My name is William Shea.
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I'm a retired
Seminary Professor.
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Welcome to Faith Chapel.
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Our topic today is the
Good Shepherd in Psalm 23.
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Let us pray as we
begin. Loving Heavenly Father,
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we thank you for Your
promise to be our Good Shepherd.
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We thank you for the way
in which You provide for us.
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We thank you for the
way in which You protect us,
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and we ask You now to lead us
in Your thoughts in this Psalm,
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in Jesus name, amen.
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David had plenty of
experience as Shepherd.
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In fact, there is an extra
Psalm we can call it Psalm 151,
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which is a meditation by David,
when he was out among the sheep.
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It didn't make it
into the Canonical Bible,
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but it's known
in several scrolls.
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And it's a very beautiful text,
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but here we have David's
experience with the sheep.
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And he uses the sheep as a
symbol or a metaphor for us.
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He gives us three
brief word pictures,
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the first one is of sheep,
the second one is of the sheep,
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but the third
one is not of sheep
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and we'll see what that turns
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to when we come to
the end of the Psalm.
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The text is known very
well and we'll read the text
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from the screen
now. You all know it,
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and so you can
read along with me.
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"The Lord is my
Shepherd, I shall not want.
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He maketh me to lie
down in green pastures:
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he leadeth me
beside the still waters.
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He restoreth my
soul: he leadeth me
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in the paths of righteousness
for his name's sake.
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Yea, though I walk through the
valley of the shadow of death,
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I will fear no evil:
for thou art with me;
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thy rod and thy
staff they comfort me.
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Thou preparest a table before me
in the presence of mine enemies:
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thou anointest my head
with oil, my cup runneth over.
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Surely goodness and
mercy shall follow me
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all the days of my life.
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And I will dwell in the
house of The Lord for ever."
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I might begin by telling
you my story with Psalm 23.
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I grew up in Southern California
in a not very religious home.
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My father was an agnostic;
my mother was an Episcopalian,
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which meant we went
to church at least two,
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two Sundays per year.
But somehow or another
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my parents decided that
I should go to YMCA Camp,
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when I was
about 10 years of age?
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So, I went off from the
bus had a very enjoyable time
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in the mountains of
Southern California.
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And one of things we did at that
camp was to earn merit batches.
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And the merit batches
were little squares of leather
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with a thong that
you put around your neck.
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And the way I could earn
one of these merit batches
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was to memorize Psalm
23. So, I memorized Psalm 23
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and earn my, recited it
and earned my merit batch.
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But at that time Psalm 23
didn't mean anything to me,
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it just meant an
assignment to memorize.
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It wasn't until
6 or 7 years later
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that I really met the
Good Shepherd of the Psalm.
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When he, I accepted
Him as my Lord and Savior.
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So, the first picture
that we have at the Psalm
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is that of the Shepherd
providing for the sheep.
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The Good Shepherd as provider.
Well, what a sheep need?
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Their needs are fairly
simple and the first one
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we point out is green pastures.
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Now, you need to
understand a little bit
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about the climate
in the Middle East,
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or more specifically in Israel.
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The rainy season
starts in November
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that's when all the school
children go back to school.
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And the rainy season
ends late March or early April
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and after that there's
basically no rain at all.
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Now, by the end
of the rainy season
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all of the hills of Israel are
green because of the watering
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and the growth of the
grass, but when the summer heat
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comes on it all turns
brown. So, some tourists go to
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the Middle East
at Passover time,
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which is the spring
time. And then they can see
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the green hills of
Israel. But most tourists
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from North America go
there during summer time,
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when the summer
heat has already come on
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and the hills are browned out.
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Now, at the
beginning of the dry season,
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late March, early
April, any Shepherd,
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a bad Shepherd or a dump
Shepherd could find grass.
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You just let the sheep
out and there is the grass,
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but the Good
Shepherd knows from studying
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what happens to the grass.
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He knows where
the grass will be,
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when the time is the driest.
