MY SHEPHERD

Psalms 23:1-6 (KJV)

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

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 comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

The first reference to David is found in the book of Ruth, but it is merely an introduction to the account that would be given of David in 1 and 2 Samuel.

So the first mention of David relating to his personal journey in life is 1 Samuel 16:10-13 (KJV)

Again, Jesse made seven of his sons to pass before Samuel. And Samuel said unto Jesse, The LORD hath not chosen these.

And Samuel said unto Jesse, Are here all thy children? And he said, There remaineth yet the youngest, and, behold, he keepeth the sheep. And Samuel said unto Jesse, Send and fetch him: for we will not sit down till he come hither.

And he sent, and brought him in. Now he was ruddy, and withal of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to. And the LORD said, Arise, anoint him: for this is he.

Then Samuel took the horn of oil, and anointed him in the midst of his brethren: and the Spirit of the LORD came upon David from that day forward. So Samuel rose up, and went to Ramah.

David was the youngest of Jesse’s eight sons and he is first found “keeping the sheep.”

Whether Jesse’s other sons ever tended to the sheep or not, we do not know.

We do know that David’s first experiences were as a shepherd.

And we know two things about his experience as a shepherd:

·   He was faithful at it

·   He was fearless at it

Every reference to David prior to entering into his service of King Saul, has him with his father’s sheep.

And when David spoke with King Saul about fighting Goliath, David made mention of killing both and lion and a bear with his hands.

I don’t know that David ever looked back at his years as a shepherd and thought of them as the best times of his life.

I do know that he once longed for the water from the well in Bethlehem – reminding him of the days of his youth.

I know that, for me, I can sometimes look back at the days of my childhood with “rose colored glasses.”

 What I remember from those days.

·   I remember riding horses anywhere and everywhere I wanted to go

·   I remember my Uncle Ricky as a hero just four years older than me.

·   I remember roaming Jump Off Joe with absolute liberty

·   I remember travelling from Rodeo to Rodeo, my step dad being the best team roper who ever lived

·   I remember fishing in the mornings before school because the Yakima River was literally our back yard

·   I remember sleeping in the horse stalls my brother and I all alone with twenty head of horses

·   I remember I never paid to go to a rodeo

·   I remember I got to work inside the arena at the professional events my dad was in

I’m choosing to leave out some details, but if I leave it just like this, I remember my childhood as being very nearly magical.

Nobody really knows when David wrote the 23^rd Psalm.[1]

I imagine it was a little bit later in his life.

·   Maybe during a particularly stressful moment or

·   Maybe during one of those thankful moments of his life

Think of him, thinking back to simpler, quieter days.

Picture in your mind David remembering a sunny spring afternoon as he watched his father’s sheep.

·   The pasture was green and lush.

·   A small fresh pond lay in the valley just below

·   The hill where he lay watching the changing shapes in the clouds as they passed by.[2]

He’s thinking about those wonderful days keeping the sheep and a thought enters his mind.

Inspired by the Holy Spirit of God he begins to write…

Psalms 23:1-6 (KJV)

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

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 comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

I only want to ask you to consider one thought in this incredibly majestic Psalm,

I. “THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD”

The New Testament picks up on this doctrine with passage after passage of teaching Christ as our shepherd.

A. In the first reference, Jesus sees the multitudes as sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36 (KJV)

But when he saw the multitudes, he was moved with compassion on them, because they fainted, and were scattered abroad, as sheep having no shepherd.

And it is as if He chooses then and there to provide for them what they were missing.

In the Gospel According to John Jesus preached a fairly long[3] segment on the doctrine of the Shepherd where He concludes by teaching them,

B. I am the good shelpherd.

John 10:1-16 (KJV)

Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber.

But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep.

To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice: and he calleth his own sheep by name, and leadeth them out.

And when he putteth forth his own sheep, he goeth before them, and the sheep follow him: for they know his voice.

And a stranger will they not follow, but will flee from him: for they know not the voice of strangers.

This parable spake Jesus unto them: but they understood not what things they were which he spake unto them.

Then said Jesus unto them again, Verily, verily, I say unto you, I am the door of the sheep.

