Who’s Your Shepherd?
July 8, 2012
Psalm 23
Is there anything you want? Of course there is — Maybe you want a
new car new house new friends lose weight
taller want a better job financial success new clothes
NO debt more toys /gadgets peace in your life health
someone to care about you love and romance Confidence
rest for your weary soul and body
to believe God really loves you and died for you . . .
We can make a list that will never end of the things we want in our lives. Nobody is exempt from wanting. We all have needs, too, it just may be that we don’t like to admit them.
Today and for the next few weeks we’re going to take a look at the most famous of psalms, Psalm 23. We’re going to see what it says to our hearts that want and desire the Good Shepherd. There will be times where I’m going to take passages as a whole and other times, like today, where I am going to take verses word by word, just so we can really understand why this psalm touches our hearts so much.
The psalm is about a shepherd who cares for His sheep. That means we are supposed to be the sheep. So, why a shepherd and why sheep?
Did you know that in the Bible, God refers to His people, you and me, as sheep almost 200 times? Let me tell you it's not a compliment to be called a sheep. Why not eagles - majestic, swift and beautiful? Why not lions - strong, terrifying, fearless? No, God calls us His sheep.
To be compared to one is nearly an insult. A sheep is one of the dumbest animals. Have you ever seen a trained sheep in the circus? You'll see elephants, horses, bears, seals, even hippos, but not sheep. They're not smart enough to train. Sheep are also filthy. The fluffy white sheep you see on television didn't get that way on their own. Sheep will not and cannot clean themselves. The shepherd or his hired hands must do it for them. Not only are they dumb and dirty, sheep are utterly defenseless. They have no claws, fangs, or wings. They can't run fast or scare an enemy with a loud roar or spray a yucky scent at a predator. All they can do is bleat - baah, baah, baah.
Sheep are completely reliant on their shepherds. That right there should give us a clue about how we are supposed to relate to the Shepherd. If God calls us His sheep I wonder what He's trying to say?
So, let’s get into verse 1, what does “The Lord is my Shepherd” really mean?
Let’s start with the name of God. Why is God called LORD? What did David mean by that and how does that help us in our lives?
In Hebrew, when we call God by the name Elohim, it implies an impersonal, but mighty God. If we call God Adonai, or Master, it implies slaves to master relationship. But we are sheep to be cared for. If we call God — King, Rock, Fortress, Almighty, or Holy One, those can also be impersonal phrases. But this psalm is all about relationship.
The word LORD speaks of a personal relationship. David is referring to the personal God, a God who knows you and a God who you know. When Moses asked God what His name was, God told Moses His name was Yahweh. It looks like this in Hebrew.
Now, we’re going to have a very quick lesson in Hebrew, so you can understand the importance of what God said to Moses. In Exodus 3:14, this is how God answered Moses, I AM WHO I AM. Look at what God said.
And you will notice it is the only name of God which is entirely capitalized in the Bible. Look in any Bible and when you see God’s name referred to as LORD, it is always, always capitalized. Psalm 110:1 is a great example, as David says, The LORD says to my Lord.
So, we learn that the name LORD means God is a personal God, He seeks to have a personal relationship with us. This is important for us because we want and need God to be personal, we don’t want an impersonal and distant God. When Jesus refers to the disciples as friends, it demonstrates the personal relationship we can experience.
In Revelation 3, when Jesus said, 20 “I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and eat with him, and he with me. 21 To him who overcomes, I will give the right to sit with me on my throne, just as I overcame and sat down with my Father on his throne.” This invitation is not from an impersonal God, but from a God who seeks a relationship with you and I.
Now, we’re going to get really picky, and this is important for us. This is really what makes Psalm 23 come alive for us.
What does the word “IS” imply?
I know, I know, you’re thinking I was on vacation too long. But work with me for a moment.
Some people will only testify to past experiences with God. They say, “The Lord was my Shepherd.” Or some only plan to get close to the Shepherd in the future, “the Lord will be my Shepherd. Or we can speak about a benign Shepherd, when we say, ‘the Lord can be a Shepherd.’ But whose Shepherd is He? He IS my Shepherd.
And that is the significance of the verb “IS.”
1.) It means RIGHT NOW . . . today . . . the Lord is my Shepherd. He will care and protect you, today.
2.) It also means He is RIGHT HERE. You don’t have to go some place else to get into the Shepherd’s care. He’s here, now, for you and me.
