1 00:00:05,400 --> 00:00:11,320 So recently my wife and I have been creating a list of good 2 00:00:11,320 --> 00:00:13,640 movies that we haven't watched together. 3 00:00:13,640 --> 00:00:16,880 And when I say my wife and I, I mean, I have been making a list 4 00:00:16,880 --> 00:00:19,920 for my wife for movies for us to watch together. 5 00:00:20,920 --> 00:00:24,440 And I as I'm making the list, I'm realizing how many of these 6 00:00:24,440 --> 00:00:27,400 movies have like mind blowing plot twists, right? 7 00:00:27,400 --> 00:00:30,800 Like, when was the last time you saw a movie that made you go 8 00:00:30,800 --> 00:00:33,200 like, hang on, what? Right. 9 00:00:33,240 --> 00:00:38,200 Just Vader is his father, right? Just like Bruce Willis was dead 10 00:00:38,200 --> 00:00:41,760 the whole time. Brad Pitt is the alter ego. 11 00:00:41,760 --> 00:00:43,520 Like, whoa, this is crazy, right? 12 00:00:44,920 --> 00:00:48,320 Because you've seen enough movies or read enough books or 13 00:00:48,320 --> 00:00:51,000 heard enough stories, you have this type. 14 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:53,680 You have this idea of what's going to happen. 15 00:00:53,680 --> 00:00:57,960 There's this expectation of what a normal story is. 16 00:00:58,200 --> 00:01:00,080 This is the way things should be. 17 00:01:01,040 --> 00:01:05,040 And today's passage is a lot like one of these plot twists. 18 00:01:05,519 --> 00:01:08,960 It's an anomaly. It's something that takes what 19 00:01:08,960 --> 00:01:12,120 you normally expect and then turns the whole thing on its 20 00:01:12,120 --> 00:01:14,920 head. And without historical context, 21 00:01:14,920 --> 00:01:19,720 we might not really see it. But to the readers at this time, 22 00:01:20,480 --> 00:01:25,360 this came out of left field. David's first act as King of 23 00:01:25,360 --> 00:01:30,360 Israel is so backwards, so unexpected, people might have 24 00:01:30,360 --> 00:01:35,160 questioned David's sanity. Now, I think it's safe to say 25 00:01:35,360 --> 00:01:40,560 David has been through more crazy things than probably all 26 00:01:40,560 --> 00:01:44,720 of us combined in this room. This guy has had to kill bears 27 00:01:44,720 --> 00:01:48,800 with his bare hands. He's killed a giant with a sling 28 00:01:48,800 --> 00:01:51,640 and no armor. He's fought countless battles 29 00:01:51,640 --> 00:01:54,560 and come out on top. He's been haunted by his own 30 00:01:54,560 --> 00:01:56,800 king and his own people and lived. 31 00:01:57,160 --> 00:02:00,440 He survived in the desert, escaped captivity from his 32 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,200 enemies without a scratch on him. 33 00:02:03,520 --> 00:02:10,039 David has LED a crazy life, and it wasn't his choice to do that. 34 00:02:11,200 --> 00:02:16,240 Most of these problems are because of the delusions of one 35 00:02:16,240 --> 00:02:21,560 man, King Saul, the first king of Israel. 36 00:02:22,760 --> 00:02:28,120 After all that David's had to deal with because of him, what's 37 00:02:28,120 --> 00:02:33,200 the first thing David does? Turn with me to Second Samuel. 38 00:02:33,200 --> 00:02:39,440 We're going to read Chapter 9 verses 1 to 3, Second Samuel, 39 00:02:40,040 --> 00:02:48,120 Chapter 9, verses 123. David asked, is there anyone 40 00:02:48,120 --> 00:02:53,360 remaining from the family of Saul I can show kindness to for 41 00:02:53,360 --> 00:02:56,880 Jonathan's sake? There was a servant of Saul's 42 00:02:56,880 --> 00:03:00,920 family named Zeba. They summoned him to David and 43 00:03:00,920 --> 00:03:03,160 the king said to him, Are you Zeba? 44 00:03:03,560 --> 00:03:07,640 I am your servant, he replied. So the king asked, is there 45 00:03:07,640 --> 00:03:12,040 anyone left of Saul's family that I can show the kindness of 46 00:03:12,040 --> 00:03:15,920 God to? OK, we're going to stop there. 