06/14/2026 | Who He Is | Pastor Jay Rice |

David opens Psalm 23 by naming Yahweh, the I AM, as shepherd, and that name sets the tone for everything else. The text does not hand the flock to a vague deity. It hands them to Yahweh, LORD in all caps, the personal and self-sufficient God who says, I am who I am. That name carries mystery, eternity, and fullness. It announces a shepherd who never runs out of watchfulness, provision, or presence. When David says, the LORD is my shepherd, he is placing his life under the care of the One who needs nothing and supplies everything.

The shepherd image fills Scripture and does real work here. The shepherd is a watchman whose head stays on a swivel. He is a guard who stands between defenseless sheep and real danger. He is a guide who leads, not drives, to green pastures and still waters because sheep cannot find them alone. He is a physician who binds wounds and anoints with oil. He is a savior who leaves the ninety-nine to carry the one home. He is a provider who knows the flock’s hunger and thirst. He is a lover who knows each sheep by name and voice. When the text says shepherd, it is saying all of that.

This line also exposes competing shepherds. Safety often gets handed to governments, policies, or insurance. Guidance gets outsourced to social media trends and shifting campus consensus. Provision gets trusted to salaries, markets, or the next raise. None of those are evil, but none of them are Yahweh. David’s claim confronts the heart’s functional trusts and asks where the flock actually looks when the road gets dark.

Moses at the bush shows what it sounds like when Yahweh takes the staff in hand. Moses says, I am not eloquent. Yahweh answers, Who made your mouth? I will be with your mouth. The I AM does not coach Moses into self-confidence. He pledges withness. That is the center of this psalm’s comfort. The I AM walks into the valley with rod and staff in hand, and that presence makes enough.

So the table becomes the right place to answer this line. The Good Shepherd laid down his life for the sheep. He still speaks over anxious places, over the impulse to clutch and control. He says, Let me be your watchman. Let me be your guide. Let me be your physician. Let me be your provider. The question placed before the church is simple and searching. Will the flock let Yahweh be shepherd, or will lesser shepherds keep the lead?

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Key Takeaways

• 1. Yahweh names Himself to shepherd God gives His personal name, LORD in all caps, and ties that name to shepherding care. His I AM signals mystery, eternity, and self-sufficiency, so His shepherding never runs dry. The flock does not rest on a title but on a Person who is inexhaustibly present. David banks the whole psalm on that Name. [57:26]
• 2. The shepherd guards, guides, and heals Scripture loads shepherd with concrete work in the field. Watchman eyes, defending strength, leading presence, wound-binding hands, saving pursuit, and daily provision all live inside this single metaphor. That is why the image can bear a life’s worth of trust. David’s one word carries seven jobs. [43:35]
• 3. Lesser shepherds compete for trust Other voices promise safety, provision, and direction, and many are useful gifts but brittle masters. When they become ultimate, they tug the flock off into thickets of fear, scarcity, and compromise. Psalm 23 calls the heart back from those hired hands to the only Shepherd who will not fail. [50:21]
• 4. I AM’s presence makes enough Moses brings his limits, and Yahweh answers with presence, not pep talk. The promise is I will be with your mouth, which is the spine of courage and the end of self-salvation projects. Where the Shepherd’s withness stands, enough stands. [63:12]
• 5. Communion entrusts the anxious places The table remembers the Good Shepherd who laid down His life, and it becomes a place to open clenched hands. Specific fears and unsolved riddles can be named and yielded to His watch, guidance, and care. Trust deepens when the heart trades control for communion. [64:47]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [35:07] - Psalm 23 Opening Reading
• [36:21] - Summer series and aim
• [38:40] - Prayer for God’s word to speak
• [39:51] - What a shepherd really is
• [42:42] - Shepherd motif across Scripture
• [44:06] - Watchman and vigilant care
• [45:13] - Guarding defenseless sheep
• [46:20] - Guiding to pasture and water
• [47:58] - Saving the one who’s lost
• [50:21] - Competing shepherds in modern life
• [55:09] - LORD in caps, Yahweh
• [57:26] - I AM who I AM
• [62:30] - Withness that makes enough
• [64:47] - Communion: entrust anxious places

Bible Reading
Psalm 23:1-3 (ESV)
The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Exodus 3:13-14 (ESV)
Then Moses said to God, “If I come to the people of Israel and say to them, ‘The God of your fathers has sent me to you,’ and they ask me, ‘What is his name?’ what shall I say to them?” God said to Moses, “I am who I am.” And he said, “Say this to the people of Israel: ‘I am has sent me to you.’”

Luke 15:4-6 (ESV)
What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if he has lost one of them, does not leave the ninety-nine in the open country, and go after the one that is lost, until he finds it? And when he has found it, he lays it on his shoulders, rejoicing. And when he comes home, he calls together his friends and his neighbors, saying to them, ‘Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep that was lost.’

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Observation Questions

1. In Psalm 23:1, the word “LORD” is written in all caps. What does this formatting signify about God’s name and character?
2. What specific roles of a shepherd are highlighted in the sermon (e.g., watchman, physician, savior)? [43:35]
3. How does God respond to Moses’ fear of inadequacy in Exodus 3:14, and what does His answer reveal about His nature?

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Interpretation Questions

1. Why might trusting “lesser shepherds” like governments, salaries, or cultural trends lead to fear or scarcity, even if they are not inherently evil? [50:21]
2. How does the phrase “I AM” in Exodus 3:14 connect to the idea that God’s presence is “enough” in difficult seasons? [01:03:12]
3. In Luke 15:4-6, the shepherd prioritizes the one lost sheep. How does this parable challenge our assumptions about where God directs His attention?

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Application Questions

1. What area of your life (safety, provision, guidance) do you most often hand over to a “lesser shepherd” instead of trusting God? What practical step could you take this week to reorient that trust? [50:57]
2. The sermon mentions God’s role as a “physician” who binds wounds. Is there a hurt or anxiety you’ve been trying to fix on your own? How might you actively invite Him into that process? [47:20]
3. How can you intentionally recognize God’s “withness” in a current valley or challenge? What would it look like to lean into His presence instead of scrambling for control? [01:04:47]
4. The Good Shepherd “knows each sheep by name.” Do you struggle to believe God sees and cares for you personally? How might daily reminders of His specific love reshape your perspective?
5. Communion is described as a place to “open clenched hands.” What fear or unsolved problem do you need to symbolically release at His table this week? [01:05:39]