THESIS: To show how the Savior/Shepherd cares for the needs of His flock by restoring them when they are hurt and giving them guidance when they are perplexed.
INTRO: A. Some think David wrote this Psalm when he was an old man, approaching the end of his journey, looking back over many years of walking with the Shepherd. Others believe that he penned this paean of praise as a youth while tending sheep himself on the Judean hills, with his harp in his hand when the great thought first came to him - The Lord Is My Shepherd! Still others feel that the idea for the Psalm came to him when as a lad he faced the threats of Goliath, and as he ran to meet Israel’s and God’s enemy, he sang: “yea 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 com- fort me...”
B. The time period when David penned this poem is not important. What is important is that it is a part of God’s revelation of Himself as the Great Shepherd of His sheep, and that these wonderful, triumphant words have pillowed the weary and battle-scarred head of many a saint over the centuries and that it can continue to bless our hearts today. With David we can declare that BECAUSE THE LORD IS OUR SHEPHERD, WE SHALL NOT WANT FOR REST OR REFRESHMENT (v.2) . And we can go beyond that and say with David that...
BECAUSE THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD...
I. I SHALL NOT WANT FOR RESTORATION: v.3a “He restoreth my soul...”
NOTE: David made this Psalm very personal, using 17 personal pronouns referring to himself. We need to do likewise.
A. Restoration Implies Need:
1. He restores us when we are weary.
ILLUS: Sheep get “weary in well doing” and need to be restored. While the flock rested in green pastures, the shepherd might pick up his harp or his flute and begin to play. Soon weary sheep would raise their heads and little lambs would skip and jump in delight again. All are refreshed as the shepherd ministers to them in music. That is one of the purposes of music for the Christian. It’s hard to weep and sing at the same time. While the sheep are beside still waters, the shepherd may wash and cleanse them one by one and they will be thoroughly refreshed and restored by the Shepherd. I Jn.1:9
2. He restores us when we are worried: “Fear not, little flock...”
ILLUS: Someone said there are 365 “fear nots” in the Bible - one for each day of the year.
3. He restores us when we are weak:
a. He is not only the Great Shepherd, He is the Great Physician. b. He ministers to us in our weakness. B. Restoration Implies Going Astray:
1. He restores us when we wander:
a. We wander from the Shepherd because of the allurements of the world.
ILLUS: A lady saw a sheep with a broken leg and asked the shepherd “How did it get broken?” He replied “I broke that leg; of all my sheep this was the most prone to wander; it would never obey me, or follow me and it led others astray, so I broke it’s leg! The next day it tried to bite me, but I cared for it, fed it and now it stays close to me. When it heals it will be the model sheep of my flock! It will have learned obedience thru suffering.
b. We wander from the Shepherd because of the distraction of the legitimate.
1) It’s not just “wild grass” which takes us away, sometimes even the “green pastures” themselves do so. 2) We grow weary “in well doing” and even otherwise good things take us away.
ILLUS: A deacon had led his three sons away from the church because of a love for outdoors. The pastor and other deacons talked with them, but it didn’t do any good. One day a rattlesnake bit one of the sons and he got very sick and they called for the pastor. He prayed “O wise Father, we thank You that in Your wisdom You have sent this rattlesnake to bite John in order to bring him to his senses! He and the rest of the family haven’t been inside the church in a long time and now we trust they will learn the lesson and repent. Now, O Father, will You send another snake to bite Jim and one to bite Sam and a great big one to bite the old man! We have done what we could, but our combined efforts could not do what this one snake has done, so they obviously need more rattlesnakes. So, Lord, send bigger and better rattlesnakes. Amen!”
C. Restoration Implies Danger:
Ps. 42:11 Why art thou cast down, O my soul? and why art thou disquieted within me? hope thou in God: for I shall yet praise him, who is the health of my countenance, and my God.
ILLUS: A sheep may be “cast down” and not be able to get up and is in serious danger of attack by predators or of dying! When a sheep is “cast” he cannot get up. The center of gravity shifts and he cannot right himself. Circulation in the legs ceases and internal changes take place and if the shepherd doesn’t arrive in a reasonably short time, the sheep will die. There are 3 ways this generally happens...
1. The sheep looks for a soft spot: a comfortable hollow in the ground.
ILLUS: The rich young ruler was in a soft spot and thought all was well, but he was in mortal danger. He was on the verge of being cast down.
2. The sheep has too much wool.
ILLUS: Wool on a sheep matts down with mud, manure, burrs and other debris. He becomes weigh down with his own wool. Wool in Script. speaks of the old life of the believer. It is where we come in contact with the world and possessions and desires begin to cling to us and weigh us down. Beware weights! (No High Priest was ever allowed to wear wool when he entered the Holy of Holies; it spoke of pride, self and personal preference and God could not tolerate it.) Sheep need to be sheared - set free from the heavy dangerous excess wool and what it has accumulated!
3. The sheep is too fat.
a. Overweight sheep are neither the most healthy nor the most productive. b. Riches and possessions are dangerous to the believer!
II. I SHALL NOT WANT FOR DIRECTION: v.3b “He leadeth me...”
ILLUS: The Christian’s life is like a road map with out names and towns or Rt. numbers on it - just a maze of roads and roads. What believers need is a AAA “Trip Tik.” We have one - it is called the Bible!
A. Knowing His Will:
Col. 1:9 For this cause we also, since the day we heard it, do not cease to pray for you, and to desire that ye might be filled with the knowledge of his will in all wisdom and spiritual understanding;
1. God’s Word reveals His will for us clearly most of the time. 2. But familiarity with His voice (the Holy Spirit) is a safeguard for the believer seeking His will!
Jn. 10:3-5 3 To him (the shepherd) the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out. 4 And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice. 5 And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.
Jn. 10:27 My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:
B. Doing His Will:
1. We can know His will if we want to do it! 2. We cannot know His will if we just want to take it under advisement or vote on it! 3. His way is always best because He always leads us in paths of righteousness, but we often stubbornly follow our own paths or the destructive paths others have trod.
Is. 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way...
ILLUS: Moses heard God’s voice but decided to deliver the Israelites his way. He killed the Egyptian and buried the body in the sand. The problem was he wouldn’t live long enough to kill them all one by one nor would there be enough sand to bury them all! God had a better plan!
POEM: I asked the Lord for some motto sweet,/ Some rule of life to guide my feet. I asked and paused. He answered soft and low,/ GOD’S WILL TO KNOW.” ‘Will knowledge then suffice, dear Lord?’ I cried./ But ‘ere the question into silence died -- ‘Nay, this remember too/ GOD’S WILL TO DO.’
Once more I asked, ‘Is there no more to tell?’/ And once again the answer sweetly fell, ‘Yes, this one thing -- all other things above--/ GOD’S WILL TO LOVE.’
CONCL: BECAUSE THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT FOR REST when I am weary or for REFRESHMENT when I am thirsty nor FOR RESTORATION when I wander nor FOR DIRECTION when I am confused! Praise the Lord, HE IS MY SHEPHERD! IS HE YOURS?