Greg Laurie at Harvest Ministries recommend a great resource about the end times by Dallas Theological Seminary professor Mark Hitchcock. He's written a brand new book called The Revelation Answer Book, 125 Common Questions People Ask About Earth's Final Days. And guess what? We have a copy with your name on it.
So for your gift of any size, we will rush you your own copy of the Revelation Answer Book. Available at harvest.org. 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. 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. Uh 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 Drugged 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. of King David. It's a story of how David treated another person. Person, and it shows us the love of God.
David's such an interesting character, isn't he? Very complex. uh 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's 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. And I think that's a very important thing for us to remember.
The people of Israel Had David become their king.
Now, how this happened is very interesting because Uh God really did not want to 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 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 1:23, 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. We'll 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.
And 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 extended to The rightful heir of that throne, 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 grace to him and that's exactly what he did. 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 Ishbosheth. 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 Uh 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 chapter 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, Zebah 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.
Well, where is he, the king asked, in Lodobar. at the home of Makr, son of Amamil.
So David sent for him and brought him from Machar'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.
Not 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 uh to your rule and yet he wants to show grace. 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 injustice, 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 a man named Ziba. A servant of Saul mentions Mephibosheth. And notice what he says. Yes, there's someone named Mephibosheth, and he is Triple.
So? What's that all about? What a thing to say and what a creep this guy was too. Don't ever name your kids Ziba. You know, I know there's I we like to use Bible names, and they mark it's fine, just some names are not good.
You know, Joshua, great. Jonathan, fine, David, really good. Ziva? No. No Delilah's.
No bills or bubs. Don't name your child Judas. No. I know their Bible names. They're not good ones.
Zeba was a creep.
So here's old Mephibosheth, and it's just a picture of what God is like. I don't know how he viewed David. But I imagine he'd been filled with some bad information about the new king. People would say, oh, David, he's bad. You should have been the king Mephibosheth.
Not this David. But then when he met David, it was a whole new story. But he was afraid initially. 2 Samuel 9:6 says, When he heard David wanted to see him, he was afraid. And there's a lot of people today that are afraid of God.
They don't understand that God loves us. The Bible says it's the kindness of God that brings us to repentance. And they need to find out for themselves. and discover for themselves who who the Lord really is. You know, I think one of the problems that we have today is people We'll see hypocrisy in the church, and yes, there is hypocrisy in the church.
And you might say, well, I'm looking for a hypocrite free church. and then I'll join it. Please don't because you'll ruin it. There are hypocrites in the church, but I want you to consider something. Let's define hypocrisy for a moment, biblically.
The word hypocrisy means to act. That's a technical definition, an actor. Every one of us has moments of hypocrisy, especially you, sir. Um All of us do. You were scowling at me and I saw that.
I wanted to. No, you weren't. I'm just kidding. We all have moments of hypocrisy. Come on, we do.
Oh, I shouldn't have said that. I shouldn't have done that. I regret that. Yes. But when you say, I shouldn't have said that, I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry.
You're not a hypocrite. You had a hypocritical moment. Having that is not a bad thing. That's human. That's what we're going to do.
I'm not excusing it. I'm just explaining it. But there's a difference between someone who has moments of hypocrisy and someone that is putting on an act from beginning to end. None of it's real. Jesus told a parable.
about the tares and the wheat. He talked about a farmer who planted wheat. And he had an enemy. Who came in the night and planted tares among the wheat.
Now, a tare is a plant that initially looks just like wheat until it gets a little older and then it actually uproots the wheat.
So, in the same way, in the world today, we have real Christians and we have fake Christians. And sometimes those fake Christians are planted by the devil himself to drive people away from Christ.
So they say, I'm a Christian. And then they do something horrible and we say, see, they're all hypocrites. How do you know if that person is not just a fake from the beginning and a terror and never was a real believer? You see? I think actually the presence of so many imitations is a confirmation that there's a genuine article out there as well.
And the genuine article is the true follower of Jesus Christ.
So don't let other people. form your view of God. God. And we need to prepare our children to live in this real world that we're sending them out to right now. Raise our children in the way of the Lord.
I love the way that Moses put it. when he said you should teach your children When you're at home and when you're on the road and when you're going to bed and when you're getting up, just integrate these truths into their lives. And 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. Your love tear.
