1 00:00:03,320 --> 00:00:05,960 Welcome to the Liberty Baptist Sermon Archives. 2 00:00:06,200 --> 00:00:09,040 The message you're about to hear was preached at Liberty Baptist 3 00:00:09,040 --> 00:00:13,040 Church in Easton, MA. You can find out more about us 4 00:00:13,040 --> 00:00:17,120 or contact us at mylibertybaptist.org or just 5 00:00:17,120 --> 00:00:19,760 look us up on Facebook. And now we hope that this 6 00:00:19,760 --> 00:00:22,040 message from God's Word will be a blessing to you. 7 00:00:24,520 --> 00:00:27,840 We'll be looking at David and Mephibosheth this evening. 8 00:00:27,840 --> 00:00:32,640 I couldn't help as I was getting this message ready that this oh, 9 00:00:32,640 --> 00:00:35,760 the opening words of this book kept coming to my mind. 10 00:00:36,680 --> 00:00:40,320 It was the best of times. It was the worst of times, Dave. 11 00:00:44,280 --> 00:00:46,200 All right, listen to Dave. All right, He's going to. 12 00:00:46,360 --> 00:00:48,040 Why don't I sit down and you come up here, Dave? 13 00:00:48,040 --> 00:00:49,560 I was asked. I was hoping you'd just give me 14 00:00:49,560 --> 00:00:50,920 the name. I didn't know you'd keep talking 15 00:00:50,920 --> 00:00:54,400 because honestly, I didn't know. I didn't know the next line 16 00:00:54,400 --> 00:00:55,600 after that. So that's good. 17 00:00:56,080 --> 00:00:57,760 You could have just said something that was total 18 00:00:57,760 --> 00:00:59,000 nonsense. And I always said, Yep, that's 19 00:00:59,000 --> 00:01:02,120 the next line. So, but Dave, that's our well 20 00:01:02,120 --> 00:01:05,200 learned, well read brother. But it was the best of times of 21 00:01:05,200 --> 00:01:07,960 the worst of times, The Tale of Two Cities by Charles Dickens. 22 00:01:08,360 --> 00:01:11,240 And when I think of the best of times and the worst of times, in 23 00:01:11,440 --> 00:01:14,880 many ways I think of David and Mephibosheth because David was 24 00:01:14,880 --> 00:01:18,400 living in the best of times. David was the king of Israel and 25 00:01:18,400 --> 00:01:20,440 listen, everything was going right. 26 00:01:20,680 --> 00:01:24,440 I mean, haven't we seen David give, or God rather give David a 27 00:01:24,440 --> 00:01:27,920 covenant just a few weeks ago? And then we saw that David has 28 00:01:28,240 --> 00:01:31,200 been winning in battle, that he's gone all the way to the 29 00:01:31,200 --> 00:01:34,240 land of the Philistines and has captured Gath, and then in the 30 00:01:34,240 --> 00:01:37,760 eastern direction has gone all the way to the Euphrates and has 31 00:01:38,000 --> 00:01:40,640 gotten land there that was promised all the way back in the 32 00:01:40,640 --> 00:01:43,160 time of Abraham. But it was a promise that really 33 00:01:43,160 --> 00:01:45,840 hasn't been realized in the Life and Times of the people of 34 00:01:45,840 --> 00:01:47,920 Israel yet. I mean, it was the best of 35 00:01:47,920 --> 00:01:51,000 times. But then there's Mephibosheth, a 36 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:56,080 man who was lame on his feet. And to live life in disability 37 00:01:56,400 --> 00:01:59,320 at that time was in many ways a death sentence. 38 00:01:59,560 --> 00:02:02,120 Because you think of all the ways that someone who has a 39 00:02:02,160 --> 00:02:06,280 disability is able to live with dignity here and now, with the 40 00:02:06,280 --> 00:02:08,520 different modes of transportation, the different 41 00:02:08,560 --> 00:02:12,200 methods that are available to help people that aren't able to 42 00:02:12,840 --> 00:02:15,400 do some of the things that those of us who are able bodied are 43 00:02:15,400 --> 00:02:17,400 able to do. There's an inherent dignity that 44 00:02:17,400 --> 00:02:20,360 in some ways, in many ways, or is offered to someone with a 45 00:02:20,360 --> 00:02:23,400 handicap or disability here and now where we live. 46 00:02:23,520 --> 00:02:25,880 That was not the case in the time of Miss Fibischath. 47 00:02:26,040 --> 00:02:29,760 It literally was the worst of times I've been to find the 48 00:02:29,760 --> 00:02:32,400 disparity between David and Mephibosheth. 49 00:02:32,400 --> 00:02:35,560 You couldn't get a gulf that was much larger than what we're 50 00:02:35,560 --> 00:02:39,080 going to see here in Second Samuel chapter #9 But in the 51 00:02:39,080 --> 00:02:42,400 midst of the sorrow, in the midst of the grief, in the midst 52 00:02:42,400 --> 00:02:45,360 of the beauty and the turmoil that we'll see here tonight, we 53 00:02:45,360 --> 00:02:49,800 find one of the greatest accounts you will find in the 54 00:02:49,800 --> 00:02:55,560 Word of God of the love of David for the son of an enemy's 55 00:02:55,560 --> 00:03:01,160 family, Saul Mephibosheth, a grandson of Saul, a son of 56 00:03:01,160 --> 00:03:04,840 Jonathan, and the inherent kindness offered to him by the 57 00:03:04,840 --> 00:03:06,800 king. And you can't help think, even 58 00:03:06,800 --> 00:03:10,400 as we've already said here this evening, to see the parallel 59 00:03:10,400 --> 00:03:16,480 between our neediness, our abject poverty spiritually, and 60 00:03:16,480 --> 00:03:21,680 the king of all creation who smiled upon us and didn't just 61 00:03:21,680 --> 00:03:24,000 save us. As if that would have been 62 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:28,120 enough, but gave us far beyond anything we possibly could 63 00:03:28,120 --> 00:03:31,000 imagine or deserve. It's all here in Second Samuel 64 00:03:31,000 --> 00:03:33,400 chapter #9 This evening. Would you stand, please for the 65 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:36,200 reading of God's Word? Second Samuel chapter #9 If 66 00:03:36,200 --> 00:03:40,120 you're looking to have a book club this week, see Dave after 67 00:03:40,120 --> 00:03:43,640 church and he'll be glad to recite the remainder of of the 68 00:03:43,640 --> 00:03:44,960 book to you. That was great, Dave. 69 00:03:44,960 --> 00:03:47,720 I, I enjoyed that was that was so much even better than I'd 70 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:49,640 imagined in my mind before service started. 71 00:03:49,640 --> 00:03:53,360 That was great. Second Samuel chapter #9 Look at 72 00:03:53,360 --> 00:03:55,440 verse one. It says, And David said, Is 73 00:03:55,440 --> 00:03:58,160 there yet any that is left of the House of Saul, that I might 74 00:03:58,160 --> 00:04:00,320 show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? 75 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:03,120 And there was of the House of Saul a servant, whose name was 76 00:04:03,120 --> 00:04:05,480 Zeba. And when they had called him 77 00:04:05,480 --> 00:04:08,280 unto David, the king said unto him, Art thou Zeba? 78 00:04:08,520 --> 00:04:12,280 And he said, Thy servant is he? And the king said, Is there not 79 00:04:12,280 --> 00:04:15,520 any of the House of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God 80 00:04:15,520 --> 00:04:18,120 unto him? And Zeba said unto the king, 81 00:04:18,279 --> 00:04:21,600 Jonathan hath yet a son, which is lame on his feet. 82 00:04:22,120 --> 00:04:23,960 And the king said unto him, Where is he? 83 00:04:24,240 --> 00:04:27,320 And Zeba said unto the king, Behold, he is in the House of 84 00:04:27,320 --> 00:04:30,840 Maker, the son of Emil in Lodibar. 85 00:04:31,360 --> 00:04:34,680 Then King David sit and fetched him out of the House of Maker, 86 00:04:34,680 --> 00:04:39,200 the son of Emil from Lodibar. Now when Mephibosheth, the son 87 00:04:39,200 --> 00:04:42,560 of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on 88 00:04:42,560 --> 00:04:46,160 his face and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. 89 00:04:46,280 --> 00:04:48,520 And he answered, Behold thy servant. 