Author: lettherebelife17

“And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever;” John 14:16. Jesus, our Good Shepherd, said these words. Who is this Comforter? He is the Holy Spirit as we saw in the previous verse. It is interesting that Jesus refers to Him as the Comforter because we know the Holy Spirit is God Almighty. Much like the oil solution on the sheep’s head, the Comforter brings us to a further place of victory and freedom from the pests that trouble us and reveals what really belongs to us as those belonging to the Good Shepherd.

This Comforter will teach us all things, and will bring all things to our rememberance (John 14:26). He will be in us a built-in teacher. But ye have an anction, which means an anointing, from the Holy One, and ye know all things (I John 2:20). “But the anointing which ye have received of him abideth in you, and ye need not that any man teach you: but as the same anointing teacheth you of all things, and is truth, and is no lie, and even as it hath taught you, ye shall abide in him.” I John 2:27. What an answer and what great victory!

As we receive the anointing of the Holy Spirit, he will teach us how to overcome all these doubts, fears, unbelief, irritations and troubles. There is total victory in what the Good Shepherd has provided. He is the one that pours that anointing upon us. He knew that we would never make it without the Comforter living inside us.

When the insect attack comes, the shepherd will take each sheep and apply a solution of oil mixed with other ingredients that repels insects. This is especially applied to the head of the sheep. In Psalm 23:5 he says, “thou anointest my head with oil: my cup runneth over.” In this we can see the importance of this anointing with oil. This oil is applied as necessary throughout the season. As it wears off, it is important to reapply this solution.

We as sheep of the Good Shepherd also need the anointing oil upon us. Most of us have gone through periods of life where doubts and fears have swarmed around us, trying to find a spot to lay their eggs on us. Irritations, disappointments and discouraging circumstances threatened to destroy us. All this becomes such a distraction that it becomes difficult to think clearly. And occassionally you realize that you are losing out spiritually as well. All this works together against you and now you begin to yield to temptations in things you were once delivered from. So some then come to the place where they think it’s no use. I may as well give up. It’s not working anyway.

But wait! The anointing oil, what could that be in our situation? The anointing of the Holy Spirit, the Holy Oil of heaven. When He comes upon you, just like the sheep we talked about earlier, it changes everything. “But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” John 14:26

If you can now picture a flock of sheep out in a green pasture in spring time contentedly grazing, but as spring turns to summer, something else comes on the scene. Bugs, flies and all kinds of insects have hatched and become pests to the sheep. If you have ever worked around livestock in the summer, you know how bad this can get. It can become, not only distracting, but dangerous.

There are insects that will try desprately to lay their eggs in the sheep’s nose and others attack the eyes and ears. In bad cases, sheep bang their heads against trees and objects to try to relieve themselves of these pests. They become very distracted with this problem and begin to lose weight and eventually become weak and sick. In the worst cases, they can even die because of insect attacks, especially where infection sets in.. What then is the solution?

What is more is that they now become more vulnerable to the large predators that are prowling around to seize an oppurtunity to carry away a lamb. So this can be a most challenging situation even in the middle of green pastures and cool waters.

Once again we see the sheep are in need of something more than they can produce. Certainly this reminds us of ourselves as people. This is why we need the Good Shepherd because we are not capable of survival on our own in our spiritual life. Thank God there is an answer, both for the sheep and us.

I believe the Psalmist is describing a time when the enemy was trying desparately to defeat him in verse 5 of Psalms 23. He is declaring to us that we are not victims of the enemy. We are not to run from the enemy but through the power of God the enemy must be made to run from us.

II Corinthians 2:14 says, “Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, …”. The word triumph here means to celebrate the victory. So in a close walk with the Good Shepherd, there are many celebrations of His victory over Satan, the devil.

When we are in a trial or temptation, we need to face it squarely. Acknowledge that it is there and then take your stand against it in the name of Jesus. The man who faces the temptaton of lust for example, recognize it for what it is. Declare, “This is wrong. I will not do it.” Or in many cases, “I will not look at this pronography, because this is evil and I will not defile myself with the devil’s offering.” Then replace it with the precious Word of God. The Spirit of God can give you an instant replacement if you are looking for it. So while a very disappointed devil is still looking on, he sees you eating the precious Word of God instead of his defiling offerings. “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies” has now become a reality! Now this causes joy in your heart and you celebrate the victory at the table of the Good Shepherd.

We must all face enemies. For God’s people, the real enemy is not human beings but the spirits of the kingdom of darkness. They do work through people and speak through people. The enemy is out to rob, steal, kill and destroy. This is why I Peter 5:8, 9 says, “Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: Whom resist stedfast in the faith, knowing that the same afflictions are accomplished in your brethren that are in the world.” We see that a very serious reality is set before us here. That is why He instructs us to be sober and on guard. We should not live in fear because of this warning, but rather walk carefully.

The answer and right approach is found in James 4:7, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.” When you walk with and under the authority of the Good Shepherd, you then have the authority to resist the devil and he must flee from you.

When Psalms 23:5 says, “Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies:” He is describing great victory. Not only can the devil who attacks us be put to flight, but we can enjoy a feast with the Good Shepherd at the same time. He is the one that has prepared the table. This table implies a meal that has been prepared for us. So at the time that the enemy is looking on, he has to watch and see that not only is he defeated but we are having a good time of fellowship and spiritual food and he cannot stop it.