1 00:00:00,160 --> 00:00:03,520 Hello and welcome to the Middletown Baptist Church Podcast, 2 00:00:03,600 --> 00:00:06,480 where we are proclaiming the truth to the world. 3 00:00:06,640 --> 00:00:09,720 My name is Pastor Josh and I want to thank you for listening to 4 00:00:09,720 --> 00:00:10,480 this podcast. 5 00:00:10,960 --> 00:00:14,680 I hope that this podcast can be a blessing to you and strengthen 6 00:00:14,680 --> 00:00:16,080 you in the word of God. 7 00:00:16,800 --> 00:00:20,120 Now come along, let's look into the Bible and see what God has 8 00:00:20,120 --> 00:00:21,440 for us here today. 9 00:00:23,520 --> 00:00:25,840 Here this morning, we're going to be in the Word of God this morning, 10 00:00:25,840 --> 00:00:28,330 and we're going to be talking about friendship. 11 00:00:28,330 --> 00:00:31,170 We're going to be talking about the topic of being a friend 12 00:00:31,890 --> 00:00:34,850 and what it means to have the truest friend in Jesus Christ. 13 00:00:35,090 --> 00:00:37,610 So I want you to think about those two elements here this morning. 14 00:00:37,610 --> 00:00:40,770 When we get into the word of God, we're going to be talking about 15 00:00:40,770 --> 00:00:43,370 what it means to be a good friend, and number two, what it means 16 00:00:43,370 --> 00:00:45,090 to have a friend in Jesus Christ. 17 00:00:45,570 --> 00:00:48,170 The Bible has a lot to say about both of those topics. 18 00:00:48,170 --> 00:00:50,850 And today being friend day, I thought it would be very appropriate 19 00:00:51,010 --> 00:00:52,530 to talk about those two topics. 20 00:00:53,340 --> 00:00:54,460 What does it mean to be a friend? 21 00:00:54,460 --> 00:00:55,740 What does it mean to be a good friend? 22 00:00:55,980 --> 00:00:57,820 The Bible has a lot to say about that. 23 00:00:58,780 --> 00:01:02,180 In Proverbs, there's a lot to be said about what it means to be 24 00:01:02,180 --> 00:01:02,780 a good friend. 25 00:01:02,780 --> 00:01:05,260 You know, the book of Proverbs is a book of wisdom. 26 00:01:05,740 --> 00:01:09,100 The book of Proverbs in Proverbs 18, verse 24, says, A man 27 00:01:09,100 --> 00:01:11,260 that hath friends must show himself friendly. 28 00:01:11,740 --> 00:01:14,780 And there is a friend that sticketh closer than a brother. 29 00:01:15,420 --> 00:01:18,860 The Bible says there that to have friends, we have to be friendly. 30 00:01:18,860 --> 00:01:21,760 And even though there's going to be times and places in our life 31 00:01:21,760 --> 00:01:24,400 where friends fail us, the Bible says that there's a friend 32 00:01:24,400 --> 00:01:25,880 that sticks closer than a brother. 33 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:28,680 A true friend sticks closer than a brother. 34 00:01:29,160 --> 00:01:31,760 Now, the Bible also tells us in the New Testament that that friend 35 00:01:31,760 --> 00:01:34,280 that sticks closer than a brother in the sense of our salvation 36 00:01:34,280 --> 00:01:35,080 is Jesus Christ. 37 00:01:35,640 --> 00:01:38,600 We're going to talk more about that as we go along here this morning. 38 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:45,280 Proverbs 27:17 says this iron sharpeneth iron, so a man sharpeneth 39 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:46,760 the countenance of his friend. 40 00:01:47,540 --> 00:01:50,180 The Bible speaks of the importance of friends, encouraging 41 00:01:50,180 --> 00:01:53,540 others, challenging others, strengthening each other. 42 00:01:53,860 --> 00:01:56,940 And the Bible uses that analogy of ironing, sharpening iron 43 00:01:56,940 --> 00:01:57,220 there. 44 00:01:57,220 --> 00:02:00,620 So another one that you might be familiar with is in the book of 45 00:02:00,620 --> 00:02:01,420 Ecclesiastes. 46 00:02:01,420 --> 00:02:05,060 Ecclesiastes, chapter 4, verse 9, says, Two are better than one 47 00:02:05,060 --> 00:02:07,460 because they have a good reward for their labor. 48 00:02:08,660 --> 00:02:13,100 Proverbs 27:9, Oil and perfume, or ointment and perfume 49 00:02:13,100 --> 00:02:14,020 rejoice the heart. 50 00:02:14,430 --> 00:02:17,390 So does the sweetness of a man's friend by hearty counsel. 51 00:02:17,390 --> 00:02:18,030 Meaning this. 52 00:02:18,270 --> 00:02:20,510 There's a lot of things in this world that give us pleasure 53 00:02:20,510 --> 00:02:21,510 and satisfaction. 54 00:02:21,510 --> 00:02:24,230 But a good friend is one of the beautiful things that God has 55 00:02:24,230 --> 00:02:25,150 given us in our life. 56 00:02:25,150 --> 00:02:29,550 To have encouragement, to have joy over and over again. 57 00:02:29,550 --> 00:02:32,190 The Bible speaks of importance of a friend. 58 00:02:32,510 --> 00:02:35,070 There's another passage in Proverbs 27:6. 59 00:02:35,310 --> 00:02:36,390 This is a difficult one. 60 00:02:36,390 --> 00:02:39,910 It says, faithful are the wounds of a friend, but the kisses 61 00:02:39,910 --> 00:02:41,470 of an enemy are deceitful. 62 00:02:42,370 --> 00:02:43,530 You say, what's that talking about? 63 00:02:43,530 --> 00:02:47,090 Says this, sometimes friends need to tell people difficult things. 64 00:02:47,490 --> 00:02:50,370 And those wounds that are found in that difficult conversation 65 00:02:50,370 --> 00:02:51,490 are actually a good thing. 66 00:02:51,650 --> 00:02:55,730 But it says that the kisses of an enemy are, are not good. 67 00:02:55,730 --> 00:02:56,050 They're. 68 00:02:56,050 --> 00:02:57,090 They're deceitful. 69 00:02:57,250 --> 00:02:59,250 What that means is there's a lot of people looking for people 70 00:02:59,250 --> 00:03:00,850 to tell them what they want to hear. 71 00:03:01,170 --> 00:03:03,810 But sometimes that's an enemy telling us what we want to hear. 72 00:03:03,810 --> 00:03:06,530 That will lead us to a place of deceit and lies. 73 00:03:06,850 --> 00:03:09,930 But when a friend tells us the truth, even as difficult as that 74 00:03:09,930 --> 00:03:11,750 might be, that is a blessing. 75 00:03:12,310 --> 00:03:15,470 Over and over again, we see the importance of that when it comes 76 00:03:15,470 --> 00:03:19,350 to God's word and him explaining to us what it means to 77 00:03:19,430 --> 00:03:20,710 have godly friends. 78 00:03:21,510 --> 00:03:22,030 And the. 79 00:03:22,030 --> 00:03:25,190 The passage that I think of too is Proverbs 27:10. 80 00:03:25,350 --> 00:03:28,070 Thine own friend and thy father's friend forsake not. 81 00:03:29,110 --> 00:03:31,870 The Bible speaks of not forgetting about our friends and 82 00:03:31,870 --> 00:03:33,830 our Father's friend, which is actually going to play a. 83 00:03:33,910 --> 00:03:38,680 A role in our lesson this morning, says, neither go into thy 84 00:03:38,680 --> 00:03:41,880 brother's house in the day of thy calamity, for better is a neighbor 85 00:03:41,880 --> 00:03:43,760 that is near than a brother that is far off. 86 00:03:43,760 --> 00:03:46,840 And so it speaks of the blessing that a friend can be when 87 00:03:46,840 --> 00:03:47,560 one is close. 88 00:03:47,720 --> 00:03:50,720 There's so many other verses that we could talk about when it 89 00:03:50,720 --> 00:03:54,160 comes to friends, one that maybe you're familiar with is Proverbs 90 00:03:54,160 --> 00:03:54,920 17:17. 91 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:59,560 A friend loveth at all times, and a brother is born for adversity. 92 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:03,040 The Bible speaks of that presence of a friend, that love of 93 00:04:03,040 --> 00:04:04,840 a friend, even in times of difficulty. 94 00:04:05,810 --> 00:04:08,330 But we know that there's more to be said in Scripture about a friend 95 00:04:08,330 --> 00:04:11,690 that sticks closer than a brother when Jesus extends his love 96 00:04:11,690 --> 00:04:12,610 and grace for us. 97 00:04:12,690 --> 00:04:15,770 When we saw In John chapter 15 this morning, Jesus says, you're 98 00:04:15,770 --> 00:04:17,330 no longer just my servants. 99 00:04:17,330 --> 00:04:18,530 You are now my friends. 100 00:04:19,170 --> 00:04:20,450 That's John chapter 15. 101 00:04:20,450 --> 00:04:23,690 I think that's an amazing truth to explain this morning. 102 00:04:23,690 --> 00:04:27,130 Because just as we are called to be a friend, when God calls us 103 00:04:27,130 --> 00:04:29,970 to do something in our life, he always gives us the perfect example. 104 00:04:30,210 --> 00:04:33,110 So if God asks us to forgive, he's going to explain to us what 105 00:04:33,110 --> 00:04:33,790 it means to forgive. 106 00:04:33,790 --> 00:04:36,550 And he's going to give us the perfect example in Jesus Christ. 107 00:04:36,790 --> 00:04:40,070 God asks us to love, he's going to expect us to follow Jesus 108 00:04:40,070 --> 00:04:41,590 example in his perfect love. 109 00:04:41,910 --> 00:04:44,990 And so if God asks us to be a friend, he's going to explain to 110 00:04:44,990 --> 00:04:47,950 us and demonstrate for us what it means to be the perfect friend. 111 00:04:47,950 --> 00:04:51,430 And In John chapter 15, Jesus is speaking to his disciples and 112 00:04:51,430 --> 00:04:52,550 he says, you're my friends. 113 00:04:53,430 --> 00:04:55,270 He says, what does it mean to be a friend? 114 00:04:55,270 --> 00:04:58,190 Well, greater love hath no man than this, that a man laid down his 115 00:04:58,190 --> 00:04:59,030 life for his friends. 116 00:04:59,470 --> 00:05:03,070 And so Jesus speaks of the sacrifice that comes with true friendship. 117 00:05:03,710 --> 00:05:06,630 And then again, we know the greatest example of sacrifice is 118 00:05:06,630 --> 00:05:08,270 Jesus dying on the cross for our sins. 119 00:05:08,270 --> 00:05:11,470 He says, I'm your friend, and I'm proving that. 120 00:05:11,950 --> 00:05:15,910 Then he goes on to say in verse 15, in John 15, henceforth, 121 00:05:15,910 --> 00:05:17,230 I call you not servants. 122 00:05:17,950 --> 00:05:21,390 So though we are called to be servants of God, it's more than just 123 00:05:21,390 --> 00:05:22,190 being a servant. 124 00:05:22,270 --> 00:05:25,120 He says, for the servant knoweth not what his Lord doeth. 125 00:05:25,670 --> 00:05:28,190 So he speaks of that separation of the master and servant 126 00:05:28,190 --> 00:05:28,670 relationship. 127 00:05:28,670 --> 00:05:29,430 But then he goes further. 128 00:05:29,430 --> 00:05:32,790 He says, but I have called you friends for all things that I have 129 00:05:32,790 --> 00:05:34,790 heard of my Father I have made known unto you. 130 00:05:34,790 --> 00:05:38,830 The Bible speaks of this opportunity for a person to come 131 00:05:38,830 --> 00:05:42,550 in belief to the Lord through Jesus Christ and know him more than 132 00:05:42,550 --> 00:05:46,230 just that separated, distant relationship, but know him in a personal 133 00:05:46,310 --> 00:05:47,430 way as a friend. 