The Great Shepard #1

THE GREAT SHEPARD

Have we ever considered the responsibilities of a Shepherd?

PSALMS 23:1-6 A Psalm of David.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

3He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.

5Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

6Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

Most people the world over either have some form of religion, or they are always wondering about the here after when people die.

And these with their religion don’t really feel safe with what the call their belief.

Many of them might say that their happy and content just the way things are, but deep inside their not really in a peaceful frame of mind, and when you think about it, how can they be.

They may have some kind of religion, but they have not found the God who made them and the world in which they live. No one can find peace while living away from the God who formed him or her.

And you cannot have peace living against the laws of the True & Living God.

Isaiah 48:22 22There is no peace, saith the LORD, unto the wicked.

Peace is found in knowing God and living for him.

The 23rd Psalm is talking about the Great Shepherd of our souls, and how he cares for us. The first thing that the psalm says about the Great Shepherd is that:

He provides. David is saying that God is the Great Shepherd. And because the Lord is his Shepherd, he will not be in want.

1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

David has the sense that God is watching over him and providing for him. The Lord is always beside him and looking after his needs. There is great peace that has come into David’s life, in spite of his many problems, because he has this overwhelming sense that God loves him and cares about him.

David knows that God wants the best for him and leads his life in ways so that he will find God’s best. 1 John 4:16 16And we have known and believed the love that God hath to us. God is love; and he that dwelleth in love dwelleth in God, and God in him.

Brothers & sisters can you imagine what it would be like to live and not be aware everyday that God loves us and wants the best for us?

David had that assurance, and that was what kept him going through all the problems he faced in life.

David said that God was like a good shepherd that took his sheep to green pastures and led them to quiet waters.

2He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

Human shepherds may be quite different because people are different, they all have different personalities.

There are those who don’t really care for the sheep and are rough with them. They don’t care for the sheep, they only care about themselves. They don’t make life pleasant for the sheep; they only make life easy for themselves.

From the things I’ve read about sheep they are not really smart creatures. They wander off and get lost. They are in need of constant care; they cannot take care of themselves.

If they walk head first into the corner of a fence, they are not smart enough to back up. The shepherd has to come and lead them out.

So it is, that if they were left alone they would surely die of some mishap.

Jesus told about the lost sheep? He said in Matthew 18:12 –14 12How think ye? if a man have an hundred sheep, and one of them be gone astray, doth he not leave the ninety and nine, and goeth into the mountains, and seeketh that which is gone astray? 13And if so be that he find it, verily I say unto you, he rejoiceth more of that sheep, than of the ninety and nine which went not astray. 14Even so it is not the will of your Father which is in heaven, that one of these little ones should perish.

Jesus knew that this was a real life situation as there were shepherds there at that time that faced such as this on a daily basis.