======================================================================== MY CUP IS OVERFLOWING by James Jennings ======================================================================== Summary: This sermon delves into the deep spiritual truths found in Psalms 23, emphasizing the importance of surrendering to God and experiencing His abundant provision and care. It highlights the significance of faith in Christ, the preparation of a heavenly feast, and the eternal blessings awaiting believers. The message encourages believers to trust in God's promises, be consecrated for His service, and anticipate the glorious future prepared by the Lord. Topics: "Surrender to God", "Trust in His Provision" Scripture References: Luke 16:22, Matthew 22:2, John 14:2, Ephesians 1:4, 1 Corinthians 2:9, Revelation 21:2, Luke 6:46, Matthew 8:11, Romans 8:32 ------------------------------------------------------------------------ DESCRIPTION ------------------------------------------------------------------------ This sermon delves into the deep spiritual truths found in Psalms 23, emphasizing the importance of surrendering to God and experiencing His abundant provision and care. It highlights the significance of faith in Christ, the preparation of a heavenly feast, and the eternal blessings awaiting believers. The message encourages believers to trust in God's promises, be consecrated for His service, and anticipate the glorious future prepared by the Lord. ------------------------------------------------------------------------ CONTENT ------------------------------------------------------------------------ Psalm 23 Well, let's turn to Psalm 23. Maybe this will be my last message from Psalm 23. We shall see. Two thoughts as we turn there. Just thinking about what Jeff was sharing in the first hour as far as the writer saying to exhort one another. Here, I was thinking about this upcoming Wednesday. You know what's probably going to happen this upcoming Wednesday? What happens on Wednesday night? Prayer. Prayer meeting. Why do we have a prayer meeting? What do you find in Acts? Again and again, what does the church gather to do? I mean, how else is anything going to happen apart from the hand of God moving? You know what's going to happen probably Wednesday night? The kids who need naps aren't going to get naps. They're going to wake up. They're going to be real tired. They're going to be groggy. Things aren't going to go well. But you know what's still going to happen Wednesday night? Around 5.30, I'm going to load my family in that van. Not because I'm one of the pastors in the church, but I'm going to come to prayer meeting. No matter how I feel, no matter how tired I might be, it is so vital to pray with the saints. I mean, you guys have heard it. How many of us, if we had a poll, would acknowledge we don't feel like coming to prayer meeting on Wednesday night? Or the day didn't go well. The day not going well doesn't dictate coming on Sunday or being around the saints. Not that there aren't situations that are understandable. I'm not trying to be too dogmatic there, but I'm just wanting to exhort you all to remember that. Another thing I was thinking about is even the Sunday, try to view the church gathering as from 10 to 1. Or 10 to 1.30, right? You don't want to separate the 10 a.m. and the 11 and kind of view it as two services, right? I mean, you're getting here and you're fellowshipping before the 10. The 10 ends, there's more fellowship. And then you go into the 11 and then afterwards there's even a little more fellowship. You want to view it as one service, not two individual services. There's so much benefit from the 10 a.m. and the fellowship that if you don't make it for that, you're going to miss out on spiritual food and sustenance that's going to help you. And you're not even going to recognize that that's happening, right? It can kind of become a normal thing. And so I just wanted to mention those two exhortations. I mean, I can tell you, 15 years, I think the only time I've missed church or prayer meeting was when I had COVID or had a really, really bad case of the flu. And in many of those years, I was not one of the elders in the church. But I just found it's so important to be with the body, to be with the body, to be praying to the Lord. So consider those things. When Wednesday night comes and you feel deathly tired and your kids are jumping off the wall or something, just remember, brethren, that Christian life is not about feelings. It's about faith. It's about doing the next right thing and believing God. All right, so one thing to start out this message with is just how have you viewed the Lord's treatment of you this week? Or today even, right? All of us have an ongoing perspective of the Lord Jesus Christ. Can that perspective shift and change? Yeah, absolutely it can. I mean, your perspective of Christ a week ago, something could have entered in and shifted that in the last few days. I mean, is there anything that maybe you're upset about that Christ has allowed in your life? Maybe He's allowed something in and you're bothered by that, right? And that causes you to have maybe an ill thought of the Lord Jesus. Have you rejoiced in Him? Have you been angry at Christ for something He's allowed into your life? Are you falling into kind of being passive and no emotion? Just kind of you're there, but there's no affection for Christ. Or are you overjoyed in Christ? Right, our views of the Lord Jesus can shift in a moment. Like my message, I'm sharing what I'm sharing. I'm hoping it causes your thinking to shift. Right, that's the goal. Trying to get you to shift in your thinking to be biblical. You think about the shift that happened in the very beginning in the garden. What shift happened? Satan says to them, did God actually say? Constantly, you and I are facing that reality. Did God actually say this? Is this actually there at His Word? Is this actually true? I mean, it's this mental battle to perceive the Lord correctly and not just Him, but what He says. Did God actually say, Genesis 3.1? Satan is very, very subtle. What's a passage that speaks about the subtleties of Satan in trying to get your thoughts away from the truth? 