How to Make the Rest of Your Life the Best of Your Life | Part 1

Guest (Male): The best is yet to come in this Christian life. Listen to Adrian Rogers.
Adrian Rogers: Every one of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ could write a book about God's goodness and God's mercy. God's goodness in the good times and God's mercy in the bad times. God's provision for our failure and God's provision for our need. Goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our life. But praise God, the best is yet to be. I want to tell you how to make the rest of your life the very best of your life.
Guest (Male): Welcome to Love Worth Finding featuring the powerful dynamic teaching of pastor and author Adrian Rogers. Every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before and he saves the best for last. God has promised a place beyond death and we can anticipate it through Christ. By looking forward to our dwelling in heaven, we can make the rest of our lives the best of our lives. If you have your Bible, turn now to Psalm 23 and look at verse 6. Once again, here's Adrian Rogers.
Adrian Rogers: Take God's word and find Psalm 23 and we come this morning for the last of these six verses that have blessed our hearts as we've studied them together. And now we're going to read all six of them together. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He maketh me to lie down in green pastures. He leadeth me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul. He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil for thou art with me. Thy rod and thy staff, they comfort me. Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies. Thou anointest my head with oil. My cup runneth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Here's a principle and I want you to learn it. Satan always gives the best first and the worst last. He always gives the best first and the worst last. For example, Proverbs chapter 20 and verse 17 says, the bread of deceit is sweet. But afterward, a man's mouth shall be filled with gravel. That is with Satan. It always starts sweet, but it doesn't end that way. Satan is a counterfeiter. He is a deceiver and he's certainly guilty of false advertising. I see these fellows out there in the bass boat, the old whole Milwaukee boat, you know, or they're out there and they're hoisting the suds and and they just caught the fish or they're frying the fish or they've just come in from a great volleyball game and these good buddies are sitting down and a rollicking good time and one of them will hold up a wet one and he'll say, it doesn't get any better than this. And he's right. It always gets worse. You know, it doesn't it doesn't get any better than this. I mean, he doesn't show the drunkard in the gutter covered with flies. He doesn't show the carnage on the highway. He doesn't show the blasted lives and the ruined homes. He always gives the best first and the worst last. Satan doesn't have any happy old people. Dr. Jess Moody of California wrote these words. I think they're tremendous. I I jotted them down. What do aged atheist have to talk about while they sit around waiting to die? Do they discuss the legacy of morality, decency, integrity, and spiritual sensitivity that they bequeath to their children? Or the good that atheism has done the world, the hospitals, the orphanages, the elevation of womanhood, and the mass distribution of decent literature? Or perhaps they discuss the great bulwark against communism that atheism has erected? Then when the sun is sinking low, they can joyously contemplate their future. There's so much for an aged atheist to look forward to. And then he concludes with this line. Old atheists never really die. They just go to hell. You see, Satan gives the best first and the worst last. Jesus gives the best last. Remember at the wedding feast when Jesus had turned the water to wine and the master of ceremonies came out, he said, I don't understand this. He said, most people give the best first, but you've saved the best till the last. And that's the way Jesus always does. With Jesus, it keeps getting better and better and every day with Jesus is sweeter than the day before and there's more, so much more than that first sweet day. Now that doesn't mean that it's not good now, but it means it gets better. Now what the psalmist is saying is good now, surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The best is yet to be. Goodness and mercy. Here's the sheep and the sheep is looking over its shoulder and it sees two sheep dogs. Job called them the dogs of my flock, two sheep dogs. Goodness and mercy who are just following the flock everywhere the flock goes. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. I remember an interesting story that took place when Dr. Harry Ironside, pastor of Moody Memorial Church in Chicago, he told about it in some of his writings. He said that he had a lady, a poor dear lady who lived by herself and was just haunted by a fear. She had a phobia, a fear that there were two men who followed her everywhere that she went. She came to see the pastor about it. She was so worried. She said, pastor, she said, I have a problem, a very serious and terrible problem. He said, well, what is it? She said, there are these two men. Everywhere I go, they follow me. When I go to the grocery store, they follow me. When I get on the street car, they get on the street car behind me. When I come home, there they are right behind me. They are always behind me constantly following me. He said, have you told the police? She said, yes, but they say they're not there, but I know they're there. They're always there. Oh, he said, you are most blessed woman. You're a very fortunate woman. Don't you know who those two men are? She said, no, do you know? Oh, yes, he said. They're David's friends. And he turned to Psalm 23 and read it. