God's Eternal Promise

Living God, help us to hear Your holy Word that we may truly understand; that, understanding, we may believe, and, believing, we may follow in all faithfulness and obedience, seeking Your honor and glory in all that we do; through Christ our Lord. Amen

Scripture Reading: Revelation 21:1-5; Psalm 23:6; John 14:1-4

How very good is our God! The testimony of the “sheep” in Psalm 23 is a clear and encouraging revelation to all of us.

With the Good Shepherd being with you and I through life’s journey, we know that there has been a constant sense of help from the Lord. His kindness and support have carried each of us through so many different things. We can be assured in the depths of our hearts that no matter what happens, we can trust the Good Shepherd, our precious Lord Jesus, to work all things for our good.

Romans 8:28 says, “And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”

This reminds us that God will bring good out of affliction, trials, and suffering. The ultimate good that comes through all of this is that God is working to form us into the image of Christ. Scripture says…“For those God foreknew, he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the first-born among many brothers.”

As our Good Shepherd, Jesus is interceding for us. What would Jesus be praying for us? His desire is that our joy would be full. Jesus desires that our lives would be full, that the life of God would be like an umbrella over all that happens in our lives.

The psalmist in Psalm 23 has shown us how the Shepherd has brought the sheep (us) from the green pastures and the still waters to the Father’s house! Jesus says in John 14:2-3 that he goes to prepare a place for us and that he will come again to receive us to himself.

The ancient Hebrews were nomads who drove flocks over large pastures for centuries before they finally settled in Palestine and learned the arts of farming etc. The Israelites were both shepherd and farmer, and they well knew the infinite amount of care, patience, skill, and sometimes self-sacrificing heroism required of them. Therefore, no description of divine love and care for man could be more eloquent in their minds that the comparison of God to a shepherd. God was the shepherd of Israel—not just of individual persons of faith. Yet, the relationship of the individual and their God is laid out throughout Scripture and the motif of shepherd is seen throughout the Old Testament.

When we hear the words, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, the person of faith is exposed to the pursuit of divine love and affection. The idea that God is pursuing us, wooing us, following us to provide His goodness and mercy throughout our lives. There is a closeness once again reiterated to us that we understand going through the darkest of valleys—that You, Lord are with us.

There is a deep abiding joy that is part of these final two verses that we cannot miss. The foundation of this joy is based in our trust of the Shepherd. The entire psalm is one of trust. It is because of the trust that you and I can experience both in the quiet and the peace of mind which we are invited to in our lives on a daily basis.

Care under the Lordship of Jesus is like the assurance the sheep have under the shepherd. The sheep receive the expert loving care of their shepherd and we receive the exquisite loving care of our Shepherd, Jesus.  It is absolute trust that the One who controls our destiny is loving and kind.

Life can get crazy sometimes and we need to slow down and think about what we are reading etc.

How many of us are truly concerned that no matter what occurs in our lives we are being followed by goodness and mercy? Of course, it is very simple to talk this way when things are going well. If my health is excellent; my income is flourishing; my family is well; and my friends are fond of me it is not hard to say, “surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.”

But what about when one’s body breaks down? What do I say when I stand helpless, as I have had to do and many of you as well, when a loved one dies? What is my reaction when a job folds up and perhaps there is not enough income to pay the bills? What about when friends I trusted would turn against me and speak falsehoods?

These are the times that test a person’s confidence in the care of Jesus. These are the occasions during which when the chips are down and life is more than just a list of pious platitudes. When it feels at the moment like my world is crumbling down will I honestly declare: Yes—surely yes—goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life.

Each of you could today give a personal testimony of how again and again life has been tough. Yet, in the midst of it all, you know that the Lord was with you, helping you and bringing you through.

Whether we want to admit it or not, natural tendencies to fear, worry, and ask why, it is not always simple to assume that the Lord really did know what He was doing with me. There have been times in my life as I am sure probably in yours when the temptation was there to bolt and leave the Lord’s care—have the crazy notion that I could make it on my own!

Looking back—they say hindsight is always 20/20—the truth always emerges to see that no difficulty can arise, no dilemma emerges, no seeming disaster to come in life without eventual good coming out of the chaos. This mindset is to see the goodness and mercy of our Master, Jesus, in our lives.

We love the Lord because He first loved us. His goodness and compassion and mercy are new every day. My trust in the Lord’s love is lodged deeply in the aspects of the Lord’s character. He loves me and you as His own. My peace and yours are based in an implicit, unshakable reliance on the Lord’s ability to do the right thing, the best thing for me and you in every situation.

This is the essence of all that has gone before us in the various words of the Lord we share week after week. All the care, all the work, all the alert watchfulness, all the skill, and the concern, all the self-sacrifice are born in Christ’s love—the One who loves being our Shepherd and he laid down His life for us.

We end today with this idea, based on the foundation of all we know about our Shepherd, that the full joy and comfort of His presence will be with us forever. Sometimes when we hear the words, “house of the Lord” we might equate it to the church where people gather for worship. But that is not really the meaning of this.

We need to keep in mind that the psalmist is writing from the standpoint of a sheep, reflecting on and recounting the full round of the year’s activities for the flock.

We have moved from green pastures and still waters of the main ranch, per se, and gone up into the mountain. The Fall seasons of storms and rain brought the sheep back down into the foothills and eventually back into the home ground to spend the quiet winter. In a sense this was like coming home. During all seasons of the year, with the hazards and disturbances, it is the Shepherds alertness, care, and precise management of the flock that has brought the sheep through in a good way.

This final line of dwelling in the house of the Lord (or presence) forever brings great comfort to all of us. Not only do we get the idea of our Shepherd being ever-present with us but we see the full scope of how the Shepherd sees all and knows all.

When all is said and done, it can be summed up with this idea—that we need to live with a constant awareness of the Lord’s presence with us.

To recognize that inner consciousness of Christ’s presence in our lives, made evident by the Holy Spirit within us. There can be a habitual awareness of Christ within me, empowering each of us to live a life richly rewarding as we cooperate with the Shepherd of our souls. It is allowing the Holy Spirit to control and manage my day-by-day decisions. Leaning on Him for direction and protection.

We are reminded with the words of Jesus in John 14 where he proclaims that in His Father’s house are many rooms and that He is going to prepare a place for all who would believe in Him. This is referenced once again in Revelation 21 which shares with us the “ultimate temple”. The dwelling places of God’s loving presence.

The final dwelling place where each of us will be after the Lord takes us home is a fulfillment of what was lost in the Garden of Eden, the building of the OT Tabernacle and temple, the promise of the prophets and all made possible through the incarnation of Jesus!

We are clearly reminded in John 3:16 that God so loved the world that whosoever would believe in him will not perish but have eternal life.

Friends, let us not lose sight of this glorious promise from our loving Lord—that He is always pursuing us, always with us, always loving us. Surely goodness and mercy follow us and we need to be aware of the Lord’s presence and his care for us, that He is continually with us. And we can hold tightly to this wonderful promise of Jesus—do not be troubled for I go to prepare a place for you!