90 00:04:49,000 --> 00:04:52,920 And David said unto him, Fear not, for I will surely show the 91 00:04:52,920 --> 00:04:56,360 kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake, and will restore 92 00:04:56,360 --> 00:05:00,000 the all the land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread 93 00:05:00,000 --> 00:05:02,880 at my table continually. And he bowed himself, and said, 94 00:05:02,880 --> 00:05:05,720 What is thy servant? Thou should look upon such a 95 00:05:05,720 --> 00:05:09,200 dead dog as I am. Then the king called Zeba A sole 96 00:05:09,200 --> 00:05:13,160 servant, said unto him, I have given unto thy master son all 97 00:05:13,160 --> 00:05:15,760 that pertain to Saul and to his house. 98 00:05:15,760 --> 00:05:19,240 Now therefore and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land 99 00:05:19,240 --> 00:05:22,840 for him, and thou shalt bring in the fruits, that thy master son 100 00:05:22,840 --> 00:05:26,040 may have food to eat. But mephibosheth thy master son 101 00:05:26,440 --> 00:05:28,840 shall eat bread alway at my table. 102 00:05:29,320 --> 00:05:32,320 Now Zeba had fifteen sons and 20 servants. 103 00:05:32,880 --> 00:05:35,480 And said Zeba unto the king, According to all of my Lord, the 104 00:05:35,480 --> 00:05:38,680 king has commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. 105 00:05:39,040 --> 00:05:42,040 As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table 106 00:05:42,160 --> 00:05:45,240 as one of the King's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young 107 00:05:45,240 --> 00:05:48,880 son, whose name was Micah. And all that dwelt in the House 108 00:05:48,880 --> 00:05:51,040 of Zebra were servants unto Mephibosheth. 109 00:05:51,480 --> 00:05:54,400 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat 110 00:05:54,400 --> 00:05:58,040 continually at the King's table and was lame on both feet. 111 00:05:58,040 --> 00:06:01,160 The title of my message tonight is The King and the Beggar. 112 00:06:01,400 --> 00:06:04,960 And not realizing that maybe before we started the service 113 00:06:05,160 --> 00:06:07,280 that the king and the beggar we're Speaking of is not so much 114 00:06:07,280 --> 00:06:10,880 Mephibosheth and David, but the Lord and us and our need. 115 00:06:11,160 --> 00:06:12,680 Why don't you be seated? Let's pray together. 116 00:06:14,040 --> 00:06:15,600 Heavenly Father, I pray to you be with us tonight. 117 00:06:15,600 --> 00:06:18,040 And again, thank you for this time and I thank you for what 118 00:06:18,040 --> 00:06:21,880 we've experienced already today. But Lord, we cannot live off the 119 00:06:21,880 --> 00:06:24,200 blessings of the past. Lord, even a message from 120 00:06:24,200 --> 00:06:28,080 earlier today, Lord, we don't, we don't, we don't seek 121 00:06:28,080 --> 00:06:30,480 something new here tonight because there's nothing new in 122 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:32,800 your word. But we do just seek that you 123 00:06:32,800 --> 00:06:35,720 would speak to us afresh and anew from your word tonight. 124 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:38,480 And that are hard to be encouraged and helped through 125 00:06:38,480 --> 00:06:40,920 what we see with David and Mephibosheth and our 126 00:06:40,920 --> 00:06:44,400 relationship with you as well mirrored through what we see 127 00:06:44,400 --> 00:06:48,280 here in Second Samuel Chapter 9. And we do ask it in Jesus name, 128 00:06:48,800 --> 00:06:51,960 Amen. What an amazing picture we have 129 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,760 here in Second Samuel Chapter 9 of the love of the King. 130 00:06:55,760 --> 00:06:59,520 But yet we also see not just the love of the King, but the depths 131 00:06:59,520 --> 00:07:02,800 of depravity of this man named Mephibosheth. 132 00:07:02,800 --> 00:07:06,760 And really, the depths, the total depths that he is 133 00:07:06,760 --> 00:07:09,560 suffering aren't probably immediately clear as we go 134 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,680 through our text just by reading it the first time here this 135 00:07:12,680 --> 00:07:16,120 evening, we start verse #1 where David asked a very interesting 136 00:07:16,120 --> 00:07:18,360 question. He says, is there yet any that 137 00:07:18,360 --> 00:07:22,240 is left of the House of Saul that I might show kindness for 138 00:07:22,240 --> 00:07:24,880 Jonathan's sake? You know, it's interesting that 139 00:07:25,360 --> 00:07:28,320 David a few chapters ago had basically said this. 140 00:07:28,320 --> 00:07:32,120 What can I do for God? Remember, can I build the Lord a 141 00:07:32,120 --> 00:07:34,080 house? I dwell in a House of Cedars, 142 00:07:34,080 --> 00:07:36,360 and God dwells in a House of tents. 143 00:07:36,360 --> 00:07:39,160 And what can I do for God? And now just a couple chapters 144 00:07:39,160 --> 00:07:41,800 later, what's David saying? What can I do for others? 145 00:07:42,120 --> 00:07:45,160 And isn't that real really showing why David was a man 146 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,440 after God's own heart? What's the 1st and greatest 147 00:07:47,440 --> 00:07:49,560 commandment? Love the Lord thy God with all 148 00:07:49,560 --> 00:07:51,480 thy heart, and all thy soul with all thy mind. 149 00:07:51,480 --> 00:07:54,720 And the second is like unto it. Love thy neighbor as thyself. 150 00:07:54,920 --> 00:07:57,080 And David is showing that here in the Old Testament. 151 00:07:57,080 --> 00:07:59,560 What can I do for God and what can I do for others? 152 00:07:59,720 --> 00:08:03,200 Now, may I also remind you that here in verse #1 He doesn't know 153 00:08:03,200 --> 00:08:05,360 that Jonathan has a son that's alive. 154 00:08:05,680 --> 00:08:08,600 He doesn't recognize You could maybe if you're a little bit 155 00:08:08,600 --> 00:08:11,760 jaded, say, well, sure, he wants to help Mephibosheth because 156 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:14,440 Mephibosheth is the son of Jonathan, and Jonathan was his 157 00:08:14,440 --> 00:08:16,520 best friend. He did not know that was the 158 00:08:16,520 --> 00:08:18,280 case. His original question was this, 159 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:22,360 can I help someone in the House of Saul because of Jonathan? 160 00:08:22,360 --> 00:08:25,200 But basically he was saying this, I will help anyone who is 161 00:08:25,200 --> 00:08:29,040 yet alive, who is in the House of Seoul, in the household of 162 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:30,440 Seoul. And that's even more remarkable 163 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:32,919 when you consider the last encounter he had with the 164 00:08:32,919 --> 00:08:35,080 household of Seoul was Ishma Chef. 165 00:08:35,360 --> 00:08:37,919 And that go very well. Remember, Ishbosheth tried to 166 00:08:38,080 --> 00:08:40,679 steal his Kingdom. And in some ways he was able to 167 00:08:40,679 --> 00:08:43,880 for a short period of time. Listen, David dealt with Saul. 168 00:08:43,960 --> 00:08:46,600 David dealt with Ishbosheth. If in the back of his mind he 169 00:08:46,600 --> 00:08:48,840 says, you know what, if I never hear the name of the House of 170 00:08:48,840 --> 00:08:51,600 Saul again, I'll be a happy man. But this was a God. 171 00:08:51,600 --> 00:08:54,680 This was a man who loved God and this is a man who loved others. 172 00:08:54,680 --> 00:08:56,720 And so because that he says, listen, there's got to be 173 00:08:56,720 --> 00:09:00,080 someone in this family that I would be able to be a help to, 174 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:01,640 that I will be able to be a blessing to. 175 00:09:01,640 --> 00:09:04,920 And the word comes to him that there is such a man and his name 176 00:09:04,920 --> 00:09:08,320 is Mephibosheth. And he's a man who is lame on 177 00:09:08,320 --> 00:09:10,480 his feet. He's a man who is disabled. 