I just want to read several verses here of John chapter 10, and then we're going to go to Psalm 23. John chapter 10, verse 11, Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep. In verse 14, he said, 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. Now turn over to Psalm 23. With the Lord's help this morning, I'd like to preach on the subject, The Good Shepherd. Psalm 23. I had outlined another message yesterday. I think it was yesterday. May have been Friday. At any rate, like I said, I was up most of the night and the Lord brought this passage to my heart and I got up this morning and made a quick outline of it and I'm hoping I've found the place where the Lord wants me to be this morning. Psalm 23, let's go ahead and pray. Heavenly Father, we ask for your help this morning. Thank you for every person that's here today. We ask that the Holy Spirit would Be here, Lord, and may you knit our hearts together with love. And Lord, may we be pleasing to you. And Lord, may I, as your servant this morning, say the things that you would have me to say. God, I ask that the name of Jesus Christ would be honored and lifted up, and you'd get glory. I pray for those that are not able to be here, that you'd touch them. God, just have your way. If someone here today is not a Christian, I pray that you would convict them and draw them and woo them to yourself. And that the Holy Spirit would have sway in their hearts. God, just help each one of us, strengthen us and touch us today because we need you. In Jesus name and amen. I'm just going to go down through the verses, but I'd like to say a little bit by way of opening that the Bible describes Jesus Christ as the chief shepherd. He's the chief shepherd. He's the bishop of our souls. And the Bible tells us, we read it, that he gave his life for his sheep. He bear our sins in his own body on the tree, the Bible says. The Bible tells us if you're a Christian, you've been bought with a price. You've been bought with a price. You've been redeemed, purchased by the blood of Jesus Christ. And I wanna tell you today that he is the good shepherd. He's the good shepherd. Psalm 23 in verse 1, the Bible says, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. There's enough right there in that verse to preach a message or two. One of the most amazing things is the Bible says the Lord is my shepherd. The Lord, that word is Jehovah. The Eternal One. The Lord is my shepherd. The Bible says here, I shall not want. The Lord is my shepherd. He knows us. Jesus said He knew His sheep. God knows us, doesn't He? And He knows all about us. I may not know all about you. I know some things about some of you. And you know some things about me. But God knows everything about all of us. He knows us. Jesus said, I know my sheep. My sheep hear my voice and I know them and they follow me. If you wanna know how you can recognize a sheep, for one thing, they'll follow Jesus. Jesus said, they follow me. He is our guide through this life. Jesus Christ is our guide through this life. And there could never be a better shepherd. There could never be a better shepherd. And He is, and I underline this in my Bible, He is my shepherd. My shepherd. If you're saved today, He's your shepherd. And that's a wonderful statement, isn't it? The psalmist, David, he said, the Lord is my shepherd. That's a bold statement, isn't it? The God of the universe is my shepherd. He said, David, elsewhere said, the Lord is on my side. I will not fear what can man do unto me. The Lord is on my side. I shall not fear. One of the old Puritan writers, I think, if I remember right, said something to this effect, the man who fears God fears no man. The man who fears God fears no man. The Lord is on my side. The God of all creation is my shepherd. I shall not want. He that clothes the field with the little lilies will take care of me. He that feeds the little birds will take care of me. He that numbered the stars and knows their names knows all about me. The Bible says He even knows the number of hair on my head. The hymn writer said it this way, be not dismayed what error be tied. God will take care of you. God will take care of you. He is our shepherd. Isn't that a wonderful thing? If you're a Christian, look at me a minute. If you're a Christian, you should never get over that. He is my shepherd. No matter what comes your way, no matter what difficulties or trials or tribulations, Our heart aches. He is our shepherd. Hebrews 13 says, let your conversation be without covetousness and be content with such things as you have. That's hard for us to do, isn't it? To be content. We're always wanting something. You say, not me, preacher. Why are you getting all those Amazon packages? I'm just picking on Tyler. We get more than you do, brother. UPS man knows us on a first name basis. But it's hard, isn't it? But we ought to be content. We ought to be content. I'm not saying you shouldn't have things. God's given us good things. And if you work hard, you ought to be able to get some, amen? But we ought to be content with what we have, too. There ought to be a contentment in our hearts. He said, and be content with such things as you have, for he hath said, he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee. So even if everything you own would be taken away, you still have God. If everything you care about is taken away, you still have God. And then it says this, so that we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper. We may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, and I will not fear what man shall do unto me. Look at verse two, Psalm 23, verse two. