So recently my wife and I have been creating a list of good
movies that we haven't watched together.
And when I say my wife and I, I mean, I have been making a list
for my wife for movies for us to watch together.
And I as I'm making the list, I'm realizing how many of these
movies have like mind blowing plot twists, right?
Like, when was the last time you saw a movie that made you go
like, hang on, what? Right.
Just Vader is his father, right? Just like Bruce Willis was dead
the whole time. Brad Pitt is the alter ego.
Like, whoa, this is crazy, right?
Because you've seen enough movies or read enough books or
heard enough stories, you have this type.
You have this idea of what's going to happen.
There's this expectation of what a normal story is.
This is the way things should be.
And today's passage is a lot like one of these plot twists.
It's an anomaly. It's something that takes what
you normally expect and then turns the whole thing on its
head. And without historical context,
we might not really see it. But to the readers at this time,
this came out of left field. David's first act as King of
Israel is so backwards, so unexpected, people might have
questioned David's sanity. Now, I think it's safe to say
David has been through more crazy things than probably all
of us combined in this room. This guy has had to kill bears
with his bare hands. He's killed a giant with a sling
and no armor. He's fought countless battles
and come out on top. He's been haunted by his own
king and his own people and lived.
He survived in the desert, escaped captivity from his
enemies without a scratch on him.
David has LED a crazy life, and it wasn't his choice to do that.
Most of these problems are because of the delusions of one
man, King Saul, the first king of Israel.
After all that David's had to deal with because of him, what's
the first thing David does? Turn with me to Second Samuel.
We're going to read Chapter 9 verses 1 to 3, Second Samuel,
Chapter 9, verses 123. David asked, is there anyone
remaining from the family of Saul I can show kindness to for
Jonathan's sake? There was a servant of Saul's
family named Zeba. They summoned him to David and
the king said to him, Are you Zeba?
I am your servant, he replied. So the king asked, is there
anyone left of Saul's family that I can show the kindness of
God to? OK, we're going to stop there.
Oh, well yeah, Zeba said to the king.
There is still Jonathan's son who was injured in both feet.
OK, so David asks, is there anyone left from King Saul's
family? The first thing David does is
start tracking down the previous King's family.
Now this is common sense. As a king, once your power is
secure, you want to quickly weed out any opposing parties that
will rebel against you. You nip it in the bud.
The previous King's kids, That's a liability.
They can hideaway, they can start building an army, they can
try to retake the throne. So all around the world, the
first thing kings did once they took power is kill off the
previous King's kids. And to us, in the 20th century,
we might look at them and go, that's barbaric, those savages.
But to everyone else, this is the most sensible thing to do.
If you let these people live, they can come for your kids
later down the line. You don't do this, and you're
basically setting up your children to have their heads cut
off in the future. It's your kids or theirs.
Whose are you going to choose? You'd be an idiot not to do
this. So David says, I want to show
some from someone from someone from Saul's family, the kindness
of God. The word David is using here is
has said it's a covenant kindness.
It's the kindness that God shows to his own people.
And it sounds like David's going to do something beautiful.
But because of the expectation, because we know what kings all
around the world do to kids of other kings, the servants are
probably thinking, all right, this got to be a play on words
or something, right? I will show him the kindness of
God. I'm going to send his soul to
God personally, right? Like something like that, right?
So verse 4 to 5, David locates Saul's grandson hasn't brought
over. And let's read verses six to
seven. Verse six to seven,
Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David, fell
face down and paid homage. David said Mephibosheth, I am
your servant, he replied. Don't be afraid, David said to
him. Since I intend to show you
kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, I will restore
to you all your grandfather Saul's fields, and you will
always eat meals at my table. Mephibosheth paid homage and
said, What is your servant? That you take an interest in a
dead dog like me? David was serious.
This is this is full on Real has said kindness.
So my question of today is what does David's first act as king
tell us about? Real has said Real has said, my
first point is Real has said overrules the accepted norm.
Real has said overrules the accepted norm.
Not only does David refuse to kill the main threat to his own
line, David gives him back all the land that belonged to Saul,
which is not a small amount for a previous king.
And then he tells Mephibosheth that he's going to eat at the
King's table like one of his own sons.
Which if you're plotting to murder David, is basically like
an invitation to just for David to just be like, here's my neck,
why don't you slit it for me, right?
David doesn't do what everyone else does.
David refuses to follow the accepted norm.
Everyone else would have eradicated Saul's entire line.
That king is responsible for nearly ending the life of the
person right now on the throne. Saul haunted David like a dog.
Saul threw a spear at him even when he was a loyal soldier.
The people of Israel would have looked at David killing all of
his opponents as just and right. An eye for an eye Instead, David
says, Where is Saul's line? I want to show him his, said the
kindness of God. Can you imagine being
Mephibosheth? Your family is the first royal
lion of kings in Israel. What an amazing defining moment.
