The Good Shepherd

Great to be back here again and when they Mike Pastor Mike asked me this week can you bring some of your DVDs? I didn't expect to show you a clip or anything like that so it's very, very you guys and this is something that my wife and I have created together over the last several years. We all still have made some about. Martin Luther, Martin Luther's wife we called the bride of Martin Luther, and then one about John Calvin and both the Katie Luther and John Calvin ones won awards at the National Religious Broadcasters, convention, so we've been very blessed to hear from people literally all over the world who have said that we have helped their kids and as well as themselves as adults to understand church history and it's not just that our goal is that they would see God's providence throughout.

Time, the last 2000 years, Christ, he promised, that the gates of hell will not prevail against this church and so as we look back in time, we can see different men and women who have stood for Christ. Some of them have died for Christ, and yet another, nevertheless through their efforts, God has used them to continue the carrying on the message of Jesus Christ, throughout every, every time. So that's great encouragement for us today because sometimes we can think, oh no. It's getting so dark out there.

Lord, where are you? He's here. He's working. You as a church are testimony to that.

Reform Baptist Church of Riverside just down the road is a testimony to that. As, you guys support missionaries, we support missionaries. We get little glimmers of hope everywhere we look around the world that the good news is still going forward. The kingdom of Christ is still advancing.

And you and I get to be a part of that, and sometimes that's in the very small ways, no one's gonna make a movie about my life, 500 years from now, but even men like John Knox, they faced, they didn't know what was gonna happen. They thought they were gonna die. Many times they were very close to dying. And yet the, the, the heart of the gospel, their, their passion for solo scriptura, the scripture alone teaches that we are saved by faith alone, through grace alone in Christ alone.

That is the message of the reformation, that is the message I know this church. Church proclaims, and it is good to be here today. Thank you so much for having us out. If you will, you could turn your scripture or your Bibles to Psalm 23, a very familiar passage.

I hope it's very familiar. it's so familiar that sometimes we tend to overlook it. I was telling Pastor Milton, I do bring you greetings, by the way, from our other co-elders at RBCR as well as Charles Morris at Haven today. I know he's spoken here many years ago, but nevertheless, it's, I bring those heralds from.

The two different groups that I'm representing today I guess. I, I think probably next to John 3:16, Psalm 23 is probably one of the most commonly recognized scriptures out there, whether you're a Christian or not, and particularly in just the culture that we live in. A professor at Wingate University did some study on how Psalm 23 is a cultural icon, and, and he, was looking at how often it is referred to in our media. When Whitney Houston died, they read Psalm 23 at her funeral.

Well, on 9/11, President Bush stood up and recited some of Psalm 23. you might be surprised that rappers, Tupac, Coolio, and Kanye West have all quoted, Yay, though I walked through the valley of the shadow, you might continue, the gangster's paradise there. Also rappers Jay-Z and Eminem have quoted my cup runneth over, and not to, to overlook the cowboys out there, both John Wayne and Clint Eastwood in their movies, have had Psalm 23 read or used in some way. What is it with this psalm?

why is it so prevalent in our culture? the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Yeah, though I walk through the valley shadow of death, my cup runneth over.

These are words that we hear, in our culture. I think it's because there is real power in the Scripture. There's something very special and unique in the Scripture, and I wanna take some time, to read and reflect on it here this morning. In fact, let's just read it together right now.

The Lord is my shepherd. This is a, a Psalm of David, who we know at one point in his young life was a shepherd boy. He was, the least of his family. Shepherds were not.

Not like nowadays, it's like, oh, I wanna be a shepherd in the Christmas play or, I love shepherd's pie. shepherds, I, I think are, we enjoy their story now because the Lord has used us so much, but we have to remember in David's time, as well as in when Christ was born in that time, shepherds were the outcasts. They were, they were like, OK, you go out and you take care of the sheep. That was not a good job.

That wasn't like, oh boy. and so here it is, David, talking about the Lord being his shepherd. So let's read it together in verse one. Hopefully you may even have it memorized.

