When asked the question “Do you want the blessings of God?”, most people would instinctively answer “Yes.” Those same people would be equally clueless about how to obtain those blessings, most likely because their leaders have never taught them. While this drought of instruction regarding such an important area of scripture is quite common, but it is not God’s intention to leave people unaware of how to receive the blessings which Jesus has paid such a high price for us to have.
So today we will be studying directly from scripture how to receive the blessings of God, and let His own Word teach us the truth we need to have prosperity in every area of life as He desires for us.
Now at this point in time you may be glancing at the title of tonight’s study and beginning to wonder how that title fits in with this topic. You see, it is the shepherd’s duty to care for the flock. It is the Job of the shepherd to provide for the sheep and lead them to places where they can eat and drink and rest. These are the responsibilities of the shepherd.
Jesus calls Himself our Good Shepherd in John 10:11:
“I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd gives his life for the sheep.”
Knowing that the shepherd is the protector, provider and overall leader for the flock, we can clearly see the analogy that Jesus was using here to describe one of the main aspects of His relationship with us. Furthermore in one of the most famous and well-known Psalms of the Bible, we see that this aspect of Jesus as our Good Shepherd is linked to certain provisions. Let’s read Psalms 23:1-6:
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.
He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.
You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
Right in verse 1 we can see an amazing truth which many have probably read and heard before but never really stopped to meditate on its meaning: When the LORD is our Shepherd, we shall not be in want. It’s such a simple principle, and it has been there staring us in the face all of this time. I have had conversations with people who complain that God does not provide for them, but still have not submitted to His leadership or followed His advice for their life.
Please understand that is is not about dictatorship, and it is also not about law-keeping or religious merit to earn favor. This is simply about following God’s Divine advice so that He can lead us away from danger and into every single one of His blessings and promises on this earth.
You see my friends, we are redeemed through faith in Jesus Christ alone, period. Christ’s finished work on the cross for us has once again given us a righteous right-standing and right-relationship with the Father, and allowed the Holy Spirit to permanently indwell us. It is this right-standing and right-relationship that affords us the privilege of having God lead our lives into perfection. Think about that… Each of us can have the all-knowing, infinite, omniscient, omnipotent Creator God guiding our lives personally. You want insider information on every aspect of life? There’s the source right there! And we are just getting started! Look at verse 2 of our scripture: He makes me to lie down in green pastures: he leads me beside the still waters.
There’s all three physical benefits: rest (lying down), provision (green pastures) and peace (still waters).
When God is leading and we follow Him, He will never lead us into a ditch, but into the best land.
Verse 3 continues with even more blessings: He restores my soul: he leads me in the paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.
To have our soul restored means to return our mind and our emotions to their proper natural state; back to righteousness-consciousness because of Jesus. Take notice also that He leads us in the paths of righteousness – why because of Jesus (His Name’s sake).
Many believers claim the name of Jesus, but are still very much intent on leading their own lives. However a true believer will recognize the leadership of the Good Shepherd and actually have Jesus leading their lives and following the path of righteousness. Remember that it is this leadership of God that guides us into blessings – and that this is not earned-merit, but it is a gift and privilege that Jesus Christ has purchased for us on the cross.
Next we have verse 4, another well known verse from Psalms 23: Yes, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for you are with me; your rod and your staff they comfort me.
There are even more amazing promises and truths here for us. First an important distinction that is a great comfort. Notice that it is not death that we walk through, but only the shadow of death. A shadow may look intimidating, but in reality it has no substance, and once the light is shining brightly the shadows vanish. Likewise for us the shadows that the enemy projects towards us may seem monstrous, but they are mere illusions without substance and as we focus on Jesus, His light will shine bright and the shadows of the enemy will fade away. Secondly we have the most precious assurance that God is with us. And what exactly does God being with us do for us? We see that here as well… His Rod and His Staff.
Now some people when they think of a rod and a staff they think of punishment, but we can see here that they are instruments of comfort. It is beneficial for us to learn that the rod and the staff each have a different purpose for a shepherd:
The Rod is an instrument of protection. It is used to drive away predators. If a wolf or another wild beat came to try and hurt the sheep, the shepherd would fight it off and drive it away with the rod. This is a picture of God’s care and protection of us today.
The Staff is a tool of correction and learning used to guide the sheep along the path of the Shepherd and to pull them back when they went astray. The staff is more commonly known as a “Shepherd’s Crook” today and is often seen with a hook on the end of it. The shepherds would use it to gently “hook” the sheep back into line, but would never beat or punish the sheep with it. Again this is a picture of the leadership of God.
The comfort does not end at verse 4. Let’s move on to verse 5: You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies: you anoint my head with oil; my cup runs over.
Many people have quoted this verse, but very few have meditated on it. Look at the imagery used here. Our enemies are in our presence, but we are the ones being fed. Moreover, who is the One feeding us? None other than Jesus Himself! Sure our enemies might be right there, but we have a continuous abundance being provided directly from God to us, and our enemies are the ones looking on wondering why we are always so blessed (they call it luck). Furthermore we have God anointing us with oil! Oh, my friends, do you see the magnificence here? In ancient times there were only two classes of people that were anointed: kings and priests, and we are both! Because of Jesus Christ we are a royal priesthood today – and God Himself is anointing us! And what is the result? My cup runs over. We are to be so filled with blessing, joy, love, peace that we have no way to contain it. This is what it means to “serve from the overflow.” The overflow of what? The reality of what Christ Jesus has done for us.
And it doesn’t even stop here! Let’s move on to verse 6: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.
There are two separate blessings here, one for now and one for in Heaven. Do you see it? Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our lives, and also we will dwell in the house or the LORD forever. My friends, this is the benefit and blessing for everyone in Christ. Surely, without a doubt, goodness and mercy follows everyone who has been washed and saved by Jesus Christ.
God’s provision is here for us. His wisdom calls to each of us. His mercy is always with us. The question is: are we letting Him lead and guide us to His land of promise?
My friends, we have just studied an incredible list of blessings that are promised to us. We have seen why we can be assured that they are for us today (the sacrifice of Jesus for us), and we now understand that all of the earthly benefits of God’s provision for us come through allowing Him to safely lead and guide our lives (Psalms 23:1).
I have watched so many people, and counseled some who have wandered from the path of the Good Shepherd, and then actually blamed God for not providing, when they were following their own path.
I have a special message those of you today, if the Spirit is speaking to you and calling you back to your Shepherd, there is still time. He is not angry with you, and He is not looking to punish you.
He is in-fact looking to accept you back into His care. He’s looking for you to carry you and rejoice over you.
Return to His leadership, forsake your own ways which only lead to destruction. Sheep cannot lead sheep. The blind cannot lead the blind. Jesus is the Good Shepherd, and He is the best leader that anyone could ever have.
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