In Jason Dohm's sermon on Psalm 23, the central theme is the declaration 'The Lord is my shepherd,' which is portrayed as the rightful claim of every believer. Dohm connects Psalm 23 to the preceding Psalm 22, highlighting the messianic prophecies that find fulfillment in Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd. The sermon emphasizes that the care and guidance depicted in Psalm 23 are purchased by the blood of Jesus and are exclusive to those covered by His sacrifice. Throughout the sermon, Dohm draws on biblical references, including John 10 and Ezekiel 34, to describe Jesus as the shepherd who knows His sheep personally, provides for them, and leads them through both peaceful and challenging times. The sermon stresses that believers, even in the face of trials, can trust in God's abundant provision and protection, symbolized by the imagery of a prepared table amidst enemies. Dohm concludes with two applications: urging listeners not to rest until Jesus is their shepherd and to trust in His guidance once He is.

All right, our sermon passage for today is from Psalm 23, beginning in verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters.

He restores my soul. He leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Ye 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 you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies you anoint my head with oil my cup runs over Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Let's pray. Oh, wonderful, faithful shepherd, we just want to thank you and praise you for another Sabbath day to be able to come together to hear your word preached to sing praises to your name to pray to partake in the Lord's table just all these means of grace that you have given us, Lord God. That you've given people such as us that are just so unworthy, Lord God, that you've, but you have changed us, brought us into your family, Lord God, and you lead us like a good shepherd.

Oh Lord God, with this passage being just so familiar, Lord God, just help the familiarity of it to not get in the way of just our souls being fed and nourished by it. Help us to just see what a wonderful shepherd you are to your people And may we be encouraged and strengthened in our walk with you And Lord God those of you those in this room that do not know you Lord God made this passage May you use this passage to turn hearts towards you, to change them, if it be your will. That eyes would be open today and they would just see what a great shepherd and they would run towards you, the shepherd. That they would repent of their sins and put their faith in you the one true living God. Oh Lord, God bless this time.

Bless Jason as he preaches. Give him words to speak. Give us ears to hear and to understand your word. Your son's going to pray. Amen.

The title of the sermon this morning is The Lord is My Shepherd. No creativity wasted there. It's the first line of the psalm, but it's also a rightful declaration of every believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. I really want to begin with the punch line. I'm going to spend all my energies trying to convince you of that.

This phrase, the Lord is my shepherd, is the birthright of every believer. It is the rightful declaration of anyone who has put their hope in Christ. And then all the good that it means. Do you know the good that it means that the Lord is the shepherd of those who trust in Christ? Now before we look at Psalm 23, I want to turn back one page to Psalm 22, also Psalm of David.

And I want to read a few select sections of the Psalm that precedes our Psalm. Psalm 22 verse 1, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from helping me and from the words of my groaning? Verses 7 and 8, All those who see me ridicule me. They shoot out the lip, they shake the head saying, He trusted in the Lord, let him rescue him.

Let him deliver him since he delights in him. These are the exact words that came out of the mouth of the mockers at the cross, both the Jewish leaders and passerbys. The words from verse 1, my God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Those were on the lips of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. Verses 14 through 18, I'm poured out like water and all my bones are out of joint.

My heart is like wax. It is melted within me. My strength is dried up like a potsherd. My tongue clings to my jaws. You have brought me to the dust of death.

For dogs have surrounded me, the congregation of the wicked has encircled me. They pierced my hands and my feet. I can count all my bones. They look and stare at me. They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots." Time after time after time the Gospels declare Psalm 22, this Psalm of David, to be a prophecy about the dying Savior.

Messianic prophecy fulfilled at the cross. So accordingly, here's what Charles Spurgeon says about Psalm 23. The position of this psalm is worthy of notice. It follows the 22nd, which is peculiarly the psalm of the cross. There are no green pastures, No still waters on the other side of the 22nd Psalm.

It is only after we have read, My God, My God, why have you forsaken me? That we come to, the Lord is my shepherd. We must by experience know the value of the bloodshedding and see the sword awakened against the shepherd before we shall be able truly to know the sweetness to know the sweetness of the good shepherd's care. Yes, the 23rd Psalm is very familiar. Yes, it is as precious as it gets.

But it was purchased. The truths of the 23rd Psalm were purchased by blood, the blood of Jesus Christ on the cross. It is a psalm for His people, only for blood-bought people. Don't you dare say this Psalm is for me unless His blood covers you. It is not.

