Welcome to the Daily Blade . The Word of God is described as the sword of the Spirit , the primary spiritual weapon in the Christian's armor against the forces of evil . Your hosts are Joby Martin and Kyle Thompson , and they stand ready to equip men for the fight . Let's sharpen up .
All right . Finally , we're going to make it to the very end of Psalm 23 , which has taken us two full weeks , but I hope and pray it's been worth it for you . It has been worth it for me to walk through once again . The Lord is my shepherd . I shall not want he makes me lie down in green pastures . He leads me beside still waters . He restores my soul .
He leads me in paths of righteousness for his namesake . And even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death , I will fear no evil , for you are with me , your rod and your staff . They comfort me . You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies . You anoint my head with oil . My cup overflows .
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever . Well , what is David talking about that ? He shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever . Well , old Testament . People would think that he's talking about the temple , but that can't be possible . There's not even a temple anymore .
That the Lord's temple was torn down in 70 AD . And that temple is not even the temple that David was in , because it had been torn down in 70 AD , and that temple is not even the temple that David was in , because it had been torn down and ransacked before . So what does it mean ? That you shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever .
This means that you and I will be in the very presence of the Almighty God forever and ever . We call that heaven . In actuality , at some points we'll get into this . Heaven is actually a holding pattern until the consummation of all things , where God creates a new heaven and a new earth , and then we will live face-to-face with him .
But for time's sake , we will just call this heaven that you and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord , with God in heaven forever . Now , how does that happen ? How in the world can you do that ? Well , here's how you can do that Because goodness and mercy has been following you all the days of your life .
Is the person that gets to dwell in the house of the Lord ? Is the person that goes to heaven the person who has earned it ? Absolutely not . Look at the writer of the 23rd Psalm . David has disqualified himself from being in the presence of God over and over and over . We've talked about it several times . But David slept with a woman who was not his wife .
David impregnated this woman and then David had that woman's husband killed on the front lines of battle . And yet this man can say with great confidence surely , goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever .
How shall follow me all the days of my life and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever . How ? Because goodness and mercy are not just two adjectives to describe some kind of peaceful , easy feeling he has , but goodness and mercy were personified in the person and work of Jesus Christ .
And listen , if you were a follower of Jesus , great praise God for that . But I want to give you an idea . Do you realize that Jesus has been following you all the days of your life , that Jesus has tracked you down ?
You didn't choose him , he chose you , that he pre-loved you , he pre-knew you , he has elected you , he has chosen you and he has adopted you . And Jesus is the essence of what goodness is .
Jesus lived a perfect life , he fulfilled every promise and prophecy of Scripture in the Old Testament and then , instead of standing above you in judgment and saying you owe me , instead of that because of his mercy .
Mercy is when we don't get what we deserve , and what you and I deserve is you and I deserve to be punished for our sin and instead , by grace , jesus says I will make that payment for you . And this one , who is good and merciful , goes to the cross .
And as they nail him to that cross with his hands and his feet , the first thing that he does on this cross is good and merciful . He pushes up on his nail pierced feet and he says Father , forgive them , for they know not what they do . And the last thing that he says on this cross is tetelestai . It literally is translated paid in full .
First century archaeologists have found bank records and when a bank loan was paid in full , they would stamp the word tetelestai on it . That means this debt has been paid . When Jesus Christ pushed up on his nail pierced feet and says tetelestai , for anyone who would believe , you would receive the full payment of your sin .
Not only would that be a reality , but you would be adopted into the family of God and you would receive the righteousness of Christ credited or imputed to you . Is there a thing that God could do that is more good or more merciful than that . This last verse is prophetic about Jesus and salvation .
Surely goodness and mercy , who Jesus is the personification of goodness and mercy , surely goodness and mercy shall follow me . And when you follow Jesus , you put your faith in Jesus Christ .
Then this next statement is true of you he follows you all the days of your life , and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever , not by anything that I have done , but by the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross . May that be true of you .
Amen . Thank you for listening to today's episode Before you go . If you want to help equip other men for the fight , share this podcast around and leave us a five-star rating and review . Stay sharp .