THE RISE AND FALL

Songs of the Heart:

HE RESTORES OUR SOULS!<= /span>

Psalm 23

The Good Shepherd guards us, guides us,

and gives us life.

A sermon pr= eached by

Dr. William= O. (Bud) Reeves

First Unite= d Methodist Church

Hot Springs, Arkansas

June 28, 20= 09

In one = of his books, Max Lucado gives an interesting comparison between a cowboy and a shepherd. The cowboy is an Am= erican icon, a real hero of the Old West. You can picture him as he sits on his horse at the edge of a canyon = and watches the cattle as they mosey along below. He is sunburned and trail-toughene= d, slow to speak and quick with a gun. He’s a real American hero, this cowboy.

Now pic= ture a hero of the Bible: the shepherd. In some ways, the shepherd is like the cowboy: rugged, outdoorsy, always on th= e watch, content to sleep out under the stars with the howl of wild animals nearby.<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> But that is where the similarities end. The shepherd loves his s= heep. The cowboy appreciates his cattle;= they are his livelihood. But he doesn’t love his cattle. Did you ever see a cowboy hug a cow?

The dif= ference is, the cowboy drives the cows to slaughter. The shepherd merely shears the sheep. The cowboy wants meat;= the shepherd wants wool. So they = treat their animals differently. The cowboy drives the cattle; the shepherd leads the sheep. The cowpoke wrestles, brands, herd= s, and ropes. The shepherd guards, g= uides, feeds, and carries. The cowboy knows the names of the other trail hands; the shepherd knows the names of h= is sheep. The cowboy whoops and hollers at the cows; the shepherd calls his sheep by name.[1]

Aren= 217;t we glad the Psalmist didn’t say, “The Lord is my cowboy”? Aren’t we glad Jesus didn’t say, “I am the good cowboy”?&n= bsp; The image of the Shepherd is one of the most beloved descriptions of= God in the entire Bible. There ar= e half a dozen references to God as Shepherd in the Book of Psalms, and the New Testament continues the theme with another half dozen or so references. In the Gospels, Jesus self-conscio= usly takes on the role of Shepherd. He says, “I am the good Shepherd= .”= = [2] We have a Good Shepherd who loves = us, who knows us by name, who gives his life for us, and who gives us life. In the Good Shepherd, we find stre= ngth, comfort and courage. We find protection and security. We f= ind a love that never fails.

IsnR= 17;t that what we want out of life? We want to find a safe place, a sense of security, a relationship of trust and love that will never fail us. I believe that is what the 23^rd Psalm is all about.

We want protection from poverty. We w= ant to make sure our basic needs for survival are met. So David, the shepherd boy who bec= ame king, affirms, “The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want.”[3]<= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> For sheep, staying out of want= is fairly simple: a little green grass, a little cool water. Our needs are a little more compli= cated, but the principle is the same. We need to be fed, sheltered, and protected.

We want protection from trouble. The = sheep were in constant danger from predators and their own stupidity. We are in constant danger from the troubles of life: death, disease, despair, economic hardship, relational struggles …and our own stupidity.&nb= sp; Life is a constant challenge. Why do you think we love the 23^rd Psalm so much? Why do we read this Psalm more than any other when someone we love dies? Because it promises: “Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I fear no evil; for you are with me.”[4] = We want protection from our troubles.

Finally= , we want protection from our enemies. When people hate us and hurt us, we need security. When there are conflicts in our ho= mes, at our workplace, in our school, in our community, and in our world, we nee= d to go to someplace safe. So we l= ove it when David sings, “You prepar= e a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”[5] While our detractors watch in frus= tration, we are feasting on the riches of God’s grace, drinking our fill of his goodness and mercy, which follow us all the days of our lives.

