Most of us eat every day, some of us too much because yesterday's food
is not enough to supply energy for today's needs. Why then, do some
of us expect yesterday's portion of heavenly manna the word of God to keep us
through today's challenges. On this program, we are going to change all of
that. Let's experience God's words today and receive the power we need to live
healthy, vibrant lives. Welcome to Your Daily Portion with your host, author
speaker Elle David Harris. Good morning, good morning, Good morning. It
is Sunday, February twenty five, twenty twenty four. Hello, my name
is El David Harris. I am your host, and this is your Daily
Portion where we give you God's word every single day, and today is no
exception. We are continuing in our lesson study series through the Book of Psalms,
and our caption for today is Divine Self Sacrificing Shepherd, Divine Self Sacrificing
Shepherd. We'll get into that in just a moment, but first i'd like
to say welcome to you and ask you to go over to your Daily Portion
dot com. Please join our online community, pick up the Your Daily Portion
book and let us know where you are in the world at your Daily portion
dot com. This is the way that we continue to build faith and fellowship.
Let's go ahead and pray, and then we will get underway, Father
and Heaven. Thank you for this Sunday morning and the opportunity we have to
come into a new week. Father, I pray that you will give us
a new mindset, a new determination to be holy, a new experience with
you and with others. I pray that you will give us the fullness of
your Holy Spirit so that we can see Jesus Christ as the good shepherd who
gave himself for us, and then live because of what he has done.
In Jesus name, I pray, Amen and a man again. And so
what I'm going to throughout this week, if the Lord Spaar's life is,
is to look for Jesus. Yesterday we barely scratch the surface. I gave
you a rambling example of some of the things that or some of the ways
excuse me that Jesus is identified in the Book of Psalms. And then we
rested just for a moment on one aspect of the blessing of who Jesus is.
And so today we're going to do a little better job of it,
but we're going to focus on a different aspect yet again, this time Jesus
being the shepherd. Now, shepherds have to have a flock, a flock
of what in this context, a flock of sheep. And so before I
even really get into Jesus as as the divine self sacrificing shepherd, I have
to answer the question to satisfy my curiosity, like why sheep? Like why
are we sheep in this scenario? Well, there are a few reasons,
a few reasons, and this is by no means an exhaustive list. Dependence
and trust. Sheep are known for their tendency to follow their shepherd. So
this is a great symbol in that regard in a sense and purity, innocence
and purity. How about community and flock. Thatt's people are to be in
a community, a flock who all mutually remain together and follow whom the great
shepherd. And then comes pastoral care in the pastors. The shepherd takes care
of the sheep, and of course we know that represents God's care for us.
And of course the Bible is full of references that show us or portray
us in this light, also the sacrificial symbolism. The sheep in many aspects
of the sacrificial system of the Old Testament, are seen as the animal of
choice. This adds an additional layer of meaning, particularly in our theology as
Christians and Jesus himself becoming the lamb of God that takes away the sins of
the world, and then of course comes vulnerability, vulnerability and need for protection.
Like sheep are not known for their strength and their abilities to fend for
themselves, which can symbolize the blessing of the human need for God. Okay,
so those are some quick reasons why Like why a sheep in this discussion?
So now we have the good shepherd? What do shepherds do? Brothers
and sisters. You can go ahead and type in the chat, like what
are some of the things that shepherds do. I'll give you my list in
a moment. Go ahead and start loading the chat. What do shepherds do?
Okay, So shepherds, Like I grew up in New York City,
so I've never seen a shepherd and I just say that, but I've seen
him on the internet. Okay, Internet. I apologize for not enunciating.
Okay, but shepherds protect shepherd's correct nurture, lead and feed, protect correct
nurture, lead and feed. Okay, so this is the good shepherd,
Jesus Christ. Now let me go to a passage here that is interesting in
the Book of John chapter ten, and then we'll circle back to the Psalms
John chapter ten. Beginning at verse eleven, Jesus speaking, I am the
good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. The
hired hand, who is not a shepherd and does not own sheep, sees
the wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So now we see
the protective nature of Jesus Christ, the divine self sacrificing shepherd. Okay,
verse thirteen, Well, let me continue in verse twelve. He sees the
wolf coming and abandons the sheep and runs away. So the wolf attacks the
sheep and scatters them. So hirelings or hired servants, people who are self
serving in this context, who supposedly are religious leaders of the flock. Those
individuals who don't care like the good shepherd, Those individuals will scatter you.
Those individuals will not protect you. Those individuals will drain you for all that
you have and all that you are. Those individuals will not do what the
good shepherd does, okay verse thirteen. Because he's a hired hand and he's
not concerned about the sheep, he runs away Verse fourteen. I am the
good shepherd. I know my own and my own know me, just as
the Father knows me. And I know the Father. And I laid down
my life for the sheep. And so this great shepherd, Jesus Christ,
is not just looking for someone to follow him. He's looking for you,
brothers and sisters. He's looking for me so that he can give his life.
He gave his life for us. He came in search of all human
beings who have separated ourselves from God, so that He can save us from
our sins, so that we can live eternally, so that we can say
no to those things that displease Him, so that we can say yes and
live the abundant life. According to Deuteronomy, Chapter twenty eight, Verses one
through fifteen. We can live that life as we are obedient to His commandments
and his statutes, and his judgments. And blessings of all sorts come and
overtake us when we are following God. And so Jesus came to give us
at least minimally everything that I have said. And so we see in the
Book of Psalms chapter twenty eight and verse nine, Save thy people, bless
thine inheritance. That's us feed them also and lift them up forever. I'm
thankful that God feeds us real and practical food every single day. He leads
us and feeds us with his word, those words of God that can extend
our lives spiritually into eternity. And then in the Book of Psalms chapter eighty
and verse one, the Bible reads, give ear, Give ear, oh
Shepherd of Israel, Thou that leadest Joseph like a flock, Thou that dwellest
between the Cherubims, shine forth. So now we see sanctuary language. Jesus
Christ as the great high Priest, Jesus Christ as the God who is giving
himself in human form, is seen as between the Cherubims in the Holy of
Holies, in the sanctuary, that position of power, that position of authority.
And yet he humbled himself. He humbled himself and gave himself a ransom
for many. He became. He became the good Shepherd in order to save
the sheep and to lead us. Then, of course, the Bible says
in verses fifty two and fifty three of Psalms chapter seventy eight. Yet he
brought out his people like a sheep and led them through the wilderness like a
flock. He guided them safely along, and they were not afraid. But
the sea covered their enemies. This is speaking of God delivering his people from
bondage and captivity. God is the good shepherd in Christ, Jesus, are
you a good sheep? Thanks for joining us listening. Friends, Always remember
we cannot live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the
mouth of God. This has been your daily portion with el David Harris,
make it a great day. Yeah,