Would you please stand for the call to worship? Our call to worship comes from Psalm 8. Verses one through nine. Here, the reading of the Word of God. O Lord.
Our Lord. How majestic is your name. in all the earth. You have set your glory above the heavens. Out of the mouth of babies and infants, You have established strength.
Because of your foes. To still the enemy And the Avenger. When I look at your heavens The work of your fingers. the moon and the stars which you have set in place What is man that you are mindful of him? and the Son of Man, that you care for him.
Yet you have made him a little lower than the heavenly beings. and crowned him with glory and honour, You have given him dominion over the works of your hands. You have put all things under his feet. all sheep and oxen and also the beasts of the field. The birds of the heavens And the fish of the sea.
Whatever passes along the paths of the seas O Lord. Our Lord. How majestic is your name And all the earth. Maybe seated. Please join with me in prayer.
Father in heaven. Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit. We bring before you today our worship. And we pray that this worship is pleasing and honorable to you. We pray that you would.
Work a great work in our hearts and our minds today. to clear ourselves of the cares of the world, And to focus on your glory. and giving you praise, honor, and glory. We pray that Through our struggles, through our trials. There are temptations.
that you would remind us of your word and we take great care in that. and great comfort. We pray that through these trials that you would make us more holy. that you would draw us closer to you. That you would Shelter us under your wings.
We pray that as we receive the word today. that it would penetrate our hearts. that it would move us to obedience to holiness. to sanctification. That we would not be merely hearers only.
But we would be doers of that word. We pray that Inner interactions with others. that we would be salt and light. That if There is.
Someone we encounter who has never read the Bible. Nor have known your word. that we would bring that word to them. and that your Spirit would make that alive in their hearts. We pray that also for us.
that sometimes the word is not alive in our hearts. And we pray that we would. Pray for each other. Not knowing what's in our hearts and our minds. That we would pray.
that you would be merciful to us. That you would guide us, that you would make that word alive in us. and drive us to action. We pray that the songs we sing today would be songs of truth. reflecting your glory.
We pray that For those who are sick and suffering, that you would bring healing. We pray that those who are in troubled marriages, in broken families, In workplace environments that are hostile. Whatever the case may be. That we would trust in you with all of our heart and lean not on our own understanding. We pray that you would.
Guide us. In holiness, That we honor you in all that we do. Lord. Have your spirit be strong here today. that to encourage us That we receive your word.
and that we would grow in grace and faith. We do thank you for your mercy for us, that you have given us your Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. who died for our sins, who made us sons of God, And we will be heirs with him forever. We pray that this would bring us great joy. and bring us great enthusiasm to worship you.
May you be honored and praised. We do pray this in the name of Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior. Amen. We worship the Almighty King of creation who. reigns over all and blesses us every day with his goodness and his mercy.
Let's stand together and sing as we worship our God. Praise to the Lord, the Almighty, the King of creation. Praise to the Lord. The Almighty, the King of creation. Oh, my soul, praise Him, for He is thy help.
and salvation. All ye who hear now to his temple draw near, join me in that adoration. Praise to the Lord, who o'er all things so wondrously reign shelters thee under his wings. Yes, so do. Gently sustain.
Earth, hast thou not seen how thy desires have been granted in what he ordained earth? Praise to the Lord, who doth prosper thy work and defend thee. Surely his goodness and mercy daily attend thee. Conder anew what the Almighty can do if with his love he befriend thee. Praise to the Lord, oh, let all that is in me adore him.
All that Hath life and breath, come now with praises before him. The amen sun from his temple again, gladly forever we adore him lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, all the world adore his sacred name come Brethren, follow where our Savior trod, our King victorious, Christ, the Son of God, lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore His sacred name led on their way by this triumphant sign, the hosts of God in conquering ranks combined, lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim till. All the world adore his sacred name. O Lord, once lifted on that glorious tree, as thou hast promised, draw men unto thee. Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world retain his sacred name.
