HOW TO BE TRULY SATISFIED!
Psalm 23:1
INTRODUCTION:
1. Psalm 23 contains a short yet beautiful portrait of our relationship with God. It promises comfort and protection to those who remain close to the Shepherd and demonstrates how our spiritual needs are met in the Lord.
2. It is one of the most familiar passages of Scripture in the Word of God and it’s familiarity is only rivaled by John 3:16.
3. The Psalm was written by the would-be king of Israel, David the son of Jesse, who spent much of his early life tending to the sheep of his father.
4. Interestingly, it is written not from the perspective of David as the shepherd, but from the perspective of a sheep and his relationship with the shepherd.
5. The idea of the sheep and shepherd relationship is taught in the Word of God to describe the relationship between believers and their heavenly Father.
6. Psalm 95:7 “For he is our God; and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand. To day if ye will hear his voice,”
7. Let me remind you what sheep are like.
8. First, sheep are stubborn
9. Sheep can get easily lost because they tend to go their own way. Like sheep, believers have a tendency to go their own direction rather than follow the divine Shepherds plan.
10. Psalm 119:176 “I have gone astray like a lost sheep; seek thy servant; for I do not forget thy commandments.”
11. Second, sheep are smelly
12. Sheep do nothing to cleanse themselves. They do not bathe, roll, scrape, or lick. They remain filthy until the shepherd finds a way to clean them. The same is true with Christians; we cannot cleanse ourselves without the help of the Lord Jesus Christ.
13. Psalm 119:9 “Wherewithal shall a young man cleanse his way? by taking heed thereto according to thy word.”
14. Third, sheep are stupid
15. Sheep need the guidance of the shepherd for food and protection from harmful and poisonous weeds. They will eat anything. Similarly, believers have a propensity for eating up the latest trends and Christian “cures”, when what we really need is to find our guidance for life in the Word of God.
16. Psalm 119:105 “Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.”
17. In the first verse of Psalm 23 we learn that it is possible to live free from wants. Most people in our society are consumed with the idea of getting more and bigger stuff. People strap themselves with huge mortgages, heavy car payments, high credit card bills and still they are constantly looking for more.
18. You will never find true satisfaction until you learn to accept what God wants you to have and you become content with Him!
19. Hebrews 13:5 “Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have: for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
20. THEREFORE, WE MUST FIND OUR SATISFACTION IN THE LORD
HOW?
I. BY TRUSTING THE SHEPHERDS PERSON V. 1
1. Psalm 23:1
2. Notice the phrase, “The Lord…”
3. This Psalm begins and ends with, “the Lord” (Vs. 6). This establishes the importance of the relationship of the sheep to the shepherd.
4. F.B. Meyer wrote, “All other life, from the aphid on the rose leaf to the archangel before the throne, is dependent and derived. All others waste and grow old; He only is unchangeably the same. All others are fires which he supplies with fuel; he alone is self-sustained. This mighty being is our Shepherd!”
5. There are several names for God not used in this Psalm. It does not say, “God (Elohim) is my shepherd,” for that speaks of Him as the great and mighty Creator who is separate from the world. Neither does it say, “The Master (Adonai) is my shepherd.” That speaks f a servant slave relationship. Rather, it says “The Lord (Jehovah) is my shepherd.” This is a term of personal relationship, which means that you can get close to Him.
6. Why is this important? Jehovah is God’s name! (Exodus 3:4).
7. ILL: My name is Joel I wrote a poem when I was a child called “Today I am Me.” The truth is that you can call me Pastor, Preacher, Reverend, or Brother. While I am all of those things, my name is Joel. My wife can call me Husband, my Mom can call me son, my son can call me Father; none of those are my names. My name is Joel.
8. The real problem with those who are not satisfied is that they have not come to the place where they completely trust or are willing to give their lives to the Lord and let Him have complete control. It is an issue of surrender.
9. The condition of any sheep is totally dependent on the care of the shepherd. If the shepherd is slack, the sheep will be sickly. Conversely, if the shepherd is diligent, the sheep will be healthy.
10. He is deserving of control and is capable of managing our lives because of Who He is.
11. Who is He?
12. First, He is our Creator
13. Psalm 100:3 “Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture.”
14. The wonderful truth of the Word of God is that the Creator of the universe is big enough to rule it all and yet is personal enough to reside in my heart and have complete control of my life.
15. Second, He is our Savior
16. Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
17. We are privileged to have a relationship with God. A personal relationship that is based on His unconditional love for me, and my trust in the Person of His Son – Jesus Christ!
18. John 10:11 “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.”
19. We can never be truly satisfied apart from complete trust in Christ’s Person!
II. BY TRUSTING THE SHEPHERDS POSITION V. 1
1. Psalm 23:1
2. Notice the phrase, “Is my shepherd…”
3. Grammatically speaking, there are two key words in this part of the verse.
4. First, the present tense verb – “is”
5. What does the word “is” imply?
6. Some try to live on and only testify to past experiences with God, i.e., “The Lord was my Shepherd.”
7. Others only plan to get close to the Lord-Shepherd in the future, i.e., “The Lord will be my Shepherd.”
8. Yet, David plainly stated that “the Lord is my Shepherd” – present tense!
9. This means two things. Right now – the Lord will care for you and protect you today! Right here – you don’t have to go some place else to get into the Shepherd’s care! He will care for you and protect you right where you are!
10. Exodus 3:14 “And God said unto Moses, I AM THAT I AM: and he said, Thus shalt thou say unto the children of Israel, I AM hath sent me unto you.”
