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Colin Smith: Psalm 23 of course is about what God does for His people, and like all of the Bible, it points us to the Lord Jesus Christ. David said, "The Lord is my shepherd." And when Jesus Christ came into the world, He said, "I am the good shepherd." So this series then is going to remind us of all that is ours in the Lord Jesus Christ.

Steve Hiller: Welcome to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith. I'm Steve Hiller, glad you're with us as we continue a message we began last time called "He Owns Me." And Colin, what does belong to us when we are in Jesus?

Colin Smith: Well, it is the most marvelous thing, isn't it, to be able to say, "The Lord is my shepherd." To be wholly owned by the Son of God. And this wonderful Psalm makes it clear that when you belong to the Son of God, He will always lead you, He will always restore you, He will always guard you, He will always feed you, and He will always love you. And these five themes, these five certainties, these five wonderful gifts that the shepherd always gives to his sheep, these are ours in the Lord Jesus Christ.

I love, Steve, the fact that you don't have to do anything to make them happen. When the Lord is your shepherd, these are the things that He does for you, and you can count on them. And that's why this Psalm is so wonderfully encouraging, I think, and why we come back to it again and again. And I'm so glad we have the opportunity to delve into it again today.

Steve Hiller: Well, let's do that. Grab your Bible and join us in Psalm 23 as we continue the message, "He Owns Me." Here's Pastor Colin.

Colin Smith: Karen and I have been watching a series on television called *This Farming Life*. I think we've actually got rather hooked on it, and the scenes of various parts of Scotland and the life of smallholding farmers in that part of the world. And one of the features of life in the farming year is the sheep auctions that regularly take place.

Farmers will show up at these large sheep auctions and they will buy rams or tups, as they're sometimes referred to, for breeding the next generation of sheep, or they will buy ewes in order simply to add to and grow their flock. And it's quite fascinating, seeing these large markets and these multiple pens with all of these sheep. And the potential buyers will walk round before the auction and have a look at the sheep and decide which ones they're going to bid for and how much they are going to bid.

Now, think about this. The Lord Jesus Christ Himself has purchased you. And the price He paid for the purchase is His own precious blood. You are not your own. You are bought with a price. And because you are bought with a price, the Lord is your shepherd. And that is why you will not want. What you need will be given to you because the shepherd laid down His own life in order to make you His own.

Having given His very self to purchase you, you can be sure that He will give you all that you need. Isn't that the logic of Romans chapter eight and verse 32, that He who did not spare His own Son but freely gave Him up for us all, how will He not also along with Him graciously give us all things? You have been bought into the flock of God by the precious blood of Christ.

And you have been born into the flock of God. It's fascinating to me that Peter immediately after stating so wonderfully that we have been ransomed, we have been purchased, he then goes on to say that we've been born. "You have been born again, not of perishable seed but of imperishable through the living and enduring word of God." Here's what's happened: Not only is it true that the Lord Jesus Christ shed His blood for you 2,000 years ago, but at some point in your life, you may not be able to discern especially where it was, but here's what has happened in your life and experience.

The Holy Spirit brooded over your dead soul like He brooded over the dark waters in the creation, and He brought you to new life. He opened your eyes to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, awakened you to your need of a savior. He brought you to faith. He changed you from the inside out, giving you a new desire to leave behind a life of sin and follow hard after the Lord Jesus Christ.

And not only has He brought you to this new life, He sustains this new life in you. You've had so many doubts and fears. You still have so many unanswered questions. You have so many sins and so many failings, and yet still you love Christ and still the Lord is your shepherd. Having bought you and then having birthed you, the shepherd is utterly and entirely committed to you. He lives with you, and you are the constant focus of His care and attention.

So do you see that this Psalm is very wonderfully not only about the Lord, but it's also about the relationship that you have with the Lord as a believer in the Lord Jesus Christ. You can say with David, "The Lord is my shepherd. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. Thank God for that. He leads me in paths of righteousness.

And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I'm going to fear no evil because You're with me. And Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy is going to follow me all the days of my life, and I'm going to dwell in the house of the Lord forever."

Now, do you see that this Psalm then is especially a Psalm for believers? It's all about how rich we are when we are in this relationship with Jesus Christ in which He wholly owns us because He bought us and birthed us and He then is our shepherd. This is a Psalm for believers. "The Lord is my shepherd."

Now, I have an old book, nearly 100 years old now, by a Scottish pastor by the name of John McNeill. And John McNeill preached on Psalm 23 all over the world. And what was very striking to him was this: that as he traveled the world and preached in different countries, he found that many people came to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ through his preaching of Psalm 23.

And this struck him as being rather odd, because Psalm 23 clearly is all about the relationship that a believer has with the Lord, and yet when he preached Psalm 23, people were converted. Unbelieving people came to believe. Now, this is what he wrote about that, and I think it's very significant. He says, "I have often been surprised to find the converting power under God of a portion of scripture so evidently belonging to believers."