I went to, I had the privilege of going to Christian school and the school I was at, it was in King James. So if that breaks out from time to time, I apologize. I'm gonna read it here in the ESV for you though. The Lord is my shepherd.

I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides still waters. He restores my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley, 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 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. Let's just pray one more time. Lord God, we are so thankful for your word that you've given us. We pray today that you would send your spirit to open it up to us, Lord, give us ears to hear and and eyes to even see our good shepherd, Lord.

We ask for your help. And we ask this in the name of Jesus, our good shepherd. Amen. Wasn't that long ago, a few months ago.

I was visiting a a brother in our church, long time deacon, and. He was not doing well. He had had an aneurysm, he'd been in the hospital for several days, several weeks actually, and we didn't know what was gonna happen with him and I took a an evening with my wife and kids, we went over to visit him in the hospital he was in. And as I was just, it was just he and I just sitting there and he was non-responsive.

Though a couple weeks before he had woken a little bit and he had given assurance that he could hear everything. And so with that assurance, I was sitting by his side just reading him scripture. Of course, I was reading the end of Revelation of Christ will come and make all things new. The great hope that Christians have, the great hope that he had laying there with a a broken body.

And right before I left, Psalm 23 came to my mind and I almost dismissed it. that's what everybody reads. And then I thought, why not? Let's read it.

And so I read it and that's really what brought it back into my heart, if you will, brought, brought it back to my mind again, as I was reading it to him there. This psalm Is a balm And it has been read at many bedsides as people have just, just before they've gone to be in the presence of the Lord. There's many ways that we could break this down. In fact, you could do an entire series, multiple week series in Psalm 23, but for the sake of time today, I just wanna look at how the good shepherd provides for his sheep.

And how the good shepherd protects his sheep, and then finally, how the good shepherd dwells with his sheep. So the first thing that we see here in Psalm 23, is that the good shepherd provides for his sheep. verses 1 through 3, we see how Yahweh, the Lord is there for his sheep. And it's very interesting here how the psalmist, how David says the Lord is my shepherd.

This isn't just the Lord is a shepherd, or I hear sometimes he acts like a shepherd. No, he's my shepherd. There's a very personal, personal, intimate relationship here. And the shepherd knows what his sheep needs.

In fact, in the real world, if you've ever had any opportunity to to watch a shepherd with a sheep, you see how very intimately involved they are. They're in the midst of their sheep. They know their needs, they know what they need to eat, they know what they need to drink. They know their tendency to wander.

And that's why they're always keeping an eye out for them. I also know the things that can bring them great harm and so they're looking on the horizon for any wolves or cougars that might be starting starting to sneak in and pounce. So it's no mistake that David would use this metaphor to describe his Lord. As a shepherd himself, he knew what it was to watch over a flock.

But David knew the Lord watched over him. So whether David wrote this actually sitting in the field, some, some think that was the case as a shepherd boy, he wrote this, or perhaps reflecting back upon the time when he was a shepherd. Nevertheless, David wants us to have this very intimate picture. That's interesting, isn't it?

My shepherd. In the Psalms, God is often referred to as inanimate things as the rock or a refuge. Psalm 46, a mighty refuge, a mighty fortress is our God. And that's good, cause we need to know he is he is something strong that we can run to.

He is something solid that we could stand upon. Also, the Psalms talk of him as the king, the mighty king, or the judge who will come and judge, and those are real rules that we need to remember our God is. But here, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, David wants us also to know that he is close to his people, that the Lord provide for them in a very intimate way. He makes us to lie down in green pastures.

He leads us beside still waters, he restores our souls. He leads us in the paths of righteousness. Don't let the imagery escape you. Sometimes we can just read through that and quickly, there's like a flash of a green field and a flash of a trickling brook, and then we move on.

You're supposed to rest in this a little bit. You're supposed to, marinate in this a little bit. I think of Tuolumne Meadows. Have any of you ever been up there about 9000 ft in the, the high country of the Sierras just above Yosemite.

