Text: Psalm 23
Introduction
In verse 5 of our text David said, “My
cup runneth over.” If this could be declared by all Bible-believing
Christians we would soon have the revival that we pray for. Yet it ought not be
beyond our expectations, for the Lord Jesus Christ came so that His followers “might
have life, and that they might have it more abundantly” (John 10:10). No
wonder then that David could conclude Psalm 23 with the words, “Surely
goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life: and I will dwell in
the house of the LORD for ever” (:6). He knew what it meant to have an
superabundance of blessing in his life.
Jesus is all-sufficient
The Lord does not send us on a pilgrimage to some far-flung so-called
holy place to get the blessing. We will not find it by seeking out some
well-known preacher to lay hands on us. Instead He gives us Himself, and that is
all the blessing we need. “I am the
way, the truth, and the life: no man cometh unto the Father, but by me”
(John 14:6). If He is the only way to salvation, then it is certain that He is
the only way to a blessed life too, for everything God gives us is perfect,
complete and sufficient.
Is our heart full?
The woman of Samaria came to draw water from
Jacob’s well, yet it was not her bucket but her heart which was filled by
meeting Jesus. Her religion, tradition and lineage could not satisfy her
spiritual thirst, but a few words from Jesus did. “Jesus answered and said unto her, If thou knewest the gift of God,
and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of
him, and he would have given thee living water ... But whosoever drinketh of the
water that I shall give him shall never thirst; but the water that I shall give
him shall be in him a well of water springing up into everlasting life”
(John 4:10, 14). Her cup was running over from that day forward. Can we be more
abundantly blessed than drinking from the wells God has provided? “Therefore
with joy shall ye draw water out of the wells of salvation” (Isaiah 12:3).
Is our cup empty?
In other words, are we thirsty for all that the
Lord has provided for us in Christ? “If
any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink. He that believeth on me, as the
scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water” (John
7:37-38). Most believers are only experiencing a faint trickle rather than a
gushing stream of abundant life. Why is this?
The main reason why our cups are not running
over is because we do not trust in the Lord the way we should. At salvation we
were baptised into Christ by the Holy Spirit. From that moment God made it
possible for us to enjoy the constant filling the Holy Spirit gives. “Be
filled with the Spirit” (Ephesians 5:18) ... “For
as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God” (Romans
8:14). Instead of being guided by
Him we chose to live the Christian life under our own power, and as a result
found that life we thought we have soon ran dry. “For my people have
committed two evils; they have forsaken me the fountain of living waters, and
hewed them out cisterns, broken cisterns, that can hold no water”
(Jeremiah 2:13). Eternal life means that we ought to receive the “unfathomable riches of Christ” and “might be
filled with all the fulness of God” (Ephesians 3:8, 19). It all went wrong
the moment we forgot to trust in Christ. “That
Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith” (Ephesians 3:17).
What are we waiting for?
If we are dying of thirst in a
desert and someone provides an overflowing cup of water, we would be fools not
to quench that thirst. What holds us back? In truth it is only our knack of
setting limits on what God can do. God wants to do much more than we expect! “Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we ask or think,
according to the power that worketh in us, Unto him be glory in the church by
Christ Jesus throughout all ages, world without end” (Ephesians 3:20-21).
He wants us to say with joy, “My cup
runneth over!”
Conclusion
© 1/1/2009