Dwelling in the House of the Lord
Psalm 23:6b

We have examined the message and testimony of David in Psalms 23. The message is more about the care of the Shepherd than it is about the sheep. In the message, David tells us God cares for us so much that He provides all our necessities.

I’m reminded of an evangelist who used to come on the radio each evening. He would close by saying, “You don’t have any problems, all you need is more faith in God!” You might be saying, “That’s easy for him to say!” It is much easier said that acted out, but the psalmist reminds us our God, the Great Shepherd, literally supplies all our needs.

My mother used to say, “If God don’t have it, I don’t want it!” And so 23:6 closes on a high note, “Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”

Now if you’re living under the Shepherd’s care right now, you’re probably saying, “Life is good!” But it gets better—we are promised an incredible life when we go home to be with Him. Maybe you’re experiencing some difficulty right now.

Tom Shepard said, “In this present life, we are subject to the disappointments of life.” We work hard toward certain goals, only to find sometimes they continue to move beyond our reach. Through science, we are living longer, only to find the aging process still affects our earthly tabernacles. Age can slow us down if we don’t take care of ourselves.

But when we get to Heaven, there will be no more sorrows and no more pains! Thank God for Revelation 21:4, which reminds us if we leave our present surroundings here on earth in tears, there will be no crying there. If we should cry, God will wipe away every tear from our eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things that presently trouble us and cause anguish will have passed away!

To dwell in the house of the Lord also means we gain eternal life. This means we will not die. In this present life, we may have lost a mother, father, uncles or aunts. However, hearse wheels will not roll in Heaven because there will be no dying there.

Recently I enjoyed two experiences of great fellowship. It was the funeral for a friend’s mother. She was a believer in Christ. Even though she was missed, there was joy in knowing we would see her again.

Just a couple months ago, there was great fellowship at the Quentin Road Grace Conference, where my wife and I gathered with friends from all over the country. We encouraged each other and talked about the Grace of our God!

But these wonderful occasions will not compare with the time we shall have when we dwell in the House of the Lord.  Paul tells us in 1 Corinthians 2:9, “But as it is written, Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.”

There are some beautiful homes in the world. The rapper, 50 Cents, bought Mike Tyson’s former home in Connecticut. He tried to resell it for $18 million. But because of the economic crisis, the home’s price has been reduced to only $10 million. In my finite imagination, even a house that sells for one million dollars has to be beautiful.

But no matter how beautiful and elaborate a home may be down here in this world, it will be like a shack in the ghetto of Heaven. Now I don’t know if Heaven will have ghettoes, but if so, they will probably look like homes on Rodeo Drive in Beverly Hills, California.

Do you remember what Jesus said? Don’t worry, don’t fret, and don’t be dismayed:

“Let not your heart be troubled: ye believe in God, believe also in me. 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. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again, and receive you unto myself; that where I am, there ye may be also.” John 14:1-3

And if that doesn’t knock your holy socks off, when we see Him, we shall be like Him.
1 Corinthians 15:52 tells us we shall be changed in a twinkling of an eye. We will take off mortality and actually put on immortality. You see, these old corruptible bodies are not suitable for Heaven. Taking them with us there would be like wearing dirty, old work clothes to a wedding celebration. In fact, that’s what it is going to be—the wedding celebration of Christ and His bride, the Church. This means we will have new celestial bodies just like the Lord.

Another great thing about Heaven is no high gas prices, because we will leave all of our gas-guzzlers here. In Heaven, we will only need to think about where we want to be and instantly we will be there.

Sometimes on our vacations we visit beautiful sites like the Grand Canyon, the aspen-covered mountains of northern New Mexico, the Rocky Mountains, the Taj Mahal, and the beautiful Eiffel Tower. But when we go home to dwell with the Lord, David reminds us it will be so great, it would exhaust our imaginations just reflecting upon its greatness.

While there are great sites in this world that excite us, they still fall short of the beauty we will experience when we dwell in the house of the Lord. And even if there were no sights to see in Heaven, as Anne Graham-Lotz said, “When we see Jesus, the One Who died for our sins, the Rose of Sharon, the Bright and Morning Star—when we see Jesus, the One Who died for us, we will all shout, Amen!”