Dangers still lurk at spiritual maturity. Stay close to the Shepherd. MP3 click here Psa 23:5; Deu 30; Luke 22:32-35

Ps 23:1-5

The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want.

2 He makes me lie down in green pastures;

He leads me beside quiet waters.

3 He restores my soul;

He guides me in the paths of righteousness

For His name's sake.

4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,

I fear no evil; for Thou art with me;

Thy rod and Thy staff, they comfort me.

5 Thou dost prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies;

 

The preparation of the table represents the shepherd’s preparation of the mountain meadows that the sheep graze upon during the summer.

 

We have already noted how the sheep would travel through the death shadowed valleys, following the shepherd up to the green pastures that presented themselves after the snow receded in the springtime.

 

What we did not note was that during the early spring the shepherd would go up into the hills by himself and survey the pastures.

 

He would look for signs of predators, usually big cats and coyotes. He would look for poisonous plants and flowers and pull them up. He would be on his hands and knees all day pulling up poisonous plants. He would look for the best places for the sheep to sleep at night so he could set up his own camp there. He would watch the fields closely and see which ones were better for grazing and plan out a grazing schedule for the sheep to follow.

 

In southern Europe, the high plateau of the sheep ranges are always referred to as “mesas” - the Spanish word for tables.

 

The analogy is clear. TLJC went ahead of us. He fulfilled the plan that we now have. And He advanced to the mountain top pastures of spiritual maturity and has prepared that place for us.

 

He has prepared our tables for time and for eternity. He alone has prepared it all. It is through His work that we can enjoy the mountain pastures in safety and comfort.

 

But why does the shepherd have to pick all the poisonous flowers and why does he have to be the one who determines the best grazing fields and protect the sheep from predators?

 

It is because of what we’ve been saying all along in the isogogics of this Psalm, sheep need the most care of all livestock. They will stray, they cannot protect themselves, and they will try and eat anything.

 

Isn’t that just like us? I think it has defined our last generations. We will try anything.

 

We are warned again and again that it will hurt us and yet we do it anyway.

 

Solomon said that:

   

Eccl 8:11-13

Because the sentence against an evil deed is not executed quickly, therefore the hearts of the sons of men among them are given fully to do evil. 12 Although a sinner does evil a hundred times and may lengthen his life, still I know that it will be well for those who fear God, who fear Him openly. 13 But it will not be well for the evil man and he will not lengthen his days like a shadow, because he does not fear God.

 

You don’t know unless you try it, some will say. But with the word of God we do know. God in His love has warned us about what will hurt us and what will bless us and He gives us the free will to choose.

 

Deut 30:15-20

"See, I have set before you today life and prosperity, and death and adversity; 16 in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways and to keep His commandments and His statutes and His judgments, that you may live and multiply, and that the Lord your God may bless you in the land where you are entering to possess it. 17 But if your heart turns away and you will not obey, but are drawn away and worship other gods and serve them, 18 I declare to you today that you shall surely perish. You shall not prolong your days in the land where you are crossing the Jordan to enter and possess it. 19 I call heaven and earth to witness against you today, that I have set before you life and death, the blessing and the curse. So choose life in order that you may live, you and your descendants, 20 by loving the Lord your God, by obeying His voice, and by holding fast to Him; for this is your life and the length of your days, that you may live in the land which the Lord swore to your fathers, to Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, to give them."

 

Comparisons can be easily drawn between the highland pastures and the Promised Land. God desired Israel to dwell there in safety and prosperity, and though they were warned, they still went after the other gods.

 

The question then begs, can you make it to the high pastures and still become a victim of the predators or the poisonous plants? The answer is yes.

 

In fact, it is rare to find a hero in the OT or NT that hasn’t done it. David was at maturity and fell. Moses was at maturity and fell. Even the great apostle Paul was at maturity and fell.

 

Why? We possess desires that we simply refuse to give over to God. They are tucked away in the deep parts of our soul. And we climb through the valleys, we pass the tests, we conquer our enemies because we’ve followed the Shepherd. We’ve heard the word of God every day and done our best to apply it.

 

All the while, we have our little desire tucked deep away, and at sometimes the strangest and unpredictable times it rushes to the forefront of the soul, the launching pad and we say, what the hell, let’s give it a shot, and we’ll even justify it by telling ourselves, “we deserve a little.”