134 00:05:47,670 --> 00:05:50,550 A passage of Scripture that I think of when it comes to that is 135 00:05:50,550 --> 00:05:51,910 James chapter, chapter two. 136 00:05:51,910 --> 00:05:55,510 Some of you know in James chapter two, verse 23, it speaks 137 00:05:55,510 --> 00:05:56,910 of a fella named Abraham. 138 00:05:56,910 --> 00:05:58,790 Now, Abraham came in the Old Testament. 139 00:05:59,190 --> 00:06:01,910 And the Bible is actually going to say here in James chapter 140 00:06:01,910 --> 00:06:06,110 2, verse 23, that Abraham was called a friend of God. 141 00:06:06,110 --> 00:06:08,710 Now, how could Abraham be called a friend of God? 142 00:06:08,790 --> 00:06:12,390 Well, the Bible In James chapter 2, verse 23 tells us how 143 00:06:12,390 --> 00:06:16,270 Abraham was considered to be a friend of God and how we can be friends 144 00:06:16,270 --> 00:06:17,670 of God through Jesus Christ. 145 00:06:19,010 --> 00:06:22,610 So In James chapter 2, verse 23, it says, and Scripture was fulfilled, 146 00:06:22,930 --> 00:06:25,570 which saith, abraham believed God. 147 00:06:25,570 --> 00:06:30,090 He had faith in God, and it was imputed or given unto him for 148 00:06:30,090 --> 00:06:30,930 righteousness. 149 00:06:31,730 --> 00:06:38,010 So Abraham found righteousness through faith in God, and God extended 150 00:06:38,010 --> 00:06:41,290 his righteousness to Abraham, even though Abraham sinned, even 151 00:06:41,290 --> 00:06:44,970 though we all sin, we can find righteousness in God through faith 152 00:06:44,970 --> 00:06:45,410 in God. 153 00:06:45,410 --> 00:06:49,800 And then, and only then does it say, and he was called the friend 154 00:06:49,800 --> 00:06:50,360 of God. 155 00:06:50,520 --> 00:06:51,960 We can be a friend of God. 156 00:06:51,960 --> 00:06:55,520 We can have that personal relationship with him through having 157 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,360 faith in him and trusting in what he did for us on the cross, 158 00:06:58,680 --> 00:07:01,520 trusting in the fact that he conquered death through the resurrection. 159 00:07:01,520 --> 00:07:05,320 And we too can conquer death and have eternal life in him through 160 00:07:05,560 --> 00:07:06,600 Jesus Christ. 161 00:07:07,480 --> 00:07:10,480 What an amazing truth that is, that we can be a good friend because 162 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:12,360 we have the perfect friend in Jesus. 163 00:07:13,080 --> 00:07:15,760 And I thought a lot this week about what passage of scripture will 164 00:07:15,760 --> 00:07:18,120 we go to to really dig in to see an example of this? 165 00:07:18,770 --> 00:07:21,410 I think a really great passage of scripture that shows us not only, 166 00:07:21,570 --> 00:07:25,010 number one, how to be a good friend, but number two, what it means 167 00:07:25,010 --> 00:07:27,410 to have a friend in God through faith in Jesus Christ. 168 00:07:27,410 --> 00:07:31,290 And what that salvation looks like is actually found in the Old 169 00:07:31,290 --> 00:07:33,330 Testament, Second Samuel, Chapter 9. 170 00:07:33,330 --> 00:07:35,730 And so if you have your Bibles, we're going to spend the 171 00:07:35,730 --> 00:07:38,610 rest of the time in Second Samuel chapter nine. 172 00:07:39,970 --> 00:07:41,850 And I need to set the picture for you here. 173 00:07:41,850 --> 00:07:45,090 Now, I need to set the context to this historical account. 174 00:07:46,260 --> 00:07:48,500 Most of you probably know a fellow named David. 175 00:07:48,500 --> 00:07:51,860 In the Bible, he was the second king of Israel. 176 00:07:52,260 --> 00:07:54,620 So it's the same David that slayed Goliath. 177 00:07:54,620 --> 00:07:56,420 It was the same David that. 178 00:07:56,420 --> 00:07:57,340 That killed the lion. 179 00:07:57,340 --> 00:08:00,980 It was the same David who you know about that's talked about throughout 180 00:08:00,980 --> 00:08:01,540 Scripture. 181 00:08:02,020 --> 00:08:06,020 But many of you know that David had a really, really close 182 00:08:06,100 --> 00:08:08,340 friend, a best friend. 183 00:08:08,900 --> 00:08:10,340 His name was Jonathan. 184 00:08:11,550 --> 00:08:15,430 They have a unique relationship because Jonathan's dad 185 00:08:15,430 --> 00:08:16,430 doesn't like David. 186 00:08:16,430 --> 00:08:20,550 Well, at first he likes David, but over time, Jonathan's dad doesn't 187 00:08:20,550 --> 00:08:21,230 like David. 188 00:08:21,710 --> 00:08:24,030 Jonathan's dad's a guy named Saul. 189 00:08:24,670 --> 00:08:26,990 Saul, the first king of Israel. 190 00:08:27,470 --> 00:08:31,150 Now, Saul was not necessarily what we would call a good king. 191 00:08:31,230 --> 00:08:33,550 He didn't follow God's plan, he followed his own. 192 00:08:33,710 --> 00:08:37,960 And when he found out that David would be the next king, he 193 00:08:37,960 --> 00:08:38,560 got upset. 194 00:08:38,560 --> 00:08:41,200 And if you remember what happened, Saul tried to kill David. 195 00:08:41,200 --> 00:08:42,480 He chased after him. 196 00:08:42,960 --> 00:08:44,400 He threw a spear at him. 197 00:08:45,360 --> 00:08:49,400 But the unique element of Jonathan and David's relationship 198 00:08:49,400 --> 00:08:51,520 was that Jonathan wasn't jealous of David. 199 00:08:52,320 --> 00:08:54,600 Jonathan, David had a wonderful relationship. 200 00:08:54,600 --> 00:08:59,280 Jonathan actually protected David from Saul, his father. 201 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:04,320 And in First Samuel, Chapter 20, David and Jonathan made a pact, 202 00:09:04,320 --> 00:09:05,520 a covenant, a promise. 203 00:09:06,200 --> 00:09:09,480 And it was essentially this, I love you as I love myself. 204 00:09:10,280 --> 00:09:12,560 And no matter what happens, we're going to take care of each 205 00:09:12,560 --> 00:09:14,920 other and we're going to take care of each other's family. 206 00:09:15,960 --> 00:09:18,200 It was a promise made out of love. 207 00:09:18,520 --> 00:09:20,600 It was a promise made in commitment. 208 00:09:22,360 --> 00:09:25,240 And in Second Samuel, chapter nine, we're going to see years later, 209 00:09:25,240 --> 00:09:27,800 David keeping that commitment to Jonathan. 210 00:09:28,440 --> 00:09:30,360 Now, Jonathan was killed in battle. 211 00:09:32,530 --> 00:09:36,290 Saul took his own life in the course of a battle. 212 00:09:37,170 --> 00:09:41,210 And what would happen typically in this culture was that 213 00:09:41,210 --> 00:09:44,690 when a king's family was. 214 00:09:44,850 --> 00:09:48,010 Was taken away from the throne, what would happen is the 215 00:09:48,010 --> 00:09:50,490 new king would go back and kill every single person in that 216 00:09:50,490 --> 00:09:53,090 family to wipe out that bloodline so that they would not 217 00:09:53,090 --> 00:09:54,770 come back and try to take over the throne. 218 00:09:55,330 --> 00:09:56,130 That was what it. 219 00:09:56,210 --> 00:09:56,930 What it was. 220 00:09:58,350 --> 00:10:03,030 So when Saul died on the battlefield and Jonathan died on 221 00:10:03,030 --> 00:10:06,910 the battlefield, all of the family of Saul began to panic. 222 00:10:07,310 --> 00:10:11,710 And you can read about this earlier on in Scripture, but when 223 00:10:11,710 --> 00:10:14,830 that happened, there was a fella named Mephibosheth. 224 00:10:14,830 --> 00:10:16,750 And I want you to remember that name here this morning. 225 00:10:16,750 --> 00:10:17,590 Mephibosheth. 226 00:10:17,590 --> 00:10:19,310 That's a hard name to say. 227 00:10:19,790 --> 00:10:23,670 I was thinking all week, okay, what could I give him, like a nickname 228 00:10:23,670 --> 00:10:24,470 through this service? 229 00:10:24,470 --> 00:10:27,370 But I said, no, I'm going to challenge myself and say Mephibosheth 230 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:29,120 more than I probably can, okay? 231 00:10:29,120 --> 00:10:30,320 So I might mess that name up. 232 00:10:30,320 --> 00:10:32,400 And some of you that are having children in the near future, 233 00:10:32,400 --> 00:10:35,280 and you're having a boy, what a great name Mephibosheth is. 234 00:10:35,280 --> 00:10:37,480 After the story, you're going to find out that that's. 235 00:10:37,480 --> 00:10:38,240 That's a good name. 236 00:10:39,600 --> 00:10:44,160 So earlier on in this passage of scripture, it's actually 2 Samuel, 237 00:10:44,160 --> 00:10:50,040 chapter 4, verse 4, when news was passed down that Saul and Jonathan 238 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:51,120 died on the battlefield. 239 00:10:51,200 --> 00:10:54,080 Mephibosheth was a little child, a baby. 240 00:10:54,450 --> 00:10:57,490 And what happened was, is that his nurse was running with him and 241 00:10:57,490 --> 00:10:58,450 she stumbled. 242 00:10:58,610 --> 00:11:02,810 And because of this accident, Mephibosheth had harm to his legs 243 00:11:02,810 --> 00:11:03,650 and he became lame. 244 00:11:03,650 --> 00:11:04,770 He was not able to walk. 245 00:11:05,970 --> 00:11:11,490 And so after that time, he was taken into hiding because he feared 246 00:11:11,970 --> 00:11:13,810 that David with. 247 00:11:13,810 --> 00:11:17,410 With culture of that day would come and kill him. 248 00:11:17,810 --> 00:11:19,010 And so he was hidden. 249 00:11:19,900 --> 00:11:24,180 And so we're going to see now in Second Samuel, chapter nine, the 250 00:11:24,180 --> 00:11:28,380 account of this kindness that's not only extended to Jonathan 251 00:11:28,380 --> 00:11:31,900 himself, but the kindness that David extends to Jonathan's children 252 00:11:32,700 --> 00:11:33,900 and the family of Saul. 253 00:11:33,900 --> 00:11:38,020 This is not the type of grace and gift that would normally be given 254 00:11:38,020 --> 00:11:38,860 in this culture. 255 00:11:38,940 --> 00:11:41,140 This is going to be a beautiful picture of God's grace 256 00:11:41,140 --> 00:11:41,580 to us. 257 00:11:42,540 --> 00:11:45,260 And so look at Second Samuel chapter nine with me. 258 00:11:45,870 --> 00:11:48,350 We're going to just go through this passage and we're going to see 259 00:11:48,350 --> 00:11:50,590 number one, what it means to be a good godly friend. 