Turn with me now to Psalm 116.
Psalm 116. And let's begin reading in verse
one. I love the Lord because he hath
heard my voice and my supplications. Because he hath inclined his
ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. The sorrows of death compassed
me. and the pains of hell get hold
upon me. I found trouble and sorrow. Then called I upon the name of
the Lord. O Lord, I beseech thee, deliver
my soul. Gracious is the Lord and righteous. Yea, our God is merciful. The
Lord preserveth the simple. I was brought low and he helped
me. Return unto thy rest, O my soul,
for the Lord hath dealt bountifully with thee. For thou hast delivered
my soul from death, mine eyes from tears, and my feet from
falling. And our text tonight will be
verse nine, which says, I will walk before the Lord in the land
of the living. Isn't that wonderful? I will walk before the Lord in
the land of the living. The thought of glory with Christ
is wonderful. Glory with the Lord Jesus Christ.
So wonderful. I was talking to my dad yesterday
morning and he was telling me what he was studying for tonight. And it is Job 14. That is literally what he is
preaching right now as we speak. which begins, that chapter begins
by saying, man that is born of woman is a few days and full
of trouble. And as he was telling me what
was on his mind and his heart and rehearsing it to me, it made
this glorious thought that much more wonderful to me. It made
this just listening to that truth made this even that much more
wonderful to me. The fact that man's days are
so full of trouble. So full of trouble. You ever
wonder when we're going to stop getting in trouble? You know,
you think, well, you just get in trouble as a kid. Adults get
in trouble too. We're just so full of trouble. It makes the thought of eternal
life with Christ that much more glorious. It really does. If
we did not have as much trouble as we have, glory would not be
quite as glorious as it is. This right here is the land of
death. This is the land of death. You
know, when you're dead, you don't feel anything. You just exist. You don't even exist. You're
just there. This is the land of the dead,
the spiritually dead. This is the land of the dead. We walk among the spiritually
dead. Paul said, who shall deliver
me from the body of this death? That's the nature of everyone
walking around. And that is the spirit of every
soul that has not been regenerated by the spirit of God. Dead, spiritual
death. Can you imagine what it will
be like to one day live in the land of the living? We live in
the land of the dead right now. Can you imagine what it's going
to be like to live in the land of the living? The land of the spiritually alive,
where everybody there is spiritually alive. Turn over to Psalm 27. Psalm 27 verse 13, David said,
I had fainted. I would have fainted unless I
had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the
living. That is so true, isn't it? He said, it's the thought of
the land of the living that keeps me going. That's what keeps me
going. Verse 14, he said, wait on the
Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart.
Wait, I say on the Lord. I think about David has now gone
on to be with the Lord. He being dead, you know, yet
speaketh. And he can say from experience.
Wait on the Lord. He'll strengthen your heart.
David lived a life of trouble. He lived a life of sorrow. Every
soul who's gone on before us can say, from experience, wait
on the Lord. Be of good courage. He'll strengthen
your heart. I know it seems bad. Wait on
the Lord. Hang in there. He'll encourage
you. He strengthens us along the way
with the thought of being with Him in the land of the living.
But one day, when we actually step foot in that land, the day
that our foot steps on that soil, we're gonna be strengthened.
We're gonna be so strengthened. Look at Psalm 142. Psalm 142 verse five, David said,
I cried unto thee, O Lord. I said, thou art my refuge and
my portion in the land of the living. He said, you are all
I want. You're all I need in the land
of the living. Every soul there will say that
in absolute unity. You are my refuge. And my portion. I need you. I want you. And every soul there will have him.
