¹ The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want ² He maketh
me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the
still waters. ³ He restoreth my soul : he leadeth me in the
paths of righteousness for his name’s sake ⁴ Yea, though I
walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no
evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort
me. ⁵ Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of
mine enemies : thou anointest my head with oil; my cup
runneth over. 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.

What an incredible journey we have been on since we began to study this passage in the book of Psalms! I trust you have gained some insight into this great song of David. I know I have. We have titled this study,

I am sure you remember this:

The Lord is my Shepherd. The Shepherd.
The Lord is my Shepherd. The Sheep.
I shall not want. The Shortage.

Let’s review just a bit. Many sheep are experiencing a shortage in their lives. Jesus wants to fill that void and bring spiritual growth and development to their life. The following excerpt is a recap of the first lesson. Read this again and let it stir your memory.

It is time to stretch your mind and heart now! It is time to grow and flow! It is time to stop remaining stagnant in our Christian experience and march onward to develop into the mature SHEEP OF HIS PASTURE. He is the supplier of all your needs. You will not lack what you need to survive where you are! I hope someone hears that! Listen to it:

There it is! A great review as we wrap this up today.

Fundamentals matter, while accessories add style and make us look good. Fundamentals anchor us. While our shoes may not be up to date, they do keep the water out when I walk down a wet sidewalk. We see in this psalm that verse 6 is our concluding verse. It says:

“Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.” Psalm 23:6

The constant care of the Shepherd for you, His sheep, will bring goodness and mercy to bear upon you. This word “follow” is a most powerful word. It carries the idea of being pursued. Chased down. For those who are under the care of the Shepherd, know this, that Christ has a vested interest in you. It will be hard for you to get away; not that we desire to get away in the first place. Yet, though it is not impossible, it is difficult. The Holy Spirit will chase you down with His mercy. It is as the water that followed the Israelites in the desert.

“And did all drink of the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” 1 Corinthians 10:4

As one author puts it, “His mercy is like manna… it’s new every morning… it’s a pardoning mercy, a protecting mercy, a sustaining mercy, and a supplying mercy.” His mercies never come to an end. Great is His faithfulness. You can count on it.

We also see our Divine Habitation. I want to focus on the Divine Habitation; “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord…” Woo! Ladies and gentlemen, we shall dwell in the house of the Lord!! As mercy filled people, we may not look like much, but WE ARE GOING SOMEPLACE! An old song says, “I’ve a home prepared where the saints abide, just over in the glory land.” Jesus said,

“Let not your heart be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself!” John 14:1

This final fundamental is anything but final! It’s my assurance of eternal life. It is vital that you know where you will spend eternity. But this verse isn’t just about my eternal destination. It is also about dwelling in the house of the Lord; meaning that the spiritual relationship I have with the Lord is key and fundamental. I will dwell, I will make a home in the house of the Lord... The word dwell is a settled down feeling. A being at home feeling. If you reject the Savior, you wouldn’t be at home in His presence. No, not at all. The greatest fundamental is to consider where I am going to be at home all the days of my life and into eternity! I think of the verse in Psalm 27 which states:

“One thing have I desired of the Lord, that will I seek after; that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to behold the beauty of the Lord, and to enquire in his temple.” Psalm 27:4

When all is said and done, the most important thing to King David, is the spiritual not the material. All that matters is my relationship with the Lord. Here, David has taken all his desires, boiled them down; he has reduced them. Ladies and gentlemen, in the end, what matters most is not how many cars you have, or the size of your house, or how much money you have in the bank. No. When it’s all been said and done, there is just one thing that matters. Did you live your life for Jesus, or did you live for yourself? The most important thing is your final habitation. Paul the apostle says it this way:

“For me to live is Christ, and to die is gain.” Philippians 1:21

That is the same thing. My friends, the Shepherd of our souls is providing this for us! It is vital and fundamental that we can say, as sheep, that our Shepherd has made up the shortage in our lives and we are not afraid of the future nor are we afraid of the present. We are looking down that great corridor of time and we see Jesus waiting at the end of it. This peering down the lane toward that great eternal habitation of the future is what will cancel all fear in the present. Did you catch that? As we are at home in His presence HERE, we will be sure to be at home in His presence THERE. Please get this! Ask the Lord to reduce you. To reduce your heart’s desire so that you want only HIM. To live only for Christ! To find a home in the presence of God in this life so you will be at home in the presence of God in the next life. To experience that DIVINE HABITATION. To want His will and to walk in His way. Then, like Enoch of old, you will have a testimony that pleases God. I leave you with three most important considerations seen in verse six.