260 00:11:50,590 --> 00:11:54,870 But number two, the greatest friendship that we can find in a 261 00:11:54,870 --> 00:11:55,670 relationship with God. 262 00:11:55,670 --> 00:11:58,630 And there's a picture of God's grace and salvation through David's 263 00:11:58,630 --> 00:12:00,590 salvation to Mephibosheth. 264 00:12:00,830 --> 00:12:03,190 So it says in verse 1 of 2 Samuel, chapter 9. 265 00:12:03,190 --> 00:12:06,830 And David said, is there yet any that is left of the house of 266 00:12:06,830 --> 00:12:07,230 Saul? 267 00:12:08,350 --> 00:12:08,710 So. 268 00:12:08,710 --> 00:12:12,630 So David is recounting in his mind, okay, I made a promise to Jonathan, 269 00:12:12,630 --> 00:12:13,840 which by extension was. 270 00:12:13,990 --> 00:12:17,710 Was a promise to Saul, something that he didn't have to 271 00:12:17,710 --> 00:12:17,950 do. 272 00:12:17,950 --> 00:12:19,990 But he says, is there someone left that I can show? 273 00:12:19,990 --> 00:12:24,350 What does it say here that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's 274 00:12:24,350 --> 00:12:24,710 sake? 275 00:12:25,510 --> 00:12:29,470 And so here in this passage, David is recounting the relationship 276 00:12:29,470 --> 00:12:34,190 that he had with Jonathan, and he wants to extend that love to anyone 277 00:12:34,190 --> 00:12:34,950 in that family. 278 00:12:35,830 --> 00:12:36,390 And so. 279 00:12:36,390 --> 00:12:38,990 So his actions here were not just based on feelings. 280 00:12:38,990 --> 00:12:42,310 They were based on a decision, on a covenant, on a promise. 281 00:12:43,860 --> 00:12:45,660 And so David says, I need to find someone. 282 00:12:45,660 --> 00:12:48,340 If there anybody left from Jonathan or from. 283 00:12:48,580 --> 00:12:50,580 From Saul, I need to find them. 284 00:12:51,140 --> 00:12:51,700 Verse 2. 285 00:12:51,700 --> 00:12:55,380 And there was of the house of Saul, a servant whose name was Ziba. 286 00:12:55,940 --> 00:12:57,460 There's the servant named Ziba. 287 00:12:57,460 --> 00:13:01,140 And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, 288 00:13:01,140 --> 00:13:02,260 art thou Ziba? 289 00:13:02,580 --> 00:13:04,260 And he said, thy servant is he. 290 00:13:04,900 --> 00:13:09,380 And the king said, is there not yet any of the house of Saul 291 00:13:10,030 --> 00:13:12,710 that I may show the kindness of God unto him? 292 00:13:12,710 --> 00:13:13,630 So he asked the same question. 293 00:13:13,630 --> 00:13:15,150 He says, do you know of anybody. 294 00:13:15,310 --> 00:13:17,830 Do you know of anybody that's left that I can show this type of 295 00:13:17,830 --> 00:13:20,910 kindness to, this type of grace, this type of mercy to? 296 00:13:22,990 --> 00:13:26,430 And he goes on to say, and Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan 297 00:13:26,590 --> 00:13:30,230 hath yet a son which is lame on his feet. 298 00:13:30,230 --> 00:13:31,830 Now we know why he's lame on his feet. 299 00:13:31,830 --> 00:13:32,830 Because of the backstory. 300 00:13:33,470 --> 00:13:34,390 But he says, yes, there. 301 00:13:34,390 --> 00:13:35,230 There is one left. 302 00:13:36,330 --> 00:13:38,250 And the king said unto him, where is he? 303 00:13:38,730 --> 00:13:42,810 And Zeba said unto the king, behold, he is in the house of Major, 304 00:13:43,130 --> 00:13:45,690 the son of Emil, and lo, Debar. 305 00:13:46,330 --> 00:13:48,330 So there's a lot that we can learn from verse four. 306 00:13:48,330 --> 00:13:48,850 Number one. 307 00:13:48,850 --> 00:13:52,650 David doesn't know where Mephibosheth is, so he's in hiding. 308 00:13:53,210 --> 00:13:53,530 Why? 309 00:13:53,530 --> 00:13:54,930 Why is Mephiboshef hiding? 310 00:13:54,930 --> 00:13:55,650 Because he's afraid. 311 00:13:55,650 --> 00:13:57,210 He's afraid of judgment. 312 00:13:58,490 --> 00:14:01,610 He's afraid that he will get what's due to him, which is what? 313 00:14:01,610 --> 00:14:01,930 Death. 314 00:14:02,480 --> 00:14:03,280 That is what would happen. 315 00:14:03,280 --> 00:14:04,120 That was his sentence. 316 00:14:04,120 --> 00:14:07,120 Not because of what he did, but because of who his family was. 317 00:14:07,120 --> 00:14:09,160 Someone before him committed sin. 318 00:14:09,160 --> 00:14:09,760 And so. 319 00:14:09,760 --> 00:14:14,000 So therefore, because of that he inherited that sin and he deserved 320 00:14:14,000 --> 00:14:15,040 judgment from David. 321 00:14:15,360 --> 00:14:16,280 So he was in hiding. 322 00:14:16,280 --> 00:14:16,920 He was afraid. 323 00:14:16,920 --> 00:14:18,240 He was trying to save himself. 324 00:14:18,880 --> 00:14:21,480 And we see that he had no standing because he's not even in 325 00:14:21,480 --> 00:14:22,080 his own house. 326 00:14:22,080 --> 00:14:23,120 He's in the house of another. 327 00:14:24,960 --> 00:14:25,640 Verse 5. 328 00:14:25,640 --> 00:14:28,880 Then King David sent and fetched him out of the house of Major 329 00:14:29,460 --> 00:14:31,060 the son of Amiel from Lo Debar. 330 00:14:31,380 --> 00:14:34,500 Now, when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, 331 00:14:34,580 --> 00:14:38,100 was come unto David, he fell on his face. 332 00:14:38,820 --> 00:14:41,380 Now think about who Mephibosheth is, and think about 333 00:14:41,380 --> 00:14:42,260 his standing. 334 00:14:42,660 --> 00:14:43,340 He's lame. 335 00:14:43,340 --> 00:14:46,460 And in that culture, being lame meant you weren't able to take 336 00:14:46,460 --> 00:14:47,140 care of yourself. 337 00:14:48,020 --> 00:14:49,300 Someone had to take care of you. 338 00:14:49,300 --> 00:14:52,140 You had this big reliance on somebody else to feed you. 339 00:14:52,140 --> 00:14:52,820 He couldn't work. 340 00:14:53,540 --> 00:14:54,700 He couldn't work in the field. 341 00:14:54,700 --> 00:14:56,180 He couldn't provide for himself. 342 00:14:56,180 --> 00:14:57,300 He was in great need. 343 00:14:57,970 --> 00:14:59,010 He was desperate. 344 00:14:59,890 --> 00:15:02,890 And I can't help but think about Mephibosheth when I guess maybe 345 00:15:02,890 --> 00:15:06,090 the door was knocking and the servant shows up and says, hey, David 346 00:15:06,090 --> 00:15:07,090 wants to see you. 347 00:15:08,450 --> 00:15:08,850 What? 348 00:15:09,810 --> 00:15:10,210 Me? 349 00:15:10,450 --> 00:15:11,570 How does he know about me? 350 00:15:11,570 --> 00:15:13,450 First of all, number two, I don't know if I should go. 351 00:15:13,450 --> 00:15:14,370 But no, he goes. 352 00:15:14,690 --> 00:15:18,250 And he puts his full faith and trust in what David is about to do. 353 00:15:18,250 --> 00:15:21,810 We see that through his posture in verse number six. 354 00:15:23,420 --> 00:15:26,540 He fell on his face and did reverence. 355 00:15:27,900 --> 00:15:29,180 He falls before David. 356 00:15:29,180 --> 00:15:32,380 He says, david, you have every right to do whatever you want with 357 00:15:32,380 --> 00:15:32,700 me. 358 00:15:34,460 --> 00:15:37,020 David, I'm going to humbly submit myself to you. 359 00:15:38,700 --> 00:15:42,620 This is a picture of how we must come to God in faith. 360 00:15:43,340 --> 00:15:46,380 We can't come to God saying, God, I've got everything taken care 361 00:15:46,380 --> 00:15:47,260 of in my life. 362 00:15:47,980 --> 00:15:49,380 I've got it all arranged. 363 00:15:49,380 --> 00:15:50,460 I got it all organized. 364 00:15:50,460 --> 00:15:51,740 Now God just bless me. 365 00:15:52,290 --> 00:15:53,570 That's not what true salvation is. 366 00:15:53,570 --> 00:15:57,170 True salvation is knowing that I am lame, knowing that I am guilty, 367 00:15:57,410 --> 00:16:00,650 knowing that I have no future, that I have no hope, that really, 368 00:16:00,650 --> 00:16:02,290 technically I deserve death. 369 00:16:02,850 --> 00:16:04,450 For the wages of sin. 370 00:16:04,450 --> 00:16:05,810 The Bible says in Romans 6. 371 00:16:05,890 --> 00:16:07,330 We talked about this last week. 372 00:16:07,410 --> 00:16:11,090 For the wages of sin, the payment of sin is death. 373 00:16:11,810 --> 00:16:15,010 But the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. 374 00:16:15,090 --> 00:16:20,150 And so here, Mephibosheth's humility because of his physical 375 00:16:20,150 --> 00:16:23,870 standing is the same type of humility that we must have when we 376 00:16:23,870 --> 00:16:27,270 come to God and plead with him to be our friend, to be our Savior, 377 00:16:27,670 --> 00:16:30,070 to be the one who forgives us of our sins. 378 00:16:31,270 --> 00:16:33,630 He falls before him in reverence. 379 00:16:33,630 --> 00:16:35,350 And David said, mephibosheth. 380 00:16:37,110 --> 00:16:39,670 David calls out to Mephibosheth by his name. 381 00:16:40,310 --> 00:16:42,310 He says, hey, Mephibosheth. 382 00:16:44,000 --> 00:16:45,440 And what does Mephibosheth say? 383 00:16:46,720 --> 00:16:48,400 He says, behold thy servant. 384 00:16:49,840 --> 00:16:54,480 He recognizes his standing before someone who was far more powerful 385 00:16:54,480 --> 00:17:01,680 than he could ever be, both politically, socially, physically. 386 00:17:02,640 --> 00:17:04,320 He comes before David and he says, what. 387 00:17:04,320 --> 00:17:05,080 What are you going to do? 388 00:17:05,080 --> 00:17:05,280 What. 389 00:17:05,280 --> 00:17:06,200 What are you going to do? 390 00:17:06,200 --> 00:17:06,600 I. I'm. 391 00:17:06,600 --> 00:17:07,240 I'm your servant. 392 00:17:07,240 --> 00:17:07,520 I'm. 393 00:17:07,520 --> 00:17:09,680 I'm wholly given over to you. 394 00:17:10,460 --> 00:17:10,940 Verse 7. 395 00:17:10,940 --> 00:17:13,820 And David said unto him, fear not. 396 00:17:15,100 --> 00:17:18,540 David's initial response to calm a fibosheth down, to give him 397 00:17:18,540 --> 00:17:21,740 assurance, to give him confidence, to give him peace, to 398 00:17:21,740 --> 00:17:22,540 say, don't fear. 399 00:17:23,180 --> 00:17:24,540 There's no reason to fear. 400 00:17:25,180 --> 00:17:30,380 And that's God's response to us when we come to him in our humility, 401 00:17:30,380 --> 00:17:32,380 when we come to him in our sin. 402 00:17:32,540 --> 00:17:35,820 Maybe for some of us, when we come to him in our guilt, and we 403 00:17:35,820 --> 00:17:37,980 know what we deserve, we know who we are. 404 00:17:38,130 --> 00:17:38,290 We. 405 00:17:38,440 --> 00:17:41,320 Even if no one else in this world knows, God knows who we are. 406 00:17:41,320 --> 00:17:43,640 And we come to him sometimes in fear. 407 00:17:44,760 --> 00:17:49,440 Fear of condemnation, fear of judgment, fear of missing out, fear 408 00:17:49,440 --> 00:17:50,440 of whatever it is. 409 00:17:50,600 --> 00:17:54,599 Folks, many of us in our lives because of who we are and because 410 00:17:54,599 --> 00:17:59,440 of our spiritual lameness, we are based in fear. 411 00:17:59,440 --> 00:18:01,160 We are gripped in fear. 412 00:18:01,640 --> 00:18:04,200 And God's response to us when we come to him is this. 413 00:18:04,200 --> 00:18:04,760 Fear not. 414 00:18:05,750 --> 00:18:08,430 Second Timothy, chapter one, verse seven says, for God hath not 415 00:18:08,430 --> 00:18:12,990 given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound 416 00:18:12,990 --> 00:18:13,350 mind. 417 00:18:14,150 --> 00:18:17,510 We know God's response to us is, hey, there's no more reason to 418 00:18:17,510 --> 00:18:17,830 fear. 419 00:18:17,830 --> 00:18:20,310 If you come to me and trust in me. 420 00:18:20,390 --> 00:18:23,270 And for some of us, including myself, there have been times in 421 00:18:23,270 --> 00:18:26,990 my life when fear has gripped me so much that I'm not able to do 422 00:18:26,990 --> 00:18:27,990 what I need to do. 423 00:18:28,150 --> 00:18:29,470 And why do I have the fear? 424 00:18:29,470 --> 00:18:31,350 Because my focus is on myself. 