2 Corinthians 11. Listen to this. Paul was afraid, for those at Corin, that as the serpent deceived Eve, so he's reflecting on what happened there in the garden. As the serpent deceived Eve by his cunning, your thoughts... You hear that? Your thoughts. How do you think about Christ? What is your perspective on the Lord Jesus this morning? This afternoon. Your thoughts will be led astray from a sincere, complete, and simple and pure devotion to Christ. So if that could happen at Corin, that could happen at GCC. I can't get into all of your minds. But what if you're the one with your thoughts being led astray from a simple and pure devotion to Christ? That could be happening and you're unaware of that. That's why when we go to the Word, that's why when we preach as I'm about to preach, we're trying to tell you what God actually says. We're trying to destroy anything raised in your mind that is against the knowledge of God. We're trying to take your thoughts captive and bring them in obedience to the Lord Jesus Christ. We're wanting to help you maintain a right view of the Lord. And me even preaching right now, or even hearing Jeff in the 10 a.m., or even hearing what was shared at the baptism or the Lord's Supper, it's this constant maintenance to think correctly about what God has actually said. And so that's been my burden in Psalm 23. Part of why I started this series and this is going to be the sixth message was I wanted to show you who the Lord is by looking at how David, a believer like you and I, views the Lord. And if you even look at Psalm 23, you've got to remember, this is just David describing the Lord. This is not the Lord declaring things about Himself. This is David. You've got to get that. This is David declaring his stance on the Lord. This is not the Lord saying specifically, David, I am with you. This is David saying that that is true that the Lord has been with him. Obviously, he's saying that because of other verses that the Lord explicitly states these realities. But David's declaring to us what is true and what he's experienced from the Lord Jesus Christ. And all of us have an experience of Christ. You have something in your relationship with Him. And you're trying to maintain that right perspective of Christ. Let's pray and then we'll dive in. Father, Lord, I pray that You'd even use this sermon right now, Father, to help us to see what God actually says. Lord, to help us to see, yes, a certain perspective on You that is true. It doesn't contradict what we heard in the first hour. It doesn't contradict what other verses say. Lord, we realize it all comes together. We've got to understand it correctly. But Lord, be with my mouth, Father. Put a guard over the door of my lips. Lord, help me to serve right now with the strength that You give. Because Lord, I'm weak. Lord, our bodies are weak. Lord, we could feel tired, worn out. Lord, strengthen us right now that we would be able to bite ahold of this passage and get some food from Your Word. Lord, these are Your sheep who You love. I pray You'd feed them right now for Your own honor. In Jesus' name, Amen. And I mentioned, with Psalm 23, let's read Psalm 23. I know some of you are visiting here. Maybe some are new to being a Christian. And we don't want to ever take for granted that this psalm is just so well known. Although, in many ways it is. But this is the psalm of David. Verse 1. The Lord is my shepherd. I shall not want. He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness. For His name's sake, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. For You are with me. Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me. You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil. My cup, oh, it overflows. What's His end conclusion? Surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen. What glorious truths. And I mentioned many messages ago that you should be able to approach Psalm 23, look at your own life, trusting that these realities which are characteristics of your shepherd, you're going to find these things being fulfilled in your life. And you should say, what can I not write from this psalm? If I interpret and understand the phrases here, is there anything I have any reservation about writing down for me? If this is a psalm of James, and I'm writing this, is there anything here where I'm struggling to believe? Believe the Lord. Do I not believe He's always with me? Do I hear about restoration and I feel like there's no hope of me being restored with what I've done? Or do I look and say, I can't say I don't want. I'm incredibly discontent in thinking I'm lacking in so many areas. Is there anything here you can't write? You can't personally say about Christ? But we've looked at very, very glorious realities from the psalm. Incredible truths. We've tried to meditate on these, but the verse that I've yet to really deal with is verse 5. So we're going to look at verse 5 right now. And I realize I kind of skipped 5 and did 6 a few weeks back or maybe a month ago already. I felt like 6 really came alive to me about goodness and mercy hunting and pursuing us all the days of our lives. But we're going to look at verse 5 and somewhat 6 again right now. Notice here in verse 5, one of the statements that really kind of stood out, stands out to me, is at the very end of verse 5, he makes a statement. My cup overflows. My cup overflows or runneth over. Or my cup is filled to the brim. And now, you've got to realize, in the Bible, the term cup, you find it figuratively being used in various passages. Basically speaking of a container, that might contain what? A cup of... well, yeah, it could contain something physical, like wine, or it could contain something that's in a spiritual or emotional sense. A cup of sorrows. Or on the other side, you've got a cup of what? You've got wrath. Or you've got a cup of what? A more positive thing. Yeah, joy. Sorrow, wrath, joy. He's not talking about a physical cup. The cup represents something. And so, first off, in the context here, do you think he's talking about my cup overflows? Is he referring to wrath? Is he talking about sorrow? No, I think he's really talking about something more of a joyous reality here, especially with the overall picture here. And this really kind of gives us a look into David's worldview. He looks at the cup, and he says it's overflowing. He looks at this container by which has contents in it that the Lord has provided, and he says, my cup overflows. And you know the saying? What's the saying people make about the glass? Maybe I could use a water bottle here. It's not half empty or half full, right? But what do people say when they're making the statement, is the glass half empty or half full? What's the point of the question? Yeah, are you an optimist? Are you pessimistic? Do you have a really negative view on things? Or do you have a really positive view on things? And the question's about what is the perspective of the observer? How does the observer look at the glass? Do they look at it in a negative way? Oh, it's half gone. Oh man, half of it's missing. Or do they look at it in a positive way and say, hey, I mean, half of it's left, right? So, that's commonly used. Well, what's David's perspective on the glass? Overflowing. It's not half full. It's not half empty. It's overflowing, right? It's full to the brim. David's got that perspective, Christian. That's not optimistic either. That's believing