How Jesus Treats His Sheep - Part 1

0:26 Today we're going to continue in our study of the most famous chapter in the Bible, Psalm 23. It is the most compact explanation of the goodness of God. And we're in a series called Living in the Goodness of God. It only has six verses, but there are ten benefits or ten ways that God's goodness wants to show up in your life. We've looked at about half of these, and now we're starting the second half of this series. And I want us to begin by actually reading Psalm 23 aloud together. So let's read it together. Very familiar passage. The Lord is my shepherd. I have everything I need. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in the right paths for his name's sake.

1:20 And even when I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Your rod and your staff comfort me. You prepare a banquet for me in front of my enemies, and you anoint my head with oil, and my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Thank you. Now there are a lot of metaphors in this passage. David is a shepherd and he's using the shepherd motif, talking about all the ways that God wants to bless your life. And today I want us to focus on the meaning of verse 4, which is this phrase, your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

2:10 Now what in the world does that mean? Your rod and your staff. These are clearly two kinds of sticks. How in the world can they bring comfort to your life? How does that bring comfort to you at all? What in the world does this mean? It raises all kinds of questions. And of all the verses in Psalm 23, this little phrase, your rod and your staff comfort me, requires the most explanation. I mean, what is a rod and what is a staff? And what do they symbolize and what benefits do they represent? And how in the world can these two tools that a shepherd uses, a sheep herder and shepherding sheep, how in the world can they bring comfort to our lives about several thousand years later? Well, I need to give you a little bit of background. So, Tom, would you bring me my rod and my staff?

3:04 Because I want you to see these. I actually have them. You know, the word pastor is the same word for shepherd, so I'm a shepherd. And here is my rod and my staff. Let's thank the great attendant here. Thank you. This is a rod, and this is a staff. These two tools are ancient tools that have been used by shepherds for thousands and thousands of years. This is the defensive tool that you use against predators, you use against wolves, and anybody who's trying to attack your sheepfold. It was actually given me by a shepherd And I'm not sure what country has my name Pastor Rick Warren So if you're bad, I'm getting on you right now And you can actually use the rod two ways You can hold on this end You're shooing away coyotes And people aren't much of a threat to you And you can use it for things like that It's usually about a foot and a half long Maybe two foot long If you've got a serious predator Like a mountain lion You've got something to really work with But this is a defensive weapon This, so the rod, you use on enemies of sheep.

4:13 The staff, you use on sheep. Now, I want to explain to you how they were used literally physically, and just for a second, and then how they are actually symbols of two ways that God wants to work in your life. So let's first talk about what they actually are used for. A rod, you might write this down, is used for guarding the sheep, for guarding and protecting. guarding and protecting the sheep. Sheep are essentially defenseless animals. They have no teeth. They don't have any claws. They don't run fast. Their teeth are not very sharp because they eat grass. So they're pretty defenseless, they're slow, and they're really pretty dumb. And so without a shepherd, they are prey to any kind of predator, wolves or anything else like that.

5:06 And so somebody's got to protect them and the rod is a defensive tool to fight against predators or enemies or adversaries and things like that. Now a staff, while a rod is for guarding and protecting, a staff is for guiding, okay, guiding and directing. Guarding and guiding, protecting and directing. That's what these two different tools are used for. Sheep have a tendency to wander. and so a shepherd's staff has a little crook in it and you can pull them with the crook or you can poke them with the staff. So it's by hook or by crook, you're controlling them and you are actually saying, get along little doggies only not little doggies and you can direct them. Sheep have an ability to graze on extremely difficult terrain.

6:03 They can stand on a hillside at almost a 50 or 60, 70 degree angle. Cows could never graze on what sheep can graze on. But while they can be on mountains and they can be on cliffs and they can be near edges, they often fall off and they often get out of balance. And so this end of the staff, the crooked part, the shepherd's crook, You would use either around a sheep's foot or their neck. And so, for instance, if they're about to fall off, you can grab them by the neck and you can pull them back by you're not getting near the edge of the cliff. Or if a sheep goes into a bramble bush with a bunch of thorns and things that would be really painful, as a shepherd, you don't want to go in there, so you would reach in there with your shepherd's staff and you'd grab them by the leg and you'd pull them out.