It's in Yosemite National Park. And if you time it just right. the spring up there, it still can have snow, it's so high. And if you go too late in the season, it can be dry, but I was fortunate to be there one time.

When the meadows were green, just lush. And they're all these little creeks just trickling through it. it blew my mind the first time that I, I ever saw it. Just clear streams with little brook trout and rainbow trout and just trickling along with green grasses and wild flowers and then the granite peaks on the, the outside of the, the meadows.

Absolutely beautiful, absolutely tranquil. This is what. The imagery is supposed to be provoked in her mind here. A land so green, skies so blue, white puffy clouds.

As I like to call them vacation clouds. The shepherd provides good things for his flock. He knows what they need. He's not just a pragmatist.

Here's a bowl of tap water. I know you need water. Here's some tap water. No, this is a trickling, clear stream brook before Gerardia was everywhere.

If what that is, you don't wanna ever get it. Like the one hiker over there, oh, stay away from that. It's a parasite in the water, the bacteria. He's not a pragmatist, just like here's some kibble and eat it.

Green pastures, lush pastures. I'm providing for you good things. He's going to give the best, so that you might live for his glory in the best way possible. As the psalmist says, we shall not want, as David writes a little later in his letter, he is generous, so generous that our, our cup overflows.

So what we see in these 1st 3 verses is that the shepherd knows what we need, and he provides it. And notice with me that he isn't just talking about the physical, though I will say the Lord knows our physical needs. Even our good shepherd, Christ, talks about that in Matthew 6, about how the Heavenly Father knows the shelter and the and the food and The clothing that we need, he provides for the birds of the air, the flowers of the field. How much more does he know what you need?

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness. So why does David say we shall not want? We know, brothers and sisters who need. We know brothers and sisters around the world that are suffering.

Even some facing great persecution. How can they say, Amen. Brothers and sisters in the Lord, fellow sheep, amen. Psalm 23, I am not wanting because the Lord is my shepherd.

And that's the key. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. David knew that he was one of God's sheep.

God is all satisfying. So often in scripture, we were reminded of this deep truth, especially from brothers. And sisters who have suffered for the Lord. Think with me for just a moment of Job, a righteous man.

And he suffered physically in ways that none of us could probably relate to. Losing family, losing possessions, losing his very health, and yet he could stand there and say, though he slay me, I will hope in him. The Lord gives, the Lord takes away, but blessed be his name. Think of David.

David loses everything. He's anointed, he's chosen by God to be the king, and he's driven out. Living in caves. Wanting nothing, and yet he could say, the Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

Think of Habakkuk and Habakkuk 3, though the fig tree does not bud and no fruit is on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though the sheep are cut off from the fold and no cattle are in the stalls, yet I will exalt in the Lord. I will rejoice in the God of my salvation. And this continues on into the New Testament. Paul, our brother, is one of the greatest examples of someone who experienced great suffering for the sake of the Lord.

Despite all of the persecution, all the shipwrecks and the stonings and the name calling and the imprisonment, he could say, for me to live is Christ and to die is gain. How is this? How are people who say the Lord is their shepherd, and they will not want. And yet when they have nothing.

They can say like Paul says in Philippians 4, I've learned to be content in all circumstances. In plenty and in want. No matter what, I can do all things through Christ Jesus, who strengthens me. You can see how much more it is than just a little something to write on a sneaker or on a poster at a sporting event.

How is it That all of these people. Can say that it's OK. Because they knew. That if they were in the hands of the Lord, they were in the hands of the shepherd, they were in the best place possible.

They knew the deep satisfaction of having their sins forgiven, of being adopted as children of God. To the point that David could even write in Psalm 16, that in the presence of the Lord is fullness of joy. In your right hand are pleasures forever. You see, the good shepherd does provide for us.

