Sermon
A Table In My Enemy's Presence
September 29, 2002
5:00 PM
Pastor Donald Sheley

The Lord is my Shepherd; I shall not want. He makes me to lie down in green pastures; He leads me beside the still waters. He restoreth my soul; He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name's sake.
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.
Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies; Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runeth over. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of life; and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

Let's follow our notes quite closely this evening. We have now come to that closing message of this portion of God's Word, and the phrase we are now studying is: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

This morning in our study, we noted the shepherd moving his flock to the high country. The purpose, of course, was for better pasturage because the low lands had dried up. The flock stayed there until the winter weather started settling in, and then of course, the shepherd then prepared to make his way down, which we'll study in just a moment. But we noted that getting up to the plateau, that it was made possible by going through the ravines and the crevices in the mountainsides. And oftentimes, this journey was very, very dangerous and we noted that over the years the shepherds had made specific trails through these ravines and these gulches, and that was known to the shepherd as he recorded it for us this morning: Yea, though I walk through the valley of dense darkness. Because we noted that some of those ravines were so deep that the sun didn't even shine to the bottom of those ravines.

There was something that took place that was very, very beautiful. And we've had the joy of seeing the Psalms through the eyes of a shepherd, because many of you now have the textbook that I've used for the series entitled: A Shepherd Looks At The 23rd Psalm. The writer is Phillip Keller.

He tells us that before the shepherd moves his flock on to one of the high plateau pasture lands, that he will make an expedition or two to prepare the tableland for them. He takes along a supply of salt and minerals to be distributed over the range at strategic spots for the benefit of the sheep during the summer. The intelligent, careful shepherd will also decide well ahead of time where his camps will be located so the sheep will have the best bed grounds. He goes over the range carefully to determine how vigorous the grass and upland vegetation is. At this time he decides whether some glades or basins can be used only lightly, whereas other slopes and meadows may be grazed more heavily.

One of the reasons for preceding his flock is he will check to see if there are poisonous weeds appearing, and if so, he will plan his grazing program to avoid them, or take drastic steps to eradicate them. All of this sort of thing was in the back of David's mind as he penned these lines. I can picture him walking slowly over the summer range with his flock. His eagle eye is sharp for any signs of poisonous weeds which he would pluck before his sheep got to them.

Dr. Keller draws a parallel and he says that the parallel is like sheep, and especially lambs, we somehow feel that we have to try everything that comes our way. We have to taste this thing and that, sampling everything just to see what it is like. And we may know that some things are deadly. They can do us no good. To forestall our getting into grief of this sort, we need to remember our Master has been there ahead of us coping with every situation which would otherwise undo us. Our great Good Shepherd is going ahead of us in every situation, anticipating what danger we may encounter, and praying for us that in it we might not succumb.

Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has gone through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to the faith we profess. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are--yet without sin. Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence; so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.

Thus, the parallel of the shepherd going before and overlooking all the pasture lands to make sure the weeds are gone, and anything that could hurt his sheep, I'm suggesting that our wonderful Shepherd has done the same for us.

Isaiah says that valley shall be raised up; every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level; the rugged places a plain. And again in Isaiah, I will go before you and will level the mountains; I will break down the gates of bronze and cut through bars of iron. So I can say with confidence; The Lord is my helper; I will not be afraid. The idea of the shepherd preceding, preparing, watching over, caring, and then guiding us from the pitfalls of life is the thought that is in this particular phrase.

In the high tablelands of summer pasture there are many predators. There are wolves, cougars and bears. If these raid or molest the sheep, the shepherd will have to hunt them or go to great pains to trap them so that his flock can rest. Often what actually happens is that these crafty predators are up 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.

Remember, we learned that sheep are very susceptible to predators, and they are animals with great fear. If even a jackrabbit jumps out it will disturb them and they will stampede the flock. And so as a result, you'll watch these predators, and the shepherd is attentive to the possibility that one of those animals will just quickly jump in his flock, create fear, and the flock will separate; then one or the other of the flock is bound to fall easy prey to the attacker's fierce teeth and claws.

