You can't have both...

Alright, we are wrapping up our thanksgiving series this week, / / Give Thanks With A Grateful Heart.

Over the last couple weeks we’ve looked at a few different things. First, that true gratitude is more than just words or even actions, but that it truly comes from our hearts. And really that it should be coming from us being transformed into the likeness of Christ. You could say that God desires thanksgiving that is like He would give thanks.

Paul encourages us in Colossians 3:17, / / …whatever you do, in word or deed, do everything in the name of the Lord Jesus, giving thanks to God the Father through him.

… in the name of… Are we thinking about the character and representation of Jesus when we act? What does Jesus represent? And is what we are doing, and how we are doing it, represent Him in that way as well?

Last week we also looked at it being important that we aren’t just a grateful bunch of people, but that we are, as that verse says, / / giving thanks TO GOD. It matters WHERE we put our gratitude.

Sure, it’s good to be a grateful person. There’s definitely benefit in our lives to being grateful. We even talked about some health benefits we can experience, and our social lives are going to be better, our relationships are going to thrive more if we are grateful both in heart and if we show that gratitude. And that is all good, And in one sense that is exactly what God wants for us. In scripture God describes for us a way of living that will carry us into a life of fruitfulness. If we live the Jesus way, we will experience a really great life. This is what Jesus says, John 10:10, / / “My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.” And what’s the context of those verses? He’s saying that he is the good shepherd, we are his sheep, and his sheep know his voice and listen to it.

We read from John 15:4 last week, / / “Remain in me, and I will remain in you. For a branch cannot produce fruit if it is severed from the vine, and you cannot be fruitful unless you remain in me.”

But as we abide in the word and the life of Jesus Christ we begin to bear fruit!

Alright, so what have we said the last couple weeks, I think this sums it up nicely:

/ / We give thanks through Christ, as we are becoming more like Him, by the power of His Spirit.

That’s the goal, right? To become more like Christ, through being transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit, so that when we are grateful, it is coming out of a place of abiding in Him and being like him.

Well, I want to wrap this little series up with something a bit different. As I was preparing this week I kept coming back to a specific verse, that isn’t necessarily about giving thanks, but is a reason to give thanks.

And it will connect to a few things I said last week as well.

The verse, or the statement I kept coming back to this week was, / / “You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.”

If it sounds familiar that’s because it’s from one of the most popular passages of scripture in the bible, Psalm 23. It’s verse 5. But we’re going to read the whole chapter this morning, it’s just 6 verses, and we’re going to look at what it’s saying because really Psalm 23 is a psalm of thanksgiving, without saying specifically, “thank you” or “I’m grateful” or “I give thanks” or anything like that. But when you read Psalm 23 the whole thing is directed at WHO God is and WHAT He’s done for David in times of trouble. And the beautiful part is that it’s not necessarily a letter to God, telling Him what he’s done, but it’s a letter written in the first person perspective almost as a reminder of what God has done so David doesn’t forget!

The Psalms of David are deep and personal. They are poetry from the heart, and they are reminders put on paper. The best kind, so you don’t forget. In one sense that’s what this series has been about, hasn’t it? Putting in front of us the reminder that we need to be grateful. It’s necessary for our christianity, for our following of Jesus. We can’t follow Jesus if we have not learned how to be grateful. And as we’ve seen, the best way to do that is to be transformed by the power of the Holy Spirit more and more into the likeness of Christ by beholding His Glory, abiding in His word and in Him and reflecting that image that we have been focused on.

That’s probably the best thing that was said about David in scripture as well. The book of Acts quotes the Old Testament and says in Acts 13:22, / / But God removed Saul and replaced him with David, a man about whom God said, ‘I have found David son of Jesse, a man after my own heart...”