6:58 This is a tool of recovery. It's a tool for your protection. It's a tool to get you out of a tight jam. And now universally, the shepherd's staff is a symbol of that. So that's what they're used for. And they've been used that way for literally centuries after century. What's the meaning of these two tools? What's the symbolism behind these metaphors? Well, I want you to write this down. The rod represents power and authority Power and authority Because it says I'm in charge here And I've got more power than you And I'm in control The shepherd's staff and the rod Are both found in as far back as Egyptian hieroglyphs Look up here on the screen You can see a picture Here's an Egyptian king holding a shepherd's staff All of the pharaohs when you see pictures of the Pharaohs, they're like this.

7:57 And they've got a rod in one hand and a staff in the other. Sometimes they're called a flailing or some other term, but it is a rod and a staff. Let me show you. Here's King Tut. Hi, Tutty. And notice he's got the shepherd's staff in one hand and he's got the rod or flail in the other. Same thing. One is used to fight off enemies and the others. He's saying with this, I am both the protector of my nation and I am in charge. I'm the authority of my nation. I both care about my nation and I can be tough. I am an authority. And you find this all throughout history in a lot of different cultures. So write this down. The rod represents power and authority, which by the way, in Christian history, for the last 2,000 years of the church, of course Jesus said, I'm the good shepherd and he had the shepherd's staff and so today if you'll often see a bishop in a lot of different denominations, a Catholic, a Lutheran, lots of denominations, we'll have a bishop's staff, it's called a crozier and you'll see the bishop walking like this which basically says I care for the flock of God but I'm also the one in authority.

9:08 I have the authority over the flock of God in this area. It's called a crozier and they can be very elaborate or they can be very, very simple like this. So the staff represents care and compassion. You might write this down. The rod represents power and authority, and the staff represents care and compassion. Now, what does that mean for you, and what does it mean when he says, your rod and your staff, they comfort me? How do I get comfort out of that? Well, let's look first at what Jesus says, and what it says about him in the Bible. Hebrews chapter 13, verse 20 says this. Jesus is the great shepherd of the sheep. Circle that in your notes. Great shepherd of the sheep. He's called the great shepherd. He's called the chief shepherd.

10:01 He's called the good shepherd. In the next verse, John chapter 10, verses 10 and 11, that whole chapter is about the good shepherd, and Jesus talks about his ministry in caring for the sheep. Throughout the Bible, sheep are a symbol for God's people. The church is called the flock of God. And the Bible says we are his sheep, okay? We are his flock, we are the sheep of his pastors. It says that in Psalms. And in John 10, 10 and 11, it says this. I came so that my sheep will have life. This is Jesus talking. I came that my sheep will have life and everything they need. I am the good shepherd. and the good shepherd gives his life for his sheep. That's the God's Word translation. The good shepherd gives his life for the sheep. Now, if Jesus is the good shepherd, we need to figure out what that means.

10:56 How does Jesus treat his sheep? If we're supposed to be the flock of God and he's the good shepherd, what does that mean? As we look at the goodness of God, and in Psalm 23, we're listing 10 different things that the good shepherd does in your life. The Lord is my shepherd. And so how does the Lord respond to you? Well, just as a physical shepherd used the physical tools of the rod and the staff for direction and protection, for guidance, okay, and for guarding, God wants to do both of these things in your life. He wants to guide you and guard you. He wants to protect you, and he wants to direct you. I want us today to look at the actual words of Jesus in these areas. And we're gonna look at five ways Jesus wants to treat you if you'll trust him. So let's write these down.

11:48 Number one, the first thing we learn about the good shepherd is that if I bring him my hurts, Jesus shows me compassion. If I bring him my hurts, Jesus shows me compassion. When I come to God and I say, God, I've got a problem in my finances, or I've got a problem in my emotions, I've got a problem in my relationships, and God, I'm really hurting here. I'm weak, or I'm depressed, or I'm anxious, or I'm angry, or I've been hurt, I've been betrayed, somebody's been unfaithful to me. When I bring in my hurts, Jesus responds. How? Well, he doesn't scold you, he serves you. He doesn't put you down, he lifts you up. He doesn't hassle you, he heals you. Matthew chapter nine, verse 36, it says this. When Jesus saw the crowds, his heart was filled with compassion for them because they were hurting and they didn't know where to get help.

