The Treasury of His Name

by Pat Conner


Digging Deeper. Who knew when this event was planned that we’d be competing with Gasparilla, a very different kind of treasure hunt? I’m just so glad that each of you chose to be here rather than somewhere down on Bayshore today, and I’m thankful that the kind of treasure we’re offered in Jesus Christ is imperishable, unlike those strings of plastic beads people will be doing crazy things to get their hands on today.

The Treasure of His Names. Jesus does have a wealth of names. He is referred to in Scripture sometimes by one of these, and at other times, by some descriptive term that refers to one or more of his attributes. In her book, In His Name, Kirkie Morrissey says there are more than 400 names in the Bible for the Lord God, and that more than 100 of these apply specifically to Jesus Christ. You’ll find in your folders today, about 150 such designations, and I hope you’ll want to explore some of those over time. (The colored
paper is my allusion to the beautiful colors one might see on opening a chest full of lovely jewels.)

Initially I planned to use three of my favorite names from this list to explore together today, but as I kept “digging deeper,” I realized that wouldn’t be possible in 50 minutes. So I’m down to one. My very favorite visual of Jesus (excluding “How much does Jesus love you? This much!) is Jesus as the good shepherd. In John 10:11, Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.” And at the conclusion of the book of Hebrews, the author says, “May the God of peace, who through the blood of the eternal covenant brought back from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, equip you with everything good for doing his will, and may he work in us what is pleasing to him, through Jesus Christ, to whom be glory forever and ever. Amen.”

Two authors, using two very different approaches to the subject, gave me a wealth of information which I’d love to share, but in the interest of time, I’ve had to make painfully selective choices.

Phillip Keller’s book, A Shepherd Looks at Psalm 23, was first published in the 70s. The author knows so much about sheep because he earned his living as a sheep owner and sheep rancher for 8 years. Because of this firsthand knowledge, some of his insights diminish the sentimentality we often associate with the psalm, but he sees wonderful, scriptural applications that are truly rich. To illustrate, if the Lord is our shepherd, who are the sheep? Uh-huh, that means Us.

Phillip Keller says, “Sheep do not just take care of themselves, as some might suppose. They require, more than any other class of livestock, endless attention and meticulous care…” and further, “The behavior of sheep and human beings is similar in many ways…our mass mind (or mob instincts), our fears and timidity, our stubbornness and stupidity, our perverse habits are all parallels of profound importance.”

Max Lucado, on the other hand, published Traveling Light in 2001. I love his very contemporary writing style because he finds creative ways to express deep, scriptural principles that make such an impression, one can hardly forget the point. Max takes the approach that “traveling light means trusting God with the burdens we were never intended to bear.” He identifies a handful of the types of baggage we all at one time or another have tried to carry on our own and points out how Psalm 23 shows that God offers to carry the load for us. [The bolded headings from this point on in these notes represent the baggage “traits” that Jesus will carry for us if we let him.]

Max says, “Sheep are dumb. Have you ever met a sheep trainer? Ever seen sheep tricks? Know anyone who has taught his sheep to roll over? Ever witnessed a circus sideshow featuring ‘Mazadon and his jumping sheep? No. Sheep are just too dumb.”

Read John 10:1-18.

What are some of the longings of our souls alluded to in this passage? Why are these thoughts so reassuring?

1. We need to feel loved. Jesus loves us so much he would (and did) die for us.
2. We need to be known. Jesus knows us better than we know ourselves. (JOHN 10:1-5)
3. We need to be led. Remember, sheep are dumb, but trusting our shepherd gives us security.


SELF-RELIANCE

Psalm 23:1 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not be in want.

So, do I respond to His authority and acknowledge his ownership? Do I find freedom and complete fulfillment in this arrangement? Do I sense a purpose and deep contentment because I am under his direction? Do I know rest and repose, besides a definite sense of exciting adventure in belonging to Him? (PK) Do you?

Or, as Max puts it, are you too “self-reliant” to consider yourself a sheep at all?
1. Can you control your moods? Are you always upbeat and upright?
2. Are you at peace with everyone? Every relationship as sweet as fudge? Love all and loved by all? Is that you?
3. You have no fears, right? You’re Teflon-tough. The country’s economic issues don’t concern you at all, nor do your personal finances. Health issues – all good. World War III starts—What’s for dinner?
4. And do you even need any forgiveness? Never made a mistake, square as a game of checkers, clean as grandma’s kitchen? Never cheated, never lied. Is that you?

If so, your version of Psalm 23 might sound more like this:

I am my own shepherd. I am always in need.
I stumble from mall to mall and shrink to shrink, seeking relief but never finding it.
I creep through the valley of the shadow of death and fall apart.
I fear everything from pesticides to power lines, and I’m starting to act like my mother.
I go down to the weekly staff meeting (or to a worship service or Bible class or PTA
meeting) and am surrounded by enemies.
I go home, and even my goldfish scowls at me.
I anoint my headache with extra-strength Tylenol.
My Jack Daniels’s runneth over.
Surely misery and misfortune will follow me, and I will live in self-doubt for the rest of
my lonely life.

