I direct your attention to Psalm 23. We will take a one-week break from our study in the book of Hosea. The next text under consideration in Hosea is chapter 4, verses 4 through 10. And it is a very hard text, admittedly, to listen to and to understand and to apply to our lives. It's difficult in terms of the level of anger and wrath that God has against the false shepherds in Israel. And any teacher of God's Word would be hard-pressed to bring out positive things from the text, especially positive applications. With God's help, I'm going to do everything I can to do that over the next several studies in the book of Hosea. I covet your prayers in this regard as well. For that and other reasons, I want to take a break and just focus on the true shepherd from one week and direct our attention to all the positive qualities or many positive qualities that are in our Lord Jesus Christ, the Chief Shepherd. And there's no greater text where we can find these qualities than Psalm 23. So I'll go ahead and read the Psalm. There are only six verses in it. It's short enough to read it and then read parts of it again as we do a brief study in it. Follow along as I read Psalm 23 beginning at verse one. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul. He leads 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 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 runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Oh how I need a shepherd is the title of this message. The cry of every heart because Indeed, deep inside, every one of us yearns for a shepherd to guide our way. Why? Because all of us go astray often. And regularly, at least, we experience disturbances in our hearts, doubts, question marks, fears, roll over us like waves and leave us in a place of confusion and fear. We need a shepherd to come and take away the doubts and the fear, the guilt and the pain and the affliction within our hearts. We need a place of security and safety to go to pour out our hearts and to receive peace. and assurance from the Lord. I could testify today that the Lord Jesus Christ is the only place of security and safety where that burden will be lifted. Jesus said, take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am meek and lowly in heart and you shall find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light. Sometimes I wonder if Psalm 23 was written just for me. I know it wasn't. Because more than anything else we need a shepherd who will come and alleviate our fears who will forgive us and be patient with us as we learn and grow in the spirit because we're all a work in progress. We need a shepherd who will love us and shepherd us through thick and thin and stay with us and not give up on us and unconditionally help us. I often tell the Lord rhetorically Not literally, because I know he'll never do this. Lord, don't give up on me. Work with me. And he always does, and he always will. And he is the potter, and I am the clay, and he's spinning that wheel, continually molding me. Oh, how I need a shepherd. Is that the cry of your heart sometimes? where when you're alone and you think about your needs and necessities and struggles and conflicts, relationally, monetarily, or whatever it is, you have nowhere to go but the Lord. And the cry of your heart is, Lord, I need you. I need you to come and shepherd my never-dying soul. I am there quite frequently, quite frequently. No pastor worth his salt, no Christian worth his salt or her salt, would not be in that place because this treasure is in earthen vessels. You know this psalm is comprehensive really in addressing everyone's need both physically and spiritually. There's no one so afflicted and suffering so much that cannot be comforted by this psalm. I can understand why it's the favorite Bible text of many people even as an unconverted Jew who didn't know anything about the Bible I could almost quote all six verses of Psalm 23 because I heard so many people quote parts of it. My own mother and other family members, my grandparents would quote it from time to time. Of course, Psalm 23 is in their Jewish Bible. So they learned it. They didn't know anything else, but they knew Psalm 23 concerning the Bible. But Psalm 23 reminds us of the wonderful provision protection and preservation that the Lord furnishes his people. This Psalm was given to God's people. Of course, to everyone, but especially to God's people who struggle, who are tempted, who are afflicted, who go through trials. Do you not go through trials? When was the last time you were driving your Bible bus in your Bible study and you parked at Psalm 23 to derive comfort? Oh my dear Christian brother my sister I would encourage you to memorize Psalm 23 and to derive as much nourishment and consolation from it as you can especially when you're going through trials because Psalm 23 was given to us by God as a tremendous source of comfort in times of difficulty. Psalm 23 is a reflection in many ways