The Certain Future Of The Child Of God - Psalm 23.6b

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Communion  •  Sermon  •  Submitted   •  Presented   •  47:59
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Introduction

I recently heard a song that had a very interesting line in it.
The song is about cancer and how so many have suffered from it and how much the treatment costs and how we as humans are desperate to extend our lives even if only for a minute.
And then the artist makes this statement.
“We’re all human, we’ll keep fighting ’cause it’s how we survive But it’s scary ’cause we don’t know where we’ll go when we die”
Within our world and culture there exists a terror of death.
This terror has its roots in the reality that people don’t know what comes next!
They are terrified of no longer existing, terrified of the end.
We as Christians know that death is not the end.
In death our body is separated from our soul and spirit.
These bodies will deteriorate and return to dust, but the immaterial part of us will be with the Lord!
We do not need to fear death because death, for the believer, is the beginning of life in the presence of Jesus.
Next week is Thanksgiving.
As followers of Jesus, we should be the most thankful people ever.
Why?
Because we have so much to be thankful for!
One of the greatest blessings we have is a guaranteed future.
That is what the end of Psalm 23 is about.
We have a certain future as children of God.
The last phrase in Psalm 23 says this.
“And I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”
As we consider thanksgiving. This is what I am thankful for.
My eternal future is secure.
Is yours?
Principle:
We can be confident of a future life with Christ.
Guidance:
Scripture reveals three truths an eternal confidence is built on.
Outcome:
Confidence in a future with Christ gives present boldness in His service.
Three truths to build our confidence on.
Truth #1…

1. We Will Be With Christ

Psalm 23:6 NKJV
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
“I will dwell” is one Hebrew word.
It is in the perfect tense which means that this is a guarantee.
What is stated here absolutely will take place.
We will dwell in the house of the Lord.
“House” is the idea of dwelling.
We will dwell where God dwells.
How do we know this is true?
How can we be confident that we will be in the presence of God?
How can we know for certain that we will be with Jesus?
Of first importance is the promise of Christ Himself.
John 14:3
John 14:3 NKJV
3 And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself; that where I am, there you may be also.
Does Jesus lie?
No.
What did Jesus promise here?
1 - He would go.
2 - He would return.
3 - He would take us with Him.
4 - We will be with him.
Here’s the bottom line.
God cannot lie.
Therefore, He either keeps these promises or He is not God!
He has promised that we will be with Him!
Paul reminds Titus of this promise and includes the fact that God cannot lie.
Titus 1:2
Titus 1:2 NKJV
2 in hope of eternal life which God, who cannot lie, promised before time began,
God promised eternal life before time began!
This truth is supported by the fact that all the way back to the beginning we have testimony of this expectation.
Job, even in the midst of everything he endured, said this.
Job 19:25-27
Job 19:25–27 NKJV
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, And He shall stand at last on the earth; 26 And after my skin is destroyed, this I know, That in my flesh I shall see God, 27 Whom I shall see for myself, And my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!
I love this confidence!
We have a certain future!
Our redeemer lives!
He will stand on the earth again.
Our skin may be destroyed yet in our flesh we will see God!
My eyes will see Him.
Does your heart yearn for that?
We are going to be with Christ!
2 Corinthians 5:6-8 gives us an important element of all this.
2 Corinthians 5:6-8
2 Corinthians 5:6–8 NKJV
6 So we are always confident, knowing that while we are at home in the body we are absent from the Lord. 7 For we walk by faith, not by sight. 8 We are confident, yes, well pleased rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord.
Faith is required to believe these promises.
We take this on faith.
We have not met anyone who is living their eternal life.
We believe what God has revealed in His Word.
This requires faith.
And yet, Paul writes that we are confident!
One day, when I have finished what God has for me here on earth, I am going to die.
My body will separate from my soul and spirit.
The very moment, the instant that happens, I will be absent from the body and present with the Lord.
I believe that by faith.
Do you?
Here’s our lesson
Every single believer will one day enter the eternal presence of Jesus.
repeat
This is our hope!
In this we place our confidence!
God has promised, He cannot lie, we will be in his presence!
We are going to be face to face with our Redeemer.
For this we give thanks.
Sing with me
“Saved by Grace”
“I shall see Him face to face, and tell the story saved by grace!”
Woo! Amen! Hallelujah!
This is what we build our confidence on.
Truth #1. We will be with Christ.
Truth #2…

