The Lord - Our Shepherd - Part 1

Welcome to the intense podcasts at times Stanley for Monday, March 21 you've memorized the 23rd Psalm 50 embrace this comforting To see the Lord as your shepherd wonder why some of the people have such a hard time believing that God really and truly loves them. He says he does the word of God.

Yet somehow the people can't quite grasp that and so we can think of a lot of reasons people think, in their minds why God doesn't love, but they can't give you a biblical reason for thinking so. And what happens is they go through life they miss this awesome experience of an intimate personal relationship with God, which is the most important thing in our life they miss that and they go through life missing the sense of confidence and security they have in a relationship with him. And so to believe and to believe with all of your heart that God loves you know about what is absolutely and also attitude and it is a great gift from God that you could even believe that he loves you but he does. But as long as you come up with specific reasons why you don't believe he does, and you may join that you go through your whole life. Having missed one of the most awesome experiences in life and that is wonderful, intimate relationship that you can have with God himself through his son Jesus Christ, knowing that he loves you unconditionally no matter what. That love never changes. God loves you no matter what. You can act lovable and he loves you.

You can act on lovable and he still loves you.

The difference is this.

When you act lovable. That is when you are walking in obedience to him. The blessings flow. When you walk away from him and wandered and strayed away from him. It's not that his love ceases, but your capacity to enjoy his blessings and listen the presence of those blessings are not there. So what we do we have the ones who determine how blessed we want to be and that is if you're willing to be obedient to, and if we are not that I want to deal with the passage of Scripture that probably most all of you have heard it and read it many times and many people have memorized and it's probably of all the passages of Scripture, the Bible. It's the one that is the most known and the most quoted is quoted in foxholes, it's quoted in hospital rooms its quoted in prisons. It's quoted probably in most memorial services when people have died so I want you to turn to the 23rd Psalm. So let's begin in verse one everything rest on this first statement, what is it say the Lord is my shepherd and then I shall not want.

He says he makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside quiet, still waters. He restores my soul he guides me in the paths of righteousness for his namesake for the long walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will fear no evil for you are with me your rod and your staff they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup overflows. Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Now if you'll think about it for a moment there only 55 Hebrew words in this song and hundred and 15 English words and when he says the Lord is my shepherd, you'll notice in your Scripture that it's capital all the letters a capital LORD is the word that we call Jehovah because this is the word apart for God and so we start out by saying here God Jehovah is my shepherd, and if you start with that. You have to ask yourself the question of who is this God. This God is the all sufficient eternal everlasting omniscient on the present omnipotent eternal God, who is loving and kind and gracious and go to is, that's who. This is so when we say the Lord is my shepherd, look who we are talking about that somebody says well, how could he be all of that because he's God now when it comes to the New Testament and you and I think about our life today. The New Testament often times in many many different ways helps us understand some things in the Old Testament, so I want you to turn if you will, to the 10th chapter of John because we are still talking about the Lord is my shepherd, and you recall, this 10th chapter of Jesus is some clarifying some things to those who were his listeners and he uses his whole idea of the shepherd of the sheep to explain that into describe it, and he says, for example in the verse one of this 10th chapter true throughout the city. You, he who does not enter by the door into the fold of the sheep, but climbs up some other way.

He's a thief and a robber, but he ran his mother door is the shepherd of the sheep and to him. The doorkeeper opens, and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.

Then let's drop down to verse seven. So Jesus said to them again truly turn our city you I am the door of the sheep looking verse eight all who come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them. I am the door. If anyone enters through me. He was saved and will go in and out and find pasture. The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they might have life and have it abundantly. Watch this next verse, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.

He who is a hired hand, another shepherd who is not the owner of the sheep, sees the wolf coming, and leaves the sheep leaves of the wolf snatches them and scatters them away. He flees because he's a hired hand and not concerned about the sheep. Watch this next verse, I am the good shepherd and I know my own and my own know me so when we come to the 23rd Psalm what we thought we were talking about Jesus being our good shepherd. So with that in mind, let's look at what he says here and I wanted to see. First of all, he says he Jesus says he is a personal shepherd.

Now I'm glad he didn't say the Lord is a shepherd, he said.

David said the Lord is my shepherd. That makes it very, very personal.

That is, as we just read in John he says my sheep know my voice my sheep hear my voice. I know them and they follow me. He says I'm known by machine and I know my sheep. Every single child of God is like a sheet that is where known by the father known by the Lord Jesus Christ and not only does he know was that we know him that is a personal relationship.

I am the good shepherd. I want a personal relationship to knowing you and I want you to know me. That shepherd certainly wants the sheep to know him because there follow him and it's his responsibility to lead them in the right places the right times of the year and the seasons and so forth and so he makes a big part of it by saying the Lord is my shepherd limited say this to you, and you may take this the wrong way, but I'm telling you the truth if you don't want the truth you want to listen. But if you want the truth.

Listen to this. You cannot say the Lord is my shepherd and deny that Jesus Christ is the son of God. You cannot somebody says now. I don't believe in that New Testament part and I don't I don't believe about Jesus, but I do believe in God, what a minute.

Jesus said infective return back over there to John. Jesus made it very clear who he was and when he's talking to his hearers and the explaining all of this to them, he says, for example.

The 10th chapter and let's start with verse 27 my sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. I given in the midterm life and they shall never perish.

No one can snatch them out of my hand.

My father who's given them to me, is greater than all, no one is able to snatch them out of my father's hand and the father are one.

