When you think about Christianity and the gospel,
and you think about your personal faith, we could
say your personal Christianity, in the scheme
of that, how significant is being with God to
you? you are with Him and He is with you. To
have His presence, to know His presence in greater
ways. How significant is that in your life, brothers
and sisters? To know God more. To be with God
more. To hear from God. To talk with God more.
To dwell with Him. And for Him to dwell with
you. And for you to be conscious and aware of
that reality in your own life personally more
and more. This is the essence. Of why Christ
has died on the cross. To bring men to God. And
for God to dwell in the midst of his people.
Today we will focus on the second half of verse
6. Where David says these words. I will dwell
in the house of the Lord. Forever. The first
thing we have to consider in this text is the
theology contained in them. Now, when we think
about the theology contained in this verse, we
have to consider and think about and try to wrap
our minds around this. What is the doctrine?
What is the primary truth? What are the theological
concepts and realities that David is conveying
in this statement? To dwell in the house of the
Lord forever. It's a magnificent statement that
he is making. It's a grand statement that he
is making. If we think about the story of the
Bible. And redemptive history. As we see it throughout
the scriptures. We can think about the garden
of Eden. And the fact that God dwelled with Adam
and Eve. He walked with them. This idea of walking
with them. Carries the idea that God had continual.
Unbroken. Ongoing fellowship. And communion.
With our first parents. He dwelled with Adam
and Eve. And Adam and Eve dwelled with God. In
unbroken fashion. But then we know the terrible
news of what takes place. And what separates
man from God. Sin comes into the world. Adam
and Eve are driven out of the garden. They're
separated from the presence and the person of
the living God. Brokenness comes into the world.
Well, we see that the rest of the Scriptures,
ever since God gives that promise in Genesis
3 .15, the rest of the Scriptures is God seeking
and God pursuing fellowship and communion with
His covenant people. If we think about the Exodus,
and the fact that God brings them out of Egypt,
the redemption of the old covenant, we could
say. He brings them out, and what does God do?
He dwells in their midst. How? Through the tabernacle.
Through the Ark of the Covenant. We see, if we
move forward, That God would dwell with his people
and God's people would dwell with him and his
presence would be among them. He would be in
their midst, not just through the tabernacle
and their wilderness wanderings, but think about
Solomon's great temple. God's presence and glory
came down and dwelled with his people. He was
with them. Then we go to the New Testament and
the arrival of the Messiah. The Lord Jesus Christ
taking on flesh. And what does the Bible say?
He dwelled among us. He tabernacled among us.
The Son of God took on flesh and dwelt among
us. And Christ ascends to the right hand of the
Father following His resurrection. And God continues
to dwell with His people. Through the Spirit
of God. The Holy Spirit indwells the people of
God. And we see that we are together again. We
find that one day. Perfect fellowship. And perfect
communion. Will be perfectly restored. When Christ
returns. There will be no more discontinuity.
There will be no more brokenness. There will
be no more frustrations and heartaches with regards
to the fellowship and communion that God's people
enjoy and share and experience with Him. It will
be free, uninterrupted, unhindered fellowship
and communion with God once again. This is the
purpose of redemption, brothers and sisters.
We see this clearly throughout the scripture.
If we were to look at Exodus chapter 15, we could
read in verse 13, In your loving kindness you
have led the people whom you have redeemed. In
your strength you have guided them to your holy
habitation. Your dwelling. Then we could look
at verse 17. You will bring them and plant them
in the mountain of your inheritance, the place,
O Lord, which you have made for your dwelling,
the sanctuary, O Lord, which your hands have
established. God brings his people out to be
with them, to dwell with them. We could look
at Exodus chapter 25, verse 8. Let them construct
a sanctuary for me that I may dwell among them.
