Psalm 23 – Part 1
This newest series of messages on Internet Pastor is called “Psalm 23 – A Psalm of Hope”.
We are going to take the next few weeks and look at the 23rd Psalm together. It is a Psalm of hope and it gives us a great visual of who God is and the amazing love that He has for us. My hope is that as we dig into the Psalm we will all know God a little better, and that because we know Him better we will be able to trust Him more. So let’s get digging:
Psalms 23:1 (NIV)
1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
1. The Lord is my shepherd
What kind of shepherd is He?
Jesus says this:
John 10:11 (NIV)
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
Jesus was being humble because the writer of Hebrews tells us this:
Hebrews 13:20 (NIV)
20 May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
Peter, had this to say:
1 Peter 5:4 (NIV)
4 And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.
What does a shepherd do?
1. A shepherd provides.
2. A shepherd protects.
3. A shepherd leads.
4. A shepherd corrects.
2. I am His sheep
Psalms 100:3 (NIV)
3 Know that the LORD is God. It is he who made us, and we are his; we are his people, the sheep of his pasture.
We are his sheep. How much do you know about sheep? Most of us have not had a lot of contact with sheep so we don’t know all that much about them. But since we are compared to sheep we might want to take a closer look.
Sheep are not wild animals, they are an object of property. They are the only domestic animal that are absolutely dependent on man. Cats, dogs, and horses that are left to themselves will become wild, sheep will just get eaten by something else. Sheep are defenseless, they get lost easy and can’t find their way back. They are easily disturbed and frightened and they have very little strength.
Not so good for the old self-esteem? But it is a great picture of the reality of our relationship with God. We can never really experience life until we realize our need to be in relationship with Him. But in that relationship there is so much comfort and peace.
3. I shall not be in want
What we need to do is settle into this relationship with the Good, Great, Chief Shepherd.
Put your trust in Him
John 10:27 (NIV)
27 My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me.
It starts with realizing that we can trust Him. He is good and faithful and will provide, protect, lead and correct us. We need to learn to stop and listen and follow Him.
Why should I trust Him?
Ephesians 3:8 says His riches are unsearchable
I Peter 1:8 says His Joy is unspeakable
Job 36:22 says His power is unlimited
Exodus 34:6 says His faithfulness is unfailing
Micah 7:18 says His love is unchanging
You can trust Him!
Live One Day at a time
Matthew 6:34 (TLB)
34 “So don’t be anxious about tomorrow. God will take care of your tomorrow too. Live one day at a time.
We have to remember that God has broken this life up into little chunks of time called days so that we can have life. If we are all upset over yesterday or consumed by fear of what tomorrow will bring, we will miss out on today. Just one day, one hour, one moment at a time. He is the shepherd, you are just a sheep.
Pray about everything
Philippians 4:6 (TLB)
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank him for his answers.
Get connected to God on everything. Change the energy and time spent in worry to prayer. Quit trying to figure it all out and start talking to God about it.
The LORD is my shepherd
He is Lord. He is in control. When you start to get fearful and worried you need to remember that He is LORD. Worry is ultimately a control issue.
We had some fog last week. It makes it hard to see to drive, etc because you can’t see what’s ahead. It is an illusion. Worry is like that. Worry and fog create an illusion. The National Bureau of Standards has discovered if you took a dense fog that would cover seven square blocks of a city, 100 feet deep, and condense the fog it would only equal enough moisture to fill less than one glass of water. That’s what worry does — It expands and exaggerates the problem.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not be in want.
Do you know Him?
Is He your Lord?
Is He your Shepherd?
Do you know that you are His sheep?
Or do you think can make it without a shepherd?
Bleat!
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