And so, they had a circuit
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and they would take the sheep
down near the low lands first
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and then little-by-little
as the summer heat came on
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they would bring the sheep
farther-and-farther up the hills
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until they ended in
the central mountain range,
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where Hebron is,
where Jacob lived
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or Jerusalem which is
about 3000 feet of elevation.
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So, there was this process.
In fact, we find an interesting
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Biblical illustration
of this you may remember
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the story of Jacob and
Joseph and his brothers.
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The brothers were
pasturing their sheep at Dothan;
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Jacob was living in Hebron,
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that's at least 75
miles probably more.
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And he send Joseph
off to see his brothers.
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Why were the brothers
so far away from home?
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Because they were making this
circuit that the pastures made,
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the Shepherds made.
And so, this was the way
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that the Good Shepherd
would get the maximum amount
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of green grass for the sheep,
because he knew just exactly
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where to get the grass.
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The dump Shepherd
or the bad Shepherd
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he didn't care he
just let the sheep out
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and then the sheep
would go hungry in summer time
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when the hills were all brown,
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because he had
not made preparation.
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Well, something else the
sheep need of course is water.
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It's difficult to live
very long with out water
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you can only live 7 or
8 minutes without water,
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or without oxygen, at least
your brain will live that long.
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Now water you can
go for a couple of days
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or perhaps a little
more, but especially in a very
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hot climate it's very difficult.
And it has an interesting
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descriptive word here,
still waters, why still waters?
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Well, I mentioned the
climate and when the rains come.
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Now, the central
mountain range of Israel
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has a number of
valleys and these valleys
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do not have any running
water during the dry season.
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But, when the rains start,
these valleys as they're called,
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flow with water and
that's dangerous for the sheep,
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because then you get
flash floods in these valleys
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and the sheep
can be carried away
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and killed by the flash floods.
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In fact, there
is at least one case
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where tourists were trapped
by a flash flood and killed.
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So, you don't
want to put the sheep
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near the rapidly rushing
waters because that's dangerous.
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You want to put the
sheep near the still waters,
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the calm waters and
that's the best place
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to take in that refreshing
water that is so necessary
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in the Middle Eastern heat.
They say the one thing that
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an Arab Bedouin will not do
is deprive a visitor of water
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in the desert. Well, then
we come to the third thing
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that a sheep needs and
a sheep needs guidance,
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so I'm told and I don't
know this to be true for sure.
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That sheep are not
very intelligent creatures,
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they need
somebody to guide them,
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they need somebody to
put them on the right trial.
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Now, there is an
interesting play on words here.
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It says, "He guides me in
the paths of righteousness
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for his name's sake."
Now, that word righteousness
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can also be translated right,
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you see when it applies to
sheep, it's the right path.
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You don't get off
the path to the right
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or get off to
the path to the left,
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but when it applies to humans
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as we apply this
metaphor for sheep,
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it's paths of righteousness,
right living, living for God,
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obedience to
our Heavenly Father.
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Receiving he Holy
Spirit to lead us and guide us
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in the way that is best for us.
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And it says for his name
sake. Now, you may remember
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the story of
Moses in the wilderness.
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God became very
upset with the people
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when they were down in the
camp at the foot of Mount Sinai.
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And they were
worshiping the golden calf
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when he had just
brought them out of Egypt,
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what a strange conduct
they entered into there.
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And so, God says
to Moses, now look,
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let's just leave these
people alone I'll take you
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and start over and
make a new people with you.
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And Moses argument
is, Lord, don't do that
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because then the people will
know for the sake of Your name
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and Your honor and Your glory.
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The people will say
that You led them out here
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in the wilderness to
die. When I know and you know,
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that it was in your
mercy and graciousness
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that you led them here.
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Led them out of
the house of bondage,
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led them out of
the house of slavery.
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So, it was for the sake
of the honor of God's name
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that Moses accepted to continue
to lead this troublesome people
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in the wilderness. And
so, here too God's name
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needs to be honored
by the paths we walk in.
