PSALM 23 TALK
THE LORD IS MY FIREFIGHTER
(THE SHEPHERD WHO GUIDES AND PROVIDES)
(THE HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®, NIV® Copyright © 1973 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide”.
INTRODUCTION
As I first thought of how I would try and write an original poem based on my study of Psalm 23, all hell broke loose in and around Melbourne, Australia’s largest southern city. The hell was a massive bushfire that eventually killed 170 lives, burnt 2000 homes down and left seven thousand people homeless. Stories came in over the news of the tragic loss of life and property and also, the brave efforts of firefighters and police who saved many lives.
A few years after this I experienced another example of the brave firefighters saving this time my Son in Law and our two very young grandchildren in the 2013 bush fires of 2013 in my home town of Springwood in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney Australia. My daughter and her family lived at a suburb called Yellowrock a few kilometers north of Springwood and one October day in 2013 when my daughter was not at home a massive bush fire started and trapped my son in law and our two grandchildren in their home in Yellowrock. Along with 50 or so other Yellowrock trapped residence tried to escape to the local lookout as it had been burnt out a few weeks before.
The problem was this lookout was not a safe place and was in fact a death trap. Then after many frantic calls to authorities by many of those trapped by the fire the brave firefighters of the St Marys brigade fought their way through to the trapped residence and led them to a near by house that had a swimming pool and as the fire front went through they bravely poured water over the house and its surrounds saving all the residence trapped by the fire. Then when the fire front had finally passed they led each car of the trapped people to safety and no lives were amazingly lost in or horrific fires that day.
These kind of stories of brave firefighters saving people’s lives in the midst of devastating circumstances made me think of the God, described by David in Psalm 23 called their “My Shepherd”.
Just as the firefighters acted as a guide and protector through the valley’s and ridges of ragging fire, so God leads us, when trust in him, through the dark threatening times of life.
Psalm 23 might have been written by David early in his life as he worked as a Shepherd or later in life as he reflected on his time as a shepherd. When God helped him like a Good Shepherd helps his sheep by guiding them, providing food for them and by protecting them when under attack by wild animals.
Psalm 23 has actually three figures, Shepherd, Guide and Host but we can combine all these under the one figure of the Good Shepherd who cares for his sheep, guides and protects them and provides food for them.
Of course, David goes beyond the Shepherd concept as he describes how God loves and helps his people all the days of their lives and continues this in heaven after we die. The firefighters the Victorian and Springwood bush fires only offer a glimpse of the far greater heavenly firefighter and shepherd who is Jesus our Saviour and Lord, The Good Shepherd who is of course The Lord Jesus Christ who has saved us from our sins by dying for them on the cross and who because he has raised from the dead and has sent his Holy Spirit to everyone who truly believes in him guides and protects us even through the dark and dangerous times of our lives.
This Psalm can be divided up into five parts :
- THE LORD THE SHEPHERD vs. 1
- THE LORD THE GUIDE vs’s 2 -3
- THE LORD THE PROTECTOR vs. 4
- THE LORD THE PROVIDER vs. 5
- THE LORD THE HOPE OF ETERNAL FELLOWSHIP vs. 6
Read Psalm 23
- THE LORD THE SHEPHERD vs. 1
Sadly, Psalm 23 is only read at a funeral and many only associate this Psalm because of that with death. The reason that Psalm 23 is read at funerals is probably because of 2 reasons. The first reason is the words in verse 4 that read,
“Even 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”.
The second reason is because of the picture of the hope of heaven in verse 6, which read,
“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the LORD forever”.
Even though this Psalm is and has been a great comfort to people who have lost a love one it is not a Psalm I feel that has only relevance to grieving souls but has just as much relevance to Christian’s living for God at any time in their lives but particularly as we face any kind of difficulty.
The Psalm commences with the simple but profound image of our God pictured as a Shepherd,
“The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in want”.
In Australia Shepherds or Sheep Farmers as we call them, live usually on large properties and look after vast numbers of sheep with the help of Australian cattle dogs and motor bikes. This is not the picture David has in mind here.
Sheep herders or Shepherds in the middle East are quite different and their job in bible times was often hard and difficult. They lived with their sheep out on the pastures and good pastures in dry desert country was not always easy to find.
They had to guide their sheep to grassy area’s. They also had to protect the lives of their sheep and in ancient times there was lions and bears in the middle East. David speaks of his shepherd fighting days to king Saul when he was preparing to fight Goliath, 1 Samuel 17:34-36,
“But David said to Saul, “Your servant has been keeping his father’s sheep. When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it. 36Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, because he has defied the armies of the living God”.
