Recreate Church, Pastor Michael Shockley—Service, Sunday, January 8, 2023

Oil and Treasure (also known as:  Blessed to Be a Blessing!) Today, Pastor Michael is looking at the Principle of Overflow.  This is rooted in the 23rd Psalm at verse 5, where we hear, “my cup overflows”. This is a symbolic meaning of how God blesses us beyond our capacity.  What do we overflow with?  Joy and peace come to mind immediately.  Last week we talked about time.  Today we are exploring what we would love to have too much of: resources (money for example).  Is there such a thing as too much money?  Too many resources?  Resources come in all types but to have too much of them is both a rarity and a blessing.  We have a hard time recognizing when we have an overflow.    Especially an overflow of resources. Now, Michael is talking about olive oil and how it was used for practically everything and was an everyday provision back in biblical times. Oil was mixed with fragrances and used to annoint people on special occasions.  To be anointed was to be in the Lord’s favor.   Examining verse five, one way to look at this is, if you could put your blessings in a cup, they would run over the top. Goodness and mercy will be following you always, and you will spend eternity with God. That’s the ultimate blessing! So, knowing that you can say, you are blessed in order to be a blessing!  And God is worthy of our trust, regardless of the overflow or shortfall! (CSB Study Bible Notes) In Jewish society oil was a symbol for rejoicing (104:15) and was also used in the welcoming of guests (45:7; 92:10; Lk 7:46). Verses can be found today in Psalms 23: 1-6.  Proverbs 21: 20. Scripture quotations marked CSB have been taken from the Christian Standard Bible®, Copyright © 2017 by Holman Bible Publishers. Used by permission. Christian Standard Bible® and CSB® are federally registered trademarks of Holman Bible Publishers.