He then says, "The sinner's mouth begins to water when you dwell on the blessedness of those who are in the fold. In his reaction to that, he begins to evangelize himself and gets to the shepherd without you." Do you see what he's saying? When you describe the richness of what belongs to those who are in Christ, the Holy Spirit can use that to make the mouth of an unbeliever begin to water and say, "I wish that was mine." And then he or she finds their way to faith in the Lord Jesus Christ.

So I have two aims for this series. I already told you the first one is to encourage, to encourage all who belong to Christ to be able to say, "You know, I really am blessed because the Lord is my shepherd and everything that was true of David is also true of me." But I want not only to encourage, I want to entice. Because some of you are not yet owned by the Lord Jesus Christ.

You've never given yourself over into His hands. You're still trying to run your own life, and you actually think that you can do it better than if you were wholly owned by Him. And actually a lot of threatenings from the pulpit don't make a lot of difference to you, so I want to do something different. I want to entice you. I want to show you from Psalm 23 what could be yours if you were Christ's.

I want your mouth to begin to water and say, "I wish that was true of me." And as you begin to say, "I wish that was true of me," I want to say to you from the Bible, it can be true of you. But in order for these things to become true of you, you must take the Lord as your shepherd. These things will be yours as you become His. The first thing about the relationship between the shepherd and the sheep is ownership.

The shepherd owns the flock. That's why he does all these other things for the flock, because he owns them. They're his. And if you become his, these things will become yours. That's how it works. Now, you see this priority of ownership in the words of the Lord Jesus in John in chapter 10, where He says, "The good shepherd lays down His life for the sheep. He who is a hired hand and not a shepherd, who does not own the sheep," notice that word, "sees the wolf coming and then leaves the sheep and flees."

You see what Jesus is saying? A hired hand, well, if the job gets too costly for the pay that he's given, he's just off if he's just a hired hand. But if he's a real shepherd, he has ownership. This is the distinctive thing about the shepherd: He owns the sheep. That's the first thing. So if you are to be led and restored, if you're to be protected and fed and loved, you must first be owned by the good shepherd.

And that raises this question: So do I want to be wholly owned? And for some even here this morning, that may be where you've hit difficulty because something rises up from your own heart and says, "I'm not sure I want to be wholly owned by anybody. I want to be my own master. I'll be my own shepherd." You might not put it this way, but what you're really saying is, "I want to be my own God."

You know, one of the most barefaced expressions of this that I think I've ever read came from the actress Shirley MacLaine. She said this, and I quote: "I know that I exist, therefore I am. I know that the God-source exists, therefore it is. And since I am part of that force, then I am that I am." Now, when I read these words, I feel heart-sorry for Shirley.

If you are your own God, you are completely and utterly alone. You have no one to look to except yourself. And nothing in all the world could be more tragic than sheep without a shepherd. I mean, other animals seem to be able to do fine on their own. You know, you don't need a shepherd for rabbits or for deer. Other animals can hunt, but sheep need to be fed. And left to themselves, they will soon grow hungry.

When Jesus saw the crowds, He had compassion on them, the Bible says, because He saw that they were like sheep without a shepherd. And sheep without a shepherd will soon be in a desperate state. They'll wander off, they'll become lost, their hooves will rot, their wool will grow so long that it will exhaust them in the heat of summer. Wolves will come and destroy them. To be a sheep without a shepherd would be disastrous.

And for sinners like us, it would be worse. The worst that can happen to sheep without a shepherd is that they die. But the worst that will happen to sinners who choose to be their own God is that when they die, ahead of them is a dark hell in which they will be utterly alone forever and forever. But David is not on his own.

He can say, "The Lord is my shepherd. The Lord owns me. And because He owns me, I am confident that goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life. And when I die, I will not go into outer darkness. My shepherd will welcome me home, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever." Friends, what a marvelous thing it is to be wholly owned by the Son of God.

To know that you are His in life, in death, forever. To know that you've been bought and that you've been born into this flock. To know that He owns you and because He owns you, He will lead you, He will restore you, He will protect you, He will feed you, He will love you forever. And even the darkest valley is made safe for you by His presence, and you have a glorious eternal future in His home.

The Heidelberg Catechism, an old document from a previous century that teaches the Christian faith in the form of questions and answers, begins with this very important question and a very important answer. Question: "What is your only comfort in life and in death?" And the answer: "That I am not my own." Now, do you see that that is the exact opposite of the way that the world thinks?

Life will be good if I'm my own, if I'm in charge, if I'm my own master, the captain of my fate and all the rest of it. Heidelberg Catechism says the greatest comfort in life and in death is this: "That I am not my own. But that I belong body and soul, in life and in death, to my faithful savior Jesus Christ." "The Lord is my shepherd," that's what it's saying.

And because the Lord is my shepherd, here's what inevitably follows: "I shall not want." Now, in these last moments, think about this with me. David carried an enormous weight of responsibility on his shoulders. He grew up as a shepherd, but God's great calling on his life was to be a king. And when he became king, his task was to unite a chronically divided nation.