That is= our security. That is our spiritu= al safety net. That’s the = peace that sets us apart from the world. <= /span>Katie Couric, CBS news anchor, lost her husband in 1998 to colon cancer at the ag= e of 42. She also experienced the = death of her sister almost four years later. In 2005, Katie shared with an inter= viewer about an inner yearning of her soul: "I'm very interested in exploring= a more spiritual side of me, and I'm in the process of doing that, both forma= lly and informally. I really envy= those who have a steadfast, unwavering faith, because I think it's probably so comforting and helpful during difficult times."[6] That’s what the Good Shepherd brings us. Today let’s = look at three ways the Good Shepherd makes us feel secure.

The Good Shepherd guards us. One of the functions of shepherdin= g is to keep the sheep safe. There= are wolves out there! In the Pale= stine of Jesus’ time, there were steep cliffs and crags that were dangerous= for a sheep to explore. That̵= 7;s what the crook of the shepherd’s staff is for—to rescue sheep in danger.

In John= , Jesus mentions how the good shepherd would actually become the gate for the sheepfold. They would build an enclosure with an opening and gather all the sheep into it at night, and th= en the shepherd himself would lie down in the doorway, serving as a human gate= for the enclosure. No harm would = come to the sheep as long as the shepherd was there.

Have yo= u ever been aware of the protection of God in your life? While serving in Iraq, a= young soldier named Courtney Birdsey experienced the protective hand of God, and = it changed her life forever. She= was part of a crew in a Humvee entering a town just north of Baghdad, when they were caught in an ambush. The Humvee wrecked, a= nd Courtney was nearly run over by another careening vehicle. They fought off the attack, loaded= the wounded into the Humvee, and eventually made it to a safe house on the outskirts of the town. Then Courtney, covered in dirt and the blood of the wounded, fell to her knees a= nd thanked God for her safety.

She sai= d, “After this encounter, my faith took on a deeper and more personal perspective. I had felt the protective hand of God as we returned to our base physically unscathed. For my remaining time in Iraq, I began to rely heavily on my constant communication with God. Praying without ceasing became, for= me, as natural as breathing.”[7] In the midst of the battles of lif= e, the Good Shepherd guards us.

To keep= us secure, the Good Shepherd guides u= s. I think it’s very intere= sting that shepherds get their sheep from one pasture to another not by pushing t= hem, but by leading them. Cowboys drive. Shepherds lead and cal= l the sheep forward. Jesus used this image with his followers: “The gatekeeper opens the gate for him, and the sheep hear his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and = leads them out. When he has brought= out all his own, he goes ahead of them, and the sheep follow him because they k= now his voice.”[8]

This is= the way it still works in Palestine today. There was a tour group= on a tour of the Holy Land, and the guide had= just explained how the shepherds in that part of the world still care for their sheep in the ancient way—leading and calling them out to pasture and = back to home. The next thing they = saw was a Palestinian man driving a flock of sheep from behind, the opposite of what the guide had just said. It was so unusual, the guide stopped the bus and asked the man, “Why are= you driving these sheep? I though= t all the shepherds in this part of the world led their sheep and called them by name.”

The man replied, “You are quite right, sir.&= nbsp; The Shepherd does lead his sheep.&n= bsp; But I’m not the shepherd; I’m the butcher.”

When we= pay attention to the voice of the Shepherd, he will lead us to green pastures, = not to the slaughterhouse. He wil= l take us to the still waters. He wi= ll show us the right paths for our souls.&nbs= p;

A few d= ays ago I was talking with a young man who was trying to make some important decisi= ons in his life. He asked me abou= t the guidance of God. He wanted to= know, can we just pray to God, and he will give us answers or tell us what the ri= ght decision is? It’s not a= lways that simple, but I do believe that if we live in relationship with God, and= if we open our communication with God through prayer and study, the Shepherd w= ill guide his sheep, and we will be able to know the way to go. Jesus promised this guidance as a ministry of the Holy Spirit: “When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth.”= = [9]<= o:p>