So when we talk about the good Shepherd. We're talking about the Lord Jesus Christ who is our shepherd, and he says, and the father one somebody says when I believe in God but I don't believe in Jesus you cannot miss it. You cannot. You can say I won't God but I don't want Jesus. He says I am the father one so you have to deny the truth of God's word. You have to say that God's word is not true because Jesus said on the father. One year after did not the truthfulness of God's word and then what do you have you have your word. Listen against the word of Jesus Christ, the eternal son of God who laid down his life, shed his blood for your sin, but I want you to see is this only one who is trusted Jesus Christ as their personal savior can say the Lord is my shepherd because the Scripture says he is the one.

What kind of shepherd Izzy. We just read a few moments another shepherd gives his life for his sheep. And that's exactly what Jesus did. He went to the cross laid down his life in order to make it possible for all of us dumb sheep. All of us dumb sheep to understand what it means to know God personally through the Lord Jesus Christ. He's the one who's open the door and he's the one that you going to find in this passive Scripture is doing something in every verse for you and me what I want you to see is this that Jesus Christ is the good shepherd of every single person who will allow him to be who will accept him as the son of God who will believe this death at Calvary made their sin that paid in full and make it possible to know God and to know them personally. You know the Lord Jesus Christ. You do not know you can talk to anybody who denies Jesus Christ and let them tell you what they know about God and you will find that it is mere in its mere crumbs of what they know about them. Very few crumbs because you can't know him apart from Jesus Christ and Jesus said I'm the good Shepherd and the father wanted to see me using the father and so that's who I'm talking about and that's who we are talking about in the rest of this passage so when we talk about the good Shepherd we talking about the Lord Jesus Christ and first of all we say he's a personal shepherd. That's what Jesus was up to, and he was up to this and he was up there making it possible for you and me sinners having sinned against God, to have a personal, intimate relationship with holding God with father son and Holy Spirit and to walk in that wonderful relationship that's who he is and on what you notice as we read the Scripture and you know it by heart. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want samosas when amended. I can't believe that either because I wanted from anything so that's explained that a good shepherd. For example, is only going to want for his sheep. What is good for them. What is best for them.

So when the Scripture says that the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

If I'm following him I'm gonna recognize pretty quickly in life. I don't want what he doesn't want me to have because every time I get what he does not want me to have. What happens is I'm paying a price and every parent knows that there's some things that your children want that you know is not good for the you love them. Yes, you want the best for them.

Yes, do you want everything that they want for themselves know you don't because you love them both and they love themselves. And you know more about the life that they understand. And so it is true with God. Thank God I would say thank God he hasn't answered all the things I told him I wanted a we stand are needed in life when he showed me you don't need that and you don't really want that because if you get them it was going to happen. So he's being true to his word. If you and I are willing to follow him. We will not want. I could never count how many people walk down here and said to me you not prayed and prayed and prayed and I told God I couldn't understand why he allow this to happen to me there come back sometimes weeks later, maybe a month Wednesday you know what God knew exactly what he was doing in my life as if that was a surprise.

The truth is he always does in the heat of the moment. We don't think he does but he says I shall not want. Now look in the 34th Psalm for a moment just another 34 Psalm and listen to this passive Scripture. One of the wonderful things about the Psalms is it just full of information about how God thinks and if somebody says will will. How does God think I will get to that in a few moments, but look at this 34 Psalm and look if you will, let's start in the seventh verse of the 34 Psalm the angel of the Lord encamps around those who fear him. That means he's our project. O taste and see that the Lord is good and blessed is the man who takes refuge in him all fear the Lord to his saints. I watch this part of those who fear him. There is no want who those who fear him.

Those who reference him those who acknowledge who he is and listen and to reference him and to acknowledge him is to do what to reference him and acknowledge him is to submit myself to him and to obey him, and he says when you and I are living in obedience to him. There's not going to be in want because this is what he does. If I want something that is not of him.

He can change my want. So the what he wants is what I want to think about this for moment how many times have you been in need that God fail to meet your needs using well document when I want, not won't need he's promised us and he's promised to meet our needs but here's what he says and he makes it so crystal-clear and I repeated on purpose. Delight yourself in the Lord he gave the desires of your heart. Watch this if I'm delighting myself in him. What am I doing I'm in agreement with him. I love what he loves what he wants.

I desire what he desires. So I don't have this struggle in my life if I reference him. I'm not struggling in my life about me wanting this and he wants that Nike have this. And what is the give me that because God is so willing to show you what is best for you and you see why the sheet.

Watch this one of the sheep without a shepherd, humanly speaking, they learn the trusting they know that when he takes him up on this hillsides going to be green over there.

When he takes them to the Valley.

It's a little tough, but they going to another hillsides going to be green over there and not only that, but the stream over here is gentle or this pond is still and quiet new waters moving in and out is very refreshing. Sheep learn to trust the shepherd and you see one of the reasons we get out of sorts with God is because we don't trust we say well now I believe that that he's going to show me what I need and I I believe that but in this he has what happens.

What makes the sheep stray. They take their eyes off the shepherd, they decided that you know they going this way all they see something that looks greener over here and so they stray away and what brings them back the side of the shepherd and they found themselves facing danger. So they come back in your life and mine. We have the good Shepherd with us every single moment of our life. I am the good shepherd, I will lead you in the right path. Does he not say I will guide you with my eye upon you. I will teach you in the way which you should go. That is, he is willing to shores the way and he's willing for us to follow him and we follow him. He always has the best in mind when I see people who are believers getting into all sorts of things and situations and circumstances and it is big on making a big mess out of their life and are you a Christian.

Yes, well, what's going on.

Well, things are not doing going too well for me or why not.

Has God failed you the truth.

This is when we strain and their word is\that is, we just decide the ring on the slide back into what we used to be doing any Time Machine loose side of the ship headed for trouble because he knows exactly where to go. Thank you for listening to the Lord our standard if you like to know more about Charles Stanley or intense ministry downline intact started writing after the presentation of intense ministry in Atlanta doing