of the character of God's goodness his mercy his compassion and his love. God depicts himself as an oasis where God's people can come and sit and have a place of undisturbed rest and consolation. The psalmist begins by illustrating the provision of the Lord in verses 1 through 3. Next he describes the protection of the Lord as we travel through dangerous places and in the presence of our enemies in verses 4 and 5. And the psalm ends with a promise of preservation that God would provide his goodness and mercy we need not only throughout life but then afterwards where we will abide in the house of the Lord forever in verse 6. This is the psalm of the great shepherd. who cares for his sheep. The psalmist uses the metaphor of a shepherd to increase hope when it is waning. It's no accident that God depicts himself as a shepherd. There's a statement there. There's a message there. And we are to be reminded that the afflicted can trust God in the worst of circumstances to help them. All of this is made possible because of the watchful care and the faithful love of the great shepherd for his sheep. Amen. Well, in the first place then, let's look at verses one through three, the shepherd's provision. The Lord is my shepherd. In these verses, we find that there's no lack for God's people in God providing our necessities. Jehovah Jireh is seen here, God our provider. The Lord is my shepherd. The first thing he provides for us is a personal relationship. The psalmist says the Lord is my shepherd. He's speaking of an individual relationship here. And we can all say the same thing. The Lord is my shepherd, Alex, my individual shepherd. As if I was the only one in the whole world, he's my shepherd. The great shepherd provides personal care and individual attention. If any one of the 99 sheep leave the sheep fold, even if 99 left and all cried out. bleeding for help, crying for the shepherd to seek them out and find them, lift them up, put them on his shoulders and bring them back to the sheepfold. He would make sure that each and every one of them would be found, would be rescued, would be comforted and will be brought back to the sheepfold and cared for and healed. This is our shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ. He takes this moniker upon himself. I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own. He knows every individual sheep, their fears, their struggles, their hopes, their dreams, their problems, their public sins, their secret sins. You can't run from the Lord. But God approaches discipling his people from a positive, caring, sympathetic perspective. Therefore, he portrays himself as a shepherd. who enters into our struggles with us, though he is separate from sin, and first of all, sympathizes with us. He does not come in as a shepherd, ministering to us by way of condemnation, because the qualifications of a shepherd require sympathy, empathy, love, care, attention, as much of it is as required and as long as necessary. Isaiah 40 11 says, he will feed his flock like a shepherd. He will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his bosom and gently lead those who are young. We don't have a portrayal of a dog owner here who comes along with the leash, clicks it onto the collar and drags the dog back to the house. No, we have a shepherd who comes and lifts the lamb up from its place of hurt. The lamb can't move. He lifts him up and carries him, not on his hip, not on his shoulder, but in his bosom next to his heart, where the lamb can feel the heart beating. How many mothers, the first thing they do when the child is crying, they pick the child up and they rest them on the heart, on the chest. and the child just absorbs all of that maternal comfort, feels the beating heart, the tender voice, the calming spirit, and eventually, eventually calms down. This is what is being, this is what is seen here in our shepherd, someone who cares for the sheep and does those things that a dog owner doesn't have to do. He expresses his love, he carries the sheep, he gently leads those who are with young, as it says in Isaiah 40, verse 11. It's unfortunate that Psalm 23 is primarily used at funerals. It's almost quoted and read at every single funeral to comfort people. What, you only need comfort at funerals? I need comfort every day from the Lord, don't you? Because Psalm 23 focuses on what Jesus does for us all the days of our life, and not just during death, or the death of a loved one. A shepherd is a very dignified, valuable, however seen as a lowly vocation, but a very important vocation, necessary and needed. Abel was a shepherd, Moses was a shepherd, right? David was a shepherd. Honorable vocations. God depicts himself as a shepherd. The image of God as Israel's shepherd is prolific throughout scripture and also in the New Testament. Is not the Lord Jesus the shepherd of the sheep of the church? He is. But let's start with Psalm 28 9 where we read, Save your people, bless your