12:49 They were like sheep without a shepherd. How you look at people determines a lot and tells us a lot about what's in your heart. When I look at a crowd, I often find, I think of irritation. I think of loss of privacy. I think of a lot of things. But the Bible says when Jesus looked at the crowd, he was moved with compassion. Because they were hurting, they were helpless, they were like sheep without a shepherd. And that's the way God looks at your problems. And he looks at your hurts. He's compassionate. Now what does that mean? Well, there's an difference between empathy, sympathy, and compassion. Sympathy means, I'm sorry you hurt. You can send a sympathy card. I'm sorry you hurt. A little bit deeper commitment is empathy. Empathy means I hurt with you. When I empathize, it's more than I'm sorry you hurt, it's I'm hurting with you.

13:44 But compassion means I will do anything I can to stop your hurt. And the Bible repeatedly says that when Jesus looked at people who were in pain, he was moved with compassion. I will do anything it takes to stop your hurt, even if it means dying on the cross. Even if it means having nails nailed through my hands and feet. That's compassion. I will do whatever it takes. I will do anything it takes to stop your pain. In Matthew 20, verse 28, Jesus said, this is why I came. I came here not to be served, but to serve others and to give my life as a ransom for many. He came to show compassion. He says, you know, I came to serve and to give. And if you circle those two words, that is what it means to follow Jesus Christ.

14:38 That is what it means to be a true Christian. Giving and serving define a Christian life. If you don't give, if you don't serve, how in the world can you follow Jesus? Because he said, that's my whole purpose. You know, it's interesting, the paradox of this verse is that when it comes to your relationship, God says, it's not about you. Life is not about you That you only find your meaning in giving your life away And he says for you it's not about you It's really all about God and other people The first sentence in purpose driven life is It's not about you But when it comes to God It's the exact opposite With Jesus it's all about you He came to earth for you He died for you He suffered for you He sacrificed for you It's all about you from God's point of view God is unselfish and God wants you to be like him. He wants you to be Christ-like.

15:33 Christ was not thinking of himself. He was thinking of others. And the same thing is true with you. God wants you to not think of yourself. It's not about you. It's about God and it's about others. But I bring him my hurts. I know that Jesus is not gonna razz me or put me down or scold me or intimidate me. He's going to show compassion because he did that throughout his ministry. Number two, not only if I bring in my hurts, Jesus shows me compassion, but number two, if I choose to follow him, Jesus leads me in the right direction. He's not going to lead you in the wrong direction, but he's going to lead you in the right direction if you say, God, I'm going to follow your son, Jesus Christ. He becomes your guide through life. I don't know if you've ever gone to a city like London or Tokyo or some Paris and taken a guided tour. But if you've ever done that, you know you learn a whole lot more about a city if you have a guide.

16:37 That if you just walk through Paris, you're going to miss all kinds of important things because you don't know what they are. It helps to have a guide. You learn more, you see more, you experience more if you have a guide taking you through a city. The same is true with your life. You need a guide through your life. If you're just walking through your life on your own, you're missing a whole lot. If you're just going through your life without a guide, without a shepherd, without somebody showing you the ropes, without somebody who's more experienced in life than you are, you're missing a whole lot in your life. Stuff's passing by you that you would have caught if you had had a guide with you. and so Jesus says if you're going to choose to follow me I will be your guide I will be your shepherd and I will lead you in the right direction now as a shepherd a shepherd always knows more than the sheep does always and and Jesus is always going to know more about your life than you do because he created you he made you he knows your purpose even when you don't know your purpose. So what do I do in this situation? Well, Psalm 23 verse 3 says this. He, Jesus, leads me in the right path, the right path for his name's sake. As I said, he's never going to lead you in the wrong way. And in John 10 verse 4, Jesus says, the good shepherd walks ahead of the sheep and they follow him for they recognize his voice. Now, I want you to notice something.