So, when we read the words,
“The Lord is my shepherd”
what picture of God should we see?
I think the description of “The Good Shepherd” in John 10 is very helpful here. John 10 : 10 – 11,
“The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full. 11“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep”.
So, Jesus is our Lord and he is the Good Shepherd who laid down his life for us to give us life and as John 10: 10 says life in all its fullness. Jesus gives us eternal life which is not “pie in the sky when we die” but a new life that commences once we truly put our faith and trust in him.
Just as the brave firefighters saved my son- law and our two grandchildren from the ragging fire storm and then led them to safety through the dangerous fire ground so Jesus saves us from our sins and its consequences – death and leads us throughout our lives, not only in good times but dark horrible times as well.
- THE LORD THE GUIDE vs’ s 2 -3
What a Good Shepherd really means is now spelt out in this section of the Psalm and the next three verses.
First of all, The Lord or Jesus, The Good Shepherd promises to guide us. We read in verses 2 and 3 these words,
“He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters”
The first role of a Shepherd in the Middle East is to guide his small flock of sheep to green or nourishing grassy areas for his sheep to feed on. As I said in the last section, if you live in a desert or arid area of the world like Israel this was no easy task.
When I was a new Christian I was encouraged to memorize important scriptures to help me in my day to day walk with the Lord.
Some of these scriptures are still in my mind and one has become very important to me on many occasions when I face difficult times. The verses come from Proverbs 3: 5 – 6,
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”.
God promises to guide us throughout our life and these verses teach us that just as we are saved by faith alone, so we are guided by faith alone.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding”
is a neat way of saying, have faith in me (The Lord), alone. If we do have this faith in God he will guide us. I have used these words so many times in my life I have lost count and I can testify that God has never let me down once. Sure, he has given me the yellow light of “wait” and the red light of “no” but many times he has also given me the green light of “go” and doors of opportunity and guidance have opened up to me.
Note in the Psalm the Good Shepherd not only leads his sheep to green pastures but he makes his sheep (us) to lie down in them. I wondered for a while what this might mean and I came across this explanation by Robert L. Waggoner,
“This is a picture of safety, satisfaction, and contentment. Sheep are defenseless. They do not lie down when being stalked, or when hungry. They lie down after having satisfied themselves from eating”.
Yes, we are in the cross fire of a great spiritual battle as Paul says in Ephesians 6: 12,
“For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms”.
We are also sheep, weak, defenseless and often very silly animals and therefore we need God’s guidance to safe and nourishing places and there and only there can we lie down and rest.
The image of being in God’s place, or where God is guiding us to has one more phase,
“He leads me beside quiet waters”.
I read on the internet that sheep cannot drink out of fast flowing water ways, they prefer still water and The Good Shepherd would cup the water in his hands for the sheep to drink out of it if he couldn’t find still waters for his sheep to drink out of.
What is this picture telling us about how God Guides us in the Christian life?
As before I think this concept of water supply is similar to food supply namely green grass, so God is promising to provide us with all we need in our new lives in him.
Jesus promises us in John 10: 10,
“Life and life in its fullness or abundance”
and Paul says we have in Christ,
“God’s abundant provision of grace and the gift of righteousness” Romans 5: 17.
The still waters also give us the impression of peace which Paul describes in Philippians 4: 7 as,
“The peace of God which transcends all understanding”.
This does not mean we will not face or avoid problems and difficulties in life but wherever God leads us he is with us providing us all we need and giving us a wonderful inner peace as he constantly helps us.
Verse 3 adds a little more to the concept of God the shepherd who Guides his sheep with these words,
“He restores my soul. He guides me in paths of righteousness for his name’s
sake”.
Again, God is not promising a cushy existence, in fact because we are sinful, fallen and flawed beings, sheep, he knows we will go astray. When we do go astray as Jesus teaches in Mathew 18 :12 he will,
“Go and look for the one that wandered off”.
Therefore,
“He restores my soul”
and of course, this whole process is God showing us how much he loves us. Hebrews 12:5-11, teaches us that God disciplines us like a father disciplines the son he loves,
“And you have forgotten that word of encouragement that addresses you as sons: “My son, do not make light of the Lord’s discipline, and do not lose heart when he rebukes you, 6 because the Lord disciplines those he loves, and he punishes everyone he accepts as a son.