inheritance, shepherd them also. What? Saving and blessing is not good enough? He says, shepherd them also. Give them the tender care and bear them up, he says in verse nine. Psalm 80 and verse one. Follow me quickly through this short study. Give ear, O shepherd of Israel, you who lead Joseph like a flock. Psalm 95, seven. For he is our God. And we are the people of his pasture and the sheep of his hand. Do you capture the tenderness of that language? Only someone who knows God personally can make a proclamation like for he is our God and we are the people of his pasture. Not we are the people of his cell block, but we are the people of his pasture, and we are the sheep of his hand. His hand being the instrument of ministering to each and every one of them individually. Again, Jeremiah 31.10 is very tender. Hear the word of the Lord, O nations, and declare it in the isles afar off, and say, he who scattered Israel will gather him. and keep him as a shepherd does his flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ is not a hireling. Jeremiah 31 says, he goes and gathers all the scattered sheep, seeking each one out one at a time. Has he not done that to you and to me? As we often are scattered and go astray in the way of our heart. We may be in church, we may be a member in good standing at Christ Bible Church. But in our hearts we struggle. We go astray. We live a double life sometimes. And the Lord comes into our hearts and shepherds us back to the right way. Plants our feet back on the right path. Oh, what a tender shepherd. And he conceals what was temporarily dark and shameful. And he brings us back into the land of the living, washes the heart, cleanses the conscience, and purifies the spirit. What a gracious Savior we have. In Mark 634, lastly, it says, And Jesus, when he came out, saw a great multitude and was moved with compassion for them, because they were like sheep, not having a shepherd. Oh, I need the Lord to look at me like that. I need the Lord to look at Christ's Bible church like that, with compassion, seeing that we're sheep, needing Him as our shepherd always, amen? Even the promised Messiah, many messianic texts in scripture view Yeshua HaMashiach, Jesus the Messiah, as a shepherd. In a messianic prophecy in the very text Walter read in Ezekiel 34 verses 15 and 16 it says of the Messiah I will feed my flock and I will make them lie down says the Lord God I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick. The purpose and mission of the shepherd Messiah is seen here, to heal, to heal as a shepherd physician does those sheep that are scattered. In the same chapter, verse 23, it says, I will establish one shepherd over them and he shall feed them my servant, David. That's a synonym for Jesus, the greater David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd. And that's why we're still in the flock because he feeds us. He gives us the individual attention we need. He provides everything for us to not only be saved but to stay in the faith and recover from near spiritual shipwreck coming back to the faith by his grace. The last one is Zechariah 13.7, the Messiah as shepherd. Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, against the man who is my companion, says the Lord of hosts. Strike the shepherd and the sheep will be what? Scattered. Then I will turn my hand against the little one. So the Messiah is Messiah shepherd. And God's people are pictured in the Bible as lowly sheep. Why? so that we can learn how tender and how loving the shepherd is and how much he cares for us. You know, sheep are very defenseless animals. They're prone to get lost. They don't put up a fight. They're easily led and swayed and need almost constant care and attention. They're really stupid animals, really. I don't mean that negatively against any believer. But there's a reason why God's people are depicted as sheep. We forget very easily, don't we? We go astray very quickly. But you can't drive sheep as you drive cattle. They must be led. The Eastern shepherds in our Lord's day know their sheep by name and they can call them. And they will come. Is this not a picture of the Lord Jesus our provider our shepherd who cares for us individually. John 10 the great shepherd chapter in the New Testament turn there to John 10 verse 1. Most surely I say to you. He who does not enter the sheepfold by the door but climbs up some other way. The same as a thief and a robber. Verse 2. But he who enters by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him, the doorkeeper opens and the sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him for they know his voice." Oh, what a tender relationship between the shepherd and the sheep. But moving on, we read, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. The shepherd promises that he will provide for us. And his promises for provision are profuse throughout the scripture. In Psalm 34, verses 9 and 10, we read, Oh, fear the Lord, you his