I would say it's a safe bet that every one of us this morning, if we wanted to, unless you were intermittent fasters, had a little something to eat this morning. And you woke up in a bed of some sort in a home that was probably fairly warm, at least not as cold as it has been outside lately. You have air to breathe, you have a job to go to, Lord willing, but even if you didn't. You can testify just like all of these saints we looked at.

That the Lord is your shepherd. And if he's my shepherd, I have nothing to want. God is all satisfying. David is very clear here that because of this, because of our good shepherd knowing and caring for us, that he restores our souls, and he leads us in the paths of righteousness.

Those who are weary, those who are burdened, the good shepherd hearkens to come. Just as Jesus did in Matthew 11. And we can find great comfort knowing that the good shepherd of Psalm 23 is indeed Jesus. What did Jesus declare in John 10.

That he was the good shepherd, the good shepherd who lays his life down for his sheep. The good shepherd who restores our souls. And this doesn't just happen on the moment that we're saved. This is over and over again, coming back to the Lord, coming back and asking for repentance, coming back and asking for restoration.

In in many ways, the sojourner life, the pilgrim life of a Christian. We're like Lawrence of Arabia crossing those great sands of the Arabian Peninsula. If you've ever seen that movie, there's some moments in there where you just have to hit pause and go get a drink of water. It is, it is so dusty and, and hot.

There is a moment though where he had to cross this great expanse. No one had done it, but he's determined he's going to do it. And eventually makes it. this is a great long drawn out scene that only David Lean, the director could do.

It just goes on and on and on. It's just so this is the scene where I hit pause and go get a drink of water. It's so dune after dune after dune, but finally they make it to the oasis and when he and his men find the water and the palm trees, they dive in head first and they're drinking and gulping and laughing and playing. David wants us to know that as we traverse in this spiritually barren land, this fallen world, this dark desert that we live in.

Christ is our oasis. He is constantly leading us towards the still waters and the green pastures of his presence. And so often today, this does show up in gathering together in the Lord's day. This is an oasis, whether you've ever thought about it or not.

This is an oasis. And there is springs of living water gushing forth from the word of God. We gather together and we sing praises. Some of us are singing, Lord, restore my soul.

Lord, help me. I'm feeling dry and barren. But our shepherd hears those cries. He knows what we need.

So as we gather together and, and we worship him and or we find time during the week to be in his word, to pray for one another, even gathering together at the Lord's table to commune with him. These are all means of grace. These are the still waters, these are the green pastures that he gives us. Because he abides in his word.

This is, this is how we know him. Our Good Shepherd has provided for you. So dear saint, drink up. Rest in Christ.

He laid his life down, so he talks about as a shepherd, he laid his life down for wayward lost sheep like you and me. So that he could restore us and lead us in the paths of righteousness. I don't understand why, to be honest, but thankfully, there's a hint in here at the very end of verse 3, why he does this. For his name's sake.

If you ever have a young person, one of your kids, maybe something you're sharing the gospel with, but, but why? Why would God go through all this trouble? To rescue lost sheep like you and me. We could honestly say.

We don't fully know outside of the fact. That it brings God great pleasure to rescue sheep, and as Psalm 23:3 says. It's for his name's sake. He gets to show how strong and mighty he is and how worthy of praise we are.

Now moving on, the second part here, verse 4. I'll say it in the King James that I haven't memorized and yeah though I walk through the valley shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me. Notice here, the pronouns change.

We go from the section where he's talking about the Lord in the third person, still intimate, the Lord is my shepherd. He's very near and dear to me, to all of a sudden he's talking to the Lord, goes to the second person. He leads me, you are with me. It's another step closer in this relationship.

Alec Mortier writes, however black the next stretch of the journey through the valley may seem, verse 4 changes from the he of shepherd leadership to the you of side by side companionship. My shepherd is beside me. Is this not precious? It is so precious to me.

Yes, the Psalms rightly portray God as transcendent. We need to remember that. He is the creator. He is all powerful.

He is eternal, he is immortal. He is unchanging. He is just, and he is holy. That's just a little bit, the some of the big words that we use to describe our God that the Psalms go into.