178 00:09:10,480 --> 00:09:14,360 He cannot move on his own. He has no physicality like he 179 00:09:14,360 --> 00:09:16,520 would have had others would have had as well. 180 00:09:16,520 --> 00:09:21,240 And so Zeba, this servant comes and explains this to David. 181 00:09:21,240 --> 00:09:25,360 And David reiterates once again, why want to show some kindness 182 00:09:25,400 --> 00:09:29,520 unto him because of the he's of the House of Saul and because of 183 00:09:29,520 --> 00:09:31,760 the of my friendship with Jonathan. 184 00:09:31,760 --> 00:09:34,440 But also, we can go back and we won't do this for the sake of 185 00:09:34,440 --> 00:09:37,680 time, but you can go back to first Samuel chapter #20 verses 186 00:09:37,680 --> 00:09:39,680 14 and 15. And remember there was a 187 00:09:39,680 --> 00:09:43,080 covenant made between David and Jonathan, basically that they 188 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,320 would care for one another and that they would care for one 189 00:09:45,320 --> 00:09:47,680 another's families. And they did so in life. 190 00:09:47,680 --> 00:09:51,080 And after Jonathan passed away, David continues to want to 191 00:09:51,080 --> 00:09:53,720 maintain this covenant that he made with his best friend 192 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:55,720 Jonathan. He may be gone, but I want to 193 00:09:55,720 --> 00:09:59,040 honor Jonathan's family because of the promise that I made those 194 00:09:59,040 --> 00:10:01,960 many years ago. Well, the question maybe that 195 00:10:01,960 --> 00:10:04,440 you might have in your mind is, well, what happened to 196 00:10:04,440 --> 00:10:06,000 Mephibosheth? How did he get into the 197 00:10:06,000 --> 00:10:10,120 situation that he was in? You might remember we so briefly 198 00:10:10,120 --> 00:10:13,920 read about Mephibosheth's problem several weeks ago. 199 00:10:13,920 --> 00:10:15,680 It probably would have been about a couple months ago. 200 00:10:15,680 --> 00:10:18,480 And I kind of said at the time, mark this in your mind because 201 00:10:18,480 --> 00:10:19,960 we'll be coming back to this eventually. 202 00:10:19,960 --> 00:10:21,680 And guess what? Tonight's the night. 203 00:10:21,760 --> 00:10:23,480 All right, Second Samuel chapter 4. 204 00:10:23,480 --> 00:10:26,160 Leave your spot there, but just go a few pages back to Second 205 00:10:26,160 --> 00:10:31,840 Samuel chapter #4 we'll read the first 4 verses. 206 00:10:37,000 --> 00:10:39,120 It says. And when Saul's son heard that 207 00:10:39,120 --> 00:10:43,280 Abner was dead in Hebrew, his hands were feeble, and all the 208 00:10:43,280 --> 00:10:47,360 Israelites were troubled, And Saul's son had two men that were 209 00:10:47,360 --> 00:10:50,600 captains of bands. The name of the one was Bena, 210 00:10:50,800 --> 00:10:53,920 and the name of the other Rekhab, the sons of Rimmon 211 00:10:54,880 --> 00:10:57,400 Berethite of the children of Benjamin. 212 00:10:57,600 --> 00:11:01,560 For B Roth was reckoned to Benjamin, and the B Ross fled to 213 00:11:01,600 --> 00:11:04,680 get him, and were sojourners there until this day. 214 00:11:04,680 --> 00:11:08,720 Now note this verse 4. And Jonathan, Saul's son, had a 215 00:11:08,720 --> 00:11:11,360 son that was lame on his feet. Well, how did that happen? 216 00:11:11,600 --> 00:11:14,240 He was five years old when the tidings came of Saul and 217 00:11:14,240 --> 00:11:16,920 Jonathan out of Jezreel. And his nurse took him up and 218 00:11:16,920 --> 00:11:19,040 fled. And it came to pass, as she made 219 00:11:19,040 --> 00:11:21,960 haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. 220 00:11:22,200 --> 00:11:27,240 And his name was Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth was not born 221 00:11:27,240 --> 00:11:31,200 with this disability. Mephibosheth was not born unable 222 00:11:31,200 --> 00:11:33,400 to walk. It just so happened that in the 223 00:11:33,400 --> 00:11:36,960 commotion, you'll remember the the fog of war that took place 224 00:11:36,960 --> 00:11:41,000 at the end of First Samuel when Israel was under siege by the 225 00:11:41,000 --> 00:11:45,080 Philistines, that Saul and his sons all died with the exception 226 00:11:45,080 --> 00:11:46,960 of Ishbosheth. Because we don't know where that 227 00:11:46,960 --> 00:11:51,240 guy was until he showed up sitting on his false thrown with 228 00:11:51,240 --> 00:11:53,840 his false crown here around the same time period. 229 00:11:54,240 --> 00:11:58,400 But on that day, what do we see that Mephibosheth just five 230 00:11:58,400 --> 00:12:01,240 years old, their family is evacuating. 231 00:12:01,240 --> 00:12:04,200 Their family is trying to get away from the danger that is 232 00:12:04,200 --> 00:12:05,840 coming upon him. He has a nurse. 233 00:12:06,040 --> 00:12:10,120 This nurse grabs Mephibosheth somewhere along grabbing him and 234 00:12:10,120 --> 00:12:12,600 trying to get him to safety. There's an accident. 235 00:12:12,600 --> 00:12:16,000 He falls, he hurts himself, he breaks his legs. 236 00:12:16,000 --> 00:12:19,160 Very likely not being able to receive medical attention at the 237 00:12:19,160 --> 00:12:22,400 time because of the the danger that they were in that his legs 238 00:12:22,400 --> 00:12:25,760 grew back in a way that was deformed, that he wasn't able to 239 00:12:25,760 --> 00:12:27,200 walk. This was not something that he 240 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:29,280 was born with. This was something that came 241 00:12:29,280 --> 00:12:32,120 upon him while he was still a young child. 242 00:12:32,120 --> 00:12:35,440 Now I do want to say this and I want to be careful how I say 243 00:12:35,440 --> 00:12:38,920 that this evening, but but Fibba chef and the trouble that he was 244 00:12:38,920 --> 00:12:43,320 in was not of his own doing. That the difficulty that he 245 00:12:43,320 --> 00:12:45,840 found himself in. Yes, he was under the Providence 246 00:12:45,840 --> 00:12:48,440 and watched care of God. Of course, certainly he was as 247 00:12:48,440 --> 00:12:50,680 we all were. But but I will tell you this. 248 00:12:50,680 --> 00:12:53,920 When I look at the life of Saul and I look at what happened that 249 00:12:53,920 --> 00:12:59,640 day, Saul died, his sons died, his grandson, grandson became 250 00:12:59,640 --> 00:13:02,520 disabled. Listen, our bad choices have 251 00:13:02,520 --> 00:13:05,120 consequences. All bad choices have 252 00:13:05,120 --> 00:13:08,120 consequences far beyond anything we could have imagined. 253 00:13:08,120 --> 00:13:10,680 Could you imagine if someone had told Saul, listen Saul, you're 254 00:13:10,680 --> 00:13:13,800 going on a road that if you don't get off this road, your 255 00:13:13,800 --> 00:13:16,920 sons will be dead and your your grandson will be physically 256 00:13:16,920 --> 00:13:20,160 disabled because of you and because what you have done. 257 00:13:20,520 --> 00:13:23,000 I would imagine that perhaps he would have had the mental 258 00:13:23,000 --> 00:13:25,600 clarity to say, well, I probably shouldn't be going this way. 259 00:13:25,600 --> 00:13:28,920 But listen, none of us are able to see the end from the 260 00:13:28,920 --> 00:13:30,840 beginning. None of us are able to know 261 00:13:30,880 --> 00:13:33,960 where our choices will take us. God has not given us that 262 00:13:34,080 --> 00:13:35,400 luxury. So what do we need to do? 263 00:13:35,520 --> 00:13:38,600 We need to trust the Lord that we live a life that is good and 264 00:13:38,600 --> 00:13:40,400 right and holy. Why not? 265 00:13:40,400 --> 00:13:43,000 Because if we do so, that calamity doesn't befall us. 266 00:13:43,000 --> 00:13:44,680 What? We understand that bad