Are You His Sheep?

Joel Hayworth

End of Year focus • Sermon • Submitted 3 years ago

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Introduction

How many of you are fans of the Disney series Toy Story? Some of you think of the more recent 3rd and 4th movies whenever you hear the words, but if you are a true fan of the franchise, you likely think back to the first and second films and remember the storylines and can recite several memorable lines as well! I grew up with a cousin who absolutely loved Toy Story and I grew to love it as well. As an only child who played with action figures and army soldiers on a daily basis when I was younger, the idea that my toys would talk and play whenever I was away was a really cool thought! In the films you know that the toys are innocent and they have a “play” mode whenever a human is in the room and they act totally differently whenever they are alone - in this sense, we can all relate in some capacity to Toy Story because we all act differently around some people or at specific places like church than we do in other areas of our life.

Consider, though, what was written on the bottom of Woody’s boot. If you know the second film at all, you know that Woody is mistakenly taken by a collector and one of the things that the collector does is he tries to get him to look as nice as possible to be sold for thousands and thousands of dollars. In order to do this, the collector hires a person to paint over Woody’s boot. What was written on the boot? The name of his owner: Andy. Whenever Andy would get a new toy he would write his name on them so that other people would know who the toy belonged to.

Did you know that whenever you become a child of God, you become a part of a new family? The Bible shares with us that we were once dead in our sins and children of wrath - that’s who we were… But God. What has God done? He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us into the kingdom of His Son as Colossians 1:13 shares with us. You have come under new ownership if you will. You are no longer a slave to sin, you are a child of God. Aren’t you thankful to God takes us as we are but that He doesn’t leave us where we’re at? He changes everything about us!

A question for all of us to consider: Do you belong to God? Now certainly God is the Creator of the universe and we are all created in His image. But the Bible is clear that not all of us are followers of Christ. Therefore, my question for us this morning is simple but it should cause us to ask some deep questions of ourselves: Are you His sheep? Are you a part of His flock or are you on the outside looking in? The good news is that if you are not, you can be today! If you are, as we study out of a familiar passage of Scripture, let’s rejoice because of what the Good Shepherd has done. He has saved us. He has bought us. We belong to Christ and we are filled with the Holy Spirit right now. When you look down at your “boot”, do you see that you belong to God? I pray that you do.

Psalm 23 CSB

A psalm of David. 1 The Lord is my shepherd; I have what I need. 2 He lets me lie down in green pastures; he leads me beside quiet waters. 3 He renews my life; he leads me along the right paths for his name’s sake. 4 Even when I go through the darkest valley, I fear no danger, for you are with me; your rod and your staff—they comfort me. 5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Only goodness and faithful love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live.

The Good Shepherd Leads (1-4)

This is such a wonderful text of Scripture as we see that the Lord provides and protects us each step of the way. As some have said, what Romans 8 is for the New Testament, Psalm 23 is for the Old Testament. Whenever you were a child and learning Scripture, you likely were taught several of these verses as memory verses. If you look up the most popular Bible verses, you find several from this very chapter! In a crazy time, isn’t Psalm 23 an oasis for your soul as we see that we have a shepherd who leads? In a discouraging year for many, we have to remind ourselves that we serve the sovereign King of the universe and He has a plan for us.

What does our text say from the very get go? David, the Psalmist, notes that The Lord is my shepherd and I love how the Christian Standard Bible says at the end of verse 1 - I have what I need. If the Lord is your shepherd, you might not have everything that you want, but you certainly have everything that you could ever possibly need! Do you believe this, friends? Consider what Scripture says in Philippians 4

Philippians 4:11–13 CSB

11 I don’t say this out of need, for I have learned to be content in whatever circumstances I find myself. 12 I know how to make do with little, and I know how to make do with a lot. In any and all circumstances I have learned the secret of being content—whether well fed or hungry, whether in abundance or in need. 13 I am able to do all things through him who strengthens me.

People stick Philippians 4:13 on their coffee mugs and instagram bios but they miss the context. What is Paul saying? Paul is saying that you can be content in any situation because of where your strength comes from! God provides, leads, sustains, and comforts us through whatever situation we find ourselves in. Lindsey and I went and watched the second Wonder Woman movie yesterday and one of the takeaways from the film was that it is so easy to want more. It’s so easy to fall into the trap of wishing for things that we think will make us happy or satisfy our needs. As Paul demonstrates, though, we don’t need to do that - we can be content because God is leading us and God will provide for what we truly need.

There is something remarkable in verse 1 of Psalm 23, though, as David doesn’t say that the Lord is a shepherd or that the Lord is my king or that the Lord is my rock - all of these things are Biblically true but that’s not what David is arriving at. David says that the Lord is MY shepherd. Do you see the intimacy in this title for God? Just as a shepherd would live with his sheep and guide them, the Lord is our shepherd. He is in control. He guides us. He disciplines us. He lives inside of us. This is a reminder of the closeness and nearness of God and because of this fact, because God is near to us, we have all that we need. Because we belong to the Lord, I shall not want. I have all that I require. Is this true of you right now, church? Newsflash, if you’re not a sheep in God’s pasture, you will want other things. You will look to your left and right and see things that you think that you need but for those who belong to Christ, we can confidently say that we have everything that we need. Can you say that in your life today?

