2024-05-12AM- The Cup of Salvation

The speaker starts by referencing Psalm 116:13 and talks about taking the cup of salvation and calling upon the name of the Lord. They thank God for their meeting and for how He is working in the lives of the lost. They discuss the Psalms being songs and describe the book as a collection of poems. They mention the use of allegories and word pictures in the Psalms to help convey messages. They talk about various phrases in the Bible that mention the cup of something, which often signifies an abundance of something. They emphasize that the cup of salvation is abundant and can bring great blessings. They mention that taking the cup of salvation is a statement of victory and that there is a path to victory that involves overcoming sin and past mistakes. They acknowledge that everyone has a past and a testimony of how God has transformed their lives. They emphasize that salvation comes from the power of Jesus' resurrection and not through personal willpower. They conclude by expressing grat Psalm 116 and verse 13, I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Lord, thank You so much for our meeting. Thank You for how You're moving on the souls of those who are lost. Thank You for using among us. Thank You, God, for smiling upon us. Thank You for the epistles that are written here on the hearts. Thank You, God, for Your willingness to meet with us. And I do pray, Lord, that I may preach this message exactly as You would have it to go forth today. Give me Your words, and I pray the anointing and the power for it to come through in Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. God knows all of it. He's got the understanding, and He knows where every one of us are here today. I want to preach today this title, The Cup of Salvation. The Cup of Salvation, as we read there in the 13th verse. Now, you understand that the Psalms are really songs is what they are. It is a whole series of songs. And someone had written that the book's title could actually be read as poems sung to the accompaniment of music. And that's really what Psalms means. It is poems that are written to the accompaniment of music. There's 150 songs in our book of Psalms compiled over hundreds of years, put together. And somebody said that this is the hymn book of the Jews. That these are songs that have been written. And I know that often you can look right there in your Bible, and I didn't mention this, but I'd like you to keep your Bible open to this 116th Psalm. But if you look at every header of what we have deemed often as chapters, they're not chapters in a book. They are all separate songs. And so it's really more proper for us to say Psalm 116, not Psalms chapter 116, because it's not really a chapter of a book. It is an individual song. So this book of Psalms is a collection of poems, so to speak. And it is full of poetic language and poetic imagery so that we can be helped in understanding the message that God is getting across to us. Full of allegories, word pictures, so that it just helps to describe exactly the message that's trying to get out there so that it helps us to understand the depth of it. We can say at times that I need help. Or we can paint a word picture about how badly I am in need of help. And that we find in the Psalms here. As a matter of fact, one of the most endearing portions of Scripture, the 23rd Psalm begins this way, the Lord is my Shepherd. It's an allegory. He's not really saying that Jesus, or our God, is out there in a field somewhere as a Shepherd. But He says He is my Shepherd. And He cares wonderfully for His sheep. That's the picture that we're getting of God. And when David says that He makes me to lie down in green pastures, he's not really talking about literal green pastures or still waters. He's talking about that kind of rest that comes when we allow God to be our guide. And in the 40th Psalm, David says this, He brought me up also out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, set my feet on a rock, and established my going. Here David is portraying a terrible situation in his life. He calls it a horrible pit so that you and I can understand the depth of the trouble that that man was in. He really wasn't saying somebody dug a hole, and I found myself in the bottom of that, and it was real nasty and muddy down there. He's trying to say, I got in so much trouble, I could compare it to a horrible pit, and my feet stuck fast in miry clay. And the Lord came along and pulled me up out of that pit, and He set my feet on a rock and established my going. So he's saying what a great deliverance I got out of my time of trouble. That when things looked like they were falling apart, my God provided stability for me one more time. So these Word pictures, they help us to relate to how it is the things that these men have been going through, and how great that our God does deliver. And we read there in my text, Psalm 116 and verse 13, tells of a deliverance that God describes as something that is offered in a cup. And He calls it right there, the cup of salvation. And that's what I want to try to preach today. It is something that is offered that needs to be received. And so God calls it this. Something that we can drink into ourselves. He calls it the cup of salvation. Now all throughout the Scriptures, you can find the phrase the cup of something or another. And everywhere that it's found, well, not everywhere, but often in the Scriptures, it speaks of an abundance of something. He says in the 11th Psalm, upon the wicked, he shall rain snares, fire and brimstone, and horrible tempest. This shall be the portion of their cup. He's