things 267 00:13:44,680 --> 00:13:46,920 can happen even when we are following the Lord. 268 00:13:46,920 --> 00:13:50,480 But listen, there's some things that God wants you to avoid when 269 00:13:50,480 --> 00:13:53,760 he wants you to avoid sin. And listen, there's some things 270 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,040 that when we don't avoid sin, that will befall not just 271 00:13:57,040 --> 00:13:59,240 ourselves, but the people we love. 272 00:14:00,200 --> 00:14:03,680 Now listen, I don't like living with the the consequences of my 273 00:14:03,680 --> 00:14:06,640 own sin, but if you're like me, you understand I did it. 274 00:14:07,160 --> 00:14:10,360 I've got to live with it. You know, what's hard is getting 275 00:14:10,360 --> 00:14:12,160 the place where I understand that there are people that I 276 00:14:12,160 --> 00:14:15,560 love that have to live with consequences because of my sin. 277 00:14:16,240 --> 00:14:19,240 That's a lot tougher, isn't it? There could be people you've 278 00:14:19,240 --> 00:14:23,400 never even met, people that aren't even alive yet that can 279 00:14:23,400 --> 00:14:26,080 suffer the consequences for sin. Now listen, is God a gracious 280 00:14:26,080 --> 00:14:28,360 God? How much time do we got tonight? 281 00:14:28,360 --> 00:14:33,440 Of course, God's a gracious God. God's loving and he's kind. 282 00:14:33,840 --> 00:14:37,040 And listen, even though we have wandered from him, as many of us 283 00:14:37,040 --> 00:14:40,000 have at some point in our life, has God be gracious to restore 284 00:14:40,000 --> 00:14:41,280 us? Oh yes. 285 00:14:41,960 --> 00:14:44,720 But is it a warning to us? Yes, our choices have 286 00:14:44,720 --> 00:14:46,720 consequences. It sure is. 287 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:49,200 And it's a warning in Mephibosheth's life, a man who 288 00:14:49,200 --> 00:14:53,400 suffered, I would dare say, because of the poor choices of 289 00:14:53,400 --> 00:14:56,440 his grandfather. So what happens? 290 00:14:56,440 --> 00:15:00,200 Well, going back to chapter #9 as you turn back there, we find 291 00:15:00,200 --> 00:15:05,320 that it says that here is Mephibosheth, and he is living 292 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:08,720 in this home, and he is in a place called Lodibar, and he is 293 00:15:08,720 --> 00:15:12,640 called to meet David. It seems to me that he is afraid 294 00:15:13,120 --> 00:15:15,840 and that he is in a place where he feels like he's going to die. 295 00:15:15,840 --> 00:15:18,760 Now, why would that be? Well, in those days, if you were 296 00:15:18,760 --> 00:15:22,960 found to be a relative of a royal family that has been 297 00:15:22,960 --> 00:15:24,920 fallen from grace, Well, what does that mean? 298 00:15:24,920 --> 00:15:27,360 The new royal family, the new king can do what? 299 00:15:28,080 --> 00:15:30,320 The statue. And again, because the king was 300 00:15:30,320 --> 00:15:31,920 the law, no one would say anything. 301 00:15:31,920 --> 00:15:34,800 And so perhaps maybe in Mephibosheth's mind, he's 302 00:15:34,800 --> 00:15:38,960 thinking, well, all, all David knows about my family, at least 303 00:15:38,960 --> 00:15:41,760 recently, has been Ishbosheth. And, and maybe he believes that 304 00:15:41,760 --> 00:15:44,880 someday I'll have an uprising myself as well as Ishbosheth 305 00:15:44,880 --> 00:15:46,920 did. And certainly he's going to try 306 00:15:46,920 --> 00:15:50,120 to take care of me as well. I do believe he was afraid 307 00:15:50,120 --> 00:15:52,880 because David's first words to him were fear not. 308 00:15:53,920 --> 00:15:57,280 Why would David say fear not if he wasn't exemplifying it, 309 00:15:57,280 --> 00:15:59,640 wasn't showing some level of fear in the way he was 310 00:15:59,640 --> 00:16:02,600 presenting himself to David. He did him reverence and 311 00:16:02,600 --> 00:16:04,360 David's, he said, behold thy servant. 312 00:16:04,360 --> 00:16:06,400 He's trying to show himself as a man of humility. 313 00:16:06,720 --> 00:16:09,480 But David says fear not. Basically saying this, whatever 314 00:16:09,480 --> 00:16:11,880 you think's about to happen, it's quite the opposite. 315 00:16:12,360 --> 00:16:15,200 Whatever you think is about to take place, it's not what you're 316 00:16:15,200 --> 00:16:17,360 thinking. He says, here's my plan. 317 00:16:17,360 --> 00:16:19,840 Mephibosheth. Your father, Jonathan was a 318 00:16:19,840 --> 00:16:22,400 friend of mine. The two of us made a covenant. 319 00:16:23,160 --> 00:16:25,640 He took care of me. I took care of him. 320 00:16:26,200 --> 00:16:28,120 We said we'd take care of each other's families. 321 00:16:28,120 --> 00:16:31,560 He helped make sure that me and my family were hidden from your 322 00:16:31,560 --> 00:16:34,920 grandfather. And now you have a need. 323 00:16:35,640 --> 00:16:38,680 And I am someone that has means. And so you know what I'm going 324 00:16:38,680 --> 00:16:41,280 to do? He says, I want you to come, and 325 00:16:41,280 --> 00:16:44,880 I want you to eat your bread at my table continually. 326 00:16:45,800 --> 00:16:48,840 I mean, Can you imagine what a privilege that would have been 327 00:16:49,360 --> 00:16:51,960 for a man to be invited to the table of the king? 328 00:16:52,320 --> 00:16:55,200 But it wasn't just that he was invited to the table of king. 329 00:16:55,200 --> 00:16:58,560 He said this, I want to invite you, but I want to invite you in 330 00:16:58,560 --> 00:17:00,320 perpetuity. He says. 331 00:17:00,320 --> 00:17:02,320 It's not just that I want to invite you to a banquet tonight 332 00:17:02,320 --> 00:17:05,319 and send you off tomorrow, but I want you to stay here. 333 00:17:05,960 --> 00:17:07,640 And I want you to know that you're always going to be fed 334 00:17:07,680 --> 00:17:09,839 with me. But it wasn't just that He says 335 00:17:09,839 --> 00:17:11,760 you lost some land. Your family lost land. 336 00:17:11,760 --> 00:17:14,960 The land of Saul has been gone. Your ancestral land is gone. 337 00:17:14,960 --> 00:17:17,319 And you've not want to make claim against that land. 338 00:17:17,319 --> 00:17:19,800 And So what I'm telling you is that you are going to make claim 339 00:17:19,800 --> 00:17:21,400 against that land. I'm going to make sure that your 340 00:17:21,400 --> 00:17:24,400 ancestral land belongs to you. But you know, physically you 341 00:17:24,400 --> 00:17:26,720 can't work that land because of your situation. 342 00:17:26,720 --> 00:17:30,320 And so Ziba, the servant here, he's going to take care of your 343 00:17:30,320 --> 00:17:32,000 land. And he's got 15 sons. 344 00:17:32,000 --> 00:17:34,640 And by the way, whoa. All right, fifteen sons. 345 00:17:34,640 --> 00:17:37,520 And did anybody else catch that? All right, fifteen sons and 20 346 00:17:37,520 --> 00:17:39,080 servants. It's like, you know, wow. 347 00:17:39,080 --> 00:17:41,920 I mean, so many things we could say about that here tonight. 348 00:17:41,920 --> 00:17:45,400 But he said, listen, they all are working for you now, but 349 00:17:45,400 --> 00:17:47,800 they're not on your payroll. They're on my payroll. 350 00:17:47,840 --> 00:17:50,920 I'm going to take care of them. And not only that, you're going 351 00:17:50,920 --> 00:17:54,640 to be at my table. It says in verse #10 Alway. 352 00:17:54,840 --> 00:17:57,640 And then in verse #11 it says you're going to eat at my table 353 00:17:57,760 --> 00:18:01,240 as one of the King's sons. Basically, you're going to live 354 00:18:01,240 --> 00:18:05,720 as royalty because you lost your royalty when someone else made a 355 00:18:05,720 --> 00:18:07,920 bad decision. But I'm going to restore you in 356 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,200 essence, to that which you could have had if Saul hadn't made the 357 00:18:11,200 --> 00:18:14,160 choice that he has. You're going to be a son of the 358 00:18:14,160 --> 00:18:16,880 king, and I'm going to take care of everything that you need. 359 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,760 Man, you want to talk about the best of times. 