Life Without Lack

(Speaker: Will Moraza)

Today we are starting this new series, The Good Shepherd. We thought we would help you understand more about God by comparing him to a profession that we are all familiar with. Any shepherds in the house?

But here’s the thing, while we are unfamiliar with all it entails to be a shepherd, this depiction of God as a shepherd is an important one. And the Bible shows how important it is. Just look at the sheer number of times that it is used. God is called a shepherd at least 100 times in the Scriptures. That’s a lot of references that we just can’t ignore.

Now, a part of that may be the fact that shepherding was the go-to job in biblical times. Like if the Bible were written today in our context maybe God would be compared to some of the common careers that we hold here, and this series would be called The Good Coder, or The Good Lawyer. But no. He is known as the Good Shepherd because the original audience knew that profession well.

But there’s another reason why God is described as a shepherd so many times in the Bible. You see, there are specific qualities and behaviors of a shepherd that more closely shed light on who God is and how he relates to us. Now, no comparison is a perfect one. But there is something, or several things, about shepherding that if we learn them can help us better understand God and how he is involved in our lives.

Right or wrong, we all have an idea of who God is, or how he is, and what he thinks of us. But typically our ideas are way off from the reality. Typically how we view God and what we believe about him is more limiting and cynical than the truth. Like if we were to take a survey I believe we would be shocked at the number of people that believe that God is angry at them, that God is punishing them, or that he has abandoned them. We see him more as an angry judge than anything else. (This is simply not true. He is crazy about us.)

Now many of us believe other things to be true: that God is loving, and forgiving, and generous, etc. But for some reason it's easy to think that God is all of these things towards others, but harder to believe it for ourselves. When pitted against each other, the angry judge easily beats out the loving and forgiving God.

But we need the opposite to happen. Dallas Willard has this line where he says, "One of our greatest needs today is for people to really see and really believe the things they already profess to see and believe." (Dallas Willard, Life Without Lack)

That’s our hope for this series. We want you to really see and really believe that God is good – that he really is a Good Shepherd. We are going to learn about what that all means. And so for the next five weeks of this series would you be willing to suspend and question any limiting views you have about God, so that, hopefully, you could replace them for the picture that the Scriptures present – which is that he is the Good Shepherd?

And so to jump into this, we are going to start with Psalm 23; which is easily one of the most important chapters in the Bible. Charles Spurgeon called it the pearl of the Psalms. I’m just going to cover the first 3 verses today, and Rachael Wade will cover the rest in two weeks.

Psalm 23:1-3

The Lord is my shepherd, I lack nothing. He makes me lie down in green pastures, he leads me beside quiet waters, he refreshes my soul. He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake.

Quick background on Psalm 23. Psalm 23 was written by King David. Now King David wasn’t always a king. No. He got his start as a shepherd. In fact, the day that he was anointed king he was late to the party because he was out tending the sheep of his family (1 Samuel 16:11).

That’s what shepherds do, they tend to sheep – they care and watch over them. Shepherds are responsible for feeding, guarding, and guiding the sheep. You see, unlike goats, which are quite independent, sheep are unable to find their own food; they are unable to defend themselves; and as we will discuss later, they also get lost very easily. Sheep are virtually helpless without a shepherd.

David knew that well. And so when he declares The Lord is my shepherd… (v.1a), David is saying, I am under the care of someone else.  What David is expressing here is a complete dependence on God.

And so let me ask you, would you consider yourself more goat or more sheep? (When I say ‘goat’ I’m not talking about ‘greatest of all time’ – although that belief would lead you to try to be more independent.) On a spectrum between independent and completely dependent, which side do you fall closer to?

Here’s one way to gauge. Tim Keller once said that our prayer life would be different if we truly saw Jesus as our shepherd and were completely dependent on him. He said: "You shouldn’t be going to Jesus only when you’re in trouble. You shouldn’t be praying only when you’re not so busy.… Unless you’re praying not only every day but during the day, unless you’re consulting with him, asking, crying out to him, he is not your shepherd.… I’m not saying you’re not trusting him as a savior, but you’re not trusting him as a shepherd. You’re not relying on him for everything. That will come out in your prayer life." (Tim Keller)

I want to encourage you to Learn to TRUST JESUS as your shepherd. Listen, I WANT TO GROW in my trust in Jesus as my shepherd. And we can help each other do that by coming together to pray. Two opportunities that I want to mention. First, every Wednesday at 8am for the past four years we’ve had a group meeting on Zoom for prayer. You can find more details and join us for that by going to epicsf.com/prayer. And then, join us for a great night of prayer and worship on August 1.