talking about a lot of snares. A lot of fire. A lot of brimstone. And much tempest. This shall be the portion of their cup. In Isaiah 51, He speaks of the cup of God's fury. And He speaks of the cup of trembling. Jeremiah 16 tells of a cup of consolation. Jeremiah 25, the wine of the cup of this fury. Ezekiel said there was a cup of astonishment and desolation. The picture he's trying to paint here is there's a lot of this. Okay? And when you get this cup, you're either going to suffer under a great load, or you're going to receive a great blessing. The cup of consolation, when God offers it, it's a wonderful thing. Revelation 14, the Bible says, of the wine of the wrath of God is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation. And in Revelation 16, the cup of the wine of the fierceness of His wrath, there is an abundance of what God has when He puts it in a cup. And so it is in my text when He says there is a cup of salvation. Let me assure you today that there is an abundance of salvation according to the Word of the Lord. And in Psalm 23 and verse 5, David said, my cup runneth over. What a great blessing to know our God. And you will find if you will be a partaker of this cup of salvation, you will know that there is the abundance that you need. The 86th Psalm verse 5, the Lord is ready to forgive and plenteous in mercy. The 130th Psalm, with the Lord there is mercy and with Him is plenteous redemption. When God has offered the cup of salvation, He from heaven has ensured that there is plenty for everyone who is willing, as this psalm writer said, I will take the cup of salvation. There is plenty. That statement he makes there, I will take the cup of the Lord. I will call upon the name of the Lord, the cup of salvation. This is a statement that the writer makes of victory. I am going to reach for it. I am going to take for myself the cup of salvation. I'm going to reach a place where everything has been made right and where my help has been found because I take the cup of salvation. But while this is a place of victory, while this is a place of great joy and I've overcome, we have to understand that victory came with a path to victory. I mean, he didn't just wake up one morning and say life's just grand. Everything's always wonderful for me. He said I have to take the cup of salvation. And this victory is to be wrought. It hadn't always been this way. He didn't always get up and say, I've got the victory today. He might have sung the song, but only because he knew the words. But there was a path. This psalm, like most songs, have a story behind it. Even secular songs out there in the world, I know a lot of them are being written. Actually, a lot of what's called Christian songs are written for money, coming up with a clever tune and a nice story. But a lot of songs are written because there's a story that goes with that song. It's an experience that has taken place that somebody said, I need to write this in a song. And so this writer says, I will take the cup of salvation. Now right here in this house, as we gather together in a church, it is not unusual for us to see worship. It's not unusual for us to hear somebody testify of the good things that God has done. Not unusual for us to come into this house and see people that are smiling. I'd love to see a lot more of it actually. But it's not unusual. But the truth is that it hasn't always been this way, brothers and sisters. Nobody in this house has a testimony of salvation without a story that goes with it. Nobody has lived in this world without sin making a stain on their lives. The Bible says in Romans 3 and 23 that all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Galatians 3 and verse 22 says that the Scripture hath concluded all under sin. And the Apostle John, in his first epistle, said, if we dare say that we have not sinned, we make Him a liar and His Word is not in us. And the holy life that we see lived in the lives of Christians today is in stark contrast to the life that was once lived by every one of us. In this place today, I know that there are testimonies of embarrassing sins. I know that in this place are people who have lived lives very selfishly and foolishly. Right here. Right here among us. Among us there are those who have wrestled with things that we no longer care to even talk about. We don't want to bring them up. But it's all because Jesus Christ made that great change in our life that those are the things that are in the past and now we have a life that we enjoy, that we have taken the cup of salvation. We recognize it is in the power of the life that is gained through the resurrection of Jesus Christ that allows us to live lives that have been transformed out of darkness into His marvelous light. No one has ever been saved by sheer willpower to do better. Nobody has ever been saved because they made it up in their mind that they were quitting bad habits. Nobody's ever been saved simply because they got up one day and decided I'm going to live my life differently today. But every soul does have a past. Every one of us has a testimony. Thanks be to God that He has washed away sin and given every one of us the opportunity right here today to live in the righteousness of God. We can look these things up in our Bible. And as Brother Ron was giving testimony of the jail meetings there, and there are men that they'll hear the Gospel and respond, and then they go back and they don't have a church. They don't have somebody to encourage them. We can say, well, everybody's got the opportunity. And that's true. But let us come together and pray that God will open up doors. That God will