360 00:18:20,120 --> 00:18:23,920 The man who had the worst of times is now living in the best 361 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:26,840 of times. It's an incredible account, but 362 00:18:26,840 --> 00:18:30,800 I'll tell you what makes the account even more incredible is 363 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:34,480 I mean, look, look, you feel bad for, for I'm a Fitbit chef here. 364 00:18:34,680 --> 00:18:37,520 He's lame on his feet again. He lived in a time when there 365 00:18:37,520 --> 00:18:39,840 would have been very little that would have been there to help 366 00:18:39,840 --> 00:18:42,560 him with his disability. But I would tell you, as you you 367 00:18:42,560 --> 00:18:45,440 do a little bit more digging, you find there's there's more 368 00:18:45,440 --> 00:18:49,560 hints that his situation was even more dire than maybe we 369 00:18:49,560 --> 00:18:52,480 would have thought at first. Just kind of doing a cursory 370 00:18:52,480 --> 00:18:57,120 reading of the chapter. In fact, go back to verse #2 it 371 00:18:57,120 --> 00:18:59,320 says this. And there was of the House of 372 00:18:59,320 --> 00:19:01,240 Saul a servant whose name was Zeba. 373 00:19:01,560 --> 00:19:04,120 And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto 374 00:19:04,120 --> 00:19:07,040 him, Art thou Zeba? And he said, thy servant is he? 375 00:19:07,320 --> 00:19:10,680 I would suggest to you that David didn't even know that 376 00:19:10,680 --> 00:19:13,280 Mephibosheth existed, because Mephibosheth was living in 377 00:19:13,280 --> 00:19:15,160 hiding. He was living in fear. 378 00:19:15,320 --> 00:19:16,920 It wasn't that he was living out in the open. 379 00:19:17,040 --> 00:19:20,960 He literally as the king who had the knowledge of the Kingdom in 380 00:19:20,960 --> 00:19:24,360 front of him, he had to do some real reconnaissance to even find 381 00:19:24,360 --> 00:19:27,360 this guy in the first place. So he was living in fear. 382 00:19:27,360 --> 00:19:30,000 It wasn't just he was fear full of David in that moment. 383 00:19:30,000 --> 00:19:32,920 It very likely that he had been living in fear for years. 384 00:19:33,080 --> 00:19:35,800 Wondering if David finds out where I am, I'm a dead man. 385 00:19:36,240 --> 00:19:39,840 But it gets worse than that. Go down to verse #4 it says king 386 00:19:39,840 --> 00:19:42,840 said unto David, where is he? And zebra said unto the king, 387 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:46,240 behold he is in the House of make here the son of a meal. 388 00:19:46,240 --> 00:19:48,840 So is he even living in his own house in hiding? 389 00:19:49,120 --> 00:19:52,040 No, he's bumming out at someone else's house. 390 00:19:52,040 --> 00:19:53,760 He doesn't even have his own place to live. 391 00:19:53,920 --> 00:19:57,080 So he's in hiding. He's hiding in someone else's 392 00:19:57,080 --> 00:19:59,880 house. Even though he owns land, Saul's 393 00:19:59,880 --> 00:20:01,680 ancestral land would have belonged to him. 394 00:20:01,840 --> 00:20:03,360 He doesn't even want to claim the land. 395 00:20:03,360 --> 00:20:06,200 He's living with someone else. He's living in hiding. 396 00:20:06,280 --> 00:20:09,920 He barely has his own place to be able to take for his own. 397 00:20:10,120 --> 00:20:12,560 And it says that he lives in a place called Lodibar. 398 00:20:13,400 --> 00:20:15,600 Now this might be the most descriptive of all. 399 00:20:16,400 --> 00:20:19,520 Now you know in the Bible that often times we find names. 400 00:20:19,920 --> 00:20:24,240 And we find places and these nouns that we find the, the, 401 00:20:24,240 --> 00:20:28,880 these, these names often mean something. 402 00:20:29,160 --> 00:20:31,480 You know, you can go back and do a little bit of research and 403 00:20:31,480 --> 00:20:35,560 find out what it means. Lodibar is a very descriptive 404 00:20:35,560 --> 00:20:38,240 name. Now, Lodibar was a city to the 405 00:20:38,240 --> 00:20:40,640 east of Jordan. You'll remember we just talk 406 00:20:40,640 --> 00:20:43,200 about the east of Jordan last week as David was moving towards 407 00:20:43,200 --> 00:20:45,920 the Euphrates, reclaiming land. But you remember those 2 1/2 408 00:20:45,920 --> 00:20:48,240 tribes that never crossed the Jordan River? 409 00:20:48,240 --> 00:20:50,880 I mean, they did cross to be able to help with the conquest, 410 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:53,840 but then they decided to live in what is called Gilead. 411 00:20:53,840 --> 00:20:56,880 We'll find Gilead as we go through some of these accounts 412 00:20:56,880 --> 00:20:58,680 later on. This was this land that was kind 413 00:20:58,680 --> 00:21:01,600 of, well, we would call it the Wild West, but really for them 414 00:21:01,600 --> 00:21:03,640 it would have been the wild E because it was the East. 415 00:21:03,880 --> 00:21:06,720 It was a land that really wasn't well settled. 416 00:21:06,720 --> 00:21:09,840 It was a land that seemed disconnected from the rest of 417 00:21:09,840 --> 00:21:12,200 Israel because of the Jordan River and because of the 418 00:21:12,200 --> 00:21:15,800 distance. And so this town of Lodibar was 419 00:21:15,800 --> 00:21:19,840 of some distance from the other 9 1/2 tribes of Israel. 420 00:21:20,160 --> 00:21:24,800 But the word Lodibar is very descriptive because lo, the word 421 00:21:24,800 --> 00:21:29,200 lo in Hebrew means no. And D beer as it's used means 422 00:21:29,320 --> 00:21:35,080 either word or thing. So Lodibar means no word or no 423 00:21:35,080 --> 00:21:37,120 thing. Could we maybe put it this way 424 00:21:37,120 --> 00:21:40,280 in the way we talk in 2025 English? 425 00:21:40,480 --> 00:21:45,000 Lodibar was a nothing town. Lodibar was in the middle of 426 00:21:45,080 --> 00:21:49,320 nowhere. Listen, Lodibar was the Mayberry 427 00:21:49,400 --> 00:21:52,240 of Israel. Listen, we've been to the Rio 428 00:21:52,240 --> 00:21:55,880 Mayberry in Mount Airy, NC It's a pretty neat place to get to go 429 00:21:55,880 --> 00:21:58,280 around and see Floyd's Barbershop and, you know, the 430 00:21:58,280 --> 00:22:00,200 Walker Drug Store and all that stuff. 431 00:22:00,200 --> 00:22:02,960 And for someone that grew up on that kind of television, when 432 00:22:02,960 --> 00:22:05,760 television was television, you know what I'm saying, and watch 433 00:22:05,760 --> 00:22:07,440 that kind of stuff, I enjoyed it very much. 434 00:22:07,440 --> 00:22:09,800 But you know, one of the appeals of watching The Andy Griffith 435 00:22:09,800 --> 00:22:12,560 Show is that Mayberry really had nothing going on. 436 00:22:13,440 --> 00:22:14,680 And what did Barney always want to do? 437 00:22:14,680 --> 00:22:17,000 He always wanted to get to Mount Pilot or always want to get to 438 00:22:17,000 --> 00:22:19,680 Raleigh, where all the action was, you know, he want to get 439 00:22:19,680 --> 00:22:22,240 out of Mayberry because there was nothing going on in 440 00:22:22,240 --> 00:22:24,160 Mayberry. And that was where the humor of 441 00:22:24,160 --> 00:22:26,520 the show was found. Listen, Lodi Bar was the 442 00:22:26,520 --> 00:22:28,920 Mayberry of Israel. There nothing going on. 443 00:22:28,920 --> 00:22:31,040 By the way, there was Number Gomer, there was Number Goober, 444 00:22:31,040 --> 00:22:32,600 there was Number Floyd. There was none of them. 445 00:22:33,120 --> 00:22:35,200 There was no entertainment of any kind of note. 446 00:22:35,200 --> 00:22:37,680 What do we see? That Lodi Bar was a nothing 447 00:22:37,680 --> 00:22:40,040 place. And so here's a man who's lame 448 00:22:40,040 --> 00:22:41,960 on his feet. He's living in hiding. 