18:13 Circle the word or the phrase walks ahead. The good shepherd walks ahead of the sheep. They follow him and they recognize his voice. In shepherding, the shepherd always goes first. Why? He's the model. He's mentoring. He's leading by example. This is very different than being a cowboy. A cowboy and a shepherd are two different things. You drive cattle, but you lead sheep. Big difference. You drive cattle from the back. You push them forward. If you've ever watched a TV western, you know on a cattle drive, they're pushing the cattle from the back. So you drive cattle from the back, but you lead sheep. You get out front and they follow you. Now here's a point.

19:06 Jesus is not going to push you through your life. he's not going to push you into doing things you don't want to do you're not interested in doing he's never going to force you to do something you don't want to do but as a shepherd he's going to lead the way and he's going to say watch how I do it look where I go and if you follow his lead oh man your life's going to be a whole lot easier a lot fewer problems a lot less stress if you'll follow the lead of your shepherd if I bring him my hurts he shows me compassion But if I choose to follow him, he says, I will lead you in the right direction. Now, how do I know he wants to lead me in the right direction? Well, he says it. And the Bible says in Psalm 26, verse 3, your constant love, Lord, is my guide, and your faithfulness always leads me. Now, David wrote that, same guy who wrote the Lord as my shepherd, and he says, Lord, when you lead me, you lead me with your love.

20:09 This is very important. Jesus always leads you with love, not with laws. Now let me explain this. The reason why a lot of people are afraid of God, the reason why a lot of people fear God, the reason why a lot of people don't want to follow God is because they think he's just gonna give them a set of rules. Do this, this, this, this, this, this, this, this, and this, and don't do this, this, this, this, this, and this. And yet the Bible says, God says, I will lead you with my love, not with my laws. I lead you out of love. Wow, some powerful words from Pastor Rick today. And now this is really one of my favorite parts of the broadcast. This is letters from our listeners. And now here's Rick. Hi, everybody.

21:00 Today I want to share a very powerful letter from a listener named Michael. Michael experienced terrible trauma as a child. But he says that Daily Hope is helping him overcome his past. and now he's looking to the future with his kids. Let me read you just a little bit of Michael's story. Dear Pastor Rick, you and Daily Hope have brought God into my life and it has saved me. I am a 29-year-old father of five children and I try my hardest to teach my children to know God and to love Jesus and how to pray. And I do my best to be a good example and be worthy of all the good gifts that God has given to me. But you know, because of my childhood and the insecurities and abandonment issues that were created in my life from years of mental abuse, physical abuse, verbal abuse, and yes, even sexual abuse, I've always had a hard time trusting God. I woke up every day feeling unworthy and I suffered from feelings of anxiety and depression. And I felt like God couldn't possibly love me because no one else had ever loved me.

22:05 and I carried that pain inside of me for so long, craving for a close, better, intimate relationship with God. Now, listening to Daily Hope has helped me achieve that and more. I'm not only better, but I'm now better for everybody else around me, spreading all that I've learned and the good news of Jesus Christ. I know God better than ever and I now have more faith than I ever knew possible because I feel his love. Thank you so much. Daily Hope does such a great work in the name of Jesus, and I will forever be in your debt for bringing the fire of faith into my heart and helping me know God. I love you, and I hope you continue to bring change in the world through the message of Jesus Christ. You know, Michael, I absolutely love how you're teaching your five kids to know Jesus.

23:04 That is a real man, a real dad, a real father. It's so important to pass it on to the next generation. And I'm encouraged that Daily Hope is helping you with the trauma of all your past and helping you work through those issues and keeping you growing in the love of Jesus Christ. You know, stories like the one you wrote to me are what keep me going. It's why we do this, change lives. Now, I wanna pray for you. I wanna pray, dear Lord, pour out your love on Michael. Help him to sense your love so that he never doubts it. Pour out your blessing and your peace on his family. I pray that they will continue to grow in their faith and that they will experience the peace that passes understanding as they follow you. God, I wanna thank you for his faithfulness. In Jesus' name I pray, amen.

23:59 You know, if God is blessing you through Daily Hope, would you share your story with me? Write me, rick at pastorrick.com. Be sure to join us.