the Lord, trusting Him. So the best answer we can have as the Christian is it's neither half full nor half empty. My cup, it's overflowing. It's overflowing. David says that here. Now, you and I know what David has gone through. You know that his whole life is not marked by one overflowing reality to the next, right? Could you say that David's joy was always overflowing to the brim? Now what about Paul? Was Paul the Apostle always overflowing? Even in Philippians, he talks about he knows how to abound and he knows how to be brought what? Below. And what's the secret? Whether you abound or you're brought low, what's the secret that will allow you to see goodness and mercy is following you all of your days? He says, I have learned the secret of contentment and it is what? Through Christ Jesus who strengthens me. And so, there's really this idea here David's expressing to us that under the Lord's care, Christian, you and I are truly abounding. It's not half empty. It's overflowing. He cares for you and me in such a way where His care of us is just overflowing. And David sees that. He sees anywhere he goes, guess who's there? The Lord. Guess what David's already said? I shall not want. Guess what David's already mentioned? He said, surely, goodness and mercy are following me. Does David have a really positive outlook on following Christ and being one of His sheep? Do you have that outlook? Or is your worldview one of a really negative sense? Have you not learned the secret of being brought low like Paul? Because you know what? You and I, we're going to get brought low. You and I are going to have low seasons in the Christian life. Yet, we don't have to look at the cup and say it's empty. We can still see the overflowing abundance of God's kindness and what He's bringing about through our trials. So that's something that really stands out. But let's think of this. Let's go through this and kind of look at the phrases here. And first thing before we look at your prepared table before me is this. I really think this is a metaphor switch that's happening in Psalm 23. I don't think he's talking about a sheep and a shepherd anymore. I think he's shifting over and he's talking about the Lord being a gracious host. It just seems to be odd to talk about a sheep having his head anointed with oil, a sheep being served a cup. It looks like he's shifting imagery. He's exhausted the sheep and the shepherd. He's coming over here and he's looking at the Lord as a gracious host and David is the guest. David is the guest. And that would mean for you and I, Christian, if you're a believer, you're the guest. And what do we find here? First, we find the guest has the table prepared for him by another. Secondly, the guest partakes of this table even while his enemies look on. Thirdly, the guest has his head anointed with oil. Fourthly, the guest has his cup that is overflowing. And again, all this is happening by who? The host. You've got a host who's serving you in such an incredible way right here. And if you're one of the Lord's sheep, you want to be able to lay hold of these truths for yourself. Now we just kind of need to interpret them and think about what's actually being communicated. If this isn't talking about a physical feast, primarily, then we need to think of what does this mean for you and for me? Here, second question is, when is the feast happening? When is it happening? The invitation, what's it say on the invite? Is it for now? Is it for the future? Is it always? Where is this happening at? How do I get to this feast? How do I come to this table that the Lord is preparing before me in the presence of my enemies? Or is it both? Is it now in the present at different seasons or always? Is it always? Is it at different seasons? Is it in the future? Is it all of the above? What's happening here? Notice here, I think there's reality obviously in this life, because David is writing this alive, talking about you prepare a table before me. That something's happening in this life. Yet, in that word prepare, it also is pointing to the reality of something in the future. And look at v. 6. Look at the end of v. 6. He talks about goodness and mercy following him all the days of my life, and then he says I'll dwell in the house of the Lord forever. David isn't just thinking about the physical realm. I don't believe that. I think he's thinking about the future. And obviously, as New Testament Christians, we want to go to the old and we want to look at it and try to understand it even in how it's fulfilled for us as believers right here and right now. So let's think for a moment in this life and then let's think about in the future. Think of the opposition you face from the enemy. Do you guys have opposition from the enemy? He says right here, you prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. People have evil plans. People want to kill Christians. People want Christians to suffer. People want to slander our names and damage our testimonies. And in the end, you know what the wicked are going to do? They're going to look on and see how the Lord has provided for us in a miraculous way. Miraculous way. I was thinking, who's an example of someone who had a table prepared before their enemies? You know who I was thinking about? Stephen. Think what happened to Stephen. What do you mean a table prepared before his enemies? Listen to Acts 7.60. He's being stoned to death and being martyred, and it says this, "...and falling to his knees, he cried out with a loud voice." And what did he say? Lord, do not hold this sin against them. And when he had said this, what happened? Say again? Heaven opened up. He saw the Lord standing at the right hand. Who wouldn't want that to happen? Who wants to see the Lord Jesus standing at the right hand of the throne of God and have heaven opened up? I don't know about you, that'd be incredible. Now, it's followed up with you're going and departing and being with Him, so you're not going to tell about it except it got recorded here in Acts. But it says he fell asleep. My point is even there, in the midst of severe suffering, even in the midst of his enemies, you don't leave Acts 7 and say, oh, that's a really negative outcome of what happened. You actually look and you say, you know what, the host, the shepherd, has incredibly provided for the believer in the midst of his trial where others would want to partake of that. I mean, you're looking in at what Stephen's going through, and it's not that you don't want to be at the table, you want to be there. I mean, even in this life, who was one of those enemies involved in stoning Stephen? Paul. And what ends up happening to Paul? He gets converted. He eventually gets saved. He obviously didn't have satisfaction as a lost religious Pharisee. He was miserable. Depending on how you understand