Think of Psalm 8, that David reflecting, probably reflecting on one of those shepherd knights with no moon, looking out into the great expanse, the Milky Way stretched across the sky, if you've ever had a moment. To do that on a dark summer night. Whether you're away from the city lights, you get a little bit more of what David's talking about there. It's, it's overwhelming cause you sometimes, I don't know, I can't help but I start going 123456.

I can't count them. I can't even keep track of them. And David says in soul mate, when I look at your heavens, the work of your fingers, the moon and the stars which you have set in place, what is man that you were mindful of him, and the Son of man that you care for him. So in our modern world, even in the modern evangelical world, it is good that we keep God in his rightful place.

He is transcendent. He is beyond anything we can comprehend. He is just as prevalent or present here right now in this room, as he is on the backside of the moon. He's just as prevalent right now in here as he is on the furthest star in the most distant part of the universe.

It blows my mind to comprehend this. Dave is overwhelmed to a certain degree in Psalm 8. But here in Psalm 23, he also wants to remind us, not only is he a transcendent God, he is very imminent to his people. That means he is very near to his people.

He is a shepherd who walks with his sheep, and he talks with them, and his sheep hear his voice. And we could trust that he walks with us. When the light is shining, the pastures are green. The brooks are running.

But We also know. That he is with us in the darkest of times, in the driest of times, the deepest of valleys, and yes, even. As death approaches. This is what I shared with my friend that night.

Little did I know just a few hours later, he would go to be with the Lord. I told him, brother, we are praying. That God does an amazing restorative work on your body. I really was.

I'm still convinced that if that was the Lord's will, he could have healed him. He'd be back at RBCR right now working as a deacon, helping run our live stream there right now. But I also told him, brother. If it's the Lord's will that you go home to be with him right now, or in the next few days.

You can Hold on to Psalm 23:4. That he will be with you. The good shepherd can do this because he himself walked through the valley of the shadow of death. He went to the cross.

He went to a very real death, a very physical death. He confronted evil, he confronted our sins. He in fact took our sins upon him. He walked through the valley of death.

And guess what? He did it alone. So that we would never have to face death alone. In fact, just the Psalm before the Psalm 22, David writes prophetically, My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?

How different it is here in Psalm 23. That our God walks with us through that valley and through those dark valleys. I told my dying brother that I look forward to hearing. How the Lord walked with him.

You guys ever think about that? We will all at some point, be in heaven and then one day in the new world that Christ comes back to make all things new. And when we bump into each other, I bet you we will share stories. Stories of how the Lord ministered to us, walked with us in the darkest of times.

Because we have the promise right here in Psalm 23, in Psalm 23. We will not be alone, for he is with us. Are there more precious words in the English language? Why don't we fear death?

Why don't we fear evil? Because Jesus, the good shepherd, is our good shepherd for all of eternity. He doesn't just go to the other side and say, come on. I hope you can make it through there.

I did. You can do it. He walks with us, he's close to us. David says his rod, which is used for whacking enemies, and his staff, which is used for guiding his sheep.

They bring him comfort. Because he has confidence, his good shepherd knows how to protect him. From the evils of the world, from from the evil one himself. From the evil even remaining in our flesh.

Our good shepherd walks with us, cares for us, protects us. Now we come to just the last section here. The good shepherd dwells with his sheep. Let's take a look there in verse 5 and 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. Once again, we see even another level of closeness, another level of intimacy here.

We also see his generosity. As the sheep of God, we are the children of God adopted into the family of God. And now he dwells with us. As members in his church, his children and his family, sheep in his fold.

And ultimately, with him for all of eternity. To be brought into a home, to be given a feast. Shows a sign of loyalty, a sign of fellowship. James Johnson writes, David is promising us a close intimate relationship with the shepherd.

Instead of dumb sheep, Jesus calls us his friends. But this scene when I was younger seemed odd to me. You prepare a table for me in the presence of my enemies. I don't know if you've ever conjured these images in your mind where it seems like all these ghouls and goblins are sitting around.