47 00:03:19,040 --> 00:03:21,320 Oh, well yeah, Zeba said to the king. 48 00:03:21,320 --> 00:03:24,480 There is still Jonathan's son who was injured in both feet. 49 00:03:24,760 --> 00:03:31,920 OK, so David asks, is there anyone left from King Saul's 50 00:03:31,920 --> 00:03:34,640 family? The first thing David does is 51 00:03:34,640 --> 00:03:37,680 start tracking down the previous King's family. 52 00:03:37,680 --> 00:03:41,360 Now this is common sense. As a king, once your power is 53 00:03:41,360 --> 00:03:45,680 secure, you want to quickly weed out any opposing parties that 54 00:03:45,680 --> 00:03:48,400 will rebel against you. You nip it in the bud. 55 00:03:49,120 --> 00:03:52,680 The previous King's kids, That's a liability. 56 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:56,200 They can hideaway, they can start building an army, they can 57 00:03:56,200 --> 00:03:59,160 try to retake the throne. So all around the world, the 58 00:03:59,160 --> 00:04:04,280 first thing kings did once they took power is kill off the 59 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,880 previous King's kids. And to us, in the 20th century, 60 00:04:07,960 --> 00:04:11,840 we might look at them and go, that's barbaric, those savages. 61 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:17,160 But to everyone else, this is the most sensible thing to do. 62 00:04:18,440 --> 00:04:22,520 If you let these people live, they can come for your kids 63 00:04:22,640 --> 00:04:26,240 later down the line. You don't do this, and you're 64 00:04:26,240 --> 00:04:29,280 basically setting up your children to have their heads cut 65 00:04:29,280 --> 00:04:32,520 off in the future. It's your kids or theirs. 66 00:04:33,520 --> 00:04:36,560 Whose are you going to choose? You'd be an idiot not to do 67 00:04:36,560 --> 00:04:40,320 this. So David says, I want to show 68 00:04:41,200 --> 00:04:44,880 some from someone from someone from Saul's family, the kindness 69 00:04:45,240 --> 00:04:48,160 of God. The word David is using here is 70 00:04:48,280 --> 00:04:51,240 has said it's a covenant kindness. 71 00:04:51,400 --> 00:04:54,600 It's the kindness that God shows to his own people. 72 00:04:54,840 --> 00:04:57,360 And it sounds like David's going to do something beautiful. 73 00:04:57,360 --> 00:05:00,880 But because of the expectation, because we know what kings all 74 00:05:00,880 --> 00:05:05,000 around the world do to kids of other kings, the servants are 75 00:05:05,000 --> 00:05:08,000 probably thinking, all right, this got to be a play on words 76 00:05:08,000 --> 00:05:10,560 or something, right? I will show him the kindness of 77 00:05:10,560 --> 00:05:12,600 God. I'm going to send his soul to 78 00:05:12,600 --> 00:05:15,640 God personally, right? Like something like that, right? 79 00:05:16,280 --> 00:05:21,360 So verse 4 to 5, David locates Saul's grandson hasn't brought 80 00:05:21,360 --> 00:05:22,920 over. And let's read verses six to 81 00:05:22,920 --> 00:05:25,760 seven. Verse six to seven, 82 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:31,680 Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David, fell 83 00:05:31,680 --> 00:05:36,240 face down and paid homage. David said Mephibosheth, I am 84 00:05:36,240 --> 00:05:41,960 your servant, he replied. Don't be afraid, David said to 85 00:05:41,960 --> 00:05:43,920 him. Since I intend to show you 86 00:05:44,440 --> 00:05:50,520 kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, I will restore 87 00:05:50,800 --> 00:05:56,720 to you all your grandfather Saul's fields, and you will 88 00:05:56,720 --> 00:06:03,080 always eat meals at my table. Mephibosheth paid homage and 89 00:06:03,080 --> 00:06:09,040 said, What is your servant? That you take an interest in a 90 00:06:09,040 --> 00:06:17,480 dead dog like me? David was serious. 