So perfect. And the Bible so often uses the picture of eating. as a symbol of communion and fellowship with God. Jesus said, Behold, I stand at the door and knock. If any man hear my voice and open the door, I will come in and eat with him, have a meal with him.
I don't know about you, but I don't like to eat with people that I don't like to hang out with.
Some people say, hey, you want to go get dinner? Yeah. No. I'll get coffee. A very small coffee.
I know a place that serves it in little thimbles, right? Because I'll meet with you, but I don't want to hang out with you. I don't want to have a meal with someone who gives me indigestion. Because it's going to be a debate, or it's going to be some other problem, and that's okay. We want to have a meal with people we're comfortable with, with family and with friends.
And this is the very picture here in Scripture of Mephibosheth having access to the king's. Table.
So Nephibosheth meets David. He realizes that he had it all wrong. as David welcomes him into his home.
So what are the takeaway truths from this beautiful story? Number one, if you're taking notes, don't let another person form your view of God. Don't let another person form your view of God. Find out for yourself who God is. But Phibosheth could have been influenced by others who told him who David really was, but he found out for himself and discovered the real David.
So get your own relationship with God. Number two, forgive your enemies if they deserve it or not. Forgive your enemies if they deserve it or not. David could have got a lot of people. paid them back.
And in many ways they deserved it, but he did not do that. He instead extended forgiveness. Abraham Lincoln was once criticized by an associate. regarding his attitude toward his enemies. President Lincoln was asked, why do you always make friends of your enemies?
You should destroy them. And Lincoln replied, Am I not destroying my enemies when I make them my friends? That a great statement. God took care of the enemies of David. God will take care of our enemies.
But one day an enemy may turn into a friend. Things change with the passing of time. Thirdly, leave the past in the past. Leave the past and the past. David could have been forever haunted by...
his treatment that came from others. I mean he had a hard life. You know, rejected largely by his father and mother. not appreciated by his brothers. hunted down like a wild dog by King Saul, But yet he put it all in the past and he forgave his enemies.
And here's the thing that happens. He understood that God was in control of his life. It takes time to turn a shepherd boy into a mighty king. The funny thing about life Is that which you may think is good right now may in time turn out to be not so good? And that which you think is bad.
may actually turn out to be good. Does that make any sense? You might have something happening. Oh, this is the best thing that ever happened to me. Maybe it is.
Maybe it isn't. And then again, there might be something happening to you that you perceive as bad, but in reality, with the passing of time, it will be good because of what it produced. See, that difficulty, that hardship molded you into the man or woman God wants you to be, and you needed to go that first, through that first. And the same was true of David. He said, Good kid.
But he's got a lot of training to go through before he's going to be. A great king. King. Time is away. of causing us to see things differently.
Ecclesiastes 3.11 says, God has made Everything beautiful for its own time, but even so, people cannot see the whole scope of God's word work from beginning to end. But here's the thing that really helped David. He had focus. From his earliest days to his final days, he had focus and he said, One thing have I desired of the Lord. and that will I seek after, and I may dwell in the house of the Lord.
all the days of my life.
Now in closing, the story of David and Phiboshet. The fiber fifth of the shot. You try saying that, Mephibosheth, go. Yeah, you didn't do that well.
So in closing. This is a beautiful story of us and God. God is like David. were like Mephibosheth. Out of sheer love for Jonathan, David demonstrated Grace to his handicapped son.
And in the same way, out of love for us, And because of what Jesus did for us on the cross of Calvary, God extended his grace to each one of us. The Bible says, While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. It doesn't say why we were yet Christians. While we were yet sinners, when we were opposed to God. When we're the enemies of God, That's when Christ died for us.
Secondly, Mephibosheth had nothing, he deserved nothing, and he could repay nothing. And he was hiding, but in the same way, we have nothing we brought to the table that made us deserving of what God gave to us, but he did it anyway. Thirdly, Mephibosheth was adopted as a son and invited to eat at the king's table. And in the same way, you, when you put your faith in Jesus, are adopted into God's family. Hey everybody, thanks for listening to my podcast.
Before you go, I wanted to let you know about the important work we're doing here at Harvest. You know, we've had the same goal these last 50 years, which is simply this. We want to know God and we want to make Him known. And we do that in a lot of ways. Documentary films, animation, radio, television, large-scale evangelistic events, and more.
If you want to be a part of what we're doing to fulfill the great commission, you can support us with whatever you can give at harvest.org slash donate. Again, that's harvest.org slash donate. And thanks so much.