11. ILL: My name is “I AM” I was regretting the past and fearing the future. Suddenly my Lord was speaking: “My name is “I AM.” He paused. I waited, He continued, “When you live in the past with its mistakes and regrets, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not ‘I WAS.’ When you live in the future with its problems and fears, it is hard. I am not there. My name is not ‘I WILL BE.’ When you live in this moment it is not hard; I am there! My name is ‘I AM!’
12. David had complete assurance that he belonged to God. There was no “if”, “but”, or “I hope so” in David’s mind.
13. Second, the personal pronoun – “my”
14. Notice that David did not say, “The Lord is a shepherd,” for that makes Him one among many? Who or what is your shepherd? Your Job? Family? Bank account? Retirement fund?
15. Also, he did not say, “The Lord is the shepherd,” for that makes important, but impersonal.
16. He did not say, “The Lord is our shepherd,” for that makes Him relate to me in a crowd. “I’m only one among many!”
17. Rather, David knew that he belonged to the Lord and that the Lord belonged to him.
18. Song of Solomon 2:16 “My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.”
19. Only when you fully understand that you belong to the Shepherd will you find true satisfaction and peace.
20. ILL: Branding Phillip Keller wrote in his book “A Shepherd Looks at the 23rd Psalm,” about when he bought his first thirty sheep. He wrote, “Each shepherd has his own distinctive earmark which he cuts into one of the ears of his sheep. In this way, even at a distance, it is easy to determine to whom the sheep belong. It was not the most pleasant procedure to catch each ewe in turn and lay her ear on a wooden block, then notch it deeply with the razor-sharp edge of the knife. There was pain for both of us. But from our mutual suffering an indelible lifelong mark of ownership was made that could never be erased. And from then on every sheep that came into my possession would bear my mark.”
21. The same is true with us. God has forever connected us to Himself through the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ and the wounds that he suffered for us. However, the Lord also put His mark or seal upon us.
22. Ephesians 1:13-14 “In whom ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were sealed with that holy Spirit of promise, Which is the earnest of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory.”
23. 1 Corinthian 6:19-20 “What? know ye not that your body is the temple of the Holy Ghost which is in you, which ye have of God, and ye are not your own? For ye are bought with a price: therefore glorify God in your body, and in your spirit, which are God’s.”
24. You see, a shepherd may be the owner of the sheep, but more than this he is always the manager of the sheep! He guides them everywhere they go and literally makes their decisions for them!
25. The greatest decision that you will ever make as a believer is that you are no longer in charge of your life and decisions. Rather, you completely surrender to Him and put your trust in His position as your shepherd!
III. BY TRUSTING THE SHEPHERDS PROVISION V. 1
1. Psalm 23:1
2. Notice the phrase, “I shall not want.”
3. This means that He has completely satisfied me. As one little boy said, “The Lord is my Shepherd, He is all I want.”
4. One of the greatest problems in our American society today is that of materialism. We have been brainwashed into believing that we must have more and more all of the time!
5. Bro. Ferdie said, “We have defeated the evil of communism, but we can not defeat the evil of materialism.”
6. 1 Timothy 6:6-10 “But godliness with contentment is great gain. For we brought nothing into this world, and it is certain we can carry nothing out. And having food and raiment let us be therewith content. But they that will be rich fall into temptation and a snare, and into many foolish and hurtful lusts, which drown men in destruction and perdition. For the love of money is the root of all evil: which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith, and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.”
7. Notice what the Shepherd has provided for us.
8. First, He has provided eternal life
9. John 10:27-29 “My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me: And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.”
10. The eternal security of the believer is just one of the many reasons that we can implicitly trust Him. Not only has he provided the way to heaven, but once we know Christ we can never ever lose Him.
11. Second, He has provided abundant life
12. 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.”
13. The happiest people you will ever know are those who have a strong trust in the Lord’s provision. They understand that the Christ-life is full of true joy, unfathomable peace, spiritual strength, and everlasting satisfaction.
14. Why? Because of God’s blessing to His children.
15. Psalm 68:19 “Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits, even the God of our salvation. Selah.”
16. We lack nothing with the Lord as our shepherd.
17. I shall not want rest… “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures.” I shall not want refreshment… “He leadeth me beside the still waters.” I shall not want restoration… “He restoreth my soul.” I shall not want guidance… “He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.” I shall not want companionship in the hours of trial… “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me.” I shall not want comfort… “Thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.” I shall not want provision… “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies.” I shall not want power… “Thou anointest my head with oil.” I shall not want satisfaction… “My cup runneth over.” I shall not want joy… “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.” I shall not want a home… “I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
18. ILL: Mrs. Gad-about The story is told by Robert Keller of a female sheep who had an ingrained habit of getting away from the rest of the flock. He called her Mrs. Gad-about. She had the greenest and most luscious field and pastures in the county to graze on, and her shepherd loved her dearly. However, he would often find her away from his care and grazing on brown, rotting grass. You see, she literally thought that the grass was greener on the other side. The problem became so bad that she even influenced her ewes to begin running away. Finally, her example even led many of the other sheep to start wandering away also. To save the rest of the flock, he had no choice. So, he got out the killing knife and butchered her. Without her influence, the flock stopped trying to wander away.
19. We can only know true satisfaction through trusting in the Shepherd’s provision for us.
CONCLUSION:
1. The things of this world will never satisfy you. Rather, they have a tendency to produce in us an insatiable desire for more. This desire can never be quenched.
2. True satisfaction in life comes only through our trusting in the care of our Shepherd.
3. Only when we can truly say that, “the Lord is my shepherd,” will we ever be able to say, “I shall not want.”