That God might dwell among His people and be
in their midst. We could look at Exodus chapter
29. Verses 45 and 46. I will dwell among the
sons of Israel and will be their God. They shall
know that I am the Lord their God, who brought
them out of the land of Egypt, that I might dwell
among them. I am the Lord their God. There's
many other texts we could look at in the Old
Covenant. But what does the New Testament say
about God dwelling among his people? And this
being the purpose and the end for which redemption
is accomplished? Well, 1 Peter tells us, And
let's go ahead and turn there. 1 Peter 3, verse
18 says this, For Christ also died for sins once
for all, the just for the unjust, so that he
might bring us to God. Having been put to death
in the flesh, but made alive in the spirit. Why
did Christ die? Why did Christ give himself on
the cross and accomplish redemption? To bring
his people to God. To bring them into fellowship
and communion with the living God. To restore.
Rebels. Back to the Lord they have rebelled against
to make them sons and daughters of God. This
is the very purpose of redemption, brothers and
sisters. There's nothing further beyond this
purpose in the Bible. For God to dwell with his
people and his people to dwell with them. So
when David says, I will dwell in the house of
the Lord forever. He's speaking of peace. A grand
reality that he knows. He is caught up in. He
is speaking of a glorious reality. That he knows
in his heart. He has assurance. And he is persuaded
of. That he is partaking of. That he will enjoy.
That he is enjoying. In that moment. In this
text David. Presents. to this idea of dwelling
in the house of the Lord forever in two ways.
So the second thing we have to consider this
morning is this. The fact that he presents this
idea or this concept as the end and culmination
of his earthly life. So when David says, and
I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
We have to remember that it's at the end of Psalm
23, and it's the result of the Lord being a good
shepherd king to him. God has been gracious to
him. God has been merciful to him. God has provided
for him. God is with him. God has brought him
through the valleys and the shadows. God has
abundantly bestowed blessings. God is benevolent
and kind towards him. And he knows that goodness
and loving kindness will follow him all the days
of his life. And what about the end of his life?
And I will dwell eternally with the Lord. I will
dwell in the house of the Lord forever. His life,
his journey, his earthly pilgrimage is working
toward this dwelling with God. It's progressing
towards this. Now, when we think about this for
David, to dwell in the house of the Lord is something
that he is presently enjoying, but it's also
something that he is gradually nearing in his
life and will enjoy more fully in his life. Now,
we know this, that he's already enjoying this
and experiencing this. Because of the rest of
the Bible. Because of the rest of the Psalms.
David is, we could say, dwelling in the house
of the Lord as he writes Psalm 23. How do we
know this and how is this possible? Well, we
think about this idea, this word house. He's
not speaking about a home. He's not speaking
about a household. He's talking about the house
of the Lord. The tabernacle. The temple. The
place of corporate public worship. The place
where God meets with His people and His people
meet with God. He's talking about the place where
the people of God worship and serve the living
God. We could look at Psalm 26 .8. Just a few
Psalms over. Which says this. Oh Lord. I love
the habitation of your house. And the place where
your glory dwells. He's talking about. The tabernacle.
Or the temple. That he longs to build for God.
That he might dwell among men. We can't think
of this concept without going. To Psalm 84. Psalm
84 says this. In verses 1 -4. How lovely are
your dwelling places, O Lord of hosts. My soul
longed and even yearned for the courts of the
Lord. My heart and my flesh sing for joy to the
living God. The bird also has found a house.
and to swallow a nest for herself, where she
may lay her young. Even your altars, O Lord of
hosts, my King and my God, how blessed are those
who dwell in your house. They are ever praising
you. David is enjoying, David is partaking of
the Lord's presence. He is dwelling with God
in one of the ways that he is doing this. Is
by worshiping God corporately with the people
of God. Brothers and sisters. For David to say
this. He necessarily involves a corporate aspect
to it. He could not say. Absolutely. In an absolute
sense. He could not say. I will dwell. and the
house of the Lord forever. And then disregard
the people of God. The two are antithetical to
one another. One necessarily requires the other.
Now we'll see that it's not simply corporate.
It's not simply public. There is a private, personal
aspect to this as well. But brothers and sisters,
David knows that if he is to enjoy the presence
of God in this world, in his life, as he progresses
and gradually nears his death and the glory of
God, he has to give himself to the people of
God and the temple of God. That's the only way
he'll enjoy the Lord's presence in this life
in that manner. You can't disregard it and still
be able to say this as... David is saying this.