David certainly didn’t do it all right. In fact, he did a whole lot of things terribly wrong, but this statement, “A man after my own heart...” If we could simply live out of that. Beholding the glory of God. Being after his heart, pursuing His heart, then we would reflect that heart, in some way, maybe some of the time, through the midst of our own humanity and shortcomings. And what more could we hope for than to reflect the glory, the heart of God for moments at a time in our lives? Yes, with the goal to be transformed from glory to glory, meaning, more and more, but I’ll take little bits at a time as I grow and learn to behold Him more.

So, David, in his brokenness and weakness, in his humanity looks up to heaven and pens these words:

/ / The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 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.

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 staff, they comfort me.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So, if you were reading along in your bible you’ll notice that there are three sections to this poem. And so we’ll take it in that order. Three sections displaying three different things.

/ / 1. My Needs

As I read these verses this past week I saw them in a new light. At first I wanted to say that they describe God, who He is and what he does for us, which is true, they are a wonderful description of God, but as I thought on it I saw them from the perspective of David’s heart staring into the heart of God. If David was a man after God’s own heart, then what is this saying to us about how David saw himself in light of the heart of God?

So, I want to ask some questions this morning, and I think this helps us posture ourselves for the gratitude we’ve been talking about.

/ / Is the Lord your shepherd?

I read an interesting little quote this past week, / / The only safe place for the sheep is beside the shepherd. The wolf does not fear the sheep, it only fears the shepherd.

Remember who David is. And remember what he’s done.

This is the man who tells King Saul in 1 Samuel 17:34-35, / / “I have been taking care of my father’s sheep and goats. When a lion or bear comes to steal a lamb from the flock, I go after it with a club and rescue the lamb from its mouth. If the animal turns on me, I catch it by the jaw and club it to death. I have done this to both lions and bears...”

I’m sorry, what?

Sounds like he doesn’t need any protection at all. And yet this is the posture he takes:

“The Lord, He is my shepherd.”

There is such a humility in this statement. The Lord is my shepherd. Why? Because you saying that you are in absolutely need of someone else to look after you, and left to your own devices you will be brought to ruin.

It’s like God created sheep just so we would have a good example to look to about how we act as humans in the face of an almighty God. Get this. Back in 2005 in Turkey, a group of shepherds stopped to have some breakfast, and in that short time span their herd of 1500 sheep ended up walking off a cliff. The only reason any of them survived was because after the first 450 of them had landed at the bottom of the cliff they made a soft enough landing for the remaining 1000 sheep to land without dying. I’m not making this up.

Now, it’s not necessarily that they are dumb animals, but they are pack animals, following the most recent thing to give them direction, and they don’t have the best sense of direction. So one bad move by one bad sheep and the other 1499 are following him over that cliff’s edge.

How many can identify? Not you personally, but you know someone that is so compelled by what’s in front of them that they just blindly follow in life and end up getting hurt in the process?

There’s so much you can learn from looking at how sheep respond to a shepherd that we can learn about how we relate to God, BUT, let’s leave it at that point right there. Without the shepherd, the sheep will not survive. And even though David says he grabbed lions and bears by the jaw and clubbed them to death, he identifies himself with the sheep, not a lion or bear, or even the guy who killed them.

He recognized his inability to manage his life properly. He needs a shepherd.

Guess what. So do we. We need a shepherd.

But David doesn’t stop there.

He makes me lie down in green pastures

Food, rest, safety… David is saying “It’s only because of Him.”

He leads me beside still waters.

Nourishment, refreshment

He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

David is saying, listen, if there’s anything good happening in my life it’s because of the Lord who is my shepherd. He is the one who looks after me, restores me, provides for me, keeps me safe, secure and at rest. If I’ve done any good, it’s because he led me to it.

And although you aren’t reading that David is thanking God for these things, it’s obvious, isn’t it?

And Jesus echoes these thoughts, but as an invitation to us in Matthew 11:28-30, / / “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.”

Augustine of Hippo, who was a bishop in the late 4th century, said this, / / “I have read in Plato and Cicero sayings that are wise and very beautiful; but I have never read in either of them: Come to me all that labor and are heavy laden.”