425 00:18:31,860 --> 00:18:33,380 My focus is on my lameness. 426 00:18:33,380 --> 00:18:36,740 And I realized I can't do this when I became a pastor. 427 00:18:37,540 --> 00:18:40,020 I remember weeping, saying, I can't do this. 428 00:18:40,020 --> 00:18:42,020 I've gotten myself over my head. 429 00:18:42,500 --> 00:18:47,140 I do not have the capability to do what I need to do. 430 00:18:47,300 --> 00:18:51,220 And that's what I believe, exactly what God needed me to see 431 00:18:51,220 --> 00:18:52,100 and to understand. 432 00:18:52,180 --> 00:18:56,300 Because then that time is when an individual who recognizes his 433 00:18:56,300 --> 00:18:59,500 or her limitations can say, God, I need you to step in. 434 00:18:59,500 --> 00:19:02,380 Paul said the exact same thing in second Corinthians. 435 00:19:03,420 --> 00:19:03,980 Remember, when. 436 00:19:03,980 --> 00:19:06,980 When he says, lord, I've got this, this, this thorn in my flesh. 437 00:19:06,980 --> 00:19:08,300 Second Corinthians, chapter 12. 438 00:19:08,380 --> 00:19:10,100 He says, Lord, I have this Thorn in my flesh. 439 00:19:10,100 --> 00:19:11,580 I can't do what I need to do. 440 00:19:11,660 --> 00:19:12,940 And he asked God three times. 441 00:19:12,940 --> 00:19:13,780 And what does God say? 442 00:19:13,780 --> 00:19:14,940 He says, no, it's okay. 443 00:19:16,540 --> 00:19:21,100 He says, my grace is sufficient for when you are weak. 444 00:19:21,100 --> 00:19:22,060 I am made strong. 445 00:19:22,780 --> 00:19:23,700 So guys, it's okay. 446 00:19:23,700 --> 00:19:26,220 There's no reason to fear when you see your inadequacies. 447 00:19:26,680 --> 00:19:28,360 As Mephibosheth saw, I'm lame. 448 00:19:28,360 --> 00:19:29,160 I can't do this. 449 00:19:29,160 --> 00:19:30,120 I'm deserved death. 450 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:31,200 What can I do? 451 00:19:31,200 --> 00:19:35,000 That's when God comes in the picture and shows us what true power 452 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,760 is, what true love is. 453 00:19:37,400 --> 00:19:40,680 And so David's going to extend grace and mercy to someone who does 454 00:19:40,680 --> 00:19:41,560 not deserve it. 455 00:19:43,560 --> 00:19:44,320 So what does he say? 456 00:19:44,320 --> 00:19:45,680 He says, behold thy servant. 457 00:19:45,680 --> 00:19:46,920 David says, fear not. 458 00:19:47,480 --> 00:19:49,600 And then he gives him a reason why not to fear. 459 00:19:49,600 --> 00:19:53,690 And God always gives us a reason for us in our lives not to 460 00:19:53,690 --> 00:19:54,050 fear. 461 00:19:55,010 --> 00:19:58,370 He doesn't just say, hey, don't fear, and then just leaves 462 00:19:58,370 --> 00:19:58,930 us alone. 463 00:19:59,410 --> 00:20:02,250 In God's word, when he says fear not, he always explains why 464 00:20:02,250 --> 00:20:05,970 we can live in confidence, why we can live in that type of peace. 465 00:20:06,130 --> 00:20:11,330 He says, fear not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan, 466 00:20:11,330 --> 00:20:12,410 thy father's sake. 467 00:20:12,410 --> 00:20:14,970 He says, hey, I'm not necessarily giving something to you 468 00:20:14,970 --> 00:20:18,220 that you deserve, but because of who your father is going to give 469 00:20:18,220 --> 00:20:19,380 you that type of love. 470 00:20:20,020 --> 00:20:21,340 This is why you don't need to fear. 471 00:20:21,340 --> 00:20:22,740 I'm going to take care of you. 472 00:20:23,300 --> 00:20:25,060 I'm going to show you kindness. 473 00:20:25,380 --> 00:20:26,820 I'm going to show you grace. 474 00:20:27,300 --> 00:20:28,820 I'm going to show you provision. 475 00:20:29,140 --> 00:20:30,420 I'm going to protect you. 476 00:20:30,580 --> 00:20:33,300 I'm going to be the one that provides for you in every way. 477 00:20:34,740 --> 00:20:36,820 So he says, I'm going to show you kindness. 478 00:20:36,900 --> 00:20:41,700 Then verse seven, he says, I will restore the all the land of 479 00:20:41,700 --> 00:20:42,740 Saul, thy father. 480 00:20:43,950 --> 00:20:46,510 So not only does he give him the minimal thing, like, hey, I'm 481 00:20:46,510 --> 00:20:47,550 just going to take care of you. 482 00:20:48,510 --> 00:20:52,910 He says, I'm actually going to bless you abundantly above just taking 483 00:20:52,910 --> 00:20:53,630 care of you. 484 00:20:53,870 --> 00:20:57,310 I'm going to restore to you all the land that is rightfully your 485 00:20:57,310 --> 00:20:57,790 families. 486 00:20:59,070 --> 00:21:01,310 That's the beauty of what God does for us in salvation. 487 00:21:01,310 --> 00:21:02,670 He doesn't just save us. 488 00:21:03,230 --> 00:21:06,470 Even though that would be enough, it would just be enough if 489 00:21:06,470 --> 00:21:08,670 God says, you're no longer going to be stuck in your sin. 490 00:21:08,670 --> 00:21:10,600 I'm going to save you and I'm going to forgive you. 491 00:21:10,600 --> 00:21:13,120 But then God abundantly blesses us and says, I'm going to 492 00:21:13,120 --> 00:21:16,400 give you back what was rightfully yours in the in the original 493 00:21:16,400 --> 00:21:21,240 and what was rightfully ours in the original plan to be one with 494 00:21:21,240 --> 00:21:21,600 God. 495 00:21:21,760 --> 00:21:22,720 Remember Adam and Eve? 496 00:21:22,720 --> 00:21:24,560 They're walking in fellowship with God. 497 00:21:24,880 --> 00:21:28,160 God is going to restore to us what it means to walk as a friend 498 00:21:28,160 --> 00:21:28,800 of God. 499 00:21:29,280 --> 00:21:33,000 Just as Adam walked in the Garden of Eden in the presence of 500 00:21:33,000 --> 00:21:36,640 God, so we as believers can walk in the presence of God. 501 00:21:36,640 --> 00:21:38,160 God brings that back to us. 502 00:21:38,450 --> 00:21:41,210 And so, Mephibosheth, he says, mephibosheth, you're going to get 503 00:21:41,210 --> 00:21:43,690 my kindness, but you're also going to get the blessing of what 504 00:21:43,690 --> 00:21:46,370 it means to be in the family that you were designed to be in. 505 00:21:46,450 --> 00:21:49,850 And he says, and will restore all the land of thy father, and thou 506 00:21:49,850 --> 00:21:53,570 shalt eat bread at my table continually. 507 00:21:55,410 --> 00:21:57,970 He says, okay, I'm going to give you kindness. 508 00:21:58,610 --> 00:22:00,610 This is doing something for somebody. 509 00:22:01,010 --> 00:22:03,730 I'm going to restore to you what was yours. 510 00:22:04,830 --> 00:22:05,470 That's the land. 511 00:22:06,270 --> 00:22:08,750 Then he says, I'm going to give you my bread. 512 00:22:09,470 --> 00:22:12,830 Not the bread that you go earn, not the bread that you go make, 513 00:22:14,190 --> 00:22:15,310 but my bread. 514 00:22:16,110 --> 00:22:18,270 And he says, I'm going to provide for you. 515 00:22:18,510 --> 00:22:20,710 This speaks of God's provisions in our life. 516 00:22:20,710 --> 00:22:24,230 We know the term that is found in the book of Genesis, Jehovah, 517 00:22:24,230 --> 00:22:26,110 Jireh, God will provide. 518 00:22:26,110 --> 00:22:29,430 And actually that idea is actually a place, the place in which 519 00:22:29,430 --> 00:22:34,880 God provided a sacrifice for Abraham and Isaac and ultimately 520 00:22:34,880 --> 00:22:35,320 for us. 521 00:22:36,600 --> 00:22:38,960 God is the one who provides for us. 522 00:22:38,960 --> 00:22:41,800 If we think the things that we have in our life are because of us, 523 00:22:41,880 --> 00:22:42,880 we're missing the point. 524 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,520 James, chapter 1, verse 17 tells us that every good gift that 525 00:22:46,520 --> 00:22:49,840 comes to us is coming from God, no matter if we recognize it 526 00:22:49,840 --> 00:22:50,760 or not. 527 00:22:51,480 --> 00:22:55,800 And so what we see here is that God gives us grace in his kindness. 528 00:22:55,800 --> 00:22:59,560 He gives us rightfully what originally was ours, that restoration 529 00:22:59,560 --> 00:23:00,120 with him. 530 00:23:00,240 --> 00:23:00,400 And. 531 00:23:00,550 --> 00:23:03,230 And then what we see here at the very end is that we get God's 532 00:23:03,230 --> 00:23:03,710 provisions. 533 00:23:03,710 --> 00:23:08,390 He feeds us, we get to sit at the table of the king. 534 00:23:08,710 --> 00:23:10,070 Think about Mephibosheth. 535 00:23:10,070 --> 00:23:14,910 He literally goes from being in exile, in hiding, and living constantly 536 00:23:14,910 --> 00:23:15,270 in fear. 537 00:23:15,270 --> 00:23:17,070 I don't know if any of you guys have lived in hiding. 538 00:23:17,070 --> 00:23:19,030 Hopefully you're not living in hiding right now. 539 00:23:19,110 --> 00:23:20,830 But I don't know if there's been a period of time in your life 540 00:23:20,830 --> 00:23:22,790 where you feel like, man, someone's coming after me. 541 00:23:22,790 --> 00:23:23,270 Someone's. 542 00:23:23,270 --> 00:23:24,470 Someone's chasing after me. 543 00:23:24,630 --> 00:23:26,510 That's a very stressful thing to be in. 544 00:23:26,510 --> 00:23:28,230 You always have that constant pressure. 545 00:23:29,510 --> 00:23:31,350 And so Mephibosheth was in hiding. 546 00:23:32,310 --> 00:23:33,510 He was in fear of death. 547 00:23:33,910 --> 00:23:34,710 He was lame. 548 00:23:34,710 --> 00:23:35,750 He had nothing to bring. 