“my cup runneth over. ” Psalm 23:5 KJV

I am here to testify that life is full! I keep a blessings list in my desk drawer. Specifically, I keep a list of blessings that come from every trial. That list is full and constantly growing.

As I walk this valley of the shadow of death I realize I have two choices. I can look at the death OR I can look at the life that is being squeezed out of the deathly shadows.

the devil is constantly whispering the death into my ear, telling me there is no light, only trouble. He tries so hard to drag my eyes away from the cup of the Lord’s blessing; But praises be! Greater is He that is in me. His voice draws me back to the cup so that I can see it is overflowing with the lemonade that the Holy Spirit has made out of life’s lemons!

Maybe you are struggling in a dark place, having trouble seeing the Lord’s overflowing blessing. Here are seven things that cause all our cups to overflow:

1. “And it came to pass.” These words are all over the Bible. All our testings are temporary. They cannot last.

2. “There is no temptation come upon you except what is common to man.” 1 Cor. 10:13 You are surrounded by people who understand the struggle and who can help you. Reach out and God will provide someone to support you!

3. “God is faithful and will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able to bear.” 1 Cor. 10:13 He has put a strength inside of you to bear the trial. It may not feel it but the strength is there. Your faith will not fail!

4. “He will with every temptation provide a way of escape.” 1 Cor. 10:13 Always God provides a distraction, a secret passage, a back door for you to escape by.

5. My tests increase my abilities. I am a more capable man today because I know how to walk in trials.

6. My tests increase my compassion. Judgment leaves the room when I know and understand the pain life can bring.

7. My tests increase my wisdom. I have come to a fuller understanding of myself, others, God, and God’s purposes through my trials!

What are some of the blessings that overflow your cup in the presence of your enemies?

     “Thou anointest my head with oil.” Psalm 23:5

     So today we finish talking about the anointing. The anointing:

Complicates

Assures

Requires and the anointing

Excites

     I want to tell you, there is nothing more exciting than living life under tha anointing. Christianity when lived in cooperation with the Holy Spirit’s plans is anything but boring! It has its complications(life under the anointing can get challenging). It has its assurances ( with the anointing I will succeed in the way God has ordained). It has its requirements (in order to walk in this anointing there are things I must do to cooperate with Holy Spirit). But all that leads to a life full of excitement!

As I write this I am preparing for a weekend prayer gathering where we will be believing for healing of bodies, marriages, and bank accounts. Now as I pray I am not just biting my nails hoping God will do something. I KNOW God is going to meet us! I can pray this way because God has anointed us to pray. Because of what we do lives will be saved. Bodies will be healed. Provision will be received. Laborers will be sent to the field!  What could possibly be more exciting than watching the world change supernaturally?

What has God done in your life through the anointing?

      “Thou anointest my head with oil.” Psalm 23:5

       In the last two days we have discussed that when God anoints a person for something, life gets complicated AND  full of assurance. Battles arise but so does victory because the anointing makes it so!

You might remember that we are using the acronym C.A.R.E.  to discuss how the Holy Spirit manifests anointing in a person’s life. When you are anointed, and if you believe and are born-again you are anointed, then life will get complicated; But you will also succeed in life through the anointing, if you follow the requirements of the anointing. You see the anointing requires  something of us.

This is where so many Christians fall off the road and end up swimming in a sea of half-believing misery. I have so often heard it preached that“There is no one so miserable as a half-hearted Christian.” It’s true! Many of us have “just enough of the truth to keep us out of Hell but not enough to make us happy or victorious on Earth.”

These statements paint the picture of Christians who have received the anointing but refuse to walk out the requirements of the anointing. I know as soon as I start talking about God requiring something of us a whole segment of the Christian population begins to wrankle, feeling I’ve just done away with grace. Listen, I’m not talking about eternal destinations here. I leave that with the Judge of all the Earth who penned John 3:16-18. I am however talking about our level of joy.

No one can deny that many Christians heading for eternal life live as though that’s more a punishment than a gift. So many of my brothers and sisters just seem stuck in a cycle of negativity they cannot break.  The cause of this is a life out of harmony with the anointing. Holy Ghost promises joy unspeakable and full of glory. Holy Ghost promises peace that passes understanding. Holy Ghost also promises that if we live in ways that quench or grieve Him we’ll have none of that (even though we retain our salvation).

I’m not a legalist friends but I will say that the degree to which we conform to the patterns of the Word or to the patterns of the World to that degree we will increase or decrease joy, victory, and success.

     “Thou anointest my head with oil.” Psalm 23:5

     It struck me as I finished writing yesterday that there may be those among us who are unfamiliar with the term anointing. The anointing, in short, is the touch of God on a person’s life that equips and empowers them for a certain work. In the Old Testament it was received when a prophet poured a specially mixed oil over the individual chosen by God for a certain work: Aaron was anointed by Moses as High priest. Saul and David were both anointed by Samuel as kings. Elisha was anointed as prophet by Elijah and so on.

We are explaining what the anointing looks like by using the acronymC.A.R.E..  Yesterday we explained that the anointing  complicates  life. Aaron, Saul and David all discovered this after they were anointed. I guess that makes the anointing sound bad, but really the anointing is a thing to be greatly desired. While it may complicate things, it also assures!

      Let me tell you something, when God calls you to something and anoints you for the work your success in that endeavor is assured! The truth is, if God is behind you in a work ( and that is what the anointing means) there is absolutely no possibility that you will fail. The world may stand against you. Satan himself may show up to nay-say your endeavors; But if God has ordained and anointed your work it will succeed and nothing can stop it.

In David’s day not everyone was anointed…but today in the New Testament EVERYONE WHO HAS ACCEPTED JESUS AS LORD AND SAVIOR IS ANOINTED!  