2. We Will Be With Christ Forever

Psalm 23:6 NKJV
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
“Forever”
Literally this says “until length of day.”
The picture is that we will dwell where the Lord dwells as long as there are days.
This is most easily translated “forever.”
The promise that we have as believers is not only that we will be with Christ, it is that we will be with Christ forever.
Psalm 16:11 says
Psalm 16:11
Psalm 16:11 NKJV
11 You will show me the path of life; In Your presence is fullness of joy; At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore.
Full joy!
Pleasures forevermore!
When we are with Christ there is eternal joy and enjoyment!
We will lack nothing and want nothing.
This is one of those promises that get us through the difficulties of life.
Trial and trouble have an end.
These struggles will not last forever!
There is coming a day when we will be taken from this world of pain and brought into the very presence of Jesus!
In 1 Thessalonians 4 Paul describes the rapture of believers.
He makes the point that those who have died before the rapture will be caught up to be with Christ first.
Verse 17 says this.
1 Thessalonians 4:17
1 Thessalonians 4:17 NKJV
17 Then we who are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Notice that last phrase.
Thus we shall always be with the Lord.
Always.
When David writes here in Psalm 23 that we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever, that’s exactly what he means.
We are going to take up residence in the dwelling place of God!
We are going to live with Him for eternity!
Our Savior is going to return.
He is going to take us home to be with Him.
Once there, we will never be separated from Him again!
This verse is the pinnacle of Psalm 23.
Our Shepherd has led us to green pastures and beside still waters. He has restored our souls!
He has been with us in the valley of the shadow of death.
He has provided for us abundantly.
When this life is over, we will be with Him forever!
Listen to the description of life with Christ we are given in Revelation 7:16-17.
Revelation 7:16-17
Revelation 7:16–17 NKJV
16 They shall neither hunger anymore nor thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any heat; 17 for the Lamb who is in the midst of the throne will shepherd them and lead them to living fountains of waters. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.”
No hunger, no thirst, no sunburn, no heat.
The Lamb will be our Shepherd!
He will lead to living water!
He will wipe away every tear!
This is what we have to look forward to!
Here’s our lesson
The joy and rejoicing that the presence of Jesus brings will last for eternity.
repeat
At His right hand is pleasure!
No pain, no tears, no want.
If that isn’t cause for Thanksgiving, I don’t know what is.
Sing with me
“When We All Get To Heaven”
When we get to heaven it will be a day of rejoicing!
When we see Jesus, oh what a shout we will raise!
This is what we build our confidence on.
Truth #1. We will be with Christ.
Truth #2. We will be with Christ forever.
Truth #3…