That’s beautiful. Basically saying, all the wisdom in the world doesn’t heal the soul, yet this is what the Lord, our shepherd, offers us. And what does Jesus say of himself, John 10:14, / / “I am the good shepherd; I know my own sheep, and they know me.”

Let’s follow David’s path and follow the good shepherd and be a people after God’s heart.

/ / 2. Take Comfort

The second section deals with fear. / / 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.

Again, gratitude and humility meet at the intersection of a human condition and divine intervention.

Fear is probably the biggest condition we deal with. Fear both stops and pushes people.

Fear of failure can freeze one person while giving another person the motivation and determination to conquer the world.

Fear of rejection can cause one person to hide in shame, while it causes another person to change their lives in every way possible to ensure that they are accepted by everyone.

And of course the greatest fear there would be is the Fear of death which can cause one person to give up while another person chooses to live every moment until the end.

David takes another approach, because he has determined he isn’t going to live his life based on the fear he faces. Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil.

And look, he doesn’t take any of those approaches I just mentioned, taking it into his own hands. “I’ll push through my fear, I’ll conquer my fear, I’ll overcome my fear…” nope, he isn’t going to fear because something with him is greater than the fear he’s walking through.

First, he recognizes that God is with him. This is pretty huge, right? God is with me, whom shall I fear? David echos this in Psalm 27:1, / / The Lord is my light and my salvation - so why should I be afraid?

Then, he describes what he holds on to and these are significant.

/ / Your rod and your staff, they comfort me.

What’s interesting about him saying this is that he himself is a shepherd, he knows what this is. The rod and staff of a shepherd are both to fend off enemies, but also, to keep the sheep in line. The shepherds staff with the crook on the end would be used to keep sheep from wandering, or if they had wandered or were stuck, to grab them and bring them back.

Yes, David is saying the shepherd protects him, of course, but he’s also saying that it is the correction and the chastisement of the shepherd that keeps him on the right path. Psalm 94:12 says, / / Joyful are those you discipline, Lord, those you teach with your instructions.

David is on to something here. He understands that the instruction of the Lord leads to life, and if we aren’t following it, it’s better to be disciplined back into a place of obedience by the Lord than disciplined by our own actions receiving the consequences of those actions.

And the discipline of the Lord is not punishment in the sense of pain or suffering, but rather a pulling back with the shepherds staff to a place of following His voice. Except, he doesn’t do that against our will, we have to invite it. So David says, Even though I’m walking through some of my darkest and scariest times, I don’t have to be afraid, as long as I’m walking close to the shepherd who both protects me and corrects me, keeping me in line with his ways that lead to life!

Following the shepherd leads to green pastures, calm streams and protection from threats.

/ / 3. The Prepared Table

Now, maybe because it’s thanksgiving this coming week, I’m not sure, but this one line has been ringing in my head for the majority of this past week.

You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies...

And this is where I want to sit for a few minutes this morning, at this table, prepared by the Lord, in front of our enemies.

A few questions I want to ask:

Who’s table is it?

Where is this table?

Who is invited to the table?

Who are my enemies?

/ / Who’s table is it?

Let’s read Psalm 23:5 again, / / You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows.

Who prepares the table? David says YOU prepare a table before me… Who’s he talking to?

It’s not David’s table. It’s not my table, right? The LORD prepares a table. Not that it even needs to be said, but that’s exactly what that word means, “prepare”, to set up, put in order. It is the Lord who is putting this in order, getting it ready, setting it up.

We’re going to come back to this at the end, but do you think it’s maybe more than a coincidence that the last thing Jesus does before he goes to the cross is prepare a table for his disciples in the presence of his very betrayer on the night of his betrayal? When the devil things he’s got him beat, he’s about to be betrayed. And what does Jesus do? He sets a table...

We don’t talk about David as a prophet too often, but some of the psalms are very prophetic, or at least Jesus references them. Jesus quotes from the previous Psalm, Psalm 22 when he is on the cross. Most people don’t realize this. And unfortunately some take that verse out of context, in my opinion and teach that God actually turns his back on Jesus in that moment when he cries out, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” That’s the first verse of Psalm 22. Did you know Jesus was quoting a Psalm when he says that from the cross?

