You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
Psalm 23:5 ESV
Anointed with oil, our cup overflows. Such abundance from our Lord. What should we look out for? How should we respond?
Our passages: Psalm 23:5 & Matthew 18:23-35. Preacher: Ian Bayne (28th June 2020).
Watch the Sermon
Recap
There is a feast going on! The shepherd has prepared a feast for us: a table of compassion, communion and celebration.
Last week we were understanding what it means to be an honoured guest, valued by the shepherd. He wants us to be at our best and not to forget such an experience.
Coming to the table of the Lord is not something we can forget. What amazing grace! He gave his life for us so that we might join this feast.
Explanation
At the end of the feast there is a toast and our glasses need to be charged, so that we can toast. We need full glasses for this and the shepherd himself is going round and filling our cups with the best vintage, so much that they overflow. What a picture!
We also see this when Jesus was at the wedding in Cana and the wine had run out. He changed approximately 650 litres of water into wine in today’s measure: he’s not stingy.
and said to him, “Everyone serves the good wine first, and when people have drunk freely, then the poor wine. But you have kept the good wine until now.”
John 2:10 ESV
He gives us more than is necessary and more than we ask for.
The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy. I came that they may have life and have it abundantly.
John 10:10 ESV
Better still: the drink he gives means we’ll never be thirsty again.
Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
John 4:10 ESV
The drink is free as the cost has been paid for by the Lord Jesus, it’s totally satisfying on every way, and it’s transforming:
On the last day of the feast, the great day, Jesus stood up and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. [38] Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, ‘Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.'”
John 7:37-38 ESV
How to deal with an overflowing cup
We need to deal with a surplus. If our cup is overflowing what do we do?
1. Comfort others
who comforts us in all our affliction, so that we may be able to comfort those who are in any affliction, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God.
2 Corinthians 1:4 ESV
2. Give to others what we’ve been given
3. Forgive others as we have been forgiven
4. Have compassion on others as he does for us
Compassion is feeling the pain of others.
5. Be patient as he is patient with us
Even though we fall and don’t make the progress we ought He is still patient with us.
As the old song (Herbert the Snail) goes: “Have patience, have patience, don’t be in such a hurry, remember, remember, that God is patient too…so thank the Lord that he waits for you.”
6. Sacrifice for others as he’s done for us
Application
Today we’ll look at 4 things to be when we sense our cup overflowing most in the good times of life.
1. Be watchful
Pride is never far from plenty. When our cup is running over and we have so much, we can be proud of this and think it’s somehow because we’re good and that God blesses us for this reason.
We’re often actually worse than others. We’re not here for the crutch of faith: we need the whole wheelchair!
Our guard is most down when success is being celebrated. The memory of God’s goodness is easily forgotten after victory has been established.
2. Be not wasteful
Am overflowing vessel is no excuse not to be wasteful.
We’re not to throw pearls before swine (Mat 7:6). We are not to flaunt and waste what we have, but to use it for the glory of God himself.
3. Be waiting
Think about a waiter attending in service, not waiting for something. What does a good waiter do?
- Enquires on the needs of others: We need to look around and identify the needs of others around us. This is contrary to our instinct which is to be self-centred and inward focussed. We can be inward focused not outward.
- Is proactive: the Christan mandate is not to wait for something to happen, but to go. We need to look at where we might be needed and effective.
- Recommends gastronomic remedies: A good restaurant will recommend dishes and wines
- Fetches and serve guests, because they need food: others need the same food and water that we’ve eaten and drunk.
- Remembers their guests: We need to pray for those who are not in Christ. Others are waiting on us to offer God prayers for them.
4. Be worshipful
We should give credit where credit is due: our salvation depends on God’s mercy, so let’s be thankful to Him who gives all good things.
A heart of praise seldom goes hand in hand with a hard heart.
For me, this has been a pretty bad week. I’ve had to deal with water leaks caused by a rat eating a pipe, the roof was blown off my shed and I realised that I’m getting older. So reaching this passage today is ironic.
I was reminded of the city of Edinburgh around the time of Greyfriars Bobby who stood by his owner’s grave for 14 years until the dog himself died. Whilst a touching story, I thought of this example because covenanters were executed at the grass market in Edinburgh nearby.
Just above this, there’s a prison. It’s not like one of our prison with rooms. This just had walls. There was no roof. They had to sit there to wait to be released or executed.
One covenanter’s son was executed and his head was brought to him. He said “God has never done anything bad to me so why should I say anything bad about him”. His response was similar to Job after he has everything taken from him.
And he said, “Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked shall I return. The Lord gave, and the Lord has taken away; blessed be the name of the Lord.”
Job 1:21
Regardless of our earthly circumstances, we can have joy in our cup overflowing, from the good times in this life, to the joys of the eternal life with God to come.
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