1 The LORD is my shepherd, I shall not be in 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 paths of righteousness for his name’s sake. 4 Even though
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, they comfort me. 5 You prepare a
table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with
oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely goodness and love will follow me all the
days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.
- Psalm 23, The New International Version, (Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Publishing
House) 1984.
In the name of Jesus, the Good Shepherd, dear friends, family, loved ones, and especially you, St. John’s confirmation class for the year 2001:
"It was the best of times, it was the worst of times, it was the age of wisdom, it was the age of foolishness, it was the epoch of belief, it was the epoch of incredulity, it was the season of Light, it was the season of Darkness, it was the spring of hope, it was the winter of despair, we had everything before us, we had nothing before us, we were all going direct to heaven, we were all going direct the other way…" (from Charles Dickens’ A Tale of Two Cities).
Perhaps you are familiar with those words from English literature. They form the opening paragraph of the British novel, A Tale of Two Cities. And if I didn’t already know for a fact that Charles Dickens was describing the years that led up to the French Revolution, I would be almost positive that he was talking about…teenagers.
The life of the average teen can be accurately compared to a ride on a roller coaster. One minute they are filled with excitement and energy. The next minute you have to literally drag them out of bed in order to do anything. Some days they are mature, responsible adults. Other days they are not. There are times when they exhibit the kind of faith that moves mountains. There are other times when their heads are filled with questions and doubts.
Don’t get me wrong. We all have our good days and our bad days. We all experience highs and lows, but I think your parents would agree that the range of emotions during these years is a bit more extreme. There are good reasons for that. You are in the middle of a period of tremendous change. If you don’t believe me, compare your fifth grade school picture with the one that was taken last fall. You are growing. You are growing physically. You are growing academically. And most importantly, you are growing spiritually.
In a world that is full of change, in lives that are always changing, it is comforting for Christians to know that there is one thing in life that will never change. We have a God who never goes back on his promises. We have a Lord who remains faithful to his Word. We put our trust in a Savior who is "the same yesterday and today and forever" (Hebrews 13:8).
The portion of God’s Word that will serve as the basis for your confirmation sermon, a text that is especially fitting on this Good Shepherd Sunday, is the familiar poetry of Psalm 23. As you come forward to receive the Lord’s Supper, as leave this morning with confirmation certificate in hand, I want you to remember that God is always with you, and that will never change. No matter where you go in life, no matter what you do in life…
The Lord Is Your Shepherd
I. His goodness has brought you to this day
II. His love will carry you from this day forward
The words of Psalm 23 come from the pen of King David. If there was a person who saw the goodness of God displayed in his life, it was this great leader of Israel. When he was a young boy, the prophet Samuel came to his father’s house to anoint one of his sons as king. Seven sons came before Samuel, and the Lord rejected every one. In his wisdom, God chose David, the youngest son, who was out in the fields with the sheep.
God’s goodness followed David to the Valley of Elah where he came up against the great Philistine giant Goliath. In physical terms, David was no match for Goliath. He had no armor. He had no sword. He had no shield. Yet the Lord saw fit to give David and his people a great victory over their enemies that day.
God’s goodness brought David to the court of Saul where he became one of the king’s personal attendants. When Saul became jealous of David’s successes and later even tried to kill him, God spared David’s life. And when David had the chance to strike back at Saul, he resisted. Instead, David waited patiently for the Lord to seat him on the throne.
David accomplished great things during his lifetime, but he did nothing alone. He did not slay Goliath by himself. He could not rely on his personal strength to become a king. David understood that his success came from above. In Psalm 23, David confessed that the Lord was his shepherd. And the same Lord who guided and protected David has brought each of you here today.
Over the course of a lifetime every Christian passes several spiritual milestones. Your spiritual journey began on a day you probably don’t even remember. On that day, God took a little heathen and transformed you into a child of God. Using only a few drops of water connected with his powerful Word, the Holy Spirit changed your rebellious hearts of stone into a place where he still lives today. Your first spiritual milestone was the day of your baptism.
Some other important milestones followed. You took your first steps. You spoke your first words. You went to your first day of school. But you will pass your second major spiritual milestone today. In a few minutes, you will stand before God and this congregation and confess your faith in Jesus as your Savior. You will make a solemn vow to remain faithful to your Lord even in the face of death. And then you will come forward to receive the blessings that God offers through his holy Supper. The second spiritual milestone in your life is the day of your confirmation.
In a sense, you have earned the right to be here. You deserve to wear those white gowns because you have faithfully studied your Bibles and Catechisms. On Thursday evening, you demonstrated a solid understanding of God’s Word and publicly confessed your faith at your examination.