But if His blood covers you, every word of it is yours. It is your birthright to declare, the Lord is my shepherd. I feel like we've already started, but let's pray and ask the Lord to help. God, we've been in riches, piled up riches recently. It's hard to think of them as any more precious than what stands before us in these six verses of Psalm 23.

How sweet a thought that you have undertaken the care of your people. That You'll relinquish it to no other one. You take it up yourself and fulfill it in every detail. I pray that our hearts would be so refreshed, so encouraged. Psalm 23 today, I pray in Jesus' name, Amen.

So we are going to subdivide today in verses 1 through 4, David pictures God as the shepherd. So we'll start and look at 1-4 together. And then in verses 5 and 6, David pictures God as the host, or the caretaker of everyone who comes under his roof. And so let's begin with 1-4, follow along as I reread Psalm 23 verses 1 through 4. A Psalm of David.

David says, The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside the still waters. He restores my soul.

He leads me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake. Yea, 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." Here David sets forth the God of Israel as a shepherd, as the shepherd. Verse 1 really frames the whole Psalm, but certainly 1-4, the Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. Friends, please drink in the certainty of this declaration.

It is a proclamation that the Lord is something. The Lord is the shepherd of the psalmist. The psalmist knows exactly who God is and the psalmist knows exactly who this God is in relation to Himself. God is the Lord. Capital L, capital O, capital R, capital D.

When you see that it means Yahweh, the most holy name of God, or Jehovah, the transliteration. This is the self existing God of Exodus chapter 3. I talked about this a couple of weeks ago and I've talked about it many times. It's the God of the burning bush. Who should I say sent me, says Moses, to the God of the burning bush.

Who should I say sent me? Says Moses to the God of the burning bush. Tell them I am. I exist. All existence is rooted in me.

Things only exist because I am that's who sent you. The self existing God. He needs no one. He doesn't eat to gain strength. He doesn't sleep to get rest.

He exists. He is. Now the psalmist declares that this great God is his shepherd. Not a God, but the one true self-existent God of scripture. Not a shepherd of some flock somewhere, but my shepherd.

I am his property. I belong to him. His flock is his. I'm part of his flock. He has undertaken my care because I am his property.

But that means that only the people of God have a right to claim that. Only the people of God have a right to claim that. Only the people of God have a right to lay claim to that. Listen to John chapter 10. In John chapter 10, this is the Good Shepherd passage.

Jesus is laying claim to Psalm 23 and saying, to Psalm 23 and saying, what David said of God in Psalm 23, he actually was saying of me. I am God the Good Shepherd. I am the self-existent, perfectly holy God who shepherds His people, who owns the people and undertakes their care. Listen to John 10. Verse 3.

The sheep hear the shepherd's voice, and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. Verse 11, I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. I bought those sheep with my own life.

Verse 14, I am the good shepherd and I know my sheep and am known by my own. How sweet. This is not impersonal in any way it is eminently personal if If you have a right to lay claim to this it's because Jesus came and got you It's because Jesus bought you with His life. He shed His blood for you to bring you into His flock. He called you by name.

He caused you to hear His voice and to follow Him. Now who is making the claim that the Lord is his shepherd? David the shepherd. You understand this is a psalm calling God his shepherd written by a shepherd. Listen to these Old Testament verses.

Psalm 78 verses 70 and 71. He also chose David his servant and took him from the sheepfolds. From following the use that had young, he brought him to shepherd Jacob his people, and Israel his inheritance. God wanted to put over his people a shepherd. Someone who knew about possessing a flock and so undertaking their care.

He took him from the sheepfolds, from following ewes who had babies and caring for them. Or 1 Samuel 17 verses 34 and 35. 1 Samuel 17 is right before David goes into battle against Goliath. He's convincing Saul to let him do it. 1 Samuel 17 verses 34 and 35.

But David said to Saul, I your servant used to keep his father's sheep. And when a lion or a bear came and took a lamb out of the flock, I went out after it and struck it and delivered the lamb from its mouth. And when it arose against me, I caught it by its beard and struck and killed it." David had instances where a lion came and took a lamb and he wasn't a hireling, it was his flock and so he went after the bear and he struck it and killed it. He took it by the beard when it rose up against him And he struck it and killed it. He took it by the beard when it rose up against him, and he struck it and killed it to rescue that lamb.