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still water. God gives us green pastures to enjoy. He gives us green pastures to enjoy. Do you know, do you know, I don't like to use secular music as an illustration, but I think the guy had one thing right when he said you gotta stop and smell the roses. I think we have green pastures and we just dart right past them. We just go right past them and ignore them and pay, we're too busy to enjoy the things that God has allowed us to enjoy. He feeds us, God feeds us with spiritual food, doesn't He? He gives us spiritual food. And the reason I believe that so many Christians live in a constant state of confusion and depression is that they don't eat from God's pastures. They eat from the world's Garbage bin, so to speak. They continually feed on the slop of this world rather than eat what God has for them. And then they wonder, well, why am I in the shape I'm in? Well, we'd do better, folks, when he leaves us by the green pasture, if we would enjoy that time. We need to make time for that, don't we? The Bible says the word of God. His word is the bread of life. It's the bread that we need. It's the milk. It's the milk for babes and the meat for men or women, grown people. You know, in a Christian life, you ought to have some progress. In other words, you shouldn't be a Christian for 15 years and still drinking out of a bottle. You ought to be able to take a little bit of meat, shouldn't you? So, you shouldn't have milk all your life. He gave us green pastors, didn't he? And you know what, you don't even, I know you're thinking of a grassy field somewhere with a couple cows meandering around. But I'm talking about spiritual pastors, spiritual green pastors. The songwriter said it right when he said, ìLock me in a prison and throw away the key. Take away the vision from these eyes that now can see. Then deprive me of the food I eat and even bide my hands and feet. For as long as I know Jesus, I can still go free.î You may be, as Paul was oftentimes here in the Bible, in prison, but he still was enjoying the green pastures. that God had provided for him. He maketh me to lie down. He maketh me to lie down. You know, we're oftentimes so high strung and keyed up that we don't even take time to rest in Christ, to relax, to lie down in the green pastures. He leads us, the Bible says, by the still waters. He leads us by the still waters. Our lives change, folks. Our lives change. We go, if you live long enough, you go have trouble. You're going to have difficulties. You're going to have trials. You're going to have tribulations. But He never takes you anywhere where there isn't still waters. By that I mean this, even in the midst of all your troubles, even in the midst of all your tribulations, in the midst of your sorrow and heartache, there are still waters there. He leaves us by the still waters. Jesus said in the world, ye shall have tribulation. I don't know why we act so shocked when bad things happen to us, but we do. I guess we've been listening to TV preachers or something where they tell you everything's going to be good as long as you send them some money, right? But Jesus said, he knows, right? Jesus said, in the world you shall have tribulation, but be of good cheer, I have overcome the world. Be of good cheer. Now that's, you know what that is, Ms. Frankie? That's some still waters you can drink from right there. You can be of good cheer, because he said he's overcome the world. Even in the midst of sorrow and fear, He's placed us by the still waters. Do you know what you're doing here today? You're by the still waters. You're in the green pastures today. The Spirit of God will refresh us and give us strength, won't He? You and I just need to drink. You and I just need to drink. I've read that sheep won't drink from rushing waters. I don't know if you've been around sheep much, but they're kind of skittish. They don't like anything to disturb them. They like things calm. That's the way I am, by the way. Some people are the opposite of that. They like a lot of drama and fighting and feuding and carrying on all the time. I don't understand that. God bless their hearts. But I don't like all that. I like the still waters. Amen? But they say sheep won't drink from a rushing stream. They want still waters. They want still waters. And it would do us good sometimes, folks, just to be still and know that He is God. What do you mean by that, preacher? Well, I mean, maybe you ought to just take your Bible and set it on the porch for a few minutes and read a few verses and look out at the skyline and the trees and the squirrels and whatever else you got going around your house. And just think about the creation of God and how good He is to you. And now He's blessed you. And just enjoy Him for a little bit. That's still waters, isn't it? That's... That's... Now, hold on. You're gonna have to turn the TV off. And the radio. And the cell phone. You might even have to turn it off for a minute. See, we're so preoccupied with everything