91 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:25,000 This is this is full on Real has said kindness. 92 00:06:26,960 --> 00:06:31,320 So my question of today is what does David's first act as king 93 00:06:31,480 --> 00:06:37,560 tell us about? Real has said Real has said, my 94 00:06:37,560 --> 00:06:42,520 first point is Real has said overrules the accepted norm. 95 00:06:43,640 --> 00:06:45,840 Real has said overrules the accepted norm. 96 00:06:46,080 --> 00:06:49,760 Not only does David refuse to kill the main threat to his own 97 00:06:49,760 --> 00:06:55,240 line, David gives him back all the land that belonged to Saul, 98 00:06:55,880 --> 00:06:59,200 which is not a small amount for a previous king. 99 00:07:00,240 --> 00:07:04,240 And then he tells Mephibosheth that he's going to eat at the 100 00:07:04,240 --> 00:07:06,760 King's table like one of his own sons. 101 00:07:07,440 --> 00:07:11,840 Which if you're plotting to murder David, is basically like 102 00:07:11,840 --> 00:07:15,080 an invitation to just for David to just be like, here's my neck, 103 00:07:15,080 --> 00:07:16,840 why don't you slit it for me, right? 104 00:07:18,320 --> 00:07:20,040 David doesn't do what everyone else does. 105 00:07:20,680 --> 00:07:23,640 David refuses to follow the accepted norm. 106 00:07:24,120 --> 00:07:27,520 Everyone else would have eradicated Saul's entire line. 107 00:07:27,800 --> 00:07:31,800 That king is responsible for nearly ending the life of the 108 00:07:31,800 --> 00:07:36,040 person right now on the throne. Saul haunted David like a dog. 109 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:40,640 Saul threw a spear at him even when he was a loyal soldier. 110 00:07:41,480 --> 00:07:44,440 The people of Israel would have looked at David killing all of 111 00:07:44,440 --> 00:07:53,000 his opponents as just and right. An eye for an eye Instead, David 112 00:07:53,000 --> 00:07:59,440 says, Where is Saul's line? I want to show him his, said the 113 00:07:59,440 --> 00:08:04,040 kindness of God. Can you imagine being 114 00:08:04,280 --> 00:08:08,160 Mephibosheth? Your family is the first royal 115 00:08:08,160 --> 00:08:11,560 lion of kings in Israel. What an amazing defining moment. 116 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,560 Your grandfather's winning battles, leading Yahweh's 117 00:08:14,560 --> 00:08:16,480 people. You're kept far away from the 118 00:08:16,480 --> 00:08:19,040 battles because somebody, because your legs don't work, 119 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:20,960 because somebody dropped you on your head when you were a baby. 120 00:08:21,440 --> 00:08:24,600 Now, for most people, being paralyzed like this means you're 121 00:08:24,600 --> 00:08:26,440 going to live in poverty for the rest of your life. 122 00:08:26,560 --> 00:08:30,240 You cannot work. But your grandpa Saul is the 123 00:08:30,240 --> 00:08:36,880 king, so you're going to be OK. Then your grandpa loses his 124 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:40,240 mind. Then he tries to kill one of his 125 00:08:40,240 --> 00:08:42,840 most loyal subjects. There's some guy named David. 126 00:08:43,720 --> 00:08:46,280 Then your grandpa almost kills your dad, Jonathan, for 127 00:08:46,280 --> 00:08:50,360 protecting David. And then later on you hear about 128 00:08:50,360 --> 00:08:53,280 a battle that's gone wrong. Your dad is dead, your grandpa 129 00:08:53,280 --> 00:08:57,240 committed suicide, and now his headless naked corpse is 130 00:08:57,240 --> 00:09:00,040 plastered on a city wall being eaten by vultures. 