The
Lord is My Shepherd
Psalm
23
John
10:11-18
1
John 3:16-24
Mt.
Heights Healthcare
Raymond
A. Foss
April
24, 2015
Let us
be in the Spirit of prayer…
We gather in the fields, we come together, to
worship, into this space made holy because we are gathering in His name.
We gather in this place where we have been
planted, this good earth. We are the sheep of God’s pasture, the children of
His flock.
Lord we ask for Your presence to be thick with
us as we enter into this time of worship. We pray that You would speak to us a
message for our hearts and a message for us to share with the world. Be with us
now Lord, our Good Shepherd as we seek to share You. Amen.
The Lord is My Shepherd
This week’s scripture readings include some of
the most hopeful, the most comforting words of the Bible, and they include
powerful words of identity, of naming the Christ.
They include the words of David in the 23rd
Psalm, describing the Lord as our shepherd, the words of the Gospel of John in
John 10 where Christ names himself as the Good Shepherd (there is no ambiguity,
no question of who He is), and this week’s readings include the other John
3:16, in 1 John 3, where God again assures us of His great love for us and
Christ’s faithfulness, even to the cross.
These all speak to relationship, to
protection, to our being held by the Creator, the Savior, the Spirit of God,
lovingly, better than the best parent that ever lived upon this earth.
We
begin with the song of David, the 23rd Psalm, and I will be reading
from the King James Version. Please join me in reading the Psalm if you would
like.
Psalm
23 King James Version (KJV)
1.
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
want.
2.
He maketh me to lie down
in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters.
3.
He restoreth my soul: he
leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake.
4.
Yea, though I walk through
the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me;
thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.
5.
Thou preparest a table
before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my
cup runneth over.
6.
Surely goodness and mercy
shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of
the Lord for ever.
There are such powerful words of assurance
within each verse of this blessed scripture, this song of David, for all God’s
people.
In verse 1, we are assured that we will have
everything we need. We can be at peace because God provides; we don’t have to
feel we need to earn our way; we have abundance even in the storms because of
our faith in God.
everything I need
I know not want
I have an
abundance
everything I need
in this life
I can be at peace
satisfied within
my spirit
God supplies
everything I
need.
In verse 2, we are told God lets us rest, that
God leads us to places of peace within the storm. God have mercy upon us; God
understands our struggles; God leads us by still waters in the storms of life;
God gives us Sabbath rest.
God lets me rest
God shows me
mercy
God lets me rest
beside lakes and
ponds
by these still
waters
days of Sabbath
rest
God lets me rest
from work, from
struggle
God leads me
there
to still waters.
In verse 3, we acknowledge that it is God who
gives us new strength. After our times of rest, we are rejuvenated; we are
lifted for the journey; God lifts us up to walk the straight and narrow way, so
that we are good examples of His disciples; we then may be sheep walking in
single file on the path God has for us.
God gives me new
strength
God gives me new
strength
after moments of
rest
to face the
challenges
the trials of
this life
God leads in the
way
of love, of
righteousness
when I claim His
name
for His name’s
sake.
In verse 4, we proclaim that we will not be
afraid because God is with us; God’s rod and staff comfort us, as the Good
Shepherd. We are not saying that there is nothing to fear out there, for David
the shepherd and king knows well that there are dangers. Other scriptures talk about
him fighting lions and wolves watching over his father’s flocks. No, we are
saying we will not be fearful in spite of that because God protects us on the
journey.
I will not be
afraid
I will not be
afraid
not matter what
comes
God will protect
me
by His right hand
I will not be
afraid
in the darkness
God’s light
guides me
on the journey.
In verse 5, we go even deeper, we hear of the
victory that David claims, that each of us may claim, if we walk righteously.
God provides for us as we read in verse 1; but, more than that, we feast at a
banquet within sight of those who would seek to do us harm, our enemies. We can
have victory in this life, not just in the life to come, if we are faithful to
God. God will provide.
you chasten my
enemies
You chasten my
enemies
by how You
provide
food and drink
mocking their
cries
You prepare a
banquet
right in front of
them
I am fed,
anointed
I have nothing to
dread.