 

Fools all of us.

 

But remember, and we’ve stated this a few times this past week. We do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses. He has been tempted in all things, yet without sin.

 

And what does He conclude? “Draw near to the throne of grace that you might find mercy and grace to help in time of need.”

 

He has prepared the table for us and He himself is praying for us at the right hand of God.

 

Our good Shepherd is going ahead of us in every situation, anticipating what danger we may encounter, and praying for us that in it we might succumb to it.

 

The Lord did this on Peter’s behalf.

 

Luke 22:31-34

"Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; 32 but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail; and you, when once you have turned again, strengthen your brothers. "  33 And he said to Him, "Lord, with You I am ready to go both to prison and to death!" 34 And He said, "I say to you, Peter, the cock will not crow today until you have denied three times that you know Me."

 

Besides eating anything looking tasty, the other danger is the predators. It is the shepherd’s job to keep an eye out for predators and his staff at the ready to hurl at them.

 

As Mr. Keller relates, it is inevitable that some sheep are killed or maimed by a cougar or coyote.

 

Our adversary the devil is called a roaring lion. David surely recalled the time that a lion snatched one of his sheep and how he chased down the lion and skillfully with his staff saved his sheep and killed the lion.

 

As he related the story to Saul, only days after David was anointed the next king of Israel by Samuel, and would show his faith in the Lord against Goliath:

 

 

 

1 Sam 17:34-37

But David said to Saul, "Your servant was tending his father's sheep. When a lion or a bear came and took a lamb from the flock, 35 I went out after him and attacked him, and rescued it from his mouth; and when he rose up against me, I seized him by his beard and struck him and killed him. 36 Your servant has killed both the lion and the bear; and this uncircumcised Philistine will be like one of them, since he has taunted the armies of the living God." 37 And David said, "The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear, He will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine."

 

The Lord will do the same for us. He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

 

But it must be noted here that the sheep that did usually get killed or hurt by predators were the ones on the outside of the flock, these were the ones that usually liked to stray.

 

So what’s the solution, stay near to the Shepherd, the Lord.

 

Mr. Keller relates some of the times when he lost sheep to predators. He says:

 

“On several occations these cunning creatures (cougars) came in among my sheep at night working terrible havoc in the flock. Some ewes were killed outright, their blood drained and livers eaten. Others were torn open and badly clawed. In these cases the great cats seemed to chase and play with them in their panic like a housecat would chase a mouse. Some had huge patches of wool torn from their fleeces. In their frightened stampede some had stumbled and broken bones or rushed over rough ground injuring legs and bodies.

 

Yet despite the damage, despite the dead sheep, despite the injuries and fear instilled in the flock, I never once actually saw a cougar on my range. So cunning and so skillful were their raids they defy description.”

 

Never underestimate your enemy. That’s a rule of war. Before 1Pe 5 says that the devil prowls about like a roaring lion the passage warns us to be alert!

 

The devil is cunning. He is the smartest genius of all God’s creatures and he’s been around a long, long time. He knows everything about you, including your entire family line. He knows your weakness and your strengths.

 

The only thing stronger and wiser than he; is the Lord. So it would be wise to stick close to the Lord.

 

The Lord wants our summer sojourn to be in peace. He desires to give us His peace. It’s a peace that goes beyond understanding because it is only the spiritually mature, those who are dining on the Lord’s table or mountain meadow, that have experienced it.

 

We just have to have enough sense to stick close to Him by hearing his word everyday, believing in that word, and believing it enough that we apply it.

 

There is another chore for the shepherd on the tableland, and that is to clear out the water holes and drinking places from accumulated debris of leaves, twigs, stones and soil that may have fallen in over the autumn and winter.

 

God’s word is uncontaminated. For us He has prepared the mystery doctrine for the unique dispensation of the church. Nothing contaminates His word. It is the pure water. We don’t have to boil it to kill any parasites because it doesn’t contain any.

 

Worldly wisdoms and human viewpoints are always contaminated by arrogant people. They need to be boiled to death, or until they’re gone.

 

Arrogance pervades the whole human race and all their thoughts are contaminated with it. It is only the word of God that is pure water for our souls.

 

The green meadow represents the plan of God for your life. The clean water that the shepherd prepares represents the inspired, perfect word of God.