We know this is true because of the Scripture. You see, the oil used to anoint Aaron, Saul, and David was symbolic. It was not the oil that gave them power; It was the Holy Spirit whom the oil symbolized that empowered them. Once these men were anointed the Holy Spirit came on them to assure them of success as long as the men stayed faithful to their God.

Here’s where it gets exciting for us as New Testament Christians Paul the apostle writes, “And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession–to the praise of his glory.” Eph. 1:13, 14 NIV

     Hallelujah! Those of us who believe are anointed with oil of the Holy Spirit!

Christian arise and realize that if you follow Him into the things He has anointed you for then your success is assured. You may battle but you will not fail!

Tomorrow: the anointing requires!

     “thou anointest my head with oil; ” Psalm 23:5 KJV

     A good acronym for anointing is C.A.R.E.      

The truth is, the idea of biblical anointing is lost on most western Christians, even among those of us who practice anointing. Usually when I anoint a person at the altar I tip the bottle onto my finger, wet it and use my thumb or forefinger to paint a little oil cross on the forehead of the anointee. It’s nice. It’s sweet. It’s comforting. It’s so NOT the picture of biblical anointing! In the Old Testament (which perspective David was writing from) when a person was anointed it looked something like this:

“Dress Aaron in his priestly garments—the tunic, the robe worn with the ephod, the ephod itself, and the chestpiece. Then wrap the decorative sash of the ephod around him.  Place the turban on his head, and fasten the sacred medallion to the turban.  Then anoint him by pouring the anointing oil over his head. ” Ex. 29:5-7 NLT

Second please take note that Aaron was not wearing Fruit of the Loom, Boxer Joes, BVD’s, or a swim suit for this anointing. He was fully dressed in all his High Priestly regalia.

With this picture in mind we are led to the C  of our anointing acronym,C.A.R.E..  The anointing complicates things. It may seem a bummer way to kick off this part of the study but it has to be acknowledged that in a world fallen so deep into sin the anointing call of God though wonderful is messy and costly and complicated.

Aaron got anointed and went straight from the goo of the oil to the grumbling of the Israelites. Aaron got anointed;  Then while he ministered in the tabernacle, God killed two of the priest’s sons for their sin and commanded Aaron not to grieve. How’s that for complication? How did Aaron explain that one to his wife?

My experience is that most people are all hyped up about being anointed until they get anointed and life gets complicated. The price of anointing in this world is high. Sometimes it causes our valleys of shadow. Sometimes it creates enemies for us; But the pay off is far higher for those who get past the devastation of complication. Anointing does not make for smooth sailing but if you can get past the wind and the waves the journey is well worth it!

Maybe you have been anointed by God for a work and you have been thrown off kilter by complications the anointing has brought. Tell me about it. Tomorrow we will talk about why we truly crave the anointing even with its complications.

Tomorrow: the anointing assures!

    “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” Psalm 23:5 NIV

     Who is your enemy? I guess that’s not a question we Christians ask very often. I mean “Who is your neighbor?”…sure. “Who are the people I am called to minister to?”…maybe; But “Who is my enemy?”

Are we even allowed to have enemies? Are we permitted to view other people as enemies? I guess so, because someone is going to be in the group of people watching us chow down at the Shulchan!

The thing is we don’t choose our enemies. They choose us. As Christians we are counselled not to take revenge, strike back, or even feel hate in our heart towards anybody. That aside we are permitted to be realistic about people who have less than our best interests at heart.

An enemy in Psalm 23 is pictured as a person who harasses us or rises against us to hinder us from accomplishing our created purpose. I suppose that definition takes things out of the traditional “enemy” realm. I want to pose that sometimes it might be possible to even be friendly with our enemies. How many friends have you had who were “no good” for you? You know it’s the person who keeps you from fully pursuing Jesus but at the same time makes you deliriously happy.

I suppose some of those friendly enemies will be gathered around our banqueting tables to watch us feast, but forever kept from feasting with us….In light of that fact I find I cannot hate my enemies. Now more than ever I pity them and wish them to become real friends.

As you read who did you find yourself praying for?

     “Thou preparest a table…” Psalm 23:5

     I have always wondered a little bit about Psalm 23 and its shift in verse 5 from outdoors to indoors… from campsite to banqueting table… from the shepherd and his sheep to the king and his court. Then I consider who David was: the shepherd become king, the king become fugitive, the fugitive become king again and it all kind of makes sense. David’s life was an ebb and flow of battles and banquets, poverty and principality. He like me was in constant need of a Savior. God constantly met that need.

I don’t know if David wrote this Psalm early on in his life or looking back over the years of advance and retreat. If he wrote this while he was a shepherd then these words are heavy with prophetic power. If he wrote looking back over his long and checkered history then they are words pregnant with godly wisdom. Either way they are powerful.

David writes ”Thou preparest a table” . The verb is in the imperfect tense indicating incompletion of the action or an action that is continuous. It’s not “Once God prepared a table for me.”  Nor is it “Someday God will prepare a table for me.” It’s “God is continually preparing or setting a table for me”.

David understood that while God had blessed and while He was going to bless in the future that was only because He was constantly about the business of blessing in the here and now.

So it is today that God is in the midst of blessing you right now. I know it may not look like it, but where you stand will turn out for your blessing if you trust Him as your shepherd. For right now God is preparing a table for you. By the way it’s not a card table, or a coffee table. It’s not an end table or even a formica dining table. It is a shulchan, a king’s banquet table. Your situation right now is God setting you a shulchan. Can you see it? Maybe not but just wait the dining room doors haven’t opened yet. Trust Him! Hang on! You will see!