That's what David thinks a shepherd is. That's what the psalmist of Psalm 23 thinks a shepherd is and what a shepherd does. Verse 1 finishes with this phrase, We're back in Psalm 23, verse 1 finishes with this phrase, I shall not want. I shall not lack anything that I truly need. When the God of Scripture is your shepherd, when the God of Scripture has undertaken your care because He made you His property, you will not lack anything that you truly need.

You will not lack anything that you truly need. The Apostle Paul says it this way in Philippians 4 19. Philippians 4 19, and my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. There are inexhaustible riches that belong to Christ and He will supply all your need out of His inexhaustible riches. It is impossible that you can have a need that He cannot supply out of His inexhaustible riches.

I shall not want, I'll not lack anything that I truly need." This shepherd makes his sheep to lie down in green pastures. Everything else in verses 2 through 4 fills out and explains that phrase, I shall not want. So, David, fill it out for us, okay? This shepherd makes his sheep to lie down in green pastures. Friends, take in this picture of rest and abundance.

Made to lie down in green pastures. Rest, lying down, and abundance. Green pastures. Sheep are naturally skittish animals. They have a nervous disposition and can only lie down when they're confident they're safe.

If you don't have a sheep convinced that it's safe, it's not lying down. God's sheep are made to lie down in green pastures. They're convinced. My shepherd is on the watch and I can lie down in the abundance. I can rest and Partake of the abundance.

Listen to Jesus in John 10 verse 10. John 10 verse 10. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. Green pastures. The shepherd's on duty so you can lie down and enjoy the abundance.

What else David? This shepherd leads his sheep beside quiet waters. Again, sheep are naturally skittish animals. They have a nervous disposition and despise fast flowing water. These sheep can satisfy their thirst with confidence at their leisure.

Their shepherd has brought them beside still waters. He knows their dispositions. He knows their skittish animals. They have this nervous disposition that makes them despise fast-flowing waters. He hasn't brought them to fast-flowing waters.

He's brought them to quiet waters where they can satisfy their thirst with confidence at their leisure. What else David? This shepherd restores the souls of his sheep. Of course David wasn't just a shepherd. David was also a warrior.

David was also a king. David was also a great sinner. And he knew by experience that this shepherd can restore the soul of the shepherd, of a warrior, in battle, of a king, with the weight of a nation on his shoulders, and of a great sinner. God sent Nathan to prophet to David to say, you are the man who did that sin. You are the man who stole that man's wife and murdered him.

Spurgeon says this, When the soul grows sorrowful, he revives it. When it is sinful, He sanctifies it. When it is weak, He strengthens it. He does it. His ministers could not if He did not.

His word would not avail by itself. He restores my soul. Are any of us low in grace? Do we feel that our spirituality is at its lowest ebb, the low tide mark? He who turns the ebb into the flood can soon restore our soul.

Amen. Amen. What else David? This shepherd leads his sheep in the paths of righteousness for his own names sake. These sheep are prone to wander.

Isaiah 53 verse 6, this messianic prophecy about the suffering servant, all we like sheep have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his own way And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. The paths of righteousness are not our native paths. They're not well-trod paths by us. So the Lord had to lay our iniquity on His Son.

And now He leads us in paths of righteousness. They're not our native paths, but they're His native paths. So he can lead us in these paths of righteousness. Listen to what Matthew Henry says, No creature will lose itself sooner than a sheep. So apt is it to go astray, and then so unapt to find the way back.

That's what shepherds know about sheep. They're so apt to go astray and then they can't find their way back. God has undertaken to lead his sheep into those paths of righteousness because they're his paths. They're native paths to him even though they're not native paths to us. Listen again John chapter 10 verses 3 & 4.

John 10 3 & 4. The sheep hear his voice and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out. And when he brings out his own sheep, he goes before them and the sheep follow him, for they know his voice." So there's this shepherd whose native paths are the paths of righteousness and he's leading them and they know his voice and they follow him. Charles Spurgeon says this, Moses drives us by the law, but Jesus leads us by his example and the gentle drawings of his love. Just listen to that again.

So profound I think. Moses drives us by the law, but Jesus leads us by example in the gentle drawings of his love. Now this is not to pit Moses against Jesus. Moses was just speaking the words given to him by Jesus. Jesus is the Word.

The law came from Jesus, but the purpose of the law to the unbeliever is to lay the unbeliever in the dust. To convince the unbeliever that he or she is lost and in desperate need to drive the unbeliever into the fold. And then There the good shepherd is, calling his sheep by name, speaking to them, and they know his voice, and leading them in his native paths, which are paths of righteousness. And This shepherd does it for the sake of his own great name. He reveals himself to be a great transforming savior.