else, aren't we? But we need to take time to be alone with God just a little bit. He leads us beside the still waters. Psalm 23 verse 3 says, He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the path of righteousness for His namesake. In Psalm 119, that's the the longest chapter in the Bible. In the last verse says this of Psalm 119, I have gone astray like a lost sheep. Seek thy servant, for I do not forget thy commandments. You know, when we fail and we do fail, Well, let me just bring that home, because some of y'all don't know what I'm talking about. I'm gonna help you. We fail when we sin. We sin when we think things we shouldn't, say things we shouldn't, do things we shouldn't. We fail. But I'm here to tell you, he restores our souls. He restores our souls. He restores, the Bible says, the joy of our salvation. The joy of our salvation. He has compassion on his sheep. Now, I don't want to sound crass or mean, but sheep have been described as dumb animals. They're not real smart. I don't know why God chose to call us sheep. Maybe because we're not too smart sometimes. Maybe because we do goofy things sometimes, you know. But he has compassion on his sheep, doesn't he? He has mercy. He has abundant mercy, the Bible says. Aren't you glad that our great shepherd has abundant mercy? Aren't you glad he has? I've got a lot more patience than I used to have. But aren't you glad He has patience with us? He has patience with us. You know, men often bite and devour one another. But God doesn't. He restores. He restores. I notice here that it says He leads us in the path of righteousness for His name's sake. He not only takes care of us and feeds us spiritually and comforts us by the Holy Spirit and helps us and shows us what we need and guides us and directs us, but He also, He's teaching us, isn't He? The Bible says that he's teaching us that denying ungodliness and worldly lust, we should live soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world. I want to remind you today that he didn't just purchase his sheep and then leave them alone. He didn't just purchase his sheep and then say, well, good luck. He didn't do that. He's our shepherd, isn't He? And He's leading us, and He's guiding us. The Bible says, but ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, and holy nation, a peculiar people, that ye should show forth the praise of Him who hath called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. We're a peculiar people. Some of us more than others, I guess. We're a peculiar people. We're to be fruitful, the Bible says, into every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God. Verse 3 says, He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His namesake. The Bible says in Titus 2.14, Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity and purify unto Himself a peculiar people zealous of good works. Here's the problem. We're prone to wonder. were prone to wonder. The hymn writer Robinson, he had it right when he said, prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it. Prone to wonder. There's a really good story about that man. He was, if I remember right, he was a preacher. And he wrote that hymn. And then he got away from God. We'd use the term he backslid. for a while, quite a while, a couple years, I think. And this hymn was written in the late 1700s, if I remember correctly, maybe the early 1800s. But anyway, I read that he was away from God and he got into a carriage and there was a young lady sitting across from him in this horse-drawn carriage. And she started humming that hymn that he had written years before. And she looked over at him and tears was running down his face. This is so sweet, how God does things. She looked over at him and tears was running down his face. And she said, sir, do you like that song? And he said, man, I wrote that song. And God used that young lady singing that hymn in that carriage that day to bring Brother Robinson back to God. Prone to wonder, Lord, I feel it. Prone to leave the God I love. Here's my heart, Lord, take and seal it. Seal it for Thy courts above. Aren't you glad? Aren't you glad He don't just give us the boot? It's not because we don't deserve it. He's just, He's a good shepherd, isn't He? Well, He bought us. He bought us. We belong to Him. We belong to Him. It's like your kids, you know. Sometimes you like to choke them. But they're still your kids. Amen. Verse 4 says, 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. You know, the valley of death is a low place. The valley of death, it's a valley. It's got mountains on either side. And the sun doesn't seem to shine much there in that valley. I was talking to, I preached one time, more than one time, a couple times in a little town down in, depends on where you're from, it's either McDowell County or McDowell County. But I preached down there in a little town called Yeager. And I was telling a guy the other day, just the other day, I was telling a guy that I'd been down in there and he was down in that area. And I said, he was trying to tell me which church it was. He said, was it this one or was it that one? And I said, it was the one that sits on the bank. He said, they all sit on the bank. Because in McDowell County, you've got two mountains, a creek, and a bank, and a road, that's it. Well, the valley