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THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD
A. Introduction: We live in a broken, sin-damaged world, and we face constant challenges, ranging from
minor irritations to major tragedies. Many, if not most of these trials and tribulation are unavoidable.
1. For several weeks we’ve been talking about the help that God has for us in the midst of life’s
hardships. We’ve made the point that part of God’s provision for us is hope.
a. Hope is confident expectation of coming good. Hope is an assurance that somehow, things will
get better because we serve the God of hope. Therefore, for those who know the Lord, there is no
such thing as a hopeless situation. All will be made right, if not in this life, in the life to come.
b. In the hard times, we need to encourage ourselves from God’s Word with the reasons we have
hope. The Bible instructs us to rejoice in hope. The Greek word translated rejoice has the idea of
cheering yourself. Rom 12:12
c. When we rejoice, God, by His Spirit through His Word, imparts hope to us, and lifts us up in the
midst of trouble. Rom 15:4; Rom 15:13
2. Tonight, we’re going to add another element to our discussion—dealing with fear. Because of the
nature of life in a sin cursed earth, we encounter circumstances that cause us to feel afraid. But
God’s message to His people is always: Fear not.
B. How do we deal with the fear that is generated by the harsh realities of life? First of all, we need to
understand that fear is not a sin or a moral failure. Fear is an appropriate emotional response to
potential danger and harm.
1. We feel afraid when we encounter circumstances that are bigger than us and greater than the
resources available to us. God counters our fears by urging us to trust Him, by giving us reasons
why we can trust Him.
a. Isa 41:10—Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen
you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand (ESV).
b. Because of who He is, Almighty God with us is the help we need in every circumstance. God is
Omnipresent or present everywhere at once. He is omniscient (All-knowing) and Omnipotent
(All-power).
1. This means that there is no place God is not. Nothing takes Him by surprise. And there is
nothing for which He does not already have a plan in mind to help you.
A. Ps 46:1—God is our refuge and strength…a very present and well-proved help in trouble
(Amp); God is our place of safety. He gives us strength. He is always there to help us
in times of trouble (NIRV).
B. Ps 42:5—Wait expectantly for Him, my help and my God (Amp); my present Salvation
and my God (Spurrell). The original Hebrew reads: His presence is salvation.
2. When David, the future king of Israel, faced a life-threatening situation (being pursued by
people intent on killing him), he was afraid (an appropriate response to his circumstances).
3. Yet David wrote: When I am afraid, I put my trust in you. In God, whose word I praise, in
God I trust; I shall not be afraid. What can flesh do to me (Ps 56:3-4, ESV)…I trust in God, so
why should I be afraid? What can mere mortals do to me (Ps 56:11, NLT).
2. David was able to respond like that because he knew who God is, and he knew who he was in
relation to God. We get insight into David’s view of reality from the psalms that he wrote.
a. Possibly his most famous psalm is Psalm 23. This psalm gives us insight into David’s
understanding of his relationship to and with God. Let’s read the psalm.
1. Psalm 23:1-3—The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green
pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths

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of righteousness for his name’s sake (ESV).
2. Ps 23:4—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 ESV).
3. Ps 23:5-6—You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my
head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my
life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever (ESV).
b. Psalm 23 is often read at funerals because of the line about walking through the shadow of death.
But this isn’t a funeral psalm. It’s a psalm about God’s care, provision, and protection for His
people in this life. This life is the valley of death.
1. We walk through the valley of death every day because this world is infused with a curse of
death and corruption and death due to sin, going back to Adam, the first man. Rom 5:12-14
2. Isaiah the prophet wrote: Isa 25:7-8—In that day (in connection with the second coming of
Jesus), he (Almighty God) will remove the cloud of gloom, the shadow of death that hangs over
the earth. He will swallow up death forever (NLT).
c. There’s another layer of personal meaning for David in his statement about a valley of death.
Israel’s geography includes many hills and valleys. David fought battles and faced death in
some of those valleys, including his epic battle with Goliath the giant. I Sam 17:20-54.
