P23 You Prepare a Table before Me 06/14/15 Introduction: Mission Venice: Our Youth Band led worship each day Went out and served the community: - Center of Hope, Farms in the area, Picked up trash around Venice - Landscaped Venice Airport - Ran sports camps for elementary age kids - Went to Retirement Homes - Helped organize rooms at Pregnancy Solutions Last day: Dodge ball Tournament Rules: - Played on BB court - 6 Balls/6 Players - If you get hit on any part of your body you re out (go to sideline) - If the ball hits the floor first, or bounces at all off anything it is dead - You can block a throw from an opponent with a dodge ball in your hands. - If you catch a ball in the air the person who threw it is out and if one of your teammates has been knocked out they are back in play. - The first team to knock all the opponents out wins or the team w/the most players left after the time expires is the winning team.
These guys were jumping, diving (skin rubs) & running all over the place. After one round they came over and they had: red marks, welts, skinned up and had bruises starting. Something that was created to be enjoyable sure seemed to be pretty painful. The more I began to think about that that more it seemed to me that life can be a lot like dodge ball. What do you mean, Steve? - Conversation w/co-worker, boss, acquaintance or even a friend. (welts) - Hear what someone said about you. (welts) Skinned up because: - The boss doesn t notice our hard work. - We don t get the promotion, or the job or the project. - Don t make the team, we don t get the part or we get rejected by our school of choice. We get bruised because someone doesn t notice our haircut or our aching heart. Maybe it s a bruise from a friendship that has drifted apart. It can be a personality conflict, a head butting w/someone at work, school, or even in our family that causes bruising and pain. Unfortunately there are times when we feel like we got hit in the face and bloodied, but in actuality it really hits us right in the gut. - I don t love you
- I want out - There s somebody else - You re fired - I hate you Where do you go to find comfort when you are bruised, battered, skinned up and even bloodied by the dodge balls of life? What do you do when you are aching, hurt and wounded? Options: Bottom of a bottle, Pills, retreat, run or hide. We can put up walls, bury it and we can bottle it up inside. Where do you go to find comfort when you are bruised, battered, skinned up and even bloodied by the dodge balls of life? Is there any lasting comfort to be found when you are aching, hurt and wounded? That s probably a similar question that King David was asking when we find him in the passage of scripture we re going to look at today. Biblical Scholars and experts agree that due to the language of this Psalm that David was in a rough spot when he wrote it. But David had been in rough spots before. Years earlier King Saul had tried to kill him multiple times and chased him across the desert for a decade. He lost his best friend, Jonathan, in battle. This time it seems different. This time it s may be personal. Many scholars believe that David wrote this Psalm when he was running for his life from his son, Absalom who was trying to take away David s throne.
And as this passage unfolds we will see that not only is God our good Shepherd, but that is also a gracious and engaging host. Psalm 23:1-4 (ESV) The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 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. 4 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. Psalm 23:5 (ESV) You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Comfort is found in the care of the Shepherd. Psalm 23:5a You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies. David s mind seems to be on the high country with the sheep. As a shepherd he would guide his flock through the valley to the hill country for greener grass during the summer months. Those high plateaus of sheep ranges are always referred to as mesas, the Spanish word for tables, or as the shepherds called them tablelands. Pictures of Mesas. A good shepherd would prepare the tableland for the sheep. Early in the season before all the snow had melted he would make several preliminary survey trips into the rough, wild country. Preparing a tableland for the sheep included: - Salt & minerals
- Look for poisonous weeds and get rid of them - Keep an eye out for predators such as wolves, coyotes, cougars and bears and look for any sign of them. - Look for holes that would be the home of the brown adder, a snake that nipped at the nose of the sheep. - Found places where he could set up a home camp and often built a makeshift pen to protect the sheep. Picture: Sheep pens The shepherd, in a very real sense, prepared the table. This is where the picture changes. David uses the metaphor of the host to show the depth and intimacy of his relationship with God. Rules of hospitality in the East: a man who is hunted by enemies needs only to enter or even touch the tent of him with whom he seeks refuge in order to be safe and to enjoy gracious hospitality. His enemies may stand outside the tent door, but they can do no more. God had prepared a table for David. Even though he was hurt, bruised and skinned up and his enemies surrounded him God was providing for needs. He was providing comfort. Crafty ones are on the rim rock watching every movement the sheep make, hoping for a chance to make a swift, sneaking attack that will stampede the sheep.
Hebrews 4:15 (NIV) For we do not have a high priest who is unable to empathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet he did not sin. Jesus our great Shepherd: He has gone before us in every situation we might encounter; pain, hurt, betrayal, disappointments, etc. He was tempted in everything just as we are. He understands us, he identifies with us. He has a care and compassion for us beyond our ability to grasp. In those times when we are battered, skinned up and even bloodied by the dodge balls of life; when we are aching, hurt and wounded he prepares a table for us and provides us comfort. Psalm 23:5b you anoint my head with oil. Three reasons: Repel insects, prevent conflicts and to heal wounds. When flies appear the sheep panic. They run and hide. They toss their heads up and down for hours. They don t sleep. They stop milking and lambs stop growing. For this reason the shepherd anoints the sheep. It brings immediate comfort and peace to the sheep. During mating season the shepherd rubs oil on the heads of the rams. When they fight and head butt it can help prevent serious injury.
Most of the wounds the shepherds puts oil on are a result of thorns, rocks cutting or a sheep who rubs it s head to hard against a tree. Picture: Anoint with oil In the East a host would take oil and rub it on the weary traveler. It was a means of refreshment and comfort. As a host God takes oil and rubs it on us to refresh us and provide comfort for us. Psalm 147:3 (NLT) He heals the brokenhearted and bandages their wounds. Psalm 23:5c my cup overflows. Hosts in the ancient East used a cup to send a message to a guest. As long as the cup was kept full, the guest knew he was welcome. But when the cup sat empty, the host was hinting that it was time to go. But when the host really enjoyed the company of the person, he filled the cup to overflowing. He didn t stop when it was full but poured till it overflowed. God as the host had prepared a table for David and provided him comfort. He had anointed his head with oil to refresh him and now he was inviting him to enjoy his presence. Even in his pain, with his enemies surrounding him, David was enjoying an overflowing of God s Spirit. Rest with confidence in His presence. Hebrews 4:16 (NIV) Let us then approach God s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.
Come to Him. Matthew 11:28 (NLT) Then Jesus said, Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. David would trust his wounds to no other than God himself. You anoint my head with oil. Submit to him. God may not always do what we want but he will always do what is right. In order to have oil put on them the sheep had to cooperate. The sheep had to come to the shepherd and submit to having the oil put on their head. We have to do the same with God. Trust in him. The sheep don t understand why the oil keeps the bugs and flies away. They don t understand how the oil heals their wounds. All the sheep realize is that something good happens in the presence of the shepherd. Psalm 91:2 (NLT) This I declare about the LORD: He alone is my refuge, my place of safety; he is my God, and I trust him.