Now we look at the word MY. It tells us whose Shepherd He is. He’s MY Shepherd!
What would it mean if the pronoun MY were left out?
We might say, “The Lord is a shepherd.”
Or . . . the Lord can be a shepherd?
Or . . . the Lord is one shepherd?
That means He’s only one among many possible shepherds. So, who is your shepherd? Yourself? Your job? Your family? Your retirement fund? Your kids?
You see the Lord IS MY Shepherd. Yet, He is not only mine, He is also yours. He is a personal God, who seeks an intimate relationship with each of us. There’s no other way to say it. The Lord is MY Shepherd.
Another reason we are called sheep?
We tend to stray. Isaiah wrote, “we are all like sheep who have gone astray” (53:6).
In Luke 15:4, Jesus said, “What man having 100 sheep, if he loses just 1 will not go and look for that which was lost.”
Sheep have no instinct to warn them of snakes, wolves, bears, and even parasites. In some ways they’re oblivious to danger. They’re defenseless. That’s why in John 10:12, Jesus said, “The wolf catches the sheep.”
And remember we’re the target of the enemy, satan. Again, the Bible reminds us of that in Acts 20:29, “Grievous wolves shall enter, not sparing the flock.”
And He is a Shepherd. He leads us, that’s what a shepherd does. I shepherd also gives His life for us. When He calls out to us, we hear His voice and we respond, just as a sheep does. The Shepherd loves His sheep, Matthew tells us, “Jesus was moved with compassion, because they were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd” (Matt. 9:36). We have a shepherd, He is named Jesus.
And Jesus was willing to sacrifice His life for His sheep. Because ‘a good shepherd gives His life for the sheep’ (John 10:11).
So, what does all of this mean for us? The Lord is our Shepherd, He calls out to you and I, but do we hear His voice? Do we know His voice when He calls out to us? Or is our life so scattered that we cannot hear the voice of the Shepherd because there are too many other voices and sounds that are filtering in?
This is one of the redeeming qualities of sheep. When they learn their masters voice, they never forget it. They will hear all kinds of shepherds calling their flocks and never move, but when they hear their master call them, they will immediately start to move to their shepherd.
In fact the question that even comes before us is ~ ‘do you want the Lord to be your Shepherd? Because if you do, then you must give your life to Him, you must allow Him to lead and guide. That is the only way this psalm can work. We must be willing to give ourselves over to the One who is the Great Shepherd.
Isn’t it amazing we’re still in verse 1. Now comes an amazing statement from David. And now we learn “I SHALL NOT WANT.”
What in the world can that mean? After all, at the beginning of this message I listed scads of wants we have in our lives.
When David spoke of Yahweh as his shepherd, he thought of Him not only as his provider and protector but also as his king. Because God was David’s shepherd, he lacked (wanted) nothing. A good shepherd is all a sheep needs since a good shepherd, by his very nature will always supply all of the sheep’s needs. In a similar way, a good parent will provide for every need of their child.
Since the Lord was David’s Shepherd, David had no other wants; he was lacking nothing. We are called to be dependent upon God, not independent of God. I cannot overemphasize this statement.
Throughout the ages satan has attempted to portray God as a begrudging giver who only provides when He must. Satan’s greatest weapon is deception. He wants us to believe we’re deprived of the good things in life. This is the picture satan tried to paint for Adam and Eve. Suggesting God withheld the fruit of every tree of the garden. God was also portrayed as holding out on Jesus when He was being tempted in the desert.
You see, the mentality behind David’s words are completely opposed to the Madison Avenue propaganda where we’re constantly being told that we have many needs, all of which can be met when we buy some new product. We need “sex appeal” so we buy a new toothpaste, a new kind of mouthwash and a new brand of soap. We need self-confidence and a better self-image, therefore we must wear stylish clothing. Our whole mode of thinking is “want-centered.”
David tells us that to have God as our shepherd is indeed to have everything we want. In his book, I Shall Not Want, Robert Ketchum tells about a Sunday school teacher who asked her class if any of them could quote Psalm 23. A young girl raised her hand. The little girl came to the front of the class and said ~ "The Lord is my shepherd, that’s all I want." Then she sat down. She may have over-looked a few verses, but I think that little girl captured David’s heart in Psalm 23.
The Lord is my shepherd, that’s all I want; that’s all I need.