Thy kingdom come that earth's despairing cease beneath the shadow of its healing peace. Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name for thy blessed cross, which doth for us atone, creation praises lies before thy throne. Lift high the cross, the love of Christ proclaim, till all the world adore his sacred name Thank you, maybe seated. our New Testament reading. today is from Hebrews chapter 5.
We'll be reading verses 5 through 3. through 10. passage which points us to our Our great high priests, Christ Jesus, our Lord. Hebrews 5. Beginning with verse five.
So also, Christ did not exalt himself to be made a high priest. but was appointed by him, who said to him, You are my son. Today I have begotten you. As he says also in another place, You are a priest forever after the order of Melchizedek. In the days of his flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears.
to him who was able to save him from death, And he was heard because of his reverence. Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. And being made perfect, he became the source of eternal salvation. to all who obey him Being designated by God a high priest, After the order of Melchizedek. Because we have such a great high priest.
We have access to the very throne of God to find mercy and grace to help in time of need.
So let's Do what is good and right in our worship, to confess before God our sin. our need and dependence upon him. Would you pray with me our prayer of confession? Almighty and everlasting Lord, We have offended and daily offend the eyes of your majesty. in all the actions of our life.
You have just cause, O Lord, to thrust us into hell for our many offences. Remembering those offences is a grief to our consciences, so that we are unable to find any rest or ease in ourselves. To whom then shall we call? To whom shall we run? We call upon you, Father of mercies, for you are infinite in goodness.
We run to you, O Christ, our Redeemer. for you alone can forgive our sins. Forgive us and confirm in us your Holy Spirit. that we may utterly give ourselves to obedience. both now and forever.
We pray these things in the name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Um Let's take a moment now to confess our particular sin silently. Hear now the words of God from Isaiah fifty-three. But Christ was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities.
Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace. And with His wounds we are healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray. We have turned every one to his own way. And the Lord has laid on him the iniquity.
Of us all. We have a wonderful Priest who has provided cleansing from sin, and righteousness that we might stand in the presence of holy God. Our Psalm today is Psalm 23. The Lord is my shepherd, I shall not want. I was struck recently in reading this psalm by a spiritual application of verses 3 and 4, which.
I think most often we think of in terms of physical danger and Uh physical death. And yet the reality is that in our spiritual lives We go our own way, rebel and sin. And God in His mercy. Restores our soul and leads us into righteousness. even when we toy with death in our sin.
He comforts us with his rod and his staff. Let's stand once again as we sing Psalm 23: The Lord's My Shepherd, I'll Not Want. The Lord's by shepherd. Uh Hi. I'll not want he makes me down to lie in pastures.
He leadeth me the quiet waters by my soul he doth restore again and me to walk doth make within the paths of right justness even for his own name's sake yea though I walk in death's dark vale yet will I fear no will for thou art with me and thy rod and Staff becomes still my table thou hast furnished in presence of my foes. My head thou dust with oil anoint, and my cup overflows. Goodness and mercy all my life shall surely follow me, and in God's house forevermore by dwelling place. Please remain standing in honor of God's word as we read it together this morning. Technology.
Have your Bibles with you today. Turn with me, if you would, to 2 Samuel chapter 9. We're going to be looking, first of all, verses 1 through 6. And David said, Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul? that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake.
Now there was a servant of the house of Saul, whose name was Zibbah, And they called him to David, and the king said to him, Are you Zibbah? He said, I am your servant. And the king said, Is there not still some one of the house of Saul? that I may show the kindness of God to him. And Zuba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan.
He's crippled in his feet. The king said to him, Where is he? And Zibbah said to the king, He is in the house of Makir the son of Amiel at Lodibar. Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Micir the son of Amiel at Lodobar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage.
And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold the I am your servant. Bow with me as we go to our Lord in prayer. Heavenly Father, we Pray for Claire Hampton today as Just yesterday she fell and broke two major bones in her arm. And is in a great deal of pain right now.
