The Lord is
by Rev Eric R. Rand Sr.
When we rely who Lord
is? After we have developed a good relationship with God. We understand
the role of our God as our protector and provider
The Lord is supply all our needs, forgive. Divine guidance. If stop and
rely God is everything we need.
The choice as to whom we would claim as our God in life was not
difficult for us to make. It would be the God that created man and not
the god that man created. It would be "the Lord" the only true and
living God.
In Psalm 23, David painted with words, a picture of God as the Great
Shepherd of his life. What David was to his sheep, he considered the
Lord to be that and even more to himself as one of God's sheep.
As you can see David spent his time doing just that. Psalm 23 is a
testimony of David. Every verse of it testifies of a truth about God and
the relationship David had developed with Him.
David was a shepherd tending his father's sheep when God sent Samuel to
anoint him as King over Israel.
The work of the shepherd was to devote himself:
to feed and water the sheep
to guide the sheep
to protect the sheep
to seek and save the sheep that had strayed.
To be a good shepherd it took a person with a very special heart His
heart had to be tough and disciplined, but also had to be tender and
compassionate. David had the heart of a good shepherd.
A shepherd's life also required him to spend a great deal of time alone
out in the countryside. With no one to talk to, the shepherd had time to
think about many things. He could (if he so desired) just allow his mind
to wander from thought to thought or else he could utilize the time to
develop his thought processes and to draw near to God.
The shepherd life gave great opportunity for a person to use the time to
become a man of great devotion and prayer.
Text: Psalm 23:1, "The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not want."
Verse one speaks three truths about David's Shepherd.
Truth #1: "The Lord" denotes He is A Glorious Sovereign.
A sovereign is defined as a person having supreme rank and power;
superior to all others.
God claimed to be the sovereign majesty of the universe. Isaiah 44:6, "I
am the first and the last; there is no other God." Isaiah 45: 21-22,
There is not other god beside me, a righteous God and a Savior,
There is not one besides me. Turn to me and be saved all the ends of the
earth! For I am God and there is no other."
David believed what God said of Himself and testified to it in 2 Samuel
7:22 (NLT), "How great you are, O Sovereign Lord, there is no one like
you, there is no other god. We have never even heard of another God like
you."
Note: David used the personal pronoun "my." He did not say, "the Lord is
the Shepherd of the world in general." He is saying, "The Lord is a
Shepherd to me. He cares for me. He watches over me". He made it
personal.
Fact: Only when you can say, "The Lord is my Shepherd" can you say, "I
shall not want."
Who He is and what He wants to be or do in our lives.
1. - The Lord is my Shepherd.
2. - The Lord will provide. -- "I shall not want."
3. - The Lord that healeth. -- He restoreth my soul."
4. - The Lord our peace. -- He leadeth me in paths of-"righteousness."
5. - The Lord our righteousness.-- He leadeth me in paths
of-"righteousness."
6. - The Lord ever present.-- "I will fear no evil for Thou art with
me."
7. - The Lord our banner. -- Thou preparest a table before
me in the presence of my enemies."
Just think of all we have when we say, "the Lord is my Shepherd."
1. Green pastures speak of provision.
2. Still waters speak of peace.
3. The restoring of my soul speaks of forgive.
4. Leading in the paths of righteousness speaks of divine guidance.
5. His being with us in dark valleys speaks of presence.
6. His rod and staff speaks of safekeeping.
7. The table in the presence of my enemies speaks of protection.
8. The anointing of our head with oil and the cup overflowing speaks of
plenty.
9. Dwelling in the house of the Lord forever speaks of heaven.
Fact: If the Lord is our Shepherd - He will provide for us and we will
not want.
We shall not want for health, for "with his stripes we are
healed, Isa.53: 5. And Jesus Himself took our infirmities, and bore our
sickness, Matt. 8:17.
We shall not want for prosperity, for "my God shall supply all
your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus", Phil 4:19.
We shall not want for security, for God hath not given us the
spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind, 2 Tim 1:7.
We shall not want for power, for "ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you”, Acts 1:8.
We shall not want for peace, for "Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.",Isa.
26:3.
We shall not want for joy, for "the joy of the Lord is our (my)
strength", Neh. 8:10.
We shall not want for ability, for "I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth Me.", Phil. 4:13.
We shall not want for blessings, because we are "blessed with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Eph. 1:3.
SECURITY: "He maketh me...He leadeth me." A sheep without a shepherd is
in a very insecure position.
Isaiah 53:6 tells us "All we like sheep have gone stray..." Human
beings are very much like sheep.
Psalm 100:3, ..."We are His people and the sheep of His pasture."
Notice the characteristics of the shepherd. Keep in mind that "the
shepherd" is a type of Christ.
1. Compassion - Matthew 9:36, "But when He saw the multitude He was
moved with compassion..."
2. Care - Isaiah 40:11, "He shall feed his flock like a shepherd: he
shall gather the lambs with his arm, and carry them in his bosom, and
shall gently lead those that are with young."
3. Courage - John 10:11-13, I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd
giveth his life for his sheep..........."
PLENTY: "Green pastures...still waters."
"He maketh me to lie down in green pastures." Sheep graze from about
3:30 in the morning until about 10:00 a.m. They then lie down for three
or four hours to rest. It is almost impossible to make sheep lie down
while they are hungry. They will mill around and nibble on bits of grass
until they have eaten sufficiently. Only when their stomachs are full
will they find a quiet place and lie down. Sheep lying down in green
pastures is a picture of contentment and satisfaction.
"He leadeth me beside the still waters." Sheep will not drink from
swiftly running water for a good reason: they are poor swimmers. If
their wool coat became soaked with water the weight will pull the sheep
under. Instinctively sheep know this, so they will not go near swiftly
running water.
PEACE: "He maketh me to lie down." Sheep beside still waters is a
picture of peace and rest. The phrase "still waters" means water of
rest.
This picture reminds us of Jesus who said in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto
me all you that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.
Sheep need a time of peaceful quietness to meditate (chew their cud).
Isaiah 30:15 admonishes us "...In returning and rest shall ye be saved;
in quietness and in confidence shall be your strength..."
Psalm 46:10a, "Be still and know that I am God."
"He restoreth my soul, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for
His name's sake."
The relationship between the sheep and the shepherd in the Bible is a
picture of the relationship between Christ (the Shepherd) and the
believer. The knowledge of the Shepherd's care for us gives us a deep
understanding of protection.
oth are easily lost.
We shall not want for health, for "with his stripes we are
healed, Isa.53: 5. And Jesus Himself took our infirmities, and bore our
sickness, Matt. 8:17.
We shall not want for prosperity, for "my God shall supply all
your need according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus", Phil 4:19.
We shall not want for security, for God hath not given us the
spirit of fear, but of power, of love, and of a sound mind, 2 Tim 1:7.
We shall not want for power, for "ye shall receive power, after
that the Holy Ghost is come upon you”, Acts 1:8.
We shall not want for peace, for "Thou wilt keep him in perfect
peace, whose mind is stayed on Thee: because he trusteth in Thee.",Isa.
26:3.
We shall not want for joy, for "the joy of the Lord is our (my)
strength", Neh. 8:10.
We shall not want for ability, for "I can do all things through
Christ which strengtheneth Me.", Phil. 4:13.
We shall not want for blessings, because we are "blessed with
all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ Jesus, Eph. 1:3.
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