How can I have the assurance of this DIVINE HABITATION in the next life? Start with the conclusion of THIS LIFE! Notice the conclusion is mostly one syllable words, AND. I. WILL. DWELL. IN. THE. HOUSE. OF. THE. LORD… FOREVER! It’s simple, not complicated. The message and question is simple. “Where will you spend eternity?” How fundamental is this! We spend time on a lot of things but give no thought regarding the CONCLUSION OF OUR LIFE. Everything comes to an end. True. Except your life! What? Pastor Jerry, what are you saying? Well, when you die, that is not the end. It is only the beginning. You will spend eternity somewhere. Did you know that we always look for the end of things? We can’t wait for the school year to end. We say things like, “Will this ever end?” or “We can’t wait for this week to end!” In fact, we call it the “Week-END”. But in this verse David is looking at the end of this life and the beginning of the next one. He’s so concerned about the next life that he is making right decisions in THIS life. Read David’s words again. “I will dwell in the house of the Lord, FOREVER.” This is nothing more and nothing less than a DIVINE HABITATION. Forever is on his mind. Is it on yours?

There is a connection between verse six and verse one. Do you see it? It may seem small, but it is there. I enjoy seeing things like this. Do you? Look at it. The Lord is… verse one. Verse six, the house of the Lord… He begins with the Lord and ends with the Lord. There must be a beginning IN CHRIST if there is to be a CONCLUSION in Christ. My connection with Jesus today is vital to my conclusion tomorrow. We talk about making connections with people. What does the word connect mean? According to Merriam-Webster, it means to become joined; to link together logically related elements in order to draw our conclusion. It means to associate, relate, unite, combine, and merger. It means to fasten together usually by something intervening. The conclusion of our life will be determined by association and union with the Christ of Calvary who intervened on our behalf to reconcile us back to God the Father. We must be joined together with HIM through repentance and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ as our only Savior. It is more than a mental acknowledging. You see, many people want the benefits of the Kingdom of God but don’t want to live by the rules of the Kingdom of God. There are many like the prophet Balaam in the Old Testament who said, “Let me die the death of a righteous man…” So many long to die the death of a righteous man, yet, as one old Puritan writer exclaimed “they do not want to live the LIFE of a righteous man.” It is one thing to want the result of truth, yet at the same time want nothing to do with the truth that brought the result!

I also notice its connection to this life. Verses 2-5, and verse 6. We see David’s life in this Psalm and all the way the Lord has led him and cared for him and provided for him and as he gets to verse 6 he says, surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. Has it not followed him? “To follow” would be better stated to “chase down.” Has not His mercy chased you down? Has He not followed you “all the days of your life?” Yes, most certainly. He is the hound of Heaven to run after you with His mercy. Not just sinners, but Christians. This says He has not forgotten you! AND I SHALL DWELL… did you see it? The word “AND”. And I shall dwell… “And” is a conjunction. It links verses 2-6a with verse 6b. It’s to the one connected to the Shepherd of verses 1-6a who are going to be “chased down” by His goodness and mercy and then live forever in the house of the LORD of verse 6b!!

Hey, this is a psalm about Christians, not sinners. Prior to your salvation, His mercy spared your life – no doubt! His mercy did chase us down and still DOES chase us down the highway of disobedience and sin. And it is because of HIS mercies that you were and ARE not consumed. But to the sinner, the one who rejects the Lord, there is no mercy to look forward to. Only judgment. However, it doesn’t have to stay that way. This psalm joins this present life with the forever life. What I do in this life matters! Some say, no! Why do they say no? Because they live this present life as if all people, regardless of their connection or disconnection, will go to heaven anyway. The belief that everyone will eventually be saved regardless of the life they lived or their refusal of the Christ, is not a Biblical doctrine, but a false doctrine called Universalism. Movies, T.V. shows, DVDs depict that all people who die go straight to “a better place” known as heaven. They believe erroneously that they now have no suffering, no pain, just because they were HUMANS! No, not so! This is in direct opposition to the words of Jesus.

“He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 3:36

In order for me to dwell in the house of the Lord forever, there must be a CONNECTION to the Shepherd which is only possible because of His death and resurrection.