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We can demonstrate to the
world what kind of sheep we are,
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by the conduct of our lives,
by the way we reflect Jesus.
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Well, we come to
the middle passage.
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And again he's
talking about sheep,
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and it says that we
need the Good Shepherd
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to lead us
through troublous times.
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Now, in the
Middle East the valleys,
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which we're
talking about the valley
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of the shadow of death
could be dangerous places.
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When the caravans came
up through the valleys,
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the thieves and
robbers would post themselves
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on the sides of the valleys,
and as the caravan came along
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they would come down and fight
with or steal from the caravan
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as they pass through the valleys
on up into the mountains.
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We have a vivid illustration
of that in modern Israel,
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in the war of 1947, early 1948
there was only a narrow quarter
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between coastal
Israel and Jerusalem.
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And so, the whole supply
line for Jerusalem went up
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through this one valley,
but it was dangerous going
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because the gunners of the enemy
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would fire down
on those convoys.
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And so, when you go there today
you will see some half tracks,
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which were used
for supply vehicles,
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armored half tracks that are
left by the side of the roads,
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some of them in a
burn out condition
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as a national monument
for what their soldiers
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did to supply Jerusalem.
This is a vivid illustration
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of how dangerous
valleys can be, but God says,
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when we go through the
valley of the shadow of death,
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He will be with us and his rod
and his staff will comfort us.
00:11:59.25\00:12:05.66
Now, it's little
curious isn't it?
00:12:05.67\00:12:07.11
That we have two
instruments not one.
00:12:07.12\00:12:10.01
The rod was just a plain
rod which was used fending off
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wild animals or
even human enemies.
00:12:13.58\00:12:16.97
The staff is the staff
with the Shepherd's crook
00:12:16.98\00:12:19.99
as you know and that was
used for guiding the sheep.
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So, here we have
protection from enemies
00:12:22.77\00:12:26.27
and guiding the
sheep in the right way.
00:12:26.28\00:12:29.22
Well, I'm sure
you've had some experiences
00:12:29.23\00:12:31.40
in which you've been through the
valley of the shadow of death.
00:12:31.41\00:12:34.75
I've had several, I'll
just recite one or two.
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My wife and I were driving from
the South Bend, Indiana Airport
00:12:39.05\00:12:43.81
back into Michigan. We came
to the town of Barium Springs,
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this is December of
1966 and as we're approaching
00:12:47.63\00:12:52.10
the bridge there is a kind
of sharp curve from the bridge,
00:12:52.11\00:12:55.26
a Semi, which was riding
empty came across the bridge
00:12:55.27\00:13:00.54
and you know, the
signs would say bridge
00:13:00.55\00:13:02.16
for you freezes
first. As he made the turn
00:13:02.17\00:13:05.94
he flipped his
trailer in front of us,
00:13:05.95\00:13:08.48
we were driving in a
Volkswagen Squareback
00:13:08.49\00:13:11.44
and we went
underneath his trailer
00:13:11.45\00:13:13.72
and he dragged us at
least a 100 yards down the road
00:13:13.73\00:13:16.67
before he
realized what had happened.
00:13:16.68\00:13:19.98
Well, it took 45
minutes to get our car out
00:13:19.99\00:13:22.42
from underneath the Semi,
and it took the jaws of a life
00:13:22.43\00:13:26.12
to open the doors so
that they can get us out.
00:13:26.13\00:13:29.09
I was not badly
injured, I had a dislocated hip
00:13:29.89\00:13:33.37
which has since been replaced
because of that accident,
00:13:33.38\00:13:37.40
but my wife had
a ruptured spleen
00:13:37.41\00:13:39.98
and by the time they
got her to the hospital,
00:13:39.99\00:13:42.93
she had no blood pressure.
00:13:42.94\00:13:45.48
Now, it's interesting to see
how the Lord works things out
00:13:46.58\00:13:49.57
because two cars behind
us was the wife of the doctor
00:13:49.58\00:13:53.98
on the university
campus where I taught.