3. God uses many word pictures to describe Himself, His people, and the relationship that He desires
with them. One of those word images is that of a shepherd and sheep.
a. Numerous passages in the Bible refer to God as the Shepherd of His people and His followers as
sheep. Ps 78:52; Ps 80:1; Ps 100:3 Ps 95:7; John 10:11; 14; Heb 13:20; I Pet 2:25; I Pet 5:4; etc.
b. David grew up tending sheep, so he understood the relationship between a shepherd and a sheep,
and what that relationship meant for the sheep and the shepherd.
c. David and his people (the Israelites) understood the importance of a good shepherd in the life of
a sheep. To call God their shepherd was no small statement since they knew what it meant.
1. Sheep were among the Israel’s most prize possessions. Sheep were used for meat, milk, and
cheese. Their skins and fleece were used for clothing. Ram skins dyed red were used as a
covering for the Tabernacle, and their flesh was used for sacrifices in the Temple.
2. Sheep require more attention and care than any other class of livestock. They must be led to
pastures and water and need protection from robbers, wolves, lions, bears, and panthers.
A. They have to be protected from disease, insects, and parasites. Special attention must be
given to females about to give birth and to the young and feeble.
B. Sheep need guidance as well as protection. If they are not led to proper grazing fields,
they overgraze and destroy their food source.
3. The shepherd’s job requires constant alertness, especially at night, watching for predators
and any sheep who were in distress.
d. The shepherd was an owner, manager, protector, and provider. There was a working
relationship between a shepherd and his sheep.
1. Shepherds mostly led their sheep by calling their names, as opposed to driving them. Sheep
recognize the voice of the shepherd.
2. Sheep easily stampede in fear and seeing their shepherd in the field had a calming effect on
the flock.
e. The fate (or lot in life) for a sheep, depended entirely on what his master was like. A good
shepherd meant well-cared for sheep. A poor shepherd meant neglected sheep.
C. God refers to men and women lost in sin as sheep who have gone astray (Isa 53:6). And, the Bible
makes it very clear that God wants to gather lost men and women, lost sheep, to Himself. Jesus referred to

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Himself as the Good Shepherd who gives His life for the sheep (John 10:11)
1. Luke 15:4-7—When Israel’s religious leaders criticized Jesus for welcoming and eating with
sinners, Jesus responded by telling a parable about a shepherd who had a hundred sheep, but one
went missing. The shepherd left the ninety-nine and searched for the lost sheep until he found it.
Then he called his friends and neighbors to rejoice with him.
a. Jesus personalized the story, saying which of you wouldn’t do the very same thing—go and
search for the lost sheep until you found it? And then celebrate because you found it?!
1. Since the audience understood the value of sheep in their culture, the point Jesus made was
obvious. Sinful men and women are like lost sheep. They don’t lose their value simply
because they are lost. I have come to find them and restore them to the sheep fold, if they are
willing to follow me, their Shepherd.
A. Jesus was born into a people group (Israel) that, based on the writings of their prophets,
was expecting the Messiah (the Savior). Some of the prophets used the image of a Shepherd
caring for sheep in their prophecies.
B. Isa 40:10-11—Behold, the Lord will come with strong hand…He shall feed his flock like
a shepherd; he shall gather the lambs with his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and
shall gently lead those that are with young (KJV).
2. Jesus ended the parable with these words: I say to you, that likewise, there will be more joy
in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine just persons who need no
repentance (Luke 15:7, NKJV).
b. Human beings were created to be sons and daughters of God. Sin disqualified us for our created
purpose. Lost men and women have not lost their value to God, but they are lost to their created
purpose because of their sin.
1. A lost sheep is unable to free himself from his condition, unable to find his way home. The
shepherd must find him and bring him home.
2. Jesus came to seek and save lost sheep and open the way for us to be restored to God our
Father by laying down His life for us. Luke 19:10; Matt 10:6; etc.
2. We struggle with fear because, even though we know that God has power to help, we struggle with
uncertainty over whether or not He will help us because of our fallenness. This is why we need to
know, not only who God is, but who we are in relation to Him. He is our Creator and Redeemer.
a. God is our Creator. When God made Adam He made a son and a race of sons in Adam, since
all of us were in Adam potentially. Eph 1:4- 5; Luke 3:18; Gen 5:1; etc.