However, it’s not enough to just say that Jesus died on the cross and rose again. Let me show you the difference between a judicial truth and a personally applied truth. Here is a judicial truth: “Jesus Christ the Son of God is the Savior of the world.” That is a true statement which the devil himself believes. Please hear it. It is one thing to say, “Jesus Christ is the Savior of the world” but it is quite another thing to say, “Jesus Christ is MY Savior!” Truth must be personally applied to your life. You and I cannot just make a mental assent to a judicial truth and think we are ok. This is the plight of much of the postmodern Christian world. You see, the tragedy of the cross is not that Jesus died there. The tragedy of the cross is that He died there in vain for so many who refuse and reject Him as personal Savior and Lord. There must be a born again connection which is a reconciliation to God by His blood. From that, you and I can have the confidence to say - and it is RIGHT to say without arrogance - that I SHALL DWELL IN THE HOUSE OF THE LORD FOREVER! I shall find a home in the house of the Lord. Who shall find a home in the house of the Lord forever? The sheep of His pasture. You see, the choice you make in this life gives you the confidence for the next one.

But my confidence in the next life also gives me confidence to walk and please my dear Savior in this life! My confidence in Him makes me not ashamed,

“For I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” 2 Timothy 1:12

My confidence in Him causes me to know that all things will work together for good to them who love the Lord and are the called according to His purpose. It’s because of my connection to Him that I know that He will finish what He started in me the day He saved me. You could say a born again man/woman has “connections”. Yes. And I can now come boldly to the throne of grace with confidence as a result of my connection. My fervent prayer avails much, not little. What does this tell you? It says, don’t give up on your family. Don’t stop praying for your spouse, your children, or your marriage. If you have no confidence, I make a plea with you right now. Surrender to the Lord Jesus Christ. You cannot afford to leave this world without the confidence of knowing that you have made things right with the Lord. Don’t assume all is well.

Several years ago, I did a tandem jump out of an airplane from 15,000 feet with an experienced skydiver. I had no parachute, as I was connected to the trained jumper. As we exited the plane, we free-fell for one-minute traveling at a speed of 120 MPH. The only confidence I had was in knowing I was connected to the man with the parachute. No connection, no confidence. I can say, I had the time of my life. It was an awesome jump! However, three years later, I saw on T.V. that someone had jumped from the same airplane, the same skydiving company, and with an experienced skydiver. But the lady jumper forgot to check her connections to the man with the parachute. She leaped to her death because she assumed she was connected. She thought all was well. However, all things were not well. Her false assumption cost her life.

As sheep we need to check and make sure we are CONNECTED TO THE CHRIST OF CALVARY. An old song says: “Be very sure, be very sure, your anchor holds and grips the solid rock.” Listen, Christian, you have a shortage in your life that only Jesus can fill. Christian, call out to Him right where you are and say, Lord, there is a shortage of righteousness in my life. A shortage of holiness. I need you as Jehovah Tsidkenu, The Lord my Righteousness. I am walking through the shadow of death, and I desperately need to know you are Jehovah Shammah, The Lord who is there. Be the Restorer of my Soul, Jehovah Rapha. Sinner, unbeliever, you too have a shortage. Let the Shepherd come and lift you up out of the miry clay and set your feet on a rock and put a new song in your mouth. You have been through these lessons, and you know what I am talking about. Listen, this is it. Where will you spend eternity? It’s not too late. You think it is, but it isn’t. Call out to Him right now in that prison cell and surrender. Come on. You know you need to.

This may be the last time. Perhaps you are living under a false supposition. All things seem well. I am reminded of Mary and Joseph who had mistakenly left the boy Jesus in Jerusalem after the feast. The scripture says these words:

“But they, supposing Him to have been in the company, went a day’s journey, and they sought him among their kinsfolk and acquaintance. And when they found him not, they turned back again to Jerusalem, seeking him.” Luke 2:44-45

Did you see the word? It was SUPPOSING. Yes, Mary and Joseph supposed Jesus was with the relatives. But they supposed wrong. It is possible to do that. It is possible to suppose wrong. It is possible to make a false assumption or a mistaken supposition. Have you done so? To make a false assumption and to remain in it without correction, is to find in the end that you have come up short. Much to the dismay of the lady skydiver who assumed she was connected to the trained jumper; she too came up short. A shortage none of us can afford.