Thomas = Merton, the 20^th-century American monk and mystic, wrote a prayer for guidance that has become known as “the Merton prayer.” It’s also a great statement = of faith:

My Lord God, I have no idea where I am going. I do not see the road ahead of me. = I cannot know for certain where it = will end. Nor do I really know mys= elf, and the fact that I think I am following your will does not mean that I am actually doing so. But I beli= eve that the desire to please you does in fact please you. And I hope I have that desire in al= l that I am doing. I hope that I will never do anything apart from that desire. And I know that if I do this you wi= ll lead me by the right road, though I may know nothing about it. Therefore I = will trust you always though I may seem to be lost and in the shadow of death. <= span style=3D'mso-spacerun:yes'> I will not fear, for you are ever w= ith me, and you will never leave me to face my perils alone.= [10]

We can have security because the Good Shepherd guards us, guides us, and gives us life. The mission statement of Jesus= is found in this passage about the Good Shepherd. He said, “I came that they may have life, and ha= ve it abundantly.”[11] The purpose of God is to give us l= ife, even if the Shepherd has to lay down his life for the sheep—which Jes= us did. God wants us to have the= good life, now and forever. King D= avid climaxed the 23^rd Psalm with these words: “Surely goodness and mercy shall follow= me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord my whole life long.”[12] God will give us that life if we w= ill give him our permission.

Keith M= iller is a best-selling Christian author whose first book, A Taste of New Wine, tells about finding the meaning of life. Keith had attended seminary, but h= ad given it up to return to the West Texas = oil fields where he grew up. His = soul was already in turmoil, and then he discovered that his mother was dying wi= th cancer. One day everything got so bad that Keith g= ot in his company car and took off on a field trip alone. He pulled off the side of the road= in despair. His usual optimism h= ad disappeared. He was 27 years = old, but he felt like an old man on a great gray treadmill going no place, in a world that was made up of black clouds all around. As he sat there in his car, he beg= an to weep like a little boy. There= was nothing he wanted to do with his life.&nbs= p; He looked up toward the sky and said, "God, if there's anything= you want in this stinking soul, take it."

Then Keith M= iller shares this testimony:

Something came into my life that day which has never left, a deep intuitive realizati= on of what it was God wanted from me, which I'd never known before. I realized then that it was not ju= st my money or time that God wanted. It occurred to me that He wanted my permission to come into my life and show me how to live creatively and freely in loving relationships with God and peop= le. I realized in that instant that if I'd give my permission, God would begin = to show me life as I'd never seen it before!&= nbsp; Although I could not articulate for many months what had happened to= me, I knew to the core of my soul that I had somehow made intimate contact with= the very Meaning of Life.[13]

Are you read= y to live that kind of life—creative, free, loving, abundant, eternal life? Do you want to live wit= h the security of knowing that you have made intimate contact with the meaning of life? Are you willing today t= o give permission to God to be your Good Shepherd—to guard you, to guide you= , to give you life? God already kn= ows what he wants for you. The fu= ture is in your hands.

When I was i= n high school, a pastor named Leslie Brandt wrote a paraphrase of the Book of Psal= ms called Psalms/Now, putting the = Psalms into modern language. Thirty-= five years later, I think he still captures the spirit of the 23^rd Ps= alm. Let these words soak into your sou= l:

The Lord is = my constant companion.

There is no = need that he cannot fulfill.

Whether his = course for me points to the mountaintops of glorious joy or to the valleys of human suffering,

He is by my = side.

He is ever p= resent with me.

He is c= lose beside me when I tread the dark streets of danger, and even when I flirt wi= th death itself,

He will= not leave me.

When th= e pain is severe, he is near to comfort.

When th= e burden is heavy, he is there to lean upon.

When de= pression darkens my soul, he touches me with eternal joy.

When I = feel empty and alone, he fills the aching vacuum with his power.

My secu= rity is in his promise to be near me always

And in = the knowledge that he will never let me go.[14]

Amen!

&n= bsp;