You possibly watched with me some of the wonderful footage that appears as the result of the National Geographic, and you'll watch these animals as they survey a flock. Then that they'll try to do this get them on a stampede and try to cut one of them off and separate at least one of them from the flock. The herds go on and us a result, that one that has been separated is the one that becomes the target for the kill. That's what happens in the uplands.

The stampede will cause the sheep to flee in many directions; and it is the lone sheep that will be the target of the predator. For the shepherd; the predators are the enemies. It is in the presence of these enemies; the shepherd prepares and watches over his flock as they flourish on the lush vegetation of the tablelands.

So there we have the picture. It's the picture of a shepherd caring for his flock. He's got them to the tablelands and he knows that there are going to be weeds and other things that can be dangers to his flock. He clears off the table and in that tableland area, knowing that there are predators all the way around, he prepares the table in the presence of their enemies. An interesting picture, isn't it?

For the Christian, our enemy is the destroyer of souls. Our Good Shepherd said: "Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell." And Paul identifies our enemy: Finally, be strong in the Lord and in His mighty power. Put on the full armour of God so that you can take your stand against the devil's schemes. For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.

No, Paul writes to the Romans, in all these things we are more than conquerors through Him who loved us. For I am convinced that neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord.

David, thinking of these enemies, says, Through You we push back our enemies; through Your name we trample our foes. And our Good Shepherd said: I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the powers of the enemy; nothing will harm you. For everyone born of God overcomes the world. This is the victory that has overcome the world, even our faith. And again, the words of Jesus, I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart I have overcome the world.

And I note here on the bottom of page 2 that it's rather fashionable in some contemporary Christian circles to discredit Satan. Now that always has amazed me. Of recent months I picked up a book by Gallup, and of course, annually they do a religious poll across the nation. The result of that poll it's amazing to find out what people believe. But a very high percentage of Christians do not believe in Satan. That amazed me. And that's why there are so many jokes about him.

Some deny that such a being as Satan even exists. Yet we see evidence of his merciless attacks and carnage in a society where we, men and women, fall prey to his cunning tactics almost every day. We see lives torn and marred and seared by his assaults though we may never see him personally. Now this is what Peter says, Be self-controlled and alert. Your enemy the devil prowls around like a roaring lion seeking someone to devour. Resist him, standing firm in the faith, because you know that your brothers throughout the world are undergoing the same kind of sufferings.

And the next verse says, And the God of all grace who called you to His eternal glory in Christ, after you have suffered a little while, will Himself restore you and make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power for ever and ever. Amen. So in the spiritual sense we have the enemy of Satan who is ever out on the prowl to see what he can do to destroy us. But I have suggested that in our journey from earth to heaven, even though surrounded by our enemies, as Paul describes them, our wonderful God prepares a banquet for us.

Our good shepherd has prepared for us a spiritual banquet to enjoy and to strengthen us in our journey to glory. It's not always apparent to us what tremendous personal cost it has been for Christ to prepare the table for His own. Just as the lonely, personal privation of the shepherd who prepares the summer range for his flock entails a sacrifice, so the lonely agony of Gethsemane, and Pilate's hall, and Calvary, have cost our Master much.

His banquet table is spread with love. His coming to earth as the Christ, as Jesus of Nazareth, was a straightforward case of utter self-sacrifice that culminated in the cross of Calvary. The laid-down life, the poured-out blood were the supreme symbols of total selflessness. This was love! This was God! This was divinity in action, delivering men from their own utter selfishness, their own stupidity, their own suicidal instincts as lost sheep unable to help themselves.

For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have eternal life. But God demonstrates His own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. How great is that love the Father has lavished upon us, that we should be called the children of God. And that is what we are. The reason the world does not know us is that it did not know Him.

And in my mind and my heart, as I was thinking of this verse, Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of my enemies, as a Christian and under the care of my Shepherd, knowing that I'm surrounded by Satan and all of his evil spirits; yet in the midst of the journey and with the enemy about me, there is a spiritual banquet that we enjoy along this journey, and that banquet is spread in love.

