A New Beginning presents a great book to show you how to easily share the gospel by Pastor Greg Laurie. The book is called Tell Someone You Can Share the Good News. And I wrote it with this thought in mind. I acted as though I were sitting down with an individual and sharing truths I've learned about evangelism. And it's something that is really important to me.
And I want to share what I've learned with you in this book, Tell Someone. Yours for a gift of any amount at harvest.org. If mercy is not getting what we deserve, grace is getting what we don't deserve. Pastor Greg Laurie explains the important role of grace in our Christian lives. Grace is God's unmerited favor.
There's nothing you can do to deserve the grace of God. It's undeserved, it's unearned, it's unrepayable. That's why the Bible says: For by grace you have been saved through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. This is the day. When the lost are found, this is the day for a new beginning.
Amazing grace, how sweet the sound. But can you hear all the angels of singing? This is the day, the day when I begin. Advertisers know that nothing gets our attention more than the word free. If we can get something for nothing, We're listening.
Well, God's offer of eternal life means we trade in our sins and shortcomings, our nothingness. and He gives us eternal life. What's more, his grace is literally something for nothing. We learn about that today on A New Beginning as Pastor Greg Laurie continues our studies in the Psalms. We'll get a good lesson on forgiveness, mercy, and grace.
Every day, the day when life begins.
So I heard the story of a little girl that got out a piece of paper in her crayons. And her mom said, Honey, what are you going to draw? She said, Mom, I'm going to draw a picture of God. The mom said. Sweetie, nobody knows what God looks like.
The little girl shot back, they will when I'm done. What is God like? Is God a smiling God? Is He a frowning God? Is he a God who approves of us, or is he a God that does not approve of us?
We wonder. You know, it's interesting that the Bible compares God to a father. He's referred to father many times.
Now, I don't know what kind of dad you have or what kind of dad you had. Maybe your father was hands-on, affectionate, affirming, encouraging, loving. Maybe your dad was a bit aloof, a bit distant, perhaps not that communicative. Even worse, maybe your dad was harsh. And maybe you never had a dad at all growing up.
That would be more my situation.
So we can sometimes take our earthly father and then view God, our heavenly father, in the same way. If we had a good dad, that's not a bad thing, but here's the deal: you have to evaluate God based on what He reveals about Himself in the Bible.
Okay? And one of the most beautiful pictures of God in the Bible is a story that Jesus told to show us what God is like. It's a selfie of God, if you will. And Jesus compared God To a father who had two sons. And one of those sons went astray and Drug the family name to the gutter and did all sorts of horrible, sinful things, but one day came to his senses and decided to return home.
And the father, as portrayed by Jesus, sees his son coming at a distance and runs to meet him and throws his arms around him, hugs him and kisses him, and says, This, my son, who is dead, is alive again.
So, what is God like according to Jesus? And by the way, there's no better source. What is God like? According to Jesus, God is like a Father who loves us and misses us when we are gone. God is like a Father who will forgive us no matter what sins we have committed if we repent and return to Him.
Now we go to the Old Testament. We have another beautiful picture of God presented to us through the story in the life of King David. It's a story of how David treated another person, and it shows us the love of God. David's such an interesting character, isn't he? Very complex.
Some contradictions in his character. He was a warrior, he was a worshiper. He was a fighter. He was a lover. He was brave and fearless.
He could be humble and sweet. He could also be vengeful, petty. Immoral and outright Disobedient. I think of the statement made by Winston Churchill about Russia. And he made this to me personally.
That's how old I am. No, it's not true. But Churchill said this about Russia: it's a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. I think you could take that same description and apply it to David. David was a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma.
Hard to figure out, but yet at the same time, he is uniquely described as the man after God's own heart. And there are 66 chapters in the Bible dedicated to the adventures, misadventures, triumphs, and defeats. Of the shepherd boy who became a king, David. And he became the greatest of all kings. And it just reminds us that God uses flawed people.
Why is that so hard for us to understand? God can draw a straight line with a crooked stick. And if you look at the people that God used, it almost seems as though He went out of His way to find flawed people, ordinary people, people that fell short. But uh The people of Israel Had David become their king.
Now, how this happened is very interesting because. Uh God really did not want to Yeah. Give them a king. He wanted to rule them through the prophets. And in this case, Samuel was the man.