But I don’t think God turns his back on him. I think Jesus is quoting a Psalm that reminds him that God has NOT turned his face from him. Because David often wrote this way, from the extremes of despair to the heights of redemption and salvation. In that same Psalm, just a few verses later, Psalm 22:23-24 says this, / / You who fear the Lord, praise him! All of you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him.

Jesus is literally quoting a Psalm that says God will not turn his face from his offspring. That’s very different from, “God turned his face from Jesus because he couldn’t look at sin”, isn’t it? How does that even make sense. God has been staring in the face of sin since the garden. He’s head over heals for humanity. Our sin doesn’t disgust God in the sense that he can’t look at us, our sin is the very reason Jesus came to die, because we couldn’t handle dealing with it ourselves, so He did!

All of that to say, some of the Psalms that David wrote are picked up in the New Testament, and I don’t know if it is as a matter of prophecy, or because David was a man after God’s heart that they are words Jesus picks up and uses because he agrees? Maybe These are the words flowing out of David’s heart as he is beholding the glory of God, pursuing His heart.

So, Psalm 23, to be such a quoted and celebrated passage of scripture, and then to look at it from the light of the Lord’s supper.

David talks about the Rod & Staff leading him through the valley of evil and death. Jesus talks about the Body and Blood being a remembrance of all He has done for us.

When Paul talks about the Lord’s supper, or the Lord’s table, as it is also called, in 1 Corinthians he quotes Jesus as saying, / / “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” He says the same with the cup.

So, I want to suggest to you that the table we are invited to, and maybe this is what David saw in his heart as he was writing Psalm 23, is the table of the Lord’s Supper, where we meet the body and blood of Jesus Christ, the promise and fulfilment of his life, death and resurrection.

Second question I want to ask?

/ / Where is this table?

Back to the scriptures. David finishes with Psalm 23:6, / / Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell in the house of the Lord forever.

So, this table that the Lord is preparing for us, where is it?

It’s an interesting thought process, isn’t it?

I’m walking through the valley of the shadow of death, but I’m not afraid, because you’re with me. And now you’re preparing a table before me, and even with my enemies all around me. Man, am I sure glad I’m in your house.

What?

It can be a bit confusing.

But if you look at it as three separate thoughts, it makes a bit more sense.

On the journey, even when it’s hard, God is with me.

When I feel surrounded and outnumbered, God is with me.

He is so far me that he invites me to the most secure place possible, his very house.

David talks a lot about the house of God. And We have to take the “table of the Lord” in context. God isn’t actually setting up thanksgiving dinner for us. But what’s the idea, that no matter where we are, we can connect with God.

What did we look at last week? What the “will” of God is for our lives, his desire for us?

Rejoice always, pray without ceasing, give thanks in all circumstances.

What’s the idea? That in every situation we find ourselves in the prescription is the same.

Rejoice Always, or give warm salutations to the Lord, be aware of and invite Him to be present with you, then pray, talk to Him, honor Him, worship him, and give thanks to him.

In any and all circumstances.

What’s Psalm 23 saying? No matter where I am, you are with me. So I can worship you, because you are my shepherd, you’ve done great things for me, even when I’m in the midst of the scariest, darkest times of my life, you are there, I can still trust in you in those moments, and even in that place, you prepare a table for me.

What is that table? It’s a representation of the saving grace of Jesus Christ.

Where is that table? Wherever I am. Not because physically I can just sit down in the valley of death, but because wherever I am, He is.

How did Jesus tell us to pray? Our Father in Heaven, Holy is your name, your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth, as it is in heaven.

The Kingdom of God present in the midst of our humanity in this earth.

The provision, the table of God, the table of our Lord, the body and blood represented in the bread and cup, available to us all the time.