Romans 7, you could see some of that misery that he was suffering. But to me, Acts 7 actually sounds like someone whose cup is overflowing. Not someone who's in misery, but someone who is in the midst of a trial and the Lord is there with them. And even in the presence of their enemies, there's a table being prepared. And you can just see it. Stephen being ushered into paradise. There's hardly anything negative that's actually happening to him there. But I think in a broader sense, are there special seasons of comfort in this life in the nearness of God that you and I are going to find we're going to have? Yeah. There are those seasons. John Piper, he says, the point of v. 5 is not that life is a big party, but that there are those festive times in life and we should recognize them as gifts of God. Listen to this, and I think he's right. And signs of His ultimate intention for us. You think that comfort? That table being prepared? The spiritual sustenance that you are feasting on? Oh, it didn't last. It was just for three hours. You know what? God's ultimate intention is there's a feast, which is not going to end, brethren. It's going to go on. It's going to go on. And there's times, David, he was not at a table with a cup overflowing. Listen to Psalm 55. He said, fear and trembling came over me, and horror overwhelmed me. And David, he says this, he said, oh, that I had wings like a dove. I would fly away and be at rest. I'd fly away and be at rest. And in the end, he cast his burdens on the Lord and the Lord sustains him. But brethren, there's going to be a time where you and I are perpetually going to be feasting at Christ's table. And He's going to be serving us. And it's going to be glorious. And it's never going to end. And those moments of that type of comfort and that type of nearness and that sense of the cup overflowing in this life and that sense of joy unspeakable and full of glory, though it doesn't last, brethren, it's kind of wetting your appetite for the buffet that's going to come in eternity. And I think here, because the way he ends this psalm, I think David is, yeah, ultimately thinking about a future feasting. A future feasting. Right after stating verse 5, he concludes in view of this. That's what leads him into saying surely goodness and mercy. It's because of verse 5, it's part of what he's thinking about that he goes on and he says, well, only goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. He's thinking about what is to come in eternity and the ultimate table that is being prepared for the believer. So David says the Lord prepares a table. Think of that word prepare. What's the synonym of prepare? Prepare? Someone prepares something for you that you can partake in, right? That you can enjoy. Can you recall some time someone prepared for you something that put a lot of time and effort into it? I mean, a significant time and effort into it. Maybe it's your kid, your dad, he had a hidden project in the backyard building you a treehouse for three days and he was just building it all up and hiding it with a tarp or never letting you look through the back window. You get out there. You're amazed at the preparation that has gone into it. Christian, any example of what men have prepared for us is pathetic compared to what the Lord has prepared for us. It's not a surprise trip. It's not an epic birthday party. I mean, think of all that the Lord has prepared for you. Is that something we should think about? Should you think about what the Lord has prepared for you? Guess who's doing that right here? David. You prepare a table before Me in the presence of My enemies. I mean, the Christian should reflect on what is being organized and prepared for them. What is Paul even saying in Colossians 3? Set your mind on things above where Christ is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. Set your mind on things that are above, not things that are on earth. And so this just made me think about the Lord preparing a table somewhere to feast, even spiritually speaking. I just thought, think of all that the Lord has prepared for you and I, Christian. Think of some of these verses. Hear these verses. Listen to this. And I was even thinking, you know what some parents prepare for their child? They prepare a college fund. When does the child start to appreciate the preparation of the college fund? When they're two or when they're how old? Yeah, probably when they're 18, they start to appreciate it. You know what? In the same way, once you're converted, you read some of these verses and you just realize I had no idea. I had no idea of all that God was preparing and working for me. Ephesians 1.4. Listen to this. This is no college fund, brethren. He chose us in Him. When? And how could we be saved? What had to be prepared? Listen to this. Hebrews 10.5. Christ came into the world. He said, sacrifices and offerings you have not desired, but a body you have prepared for Me. What got prepared for the Son of God? A body. And then what got prepared for the Son of God to drink? A cup. What was in the cup? Yeah, listen to Psalm 75. In the hand of the Lord, there's a cup with foaming wine, well mixed, and He pours out from it, and all the wicked of the earth shall drain it down to the dregs. Well, you say, Christ isn't wicked. He never had to drink the cup. Brethren, He died for those who were wicked. His enemies. And He suffered our punishment, therefore He drank the cup down to the dregs that you and I deserve to have in our mouth, and then instead, He gives us a cup that's overflowing. What a transaction there that's happening. Even Romans 5.5, someone pointed this out to me. Hope does not put us to shame because what? God's love is poured into our hearts. I mean, wrath being poured on you or God's love being poured into your heart. That's been prepared for you before the foundation of the world, Christian. It's incredible to have His love poured into our hearts, to have a cup that is overflowing. A dinner's been prepared. Matthew 22, See, I have prepared My dinner. My oxen and fat calves have been slaughtered. Everything is ready. Come to the wedding feast. Brethren, that's just a small picture of God the Father. His Son has been slaughtered on that cross. The knife of justice has cut His throat. And that blood's been spilled. And the Father is saying everything's ready. You want full forgiveness? You want full pardon? You want everlasting life? You come. I have prepared My dinner. Don't bring anything. It's literally this hospitality, everything's already taken care of. Don't bring a drink. Don't bring a bag of chips. It's all done. None of your works. Cease from that. Trust in the Savior. And how incredible is this preparation? Here is a verse that's often misunderstood. But 1 Corinthians 2. This isn't talking about heaven