All that ever came before me are thieves and robbers: but the sheep did not hear them.

I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved, and shall go in and out, and find pasture.

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.

I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.

But he that is an hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep, and fleeth: and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep.

The hireling fleeth, because he is an hireling, and careth not for the sheep.

I am the good shepherd, and know my sheep, and am known of mine.

As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I lay down my life for the sheep.

And other sheep I have, which are not of this fold: them also I must bring, and they shall hear my voice; and there shall be one fold, and one shepherd.

C. This is the very same chapter where Jesus later teaches

John 10:27-29 (KJV)

My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me:

And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand.

My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father's hand.

Are there any more comforting words in the hearts of the believer than these?

·   We hear His voice

·   We follow Him and

·   We will never perish

Later on Apostle Paul would call Jesus the great shepherd.[4]

The Apostle Peter would call Him the chief Shepherd[5] and “the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”[6]

Allow me now to interject this into our discussion,

II. THE PASTOR IS NOT YOUR SHEPHERD

There is, in fact, no place in the Bible that calls a pastor a shepherd.

It is implied in a few places such as,

Acts 20:28-29 (KJV)

Take heed therefore unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood.

For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock.

Paul here teaches these preachers that:

·   God has made them overseers of the flock

·   We are to feed the flock and

·   We are to protect the flock

But he does not directly tell us we are shepherds of the flock of God.

Apostle Peter comes closer to calling pastors shepherds in,

1 Peter 5:2-4 (KJV)

Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by constraint, but willingly; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind;

Neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being ensamples to the flock.

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

Once again the pastor is to:

·   Feed the flock

·   Take the oversight of the flock

·   Be ensamples to the flock

Then he refers to Christ as the chief Shepherd from which some have said pastors are then under shepherds.

I don’t see the pastor as a shepherd at all.

He is one of the sheep. He might be the lead sheep, more closely watching the Shepherd than the rest so that when the Shepherd moves, he moves and the other sheep move because he moves.

He might be like a sheep dog, with his:

·   Eyes on the Saviour

·   Eyes on the sheep and

·   Eyes looking out for wolves

But he is not the shepherd.

The pastor does not feed you.

He merely serves what the Lord has prepared for him to serve you.

The pastor does not lead you

He merely asks you to follow him as He follows the Lord.

·   The pastor watches over your soul and he will give and account for that, but

·   The pastor must never Lord over you

The pastor must not receive the glory[7] due only to God.

And most of all,

The pastor must never steal your heart from Jesus Christ

David said, “The Lord is my shepherd.”

Which brings me to my

Conclusion,

THE HEART AFTER GOD HAS GOD AS HIS SHEPHERD

Psalms 23:1-6 (KJV)

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.

He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.

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 comfort me.

Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.

---

[1] Or for that matter if he wrote it for sure.

[2] I wonder if he saw airplanes and railroad trains, and racecars, or if all the clouds looked differently then than they do now?

[3] For the Bible

[4] Hebrews 13:20 (KJV)

Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlasting covenant,

[5] 1 Peter 5:4 (KJV)

And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.

[6] 1 Peter 2:25 (KJV)

For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.

[7] The pastor is to be obeyed Hebrews 13:17 and is to receive double honor if he rules well 1 Timothy 5:17.

WHY A TESTIMONY IS BETTER THAN A TREASURE

Proverbs 22:1-2 (KJV)

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

The rich and poor meet together: the LORD is the maker of them all.

I learned, when I first began to preach, that a good message will attempt to provide the congregation a reason they ought to take the message to heart.

Every message ought to at least try to answer for the listener the “Why?” question.

• • Why should I hear this message?
• • Why should I respond to its appeal?
• • Why should I obey its commands?
• • Why should I practice its principles?

In other words we want to tell the congregation how they benefit by the message.

There is a very practical reason for doing this. 

People are selfish. We do almost everything we do for some sort of personal gain, whether real or perceived.

You might think that we should not try to appeal to people’s selfish nature but,

There is abundant evidence that the Bible does this too.

Doesn’t the Bible teach us that there are rewards awaiting Christians in heaven?