Every soul there go back to Psalm 116. Verse 9, David said, I will walk
before the Lord in the land of the living. I will. I will walk
before the Lord in the land of the living. How could David say
that so confidently? How do you know, David? How do
you know you will? The only reason any believer
can walk in the land of the living is because Christ walks in the
land of the living. And they walk in Him. God's people
are in Christ and as He is, so are they. Christ walks in the
land of the living. And I only walk in Him. The only
reason any believer can say, I will, is because Christ said,
I will. He's the one who said, I will,
and you shall. I will, and then you will. Only because He did something
are we able to do something. What did He do? What did our
Lord do? What did He do that enabled us to do something? Turn
over to Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 verse 8 says, he was
taken from prison and from judgment and who shall declare his generation
for he was cut off out of the land of the living. For the transgression
of my people was he stricken. He was cut off out of the land
of the living for the transgression of his people. That's what he
had to do and that's what he did in order for his people to
be able to walk in the land of the living with him. For the
transgression of his people, he was stricken. Look at verse
four. Surely he hath borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows. Yet we did esteem him stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace
was upon him and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep
have gone astray. We have turned everyone to his
own way. And the Lord laid on him the
iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation
for he was cut off out of the land of the living? For the transgression
of my people was he stricken." That's the only reason why David
and every other child of God can say, I will walk in the land
of the living. It's because Jesus Christ our
Lord was cut off from that land for us. Cut off for us. If we can say that with David,
if we can say with the Apostle Paul, I know whom I have believed
and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I've committed
unto him against that day. If we can say, because Jesus
Christ alone, it's all because the Lord Jesus Christ alone by
his grace, by his mercy, in his righteousness, because of his
blood, I will walk in the land of the living all because of
him. It's only because of him. I'll walk in the land of the
living. If we can say that, what will it be like? If we can say
that, what will it be like to walk in that? That word means
live in the land of the living. Even though I hath not seen,
ere hath not heard, neither hath entered into the heart of man,
what is going to be like? I want to show you a few scriptures
here that will give us an idea. We do this from time to time,
and there are scriptures that I show you often, and I want
to show you different scriptures tonight. I found other scriptures
that will, along with other messages, help us enter into this. Follow me here, let's go to Isaiah
32. Isaiah 32, the heading at the
top of my page here says that, says this is speaking of Christ's
kingdom. Speaking of his kingdom, verse
1, Isaiah 32 verse 1 says, behold, a king shall reign in righteousness. I adore that. That King is Jesus
Christ. King Jesus Christ. He's going
to reign in righteousness. There will only be righteousness
there. There will only be justice. There will only be what is right. What's it going to be like to
walk in the land of the living? Only justice. Only what's right. That's what it's going to be
like. Verse one, behold, a king shall
reign in righteousness and princes shall rule in judgment and a
man shall be as a hiding place from the wind and a covert from
the tempest as rivers of water in a dry place as the shadow
of a great rock in a weary land. In the land of the living, we
are going to view Christ as he is our hiding place. We're going to view him, we're
going to see a king is going to reign in righteousness and
a man is going to be a hiding place. Jesus Christ, our hiding
place. That's what we're going to have
is a hiding place. He's going to be our cover. He's going to
cover us from everything. Because of that, we're never
going to experience the tempest force of winds. Winds are never
going to come through and knock anybody's house down. No walls are going to get knocked
down. Never. No flood is gonna overflow the
place, never. No drought, he said, no weariness
of any kind in the land. There will never be weariness
in the land. Never be wearied, never. Look at verse 17, it says, and
the work of righteousness, okay, righteousness is gonna be there.
Wherein dwelleth righteousness, which is Christ. and the work
of righteousness shall be peace. That's what righteousness is
gonna do there. Create peace. That's what justice
is gonna take care of, peace. The work of righteousness shall
be peace and the effect of righteousness, quietness and assurance forever. That's what we're gonna feel.
We're going to feel peace. We're going to feel quietness.
We're going to feel assurance. So much assurance. Turn to Isaiah 65. This is one
that we read a lot, but we got to read this one. Isaiah 65 verse 17. For behold, I create new heavens
and a new earth, and the former shall not be remembered nor come
into mind. But be glad and rejoice forever
in that which I create. For behold, I create Jerusalem
a rejoicing and her people a joy. And I will rejoice in Jerusalem
and joy in my people. And the voice of weeping shall
be no more heard in her, nor the voice of crying." He said,
the former things are never going to come into mind. All of the
sinful things that we can't seem to forget, we will never remember
them. Never remember them. We will
never know guilt ever again. We will never know sadness ever
again. We'll never know disappointment
ever again. We'll never know frustration
ever again, never. Verse 20, there shall be no more
thence an infant of days, nor an old man that hath not filled
his days, for the child shall die an hundred years old, but
the sinner being a hundred years old shall be accursed. And they
shall build houses and inhabit them, and they shall plant vineyards
and eat the fruit of them. Is that literal or spiritual? I'm not sure. Either way is fine
with me. Verse 22, they shall not build
and another inhabit, they shall not plant and another eat, for
as the days of a tree are the days of my people, mine elect
shall long enjoy the work of their hands. We're gonna enjoy
the work of our hands. There are things that we all
enjoy doing with our hands. Everything we do there is going
to be enjoyable. Everything we do. It'll be rejoicing. It'll be joy. Because everything we do there
is going to be in Christ. Everything we do is going to
be with Christ, with the Lord Jesus Christ. Verse 23, they
shall not labor in vain nor bring forth for trouble. For they are
the seed of the blessed of the Lord and their offspring with
them. And it shall come to pass that before they call, I will
answer, and while they are yet speaking, I will hear. That means
Jesus Christ is always standing there. That's what it means.
He's always standing there. Before they call, I will answer,
while they're speaking, I will hear. We're going to experience
continual fellowship with Christ, continual conversation with Christ,
all of us. Verse 25, the wolf and the lamb
shall feed together, and the lion shall eat straw like the
bullock, and the dust shall be the serpent's meat. They shall
not hurt nor destroy in all my holy mountains, saith the Lord.
We, God's people, we're not gonna be the only ones at peace. Everything
will be at peace. Everything will be at peace.