God gave the word to Samuel. He told them what to do. But the Israelites wanted a king. Why? Because all the other nations had a king.
It reminds you of kids saying, everybody else has a cell phone. Why can't I have a cell phone? Because you're two years old, I just, how did you even string those sentences together? And so they're the same way. We want a king, everybody else has a king.
Why can't we have a king? All right, the Lord says, I'll give you a king. Careful what you wish for, you might get it.
So God gave them a king right out of central casting, Saul. Saul was charismatic. He was good-looking. He was a little taller than everybody else. The kind of guy that would stand out in a crowd.
That's the man. He looks like a king. And he was a good king for a period of time, but then he began to disobey, and then he began to go the wrong direction.
So the Lord said, I'm going to raise up another king. You know the story. The prophet Samuel went to the town of Bethlehem, to the house of Jesse, as instructed by the Lord, and there he anointed David to be the king. You would think he just went straight to the palace, but that didn't happen at all. David spent 15 years going through a lot of trials and tribulations before he actually ascended to the throne.
But he never lost his heart for God.
So, fast forward now in the story, David becomes close friends with Prince Jonathan. They formed a friendship. David and Jonathan were as tight as two people could be. And so Jonathan knew what was coming. He knew that he was not going to ascend to the throne, even though he was the son of the king, even though he was the prince.
He knew David was God's man. And so he got David to make a commitment to him. And that commitment was: David, when you finally become king, I want you to remember my family and my kin. And David agreed to this, tragically. Saul and Jonathan were killed on the battlefield.
And so, this is where our story begins. We come to 2 Samuel chapter 2. Chapter 1.
Now, you're thinking, wait, I thought this was a study on the Psalms of David.
Well, it is. But this particular Psalm of David is not in Psalms, but it's in 2 Samuel. But it's a Psalm. It's exactly the same structure as you find in the other Psalms of David, and this is what he wrote. To commemorate Saul and Jonathan.
So 2 Samuel 123, David writes, How beloved and gracious were Saul and Jonathan. They were together in life and in death. And they were swifter than eagles and stronger than lions. O women of Israel, weep for Saul, for he dressed you in luxurious scarlet clothing, in garments decorated with gold. Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen in battle.
How I weep for you, my brother Jonathan. Oh, how much I loved you, and your love for me was deep, deeper than the love of women. Oh, how the mighty heroes have fallen, stripped of their weapons, they lie dead. stop there.
Well, a lot of grace in this song. I'm not surprised that David honors his buddy Jonathan. Jonathan was a Really heroic guy. Full of courage. Fearless.
And loyal to David and loyal to God, and even loyal to his father. And his father mistreated him as well, not just David.
So, of course, it makes sense that David would say Jonathan was a hero, but he includes Saul. And I think this is an amazing thing that shows us a little insight into the character of David and why God called him a man after his own heart. Because David did not remember the sins of Saul. Saul had made David's life a living hell for many, many years. David hid in caves.
He ran. He could have killed Saul easily, at least on one occasion, if not more. Yet he never did that. And yet he honors Saul. And it's a good reminder that we too should not hold people's sins and shortcomings against them.
You know, sometimes when you've been married a long time, you might have a little Disagreement, it happens, right? And one of them may say, and I won't say if the woman would do this more than the men. But girls, but um Might say something. I remember when you said 25 years ago to me. Wait, what?
25 years ago? Yes, you said it. I have it written down, I have a recording of it.
Okay, hold on. We're told over in 1 Corinthians 13: love does not keep a record of wrongs that others have done. You need to forgive and forget.
So David was forgetting the shortcomings and the sins of King Saul. But now we see him take it a step further as he extends grace to a potential threat. to his throne, and that grace would be extended to The son of Jonathan, the next in line. to become king but David does not want to punish him or kill him. He wants to show great.
Grace to him, and that's exactly what he did. Mm-hmm. Pastor Greg Laurie will have the second half of his message in just a moment. Hey everyone, I want you to know about our app called Harvest Plus. Think of it as a harvest version of Netflix.
We have all of our resources in one place. We have our movies like Steve McQueen The Salvation of an American Icon, Johnny Cash of Redemption of an American Icon, A Rush of Hope and much more. Then we have our television program, daily devotions, and much more.
