SundayApril 19, 2015 Phone: 570.829.5216
Pastor David Miklas e-mail:
Message: Psalm 23 - # 15 Text: Psalm 23:1-6
In the Presence of My Enemies
INTRODUCTION: Again this morning would you notice these incredible words found in Psalm 23:1-4
“The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. (2) He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: he leadeth me beside the still waters. (3) He restoreth my soul: he leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for his name's sake. (4) Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me. (5) Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.” Someone has said that the fifth verse of Psalm 23 is the fifth string on a harp that plays beautiful music.
The Lord who is our SHEPHERD, and we who are His SHEEP come together in verse 5 around one thing that draws us, and that is NEED.Here, it is our need for protection, provision and pleasure.
We like to think of ourselves as independent, self-sufficient, care-for-ourselves sort of people. But at times God puts us where we have to reach out to the hand of the shepherd. He has promised to prepare for us, if we would just recognize He is there and that we need Him.
Most times we think needsareNEGATIVE. But I believe needs for the Christian are a POSITIVE thing. Because needs are the vacuums through which God can flow. When we don’t have needs, we tend not torecognize the blessings of God in our lives.
So in verse 5 we have the SHEPHERD and the SHEEP converging at the point of a NEED. The key word here is “table.” This is not dealing with a kitchen table as such. Rather it refers to tablelands or highlands. In the Spanish language it would refer to a “mesa.” Here we need to focus on three things about this “table.”.
FIRST: It is aTABLE of PROTECTION: I would suggest to you in the context of this scripture, we have a record of the Good Shepherd preparing for His sheep a table of protection.
In our studies of Psalm 23 we have learned that sheep are not responsible enough to find their own food; it is up to the shepherd to locate the good grazing grounds. Before leading a flock to feeding grounds, a shepherd has to check out the area to determine where camps can be established. The shepherd does his best to determine every difficulty the sheep might encounter. Such as:
Poisonous plants taking the lives of the little lambs;
Polluted water destroying their health and bringing about their death; and
Wild creatures ravaging them.
David, the little shepherd boy who eventually turned king, understood this as we read in I Samuel 17:34-36 where he makes reference to encountering a lion and bear.
“And David said unto Saul, Thy servant kept his father's sheep, and there came a lion, and a bear, and took a lamb out of the flock: (35) And I went out after him, and smote him, and delivered it out of his mouth: and when he arose against me, I caught him by his beard, and smote him, and slew him. (36) Thy servant slew both the lion and the bear: and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be as one of them, seeing he hath defied the armies of the living God. (37) David said moreover, The LORD that delivered me out of the paw of the lion, and out of the paw of the bear, he will deliver me out of the hand of this Philistine. And Saul said unto David, Go, and the LORD be with thee.”
Thus, as God gave David the words of Psalm 23 to pen, when he came to this expression, "Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies," no doubt his mind flashed with potential enemies.
In the spiritual realm, what we are talking about here is that in the midst of this world where we are surrounded by our enemies – God is providing PROTECTION for us as our Shepherd.
I am told there was a day when the hymn writer Charles Wesley stood looking out of his window watching a fierce storm outside. There he watched a young robin fly past right into the nest and into the protection of the mother robin where it found safety in the midst of the storm. Wesley was so impressed that he penned these words in a hymn we sing, “Jesus lover of my soul, let me to thy bosom fly.”
I wonder how many of us as Christians have recognized the TABLE OF PROTECTION that our Shepherd, the Lord Jesus Christ, has prepared for us?Right in the midst of our enemies who try to injure us, we find His protecting hand.
Once again, did you take note that this TABLE is prepared for us in the very presence of our enemies?
In Matthew 10:16-20 Jesus said to His disciples, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves. (17) But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to the councils, and they will scourge you in their synagogues; (18) And ye shall be brought before governors and kings for my sake, for a testimony against them and the Gentiles. (19) But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. (20) For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Did you notice verse 16, “Behold, I send you forth as sheep in the midst of wolves: be ye therefore wise as serpents, and harmless as doves.