00:13:53.99\00:13:56.73
She immediately
went to a phone in town,
00:13:56.74\00:13:58.33
called her husband and
said there's been a bad accident
00:13:58.34\00:14:00.63
at the bridge, you better come.
00:14:00.64\00:14:02.70
What happened was the
ambulance driver wanted to
00:14:04.52\00:14:07.43
take us to the nearest hospital,
00:14:07.44\00:14:09.73
which was just
2 or 3 miles away,
00:14:09.74\00:14:11.77
rather poorly
equipped County Hospital
00:14:11.78\00:14:14.25
which had no blood
bank. My wife, meanwhile
00:14:14.26\00:14:18.12
was bleeding out
from this ruptured spleen,
00:14:18.13\00:14:21.20
but he insisted and
argued with the ambulance driver
00:14:21.21\00:14:24.01
and had him take us to
a more distant hospital.
00:14:24.02\00:14:27.21
And that more distant
hospital they did have a well
00:14:27.22\00:14:30.96
equipped blood bank
and she was able to survive
00:14:30.97\00:14:33.53
and still living
today. So, God went with us
00:14:33.54\00:14:36.85
through that
horrendous experience,
00:14:36.86\00:14:39.12
I don't know too many
people who have come out
00:14:39.13\00:14:42.14
from underneath a Semi in a
wrecked car and still lived,
00:14:42.15\00:14:46.63
but God was gracious to us
and preserved us through that,
00:14:46.64\00:14:50.13
as we went through
that particular valley
00:14:50.14\00:14:52.72
of the shadow of death.
One other brief experience,
00:14:52.73\00:14:55.81
I was teaching in Peru and when
I finished my teaching course
00:14:55.82\00:14:59.64
I flew from there
to teach in Brazil.
00:14:59.65\00:15:02.07
And the flight in Brazil
went to first of all to Rio
00:15:02.08\00:15:06.52
and then it went
from Rio to Sao Paulo.
00:15:06.53\00:15:09.16
The flight from Rio to
Sao Paulo was in a rain storm
00:15:09.17\00:15:12.80
and as the pilot brought the
plane down to land in Sao Paulo,
00:15:12.81\00:15:16.77
I was sitting in a window
seat and I looked out and it was
00:15:16.78\00:15:21.53
rather rough as we
came down and I looked out
00:15:21.54\00:15:24.44
and as I looked out, I
saw the runway over there,
00:15:24.45\00:15:27.23
we were not on
the runway at all.
00:15:27.24\00:15:28.99
Fortunately, the
pilot he could see his air
00:15:29.00\00:15:32.38
in this big rain storm
and pulled the plane up
00:15:32.39\00:15:35.55
we went back to Rio
and sat there for 2 hours
00:15:35.56\00:15:37.81
to the rain storm had passed on.
00:15:37.82\00:15:39.61
And then we flew in very safely,
00:15:39.62\00:15:42.03
but had he tried
to make the landing,
00:15:42.04\00:15:43.85
I'm sure the results would
have been fairly disastrous.
00:15:43.86\00:15:47.96
Well, the Lord is
good and the Lord preserves
00:15:47.97\00:15:51.33
and the Lord can be with
you even as you go through
00:15:51.34\00:15:55.16
those valleys of
the shadow of death.
00:15:55.17\00:15:57.71
And whether we
survive or not we know that
00:15:57.72\00:16:01.79
the Good Shepherd is with
us through those experiences.
00:16:01.80\00:16:06.55
Well, we come to
the third picture
00:16:06.56\00:16:09.37
and as I
mentioned the third picture
00:16:09.38\00:16:11.15
is not a picture
of sheep. Why not?
00:16:11.16\00:16:14.26
Because what happens with the
sheep at the end of the season,
00:16:14.27\00:16:18.53
after they've
been out in the fields,
00:16:18.54\00:16:20.52
after they've been through that
cycle of searching for grass.