We pray, Father, that you would help her with her pain. We pray, Heavenly Father, that as they operate on her the first of this week at the time. that operation will be a total success. and that she will soon be made well. Heavenly Father, we fail so often to realize and appreciate your glory.
We get lazy in our thinking. We get lethargic in our walk with you. We forget your glorious grandeur. We get so caught up in the mundane that we quit focusing on your power and your holiness and your goodness. We fail to meditate on your glory.
We forget what Paul said in 1 Corinthians 10.31. Whatever you do, whether you eat or drink, Do all to the glory of God. We watch T V shows. ball games, political debates. whatever the recent fad is.
and our minds wander from focusing on you. Lord, may we experience what Isaiah did when he went into the temple and saw the Lord high and lifted up on his throne. Isaiah was so wild that he fell apart emotionally. He had never seen such glory. and the vision of your holiness forced him to look at his own sinfulness.
Your glory made him hate his sin. and hunger after your grace and mercy. Today we will be viewing Mephibosheth. Jonathan's son. And we will see a picture of God's grace.
that should make us shout for joy. Lord, first show us your glory and holiness. to break us. And let us then let us revel in your grace. Let us be overcome with your mercy.
Lord Jesus, do to us this morning. What David did to Mephibosheth 3,000 years ago For it is in the precious And holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen. You may be seated. We have before us today a chapter that describes the very pinnacle of David's life.
This event was greater than David killing Goliath. It was greater than David capturing Jerusalem. It was greater than David defeating the Amalekites. It was greater than David taking the Ark of the Covenant, bringing it back up to Mount Zion, and placing it in the tabernacle of David. My goodness, what's this chapter all about?
Well, in 2 Samuel chapter 9, we have a story that teaches us about a time in David's life when David was more like Jehovah God than he had ever been before. This was finally a time of peace and prosperity. A time where David could kind of relax and kick back and do whatever he wanted to do. But instead of thinking about himself, David's mind went back to the A quarter of a century ago. to the time when he entered into a covenant with Jonathan.
So in verse 1, he says this. Is there still any one left of the house of Saul? that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake.
David and Jonathan were covenant brothers. And one of the stipulations of that covenant was spoken by Jonathan when he said to David, listen. David, if anything happens to me, Then I want you to love and protect and bless my children. in the same way that you would love and bless and protect me.
Now, for the first time in two decades, there is peace and prosperity in the land. David has time to really think. And he looks at his people and he says to his people, My friend, my covenant brother Jonathan, has died over 20 years ago. But now I'm wondering, is there any of Jonathan's children who are still living? That I might show them kindness, that I might show them mercy, and that I might show them grace.
And David looks around, and there's a guy, a servant, whose name is Zibbah. And he calls him out, and he says the same question to Zibbah. He says, are there any of the descendants of Saul who were still living? He said, I want to bless them. And Zibba says, Yes, there is one.
There's one son of Jonathan still living. His name is Mephibosheth. He is crippled in both of his legs, he is lame in his feet. And David gets excited about that. David said, This is wonderful.
This is glorious. You go get him and bring him back to me. In 2 Samuel chapter 4, we have the explanation of what happened to Mephibosheth. Saul and Jonathan died. And when Saul and Jonathan died, then everybody in Israel knew that David had been anointed by the prophet Samuel to be the next king of Israel.
And that was known.
Now Mephibosheth had a nurse who was taking care of him. And when Mephibosheth nurse found out that Saul and Jonathan had both died, He uh she immediately began to panic. And she said, Oh my goodness, this is not good. This is not good because Mephibosheth is an heir to the throne. Mephibosheth is supposed to be one of the next kings of Israel, and David will hate him.
We've got to protect Mephibosheth. We've got to put him in a place where David can't get to him. And so the the nurse grabbed Mephibosheth up. and grabbed him uh i in her arms and she began to run with him. And as she ran she tripped.
