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Where You'll Find Grace
Where You’ll Find Grace
2 Samuel 9
1 And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? 2 And there was of the house of Saul a servant whose name was Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant is he. 3 And the king said, Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, which islame on his feet. 4 And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lo-debar.
5 Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lo-debar. 6 Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
7 And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually. 8 And he bowed himself, and said, What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?
9 Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house. 10 Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. 11 Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons. 12 And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. 13 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.
INTRO: 1. Mephibosheth would never forget that day.
as the Word quickly spread through the countryside, “King Saul and Prince Jonathan are dead and David is now King.”
At the house of Jonathan this not only brought grief but panic as well.
In that day it was customary that if a King took the throne he’d often eliminate the family of the King before him.
there Sitting playing on the floor was little Mephibosheth oblivious to it all and soon his nurse burst into the room grabs him up and heads toward the door to run for safety, but in so doing she drops him crushing his ankles crippling him for life.
a. He believed that there would never be a day that would so impact his life and so affect his future like that day. (Destined him for destitution, to live as a pauper instead of a prince)
b. But Mephibosheth would discover that soon would come a day that would make a far greater impact on his life and on his future.
The Day he found Grace.
2. Grace is a dirty word for the devil.
a. It’s the power behind the gospel.
“gospel of grace”
b. Grace is the wonder of the gospel.
that God would reach somebody like me
c. Grace is the distinction of the gospel.
No other religion is based upon such a concept
3. GRACE: God’s favor that is unearned, undeserved and unrepayable.
a. This concept of grace is the key to the entire New Testament
4. Too often we limit Gods grace to the work of Salvation in our lives, but Grace is so much more than that
Gods Grace is power for our lives
2 Tim. 2:1 ... be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus.
1 Pet. 4:10 ... as good stewards of the manifold grace of God.
2 Pet. 3:18 But grow in grace, ...
Rev. 22:21 The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with you all. Amen.
a. Satan would have you leave the grace of God at the alter of salvation, but God’s grace only starts there
b. The devil will tell you that from that point on you must pull yourself up and make it in your own strength.
c. But Grace is God’s undeserved favor on our lives.
5. David had just subdued his greatest enemies the Philistines, Moabites & Syrians
a. As he sat in his palace, looking back over his past and how he had come from a sheepfold to a throneroom – no doubt he was taken by the wonder of God’s grace on his life.
b. I believe he began to look for a way that he could demonstrate the grace of God to someone that was just as unworthy as he was.
Vs.3 “that I may show the kindness of God unto him?”
6. Mephibosheth would become the recipient of David’s act of grace, but there’s a deeper story here – and that is the story of God’s grace toward us, it reveals were we can find grace.
I. GRACE WILL FIND YOU FIRST.
a. David asked “Is there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God unto him?
Grace begins in the throneroom and finds us.
b. Like Mephibosheth, before we were ever aware of grace at all it already began seeking us out.
- While we were yet in sin, he loved us and sought us out.
Romans 5:8
A. GOD GRACE REMEMBERS US.
1. Forgotten by his nation, abandoned by his family –no reason to remember Mephibosheth.
2. But out of God’s grace, David remembered this crippled man.
3. They were quick to remind David that Mephibosheth was crippled, as if that would turn David’s heart.
4. but you know David Didn’t remember him because of what he could get out of him motivated by pure grace.
5. God’s motivation to reach us is pure grace.
B. GOD’S GRACE PURSUES US.
1. It’ll go wherever we are.
2. Lo-Debar – “no pasture” barren, desolate place, hiding place, destitute place.
3. ILL. Ask the prodigal son, it found him in a pigpen and brought him home.
4. ILL. Ask Joseph it found him in a pit where he was thrown by his brothers and it lifted him as high as second in command of Egypt.