But it is important that we recognize there is
a private and personal aspect to this as well.
So oftentimes, and I'm sure that many of you
have recognized this as you read the Psalms,
it's as though the author of the Psalm or the
Psalms is using this word of habitation, tabernacle.
Temple. In a metaphorical sense. To express the
reality of dwelling with God in his presence
being with you. We see this throughout the scriptures
as well. We could look at Psalm 27 for this.
Psalm 27. This beautiful text. We'll look at
verses 4 and 5. One thing I have asked from the
Lord. that I shall seek. So even in this psalm,
David is saying, I've asked God for it now, and
I'm seeking it now in my life. One thing I've
asked from the Lord, that I shall seek, that
I may dwell in the house of the Lord all my life.
Now he's not saying forever in that sense, but
all my life, all my days. To behold the beauty
of the Lord. To meditate in his temple. For in
the day of trouble, he will conceal me in his
tabernacle. In the secret place of his tent,
he will hide me. He will lift me up on a rock.
Now, brothers and sisters, David was often on
the move. He was often traveling. He was often
at war. He was often in the midst of battle.
He was often part of a convoy and they were going
somewhere. He was not always in an accessible
place to the tabernacle of David. So what does
he mean? What does he mean when he says in the
secret place of his tent? Well, he means the
presence of God. He means the presence of God
as he enjoys and experiences the presence of
God in prayer. In the law of God as he seeks
the face of God through prayer. And through the
law of God as David had it. I believe that he's
using it in a metaphorical sense in this way.
Though it's often very hard to separate the two.
Because sometimes he is referring to the... temple
or the tabernacle and other times he seems to
be using it in a metaphorical sense. So there
is this corporate public aspect of it but brothers
and sisters there is a private and personal aspect
of dwelling in the house of the Lord. To enjoy
the presence of God in this life no matter the
capacity in which you are enjoying it. Whether
it be the fact that the Spirit of God dwells
within you as the people of God in this gospel
age, whether it be the fact that you're studying
the Scriptures or you're seeking to pray and
seeking the face of God, or whether it be that
you're worshipping the living God in corporate
worship. The presence of God and enjoying and
experiencing that in this life. is going to be
fraught with hardship, difficulties, and struggles.
It's just going to be, brothers and sisters,
because we have sin within us. We have a wayward
heart within ourselves. We have a remnant of
sin within us that causes doubt, that causes
frustration, that pulls us this way when we want
to go this way. The trouble comes from within
us, but it also comes from the reality and the
fact that we live in a fallen world that is still
under the judgment and the curse of God, that
we're not the only troubled sinner that exists
and lives in this fallen world. So, our enjoyment
of God and His presence to dwell in the house
of the Lord in this life, in our earthly days,
as we progress, Toward glory. Will always be
fraught. With hardships. Frustrations. Difficulties.
And trials. Normally and typically. Because of
our own hearts. Brothers and sisters. Because
of our own struggles. And our own issues. And
the consequence of our own sin. In our life.
Yet, that does not mean that these things are
insignificant. That does not mean that these
are not real ways that we experience the real
presence of God in this world. What we do, or
what the saints do in this life, whether it be
corporate and public or private and personal,
They are real means, and David knew this, by
which they experience and enjoy the presence
of God and they have a purpose in the life of
the believer. It's the experience and the enjoyment
of the Lord's presence in this life leading up
to glory that prepares the heart. for the presence
of God as we will enjoy it in the life to come,
brothers and sisters. So for those who are reconciled
to God through Christ Jesus and His death, for
those who know Him by faith and those who have
turned from their sins and those who have been
transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit,
know that the Spirit of God dwells within you
today. God is dwelling with you. If you know
Christ. He is with you. He will never leave you.