549 00:23:35,750 --> 00:23:38,950 He was just basically Sitting there, and probably in a peasant's 550 00:23:38,950 --> 00:23:39,270 home. 551 00:23:39,350 --> 00:23:42,710 And what we see here is he goes from a place of completely utter 552 00:23:42,870 --> 00:23:47,630 despair and separation and has moved all the way from there, from 553 00:23:47,630 --> 00:23:52,230 the outside, to the king's table in Jerusalem, the most desirable 554 00:23:52,230 --> 00:23:53,670 place of all the world. 555 00:23:53,670 --> 00:23:54,310 At that point. 556 00:23:54,560 --> 00:23:58,440 He gets to sit with King David at his table and eat the same thing 557 00:23:58,440 --> 00:23:59,600 that King David is eating. 558 00:23:59,920 --> 00:24:03,160 That's an amazing thing to think about, that he's sitting at 559 00:24:03,160 --> 00:24:03,680 his table. 560 00:24:03,680 --> 00:24:07,040 And then that word at the very end of that verse, verse seven, continually, 561 00:24:09,040 --> 00:24:13,400 that speaks of the eternal presence that we have when we trust 562 00:24:13,400 --> 00:24:14,720 in Jesus Christ as our Savior. 563 00:24:14,720 --> 00:24:16,720 We have a friend that sticks closer than a brother. 564 00:24:16,800 --> 00:24:20,000 And the Bible says that he will never leave us nor forsake us. 565 00:24:20,000 --> 00:24:22,320 Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, today, and forever. 566 00:24:22,770 --> 00:24:24,690 We now have that fellowship with God. 567 00:24:24,690 --> 00:24:28,130 We can walk with him continually and experience that provision 568 00:24:28,450 --> 00:24:31,490 not just for today, but for tomorrow and forever. 569 00:24:32,530 --> 00:24:34,770 He gets to sit at the king's table continually. 570 00:24:35,730 --> 00:24:37,330 What an amazing blessing that is. 571 00:24:37,810 --> 00:24:41,250 Some of us forget that what we deserve is not sitting at the king's 572 00:24:41,250 --> 00:24:41,570 table. 573 00:24:43,330 --> 00:24:46,850 Some of us don't deserve to be where we are, but because of God's 574 00:24:46,850 --> 00:24:49,580 grace, because of our faith in Him. 575 00:24:49,660 --> 00:24:50,700 He restores us. 576 00:24:50,700 --> 00:24:53,980 And he says, sit at my table, wear my robes. 577 00:24:53,980 --> 00:24:57,420 There's this wonderful song, if you get a chance to look it up. 578 00:24:57,420 --> 00:24:59,100 It's called His Robes for Mine. 579 00:24:59,740 --> 00:25:00,940 His Robes for Mine. 580 00:25:00,940 --> 00:25:06,340 My robes in my righteousness, the Bible says in Isaiah, are like 581 00:25:06,340 --> 00:25:07,260 filthy rags. 582 00:25:08,540 --> 00:25:11,540 And so like my robes that I try to make clean are just. 583 00:25:11,540 --> 00:25:12,420 They're just dirty. 584 00:25:12,420 --> 00:25:13,940 The more I do in my life, they're more dirty. 585 00:25:13,940 --> 00:25:14,700 They're more dirty. 586 00:25:15,890 --> 00:25:19,850 And the Bible says that when God saves us, he doesn't just clean 587 00:25:19,850 --> 00:25:20,850 up our robes. 588 00:25:21,570 --> 00:25:22,930 He takes our robes off. 589 00:25:23,890 --> 00:25:24,930 He says, those are gone. 590 00:25:24,930 --> 00:25:25,330 Those are. 591 00:25:25,330 --> 00:25:26,450 Those are separated. 592 00:25:26,450 --> 00:25:27,170 Those are over. 593 00:25:27,570 --> 00:25:28,930 That's no longer who you are. 594 00:25:29,010 --> 00:25:32,370 And then he gives us his robes of righteousness and wraps that around 595 00:25:32,370 --> 00:25:32,770 us. 596 00:25:32,930 --> 00:25:34,010 His robes for mine. 597 00:25:34,010 --> 00:25:36,930 I can't help but think that Mephibosheth, as he's sitting at 598 00:25:36,930 --> 00:25:40,610 the table, is also eventually going to have the provisions of David 599 00:25:40,610 --> 00:25:44,250 by way of food, but also by way of clothing, by way of protection. 600 00:25:44,250 --> 00:25:45,770 Now he's in the king's. 601 00:25:46,410 --> 00:25:49,130 For lack of a better phrase, he's in the king's inner circle. 602 00:25:50,970 --> 00:25:51,890 I've been to Israel. 603 00:25:51,890 --> 00:25:53,210 I've been to old Jerusalem. 604 00:25:53,210 --> 00:25:56,370 I've been to where they believe David's old headquarters 605 00:25:56,370 --> 00:25:56,730 were. 606 00:25:57,210 --> 00:25:59,050 And it was a place high up on a perch. 607 00:25:59,050 --> 00:25:59,850 It was safe. 608 00:26:00,250 --> 00:26:02,850 Mephibosheth doesn't have to worry about anyone harming him anymore. 609 00:26:02,850 --> 00:26:04,490 He doesn't have to worry about his life. 610 00:26:04,490 --> 00:26:06,330 He doesn't have to worry about his failures. 611 00:26:06,490 --> 00:26:06,890 His. 612 00:26:06,970 --> 00:26:09,090 His next meal, it is now provided. 613 00:26:09,090 --> 00:26:11,930 And you as a believer, if you have trusted in Jesus Christ as your 614 00:26:11,930 --> 00:26:16,430 Savior today, and he is your friend, as we saw in James chapter 615 00:26:16,430 --> 00:26:20,070 two, because of my faith, I can call God my friend, and he calls 616 00:26:20,070 --> 00:26:20,670 me his friend. 617 00:26:20,670 --> 00:26:25,870 Because of that, you can walk in security, you can walk in confidence. 618 00:26:26,750 --> 00:26:30,150 You can walk knowing that God has your back. 619 00:26:30,150 --> 00:26:30,990 He has your front. 620 00:26:30,990 --> 00:26:32,350 He has all of your sides. 621 00:26:32,350 --> 00:26:34,750 It's no longer just something that I'm doing on my own. 622 00:26:34,750 --> 00:26:36,670 Now I'm in the king's house. 623 00:26:36,910 --> 00:26:38,830 Now I'm in the family of God. 624 00:26:40,660 --> 00:26:41,220 Verse 8. 625 00:26:42,180 --> 00:26:43,300 What's his response? 626 00:26:43,300 --> 00:26:45,540 What is Mephibosheth's response to this? 627 00:26:46,420 --> 00:26:49,340 It's the proper response that we're supposed to have when God extends 628 00:26:49,340 --> 00:26:50,260 his grace to us. 629 00:26:51,220 --> 00:26:53,220 Mephibosheth could have said a lot of things. 630 00:26:54,420 --> 00:26:57,180 He could have been like, well, now I'm back to where I should have 631 00:26:57,180 --> 00:27:00,460 been, David, you're actually giving me something that I deserve 632 00:27:00,460 --> 00:27:02,180 because I'm Saul's grandson. 633 00:27:02,500 --> 00:27:03,740 I'm Jonathan's son. 634 00:27:03,740 --> 00:27:05,990 No, he could have responded in pride. 635 00:27:05,990 --> 00:27:07,510 But no, he doesn't respond in pride. 636 00:27:07,510 --> 00:27:10,190 He responds in humility and gratitude. 637 00:27:10,990 --> 00:27:17,910 He bowed himself, verse 8, and said, what is thy servant that thou 638 00:27:17,910 --> 00:27:21,070 shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am? 639 00:27:22,990 --> 00:27:27,070 Mephibosheth understood really what he deserved and who he was. 640 00:27:27,310 --> 00:27:29,070 Now he uses some strong language here. 641 00:27:29,070 --> 00:27:31,630 I don't necessarily think you should call yourself a dog. 642 00:27:31,630 --> 00:27:35,480 I'm not saying that that's the word of God Mephibosheth is speaking, 643 00:27:35,640 --> 00:27:38,480 but he refers to himself as someone in the lowest estate, the 644 00:27:38,480 --> 00:27:39,160 lowest level. 645 00:27:40,040 --> 00:27:43,400 He says, why would you look at me and give this to me? 646 00:27:44,200 --> 00:27:50,520 As low and as broken and as lame and as dirty as I am. 647 00:27:51,560 --> 00:27:53,120 The dog in that culture was. 648 00:27:53,120 --> 00:27:54,240 Was the lowest of low. 649 00:27:54,240 --> 00:27:57,680 That's what they would use as a term, a derogatory term to somebody 650 00:27:57,680 --> 00:27:57,920 else. 651 00:27:57,920 --> 00:27:59,900 And we understand that even in our culture today. 652 00:28:00,460 --> 00:28:02,100 But that's what he's saying here. 653 00:28:02,100 --> 00:28:03,820 He says, why me? 654 00:28:05,900 --> 00:28:06,420 It's a. 655 00:28:06,420 --> 00:28:06,860 It's a. 656 00:28:07,340 --> 00:28:10,060 What we would say is that attitude of gratitude, that thankfulness 657 00:28:10,060 --> 00:28:13,380 that drives someone to humility, that drives someone back 658 00:28:13,380 --> 00:28:16,380 to worship and honoring God. 659 00:28:17,100 --> 00:28:17,820 Verse 9. 660 00:28:19,180 --> 00:28:22,380 Then the king said this. 661 00:28:22,780 --> 00:28:23,220 Excuse me. 662 00:28:23,220 --> 00:28:23,620 Verse 9. 663 00:28:23,620 --> 00:28:26,220 Then the king called to Zeba, Saul's servant, and said unto him, 664 00:28:26,470 --> 00:28:28,150 I have been given unto thy master, Son. 665 00:28:28,150 --> 00:28:30,110 All that pertained to Saul and to all of his house. 666 00:28:30,110 --> 00:28:32,390 And so God is proclaiming what he has done. 667 00:28:32,390 --> 00:28:35,350 He's sealing here what he has done. 668 00:28:35,350 --> 00:28:37,230 David says, I'm going to seal this promise. 669 00:28:37,230 --> 00:28:39,950 I'm going to make this promise public, not just going to keep this 670 00:28:39,950 --> 00:28:40,950 a private promise. 671 00:28:41,910 --> 00:28:43,470 Sometimes we think that's how it is with God. 672 00:28:43,470 --> 00:28:45,430 No God publicly declares us his child. 673 00:28:46,150 --> 00:28:46,830 Verse 10. 674 00:28:46,830 --> 00:28:50,790 Out, therefore, and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land 675 00:28:50,790 --> 00:28:51,270 for him. 676 00:28:52,000 --> 00:28:56,480 So he says, hey, I'm going to provide people that will tend to 677 00:28:56,480 --> 00:28:56,760 your land. 678 00:28:56,760 --> 00:29:00,760 I'm going to provide for you stewards of the land that thou, therefore, 679 00:29:00,760 --> 00:29:03,280 and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land for him. 680 00:29:03,920 --> 00:29:07,640 Thou shalt bring in the fruits that thy master's son may have food 681 00:29:07,640 --> 00:29:08,239 to eat. 682 00:29:08,800 --> 00:29:12,840 But Mephibosheth, thy master son, shall eat bread always at my 683 00:29:12,840 --> 00:29:13,200 table. 684 00:29:13,760 --> 00:29:16,600 So he says, even though I'm going to give him things that he 685 00:29:16,600 --> 00:29:19,520 can live on his own with, he still has access to my table. 686 00:29:19,890 --> 00:29:23,810 Now, Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants then, said Ziba unto the 687 00:29:23,810 --> 00:29:26,970 king, according to all that my lord the king hath commanded his 688 00:29:26,970 --> 00:29:29,010 servant, so shall thy servant do. 689 00:29:30,130 --> 00:29:34,610 As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table as 690 00:29:34,610 --> 00:29:35,730 one of the king's sons. 691 00:29:36,930 --> 00:29:40,450 So he doesn't just say, hey, Mephibosheth can come in as Jonathan's 692 00:29:40,450 --> 00:29:44,450 son, and he'll always be kind of in that stigma that he's not one 693 00:29:44,450 --> 00:29:45,250 of my sons. 694 00:29:46,060 --> 00:29:51,660 No, he adopts Mephibosheth as one of his own, part of the king's 695 00:29:51,660 --> 00:29:51,980 family. 