7 Endure hardship as discipline; God is treating you as sons. For what son is not disciplined by his father? 8 If you are not disciplined (and everyone undergoes discipline), then you are illegitimate children and not true sons. 9 Moreover, we have all had human fathers who disciplined us and we respected them for it. How much more should we submit to the Father of our spirits and live! 10 Our fathers disciplined us for a little while as they thought best; but God disciplines us for our good, that we may share in his holiness.
11No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it”.
This passage in Hebrews reminds me of the path God wants us to walk in as stated by Psalm 23: 3,
“Paths of righteousness for his name’s sake”.
I am constantly reminded in my life the way God wants me to go is not the broad road everyone is walking upon but a narrow road that sometimes seems less trod. As we see in Matthew 7: 13 – 14,
“Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the road that leads to destruction, and many enter through it. 14 But small is the gate and narrow the road that leads to life, and only a few find it”.
This is the paths of righteousness as described in Psalm 23 or
“Straight path”
Or as described Proverbs 5: 6.
“Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in allyour ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight”.
The brave firefighters of the St Marys brigade led my son – in law and our two grandchildren through the dangerous fire zone to a safe place out of the fire ravaged areas of Yellowrock and Springwood. God through Jesus wants to lead us through this often dangerous and fallen world of sin to his eternal home of peace but we must not take our eyes off him all we will fall back into sin and despair.
- THE LORD THE PROTECTOR VERSE 4
The second way God, through Jesus is the Good Shepherd is as a protector of the sheep. David knew what it meant to protect his King Saul before he fought with Goliath,
“When a lion or a bear came and carried off a sheep from the flock, 35I went after it, struck it and rescued the sheep from its mouth. When it turned on me, I seized it by its hair, struck it and killed it”(1 Samuel 17:34 – 35)
So, he sees God as his protector and in fact in that same passage he acknowledged God’s protection as the reason why he could do this for his sheep and would do it to the Giant Soldier Goliath in 1 Samuel 17: 37,
“The LORD who delivered me from the paw of the lion and the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.”
David here and over and over again proved his own words of Psalm 23 as the truth and in verse 4 he says,
“Even 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”.
Of course, many seem to understand that
“the valley of the shadow of death”
is death itself because they read this Psalm at funerals. May I suggest that this term actually is a picture of any peril in life and of course death is just one of them.
The picture is of the sheep moving through some kind of area were danger or peril has come upon them but they are safe because they have their Good Shepherd to fight for them and protect them. Psalm 27: 1 – 3 has a much fuller explanation of this concept of God’s protection in the face of peril,
“The LORD is my light and my salvation whom shall I fear?
The LORD is the stronghold of my life of whom shall I be afraid?
When evil men advance against me to devour my flesh, when my enemies and my foes attack me, they will stumble and fall. Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then will I be confident”.
This is what David is telling us, no matter what danger we face physical or spiritual God is the God Shepherd who is with us and will help us and will fight for us, so why should you be afraid.
As I have been referring to the incredible rescue of my Son in Law and our two grandchildren and 50 other people by the brave firefighters from the St Marys brigade back in the 2013 Springwood fires. There actions mirror for me what I believe verse 4 is saying in this Psalm,
“Even 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”.
This story of the brave firefighters of the St Marys brigade mirrors what David is saying about God leading us firstly because it shows us how far God is willing to go to save and protect us. He sent Jesus into our dark world of sin to rescue us from sin by dying on a cross for us.
Secondly it mirrors what the valley of the shadow of death might mean in that the fire zone that day was so dangerous and treacherous yet those fire fighters fought their way through to those 50 or so trapped residence and bravely and skillfully led them to safety.
Paul had so much confidence in the God of the Bible that he said this in Romans 8: 31,
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
The final word in Psalm 23 on God’s protection is that of,
“Your rod and your staff, they comfort me”.
What is the significance of Rod and Staff comforting us?
The Shepherds staff or rod brings together the two concepts of God as Our Shepherd as in Bible times shepherds used Rods or staffs to both guide and protect their sheep.
Let’s have a brief look at each of these.
- The Staff to Guide
The first way the Shepherds staff was used was to direct a sheep in the direction the Shepherd wanted the sheep to go. While the curved end could be used to pull the sheep toward him and away from danger. It was also used to chastise a disobedient sheep. With the staff in his hand, the shepherd would lead his sheep to pastures, water and the sheep fold in the evening.
