Yahweh Rohi: The Lord Is My Shepherd

The sheep do not fear. They don't worry. It's one of the most repeated commands. I think it's in fact the most repeated command in the Bible. It's in there 365 times. So you can remember every single day of the year. But it's definitely a step of faith to not fear and not worry and believe that the Lord is providing. So on verses three and four, we've got, He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for you are with me. [00:06:25] (37 seconds)  #FearlessFaith365

Our revelation here is the shepherd is taking the lead. He's guiding his flock. In biblical times, the shepherd leads from the front. It's not what you might imagine today where the shepherd is at the back. They've got a stick. They've got a dog and they're guiding them from the back. The shepherd goes first. He calls the sheep on. So that means, one, they've got to know where they're going. And two, they're going to be the first one to step on that rock, to step on the path, to go through and lead the way. [00:07:07] (28 seconds)  #LeadingFromTheFront

That means if they're going into a scary situation, they're going first. They're not pushing you and going, find out if that's dangerous for me and if it's all right, I'll come next. The shepherd is leading from the front. He's asking you to follow him knowing that he is making the way forwards. They also have to know where they're going. A bad shepherd might be content to leave their sheep in a dangerous situation because it's easier than making the hard journey. A good shepherd will take them to where they need to be. [00:07:34] (31 seconds)  #TrustTheShepherd

Jesus is trying to talk to the Pharisees about who he is. He says that he is the good shepherd. It's an I am statement. Yahweh, I am. Rohi, the good shepherd. I don't think it's a big leap to say that he's not blaspheming. He is saying his divine identity. He's linking himself to that Old Testament name of God. And then the next sentence, the good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The prophetic of what's going to happen to him. [00:12:34] (40 seconds)  #CommunityInFaith

``So the shepherd lays down his life and the sheep receive eternal life. John 15, 13 says, greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends. It is the greatest love. It's not selfish. It's not fleeting. It's not conditional. It's the greatest love. And because of his love, we get the eternal life. So we're going to do communion in a bit. And I would love for you to take that time to reflect. If you've ever felt like you're not worth anything, just go deeper into this good shepherd giving up his life because you are so worth it. [00:13:20] (41 seconds)  #ListenToTheShepherd

Sheep naturally follow. That's quite a common thing to know about sheep. They might need a bit of encouragement. They might need to follow one another. But actually, one of the best ways you could bring sheep into our flock is by being a good example of what it looks like to follow Jesus. There is so much chaos in the world. There is so much uncomfortableness. There's so many difficult situations. When we are living out peace in those situations, I think that's attractive. I think that's something that other people are going to want. [00:14:12] (36 seconds)  #JourneyTogetherInFaith

The Bible doesn't say win them round at any cost and then gloat about it. It talks about us encouraging people to listen to the shepherd's voice. It talks about us journeying with them. And I'll tell you what, there have been a number of times where I've journeyed with somebody, listened to God's voice and realized I was the one not hearing right. But until I started to listen with them, I didn't know that. [00:18:19] (23 seconds)

When they get a sheepdog puppy, they bring it up with the lambs so it grows up in a litter of lambs together and the sheepdog and the lambs just think of each other as all the same which is so sweet but it also means that when the dog learns to come when it's called like you would do with a normal dog, all the lambs start to follow it because they're flocked animals and they naturally will follow one after the other. [00:19:49] (27 seconds)

So how do you connect to God as your shepherd? Is it personal? Do you feel you can say the Lord is my shepherd? Or is it the Lord is a shepherd? And do you spend time learning to recognize and follow God's voice? There are so many voices calling out to us. Everybody wants your attention. You're quite precious. In fact you're very precious. And people who can listen to God's voice and discern it are going to be going in the right direction. [00:20:50] (37 seconds)

Do you care about the flock that God's placed you in? Are you prepared to challenge someone when you see them going the wrong way? It's not a nice feeling to be challenged sometimes but it doesn't mean it's wrong. And doing it in love is the best thing you can do. And are you willing to listen with others to discern God's voice? Are you willing to say do you know what I'll challenge you but we'll go through it together because I might be wrong but let's find out and let's journey together because we're part of a flock. [00:21:27] (29 seconds)