So go and download the Harvest Plus app. And now Pastor Gray continues with today's message. You know, it's an interesting thing, little twist in the story. Is there was still a battle going on between the house of David and the house of Saul. Even though David was the rightful king, there was still a conflict going because Saul had a son left whose name was Ish-bosheth.
And so Abner was the general of Saul. And so Abner went to Isbosheth and said, Let's make you king instead of David.
Well, then they had a conflict and a disagreement. And so Abner got ticked off with Isbosheth and decided to revolt against him and go over to David's side.
So he showed up. In David's court and said, Hey, you know what? Let's unite the whole kingdom behind you, and you should be king.
Now, David could have had Abner put to death because he had been hunting David along with Saul. But he said, I'm done fighting. Let's just have peace. And so he makes a peace agreement with Abner. And I bring this up because he just wanted to be at peace.
You know, sometimes you just get tired of fighting. And he was willing to forgive his enemies. And in this way, he reflects Jesus. As Jesus would forgive his enemies, what did Christ say from the cross? His first words, First statement out of seven.
Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. And we see David reflecting that David. Who is, of course, the one that would be in the Messianic line to the Son of David, the Lord Jesus Christ, reflects this in the way he treated his enemies. Maybe you too have been persecuted and attacked wrongfully by someone. Maybe you have an enemy that has tried to do you harm.
Maybe you've been hurt or offended, and you've been treated badly. And in light of all this, let me ask you this question. Would you like to go to that person? And help them and bless them. Probably not.
You would like them to get a taste of their own medicine.
Well, that's not how David felt. And he remembered his promise to Jonathan and to his descendants that he would show mercy to them.
So let's go over now to 2 Samuel 9, and let's see what happened next. Because as we go to 2 Samuel 9, We see David. going to a man named Ziba. And Ziba was the servant of King Saul.
So, David wanted to find out if there's any descendants. of Saul Or and or Jonathan left.
So we pick it up. In verse 2, 2 Samuel 9. David says, are you Ziva? Yes, sir, I am, Zeba replied. And the king asked him, Is anyone still alive from Saul's family?
If so, I want to show God's goodness to them in any way I can. Zebra replied, Yes, one of Jonathan's sons is still alive, but he is crippled. Oh, where is he? the king asked. In Lodabar, at the home of Maker, son of Amamiel.
So David sent for him and brought him from Machr's home. His name was Mephibosheth. He was Jonathan's son and Saul's grandson. When he came to David, he bowed low in great fear and said, I am your servant. David said, Don't be afraid.
I've asked you to come. and I want to be kind to you, because of my vow to your father Jonathan, and I will give you all the land that once belonged to your grandfather Saul, that you may live here with me in the palace. Mephibosheth fell to the ground before the king. Should the king show such kindness to a dead dog like me? But Phibosheth ate regularly with David as though he was one of his own sons.
We'll stop there. Isn't that a great story? What grace David showed. To this young man. I mean, here is David, the crowned king of Israel.
And one would normally want to eliminate any potential uh rivals To your rule, and yet he wants to show grace. Of Fibosheth.
Now it's interesting because after. Saul and Jonathan were killed on the battlefield. The nurse, who was caring for young Mephibosheth, in her haste to get away and get him into hiding. uh dropped him. And when she dropped him, he was disabled.
He was crippled for life as a result. He had been dropped. And I wonder if I'm talking to someone who has been dropped in life. And by dropped, I just simply mean Some bad things happened to you in the earlier years of your life. Maybe it was mistreatment, maybe it was neglect, maybe it was some circumstances that were very difficult, and it's affected you.
Throughout your life, or maybe you were written off by people. I feel like I was dropped in life, I was pretty neglected. I lived with my grandparents. I lived with aunts and uncles. I went to military school.
And I remember that one teacher actually wrote this on my report card. Funny how I remember this still. And I didn't get very good grades, I have to tell you. My grades were very low, except art. I got A's in art.
That's it. Everything else was, C was good for me. An occasional B, honestly, a lot of D's and even some Fs. But I learned a little trick. If you put one line through an F, you can make it into an A.
Yeah. Just use the same color ink.
So they don't realize you did it yourself. One teacher wrote these words. My report card, horrible grade. She said, Greg spends way too much time. staring out the window, daydreaming, and drawing cartoons.
If he continues to do this, he will never amount to anything. Thank you for those encouraging words, teach. I really appreciate that.