And she fell on Mephibosheth. He's probably four or five years old at this time. And she broke his feet, both of them, crushed the bones in both of his feet. And I'm sure he cried out in anguish. They didn't have X-ray machines at that time.
So they didn't really know how to set bones like we would know how to set bones today. And so he grew up as a horrible cripple. Lame in both of his feet, unable to walk. A terrible, terrible situation.
So the nurse took him to a place way away from David's presence, to a place called Lodibar.
Now folks, Mephibosheth is a picture of a lost man. He's a picture of both you and me before we came to know Christ.
Now how is that?
Well, let me let me share. What's going on here? There are three words that start with a A. that describe Mephibos' condition. and also the condition of every lost person.
First of all, Mephibosheth was away. The nurse took Mephibosheth and took him all the way down to the wilderness to a place away from David, miles and miles and miles away, so that David would not know where he is, so that she could hide him. He was away. She took him away. And the nurse said to little Mephibosheth, listen, David is the king of the nation.
He is the great sovereign ruler. He is powerful. He is so strong. But he is not your friend, Mephibosheth. He is your enemy.
David wants to kill you. David wants to take away your fun. David wants to keep you from your friends.
So she took him to a place called Lodi Bar. That place means wilderness, or the literal translation is the place of no pasture. He was away from David. And for 20 years, he hid himself in that wilderness away from David. He didn't want anybody to know who he was.
He didn't reveal his identity to anybody. He kept himself hidden. And he felt fairly safe. because he thought he was hidden pretty well from David.
So first of all he was away. But secondly, he was afraid. Why was he afraid? He was afraid because the nurse had indoctrinated him with lies about David. She had said, David hates you.
David wants you dead. David doesn't care about you. You can't trust David. You must stay out of his presence all the time. And you can't be open with anybody about who you really are because if they find out who you really are, they may tell David, and if that happens, David will kill you.
Mephibosheth has not seen David since he was about five years old. And now he's got a completely different idea of who David is. He looks at him as if he's a horrible ogre. He looks at him as if he's an incompassionate, non-feeling egomaniac. That's how he looks at him.
Just the name of David sent shivers up and down his spine. He is scared to death of David. But then there's another word that describes him. is antagonistic. He's antagonistic because of all this negative talk about David.
He not only is afraid of David. But he also hates him. He resents David because he's a cripple. And the nurse had As blamed his lameness. On David.
The nurse said, Look, we were running away from David. David was after you. David wanted to kill you. And so I picked you up and I fell on you. But I was running away trying to help you.
And so it's not my fault. It's David's fault that you were lame. It's not my fault. It was the nurse's fault. Because she's the one who panicked.
And she's the one who fell on him. but she blamed it on David. I tell you, I think one of the most wicked, insidious Agendas that's going on in America's culture today. Is a culture that is obsessed with developing people into people, a victim mentality. of telling these people that they are being oppressed, that they are being victimized.
And what happens when people begin to believe those things? When people begin to believe those things, they lose initiative. and they get angry with everything. And then they get filled with hatred. Mephibosheth lives out in the wilderness with a bunch of rough Uh godless thugs.
And they get together, they mock David, and they curse him and they laugh at him. and Mephibosh is right in there with em. He's doing those same things. His heart is filled with resentment. and antagonism.
Folks, is that not a picture? of the way we were before we came to know Christ. Is that not a picture of what we were in our lost state? I can remember my BC days before Christ, and I would run from God. I didn't want him getting too close.
I didn't like the way the truth made me feel. I was afraid of God. I was afraid of hell. And I just wish that God would leave me alone. There was enmity in my heart toward God.
I did not want him running my life. I did not want him being the authority over me. I wanted to run my own life. I wanted to be my own authority. And when I heard about.
God's standard of holiness It made me extremely uncomfortable. Folks, that's what Mephibosheth is feeling. Toward David. Why does he feel that way toward David? The reason he feels that way about David is because he doesn't know David's heart.