131 00:09:02,840 --> 00:09:06,760 You're an orphan now. Oh, and that previous guy, that 132 00:09:06,760 --> 00:09:08,440 guy David that your grandpa tried to kill? 133 00:09:08,600 --> 00:09:11,280 He's the king and he's looking for you. 134 00:09:13,760 --> 00:09:16,720 You're brought into the courts. You're held up by guards because 135 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:18,200 you're paralyzed from the waist down. 136 00:09:18,400 --> 00:09:22,520 And instead of killing you for all the hurt and pain that your 137 00:09:22,520 --> 00:09:26,200 family caused David, he says all the land that you should have 138 00:09:26,200 --> 00:09:28,560 inherited, I'm giving it back to you. 139 00:09:28,560 --> 00:09:32,120 And you're never going to live a day on the streets because 140 00:09:32,120 --> 00:09:38,920 you're going to eat at my table. Anyone would say what 141 00:09:38,920 --> 00:09:43,320 Mephibosheth says. What did I do to deserve this? 142 00:09:44,600 --> 00:09:49,160 I should be dead. And David's reasoning is just 143 00:09:49,160 --> 00:09:52,520 verse 7. I made a promise to your dad. 144 00:09:55,080 --> 00:09:57,560 That's it. I made a promise. 145 00:09:59,360 --> 00:10:02,240 There are so many sensible reasons for David not to do 146 00:10:02,240 --> 00:10:04,680 this. The danger of assassination is 147 00:10:04,680 --> 00:10:09,880 one of many. It brings no value to David to 148 00:10:09,880 --> 00:10:12,240 do this. There are no practical benefits. 149 00:10:13,000 --> 00:10:17,840 See, the accepted norm is that you pay back kindness for 150 00:10:17,840 --> 00:10:20,280 kindness. Give your kindness to people 151 00:10:20,280 --> 00:10:22,400 that deserve it. Give your kindness to someone 152 00:10:22,400 --> 00:10:23,840 that can actually give back to you. 153 00:10:24,440 --> 00:10:27,360 Get kindness. Give kindness. 154 00:10:28,840 --> 00:10:32,960 This past week at my children's school was Teachers Appreciation 155 00:10:32,960 --> 00:10:36,440 Week, and my wife and I were trying to think of all these 156 00:10:36,440 --> 00:10:38,560 things we could do for them because my kids love their 157 00:10:38,560 --> 00:10:40,720 school. They're so excited to go to 158 00:10:40,720 --> 00:10:42,880 preschool in the morning because they love their teachers and 159 00:10:42,880 --> 00:10:45,960 they love their class. And for their kindness and care 160 00:10:45,960 --> 00:10:49,000 to my kids, I want to give back to them. 161 00:10:49,000 --> 00:10:50,600 I want to show kindness in return. 162 00:10:50,920 --> 00:10:53,800 That's natural. You just, you just do it. 163 00:10:55,520 --> 00:11:00,160 But when we look at David spending time and resources to 164 00:11:00,160 --> 00:11:05,320 look for Mephibosheth so that the king can give this guy the 165 00:11:05,320 --> 00:11:10,480 biggest welfare check of all time, what does Mephibosheth 166 00:11:10,480 --> 00:11:14,080 have to offer? He's literally dead weight. 167 00:11:14,320 --> 00:11:18,120 His legs don't work. Even if Mephibosheth isn't 168 00:11:18,120 --> 00:11:21,480 hostile, he's a liability that political opponents can use 169 00:11:21,480 --> 00:11:25,560 against David. He has nothing to offer. 170 00:11:25,720 --> 00:11:28,920 In fact, his value to David is a net negative. 171 00:11:31,360 --> 00:11:37,360 But we see here it doesn't matter because it's not about 172 00:11:37,360 --> 00:11:41,560 worth, It's about promise. It's not about benefits. 173 00:11:41,680 --> 00:11:45,840 It's about covenant. In the face of accepted cultural 174 00:11:45,840 --> 00:11:49,920 norms of the most logical, sensible action to take, has 175 00:11:49,920 --> 00:11:55,800 said will always be an anomaly. A plot twist has said is 176 00:11:55,800 --> 00:11:58,280 undeserved. It's based on a promise and 177 00:11:58,280 --> 00:12:07,960 nothing else that is has said. Now, I'm sure there are a number 178 00:12:07,960 --> 00:12:10,440 of you that are already think like got a lot of practical 179 00:12:10,440 --> 00:12:13,360 thinkers in here and a lot of you in your heads are probably 180 00:12:13,360 --> 00:12:14,680 listening to the storm. And you're like, well, that's 181 00:12:14,680 --> 00:12:16,920 dumb. That's that's the dumbest thing 182 00:12:16,920 --> 00:12:18,680 I've ever heard, right. If you're if you're looking at 183 00:12:18,680 --> 00:12:22,800 David's situation, this kind of kindness is probably suicide at 184 00:12:22,800 --> 00:12:26,960 worst, stupidity at best, right. It sounds very idealistic. 