The Best is still Ahead

 

         

There was a woman who was diagnosed with a terminal illness and had been given three months to live. She contacted her pastor and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes. The told him what songs she wanted sung and what scripture she would like read. She requested to be buried with her favourite Bible.

Everything was in order and the pastor was about to leave when the woman suddenly remembered something very important to her. There is one more thing she said excitedly.  What’s that? came the pastor’s reply. I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand.  The pastor was quiet. “That surprises you, doesn’t it”? The woman asked. Well to be honest I am puzzled by the request,” Said the pastor.

She explained “in all my years of attending dinners, I always remember that when the dishes are cleared, someone would inevitably lean over and say “keep your fork”. It was my favorite part because I knew something better was coming, like chocolate cake or apple pie. Something wonderful and substance

So I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder,” what is with that fork? Then I want you to tell them “keep your fork the best is yet to come. The pastor’s eyes welled up with tears of joy as she hugged the woman good bye. He knew that the woman had a better grasp of heaven than he did.

At the funeral people saw the fork placed in her right hand and asked “what’s with the fork? and over and over the pastor smiled. During his message, the pastor told the people about his last conversation with the woman. He also told them about the fork and what it symbolized. He told them he could not stop thinking about the fork and probably they would not be able to stop thinking about it either.

Paul started the Philippians letter with the words “grace to you and peace from God our Father"(Phil 1:2). In his closing remarks he bursts out in adoration to God. After saying "and my God shall supply all your needs according to His riches in glory" (v.19), he bursts out in exuberant joy "now to our God and Father be the glory forever and ever. Amen"(v. 20). This outburst of praise flows from the overwhelming realization that every need of a believer in Christ is met by the limitless riches of God.

A similar outburst of praise occurs in Romans11: 33-36. Paul writes"Oh the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments and his paths beyond tracing out! “Who has known the mind of the Lord? Or who has been his consellor?”(vv.11-34). Then he bursts out “to Him be the glory forever. Amen."(v. 36) He ends the book of Romans with the words, “to the only wise God be glory forever through Jesus Christ! Amen” (Rom.16:27).

One of the earliest times we find, “forever and ever, Amen” in the Bible is in 1 Chronicles 16. King David had the ark of God delivered to a tent he had pitched for it. All the people gathered to worship and present their offerings to God. That day David first appointed Asaph and his associates to sing a song of thanksgiving to God (vv.7-36). Part of the song reads:

Give praise to the Lord, proclaim his name. Make known among the nations what he has done… tell of all his wonderful acts. Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples. For great is the Lord and most worthy of praise; Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name… Give thanks to the Lord for he is good; his love endures forever…Praise be to the Lord, the God of Israel, from everlasting to everlasting. Then all the people said “Amen”.

The psalmist said God is King forever and ever (Ps.10:16). His throne will last forever and ever (Ps.45:6). Jesus said his kingdom, the power, and the glory are forever and ever (Matt 6:13). Paul wrote “the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only God, be honor and glory forever and ever, Amen” (1 Tim. 1:17). Peter wrote, “to him be the power forever and ever. Amen” (1Pet 5:11). John wrote “To him be praise and honor and glory and power, forever and ever! Amen” (Rev.5:13-14).   

In all of these verses the phrase, “forever and ever, amen,” is added as a benediction of praise to the eternal wonder of God’s glory and power. The glory and reign of God is spoken of as that which will go on forever and ever. We are to remember that Christ is the victor for all eternity because he and the father are one (John 10:30). When we use the phrase, “forever and ever, Amen” in our worship, we acknowledge that the power victory and glory of Christ will be for all eternity.  He will never lose any battle.

Forever and ever also reminds us that as the eternal King, God holds a different perspective on time than ours. In our humanity, it’s easy to become impatient when God does not move as quickly as we think He should. We forget that he holds eternity in His hands and as such His timeline is very different from ours. While we grow impatient with his delays, He is working all things for our good (Rom.8:28). He is making everything beautiful in its time (Ecc.3:11).

The word “Amen” literally means “so be it”. However, it also carries a deeper meaning. It means that what has been spoken is reliable, trustworthy and true. Amen is then an affirmation of the truth we have spoken. When in Chronicles the people said “Amen” after Asaph’s song, they affirmed everything said in the song was true. To use “Amen” flippantly is not an act of worship but rather a mindless ritual. Such worship does not please God.

It is wonderful to end our prayers with “Forever and ever, Amen”, but that is only when we mean those words. We should come into His holy presence and intentionally honor him with words that affirm His character traits that will continue on into all eternity. We affirm with an Amen that it is absolutely true. In our daily worship, we can borrow the words of the Biblical writers and echo their praise to eternal King who reigns with absolute glory and power forever and ever.

Jesus said that those who worship God must worship Him in truth (John 4:24). Worship must never be based in ignorance. Worship must be grounded on sound doctrine and focused on the truth of all we know of our great God. Worship is not meant to be formed by what feels good, but by the light of what’s true. It must be informed by who God is and what he is like.  Any worship stirred up by error or false doctrine is worthless.

Worship in truth also means that we do it in truth not in pretense or mere display of spirituality. We do not just recite worship as a religious ritual. We must be convicted that what we are saying is true and we must mean what we say. True worship must engage the heart, the affections and the totality of our being. Strong affections for God, rooted in truth are the foundation of biblical worship.

We no longer offer animal sacrifice but we offer other sacrifices today. We should offer to God the sacrifice of thanksgiving (Ps.116:17). In Psalm 50:23 God says “Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me”. We should continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name (Heb.13:15). In Hosea 6:6,God says “I desire ... the knowledge of God rather than burnt offerings”.

We cannot worship God if we do not know the truth about Him. God does not want sacrifices of praise and thanksgiving based on ignorance; He wants worship out of the knowledge of who He is. In Philippians 4:20 Paul is praising God because of who He is, what He is capable of and what He has already done. Seeking the knowledge of God should be the primary pursuit of our life. It’s the only thing on earth that has an eternal value. Paul considered everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ” (Phil 3:8).

No king can say that their crown is theirs forever. Possessions can change hands and everything we see will ultimately come to dust (2 Peter 3:10). But, God is King forever and ever; this means through the endless eternities. Even the eternal ages yet to come will not be sufficient to exhaust the praises that belong to Him. We should praise him from the very beginning to the end of our earthly life. The praises will only become better in the world beyond.

The bible uses the mother –child relationship to illustrate the strongest unfailing love in the world. We tend to think no one can love us as much as our mothers can. But, as deep and unconditional as a mother’s love can be it has limits. Eventually, every mom will die. Only God can love us more than our mothers can and he will never forget us or die (Isa.49:15-16).

Nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God (Rom. 8:38, 39). From everlasting to everlasting the Lord’s love is with those who fear him (Ps.103:17). His faithfulness continues through all generations (Ps. 119:90). If we stand in faith until the last breath, we can boldly say that this glorious God is “our God forever and ever; He will be our guide even to death (Ps. 48:14).

Learning to become intentional with praise and thanksgiving should be a part of every believer’s worship journey. Worship and praise are not just for a church service; they are to be a regular part of every believer’s daily walk. We should worship and give glory to God unceasingly. That is the very reason of our existence.