Saturday, February 8, 2014

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT OUR FUTURE IN HEAVEN"

"SHARING HOPE THROUGH SCRIPTURE ABOUT OUR FUTURE IN HEAVEN"
Psalm 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.
Some explanatory thoughts, application, and a prayer:
1. David the King, wrote this Psalm about the King of Kings and the future of all believers in heaven. 
2. But, before getting into any detail about heaven, David talks about two things that follow believers here on earth, while we wait to go to heaven.
(1) Goodness is one of the blessings of God that follows us while here on earth. The word goodness, also translated good, better, best, merry, prosperity, favour. It has the idea of that which is good, pleasant and agreeable. It speaks of benefit, welfare, and moral good. So, as a believer, take a moment please and look back behind you, and thank God for the "Goodness" that has followed you. And, take a moment to think about the fact that tomorrow, you will be able to look back on today, and know that "Goodness" was with you. It's following you all the days of your life.
(2) Mercy. This is the other blessing from God that follows you. God is the God of mercies, and it's by His mercy that He saved You. He was merciful to even keep you alive before you were saved, and then while you were dead in your sins and trespasses, by His mercies He made you alive with Christ. And, that mercy has been right behind you day by day. What does mercy mean? It means kindness, lovingkindness, kindly, faithfulness. And, by the way, His mercies are new every morning. So, tomorrow, You will have new mercies from God to start your day with, and then at the end of the day, Mercy will have followed you all day long. 
3. God is Good, and God is merciful. And He is with you each moment of your life. He will not abandon You, and nothing can separate you from His love for you. 
4. David then makes this wonderful statement about the future. In fact, it actually has two part to it.
Psalm 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.
(1) All the days of my life. That's what David said. He was speaking of his life, but it applies to Your life as a follower of Jesus Christ. Imagine that, all the days. No day's off. No missed days, No lapses, but a consistent flow of God's Goodness, and Mercy following you all the days of your life. Here's how it reads in the NLT Psalm 23:6 Surely your goodness and unfailing love will pursue me all the days of my life, and I will live in the house of the LORD forever. These blessings of Goodness and Mercy will pursue you all the days of Your life. 
(2) Here's the clincher. David said, He would dwell or live in the house of the LORD forever. That's heaven, God's house. And, that's where followers of Jesus are going and will stay there forever, and forever. That's our future. With God forever, with a trail of Goodness and Mercy following us all the way till we step through the gate into heaven to be with the Lord. 
A prayer:
Father, How Good You are to us. We were without You, and we were found by You. You came and gave us mercy, and gave us life in Christ. And, You have been with us for every second since. And, You promise to never leave us or forsake us. And, eventually, even at any moment we could begin our time in Your house, in heaven forever. What a glorious hope. Please help us to rejoice in Hope of Glory. In Jesus name. Amen.
Pastor Bob Grenier.