Psalm 23 series, part 12. Preached by Chris Broom, 12/30/2007

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Dave Cadell (right) returns from Germany, pictured here with Roger Parlour, the man who led him to God. Now that’s a relationship that will last From Here to Eternity.

From Here To Eternity - Outline

This concludes our series on Psalm 23, “The Lord is My Shepherd.”

For several months now, we have been studying one of David’s most famous writings, Psalm 23. Today is our final class in this series and it’s taken from verse 6; “Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.”

This statement sums up what David has been communicating throughout the Psalm and what we have learned over and over again in our study; that the welfare of the sheep is totally dependent upon the shepherd that owns, cares for and manages them. David is saying, “The LORD is my shepherd,” He is with me, and there is nothing to fear. Brothers and sisters, in the hands of the Good Shepherd, no matter what comes our way, we can be sure that goodness and love will accompany it, and when you have that kind of confidence in your God, you will want to dwell in his house forever.

There are two ideas in this one verse; First, the idea of our life HERE on earth (“Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life”) and secondly, (“I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever”) where we will spend our forever / our ETERNITY. Therefore I have entitled today’s message “From Here to Eternity!”

1. You are Here!

Imagine a “Mall map” of the Heavens and the Earth. You see Heaven and you want to get there, but the “You are Here” arrow points to earth.

Let’s talk about life here, on earth.

A. How we view it.

C.S. Lewis: “
I believe in Christianity as I believe that the sun has risen: not only because I see it, but because by it I see everything else.”

When the LORD is your shepherd, it changes how you view everything. Ask yourself, Is David’s confidence your confidence? That no matter what happens here on earth; goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life? As we talked about last week, If our health and finances good, and our friends and family like us, it’s easy to say “surely goodness and love will follow me;” but what about when our bodies begin to break down, or we have to watch a loved one in severe pain, or we lose our job and can’t pay the bills, or the kids grades tank or they run with the wrong crowd? What about when, for no good reason, friends prove false and turn against us? When things go well it’s awesome, but how many of us can give praise and thanks when things go wrong? If you haven’t yet gone through your “dark night of the soul,” you will, and when you do, it will tempt you to fear, worry, run, quit and doubt that God is sovereign, or that he loves you or that He still loves you. You may be tempted to think … Perhaps, like King Saul, he has taken his spirit from you and sent an evil spirit to torment you. The question we have to ask ourselves is, “How do I view the bad times?” It will absolutely affect how we handle them.

Hebrews 12: 1-13
The LORD disciplines those He loves.

C.S. Lewis “
God, who foresaw your tribulation, has specially armed you to go through it, not without pain but without stain”

B. How we live it.

Charles Templeton: “Christianity does not remove you from the world and its problems; it makes you fit to live in it, triumphantly and usefully” (Story of Lucy parking her car in the snow storm while Ace and Pam canceled and Monica prayed for warmth.)

Philippians 4:13
I can do everything through him who gives me strength.

It was also said of Jesus that he was a friend of sinners. Ask yourself, Do I look at sinners with a critical eye or as Christ did with compassion and friendship?

Do I look down on people or empathize with their dilemma and try to help.

How do I view the shortcomings of others? Do I look down on them or show the same grace that I ask for?

If I am unable to extend forgiveness to others, I don’t much about what Christ has done for me.

It is this lack of love and mercy that makes the modern day church an institution of men instead of a movement of God. People long for the affection of Christ, but instead they get programs, entertainment and a routine of church attendance to live by.

It was said of Jesus: He went about doing good.
(Joel Klemmer gave his shoes, cash and Bible to a homeless man on the spot during one of his first principles studies. That spoke volumes to me about Joel’s heart.)

C. How we leave it.

In our study of Psalm 23 we have learned that sheep, if mismanaged or not managed at all, can destroy the land they occupy. On the other hand, if managed properly, sheep can clean up and restore ravaged land as no other livestock can. In ancient literature sheep were referred to as “those of the golden hooves.“ They eat a wide range of plants and weeds that if left alone would take over a field, and their manure is the best balanced of any domestic stock. It was said of a well managed flock that where they had walked, there followed weed free and fertile land, where they had lived, remained beauty and abundance.

Romans 10:14-15
How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news.

Sir Alfred Tennyson: “The good men do lives after them.”

Today we need to ask ourselves this question: What follows me? What do I leave behind me when I say goodbye? Do I leave a trail of sadness or gladness, shame or blessing behind me when I‘m gone?
(Share about a recent memorial and imagine my own.)

