16 Jan Be Bold | Part 1 “The Lord is My Shepherd” – All Locations
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Key Verse: Psalm 23
We have copies of “A Shepherds Look at Psalm 23” at all locations for purchase (with the exception of Apollo Beach currently). Pastor Tim is encouraging everyone to read this book. Some leaders may already have a copy as we read this a few years back.
It is time to get our confidence back. Enough of the news that instills fear, anxiety and stress. Enough of God’s people listening to the devil’s people and living according to what they think is true.
We need to get back to our Shepherd. Many read Psalm 23 at funerals, but this Psalm is about abundant life, not death.
The Lord Is My Shepherd. The Lord is our Shepherd. When we freak out over things that go wrong – ‘The Lord is my Shepherd.’ Let 2022 be the year we get our boldness back! This Psalm is for Christians to be confident knowing He is watching over us. He knows us and will never stop watching over us. He knows our faults, failures, and he knows how great we can be. He is never going to stop being our Shepherd.
Q. What circumstance do you need to say to right now “The Lord is My Shepherd”?
SERIES THEME:
My CONFIDENCE does not come from BELIEVING in MYSELF but by BELIEVING MYSELF to be HIS.
The world’s mantra is to trust in ourselves. We are weak in ourselves but in Jesus we can bet strong. Psalm 23 was written by a shepherd – king David. God chose a shepherd boy who had a heart for Him. His own father did not believe in him, his brothers did not believe in him (reference the story of David and Goliath in 1 Samuel 17) but God chose him. David’s life pointed to our True Shepherd who has given us victory over our enemy and because He won, we can be bold. When we know the Lord is our Shepherd, we can be bold.
Getting my confidence back:
1. IDENTIFY my SHEEPISHNESS.
Psalm 23:1 (ESV); Psalm 100:3 (ESV)
The bible refers to us as sheep, not lions, oxen nor giraffes etc. Today our culture’s system is geared for fear. This world is not our home, our Redeemer lives!
“It is not generally known that sheep are so timid and easily panicked that even a stray jackrabbit suddenly bounding from behind a bush can stampede a whole flock. *When one startled sheep runs in fright, a dozen others will bolt with it in blind fear, not waiting to see what frightened them.” – Philip Keller
Q. In what have you feared, not having any basis for your fear, but only because others have feared?
We cannot allow fear to dictate and push us away form God’s plan. He wants fear out of our lives. He wants to remove it from our lives.
2 Timothy 1:7 (ESV)
*** The last two years did NOT produce fear. They only REVEALED our PROPENSITY to FEAR. ***
It showed us just how crazy we can get over the smallest little thing,
God is AGAINST BAD Shepherds
Shepherds have one role, to protect the sheep, making sure they are fed and making sure they don’t have fear.
Ezekiel 34:10 (ESV); Isaiah 40:11 (ESV); John 10:11 (ESV)
God does not let his sheep get eaten up by bad shepherds. We need to watch out so that we don’t put faith in civic leaders but our Spiritual leader Jesus Christ. Countless times in the Bible
God corrects the leaders. Jesus warned his Church about wolves (false teachers) more than anything (reference Matthew 23). God hates bad shepherding. God holds shepherds (teachers, preachers) accountable. God will hold accountable bosses, men leading their families, etc.
Q. Who might you have trusted to lead you that was not a good shepherd and why?
Getting my confidence back:
2. EMBRACE God’s SHEPHERDING.
We need the Lord to shepherd us. This is the number one solution to get people not to fall into fear over and over again. We need to be in the presence of someone who is calm when our lives are falling apart.
Psalm 23:1 (ESV)
The LORD in caps here is the covenantal name of God – Yahweh. It comes form the Hebrew root ‘to be.’ He is saying ‘I AM.’ ‘I AM the existing One. He is all we need or ever needed. He has no beginning, He has no end. He depends on no one. He never grows tired, nor weary. He is unchanging and He is and always will be and when we are near Him, we can be confident. We don’t need a program, we need a Person.
Psalm 90:2 (ESV); Psalm 40:6 (NIV)
Our witness right now should be that we are calm and confident. God took possession of us, He owns us. We are His. We are either His or the Devil’s , there is no in between. The Devil will lie us into the grave as he is the father of lies.
Revelation 14:1
We have the name of Jesus on our forehead!
John 10:27
His sheep love to hear his words. If we are His we want to hear the Shepherd when the Shepherd speaks.
Q. How are you remaining calm and confident in today’s culture?
Getting my confidence back:
3. RECEIVING what God has PROVIDED
What does God provide?
Psalm 23:2 (ESV)
Sometimes God has to make us relax. We naturally get scared. Sheep normally don’t lie down unless:
Sheep normally dont normally lid down unless:
A: My Shepherd MAKES me REST.
Four things the Shepherd gives:
1. Freedom from FEAR
2. Removal of FRICTION (a sheep won’t lay down if he has friction between itself and another sheep)
3. Removal of FLIES (flies get in their ears)
4. FEEDING
Jesus wants to do this for us. He wants to remove our fears, remove friction between us and other sheep (we don’t have to be friends with other sheep that cause friction).
Don’t go to your neighbors house too much or he may hate you (Proverbs 25:17). Get away from people and get alone with our Shepherd.
Q. What are some ways you find rest in Jesus?
B: My Shepherd REFRESHES me.
Psalm 23:2b (ESV)
Water keeps us alive but it can kills us too. Too much we would drown, or we can die by drinking bad water. His water gives us life!
Matthew 5:6 (ESV); John 4:10 (ESV)
Concluding thought:
The world is struggling with the question: Who am I?
But the REAL question is “WHOSE am I?”
”The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
Challenge: memorize Psalm 23 and read “A Shepherds Look at Psalm 23” (even if you had read it in the past, it is worth another read).
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