saints. There is no want to those who fear him. The young lions lack and suffer hunger, but those who seek the Lord shall not lack any good thing. You may say, Pastor Joe, I don't want for money. I don't need finances. There's an area of my life spiritually that only me and the Lord know about, and there's a real need there. I have a want there. Well, the Lord knows about that. And He provides for all of our needs, not some, but all of our needs according to His riches and glory by Christ Jesus. And when you combine the Lord's knowledge of our needs and His pathos and compassion and His zeal and enthusiasm in wanting to provide for His sheep and meet their needs, you have a sympathetic Savior who is quick to provide for our financial, physical, emotional, and spiritual needs, amen? Psalm 84, 11 says, for the Lord God is a sun and shield. The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. No good thing. You say, I'm single and I need a spouse. I wasn't made celibate. And that's a legitimate need. The Bible says no good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. Trust in the Lord. You say I need a job or I need more work. Trust in the Lord. These are legitimate needs that God himself placed in our lives when he created us. And only he can supply them. But. We can say as sheep, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want because I have my savior who is shepherding me, who cares about me and desires to provide for his own. He said to us in Matthew 6 31, therefore don't worry saying, what shall we eat or what shall we drink or what shall we wear? For after all these things, the Gentiles seek for your heavenly father knows that you need all these things, but seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness. and all these things shall be added to you. My brethren, delight yourself in the shepherd, in the Lord, in a loving relationship with him, and the Lord shall give you the desires of your heart. He will also provide for you. Romans 8.32 says, he who did not spare his own son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not also with him freely give us all things? he provides for our needs but then in verse 2 it says of Psalm 23 he makes me to lie down in green pastures he leads me beside the still waters God the Lord Jesus is a caring faithful provider Psalm 23 1 through 3 is very clear on this if you go through the psalm is very interesting I mean the scriptures And you identify compound names of Jehovah, and you relate them to what the shepherd promises to give us in Psalm 23. It's amazing. In this text, we read in verse 23, 1, I mean, chapter Psalm 23, 1b, I shall not want. This is a picture of God's name and character as Jehovah Jireh, as found in Genesis 22, 14. Jehovah Jireh, the Lord will provide. where it talks about still waters. He leads me besides still waters. This is pointing us to Jehovah Shalom, the Lord our peace. He brings peace into our life. Some of us as Christians are living turbulent, chaotic lives because of people around us or at work. Others are disturbing us a lot. We need Jehovah Shalom to shepherd us by the still waters. We need the Lord our peace to come alongside of us and still the raging waters of our life. This is the shepherd depicted in Psalm 23, the one who comes and provides peace, the one who provides for our needs. We read in Psalm 23, he restores our soul. This is Jehovah Rophi, the Lord who heals. The shepherd is the one who restores our soul. And then he leads us on the paths of righteousness. You know what that one is, don't you? Jehovah Tzedkenu, the Lord our righteousness. He is our righteousness. He provides peace for us. Don't tell me you don't need righteousness. Don't tell me you don't need peace. Don't tell me you don't need the Lord to heal you from time to time spiritually. Don't tell me that you don't need God to provide for you. Because in all of these things, Jesus our shepherd provides for us and even more where we read in Psalm 23 for you are with me where it talks about yea though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death I will not fear because you are with me Jehovah Shema the Lord is there he's there with you he's there God shepherds us in real time in every need. He's not a fair-weathered friend. He's not a part-time God. When deep spiritual afflictions disturb the purity and the walk in my life and my relationship with Christ, the Lord is there with me, Jehovah Shammah, the shepherd, Jehovah Shammah, the redemptive name of God. who provides for us who sees what's going on who provides justice for us if it's a need for justice against an enemy who provides spiritual stability by dispelling and evaporating temptation. He's Jehovah Shema. You are with me Lord. You are with me wherever I go. You're shepherding me there. You're going with me. He prepares a table before us in the presence of my enemies. There's a character trait of Jehovah here as well, Jehovah Nissi, the Lord our banner. In