primarily. This is talking about the Gospel. But as it is written, what no eye has seen, nor ear has heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared, there our word is, prepared for those who love Him, and then listen to what He says. These things God has revealed to us. It's already been revealed. What no eye could see, no ear could hear. These incredible mysteries of the Gospel of Jesus Christ that those in the Old Testament, they looked at through a veil. That's all been revealed to us through the Spirit. For the Spirit searches everything, even the depths of God. And similar verses in Ephesians 3-4. When you read this, you can perceive my insight into the mystery of Christ, which was not made known to the sons of men and other generations. You see, it wasn't made known. No eye could see it. They didn't fully understand it. And now He says this, it has now been revealed to His holy apostles and prophets by the Spirit. This mystery, what is it? What is this great mystery no eye could see? What is this great, glorious reality that's been prepared for you and I, Christian? Don't take these words for granted. This mystery is what? That the Gentiles, that's you and me, the non-Jews are fellow heirs, members of the same body, and partakers of the promise in Christ through the Gospel. We take that for granted? I'm a non-Jew. And I am a Jew, circumcised of the heart, part of the New Covenant. Yet the only reason I'm able to be a partaker is because there was some plan that no eye could see, no one could understand, and it's been revealed through the Spirit. And here we're partakers of this mystery. This is astonishing what Christ has done. Matthew Poole, he says, it could never have entered into the heart of men to conceive that God should give His only begotten Son out of His own bosom to take upon Him our nature, to die upon the cross, or that Christ should so far humble Himself and become obedient unto death. Thomas Brooks, if eye hath not seen, nor ear has heard, neither has it entered into the heart of man to conceive the great things that God hath laid up in the Gospel, that's what 1 Corinthians 2.9 is to be understood as. He goes on to say this, how much less then are they able to declare the great things that God hath laid up for His people in another world? I mean, I realize it. I think people wrongly take 1 Corinthians 2 to talk about heaven. Brethren, heaven is going to be incredible if you take that in its context and realize it's talking about the Gospel and realize that that actually has been revealed in the present and you've actually partaken of that. I think Brooks is totally right. If all this mystery is so glorious, this preparation for us Gentiles to be converted, what on earth is going to await for us? It's just going to be incredible to dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Us Gentiles partakers. Brethren, David was a shepherd and in a remarkable, sudden way, he was elevated to go from a shepherd to a king. Brethren, what about you and I? We were Gentiles. In a remarkable way, we have been elevated to become co-heirs with Christ seated in the heavenlies. It's absolutely astonishing. You can't look at your life and see the promises you have in Christ and say that the cup is empty. It's overflowing because of all that God has prepared. Even on the worst day as a Christian, in the worst trial as a Christian, the promises in Christ and the Gospel and the heaven to come, it gets things in perspective. I don't have strength. Well, God thought of that. He's prepared that for us. 2 Peter 1, by which He's granted to us His precious and very great promises so that through them, you may become partakers. There it is. Partakers of divine nature. Having escaped from the corruption that is in the world because of the sinful desires. You hear all God's prepared? Romans 9.23, in order to make known the riches of His glory for vessels of mercy which He prepared when? Beforehand. If you're converted, if you've come to Christ, you're a vessel of mercy that He created beforehand. He's prepared you. He's thought about you specifically. And what's He prepared for us to do? This God who's preparing so many things. What does Ephesians 2.10 say? We are His workmanship created in Christ Jesus for good works which God prepared when? Beforehand that you should walk in them. We're just trying to walk out what God's already prepared. We're trying to discern that. And you know what we also need to be prepared to do for this God who's prepared so much glorious realities for us? 1 Peter 3.15, but in your hearts, honor Christ the Lord as holy, always being prepared to make a defense to anyone who asks you for a reason for the hope that is in you, yet do it with gentleness and respect. Hebrews 11.16, therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God, for He has prepared for them a city. You just can't even get your mind around all that God has prepared. He prepared me as a vessel for mercy before the foundation of the world. He chose me in Him. He's prepared this glorious mystery of being a Gentile and coming to know the Lord. I'm actually in San Antonio, Texas, and I'm converted and saved and know the truth from a ministry of a Jewish carpenter over there in Galilee, and all that truth has come all the way over here and it's brought many of us into the kingdom. It's just a miracle that He would even prepare anything that we could even be partakers of it at all. We take it for granted that we have all this truth right there in front of us in the Gospel. Brethren, it is a miracle that we have the riches that we have. That there's even the table here to sit down and partake of in Christ. John 14, here another verse is about what He's prepared. In my Father's house there are many rooms. If it were not so, what I have told you, I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and I will take you to Myself. He's preparing a place for me. Who would do that? Who has such love for one of His enemies? I remember when Bob Jennings is dying, one of the verses he often spoke of was John 17, 24. It just paints an incredible reality. Listen to the Father. This is Christ. Father, I desire that they also, whom You have given Me, may be with Me where I am. Did you hear what He just prayed? What did Christ just pray? That you, the Christian, would be with Him. He wants you with Him. He's prepared a place for you. What does that indicate? Does He have a special interest in you, Christian? Yeah. He's praying for you to be with Him. He's prepared a place for you. He's prepared a table for you. He's ready to serve you. I mean, it's just crazy. And He's went and He's died to pay for our sin. And this is just what a mystery. You couldn't have comprehended. You couldn't have made all of this up. It's just incredible. 