“And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”
Scripture
Ps. 23:1 The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
Ps. 23:2 He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters.
Ps. 23:3 He restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness For His name’s sake.
Ps. 23:4 Yea,
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.
Ps. 23:5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my
enemies; You anoint my head with oil; My cup runs over.
Ps. 23:6 Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me All the days of my life; And I will dwell in the house of the LORD
Forever.
Pray
Intro
√ The setting
We’ve followed David as he takes us along the annual trek of the shepherd and his sheep.
Moved from…
The shelter and provision of the ranch
To the green pastures and still waters of the lowlands
Up the frightening paths of the valleys
To the high summer pastures on the mountaintop
…vs. 6 finds us following the shepherd and his sheep safely back “home” to spend the winter.
√ The content
Take note of David’s boasting!
The psalm begins with a great and confident boast…
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.”
David is not ashamed to boldly declare that God is his shepherd and because he belongs to the Lord that he will never suffer lack of any good thing!
Note his boast as he closes the psalm…
“And I will dwell in the house of the LORD Forever.”
David closes his psalm with a shout of confidence – proclaiming that he will never be separated from His God!
√ The point
As David looks back at the paths by which God led him…
From the lonely pastures where he watched his father’s sheep…
…to the battle with the giant…
…to the long years living as an exile under the constant fear of death…
…to the day when he was crowned king of
…to the end of his pilgrimage here on earth.
David could boast that His God was perfect in all the ways in which He led him, compassionate in His care, and trustworthy to bring David safely “home”.
In a sense, David is calling out to all those who serve other gods and saying…
“Can your god do this!”
Can any other god…
Lead a person safely through life?
Safely navigate the trials and troubles of this world?
Bring a person safely “home” at the end of their days?
No way!
Ex. The cults and false religions who peddle their gods
When they come to your door – rather than argue with them simply ask them this question…
“What can your god offer me that I is better than what Jesus has already given me?”
In the “market place” of religion ultimately that’s the question we as “consumers” what to ask!
So…
…if I follow your god then I’ll have to go door to door every Saturday selling magazines, attend meetings every night of the week, follow a special diet, willfully chose to ignore the clear teaching of the Bible…
…and if I do a really good job all that your god can offer me is that I might get to live on earth for a 1000 years?!
Right! Thanks but no thanks – I’ll keep my God!
√ That’s David’s point!
He had found through personal experience that there was only One God that can be trusted to lead him safely through life’s challenges!
Ap. What about you?
Do we boast in our God like David did?
Ps 34:2 My soul shall make its boast
in the LORD; The humble shall hear of
it and be glad.
And…
Ps 44:8 In God we boast all
day long, And praise Your name forever. Selah
We rub shoulders with people everyday that serve other gods. People who are under the management of evil shepherds – longing for something better – looking for a shepherd who will care for them, love them, and lead them safely home.
May I suggest that we ought to spend more time boasting in our God – how our Good Shepherd has…
Brought us safely through so many trials and troubles
Brought satisfaction and joy into our lives
Freed us from guilt and condemnation
Done in our lives what we could never have hoped for
If we would do that – we would find many more people open to the Gospel message!
Ex. Sales
The House of the Lord
√ Where is the house of the Lord?
We find David boldly proclaiming that he…
“will live in the house of the Lord forever.”
My thought, where is that house?
For the sheep as we’ve followed their annual trek from the ranch in the lowlands to the mountaintops and back again…
…the “house” is really not so much a place as a person!
That is, the sheep are happy so long as they’re with the shepherd! Whether they’re in…
The lowlands
The valleys
The mountaintops
The ranch
…as long as they’re in the presence of the shepherd – they’re at home!
√ The point
Many times we tend to think of the “house” of the Lord as a place – the Temple, a church, the building where God’s people gather.
But really, church isn’t limited to a place – a physical address – rather, church – “the house of the Lord” is wherever Jesus is!
In David’s experience he had come to know that whether he was in…
Fields with his sheep
Battlefield alone facing Goliath
Wilderness hiding from Saul
Jerusalem
…that he was confident that God was with him and always would be!
It was David’s great joy to simply be in the Lord’s presence – no matter what the physical location.
Ap. Jesus has promised that He will always, and forever, be with you!
Heb 13:5b “…For He Himself has said, “I will never leave you nor forsake
you.”
Jesus promised us…
John14:1 “Let not your heart be troubled; you believe in God, believe also in Me.
John14:2 “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.
John14:3 “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.
John14:4 “And where I go you know, and the way you know.”
John14:5 Thomas said to Him, “Lord, we do not know where You are going, and how can we know the way?”
John14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
And…
John 14:18 “I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you.
Too often we get hung up on the “mansions” part and miss what makes the mansions great, note vs. 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.”
Ex. My house
It’s nice – but what makes it the place that I want to go to every evening at the end of the day is that my wife and kids are there!
Nothing more depressing than going home to a mansion where no one else lives!
Ap. The Lord’s promise to you
That you will dwell in the house of the Lord forever is so much more than a place that we’re going to.
It’s the joy of sharing the fellowship of the Lord now and forever!
Like David, you and I can have the inner peace and joy of knowing that the Lord…
Is with us
Working for us
Caring for us
Leading us
Ministering to the hurts and wounds we receive in this world
…all because we are His the sheep of His flock.
√ That’s the catch isn’t it!
All of those promises are for the Lord’s sheep. They don’t apply to those who belong to any other shepherd!
Like the sickly, poorly cared for sheep of a miserable shepherd – so too are the people of this world who live just on the other side of the fence.
Jesus said there is only One Way to enter into His house – to become one of His sheep…
John14:6 Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
And..
John 10:7 Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am the door of the sheep.
John 10:8 “All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not hear them.
John 10:9 “I am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in and out and find pasture.
Close
√ So good to know the Good Shepherd!
√ Let’s boast of His wonderful love and care for us!
√ If you aren’t one of His sheep – come on in!