TOPIC: DO YOU TRUST YOUR SHEPHERD?

IOI CHRISTIAN MORNING MEAL

TOPIC: DO YOU TRUST YOUR SHEPHERD?

TEXT “The Lord is my Shepherd”: A sermon on Psalm 23

Once there was a shepherd who had 100 sheep. One evening he counted them as they went into the gate. Only 99 were there! One was missing! It must not have followed the shepherd home and was now lost in the woods. At once, the man closed the gate and left his helpers to watch the flock. He must find that lost sheep before some wolf could get her. He hurried to the place where the flock had been that day. He called the sheep’s name over and over again.
For a while the shepherd hear nothing. Again and again he called. At last, he heard a weak cry. Before long, he found her, all tangled up in some bushes. He gently pulled her out, but found she could not walk; she had hurt her leg. So he picked her up and carried her home on his shoulders.

This shepherd is someone we all know. It is Jesus Christ, and we are his sheep. Sometime we sheep get lost. We go down the wrong path. We get hurt.

But our shepherd is always calling us back. He wants all of us to be safe with him. He searches for us when we get lost. He calls us by name. And he rejoices over all who belong to him. Christ leads us home.

That’s what makes Psalm 23 so powerful. The Lord Jesus Christ is my shepherd. He is the Son of God who loved me and who gave himself for me. And if Christ is with me, then I am safe in his love.

Look at how Psalm 23 begins: “The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.” Our Psalm says that we will never lack anything. That’s quite a statement of faith, isn’t it? If Christ is our shepherd, we will never be in want or lack anything in our life. But is that really true? Do we really believe this?

Often, it feels as if there is something missing in our life. In fact, we often feel like we lack a lot of things. It seems like our life is empty. We feel hollow inside. We are spiritually hungry. We feel lost.

FAITH
Perhaps what’s missing in our life is faith, just a simple trust in God’s goodness and grace. Often our faith is shaky and uncertain. We are filled with doubts and fears. Our trust in the Lord is weak and faltering. We have a hard time believing.

CRY "HELP" TO THE LORD NOW
We may finally reach a point where we cry out, “Lord, help me! Increase my faith! Help me to trust in you and to follow your ways. Show me the way to get rid of my doubts and fears.”

LISTEN TO YOUR SHEPHERD
That’s when Jesus says, “Listen! I am the Good Shepherd; I know me sheep and my sheep know me, and I lay down my life for the sheep.” Jesus says that he know us and our situation. The shepherd is well aware of the condition of his sheep. That’s why he points to himself and says, “I am your Shepherd. Listen to my voice when I call to you. Hear my Word! Listen to what I say
. . . . . CONTINUE TOMORROW

LET US PRAY
TODAY IN JESUS NAME, JESUS THE GOOD SHEPHERD WILL FIND YOU, AND REPAIR, RENEWED, RECREATE EVERY OF YOUR BROKENNESS IN JESUS NAME

GOOD MORNING