In Jesus prayer to the Father in John 17:14-17 He said,“I have given them thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, even as I am not of the world. (15) I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou shouldest keep them from the evil.”
Listen carefully to this statement. As believers we will live inthe world, but we ought not to be of the world. Every day we wake up in this world where we find ourselves in the presence of three enemies.
Enemy number 1 is the Atmosphere of the Worldaround us, which is apart from God, among all the ungodly influences of sin.
Enemy number 2 isOur Old Sinful Human Flesh that still tries to dominate our soul by making bad choices and causing us all kinds of grief.
Enemy number 3 is the Devil or one of his demon henchmen seeking to devour us and controlling us to think evil, do evil and see evil.
Now here is the problem. We find ourselves wanting to partake of the TABLE without the presence of the enemies. But notice that our God leaves us in the presence of our enemies!Why?
For one this works for our good because in the presence of our enemies, we recognize our need for the Lord.
For another this works for our good because what we are doing is God's work in the presence of our enemies, telling them about the Lord.
Yet we want all the enemies removed. We want smooth sailing. But remember:
Moses at the burning bush in the wilderness wanted God to remove Pharaoh so he could go back to Egypt. No, God said, "I am not going to remove Pharaoh, but I will be standing with you in the presence of your enemy."
In Babylon with Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego did God remove all the peril? No, God said, "You're going into a fiery furnace, but I am going there with you."
Consider Daniel in the den of lions in Daniel chapter 6. God said to him, "Daniel, they are going to cast you into a den of lions, but I am going with you."
In life don’t we find ourselves wanting smooth sailing, easy living, no bends in the road, no rough places?
What do we expect to get from taking the road of least resistance, seeking a way where there is no conflict, flinching and dodging everything that even resembles the reproach of the cross?
What kind of life do we hope to have?
What we get is a weak, anemic life that does not call on an Almighty God to provide the TABLE OF PROTECTION that He is able to provide. We come to the table because of the enemies. In I John 4:4, the Bible says, "Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them: because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world."
Somewhere a little lamb cries out, "There is a lion, and there is a bear out there." And someone among the flock says, "Don't worry about the lion and the bear. Keep your eyes on the shepherd. He'll take care of the lion and the bear."
One might say to the other, "I don't know if I am supposed to eat this." A wise sheep would say, "Don't worry about it. The shepherd would not have brought us to this table to feed us anything that was not good for us."
I urge you to stay close to Him. Lean on Him. You know if we could take our lives and divide them into periods of time, like marks on a ruler, we could see segments of our lives when we really trusted God and God was real.
Reading I John 4:4 the Holy Spirit reminds me that we are not working for victory, but we are working from victory. We are working from the victory Christ has already won on Calvary through His death, burial, and resurrection. He has proven that He is victorious.
Nothing we are facing should destroy us "because greater is he that is in you, than he that is in the world." We are working from His victory. In Romans 8:37, God's Word says, "We are more than conquerors through Him that loved us."
On that mesa of life God has spread a TABLE OF PROTECTION for us. You may say, "What about our enemies?" Do not worry about the enemies. Just keep looking at the Shepherd because He will prepare a table before us in the presence of our enemies. Remember, “We are in the world, but not of the world.”God delights to prove Himself in the presence of our enemies. I wonder, do you really believe that?
By faith, claim what God has provided for us. Do not count the foes; do not count the enemies. In the presence of our enemies, God has prepared a TABLE of PROTECTION.
SECOND: There is the TABLE of PROVISION: Now obviously the first thought here is that God has prepared for us a beautiful, scrumptious, and fulfilling banquet, and He has. God's Word, the Bible, is that "table" that He has prepared for us in this life. It is our strength, our guidance, our sustenance, and our light. But really is that true in your life?