He had to shepherd the people of God. And in second Samuel chapter five, the tribes of Israel come to David and they say, "We are your bone and your flesh, and the Lord has said to you, 'You shall shepherd my people Israel.'" So David was called as the king to shepherd the flock of God. How could he do that? I mean, how could David lead God's people?

How could David protect God's people? How could he restore God's people? How could he feed God's people? How could he love God's people? Question: David, how in all the world are you going to shepherd the flock of God? Answer: Because the Lord is my shepherd. And what He has called me to do for others, He Himself will do for me.

Now, you think about that in regards to your own life in these last moments. God has put responsibility on your shoulders. How are you going to discharge it? Other people look to you for leadership. Here you are, you're a parent, and you have the responsibility of raising these little children with wisdom. How in the world are you going to do that in this world?

You have responsibility for parents. You've been given trust in your employment. You're going to have to make decisions that will affect the lives of other people. You're a shepherd. You have a duty of care. How in the world are you going to carry this responsibility and how are you going to discharge this duty? Listen, you can shepherd others because the Lord Himself will shepherd you.

You will be able to restore and refresh others as the Lord restores and refreshes you. You will be able to provide for others as the Lord provides for you. You will be able to keep on loving others as the Lord keeps on loving you. And that is why David says, "Now the Lord is my shepherd, that's why I shall not want." It is the inevitable consequence.

This is the logic of faith. If the Lord is your shepherd, it follows inevitably, irrevocably, that "I shall not want." You will face hard decisions where it is very difficult to know the way, but you know what? The Lord is your shepherd and He will lead you in right paths. And you will have times when you feel depleted, but you know the Lord is your shepherd and He will restore your soul.

You will have times when you face great opposition and you will look evil in the face and it will be frightening, but the Lord is your shepherd and He will protect you. And when you face the dark valley of death, the Lord will be your shepherd. He will walk with you and on the other side, you will dwell in His house forever.

Brothers and sisters, isn't it the most marvelous thing in the world to be wholly owned by the Son of God? For you to be able to go into this week and say, "The Lord is my shepherd, and because He's my shepherd, I have all that I need." The King of Love my shepherd is, whose goodness faileth never. I nothing lack if I am His, and He is mine forever.

Steve Hiller: You're listening to Open the Bible with Pastor Colin Smith and a message called "He Owns Me." It's part of a series called "The Lord Is My Shepherd." And maybe He's not your shepherd today. But maybe as you've been listening to Pastor Colin talk about what could be yours if He were your shepherd, you're ready to begin a relationship with Him.

I hope you'll contact us here at Open the Bible, talk with one of our staff members about beginning a relationship with Jesus. Our toll-free number is 1-877-OPEN-365. That's 1-877-673-6365. Well, Open the Bible is a listener-supported ministry. It is your generosity that allows us to bring you Pastor Colin's teaching each day. And as you give a gift to Open the Bible this month, we want to say thank you by sending you a copy of a book written by Brad Wetherell called *Saved to Sin No More*. And Colin, who is Brad Wetherell and why should we read this book?

Colin Smith: Well, you know, I've often said that we should choose books not by the title but by the author. And the reason for that, of course, is that when you read a book, you're actually reading a person. You're reading what has come out of that person. So who has written a book is really very, very important. And I'm just so glad to have the opportunity to introduce Brad Wetherell.

His name may not be widely known. He is my successor as the senior pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church. I served that church for 30 years. I've worked with Brad for more than 15. I stepped down from being the senior pastor just over a year ago to focus full-time on the ministry of Open the Bible. And so Brad is someone that I feel very, very close to and very, very confident in.

He has a deep authentic walk with the Lord. That's always the first thing you want to know about someone who you're going to read. He has a wonderful gift of preaching and a wonderful gift of writing. This is his first book, and he's chosen to write on a subject that he's studied very deeply, and it's this wonderful truth of union with Christ.

I think this, Steve, may be the most important and least understood doctrine in all of the Bible. People often kind of look a bit quizzical, "Union with Christ, what's that?" Well, folks are going to love this compelling and clear introduction to what I think is one of the most encouraging truths in all of the Christian life.

Steve Hiller: Well, the book is called *Saved to Sin No More: How Union with Christ Empowers a Life of Holiness*. And we want to send you a copy as our way of saying thank you for financially supporting Open the Bible this month. You can call and give over the phone. Our number is 1-877-OPEN-365. Or give online at openthebible.org. Again, our phone number is 1-877-673-6365, and the website is openthebible.org. For Pastor Colin Smith, I'm Steve Hiller. Thanks for listening and I hope you'll join us next time. This program is a listener-supported production of Open the Bible.

Colin Smith: Hi, this is Pastor Colin again, and I want you to know about *Watch Your Life*. *Watch Your Life* is a six-session course that is geared for leaders but accessible to every believer. The six sessions will show you how to grow in godliness, how to feed on Christ, how to pray in the spirit, how to battle temptation, exercise faith, and discern God's will. There are questions at the end of each session, and you can use them on your own or you can discuss them with a friend. For more information, visit openthebible.org/courses. That's openthebible.org/courses.