449 00:22:42,080 --> 00:22:45,240 He has to live in someone else's borrowed home and live with 450 00:22:45,240 --> 00:22:48,520 another family and he's living in a town that has nothing going 451 00:22:48,520 --> 00:22:51,680 for it. Mephibosheth has nothing. 452 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:55,880 Can I even put it this way in? In essence, Mephibosheth is 453 00:22:55,880 --> 00:22:58,280 nothing. He's a nobody. 454 00:22:58,600 --> 00:23:02,120 He's a non entity. The world was passing him by. 455 00:23:02,120 --> 00:23:05,280 Listen, I'm thankful because we have a son with disabilities. 456 00:23:05,280 --> 00:23:08,720 I'm thankful that there is a movement that shows the inherent 457 00:23:08,720 --> 00:23:11,160 dignity of everyone, including those with disabilities. 458 00:23:11,160 --> 00:23:14,040 I'm thankful that there is that's been seen and that's been 459 00:23:14,040 --> 00:23:16,840 heard and that's talked about in our society today. 460 00:23:16,840 --> 00:23:18,880 Listen, that was not the case back then. 461 00:23:19,840 --> 00:23:22,520 There was no help there. There was no assistance there. 462 00:23:22,680 --> 00:23:26,880 There was no real help in that time the way that we would think 463 00:23:26,880 --> 00:23:28,680 of it today. But what do we see? 464 00:23:28,880 --> 00:23:32,280 Here was a man who had nothing. He had nothing going for him. 465 00:23:32,360 --> 00:23:35,320 He had nothing by way of anything he could provide for 466 00:23:35,320 --> 00:23:37,800 himself. He was completely at the mercy 467 00:23:38,000 --> 00:23:40,960 of everyone until the king came along. 468 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:45,720 And a man who had nothing all of a sudden had everything. 469 00:23:47,160 --> 00:23:53,080 Does it sound like anybody you know, say, well, pastor, I'm not 470 00:23:53,240 --> 00:23:56,560 disabled. Pastor I, I don't have the 471 00:23:56,560 --> 00:23:59,280 physicality issue. Pastor I, I own my own home. 472 00:23:59,280 --> 00:24:01,440 Pastor I don't, I don't live in Lodibar. 473 00:24:01,440 --> 00:24:05,840 I, you know, I live in Bridgewater and I would say no, 474 00:24:05,840 --> 00:24:09,640 nevermind. I would say listen. 475 00:24:11,000 --> 00:24:14,840 Well, physically, the similarities may not be the same 476 00:24:14,840 --> 00:24:18,760 as Mephibosheth. Spiritually, we were 477 00:24:18,760 --> 00:24:21,560 Mephibosheth before our King came by. 478 00:24:22,240 --> 00:24:24,040 Who was our king? King Jesus? 479 00:24:24,880 --> 00:24:27,360 That we had nothing. We were nothing. 480 00:24:27,760 --> 00:24:32,520 In fact, our prospects were so dim that death and hell were in 481 00:24:32,520 --> 00:24:35,840 our future. But then the king came by and 482 00:24:35,840 --> 00:24:38,160 what did he do? He said eat with me. 483 00:24:38,160 --> 00:24:41,120 But he didn't just say that. He said this. 484 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:43,160 You could sit at my table forever. 485 00:24:43,160 --> 00:24:46,400 But he didn't just do that. He said this, I'm going to 486 00:24:46,400 --> 00:24:48,760 provide land for you, but he didn't just say that, He said 487 00:24:48,760 --> 00:24:51,200 this. I'm going to make you as one of 488 00:24:51,200 --> 00:24:55,080 my own children and adopt you into my family. 489 00:24:56,160 --> 00:24:58,040 Do you realize what God has done for us? 490 00:24:58,800 --> 00:25:01,400 That you are a Mephibosheth and I'm Mephibosheth. 491 00:25:01,400 --> 00:25:04,560 That you can't read Second Samuel Chapter 9 without seeing 492 00:25:04,560 --> 00:25:06,960 Jesus Christ and yourself in this text. 493 00:25:06,960 --> 00:25:09,160 You know David is real, Bephibosheth is real. 494 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,040 But but why is this in the word of God? 495 00:25:11,040 --> 00:25:14,800 Because God wanted to show you what your life was like apart 496 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:18,640 from Christ, and God wants to show you how rich you are now 497 00:25:18,960 --> 00:25:24,000 that you're in Jesus Christ. Only God can take a nobody going 498 00:25:24,000 --> 00:25:26,800 nowhere and set him at the table with the King. 499 00:25:27,360 --> 00:25:30,400 Only God can do that. So what does our King do? 500 00:25:30,840 --> 00:25:34,560 He tells us to fear not. He says he'll take the bread of 501 00:25:34,560 --> 00:25:38,080 life and feed us with it, and he says He'll give us a home with 502 00:25:38,080 --> 00:25:41,440 Him forever in heaven. Revelation One verse 6 says He 503 00:25:41,440 --> 00:25:44,280 had made us kings and priests, and to God and his Father, to 504 00:25:44,280 --> 00:25:46,880 him be glory and dominion, forever and ever. 505 00:25:46,960 --> 00:25:49,040 Amen. He has made us kings and 506 00:25:49,040 --> 00:25:51,680 priests. David in essence adopts him. 507 00:25:52,240 --> 00:25:54,120 David brings him into his family. 508 00:25:54,240 --> 00:25:56,360 He's going to eat like one of the King's sons. 509 00:25:56,360 --> 00:25:59,920 But Romans 815 says, For ye have not received the spirit of 510 00:26:00,120 --> 00:26:04,120 bondage again to fear, but you've received the spirit of 511 00:26:04,120 --> 00:26:08,800 adoption whereby we cry, ABBA, Father, and as I mentioned you 512 00:26:08,800 --> 00:26:11,720 before, listen, God never had to save us, but he didn't want to 513 00:26:11,720 --> 00:26:13,080 save us. He desired to save us. 514 00:26:13,080 --> 00:26:15,840 That's why Jesus Christ came. But listen, He could have saved 515 00:26:15,840 --> 00:26:19,240 us without adopting us into his family and giving us the rights 516 00:26:19,240 --> 00:26:21,760 of adoption that we have by being brought into his family. 517 00:26:21,960 --> 00:26:24,280 He could have saved us and kept us at arm's length. 518 00:26:24,800 --> 00:26:28,440 He could have saved us and said, because of my love and my mercy, 519 00:26:28,560 --> 00:26:31,160 I will save you. But in essence, you repulse me. 520 00:26:31,160 --> 00:26:32,960 In essence, I want nothing to do with you. 521 00:26:32,960 --> 00:26:35,080 In essence, I will keep you at arm's length. 522 00:26:35,240 --> 00:26:38,080 He could have done that and he would have been righteous even 523 00:26:38,080 --> 00:26:41,320 in doing that. But yet God in his love and God 524 00:26:41,320 --> 00:26:44,800 in his mercy, in his care, He loved you so much that Jesus 525 00:26:44,800 --> 00:26:48,440 Christ died for you and gave you everything when we I had 526 00:26:48,440 --> 00:26:51,040 nothing. And not just that he says this, 527 00:26:51,480 --> 00:26:52,960 I want you to be part of my family. 528 00:26:53,960 --> 00:26:57,760 You belong to me. One pastor put it this way, 529 00:26:57,760 --> 00:27:00,880 Mephibosheth's life teaches us the true royalty is not in 530 00:27:00,880 --> 00:27:05,600 physical strength or status, but in the grace of a king who seeks 531 00:27:05,600 --> 00:27:08,520 out the forgotten. That's beautiful. 532 00:27:09,640 --> 00:27:12,920 You know, I don't know what anxiety you're dealing with 533 00:27:12,920 --> 00:27:17,040 today, but know this, the King not only wants you to take 534 00:27:17,040 --> 00:27:19,640 courage, he's going to provide for you. 535 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:21,800 He's not just going to provide for you. 536 00:27:22,560 --> 00:27:25,240 He'll promise you protection. And he won't just promise you 537 00:27:25,240 --> 00:27:28,880 protection. He'll adopt you into his family. 538 00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:32,520 What more could a person ever desire? 