Your grandfather's winning battles, leading Yahweh's
people. You're kept far away from the
battles because somebody, because your legs don't work,
because somebody dropped you on your head when you were a baby.
Now, for most people, being paralyzed like this means you're
going to live in poverty for the rest of your life.
You cannot work. But your grandpa Saul is the
king, so you're going to be OK. Then your grandpa loses his
mind. Then he tries to kill one of his
most loyal subjects. There's some guy named David.
Then your grandpa almost kills your dad, Jonathan, for
protecting David. And then later on you hear about
a battle that's gone wrong. Your dad is dead, your grandpa
committed suicide, and now his headless naked corpse is
plastered on a city wall being eaten by vultures.
You're an orphan now. Oh, and that previous guy, that
guy David that your grandpa tried to kill?
He's the king and he's looking for you.
You're brought into the courts. You're held up by guards because
you're paralyzed from the waist down.
And instead of killing you for all the hurt and pain that your
family caused David, he says all the land that you should have
inherited, I'm giving it back to you.
And you're never going to live a day on the streets because
you're going to eat at my table. Anyone would say what
Mephibosheth says. What did I do to deserve this?
I should be dead. And David's reasoning is just
verse 7. I made a promise to your dad.
That's it. I made a promise.
There are so many sensible reasons for David not to do
this. The danger of assassination is
one of many. It brings no value to David to
do this. There are no practical benefits.
See, the accepted norm is that you pay back kindness for
kindness. Give your kindness to people
that deserve it. Give your kindness to someone
that can actually give back to you.
Get kindness. Give kindness.
This past week at my children's school was Teachers Appreciation
Week, and my wife and I were trying to think of all these
things we could do for them because my kids love their
school. They're so excited to go to
preschool in the morning because they love their teachers and
they love their class. And for their kindness and care
to my kids, I want to give back to them.
I want to show kindness in return.
That's natural. You just, you just do it.
But when we look at David spending time and resources to
look for Mephibosheth so that the king can give this guy the
biggest welfare check of all time, what does Mephibosheth
have to offer? He's literally dead weight.
His legs don't work. Even if Mephibosheth isn't
hostile, he's a liability that political opponents can use
against David. He has nothing to offer.
In fact, his value to David is a net negative.
But we see here it doesn't matter because it's not about
worth, It's about promise. It's not about benefits.
It's about covenant. In the face of accepted cultural
norms of the most logical, sensible action to take, has
said will always be an anomaly. A plot twist has said is
undeserved. It's based on a promise and
nothing else that is has said. Now, I'm sure there are a number
of you that are already think like got a lot of practical
thinkers in here and a lot of you in your heads are probably
listening to the storm. And you're like, well, that's
dumb. That's that's the dumbest thing
I've ever heard, right. If you're if you're looking at
David's situation, this kind of kindness is probably suicide at
worst, stupidity at best, right. It sounds very idealistic.
No way practical in the perfect world.
OK, yeah, I'm going to show us that.
OK. But this is not a perfect world.
Why would anyone commit themselves to this?
What would be the reason I would ever do this in my life?
And the only thing I can show you is what happens to
Mephibosheth. Because David does this. 15 to
20 years later, we see Mephibosheth again.
And spoiler alert, before this, David's own son leads a coup
against him. David's son Absalom takes the
throne by convincing all of Israel that he's going to be a
better king. And so David is again forced to
run for his own life, this time because of his own flesh and
blood. And after many close shaves with
death, after many life threatening situations and the
death of his own son, David returns to Israel.
And because of what David does here in Chapter 9, just look at
what Mephibosheth says when he finds out David's alive.
I'm going to go to second Samuel verse 19.
We should have it up here. Second Samuel verse 19.
I'm going to be 24 to 30. So after all of that's happened,
David's betrayed, he comes back, he's back in the Kingdom, he's
back on the throne. Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson,
also went down to meet the king. He had not taken care of his
feet, trimmed his mustache, or washed his clothes from the day
the king left until the day he returned safely.
When he came from Jerusalem to meet the king, the king asked
him, Mephibosheth, why didn't you come with me?
Why didn't you run away with me? Let's move on to the next slide.
My Lord the king, he replied, My servant Zeba betrayed me.
Actually, your servant said, I'll saddle the donkey for
myself so that I may ride it and go with the king, for your
servant is lame. Zeba slandered your servant to
my Lord the king, but my Lord the King is like an is like the
Angel of God, so do whatever you think is best, for my
grandfather's entire family deserves death from my Lord the
King. But you set your servant among
those who eat at your table, So what further right do I have to
keep on making appeals to the king?
The king said to him. Why do you keep speaking about
these matters of yours? I hereby declare you and Zeba
are to divide the land. Mephibosheth said to the king
instead. Since my Lord, the king has come
to his palace safely. Let's see.
But take it all, take all the land.
I don't need it. My king has come home safely.
Nothing else matters. What is David's first act as
king? Tell us about Realist Ed.