At the end of service we are going to take communion together, but I want you to understand something. You don’t need to wait to take communion. First of all, when you are here, we have it available all the time in those little cups, and second of all, you don’t have to be at church to have communion. You can take communion at home. “As often as you do this.”, Paul says. Yes, it is biblical to do it together as the church, but as often as you have the opportunity, take the opportunity to remind yourselves of the work of Christ through the cross for your life.

Next question:

/ / Who is invited to the table?

Is the table just for me, or just for you, or just for us as the church?

Someone reading this in Psalm 23 might say, “That table is for Israel. King David was our ancestor.”

Someone reading about the Lord’s table might say, “That table is for the church. For those who believe.”

I want to suggest to you that there isn’t anyone who isn’t invited to the table of the Lord.

In Luke 22, which tells us of the last supper, after breaking the bread and offering the cup of wine together, Jesus says that there’s someone sitting at the table with them, pretending to be a friend, but is actually the one who will betray him.

Had he withheld the bread and cup from Judas, who would betray him?

No.

What about Peter, who he says just a moment later, “You’re going to deny me three times”… Which, when it happens, absolutely wrecks Peter. He’s devastated by it. Jesus knew it would happen. Did he deny him his spot at the table?

No.

And so we have to ask one more question. And this might connect a bit with what we talked about last week in regard to Israel and the current conflict in the Middle East. The last question we need to ask is:

/ / Who are my enemies?

I couldn’t shake this feeling this week. Over and over again I kept coming back to, “He prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies.” And I’m not sure why, but I kept feeling the heart of God over this statement, “Your enemies aren’t who you think.”

And I kept hearing, “You can’t give thanks with hate in your heart.”

So, who are my enemies? What could this possibly be saying to us?

I know it’s been a short little series, but we started with the thought that gratitude, or thanksgiving is more than just words or actions, it has to come from a transformed heart if it is going to mean anything. And I have met so many people, myself included, that hold such hatred in their hearts toward people, yet, outwardly with their mouths seem to give thanks.

You might think, “Wow, hate is kind of a heavy word. I wouldn’t say I hate anyone.” And I would argue the exact same for myself. I wouldn’t say that I hate anyone, so we can try to maybe downplay it a bit, use a different word, aggravation, animosity, annoyance…but what is it really?

When people are killing babies. Whether that’s before they are born, or beheading them in villages.

When people advocate for sin over righteousness.

When people say they can do whatever they want and they express pure evil from their hearts.

Do I hate them? I mean, I certainly hope I don’t. Or at least I don’t want to. But my humanity says differently sometimes.

And we don’t even have to go so far sometimes, right? When people get us upset at work, at the grocery store, in the restaurant, in the round-about. When you’re around family members this week that you don’t get along with. I mean, hopefully you get along with all of your family, but I understand there’s sometimes where thing just get tense at family dinners.

Listen, I don’t feel condemned by these things, and neither should you. I’m just calling it like I see it. Paul says in 1 Timothy 1:15, / / This is a trustworthy saying, and everyone should accept it: “Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners” - and I am the worst of them all. Sure, we’re all growing and as Paul says as we behold God’s glory we are being transformed from one level of glory to another. But none of us have arrived. And I believe it was the Lord, but I felt this word in my heart, maybe just for myself, or maybe to speak it into the atmosphere of our town, or our country, or maybe it’s for you too. God wants to deal with our hearts in regards to people so that our gratitude toward Him is unhindered.

There’s this moment in scripture where a bunch of Pharisees and religious leaders come to Jesus and start asking him about why his disciples aren’t obeying all of their traditions, which they saw as offensive because it had become law for them. And Jesus says in Matthew 15:7-9, / / “You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you, for he wrote, ‘These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. Their worship is a farce, for they teach man-made ideas as commands from God.’”

Look at that phrase, / / “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me.”

This is not a warning that comes with some sort of condemnation or punishment, but a desire to be pure and offer real true gratitude toward God. Let’s keep this in some context about what we’re talking about, we want to give thanks to God. And if we’re talking about giving thanks through Christ, then our thanksgiving should be as pure as possible, right?

