David states this as a fact, a given, there’s not something that you have to do in order to make this happen. If you are in the flock of God, this is true of you. This is what he does for you. He leads you. Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I’m David Pick and we’re continuing our series today, The Lord Is My Shepherd based on Psalm 23. And today, we’re going to look at how the Lord leads us. And Colin, that’s an encouragement to us, to know, to understand, and to own that truth. It really is. And I think one of the reasons that Psalm 23 is so popular and has been for generations among Christian believers is that its focus is all on what the Lord does for us. We hear a lot about what we are called on to do for the Lord, and that’s important. The Bible has much to say about that. But if we only ever hear about what we are called to do for God, then we end up becoming quite crushed and discouraged. What lifts us up is to hear what the Lord Himself does for us. And that’s the focus of Psalm 23. And that’s why it’s such a wonderful source of encouragement. It really lifts us up. I find this in my own life. I come back to it and I say, here are the things that the Good Shepherd does for me. You know, when I’m really down, He’s going to restore me. When I don’t feel I have strength to go on, He’s going to feed me and nourish me. He’s going to protect me and guard me when I face danger. These are givens. These are things that are part of what it means to be a sheep belonging to the Shepherd. It’s the most wonderful thing in the world to be wholly owned by the Son of God. And we’re looking today at one of the great gifts that comes to us in that relationship that He will always lead us. You don’t need to feel. He will lead you. He’s committed to that and you can count on it. Well, let’s jump straight into the message. Open your Bibles if you can at Psalm 23. As we begin the message, He leads me. Here’s Colin. If you were here last week, you will recall that we began by saying that this is a Psalm about the Lord. The Lord is my shepherd. Every line of this Psalm is about who He is and what He does for His people. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He leads me in possible righteousness for His name’s sake. But then we also saw that very wonderfully this is a Psalm about us. It’s about God, in His relationship with us. The Lord is my shepherd. Every line of this Psalm is about us and what is ours in and through our Lord. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He leads me in paths of righteousness for His own name’s sake. And we saw last time that the very first and most important thing about the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is that the shepherd owns the flock. So when I say the Lord is my shepherd, what that means is the Lord owns me, I really am His. And we saw last time that a shepherd takes ownership of sheep in one of two ways, either sheep are bought into the flock or they are born into the flock. And we saw that with regards to our relationship with our shepherd that both of these things are true. You were bought with a price. The Lord Jesus ransomed you, purchased you by the shedding of His own blood. And you have been born into the flock of God, born again by the Spirit of God through the living and enduring Word of God. So being the flock of God we are wholly owned by the shepherd. And the question that is then answered by this very wonderful psalm is very simply this. What will the shepherd do for the flock that he owns? And the psalm gives five marvelous answers to that question. We then will see that he will restore you, he will guard you, he will feed you, and he will love you forever and forever. Now, today, then, the first of these, the shepherd will lead you. You’re his, born, bought into the flock of God. And here’s what that means. You can absolutely count on this that you’re a shepherd. The Lord will always lead you. Notice that David states it twice. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me besides still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his own namesake. Now, do you see, then, that the first blessing, this first wonderful truth that belongs to all those who are wholly owned by the Son of God, is that he leads you. And, David states this as a fact, a given. There’s not something that you have to do in order to make this happen. If you are in the flock of God, this is true of you. This is what he does for you. He leads you! And what that means very wonderfully, brothers and sisters, is that whatever is happening in your life and whatever is going on in the world, is not a matter of random chance. We are not stumbling through life, moving from one thing to another. We are surprised by what comes, but we are actually being led by a shepherd. And the shepherd is taking us on a journey that will lead us to his own home where we will be with him forever and he knows the way that he is going, and he leads you on the right path. Now, I want us to look at two things today. The first is where he leads us, and there are two specific statements here in the Psalm, and then very wonderfully, why he leads us, which is explained to us here. First then, where does he lead us? And the first thing we are told is that the good shepherd leads us into rest. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me where? Beside still waters. And these are two very, very beautiful descriptions of rest. Green pastures of course are places where the sheep can graze, but notice that the emphasis here in this verse is not on grazing but on resting. He makes me lie down in green pastures. Not feeding there, but lying down in green pastures is the point here. He leads me besides still waters. Sheep of course are scared of moving water. When the sheep falls in to moving water, its fleece will be like a sponge and soak up so much water that the weight of it will cause it to drown and therefore good shepherds will dam up a river in order to have quiet pools, where the sheep can drink without the danger of falling in to a river. So here are two beautiful descriptions of rest. There’s a meadow with lush green grass, there are pools of water that provide drink at the side. Now let me just make one of two observations on rest and the first is this, that rest does not come easily or naturally to sheep. By the way, this is so practical today. I want to ask for a show of hands but if I was to ask for a show of hands