toencourage May 18, 2013 Vol 1 Issue 12

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.Psalms 23:1

Beloved, as I write I am in the UK, the mission field our Lord has called me thereunto.  I am on the front end of a preaching circuit throughout England and Wales.  The more our Lord reveals unto to me personally, my thankfulness for Him greatly increases.  I was called to preach at the age of 24 and thus surrendered to do so in whatever capacity He chose.  Never in a lifetime would I have thought that calling would carry me into the Pastorate, throughout the world and now as a missionary to the United Kingdom.  

Outside of last week’s edition on mothers, the two weeks prior we have discussed a great amount about the LORD, as our Shepherd and His attributes concerning the flock of God. This week, I thought it important to spend a little time discussing the sheep of the Great Shepherd.  The Psalmist said: Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture. (Psalms 100:3).  Friend, people are like sheep and the church is likened unto a flock. The Lord has given the local church a pastor as a shepherd, to lead and guide the sheep.

Understand that sheep are Wayward Animals.  Have you ever seen a trained sheep or a circus act full of dancing sheep? Peter wrote: For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. (I Peter 2:25).

Sheep have a tendency to get lost as they wander around with their head down eating.

As a result of the waywardness of sheep, the Lord (Chief Shepherd) has given us a sheepfold (local church).  Iinside the sheepfold we must have a (local) shepherd, the pastor.  I feel sorry and pity for poor souls who feel they have no need of a shepherd, much-less a sheepfold. Many will say they love the ‘Chief Shepherd’ but they are in no need of a local shepherd.  Wayward souls are they, grazing in fields of the unknown, without protection and guidance. Solomon said: Where no counsel is, the people fall: but in the multitude of counsellors there is safety. (Proverbs 11:14).  

Sheep are also Weak, now is not the time to get offended thinking that I am calling you weak as a person, it is the characteristic the Lord attributed to His people.  Think about it in theses terms; sheep have no way to protect themselves and the Bible says in Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. Now that is a referenced prophecy of Christ, and God used an illustration of sheep to show that Christ defended not Himself, but willing laid down His own life.  The reality is we are no match for the world and especially not the god of this world. Why? Because we are weak; Jesus Christ said of his disciples struggling against the flesh: KJV – “…the spirit indeed [is] willing, but the flesh [is] weak.”(Matthew 26:41).  It is not a criticism to referred or likened unto sheep, it is a fact.  Yet even though we are no match for the world and it’s god, we know the One that is: Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world. (I John 4.4). 

Even though sheep are wayward and weak there is Worthiness in their existence. Sheep possess wool which provides clothing and material, milk for nourishment, lambs for the field and meat for the body.  Despite being weak and wayward God loves them for their worthiness.

Now because we are wayward, weak but also worthy unto God we must be protected.  Sheep are protected in a sheepfold, unto us as the LORD’s sheep the church is our sheepfold.  The LORD so loves the sheep that He placed them together in a church, a flock purposed to protect and provide for them.  As sheep we are given a sheepfold and a shepherd to be together.  Sheep were never intended to go out on their own.  One simple rule in ministry that successful businesses across the globe employ, is to know ‘none of us are as strong as all of us’.

There is the Chief Shepherd over the flock of God, who is Jesus Christ, the Head of the Church (Ephesians 5).  It is imperative that the flock of God congregate, for not only is there safety in numbers, but security and strength as well.

I know men that have tried it alone, they became an island within a sea of loneliness.  It is one thing to stand strong on Biblical convictions, it is another to stand stubbornly in isolation. It is then when thieves come to steal, wolves to slay, and lions devour the flock.

Brethren, the Lord Jesus Christ died for our sins, He did so to reconcile us unto the Father.  He referred to Himself as ‘the Truth’, and the local church (sheepfold) is called the ‘pillar and ground of the truth’ (I Timothy 3.15).  Enjoy the fold, feed in fold and get full in the fold…for the field is where we as sheep flourish in providing nourishment and clothing to a lost a dying world by simply sharing what great things our Shepherd did for us!

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.

toencourage May 4, 2013 Vol. 1 Issue 10

Psalm 23:1 A Psalm of David. The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (emphasis added)

The 23rd Psalm is a remarkable chapter written by a monarch and former shepherd that simply proclaims praise of God as being the One that among other things is his Provider.  V.1 exclaims “The LORD is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”   That is the provision at its finest.  Beloved, a shepherd is one who is there to provide for the flock, so they will not wander off in a state of want.  The shepherd has the responsibility to provide all that is needed for his flock.

Once the sheep are released from the fold it is the shepherd’s responsibility to become their Protector.  In the process of providing the sheep with pastures to meet their every need, he watches over them without distracted eyes and ears protecting their every move.  The sheep are free to feed upon the verdant green grass, receiving needed nutrients as the shepherd has provided.  He now stands in protective watch over them, allowing the sheep to thoroughly enjoy as well as partake in all that has been given.  

As night falls and the sheep return to the fold, the shepherd will count them as they pass ‘under the rod’ through the ‘doorway’ to rest safely. Therefore the shepherd who had been the provider and protector, now becomes the Passageway.  There is one doorway into the sheepfold and it comes by way of the shepherd.  Not only is this the opening where the shepherd will count the sheep, knowing them by name and all characteristics, but it is where the shepherd rests as well.  It is here the shepherd continues to provide protection and providence for the flock without fail.

Our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, is our Provider, Protector and Passageway!

This is why David is able to proclaim, “the Lord is my Shepherd.”  He is our provision, He has and will always provide for us.  He has given us great comfort in the thought of the promise that He will always provide which He has done in life and through death.  There is a great picture seen in three of the Psalms (22,23 and 24).  Psalm 22 is a picture of the suffering of Christ. Psalm 23 is a picture of Christ’s resurrection as we read David unapologetically claim that the LORD ‘is’, not was, my shepherd.  Therefore, Psalm 24 becomes the picture of the return and reign of Christ.  Brothers and sisters, therein lies our comfort of knowing that our Shepherd, the great Shepherd, will always provide for us – because He is always there.

David concludes in v.1 with “I shall not want”.  The modern language or definition of need has strongly been misconstrued with that of want; we live in a world which holds more to a value system of hedonism, pleasure and leisure than with the theocratic system of depending upon the LORD for our daily life.  The marketing world has tapped into this ideology with advertising slogans such as “you need”, “choose” and “X is fun”. In our everyday language, we associate things as needs more often than not with statements like: “the truck needs washed” and “the grass needs to be mowed”.  Political groups today appear on television dictating to the public their ‘needs’, stating “you need this and you need that” rather than the truth which is “you want this”. 

There is a difference and that difference is found in THE Shepherd becoming MY Shepherd.  That is THE Lord becoming MY LORD.  It is the Apostle Paul who providentially proclaimed, “Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.” (Phil 4:11).  This becomes reality when we fully accept the idea of the LORD as our Shepherd.  He is the One that suffered and died for us providing the passageway for salvation.  He also is the One that loves us forever, thus continuing to protect our every need so that in the life we have on this side of glory, we shall not want. This is accomplished by knowing and trusting that the LORD is providing all that is needed this very day…be it good or bad.  Paul wrote Romans 8.28, then lived it six months afterward trusting that whatever would lie before will work for the good of others.  I think we would agree that Paul’s travels to Rome worked out good for us all.  With all roads leading to Rome, they also led from Rome, thus spreading the Gospel throughout the entire world.

I am sure Paul echoed the words of Israel’s greatest king, a man after God’s own heart:

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.