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And he said, those two men, one has a name goodness and the other name is mercy. And God has sent them to follow you all of the days of your life. She said, pastor, that's wonderful. And to thank all of this time, I've been afraid of them and God has sent goodness and mercy to follow me. She was so happy. Every day when she would go, get on the street car, she'd wait for goodness and mercy to get on. She'd get on. When she'd come home to her apartment, she'd open the door and let goodness and mercy go in and then she went in and lived the rest of her life until she stepped on over to the other side in perfect happiness and no more fear. You say, well, was the pastor right to tell her that? Well, friend, would to God that all of us could understand that in a very real way goodness and mercy follow us all of the days of our lives. And every one of us who know the Lord Jesus Christ could write a book about God's goodness and God 's mercy. God's goodness in the good times and God's mercy in the bad times. God 's provision for our failure and God's provision for our need. Goodness and mercy follow us all the days of our life. But praise God, the best is yet to be. And I want to tell you how to make the rest of your life the very best of your life. Now here the psalmist talks about the house of the Lord. Do you see it? Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. I want to tell you three things about the house of the Lord that came to my heart as I contemplated and thought about this and prayed over it. And there are many things we could talk about when we talk about heaven. The very first thing as we think about the house of the Lord that I want to lay on your heart and help you to get excited about is what I want to call the certainty of it. The certainty of it. Look at that verse. Surely I will dwell in the house of the Lord. Do you see it? Surely I will dwell in the house of the Lord. No ifs, ands, and butts about it. It's a sure thing. One of the sweetest passages in all of the Bible is that passage in John chapter 14 where the Lord Jesus Christ reiterated and underscored and ramified what David said when Jesus said in John 14 verse 1, let not your hearts be troubled. You believe in God, believe also in me. In my Father's house. He's talking about the same place that David was talking about. In my Father's house are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you. Now let me just pause right there and say this, that Jesus Christ was truth incarnate. He never lied. He always told the truth. And he said, if it were not so, I would have told you. Jesus Christ would not let the hope of heaven go beating within the human bosom if it were simply a lie, a superstition, a fond delusion. He said 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. So let me say this about the certainty of it, that this place called heaven is just that. It is a real place. It is not merely a state of mind. It is not a condition. It is a place that is so real that Jesus is there in a literal resurrected body. I mean, he is there in a body. There is a body in this place called heaven. It is his resurrected body. Heaven is a place on God's map. You know, we speak of heaven as being up. And sometimes people who doubt the Bible laugh at us and they say we're a little we're a little wrong on our cosmology because we talk about heaven as being up. In Memphis, Tennessee, heaven is that way. But in Australia then, heaven would be that way. And so they say which way is it? It all depends on which side of the globe that you're on. But my friend, listen, the Bible writers were inspired of the Holy Spirit of God and when they said that Jesus came down from heaven, that he was taken up into heaven, that we look up to where our possessions lie. Listen, the Bible knows what it's talking about. There is one place on the globe that is always up. And that's north. It is not by accident that people speak of up, north and down, south wherever we are. There is that polar star. There is that northern fixed direction that is always there and the compass always finds that north place. Now it may surprise you to know that the Bible speaks of heaven as being in the north. Let me give you some scripture. You may want to jot these down. Isaiah chapter 14 beginning in verse 13 tells about Lucifer who rebelled against God and tried to exalt his throne and place his rule where God's rule is. And listen to what Lucifer said. Isaiah 14 verse 13, for thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven. Now notice where he's going into heaven. I will exalt my throne above the stars of God. Notice there's somewhere above the stars of God. I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation in the sides of the north. Very clear. Now when God told Moses how to make a sacrifice way back there in the Levitical system, he said, you tell the Levites this in Leviticus chapter 1 and verse 11. When he goes