as to how many of us are feeling tired and jaded right now, I think we’d get a pretty good representation. And what we’re being told here is that your good shepherd leads you into what you don’t easily find, rest. Notice he makes me lie down. I don’t find it easy to lie down by myself. I don’t find it easy to rest! That’s what David is saying. Now think about the analogy that is so wonderful all the way through this psalm. Why is it difficult for sheep to rest? Well, the answer to that is that sheep are timid creatures who have very limited means of defending themselves. I mean, if you think about this, a bull can charge. A snake can bite. A skunk, it can spray, it can do its thing, right? It’s got a means of defending itself. What can a sheep do to defend itself? Now, the only thing that a sheep can do to defend itself is run. And, frankly, they’re not very good at that either. You compare them to deer, they’re pretty slow. Compare them to the wolf, they’re pretty slow. So if the only means that you have of defending yourself is to be able to run away when a dog comes, or whatever, then what is your experience of life going to be? You’re going to be standing on your feet all the time, you’re always going to be on edge, because you know your own vulnerability. You’re always going to be in this position of anxiety and you therefore find it hard to rest. How can you lie down if your only means of defense is to run? And maybe that is actually a very powerful picture of where you are today. You don’t find it easy to rest, don’t find it easy to sleep. Why? Because there is a problem you need to solve, there is a challenge you need to face, there are fears that are constantly a sailing you, and your mind won’t rest. How am I going to get through this? And so you lie awake at night and you’re going over all that has happened, and all that might happen all that could happen, you need rest, but you don’t know how to find it. And, of course, David has been there. He knows what this is like, in other Psalms he describes it very vividly. Rest did not come to him easily or naturally. You think about that it’s hardly surprising. All those years he spent on the run from King Saul who was pursuing him for his life. Years of worry over a divided nation and over a dysfunctional family. The sheer weight of responsibility that is on this man’s shoulders, as the king of God’s people, the weight of that responsibility. How is he ever going to rest? And here’s his answer, the Lord makes me lie down.’ Now how does the shepherd make the sheep lie down? Does he come with a stick and beat them down? No no no, how does the shepherd make the sheep lie down? By his own presence. Sheep rest when they can see their shepherd. They’ll only lie down when they feel safe and the time that they feel safe is when they can see their shepherd. Try and put yourself in the position of the sheep. You know that you’re vulnerable, your only defense is to run so you stay on your feet. Just in case any danger comes upwards. But when you can see your shepherd right there in the field. When you can see your shepherd then you will be able to lie down and rest because if the wolf comes you know that the shepherd is there and the shepherd will deal with the wolf on your behalf, that is therefore why you can rest. He makes me lie down. If the shepherd were to leave the field you would be back on your feet again, watching out for danger, as long as you can see your shepherd you will be able to rest and David says this what my shepherd does for me. He makes me lie down and he explains it more directly in verse four which we’ll come to later in this series because even though he says I walked through the valley of the shadow of death even there you are with me. If the worst happens, if I go through the valley of the shadow of death even there I have nothing to fear because still my shepherd will be with me and when I know that he is with me I can rest. Rest doesn’t come easily or naturally to sheep. They rest when they can see their shepherd. Therefore here’s the application to us the way to find rest is to keep the shepherd in view. Notice then this very important fact that the shepherd does not bring rest to the sheep by a ridding the world of danger it’s not that the shepherd says hey you can rest because this is a wolf free zone. It’s not a wolf free zone. The dangers are out there the sheep lied down not because the world is free from danger but because they have the shepherd in view and it is his presence that gives them rest. Now do you see very practically this is how then we must address our fears I do not face this alone and whatever may come my shepherd is with me and my Shepherd is the Lord almighty you’re listening to open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and today’s message he leads me part of our series the Lord is my Shepherd and don’t forget if you miss any of the series or if you want to go back and listen again you can do that by coming online to our website open the Bible dot-org.uk you can also find us as a podcast go to your favorite podcast site and search for open the Bible UK we’ve been looking into how the Lord leads us into rest and now we’ll hear how he also leads us into righteousness back to the message here’s Colin the good shepherd leads his sheep into rest rest he makes me lie down and then secondly the good leads us into righteousness he leads me in paths of righteousness now notice you have a full description of the Christian life right here in these two phrases there are times for lying down and for rest and there are times for moving forward there’s the whole Christian life we rest in order that we may have strength to follow him on the right path the natural order you might think would be that we walk the right path in order and then that we rest but here it’s the other way around that’s the gospel principle that we rest in order that we may be able to walk in the right path the Bible speaks about righteousness in two ways there is a righteousness that Christ gives us and that is what enables us to rest and then there is a righteousness to which Christ calls us and that is what David is speaking of here the righteousness that Christ gives us Paul says in Philippians I want to be found in Christ not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law but that which is through faith in Christ the righteousness that comes from God and depends on faith we become right with God not