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jmichaelwalls
Nov 16, 2011, 4:48:08 PM11/16/11
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SHEEP
Psalm 23
Part 1
Introduction: This Psalm is called the Shepherd's Psalm. We know David
wrote this Psalm. Recently I have been thinking why young people do not
want the Lord to work in them, through them, and with Him. So as I was
thinking on what animal to study and sheep came to my mind. Why was David
able to write all the Psalms that he did. First I thought about all the
distractions that youth of today face in their lives. They have
cellphones, computers, facebook and so much more. But distractions are
not the reason why young people do not hunger and thirst after God. I
tell people I am not the smartest person in the work but I am not the
dumbest either. I pondered on this for several days. I may have the
answer. Young people are told that they need to always be busy at all
times. When I was growing up in West Virginia we got only two television
stations. I only remember only one radio station that came in clearly. It
was a country western station. We played records for music. We did not
have all the clothes that many people had. Do not feel sorry for me. I do
not. It helped mold me a man who appreciates the things that God has
given me. But this is not about me. It is about our young people. I think
one reason why they don't thirst after the Lord. They don't sit under a
tree or in a chair outside and think of the Lord. Go with me to Psalm
eight.
Psalm 8:3-4
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the
stars, which thou hast ordained;" "What is man, that thou art mindful of
him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"
How could a man write so gracious words like these words? He took the
time away from all other activities and was looking for fellowship with
the Lord. Over and over again we see the beauty flowing from the pen of
David the shepherd boy. The Psalm that I chose for our text is the
probably the greatest piece of literature ever written. I was thinking of
an illustration that read about the 23rd Psalm. There was a banquet in
which many people had attended. Among the people attending was an actor.
They asked him to read the 23rd Psalm. People clapped and cheered. He
read it with great enthusiasm. Then this little old preacher got up and
quoted the same Psalm. When he finished, there was not cheering and
clapping but people crying. Some asked what was the difference between
the two men. Some one answered that the actor knew the Psalm and the
pastor knew the shepherd.
Let's read it aloud together. Let's take our time and allow the words
soak in like our souls like a slow steady rain soaks into the ground that
is dry and needs the rain. I need that in my soul like many of the folks
in this room do need to have this soak into our souls.
Today we begin looking at another animal that we see in the Bible helps
us see some truths about people who are saved and being a pastor. A
shepherd is not a pastor without sheep and sheep can not function proper
without a pastor. So first of all we will see sheep then later we look at
a shepherd and his duties.
I have mentioned on several occasions a good rule for Bible study. The
first time an item, person or event is mentioned in the Bible is the key
to the rest of the Bible. With the exception of the serpent, sheep is the
first animal mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis chapter three we find
that the serpent deceived Eve and Eve talked Adam in eating the fruit.
Let's look at Genesis chapter three. Genesis 3:8
"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the
cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence
of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden."
This verse shows the communion of the Lord with man. The cool of the
evening is the time of day that all the work is done. It is the time to
reflect of the day�s events and in the case of Adam it was the time of
day that he could fellowship or spent time with his Lord.
Genesis 3:9
"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"
This verse shows the calling of the Lord to man. We know that man had
eaten the fruit. Now the Lord called to Adam. I can remember when I came
home from work that I would call for my boys and they would come to me. I
may not have known where they were when I called. But the Lord when the
Lord called, He knew where they were. He was not calling for information
but confession. Genesis 3:10-13
"And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because
I was naked; and I hid myself." "And he said, Who told thee that thou
wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that
thou shouldest not eat?" "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to
be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." "And the LORD God
said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman
said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."
These verses show untrue confession to the Lord. This confession was
really Adam blaming the Lord for giving him a wife. Eve blamed the
serpent.
True confession of sin is calling sin by its name and asking for
forgiveness.
1st John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Genesis 3:14-19
"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field;
upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy
life:" "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel." "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and
thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." "And unto Adam he
said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat
of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life;" "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth
to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field" "In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of
it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
This is the condemnation of all creation. Everyone and everything was
plunged into sin and with sin comes condemnation.
These thoughts brought me to my point. God made man and woman a coat.
Most of the time you can make clothes very quick from sheepskin. In
chapter four, we find that Abel was a keeper of the sheep. Genesis 4:2
"And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but
Cain was a tiller of the ground."
This is the first mention of sheep in the Bible. The second occupation of
the Bible was shepherd. The first is a gardener. The word "sheep" is
found in the Bible one hundred and seventy-nine times. There are so much
truths of sheep that relates to us. Saved people are referred as sheep of
His pasture. Psalm 100:3
"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we
ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."
Conclusion: Today I want to give you four quick thoughts in regards to
sheep and we will look at them next time in more detail.
They are as follows. Sheep are social � People are Social beings. Sheep
are scared � People are scared about many things. Sheep are simple �
People are simple in many aspects. Sheep are searchers � People are
searching many times to their own ruin. They are searching for answers.
It may be that they are searching for awards or recognition. It may be
searching for assets or possessions. Or they may be searching for
adventure or pleasure.