And we're sitting there going, OK, Lord, I guess we'll eat. This is scary. How could this be a good thing? Well, Derek Kidner, one of the most well-known scholars of the Psalms, he writes this and it was so helpful for me.

Listen to this, it's a little lengthy of a quote, but I'll, I'll try to read it so you can understand it. It is one thing to survive a threat as in verse 4, quite another to turn it into triumph. Every detail here is the key, from the well-set table to the festive oil and brimming cup. The picture may be one of cool assurance under pressure.

A witness to infinite resources in the worst of situations. So that's what my image was like, OK, the Lord's preparing a table. He's blessing us, even in the midst of all these enemies around us, but. Since the enemy is never taken lightly in scripture, it's more probably.

Or probable anticipates a victory celebration where the enemies are present as captives or as or an ascension feast with defeated rivals as reluctant guests. We see this even in the New Testament, it talks about how Christ will triumph over his enemies. And that was at that time also conjuring the image of the Romans when they would conquer their enemies they would bring them in with a great parade, a great feast would be thrown. Christ has overcome evil.

So when he prepares that table for us, we do not fear the evil around us, and Kidner may be right, it may very well be presenting a celebration. Or at least a boasting. For those of us today, still alive in this world where there's evil going on all around us, and yet, brothers and sisters, we are feasting right now on God's word. Isaiah 25 talks about how the, the gospel is like a meal with rich marrow and fine wine.

And we're feasting on that. We are enjoying it. Paul writes to the Colossians in chapter 2, and you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us of all trespasses by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.

He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame by triumphing over them. So those, those ghouls, those goblins. The demonic world has nothing against the sheep of God. Those wolves and cougars that sometimes are very real, very present in our lives.

Our sins were nailed to the cross in Christ. He has made us alive and forgiven us of our sins. Our debt has been canceled. We are in him.

Which is another way of saying he is with us. So verse 4 says, we fear no evil because the Lord is with us now, then surely he can bless us even now. We don't have to wait for the marriage feast of the lamb in the future. No, we can feast on the gospel now.

We can devour this banquet that the Lord gives us every week. Yes, we can enjoy the overflowing abundance of the Lord's table when it's served. And this makes the demonic world angry. Because as Paul reminded the Romans in chapter 8.

Who can separate us from the love of Christ, from our good shepherd? We are more than conquerors through Him who loved us, for I'm sure that neither death nor life, nor angels, no rulers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all of creation will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. What can separate us? Nothing Yes, there is still evil in this world, but Christ has conquered it.

We are more than conquerors in Him, and we do not have to fear it. He shows his might, he proclaims evil, the condemnation of evil. When he prepares a table for us to feast on the gospel. After all, David writes with glee that surely goodness and mercy will follow me.

All the days of my life. That's not just wishful thinking. That is the abundant life that Christ himself spoke of. And when he says follows us, this word in the Hebrew.

Literally means to pursue. So it's not just like a little puppy that happens to follow along as you went on a hike and just bounding here and there. No, this is like a pursuit. The wolf, the lion.

Locking his eyes on the prey. And going after it. That's what David is talking about, goodness, providing for us, physically and spiritually, mercy, steadfast love, providing for us. Just as sure as God will pursue the ungodly and bring them to justice.

He pursues us with goodness and mercy, loving kindness. Let that sink in. Sometimes we'll read those scriptures and we'll think the Lord will bring the unrighteous. To judgment, and that is a sure thing.

But on the other side, the Lord pursues his people with goodness and with mercy. The prosperity gospel takes us way out of line. They claim it's all about the physical, all about the here and now, but it's so much deeper. I hope you see that.

It's so much deeper what David is trying to proclaim to us. David and Paul knew physical suffering. But they knew God provided exactly what they needed each and every day that he ordained for them to live, to glorify Him. Amen.

Sometimes we will just have enough food. I've been there in my life when I was younger. Dad at a couple of different times out of work and, and hearing my mom and dad saying I don't know what we're gonna have for dinner tonight or for breakfast tomorrow. And I can also remember.