3. We Will Be With Christ Forever, If…

Psalm 23:6 NKJV
6 Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the Lord Forever.
Who is this promise for?
What we have mentioned a few times I want to state clearly.
Go with me, back to the beginning of this Psalm.
What is the first phrase?
“The Lord is my shepherd.”
Let’s read that again with a different emphasis.
The Lord is MY shepherd.
This is the requirement.
If we want to be with Christ forever, if we want the promises that are made in this Psalm, we need to be one of God’s sheep.
The Lord is my shepherd.
He is only your shepherd if you have placed your faith in Him.
What does that mean?
John 10:11
John 10:11 NKJV
11 “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.
Jesus is the good shepherd.
He gave His life for the sheep.
Later in this passage He states that His sheep hear His voice.
A sheep has a personal relationship with the shepherd.
If we are not followers of Jesus, He is not our shepherd and we are not His sheep.
You become a follower of Jesus when you trust in His death, burial, and resurrection.
Jesus died on the Cross for your sin and mine.
He did this because we are sinners, we have no hope of saving ourselves.
All we can expect is the penalty of sin, which is death.
In His gracious love and mercy, God has made a way for us to come to Him.
Ephesians 2:8-9
Ephesians 2:8–9 NKJV
8 For by grace you have been saved through faith, and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God, 9 not of works, lest anyone should boast.
By grace through faith.
It is a gift, not our strength.
It is a gift, not something we earn.
This faith that we have is not some vague, ethereal thing.
There is an object to our faith.
This year we have been memorizing the beginning of Romans 5.
Here is verses 8-10.
Romans 5:8-10
Romans 5:8–10 NKJV
8 But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9 Much more then, having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him. 10 For if when we were enemies we were reconciled to God through the death of His Son, much more, having been reconciled, we shall be saved by His life.
Christ is the object of our faith!
We are justified, declared righteous, by His blood!
We are delivered from wrath!
We are reconciled to God and Saved by the life of Jesus!
Faith in Jesus Christ is what saves us.
This salvation then leads us to live for Him.
Here is our lesson
The only way to have eternal life with Jesus is through faith in Him.
That’s the bottom line.
If you want to be with Christ forever, you have to trust in Jesus.
Salvation cannot be found anywhere else!
“There is no other name under heaven, given among men by which we must be saved!”
Sing with me
“The Wonderful Cross”
I love the end of verse 3.
“Love so amazing, so divine, demands my soul, my life, my all.”
Is that what we are giving to Him?
Turn with me to 1 Corinthians 11:23-32
This is a time for believers to remember the price that was paid. To be reminded of the penalty of sin. Taking part of communion does not save you. This is simply a way for us to be reminded of what Christ has done. If you know the Lord as savior this morning, please join us in bread and juice as we remember Jesus Christ. These are only symbols, they represent the body and blood of our Savior. Examination – verses 26-32

OBSERVANCE OF COMMUNION

1 Corinthians 11:23-32
The Bread (His Body) vv. 23-24 “One Day” (chorus only)
Living He loved me
Dying He saved me
Buried He carried
My sins far away
Rising He justified
Freely forever
One day He's coming
O glorious day
The Cup (His Blood) v. 25 “And Can It Be?” (chorus only)
Amazing love how can it be
That Thou my God shouldst die for me
Amazing love how can it be
That Thou my God shouldst die for me

Conclusion

We have a certain future with Christ.
This future is only promised to those who have placed their faith in Jesus Christ.
Heaven is for those who are God’s sheep.
If you are hearing this message, and you have never trusted in Jesus Christ, please do it now.
There are no magic words to say, no perfect prayer.
Salvation comes when we confess our sin, and trust in Jesus.
If you have made that decision today, or want to make it, please talk to someone.
Come talk to me, to our ushers, to someone.
For those of us who have trusted in Jesus, we have an incredible promise.
We are going to be with Christ forever.
We will dwell in the house of the Lord forever!
This confidence in our certain future should inspire boldness in our service for Christ.
We have nothing to fear!
Our future is secure.
This means that in our personal lives we serve with boldness.
In our relationships we keep Christ the focus.
In our parenting we present an example of bold obedience for our children to follow.
In our marriages we serve Christ together.
COMMITMENT:
I will serve Christ boldly because my future is secure.
Jesus is going to return and take us to be with Him.
This is a truth we can take to the bank. It is a truth we can stake our confidence in .
This truth means that our time here is limited. We need to get busy serving.
When Jesus takes us home with Him we will be in His presence for eternity.
The trials of this life are temporary.
Suffering will not last!
No matter what you face, endure because Christ is coming and heaven is your home!
Sharing the gospel is an urgent priority.
The only way for someone to go to heaven is through faith in Jesus.
We are responsible for the spread of the gospel.
Tell others the good news of Jesus death, burial, and resurrection.
Be confident in the future and live boldly for Jesus.
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