There may be some of you here today and you may be angry at God. You may be frustrated with the church. You may be put out with religion.
Well, my advice to you is this. Put all that to the side. and look to Jesus. Look to Jesus and look to his heart. He doesn't want to take away your fun.
He wants to fill you with joy like you've never experienced before. Jesus said, I've come that they might have life and that they might have it abundantly. I understand that some of you have been hurt by religion. I understand that some self-righteous hypocrite may have said something to really hurt your feelings. I understand that, but that's nothing but religion.
Jesus hated that too. I'm not challenging you to be religious. I'm challenging you to look to Jesus. And brothers and sisters, when you see his heart, then all hell won't be able to keep you. from him.
I want you to consider what this is doing to this young man. He is alienated from everything that is good and helpful. His self-image is shattered. He believes that he is nothing. He believes that he can never be anything.
But nothing. He's living in total defeat.
Now, with that said, I want to share with you three points in this passage that teach us about David's encounter with Mephibosheth. Point one is a sovereign initiative. Look at verse five with me. Then King David sent. and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Amiel at Lodibar.
Now, I can imagine the soldiers coming up to this little house, Mephibus' house, and he knocks on the door. And Mephibosheth thinks it's probably one of his buddies, so he drags himself over to the door. He opens the door up, and he is shocked. For there are four soldiers that are standing there, not his buddies. And he looks at them and he says, guys, what's the trouble?
His heart just jumps up in his throat. He said, What do you want? And they said, Are you Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan? And he said, Yes, I am. Who wants to know?
And he said, David wants to know. For David wants you, and he wants you right now at his palace. All the color drains from his face. He thinks to himself, well, this is it. I've been hiding now for 20 years, and I've been able to stay away from David.
But now David has probably found out that I've been cursing his name, and now he's going to take my life, and that's why they're bringing me to him.
So the soldiers grab him by the arms and they pick him up. They put him in the back of a wagon. And as that wagon is moving away from the house, he looks back toward his little house. And he looks at the people, his friends that are waving goodbye to him. And he thinks to himself That house is just a little house, but it's all I've got.
My life has been barren and unproductive. But it's all that I really know. And he longed to go back. to that little place. That reminds me a whole lot of what happened with Lot's wife.
Remember, God's getting ready to send down the fire and brimstone on the city of Sodom and Gomorrah. And all that's getting ready to take place, and the angel grabs the family of Lot, and the angel rescues them and leads them out of Sodom and Gomorrah that they might be protected. The angel tells them not to look back, but Lot's wife turns around and she looks back longingly at the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah. This is what she loved. This was the place of wickedness.
This was the place of filth. And yet she loved it because that was all she really knew. That was where her fun came from. And she looked at it. And you remember what happened.
She was she was uh turned into a pillar of salt. That look was the same kind of look. that Mephibosheth has toward his place. He didn't want to leave because that was all he knew. That was all that Lot's wife knew.
And she did not realize that that place, Sodom and Gomorrah, were deceiving her and destroying her.
Well let's see how this applies to us. I want you to picture Mephibosheth here. Mephibosheth is a picture of us. And Mephibosheth didn't go seeking after David, but David went seeking after him. And, folks, that's the way it is.
We didn't go seeking after God. God went seeking after us. It was a sovereign initiative, God did it. What were we? We were sinful, arrogant, hard-headed rebels against God.
But God, who is rich in mercy, hath quickened us and seated us in heavenly places in Christ Jesus. Jesus said it well when he said, you have not chosen me, but I have chosen you. John said it well when he said, We love him because he first loved us. Paul said it well when he said, There is none that seeketh after God, for it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that showeth mercy. Folks, that we need to understand this, that if you have this idea, That you are saved today because of your wisdom, or because of your intelligence, or because of this great intellectual decision that you made for Him, then you are dead wrong.