Let’s help each other grow in trust and dependence – we need him more than we think. Some of us don’t realize (and I should probably say, all of us don’t realize) how active and present God is in our lives. But you see, a shepherd is present even when the sheep don’t realize it. But us becoming aware of him allows us to work with him, and not against him.

Now, going back to the passage. After David says that the Lord is his shepherd, he makes probably one of the boldest statements in all of Scripture. He says, "Because The Lord is my shepherd, I LACK NOTHING" (v.1). He’s saying, "Because God is the one who cares for me and I am utterly dependent on him, I have everything that I need." (Wow!)

Now that’s the life that we all want – a life where we lack nothing. But unfortunately that’s the opposite of what most of us experience. For many of us life is so full of lack. Even though we may have a lot of possessions, there always seems to be a gap or something missing in life that makes it difficult to express anything near what David is expressing here.

So what is it about David and how he views God and God’s activity in his life that leads him to say with confidence I have everything I need – I lack nothing? Four things. He writes:

● He makes me lie down in green pastures (v.2a) - This has to do with God’s provision. When David looked at his life he saw how God was providing everything he needed in life – he was providing his daily bread. But not just enough to get by; but in abundance. You see, you will rarely find a sheep lying down – especially if it’s hungry and in green pastures. So that means that a sheep that is lying down has had its fill. They are satisfied. They are content. (I’m going to come back to that in a moment.)

● Secondly, David writes, He leads me beside quiet waters (v.2b) - This also speaks of provision. But even more than that it speaks of peace. A sheep will never enter or drink from rushing or turbulent waters. They need calm waters. And God is able to take us to a place of peace that surpasses our understanding – he’s able to give us a peace that surpasses or transcends our circumstances.

● Next he writes, He refreshes my soul (v.2c) - This has to do with God’s care and healing power. I’ll say more about this later also. But for now, let me just say what we already know – that in this world and throughout our life we will get banged up and hurt. But God is able to care for us, and strengthen us, and restore us. He refreshes our souls.

● And lastly, He guides me along the right paths for his name’s sake. (v.3) - Through his Spirit and through his Word the Good Shepherd also guides us. He sets us on a path to walk in his ways so that we might bring him glory and make a difference in this world.

So David is like, I lack nothing. I have everything I need. My shepherd guides me, he heals and restores me, he gives me peace, and he provides for me in a way that satisfies me. He’s like, I am content.

Now, one of the reasons why we can’t say we lack nothing or why we aren’t content is because there are things that we place under the category of ‘need’ that God does not place in that category. So this is why we struggle with contentment. Contentment is not about having everything you want or ‘need’. No. Paul says in Philippians 4 (vv.11b-13), "I have learned to be content whatever the circumstances. I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether well fed or hungry, whether living in plenty or in want. I can do all this through him who gives me strength." Do you know what Paul is saying? The same thing David is saying: I lack nothing. Because Jesus is my shepherd – through him who gives me strength – I’m good regardless of the circumstances.

He’s saying; and here’s the point: Our greatest need is Christ; not more things. If we have him we have everything.

Allow me to read you a fairly long passage from Max Lucado that speaks to this point.

"Are you hoping that a change in circumstances will bring a change in your attitude? If so, you are in prison, and you need to learn a secret of traveling light. What you have in your Shepherd is greater than what you don’t have in life.

May I meddle for a moment? What is the one thing separating you from joy? How do you finish this sentence: 'I will be happy when . . .'? When I am healed. When I am promoted. When I am married. When I am single. When I am rich. How would you finish that statement?

