Psalm 23:5d
Oftentimes, we as Christians stop at the resurrection and don’t go
on to the fullest purpose of our salvation. We are glad enough to go to heaven
that we don’t appreciate the ultimate goal of Christianity.
If eternal life in heaven was our ultimate goal, then why not go there now? What is the point of this life, just to decide where we will spend eternity? No, we have to go back to the fall, and the reason why Adam was banned from the Garden of Eden in the first place.
“'Behold, the man has become like one of Us,
to know good and evil. And now, lest he put out his hand and take also of the
tree of life, and eat, and live forever.' Therefore the LORD God sent him out of the garden of Eden to till the ground from which he was taken.”
He didn’t
banish us from the Garden to punish us, but to bless us by not allowing us to eat of the tree of life and as a result forever be in a fallen state. We are not to stay
separated from God. David longed for those times when his cup overflowed with
the anointing. He saw his predecessor and his nemesis, King Saul, as the
anointed king and he also saw the Spirit flee from him (1 Samuel 16:4). David
pleaded with the Lord not to ever take His Holy Spirit from him (Ps. 51:11). But now thanks to the cross, nothing can separate us from the Lord. (See Lesson 15: Psalm 24:4d)
You see,
God doesn’t want us to live forever in a fallen state and He never wants to be
separated from us. If the oil represents the anointing of the Holy
Spirit, then “running over” would surely symbolize the lavish flowing of the
Spirit within us out of His mercy. He anoints our head and catches the runoff
in a cup and even still, that doesn’t capture it all.
Because of the cross, our sins were
taken away.
Because
of the resurrection, we have eternal life.
But
because of Pentecost,
we have God’s Spirit living in us now and forever.
The
words “overflow” and “baptize” and “filled” means to saturate. We are baptized
in the Holy Spirit at salvation and filled with the Holy Spirit in our
obedience.
Jimmy Dean sang a song about drinking
from the saucer because my cup has overflowed. It doesn’t exactly apply here,
but I sure do like it.
I never made a
fortune
and it's probably too late now
But I don't worry about that much,
I'm happy anyhow
And as I go along life's journey,
I'm reaping better than I sowed
I'm reaping better than I sowed
I'm drinking from my saucer, '
'cause my cup has overflowed.
I ain't got a lot of riches,
and sometimes the goings
tough
but I've got kids who love me
and that makes me rich
enough
I just thank God for his blessings
and the mercies he's
bestowed.
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'cause my cup has overflowed.
I remember times when things went wrong,
and my faith got
a little thin
but then all at once the dark clouds broke,
and the sun
peeked through again
so Lord help me not to gripe
about the tough rows I hoed
I'm drinking from my saucer,
'cause my cup has overflowed.
And if God gives me strength and courage,
when the way
grows steep and rough
I'll not ask for another blessing,
I'm already blessed
enough
And may I never be too busy
to help another bear his load
I'll keep drinking from my saucer,
'cause my cup has
overflowed.
Amen.