00:16:20.53\00:16:24.77
When they're
brought home, they were put,
00:16:24.78\00:16:26.59
they were put in the sheepfold,
00:16:26.60\00:16:28.77
in the Middle East
and you can still see this
00:16:28.78\00:16:30.69
in some places today.
The sheepfold is underneath
00:16:30.70\00:16:33.23
the house it's like a
cave underneath that house.
00:16:33.24\00:16:36.11
And so, you have
the house up above
00:16:36.12\00:16:38.01
and kind of a cave underneath
and the livestock are kept
00:16:38.02\00:16:41.22
in that cave underneath.
But, that expression does not
00:16:41.23\00:16:47.74
express closely
enough the relationship
00:16:47.75\00:16:51.44
between God and
his human sheep here.
00:16:51.45\00:16:55.78
And so, when you
come home from the fields,
00:16:55.79\00:16:58.47
the sheep go into
the sheep end, but you,
00:16:58.48\00:17:01.73
as the precious human sheep
of God are taken into the house.
00:17:01.74\00:17:06.24
Not only are you
taken into the house,
00:17:06.25\00:17:09.08
but you're taken
into a banquet room,
00:17:09.09\00:17:13.09
and there he spreads
before you all the beautiful
00:17:13.10\00:17:16.95
delicacies that
could celebrate the return.
00:17:16.96\00:17:20.78
And so, we think a little
bit about the Prodigal Son
00:17:20.79\00:17:23.47
in the parable
of the Prodigal Son.
00:17:23.48\00:17:25.57
When the Prodigal Son came home,
00:17:25.58\00:17:27.84
the father was so
happy to have them home
00:17:27.85\00:17:30.78
that he spread every
good thing before him,
00:17:30.79\00:17:32.85
he made a feast and of course
the other son was jealous.
00:17:32.86\00:17:36.93
But the feast which
was served and spread out
00:17:36.94\00:17:39.83
before the Prodigal
Son is a representation
00:17:39.84\00:17:42.94
of the kind of feast
which God will give to us
00:17:42.95\00:17:47.04
when He brings us,
finally brings us home.
00:17:47.05\00:17:50.52
Now, it says that he'll
anoint our heads with oil
00:17:50.53\00:17:56.77
and he'll serve this
feast or this banquet before us
00:17:56.78\00:18:01.77
in the presence of our enemies.
00:18:01.78\00:18:03.76
Now, there is an
interesting story going on here
00:18:03.77\00:18:07.68
and it's your enemies will
look and see how God has exalted
00:18:07.69\00:18:12.84
you with this
wonderful blessing.
00:18:12.85\00:18:16.62
There's an interesting story.
00:18:16.63\00:18:18.54
Well, there is a
Christian writer who says,
00:18:18.55\00:18:21.97
God is performing acts
of redemption so marvelous,
00:18:21.98\00:18:28.58
that even Satan and his
hosts stands back in amazement
00:18:28.59\00:18:33.57
to see the transformations
that are taking place
00:18:33.58\00:18:36.90
in the lives of human beings.
This Psalm we often think of
00:18:36.91\00:18:41.11
as a wisdom Psalm.
And it is you know,
00:18:41.12\00:18:45.93
we've different categories
or classifications of Psalms
00:18:45.94\00:18:49.20
and this is a wisdom
Psalm, because it shows us
00:18:49.21\00:18:52.33
the wisdom of how God leads us,
00:18:52.34\00:18:55.09
how God provides for us
and how God protects us.
00:18:55.10\00:18:59.14
But there is another story to it
and that is reuse of the Psalm.
00:18:59.15\00:19:04.26
It's used in another place,
00:19:04.27\00:19:07.54
we don't often
think of Psalm 23,
00:19:07.55\00:19:10.18
the Good Shepherd
Psalm as a prophetic text,
00:19:10.19\00:19:14.00
but it is used in
a prophetic context
00:19:14.01\00:19:16.38
in a very interesting place.
And for that I'd liked to go
00:19:16.39\00:19:19.60
with you to the book
of Revelation Chapter 7.