send somebody else to water that Word so that God will give the increase. God has given us a great gift that we are able to live right through the sacrifice of Jesus Christ that was made for us on Calvary. Now, we've got our testimonies, but the writer of this psalm had his own testimony. No different from us. And we can catch a glimpse here earlier in this psalm. Look with me in verse 3. The sorrows of death come past me, and the pains of hell get hold upon me. I found trouble and sorrow. The sorrows of death come past me. Now, I want you to notice here, he did not say death has come past me, but he said it was the sorrows of death which have surrounded me. It didn't seem like it was the concept of dying that really bothered him more than anything, but it was the great sorrow that is associated with death. He said it's the sorrows of death which have come past me. He said that it was death's sorrows that were all about me. And pain, the distress that came straight out of the belly of hell has gotten a hold of my soul. Now, if you'll look at this verse with me, the sorrows of death and the pains of hell that have gotten hold of me, I don't know if you'll agree with me, but to me, this really sounds like a graphic description of someone who is suffering from depression. The sorrows of death. This isn't just a simple little passing sadness. This isn't a temporary case of the blues. But he says, I am enveloped by sorrows that are associated with death. I am covered up by deadly sorrows. He begins to describe a feeling that many people have experienced. A feeling of hopelessness. A feeling of helplessness. A feeling of worthlessness overwhelming them. There are times that people get into a place where they no longer find pleasure in the things that they once appreciated. No longer do I find contentment in the things that once made me smile because depression and the sorrows of death have covered over the individual and they cannot even enjoy life. And when people become overwhelmed with the thought of depression, it's the only thing they can think about. Now in our Bibles, there are examples of others who have gone through similar things. They have had feelings just like this. Job and Jeremiah both cursed the day in which they were born and wished that they were dead. Elijah the prophet requested of God, I want to die. Jonah ended up saying, it'd be better off if I would just die. And depression will put you in that place. Depression will make you feel that way. These men's words show that they knew what it was like to be compassed about with the sorrows of death. They showed what it was like that they had experienced the pain of hell in their life. These men knew what it was like to reach a place where it seemed like there was simply no more hope. Their words demonstrate in the Spirit that they were depressed. Now, none of them really talked about taking their own life. They never said. They were not pushed to a point and said, I don't know, maybe I should just go ahead and take my own life. But they believed things would be better if I just died. If something just happened. I'd be better off. They'd be better off. I wouldn't say the things that I say anymore. I wouldn't mess things up any longer. I wouldn't get in the way. I wouldn't fail like I do if I would just die. Now, I find it interesting that God did not hide these men's insecurities from us. These are heroes. Job, Jeremiah, Elijah. The preaching of the prophet Jonah walking through a city that he didn't even like and didn't even want to preach saves a whole city. These are great men. And God said they have been in this place that could be called the sorrows of death. And the psalmist from whom we read today comes to himself after he has experienced being compassed about with the sorrow of death. Being gotten a hold of by the pain of hell. When he found trouble and sorrow at some point, he comes to himself and look at the next verse. Verse 4, Then called I upon the name of the Lord, O Lord, I beseech Thee, deliver my soul. And he reaches a place in verse 13 where he says, I will take the cup of salvation. He agrees that he's going to receive that which God offers. He does not claim that I've prepared me a cup. He does not lay claim to the thought that I've fixed something up that will get me out of this. He doesn't boast that I've decided what's going in this cup. He accepts the cup of salvation exactly as it's been offered. Little Michael talked to us this morning about the message being unaltered. And the cup of salvation that God gives, there's no messing with it. There's no adding to it. And there's no taking away from it. The psalmist here did not say, I will make the cup of salvation. He didn't say, I will purchase the cup of salvation. He does not offer to alter the contents of this cup. He does not add works to change its color. He does not introduce His philosophies to change the flavor of what is in this cup. He takes it just as it is for this cup of salvation that God offers is in its purest form. It doesn't get any better than this. The expectation that God has is that that which has been prepared is sufficient. It is enough exactly as it is. It has already been prepared well. It contains everything that is needed for the salvation of soul. And so it is called the cup of salvation. Now in our day, it has become popular to take a sip of the cup of salvation. Just a little bit. Enough to taste, but not enough to change a man's life. People want enough to temporarily relieve themselves from stress or to escape some immediate trouble in life, but they're not wanting enough that will completely transform a life from