Following the Shepherd
Ps 23
The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. 3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
4 Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil; For You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.
5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over. 6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever. …NKJV
Review:
Luggage of Life
We need The Lord to help us lessen our burdens. If the lord is our Shepherd, we leave the burdens at his feet.
• A suitcase of guilt.
• A sack of discontent.
• A duffle bag of weariness
• A hanging bag of grief
• A backpack of doubt,
• A over night case of loneliness
• A trunk of fear
I shall not want: He takes us to the pasture of satisfaction supplying our needs
He restores my soul – Helping us to rest in green pastures and beside still waters.
I. Righteousness:
Ps 23:3… He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. NKJV
Illustration: God’s Big Party
God is planning a great big party, with an impressive guest list. All the “greats” will be there along with some of us.
• All the luggage of life must be checked at the door.
• Outside will be the resentment, frustration and the pain of life.
• No egos, nor power plays, nor self-centered behavior.
• Guilt, shame, and sorrow must be abandoned at the entrance.
• Disease, death and depression will only be part of the past.
• What we see daily here and now we will never see in this heavenly gathering.
• More important what we see now only in part we will see clearly.
• We will not see God just by faith
• We will not see Him through the eyes of Moses or Abraham.
• We will not see God through the sunsets
• The spring rains or any other part of His creation.
• We will not just know Him by His words
• Or by His works because we will see Him.
In fact the party is not for Him because He is the party.
• His voice is the music
• His goodness is the banquet
• His radiance is the light
• His love is the endless topic of discussion
In order to come to the party we have to be righteous.
• Not good
• Not decent,
• Nor a church attendant
• Or a taxpayer.
Citizens of Heaven are righteous.
• All of us occasionally do right.
• A few predominantly do right.
• But do any of us always do right?
Rom 3:12… Every one has turned away; all have gone wrong. No one anywhere has kept on doing what is right; not one. TLB
Some feel they are better than others. They don’t hurt people, lead a good life and don’t break the rules. Comparing ourselves to “others” we might think we might look pretty righteous.
Ill Clean Room:
I would try to convince my mother of this. She would say mt room needed cleaning. So I would show he mt brothers room which was always very messy. I would say, see my room is cleaner than this room. Then she would walk me down the hall to show me her room. Her room was always perfect. Closet clean, under the bed clean, dresser dusted…
Her room was…right and my room was just… wrong. She would say,” This is what I mean by a clean room”
Jesus does the same with us today. He points to himself and says, “this is what I mean by righteous”
Ps 7:11…God is a righteous judge
Ps 11:7… For the LORD is righteous; He loves righteousness
Ps 112:3… his righteousness endures forever
Isa 45:21… A righteous God and a Savior
God is righteousness.
• His Judgment = Rom 2:5…when his righteous judgment will be revealed.
• His requirements = Rom 8:4…in order that the righteous requirements of the law might be fully met in us
• His Acts = Dan 9:16… O Lord, in keeping with all your righteous acts, turn away your anger and your wrath
• In all he does = Dan 9:14… for the LORD our God is righteous in everything he does;
1. God is never wrong
2. Never rendered a wrong decision
3. Experienced as wrong attitude
4. Taken the wrong path
5. Said the wrong thing
6. Or acted the wrong way
7. He is never too late or too early
8. To soft or to loud, to fast or to slow
9. He has always been and will always be righteous.
Righteousness in the standard God uses to measure His house:
Isa 28:17… I will make justice the measuring line and righteousness the plumb line; (from New International Version)
Therefore, if we are unrighteous we are left out in the hallway with no way to gain entrance into the heavenly celebration.
The ticket to enter is God’s righteousness. So we are with the rest of the sinners of the world.
Rom 3:19…the entire world stands hushed and guilty before Almighty God.
Our spiritual luggage of life is stacked all around us.
• Decades of regret
• The weight of weariness
• Misleading self-reliance
• Discouragement from disappointments
• Anxiety plagues you
• Guilt consumes you
Our Lord is right, we are wrong, and we cannot fix our wrong without the righteous one’s help.