Some years ago a reader wrote a letter to the editor as follows:
Dear Sir, I notice that ministers seem to set a great deal of importance on their sermons and spend a great deal of time in preparing them. I have been attending services quite regularly for the past thirty years and during that time, if I estimate correctly; I have listened to no less than three thousand sermons. But, to my consternation, I discover I cannot remember a single one of them. I wonder if a minister's time might be more profitably spent on something else. Sincerely,
After some weeks of debate over the issue someone wrote a letter that ended the debate:
My Dear Sir: I have been married for thirty years. During that time I have eaten 32,850 meals - mostly of my wife's cooking. Suddenly I have discovered that I cannot remember the menu of a single meal. And yet, I received nourishment from every one of them. I have the distinct impression that without them I would have starved to death long ago. Sincerely,
Reading the written Word points to the Living Word and says to us, "Go to Jesus!" If we do not go to Jesus to whom the Word points, we miss the whole purpose of Bible reading. We love the Bible only because we love the Shepherd of whom it speaks. The Word of God leads us closer to the Saviour.
We must be peopleof the Bible if we are to grow in our relationship with the Shepherd.
Jesus said in John 5:39, "Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal life: and they are they which testify of me."
In Jeremiah 15:16 we read, "Thy words were found, and I did eat them; and thy word was unto me the joy and rejoicing of mine heart: for I am called by thy name, O LORD God of hosts."
There is no single event in our lives that catches God by surprise.Let me repeat that.There is no single event in our lives that catches God by surprise. He sees everything, and He is ready, willing, and able to give the resources necessary for our advancement and growth.
The Good Shepherd has prepared this banquet table that has many, many, many blessings of life. Now listen to me, have you ever tried to explain to someone who doesn’t know the Lord, all the blessings you have in Jesus Christ? For example just to name a few:
The blessing of hope beyond the grave
The blessing of a godly life
The blessing of a wonderful wife or husband and family
The blessing that in the midst of all the turmoil of life. there is peace in the sou.
The blessing of a church with wonderful Christian friends in the family of God
The blessing of the answers to prayer and how God has provided for you
In my experience they just look at you and wonder from what planet you came.
They can’t comprehend any of it.
They don’t understand what God has done in preparing a wonderful banquet for us as Christians right in the midst of this wicked culture with the enemies of life all around us. They don’t understand it; they think we are losing out.
However as someone said, can you imagine giving up the banquet hall of God’s blessing for the pig pens of this world?
The world thinks they are having more fun than we are. The world thinks they are having more pleasure than we are. But let me remind you – they are the enemies in the world:
They are going to a place of darkness and fear and nothingness.
They are slaves to bonds of sin.
They are chained to the posts and pillars of this world.
They are looking on while you and I are enjoying the provisions of the great banquet table God has spread out for us.
I just don’t think that we appreciate that enough. I think that passes us by so quickly, as we have become so accustomed to our Christian life and perhaps in some cases our church life. Listen, you have everything in the world going for you. By that I don’t mean you do not have problems or trials or negatives in your life. We all have those.
But I sometimes really wonder – Do you who are in Christ; Do you who have the hope of heaven in your soul, really appreciate what you have in Christ? Really, do you?
Again, Psalm 23:5 reads, “Thou preparest a table before me…”We have this illustrated for us in the Word of God:
Remember where God in the story of Elijah multiplied the oil and the meal for the widow to provide just enough for her needs.
Remember how God sent bread from heaven and actually fed the children of Israel with angel food called mama as they walked through the wilderness for 40 years. Certainly He is a God who provides.
Remember in John chapter 6 where our Lord took 2 fishes and 5 loaves and fed the 1000’s and still had plenty left over.
Remember in Matthew 6:25-33 Jesus said,
“Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink; nor yet for your body, what ye shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? (26) Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they? (27) Which of you by taking thought can add one cubit unto his stature? (28) And why take ye thought for raiment? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow; they toil not, neither do they spin: (29) And yet I say unto you, That even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. (30) Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? (31) Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (32) (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. (33) But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you.”
I think that we need to be reminded that the Lord who spreads the table is the Lord who knows what our needs are, and He is still able to provide for us – that’s the Shepherd’s job. Our job as sheep is to just TRUST Him!
As I close out this point let me remind you of Philippians 4:19 where we read, “But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.” When the Shepherd spreads the table, He spreads not only aTABLE OF PROTECTION but also a TABLE OF PROVISION.