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THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT Sunday, February 25, 2007 Psalm 23:1 "The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want" In Hebrew, “Yehovah Roee, lo echsar”
I want to go through the beginning of Psalm 23 today—just the first sentence...” The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.” I want to explore what it means…word for word by emphasizing one word at a time.
1. THE Lord is my shepherd…
It doesn’t say “A” Lord is my shepherd…it says “THE” Lord is my shepherd. There is only one who is worthy to be Lord and God wants us to know it. The word Adonis—Lord—should not be used of anyone else because no one else qualifies.
Unfortunately, human beings tend to try to make other beings and other things Lord of their lives.
God is not desirous of being “A” Lord of our lives; He wants to be THE Lord of our lives. IF HE ISN’T THE ONLY LORD, THEN HE IS NOT LORD AT ALL.
The first of the 10 commandments says:
Exodus 20: 2-3 2I am the LORD thy God, which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. 3Thou shalt have no other gods before me.
Many people interpret that to mean “Don’t put anything in your life before Me” but that’s not at all what it means. It goes way beyond that. God doesn’t want there to BE any other gods in our life…not before Him...not beside Him...not even AFTER Him. He wants to be THE Lord---not one of.
A better explanation of what verse 3 really says in the Amplified Bible.
3You shall have no other gods before or besides Me.
THE LITERAL TRANSLATION IS: “You shall have no other gods before my face”
In other words, “I don’t want to SEE any other gods in your life.
You cannot serve two Masters (or three or four…etc)
Matthew 6:24 (AMP) No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will stand by and be devoted to the one and despise and be against the other. You cannot serve God and mammon ( deceitful riches, money, possessions, or whatever is trusted in).
You cannot serve God and money...or God and self...or God and a loved one…or God and ANYTHING OR ANYONE ELSE. IT has to be God ALONE!
2. The LORD is my shepherd…
What does
Lord really mean?
Supreme ruler, absolute authority. In medieval times, people understood the meaning of Lordship. They did nothing that was not in the will of their Lord. Of course, there were MANY Lords and we have only one. But God wants to be the LORD of our lives.
He wants to be the supreme ruler and authority—but up close and personal. Not just the ONLY one but the only LORD.
When I came to the Lord 32 years ago in 1974, I knew it was all or nothing. I wasn’t just accepting Jesus as a part of my life; I was giving Him complete rulership of my life. Some people think they can say a prayer and accept Jesus as an addition to their lives and then just do their own thing. That’s not the way it works—not when we first accept Him—not as we live—and not when we are at the end of our lives.
When we come to Jesus and accept Him as Lord, we are no longer the master of our own lives. JESUS IS.
GOD WANTS LORDSHIP OF OUR LIVES! It really is all or nothing.
3. The Lord IS my shepherd.
Obviously we have to believe that He exists.
The Bible says in Hebrews 11:6 (AMP) 6But without faith it is impossible to please and be satisfactory to Him. For whoever would come near to God must [necessarily] believe that God exists and that He is the rewarder of those who earnestly and diligently seek Him [out].
Don’t have doubts about His existence—or His existence as GOD—all knowing, all seeing, all powerful, existing everywhere at all times.
That’s what the word Yehovah comes in—where God reveals Himself as I Am that I Am. He is present tense. He not only WAS, but He IS. He not only WILL BE, but He IS. He is the God of NOW! And NOW is the time to really make Him Lord of your life. Don’t put it off for later. There may not be a “later”
GOD IS! AND, WHAT HE IS... IS WHATEVER YOU NEED--WHATEVER IS GOOD!
And God is always contemporary and up to date…never out of date. He is up with the times.
4. The Lord is MY shepherd.
POSSESSION!
He is not only the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob; He’s the God of ME! He’s the God of Shoshana—the God of YOU!
It’s a personal thing. Many people get to the place where they believe He is the only one and the Lord—that He is powerful. Many people realize there is a God and even who He is and that Jesus is the Lord...but that’s as far as they go. They don’t make Him THEIR Lord.
For instance, I might believe that Elizabeth II is the Queen of England—Great Britain---but unless I am a citizen of England or become one, SHE IS NOT MY QUEEN—SHE IS SOMEBODY ELSE’S.
Many people believe God exists and that Jesus is His Son—they may even believe that He has the power and authority, but they have not made Him their own!
James says in James 2:19 “19Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.”
That’s not enough. God wants to possess you and He wants you to possess Him. Imagine that. Give Him all of you and you get all of Him. I think that we get the best of that transaction. That’s the best deal in the whole world—it’s as good as it gets.
And, if you have made Him YOUR Lord—have you KEPT Him YOUR LORD?
5. The Lord is my SHEPHERD.
He is our shepherd and we are His sheep. The relationship between a shepherd and His sheep is unlike any other relationship. We miss a lot about the meaning of this psalm if we don’t understand that. In modern society, we don’t see it, but in the culture of that time—and in many lands even today, the relationship between a shepherd and his or her sheep was unbelievable close.
FIRST OF ALL, HE IS THE SHEPHERD OF HIS SHEEP—HIS FLOCK.
A shepherd is not concerned for other flocks—just his own. He has the responsibility of shepherding HIS sheep.
So, you believe He is the Lord, the one and only—YOUR Lord. You’ve made Him your Lord---so you can now be confident that He is your SHEPHERD!
AS HIS SHEEP, WE HEAR HIS VOICE AND FOLLOW HIM
The Bible says in John 10:3-5 (NIV) He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. 4When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice. 5But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger's voice."
You can also reverse it. Not only do the sheep know the voice of their shepherd, but the shepherd knows His own sheep.
A SHEPHERD IS SOMEONE WHO GUARDS, GUIDES, AND TENDS HIS OWN SHEEP!
THE SHEPHERD IS EVERYTHING TO HIS SHEEP.
Because the Lord is my shepherd… He is my
AND BECAUSE THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD, I SHALL NOT WANT OR LACK ANYTHING!
When I am hungry, He will lead me to good food. When I need to rest, He will bring me to a safe resting place. When I sleep, He will watch over me and guard me. He will guide me wherever I need to go. When I am scared, He will soothe me. When I mourn, He will comfort me. He will protect me from wolves and wild beasts—from all the elements—storms, cold heat, etc.
When I wander, He will seek me out and find me and bring me home.
And when I lose my balance, He will set me right!
Many of us are familiar with the words of David: “Why art thou cast down oh my soul”
For a sheep to be cast down is certain death unless the shepherd finds him. It means he overbalances and ends up on his back with all four feet in the air. AND A SHEEP CAN NEVER GET UP FROM THAT POSITION. He will slowly become dehydrated and starved and die—unless the shepherd finds him, and sets him right.
THAT’S WHAT GOD DOES FOR US…ALWAYS!
And, one more thing. When a sheep is recalcitrant and constantly wanders off, he becomes such a danger to himself and the other sheep that the shepherd, in love, will take His staff and break the legs of the sheep. Then, He will pick him up and carry him pressed against His breast until his legs totally heal. By that time, the sheep will become so close and so dependent on the shepherd that he will never run again.
The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. IS HE YOURS TOO? I HOPE SO. IF NOT, MAKE HIM YOUR SHEPHERD TODAY!
I'd like you to listen to this song, Adonai Roee...The Lord is my Shepherd.
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Literally
it is a form of a verb meaning to be or I Am.. but it
means..