We need to understand what the prophet Jonah said when he said, Salvation is of the Lord. The second thing I want us to see is the subject's humility. Look at verse 6. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, Came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, Mephibosheth.
And he answered, Behold, I am your servant. Put yourself in David's shoes for just a minute. He thinks back 25 years before. to the day that Mephibosheth was born. He remembers how his friend Jonathan would have been.
so excited. And he was waiting for the midwife to come back out and give him the news. Finally the midwife steps out. She smiles and she said, Jonathan, you're a daddy. You're a daddy, and you've got a beautiful little son.
Jonathan's all excited. He's shouting for joy. I've got a son. I've got a son. Finally, he goes in to scene.
And he reaches down and he picks up his little boy in his arms and he holds him to his chest. And he kisses on him, and he loves on him. And then he takes him back out to David. And he said, David, this is my son. Here, hold him.
See what it feels like, David. Mathib is just about three years old. He l he he plays with David. He climbs up in his lap. And he said, Mr.
David, What would you tell me again about that about how you kill that wicked giant Goliath with nothing but a slingshot and a stone? David loves spending that time just holding Jonathan's little boy. But now For two decades, David has been of the opinion That Mephibosheth is dead. And all of a sudden, he realizes right there. In his palace Mephiboshith is there.
He's there, right there in his palace. David's going to be able to see him again. And so David turns around to Zibbah, the servant, and he says, go get him. and bring him in here and do it quickly. And so the servant goes out, gets another servant.
They get on both sides of Mephibosheth. They lift him up. They bring him into David's throne room. And they set him down on the floor right in front of David. He's got legs that are crippled and mangled.
And so he takes his hands and he just drags himself up to David's feet. And he bows himself before David. He gets to David's feet, and then their eyes meet. for the first time in over 20 years. David looks at him, he looks at David.
And then Mephibosheth falls prostrate before the king. Mephiboshith has no idea. that there was a covenant between David And and and Jonathan. He thinks that this is all about judgment. He he knows the the the way that Mid Eastern kings think.
And he believes that he is there because he's an heir of the throne. And he thinks David. Is there to kill him? David sits there and he looks at this poor helpless man. He looks at the braces on these withered, mangled legs.
Then he looks at Jonathan's face. In that face, there is such a resemblance, or Mephibosheth's face. And in that face there's such a resemblance to Jonathan that he can hardly believe it. And then he starts thinking back about Jonathan and all the sacrifices that Jonathan made for him. He thinks about how Jonathan gave up the throne of Israel for him.
He thinks about how Jonathan gave up the love of his daddy Saul for him. He thinks about how Jonathan would have died for him. And then here's the king. This great man of valor, this mighty warrior. And he responds to Bephibosheth.
And I can just see him take his face. and bury his his face in his hands. and weep like a baby. Finally quits weeping. He wipes off his eyes.
He steps up off the throne. And he walks down to Mephibosheth. and he reaches down and he picks him up in his arms. And he holds him tight to his chest. And he says this to him.
Fear not, Methibosheth. For I will surely show you kindness. Jonathan. for Jonathan thy father's sake. Mm.
This may be the most beautiful picture of grace. that we have in the entire Old Testament. This is amazing grace. This pitiful cripple has been in hiding for over 20 years, but bless God, he's not going to be hiding anymore. He is now embraced by the arms of the king, and he's just totally bewildered at what's happening here.
His mind is racing 100 miles a minute, and he says to David, David, why? Why is this happening? What have I done? And David says, Oh, son, it's not what you've done, it's what your daddy, Jonathan, has done. He said, Jonathan, every Mephibosheth, every time I look at you, all I can see is Jonathan.
You know what that is? That's a picture of a great doctrine in the scripture, the doctrine of double imputation. When Jesus died on the cross, what did he do? He took my sin and he imputed to me his righteousness. And so what?