00:19:19.61\00:19:22.82
Now, Revelation Chapter 7,
the first half of the chapter
00:19:22.83\00:19:28.21
deals with the
ceiling of the 144,000.
00:19:28.22\00:19:32.71
And then starting with
verse 9, we've another scene
00:19:32.72\00:19:36.23
in which John looks into heaven
and he sees a great multitude
00:19:36.24\00:19:39.24
around the throne,
and they are crying
00:19:39.25\00:19:42.27
with the loud voice salvation to
our God who sits on the throne
00:19:42.28\00:19:45.75
and to the Lamb. And
the angels were standing by
00:19:45.76\00:19:48.81
and they're worshiping God
and the 24 elders were there.
00:19:48.82\00:19:51.95
And then as John
looks at this great crowd
00:19:51.96\00:19:56.65
one of the angels talked
to him and the angel says,
00:19:56.66\00:19:59.70
who are these?
Where do they come from?
00:19:59.71\00:20:02.96
And John says, I
don't know who they are.
00:20:02.97\00:20:06.21
And the angel says to
him, these are the ones
00:20:06.22\00:20:09.52
who come out of
great tribulation
00:20:09.53\00:20:11.18
and they've washed their
robes and made them white
00:20:11.19\00:20:13.78
in the blood of the Lamb.
Now, begins the use of Psalm 23.
00:20:13.79\00:20:18.50
"For this reason they
are before the throne of God
00:20:18.51\00:20:22.94
and they serve Him day
and night in His temple
00:20:22.95\00:20:26.11
and he who sits on the throne
00:20:26.12\00:20:28.42
will spread His
tabernacle over them."
00:20:28.43\00:20:32.03
Think of the sheep
out on those hot fields,
00:20:32.04\00:20:35.60
how they would have
liked to have had shade,
00:20:35.61\00:20:38.57
and God provides
that shade and more.
00:20:38.58\00:20:41.83
They will hunger no
longer nor thirst anymore,
00:20:41.84\00:20:45.86
do you remember what it
says that that the Good Shepherd
00:20:45.87\00:20:48.93
will provide for the
sheep? He provides green grass,
00:20:48.94\00:20:52.34
he provides pasture, he
provides for their hunger
00:20:52.35\00:20:56.21
and he provides
the still waters,
00:20:56.22\00:20:58.22
he provides for their thirst.
Nor will the sun be down on them
00:20:58.23\00:21:03.81
nor any heat, for the lamb
in the center of the throne
00:21:03.82\00:21:08.97
will be their
what? Their Shepherd
00:21:08.98\00:21:12.85
and will guide them to
springs of the water of life
00:21:12.86\00:21:18.31
and God will wipe away
every tear from their eyes."
00:21:18.32\00:21:21.28
Now, the interesting
thing about this scene is,
00:21:21.29\00:21:24.29
who the Shepherd is?
After all this is in heaven
00:21:24.30\00:21:28.69
and you might think of the
Shepherd there being a great
00:21:28.70\00:21:31.35
and mighty being
like the, a leading angel
00:21:31.36\00:21:35.12
and so when you turned to look
and see who the Shepherd is,
00:21:35.13\00:21:39.26
instead you see a little
lamb. The lamb is the Shepherd,
00:21:39.27\00:21:45.01
you can see the paradox.
The lamb is the Shepherd,
00:21:45.02\00:21:48.05
the lamb who died on
the Cross of Calvary,
00:21:48.06\00:21:50.73
for the saints,
who now are in heaven,
00:21:50.74\00:21:54.00
who are now having the full
00:21:54.01\00:21:55.66
and complete
experience of Psalm 23;
00:21:55.67\00:21:59.43
they see that little
Lamb as the Shepherd.
00:21:59.44\00:22:03.95
The Book of
Revelation is sometimes called
00:22:03.96\00:22:06.33
the Book of the Lamb;
the title of Lamb is used
00:22:06.34\00:22:09.76
for Jesus in this,
in this book 26 times.