696 00:29:52,620 --> 00:29:55,300 So it's not just a figure, it's not just a symbol? 697 00:29:55,300 --> 00:29:59,180 No, he says, no, Mephibosheth is now one of the king's sons. 698 00:30:00,060 --> 00:30:03,140 When we're adopted into the family of God, we're not just, hey, 699 00:30:03,140 --> 00:30:04,340 you know, you're on a lower tier. 700 00:30:04,340 --> 00:30:07,460 But this guy over here who's a Christian and a better Christian, 701 00:30:07,460 --> 00:30:09,220 is more of a son than you. 702 00:30:09,220 --> 00:30:12,260 No, the Bible says that we're all adopted into the family of God. 703 00:30:12,260 --> 00:30:15,430 We all have the same access, we all have that same standing of 704 00:30:15,430 --> 00:30:18,270 receiving the benefit and the inheritance of what it means to know 705 00:30:18,270 --> 00:30:20,510 God in a personal way, to be his child. 706 00:30:21,470 --> 00:30:22,030 Verse 12. 707 00:30:22,030 --> 00:30:24,590 And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah. 708 00:30:24,830 --> 00:30:27,310 And all that dwelt in the house of Zeba were servants unto 709 00:30:27,310 --> 00:30:28,070 Mephibosheth. 710 00:30:28,070 --> 00:30:33,150 And so not only is David's grace to Mephibosheth a blessing 711 00:30:33,150 --> 00:30:37,670 to Mephibosheth, but it's A blessing to the family of Mephibosheth, 712 00:30:37,670 --> 00:30:38,750 to the next generation. 713 00:30:39,470 --> 00:30:41,390 Same thing of God's grace to us. 714 00:30:41,390 --> 00:30:44,800 God's, God's grace to us should be, if in a healthy way, not 715 00:30:44,800 --> 00:30:47,720 just a blessing for us personally, but a blessing for all 716 00:30:47,720 --> 00:30:50,120 those that are associated with us, specifically our families. 717 00:30:51,320 --> 00:30:54,040 Speaks of a wonderful opportunity for a godly heritage, 718 00:30:54,680 --> 00:30:55,960 you might say, here today. 719 00:30:55,960 --> 00:30:56,440 You know what? 720 00:30:56,440 --> 00:30:59,240 I'm thankful for my grandfather or my great grandfather 721 00:30:59,240 --> 00:31:03,080 or grandmother or mother who passed this along to me. 722 00:31:03,080 --> 00:31:04,760 That is a beautiful testimony. 723 00:31:05,240 --> 00:31:08,290 I'm thankful to say that my grandfather got saved and he brought 724 00:31:08,290 --> 00:31:13,290 my family, my extended family to church and my, my father got saved 725 00:31:13,290 --> 00:31:15,730 and my dad brought me to church and I got saved and I brought 726 00:31:15,730 --> 00:31:17,290 my children to church and they got saved. 727 00:31:17,290 --> 00:31:18,410 And that's a beautiful thing. 728 00:31:18,410 --> 00:31:20,130 But some of you might say, that's not my story. 729 00:31:20,290 --> 00:31:21,970 I'm first generation Christian. 730 00:31:22,290 --> 00:31:23,650 I didn't get that blessing. 731 00:31:24,290 --> 00:31:28,570 Well, that's okay, because now you get the opportunity to start 732 00:31:28,570 --> 00:31:31,450 that line and so that the next generation can point back and say, 733 00:31:31,450 --> 00:31:32,050 you know what? 734 00:31:32,370 --> 00:31:37,380 My, my dad, my mom, my grandmother was the beneficiary of 735 00:31:37,380 --> 00:31:37,940 God's grace. 736 00:31:37,940 --> 00:31:39,660 And I want to see that happen in my life. 737 00:31:41,020 --> 00:31:45,140 And so what we can see here in this case is that, yes, it was because 738 00:31:45,140 --> 00:31:48,180 of that relationship with Jonathan and David, but because of 739 00:31:48,180 --> 00:31:51,660 that love and because of that friendship and because of that promise, 740 00:31:53,420 --> 00:31:57,820 many, many people were affected by that type of love. 741 00:31:59,110 --> 00:32:03,550 Same thing should happen when it comes to God's love, man. 742 00:32:03,550 --> 00:32:06,150 God's love should affect us individually, but it should also 743 00:32:06,150 --> 00:32:08,870 affect many that come in contact with us. 744 00:32:10,070 --> 00:32:13,230 And so David here gives that to Mephibosheth, and it says that 745 00:32:13,230 --> 00:32:15,670 Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, verse 13. 746 00:32:15,750 --> 00:32:19,750 So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, he dwelt in the capital, 747 00:32:20,150 --> 00:32:27,240 he dwelt in the king's house, for he did eat continually at the 748 00:32:27,240 --> 00:32:28,000 king's table. 749 00:32:28,560 --> 00:32:31,760 This, this speaks of, like, what's the rest of the story? 750 00:32:32,800 --> 00:32:34,360 Because we, we could see all this happen. 751 00:32:34,360 --> 00:32:36,560 Then we could see, like, Mephibosheth go, yeah, but then I'm 752 00:32:36,560 --> 00:32:37,320 not grateful anymore. 753 00:32:37,320 --> 00:32:37,840 I'm leaving. 754 00:32:38,240 --> 00:32:40,560 We see the testimony that Mephibosheth stayed. 755 00:32:42,640 --> 00:32:44,720 But I want you to see something at the end of verse 13, 756 00:32:44,720 --> 00:32:47,040 because this is really interesting, because if this was 757 00:32:47,040 --> 00:32:50,760 a Hollywood movie, Mephibosheth would have his legs 758 00:32:50,760 --> 00:32:51,760 restored and he'd be out. 759 00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:54,760 And Mephibosheth went out and became a, you know, marathon runner. 760 00:32:54,760 --> 00:32:55,040 And. 761 00:32:55,200 --> 00:32:56,560 But that's not what Happens here. 762 00:32:56,960 --> 00:33:00,800 Though Mephibosheth is restored back into fellowship with 763 00:33:00,800 --> 00:33:04,840 the king, and though he's given provisions, we still see that 764 00:33:04,840 --> 00:33:05,360 there is. 765 00:33:05,680 --> 00:33:08,480 At the end of verse 13, it was lame on both of his feet. 766 00:33:10,000 --> 00:33:12,840 I think this is a picture of the fact that the mark of sin, the 767 00:33:12,840 --> 00:33:15,160 mark of brokenness in this world can still be in our lives. 768 00:33:15,160 --> 00:33:18,000 But that's not a reason for us to doubt God's love. 769 00:33:18,880 --> 00:33:21,960 I mean, decisions that I make in the past, God forgives and God 770 00:33:21,960 --> 00:33:22,520 restores. 771 00:33:22,520 --> 00:33:24,720 But we can make decisions in our life that cause. 772 00:33:24,720 --> 00:33:27,600 And it might not even be our fault, by the way, it wasn't Mephibosheth's 773 00:33:27,600 --> 00:33:28,480 fault that he was lame. 774 00:33:30,400 --> 00:33:34,280 It was because his father, and ultimately his grandfather, was at 775 00:33:34,280 --> 00:33:36,120 battle and doing things that he shouldn't be doing. 776 00:33:36,120 --> 00:33:39,280 His father was a good man, but his grandfather Saul was not a good 777 00:33:39,280 --> 00:33:39,600 man. 778 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:45,300 Mephibosheth Nurse fell wasn't his fault. 779 00:33:45,300 --> 00:33:48,500 So sometimes things in our life that we have as burdens and 780 00:33:48,500 --> 00:33:51,460 as brokenness aren't our faults, even though many times they 781 00:33:51,460 --> 00:33:51,660 are. 782 00:33:51,660 --> 00:33:54,340 Many times, because of our sin, we bring brokenness into our 783 00:33:54,340 --> 00:33:54,780 own life. 784 00:33:54,780 --> 00:33:58,060 But sometimes things are out of our control, but we can't use 785 00:33:58,060 --> 00:34:00,300 as an excuse to say that God doesn't love me. 786 00:34:00,379 --> 00:34:00,740 Why? 787 00:34:00,740 --> 00:34:03,180 Because God proved his love to us. 788 00:34:03,500 --> 00:34:04,460 Romans 5:8. 789 00:34:04,780 --> 00:34:07,900 God commended or demonstrated his love toward us in that while 790 00:34:07,900 --> 00:34:09,820 we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. 791 00:34:10,149 --> 00:34:14,109 David could say to Mephibosheth, david, as a king, King 792 00:34:14,109 --> 00:34:15,269 David, I love you. 793 00:34:16,389 --> 00:34:18,469 And Mephibosheth could have said, yeah, but then why didn't you 794 00:34:18,469 --> 00:34:18,789 heal me? 795 00:34:18,789 --> 00:34:20,549 Why didn't you get the greatest doctors to come in? 796 00:34:20,549 --> 00:34:20,869 No. 797 00:34:20,869 --> 00:34:23,429 Mephibosheth said, no, David, you proved your love to me by bringing 798 00:34:23,429 --> 00:34:24,229 me into your house. 799 00:34:24,789 --> 00:34:27,629 He could have looked at the one difficult thing in his life and 800 00:34:27,629 --> 00:34:28,229 said, you know what? 801 00:34:28,469 --> 00:34:28,789 No. 802 00:34:28,789 --> 00:34:30,109 But he said, I. I'm here. 803 00:34:30,109 --> 00:34:30,949 I'm with the king. 804 00:34:30,949 --> 00:34:31,909 That's all I need. 805 00:34:33,429 --> 00:34:37,310 And so the beauty here is that Mephibosheth weakness did not go 806 00:34:37,310 --> 00:34:37,590 away. 807 00:34:39,350 --> 00:34:41,670 Mephibosheth's weakness did not go away. 808 00:34:42,630 --> 00:34:50,710 But because of his weakness, David's strength was able to be seen 809 00:34:50,710 --> 00:34:51,310 in his life. 810 00:34:51,310 --> 00:34:52,630 David's protection was. 811 00:34:52,630 --> 00:34:56,350 So he's even more of a testimony for David that David would 812 00:34:56,350 --> 00:34:58,150 take in this lame person and protect him. 813 00:34:58,150 --> 00:34:59,190 That's the same thing with us. 814 00:34:59,190 --> 00:35:01,190 Sometimes God isn't going to remove our struggle. 815 00:35:01,190 --> 00:35:02,550 He's not going to remove our thorn. 816 00:35:03,260 --> 00:35:05,900 He's not going to remove our struggles in our life necessarily. 817 00:35:05,900 --> 00:35:09,020 But what he will do is promise us that he'll be with us through 818 00:35:09,020 --> 00:35:09,660 that struggle. 819 00:35:09,740 --> 00:35:10,780 And you know what? 820 00:35:10,940 --> 00:35:11,260 When. 821 00:35:11,260 --> 00:35:15,740 When God works through us in spite of our difficulties, we don't 822 00:35:15,740 --> 00:35:16,460 get the credit. 823 00:35:16,940 --> 00:35:18,220 God gets the credit. 824 00:35:18,700 --> 00:35:19,820 God is glorified. 825 00:35:20,620 --> 00:35:23,540 And at the end of the day, as a Christian, as a believer, that's 826 00:35:23,540 --> 00:35:26,740 really what we want, that God be glorified, that I'm able to be 827 00:35:26,740 --> 00:35:31,580 used through him, in spite of my past, in spite of my difficulties, 828 00:35:31,580 --> 00:35:32,900 in spite of my limitations. 