Brothers and sisters: right now,
you are here on earth, but you will not be here forever. Earth is not all there is!

2. Eternity is for EVER!

Blaise Pascal: “Either Christianity is true or it’s false. If you bet that it’s true, and you believe in God and submit to Him, then if it IS true, you’ve gained God, heaven, and everything else. If it’s false, you’ve lost nothing, but you’ve had a good life marked by peace and the illusion that ultimately, everything makes sense. If you bet that Christianity is not true, and it’s false, you’ve lost nothing. But if you bet that it’s false, and it turns out to be true, you’ve lost everything and you get to spend eternity in hell.”

James 4:13-17
Life here is a mist. Eternity is for EVER.

C.S. Lewis “
You don’t have a soul. You are a Soul. You have a body.”

Jimmy Stewart: “Let’s live as people who are prepared to die and die as people who are prepared to live!”

I shall dwell in the house of the LORD forever is the statement of someone who is absolutely content where they are. For the sheep, it means coming home for winter. The presence of the shepherd has meant and will mean their benefit. For David, he is at home in God’s care and he is boasting about how God has provided for his welfare. We should be quick to tell of all God has done for us and what a great advantage it is to be a member of his household. His house means his family. I don’t know about you, but I want to go to Heaven and be with God, and be a part of his family. Since I was baptized in 1990, nothing has ever made me even think of leaving his kingdom! If he will have me, I will dwell in the house of the LORD forever.

John 10:7

“A Shepherd looks at Psalm 23”
is an incredible book that has inspired me to preach this series. In it, the author Phillip Keller speaks of one of the sheep ranches that he used to manage. Apparently, he had neighbors that didn’t take good care of their sheep, and some of those sheep would sneak onto his ranch. These malnourished animals would come onto his property and eat themselves to near death in his lush fields. Their bodies weren’t ready for such a time of grazing and with such weak legs, they couldn’t even remain standing. He returned them and their owner who simply and carelessly cut their throats. These sickly sheep had not entered through the proper gate. If they had, the shepherd would have seen to it that they had the proper care and were nursed back to health. Keller saw this as a vivid example of how Satan leads the world astray and cares nothing for what happens to it’s people. So many are suffering and God wants desperately to help his lost children, yet they must enter through the proper gate, which is Christ himself. When we are around men and women from the other side of the fence, do they see in us the benefits of being in Christ’s care? If so, perhaps they will desire to dwell in the house of the Lord, enter through the proper gate, and join us in eternity.

2 Corinthians 4: 13-18
Our temporary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

C.S. Lewis:
Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important.”

Philippians 1:21-26
We must treat our time here as precious. We cannot waste it. How will we use the time God gives us in 2008?

Henry David Thoreau: “
As if you could kill time without injuring eternity”

Henry Van Dyke: “Time is too slow for those who wait, too swift for those who fear, too long for those who grieve, too short for those who rejoice, but for those who love, time is eternity.”

Colossians 1:18 To present everyone perfect in Christ.

Last night, the New England Patriots achieved one of the greatest records in sports history! Perfection. Recently, a player on the Pittsburg Steelers’ guaranteed a victory against the undefeated New England Patriots, but the Patriots had something to say about that, and at the end of the game, as Pittsburgh was being defeated, the New England fans chanted “guarantee, guarantee.” One fan held up a sign with a rather intelligent quote by Benjamin Franklin that stated, “Well done is better than well said.” It is one thing to state our goals. It is another to pray consistently for them and still another to work hard to achieve them.

We started in January with 42 disciples. Unfortunately, we saw some make the horrible decision to walk away from God this year, and for them, we pray for their return to God. I joyfully report that in 2007 we saw many who had drifted away restored to God and to his household. All in all, with 42 disciples, God added 42 souls to our number in 2007, and we end the year with 70 disciples strong (just over 66% growth). Our prayer and goal at this hour is to see our Bible Talks multiply from 10 to 20 by the end of July when we will attend the 2008 World Missions Jubilee in Los Angeles. It is there that we will help the Central New York Church of Christ send a team of sold out disciples led by Andrew and Patrique Smellie to Washington DC.

Andrew and Patrique Smellie will lead the mission team to Washington DC.

The NYC mission team will be sent out at that time as well.

DJ and Kacie Comisford will lead the mission team to New York City.

Well done is better than well said, and in the end, God will not say, “well said my good and faithful servant.” Our hope and prayer is that we will live “here on earth” in such a way that God will say, “Well done my good and faithful servant” as He welcomes us From Here to Eternity!

In His Service,

Chris Broom

Categories: Lord is my Shepherd, Sermons