2 Corinthians, but that wanting to be clothed in the future so that what is mortal may be swallowed up in life. He who has prepared for us this very thing is God, who has given us the Spirit as a guarantee. He's prepared for us a new body. I've got a new body prepared. I've got a place prepared. I've got a table prepared. He wants me to be there with Him and that's prepared. I mean, why stay here? Well, that's exactly right, right? Paul's like, my desire is to depart and be with Christ. That is far better. I mean, that should be your conclusion. That was Paul's conclusion. And he knows the Bible better than any of us. Revelation 21, verse 2, the last verse, and I saw the holy city, the new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. Can you hear all these verses about all that God has prepared, all that God is doing? He's doing it. I mean, other than us being prepared to give a hope and us walking in the works, He's prepared. The Lord has done these things for you, Christian. I mean, can't you say, yeah, my cup, it overflows. It's fully saturated. It's overflowing to the brim there no matter what's happening in my life. Can't you say, verse 6, only goodness and mercy have followed me. I mean, brethren, seriously, can you complain right now about the Lord's treatment of you? If you can, what is your complaint? What is it? I'll tell you this, you can't look at these truths and see all that He's prepared and say you've got a valid complaint. The Lord is so good. He's so good to us. All these preparations of this King and what He's done for us that we could partake of this. What a gracious host. There He is standing there just absolutely incredible. And He says, He prepares this table again in the presence of My enemies. I was thinking, what it could mean there in the presence of My enemies in an earthly sense, it could mean that David just had a victory. And after he had the victory, those enemies are there witnessing in the city all the celebration, all the joy, all this provision that God has had for Israel. And they're celebrating in view in the midst of that. Or it could be the idea like I mentioned of Stephen. He's having a feast in his soul even while he's getting stoned because he's beholding Christ at the right hand of the throne of God. But here, a third thing is to think of that for a moment. How could this apply in heaven? This is talking about a feast in any way that has a fulfillment like John Piper's is in heaven. How can you feast in heaven in the presence of your enemies? Does the Bible talk about that? Listen to Luke 16. Luke 16, people will say, well, this is a parable. What's interesting is, he brings up names of people. Often in the parables, names of people are not brought in. Listen to Luke 16. Even if you have your Bible, you can turn there real fast. I'm going to read a few verses. You can see with your own eyes. Luke 16, verse 22. The poor man died and was carried by the angels to Abraham's side. The rich man also died and was buried. And in Hades, being in torment, hear what he says here. He lifted up his eyes and saw Abraham far off. And he saw Lazarus at his side. And he called out, Father Abraham, have mercy on me and send Lazarus to dip the end of his finger in water and cool my tongue, for I am in anguish in this flame. But Abraham said, child, remember that you in your lifetime received your good things, and Lazarus in like manner bad things, but now he is comforted here. You are in anguish. And besides all of this, between us and you is a great chasm that has been fixed in order that those who would pass from here to you may not be able, and none may cross from there to us. There are many people who take this and they'll take Isaiah 66, 24, and they will build a scriptural doctrine, whether they're right or not, just something to consider, that there is a sense in which the damned in hell are, yes, seeing the Christian feasting there in paradise, in heaven. Their eyes are actually beholding that reality. And so if this is true, if this is even what this and Isaiah 66 in any way are pointing to, if those arguments are right, that could be a way you could look at v. 5, you prepare a table before Me in the presence of My enemies. I mean, imagine the anguish. Imagine the anguish. He feels it here. He even says, well, send someone back to my brothers and they'd believe. Even if a man was raised from the dead. He says they still aren't going to believe. Men need a miracle. They need an invasion. The power of God on their life. But imagine being David's enemies. And you're there looking at the table he's prepared. That the Lord's prepared for him. And you look at his cup and it's overflowing. It's fully saturated. And you look and the host is anointing his head with oil. And the very Savior with all the bleeding wounds is serving him. And you had that offered. And you rejected it. Everything is ready. All has been prepared. I'm not hungry. I still want to satisfy the appetite for sin in my life. Really? You might in a billion years from now be in the unquenchable fires in hell where the worm never dies. And if you take certain people's persuasions here, you're going to be witnessing those people in paradise worshiping the Lamb, feasting at that table. And you're going to see what you've missed out on. You're not going to be the person in poverty who's never seeing the reality of the riches of another world. It's going to be there ever before you, all the more increasing your anguish. Why can there be no tears in heaven? You'd think the Christian would weep. But we don't weep for those who are damned because it is God's justice being satisfied. What would this tell you? This person preparing this table about the Lord's relationship. It's a very special relationship. Christian, your relationship with Christ is very, very special. He has prepared so much for you. It's unbelievable. He offers you life. It's incredible. A perfect righteousness. This is not that which is to be despised. Luke 12.37, Blessed are those servants whom the Master finds awake when He comes. Truly I say to you, He will dress Himself for service and have them recline at the table. And who's going to serve them? The Lord. And He will come and serve them. You just can't get your mind around that. But you can get your mind around it. If He already died on the cross and bore the wrath of God for me, of course, the natural outcome would be He'd be willing even to serve me at a table. He didn't just die for us to then make us serve Him as some slaves. No, He died for us to make us sons. And think, the joys the Christian has in Christ and all that the person who's deceived, all that the apostate, all that the unbeliever is going to miss out on. It's just absolutely horrifying. James Patton, he put it this way, he said, Jesus the glorified sits at the head of the table and