He takes these sheep who are so apt to go astray and so unapt to find their way back home, who at best are dumb and at worst are stubborn and rebellious and he leads them in paths of righteousness. He reveals himself to be a great transforming Savior. He does it for his own name's sake. Even when his sheep walk through the valley of the shadow of death, this shepherd's sheep need fear, no evil, because He's with them. And if He's with them, it doesn't matter if there's evil.

He can preserve them. He can protect them. He can sustain them. He will preserve them and protect them and sustain them. All they need is his presence with them.

This shepherd has his rod and his staff and that comforts the sheep. They can see their shepherd. They can see he has the instruments to do the work. And it comforts them. He has his shepherd's rod, which is like a club for driving away predators.

And oh, he is present and knows how to use it. The rod is like the shepherds club for driving away predators. And the shepherd is there, he never sleeps, he never slumbers and does he know how to use his club to drive away predators? His shepherd staff with its crook for gently redirecting a straying sheep is always at the ready. He is present and knows how to use that shepherd's crook like no one else knows how to use that shepherd's crook.

Those sheep are going astray. He gently uses the crook to bring them back. Sometimes not so gently. You must not think that David is teaching that it is always and only green pastures and quiet waters. Green pastures and quiet waters.

Now he's talking about the valley of the shadow of death, the worst trials that life can bring us into. Yes, the shepherd gives rest and abundance, but not only rest and abundance. Sometimes in his own perfect wisdom, for his own perfect purposes, this good shepherd takes his sheep through the valley of the shadow of death. It's not there on accident. It's in his own perfect wisdom for his own perfect purposes.

He's taking them through this valley. Paul said, yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves that we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead. 2 Corinthians 1.9. Listen to that again. This is 2 Corinthians 1.9.

Just listen to it again and think about its connection to Psalm 23 and the valley of the shadow of death. Yes, we had the sentence of death in ourselves. He didn't die right then, but he felt we're marked for death. Why? That we should not trust in ourselves but in God who raises the dead.

Paul saw God bringing him into the valley of the shadow of death so that he would be weaned off the world and trust in God who raises the dead. If your shepherd raises the dead, what do you care if he leads you through the valley of the shadow of death? What do you care? So brethren, don't worry, don't fear. Your shepherd has a club and he knows how to use it to drive off predators.

Your shepherd has a shepherd's crook and he knows how to use it like no one else knows how to use it to bring back straying sheep. David said, I will not fear. I refuse to fear because God is my shepherd. He is with me. Listen to Psalm 16 verse 8.

This is also a Psalm of David. Psalm 16 verse 8. I have said the Lord always before me, because he is at my right hand I shall not be moved. Listen to Psalm 27, also a Psalm of David. It's just David on David.

David filling in the blanks for David. Psalm 27 verses 1 through 3. The Lord is my light and my salvation. Whom shall I fear? The Lord is the strength of my life of whom shall I be afraid when the wicked came against me to eat up my flesh my enemies and my foes they stumbled and fell Though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear.

Though war may rise against me, in this I will be confident." That's what he's saying. Let's give Matthew Henry, Charles Spurgeon, and God through the prophet Ezekiel the last words on this section before we move on. Matthew Henry, if The Lord is my shepherd, my feeder. I may conclude I shall not want anything that is really necessary and good for me. I shall be supplied with whatever I need, And if I have not everything I desire, I may conclude it is either not fit for me, or not good for me, or I shall have it in due time." David is trying to convince us to think like this.

God is supplying me out of his inexhaustible resources So I'll have everything that I really need and if I don't have everything that I really want, I can safely conclude that it's either not fit for me or not good for me or I will get it in his timing. Amen. Charles Spurgeon. He does not say that there shall not be any evil, but I will fear no evil. Ah, that's a good observation.

Listen to what he says here. If we had no troubles but real troubles, we should not have a tenth part of our present sorrows. We feel a thousand deaths in fearing one. Are you tracking with Charles Spurgeon? We feel a thousand deaths in fearing one death.

But the psalmist was cured of the disease of fearing. I just want to pose a question to myself. Self? Do you have more things to fear than David or less things to fear than David? That's such an easy question to answer.

That's such an obvious answer. But David said, I will not fear. He's with me. He has his club to drive off predators and he has his crook to bring me back. Bring me back when I'm dumb or even bring me back when I'm stubborn and rebellious.

