The other day I taught a lesson on the Lord's prayer or, as I called it, the Lord's Lesson on Prayer. I began that sermon by mentioning that we often bypass familiar scriptures when looking for something fresh from God, when actually our familiarity with the scriptures causes us to miss many lessons. Our text is probably the most famous chapter in the Bible, and more people will recognize it than any other passage of scripture, yet there are many lessons that most people tend to miss because they dismiss the words as being something that they "already know." Let's look at the 23rd Psalm tonight with a fresh anointing and as if for the first time! I think you will be surprised at what you discover!

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The 23rd Psalm is considered the "Shepherd Psalm." It was written by David after he had been serving the Lord for quite some time. David was a shepherd, and as he began to think about how much God had done for him, David realized that just as he had been a shepherd to a flock of sheep, so had God been a shepherd to him!

My Grandfather used to say that prostitution was the oldest profession, but that's not true. Farming is the oldest profession. Shepherding is the second oldest profession according to the scriptures. Adam sinned and then became a farmer. He had two sons. The eldest, Cain, followed in his daddy's footsteps and became a farmer. The youngest, Abel, became a shepherd and raiser of sheep. Shepherding is the hardest of the two professions because a shepherd must literally live with his sheep. After the sun goes down, the shepherd must make sure that the sheep have enough to drink and eat and are securely in the fold. He must sleep lightly through the night lest anything come and try to steal a sheep. He often sleeps in the door of the folds. When the angels appeared to the shepherds at Jesus' birth, they were "keeping their flocks by night." They were guarding their sheep through the night. And so we find a powerful lesson in Cain and Abel's career choices. Cain chose the farmer, the one who once the sun was down, was free to do as he pleased, and yet did not produce anything worthy to give to God as a sacrifice. Cain offered an offering to God but he offered the convenient fruit which had no blood which was not pleasing to God. Yet, Abel offered one of his most precious lambs. A lamb that he had lovingly cared for since birth. A lamb that he had devoted his life to keeping and protecting, and he willfully offered it unto God! The reason that God was pleased with Abel's sacrifice and was not pleased with Cain's went beyond just one having blood and the other not. Cain offered an offering that really cost him nothing. Abel offered something that was precious! {adlib, how that our sacrifice of praise and worship and life must cost us something!}

And from that humble beginning we find God smiling upon shepherds. When his people were slaves in Egypt and God wanted to free them, He caused Moses to become a shepherd for 40 years before sending him to lead the people of Israel out. Moses didn't cease being a shepherd when he began to lead Israel, he just changed type of sheep! God's people are always presented in scripture as a "flock" or as sheep! When God was looking for a king after His own heart who would lead the people into a lifestyle of devotion to Him, he looked beyond warriors and beyond mighty men and chose a little boy named David whose only job experience had been as a shepherd boy over a few sheep. But it was the shepherd boy who realized when Goliath stood and challenged Israel that something had to be done. Why did David go and fight? Because he realized a lesson from shepherding, if I allow the bear to get one sheep, then he will be back for another and the only way to defeat the bear or the lion is to lay my life on the line. It was the heart of a shepherd that sent that little boy to fight and it was the heart of a shepherd that caused God to elevate David into one of the mightiest men of God that ever lived! Even when Jesus' birth was being announced by the angels, they did not go to the rich people or the kings of the area. Jesus' birth wasn't announced to the dignitaries or the Pharisees. The wise men would show up months later! But the only people on the actual birth night of Jesus that came to worship were shepherds! And we find the reason later in scripture: that baby lying in a manger was the precious lamb of God who would also grow up into the good Shepherd, the great Shepherd, and the chief shepherd! He was comfortable around people who understood what it was like to protect sheep continually!

And by the way, even after the Cross, we find shepherds are still very much a part of God's spiritual plan. Ephesians 4:11 says that God gave the church apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors, and teachers. The word for "pastor" literally means "shepherd!" God anoints certain men to be shepherds over His people! It's God's way! You better thank God for a pastor and submit to him and love him, because he is the one that is guarding you from Satan and is watching for your souls and is making sure that you do not scatter! He is the one who reports back to the Chief Shepherd about you!

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The first line has several amazing features. The first thing I want you to notice is that David said the Lord was his SHEPHERD! His shepherd. Not his herder. Not his driver. Not his taskmaster. That's how some people view the Lord today, as some cruel God with a big hammer waiting for them to mess up! But God wants to be your shepherd!