But you must always remember that your worthiness before God does not depend on a proper understanding of Bible teachings. It is possible for a person to memorize the entire Bible and still lack saving faith. You are children of God by grace and by grace. As a loving shepherd, the Lord has brought you to this day. Everything you are and everything you have is a gift from his good and gracious hand.
It is good for God’s people to look back and remember past blessings. It is also wise for us to think about the future. As you look ahead, take the words of David with you. Remember that the Lord is your shepherd, and his love will carry you from this day forward.
The Lord loved David throughout his life, but David did not always return the same kind of love to his Lord. In fact, there were times when David’s actions were motivated by anything but love.
David’s sinful lusts led him to commit adultery with another man’s wife, but his sin did not stop there. David’s unfaithfulness multiplied into more sins when he attempted to cover it up. Ultimately, David committed cold-blooded murder when he had Bathsheba’s husband killed in battle.
David was a great man. David was a great king. But David was also a great sinner. He was guilty of sinful pride. He was guilty of hate. He was guilty of adultery. He was guilty of murder. When we think about David in this way, it is hard to believe that this was the same man who wrote: "The Lord is my Shepherd."
David is not in heaven because of the way he lived his life. We do not hold David up as one of the great heroes of faith in the Bible because he was morally blameless. In a way, the events of David’s life are comforting to us because our lives are a lot like his.
Whenever David slipped, God was there to pick him up again. Not because David was special. Not because David deserved it. Not because of anything in David at all. God loved his servant unconditionally because God is love.
The Lord brought David to repentance, and then the Lord reaffirmed his promises. He promised to establish David’s kingdom forever. He promised to send a Savior to take away David’s sins, and the sins of the whole world. David took God at his word, and his faith was rewarded. Goodness and love did follow David all the days of his life. And it is the same amazing love of God that will carry you from this day forward.
In the not so distant future, you will experience a level of freedom you have probably never experienced before. Your parents will not always be there to look out for you. You teachers will not always be there to guide you. The person responsible for most of your decisions will be you. You will decide who your friends are. You will decide where you will go and what you will do. You will decide just how important God is to you on Sunday morning.
Along with those new freedoms also come new temptations. Satan is ready to pounce on you. Maybe not with a direct attack. Maybe not with a full frontal assault. Perhaps his most effective approach is a quiet whisper: "Forget everything you have learned. No one can tell you what to do anymore. No one is looking over your shoulder. Now you can do what YOU want." But what Satan doesn’t want you to know is that he really doesn’t want you to be free. What he wants is for you to be under his control.
In your catechism classes, you and your classmates and your teachers were all on the same page. You believed the same things. You prayed to the same God. There is a world out there that doesn’t share your faith. There is a world out there that could not disagree more. People will challenge your beliefs. People will condemn what you stand for. Some will even curse your God.
And if the devil and the world aren’t enough, you will also have to battle against another enemy, an enemy you already know very well. There will never be a day in your life when your sinful flesh will not try to tear you away from God.
Am I being pessimistic? Or am I only being realistic? As Christians living in an unbelieving world, you will be tempted. You will be put to the test. Sometimes you will feel like you have absolutely nowhere to turn.
But no matter what path your life takes, you have God’s firm promise that you are never alone. The Lord is your Shepherd. When you are lost, he will find you. When you are in danger, he will protect you. When you are confused, he will guide you.
"God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son…" (John 3:16). Because God made good on that all-important promise, because Jesus did come down to earth to be our Savior, because Jesus emerged victorious over sin and death and hell on Easter morning, he will certainly take care of you too. God loves you, and his love will be your guide.
With that said, let me encourage you to remain in God’s love. Take the time for prayer and personal devotion. Make time in your schedule for God and his Word. Make your confirmation verse your personal motto. Use the prayer books that you will receive. Go to the Lord’s Supper as often as you can. Make use of the means of grace God gives because it is through these channels that he pours out his love.
There is a story about a small newspaper in an even smaller Midwestern town that was in the habit of printing the Sunday sermon theme for the local church in its weekend edition. One week the pastor was planning to preach on the 23rd psalm so he called the paper early in the week to give them the theme. He was proud of the clear, concise words he had chosen because he was certain that this was one theme his parishioners could never forget. "The Lord is My Shepherd," he said. "That’s enough."
There was a problem in the transmission, however, because the editor misunderstood the minister. When the preacher opened up his paper on Saturday evening, the theme read, "The Lord is My Shepherd—That’s Enough." Even though that wasn’t the theme he had chosen, the pastor was not upset. He believed that the editor’s mistake was actually an improvement because it captured the essence of the psalm.
My young Christian friends, the Lord is your Shepherd. The Lord is your Shepherd, and that’s enough. His goodness has brought you to this blessed day. His love will carry you from this day forward. Amen.