We have an example of the Image of God Shepherding his people with the staff Micah 7: 14,
“Shepherd your people with your staff, the flock of your inheritance, which lives by itself in a forest, in fertile pasture lands. Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead as in days long ago”.
I have mentioned before that Bashan was a very fertile area in Israel for sheep and cattle to graze.
So, we will find comfort when God guides us to were he wants us to be in life and death and saves us when we go astray. This leading of God like the jabbing of a sheep’s back can seem painful sometimes but as we read earlier in Hebrews 12: 6,
“The Lord disciplines those he loves”.
2. The Staff as a means of Protection
C Leupold points out that Shepherds staffs often had,
“heavy club ends reinforced with nails driven into it or with a ball of bitumen which hardened to rock like consistency and were therefore used to guide and defend”.
David would have known how to fight with the staff as well as how to use it to guide his sheep. The concept that God goes before his people to help them fight the battles of life is a concept right through the bible. David of course knew God fighting for him on many occasions. Christians in both the New Testament and throughout history have experienced God fighting for them.
One of my favorite New Testament stories of God fighting or protecting Christians is the story in Acts 16 where we read of Paul and Silas in Prison in Philippi and how at midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God. God then caused a violent earthquake shaking the very foundations of the prison and smashing open the prison doors.
However, Paul and Silas don’t immediately escape and when the jailer, thinking they had escaped, tried to kill himself and he is stopped by Paul and Silas. This led to a most amazing conversion story. Let me read it to you from Acts 16: 29 – 34,
“The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas. 30 He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31 They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household.” 32 Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
33 At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34 The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family”.
Here we see Jesus The Good Shepherd protecting and saving his faithful followers Paul and Silas and this miracle of God helping his people leads to the conversion of the Jailer and his whole family and household.
4. THE LORD THE PROVIDER vs. 5
The image of the Good Shepherd now shifts to one of an ancient banquet host although the provision of food and comfort has been strongly put in the Shepherd leading his sheep to green pastures of food for his sheep. People in ancient times put special efforts into special times of banquet celebrations. Many cultures today still have this firmly rooted into their lives. The closest times for us modern westerners from Australia are times like family Christmas day dinners and wedding banquets and special birthday party celebrations. I am always fascinated with the American custom of Thanksgiving and am sometimes amused by how so many American movies have stories of family traumas centered around getting together for thanksgiving dinners.
The bible has lots of references to the Jewish Banquet customs and Jesus set a few of his parables in different types of banquets. I can still hear ringing in my ears the chorus of the children’s song that goes,
I cannot come to the banquet
Don’t bother me now
I have married a wife I have bought me a cow
I have fields and commitments that cost a pretty some
Pray, hold me excused, I cannot come.
I will quote the last verse of this song in a minute because it has what I call the real message line to the song and what verse 5 is telling us.
So, God here is presented as that wonderful host who really makes everyone feel hospitable. He prepares the table, anoint the everyone’s heads and fills everyone’s cups to overflowing. In ancient times these would have been the marks of a really great party and great host pulling it off. I am sad to admit I think some Christians have lost the art of how to put on a good wholesome dinner party.
Maybe our non- believing neighbors with their discussing drunken parties have been reacted to in the wrong way by some Christians today.
Note the reference to the cup overflowing, the first miracle of Jesus in Johns Gospel is set in of all places at a wedding banquet in Jesus home district of Cana in Galilee. Here Jesus turns water into wine. What do the guests say about this new wine Jesus makes out of water, let me read them to you,
John 2: 9 – 10,
“and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.” and the master of the banquet tasted the water that had been turned into wine. He did not realize where it had come from, though the servants who had drawn the water knew. Then he called the bridegroom aside 10 and said, “Everyone brings out the choice wine first and then the cheaper wine after the guests have had too much to drink; but you have saved the best till now.”
The point here is the stronger and more expensive wine usually came first but after the quests got a little effected by the wine the cheaper wine came out. Jesus of course does not turn water into cheap wine but strong and expensive wine (by the way I am a total non- drinker owing to medical problems I have with any form of alcohol).
Many say they could not even consider becoming a Christian because they don’t wont to give up having a good time. If having a good time is getting drunk and fighting and other things like that than they have a point. But if they mean having a good time means really enjoying one’s self in the company of happy and loving people than all I can say is they don’t really know what they are rejecting.