• • For faithfulness
• • For loving his appearing
• • For witnessing
• • For pastoring
• • For finishing our race

As we have worked our way through the Proverbs we have seen many passages instructing us to set our priorities around our faith and not around wealth and riches.

This passage tells us why a good name is better than riches.

Why should I seek a good testimony rather than a great treasure?

I. A DEFINITION

Proverbs 22:1 (KJV)

A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.

I going to begin by defining what a testimony is. Notice the two terms, “a good name” and “loving favor.”

Both of them apply to the two directions all of us should be concerned.

• • To God
• • To our neighbor

Matthew 22:37-39 (KJV)

Jesus said unto him, Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind.

This is the first and great commandment.

And the second is like unto it, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself.

My chief concern is pleasing God. But this in no way implies I have no concern with my relationship with others.

Paul said, Acts 24:16 (KJV)

And herein do I exercise myself, to have always a conscience void of offence toward God, and toward men.

A. A Good name

The Hebrew word here means “reputation.”

The word good has been added by the translators for clarification and I believe we can use the second term to help us define it.

Notice the word loving. It means good:

• • Pleasant
• • Agreeable
• • Valuable

Your reputation is valuable.

If you have a reputation for paying your bills, for example, you are more likely to get a loan when you need one.

If you have a reputation of taking care of things, you are more to have someone loan you a tool when you ask to borrow it.

If you have a reputation for being kind, you are more likely to find that people want to be around you.

Here’s a truth – wealth cannot purchase a good testimony.

There comes a day in every person’s life when we need a friend.

Wealthy people can sometimes gather people around them, but unless they have a good name, none of those people will be true friends.

B. Loving favor

The word favor means:

• • Grace
• • Charm
• • Elegance or, most fitting for the context
• • Acceptance

Esther 5:2 (KJV)

And it was so, when the king saw Esther the queen standing in the court, that she obtained favour in his sight: and the king held out to Esther the golden sceptre that was in his hand. So Esther drew near, and touched the top of the sceptre.

Esther needed to speak to the king about the decree to kill all the Jews in his kingdom.

She was the queen and God had put her in this office just for this purpose.

But it was not lawful, even for the queen, to approach the king unless he had called for her.

So she and her friends fasted and prayed and then she went to see the king.

• • Would he reject her? or
• • Would he accept her?

The Bible says when he saw her; “she obtained favor in his sight.” He accepted her into his presence.

The Bible teaches us that to have such a reputation that people want you in their presence – this is more valuable than silver and gold.

And it is all the more true when that reputation concerns our standing before God.

We have in the passage secondly

II. A DESTINATION

Proverbs 22:2 (KJV)

The rich and poor meet together: ….

I am using the word destination a little bit loosely. 

What I mean is that each of us will stand before God and, when we do, our standard of living will be worthless.

On earth we tend to gather with people in our own social level.

• • The upper class with the upper class
• • The middle class with the middle class
• • The lower class with the lower class

People with certain levels of education tend to build around them others with the same level of education.

• • People with similar occupations tend to gather together.
• • Athletes tend to hang around athletes
• • Computer geeks tend to hang around other computer geeks

We tend to be more comfortable with people who are like us.

But the Bible says, Romans 14:11-12 (KJV)

For it is written, As I live, saith the Lord, every knee shall bow to me, and every tongue shall confess to God.

So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

When that day happens, 

• • That your name is written in the book of life and
• • That you are accepted in the beloved

Will be the only thing that matters.

Silver and gold, riches of any sort, will be useless.

Notice finally,

III. A DECLARATION

Proverbs 22:2 (KJV)

… : the LORD is the maker of them all.

This is the great leveler. 

The Lord has made us all.

It is true that we make choices and those choices effect our reputation and very often our standard of living.

The decision to trust Jesus Christ as Saviour or not is the difference between being accepted into the family of God to being condemned to eternal hell.

But every one of us has the same opportunity:

• • To become a child of God
• • To come boldly to the throne of grace
• • To obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need 

Because every one of us has the same Maker.

Conclusion

One of the greatest reasons to choose a good testimony over great riches is because all of us will stand before God and give an account one day.

And God is no respecter of persons.