539 00:27:33,520 --> 00:27:35,440 What more could a person ever want? 540 00:27:37,080 --> 00:27:39,880 I, I told this story before and so I apologize if you've heard 541 00:27:39,880 --> 00:27:42,040 it before, but just smile and nod like you haven't heard it 542 00:27:42,040 --> 00:27:43,600 before. And it does help me to be able 543 00:27:43,600 --> 00:27:46,320 to have you, my children especially, feel that way. 544 00:27:46,880 --> 00:27:50,160 It was several years ago that we had a veteran's service here, 545 00:27:50,760 --> 00:27:53,920 the very first one that we had, and I was told by someone in the 546 00:27:53,920 --> 00:27:57,000 town of a man who was a veteran who was homeless. 547 00:27:57,400 --> 00:28:01,200 And to be able to visit this man, I literally had to drive in 548 00:28:01,200 --> 00:28:02,920 Brockton to a homeless encampment. 549 00:28:03,240 --> 00:28:06,560 It was basically go to the Dunkin, go down about half a 550 00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:08,520 block, pull over on the side of the road. 551 00:28:08,520 --> 00:28:10,720 There'll be a path. You go down a little bit and 552 00:28:10,720 --> 00:28:13,120 you're going to find this man in such and such a tent. 553 00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:16,040 And literally, that's what I was able to do with brother Dan 554 00:28:16,040 --> 00:28:19,120 Woodward as well. We found this man, his name was 555 00:28:19,120 --> 00:28:21,960 Richie. When I say he had nothing, he 556 00:28:21,960 --> 00:28:24,400 had nothing but what was in that tent. 557 00:28:25,160 --> 00:28:27,960 And listen, often times we think, boy, I don't have a lot. 558 00:28:28,440 --> 00:28:31,280 You know, we have a whole lot more than we think we have. 559 00:28:32,400 --> 00:28:35,360 And I would say even those who are homeless in this country 560 00:28:36,120 --> 00:28:39,240 have much more than many do in other quarters of the world. 561 00:28:40,240 --> 00:28:42,320 That what's provided even through our own government in 562 00:28:42,320 --> 00:28:45,400 this country is far greater than what people have in many third 563 00:28:45,400 --> 00:28:48,360 world countries and even other countries that are not the 564 00:28:48,360 --> 00:28:52,040 United States of America talked to this man, Richie, and 565 00:28:52,040 --> 00:28:54,200 encouraged him to be able to come to our church. 566 00:28:54,200 --> 00:28:56,240 And he did. He came on that veteran Sunday, 567 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:59,560 Dan Woodward literally came out and drove the van out to that 568 00:28:59,560 --> 00:29:02,160 homeless encampment, went out, picked him up, brought him into 569 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,080 church. I remember Richie coming in. 570 00:29:04,080 --> 00:29:07,640 And I will tell you, one of the real, real treats as a pastor to 571 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:09,280 me. One of the things that has stood 572 00:29:09,280 --> 00:29:12,160 out to me over the years, and I've said this before and I'll 573 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:14,600 say it again because I do think it bears repeating, especially 574 00:29:14,600 --> 00:29:16,040 as new people come over the years. 575 00:29:16,360 --> 00:29:20,280 Our church has been blessed to have many dignitaries, if you 576 00:29:20,280 --> 00:29:22,960 will, over the years. We've had those who have been in 577 00:29:22,960 --> 00:29:26,040 politics in our town. We've had a state representative 578 00:29:26,040 --> 00:29:30,040 who in the last administration was actually a ambassador to the 579 00:29:30,080 --> 00:29:33,000 nation of Ireland. She's been to our church before. 580 00:29:33,000 --> 00:29:34,800 Claire Cronin. I think many of you know that 581 00:29:34,800 --> 00:29:36,440 we've had a Major League Baseball players come here 582 00:29:36,440 --> 00:29:37,960 before, but I won't belabor that point. 583 00:29:38,360 --> 00:29:41,920 Did you ever think anyway that you would be in a car with Manny 584 00:29:41,920 --> 00:29:47,040 Ramirez? But and people have treated them 585 00:29:47,040 --> 00:29:50,200 well, and that's really the way it's supposed to be. 586 00:29:50,680 --> 00:29:52,520 But I'll tell you one of the greatest things that's brought 587 00:29:52,520 --> 00:29:57,840 me pride, the good kind of pride, was to see people rally 588 00:29:57,840 --> 00:30:03,560 around a man who hadn't washed, who didn't have his clothes 589 00:30:03,560 --> 00:30:08,360 clean, a man who looked pretty ragged but loved him with the 590 00:30:08,360 --> 00:30:11,800 love of Christ. You know, anyone could be nice 591 00:30:11,800 --> 00:30:15,960 to Manny Ramirez. And let's be honest, people were 592 00:30:15,960 --> 00:30:18,560 coming out of the woodwork when they found out that Manny 593 00:30:18,560 --> 00:30:21,560 Ramirez was here. Nobody comes out of the woodwork 594 00:30:22,320 --> 00:30:25,600 when Richie comes to church. Isn't that what James chapter 2 595 00:30:25,600 --> 00:30:28,440 tells us to do? To not regard the one in the gay 596 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:32,040 apparel and the great and and grand apparel and then to look 597 00:30:32,040 --> 00:30:35,280 at the one the other that the one that isn't right and say get 598 00:30:35,280 --> 00:30:37,040 beneath my footstool, get away from me. 599 00:30:37,040 --> 00:30:38,720 Don't, don't be around other people. 600 00:30:39,200 --> 00:30:41,720 But people treated him as a soul. 601 00:30:43,160 --> 00:30:45,760 It was not long after that that Richie was coming, that Richie 602 00:30:45,760 --> 00:30:47,600 accepted Jesus Christ as a Savior. 603 00:30:48,760 --> 00:30:51,600 We didn't have a lot of time with Richie, but we did were 604 00:30:51,600 --> 00:30:54,800 able to help and be part of him getting into a program that 605 00:30:54,800 --> 00:30:57,680 found him housing. Before you knew it, he got into 606 00:30:57,680 --> 00:31:01,240 that place and he was in a house with other men about maybe 2 607 00:31:01,240 --> 00:31:04,720 miles or so from here. He was coming to church, shine, 608 00:31:04,720 --> 00:31:10,320 shave for Jesus, and folks loaned him clothes, gave him 609 00:31:10,320 --> 00:31:12,520 clothes to be able to wear to church. 610 00:31:13,200 --> 00:31:15,400 He came. He was a different man. 1 611 00:31:15,400 --> 00:31:19,280 Because of the love of people, but really because of the love 612 00:31:19,280 --> 00:31:21,880 of Christ. And really the only love that 613 00:31:21,880 --> 00:31:25,360 people can give is only a radiation, a reflection of the 614 00:31:25,360 --> 00:31:30,000 love of Christ. I look at Richie and I think, 615 00:31:30,000 --> 00:31:34,240 man, that's what it's about. You find someone that's down and 616 00:31:34,240 --> 00:31:37,600 out, you find somebody that's got nothing, you watch them get 617 00:31:37,600 --> 00:31:40,800 saved, you see them grow, and that is a joy. 618 00:31:40,840 --> 00:31:42,360 And that's a blessing. I'm so thankful we got to 619 00:31:42,360 --> 00:31:44,680 minister them to the short period of time before he moved 620 00:31:44,680 --> 00:31:47,040 to another facility. And I've never had contact with 621 00:31:47,040 --> 00:31:48,520 him again. But I know this, I'll contact 622 00:31:48,520 --> 00:31:51,040 with him someday. I can't wait to hear how the 623 00:31:51,040 --> 00:31:54,360 rest of his life played out and how we had a very small partner. 624 00:31:56,280 --> 00:32:01,840 So it's a great story. But here's what I fear when we 625 00:32:01,840 --> 00:32:06,320 hear stories like that. But most of us, and I would 626 00:32:06,320 --> 00:32:08,840 probably dare say all of us would be at the place where we 627 00:32:08,840 --> 00:32:10,760 could say my story wasn't like that. 628 00:32:12,160 --> 00:32:15,520 I was never homeless. I grew up in a middle class 629 00:32:15,520 --> 00:32:18,520 family. I didn't grow up with trauma. 