Maybe some of you have seen that beautiful painting. The artist has the imagery of the great supper table in the skies. You've seen it as that table just extends far, far into the distance, and you'll see the table with all of its beautiful setting. The idea is that here is going to be that marvelous banquet when we all sit down with the saints of all the ages at the great marriage supper of the lamb.

But I see something in my mind: I understand my journey, my pilgrimage. I am surrounded by enemies, but I have a spiritual banquet which is available to me, and I see that table spread with love. Notice, at this banquet table we have the joy of partaking of His forgiveness. For He has rescued us from the dominion of darkness and brought us into the kingdom of the Son of His love. In whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins. That's part of the banquet that He's prepared for us.

If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. I, even I, am He who blots out your transgressions, for My own sake, and remembers your sins no more. I have swept away your offences like a cloud, your sins like the morning mist. Return to me, for I have redeemed you. Let the wicked forsake his way and the evil man his thoughts. Let him turn to the Lord, and He will have mercy on him, and to our God, for He will freely pardon. Our Good Shepherd said: "This is My blood of the covenant which is poured out for the forgiveness of sins.

Have you ever thought of the opportunities that we have, and many times we take advantage of it, when we must come to Jesus Christ and we partake of that spiritual banquet of forgiveness? I often, as I kneel with you on Sunday morning, here's the table spread and what it signifies is a life that has been laid down, blood that has been shed, and because He shed His blood for me, I can kneel together with you and I enjoy the spiritual banquet of forgiveness. Have you ever thought of it that way?

That God in His graciousness blots out all of our transgressions. He washes us thoroughly from all of our inequities. We walk away enjoying the banquet of forgiveness. Some of us have experienced times when we longed for someone to forgive us because something had created a distance between us, and when that forgiveness was granted it was just like a fresh new start in life. And I perceive the table spread with love, and because of His precious blood, as I make my journey part of the spiritual banquet is the forgiveness that He gives me every time I ask. It's part of the spiritual blessing -- serving Christ.

Now I'm at the top of the page 4. At this banquet table, we partake of His Holy Spirit. Listen to the Good Shepherd: If you love me, you will obey what I command. And I will ask the Father, and He will give you another Counselor to be with you forever-the Spirit of Truth. The world cannot accept Him because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you know Him, for He lives with you and will be in you. I will not leave you as orphans; I will come to you.

On that last and greatest day of the Feast, Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, If anyone is thirsty, let him come to Me and drink. Whoever believes in Me, as the Scripture has said, streams of living water will flow from within him. By this He meant the Spirit, whom those who believed in Him were latter to receive. Up to that time the Spirit had not been given, since Jesus had not yet been glorified.

I will put My Spirit upon you and I will move you to follow My decrees and be careful to keep My laws. Again, as we make our journey with the foe of Satan about us, I think one of the most cherished possessions that we have, as part of the spiritual banquet, is the indwelling presence of the spirit of the God; to know that He loves us, to sense His nearness, to feel His strength, to be a partaker of His precious Holy Spirit is a marvelous privilege, ladies and gentlemen.

In our notes I suggest that at this banquet table we are surrounded with love. Peace I leave with you; My peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. And our Good Shepherd continues: I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.

Paul writes to the Philippians, And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ. But He was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities; and the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His wounds we are healed. Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Thus, let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. Be thankful.

The banquet table spread in the presence of our enemy, Satan, and the banquet table spread with love. We partake of forgiveness, enjoy the presence of His Holy Spirit, and enjoy that peace that passeth all understanding. Do you get the spiritual picture? He prepares a table before us of all of these spiritual benefits in the presence of the enemy of our soul.

Let's go on. He's prepared a table for all who will trust Him. Our Psalm continues: "Thou anointest my head with oil." Now remember in our Psalm, the sheep are enjoying the tablelands of pasture. But summer time is fly time. And I found this very, very interesting as Dr. Keller describes it. He says that in summer time sheep are especially troubled by the nose fly, or nasal fly, as it is sometimes called. These little flies buzz about the sheep's head, attempting to deposit their eggs on the damp, mucous membranes of the sheep's nose.