You have a choice of who you want God to be to you today. Genesis 46:34 says that "shepherds were an abomination to Egyptians" and this is why Joseph's family had to live in a particular part of the land so that they would be separated. The Egyptians could not stand shepherds. It went against their culture and their nature. Do you know why? Because the Egyptians were spiritually goats and not sheep! They did not serve the one, true living God! They were idolaters with other things more important than serving a God! Have you ever tried to lead a goat? You cannot do it? Have you ever tried to drive a sheep? You cannot do that either! Their natures are as different as night and day! You decide today whether or not you are a sheep or a goat by your nature! Are you willing to be led of God and His Spirit? Are you willing to not resist His leadership and the undershepherd/pastor that He has placed over you? Then you are a sheep! But are you a goat who always kicks against the will of the Holy Ghost? Are you looking for an easy way to get out of the fold and this lifestyle? Do you constantly resist the moving of the Spirit in your life, then you are acting more like a goat than a sheep! Jesus said:

In other words, Jesus said that He would lead the sheep, the righteous, on into glory! But listen to the other side:

The goats will be driven from His presence and from everlasting life! Your attitude toward God is very important! Is He a shepherd to you or a driver!? It all depends upon what you are and what you make yourself! It all depends on your attitude to submitting to God's will and Word! But David said: The Lord is my SHEPHERD! He doesn't have to drive me from His presence, but I willingly come to His house and I will willingly worship Him and I will willingly grow deeper in Him and follow His Spirit! Why? Because He is my shepherd! And because the Lord is my shepherd, then I shall not want! David was saying that I have learned that the only way to be truly satisfied in life is to make Him my shepherd and to make Him my everything! Only then, do I not want! Only then am I completely fulfilled!

The other point that I want you to notice from this verse is that David said "Jehovah is my shepherd!" The one, true God of the Old Testament, Jehovah God was the shepherd! And God does not change! You need to realize the identity of your shepherd today if He is truly going to be your shepherd! Because in our other text, Jesus said "I am the good shepherd!" In Hebrews, He is the "great shepherd!" In I Peter He is the chief shepherd:

Think about something for a moment! Jesus said that He was the good shepherd because he gave his life for the sheep! If Jesus and Jehovah God of the Old Testament are two separate persons of a trinity, then Jehovah God is not good because the son was the one who gave his life! But they are not separate they are the same God! Jesus Christ of the New Testament was the one Jehovah God of the Old Testament who came in flesh to give His life for the sheep! The scriptures say that there is none good but God, and that is why Jesus was the good shepherd! How many chiefs can there be? One! But Jesus was the chief shepherd! He is the great God in flesh! He is the Jehovah God of the Old Testament come to pay the price for sins by the death of the life that He became!

So when you make the Lord your shepherd, you are making Jesus Christ your shepherd! No wonder the verse says "I shall not want!" Just think: when you submit to Jesus Christ, you are placing yourself in the loving care of the shepherd who loved you enough to come and give His very life so that you could live! Do you think that that kind of shepherd is going to leave you in a bind? Do you think that kind of God is going to forsake you? If you, like the Egyptians, despise shepherds and refuse to submit to His Word then He will leave you on your own, but not if you become one of His sheep! He gave His very life for you; He loves you more than you can even fathom! We are the sheep of His pasture and we are protected by the good shepherd! Submit to Him, and then you can say with confidence: The Lord is my Shepherd I shall NOT want!

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I studied sheep a little bit this week. Sheep need one and a half gallons of water a day. Wells are important to sheep. We must drink freely from the water of the Holy Ghost. Sheep will only lie down when they have been adequately fed and watered and are content.

Contented, healthy sheep have certain characteristics:

1. They look alert with clear bold eyes and constantly pricked ears.

2. They have good appetites.

3. They walk with coordination and with their head upright.

4. They chew their cud regularly.

5. They have a firm and unbroken fleece.

6. They are content with keeping within a flock and do not scatter as easily.

7. They have sound feet.

8. They have sound, unbroken teeth.

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The word for soul here in the Hebrew literally means "my emotions" and "my passions." Sheep need a constant contact with the shepherd to reassure their emotional needs. {pg 45 story of sheep falling into line in the morning and then a sheep coming up to the shepherd to be loved and then going back to it's place} David was saying, when I just need a touch from God, He's there! He's there to reassure me that I am in His will and to refresh me in my day to day living!

Sheep need to be led. By nature they wander and they scatter. But they are extremely vulnerable when scattered. They are easily killed. Even their coat does not grow very prolific unless tended by a shepherd. It is the constant feeding and attention of a shepherd that causes the sheep to become profitable!