829 00:35:34,340 --> 00:35:40,100 And so David's grace to Mephibosheth, I believe, is a beautiful 830 00:35:40,100 --> 00:35:43,140 picture of God's grace to us. 831 00:35:44,420 --> 00:35:50,420 But at the same time, David's friendship to Jonathan and ultimately 832 00:35:50,420 --> 00:35:53,940 extended to Mephibosheth is a great example of how we should extend 833 00:35:54,450 --> 00:35:56,290 the friendship of God to others. 834 00:35:57,330 --> 00:36:03,170 Sacrifice giving to people what they don't necessarily deserve, 835 00:36:03,170 --> 00:36:05,650 withholding people, withholding things from people that 836 00:36:05,650 --> 00:36:07,370 they don't or that they do deserve. 837 00:36:07,370 --> 00:36:09,970 I should say it's that connection piece. 838 00:36:09,970 --> 00:36:13,170 It's that understanding that David understood the love of God 839 00:36:13,330 --> 00:36:15,690 so that he could show this friendship to Jonathan and ultimately 840 00:36:15,690 --> 00:36:16,690 to Mephibosheth. 841 00:36:16,850 --> 00:36:20,490 We, if we truly understand what it means, as James chapter 2, 842 00:36:20,490 --> 00:36:23,900 verse 23 says, to be a friend of God, we should then know what 843 00:36:23,900 --> 00:36:25,140 it means to be a friend to others. 844 00:36:25,540 --> 00:36:29,060 It doesn't mean that we have to be a friend to everybody. 845 00:36:29,700 --> 00:36:30,980 It's impossible to be. 846 00:36:30,980 --> 00:36:32,660 I can't be everyone in the world's friend. 847 00:36:33,140 --> 00:36:36,020 It's just not physically possible and not realistic. 848 00:36:36,100 --> 00:36:39,740 But the Bible does say that we can be friendly, that we can show 849 00:36:39,740 --> 00:36:42,940 the gift of friendship to those that are there before us. 850 00:36:42,940 --> 00:36:45,180 Because, you know, for most of us, it's not a matter of having too 851 00:36:45,180 --> 00:36:45,540 many friends. 852 00:36:45,540 --> 00:36:48,420 Even though some of you might say, I've got so many friends, I 853 00:36:48,420 --> 00:36:49,220 can't keep up with everyone. 854 00:36:49,220 --> 00:36:51,980 Now with Facebook, you know, we say we've got thousands of friends, 855 00:36:51,980 --> 00:36:52,580 but how many. 856 00:36:52,580 --> 00:36:54,860 How many of those people that are friends on your Facebook page 857 00:36:54,860 --> 00:36:55,580 are really your friend? 858 00:36:55,820 --> 00:36:57,020 That's another big question. 859 00:36:57,500 --> 00:37:00,100 So most of us aren't having the problem of having too many friends. 860 00:37:00,100 --> 00:37:03,300 Most of us have the problem of not taking care and maintaining the 861 00:37:03,300 --> 00:37:05,340 friendships that we actually already do have in Christ. 862 00:37:07,820 --> 00:37:11,260 And so what I would explain and what I would encourage you and 863 00:37:11,260 --> 00:37:14,140 challenge you to do is think about this example of friendship, 864 00:37:14,220 --> 00:37:15,820 of David's side of things. 865 00:37:16,350 --> 00:37:19,950 Who in our life can we extend that friendliness to that love, to 866 00:37:21,070 --> 00:37:21,790 that grace? 867 00:37:21,790 --> 00:37:25,230 To go back to what we talked about the very beginning, Proverbs, 868 00:37:26,750 --> 00:37:29,830 what does it mean to love a Friend, not just in the good, but 869 00:37:29,830 --> 00:37:32,030 love a friend in time of adversity. 870 00:37:33,150 --> 00:37:35,270 True mark of friendship is that they're going to be with you 871 00:37:35,270 --> 00:37:36,830 through the difficulty. 872 00:37:36,830 --> 00:37:40,070 And if that's the kind of friend that I want to have in my 873 00:37:40,070 --> 00:37:42,670 life, I want friends that are going to go shoulder to shoulder 874 00:37:42,670 --> 00:37:43,470 with me in battle. 875 00:37:44,410 --> 00:37:45,370 Okay, I want. 876 00:37:45,370 --> 00:37:45,730 I want. 877 00:37:45,730 --> 00:37:48,450 I want that friend that's going to say, I'll stand in the foxhole 878 00:37:48,450 --> 00:37:51,730 with you through your struggles and through your problems. 879 00:37:51,730 --> 00:37:52,570 That's a true friend. 880 00:37:52,570 --> 00:37:55,330 And so if that's the friend that I want in my life and probably 881 00:37:55,330 --> 00:37:58,610 that you want in your life, how about we be the friends as the 882 00:37:58,610 --> 00:37:59,609 Bible says in Proverbs? 883 00:37:59,609 --> 00:38:02,690 How about we be the friends to people that we want to have in our 884 00:38:02,690 --> 00:38:02,970 life? 885 00:38:04,890 --> 00:38:07,290 You know, I'll have some people say, well, Pastor, I want 886 00:38:07,290 --> 00:38:08,810 to marry a really godly person. 887 00:38:09,140 --> 00:38:11,540 I want to have a, you know, let's say it's a man. 888 00:38:11,540 --> 00:38:12,900 I want to have a godly wife. 889 00:38:12,900 --> 00:38:14,660 I want to have a wife that respects the Lord. 890 00:38:14,660 --> 00:38:15,940 I want to have a wife that prays. 891 00:38:16,020 --> 00:38:17,420 I want to have this and this and this. 892 00:38:17,420 --> 00:38:18,620 I say, okay, that's great. 893 00:38:18,620 --> 00:38:19,740 Look for that, pray for that. 894 00:38:19,740 --> 00:38:23,140 But also be the type of spouse that you are looking for. 895 00:38:25,300 --> 00:38:28,580 Be the type of Christian that you are desiring in your life. 896 00:38:28,580 --> 00:38:30,100 The same thing goes as a friend. 897 00:38:30,100 --> 00:38:33,020 If I want to have godly friends, and if I want to have friends 898 00:38:33,020 --> 00:38:35,660 that are going to lift me up, how about I lift up other people 899 00:38:35,660 --> 00:38:38,450 and be the friend that I need to be so that those friends will 900 00:38:38,450 --> 00:38:38,850 come to me? 901 00:38:38,850 --> 00:38:41,010 Because the Bible does teach this principle. 902 00:38:41,010 --> 00:38:42,490 It's not worded this way. 903 00:38:43,130 --> 00:38:45,770 The Bible teaches the principle that we will attract those 904 00:38:45,770 --> 00:38:46,450 that we live. 905 00:38:46,450 --> 00:38:50,370 Like my dad used to tell me all the time, hey, birds of a feather 906 00:38:50,370 --> 00:38:51,090 flock together. 907 00:38:51,090 --> 00:38:53,050 And I'm like, dad, stop saying that. 908 00:38:53,050 --> 00:38:53,610 You know, just. 909 00:38:53,610 --> 00:38:54,330 That's so weird. 910 00:38:54,570 --> 00:38:55,930 It's embarrassing for me. 911 00:38:55,930 --> 00:38:57,410 He's like, don't hang out with that guy. 912 00:38:57,410 --> 00:38:59,210 I see things in his life that are happening. 913 00:38:59,290 --> 00:39:00,690 And I'm like, well, dad, I'm gonna. 914 00:39:00,690 --> 00:39:02,090 I'm gonna influence him for Christ. 915 00:39:02,170 --> 00:39:04,410 He says, son, maybe that person's coming to you because of 916 00:39:04,410 --> 00:39:06,610 the way that you're living in your life and you're attracting that 917 00:39:06,610 --> 00:39:06,970 crowd. 918 00:39:07,700 --> 00:39:11,620 The Bible does speak very much about picking the right friends. 919 00:39:12,500 --> 00:39:14,940 Doesn't mean that we hate people, but there are certain people 920 00:39:14,940 --> 00:39:18,220 that we need to choose that, hey, I want to be around them. 921 00:39:18,220 --> 00:39:18,580 Good. 922 00:39:18,740 --> 00:39:21,620 Because the Bible actually says that bad company corrupts good 923 00:39:21,620 --> 00:39:22,060 manners. 924 00:39:22,060 --> 00:39:23,220 Good, good conversation. 925 00:39:24,740 --> 00:39:25,820 So What I would say is this. 926 00:39:25,820 --> 00:39:30,380 If I want to be around people that lift me up in Christ, the best 927 00:39:30,380 --> 00:39:34,590 thing to do is lift them up in Christ, because I will bring people 928 00:39:34,590 --> 00:39:39,870 in that reflect what I am. 929 00:39:40,990 --> 00:39:43,470 And so what we see here on this case is that David. 930 00:39:44,190 --> 00:39:44,510 What. 931 00:39:44,510 --> 00:39:45,070 What could. 932 00:39:45,150 --> 00:39:47,390 What really could Mephibosheth bring to David? 933 00:39:48,589 --> 00:39:49,069 Nothing. 934 00:39:49,630 --> 00:39:50,830 What did he bring to David? 935 00:39:50,830 --> 00:39:51,230 Nothing. 936 00:39:51,550 --> 00:39:54,750 It actually probably on the paper was a physical drain. 937 00:39:55,070 --> 00:39:56,910 Oh, we gotta feed Mephibosheth again. 938 00:39:57,230 --> 00:39:59,550 Someone's gotta move him from this place to this place. 939 00:40:00,810 --> 00:40:01,010 That. 940 00:40:01,010 --> 00:40:02,930 That's how we kind of see sometimes friendships. 941 00:40:02,930 --> 00:40:04,650 Like, we're going to be kind to someone, but, like, look at the 942 00:40:04,650 --> 00:40:05,610 inconvenience for me. 943 00:40:05,850 --> 00:40:07,010 We don't see any mark of that. 944 00:40:07,010 --> 00:40:08,090 We see David saying, you know what? 945 00:40:08,090 --> 00:40:10,010 I'm going to love Mephibosheth because I love his dad. 946 00:40:11,370 --> 00:40:14,330 I'm going to love Jonathan because God loves me. 947 00:40:14,890 --> 00:40:17,610 I encourage you to think about that type of friendship, that type 948 00:40:17,610 --> 00:40:17,930 of love. 949 00:40:17,930 --> 00:40:18,730 And the greatest. 950 00:40:18,730 --> 00:40:22,330 If God asks us to do anything, he's going to always give us the 951 00:40:22,330 --> 00:40:22,850 example. 952 00:40:22,850 --> 00:40:25,250 And the example is what Jesus Christ did for us. 953 00:40:25,250 --> 00:40:26,010 That's friendship. 954 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:31,160 If you go back to that John 15 passage, we won't turn there necessarily. 955 00:40:31,160 --> 00:40:32,040 But what does Jesus say? 956 00:40:32,040 --> 00:40:36,080 He says the greatest love that a friend can have is to give himself 957 00:40:36,080 --> 00:40:36,560 for them. 958 00:40:37,120 --> 00:40:38,560 And Jesus proved that love. 959 00:40:38,560 --> 00:40:39,640 He demonstrated that love. 960 00:40:39,640 --> 00:40:43,600 And so, friends, today, if you're here today with someone, don't 961 00:40:43,600 --> 00:40:45,120 look at them and say, you're not that type of friend. 962 00:40:45,200 --> 00:40:46,480 No, but don't do that. 963 00:40:46,880 --> 00:40:47,600 But say this. 964 00:40:47,600 --> 00:40:48,120 You know what? 965 00:40:48,120 --> 00:40:51,880 I'm thankful that a friend, that someone that would care about 966 00:40:51,880 --> 00:40:53,280 me enough to bring me to church. 967 00:40:54,560 --> 00:40:55,200 Think about that. 968 00:40:56,160 --> 00:40:58,280 Because think about if you had a friend that wasn't willing to tell 969 00:40:58,280 --> 00:41:00,680 you the truth about what they believed, that really wouldn't be 970 00:41:00,680 --> 00:41:01,120 a friend. 