YAHWEH ROI
The LORD is my
Shepherd
We have learned from past
lessons, God’s Name, YahWEH,
meaning The God Who draws near to redeem me from the tyranny of sin, and also,
ROI, meaning the God Who sees me
where I am.
Tonight, in our series, will be a combination of both names. We will find a wonderful example of the
characteristic of God’s name in [B] Psalm
23.
Shepherding is one of the
earliest human occupations. Abel,
Abraham, Isaac, Jacob Moses and David were all shepherds. It was the shepherd’s responsibility to
count each animal to assure that none were lost or gone astray. Also, he protected the sheep and when he
reposed for the night, he often would go into a cave, covering it with brush at
it’s entrance and then lay himself down to sleep at the entrance of the
cave. He wanted to be assured that
none of the sheep would wander out on it’s own, or that predators would enter
the cave. He was willing to give up
his life for the sheep.
YahWEH Roi is THE ONE
True Shepherd of His
people!
Author Ann
Spangler in her book about the names of God says this about sheep.
“According to scientists, sheep have gotten a bad reputation for
being…less than brilliant. In fact,
it appears that sheep are fairly intelligent creatures. They only seem stupid because they are
afraid of just about everything.”
Sheep are defenseless against predators and fairly good at getting
lost. She states this also, “It’s
little wonder that their sense of vulnerability sometimes leads to panic and
wooly-brained behavior.” :o)
Unfortunately, we also, are subject to fears that sometimes cause us to
behave, like the sheep, stupidly.
:o(
Our fear of failing in some venture, may lead us to cut corners; some are
afraid of loneliness and thus form relationships that may harm us emotionally or
spiritually. So many fears in so
many avenues of our lives.
Fear can become so
powerful, that we stray off the path of righteousness and leave ourselves
vulnerable to the Enemy’s attack on
our souls.
-2-
We need a Shepherd. One Who
will keep us safe, One Who will
guide us along His Path and One Who will lead us through the dark
valleys. [B] ALL Psalm 23:1 – together,
then:-
[B]
Psalm 23:1 – Before we can say,
“The LORD is MY Shepherd”, we need to first
acknowledge that we are
sheep.
And, if we are claiming to be sheep, led
by THE Shepherd, then we need to be prepared to take action. Our action is not physical, but one of
choice. It is an action that rests
IN WHO the Shepherd IS, and in the choice of accepting or resting in His
Provision for us, His
sheep.
Spurgeon says one has to
give up every idle “notion that he can control himself or manage his own
interest”. [Classic Sermons on the Names of God,
pg.145]
Could it be that man is too vain to acknowledge
the wisdom of God?
We need to come to God as one who knows nothing. When we do this, we allow God to be in
control of our lives. We lay aside
our own wisdom and logic; our self-will and even our fears. We wait on our LORD (that is, YahWEH, Who draws near); ROI (that is, Who sees me as I am).
The LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not
want! In Yahweh Roi, I have all my
needs fulfilled: materially, physically, emotionally and most important,
spiritually.
Having this assurance that Yahweh Roi has provided for us so completely,
we should then be content. Content in every situation; content with God’s provision; content for all He’s allowed in our lives and
circumstances…that is, having no craving or desires of our own choosing or
design.
Can we be content in this world, with all the adversities life
brings? Jesus told His disciples
before departing to be of good cheer. He had overcome the
world.
-3-
And, what is it that the Shepherd provides?
In verses 2-5 of Psalm 23, we see that these verses
indicate emotional and spiritual needs we may encounter.
Jesus, is the Shepherd of my soul; of your soul.
Jesus is the Shepherd of my path of righteousness; of your path of righteousness.
His rod
defends us
against the enemy, and His staff guides
straying sheep.
Our Shepherd makes us to lie down in grassy, green
pastures and leads us by still
waters.
Why green pastures? The green pastures are for the sheep to
feed on. For us, His sheep,
we find those green pastures in His
Word. We read and ‘chew’
His Word. God’s Word is vital for
the spiritual life, health and well-being of His sheep.
Why still waters? Discontented flock usually need quieting
down. They are restless and
unsettled. As we look to the Shepherd, as we acknowledge His presence, we will experience His
peace. We must not forget…He
IS with us. To sit or lay at His feet brings His
Peace! Fear, anxiety, panic and the
like are dispelled. He is
always with us, but peace doesn’t come until we see Jesus
IN our situation. It is
then that we experience His Spirit of power, love and a sound mind,
as it says in
2
Timothy 1:7.
