25:9)
God’s wise plan -- "All things work together for good to them that love God" (Rom. 8:28)
Our Daily Bread, January 1, 1985.
OH how the world needs assurance from the Good Shepherd who has laid down His life for the sheep. Jesus said, "The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy: I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. Sheep need constant reassuring of their protection, provision and piloting. Without the good shepherd the sheep tend to stray in to paths of danger, destruction and vulnerability to attack. Sheep are dependent upon the Good Shepherd since they are incapable of figuring out the solutions to their problems because they do not have it in their nature to know the way through the difficult valleys of life. Sheep may think that they know what is best but they are in need of a personal relationship with their Good Shepherd if they are to experience the fullness of His comfort in the indwelling Holy Spirit that empowers us to do, be and think the way the good shepherd intends. Let us let at several of the most precious and magnificent promises (His contract, oath, undertaking and guarantee) offered to us in the Good Shepherd that provides us with everything we need for life and godliness through the true knowledge of Christ, the good shepherd.
Illustration:Dr. Andrew Bonar told me how, in the Highlands of Scotland, a sheep would often wander off into the rocks and get into places that they couldn’t get out of. The grass on these mountains is very sweet and the sheep like it, and they will jump down ten or twelve feet, and then they can’t jump back again, and the shepherd hears them bleating in distress. They may be there for days, until they have eaten all the grass. The shepherd will wait until they are so faint they cannot stand, and then they will put a rope around him, and he will go over and pull that sheep up out of the jaws of death. "Why don’t they go down there when the sheep first gets there?" I asked. "Ah!" He said, "they are so very foolish they would dash right over the precipice and be killed if they did!" And that is the way with men; they won’t go back to God till they have no friends and have lost everything. If you are a wanderer I tell you that the Good Shepherd will bring you back the moment you have given up trying to save yourself and are willing to let Him save you His own way.
Moody’s Anecdotes, pp. 70-71.
1. The Good Shepherd assures us that He is MY personal shepherd, guide and care taker. We do not have to fear when we know that He is with us caring, guiding and protecting us from evil that seeks to discourage us, defeat us and detour us from where He wants us to achieve.
2. The Good Shepherd promises to supply us with all that we need so we are able to confidently say, "I shall not want." We will not have to worry since the Lord will meet all of our needs according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Phil. 4:19) He supplies us with what we need in terms of love, acceptance, purpose, protection and provisions. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly.
3. The Good Shepherd pledges His rod and staff will comfort us. His rod is used for protecting and battling against evil. He uses His Holy Spirit to convict us from sin. The Shepherd uses His word to teach, reprove, correct and train us in righteousness for His name’s sake. His staff positively points us to where will find the best solutions for all of our problems. His staff lifts us up when we are down.
4. The Good Shepherd gives us renown or honor in the presence of our enemies. Only the Lord is able to exalt the humble, but humble the proud. He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. When critics, skeptics and cynics try to cast dispersions on us we can be assured that the Lord exalts those who humble themselves before Him. He says, "Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God and He will exalt you at the proper time." (I Pet. 5:5,6) He upholds your reputation even when others try to ruin it or bring shame upon you.
5. The Good Shepherd refines us by leading us in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. God is vitally interested in exalting His name, His glory and His kingdom through us so He will lead us in what is best so His name can receive greater acclaim and visibility. Thank God that He will always lead us in the ways to go as we ask Him to prune, cleanse and refine us more into a Christlike person. He gets the greatest glory when we reflect His image to those around us. Let us light shine before men that they can see your good work and glorify your Father in heaven. (Matt 5:16) Do not give in to discouragement when he rubbing off some of the rough edges of your diamond in the making.
6. The Good Shepherd rewards us when we follow Him with His goodness and mercy. There is nothing greater than God’s all sufficient grace. Regardless of what weakness, infirmity or adversity we may be experiencing His goodness and mercy will reward us with His aproval, affirmation and confirmation. When we know that the Lord is pleased with us we do not have to fear what people think or say or try to do to us.
7. The Good Shepherd makes us lie down in green pastures. God helps relieve our stress. He helps us by allowing us to cast all of our anxieties upon Him. The Holy Spirit provides us with whatever nourishment is necessary for our emotional, spiritual or physical nutrition. He feeds us with all the food that is necessary to strengthen, energize and make us healthy. If there are other appetites that we have craved let us be assured that He satisfies the longing soul and fills the hungry soul with what is good.
8. The Good Shepherd helps us overcome all our fears when we stray into the dark valleys of life. David wrote, "I sought the Lord and He heard me and delivered me from all of my fears." (Psa. 34:1-4) There will be plenty of times that we find ourselves in the valleys of the shadow of death, but we do not have to fear because He is with us. We all have an active imagination that tends to think of all the negative things that can happen to us. We doubt whether we are adequate to cope with the stresses of life. But the Holy Spirit breathes His inspiring word to our souls and helps us remember, that He is our comforter. "For everyone who is born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that overcomes the world, even our faith." Let us sing that song in our hearts throughout the day, Faith is the victory that overcomes the world. Oh glorious victory that overcomes the world. REfuse to be overcome by evil but overcome evil with good that is assured to you in the Spirit, in His word and in His marvelous attributes that is at work in you both to will and do of His good pleasure. Paul wrote, "Not that we are adequate to consider anything as coming from ourselves, but our adequacy is from God who also made us adequate as servants of a new covenant. Not of the letter but of the Spirit." (2 Cor. 3:5,6)
9. The Good Shepherd helps us lead others to Him by showing them the advantages of a personal relationship with Jesus as our loving guide, keeper and sustainer. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd, if anyone comes through me they will go in and out and find pasture. I give them life and in abundance. (John 10:9,10)
When we exude a spring of joy, enthusiasm and purpose it tends to draw other people to want to know the Good Shepherd. Everyone is hungry for peace, provision and supernatural blessings. Just consider how there has been an increase in the interest in spirituality throughout the world. The Good Shepherd calms our fears and helps us overcome stress by assuring us that he will make us lie down besides the quiet waters.