971 00:41:02,880 --> 00:41:05,200 Regardless of whether or not you believe in what we're talking 972 00:41:05,200 --> 00:41:07,760 about here today, at least someone said, hey, you know what? 973 00:41:07,840 --> 00:41:10,760 I want you to believe what I believe because of the kind of hope 974 00:41:10,760 --> 00:41:13,560 that I have, because that's what true friendship is. 975 00:41:13,560 --> 00:41:17,440 True friendship is telling someone the truth and trying to give 976 00:41:17,440 --> 00:41:21,320 them the hope and the love that we have extended at the church. 977 00:41:21,320 --> 00:41:23,360 But ultimately that has been extended by God. 978 00:41:25,440 --> 00:41:29,160 So as a friend, tell people about what Jesus Christ is doing 979 00:41:29,160 --> 00:41:29,600 for you. 980 00:41:30,320 --> 00:41:32,320 And then don't just stop at telling them. 981 00:41:33,360 --> 00:41:34,240 Show it to them. 982 00:41:34,720 --> 00:41:36,200 Jesus didn't just stop when he. 983 00:41:36,200 --> 00:41:36,599 When he. 984 00:41:36,599 --> 00:41:37,520 When he, like, I love you. 985 00:41:37,520 --> 00:41:38,200 All right, that's it. 986 00:41:38,200 --> 00:41:38,880 No, I love you. 987 00:41:38,880 --> 00:41:42,480 And let me show you and that's the picture of love here this morning. 988 00:41:43,040 --> 00:41:46,240 So I thought that 2 Samuel chapter 9 with Mephibosheth was a 989 00:41:46,240 --> 00:41:49,200 great picture of an example of David as a great godly friend. 990 00:41:49,990 --> 00:41:52,870 But then also the picture of how we can be friends with God when 991 00:41:52,870 --> 00:41:55,350 it comes to that picture of Mephibosheth coming into the house 992 00:41:55,350 --> 00:42:00,390 of David is a picture of the sinner, the broken one, the one who 993 00:42:00,790 --> 00:42:05,790 falls short, how that one can come and sit at the table of the 994 00:42:05,790 --> 00:42:06,630 one true God. 995 00:42:07,350 --> 00:42:11,430 And here this morning, I don't care if you're a guest with us, a 996 00:42:11,430 --> 00:42:17,460 friend, a member, the greatest thing that you can do, the greatest 997 00:42:17,460 --> 00:42:20,900 decision that you can make, is to be like Mephibosheth. 998 00:42:21,060 --> 00:42:25,780 When God calls our heart and brings us to a place of conviction 999 00:42:26,260 --> 00:42:29,660 and that place of decision, that we respond the way that Mephibosheth 1000 00:42:29,660 --> 00:42:33,780 respond in humility and in desperate need of a Savior. 1001 00:42:34,660 --> 00:42:36,140 We all need a savior this morning. 1002 00:42:36,140 --> 00:42:39,460 The only way that we can find a Savior is through faith and reliance 1003 00:42:39,780 --> 00:42:43,260 in God and God alone for our salvation through Jesus Christ and 1004 00:42:43,260 --> 00:42:43,740 what he has done. 1005 00:42:43,740 --> 00:42:44,460 What did he do for me? 1006 00:42:44,460 --> 00:42:45,540 We've already talked about it. 1007 00:42:47,340 --> 00:42:50,620 We have a cross here in our building in more than one place. 1008 00:42:50,620 --> 00:42:54,140 And the reason why we have a cross up is not because it's a status 1009 00:42:54,140 --> 00:42:54,500 symbol. 1010 00:42:54,500 --> 00:42:55,500 It's not a symbol of. 1011 00:42:55,580 --> 00:42:57,820 Of fashion. 1012 00:42:59,020 --> 00:43:01,420 It's a mark of death, believe it or not. 1013 00:43:02,380 --> 00:43:03,900 And so we have a mark of death here. 1014 00:43:03,900 --> 00:43:05,100 Why would we have a mark of death? 1015 00:43:05,100 --> 00:43:07,180 Because someone loved us enough to die for us. 1016 00:43:08,300 --> 00:43:11,460 The only one who actually matters, the only one who the Bible 1017 00:43:11,460 --> 00:43:14,900 says knew no sin, became sin for us and died on a cross. 1018 00:43:14,900 --> 00:43:17,740 But the reason why we don't have Jesus hanging up on that cross 1019 00:43:17,740 --> 00:43:19,940 anymore is because Jesus isn't on the cross anymore. 1020 00:43:20,100 --> 00:43:22,900 He says it is finished and in the tomb. 1021 00:43:22,900 --> 00:43:24,580 He conquered death through the resurrection. 1022 00:43:24,580 --> 00:43:26,500 So if anything, we have an empty tomb. 1023 00:43:27,780 --> 00:43:30,620 The empty tomb proves that God conquered death and that because 1024 00:43:30,620 --> 00:43:33,220 of that, he can give you everlasting life. 1025 00:43:33,220 --> 00:43:37,300 And so this morning, we're going to have a time of response 1026 00:43:37,300 --> 00:43:37,580 here. 1027 00:43:37,580 --> 00:43:38,910 No pressure. 1028 00:43:39,390 --> 00:43:40,590 No pressure from me. 1029 00:43:40,670 --> 00:43:43,190 The only pressure that you might feel is something called conviction 1030 00:43:43,190 --> 00:43:44,190 that comes from God. 1031 00:43:44,350 --> 00:43:47,670 And the Bible says that when I trust in that, at that moment, there's 1032 00:43:47,670 --> 00:43:49,070 something called justification. 1033 00:43:49,470 --> 00:43:50,910 I am declared righteous. 1034 00:43:51,870 --> 00:43:54,630 And in that justification, in that declaration of righteousness, 1035 00:43:54,630 --> 00:43:57,070 I'm promised everlasting life. 1036 00:43:57,070 --> 00:43:58,670 I'm promised that relationship. 1037 00:43:58,670 --> 00:44:01,950 I'm promised to sit at the table of the King. 1038 00:44:03,800 --> 00:44:06,400 And so here this morning, may we all Respond to that. 1039 00:44:06,400 --> 00:44:11,400 But then number two, if you have responded in faith to Jesus 1040 00:44:11,400 --> 00:44:14,280 Christ, what's your response to that? 1041 00:44:15,400 --> 00:44:18,600 Are you Mephibosheth that says, lord, every single day, I'm 1042 00:44:18,600 --> 00:44:21,960 thankful for you giving me that provision, this seat at this 1043 00:44:21,960 --> 00:44:27,400 table, this opportunity to be protected by you provided through 1044 00:44:27,400 --> 00:44:28,360 your provisions? 1045 00:44:29,970 --> 00:44:34,650 Or do we get to that place of an ungrateful spirit, a spirit of 1046 00:44:34,650 --> 00:44:37,890 complaining, a spirit of doubt, a spirit of apathy? 1047 00:44:38,850 --> 00:44:41,890 Are we the type of friends that we need to be in our own life 1048 00:44:41,890 --> 00:44:43,250 to the people that are around us? 1049 00:44:44,450 --> 00:44:45,410 Maybe we are not. 1050 00:44:45,730 --> 00:44:48,730 I know in my life so much because of my selfishness, I miss 1051 00:44:48,730 --> 00:44:50,930 out on opportunities to be the friend that I need to be. 1052 00:44:51,250 --> 00:44:53,730 And so maybe here today, you just need to recommit yourself to 1053 00:44:53,730 --> 00:44:56,700 the Lord to say, lord, I. I'm thankful that you call me friends 1054 00:44:57,180 --> 00:44:58,300 in my salvation. 1055 00:44:58,380 --> 00:45:02,020 And may I be the example of friendship to those around me by 1056 00:45:02,020 --> 00:45:06,580 way of sacrifice, by way of service, by way of honesty, by way 1057 00:45:06,580 --> 00:45:07,100 of love. 1058 00:45:07,980 --> 00:45:09,300 And so I'm going to ask if you're able to. 1059 00:45:09,300 --> 00:45:11,420 To stand with me, every head bowed, every head close. 1060 00:45:11,420 --> 00:45:12,700 This is a moment of invitation. 1061 00:45:12,700 --> 00:45:13,420 You can respond. 1062 00:45:13,420 --> 00:45:14,780 A couple of different things you can do. 1063 00:45:15,020 --> 00:45:17,780 You can come forward and you can kneel here at the steps in the 1064 00:45:17,780 --> 00:45:19,860 front and make a decision for the Lord. 1065 00:45:19,860 --> 00:45:22,320 If you need Jesus Christ as your savior, come forward. 1066 00:45:22,320 --> 00:45:24,400 And we've got some people that can show you in the Bible what it 1067 00:45:24,400 --> 00:45:26,880 means to know Jesus as Savior here today. 1068 00:45:27,200 --> 00:45:30,680 But maybe you're just here today as a church member, as a. 1069 00:45:30,680 --> 00:45:33,840 As a believer, but God has pressed upon your heart certain things. 1070 00:45:34,720 --> 00:45:35,760 Come forward here today. 1071 00:45:35,760 --> 00:45:38,159 If you can't come forward, if you don't feel comfortable coming 1072 00:45:38,159 --> 00:45:40,520 forth, hey, just do business with the Lord right there. 1073 00:45:40,520 --> 00:45:41,120 Talk to him. 1074 00:45:41,120 --> 00:45:42,800 He can hear you wherever you are. 1075 00:45:42,960 --> 00:45:46,040 But take that spirit of humility, even if you need to take 1076 00:45:46,040 --> 00:45:47,840 the posture of humility here this morning. 1077 00:45:48,960 --> 00:45:49,840 Go before him. 1078 00:45:50,160 --> 00:45:51,840 Ask him for grace. 1079 00:45:51,840 --> 00:45:53,040 Ask him for mercy. 1080 00:45:53,040 --> 00:45:54,240 Ask him for strength. 1081 00:45:54,640 --> 00:45:57,360 Lord, I pray that you be in this time of invitation, working 1082 00:45:57,360 --> 00:45:58,000 hearts and lives. 1083 00:45:58,000 --> 00:46:01,640 Thank you for this historical account this morning of what it means 1084 00:46:01,640 --> 00:46:04,279 to be a friend and what it means to know your grace and your 1085 00:46:04,279 --> 00:46:04,880 forgiveness. 1086 00:46:05,120 --> 00:46:06,480 Lord, we thank you for your love. 1087 00:46:06,560 --> 00:46:08,400 Pray that you work in this time of invitation. 1088 00:46:09,760 --> 00:46:10,360 We love you. 1089 00:46:10,360 --> 00:46:11,400 In Jesus name, Amen. 1090 00:46:11,400 --> 00:46:12,080 It's a music place. 1091 00:46:12,080 --> 00:46:13,600 Follow as the Lord leads here this morning. 1092 00:47:30,480 --> 00:47:30,720 Foreign. 1093 00:47:34,160 --> 00:47:36,760 Thank you again for listening to the Middletown Baptist Church 1094 00:47:36,760 --> 00:47:37,360 podcast. 1095 00:47:37,600 --> 00:47:40,000 I hope that this sermon has been a blessing for you. 1096 00:47:40,640 --> 00:47:42,920 If you would like to find out more information about our church 1097 00:47:42,920 --> 00:47:43,600 or this sermon. 1098 00:47:43,600 --> 00:47:47,560 You can find us at middletownbaptistchurch.org or find 1099 00:47:47,560 --> 00:47:49,280 us on Facebook or YouTube. 1100 00:47:50,000 --> 00:47:54,440 You can also email me directly at Josh Massaroiddletownbaptistchurch 1101 00:47:54,440 --> 00:47:58,210 dot com if you've enjoyed this podcast podcast, please subscribe 1102 00:47:58,210 --> 00:48:01,690 and follow along for future podcast and updates. 1103 00:48:02,330 --> 00:48:03,290 Thank you so much. 1104 00:48:03,530 --> 00:48:04,250 God Bless. 1105 00:48:04,490 --> 00:48:05,770 Have a wonderful day.