185 00:12:27,280 --> 00:12:30,720 No way practical in the perfect world. 186 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:32,360 OK, yeah, I'm going to show us that. 187 00:12:32,480 --> 00:12:34,680 OK. But this is not a perfect world. 188 00:12:35,480 --> 00:12:37,760 Why would anyone commit themselves to this? 189 00:12:37,760 --> 00:12:40,440 What would be the reason I would ever do this in my life? 190 00:12:41,600 --> 00:12:45,480 And the only thing I can show you is what happens to 191 00:12:45,480 --> 00:12:48,960 Mephibosheth. Because David does this. 15 to 192 00:12:48,960 --> 00:12:52,120 20 years later, we see Mephibosheth again. 193 00:12:52,760 --> 00:12:58,360 And spoiler alert, before this, David's own son leads a coup 194 00:12:58,360 --> 00:13:01,600 against him. David's son Absalom takes the 195 00:13:01,600 --> 00:13:04,440 throne by convincing all of Israel that he's going to be a 196 00:13:04,440 --> 00:13:07,080 better king. And so David is again forced to 197 00:13:07,080 --> 00:13:10,480 run for his own life, this time because of his own flesh and 198 00:13:10,480 --> 00:13:13,760 blood. And after many close shaves with 199 00:13:13,760 --> 00:13:16,680 death, after many life threatening situations and the 200 00:13:16,680 --> 00:13:20,560 death of his own son, David returns to Israel. 201 00:13:21,600 --> 00:13:26,400 And because of what David does here in Chapter 9, just look at 202 00:13:26,400 --> 00:13:29,360 what Mephibosheth says when he finds out David's alive. 203 00:13:29,360 --> 00:13:32,760 I'm going to go to second Samuel verse 19. 204 00:13:32,760 --> 00:13:35,360 We should have it up here. Second Samuel verse 19. 205 00:13:35,360 --> 00:13:42,280 I'm going to be 24 to 30. So after all of that's happened, 206 00:13:42,320 --> 00:13:45,440 David's betrayed, he comes back, he's back in the Kingdom, he's 207 00:13:45,440 --> 00:13:50,120 back on the throne. Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson, 208 00:13:50,160 --> 00:13:53,640 also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his 209 00:13:53,640 --> 00:13:57,880 feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day 210 00:13:57,880 --> 00:14:00,600 the king left until the day he returned safely. 211 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,960 When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked 212 00:14:03,960 --> 00:14:07,480 him, Mephibosheth, why didn't you come with me? 213 00:14:07,960 --> 00:14:10,440 Why didn't you run away with me? Let's move on to the next slide. 214 00:14:11,880 --> 00:14:16,680 My Lord the king, he replied, My servant Zeba betrayed me. 215 00:14:17,000 --> 00:14:20,440 Actually, your servant said, I'll saddle the donkey for 216 00:14:20,440 --> 00:14:23,680 myself so that I may ride it and go with the king, for your 217 00:14:23,680 --> 00:14:27,520 servant is lame. Zeba slandered your servant to 218 00:14:27,520 --> 00:14:31,760 my Lord the king, but my Lord the King is like an is like the 219 00:14:31,800 --> 00:14:35,840 Angel of God, so do whatever you think is best, for my 220 00:14:35,840 --> 00:14:38,560 grandfather's entire family deserves death from my Lord the 221 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,480 King. But you set your servant among 222 00:14:40,480 --> 00:14:44,880 those who eat