GUEST IN THE HOUSE OF THE SHEPHERD
23 Psalms Verse 5
Notice, in the first 4 verses of the 23 Psalms, the Lord took
the role of leading the sheep.
In this fifth verse, the Lord took the role of host to the sheep.
In the first 4 verses Jesus was training the sheep to follow Him in
faith.
I can picture David, the writer of this Psalm sitting in his palace
reflecting on what God had done for him. He took him from being a
shepherd boy to being the King of Israel. He went from the OUT HOUSE
to the WHITE HOUSE.
I think David reflected on what he had been through to get to the palace.
You and I ought to take some time to reflect what God has done
for us to get to this point in our lives.
It would be good if we wrote our own praise Psalm
God planed your future before you knew to think about a future.
David was anointed to be king when he was 15 years old. He was a replacement For King Saul.
He spent 7 years in Saul’s palace. He spent 4 years being chased
By a deranged Saul who wanted him dead.
He spent 4 years in Ziklag consolidating his support among
Israel. That’s 15 years before David was made King.
As a shepherd David had to fight a lions and bears to protect
the herd of sheep under his care. God was training him to be king.
The lion and the bear didn’t just show up, God brought them
to David to test and strengthen his faith.
Goliath didn’t just show up in David’s life, God brought
David to the battle.
When David saw Goliath dressed in his battle armor, standing 9 foot
tall, he leaned on his skill as a sling shot marksman to stand
against him.
It was God that directed the stone from David’s sling shot to
a perfect bulls eye between Goliath eyes.
God use what you got to do the job.
David was an instrument for God’s glory.
That’s our main job on earth is to be an INSTRUMENT TO GOD’S
GLORY.
YOU WERE MADE FOR HIS NAME SAKE, not yours.
Before David became the king that he was anointed to be, he endured many trials at the hand of King Saul. It was 15 years of ups and downs
For David to get to the place God planned for him.
We see David’s glory as king of Israel. But we must consider
The trials God put him through before he became king.
God took His spirit from Saul because of his disobedience
And place it on David because of his obedience.
This corona virus didn’t just show up, God brought it to us to
strengthen our faith and to draw us closer to Him.
Verse 5 show us what happens when we trust God through our trials
V:5 You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.
You anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
I want to focus on three concepts in this verse, The Table, The Anointing
And The Cup
THE TABLE
A. God didn’t get rid of David’s enemies, He gave
him victory over them.
1. In this life time you will always have enemies,
but God will give you the victory.
2. God can make your enemies your foot stool
3. Don’t be surprised when trouble shows up at your
door, consider it all joy. (James 1:2).
“You prepare a table before me
in the presence of my enemies.”
In verse 4, the shepherd led his sheep through the valley of Deep
Darkness. You persevered and didn’t give up. On the other
Side of the valley is the Lord’s table.
Gal 6:9
9 And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.
2 Cor 4:17
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
The table is a feast of love, forgiveness, tolerance, abundance
provision, comfort, counseling, knowledge, and righteousness.
Danger is all around us, but at the Lord’s table
His grace and mercy is endless. At the Lord’s table
you will find rest and peace while your enemy looks
On.
“In the presence of my enemy”
God does not get rid of your enemies, He protects you from them.
They get a chance to see the blessings that God has for you.
Outside David palace, the enemy knew of God blessings.
Ps 118:6-7
The Lord is with me; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
The Lord is with me; he is my helper.
I will look in triumph on my enemies.
THE ANOINTING
“You anoint my head with oil “
Anoint is to set apart for God own use
Anoint is to consecrate.
John 15:4
Abide in me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, except
it abide in the vine; no more can ye, except ye abide in me.
God has made us priests in His house
The head and the mind must be protected from Satan.
Aaron was anointed as High priest of Israel
Ex 30:30-32
\”Anoint Aaron and his sons and consecrate them so they may serve me as priests. 31 Say to the Israelites, \’This is to be my sacred anointing oil for the generations to come.
Oil is the giving of the Holy Spirit
God make us one with Him by giving us the power of the
Holy Spirit.
Mary poured an expensive perfume ( worth a years wage)on the head of Jesus and washed His feet with her hair.
Luke 7:46-4
You did not put oil on my head, but she has poured perfume on my feet. 47
Therefore, I tell you, her many sins have been forgiven — for she loved
much.
John 12:7
\”Leave her alone,\” Jesus replied. \”[It was intended] that she should save
this perfume for the day of my burial.”
Jesus, set apart for the Fathers use, was headed to the cross.
He had a fleshly nature, His body. He had a divine nature, His
Spirit.
Luke 4:18-19
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach
the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to
preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind,
to set at liberty them that are bruised.
The anointing is the empowering of the Holy Spirit to do God’s work.
All of us, that is every believer, has been anointed to proclaim the
Gospel of Jesus Christ.
It is the anointing of the Holy Spirit that reminds us of God’s Word
and empowers us to resist the temptations of the devil.
THE CUP
“My cup over flows”
Matt 26:27-29
Then he took the cup, gave thanks and offered it to them, saying, \”Drink from it, all of you. 28 This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.
Our cups are over flowing with the salvation of the Lord. Our cups are
over flowing with God’s grace and mercy.
The cup is the cup of thanksgiving
1 Cor 10:16
Is not the cup of thanksgiving for which we give thanks a participation in
the blood of Christ?
The cup is also a cup of sacrifice
Matt 26:39
39 Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed,
\”My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I
will, but as you will.\”
God expects us to make sacrifices for Him.
We are expected to serve Him through our compassionate service
Of others.
We have to take a stand for Christ.
1 Cor 10:21
You cannot drink the cup of the Lord and the cup of demons too; you
cannot have a part in both the Lord\’s table and the table of demons.
There is a table of destruction and a table of righteousness
You have to decide which table you want to be seated.
In Summary, God provides THE TABLE, THE ANOINTING and
THE CUP.
The TABLE is a place of comfort and rest
To get to the TABLE you have ANOINTING to serve God.
To get to the TABLE you have to drink from the CUP of thanksgiving
and sacrifice.
All of this is to give GOD GLORY
This corona virus is the cup God set before us.
We have been anointed to handle it.
So we can sit a God’s Table of Glory.
Amen
Rev. M. Mitchell