the presence of our enemies, we can testify, which I did a couple of weeks ago at a dinner held mostly for Orthodox Jews. I was surrounded by testy, feisty enemies of the gospel. And I shrunk a little bit, I have to admit it. With all my experience being a former Jew myself and with all my knowledge, I needed Jehovah Shema and he was there with me. And he lifted me up. I prayed and I said, Lord, I'm not ready for this. When the rabbi called out and said, Joseph, I hear you're a pastor. Why did you leave Judaism and become a Christian and become a pastor? And suddenly, he said it loud enough for 15 Orthodox Jews with long beards and black hats sitting at the table with me to hear that, two of whom were rabbis. So I bowed my head like this, and for about three seconds I just said, Lord, help! I kept on testifying for 20 minutes unhindered in total silence I was able to share the gospel mostly seeking to prove from the Old Testament messianic text that Jesus Christ is the Messiah he is there Yeshua HaMashiach and God gave me the bolus to say at the end the reason why you do not believe him and the nation of Israel is because of a prophecy that God would pour out a spirit of blindness upon the Jewish nation, so that only a tenth, a remnant, will return and put their trust in Jesus Christ. And suddenly the rabbi starts slamming on the table, changing the subject, started singing, stirring up all the other men to sing their little chant, their song in Hebrew, changing the subject. But not before all of them heard the gospel, and the guy to my left, he turned red with conviction. The Lord was there, Jehovah Shema. My shepherd did not forsake me when I needed him. Even though I did not articulate a pharisaical prayer taking 15 minutes, I said, Lord, help. And he was there. Jehovah, our shepherd. Jesus said, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. He restores our backslidings. He provides for us. He says in Hosea 14, I will heal their backslidings. I will love them freely for my anger has turned away from him. I will be like the dew to Israel. He shall grow like the lily and lengthen his roots like Lebanon. His branches shall spread. His beauty shall be like an olive tree and his fragrance like Lebanon. Those who dwell under his shadow shall return. They shall be revived like grain and grow like a vine. Their scent shall be like the wine of Lebanon. What a picture! of a shepherd who provides healing and recovery for his sheep who go astray. This is a picture not only of backslidden Israel but backslidden believers or a backslidden church. but he's our shepherd, he comes and brings us back and heals us and restores us and returns unto us the joy of our salvation. How many times has he accomplished this ministry of providing recovery in our lives? A thousand, 10,000, 100,000? Well, I guess it depends on how long you've been saved because we all tend to wander and go astray and some of us frequently. Another promise in Isaiah 40, 29 and following, he gives power to the weak and to those who have no might, he increases strength. Even the youth shall faint and be weary. And the young men who are a picture of strength, young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. Why? Because of the blood of Christ, the shepherd comes when he heals. He takes not the blood which justified, but the same blood which sanctifies and sprinkles it on us. And having been justified by his blood, we shall be saved from wrath through him. For if when we were enemies, we were reconciled to God through the death of his son, much more having been reconciled, we shall be saved by his life. He raised from the dead after his death on the cross, which was accepted by the father as the atoning. sacrifice to save His people from their sin, now that His people are justified and redeemed and ransomed and propitiated, yet they need ongoing reconciliation from backslidings due to the weakness of sin. They need regular shepherding, discipleship. They need a Savior who is omniscient, who knows all, who sees all, to leave the 99 and seek us and find us and restore us. For if the blood of bulls and goats and the ashes of a heifer sprinkling the unclean sanctifies for the purifying of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal spirit offered himself without spot to God, cleanse your conscience from dead works to serve the living God? My shepherd provides sanctifying grace for me. He provides grace so that his blood is so all-powerful. As a believer, it washes and purifies my conscience from dead works to serve the living God. The shepherd brings me back to himself. The Spirit of God convicts me. The Spirit of God draws me irresistibly back to the shepherd. The Spirit of God illuminates my understanding to behold the loveliness of Christ and the exceeding value I have in him as a shepherd, a reconciler, an intercessor for me, a mediator. And I see the beauty of Christ and in comparison I see the sin which I just came out