"what Kind Of Shepherd Is The Lord?"

WHAT KIND OF SHEPHERD IS THE LORD? PSALM 23

Upon whom do you depend? How do you know you can depend upon them? Who depends upon you? How can they be sure you’re dependable? It takes strong relationships to know.

We depend upon our parents, our spouse, our children, our siblings, our friends, our doctors, our law enforcement officers, the people from whom we buy things. We depend upon them and they depend upon us. It’s a sad situation when those that we’ve depended upon proved to be undependable.

Once in a while, when Marlene lets me go out shopping by myself, and if I don’t get a list of things to purchase, I may come home with some of the stuff I wasn’t supposed to get and forget some of the stuff I was supposed to get. Sometimes, even with a list, I’ll bring home some stuff not listed. But usually I’m pretty dependable.

When it comes to depending on others, we all have basic needs that can be fulfilled only by others. Things like – intimacy, family, friendship, medical care, and social times.

All of us, like King David, should realize that we are very dependent upon The Lord. As king David pondered his prestigious position, and he cannot help recalling the days of his youth, at home with his father and siblings and sheep. Perhaps he sighs with nostalgia and recalls how he depended upon Jesse for shelter, sustenance and safety. But now, they depended on Him as their king. But David was wise enough to know that he could not govern well on his own. He depended on his advisors and his army to help him lead the people and to protect them. But above all others David depended on the Lord and wrote,

“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside quiet waters. He restores my soul; He guides me in the paths of righteousness For His name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; You have anointed my head with oil; My cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.” Psalm 23:1-6 (NASB).

How does David assess and describe God, the Lord, the Good Shepherd?

I. THE LORD IS A PERSONAL SHEPHERD:

A. Notice the first-person pronouns.

1. The Lord is MY shepherd.

2. He makes ME lie down in green pastures.

3. He leads Mein paths of righteouwness...

4. He restores MY soul...

5. He guides ME...

6. He is with ME...

7. He prepares for ME...

8. He comforts ME...

B. Make it personal between you and the Shepherd.

1. You need to personally get to know Him.

2. You need to personally worship Him.

3. You need to personally trust Him.

4. You need to personally obey Him.

C. While technically Christianity is a religion, but better than that it is not rigid rituals but relationship with Jesus Christ, and a life lived by His Spirit.

D. Just like every other relationship your relationship with with the Shepherd has to be cultivated and kept alive.

1. You can do that by spending time with Him in prayer fellowship throughout the day chat with Him – pray for that person in the ambulance, for that police officer who has a driver stopped, and for those who were involved in a wreck on the freeway that you observe as you go on by.

2. You can do that by learning from Him in reading His word and learning His will and His teachings.

3. You can do that by meditating on that Word and thinking about how to apply it in life situations and then to apply it.

E. Keep your relationship with the Shepherd personal. As a small boy in Colorado when I would refer to mother or dad I would say “My mother,” or “My dad,” even when I talk to my siblings. one of the siblings said to me well they’re my mother and dad too, to which I said “No they’re not – they’re my mother and dad. Well, even though He is MY Shepherd, you, too, can enjoy that personal bonding of Shepherd and sheep. We will then comprehend the meaning of His being a PERSONAL SHEPHERD, and we come to know that:

II. THE LORD IS A PROVIDENTIAL SHEPHERD:

A. That means “I have enough and more than enough.”

1. The Shepherd provided Green pastures, far better fare than what they may have had out in the desert places.