Again, this isn’t about perfect. This is about offering a gift to God.

Kelley and I were at IHOP on Friday night leading worship for a meeting they were having and there was one moment where I was just sort of overwhelmed with the sovereignty and holiness of God and this desire to love Him fully.

We can go back to another psalm of David, Psalm 24, he says, / / Who shall ascend the hill of the Lord? And who shall stand in his holy place? He who has clean hands and a pure heart.... (vs 3-4)

There is something about offering our praise, our gratitude from a place of love and purity.

That’s what I want to worship God with.

So, back to our question, who’s the enemy? Because the actual enemy, and it’s not the people, will try and get you to believe that it is the people.

We’ve done a series in the past on the armour of God, but Paul writes in Ephesians 6:12, / / For we are not fighting against flesh-and-blood enemies, but against evil rulers and authorities of the unseen world, against mighty powers in this dark world, and against evil spirits in the heavenly places.

So, who is our enemy?

It’s not the people. And I would suggest that it is impossible to offer a gratitude that is pure and holy when we are harboring hate, or animosity, or any less intense and more moderate words we might try to use, in our hearts toward people.

The moment we sit down at the table of the Lord and think that He’s prepared it in the presence of human enemies, and we are blessed and they are not invited, is the moment we have missed the main point of the gospel. Because Jesus has invited all to the table. That doesn’t mean everyone takes up that invitation. And in the context of war - I’ve specifically mentioned the current conflict in the middle east, I won’t presume to fully understand war and prayer. But I’m pretty sure I know what I shouldn’t be praying for.

So, let me just say a few things here and I hope this makes sense. And again, I’m not saying any of this because I think any one person or even us as a church has a problem with this. My job is to speak truth and speak it in the most love as I possibly can. And sometimes speaking truth is simply getting it out there, because it needs to be said. And I think there are some things that need to be said. Because we have to remember that / / our enemy is not the people...

Praying for Palestine to be safe does not make you anti-Semitic, nor does it make you pro Hamas.

Praying for Hamas to be saved by the power of Jesus Christ does not make you anti-Semitic or pro Hamas.

If you believe in miracles, which, I sure hope you do, then you can pray for a peaceful resolution to the most intense of situations. Why would we be praying for the death of anyone?

Peter says in 2 Peter 3:9-10, / / The Lord isn’t really being slow about his promise, as some people think. No, he is being patient for your sake, He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpectedly as a thief.

Who does the Lord want to be destroyed? No one.

Who is he inviting to the table? Everyone.

Who is our enemy? NOT the people, but the principalities and powers that are using them for their own gain, and that is purely spiritual. To think the devil and his demons have no power is to be ignorant of a reality we live in, BUT, to forget that scripture tells us 1/3 of heavens angels followed the devil, which means for every one demon there’s two angels, is to forget that if God is for us, who can be against us? And it forgets the story of 2 Kings 6 when Elisha is surrounded by the enemy and his servant is terrified and Elisha says, Lord, open his eyes, and he sees the hosts of heaven surrounding them, which had given him the confidence to say, “There are far more with us than there are against us.”

That fight at work, the people are not your enemy.

The conflict in your marriage, your spouse is not your enemy.

That family member you’re wishing you didn’t have to see this week. They aren’t the enemy.

Now, on the flip-side. Praying for the safety of Israel does not make you anti-Palestinian.

Praying for the peace of Jerusalem and the peace of Israel does not make you anti-Palestinian.

We have to learn to pray in line with the heart of Jesus which is that all humanity would be saved. Will all humanity be saved… listen, some will choose not to follow Jesus, it’s always been that way. But it is not my place to pronounce judgement.

I hope this is making sense. I wrestled this week with what God was speaking to me, not with God as much as with myself and how to communicate these things.