around and before Him in far-sweeping lines, the countless hosts of the redeemed. They receive portions of heavenly food from Christ's blessed hands. And then he said, I see the grim outlines of the slaves of hell gnashing their teeth in malicious envy and disappointed rage at the sight of the blessed feast which they cannot share. Brethren, you don't want to miss out on this feast. This ultimate feast. You know what's incredible? We can have a feast in the presence of our enemies. You know what that also means? It can't be taken from you. They didn't take Stephen's feasting by killing him. They actually ushered him in to a greater level of feasting there in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ. And again, we should be amazed. Paul is someone partaking of this and Paul was someone involved in killing Christians. And so we have the incredible mercy of being once enemies of God who've been made friends of the Lord and co-heirs and sons with the Lord Jesus Christ. Well, consider a moment, you anoint my head with oil. So we saw he prepares a table. We've thought about all that the Lord has prepared. We've thought about how He's even prepared this in the presence of my enemies and how that could be talked about in this life, the life to come. And then he mentions, you anoint my head with oil. I mean, there the table is. The Lord Jesus comes and anoints the head of His guest with oil. What's that doing? What's often the anointing of oil referring to when you even see it in the Old Testament? Who got rebuked for not anointing someone with oil on their head? Luke 7.46, He tells the disciples, you didn't anoint My head with olive oil, but she anointed My feet with fragrant oil, implying what should they have done when Christ is there? They should have anointed His head with oil. What is that doing if they went up to Christ and poured oil on His head? Or if Christ comes up to you and pours oil on the head? It's a consecration. It's setting you apart. There's a blessing, kind of like the oil falling upon David's head as he's being anointed king. You find this all over Leviticus 8. And He poured some of the anointing oil on Aaron's head and anointed him, why? To consecrate him. This isn't just David's getting oil on the head at this table there. All of us Christians are being anointed. What ultimately is the anointing that we even have? It's the Spirit of God. He's given us His Spirit. Again, it's just another picture of how set apart and consecrated you and I are as Christians and followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. All of these things, it's just pointing to something that's out of this world. It's that you can't even imagine. We should be the ones getting up and anointing His head. And what happens? He anoints our head. What? We should be the ones preparing a table for Him. What happens? He prepares it for us. He doesn't give the task to an angelic servant. He Himself condescends to this point to anoint our heads. Because the Son of Man, even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve and to give His life is a ransom for many. So there He is anointing your head. There He is. Your cup is overflowing. There He is. He's prepared all of this for you. It's absolutely astonishing. And the cup, you don't think there's a cup and it's overflowing and there's a bigger cup. The point is, you can't get to the end of it. You can find the biggest gauntlet in the world and fill that with whatever it is, and you can't measure the quantity of the goodness and the loving kindness of the Savior towards you, Christian. You just can't imagine it. What does Paul say in Philippians 4 and 9? And my God will supply every need of yours according to His what? His riches and glory. And where are those riches and glory found? In Christ Jesus. He's going to supply every need in this life and all the more in the life to come. And He's got His riches and glory, His storehouse right there. This isn't like Joseph. Joseph had a certain amount of grain and he was going to run out. He was only for a certain number of years of the famine. Christ isn't like that. He's never going to run out. He's never going to be empty. You're never going to go and not have anything to partake of His goodness. It's overflowing. We can continually drink by faith of Christ. Think of His unlimited power. His truth without error. His faithfulness that never fails. His justice that is impartial. His goodness that is universal. And His long-suffering that never grows weary. That's the one caring for you, Christian. What's your perspective of Christ? Is it this? Do you think about the age to come? Do you desire to depart and be with Him? But the Gospel feast, it's spread out right now before us. God's given us a royal table. There are blessings to be had by faith. He has prepared all of it. There are so many reasons by which you should be able to say, my cup, it just overflows. You could even just think of it that way. In the following week, someone mentions some glorious truth about Christ and you just say, yeah, my cup overflows. I mean, wow, that's just full to the brim. Hearing that thought about justification. Hearing that thought about what we just even heard in the first hour at the end about Christ praying for Peter that his faith would not fail. I mean, your cup just overflows. You've got to get a napkin to wipe it all up. There's just too much there to take in. Too much from Him. Yet we need to drink more of Him. Well, what if you're lost here and you say my cup is empty? It's utterly barren. Are you going to continue trying to drink from a cistern that can hold no water? Or are you going to throw that thing on the ground and by faith determine, I will partake and feast on the Lord Jesus Christ. I want everything that He has prepared. And I'm not going to get stuck on was it prepared for me or not? Am I a vessel of mercy or not? He calls me to come. I'm going to come to Him. How do I sit at the table? You behold the Lord Jesus by faith. It's not a physical table ultimately that you sit down at. And you know what? You say, well, my enemies of my sin before God, it just weighs on my conscience. Guess what? You sit down at His table, He'll pay for your sin, and you can eat that meal in the presence of the enemy of that legal debt because that debt is gone. Christ bears it in His own body on that tree to bring us to Him, to bring us to Himself. Just as Matthew 22 said, everything is ready. Everything is prepared. Christ's blood has been shed. That's what you need to be covered in. That's what you need to be washed in. The reception is awaiting you. Matthew 8, 11, I tell you, many will come from the east and the west, and they will recline at table with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. You hear that? He pictures a kingdom of heaven