Up next, a close-up look at God's grace on Leading the Way with Dr. Michael Youssef. Every time I think of the grace of God, I'm overwhelmed. the passage that we're gonna look at. In 2 Samuel chapter 9.
is one of the most magnificent passages of the whole of the Old Testament. It is the whole gospel of grace in a microcosm and in one chapter. As we look at this portrait of a champion, we're going to see the champions of God exercise grace. When you think about David in the Bible, you may remember his experience with Goliath. or with Bathsheba.
But what probably doesn't come to mind is the story of Mephibosheth. a disabled relative of his dear friend Jonathan. Today on Leading the Way, Dr. Youssef reveals how the story of Mephibosheth highlights God's grace.
So join me in listening as Dr. Michael Youssef begins a very touching Leading the Way. Back in the days of Communism in East Germany. The Ministry of Education in East Berlin, for eight times, have refused Mr. Holma's.
admission of his children into the university system. The Ministry of Education at that time, in fact, usually they just never gave an explanation why they turned somebody down. But in Mr. Holmer's case, the explanation was not necessary. He was an evangelical Lutheran pastor in a suburb outside of East Germany, Lübertel.
This man of God, who have applied for his children to go to universities, eight of them, and was turned down and his kids were never able to get. College education. Simply because the Ministry of Education was headed up for 26 years. By Margot, how Hanukkah, the wife of the premier Eric Haneker. And the reason was that she hated Christians and she did not want evangelicals to have the chance to be educated.
Within a few months of the fall of Berlin, the Hanukkahs were evicted from their luxurious palace in Vandeletz. The Hanukkah suddenly found themselves out on the streets without resources and without friends. None of their former cronies showed any friendliness toward them, or any of that camaraderie that the communists used to boast about. No one wanted to identify with them, let alone take them into their homes. That except for Pastor Homer.
and his family. whose eight children were denied higher education. Because of the Hanukkah's discrimination against Christians. and against their Christian commitment. The only people in all of Berlin.
that would take the Hanukkahs in, or Pastor Homer. who brought them into his parish, PARSONAGE And there Pastor Homer exercised the grace of God. to totally undeserving people. And as a result of that, He made seekers. out of them for Christ and His grace.
Because you know and I know that grace is the opposite of justice. Justice is giving each his exact due. Justice shows no favor. And shows no mercy. Justice pays precise wages.
But grace is an unmerited favor by the recipient. Grace is a free and undeserved favor. Favor by the recipient. Grace is unearned favor. God reached down in Jesus Christ.
With undeserved, unmerited, and unearned, and unwarranted malevolence toward those who come to Christ. Every time I think of the grace of God, I'm overwhelmed. Totally overwhelmed up to My head. The passage that we're going to look at In 2 Samuel chapter 9, is one of the most magnificent passages of the whole of the Old Testament. It is a magnificent chapter of grace right there implanted in the middle of the Old Testament.
It is the whole gospel of grace in a microcosm and in one chapter. As we look at this portrait of a champion, we're going to see that champions of God exercise grace. In 2 Samuel 9, 1, There, verse one, it says, Is there still anyone left? David speaking. Is there still anyone left in the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?
Now I want you to reflect for a moment on the past messages. Think with me just for a moment. of all the untold suffering that Saul caused David. He was hunting him from cave to cave. He was hunting him from mountain to mountain.
He was hunting him from wilderness to wilderness. He was hunting him from town to town. He threw the javelin and the spear with a deep desire in his heart to kill him and get rid of him once and for all. Yet as soon as David becomes king, He shows grace. As soon as David emerges as the victor, He exercises grace.
This chapter, in my estimation, truly is a foreshadowing of God's dealing in grace with fallen sinners. It is a foreshadowing of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ. And just like God initiated His work by grace to fallen disobedient sinners such as ourselves, David initiated this act of grace toward the family that were his archenemies. And just as God who reaches out and reaches down to undeserving, disobedient, rebellious people such as ourselves, David reaches to the grandson of the man who hated him, the grandson of the man who despised him, the grandson of the man who resented him. He reaches down to him with grace.
So David asks. Is there anyone left in the house of souls that I may show kindness? to him for Jonathan's sake. And in verse four they said to him, Yes, Jonathan's son Mephibosheth, Who is crippled in both legs is still alive.
Now I want to remind you that back in 2 Samuel chapter 4 verse 4 When Saul and Jonathan Both died in the battlefield. Mephibosheth was about five years of age. And when the word came to the palace and said, the king is killed, the prince is killed, the nurse of Mephibosheth carried him and in running away from the palace in panic, when she's running away in fear, she dropped this five-year-old boy and he became crippled in both legs. And here in Second Samuel chapter nine, Mephibosheth is no longer a child. He's a grown man.