of and I loathe it afresh. This is God granting me fresh repentance for my sin as a Christian and the loveliness and preciousness and beauty of the Lord wins my heart totally over again to Himself and He brings me to the Father and He causes the spirit of adoption to cry out in me, Abba Father, forgive me Father, Father I did this, The testifying ministry of the Holy Spirit in me causes me to affirm that I am the Father's child. He is mine, that Christ is my Savior. He sanctifies me, provides for me. Most of all, the great work of recovery and reformation from the constant tendency to go astray. This is our shepherd. Behold him by faith and worship him. Lift him up to the highest place in your mind, in your heart, and in your life. Let nothing else of this world compete with him, for he is worthy to be praised, especially by his people who know his love and who are the constant beneficiaries of the shepherding grace of our great God and King, the Lord Jesus Christ. Christ, our righteousness, he leads me in the path of righteousness for his sake. Secondly, let's look at the shepherd's protection. Verse four. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me, and your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Notice that the personal pronoun changes here from he to you. You are with me, not he, but you are with me, Lord. David's not speaking about the shepherd any longer. He's not talking about him, but he's speaking directly to him. In a very dark place, David was there many times. In the dark valley. The Lord is not necessarily ahead of us but he's beside us. He's in us leading the way calming our fears stirring of faith to lay our burden on him and to trust him and not worry and not project difficulties upon our way which have not occurred yet. Where it talks about the valley of the shadow of death this dark place. Darkness represents any difficult experience of life, the valley of the shadow of death that makes us afraid. And of course, that includes death. You see, sheep lack good vision. They can't see well. They wander away and they can't see very good and are easily frightened in new circumstances, especially when it's dark. And the presence of the shepherd, though, calms them. The rod was a heavy club. with which the shepherd could stun or kill an attacking animal or beast. And the staff was used to assist the individual sheep. But the staff was also a symbol of comfort because the sheep in the back, let's say there's 1,000 sheep in the flock. They may not be able to see very well, but all they need to do is see that staff and they're comforted. In the evening time, The shepherd would have the sheep passed by the staff one by one so he could count them and examine them to make sure they're okay. And this gave the flock peace knowing that the shepherd was there and was equipped for any emergency. He protects us. He's done it countless times. We've all had times where we've gone through our own valley of the shadow of death. And we've all recovered and survived. We're here. We're alive in our right minds, restored. Are we perfect? No. But he, again and again, has drawn us out from that valley with cords of love. He protects us. We don't have to fear evil. If he is with us, who can be against us? and he provides comforts and consolation for us in the worst possible situation. You can have peace and joy and even worship the Lord in the worst of circumstances when the shepherd comforts you. Look at Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego. They were worshiping in the fire. That's a picture of the fact that our shepherd provides peace and joy to his people in the worst possible situations. We have to just trust Jesus Christ for the grace We need to be at peace with God and man when all around us is turbulent. And then we go to verse 5. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Again, in the presence of our enemies, we can experience the greatest blessing. It'll be clear to them when we have the anointing of the Holy Spirit as symbolized, you anoint my head with oil, the blessing and power and skill and giftedness that the Holy Spirit provides to serve God by which we bear fruit in the worst possible circumstances, even in the presence of our enemies. We could be out on the street preaching. to the jeers of the masses. Rocks thrown on us like they threw at George Whitefield in the 18th century when he preached in England and in the United States. But with boldness, the boldness of the Holy Ghost, with the love of God bursting from his heart, with the word of God burning on his lips, he stood up and preached the gospel and thousands got saved. God did anoint his head with oil. Truly his cup ran over. at that time, bearing fruit upon fruit, and in the presence of the enemies of the gospel, the kingdom of God advanced greatly. This is the work that Christ's Bible Church needs to be involved in. I sent out an email last night on the Global, imploring and urging the