Date: (3/19/15)
Week: # 6
Title: Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
Prayer:
Father God, thank You for your presence in our lives. Paradise is in Your presence forever. Thank You for Your goodness and mercy. Your grace and mercy has been our help always. All the days of our lives You have promised that You would be with us. We thank You. Thank You Lord, because your grace and mercy has been with us, and we are so grateful. We ask that Your Holy Spirit keep us reminded of this scripture when time get hard. Help us to learn more about how it's a blessing to be in Your presence all the days of our life. As the Word says, surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the days of our life, and depend on that so we can live a good life for Your glory. Father God, help us to always keep heaven before our eyes. Thank You Jesus for preparing a place for us. Thank You Lord God almighty for Your love and caring for us as Your sheep. We are so grateful that You sent Your Son Jesus to dye for us, so we can truly say, The Lord is our Shepherd, we shall not want. As we study this help us to experience such a glorious relationship with You that we too can say in our hearts, The Lord is MY Shepherd, I shall not want, and live this to the fullest. AMEN.
Text: Psalms 23:6, "Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in Yahweh's house forever." This is A Testimony of Surety.
Satan has no old happy people. We need to learn this principle: Satan gives his best first and his worst last, but Jesus gives the best first and even then it gets better. Every one of us could write two volumes. One is on the goodness of God and the other on the mercy of God. We could write about the goodness of God which has met our failures. His goodness is His provision for the good times and His mercy is His provision for the bad times. Goodness takes care of my steps and mercy takes care of my stumbles. Yet, all of our days must come to a close - "all the days of my life." Yet, when our days are over we can still say, "The best is yet to come! To die is gain. We will dwell in the House of the Lord."
The Certainty of It - "Surely.....I will." Jesus reinforced the certainty that David spoke of in John 14:1-3, "Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house are many mansions: if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also." Heaven is a real place. It is not just a state of mind or condition. Jesus said, "I go to prepare a place." Where is heaven? The Bible says that heaven is up. Yet, up seems to be a different place around the globe. But there is one place that is always up no matter where you are on the face of this globe. North is always up. See Isaiah 14: 13-14, Psalms 75: 6-7.
The saved go to this place immediately upon death. There is no soul sleep. See 2 Cor. 5: 6-8. We read in Acts 7:56 that Stephen saw the Lord and asked Jesus to receive his spirit. The kind of place to which we go is a place where there is no sin, sorrow, suffering death or disease or doubts. See Rev. 21:4. The presence of all that is good and the absence of all that is evil will be the Christian's final abode. It will be all the loving heart of God can conceive and the omnipotent hand of God can prepare. It will be a place of meaningful service. See Rev. 7:15.
The Company of It - "The house of the Lord." Jesus said that heaven is a place of many mansions or dwelling places. Think of all the saints who will be there. Mark Twain was reported to have said, "I will take heaven for climate and hell for society." How wrong he was. Will we know our loved ones in heaven? Remember the story of David's little boy? See 2Samuel12:8-23. The disciples recognized Moses and Elijah on the Mount of Transfiguration. They had never previously met either of them. Our fellowship will surpass anything we have ever known on earth. All around will be that shining cloud of witnesses - the redeemed of all the centuries serving the same Savior. There will be such a crowd there and so much to do that eternity will seem too short to fellowship with all of them. Most of all, Jesus Himself will be there. After all, it is His house, the "House of the Lord."
The Consistency of It - "forever." Sheep are continually moving. They never settle down and stay in one place very long. The word "dwell" means to settle down and be at home. The "House of the Lord" is a state of constant joy; no more sorrow, no more separation. It will be for eternity - a long time. We'll be "dwelling in the house of the Lord." What a happy ending!
Conclusion: Can you testify, "The Lord is my Shepherd?"
A pilgrim was I and a-wandering
In the cold night of sin I did roam.
When Jesus the kind Shepherd found me
And now I am on my way home.
He restoreth my soul when I'm weary.
He giveth me strength day by day.
He leads me beside the still waters,
He guard me each step of the way.
When I walk through the dark lonesome valley;
My Savior will walk with me there.
And safely His great hand will lead me
To the mansions He's gone to prepare.
Chorus
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days - all the days of my life.
And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever,
And I shall feast at the table spread for me.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me
All the days, all the days of my life.
(John W. Peterson - Alfred B. Smith)
In the midst of trials, our source of joy is our fellowship with the Shepherd--He prepares a table for us, He anoints our head with oil, our cup overflows(v.5).
Whether we are looking at the shepherding imagery, or the imagery of table fellowship, the main theme of Psalm 23 is plain to see: David is describing the joy of being in a personal relationship with God--a relationship that has no end, "Surely goodness and lovingkindness will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever"(v.6).
The 23rd Psalm portrays life as a pilgrimage--it is a pilgrimage with God, to God--and our final destination is "the house of the Lord". Our final destination is unhindered fellowship with Jesus Christ. And it is our final destination that should define everything we do in the meantime.
Whether we are talking about Bible studies, building projects, or children's programs--these things are not the point. And any church program or project that does not move us toward an improved relationship with Jesus Christ is a misguided project and misses the point.
It is time for us to examine the purposes that are behind the church projects we undertake. It is time for us to prioritize passion over programs. We want a quality ministry, yes, but not at the expense of a quality relationship.
When we reach our final destination, when we get to the house of the Lord, there will be no more programs, but what will remain is passion. When we get to heaven there will be no more religion, but what will remain is our relationship with our Shepherd.
Don't miss the point of Psalm 23. Our Shepherd, Jesus Christ, calls us, not to ritual, but to a relationship. It is in the relationship that He gets the glory due to Him and we get the joy we so desperately seek. Amen.
Different Version: Week # 6 Psalm 23 World English Bible (WEB)
A Psalm by David.
1 Yahweh is my shepherd:
I shall lack nothing.
2 He makes me lie down in green pastures.
He leads me beside still waters.
3 He restores my soul.
He guides me in the 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 runs over.
6 Surely goodness and loving kindness shall follow me all the days of my life,
and I will dwell in Yahweh's house forever.
Word of the Week (# 6) Paradise
Full Definition of PARADISE
1: Heaven, as the final abode of the righteous.
2: A place or state of bliss, felicity, or delight
3: A place of extreme beauty, delight, or happiness.
4: A state of supreme happiness; bliss.
Paradise is a place of blessing where the righteous go after death. The word paradise is usually used as a synonym for "heaven" (Revelation 2:7).
God's Name:
God is Jehovah-Shammah: The Lord ever present. (Ezekiel 48:35)
(The above names fit this Psalm perfectly. Note how each name is in this Psalm.)
"Father God, You have so many wonderful Names. May I search out the Scripture and really get to know You by Your Names. Each one has a special meaning and gives me deeper understanding to Who You are. Reveal Your character to me today. Amen."
Question of the week: What does the Lord provide to ensure that He will preserve us in this life?
Questions:
1). What did Apostle Paul mean when he said, "To die is to gain?"(Philippians 1:21)
2). What is the certainty Jesus speak of concerning this verse? (John 14:1-3)
3). Where is the Christian's final abode?
4). Where is Heaven?
5). Will we know our loved ones in Heaven?
6). In this scripture, what do the word dwelling means?
7). How can you testify that the Lord is your Shepherd?
8). Explain what the Bible means about this is not our home, we are just pilgrimage.
9). What is the different between the church and our relationship with God?
10). When we get to Heaven what will remain when all else is gone?
11). Explain what Psalm 23 means to you.
12). What do the name Yahweh means?
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