God calls us into a wonderful new family who have something to really celebrate together and the only way into this new family is through faith in The Lord Jesus Christ who provides us with the reason to celebrate, new life, eternal life and a whole new wonderful worldwide family.
The last verse then of that children song “The Wedding Banquet”
“Now God has written a lesson to the rest of mankind
If we’re slow in responding he may leave us behind.
He’s preparing a banquet for that great and glorious day
When the Lord and Master calls us, be certain not to say.
I cannot come”.
I didn’t mention anything about the phrase,
“in the presence of my enemies”.
This wonderful banquet is in the “presence of my enemies”. What on earth does that mean?
Well as I said before I think some Christians have lost the art of celebration and even enjoying themselves. However, when I have been with Christian brothers and sisters and had a wonderful happy time of fellowship, sometimes it has crossed my mind the thought “what a wonderful time non- Christians are missing out on”. Maybe in that final big banquet in the sky, so to speak, that will be enjoyed by those who have answered the call, those who missed out will be looking on wishing they had made different choices in lives.
5. THE LORD THE HOPE OF ETERNAL FELLOWSHIP vs. 6
In verse 6 the Shepherd figure is fully abandoned and a summary of God’s
great help and provisions is given.
“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the
house of the LORD forever”.
Please note first of all, as quoted wrongly at funerals, this is not talking just about heaven. God’s goodness and love is for us all the days of our lives. Many non- Christians think Christians are only looking for what they call,
“Pie in the sky when you die’.
Like those crazy Muslim extremists who blow themselves up to go to heaven to enjoy 24 untouched virgins. No, the real Christian hope is for now and always.
Eternal life does not start when you die but from the moment you put your faith in The Lord Jesus Christ. Paul speaks of our salvation as passing from death to life in Romans 6: 13,
“Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life”.
So, God promises us his
“goodness and love”
all the days of our life and forever. This is a direct reference to the Covenantal God of love spoken about in Deuteronomy 7: 9,
“Know therefore that the LORD your God is God; he is the faithful God, keeping his covenant of love to a thousand generations of those who love him and keep his commands”.
Of course, all God wanted of his people was their love in return shown by their obedience to his commandments but Israel continually failed to love God and turned instead to other Gods. For this they faced the judgement of God.
Jesus gave a us a new covenant with a new commandment as we read in John 13: 34 – 35,
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this all men will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
So, God is Good and Loving and he demonstrated this in Jesus who gave his life for us. The cross brings together the two main attributes of God, Justice and Holiness (sins must be paid for) and Love (he pays for them by his son dying on the cross for them).
I have told the story many times over many years of “The Loving Judge” that explains both what God has done and is therefore like. The story goes that a young teenage boy one- night sneaks out to steal an expensive car so that he could simply have a good time driving it recklessly and fast. He smashes the car and is arrested by the police. The next day he comes to court and stands before a judge (or magistrate in Australia). The judge happens to be the teenager’s father. He asks the boy how he pleads and his son says, “Your honour” I am guilty as charged”. The judge then says, “You are guilty and will pay the full penalty for your crime”. The penalty is $10,000 plus the price of the car which is $50,000 and if you cannot pay it you will go to jail for 5 years. The boy says, “I guess I will have to go to jail then because I haven’t got $60,000.
The judge then takes off his judge’s clothes and as the boy’s father goes to the clerk of the court, pulls out his cheque book and pays the maximum penalty of $60,000 for his son.
The Judge in this story is both Just and Loving and both The Judge and the loving father is just like God is to us. He set the sentence for sin, death and paid it by sending his Son to be born as one of us and then dying on the cross for our sins.
How Good and Loving is our God?
The closing words of the Psalm are probably the most relevant for a funeral for they speak of the Hope of heaven. Dwelling in the house of the Lord which I spoke of in Psalm 15.
The heavenly home is what we are all headed for if we believe in God who sent down his son to die for our sins on the cross to make the way to that heavenly home for us.
I would like to close this exposition of Psalm 23 with the words from Hebrews 12: 2,
’Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God”.
3 NEW TESTAMENT APPLICATIONS OF PSALM 23
- Jesus the Good Shepherd
As I mentioned earlier Jesus is our Good Shepherd and in John 10: 7 – 11 Jesus speaks of himself as both, “The Good Shepherd” and “I am the Gate”, that is the gate to the sheep pen.
In ancient times Shepherds often slept across the opening to their sheep enclosures so that sheep could only leave and wild enemies and thieves could only enter over the dead body of the shepherd. Jesus is a Good Shepherd not thief or robber as he laid down his life for us, his sheep. As Paul says in Romans 8: 31,
“If God is for us, who can be against us?”