We have a cat. We have a dog and two cats. We have a dog and two and a half
cats, which I'm starting to believe
we have three cats. We have two cats inside, and
we have this one cat, Chloe, and she literally tortures the
dog and the other cat. That cat tortures everything. She has since the moment we got
her. She sneaks up, curls up, and she'll slowly raise one paw. That's what everything else does
to her. Never again. Never again. You'll never see
that kind of thing ever again. Absolute total peace, total,
total peace. Turn over to Hebrews 12. Hebrews 12 verse 22. It says. You are come unto Mount Zion
and unto the city of the living God. It's the land of the living
because the living God lives there. That's the whole reason
it's the land of the living is because the living God lives
there. You come to Mount Zion unto the city of the living God.
the heavenly Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels."
That's what you'll come to. There are going to be angels
everywhere. Everywhere. Precious angels,
which according to the scripture, They're men. I believe. They don't have wings. I've never
read one verse of scripture that says angels have wings. Cherubims
have wings. But every time you see an angel,
it says there were two men standing in white apparel. They saw a
man. But they never fell. Elect angels, 1 Timothy 5 calls
them. ministering spirits, Hebrews
1 calls them. But verse 22 says, you're coming
to Mount Zion unto the city of the living God, the heavenly
Jerusalem, and to an innumerable company of angels, to the general
assembly and church of the firstborn, which are written in heaven and
to God, the judge of all and to the spirits of just men made
perfect. That's what you're coming to.
When you go there, that's what you're stepping into. You're
stepping into heavenly Jerusalem, an innumerable company of angels,
the general assembly, the church of the firstborn, those that
were written in heaven. You're coming to God, the judge
of all, and to the spirits of just men made perfect. That's
a good place. Perfect brethren, perfect angels
all gathered around a perfect Christ. That's a good place. Go to Revelation 7. I'm almost
done here. Revelation 7. Verse nine, after this, I beheld
and lo a great multitude which no man could number of all nations
and kindreds and people and tongues stood before the throne and before
the lamb, clothed with white robes and palms in their hands
and cried with a loud voice saying, salvation to our God which sitteth
upon the throne and unto the lamb. And all the angels stood
round about the throne and about the elders and the four beasts
and fell before the throne on their faces and worshiped God,
saying, Amen. Blessing and glory and wisdom
and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be unto our God
forever and ever. Amen. And one of the elders answered,
saying unto me, What are these which are arrayed in white robes,
and whence came they? And I said unto him, Sir, thou
knowest. And he said to me, these are they which came out of great
tribulation and have washed their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb. Therefore are they before the
throne of God and serve him day and night in his temple. And
he that sitteth on the throne shall dwell among them. They
shall hunger no more, neither thirst any more, neither shall
the sun light on them nor any heat. For the lamb which is in
the midst of the throne shall feed them and shall lead them
unto living fountains of waters and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes. How glorious. We are never going
to say I'm hungry ever again. We will never say that ever again. I don't believe the marriage
supper will ever be taken up. Verse 16, they shall hunger no
more, neither thirst anymore, neither shall the sun light on
them nor any heat. We will never say I'm hungry
ever again. We will never say I'm thirsty
ever again. We will never say I'm hot ever
again. Never. We will never say I'm
sad ever again. The end of verse 17 says, God
shall wipe away all tears from their eyes. What will we say? Look at verse 12. Amen, blessing and glory, wisdom
and thanksgiving, honor and power and might be unto our God forever
and ever. Verse 10 says, we will say, salvation
to our God, which sitteth upon the throne and unto the Lamb. Chapter 5, verse 9 says, we will
say, Thou art worthy to take the book and to open the seals
thereof, for thou wast slain and hast redeemed us to God by
thy blood out of every kindred and tongue and people and nation,
and hast made us unto our God kings and priests, and we shall
reign on the earth. Verse 12 right there says, we
will say, worthy is the lamb that was slain. Worthy is the
Lamb. The death of Jesus Christ is
the only death that's ever going to be brought up in the land
of the living. There's only going to be one death brought up in
the land of the living. Look at Revelation 21. Revelation 21 verse one, I saw
a new heaven and a new earth for the first heaven and the
first earth were passed away and there was no more sea. And
I, John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem coming down from God
out of heaven prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. What
will the land of the living be like? It's going to be love. It's going to be true love. Verse
2, I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down from
God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband.
And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the
tabernacle of God is with men. And he will dwell with them,
and they shall be his people. And God himself shall be with
them and be their God. 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. And he that sat upon the
throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto
me, Write, for these words are true and faithful." This is the
truth. These are true words concerning
the land of the living, the land where all of God's people are
going to dwell forever with Christ. And I'm going to, I was going
to read more in these chapters, but I'm not going to, um, we
don't need a temple. Christ is a temple. We don't
need a son. Christ is the light. We don't
need a gate. Christ is the security. Christ
is everything there. We don't need anything. Christ
is the river. Christ is the tree. Christ is the... What's it going
to be like? There's going to be no more curse.
Curse is lifted. It's gone. I'll leave you with this. Revelation
22, verse 7. He said, I come quickly." Verse 17, the
Spirit and the bride say, come. Let him that heareth say, come.
Come, we can't wait. Please, please come. Verse 20, he which testifieth
these things saith, surely I come quickly. Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come
to us. Come get us. Come get us and
take us to be with you. By God's grace, for Christ's
sake, we will walk before the Lord in the land of the living.
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.