1. You (and I) exist because God wanted and wants you (and me). John the apostle saw people
in Heaven proclaiming: You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and
power. For you created everything and it is for your pleasure that they exist (Rev 4:11, NLT).
2. Since God is Omniscient (All-knowing), He knew you before you existed, before the world
began. And, He knew you in Adam. God knows a perfect you, the you He created in Adam.
A. God’s first recorded comment about you in recorded in the Bible: Gen 1:31—And God
saw everything that he had made (including Adam and you in Adam potentially). And
behold, it was very good (ESV).
B. At the moment of conception in your mother’s womb, He breathed into you the breath of
life. Yes, you were born in corruption, with a bent toward selfishness, and, as soon as you
were old enough, you chose independence from God through sin. Rom 3:23
C. But God knows a perfect you. And through the salvation that He has provided, He is
restoring you to what you were meant to be (many lessons for another day).
b. God is our Redeemer. Even though our beginning was with God, we have all gone astray from
Him through our sin. We have put our will above His will. We have gone into the pigpen of sin,

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corruption, and death, and we are powerless to free ourselves from this condition.
1. Our Creator incarnated (took on a human nature) and was born into this world to redeem us
or buy us out of captivity to sin, corruption, and death. Jesus redeemed us by dying on the
Cross as the perfect sacrifice for our sin.
A. I Pet 1:18-19—God paid a ransom to save you…and the ransom he paid was not mere
gold and silver. He paid for you with the precious lifeblood of Christ, the sinless, spotless
Lamb of God (NLT).
B. I Pet 3:18—Christ…died for our sins once for all time; He never sinned, but he died for
sinners that he might bring us safely home to God (NLT).
2. Our value to God does not come out of successes or failures. Our value comes from Him
and the reasons He created us and redeemed us. His help does not come because we deserve it.
His help comes because of who He is and who we are in relation to him.
D, Conclusion: We’re going to take a few weeks to consider what it means that God is our Shepherd and
we are His sheep, to help us deal with the fears we all have as we face this broken world and difficult life.
Consider these thoughts as we close.
1. The culture that Jesus was born into understood that seeing the shepherd in the field with them had a
calming effect on the flock. Keeping our eyes on the Great Shepherd will do the same for us.
a. We have to put forth effort to keep our attention on Jesus—reading His Word, talking about Him
to ourselves and fellow believers because there are constant distractions that take our attention off of
the fact that God is with us, God is for us, and that He will get us through.
b. Ps 94:19—In the multitude of my (anxious) thoughts within me, Your comforts delight and
cheer my soul (Amp); Heb 12:1-2—Let us run the race that is set before us, looking away [from all
that will distract] to Jesus (Amp).
2. Jesus called Himself the Good Shepherd. Note something He said about Himself and His sheep: I
am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me (John 10:14, NLT). There are
several layers of meaning in His statement, but note one point: As our Shepherd, Jesus sees and
knows us, His sheep.
a. Jesus’ apostles continued to refer to the Lord as our Shepherd. Peter, in his first epistle wrote:
1. I Pet 2:25—Once you were wandering like lost sheep. But now you have turned to your
Shepherd, the Guardian of your souls (NLT); Now you have returned to the one who is your
shepherd and protector (CEV). By soul, Peter means you—everything about you and your life
2. In the context of referring to Jesus as the Great Shepherd who takes care of His flock, Peter
urged believers: I Pet 5:7—Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what
happens to you (NLT); For He cares for you affectionately, and cares for you watchfully (Amp).
b. Paul the apostle wrote to, and prayed for, Christians who were struggling: May (God) produce
in you, through the power of Jesus Christ, all that is pleasing to him. Jesus is the great Shepherd
of the sheep (Heb 13:20-21, NLT). Jesus (God Incarnate) the Great Shepherd will help you.
3. Once you realize who God is and who you are in relation to Him, when you feel afraid, you can
answer your fears with trust in Him: Ps 100:3—Know that the Lord, he is God! It is he who made
us, and we are his, we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture (ESV).
a. God reveals Himself to us through His Word to inspire our trust in Him. He uses word pictures
to help us understand who He is and who we are in relation to Him.
b. We can trust Him to take care of us because, through creation and redemption, we belong to a
Good Shepherd who cares for us watchfully and affectionately. Much more next week!