[Sidebar: When David wrote the Psalm, his “shepherd” was, of course, Yahweh – or Jehovah. The one who had made himself known to Moses at the burning bush as the “I Am,” the unchanging God, the uncaused God, the ungoverned God. But Jesus also laid claim to this name. Let’s read John 8:54-59.]

So, when David said, I shall not want, was he talking about material things? Was he saying that if a man or woman is prospering materially, it is a significant mark of the blessing of God upon their lives? No. David was suffering when he wrote the psalm. There were those who wanted him dead. But he lacked nothing in the way of proper care, management or husbandry, because the Lord was his Shepherd. Think of Elijah, John the Baptist, Jesus Himself, who said in Matt 8:20: …foxes have holes, and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.”

We’d do well to consider the following:

Your stuff isn’t yours. We don’t get to take anything with us, do we? John D. Rockefeller’s accountant was asked after John’s death, “How much did John D. leave?” and his reply was, “All of it.” Eccles 5:15 says, “Naked a man comes from his mother’s womb, and as he comes, so he departs. He takes nothing from his labor that he can carry in his hand.”

All that stuff isn’t YOU. That helps me when I feel embarrassed about how messy my house may look to a visitor. “The Lord does not look at the things man looks at. Man looks at the outward appearance, but the Lord looks at the heart (I Sam 16:7). When God looks at you, he sees your compassion, your devotion, your tenderness, or your quick mind, but he doesn’t think of your things. If you define yourself by your stuff, you’ll feel good when you have a lot and bad when you don’t. Contentment comes when we can say with Paul, “I have learned to be satisfied with the things I have…I know how to live when I am poor, and I know how to live when I have plenty.” Phil 4:11-12.

If we have the Good Shepherd, we have “grace for every sin, direction for every turn, a candle for every corner, and an anchor for every storm. In other words, we have everything we need, so let’s put down that cumbersome sack of “discontent.”

Phillip Keller describes a beautiful ewe in his flock that personified discontent. Even though the pasture he provided was the best in the district, she insisted on fence crawling. She would find a way to get through or around the fence and wind up feeding on pasturage of the most inferior sort (to quote Keller). Worse, she led her lambs and other sheep to the same openings, so they learned to squeeze through and join her on the other side. Finally, he, as the shepherd, had to make a difficult choice – He chose to sacrifice this ewe for the sake of the entire flock. What a warning to our carnal side. We can’t have the best of both worlds.


WEARINESS

Psalm 23:2a He makes me lie down in green pastures.

Are you tired this morning? People with too much work and too little sleep step over to the baggage claim of life and grab the duffel bag of weariness. You don’t carry it, you drag it along. Weariness wearies. Maybe you simply need more sleep? We idolize Thomas Edison, who claimed he could live on fifteen-minute naps. Somehow we forget to mention Albert Einstein, who averaged 11 hours of sleep a night. (ML)

Does everything have to be just right for you to sleep? If so, you have something else in common with sheep. (I confess to this failing.) For sheep, everything must be just right. No predators. No tension in the flock. No bugs in the air. No hunger in the belly, etc.” (ML)

Phllip Keller further explains. Sheep have to be free of fear, tensions, aggravations and hunger. They have little or no means of self-defense. They are helpless, timid, feeble creatures whose only recourse is to run. Only the shepherd can calm them. The presence of their master and protector puts them at ease as nothing else can do, day or night.
Psalm 4:8. I will lie down and sleep in peace, for you alone, O Lord, make me dwell in safety.


WORRY

Psalm 23:2b He leads me beside quiet waters.

We need H2O just like sheep do. They thrive in dry, semi-arid country, but they still need water, and they depend on their shepherd to lead them to whatever water source is available. We need Living Water (another of the names of Christ), and our Good Shepherd has told us where to find it. Matthew 5:6 says, Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. At the feast of tabernacles in Jerusalem, Jesus goes on to identify where this thirst can be quenched: If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.

Again, Max says God leads us to what we need. He will do the right thing at the right time. We don’t need to worry about the future. Jesus says in Matt 6:34: Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. Meet today’s problems with today’s strength. God promises a lamp unto our feet, not a crystal ball into the future.


HOPELESSNESS

Psalm 23:3a He restores my soul.

Why should a sheep in the care of the Good Shepherd need to be restored? David boasts in the 23rd Psalm that “He restores my soul.” David was truly loved by God, but he knew what it was to be cast down and dejected. He had tasted defeat in his life and had felt the frustration of having fallen to temptation. In Psalm 42:11, he says, Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God.