And he will never forsake you. And you are dwelling
with him. But don't forget. Ever. That the spirit
of God that dwells within us. Intimates. And
gives us a more. Personal. And conscious. Understanding
and knowledge. of the reality of His presence
in our life through means in this world. Hence,
public and corporate worship and the private
and personal use of means that God has given
to us. Meaning, believer, if you want to be with
God, If you want to know His presence personally
more, then you have to be where He has promised
to be found in this world. Where has God promised
to be found? Corporate worship, brothers and
sisters. God has promised to give His unique,
precious presence to us as we gather as the saints.
If you want to know the presence and the power
of God and enjoy it, then you must give yourself
corporately to the people of God. But it also
means, brothers and sisters, that we must give
ourselves to the Word of God. He has promised
to speak to us through His Word. If we want to
be with Him, we must be where He has promised
to be found. And where has He promised to be
found? His holy, inerrant, inspired word that
He has spoken. If you want to be close to God,
be close to your Bibles, brothers and sisters.
If you want to have the Lord near to your heart,
if you want to hear His voice loud and clear,
then have His word ever present on your heart.
Have Him close to you through the Word of God.
Where else is He promised to be found, brothers
and sisters? He is promised to be found in prayer.
Do you want to know and enjoy and experience
God more in your life and know the depths of
His grace? Then give yourself to pursuing His
presence in prayer, brothers and sisters. He
is promised. To be with his people in this life.
And he has promised to be in his word in this
world. And he has promised to be found in prayer.
In this life and in this world for his saints.
As we give ourselves to these things. What is
happening to us? Our hearts are being prepared.
For what is to come. So what we are doing today.
Is practice. And preparation. For our future
in glory. Do you understand the significance.
Of what is happening right now brothers and sisters.
You are getting a trial run. Of the enjoyment.
Of God's glorious presence in your own soul.
So that you will long and desire for it in greater
measures and greater degrees. In the glory that
is to come. It's practice. And it's preparation.
For further enjoyment. Following our death. When
we fellowship. And we have communion with God
in a sweeter. Greater. better way than we even
do now. Our hearts are being prepared. Do you
enjoy the worship of God? Do you desire the Word
of God? Do you long to know God in prayer more?
Do you have a yearning for the courts of the
Lord as David did? Is there a distinct longing
in your heart to hear from God in His Word and
to take part in corporate prayer? Because if
you do, you are going to love glory. You are
going to love eternity. Because that is what
we will give ourselves to. Worshipping the living
God through Jesus Christ. and serving Him for
all eternity, and learning about the greatness
and the glory of who He is, and our great Teacher
will be our Savior, Jesus Christ. Do you love
it here? Because you will then love it there.
But if you don't love it here, if you don't long
for it here, what does that say? enjoyment of
what is to come. Will you enjoy the new heavens
and the new earth? Do you love the Word of God
because you hear Christ's voice in it? Brothers
and sisters, it's preparation and readiness for
the glory and the presence that is to come following
our death and to be fully enjoyed at the return
of Christ, at the consummation of all things.
David presents this idea of dwelling in the house
of the Lord forever as the end and culmination
of our earthly life. But there's also another
aspect that he presents it as. He presents it
as the beginning. Of eternal glory. He says I
will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.
So it's not something he's just progressing towards.
But it's something. That is the beginning. Something
that he enters into. And something that begins.
Following. His death. For David. To dwell in
the house of the Lord forever. Was something.
To enter into. Following the completion. Of his
earthly life. It's a greater. Experience. It's
a better. More sweet. Enjoyment. Of the presence.
And the person. Of the living God. Scripture
teaches. That when a believer dies. Their soul
goes to be with God. Their body goes into the
ground and their soul immediately enters into
the presence of God. Historically, this teaching
has been called the doctrine of the intermediate
state of the believer. Meaning they're between
the time of Christ's return and the culmination
of all things. And their life they lived when
they came to know Christ in this world. So in
this intermediate state that the believer enters
into following their death, we have to recognize
that it is a better, more grand reality. To such
a degree that Paul could say, In Philippians
1, to live is Christ and to die is gain. Meaning,
if I'm going to live, it's going to be Christ
and it's going to be for Christ and I'm going
to be serving Christ. But if I die, it's all
gain for me. It's better for me to die and go
and be with the Lord even if I'm separated from
my body. It's better for me to go and be with
the Lord. This is why Paul says in 2 Corinthians
5, For we know that if the earthly tent, which
is our house, is torn down, we have a building
from God, a house not made with hands eternal
in the heavens. For indeed in this house we groan,
longing to be clothed with our dwelling from
heaven, inasmuch as we, having put it on, will
not be found naked. For indeed, while we are
in this tent, we groan, being burdened because
we do not want to be unclothed, but to be clothed,
so that what is mortal will be swallowed up by
life. Now he who prepared us for this very purpose
is the God who gave to us the Spirit as a pledge.