So that when God the Father looks at me, when he looks at Doug Agnew now, he doesn't see my filth and my sin, but he sees the righteousness of Jesus Christ. That's what he sees. When he looks at your sin, he sees Jesus. That's what he sees. And brothers and sisters, until we understand that, we'll never have a victorious and a joyful walk with the Lord.
You see, if I just look at myself and my righteousness, then I'm going to get discouraged. I'm going to just want to quit. I'm going to want to just cash it in because I know I don't deserve God's blessings.
Well, grace is not about what we deserve. Grace is the unmerited, undeserved favor of God. It is God saying, I love you and I want to bless you for Jesus' sake. It is God saying to us, I want to take from you the tension and the anguish in your soul, and I want to break the bondages and the addictions in your heart, and I want you to experience joy unspeakable and full of glory. God's grace is not just needed for salvation, brothers and sisters.
It is needed for this life. You see, God saved you not just to get you into heaven, as great and as glorious as that is. But he also saved you. to get heaven into you. That takes us to the third point, the supreme covenant.
Verses 7-11. David said to him, Do not fear. For I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. And I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father. You shall eat at my table always.
And he paid homage, and said, What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I? Then the king called Zibah, Saul's servant, and said to him, All that belonged to Saul and all his house I have given your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him, and shall bring in the produce that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's grandson, shall always eat at my table.
Now Zibah had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Zibbah said to the king, According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.
Some Ephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. David explains the covenant to Mephibosheth. He said, I gave my bow and my arrow to Jonathan. And Jonathan gave me his his uh He is shield and his sword. That was a symbol saying to each other that we will protect each other no matter what.
I gave my money belt to Jonathan. David said. And Jonathan gave his money belt to me. That was a promise that we made to each other that if we got in trouble financially, that we would help each other. And then I gave my coat to Jonathan, and Jonathan gave his coat to me.
And that was a symbol that we are a unity, that we are one, that we are together. Nail Now how important is that? That is important because they made a covenant with each other. a covenant promise to each other saying this That not only are those promises good, For Jonathan and David. But those promises are good.
for their children and their children's children. as well. David said, I love you. Mathematics. Because I loved your daddy.
I love you, Mephibosheth. Because I was in covenant. with your daddy. And how can you know that? How will I prove that to you?
You will live in my palace. You will eat at my table. you will eat off my plates. You will eat my food. You will fellowship with my family at the table.
And you will be my son, my adopted son. And you will call me Abba Father. You will call me Daddy. Yeah. Mephibus's eyes welled up with tears.
And he says, King David, do me one more favor. He said, would you take me over to the balcony? They walk over to the balcony. They look down below. And their Mephibishus, old godless friends.
And they're screaming up to David. And they said, David, you can't trust that young man. He's a liar. He's a hypocrite. He hates you, David.
We heard him curse you. We heard him ridicule you. He needs to come back home with us, David. And David says, oh no. He lives in my palace now.
He eats at my table. He is my son. He's my adopted son. And they said, but why, David? And Mephibus just smiles.
And said, tell him, David. Tell him about the covenant between you And my daddy. Tell him, David. And David did. I've had couples.
who were living with each other outside of Wedlock. And they said they didn't need to get married because they felt like the marriage covenant was unnecessary. There's a movie out several years ago called Out of Africa. And there's a scene in that movie. that kind of explains that kind of thinking, that mindset.
Richard Phillips speaks of this scene from the movie, and he said this. In one sense, the character played by Meryl Streep sits on the beach talking with her lover, played by Robert Redford. She wants him to marry her. And he responds, You think I love you more because of a piece of paper? This is today's mentality.
in which covenant owes are nothing more than empty formalities. Dell Ralph Davis comments. What the world does not see. is that love that truly loves is willing to bind itself is willing to promise is willing and gladly obligates itself so that the other may stand securely in that love. David blessed Mesphibosheth For Jonathan's sake.
so that he could be faithful to the covenant He had made. God save in mercy to believers. rises from a similar Motivation. Is that not glorious?