The confidence of Paul grows and grows in this passage to he writes in Romans 8: 37 – 39,
“No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons,neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, 39 neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
- Jesus our Guide and Provider
In John 14: 6, Jesus calls himself
“The Way”,
which means he is our Guide to God and ultimately heaven. The way could be translated road and of course a road leads us to somewhere and Jesus is telling us trust in me and I will lead you to God and his heaven.
Jesus is not only our Guide but our provider as well. In John 6: 35 – 41, Jesus declares that he is
“The Bread of Life”
which means that he will provide for us all we need. These words are set in the context of the story of a large group of people who chase after Jesus after he fed them as part of 5,000 other people with just a small child’s meal. These people wanted a free feed and easy life but had not recognized who Jesus really was. Jesus had not come to give us a free feed and easy life, in other words he was not some kind of worldly leader or king but the one who came to make the way back to God in heaven and provide all we need both physically and spiritually once we have real and true faith in him.
In Matthew 6: 25 – 34 Jesus tells us not to worry about material things.
“Therefore, I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more important than food, and the body more important than clothes?26Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life[?
28 “And why do you worry about clothes? See how the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these.
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you, O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ 32 For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. 34 Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own”.
The key to knowing Jesus as the provider of everything for our lives is found in this passage in verse 33, where we read,
‘But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well”.
Once we put Jesus first in our life all our priorities fall second to that and Jesus promises to then Guide and provide for us.
- Jesus the Source of Eternal Fellowship
In John 11: 25, Jesus declares,
“I am the resurrection and the life”,
which means that through him we have access to the gift of eternal life which I have already said, starts now and continues after death with God in Heaven. The key is Jesus wants to have fellowship with us, he wants to be part of our lives Guiding and providing, fighting for us and leading us to heaven like a Good Shepherd guiding his sheep to good pastures.
Paul was not afraid of death, in fact he seemed to be looking forward to it Philippians 1: 23 – 26 we read,
“I am torn between the two: I desire to depart and be with Christ, which is better by far; 24 but it is more necessary for you that I remain in the body. 25 Convinced of this, I know that I will remain, and I will continue with all of you for your progress and joy in the faith,
26 so that through my being with you again your joy in Christ Jesus will overflow on account of me”.
Paul is saying, for him, it does not matter if he lives or dies because in both states he has Jesus with him and he determines when he will die and depart to be fully with him forever.
CONCLUSION
We have learnt from Psalm 23 how God through Jesus is our Shepherd who
leads and provides for us, even during the tough times as well as the good times
of life.
Our response should be to simply follow Jesus.
We provide absolutely nothing towards how and if we are saved or helped by God. Our salvation is all done by God out of Grace, love that is not deserved.
Of course, once we realize what God has done for us our response is to love him back so much we begin to actually live the way we were meant to live and do the things God wants us to do. I close with Paul’s words Ephesians 2: 8 – 10)
“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith—and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God— 9 not by works, so that no one can boast. 10 For we are God’s workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do”.
Let me read to you the poem based on this Psalm
THE LORD IS MY FIREFIGHTER
(Based on Psalm 23 the brave Victorian and St Marys firefighters)
The Lord is my fire fighter
In him I have everything.
He leads me through to fields of green
From the fields of fire,
To pools of fresh water.
He watches over me every hour.
The Lord gives me hope to live
His strength makes me strong.
He guides me and shows me the way
Even when I go through living hell,
And death is all around me,
He makes a place for me to dwell.
The Lord is always with me
Even if I lose everything
I know the Lord will pull me through.
So, I will not be afraid,
For the Lord will take my hand
And lead me to a place he’s made.
The Lord invites me to a banquet
Where with friends we will gather.
He treats me as an honoured guest.
He always makes a drink for me
And even in my darkest hour
His blessings overwhelm me.
The Lord gives goodness and love
He will be with me all my days
And one day I will go to be with him
In a house he has made.
A house that cannot be destroyed
For their real joy will never fade.
Jim Wenman
PRAYER
Father in heaven, thank you for sending your Son, Jesus Christ, to this world to die and rise for us. Thank you that he is our Shepherd who guides us even through the darkest times of life. Help us as a result of this go out into the world each day to serve you by doing the good works you have prepared for us to do. In Jesus name we pray this amen.
Psalm Talks 