at your table, So what further right do I have to 223 00:14:44,880 --> 00:14:46,440 keep on making appeals to the king? 224 00:14:47,680 --> 00:14:51,880 The king said to him. Why do you keep speaking about 225 00:14:51,880 --> 00:14:54,800 these matters of yours? I hereby declare you and Zeba 226 00:14:54,800 --> 00:14:58,560 are to divide the land. Mephibosheth said to the king 227 00:14:59,680 --> 00:15:03,120 instead. Since my Lord, the king has come 228 00:15:03,120 --> 00:15:05,480 to his palace safely. Let's see. 229 00:15:05,480 --> 00:15:12,400 But take it all, take all the land. 230 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:17,280 I don't need it. My king has come home safely. 231 00:15:18,440 --> 00:15:25,680 Nothing else matters. What is David's first act as 232 00:15:25,680 --> 00:15:27,120 king? Tell us about Realist Ed. 233 00:15:27,840 --> 00:15:31,080 My second point here, after seeing what happens to 234 00:15:31,080 --> 00:15:36,440 Mephibosheth, is real has said is transformational. 235 00:15:38,320 --> 00:15:40,120 Real has said is transformational. 236 00:15:41,240 --> 00:15:43,960 When you've encountered this kind of kindness, when you 237 00:15:43,960 --> 00:15:48,200 understand and see its value, you are never the same. 238 00:15:49,160 --> 00:15:57,440 It'll change you. Mephibosheth doesn't care 239 00:15:57,440 --> 00:16:00,560 anymore for the land, for the inheritance, for the money. 240 00:16:01,200 --> 00:16:06,520 As long as David is OK, nothing else matters. 241 00:16:08,040 --> 00:16:11,520 He's deeply moved by what David has done for him in Second 242 00:16:11,520 --> 00:16:15,880 Samuel. Why live with his head in your 243 00:16:15,880 --> 00:16:17,800 life? Why commit yourself to a promise 244 00:16:17,800 --> 00:16:19,320 like this? The point I want to make is 245 00:16:19,320 --> 00:16:23,960 this. There is a kind of kindness that 246 00:16:23,960 --> 00:16:28,280 can change your life or change someone else's life forever. 247 00:16:29,120 --> 00:16:32,680 There is a kindness that you can show to someone that is so 248 00:16:32,680 --> 00:16:37,400 powerful, so life altering it can make you feel rich just by 249 00:16:37,400 --> 00:16:41,640 having it. Has said is not like any other 250 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:44,120 kindness. It's not based on whether you 251 00:16:44,120 --> 00:16:46,120 deserve it. It's not based on the norm of 252 00:16:46,120 --> 00:16:48,960 paying back kindness. It's based on one thing alone. 253 00:16:49,320 --> 00:16:54,960 I have made a promise I will show the kindness of God to you. 254 00:16:57,080 --> 00:16:59,400 If there are any of you that have said in your head earlier 255 00:16:59,640 --> 00:17:02,120 this is impossible, who's going to live like this? 256 00:17:02,120 --> 00:17:07,839 Who can do that? You know, I would bet some of 257 00:17:07,839 --> 00:17:14,240 you are already doing this. Some of you are already living 258 00:17:14,280 --> 00:17:17,800 out, has said in your life. You just don't call it that. 259 00:17:18,839 --> 00:17:22,800 You're discouraged, you're worn out, you're tired because your 260 00:17:22,800 --> 00:17:26,160 showing has said without realizing the real gravity or 261 00:17:26,160 --> 00:17:28,119 value or worth of what you're doing. 262 00:17:28,880 --> 00:17:33,240 Some of you are doing amazing, God fearing, life giving, life 263 00:17:33,240 --> 00:17:36,800 altering work right now and you don't see it because no one's 264 00:17:36,800 --> 00:17:38,840 named it. No one's told you how 265 00:17:38,840 --> 00:17:40,560 significant it is what you're doing. 