through a righteousness that we produce but through the perfect righteousness that Jesus Christ himself gives to us He lived that perfect life and when he laid it down on the cross he offered up that perfectly righteous life on our behalf And brother sister isn’t this wonderful all the righteousness you will ever need is given to you fully and freely in the Lord Jesus Christ and it becomes yours when you become his it’s a marvellous thing to be wholly owned by the Son of God and that’s why you have rest the righteousness of Christ is yours when you are his but there is no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus But now do you see how this fits with Psalm 23 that, it’s not the end but the beginning of the Christian life It is not simply that we lie down and rest in the given righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ as we have received this and have this by faith in him He calls us now to follow him in right paths and that’s what’s referred to here in the words of David There is a righteousness to which Christ calls us Peter puts it this way He himself, bore our sins in his body on the tree that we might die to sin and live to righteousness There are right paths, that your shepherd calls you to pursue, right paths and he will lead you in them clearly that is what David is talking about here Paths of righteousness simply means right paths and where the shepherd leads you will always be the right path I wanted to notice a couple of things here and the first is that the right path will not always be an easy path the psalm makes that very clear if you look at verse five the right path takes you through the presence of enemies in verse four the right path takes you through the valley of the shadow of death but even there your shepherd will lead you Psalm 23 makes it very, very clear that the pastures will not always be green and that the waters will not always be still when Jesus said to his disciples in the gospels let us go to the other side of the Lake remember He led them into a storm but it was a storm in which they saw His glory and it was a storm in which they learned that they could truly trust Him so the Good Shepherd won’t always lead you beside the still water sometimes He’s actually gonna lead you right through the water in another Psalm, Psalm 77 we read these remarkable words referring back to when God led His people through the Red Sea your way was through the sea your path was through the great waters your footprints were unseen but you led your people like a flock by the hand of Moses and of Aaron now there will be times in your life where the way in which God leads you seems to be absolutely impossible that was the situation of God’s people when they came to the Red Sea but God was with them He was leading them and there will be times when you find it hard to detect the presence of God notice what he says here that God’s footprints were unseen God led his people through the Red Sea but there was not visible evidence of God’s presence that was given to them in that experience his footprints were unseen there will be times where you say now where is God in this can’t see him can’t figure out what he’s doing can’t feel his presence God’s ways will sometimes be a mystery to you that’s what we’re being told here but you can be sure of this that when the Lord is your Shepherd even where you cannot see his footprints he will lead you even when his footprints are unseen and then there will be times when God’s direction in your life comes through people he puts beside you Do you see that in this verse from Psalm 77? You led your people like a flock How? By the hand of Moses and Aaron Seek the wisdom and counsel of other godly people God puts beside you when you’re trying to discern a right path It’s one of the ways that God will lead you he gives undershepherds to the flock he puts other believers around you You’re not alone on this journey Good to be reminded of that as we hear how the good Shepherd leads us on a path even though that path will not always be easy I hope you’ll join us in the next broadcast when we hear about how he always takes us on the right path and how he leads us for his name’s sake You’ve been listening to Pastor Colin Smith on Open the Bible And the message He Leads Me It’s been part of our series The Lord Is My Shepherd Based on Psalm 23 And if you’ve missed any of the series or if you want to go back and listen again you can do that by coming online to our website www.Openthebible.org.uk There you can hear of our previously broadcast messages You can also find them as a podcast go to your favourite podcast site search for Open the Bible UK and subscribe to receive regular updates Open the Bible is supported entirely by the generous gifts of our listeners and if that’s something you’ve been considering to do then we have an offer for you this month If you’re able to begin supporting Open the Bible with a new donation of £5 per month or more we’d love to thank you by sending you a new devotional by Pastor Colin Smith called Green Pastures Still Waters Like today’s message it’s based on Psalm 23 Colin, this devotional comes from a sermon series that you preached a while back and as you prepared for the series what was the main thing you took away from it? Oh that single word, encouragement I mean I can’t think of any better place to go when a person feels down or jaded or just generally exhausted If you need encouragement Psalm 23 is the place to go And God has been using the psalm to encourage His people for three thousand years And I reckon that’s probably the reason why this is one of the best known and best loved chapters in all of the Bible I mean to know that in Christ you have a Shepherd and that in the Shepherd you have everything that you need that is the greatest joy and that will renew your strength So I’m absolutely delighted that we’re able to make this available as a devotional You can read it over 31 days and it will renew your strength it will refresh your soul Psalm 23 one of the best known best loved chapters in the Bible We’d love to send you a copy of Green Pastures, Steel Waters if you were able to begin supporting the work of Open the Bible this month in the amount of £5 per month or more Full details on our website For Open the Bible and Pastor Colin Smith I’m David Pick and I hope you’ll join us again next time The Right Path that God leads us on Is not always easy Find out more next time on Open the Bible