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When a small lamb has not yet grown a protective coat of wool and cold weather comes, the good shepherd will carry it and wrap it up in his own clothes to protect it from the wind and rain.

Another characteristic of sheep is that when confronted with a harmful situation or rough spot is that they will lie down and give up if someone does not carry them over. There have been times when I needed God to carry me through some situations!

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The rod of the shepherd is a smaller stick that is used for support when standing, to direct the sheep, and to ward off any attackers or enemy. The staff is the familiar long pole with a "crook" or "hook" at one end. It is used primarily to either save a sheep from a pit or cliff or to reach out and gather the sheep back together!

At night, the shepherd placed his rod over the door to the fold to indicate that it was time to enter for the night. As a sheep went into his bed place, he passed "under the rod." This is a sign of submission to the will of the shepherd! With submission comes protection! And with protection comes great comfort!

Sometimes the shepherd has to break a sheep to get him to line up for his own safety! The sheep does not understand the dangers that surround him! But the shepherd loves them enough to correct them even when they do not understand!

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Sheep need protection from their enemies. Towers are often built so that the shepherd can better protect the sheep. Sheep folds are constructed not to keep sheep from getting out but from enemies getting within. Walls and boundaries are a protective feature of the shepherd!

The Psalmist said that the Great Shepherd prepared a table or banquet before him in the presence of his enemies! Sheep will only eat in the presence of enemies if they feel as if they are protected or safe! It is only within the sheepfold that the shepherd actually prepares the feed for the sheep!

The scriptures speak of the name of the Lord as a strong tower! The scriptures give us definite guidelines of things that are pleasing and not pleasing to God! The Great Shepherd has given us His commandments as protective walls! Not to keep a Christian confined within them but to keep predators and destroyers out! God wants you to be able to be fed and nourished even when the enemy is out to destroy you so He has built an hedge of protection through His name, His Word, and His church! Nothing in the scriptures is trivial: It is all important because by keeping every commandment in the Word of God, we erect a barrier to Satan! The one area in which you refuse to obey God's Word is the one area where Satan is able to come into and destroy you! Our other text said that:

Jesus Christ did not give us such direct teachings on sin and what a Christian should not do because He wants us to be "penned in." He rather came to give us life more abundantly and so He realized for us to be able to experience the great blessings of God we must put some walls of protection around our life through the establishing of some lines of holiness and separation! You can only eat in front of your enemies at the banquet table of God if you are in His house and within His walls! But it is all how you view the barriers: we must treat the Word of God as a liberating agent and not a confining fence!

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This passage of scripture refers to the common practice of a shepherd dealing with pests that find refuge in the sheep's head. The word for "cup" here in the Hebrew can refer to a literal cup that holds water but can also be used for facial cavities such as the nose, eyes, and ears.

Sheep have a constant problem with pests. One of the worst is a particular fly that makes it's way into the sheep's nostrils and lays eggs. When these eggs hatch, the insects crawl up the nasal passages into the head where they cause so much irritation that the sheep ceases to be able to function normally. When this happens with this particular fly, sheep will become so distracted and agitated that they will butt their heads against walls, bushes, trees: anything to try to rid themselves of the pests. They also tend to run into each other and butt other sheep trying to rid themselves of their personal distraction.

When a sheep has this problem or is in danger of receiving this fly, the shepherd in Biblical times would mix an "anointing salve" of olive oil, pitch, and sulfur. It smelled horrible! He would then place this ointment around the sheep's nose, mouth, and eyes to destroy these pests and ward off others: all of this bringing the sheep great relief.

Spiritual sheep are no different! There are many "pests" that try to get in our heads and cause us to hurt ourselves and others with our actions. Let me identify some of the more common ailments that affect saint's heads:

1. Condemnation - Thoughts such as "you don't really belong." "You haven't done enough to deserve God's Grace." "You're not much of a Christian..."

God is not a God of condemnation, but He is a shepherd, a God of ointment and healing! If God wanted to, He could condemn all of us because He knows every fault that we have ever committed and all of our weaknesses! In fact the reason that people tend to condemn themselves is because they remember every time that they have failed and they beat themselves up for it! Paul said:

2. Discontentment -

3. Doubt of Spirituality -

4. Bitterness -

Sicknesses in sheep are usually highly contagious...

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David has decided that the house of God and the leadership of God will be where he chooses to dwell forever!

The end result of submitting to making the Lord your shepherd is that wherever you go and whatever you do, "goodness and mercy" will follow you!