My second point here, after seeing what happens to
Mephibosheth, is real has said is transformational.
Real has said is transformational.
When you've encountered this kind of kindness, when you
understand and see its value, you are never the same.
It'll change you. Mephibosheth doesn't care
anymore for the land, for the inheritance, for the money.
As long as David is OK, nothing else matters.
He's deeply moved by what David has done for him in Second
Samuel. Why live with his head in your
life? Why commit yourself to a promise
like this? The point I want to make is
this. There is a kind of kindness that
can change your life or change someone else's life forever.
There is a kindness that you can show to someone that is so
powerful, so life altering it can make you feel rich just by
having it. Has said is not like any other
kindness. It's not based on whether you
deserve it. It's not based on the norm of
paying back kindness. It's based on one thing alone.
I have made a promise I will show the kindness of God to you.
If there are any of you that have said in your head earlier
this is impossible, who's going to live like this?
Who can do that? You know, I would bet some of
you are already doing this. Some of you are already living
out, has said in your life. You just don't call it that.
You're discouraged, you're worn out, you're tired because your
showing has said without realizing the real gravity or
value or worth of what you're doing.
Some of you are doing amazing, God fearing, life giving, life
altering work right now and you don't see it because no one's
named it. No one's told you how
significant it is what you're doing.
And I want to name it today because what you're doing is
hard and I don't want you to think for a second that is
worthless. You've got family members that
are emotionally stunted, morally twisted, and the only thing you
can do is show them his said and pray that God opens their eyes.
You've got loved ones that are physically unable to give you
anything back because of their condition, their disability, and
they desperately need you to show them his said.
You've got friends that are that are in a bad way right now.
They're a shell of who they used to be in your school days, but
they need you right now to come through for them to sit with
them. Be patient with them.
They need you to give them your best even though they're at
their worst. Maybe your boss needs this.
Everyone's critical of their leaders.
Everyone thinks they can do a better job than you until
they're actually sitting in that seat.
Maybe you showing his said is all they need to change.
Maybe you're in a superior position that you can leverage
and you can squeeze out every last benefit for yourself and
showing has said means you let go of that position of power
instead and show them kindness. Maybe you're realizing you need
has said your marriage will be bankrupt.
Without has said your kids will be damaged without has said your
church will split without has said as difficult as it is, has
said is a desperate need for every single person in this
room. And some of you are already
responsible for a beautiful change in someone's life
already. You just never named it.
And I hope that by naming it today, you can find the courage
to keep going, to keep showing up, keep doing what you're
doing. It's a beautiful work of God
that can change someone's life forever.
Amen. It's not easy, but has said was
never supposed to be easy. That's what makes it so
beautiful when you see it. But maybe some of you feel like
you're running on empty. It's been difficult lately.
You feel like you've been giving, has said, but you're
running on fumes. And if that's you, we got to
come back to the Lord. We got to come back to God.
You cannot give has said, unless you've received it first.
You cannot give what you do not have.
Every single person in this room is a recipient of what David has
given mephibosheth. I hope we can see that you and I
are all recipients of a has said.
That's greater than David's. If Mephibosheth sin is just
being born into the wrong family.
Our sin is a struggle with with our sinful nature every day.
We didn't just sin against the king on the daily.
You and I are struggling with a sin against God.
And God's response to us isn't hatred or wrath or righteous
judgement. Instead, we're shown kindness.
We're shown a faithful love. Instead of inheriting land from
David's Kingdom, all of us inherit eternal life in the
Kingdom of God. Instead of us eating with the
King, there's someone else who gladly ate with tax collectors
and sinners. There's someone else that shows
mercy to the adulterous woman who should have been stoned.
There's someone else that speaks patiently and kindly to the
disciples who fail him again and again and again.
If you spend any time in the Gospels, you'll see how Jesus
speaks to sinners, speaks to people unworthy, speaks to
people that have nothing to offer him, and he shows them
kindness, forgiveness, love, again and again and again.
That is the heart of God towards you.
The God who just wants to keep on giving even though you have
nothing to give him. The God who just wants to show
you kindness based on nothing else but a promise, a covenant
promise made in blood through Jesus Christ on the cross.
If you understand on the deepest level what God has given you, if
you've experienced, has said through the gospel, it is very
difficult for you not to want to give this to someone else.
For you not to want to show that to someone else in your life
because you see it's power, You see how good it is.
It is such a radical, overwhelming kindness that
shakes you to your core and changes you.
So you want to live with the power of of said in your life.
Look at Jesus has said over your own life.
Come back to the gospel and see how much you're loved and
cherished by him. See how much kindness God wants
to pour into your life and into your soul.
And then maybe you can begin to see this leaking out into other
people's lives from you. So what does David's first act
as king tell us about Real has said?
My main point is, Real has said is only possible through
experiencing the gospel that empowers us to give His said to
others. It's the only way.
If you first receive it from Him, then you'll see it come out
of your life. Let's pray.