sin. They want just enough to make me feel better or get me through the current crisis. But when the Lord reaches out and offers unto man this cup of salvation, His full intention is to save to the uttermost. This offer that God makes is for complete salvation in the name of Jesus, to save a life and fully transform him from darkness into light. Therefore, if any man be in Christ, he's a new creature. Old things are passed away. Behold, all things are become new. Our Lord intends that this cup of salvation is to be received just like Jesus offered the disciples at the Last Supper, the cup of communion, on the night that He was betrayed. As He reached out His hands with that cup and He said, Drink ye all of it. And that is how the cup of salvation has been offered to every man. Now, since I don't know the hearts of everybody in this place, everybody that hears this message, maybe somebody can relate to the words in verse 3, I have found trouble and sorrow. You would confess, I have neither looked for trouble nor sorrow, but I have found them both. Searched for solutions, but only found more problems. Longing for help, but all you stumble across in your searching is adversity and trouble. You want peace, but you find anguish. Trying to find something good, but all you come across is more sorrow. You wanted a contented life. You weren't asking for riches. You weren't asking for fame. All I want is to live a good life. But instead, maybe you can say today, I have found trouble and sorrow. Well, if that's you, I suggest you do what David did in the 18th Psalm. He spoke words that were similar to this 116th Psalm, but he said, In my distress I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. I called upon the Lord in my distress, in the sorrows of death, in the pains of hell, in the trouble and in the sorrow, I called upon the Lord and cried unto my God. And if you read through the 18th Psalm, you'll find what wondrous things God is willing to do when somebody will call upon the name of the Lord. But he gets to one point in that Psalm and he says this, where it says that God bowed the heavens and came down. Now, what if today God were to bow the heavens and to come down? That might be a dream to some people. That might be just, oh, that would be awesome if God would bow the heavens. If only He would come down. But that's exactly what He's done already. Jesus came into the world to save sinners. Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost. Jesus came to give His life a ransom for many. Jesus came to give Himself for us that He might redeem us from all iniquity. Do you remember what the angel said? It's why we call Him Jesus. For He shall save His people from their sins. And so now, I come to this place of an invitation. There is what the Bible calls the cup of salvation. And in this cup of salvation is an abundance, an overwhelming amount. I've told people where I go. My life can be summed up in the few words of a verse. Where sin abounded, grace did much more abound. And this cup of salvation, it is great and it is mighty. We might look upon the cup of the fierceness of His wrath. We might look upon the cup of His indignation. We might look at the cup of His fury. But do not fail to notice the cup of salvation. And today, I invite you to do as this psalmist did. I will take the cup of salvation. Would you stand with me? Michelle, would you come to this piano please? I will take the cup of salvation. Father, thank You so much for our time together. Thank You for the opportunity for me to preach about this cup of salvation that You have given to us. And Lord, You know every one of us here. And You know where our station is right now. You know what has touched who. And I'm asking You today, Lord, to reveal to every one of us, God, that the answer is still the same. The answer is found in Jesus. And I pray that You'll move on some soul today. I will call on the name of the Lord and have a testimony that in my distress, I called upon the Lord, and He heard me. So I pray today as we gather in this altar, I ask You to touch souls and that You'll have Your way in Jesus' name. Now, we're not afraid to tell Brother Ron when our foot is injured and needs a surgery. We don't mind to offer a prayer request. My body's in need and it's not working right. But there's some stigma that goes with being compassed with the sorrows of death. And we loathe to let anybody know. But I want to invite the church today. I want to make a general altar call here that everyone would find his and her place in the altar and would acknowledge God spoke to somebody today. God has spoken to somebody. It could not be. I'm not sufficient in myself. I don't know you well enough to know where you are and what you're going through. But God has spoken. And I'm going to ask the church, let's come in. Let's talk to Him today. Where are you? What do you find all around you? What is it that has stolen your attention? Is it sorrow? Is it the pains that come from hell? Not afraid of dying, but these sorrows of death sure are affecting me. I will take the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Oh, yes, God. Turn His feet tenderly. Jesus is calling. Oh, sinner, come home. Softly and tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling for you and for me. You've kept it to yourself. God says, I'm offering. Are you taking? I'm offering. Will you receive? Oh, it's a delicious cup. It's a nourishing cup. It's exactly the cup that we need in these troubled times. Oh, yes, God. Tenderly, Jesus is calling, calling. Oh, sinner, come home. Why should we tarry when Jesus is pleading, pleading for you and for me?