Jesus’ Anointing
Connection
Share your highs and lows!
Worship
Bible
Read Psalm 23 (focus on V5)
Discussion
On Sunday, we thought about the place of feasting in the Christian life, the table that Jesus has prepared for us. He gives us spiritual food to sustain us, and sits across the table from us as we feast.
God deliberately prepares this table in the presence of our enemies - that is, where the world, the flesh and the devil seek to oppose us and distract us from enjoying Jesus’ lavish hospitality,
1) When the world distracts, God sends us out
Psalm 23:5 demonstrates that King David experiences the intimate presence of God most powerfully when his enemies are present. Jesus reinforces this idea, saying to his disciples “my food is to do the will of Him who sent me, and to finish his work”
Share stories of when you have been surrounded by “enemies of God” (that is, anyone not following Him) and have known Jesus’ close presence.
Are you spending enough time “in the presence of your enemies?” What stops you from living like Jesus, and actively seeking out moments to eat with “tax collectors and sinners”?
2) When the flesh feeds rubbish, God feeds us life
We feast on God in lots of ways (through scripture, prayer, giving, fasting, solitude, meditation, encounter with the Holy Spirit, worship etc). In all these things, God only serves up food that will nourish us and grow us in godliness. That means He will only serve us opportunities to deny our flesh, to then have greater enjoyment in him.
What influences (cultural, people, habits, thought patterns) are training your spiritual taste buds to enjoy the things of the flesh more than the things of God.
Given that God will only ever serve up what is good for you, how can you retrain your taste buds to enjoy these practices?
3) When the devil whispers lies, God feeds us the word
Satan’s desire is for your relationship with God to become boring, numb and lifeless. He wants to achieve this by deceiving you about the goodness of God’s character.
Think of moments this week where you have not wanted to engage with God/not felt so close to him. Were there particular lies about God’s character that you believed in those moments?
What prevents you from turning to the truth of Scripture in those moments?
Prayer
Whilst it is essential to be aware of the strategies of these enemies, it is not on us to fight them alone. Prayer that you would grow in awareness of the feast that God prepares before you, and that you would learn to enjoy his close company more than ever.