It is when we lay down in His green pasture that He will show us
His Peace and we then receive the
benefit of our soul being restored, as we continuously walk in His paths of
righteousness.
In verse 3, we read, “for His name’s
sake.” What does that
mean?
God’s Name has integrity.
His Name is His character…WHO He is!! God, leading us in His path of
righteousness, will be in accordance with all that His Name says of Him. In God “living up to His Name”,
He brings and receives the HONOR and GLORY due Him. He is Truth and will not, nor can He,
dishonor His Name.
As we obey His direction: the paths of righteousness that He leads us on,
we will also have lives that please God; lives which bring honor and glory to
Him as well.
-4-
And, as the Lord’s Name bears integrity and points to all He has said in
His word and is the Truth and fulfillment of every promise He’s given us we, as
believers, ought to be mindful to live up to our “new” name also. Walk as Jesus walked. Our testimony as believers must be
consistent. Our testimony will
reflect and affect a Holy God.
[B]
Verses 4 & 5 – The LORD’S
presence is ever with us. Therefore
we have no need to fear evil, death, or anyone---even the
Enemy!
With the Lord’s presence, we sheep can climb to ‘higher ground’, as our
rest is in Him.
Our Shepherd, our LORD (Yahweh
Roi), is with us – redeeming us from
sin’s tyranny and providing exactly what I
need.
We need those valleys for it is in
the valleys where learn HOW to
walk in Christ. And once
through the valleys, we are
better equipped to help others as they go through the same valley. We can encourage them as we share the
faithfulness of God when we experienced the
valleys.
God is not only always
present with us, He is the Author and Finisher of our faith.
God uses His Rod to both comfort and discipline us as well
as to protect us. His Rod is symbolic of His Word and His
staff symbolizes the Holy Spirit of
God. [Reference: Phillip Keller’s ‘A Shepherd
Looks at Psalm 23].
It’s the Holy Spirit that
gets our attention when we begin to stray from His
path.
[B]
Verse 6 – In this last verse of
Psalm 23, God’s Word gives us the assurance
that all we receive from Our Shepherd will be good and merciful. We are in a privileged position as
sheep. We can enjoy all the
benefits the Shepherd has provided for us.
And, notice, we can have these blessings here and now, as we sojourn here
in this life and forever!
APPLICATION:
Will we always remember these very familiar words when we feel things are
NOT going so well?
We can endure the hard times, the testings and trials…that
is, we can ‘get through them’ OR we can have His perspective and
allow Him and His Word to carry us through them. The danger in ENDURING vs.
being carried is we are placing ourselves in the position of being
tempted. We can become
“martyrs”. It can end up being a
fleshly response. But, being
carried is to rest on the Lord and let Him do the carrying. We take our hands
OFF!!
-5-
We rest in His Promises and accept that even what we feel are “bad times”
are part of His goodness and mercy.
They are because He is IN them.
We may not always understand His WHY, but we can choose to trust
Him.
And the
end of verse
6: “and I will
dwell in the house of the LORD for ever.”
We have an assuring affirmation of God’s promise to His own. His own, His sheep, His Bride, the
church, and like a house , speaks of a corporate group of people. We are part of the all: The House of the Lord. We know from Romans 8:35, ‘nothing can separate us from the love
of Christ’.
Yahweh Roi – The LORD is MY
Shepherd.
His Name
assures me and assures you that He (Yahweh) draws near to redeem me from the
tyranny of sin and He (Roi) knows exactly where I am and what my needs are.
We belong to Christ. I am His and He is
mine.
[Read words to this song - verse 2 was omitted]
I
Am His, and He Is Mine
I.
Loved with everlasting
love,
Led by grace that love to
know;
Gracious Spirit from above,
Thou hast taught me it is
so!
O, this full and perfect
peace!
O, this transport all
divine!
In a love which cannot
cease,
I am His, and He is mine.
III.
Things that once were wild
alarms
Cannot now disturb my
rest;
Closed in everlasting
arms,
Pillowed on the loving
breast
O, to lie forever here,
Doubt and care and self
resign,
While He whispers in my
ear,
I am His, and He is mine.
IV.
His forever, only His;
Who the Lord and me shall
part?
Ah, with what a rest of bliss
Christ can fill the loving
heart!
Heav’n and earth may fade and
flee,
Firstborn light in gloom
decline,
But while God and I shall
be,
I am His, and He is mine.
August, 2006
by Mercedes
Whelan