Psalm 23
Part 1
Introduction: This Psalm is called the Shepherd's Psalm. We know David
wrote this Psalm. Recently I have been thinking why young people do not
want the Lord to work in them, through them, and with Him. So as I was
thinking on what animal to study and sheep came to my mind. Why was David
able to write all the Psalms that he did. First I thought about all the
distractions that youth of today face in their lives. They have
cellphones, computers, facebook and so much more. But distractions are
not the reason why young people do not hunger and thirst after God. I
tell people I am not the smartest person in the work but I am not the
dumbest either. I pondered on this for several days. I may have the
answer. Young people are told that they need to always be busy at all
times. When I was growing up in West Virginia we got only two television
stations. I only remember only one radio station that came in clearly. It
was a country western station. We played records for music. We did not
have all the clothes that many people had. Do not feel sorry for me. I do
not. It helped mold me a man who appreciates the things that God has
given me. But this is not about me. It is about our young people. I think
one reason why they don't thirst after the Lord. They don't sit under a
tree or in a chair outside and think of the Lord. Go with me to Psalm
eight.
Psalm 8:3-4
"When I consider thy heavens, the work of thy fingers, the moon and the
stars, which thou hast ordained;" "What is man, that thou art mindful of
him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?"
How could a man write so gracious words like these words? He took the
time away from all other activities and was looking for fellowship with
the Lord. Over and over again we see the beauty flowing from the pen of
David the shepherd boy. The Psalm that I chose for our text is the
probably the greatest piece of literature ever written. I was thinking of
an illustration that read about the 23rd Psalm. There was a banquet in
which many people had attended. Among the people attending was an actor.
They asked him to read the 23rd Psalm. People clapped and cheered. He
read it with great enthusiasm. Then this little old preacher got up and
quoted the same Psalm. When he finished, there was not cheering and
clapping but people crying. Some asked what was the difference between
the two men. Some one answered that the actor knew the Psalm and the
pastor knew the shepherd.
Let's read it aloud together. Let's take our time and allow the words
soak in like our souls like a slow steady rain soaks into the ground that
is dry and needs the rain. I need that in my soul like many of the folks
in this room do need to have this soak into our souls.
Today we begin looking at another animal that we see in the Bible helps
us see some truths about people who are saved and being a pastor. A
shepherd is not a pastor without sheep and sheep can not function proper
without a pastor. So first of all we will see sheep then later we look at
a shepherd and his duties.
I have mentioned on several occasions a good rule for Bible study. The
first time an item, person or event is mentioned in the Bible is the key
to the rest of the Bible. With the exception of the serpent, sheep is the
first animal mentioned in the Bible. In Genesis chapter three we find
that the serpent deceived Eve and Eve talked Adam in eating the fruit.
Let's look at Genesis chapter three. Genesis 3:8
"And they heard the voice of the LORD God walking in the garden in the
cool of the day: and Adam and his wife hid themselves from the presence
of the LORD God amongst the trees of the garden."
This verse shows the communion of the Lord with man. The cool of the
evening is the time of day that all the work is done. It is the time to
reflect of the day�s events and in the case of Adam it was the time of
day that he could fellowship or spent time with his Lord.
Genesis 3:9
"And the LORD God called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou?"
This verse shows the calling of the Lord to man. We know that man had
eaten the fruit. Now the Lord called to Adam. I can remember when I came
home from work that I would call for my boys and they would come to me. I
may not have known where they were when I called. But the Lord when the
Lord called, He knew where they were. He was not calling for information
but confession. Genesis 3:10-13
"And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because
I was naked; and I hid myself." "And he said, Who told thee that thou
wast naked? Hast thou eaten of the tree, whereof I commanded thee that
thou shouldest not eat?" "And the man said, The woman whom thou gavest to
be with me, she gave me of the tree, and I did eat." "And the LORD God
said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman
said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."
These verses show untrue confession to the Lord. This confession was
really Adam blaming the Lord for giving him a wife. Eve blamed the
serpent.
True confession of sin is calling sin by its name and asking for
forgiveness.
1st John 1:9
"If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just to forgive us our sins,
and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness."
Genesis 3:14-19
"And the LORD God said unto the serpent, Because thou hast done this,
thou art cursed above all cattle, and above every beast of the field;
upon thy belly shalt thou go, and dust shalt thou eat all the days of thy
life:" "And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy
seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his
heel." "Unto the woman he said, I will greatly multiply thy sorrow and
thy conception; in sorrow thou shalt bring forth children; and thy desire
shall be to thy husband, and he shall rule over thee." "And unto Adam he
said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast
eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat
of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it
all the days of thy life;" "Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth
to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field" "In the sweat of thy
face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of
it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return."
This is the condemnation of all creation. Everyone and everything was
plunged into sin and with sin comes condemnation.
These thoughts brought me to my point. God made man and woman a coat.
Most of the time you can make clothes very quick from sheepskin. In
chapter four, we find that Abel was a keeper of the sheep. Genesis 4:2
"And she again bare his brother Abel. And Abel was a keeper of sheep, but
Cain was a tiller of the ground."
This is the first mention of sheep in the Bible. The second occupation of
the Bible was shepherd. The first is a gardener. The word "sheep" is
found in the Bible one hundred and seventy-nine times. There are so much
truths of sheep that relates to us. Saved people are referred as sheep of
His pasture. Psalm 100:3
"Know ye that the LORD he is God: it is he that hath made us, and not we
ourselves; we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture."
Conclusion: Today I want to give you four quick thoughts in regards to
sheep and we will look at them next time in more detail.
They are as follows. Sheep are social � People are Social beings. Sheep
are scared � People are scared about many things. Sheep are simple �
People are simple in many aspects. Sheep are searchers � People are
searching many times to their own ruin. They are searching for answers.
It may be that they are searching for awards or recognition. It may be
searching for assets or possessions. Or they may be searching for
adventure or pleasure.
Pastor Mike Walls
Freedom Baptist Church Smithfield, NC
http://freedombaptistchurchnc.wordpress.com/
http://iglesiabautistalibertad.wordpress.com/
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