Therefore, being always of good courage, And
knowing that while we are at home in the body,
we are absent from the Lord. For we walk by faith,
not by sight. And then here it is in verse 8.
For we are of good courage, I say, and prefer
rather to be absent from the body and to be at
home with the Lord. What is Paul's preference?
Where is Paul's home? He prefers to be separated
from his body. And to be in the presence of his
glorious God. To enter in to eternal life. And
to be with his great God. We also read in Hebrews.
Chapter 12. Starting in verse 22. This speaking
preeminently of the intermediate state, I believe.
For you have come to Mount Zion, and to the city
of the living God, the heavenly Jerusalem, and
to myriads of angels, and to the general assembly
in the church of the firstborn, who are enrolled
in heaven, and to God, the judge of all, and
to the spirits of the righteous, Made perfect.
And to Jesus. The mediator of a new covenant.
And to the sprinkled blood. Which speaks better
than the blood of Abel. Yes. The intermediate
state. Is still incomplete. Because there is
separation. From the soul and the body. Yes,
in the intermediate state, believers to some
degree, in some way, I believe, will still be
living by faith because they'll be longing for
the redemption of their bodies and the union
of their bodies with their souls. But listen,
according to the Word of God, when the believer
dies, the glory and the ability they have to
enjoy the presence of God is heightened and strengthened
all the more. It is a greater, grander, stronger,
bigger experience and reality of God's presence
and God's person. It will be a time of sweet
fellowship with all the saints of old. Sweet
fellowship with God Himself. Sweet fellowship
with angels and men. As we worship and serve
the living God. In our new found capacity. In
that place. One might think. Well that's it.
There's nothing further. There's nothing beyond
that. That is greater for the believer. Than
to go and be with the Lord. To be at home. With
him. And to enter into this intermediate state.
But for the believer. That is not it. Brothers
and sisters. There is still more. To come. What
is the ultimate. Reality. And the ultimate fulfillment.
Of David's words. When he says. And I will dwell
in the house of the Lord. Forever. The ultimate
sense in which these words are fulfilled is in
the eschatological sense, meaning when Christ
returns and the consummation of all things is
brought about, the saints are given resurrected
and glorified bodies, and the curse is lifted
from this groaning world. All things are made
new and the saints are given their inheritance
as Israel was given their inheritance like Joshua
divvied it up. God will give His people their
inheritance and their possession. The new heavens
and the new earth. The tabernacle of God. We
read in Revelation 21 of this glorious reality.
It says this in Revelation 21, 3. And I heard
a loud voice from the throne saying, Behold,
the tabernacle, the house, the tabernacle of
God is among men. And He will dwell among them.
And they shall be His people. And God Himself
will be among them. The day is coming when Christ
returns that the people of God will fully enjoy
the presence of God as they ought to have in
the garden if Adam had obeyed. They will enjoy
the new heavens and the new earth, the garden
on steroids, brothers and sisters. because of
the work of the Lord Jesus Christ. The day of
unhindered, uninterrupted fellowship and communion
with the living God. Notice, as we consider everything
we've walked through today, that David is presented
to us. Notice that the believer is always in
fellowship and communion with the Lord. Always.
It's just that changes and transitions as they
progress and near the culmination of all things.
We go from one phase or one stage of fellowship
and communion with the Lord to the next until
ultimately we enjoy it in its fullest and eternal
sense. No matter how you look at the believer's
life. The one in Christ that Christ died for.