David trusted his shepherd, brothers and sisters. You cannot come away from Psalm 23 without the exhortation that we must trust this shepherd. David found him to be worthy of all his trust, and he faced dangers we'll never face. Why would we not trust him? How can we not trust him?

Ezekiel 34. You might want to turn to Ezekiel 34. Feel free to. Ezekiel 34 begins with a condemnation of unfaithful human shepherds, the shepherds of Israel, who have not done the work that God gave them to do to protect and provide and lead his people. So here's what he says in response Ezekiel 34 I'm gonna read 11 through 16 and then skip some and I'll just tell you where I'm going when I go there so you can follow along if you want to Ezekiel 34 11 through 16 for thus says the Lord God indeed I myself will search for my sheep and seek them out.

As a shepherd seeks out his flock on the day he is among his scattered sheep. So I will seek out my sheep and deliver them from all the places where they were scattered on a cloudy and dark day." I mean we should be immediately thinking about leaving the 99 to rescue the one. Verse 13, And I will bring them out from the peoples, and gather them from the countries, and I will bring them to their own land. I will feed them on the mountains of Israel, in the valleys, and in all the inhabited places of the country. I will feed them in good pasture and their fold shall be on the high mountains of Israel.

There they shall lie down in a good fold and feed in rich pastures on the mountains of Israel. I will feed my flock and I will make them lie down, says the Lord God. I will seek what was lost and bring back what was driven away, bind up the broken and strengthen what was sick. But I will destroy the fat and the strong and feed them in judgment." When he's talking about the fat and the strong and destroying them, he's talking about sheep who are mistreating other sheep. It wasn't just unfaithful shepherds.

Skipping to verses 22-24. Therefore I will save my flock and they shall no longer be a prey. And I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will establish one shepherd over them and he shall feed them my servant David." now this is 420 years after King David. So my servant David can't be King David, it has to be the son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ.

So let me just back up and start there. Therefore I will save my flock and they shall no longer be a prey and I will judge between sheep and sheep. I will establish one shepherd over them and he shall feed them my servant David. He shall feed them and be their shepherd, and I the Lord will be their God. And my servant David, a prince among them, I the Lord have spoken." And then just to the last verse of the chapter, verse 31, You are my flock, the flock of my pasture, you are men and I am your God, says the Lord God.

So you have Psalm 23 and then something like 400 years later, you have Ezekiel 34 where God says, I'm actually going to raise up David to shepherd my people. But it's the son of David. It is fulfilled in Jesus. And then Another 600 plus years later you have John chapter 10 and Jesus saying, that's me. I'm the good shepherd.

I'm the fulfillment of all these things in Psalm 23 and Ezekiel 34. Back to Psalm 23. In Psalm 23 verses 5 and 6, the picture shifts from a shepherd who undertakes the care of his own sheep, because they're his, to a host that abundantly provides for those who have come under his roof. Follow along as I reread Psalm 23 verses 5 and 6. David writes, You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

You anoint my head with oil. My cup runs over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Yes, God prepares a table for his people. He makes it ready. He makes ready the feast.

This is the picture that's before us, is God having made ready a feast for those who have come under His roof. But it isn't just a fair weather banquet. No, He abundantly provides for His people even in the presence of their enemies. Their enemies are there, their enemies hate them, and yet God has undertaken their protection and their provision under His roof and He has set a banqueting table for them even in the presence of their enemies. David experienced this firsthand many times.

Think about the life of David. How many times has David experienced this first hand? David is a man who can write about this. A banquet table, even in the presence of his enemies. David found that because God was his God he didn't shrivel up in the face of trials.

He didn't shrivel up in the face of his enemies. God sustained him. God even caused him to flourish in the presence of his enemies. It was like he had a banquet table prepared for him, even in the presence of his enemies, of which he had many. Friends, have you noticed that our list of enemies is growing?

Anybody else notice that? Don't expect it to get shorter anytime soon. Expect it to keep growing. That's the environment that we're in. The indicators are all pointing to the list of enemies getting longer, not shorter.

And the more faithful we are, The longer the list is going to be those who desire to live godly in Christ Jesus will suffer persecution You like Bible promises. There's a Bible promise It's a good time for this It's a good time to come to Psalm 23 and know that we can expect to have enemies, that the more faithful we are, the longer the list will grow, and yet God prepares a banquet for His people even in the presence of their enemies. Their enemies can't do anything about it. The feast is still on. The feast is not canceled because we have a long list of enemies.