Now you can picture David explaining this covenant that he had with Jonathan, with these godless friends of Mephibosheth. And once he explains it to them, They just drop their heads and they walk off in defeat. The truth has shut their mouths. And what's the application here? Here's the application.
Revelation chapter 12, Satan is called the accuser of the brethren. When we fall, when we stumble. when we sin, when we mess up. Satan is right there to immediately accuse us. and he accuses us to ourselves.
And he says, look at what you've done. You're nothing but a hypocrite. You're not real. You're a phony. You don't really belong to Christ.
What do you do with that? How do you handle that? Do do you just take it? Do you just live with that kind of condemnation? No.
Here's what you do. You point Satan to Jesus Christ. And when you point Satan to Jesus Christ, Jesus holds his hands up. And he holds his hands up, and when he does, Satan can see the nail prints. And Jesus says Look at these nail prints, you enemy of God.
Look at these nail prints, you malevolent, wicked devil. These nail prints are the proof that this person is a child of God. My blood sealed his covenant. My blood made him worthy. My blood washed away his sins.
My blood imputed to him the righteousness of Jesus Christ. He said, so you can take your accusations down to the lowest parts of hell where you belong. This person is a child of God. Because of my covenant. Because of my covenant.
This person is a child of God. and he will reign with me. Forever. Brothers and sisters, I don't know about you, but I'm glad I'm a Christian. I'm glad I know Jesus.
I'm glad I'm redeemed. I'm glad that I'm washed in the blood of the Lamb. I'm glad that I'm in covenant with God. I'm glad. that my accusers have no power over me.
Bless his holy name. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, thank you for your grace. My sin is a stench in your nostrils, and too often I act like I don't care. We read this story in Mephibisheth, and every one of us here can relate to it.
Mephiboshus feared David. He hated David. He thought David hated him. He viewed David like Captain Ahab feared the great white whale. He ran from David.
He hid from David. He hung out with people who hated David as well. But David was in covenant with Mephibos' dad, Jonathan, And after Jonathan's death David sought Mephibosheth out, He found him and brought him to the palace. not the punishing, Not to kill him. Not to wipe him out.
But to love him. and adopt him as his own son. Father, what a picture of our salvation. Amazing grace, how sweet the sound that saved a wretch like me I once was lost, but now I'm found. Was blind, but now I see.
Thank you, Lord, for your electing grace. Thank you for the shedding of the innocent and spotless blood of your son. Help us to love you more. For deas in the precious And holy name of Jesus that we pray. Amen.
And glorious God, let's stand and close our time of worship, singing together. To God be the glory. God be the glory, great things he hath done.
So loved he the world that he gave us his son, who yielded his life and atonement for sin and opened the life gate that all may go in. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people Rejoice, oh, come to the Father. The Son and give him the glory, great things he hath done. Oh, perfect redemption, the purchase of blood to every believer, the promise of God.
The vilest offender who truly believes that moment from Jesus a pardon received. Praise the Lord. Praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people to the Father through Jesus the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done. Great things he hath taught us, great things he hath done, and great our rejoicing through Jesus the Son.
But purer and higher, and greater will be our wonder, our transport, when Jesus we see. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the earth hear his voice. Praise the Lord, praise the Lord, let the people rejoice. Come to the Father, just the Son, and give him the glory, great things he hath done. Thank you for coming and worshiping with us today.
Let me encourage you to be back with us tonight. Steve McCullough. will be preaching tonight, and he's preaching in 1 Timothy. And it's been a good study, so I'll ask if you would to come and be part of our worship this evening. As we get ready to do the benediction, I'm going to ask you, if you feel comfortable with this, just to put your hands up like this.
And this is a symbol of you receiving the benediction of what God has to say and what God has to promise you. May the God of hope Fill you with all joy and peace in believing.
So that by the power of the Holy Spirit, ye may abound in hope. And all God's children said,