Think back throughout your life, perhaps think back throughout this crazy year at all of the uncertainty and new things that took place. Isn’t it easy to want for other things? Did you know that this year, nearly 20% of our Sunday morning worship services took place online only? I am thankful for the blessing of technology and I am excited that we have the ability to share the Gospel with hundreds of people on a weekly basis, but it’s easy to want things to look a little more like normal on Sunday mornings. I miss seeing our pews full of people. I miss our nursery full of kids on Sunday morning. I miss having Sunday school classes all around the church. There are so many things that I miss and I’m sure that you miss many things as well, but what must we remind ourselves? The Lord is our shepherd. He is in control. He will lead us. We have everything that we need. Is that enough for you?

Many commentators note that David’s confidence in this Psalm about the faithfulness and providence of God stems from the fact that God had been faithful to provide for the Israelites in the past. Consider the Exodus account and how God led Israel through the wilderness with a cloud of smoke and a pillar of fire. He led them. He defended them from enemies. He provided for them. You could say that God had been a faithful shepherd in the past and as a result, David had trust and confidence that God would continue to be a good and faithful shepherd in his life. Do you trust in your Good Shepherd today? Do you trust that He has a plan for you and your life? A plan to lead you to places that you cannot even imagine today?

We see in the coming verses that His plan includes renewing us and leading us down the right path. Couldn’t we all use a time of spiritual renewal as God guides us down the right path? Couldn’t our nation use such a time? That’s what we have available to us today, friends!

You could say that this year has been the valley of the shadow of death for many people. This year has been a year of terror. A year of trouble. A year of tragedy. A year of temptation. Even in such a year, where is our hope? Even in the worst of situations, we will not fear because God is with us. What a resounding message to share with others! There is a song by Kristian Stanfill entitled Always and it says this, “I will not fear, His promise is true. My God will come through. Always. Always.” Do you believe that God has a plan and that God has a promise? If you do, you have no reason to fear. Truly, nothing in this life should give you fear as a born-again follower of Jesus Christ because God is with us - this is what we just got done celebrating during Christmas - the coming of Jesus Christ - Immanuel, God with us. Just as a shepherd would use a rod and staff to both attack predators and defend his flock, we have a good shepherd who leads us, who attacks the enemy and who defends us from His attacks. Friend, wherever you are at today, if you belong to Jesus Christ, if you are His sheep, if He is your shepherd, you have nothing to fear because He is for you and He has a plan and He works all things together for your good and for His glory. Take heart!

The Good Shepherd Pursues (5-6)

Not only does the shepherd lead us throughout our lives in both the good times and the bad times, but He also prepares a place just for us. Jesus shares a parable in Matthew 18 of a shepherd having 100 sheep and he leaves the 99 in order to find the 1 lost one. Much has been made of this parable but consider your own life for a moment. There certainly have been moments where we’ve been the 99. We’re faithfully following Jesus Christ and trying out best to live for Him, but consider what it was like to be the 1. We all have that one person in our family who always shows up late to gatherings and things like that. I have one such person who once said that the reason that he shows up late is so that he won’t have to wait on other people… Which, ironically, forces other people to wait for them! We all know someone like this. Someone who shows up late. Someone who is just a little different. Someone who gets confused and lost. Like it or not, you used to be that person. You were the person who was not only confused, you were lost. You were not only bad, you were dead. But God. What did God do? He showed up. He pursued you. He has a seat at the table just for you!

What should our response be to this action on the part of God? We respond in faith and we experience joy. During the Christmas season, many people talk about happiness. They are happy because they are with family. They are happy because they got a gift. They are happy because they were off from work for a few days! There are many reasons to be happy, but happiness drifts. Happiness comes and goes. Is joy the same thing as happiness, though? No. It’s a little bit different. Joy can be defined as an attitude of well-being while happiness is based upon one’s circumstances. Your circumstances have undoubtedly changed this year. Perhaps you’ve experienced loss. Maybe you’ve experienced a shortage of something. Maybe you haven’t been able to see someone that you’re accustomed to seeing. Circumstances are different and it makes sense that the happiness that is normally here might not look the same this year. But friends, if Christ is your shepherd, you have something even better. They say that money can’t buy you happiness and I understand the statement but money and possessions can give you temporary happiness. Money, under no circumstances, can buy you joy. It can’t do it. The only thing that can give you true, unending joy is knowing that you belong to God. That gives you so much joy that it overflows.

What happens whenever a cup overflows? Water spills over and it gets everything else wet. That is what our joy should do in our lives. It should be infectious as it overflows from our lives and spills out and impacts others around us.