to kill an animal, he shall kill it on the side of the altar northward toward the Lord. Northward toward the Lord. Do you see that? Let me give you another verse. Psalm 75 verses 6 and 7. And he says this, for promotion cometh neither from the east nor from the west nor from the south. But God is the judge. What direction did he leave out? The north. And then he mentions God. You see, there is a place in the north somewhere that I believe is heaven. Now it is above the stars of God. Somewhere there is a place. The apostle Paul went there. He called it the third heaven. Second Corinthians chapter 12 and verse 2. He said, I know a man in Christ above 14 years ago, whether in the body, I cannot tell or whether out of the body, I cannot tell. God knoweth. Now listen to this. Such a one caught up into the third heaven. Very interesting. He calls it the third heaven and he says you can go there out of the body or you can go there in the body. Jesus is there in a body. Some people are there without a body. They'll have a body later on. But he said this person was caught up into the third heaven. So the Bible mentions three heavens. The first heaven is the atmosphere. You know the Bible speaks of the fouls of the heaven. They fly in the air and so that's the first heaven, the atmosphere, the clouds, the place, the envelope of air that envelops the earth. And then there's the second heaven. That is the stellar vast reaches. We call that the starry heavens. That's the second heaven. But above the stars of God, beyond the stars of God, there is a place called heaven. It is the third heaven. Someone has beautifully said, we see the first heaven by day, the second heaven by night, and the third heaven by faith. Listen, I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The apostle Paul knew that heaven was a real place. Jesus knew that heaven was a real place. David knew that heaven is a real place. And when a Christian dies, he steps right on into heaven. When the days of his life come to an end, all the days of my life sooner or later, the days of your life are going to end. And then immediately you're going to step into heaven if you know the Lord. Listen to the scripture. Second Corinthians chapter 5 verses 6 and following. Paul says, therefore we are always confident that there is no fear, certainty. We're talking about the certainty of it. Knowing that while we are at home in the body, we're absent from the Lord. Right now I live in a body. This body is not me. I'm just at home here. I'm at home in the body, but I'm absent from the Lord for we walk by faith and not by sight. I have not seen God neither of you. But he goes on to say, we are confident, not only confident, and willing rather to be absent from the body and to be present with the Lord. Paul said, if I had my choice, I would cut out and go to be with God. But he said, I'm confident that the moment I die, I'm going to be with Jesus. In Acts chapter 7 there's the story of the death of one of the greatest Christian men who ever lived. His name was Stephen. He was stoned for his faith. And in Acts chapter 7 verse 56, just before he died, he had a vision of heaven. And he said, behold, I see the heavens open and the son of man standing on the right hand of God. And he prayed, Lord Jesus, receive my spirit. Jesus told a dying thief, this day shalt thou be with me in paradise. Now listen, heaven is a present place. Let me tell you something else about it. Oh my dear friend, it is a perfect place. It is a perfect place. Revelation 21 verse 4, and God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain for the former things are passed away. No more sin, no more sorrow, no more suffering, no more death, no more disease, no more dying, no more doubts, no more pain, no more groan, no more moan. These things are gone. They are passed away. Now sometimes people ask a question about heaven and they say, well, really, what's heaven going to be like? Are we going to have beds? Are we going to sleep on beds? Will we comb my hair? Will we eat? How old will we be? What will we do? You know, all of these kind of questions. Folks, I don't know, but that doesn't bother me. You don't know and nobody knows and so don't pretend you do know. For the Bible says it does not yet appear what we shall be like. You don't have to know. Let me tell you what heaven is going to be like. Are you ready for this? Friend, it's going to be the presence of all that is good and the absence of all that is evil. Now if that doesn't satisfy you, let me give you something else. Heaven is going to be this, dear friend. It's going to be all that the loving heart of God can conceive and all that the omnipotent hand of God can prepare. That, my friend, is what heaven is going to be. Oh, it's a present place. It is a perfect place and bless God, it is a purposeful place. Don't get the idea that when you go to heaven, you're going to get a woolly robe, a rusty halo. You're going to sit around on a fluffy cloud and pluck a harp for all eternity. That's not what heaven is. You don't get that idea from the word of God. The Bible teaches in Revelation chapter 7 and verse 15, his servants shall serve him. Oh, how all of us who love the Lord Jesus Christ desire to serve him better than we do. Every time I preach, I say, oh God, I wish I had done better. Every time we pray, we say, Lord God, why aren't there more power in my prayer? I suppose every singer that