Oh, and in verse 6, we have the joy of God’s
presence, of God’s love walking with us, of being present with us on the
journey. God’s Spirit walks with us, following us, more than this but as a dog
faithfully follows His master. Goodness and Mercy are like our shadows, walking
with us.
love will be with
me
Love, Your
Presence,
Your Spirit
abiding
Love will be with
me
upon this journey
Goodness will
walk
with me, beside
me
Love will be with
me
all of my days.
But, in that reading from the King James
Version, and in many other versions, we miss one of the richly understanding of
verse 6, and the whole Psalm.
You see there are other translations that I
learned about in 2004 in bible study. Goodness and Mercy in those translations of
the ancient texts do not merely follow us, like a sheep behind a shepherd, or
even like the disciples who followed Christ.
No, Goodness and Mercy actively pursue us,
wooing us back to God, calling to us from our wilderness places. Maybe in
whispers, in people who God puts into our lives, in the trials and tribulations
we all go through. I would like to share
a poem I updated this afternoon about that reading of verse 6.
Pursued, not merely Followed – v5
What an idea, a gift, a different way of
seeing the familiar, the hopeful
this treasured scripture, God’s Word handed
down to us;
The beautiful Psalm of David, this
song of the ancient people,
filled already with comfort, but
seeing the words, a deeper meaning,
more than we imagined, in the action
of God.
Our pastor told us that in some
translations the words have even more power
that Goodness and Mercy, do not
“follow” us, we are not “followed” but “pursued”, that these were living
beings, Goodness and Mercy
proper names of the movement of God, that
Goodness and Mercy would pursue us
all the days of our lives, eternally; That
the God of creation, our Maker, our Lord
that He would sustain us, providing, that
He would send out these agents of love,
Goodness and Mercy, a mighty presence,
angels of better days, of His love, for us.
Richer meaning in the subtle difference,
from “followed” to “pursued”, that we are
sought after, wooed by God, that God was
not just the waiting Father for the
Prodigal to come home; this is like
the difference of being “Disciples”, not
just “Followers” of the Risen Christ, all the difference in the world in simple
words
in the Living Word, this love letter
of God.
In John 10:11-18, Christ
removes all ambiguity. He makes it plain that He is the Good Shepherd described
in the Psalms. He distinguishes himself from the leaders of the people. They
are the hired hands who leave at the first sign of trouble. They do not really
protect the sheep.
John
10:11-18 New
International Version - UK (NIVUK)
11 ‘I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for
the sheep. 12 The
hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the
wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the
flock and scatters it. 13 The
man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.
14 ‘I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know
me – 15 just
as the Father knows me and I know the Father – and I lay down my life for
the sheep. 16 I
have other sheep that are not of this sheepfold. I must bring them also. They
too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. 17 The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life –
only to take it up again. 18 No
one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to
lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my
Father.’
Christ is not like the hired hands. He is the Good
Shepherd. He stands in the breach, in the gate, watching over the sheep as
David had. He loves the sheep and is willing to lay down His own life. He
protects the sheep in this life, all of His sheep, from every flock, those in
the original chosen people and all those who believe, to the end of time.
Christ is the
Good Shepherd loving the sheep.
We see
sacrificial love
of the Good
Shepherd
He is ready to
die
to protect each
sheep;
Self-sacrifice is
His free choice
the choice of
submission
knowing the
weakness of all of us
of each of the
sheep.
Love for the
sheep
is deep, abiding
wanting what is
best
for each and
every sheep;
Love for the
sheep
without limit,
the Servant,
willing to
sacrifice, to die
for even one lost
sheep.
He is
faithful; He chooses, within His free will, to submit His life for the sheep,
to give into the will of God.
In
John 3:16-24, the example of Christ becomes our calling. We are to lay down our
lives, our treasure, the things we have in abundance for all who are in need.
We are to love as Christ loved us, sacrificially, without limit.
