Psalm 23
Week 5 - You prepare a table before me;
you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.
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1THE LORD is my Shepherd, I shall not lack. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside restful waters.3He refreshes and restores my soul; He leads me in the paths of righteousness—[not for my earning it, but] for His name's sake. 4Yes, 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. 5You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. You anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Psalm 23:1-5
You prepare a table before me
The high mountain ranges of sheep country are called “mesas” this is the Spanish word for Table. They are called tablelands by a natural shepherd. Before the sheep reach these high tablelands, the shepherd goes before the sheep to prepare the land for the sheep’s arrival. He destroys any enemies of the sheep so the sheep can lay down and rest peacefully upon their arrival. The Shepherd does all the work to ensure that the enemies have been taken care of. These enemies include predators and poisonous plants.
In this same way, our Good Shepherd, Jesus has went before us and won our complete victory over our enemy by triumphing over him on the cross. (Colossians 2:15) He destroyed his ability to harm us. He has invited us to rest in His delivering power and in His unfailing love by sitting down at His table as His honored guest. You are His honored bride at the marriage banquet He has prepared for you
Revelation 19:7-9 7Let us rejoice and shout for joy [exulting and triumphant]! Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb has come, and His bride has prepared herself. 8She has been permitted to dress in fine (radiant) linen, dazzling and white--for the fine linen is (signifies, represents) the righteousness of the saints. 9Then [the angel] said to me, Write this down: Blessed (happy, to be envied) are those who are summoned (invited, called) to the marriage supper of the Lamb.
Song of Solomon 2:4 4 He escorts me to the banquet hall; it’s obvious how much he loves me. NLT
Song of Songs 2:4 “He brought me to the banquet room, and his banner over me is love. NCV
Jesus is Jehovah Nissi: The Lord is my banner: The One who protects us and has given us the victory. The battle belongs to the Lord. He is our conquering King. We celebrate at his table.A banner signifies ultimate deliverance and victory in the presence of our enemies.Jehovah Nissi is your banner, you protector, your rescuer, your deliverer, your shield, and your Savior.
When you face the lies of the enemy or any negative discouraging circumstance, you can face them with confidence because the Lord has already prepared overwhelming victory for you in Christ. ”
Romans 8:31, 37 says, “If God is for us who can be against us! We are more than conquerors and gain surpassing victory through Him who loved us.” AMP
In the Presence of my enemies
Ephesians 6:12: 12 For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places. NLT
The enemy wants to destroy and devour God’s people with his lies: John 10:10: I Peter 5:7-10; John 8:44; but he is a defeated enemy!
I John 3:8: [But] he who commits sin [who practices evildoing] is of the devil [takes his character from the evil one], for the devil has sinned (violated the divine law) from the beginning. The reason the Son of God was made manifest was to undo (destroy, loosen, and dissolve) the works the devil.
Sin no longer has dominion over us (Romans 6:14). Jesus redeemed you from the effects of sin and purchased your complete victory!
Psalm 112:6-10 (NLT) 6 Such people will not be overcome by evil. Those who are righteous will be long remembered. 7 They do not fear bad news; they confidently trust the Lord to care for them.
8 They are confident and fearless and can face their foes triumphantly. 9 They share freely and give generously to those in need. Their good deeds will be remembered forever. They will have influence and honor. 10 The wicked will see this and be infuriated. They will grind their teeth in anger; they will slink away, their hopes thwarted.
What the enemy meant to harm you, God turns around for your ultimate good: Romans 8:28
You anoint my head with oil
In the summer time warble flies, black flies, heel flies, deer flies, and nose flies torment the sheep by flying around their head. Nose flies lay their eggs on the sheep’s nose and the larvae goes up the nose and burrows into the sheep’s head and produces intense irritation to the sheep. They will deliberately beat their heads against trees, rocks, posts, and bushes to try and get relief. In extreme cases the sheep may even kill itself in a frenzied effort to gain relief. They will busy around from place to place trying to elude the flies and often drop from exhaustion.
It is interesting to note that the name given to Satan: Beelzebub means “the lord of the flies.”