ever has sung would wish that they could sing with more power and with more tears and with more unction and with more beauty to give God the glory. But we have this old sin flesh that holds us down. But one of these days, we're going to serve him like we've never served him before. This house of the Lord is a present place, a perfect place, a purposeful place. Think of the certainty of it. This is what he says. I go and prepare a place for you. I will dwell. Surely I will dwell in the house of the Lord. The certainty of it. But think secondly, not only of the certainty of it, but think of the company of it. The company of it. Notice what he says. Surely I will dwell in the house of the Lord. Now when he means house of the Lord, he doesn't mean building of God. There is a building of God eternal in the heaven, but that's not what he's talking about. He means the household of God. That's what Jesus meant when he said in my Father's house, in my Father's household are many dwelling places, many mansions. That is he's saying that we all of us together, all of the saints of all of the ages are going to be there together. All of our brothers and sisters in Christ, all of those in the household of faith, the company of heaven. What a grand company it's going to be. People say, well, we know our loved ones in heaven. Oh, yes. As a matter of fact, that's the only place we will ever really truly know them. Remember the story of David who had a little son who died, an infant who died, and David fasted and prayed and cried and wept and asked God to spare the life of the child while the child was sick. And then the child died and David got up and washed his face, anointed his body and took food. And I'm reading here in second Samuel 12 and his servant said unto him, what thing is this that thou hast done? Thou didst fast and weep for the child while it was alive. But when the child was dead, thou didst rise and eat bread. And he said, listen to this now. And he said, while the child was yet alive, I fasted and wept. For I said, who can tell whether God will be gracious to me that the child may live? But now he is dead. Wherefore should I fast? Can I bring him back again? I shall go to him. Isn't that wonderful? I shall go to him. Do you have a little baby in heaven? Joyce and I have a little baby in heaven and I'm going to see Philip. I am. You call that sentimentality. I call it Bible truth, dear friend. You've got a mom, a dad stepped over on the other side. We're going over there to see them. I think of every time a little baby goes to heaven so many times I think of a story I heard years ago about a shepherd who had brought his flock to a a turbulent stream and wanted to lead the flock across the flowing stream and they were afraid of the water and the wise shepherd took a little lamb out of the flock, put that lamb in his bosom and waited across that chilly stream and set the lamb down on the other side. Over here was that mama sheep and that papa sheep and that mama sheep saw that little lamb on the other side and that papa sheep saw that lamb on the other side and the old mother you started through the water to get to her little lamb. And here came the father sheep and here came the flock following behind. And I think so many times God in his infinite wisdom sometimes takes a little lamb out of the flock and just sets it on the other side like he did David's little lamb. And we don't understand all the mysteries of God, but we know one thing, dear friend. On the other side of those chilly waters of death is a place that has been prepared and we can go and meet our loved ones there.
Guest (Male): And what a wonderful comfort to take with us today and share with others who might be going through that valley of the shadow. We'll hear the conclusion of this insightful message next time. Do you have a prayer request you'd like to share with us? If you can, go to our website lwf.org/radio and scroll down to our prayer wall. There you'll find the option to submit a prayer request or pray for others. This resource is one of our favorite ways to keep the ministry and the community praying continually for one another's needs. Let us hear from you today. Well, thanks for studying in God's word with us. And as you continue with your day, remember these words of promise from Psalm 23. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. We hope you'll join us next time for part 2 of how to make the rest of your life the best of your life right here on Love Worth Finding. One of our dear friends at Love Worth Finding shared an encouraging note not long ago. I want to read it to you. I have also enjoyed watching pastor Rogers and I've really enjoyed the new resources Love Worth Finding has put out. Thank you so much for keeping these programs available and for providing resources that we all need for spiritual growth. You agree with that? At Love Worth Finding, our privilege and joy is to provide resources that give wisdom and hope in difficult days. And when you donate to the ministry right now, we want to send you one of our most popular resources, the tapestry promises and prophecies journal. In this journal, there are insightful articles from pastor Rogers messages regarding the book of Revelation and you'll find space to write your own thoughts and notes. Request it when you call with a gift today at 1-877-LOVE-GOD. And thanks for your generous support of Love Worth Finding.