If they are successful the eggs will hatch in a few days to form small, slender, worm-like larvae. They work their way up the nasal passages into the sheep's head; they burrow into the flesh and there set up an intense irritation accompanied by severe inflammation.

For relief from this agonizing annoyance sheep will deliberately beat their heads against trees, rocks, posts, or bush. They will rub them in the soil and thrash around against woody growth. In extreme cases of intense infestation a sheep may even kill itself in a frenzied endeavor to gain respite from the aggravation. Often advanced stages of infection from these flies will lead to blindness.

And only the strictest attention to the behavior of the sheep by the shepherd can forestall the difficulties of "fly time." At the very first sign of flies among the flock to shepherd will apply an antidote to their heads. It's an oil applied that is a mixture of linseed oil, sulfur and tar. That's interesting.

What an incredible transformation this would make among the sheep. Once the oil had been applied to the sheep's head there was an immediate change in behavior. Gone was the aggravation; gone was the frenzy; gone was the irritability and the restlessness. Instead; the sheep would start to feed quietly again, and soon lie down in peaceful contentment.

In Dr. Keller's book he makes this wonderful application, he says, This, to me is the exact picture of irritations in my own life. How easy it is for there to be a fly in the ointment of even my most lofty spiritual experience! So often it is the small, petty annoyances that ruin my repose. It is the niggling distractions that become burning issues that can well nigh drive me round the bend and up the wall. At times some tiny, tantalizing thing torments me to the point where I feel I am just beating my brains out. And so my behavior as a child of God degenerates to a most disgraceful sort of frustrated tirade.

Just as with the sheep there must be continuous and renewed application of oil to forestall the "flies" in my life, there must be a continuous anointing of God's gracious Spirit to counteract the ever-present aggravations of personality conflicts. Only one application of oil, sulfur and tar was not enough for the entire summer. It was a process that had to be repeated over and over again.

Thus, it is this daily anointing of God's gracious Spirit upon my mind which produces in my life such personality traits as joy, contentment, love, patience, gentleness and peace. Every Christian has the daily need of fellowship and spiritual communion with the Good Shepherd.

You and I have realized that. We go a day without that fresh anointing, that touch, upon our minds and our hearts, it doesn't take very long for the flies of life to get terribly irritating. But it's when we have those moments with Him and there's a calmness, and there comes that sense fresh of His touch upon our lives, upon our minds. All the irritation is gone.

And again, I've learned that when the flies start irritating, that's the time to start seeking for God's anointing. That's the time to pray.

Let's go over to Page 6. Our Psalm continues: "My cup runs over." Now this one -- I thought, the shepherd, how is he going to explain this? What's he talking about -- the cup? Well, one commentator said it's not merely full; it runs over. This, too, indicates the abundance and from the abundance of the favors thus bestowed, the psalmist infers that God would always provide for him; and that He would never leave him with want. Now that's through the eyes of a commentator who is not a shepherd.

Listen to a shepherd explain that phrase. Dr. Keller tells us: When summer was ending and it was time to leave the tablelands, frequently unexpected blizzards and storms would suddenly shroud the hills. And when a ewe or lamb was chilled from undue exposure to wet, cold weather, the shepherd carried a bottle containing a mixture of brandy or wine and water. A few spoonfuls given to the chilled lamb would give him new energy from the warmth of the brandy.

That's interesting. You know I've heard that by people who give an excuse for drinking. (Pastor and congregation chuckle) It's the warmth that I get from the brandy. The important thing was to find the frozen, chilled sheep before it was too late. It was necessary for the shepherd to remain very close and attentive to the flock during the time of the storms and cold weather. And with his little bottle of brandy or wine, the shepherd brought warmth to the cold sheep. Isn't that interesting?

What a picture of our Good Shepherd, sharing the wine, the very life blood of His own suffering from His overflowing cup, poured out at Calvary for all of us. The twenty-third Psalm portrays life as a pilgrimage, and the final verse of the psalmist rightly comes to life's goal, which is God's house. Remember, it's a Psalm of a pilgrimage. We've watched the shepherd as he carefully takes his sheep, watches over them, takes them down to the pastureland, makes sure that the water is pure. Summer comes along; he now takes them on the drive up into the plateaus. We followed him there. He's gone to prepare the table before them. He watches over their protection, and now winter weather is coming on and it's time now to leave the tablelands and go back home.