of the shadow of death, it's a deep valley, isn't it? It's a deep valley. And we all have to go through that valley at times. And one of these days, we're gonna go through it personally. And I wanna tell you, it's only a shadow for his sheep. If I had a sword here and it put off a shadow, the shadow couldn't hurt you. And death can't hurt the Christian. It's just a shadow to us. So the valley, notice what it says, yea though I walk, through the valley of the shadow of death. Matthew Henry said this, the wicked are chased out of this world, but the saints take a walk into another world. I thought that was a pretty good quote. The wicked are chased out of this world, but the saints walk through this world into another world. We're going to another world, aren't we? Death is a doorway to the Christian. Death's not the end to the Christian, it's the beginning. It's the beginning. F.B. Meyer said that he has a club for his foes and a crook for the pits that we fall in. Notice what it says. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. The shepherd had a staff or a rod that had a crook in it. Today people use shock collars. What that crook would do is if that sheep got in where it wasn't minded or it got into a bad spot, the shepherd would take that crook and get him by the neck and kind of pull him over, get him where he ought to be. Or if he got down over the mountain where the shepherd couldn't get a hold of him, he'd take that crook and grab a hold of him and pull him up out of there. The Lord is my shepherd. Even when we fall into the pit, he gets us back up out of there, doesn't he? He, and he's got a weapon for the foes too, doesn't he? He protects us. He watches over us, doesn't He? Verse 5 of chapter 23 says, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over with the oil of gladness. And our cup overruns with joy. It's not the world's joy. The world's joy is temporary. The world's joy, it just has... Whatever makes you happy at the moment. But His joy is eternal. His joy is deep down. You can have joy in the Lord. Hey listen, you can have joy in the Lord at the funeral home. You can have joy in the Lord at the hospital. Because it's deeper than what's happening. It's something inside that He puts in you. He anoints my head with oil, my cup runneth over. My cup runneth over. You might not know, but if you're a Christian today, your cup runs over. We shall go in and out and find pasture, the Bible says. Look at verse six, surely, Goodness and mercy. Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Miss Sharon, he's up front. Leave me. And I look, let me just make sure I'm all right. I look behind me and there's goodness and mercy back there. Garden to buy. I don't know if you know or not, that's a pretty good deal. Amen. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. How long? All the days. All the days. We've got good shepherd. We have a good Lord. We have a kind, compassionate, loving God. And He takes care of us. And we ought to praise Him all the time. We ought to praise Him all the time. God's good to us, isn't he? Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me. He doesn't stop there, though. I gotta get this last part out. Amen. What is it they say on TV? Wait, there's more. There's more here, folks. Amen. There's icing on this cake. Notice what he says, and I will dwell. Hey, you know who wrote this Psalm, David? You know where David is today? He's dwelling in the house of the Lord. You know where you're going to be 100 years from now if you're a Christian? You're going to be dwelling in the house of the Lord. You know where you're going to be a million years from now if you're a Christian? You're going to be dwelling with him. to be dwelling with Him. We can't even fathom that, what it means. But I know this, it's good. I know this. Jerry, I would say it like this, it's gooder than good. Amen. It's good, isn't it? I want you to just turn over to Psalm 73. If you haven't ever read Psalm 73, it's a, don't raise your hand. Nobody raise your hand, okay? How many ever get discouraged or depressed? Don't raise your hand. All right? If you ever get like that, Psalm 73 is a good Psalm to read. If you ever get like that. And I think everybody does occasionally. But I want you to look at verse 24. We're talking about the good shepherd, aren't we? Psalm 73 verse 24, thou shall guide me with thy counsel and afterward receive me to glory. Whom have I in heaven but thee? And there is none upon the earth or none upon earth that I desire beside thee. My flesh and my heart felleth, but God is the strength of my heart and my portion forever. Folks, He's going to guide us all the way. He's going to take us all the way through, isn't He? He's not going to get us halfway there and dump us off. He's going to take us all the way. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Forever. I couldn't help but think as I was putting this together this morning, I was thinking of that hymn, He leadeth me, O blessed thought, Oh, words with heavenly comfort fraught. Whatever I do, wherever I be, still tis God's hand that leadeth me. He leadeth me. Can you say that today, friend? Can you say that today? You say, well, preacher, I've had a hard time. Listen, he's still there. He's still there. He's leading us, isn't he? And he'll go with us all the way.