Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: thou annointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.

Psalm 23:5

Jesus IS THE Good Shepperd. But He is not the wasteful Shepherd!
For every good shepherd has a good expectation from his flock!

Every Good shepherd seasonally looks forward to 3 basic expectations from His flock!

  1. He expects to shear the sheep once a year and gain wool.
    [In being my shepherd what comes out of my life as a sheep should provide the raw materials that clothes others from nakedness with the garment of righteousness Isa 61:10]
  2. He expects to milk the weaned sheep 2ce daily and get milk
    [The ‘sincere milk of the word that will fall as crumbs from the table of our quiet time when shared will be able to help young believers grow 1 Peter 2:2]
  3. He expects once a while to gain meat from the sacrifice of the mature ones.
    [Generational martyrs on whose sacrifice the truth of the gospel is guarded Heb 11:37]

Because the LORD has chosen to be my shepherd there are arguably 9 directly personal benefits that accrue to my life continually from a Psalm 23 perspective!

Benefit 1: I shall not want. | Provision
Benefit 2: He maketh me to lie down in green pastures | Restfulness
Benefit 3: He leadeth me besides the still waters | Peace
Benefit 4: He restoreth my soul | Restoration
Benefit 5: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness for His name sake | Justification
Benefit 6: For thou art with me | Assurance
Benefit 7: Thy rod and Thy staff they comfort me | Discipline & Direction
Benefit 8: Thou preparest a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: | Establishment
Benefit 9: Thou annointest my head with oil; | Enablement

But does He endow me with all these benefits without the slightest expectation of gain at all??
Matt 25:14-30, Luke 17:7-10, and Luke 13:6-8 says No! He endows his sheep with these 9 benefits YET He expects 1 universal fruit from His blessings on us – Just as a man plants seed and awaits fruit in due season!

So what is Jesus’s own expected return(s) from being my Shepherd in Psalm 23?
Ans: Psalm 23:5b “MY CUP RUNNETH OVER“

Through the gospel of grace we know that the work He does in us naturally pool up and overflows to become the works He does through us Phil 2:13

It would not be wrong to say that one core reason for all Christ's endowments towards us in Psalm 23 from vs1-4 is not just because He is Good [He always is - yet this level of goodness is limited to those in His flock], BUT because His target is to bring us to THE PREPARED TABLE. The place of intimacy where He will do in us His great work and CONSEQUENTLY work through us to showcase the Fathers glory. 1 Peter 2:9

Just like the river of life of Ezekiel 47, The overflow from our bellies will initially start as drops, then become a pool, which gathers to become a stream, eventually becoming a river with all the beneficial effects of the river of life in Ezekiel 47:8-12.

There are rivers that are seasonal. There are rivers that are permanent.
The ‘regularity’ of the overflow of living waters from your belly (cup) is directly proportional to the consistency of our sitting at the prepared table and the depth of our engagement with the bread + the wine + the oil. Psalm 104:15

Conclusion

This is to My Father’s glory, that you bear much fruit, proving yourselves to be My disciples (sheep). John 25:8 (emphasis mine)

The LORD is my shepherd! And because of that His abundant life grows in me from 9 different angless!
Yet He is not my shepherd for nothing: He has a righteous expectation from His shepherding me.
He does not leave me to my own capacity -rather He does almost everything required for me to bear God exalting fruit (my cup to overflow). He ONLY requires of me that I SIT DOWN at the prepared Table ignoring the distractions of the enemy: eat the bread – drink the wine – and be covered in the Oil!
If i do this consistently and faithfully His grace will overflow richly in my life by manifesting His good works to others which in turn will cause them to glorify God and come into His light!

How deep and consistent have you been with your bible study?
Has the enemy succeeded in consistently distracting you?
When last did your cup overflow? and how many people have glorified God because of it?

The Lord is my Shepherd!

Shalom!

P.s
Next Post: We will discuss 3 examples of how your cup can overflow!