1
John 3:16-24New
International Version - UK (NIVUK)
16 This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life
for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. 17 If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in
need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? 18 Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with
actions and in truth.
19 This is how we know that we belong to the truth and how we set our
hearts at rest in his presence: 20 if
our hearts condemn us, we know that God is greater than our hearts, and he
knows everything. 21 Dear
friends, if our hearts do not condemn us, we have confidence before God 22 and receive from him anything we ask, because we keep his commands
and do what pleases him. 23 And
this is his command: to believe in the name of his Son, Jesus Christ, and to
love one another as he commanded us. 24 The one who keeps God’s commands lives in him, and he in them. And
this is how we know that he lives in us: we know it by the Spirit he gave us.
This verse becomes our prayer, that our lives would not
be just words, that we would live out the commands of God. That we would act on
our beliefs, that our lives would become a sermon of love.
Let us pray.
Oh Lord, May our
walk, our lives
be witness, a testimony
May every word,
every action
be a sermon of
Love
May our living,
our choices
be sure,
righteous.
May every
sentence, every thought
be a profession
of faith
Heal us Lord
where we are
broken
Change us Lord
where we need
mending
so that every
word, every action
may be pleasing
to You,
a sermon of Love
for all people.
Amen
=====
Psalm 23:1-6
John 10:11-18
1 John 3:16-24
sermon, “The Lord is My Shepherd”
worship
led by Raymond A. Foss
Stetson Memorial United Methodist Church
Fourth Friday of the month service at Mt. Heights Health Care
Facility
April
24, 2015
&
April
24, 2015
faithful
to the command of God
John
10:15b-18
devotion
for April 26, 2015
read April
24, 2015
&
edited
April 24, 2015
loving
the sheep – v2
edited/
merged April 24, 2015
loving
the sheep
April
24, 2015
love
for the sheep
April
24, 2015
a
good shepherd
John
10:11-15a
John
10:11-18
devotion
for April 25, 2015
read April
24, 2015
&
edited
April 24, 2015
a
sermon of love – v2
April
24, 2015
a
sermon of love
1
John 3:21-24
devotion
for April 24, 2015
read April
24, 2015
&
April
24, 2015
share
love
1
John 3:16-24
devotion
for April 23, 2015
read April
24, 2015
&
merged/edited
April 24, 2015
everything
I need – v2
April
24, 2015
love
will be with me
Psalm
23:6
April
24, 2015
you
chasten my enemies
Psalm
23:5
April
24, 2015
I
will not be afraid
Psalm
23:4
April
24, 2015
God
gives me new strength
Psalm
23:3
April
24, 2015
God
lets me rest
Psalm
23:2
April
24, 2015
Everything
I need
Psalm
23:1
April
24, 2015
a
journey of blessing
Psalm
23
Psalm
23:1-6
devotion
for April 22, 2015
devotion
for April 22, 2015
read April
24, 2015
&
“Knowing the Shepherd’s Love”
Acts
4:5-12
Psalm
23
1
John 3:16-24
John
10:11-18
for
April 20, 2015 to April 26, 2015
by Eradio
Valverde, Jr.
(formerly)
District Superintendent
Southwest
Texas District
United
Methodist Church
Upper
Room Disciplines for 2015
&
edited
April 24, 2015
Pursued,
not merely Followed – v5
(editing
version 4)
edited
April 23, 2015
Pursued,
not merely Followed – v4
(editing
version 3)
edited
January 29, 2015
Pursued,
not merely Followed – v3
(merging
edits to version 1 and version 2)
edited
July 25, 2012
“Pursued,
not merely Followed – v2”
November
29, 2006 8:28
“Pursued,
not merely Followed”
Psalm
23:6
All
of my poems are copyrighted by Raymond A. Foss, 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2004,
2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012, 2013, 2014, 2015. All rights
reserved. Contact me at Ray Foss for usage.
See all 37,250+ of my poems at www.raymondafoss.blogspot.com
Poetry Where You Live.
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