To relieve them of these annoyances and frustrations the shepherd will use linseed oil smeared all over the sheep’s nose and head as a protection against the flies. What an incredible transformation this makes among the sheep. Once the oil is applied there is an immediate change in behavior. Gone is the frustration, irritability, and restlessness and the sheep is able to feed quietly again and lie down to rest.
Just like the natural sheep the lord of the flies will tempt us with his lies. Analyzing, confusion, doubt, anger, frustration, irritation, worry, fear, and despair are the same symptoms we experience when our mind is being bombarded with the lies of the enemy. The only relief is found in coming to the good Shepherd to allow Him to anoint your head with the oil of His Spirit.
But sometimes we resist this because we want to handle things on our own so just like the natural sheep, we beat our heads against the tree until we become exhausted. We aren’t quite done living in our own strength and by our own power. We aren’t quite done questioning God’s love, goodness and faithfulness to us. We’re not quite ready to let go of our own way and opinions. (Isaiah 30:15-18) (Jeremiah 15:17-21). This brings great pain into our souls and minds.
But when we look to Jesus to anoint our heads with the oil, He applies the ointment of His gracious Spirit to our minds and sets us free from the lies of the devil.
II Corinthians 1:12 the grace of God (the unmerited favor and merciful kindness by which God, exerting His holy influence upon souls, turns them to Christ, and keeps, strengthens, and increases them in Christian virtues).
This is a continuous application the shepherd has to put on the sheep and our good shepherd continuously cleanses our minds and emotions with the oil of His gracious Holy Spirit when we ask. Isaiah 61:3
Luke 11:13 how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and continue to ask Him! AMP
James 4:2,6: “you do not have because you do not ask. He gives us more and more grace (power of the Holy Spirit to meet this evil tendency and all others fully…he gives grace continually to those who are humble enough to receive it.”
All of a sudden our perception changes the mind of Christ is manifested in our thinking and we begin to think, look, and act like Jesus. The Holy Spirit alone can give us the attitude of Christ. He alone gives us the ability to react to a negative circumstance with a trusting peaceful confidence. When circumstances begin to bug us, it is possible to find peace. It is the power of the Holy Spirit upon my mind, will, and emotions that produces the fruit of the Spirit in my life (Galatians 5:22,23)
Romans 12:2: Don’t copy the behavior and customs of this world, but let God transform you into a new person by changing the way you think. Then you will learn to know God’s will for you, which is good and pleasing and perfect.
I Corinthians 2:16: “But we have the mind of Christ and do hold the thoughts, feelings, and purposes of His heart.”
Just as one asks Christ to come into their life to assure the salvation of their spirit. One invites the Holy Spirit to come into the conscious and subconscious mind to monitor ones thought life to assure the salvation of the mind. We believe and accept with thanksgiving His Holy influence upon our mind.
My cup overflows: represents the manifestation of God’s abundance in your life.
Ephesians 3:20: Now to Him Who, by (in consequence of) the [action of His] power that is at work within us, is able to [carry out His purpose and] do superabundantly, far over and above all that we [dare] ask or think [infinitely beyond our highest prayers, desires, thoughts, hopes, or dreams]
John 10:10 Jesus said, “I came that you might have and enjoy life and have it in abundance-to the full-till it overflows.”
Psalm 65:11-13: You crown the year with a bountiful harvest; even the hard pathways overflow with abundance. 12 The grasslands of the wilderness become a lush pasture, and the hillsides blossom with joy. 13 The meadows are clothed with flocks of sheep, and the valleys are carpeted with grain. They all shout and sing for joy!
We experience the abundance that Jesus has provided. He emptied His cup so that ours could overflow. Your cup isn’t half empty or half full. It is overflowing with abundance in Jesus!
He experienced lack so we would experience abundance.
He took our sadness so our cups would overflow with joy
He was chastised so we would have overflowing peace and confidence
He took our sickness so would experience divine health
He was condemned so we would live free from guilt and shame an live in His righteousness in Christ
He took the curse of our sin so we could receive the abundance of God’s promises.
Your cup isn’t half empty or half full, it is overflowing with abundance in Jesus!
You become a minister of grace sharing the goodness and faithfulness and love of your Savior. You can’t help spill it over on everyone you meet because your heart overflows with thanksgiving as you have experienced the abundance of God’s promises in your life.