Radio Talk given 8-3-98

Good morning listeners. I’m Tim De Vos, and you’re tuned in to Voice Of The Church (VOTC). VOTC is brought to you by the Free Reformed Church of Albany, located on the corners of North and Beaufort Rds. Friends, have you ever felt lonely, neglected, you know, like no one cares for you? I can recall my son coming up to me sometime at the end of last year saying, "Dad, I feel really sad". Now I could have written that off thinking he’d had a bad day at school, but I thought there must be more to it. I asked him, "What do you mean?" He have a big sigh, and said, "I don’t know". Well, that didn’t explain things. So I asked him, "If you think hard, can you think of a reason why you might be sad?"

"Well," he said, "I like you to play with me, but you never want to." Well this shocked me a bit. I felt incredibly guilty. I said to him, "I love playing with you. Do you think I don’t want to?" He looked at me and said, "Well, Dad, it seems like that. I like to play cricket, but sometimes you’re not there. You come home late sometimes, and have meetings at night."

Well friends, that made me think about something. It reminded me of God Almighty. Does He ever ignore us? When we’re lonely, we feel as thought everyone ignores us. And why would a God who we can’t see, listen to our cry of help. Well, that’s the beauty of it. He never tires of listening to us and He’s always there to help. The image of a shepherd comes into mind. A shepherd who loves his sheep and cares for them. We find such a trustworthy shepherd in Ps 23. The Lord is our shepherd. Stay tuned to hear more about this shepherd, our heavenly Father.

Friends, I would like you to sit back for a while and just picture in your mind the life a sheep; a sheep that has a shepherd that really cares for him. This shepherd spends all its time looking after the sheep. Even when this shepherd sleeps, its staff is at hand, ready to jump up at the first noises it hears in order to protect his sheep. This shepherd ensures that his sheep never want, they never go without food or water. The shepherd ensures that the sheep can lie down and relax. And believe me, that is amazing for sheep, they refuse to lie down unless they are free from fear . If flies torment them, or if there is any friction with another sheep, or if they have not had enough food they will not lie down. Yet this caring shepherd ensures that all the sheep have no concerns what so ever and so they are able to sleep.

This shepherd will lead the sheep, he will go through the valleys and rough plains before his sheep to ensure that they do not encounter any danger from rampaging river in flood, avalanches, rock slides, poisonous plant, and predators. In short this shepherd is willing to do anything to protect his sheep.

... And these sheep? Well its not hard to guess that under the care of such a good shepherd, they thrive. They look fit and healthy, well feed, happy and content. They know themselves to be in the care of a loving shepherd, so even if some catastrophe comes on their path, their shepherd will guide them through it.

Well friends, today I would like to read to you a Psalm in which the author, king David, joyfully and loudly claims to have such a shepherd. THE LORD IS MY SHEPHERD he sings.

Lets read together Psalm 23

Isn’t this a beautiful Psalm. Someone once wrote about it " During its journey through the ages of mankind, this psalm has stilled more pain than all our doctors and it has given more peace to the human race than all the wisdom of the world." Why is this? Because it assures us of God’s grace and care over his children. This Psalm comes to its climax in Jesus Christ. He declares about Himself "I am the Good Shepherd." He will care for us if we flee to Him and accept his work.

Let’s have a closer look at how Christ as our Shepherd cares for us. The Psalm says "I shall not want" This means that the believers can be utterly content in the Good Shepherd’s care and consequently do not need to crave or desire anything anymore. It is interesting to note that it is David who says "I shall not want". David, who throughout his whole life had to flee from his enemies, and who at times had very little materially. We would say that he had a very difficult life, and yet he can still claim that with the Good Shepherd, he shall not want. Obviously David is not referring here to physical or material poverty. We know that Christians can also suffer many hardship in this life. Christ Himself has said that our lives may be filled with many hardships. Yet a Christian can still claim, I SHALL NOT WANT. They have entrusted themselves to God’s control and are under His care and so have found contentment. Knowing the Good Shepherd’s care over them, they may be permeated with a deep, quiet, settled peace of true joy and happiness.

And why can the sheep of this Good Shepherd be so content? Because they know that the Good Shepherd, Jesus Christ, loves His sheep, they mean everything to Him. No wonder Jesus said "I am the Good Shepherd. The Good Shepherd gives His life for the sheep." (John 10:11) That is exactly what the Shepherd did. He sacrificed His life on the cross so that His followers may have eternal life. This means that their sins have been forgiven so that they may live forever with the Good Shepherd. With such a future to look forward to, how can the Christian ever doubt that he will not want. No matter what the sheep have to go through in this life, whether they are jobless, seriously ill, depressed, or what ever, they can remain content, knowing they are in the hands of such a caring, Good Shepherd.

Let’s have a look at verse 5 "You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies" says David about the Lord. A Shepherd often went before the sheep to check out the pastures or tablelands that they were going to graze on in the summer months. He checked to see which areas were suitable for grazing and which were not. He studied the ground to see if poisonous weeds were appearing, and if they were he came up with a programme to eradicate these weeds before the sheep came to feed.

The parallel to the Christian life is clear. Jesus as our Good Shepherd has gone before His people, to prepare the way for us. Hebrews 2:18 says about Jesus "...He Himself has suffered, being tempted, He is able to aid those who are tempted." While Jesus lived on earth, He was tempted with all the same things that we are tempted with. He has known our suffering, experienced our sorrows and endured our struggles in this life. And because He can identify Himself with such things He also understands. We can not grasp the amount of care and compassion He has for His sheep because of this. He will also make what ever provisions are possible so that we can cope with the temptations of Satan. Listen to what Jesus said to Simon Peter one of His close disciples "Simon, Simon! Indeed, Satan has asked for you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for you, that your faith should not fail..." (Luke 22:31 &32). Just like the Good Shepherd prayed for Peter, so he anticipates all the difficulties that His followers will encounter and so prays for them also. What a caring and wonderful Shepherd!

This Psalm, written long ago by David, can still be joyfully and confidently sung by all those who trust in Jesus Christ as their Good Shepherd. They can look forward to a future with this Good Shepherd. Listen to what Revelation 7:16 &17 say about those who will experience such a future. "They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes."

Last modified: September 11, 1999