Look at the confidence that David has at the conclusion of this great Psalm. He says that I will dwell in the house of the Lord as long as I live. David by no means was a perfect person. He had flaws and shortcomings. He made extremely bad decisions and mistakes. Yet, if we can learn anything from his life and apply it to our lives thousands of years later, it would be to trust in the Lord. This was a man after God’s own heart. This was a person who trusted in God even when things didn’t make any sense in His life. Friends, trust in the Lord! Abide in Him as John 15 states. Dwell in His house because nothing can separate you from the love of God.

The Good Shepherd Lays down His Life (11-18)

If you look down to Psalm 24, you see the Psalmist ask a question, “Who is this King of Glory?” We could ask the same question in our text this morning, “Who is this Good Shepherd?” There is a song entitled King of Glory that asks this very question and the chorus gives us an answer as it states, “His name is Jesus, precious Jesus. The Lord Almighty, The King of my heart. The Lord of Glory.” Aren’t you thankful that we see in the New Testament that Jesus Christ is not only the King of Glory, but that He also is the Good Shepherd who came down and lived with humanity for 33 years? He wasn’t a distant, removed king who wanted nothing to do with His creation. No, He IS the Good Shepherd who does what no one else could do - Jesus saves us by laying down His life as John 10 shares with us.

It is impossible to preach on Psalm 23 without also preaching on John 10 and vice versa! They are connected passages of Scripture and we must see what Jesus has to say about this good shepherd. Look with me quickly in John 10

John 10:11–18 CSB

11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. 12 The hired hand, since he is not the shepherd and doesn’t own the sheep, leaves them and runs away when he sees a wolf coming. The wolf then snatches and scatters them. 13 This happens because he is a hired hand and doesn’t care about the sheep. 14 “I am the good shepherd. I know my own, and my own know me, 15 just as the Father knows me, and I know the Father. I lay down my life for the sheep. 16 But I have other sheep that are not from this sheep pen; I must bring them also, and they will listen to my voice. Then there will be one flock, one shepherd. 17 This is why the Father loves me, because I lay down my life so that I may take it up again. 18 No one takes it from me, but I lay it down on my own. I have the right to lay it down, and I have the right to take it up again. I have received this command from my Father.”

There is so much to look at in this text and we don’t have time to go through it and dig as much as I’d like. One thing that we see about the Good Shepherd in John 10 is that He lays down His life for His sheep. I love what verse 18 says, though, as it reminds us that no one took Jesus’ life from Him. There are some people in our world today who want to say things like Jesus was murdered and it was done due to this reason or that reason. Was Jesus murdered in the cross? Absolutely. Acts 2 shares this reality with us. The Jews are guilty of crucifying the Son of God - but this was a part of the predetermined plan of God. Jesus laid His life down willingly. He laid down His life for His sheep.

2 Corinthians 5:21 CSB

21 He made the one who did not know sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God.

Aren’t you thankful that Jesus Christ, who never once sinned, laid down His life for you, a sinner, so that you could become the righteousness of God in Him? Friends, we don’t serve a distant, removed savior. We serve a savior who has come. A savior who didn’t just sit on the sidelines. A savior who took our place on the cross. A savior who laid down His own life for His sheep.

As we turn our eyes to a new year, may we do so while we remember what Jesus has done. Yes, He laid down His life for us as our Good Shepherd but as John 10 reminds us, He took it up once again. As we wrap up a year that has included so much loss, isn’t this our ultimate hope? We know that just as Jesus Christ died and was raised, we will be as well as Romans 8 shares with us

Romans 8:16–17 NASB95

16 The Spirit Himself testifies with our spirit that we are children of God, 17 and if children, heirs also, heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him so that we may also be glorified with Him.

We have the confidence that we are co-heirs with Christ. He suffered - we will suffer. He was glorified - we will be glorified. All of this is because He laid down His life. He is the Good Shepherd. Are you His sheep?

Conclusion

This is the ultimate question for us this morning. As we begin a new year and as we put 2020 to a close there will be many questions for us in the coming days. When will normal return? When will school go back to how it used to? When will we be able to do more things at church? When will this or that happen? Those are great questions that we all want an answer to, but there is something far more important to ask yourself today: Do you belong to Jesus? If so, you have everything that you could ever need.

Maybe you’re in a good spot right now. Perhaps things are going well. You got to celebrate Christmas with family and your heart is full. Maybe you’re besides still waters, spiritually speaking. If so, praise God! On the other hand, maybe things are rough right now. Things are different and this is representing some serious difficulties for you. Maybe you feel as though you are walking through the valley of the shadow of death. If this is you, praise God right now. Don’t wait until you get through the valley to praise God, that’s not what it’s about at all. Our God is the God of both the hills and the valleys. He walks beside us every step of the way. Our God leads us in the good times and He walks beside us in the difficult times. If you belong to Jesus, you have every reason to have confidence and trust in Him because of His providence, His plan and His promise. God provides for His creation. God has a plan for your life. And God has a promise to never leave or forsake you - not even in the lowest of lows - He is with you. Just as He was with Shadrach, Meschach, and Abed-nego in the fiery furnace, He will be with you in the fire as well.

As we begin a new year, enter it with the right mindset: Trust in God and praise Him every step of the way.

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