The Lord is my shepherd; I have all that I need. He lets me rest in green meadows; he leads me beside peaceful streams. He renews my strength. He guides me along right paths, bringing honor to his name. Even when I walk through the darkest valley, I will not be afraid, for you are close beside me. Your rod and your staff protect and comfort me. You prepare a feast for me in the presence of my enemies. You honor me by anointing my head with oil. My cup overflows with blessings.
 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me   all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the Lord forever.

 

Psalm 23 is a popular scripture and there is a tendency to be overly familiar with it but please don’t because of the risk involved. It was when I became born again that I understood the full meaning and the power of this scripture. David who wrote this Psalm was a shepherd himself tending his father’s sheep; thus, when he wrote about a shepherd, he knew the attribute of a good shepherd. Remember his narratives about his encounters in the bush with Lions and Bears while attending to the flock. He risked his life and pursued the Lion as well as the Bear at different times that had attacked his flock and was able to deliver the sheep from their mouths with his bare hands.

 

Today, we are going to look at the character of our shepherd, as well as what we stand to gain by having Him as our shepherd. Do you know that a shepherd in the village having 200 sheep have no capacity to be able to attend to each of these sheep individually at the same time. But our God the good shepherd, has the capacity to attend to all His sheep individually and at the same time. This is one attribute David made us to recognize about the Almighty God. He is the JEHOVAH ROHI [the Lord is my shepherd]. That means at every time in our lives we have access to Him and so we have nothing to fear. Every true child of God is the sheep referred to and God is our shepherd. It is not all our prayers that bring all we need, many of at night before bed may not have remembered to pray but “He that keepeth Israel, He neither sleeps nor slumber;” while we slumber and snore, He remains awake as our shepherd.

 

When Jesus was born and angels wanted to bring the good news to the world, they passed the news through the shepherds because they knew the importance of the shepherd; the Bible records that the shepherds were on their watch – taking care of the sheep day and night, this gives us the confidence that we have nothing to fear. The question now is this; what are the bases for the bold declaration of the sheep claiming the Lord is its shepherd and it has need of nothing?

 

1. The sheep knows he has a shepherd and this shepherd is divine

 

1. The sheep provisions are met by the shepherd

 

God gives us what we ask for because of the fact that we are His own. If you have a pet at home and the pet is not looking healthy, people coming around would express concern. You owe the person some explanation because you are the shepherd of that pet at that time. If we can express such concerns over a pet, how much more you and I, who are very precious to God. We have to declare to the devil that we have a caring shepherd who provides everything we need.

 

What are the things He provides for us?

 

1. He gives us rest;

Although this is a time of unrest, God has promised to give us rest in the midst of storm. It takes a good shepherd to provide rest for His people at such a time as this.

 

1. The goodness of God; The Bible says,  “Surely His goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life”.  
2. The Psalmist also boasts that God comforts him; God is always with him.

 

A sheep is totally dependent on the shepherd and so as sheep, we should not fight the battles that do not belong to us but rather we should totally depend on God to fight these battles and give us the victory. If you don’t wholly depend on God, I want you to change your mind now and begin to totally depend on Him.

 

1. Again David boasted of the abundance of the provisions of God; you ask for one thing and God gives you more than you requested. You asked of Him a child and God says I am not just going to give you a child but a child that will be outstanding.

 

What is the nature and character of our Shepherd?

 

1. He is full of goodness: the Bible records; “I will mention the loving kindnesses of the Lord, and the praises of the Lord, according to all that the Lord hath bestowed on us, and the great goodness toward the house of Israel, which he hath bestowed on them according to his mercies, and according to the multitude of his loving kindnesses” [Isaiah 63: 7].

 

We are entitled to claim the goodness of God to our family and ourselves. We don’t deserve what we enjoy but it is made available to us by the mercies and kindness of God.

 

1. Abundantly supplies all that the sheep needs: “The thief cometh not, but for to steal, and to kill, and to destroy: I am come that they might have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” [John 10: 10].

 

The Lord has the ministry to give the sheep life in abundance. He sacrificially loves, ready always to risk and lay down His life for His sheep. In Ezekiel Chapter 34: 1 – 8 it records:

 

“And the word of the Lord came unto me, saying, Son of man, prophesy against the shepherds of Israel, prophesy, and say unto them, Thus saith the Lord God unto the shepherds; Woe be to the shepherds of Israel that do feed themselves! Should not the shepherds feed the flocks? Ye eat the fat, and ye clothe you with the wool, ye kill them that are fed: but ye feed not the flock The diseased have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was sick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again that which was driven away, neither have ye sought that which was lost; but with force and with cruelty have ye ruled them…^. “

 

Jesus Christ sacrificed Himself – He is not a hireling who runs away and exposes the sheep to danger.

 

• He loves every sheep outside the fold;

The blessings of having a shepherd:

 

10. The sheep enjoys providence in abundance. Psalm 34: 9 – 10.
11. A rest of soul. Exodus 33: 14
12. Safety and preservation.
14. Preservation from every evil.

 

How do you become part of the shepherd?

 

1. You must be born again and surrender your life to Christ.
2. Be willing to be called a sheep.

• Acquaint yourself with Him. Job 22: 21.

1. Don’t be deceived by a hireling.

 

Conclusion:

Do you have sheep and shepherd relationship; by our attitude and character we know where you stand. May God help us in Jesus’ name. Amen!

 

 

QUOTES:

“Psalm 23 is a popular scripture and there is a tendency to be overly familiar with it but please don’t because of the risk involved.”

“A sheep is totally dependent on the shepherd and so as sheep, we should … totally depend on God to fight our battles and give us the victory.”https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qRgfSJfd-T0