“Will you one day join me with God in paradise too?”
Psalm 23 says: “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 name’s sake. 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”
My name is Rick Wright, and I have been a minister for 47 years. I pray these words will bring someone who has lost a loved one some measure of comfort.
Jesus once said, “let us not love in word or talk but in deed and in truth” (1 John 3:17-19). Your presence today shows your love in deed, but do not it end here today. One week, one month, one year from now this family is still going to need you.
My friends, God is with all of us today, no matter what.
Today in the midst of our sadness and we can take comfort in the fact that we know that another child of God is with Jesus, and when all is said and done that is all that matters in life.
Life is not about the house you lived in, the car you drove, or the money you made. In times like these, we realize that only three things last forever: God, His Word, and people’s souls.
Today, none of us face the pain of losing a loved one alone. God is here. And, as we read earlier in Psalm 23, He wants to help carry us through this valley.
The Bible says in Deuteronomy 31:8, “It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you. Do not fear or be dismayed”.
It is never easy to lose a loved one. So this morning, in the few moments that we have together I want us to turn our hearts towards God who is the giver of all comfort and the restorer of our souls.
I would like us to all look at the scripture read earlier from Psalms 23. My hope is that through looking at this Psalm, all of us might receive comfort.
The author of this passage in the Bible was a man named David. Before becoming King, David was a humble shepherd. In this Psalm, David took a metaphor from the world that he knew best and used it to explain his relationship with God. He says in Psalm 23, “The Lord is my shepherd I shall not want.” God is like a good shepherd.
David was making the point that he was no longer the leader in his life, but that he had put his complete trust in following God as his shepherd. He made God the very shepherd of his life.
Romans 5:8 says, “But God shows his love for us in that while we were sinners, Christ died for us”
Jesus took the punishment that we deserve. He died in our place for all the wrong things we have ever done and will ever do.
Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
What we have earned for all our sins is a death and separation from God, but Jesus Christ came to this earth and died to give us a gift. And friends, it is a gift that gives hope. We receive eternal life through putting our faith and our trust in Jesus.
This child of God made Jesus the Lord of their life, and because of that,they know what David meant in Psalm 23 saying, “He leads me beside still waters, he makes my lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul.”
God was able to meet David in the midst of many troubles. David’s life was far from easy. In the midst of being chased by his enemies, or hiding alone in a cave in the darkness of night, David knew that the Lord was the one who was going to sustain him. God was the one that brought goodness and grace his way during his life. God alone is the one that brings rest.
Life is hard. We struggle with pain, illness, and the grief of losing a loved ones. But God can take us from our situation and bring us to a place of rest where we can lie down beside quiet waters where our souls can be refreshed. Our lives on this earth are hard and painful. Sometimes things happen that we don’t fully understand. But our encouragement is that one day, all of our hurt and pain can be over, and we can spend all eternity in paradise.
1 Corinthians 2:9 says, “no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (ESV). I imagine that heaven is going to be like that; more beautiful than any eye has seen, or ear has heard—absolutely unimaginable. A child of God has gone through life's struggle on this earth, but now, as a follower of Christ is beholding beauty beyond our comprehension They've found rest in heaven.
Friends, we must realize in the midst of this time of mourning that there is good news! That through Jesus, death is not the end. We can know that we have eternal life with God. Friends, Heaven is an incredible place.
In Revelation 21:3-4 the Bible says about Heaven, “Behold, the dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away”.
No more death. No more good-byes. No more grief. No more sorrow. No more sin. And no more pain.
In Heaven, we will walk on streets of gold. In Heaven, there will be a family reunion. We will be reunited with those who have gone on before us. In Heaven, we will experience peace that is beyond comprehension. And most importantly, we will be with Jesus. And we will finally see the great love of God in all of its glory.
In Romans 8:38-39 the Bible says, “For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord”.
You see for those who have allowed God to be the shepherd of their life through trusting in Jesus Christ as the Lord of their life, they can have peace. As David writes, “Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil”…Why? Because “I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
David knew that there was peace in dying for those who are believers. There is peace that we can be with God forever. For all of us here today we have come face to face with the fact that our lives do not last forever. The Bible says that our life is but a vapor appearing only a short time and then passing away. Our days are numbered.
When David shares that God is like a shepherd, it begs the question: Have your faith and confidence in the one and only shepherd who can save and protect you for all eternity?
This metaphor drips with an understanding of how God reaches out to us who are lost sheep. Sheep are animals that are not intelligent. Without a shepherd, they are prone to wander. And that is precisely our human condition. Without God as our shepherd, we are prone to wander. We all have made mistakes and had regrets. But, for those of us who simply place our faith in Jesus Christ, God comes down and rescues us who are lost sheep, and He is bringing us home.
Indeed, today is a sort of graduation day. It is a day that we celebrate a child of God who is now enjoying eternity in paradise with the Savior
And the one thing that child of God would beg of you I they could speak to us here today, “Will you one day join me with God in paradise too?”