I want you to look with me very carefully. at Mephibosha's condition before being brought into the palace and shown grace by David and afterward. And I want you to relate this to your condition and my condition before Christ and after Christ. First of all, His name. Mephibosheth.
Well, Any parent would call their son Mephibosheth is cruel. Mephiboshath. The name means a shameful thing. A shameful thing. And this is the condition of humanity without Christ.
We were born with sin. We were born with darkened minds that were not enabling us to turn to God or to understand and comprehend spiritual truth. We were born with our will in opposition to the will of God. The first word a little baby can say is the word no. Because in him saying no to mommy and daddy, it's his way of saying no to God.
And that is why we as Christian parents are to bend the will of our children in order that they may be able to say yes to mommy and daddy. Because when they say yes to mommy and daddy when they're little, they're going to grow up to say yes to God when they're older. Yeah. Shameful thing. And the Bible said that all of our works were like filthy rag in the sight of God.
And the person without Christ is a shameful thing indeed. A person without Christ is a Mephibosheth. A person without Christ is living in shame. The shame of sin and the shame of the consequences of sin. But secondly, Mephibosheth was a was on the run.
From David. He was on the run from David. Probably he was lied to, most likely. And throughout his life, he was told that David hated him. Probably throughout his life, as he's growing up, his grandfather probably sat him on his knee and told him that David is a bad man.
He probably brainwashed him and telling him how bad David was. And this boy grows up with that lie in his mind. Let me tell you something. There are so many children in this country who are growing up in homes where they learn that God is their enemy. They learn that God is a cruel and harsh and dictator God, that he is cold, that he is distant.
These kids are taught that God does not do anything about suffering. He does not do anything about pain, and therefore God cannot be trusted. Those who are teaching their children that God loves them and that God has a plan for their life and that God cares for them so deeply are becoming less and less in this country. Kids are lied to every day just as Mephibosheth was lied to. Thirdly, Mephiboshath.
was crippled. Oh, how accurately this portrays the spiritual position of those who are without Christ. We by nature born spiritually crippled. By nature. No one of us, no one.
is able to turn to God because we're spiritually paralyzed. By nature, no one is able to get into God's path of righteousness. By nature, no one of us is able to turn into God's way of salvation. We are all spiritually crippled without Christ. And that is why Jesus said that no one, and I mean no one, he means no one.
Catholic, Protestant, Episcopalian, Presbyterian, Calathumpian, whatever your background is, I want to tell you: no one but no one can come to the Father but through Jesus Christ. Only Jesus can carry you across the chasm of sin. Only Jesus Christ can lead you to the Father's forgiveness and mercy and grace. Only Jesus can strengthen you by the grace of God because only Jesus can save you from hell and damnation. Fourthly, Mephibosheth became crippled as a result of a fall.
The nurse dropped him. and he lost use of his legs. and he became crippled. And we too have become sinners. as a result of a fall.
The fall of Adam and Eve in the Garden of Eden. Adam and Eve were not created sinners. Adam and Eve were created spiritually healthy. Adam and Eve were created spiritually good. But because of sin, because of rebellion, because of disobedience, they became spiritually crippled.
And as a result of their fall, you and I and all of humanity have experienced that fall too. We have become spiritually blind because of a fall. Fifthly, verse four. Maphebosheth lived in Lodabar. That is a Hebrew word.
Lo in Hebrew means no. The bar means pastor. Word means no pastor. No pasture land. It was a place of barrenness.
It was a place of dissatisfaction. It was a place of emptiness. And for those who live in the world outside of the kingdom of Christ, they are living in the cities of Lodabar. They live in the emptiness of Lodabar. They seek satisfaction, but there is none.
They seek contentment, but they cannot find it. They living in Lo de Barre, just as Mephibosheth was. Look at this. I mean you look at this young man. You don't have to be a genius or a scientist to discover that he's got everything going against him.
He came from a family that was rebellious against the king. He could not walk because of the fall. He was dwelling in a place. of barrenness. And yet The king himself sought him.
Hallelujah. the king was seeking after him. The king was reaching out to him. The king himself wanted to shower him with his grace and his blessings. No wonder the Apostle Paul said in Romans 3:24, he said, Being justified freely by his grace.
While we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. While we were antagonistic toward the king, Just like Saul's family was. God loved us. And he loved us so dearly. That was our condition before Christ.
And this is my Fibosius condition. Before The king seeking him. Look at the second part of this chapter. Imagine if you in Mafebishe's place. And you know what your grandfather did, what your grandfather said, and you know all that you know.
And then they say to you, the king is calling you. I mean, what would you expect? other than death. He said, This is it. He became a king.