Christian believer and sheep of His pasture, it is time to make our calling and election sure. Yes, daily we must examine ourselves and see if we be in the faith. For then we can look forward to dwelling in this Divine Habitation. We can get excited about being at home in His presence, forever. I remember my professor in Bible college telling us about the Omnipresence of God. He said that God is everywhere all at once all at the same time. You can’t exclude Him from anywhere. Wow! How great is that? And then he said it another way. Not only is God present everywhere all at once, but EVERYTHING is also in GOD’S PRESENCE! Woo! I can feel that! Phillip Keller, in his book A SHEPHERD LOOKS AT THE 23RD PSALM, says “not only do we get the idea of an ever-present Shepherd, but also the concept that the sheep wants to be in full view of his owner at all times.” I say “yes” to that. I don’t ever want to be out of His sight. Dear fellow believer, we are in full view of our owner at all times. That being the case, I Shall Not Want.

Pastor Jerry

Choices to be made. Regrets of choices made. No place to turn. No one to trust. Failure. Fear. Worthlessness. Condemnation. Darkness all around. Memories…

Does it seem to you that the enemy of your soul comes to taunt you in the actual physical darkness of night, when you are laying in your bed still from the happenings of the day? It is at those times that you begin to think, doubt, and fear begins to grow, mushrooming into a giant that demands your total focus. This has happened to me many times. I remember a time that I had allowed the voice of my enemy to speak so much fear into my heart that I physically could not move a muscle. This is the place our enemy wants us to be, a place where our eyes are on our circumstances and our heart has forgotten the goodness of our Lord.

Look above and read Psalm 61:1-3 again. The Lord used David to write this psalm at a time when he was far from home and surrounded by danger. In the middle of the darkness, when his heart is overwhelmed, at the end of the earth (physically and emotionally he can’t go on), he cries out to His God asking Him to hear his prayer. The Bible says in Isaiah, “Then you will call, and the LORD will answer; You will cry for help, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’” David chooses to turn his eye to the Maker of the heavens and the earth. David chooses to look to the Lord who has been his Savior in the past and David knows He will be his Savior in this time of darkness, too. What does He ask of the Lord? Does David ask the Lord to remove him from his trouble and to send him home? No! He asks the Lord to hear him. Then David asks God to lead him to the ROCK that is higher than himself. David knows he is nothing and that he has no power or strength from within himself. He knows that the reality of life around him is more than he can handle alone. He needs a rock – something/someone strong and firm. Someone David can place his feet on and not slide in and sink into fear. Who is the Rock? In this lesson, Pastor Jerry used the verse from 1 Corinthians 10:4, let me remind you of it, “And did all drink of the same spiritual drink: for they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ.” Jesus Christ is the one that can meet us in our darkness, in our fear. He is the One that has the power to give strength to the fearful heart. His perfect love casts out all fear. David knows that he can run to the Lord, for he says, ”For thou hast been a shelter for me, and a strong tower from the enemy.” David remembers the times in the past when the Lord has been his shelter and strong tower. He knows that the enemy of his soul is roaming around like a roaring lion seeking whom he may devour and that NO truth is found in him. In Psalm 56, David wrote, “What time I am afraid, I will trust in Thee. In God I will praise His word, in God I have put my trust; I will not fear what flesh can do unto me.”

There is so much to learn from this. Where is your focus? Are you allowing the enemy of your soul to speak fear into your heart in your time of darkness? Or will you choose to turn to the Lord, who is the Way, the Truth, the Life? Will you choose to turn your thoughts and feelings of fear over to Him? Will you let Him be your Rock, shelter and strong tower – your stability? Start by crying out to the Lord, He will attend (listen) to your prayer. In doing that first step, you have taken your eyes off the circumstances surrounding you and placed them where they need to be - on Him. Remember, 2 Timothy 1:7 says, “For God has not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and love, and a sound mind.” He wants you to have the Holy Spirit’s power and love within you, and to have a mind that is soundly planted on Him, the Rock. Into the darkness of your room. Into the darkness of your thoughts, the One you have chosen to turn your eyes to, will speak peace into your heart – a peace that is beyond all human understanding. A peace from The Prince of Peace - Jesus.

Praise the Lord for who He is.
Praise Him for what He has done and what He is going to do!
Praise the Lord that He is NEVER too far away to hear when we cry out to Him.