00:22:09.77\00:22:14.40
And here there's an
interesting connection
00:22:14.41\00:22:16.78
between the Lamb
and the Shepherd.
00:22:16.79\00:22:19.83
Well, we've looked at
what the Good Shepherd
00:22:19.84\00:22:22.96
can do for the sheep in
the first stanza of this poem.
00:22:22.97\00:22:26.22
We've looked at the protection
that the Good Shepherd
00:22:26.23\00:22:28.94
can offer in the
second stanza of this poem
00:22:28.95\00:22:31.43
and we look at
the abundant provision
00:22:31.44\00:22:34.68
that the Good Shepherd makes
when he brings the sheep home.
00:22:34.69\00:22:40.57
And so, we look forward
to the great festival banquet
00:22:40.58\00:22:43.86
which will
occur when Jesus comes
00:22:43.87\00:22:46.72
and Jesus will bring the saints
to the living waters of heaven
00:22:46.73\00:22:51.91
just as it says here. The
springs of the water life.
00:22:51.92\00:22:55.25
You see it's not the,
the dangerous rapid water's,
00:22:55.26\00:22:58.79
it's not even the
still waters of Israel,
00:22:58.80\00:23:02.08
it's the water of
life. And so, when we think
00:23:02.09\00:23:06.23
of the water of
life we think of Jesus
00:23:06.24\00:23:09.18
when He entered the temple.
00:23:09.19\00:23:11.05
He entered the temple on the
day of the Feast of Tabernacles
00:23:11.06\00:23:15.04
and the Feast of Tabernacles
00:23:15.05\00:23:16.41
part of its
celebration involved water,
00:23:16.42\00:23:18.80
because it
celebrated the time when God
00:23:18.81\00:23:22.05
in the wilderness
provided water miraculously,
00:23:22.06\00:23:24.84
when Moses spoke to the rock
and when Moses struck the rock.
00:23:24.85\00:23:28.25
And then Jesus
says, in John 7:37.
00:23:28.26\00:23:33.71
"In the last day, that
great day of the feast,
00:23:33.72\00:23:35.98
Jesus stood and cried,
saying, if any man thirst,
00:23:35.99\00:23:40.05
let him come unto me and drink.
00:23:40.06\00:23:42.24
He that believeth on me,
as the scripture hath said,
00:23:43.37\00:23:46.82
out of his belly shall
flow rivers of living water."
00:23:46.83\00:23:50.99
You see our responsibility
is not just to accept
00:23:51.00\00:23:54.93
the water of
life, which we obviously
00:23:54.94\00:23:57.13
do that as the first stage.
But we have a responsibility
00:23:57.14\00:24:00.86
in turn to give it to
others. So, Jesus goes directly
00:24:00.87\00:24:05.71
from the first stage
where He supplies the water,
00:24:05.72\00:24:08.83
to the second stage where
we supply the water to others.
00:24:08.84\00:24:12.33
We've had the case
of this fashion model,
00:24:12.34\00:24:15.00
who supplied the living water of
Jesus to this poor drugged man
00:24:15.01\00:24:20.36
and it turned his life
around and changed his life,
00:24:20.37\00:24:23.92
so that he came into
harmony with the Lord Jesus.
00:24:23.93\00:24:26.67
So much so that he
could become a choir member
00:24:26.68\00:24:29.06
in the Brooklyn Tabernacle.
00:24:29.07\00:24:30.78
Well, we have
that obligation too.
00:24:30.79\00:24:33.29
We're not only to experience the
Good Shepherd as our provider.
00:24:33.30\00:24:38.06
We're not only to experience the
Good Shepherd as our protector.
00:24:38.07\00:24:42.40
And not only to experience
him as our great leader
00:24:42.41\00:24:45.37
and provider of the
great feast at the last day,
00:24:45.38\00:24:48.58
but we are to experience
Him as the one who provides
00:24:48.59\00:24:53.62
the living water that
we may give it to others.
00:24:53.63\00:24:56.96
It's our responsibility and
God will bless us as we do it.
00:24:56.97\00:25:00.99