A knock at her door Mom and dad opened the door, nobody there, but food on our front porch. That's God. That is God. That is our good shepherd providing for our physical need in that moment.

It wasn't filet mignon, but it filled my belly. And it was, and I remember at that point, the Lord had saved me. And I remember asking, Lord, please don't let me ever forget that. Let me remember your goodness.

Let me remember your mercy. We always have access to an overflowing abundance of steadfast love that is immeasurable. As Paul would tell the Ephesians of Ephesians chapter 3, as he prayed for this precious church. That they would have power to comprehend the length and width and height and depth of the love of Christ, to know this love that surpasses knowledge.

God's love for his people is boundless. Why? For his name's sake. God's love for his people is beyond comprehension.

Why? For his namesake. And we can know that today we can have confidence that today, if we are to go out of this room and somehow we we passed through that valley, the shadow of death, he will be with us. We will not be alone And we can with confidence as one who is trusting in Christ by faith alone, that we will be with the Lord forever.

This is what we say. This is why we say to loved ones that they've gone home to be with the Lord. We are promised to be welcomed in the most intimate of settings, a heavenly home, a place of welcome, of peace, of joy, of goodness and mercy. What hope we have in our good shepherd.

The shepherd provides for us, the shepherd, in fact, we know the shepherd provides for us in the ultimate way that he provided himself. The good shepherd protects us. He's walking with us right now in this dark world. We can take great confidence that he's skilled and abled to deliver us one day before his father.

And we know that our good shepherd dwells with us, both now and forever. A place of feasting, of a glorious gospel banquet is what he provides for us. So one last thought as I finish up here. I know many of you in this room would say you are one of Christ's sheep.

But the Bible often talks about sheep that have gone astray. Isaiah 53, All we like sheep have gone astray. Every single human being born in this world. Is a lost sheep is one of the pictures that the Bible gives us.

Jesus said that his sheep hear his voice, and I wonder if today, Maybe for the first time. You heard his voice. You saw God as a judge, which he is, and he will judge every wayward sheep. Who has transgressed his law, who has flaunted his goodness, his common grace.

He's rightful to do that because he's the king. And you've seen God so big that you're like. But maybe now, maybe you've seen how this Good Shepherd. He provides for his sheep.

In the most precious of ways, he provides himself. Perhaps today you are hearing the Good Shepherd's voice as he calls out. Come to me. Come to me.

In fact, let me just repeat what the good shepherd said in John 10. My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow me. I give them eternal life, and they will never perish, and no one will snatch them out of my hands. If you want the assurance of being one of Christ's sheep, you've heard that call, you sense, you, you, your sin, you're ashamed of your sin.

And yet you're like, But I want him. I need him. Forgiveness is available today. He has sought you out.

That's another one of the great pictures he gives. He leaves the 99 and he goes and looks for that wayward sheep. And he ably rescues him. I would just implore you.

Embrace him. Repent of your sin Invite him into your life as your Lord and your savior, as your good shepherd. And let me just say, find one of the elders here, talk with them, especially young people, the young ones here today. The kids Christ did not.

Keep the children from him. So come to the good shepherd today, Put your hope in him. He is so worthy of your time and your praise. Let's pray.

Lord, we're so grateful for your word, how it reminds us of who you are. Lord, you are mighty, you are big, you are greater than we can comprehend, you are our creator, you are our king. You should be our Lord. And yet You have shown your kindness, your graciousness.

And sending and your son. To be our savior. To be our good shepherd, one of the, the great images of who Christ is, to come and to rescue the lost sheep. Lord, we're so grateful for the good news of the gospel.

Lord, we pray that you would encourage your precious sheep here today with the good news. May give us strength to live today, give us hope to live today for your glory's sake. And Lord, for those who are wayward, who are those lost sheep. Lord, work in their lives, change them, save them, call them.

Bring them into your fold. For your name's sake, we pray this. Amen.