And as a result, David writes in his Psalm: Surely goodness and mercy will follow me all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. What David is seeing here is as he leaves the tablelands and carefully and cautiously with love and attentiveness takes his flock back down through those ravines, and with the love of the shepherd they'll make it home safely, but their goal is to get home. And really that's our goal too, isn't it?

We too long for such a home. Now we know that if this earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands. Meanwhile we groan, longing to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, because when we are clothed, we will not be found naked. For while we are in this tent, we groan and are burdened, because we do not wish to be unclothed but to be clothed with our heavenly dwelling, so that what is mortal will be swallowed up in life.

And then Jesus said: Do not let your hearts be troubled. You believe in God; believe also in Me. In My Father's house are many mansions; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto Myself that where I am there ye may be also.

The home we're heading to -- would you take your Bible and for our closing verses go with me to Revelation chapter 21. Ladies and gentlemen, soon the pilgrimage will be over and we'll be home just like the shepherd with his flock. Here's our home Revelation 21:9, Then one of the seven angels who had the seven bowls filled with the seven last plagues came to me and talked with me, saying, "Come I will show you the bride, the Lamb's wife." And he carried me away in the Spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me the great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God, having the glory of God. Her light was like a most precious stone, like a jasper stone, clear as crystal.

She had a great and high wall with twelve gates, and twelve angels at the gates, and the names written on them, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel: three gates on the east, three gates on the north, three gates on the south, and three gates on the west. Now the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and on them where the names of the twelve apostles are the Lamb. And he who talked with me had a gold reed to measure the city, its gates, and its wall. This city is laid out as a square; its length is as great as its breadth. And he measured the city with the reed: twelve thousand furlongs. Its length, breadth, and height are equal.

Then he measured its wall: one hundred and forty-four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of an angel. The construction of its wall was of jasper; and the city was pure gold, like clear glass. The foundations of the wall of the city were adorned with all kinds of precious stones: the first foundation was jasper, the second sapphire, the third chalcedony, the fourth emerald, the fifth sardonyx, the sixth sardius, the seventh chrysolite, the eighth beryl, the ninth topaz, the tenth chrysoprase, the eleventh jacinth, and the twelfth amethyst.

The twelve gates were twelve pearls: each individual gate was of one pearl. And the street of the city was pure gold, like transparent glass. But I saw no temple in it, for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are its temple. And the city had no need of the sun or of the moon to shine in it, for the glory of God illuminated it. The Lamb is its light. And the nations of those who are saved shall walk in its light, and the kings of the earth bring their glory and honor into it. Its gates shall not be shot at all by day (there shall be no night there). And they shall bring the glory and the honor of the nations into it. But there shall by no means enter anything that defiles, or causes an abomination or a lie, but only those who are written in the Lamb's Book of Life.

And he showed me a pure river of water of life, clear as crystal, proceeding from the throne of God and of the Lamb. In the middle of its street, and on either side of the river, was the tree of life, which bore twelve fruits, each tree yielding its fruit every month. The leaves of the tree were for the healing of the nations. And there shall be no more curse, but the throne of God and of the Lamb shall be in it, and His servants shall serve Him. They shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: they need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever.

Surely goodness and mercy shall follow us all the way home, and we will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. Amen?

Lord Jesus, what a great assurance this beautiful Psalm has given to all of us. This morning we learned that You're with us through the dense darkness of life's journey. You're with us even in the fiery furnace of trials. You never leave us nor forsake us. You've prepared for us a glorious spiritual banquet by Your love and in forgiveness, and the presence of Your precious Holy Spirit and You've given us Your glorious peace. What a spiritual banquet we feast on. And You do, Lord Jesus, plan that eternal moment when time shall no longer be; we shall be at home with You. What a hope; what a Shepherd; and what a destiny we're heading for. Thank you Jesus, thank you Jesus.