PK says there’s an exact parallel in caring for sheep by describing for us a “cast down” sheep. The term means a sheep that has turned over on its back and cannot get up again by itself. The effort to right itself is a pathetic sight. The sheep can die within a short period of time in hot weather or within a few days in cooler temperatures. The shepherd keeps close tabs on his flock so he’ll know when even one is missing, and he wastes no time in going in search of that one so he can bring it home.

When Jesus told the parable of the Lost Sheep in Luke 15 to the Pharisees who were criticizing him for welcoming sinners, he may well have had a cast sheep in mind. When the sheep’s owner returns with the sheep, he calls his friends and neighbors in to rejoice with him. Jesus ended by saying, “I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.” If you’re a Pharisee, you’re saying, “Ouch!” about now, huh?

Max Lucado says, on the subject of hopelessness that our Shepherd majors in restoring hope to the soul. He doesn’t give it by changing the jungle we find ourselves in; he does it by giving us himself. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” Matt 28:20
If so, call out for your Shepherd. He knows your voice, and he’s just waiting for your request.


GUILT

Psalm 23:3b He leads me in the paths of righteousness…

How important is it for sheep to have a shepherd? Without one, they will follow the same old trails until they become ruts, graze the same hills until they turn to desert wastes, pollute their own ground until it is corrupt with disease and parasites. In other words, they go their own way. Many of the world’s finest sheep ranges have been ruined beyond repair by over-grazing, poor management and indifferent or ignorant sheep owners. So says PK.

Like sheep, we want to go our own way. We don’t want to follow. We don’t want to be led in paths of righteousness. Somehow it goes against our grain. We actually prefer to turn to our own way even though it may take us straight into trouble.

But in Proverbs 14:12, we read, There is a way which seems right to a man, but in the end, it leads to death.

And Jesus, the Good Shepherd, comes gently and says, “I am the way, the truth, and the life: no one comes to the Father but through me.” In John 10:10, he even says, “I have come that they might have life and have it to the full”.

Keller proposes seven fresh attitudes we need in order to discover fresh pasturage; new, abundant life; and increased health, wholesomeness and holiness in our walk with God.

1. Instead of loving myself most, I am willing to love Christ best and others more than myself.
2. Instead of being one of the crowd, I am willing to be singled out, set apart from the gang.
3. Instead of insisting on my rights, I am willing to forego them in favor of others.
4. Instead of being “boss,” I am willing to be at the bottom of the heap. Or to use sheep terminology, instead of being “Top Ram” I’m willing to be a “tail-ender.”
5. Instead of finding fault with life and always asking, “Why?” I am willing to accept every circumstance of life in an attitude of gratitude.
6. Instead of exercising and asserting my will, I will learn to cooperate with His wishes and comply with His will.
7. Instead of choosing my own way, I am willing to choose to follow in Christ’s way; simply to do what He asks me to do.

Sound impossible? It would be if we had to depend on self-determination, or self-discipline to succeed. But if we are in earnest about wanting to do His will and to be led, He makes this possible by His own gracious Spirit who is given to those who obey (Acts 5:32). For it is God who works in you both to will and to act according to His good purpose. (Philippians 2:13).


ARROGANCE

Psalm 23:3 …For His name’s sake…

The message of the Twenty-third Psalm is that we have nothing to be proud about. We have rest, salvation, blessings, and a home in heaven—and we did nothing to earn any of it. Who did? Who did the work? The answer threads through the psalm like a silk thread through pearls:

He makes me…
He leads me…
He restores my soul…
You are with me…
Your rod and Your staff…comfort me…
You prepare a table…
You anoint my head…

The shepherd leads his sheep, not for our names’ sake, but “for His name’s sake.”

God hates arrogance, but he loves humility. Lucado suggests:
1. Assess yourself honestly. Humility isn’t the same as low self-esteem. Being humble doesn’t mean you think you have nothing to offer; it means you know exactly what you have to offer and no more. Rom 12:3 says, “Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the measure of faith God has given you”.
2. Don’t take yourself too seriously. Counteract this pride with reminders of the brevity of life and the frailty of wealth. “People come into this world with nothing, and when they die they leave with nothing.” Eccles. 5:15.
3. Celebrate the significance of others. “In humility consider others better than yourselves.” Phil. 2:3.
4. Don’t demand your own parking place. “Don’t praise yourself. Let someone else do it.” Prov. 27:2
5. Never announce your success before it occurs. “One who puts on his armor should not boast like one who takes it off.” I King 20:11
6. Speak humbly. “Let no arrogance come from your mouth.” I Sam. 2:3 (NKJV
7. Live at the foot of the cross. Paul said, “The cross of our Lord Jesus Christ is my only reason for bragging.” Gal. 6:14.