5. ILL. Ask the Samaritan Woman, it found her at a well in the middle of the day.
6. Like David, God sends out his messengers of grace.
7. No matter where you may be today, grace can find you there and change your life.
C. GOD’S GRACE CARRIES US.
1. Mephibosheth could not help himself, he couldn’t reach David if he had to – so David sent men to carry him.
2. God’s grace is dependent upon His ability, not mine.
3. When you can’t walk any farther, Gods grace will carry you.
4. When you can’t believe any more, Gods grace will carry you.
5. When you’re weak Gods grace can carry you
2 Cor. 12:9 ... My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness..
II. GRACE IS WHERE YOU ABANDON YOUR CRIPPLED PAST.
a. David had summoned Mephibosheth, but it was up to Mephibosheth to respond.
b. Even though grace is offered to us, it’s up to us to embrace it.
c. But embracing grace means letting go of our crippled past.
A. ABANDON A CRIPPLED LIFE.
1. Not only had Mephibosheth’s feet been crippled, but his life had been crippled as well.
2. He could have let bitterness keep him in LoDebar
3. He could have let fear keep him in LoDebar.
4. God desires to trade your past for His presence.
Let go of it and take hold of Grace.
B. ABANDON A CRIPPLED MENTALITY.
1. His handicap and his past left him feeling worthless, useless as he called himself “a dead dog”.
2. How transforming it must have been for him to realize that he had value in the eyes of the king.
3. When you awaken to the reality that God finds you precious and valuable to him, it just drives out that crippled mentality.
III. GRACE IS WHERE YOU DISCOVER WHO YOU WERE BORN TO BE.
a. Maybe as a boy Mephibosheth pretended what it would have been like had he been the royalty he was born to be, but time had taken those dreams away.
b. Now David looked down at him and restored his place in the palace.
c. We too, were born to be royalty in the kingdom of God, but sin dethroned us.
But it does not have to stay that way
Gods wants to give us
A. AN INTIMATE POSITION
1. Not merely was Mephibosheth given a position of royalty, he was given a position of family.
Vs. 11 “as one of the king’s sons”.
2. God’s grace won’t just make us his servants, or just the royal priesthood, but sons and daughters of God.
3. This was a position of fellowship.
personal communion
4. He always had the kings ear.
5. He ate what the king ate.
6. You have place at Gods table,
all you have to do is embrace his grace.
B. A ETERNAL POSITION
1. David made it clear that this position wasn’t a passing fancy it was meant to be Vs. 7 “continually”.
2. As long as David sat on the throne, Mephibosheth would never have to worry about anyone taken his royal seat away.
3. We have Gods provision anytime we need it. (Day, Night)
4. We have his provision eternally.
IV. GRACE IS WHERE YOU EMBRACE GOD’S FAVOR AT HIS SON’S EXPENSE.
a. Mephibosheth wasn’t receiving grace on the basis of what he’d done, but on the basis of what Jonathan his father had done.
vs. 7 “for Jonathan thy father’s sake”
b. Likewise, we are not receiving God’s favor on the grounds of our own goodness or works, but on the basis of the work of Jesus Christ.
c. Grace has been called “God’s Reward At Christ’s Expense”.
A. WE MUST LIVE IN THE ACHIEVEMENT OF ANOTHER.
1. Mephibosheth lived in the grace his father paid the price for.
2. We live in the grace that Jesus paid the price for.
3. In the Abundance of His inheritance.
4. In the Favor of the only begotten Son of God
5. Not on our merits but on the merits of the Master.
6. ILL. G. Campbell Morgan approached by miner, who said he had trouble believing that he could just receive forgiveness so easy. “It’s too cheap”. Dr Morgan asked him if he worked in the mine today. “How’d you get out of the pit” “The way I usually do in the cage.” “How much did you pay to come out of pit.” “Well nothing” “Weren’t you afraid to trust the cage if you’d paid nothing.” “Oh, no it wasn’t cheap it cost the company a lot of money to sink that shaft.” It was then he saw the light and realized, it had cost Christ alot for the grace that is to us free.
CONCLUSION:
Are you embracing that Grace that God offers you.
His grace is seeking you.
If you’re lost you can know his grace right now.
But you have to receive it.
If you’re a believer and found yourself in a place where you need his grace,
His grace is available for you as well.
It's not just a one time offer
It's not just a while supplies last
No it's is abundant and it is sufficient
Come today –
this can be your day of grace.,
Let's pray!