266 00:17:42,520 --> 00:17:45,720 And I want to name it today because what you're doing is 267 00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:48,600 hard and I don't want you to think for a second that is 268 00:17:48,600 --> 00:17:52,400 worthless. You've got family members that 269 00:17:52,400 --> 00:17:56,600 are emotionally stunted, morally twisted, and the only thing you 270 00:17:56,600 --> 00:18:00,840 can do is show them his said and pray that God opens their eyes. 271 00:18:01,920 --> 00:18:04,800 You've got loved ones that are physically unable to give you 272 00:18:04,840 --> 00:18:08,920 anything back because of their condition, their disability, and 273 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:11,040 they desperately need you to show them his said. 274 00:18:11,800 --> 00:18:14,560 You've got friends that are that are in a bad way right now. 275 00:18:14,640 --> 00:18:17,640 They're a shell of who they used to be in your school days, but 276 00:18:17,640 --> 00:18:20,360 they need you right now to come through for them to sit with 277 00:18:20,360 --> 00:18:22,000 them. Be patient with them. 278 00:18:22,160 --> 00:18:25,640 They need you to give them your best even though they're at 279 00:18:25,640 --> 00:18:28,920 their worst. Maybe your boss needs this. 280 00:18:29,120 --> 00:18:30,640 Everyone's critical of their leaders. 281 00:18:30,640 --> 00:18:33,560 Everyone thinks they can do a better job than you until 282 00:18:33,560 --> 00:18:35,040 they're actually sitting in that seat. 283 00:18:35,520 --> 00:18:38,600 Maybe you showing his said is all they need to change. 284 00:18:39,160 --> 00:18:42,560 Maybe you're in a superior position that you can leverage 285 00:18:42,720 --> 00:18:46,040 and you can squeeze out every last benefit for yourself and 286 00:18:46,040 --> 00:18:49,720 showing has said means you let go of that position of power 287 00:18:49,720 --> 00:18:54,320 instead and show them kindness. Maybe you're realizing you need 288 00:18:54,320 --> 00:18:58,360 has said your marriage will be bankrupt. 289 00:18:58,600 --> 00:19:02,640 Without has said your kids will be damaged without has said your 290 00:19:02,640 --> 00:19:09,440 church will split without has said as difficult as it is, has 291 00:19:09,440 --> 00:19:13,720 said is a desperate need for every single person in this 292 00:19:13,720 --> 00:19:18,240 room. And some of you are already 293 00:19:18,240 --> 00:19:21,280 responsible for a beautiful change in someone's life 294 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,120 already. You just never named it. 295 00:19:26,560 --> 00:19:30,200 And I hope that by naming it today, you can find the courage 296 00:19:30,200 --> 00:19:34,840 to keep going, to keep showing up, keep doing what you're 297 00:19:34,840 --> 00:19:38,000 doing. It's a beautiful work of God 298 00:19:38,160 --> 00:19:40,480 that can change someone's life forever. 299 00:19:40,480 --> 00:19:45,640 Amen. It's not easy, but has said was 300 00:19:45,640 --> 00:19:48,720 never supposed to be easy. That's what makes it so 301 00:19:48,720 --> 00:19:54,080 beautiful when you see it. But maybe some of you feel like 302 00:19:54,080 --> 00:19:57,200 you're running on empty. It's been difficult lately. 303 00:19:57,520 --> 00:19:59,960 You feel like you've been giving, has said, but you're 304 00:19:59,960 --> 00:20:03,680 running on fumes. And if that's you, we got to 305 00:20:03,680 --> 00:20:06,720 come back to the Lord. We got to come back to God. 306 00:20:07,280 --> 00:20:11,040 You cannot give has said, unless you've received it first. 307 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:13,640 You cannot give what you do not have. 308 00:20:16,360 --> 00:20:22,880 Every single person in this room is a recipient of what David has 309 00:20:22,880 --> 00:20:27,800 given mephibosheth. I hope we can see that you and I 310 00:20:27,880 --> 00:20:29,840 are all recipients of a has said. 311 00:20:29,960 --> 00:20:35,560 That's greater than David's. If Mephibosheth sin is just 312 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:37,520 being born into the wrong family. 