GRIEF

Psalm 23:4 Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…

The only way to higher ground is through the valleys. But let’s focus on the word “through.” We don’t stop there; we go on to higher ground. If I want God to make me a blessing to others, it may have to be through valleys carved into my life by excruciating experiences.

But God is a good God. Though we don’t understand his actions, we can trust his heart.


FEAR

Psalm 23: 4a …I will fear no evil…
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Phil. 4:6


LONELINESS

Psalm 23:4b …for you are with me. Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

Loneliness is not the absence of faces. It is the absence of intimacy. Loneliness doesn’t come from being alone; it comes from feeling alone; feeling as if you are facing death alone, facing disease alone, or facing the future alone.

The shepherd’s rod was a weapon, used to fight off the sheep’s predators. It represented power, authority and defense, and thus it was a comfort for the sheep.

The staff is the long, slender stick, often with a crook or hook on one end. It speaks of all that is longsuffering and kind. It is the symbol of the concern, the compassion that a shepherd has for his charges. He will use it to gently lift a newborn lamb and bring it to its mother, should they become separated, rather than touch it with his hands and possibly cause it to be rejected by the mother. He will use it to reach out and draw a timid sheep to himself for intimate examination. Finally, the shepherd may use the staff to guide a sheep into a path by gently applying pressure to its side. The staff is never used to strike or punish the animal.

Keller makes interesting comparisons between the rod as representing the Word of God and the staff as the Spirit of God.

(As an aside, my husband has come to actually appreciate the short crutch he’s been using recently because of increased knee pain. He’s found so many uses for it, he may want to keep carrying it even if he has a successful knee replacement!)


SHAME

Psalm 23:5 NKJV. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

The shepherd has prepared the summer range for his sheep, at great personal cost to him. Jesus has gone before us to prepare a place for us in eternity, at great personal cost to him.

But before he returned to the Father, he had prepared a breakfast on the beach for his apostles. Remember? But Peter had denied him on the night of his trial. Peter had acted like the enemy, but Jesus has prepared a meal and invited him! Peter was welcomed to the meal of Christ. When we meet together to observe the Lord’s Supper, don’t we feel shame for our personal failures and grateful for the sacrifice that Jesus made for each one of us?


DISAPPOINTMENT

Psalm 23:5a NKJV You anoint my head with oil…

Shepherds in ancient Israel used oil on their sheep for three purposes: 1) to repel insects, 2) to prevent conflicts, and 3) to heal wounds. Flies, mosquitoes and gnats torture the livestock, particular when their larvae are left in the animal’s nose. By covering the sheep’s head with an oil-like repellant, the insects are kept at bay and the flock at peace.

During mating season, two rams may butt heads pretty seriously, so the shepherd literally anoints their heads with a greasy substance which causes them to glance off rather than crash into each other.

When injuries do occur, oil is used as medicine to heal cuts and abrasions and avoid infection.

Do you have injuries (perhaps disappointments?) that need the healing touch of the shepherd’s oil? Have you taken them to God in prayer? Like the sheep, we need to go to the shepherd, bow our heads before him, and trust him to do exactly what we need. “Lord, I give myself to you; my God, I trust you.” Psalm 25:1-2.


ENVY

Psalm 23:5b My cup overflows…

The New Living Translation says, “My cup overflows with blessings.” So we should never envy anyone, even if he has more than we have. If our cup overflows, it is full, right? We have God’s “…abounding grace, forgiving us” (Rom 5:20). And we have hope. “God will help you overflow with hope in him through the Holy Spirit’s power within you.” Rom 15:13.

Keller suggests the “cup” here may refer to the cup of suffering, which also may be overflowing. But if so, it’s entirely possible that even that can be a blessing to somebody.


DOUBT

Psalm 23:6a . Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life...

There’s no room for doubt, even when there seems to be no light at the end of the tunnel. David says, “Surely…” We need to:

1. Trust our faith, and not our feelings. Our feelings have no impact on God’s presence.
2. Measure our value through God’s eyes, not our own. There are times in our lives when we are homeless, disoriented, hard to help, and hard to love. In those seasons, remember this simple fact: God loves you. He follows you. Why? Because you are family, and he will follow you all the days of your life.
3. See the big picture, not the small. Remember that we are given a lamp for our feet, not a crystal ball for the future.


HOMESICKNESS

Psalm 23:6 I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Sounds a little boastful, doesn’t it? But why shouldn’t we feel free to boast of how good our Shepherd is? In looking back over my 70 years, I see at every juncture of my life, there was the potential for bad consequences to poor choices, but my loving Shepherd nudged me with his staff and kept me on the path He chose for me. Now the baggage I have carried all these years has been released. Guilt was dropped at Calvary. Fear of death will have been left at the grave. The only remaining baggage will be the God-given longing for home, but when Jesus says, “Welcome home,” and wipes away every tear from my eyes, the last bag will be dropped -- and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord – forever.