He's replaced my grandfather, and now he's going to take revenge. The first thought that hits your mind: man, I'm done for. But instead I want you to look at the first thing David did, verse 6. David calls him by name. He calls him by name, Mephibishius.
Have you ever heard the Lord call you by name? Have you really? Have you ever heard the Lord saying your name? You know, you are reading the scripture, and sometimes the Holy Spirit just brings something out, and He calls you by name. He does.
Jesus said in John 10:3, he said that the good shepherd calls his sheep by name. He knows you by name. David called Mephibosheth by name, but then, secondly, verse 7, he said to him, Fear not. Fear not.
Now if you forget everything I said today, I don't want you to forget this one. I don't want you to miss this one. I don't want you to miss the incredible, overwhelming grace of God. Because you look as hard as you may in this passage, you find no rebuke for sin. There is no condemnation for the family's sin.
David said, Fear not. And that is the first thing that our gracious Heavenly Father does and says to us as sinners. When we turn to Him, the first thing He says, Michael, fear not. John, fear not. Mary, fear not.
Fear not Satan, why? Because he no longer has authority over you. Fear not sin, why? Because it no longer has dominion over your life. Fear not the consequences of your sin, why?
Because Jesus has blotted it with the blood of the Lamb and covered it forever. Fear not hell, why? Because you have been rescued from its horrors. Not only did David call Mephibosheth by name. Not only did he say to him, Fear not, But thirdly, in verse seven again, he said to him, He said, I'll restore to you the land of your father.
Listen, this is grace without bounds. This is grace without boundaries. This is grace without category. This is grace without bargaining. This is grace without conditions.
This is grace without any stipulations. If David made any stipulations It would not have been grace. It would be conditional grace. And God's grace is not conditional. Grace is unmerited favor.
It is undeserved favor. It is everything for nothing. David showed grace for the sake of Jonathan, and God gives you grace for the sake of Jesus. When you come to him and you stand in the shadow of the cross and you say, I'm empty-handed, I can't do anything, I can't give anything, I am coming to you in the name of Jesus. He said, Okay, you get my favorite and get in.
Fourthly, David's grace overwhelmed Mephibosheth. In verse 8. Listen to Mephibosheth, he said, Who am I? that you should look upon me with favor. overwhelmed with Christ.
Probably Mephibosheth in his mind. We're saying For all these years, that I've hated the king. All these years That I have rejected the king all of these years, that I have ignored the king all of these years. And I think of all of these years that. Then I ran away from the king.
And all he's going to give me is grace. All he's going to give me is blessings. But isn't that what so many of us Do when we turn and receive the grace of the Lord Jesus Christ. Isn't that how we feel?
So overwhelmed with the mercy of God, so overwhelmed with the grace of God. That we say to ourselves, why did we wait so long? Why did I run away from God? Why didn't I trust Him sooner? Why didn't I turn to Him long ago?
This is too good to be true. Because that is the right response to the right. the grace of God. Grace humbles us. Grace leads us into repentance.
Grace overwhelms us into unconditional obedience to God and to His Word. That's what grace does. David restored to Mephabosheth. That which his grandfather lost because of his apostasy. He said, I'll give you all the land that your grandfather.
used to have. God in Christ Jesus restores to us spiritual wholeness That our grandfather Adam and our grandmother Eve have lost in the garden. He gives us far more. Listen to it. Fifthly, here, David said to Mephibosheth, He said, You will eat bread at my table.
In addition to restoring all of that, I'm going to invite you to sit at my table every day. What a contrast. From being in the land of Lodabar. to the palace of Pliny. Mephiboshath.
Was not going to eat at the King's table. As an alien. No. No. He was not going to eat.
as a special guest.
Now That's not the way grace works. He was not going to eat some meals. Or in special ceremonies, special national holidays? No. No, that's not how grace works.
He was going to eat always. If your Bible doesn't have the word always there, write it in. is the right translation. always at the king's table. Jesus said, Those whom the Father has given me, I will lose none.
Listen to what John said in 1 John 3:1. He said, What manner of love that the Father has bestowed upon us that we should be called the sons of God. You're a child of the king. Walk like one. Think like one.
Behave like one. Sacrifice like one. Through Christ, the believers obtained far, far, far, far, far, far, far more. How many fars are this? Far, far, far, far more than what Adam and Eve lost in the garden.
He restored it to a spiritual wholeness. He covered it all. when he hung on the cross. His blood washed us, that all of the shameful things are now honorable. Mephibosheth.
Shameful thing. Now he's the most honoured at the king's table. Shameful become honorable. Under the blood of the Lord Jesus Christ.
So much so. But the Father looks at us. As if we have never sinned. What glory? Thank you for joining Dr.
Michael Youssef for leading the way. your audio source for truth from God's Word. Right here. on the radio. The Daily Podcast, and on the app through your mobile devices.
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