Now, with your answer firmly in mind, answer this. If your ship never comes in, if your dream never comes true, if the situation never changes, could you be happy? If not, then you are sleeping in the cold cell of discontent. You are in prison. And you need to know what you have in your Shepherd.

You have a God who hears you, the power of love behind you, the Holy Spirit within you, and all of heaven ahead of you. If you have the Shepherd, you have grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. You have everything you need." (Max Lucado)

The invitation today is for you to come out of that cold cell of discontent and follow the Good Shepherd. If you have him you have everything.

Now everything I’m talking about is a struggle for us. And it’s a struggle for a reason. I mentioned earlier that God is called a shepherd 100 times in the Bible; which is a lot. But do you realize that we are called sheep 400 times in the Bible?! And for the most part, when the Bible does that it is not a compliment.

Why? Because sheep are dumb. Let me just give you one example of why sheep are considered dumb and how we are similar. (This is going to be a very uplifting part of the message!) Sheep have no sense of direction and easily get lost. (They are not like cats and dogs. Like I mentioned earlier, they need guidance.) Isaiah 53:6(a), a very famous verse says, "We all, LIKE SHEEP, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way…". The reputation of a sheep is to go astray – it’s to leave the flock and turn away from the shepherd.

And we do the same. I don’t know about you, but for a long time it would puzzle me that no matter how much I wanted to follow after God I would still find myself turning to my own way – which was always away from God. Paul talks about this in Romans 7 (v.15) when he says, I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do. Anyone resonate with that?

And I love how one of my favorite hymns, Come Thou Fount of Every Blessing, puts it: Prone to wander, Lord, I feel it; Prone to leave the God I love. So therefore (earlier in the song it says), Bind my wandering heart to Thee. That is the human condition – we easily get lost – we easily wander.

And we wander because there are many things in this world that promise to fulfill us – to deliver us. But they continually leave us even more lost. And even more than that, they continually leave us hurt and wounded.

Sheep don’t have the ability to assess danger very well. They are constantly getting into precarious situations – even at times following a rogue sheep off of a cliff. (Like I said, dumb.)

Do you ever get yourself into some sticky situations? And here's the thing, in those moments, when we are alone and in trouble, you can feel so far from God. And that might be true. But when you have a good shepherd, he goes after you. Some of you need to hear this today. God is not mad at you. He loves you. He’s coming after you. You’re not here at church because you thought it was a good idea. He’s pursuing you and he’s inviting you into a relationship with him.

Again, one of the primary responsibilities of a shepherd is to guard his sheep. One commentator puts it this way: Every night, a shepherd counts his sheep to ensure none have strayed or been stolen. If any of the sheep are missing, he goes out to look for them, discontent to lose any of those under his care. Not only does the shepherd tend to their wounds when they have been attacked, but he also “binds up the injured and strengthens the weak” even when their injuries or weaknesses are of their own doing.

One of the main things that I want you to take away from today’s teachings is that The Good Shepherd is good even when we are not good. His goodness is not predicated on our behavior. Today he wants to bandage your wounds – even if they were of your own doing. He wants to refresh your soul and restore you to a right relationship with him. And so the question is, will you let him do it? Will you lean-in and allow him to love on you and restore you? Are you ready and willing to follow the Good Shepherd? (Luke 15 – heaven rejoices)

Let us pray for you. We are not the Good Shepherd but we are under-shepherds ready to receive you.

If you feel like you have strayed away from God and you want to return back to him, come up for prayer.

If you want to grow in contentment, come up. If there’s a need that has kept you in a cell of discontent, and you feel like you need to surrender it to God, come up. And hear me: Contentment does not mean you don’t want more. It just means that as you pray and believe God for more, you trust Him for His provision as you thank Him for all He has done in the past.

If you want to grow in trust and dependence on Jesus, if you want to truly see him as your Good Shepherd, feel free to come up.

Can you say that you lack nothing? That you have contentment and satisfaction, peace and refreshment? If not, maybe it’s because you haven’t made him your shepherd and you haven’t leaned into how good he is. That is the invitation available to you today. It’s not going to happen overnight. But it does start with one step in the right direction.

● Place your trust in Him.

● Memorize Psalm 23.

● Express gratitude for all that God has provided.