So my cousin, my older cousin Wayne, was Going to become a psychologist, and so he was doing tests on random people in preparation. For this. And he said, I did a test on you, Greg, when you were a teenager, and you were so full of anger and rebellion, we were all very concerned about what course your life was going to take. It was not on a good path. I was not going in a good direction.
But then Jesus stepped in and changed everything. See? Because God specializes in taking those who have been dropped in life and picking them up.
So, regardless of what hand you've been dealt. Regardless of what difficulties you've had, God can change the course of your life.
So, David asked if anyone is still alive from the house of Saul. Verse 3: The king asks him, Is anyone alive? I want to show God's kindness to them in any way I can. By the way, this word kindness can be translated grace.
So David is effectively saying Is there anyone left in this family that I can show grace to? I love that he used the word grace. Grace is God's unmerited favor. There's nothing you can do to deserve the grace of God. It's undeserved, it's unearned, it's unrepayable.
That's why the Bible says, For by grace you have been saved through faith, not of works, lest any man should boast. Listen to this. Justice. is getting what I deserve. Mercy is not getting what I deserve.
Grace is getting what I don't deserve. Let me say it again: justice is getting what I deserve. Don't ever say to God, Lord, deal with me justly, give me what I deserve. Don't pray that. Because you deserve judgment.
as I do. You can say, Lord, show mercy to me. And extend your grace toward me. Let me illustrate. Let's say that we went out on a Harley ride and I loaned you my Harley.
And you totaled it.
Okay, if I dealt with you in justice, I would say you need to get me a new Harley. If I dealt with you in mercy, I would say, okay. You don't have to get me a new Harley. If I dealt with you in grace, I would buy you a new Harley. Right?
So God extends grace to us, and David was extending this grace or unconditional love. To whoever he could find from the household of Saul and Jonathan.
So here is David now. He seeks out Mephibosheth and he brings him into his home and makes him a member of the family. Look at verse 11. Mephibosheth ate regularly with David as though he were one of his own sons. By the way, that's mentioned four times in 13 verses.
He was like one of his own sons. Come and eat at my table, son. You're like a part of our family now. You're welcome here. You're loved, Jim.
Pastor Greg Laurie. With great insight on the grace David demonstrated to the house of Saul, namely toward Mephibosheth. And there's more to come from this study here on a new beginning.
Now, it's worth asking: have you received the Lord's grace and mercy? You know, we've all sinned. The Bible says, For all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. Pastor Gregg, what would you say to the person who wants to come to the Lord and make a change to day? What I would say is He is only a prayer way.
Which means if you will call upon the name of the Lord right now through prayer, He will hear your prayer and answer your prayer. Listen, if you want Jesus Christ to come into your life, if you want Him to forgive you of your sin, if you want to know that you'll go to heaven when you die, just pray this prayer right now after me. Just pray, Lord Jesus, I know that I'm a sinner, but I know that you're the Savior. who died on the cross for my sin, and rose again from the dead, I turn from my sin now, and I choose to follow you. From this moment forward as my Savior and Lord, as my My God and my friend.
In Jesus' name I pray. Amen. Amen. And listen, if you have just prayed that prayer and you've meant those words sincerely, we want to welcome you into the family of God. And let us help you get started walking each day with the Lord.
Pastor Greg would like to send you his new Believer's Bible at no cost to you, along with some other practical resources. They'll help answer your questions and get you started off right as you live for God each day. Just let us know you've prayed with Pastor Greg and that you want the New Believer's Bible when you call 1-800-821-3300. We can take your call anytime at 1-800-821-3300. Or go online to harvest.org and click the words Know God.
And then let us say a word of thanks to those who support us financially, those who make it possible for us to bring you these studies each day. We are definitely a listener-supported ministry. It's the generosity of listeners that help us be here with these programs.
So, if you've partnered with us, thank you. And if you have yet to partner with us, well, I hope you'll get in touch today and let us know that you're standing with us. Even a small investment would help. It's actually an investment in changing lives. Thank you for partnering with us.
You can donate securely online at harvest.org or write a new beginning box 4000, Riverside, California, 92514. Or call us at 1-800-821-3300. Again, that's 1-800-821-3300.
Well next time join us for more from Pastor Gregg's study called The Power of Forgiveness. Join us here on A New Beginning with Pastor and Bible teacher Greg Laurie. This is the day, the day when life begins.