The feast will happen. We have the right to trust that God has prepared a banquet for us in the midst of our enemies. In the middle of the most intense trials of your life, you can find that your head is being anointed with oil, and that your cup is overflowing. These are just signs of not only being prospered by God, blessed by God, but also being honored by God. When you had a guest and you anointed his head with oil, you were honoring your guest, this person who would come under your roof, that God would honor us for the sake of His Son.

It isn't hardship or abundant provision. It is abundant provision sustaining you through hardship. We cannot think It's this or that. Hardship or abundant provision. If I have hardship, I don't have abundant provision, but if I have abundant provision, I don't have hardship.

No, no, no. These things coexist in the life of one who has been brought under God's roof. Brought under God's roof. God lays out the abundant provision to sustain us in hardship, through hardship. And He can make it so that we're not just holding on by our fingernails.

He can Make us feast in the middle of our hardships. Only God can do that. Who else can do that? Think of goodness and mercy following you every day of your life. Who's back there?

Oh, goodness and mercy. Another day goes by. Still back there. The word rendered follow in verse 6 means to pursue, to run after. It's a very active word.

In its usage it can even be used for a predator hunting down its prey. God has sent goodness to hunt me down. I can't outrun it. God has sent mercy to track me down. Still back there.

Another day, I look over my shoulder, goodness and mercy. Another week, another year, another decade. All things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose. Romans 8.28. Good is still back there.

He's weaving all things, even the hard things, even bad things, even evil things. He's actually using those things to hunt me down with the good that he's dispatched for me. Through the Lord's mercies, we are not consumed because his compassions fail not. It's his mercies, they're new every morning. Great is his faithfulness.

Lamentations 3, 22 and 23. David's just drawing from things that have always been true. He's just preaching a good sermon on things that have always been true about God and His care for His people. He has dispatched good and mercy to track them down. They'll never be able to outrun it.

Spurgeon says, the black days as well as the bright days, the days of fasting as well as the days of feasting, the dreary days of winter as well as the bright days of summer. Goodness supplies our needs. Mercy blots out our sins. Sweet. And then what?

David said that we would dwell in the house of the Lord forever. So however long your life is, every day of it, goodness and mercy will be tracking you down and then an eternity and you'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Listen to the apostle John's revelation of the eternity of those who washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb." This is Revelation 7. In Revelation 7 verse 14, we're told who he's speaking of. Those who have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb.

Then he says this in Revelation 7, 17. Revelation 7, 17. For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne, For the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne, will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. I bet there's still waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.

Did you catch that? This is Revelation 7, 17. You have a lamb shepherd. The lamb shepherds them, wipes away their tears, brings them to fountains of living waters. He's one like them.

He's one who stood in their place, brought them into the flock by his own blood. Now he's their shepherd. He knows everything about them. He knows everything about them. Glorious.

Glorious. A lamb shepherd. Who would know how to care for sheep like a lamb shepherd? Yeah, exactly. Applications.

I'll give you two. Number one, do not rest until Jesus is your shepherd. Don't rest. Don't let another moment pass by. There's no shepherd like Jesus.

Don't go through this life without a shepherd like Jesus. Don't go into eternity without washing your robes white in His blood. In his blood. Two, once he is your shepherd, trust him, trust him. If we only had our real difficulties, we would only have a tenth part of our current sorrows.

So many of our current sorrows come from our fears. Come from our fears. We've added sorrows to ourselves that actually aren't real because of our fears. When we have a shepherd who has undertaken our care. He said, you're mine, so I'm in charge of protection.

You're mine, so I'm in charge of provision. You're mine, so I'm in charge of leading. Do you really want to protect yourself? Do you really want to provide for yourself? Do you really want to lead yourself?

When there's a shepherd as described, yours for the having. God, I pray that your spirit would be present for the salvation of sinners now. You would turn a heart now. Turn many hearts now. Give eyes to see what's never been seen before, with ears to hear what's never been heard before.

Though the same words have been spoken over and over again, we know that it's the Spirit of God who raises from the dead. Please do that, God. Thank you for the Lord Jesus Christ. If we didn't see it in the Bible, We would say that the phrase, good shepherd, is shamefully modest, shamefully understated. Understated.

Oh Jesus, those who have walked with you, we've known a hundred times your shepherding. We've been witness to your club driving away predators and to your crook, your shepherd's crook bringing us back, sometimes from our stupidity, sometimes from our stubborn rebellion. Thank you for shepherding your people so faithfully, perfectly faithfully. In Jesus' name we pray, Amen.