The one that believes in the Lord Jesus. The
one who is the recipient of God's covenant blessings.
No matter how you look at the believer's life,
better things are to come. Do you understand
that, brothers and sisters? Things only get better
from here on out for you as a believer. Things
only get more glorious in your future. Things
only get grander when you pass through the grave.
You get more of God. You experience Him and enjoy
Him in ways that you could not hear because sin
is so present in your life. Every which way you
look at it, the believer's life gets better following
their death. as they come into the experience
and enjoyment of God's presence and person in
greater measure and greater degree, all because
we have a faithful shepherd king who has been
gracious to us. He's the one that carries us
to glory, brothers and sisters. He's the one
that brings us along in this life and brings
us through the grave. He's the one that brings
us into the intermediate state and to his throne
following our death. He's the one that will redeem
our bodies by the power of God. And he's the
one that will sustain us through all eternity
by his divine power and because of his divine
grace and divine mercy. This is the glorious
hope and reality and future of the believer.
This is where we're headed. This is what we're
caught up in as children of God. This is your
fate and your future. All glory be to God. But
what about the man? the woman, or the young person
who does not know the Lord Jesus Christ? Who
is not the recipient of God's covenant blessings?
What does your future and your fate look like?
What is the hope of your life? What is to come
for you? Does it progressively and increasingly
get better? Do you come into further and greater
enjoyment and experience of God himself and his
presence? No. This is why there's urgency about
the gospel, brothers and sisters. Because this
is not everybody's future. This is not where
everybody is headed. Yes, the unbeliever has
a future ahead of them. But listen, this is the
best it will ever be for you as a believer. Because
God's common grace is upon you in this life.
The gospel is being proclaimed. There are saints
and elect sinners to be called in still. So God
still fulfills His common grace, blessings, and
promises to the world. But it will not get better
for you following your death. You enter into
an intermediate state, yes, but it is Hades,
a place of suffering, separation, and torment
that is conscious. Unending expectation and suspense
that judgment is coming when Christ returns.
You're in jail waiting to go to eternal prison.
And you are conscious and aware of this reality
and this fact. And then one day, yes, you will
be raised. You will be given a body. But it is
so that you can answer for the deeds done in
the body, in this life. As you have rejected
the Son of God. And then sentence will be passed.
And you will be condemned by men and angels and
Jesus Christ. And he will send you to hell. Because
you have transgressed an eternal and infinite
and a holy God. This is just as much a reality.
and truth as the grand redemption that Christ
has accomplished for His people. We can't say,
yes, this is glorious and this is great and this
is real and this is true, but this is insignificant
over here. This is just as true as the glorious
redemption that Christ has accomplished in the
future dwelling of God in man in the new heavens
and the new earth. I think sometimes when we
think about these concepts and these ideas in
the Bible, I think sometimes we think about them
as though they are kind of bedtime stories and
fairy tales. These grandiose ideas and thoughts
and concepts, and we even talk about them like
that sometimes, but these are not. bedtime stories,
and these are not fairy tales, brothers and sisters.
This is real, true life. You are either going
to take part in the glorious redemption, and
you will dwell with God forever in the new heavens
and the new earth, or you will spend eternity
in hell under the judgment of God, separated
from His good and kind presence. That is the
fate of every single human being on this planet.
What do these realities that we have examined
today do to your heart? Believer, why are we
not melted before the living God by His grace
and His mercy? Unbeliever, why are you not shaking
in your chair right now knowing the reality that
is ahead of you? God will be faithful to bring
about every single promise He has made to His
people. But hear me well, God will be faithful
to bring about every righteous and just judgment
upon your head if you do not know Jesus Christ.
He is a holy, a righteous, and a just God. Put
your faith in Jesus Christ today. And if you
have put your faith in Jesus Christ today, rejoice
and give Him praise and adoration and glory for
what He has done and live a life unto God for
His glory. Looking forward to the future with
great hope and great confidence and great boldness
knowing what is ahead of you as God's covenant
people in this world.