and reclining at a table. What a day that's going to be. You just can't wait to get there, especially all the trials in this life and the suffering and the unexpected things that happen. You feel it like Paul. This Lord, I want to go recline at that table. Some of you want to get home in a recliner and recline? That's a momentary rest. Revelation says there's a day you're going to rest from your labors. You're not getting up. It's a rest. Isaac and Jacob in heaven. But listen to this, the sons of the kingdom. Isn't that incredible? The Jews. The vast majority of Jews, they're thrown into outer darkness. And in that place, there's weeping and gnashing of teeth. You know, who is a Jew? Someone who had the oracles of God, they had the writings of God, they had all the truth. But the vast majority rejected the Messiah. Brethren, you don't want to be a modern-day Jew by being a child who grows up in this church and you hear all the truth, and yet you reject this Messiah. So brethren, I hope when we get to that day and what a day of rejoicing it will be when we sit down at that table and we rest from our labors and we can all the more appreciate all that the Lord has prepared for us. But the fact He's prepared all of this for you, right now it should cause you to be able to say with David, surely, goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life. And I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever. The Lord is not going to overlook one of you Christians. If you're His, if you're bought with His blood, He's not going to overlook you. And as you experience the certain ingredients of His love in your life as a Christian, you're going to more and more see how rich and kind His love for you is. You're going to more and more just taste some of the sweetness of His care for you. And you know what? We can't mark our calendars for when this great day of this feast is when we're going to join it. But we're going to. I mean, our Lord is a hospitable Lord Who's inviting us to come and sit down. And one application from all of this, if Christ is preparing a table before me in the presence of my enemies, you know what you and I should do? We should be preparing tables for our enemies and having them over to our house to show them the love of Christ and pray for them. They might come to know Christ. And you know what we should also feel? We should feel pity for not anointing His head. Because they didn't anoint His head. They missed it. They missed an opportunity to anoint the very Son of God's head with oil. How do I anoint His head with oil? You know how you can anoint His head with oil? You know how you can honor Him in this life? By having righteous conduct that is not hypocritical. You can live in a set-apart way that shows that you are not of this world. That you're from another world. And that Christ really is Lord. Luke 6.46, Jesus said, why do you call Me, Lord, Lord, and not do what I say? You know what? By faith, do what Christ says. Do the next right thing. Whatever that is, do it by faith, trusting Christ. Follow His voice. Follow the Good Shepherd. Take heed to His commands. Believe in Him. Trust Him. And brethren, you know, just in closing here, I hope you can say, even with all the church has been through, you can look and see the glorious provisions of the Savior and just by faith, trust, Lord, my cup, it overflows. If that's not your perspective, if you look and it's like half empty, there's hardly anything there, that will affect how you move on this year and in this week. But if you get caught up in something that looks negative, it looks like God is not for you, you just heard all those verses about all the Lord's prepared. And what does Paul conclude? If He did not spare His own Son but gave Him up for us all. That's what we saw in all those verses. The Son being sacrificed. Paul says how much more will He not also with the Son graciously do what? Give us all things. So be very optimistic. Don't be a pessimistic person. Look in optimism because our Great Shepherd is leading us, He's guiding us, and we've got a gracious host who's preparing a table. And you might not understand certain aspects of what's being put on the table in this life and certain things that are happening. Whatever. Believe the Lord. Trust Him. Don't lose heart. Because if you don't lose heart, one day you're going to see Him face to face. That's what Paul says to the Galatians. Amen. Let's pray. Father, Lord, we thank You so much for all that You've done. Lord, all that You've prepared. All that You've allowed us to be partakers in. Lord, all that You've revealed. He has revealed. Lord, You have revealed things to us. We know it wasn't us. Lord, the Gospel of Your Son. Lord, it wasn't us. Lord, show us more. Show us more of Your glory. Lord, help us to all the more be satisfied in You, to hunger and thirst after You. Lord, the fact that You would serve us, the fact that You would prepare a table, the fact that You'd anoint our heads with oil. Lord, we're the last people who deserve to have our heads anointed with oil. And for You to be the one to do that to us, Lord, what is this? Lord, I feel like even in sharing all this, Father, it does not hit me as it should. Lord, forgive my own dull heart. Lord, I pray You'd just enliven us with Your incredible love and care. Lord, what a joy to one day be forever with the Lord. And Lord, I know that You're praying that we would depart and be with You because You desire for us to be where You are. Lord, that's incredible. You're praying us to heaven. You're praying us to be with You. Lord, we're praying for others to be with You. Father, we're praying for our children to be with You. Lord, I just think so much of I'm ready to die, but Lord, the main burden, one of the main things that makes me want to stay here, Lord, is the church, these brethren, and Lord, my lost children. Lord, that they would follow You. They'd trust You. Lord, You know our burdens. You know our hearts. Lord, we're looking to You. And I pray, Father, I pray some here today would determine to follow Christ, to believe You, to partake of You, to feast in You. Lord, You say, You call people to come, and it says immediately, they follow. Lord, may someone here immediately follow You and never look back, never turn around, not be like Lot's wife, and look back and seek to save their life. Lord, have mercy. Lord, You have had mercy. Why do I pray have mercy? Lord, You've had mercy on us. I pray You have mercy on those who have yet to experience it. In Christ's name, Amen. ======================================================================== Video: https://sermonindex2.b-cdn.net/W4jbTfwiRCI.mp4 Source: https://sermonindex.net/speakers/james-jennings/my-cup-is-overflowing/ ========================================================================