We can thank God for the privilege of being used as a shepherd to others in leading them to a saving faith in the Good Shepherd who provided a substitutionary payment for the forgiveness of their sins as their Savior and Lord.
Won’t you be used of God to follow the example of the Good shepherd and obey what we are told to do, "BE shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serv as overseers - not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be. Not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock." (I Pet. 5:2,3)
Illustration:You can’t break God’s promises by leaning on them!
May we all be used in a great way to lead people to a greater intimate relationship with the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ. Only He is able to continuously meet all the needs of people. 90% of the world’s population are yet to come in to His flock, will you not pray that they will respond to the Good Shepherd’s beckoning where Jesus said, "
"I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. He will come in and go out and find pasture." (John 10:9)
We are assured that the Lord will give us relationships, ministries and activities that will give us eternal meaning and rewards. May the Lord grant you the love, grace and guidance to follow the example of the Good Shepherd in serving others as the one who leads, care and feeds them from God’s word and in the power of the Holy Spirit. Praise God for giving us the riches of the Good Shepherd that are available for all who will draw upon His resources, love and precious promises.
Illustration:
How The Holy Spirit Helps Us Teach People The Practical Benefits of the Truth That "The Lord is MY Shepherd I Shall Not Be In Want"
Psalms
23:1-6
1. The Holy Spirit teaches us how to help people personally experience the Lord’s shepherding care by realizing that:
A. The Lord is MY personal comforter, guide, and supplier of everything that I really need. (Psa. 23:1)
B. The Lord is MY personal stress reliever who makes me lie down in green pastures. (Psa. 23:1)
C. The Lord is MY personal blesser with every good, provision, blessing and thing. (Psa. 23:2)
D. The Lord is MY personal director who leads me beside quiet waters. (Psa. 23:2)
E. The Lord is MY personal navigator who guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake even when there are troubled seas ahead. (Psa. 23:3)
F. The Lord is MY personal supplier of whatever I am lacking in wisdom, nourishment or knowledge. (Psa. 23:3)
G. The Lord is MY personal advocate who lifts my self-image by helping me identify with His purposes, power and perspectives. (Psa. 23:3)
H. The Lord is MY personal restorer of whatever strength, energy, or emotional courage I have exhausted. (Psa. 23:3)
I. The Lord is MY personal preventive and curative medicine against all kinds of temptations and evil. (Psa. 23:4)
J. The Lord is MY personal companion who helps alleviate the pain of loneliness, fear and uncertainty. (Psa. 23:4)
K. The Lord is MY personal anointer who fills me with power, dignity and purpose. (Psa. 23:5)
L. The Lord is MY personal assuror who fulfills every Biblical promise to me. (2 Cor. 1:20)
M. The Lord is MY personal sovereign king, master and boss who reigns supreme over all people, problems and processes. (Psa. 23:1)
N. The Lord is MY personal sufficiency whenever I realize my inadequacies. (Psa. 23:1& 2 Cor. 12:9)
O. The Lord is MY personal sanctifier as He cleanses me from all sin, guilt and shame. (I John 1:9)
P. The Lord is MY personal bestower of the fruits of the love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, gentleness, faithfulness, and self-control. (Gal. 5:22,23)
Q. The Lord is MY personal protector from all that is evil. (Psa. 23:4)
R. The Lord is MY personal eternal salvation promising me His eternal goodness and mercy. (Psa. 23:6)
S. The Lord is MY personal goal setter who leads me by His truth, love and patience. (Psa. 23:3)
T. The Lord is MY personal corrector whenever I stray from His paths, processes or perspectives. (23:4)
U. The Lord is MY personal role model for all of my shepherding roles, relationships and responsibilities. (I Pet. 5:1-5)
V. The Lord is MY personal feeder, leader and edifier who is able to supply me with whatever is needed.
W. The Lord is MY personal nurturer who is able to supply the fostering care and needed nourishment.
X. The Lord is MY personal friend who is able to share my burdens and encourage me when I am down.
Z. The Lord is MY personal counselor who is able to recommend the best solutions for my problems.
AA. The Lord is MY personal empowerment whenever I am feeling weak, afraid or unable to move ahead
BB. The Lord is MY personal trainer who shows me how to multiply maturing disciples in all nations.
CC. The Lord is MY personal inspirer who instructs me in how to be involved with all types of evangelism
DD. The Lord is MY personal persuasion expert who shows me how to bring people around to God’s truth
EE. The Lord is MY personal compassionate authority who helps me submit to His truth, power and will.
FF. The Lord is MY personal discipliner who chastens me whenever I need to be brought back in line.
GG. The Lord is MY setter of individual, relational and ministry limits for my best interests.
HH. The Lord is MY personal minister who meets me at the point of my felt, real, perceived & spiritual need.
II. The Lord is MY personal ruler who alone deserves my undying allegiance, commitment and loyalty.
JJ. The Lord is MY personal way, truth and life as He alone knows the way to maximize His will for me.
KK. The Lord is MY personal enabler who gives me the confidence I can do all things thru His power.
LL. The Lord is MY personal helper in whatever problem my family, my community or my friends face.
MM. The Lord is MY sustainer whenever I feel that there is not enough strength, peace or self-control left.
NN. The Lord is MY teacher who shows me what, why and how to teach others to be more like the Master