630 00:32:19,920 --> 00:32:21,560 I grew up with two parents that love me. 631 00:32:23,360 --> 00:32:25,320 I'm not saying my life was perfect. 632 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:27,760 It certainly wasn't. But I'm saying, you know, I grew 633 00:32:27,760 --> 00:32:30,520 up in a pretty, you know, stable place. 634 00:32:31,360 --> 00:32:35,040 I got married at a young age to a, to a beautiful wife and I 635 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:39,280 just, I had amazing children. I just, I look at my life and 636 00:32:39,280 --> 00:32:41,480 I'll tell you there gets to a place where you maybe you feel 637 00:32:41,480 --> 00:32:47,920 like you feel pretty respectable and you forget the fact that 638 00:32:47,920 --> 00:32:53,560 spiritually speaking, no matter how my life may have played out, 639 00:32:54,040 --> 00:32:58,880 spiritually speaking, I was just as needy as Richie was. 640 00:33:00,480 --> 00:33:02,880 I was just as down and out as he was. 641 00:33:03,680 --> 00:33:07,160 Oh no, the physical may not have manifested itself the same way, 642 00:33:07,400 --> 00:33:12,200 but I was in just as much of abject spiritual poverty as 643 00:33:12,200 --> 00:33:14,960 Richie was, as much as Mephibosheth was. 644 00:33:14,960 --> 00:33:19,080 Listen, Mephibosheth story is Richie story, but Richie story 645 00:33:19,120 --> 00:33:22,360 is my story. And maybe you got saved a 646 00:33:22,360 --> 00:33:26,080 younger age and maybe you feel like you can't even identify 647 00:33:26,120 --> 00:33:28,000 with this. Listen, friend, understand this. 648 00:33:28,240 --> 00:33:32,640 You are in the same position that Mephibosheth was. 649 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:35,040 You were in the same position as Richie was. 650 00:33:35,040 --> 00:33:38,960 Listen, you had nothing and God gave you everything. 651 00:33:40,040 --> 00:33:42,320 Well, I got saved when I was five years old, Pastor. 652 00:33:42,320 --> 00:33:43,760 I got saved when I was seven years old. 653 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,560 You think that if you had continued on the trajectory of 654 00:33:46,560 --> 00:33:50,040 being unsaved, that you somehow were going to be able to clean 655 00:33:50,040 --> 00:33:54,000 yourself up yourself. You were in the exact same 656 00:33:54,000 --> 00:33:56,560 position. You were needy, but you just 657 00:33:56,560 --> 00:33:59,640 recognized that need at a young age by the grace of Almighty 658 00:33:59,640 --> 00:34:02,160 God. But there will be many who would 659 00:34:02,160 --> 00:34:04,760 say something like this may be different from me. 660 00:34:05,240 --> 00:34:08,520 Pastor, I'm glad your story was like that, but my story played 661 00:34:08,520 --> 00:34:11,239 out differently. I'm glad you grew up in a place 662 00:34:11,239 --> 00:34:13,920 with comfort and ease and it wasn't that comfortable and that 663 00:34:13,920 --> 00:34:17,480 easy, but maybe perhaps compared to yours, you say. 664 00:34:17,480 --> 00:34:19,920 But Pastor, my story doesn't play out that way, doesn't play 665 00:34:19,920 --> 00:34:23,480 out that way at all. May I remind you that even as 666 00:34:23,480 --> 00:34:27,239 you now know Jesus Christ as your Savior, that God was the 667 00:34:27,239 --> 00:34:33,600 one who did that and God was the one who enriched you, and God is 668 00:34:33,600 --> 00:34:37,520 the one who continue to feed you, and God is the one who will 669 00:34:37,520 --> 00:34:40,719 continue to care for you. Listen, there's not anything you 670 00:34:40,719 --> 00:34:44,480 have that you have on your own apart from God. 671 00:34:45,280 --> 00:34:48,280 You know why? Because He adopted you, He's 672 00:34:48,280 --> 00:34:50,719 given you some land. You say, what kind of land is he 673 00:34:50,719 --> 00:34:52,920 giving you, Pastor? I mean, you, you're a renter. 674 00:34:52,920 --> 00:34:55,080 You said, oh, I'm a renter. But I do know where there's 675 00:34:55,080 --> 00:34:58,600 going to be a mansion. The place has been prepared for 676 00:34:58,600 --> 00:35:00,800 me. I do know that. 677 00:35:01,640 --> 00:35:05,320 I do know he feeds me with his living bread every day. 678 00:35:05,320 --> 00:35:08,160 And he's also promised to be able to meet the needs of my 679 00:35:08,160 --> 00:35:11,920 daily bread as well. And hasn't God been good to you? 680 00:35:13,560 --> 00:35:15,880 You know, I think sometimes we forget. 681 00:35:16,720 --> 00:35:20,080 And the thrust of this message is abundantly simple. 682 00:35:20,080 --> 00:35:22,160 This evening. I mentioned a few moments ago 683 00:35:22,160 --> 00:35:26,040 that only God can take a nobody going nowhere and set him at the 684 00:35:26,040 --> 00:35:29,280 table with the king. Listen, you were the one living 685 00:35:29,280 --> 00:35:32,480 in Lodibar. You were the one that couldn't 686 00:35:32,480 --> 00:35:35,440 help yourself. You were the one that was 687 00:35:35,440 --> 00:35:37,680 disabled from being able to care for yourself. 688 00:35:38,280 --> 00:35:41,280 And the king came along and gave you everything. 689 00:35:41,920 --> 00:35:46,360 And if I was to give you just one thought this evening, it 690 00:35:46,360 --> 00:35:49,120 would be this. Don't forget it. 691 00:35:51,600 --> 00:35:55,600 We get so caught up in what we don't have, what we wished we 692 00:35:55,600 --> 00:35:59,160 had, that things aren't right here or things that aren't right 693 00:35:59,160 --> 00:36:00,520 there. And listen, I know there are 694 00:36:00,520 --> 00:36:03,280 times to identify those things and there are times to take care 695 00:36:03,280 --> 00:36:05,000 of those things depending on what they are in life. 696 00:36:05,480 --> 00:36:11,760 But listen, you have been so well cared for by the king. 697 00:36:12,760 --> 00:36:15,400 The King has cared for you in the way that no one else ever 698 00:36:15,400 --> 00:36:17,400 could and no one else ever would. 699 00:36:17,400 --> 00:36:20,840 Listen, keep your head up high. You're a child of the King. 700 00:36:21,640 --> 00:36:24,280 Be encouraged tonight. He cares for you. 701 00:36:24,960 --> 00:36:26,920 Listen, don't feel like you're alone. 702 00:36:27,520 --> 00:36:29,120 He's adopted you into his family. 703 00:36:29,720 --> 00:36:32,160 And by the way, that's why we call each other brothers and 704 00:36:32,160 --> 00:36:32,880 sisters. Why? 705 00:36:33,200 --> 00:36:36,160 Because we're part of the same family, because God has adopted 706 00:36:36,160 --> 00:36:40,200 us all together and that we find commonality here in His house. 707 00:36:41,120 --> 00:36:44,120 Be encouraged tonight and listen, even if your story 708 00:36:44,120 --> 00:36:46,600 doesn't feel like a Mephibosheth or Richie story. 709 00:36:46,880 --> 00:36:51,800 It was you were lost. You needed Jesus, you couldn't 710 00:36:51,800 --> 00:36:54,720 do it on your own. But the King came along and 711 00:36:54,720 --> 00:36:56,800 said, is there someone that I can show kindness to? 712 00:36:56,800 --> 00:37:00,640 And when Christ died on the cross, he wanted to show 713 00:37:00,640 --> 00:37:04,480 kindness to you. Thank you for listening to the 714 00:37:04,480 --> 00:37:07,080 sermon from the pulpit of Liberty Baptist Church. 715 00:37:07,480 --> 00:37:10,680 If this message was a blessing to you, or if there's any way we 716 00:37:10,680 --> 00:37:13,800 can serve you, please let us know by contacting us at 717 00:37:13,960 --> 00:37:18,680 info@mylibertybaptist.org. Or you can visit us this Sunday 718 00:37:18,880 --> 00:37:22,600 at 800 Washington St. in Easton, MA. 719 00:37:22,840 --> 00:37:25,640 May the Lord bless you as you grow in His Word.