Scriptures: Psalm 23:1, 110:3, Isaiah 40:11, 53:6, Ezekiel 34:23, Philippians 4:19

Perhaps the most beloved Psalm in all the Bible, Psalm 23 begins with a foundational statement, "The Lord is my Shepherd, I shall not want". Everything else that follows in this Psalm grows from the truth in verse 1. The analogy of God as a Shepherd and His people being sheep is found throughout the Bible. Some may be offended being compared to sheep. Did you know that sheep are mentioned over 500 times in the Bible--more than any other animal? But the truth to keep in mind is not the nature of the sheep, but that God is compared to a Shepherd. This is a great encouragement, as the Shepherd is totally responsible for the sheep, who depending entirely upon Him for everything. In this message, Dr. Merritt shares practical truths from Psalm 23:1 that help us understand the wonderful reality of God as our Shepherd.

"The welfare of the sheep is the work of the shepherd. The sheep are not responsible to meet their needs. That is the responsibility of the shepherd. Think about it. God has made himself responsible to meet your needs. He has everything, He is everywhere, He can do anything, and therefore any need you have, big or small, He's guaranteed to meet it. But this shepherd is no ordinary shepherd. The word 'Lord' speaks of deity, but the word 'shepherd' speaks of humanity. The one David wrote about is both divine and human; He is both God and man. Does that remind you of anyone? This shepherd is none other than the God-man Jesus Christ." --Dr. Merritt

Keywords: sheep, shepherd, herd, Jesus, Christ, needs, Jehovah Ra'ah, Steven Ambrose, Undaunted Courage, Thomas Jefferson, Lewis and Clark, promise, satisfaction, confidence, Letter of Credit, hand, fingers, death, grief