members to participate in the upcoming Chinese New Year parade. It doesn't only have to be in that ministry. There are various evangelistic opportunities and ministries that you're able to participate in where you could share the gospel or in your own individual life, on your job, wherever you go, sharing the gospel as well. But we have no place in our life as Christians where we could say we need to set aside our Christian witness right here, except perhaps when it comes to casting pearl before swine. Other than that, We are to witness both in word and in lifestyle, even in the presence of our enemies, because we have a shepherd's protection. He prepares a table for us in the presence of our enemies. Let us not rely on logic or fear. or human considerations. But what if this might happen? What if that happens? Let us go forth like lions. The righteous are bold as a lion. Where do we get that boldness from? Especially some of us here in this place who are naturally timid and shy. We get it from the Holy Spirit. Amen? He is the great equalizer. He provides where we lack. He fills up where we are lacking. Amen? All right he provides for us so we could do the work he has called us to do and it's a glorious noble work of evangelism. Lastly the shepherds preservation verse 6 surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He preserves us more than that. The positive picture is given of goodness and mercy following us every day. You know, even when we're chastised, that's goodness and mercy following us. If he would let us go, that would be a very, very severe judgment. The worst, among the worst punishments and chastisements of the people of God is for God to let us go and not warn and not convict and not punish. But he loves us so much as a shepherd, not only does he lay down his life for us, he has a ministry of perpetual shepherding in my day to day life, all the days of my life as a believer, so that if I resist his convicting work, his chastising work, he faithfully seeks me out and continues to do that work of painfully peeling off the layers of resistance, the layers of unbelief, the layers of disobedience, until he gets our attention, we surrender and we submit to the Lord. And he wants goodness and mercy and blessing to follow us. And yes, even chastisement if necessary, because his goal is that we would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Oh, my dear friends, verse six is a reference to heaven. The things that perplex and disturb us today will be gone when we get to heaven. We will look back and see only his goodness and mercy on everything that was done leading up to our salvation and even afterwards, even after our death, goodness and mercy bringing us to heaven. It is the Lord Jesus Christ, our great shepherd, who keeps us. You and I must always praise him for this. We must never rest on our laurels and take our spiritual preservation for granted. We must daily thank him and praise him for his preserving grace and ask him to keep us and to guard us. Keep us from vain presumption, taking things for granted. Let any man thinks he stand, take heed lest he fall. Jesus said, though my sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me, and I give them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall anyone snatch them out of my hand. My Father who gave them to me is greater than all, and no one is able to snatch them out of my Father's hand. I and my Father are one. We see that a shepherd's provision in verses 1 through 3. Everything we need are in Christ. All the treasures of heaven and earth are to be found in him. Our daily needs are provided through him and by him. A shepherd's provision, then the shepherd's protection in verses 4 and 5. We are here and we stand. by the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. And then the shepherd's preservation to this very moment. You and I have been preserved in Christ. Can you praise him for this today? Can you thank him? Can you worship him? Do you love him? Tell him that. I know you're doing it already. He is so worthy to be praised. I wish I could clone myself just so I could fill a building with a million Jackowitzes to praise the Lord. Oh, for a thousand tongues to sing our great Redeemer's praise. Let us pray. Lord we thank you and praise you for our great shepherd and grace high priest of our faith the Lord Jesus Christ who will never leave us nor forsake us and we thank you for this and you have proven your promises faithful over and over again in our lives. Nothing has indeed separated us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. Thank you for your shepherding love. Thank you even when you've seen me at my worst and us at our worst, you still found love, found a way to love us and continue faithfully to uphold us. and to deal with us so gently, so patiently, so tenderly, so carefully. We love you for it, we bless you for it, we praise you for it, and we thank you for it. In Jesus' name, amen.