I think I’ll finish here with something Jesus said in what we call the Sermon on the Mount and then we are going to take communion together. A lot of this portion of scripture, which is Matthew 5 - 7, Jesus is bringing clarity, or correction to the understanding of Old Testament Scripture. He says multiple times, “you have heard it said, but I say to you...” He does that in Matthew 5:43-48, / / “You have heard the law that says, ‘Love your neighbor’ and hate your enemy. But I say, love your enemies! Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven. For he gives his sunlight to both the evil and the good, and he sends rain on the just and the unjust alike. If you love only those who love you, what reward is there for that? Even corrupt tax collectors do that much. If you are kind only to your friends, how are you different from anyone else? Even pagans do that. But you are to be perfect, even as your Father in heaven is perfect.”

See, this isn’t about right or wrong. There’s plenty of that to go around. It’s not saying anyone is right in their actions. Or justified in their actions. And that is true of whatever side you fall on politically. THIS is not about right or wrong. THIS is about a better way. This is about believing for more than just a human solution.

And I say this in the context of what we are meant to be doing as Christians on this side of the world, FAR removed from the conflict itself.

And I know we are in a series on giving thanks, and how does this fit into that. Well, I believe what we talked through these last weeks, that our gratitude should be coming out of a heart that is surrendered to God, abiding in Christ and his word, yielded to the Holy Spirit and his power, beholding his glory so that we can be transformed to be more like Him! And it’s hard to do that when we want to hold on to the humanity of hate.

Look at what Jesus said there. You are to be perfect.

Yes, we’re far from it, and yes, we won’t make it there until we’re in heaven, probably. But we ought to try.

We should probably give it our best effort to pursue Christ to become more like Him in every way and shape possible.

And listen, here’s another thing. We’re already deep in it, but the political season in this country is long, and arduous, and the vitriol that comes out of people’s mouths is reprehensible. Things that should never be said about a person but are because they are a politician and somehow that makes us think it’s ok. It’s not.

So, I want to end this morning with taking communion together. But I want us to think a bit differently about it this time.

First, think on what David says in Psalm 23:5, / / You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies.

Whatever you are going through. Or wherever you are at. Maybe you’re frustrated with life. Or maybe you are wrestling with things in your heart, or mind, or body, and you question your ability to soldier on. Maybe you’re not looking forward to this week. Maybe you are. Maybe you’re finding it hard to be thankful, or grateful. Remember, the Lord is preparing a table before you in the presence of your enemies, and your enemies are not the humans involved in your difficulties, in fact, they’ve been invited to the table too. Your enemies are the defeated principalities and powers that Jesus conquered on the cross. Jesus said we would experience trial and sorrow, but that we did not need to worry, why? Because he had overcome the world.

And he invites us to pray the Lord’s prayer, His Kingdom and His Will be done in our lives, on this earth, in this country, in the middle east, as it is in heaven.

The second thing I want you to give thought to as we take communion this morning is those that Jesus has also invited to His table. Take a moment and pray for the salvation of those who are yet to know Him, yes, even the ones you may be in conflict with. It can be as simple as, “God, would you draw all of humanity to yourself… let people see the table you set before them, and the invitation you have given, to find life in your goodness, freedom in your mercy, and salvation in your grace.”

So, if you want to come and take a communion cup this morning and I’ll read from 1 Corinthians.

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 11:23-26, For I pass on to you what I received from the Lord himself. On the night when he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread and gave thanks to God for it. Then he broke it in pieces and said, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”

In the same way, he took the cup of wine after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant between God and his people - an agreement confirmed with my blood. Do this in remembrance of me as often as you drink it.”

For every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are announcing the Lord’s death until he comes again.

So, take a moment, and pray both that God would lead you to his table, in the presence of all that you are going through, and that at that table you would be surrounded by His goodness. And also, take a moment to release the human conflict you are carrying so that you can celebrate that God has invited them to the table as well. Recognize that the conflict isn’t human, but spiritual, and that God is more than capable of dealing with these things as we see them rightly and release them to Him.

And when you’ve done that, go ahead and take communion when you’re read.