313 00:20:38,840 --> 00:20:45,000 Our sin is a struggle with with our sinful nature every day. 314 00:20:46,760 --> 00:20:50,280 We didn't just sin against the king on the daily. 315 00:20:50,280 --> 00:20:52,560 You and I are struggling with a sin against God. 316 00:20:54,320 --> 00:20:58,360 And God's response to us isn't hatred or wrath or righteous 317 00:20:58,360 --> 00:21:02,000 judgement. Instead, we're shown kindness. 318 00:21:03,600 --> 00:21:08,160 We're shown a faithful love. Instead of inheriting land from 319 00:21:08,160 --> 00:21:11,480 David's Kingdom, all of us inherit eternal life in the 320 00:21:11,480 --> 00:21:13,640 Kingdom of God. Instead of us eating with the 321 00:21:13,640 --> 00:21:19,760 King, there's someone else who gladly ate with tax collectors 322 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:23,840 and sinners. There's someone else that shows 323 00:21:23,840 --> 00:21:26,360 mercy to the adulterous woman who should have been stoned. 324 00:21:26,520 --> 00:21:29,560 There's someone else that speaks patiently and kindly to the 325 00:21:29,560 --> 00:21:32,880 disciples who fail him again and again and again. 326 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,400 If you spend any time in the Gospels, you'll see how Jesus 327 00:21:36,400 --> 00:21:39,760 speaks to sinners, speaks to people unworthy, speaks to 328 00:21:39,760 --> 00:21:45,280 people that have nothing to offer him, and he shows them 329 00:21:45,280 --> 00:21:51,760 kindness, forgiveness, love, again and again and again. 330 00:21:53,520 --> 00:21:56,560 That is the heart of God towards you. 331 00:21:58,760 --> 00:22:01,920 The God who just wants to keep on giving even though you have 332 00:22:01,920 --> 00:22:05,200 nothing to give him. The God who just wants to show 333 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:10,520 you kindness based on nothing else but a promise, a covenant 334 00:22:10,520 --> 00:22:16,000 promise made in blood through Jesus Christ on the cross. 335 00:22:18,480 --> 00:22:23,320 If you understand on the deepest level what God has given you, if 336 00:22:23,320 --> 00:22:26,920 you've experienced, has said through the gospel, it is very 337 00:22:26,920 --> 00:22:30,120 difficult for you not to want to give this to someone else. 338 00:22:30,960 --> 00:22:33,200 For you not to want to show that to someone else in your life 339 00:22:33,360 --> 00:22:37,120 because you see it's power, You see how good it is. 340 00:22:38,560 --> 00:22:41,600 It is such a radical, overwhelming kindness that 341 00:22:41,600 --> 00:22:44,400 shakes you to your core and changes you. 342 00:22:47,120 --> 00:22:49,880 So you want to live with the power of of said in your life. 343 00:22:51,560 --> 00:22:54,360 Look at Jesus has said over your own life. 344 00:22:55,480 --> 00:22:59,480 Come back to the gospel and see how much you're loved and 345 00:22:59,480 --> 00:23:02,240 cherished by him. See how much kindness God wants 346 00:23:02,240 --> 00:23:04,920 to pour into your life and into your soul. 347 00:23:06,400 --> 00:23:10,920 And then maybe you can begin to see this leaking out into other 348 00:23:10,920 --> 00:23:16,040 people's lives from you. So what does David's first act 349 00:23:16,040 --> 00:23:17,960 as king tell us about Real has said? 350 00:23:18,600 --> 00:23:21,880 My main point is, Real has said is only possible through 351 00:23:21,880 --> 00:23:25,200 experiencing the gospel that empowers us to give His said to 352 00:23:25,200 --> 00:23:28,600 others. It's the only way. 353 00:23:29,640 --> 00:23:33,280 If you first receive it from Him, then you'll see it come out 354 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,520 of your life. Let's pray.