1 Peter 3:18… For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God,
Rom 3:21… But now God has shown us a different way to heaven --not by "being good enough" and trying to keep his laws, but by a new way (though not new, really, for the Scriptures told about it long ago). Now God says he will accept and acquit us-declare us "not guilty"-if we trust Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, by coming to Christ, no matter who we are or what we have been like…..TLB
Ps 23:3… He leads me in the paths of righteousness …..NKJV
The only responsibility we have in entering heaven’s celebration is our confession of needing the gift of God’s righteousness.
II Get over yourself …. His name sake Psalms 23:3
Now that we fully understand we receive all our rewards and blessing through His righteousness let, us examine the process of reaching the correct state of mind to allow this to happen.
We need to fully understand that all God had done and ever wil do is not for our name sake but For His Name Sake!
We must never think, assume , contend, or believe that we have it all together in any form or fashion. As soon as we think it really are something God will quickly show us that we are not. God hates most of all the baggage we carry called arrogance.
Prov 16:5… Everyone who is proud in heart is an abomination to the LORD;
Phil 2:3… Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves.
1 Sam 2:3… "Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance,
Prov 15:25… The LORD will tear down the house of the proud
The message of the 23rd Psalm is also that we have nothing to be proud about in ourselves.
We have rest, salvation, blessings and a home in heaven and we have done nothing to earn any of it. The one who has provided it all is listed in the verses.
• He makes me…
• He leads me…
• He restores my soul…
• You are with me…
• Your rod and Your staff…
• You prepare a table…
• You anoint my head…
You see the shepherd leads his sheep not for our name sake but for His name sake. For His glory and his honor.
Luke 18:10-14… "Two men went to the Temple to pray. One was a proud, self-righteous Pharisee, and the other a cheating tax collector. The proud Pharisee ’prayed’ this prayer: ’Thank God, I am not a sinner like everyone else, especially like that tax collector over there! For I never cheat, I don’t commit adultery, I go without food twice a week, and I give to God a tenth of everything I earn.’
"But the corrupt tax collector stood at a distance and dared not even lift his eyes to heaven as he prayed, but beat upon his chest in sorrow, exclaiming, ’God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ I tell you, this sinner, not the Pharisee, returned home forgiven! For the proud shall be humbled, but the humble shall be honored." TLB
As much as God hates arrogance, God equally loves humility.
Ps 138:6… Yet though he is so great, he respects the humble, but proud men must keep their distance. TLB
Isa 57:15… "The high and lofty One who inhabits eternity, the Holy One, says this: I live in that high and holy place where those with contrite, humble spirits dwell; and I refresh the humble and give new courage to those with repentant hearts. TLB
Prov 15:33… humility comes before honor. (New International Version)
Prov 11:2… When pride comes, then comes disgrace, but with humility comes wisdom. (New International Version)
Ps 25:9… He guides the humble in what is right and teaches them his way. (New International Version)
What is Humbleness:
1. Assess yourself honestly. Humility is not the same as low self-esteem. Being humble doesent mean you have nothing to offer it means you know exactly what you do have to offer and nothing more. Rom 12:3…Be honest in your estimate of yourselves, measuring your value by how much faith God has given you. TLB
2. Don’t take success too seriously. Scripture warns, Deut 8:13-14 and when your herds and flocks grow large and your silver and gold increase and all you have is multiplied, 14 then your heart will become proud and you will forget the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt, out of the land of slavery. (New International Version)
3. Celebrate the significance of others. Phil 2:3 Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. (New International Version)
Joke: …The little boy came running into the house from the school play tryouts excited about the part he had been given. With excitement he proclaimed, “I got a part. I have been chosen to sit in the audience to clap and cheer!
4. Don’t Demand your own parking space. Luke 14:9-10… But when you are invited, take the lowest place, so that when your host comes, he will say to you, ’Friend, move up to a better place.’(New International Version)
5. Never announce you success before it occurs. 1 Kings 20:11 “The one who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.”
6. Speak humbly 1 Sam 2:3…"Do not keep talking so proudly or let your mouth speak such arrogance, (New International Version)
7. Live at the foot of the Cross. Gal 6:14… But may it never be that I should boast, except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
Closing:
Ps 23:3… He guides me in the paths of righteousness for His name’s sake. NAS
• How are you doing when it comes to following the shepherd?
• Is he able to lead you forward, on the paths of righteousness?
• Can we honor Him and proclaim His greatness:
Prayer:
