Idol Breaker

HoHum:

I remember going to Sunshine camp on the grounds of Camp Rudolph in Yale, Virginia for 3 weeks one summer while in college. It was such an inspirational experience. One week I remember I was assigned to Kenny. Kenny smoked like a freight train and my job was to limit the number of smokes that Kenny could consume. Got to love Kenny. Many of those campers looked forward to camp all the year. One man named Johnny went to every week of camp. Johnny lived in a wheelchair and had a devise that spoke for him. He was so excited and could tell it on his face. Because of circumstances that camp closed down and I hated to hear the news. Such disappointment to those who loved that camp.

WBTU:

I first heard Jim Pierson speak at the North American Christian Convention many years ago. I admired that he spoke so passionately about helping those with disabilities especially when it came to the church. In 1981 he led a team to discuss how the Christian Churches and Churches of Christ could serve people with disabilities; this led to the founding of the Christian Churches Disability Ministry, where Jim served as president until his retirement in 2011. 1 in 5 people worldwide and 1 in 4 people in the U.S. live with a physical or mental disability. Someone with a disability is 40% more likely not to attend church than someone without. The disability community is, literally, a global mission field. Sad considering that Jesus said in the parable of the great banquet in Luke 14:21: ‘Go out quickly into the streets and alleys of the town and bring in the poor, the crippled, the blind and the lame.’ In August 1986, the first residents moved into the home at Riverwood in Louisville, TN. “Riverwood II,” now housed in a newer residence, continues to serve the disability community in Tennessee to this day. The ministry is now called Ability Ministry and talk more about that later. Soon we will be taking up a love offering because Riverwood needs a new 15 passenger van. They have received a gift of $35,000 toward the purchase of the van. An additional $35,000 is needed to complete the purchase. I would think that the Christian congregation closest to Riverwood (I think that is us) would want to give heartily to this project. Blessed to have Riverwood with us this morning.

As I was thinking about the sermon for today I found a free resource (and I downloaded it off web so it can’t be hard) on the Ability Ministry web site called the First Church of Mephibosheth. Such an inspiring story of a church plant that only had 2 show up at their launch Sunday and those 2 had special needs. But those 2 invited their special needs friends and the church was filled to overflowing. “Those with disabilities are embraced and have a place of belonging here. They have an opportunity to be in positions of leadership and to serve weekly using their unique giftedness.”

For instances:

I.  King David- Kind Covenant Keeper (2 Samuel 9:1)

Here in chapter 9 David is at the zenith of his career as king. Everything is going right for him but we know from his life that he started out so small. In 1 Samuel 16 we are introduced to David. His family has dismissed him to being a smelly shepherd. Samuel anoints him as the next king of Israel when they finally bring him in from the fields. Little David defeats Goliath in chapter 17 and then David’s popularity sours. He befriends Jonathan, the king’s son. 1 Samuel 18:3: “Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.” A covenant is an agreement but more than an agreement when we bring God into it. Look at 1 Samuel 20:16-17: “Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, “May the LORD call David’s enemies to account. ” And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself.” David serves in Saul’s army and marries one of Saul’s daughters. Then King Saul’s jealousy begins. After several attempts at reconciliation, Jonathan finally had to order David to leave the palace for David’s own good. While David was in the wilderness of Judah, Jonathan came to him to encourage him more than once. 1 Samuel 23:16, 18: "Saul’s son Jonathan went to David at Horesh and helped him find strength in God. The two of them made a covenant before the LORD. Then Jonathan went home, but David remained at Horesh.” The Philistines rise up against Israel and so in chapter 31 there is the battle on Mt. Gilboa. This is where the Philistines kill Saul and his son Jonathan. In 2 Samuel 1 David laments over Saul and Jonathan. Even so, this clears the way for David to become king. After defeating all of the rivals for the throne, David is anointed king over all Israel in 2 Samuel 5. Chapter 8 talks about all of the victories where David and his army defeats nation after nation. Chapter 9 shows David’s kindness. What is kindness? One dictionary said, “that temper or disposition which delights in contributing to the happiness of others, which is exercised cheerfully in gratifying their wishes, supplying their wants or alleviating their distresses.” This is definitely what David did for Mephibosheth. Why did he do it? Not because he was aware of Mephibosheth’s situation. As a matter of fact, it appears that many tried to keep Mephibosheth’s existence a secret. We find in 2 Samuel 4:4: “Jonathan son of Saul had a son who was lame in both feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became disabled. His name was Mephibosheth.” When he grew up he went to live in an obscure place called Lo Debar- means no plants, desert area. He is living in poverty. Why such obscurity? In other countries when a new king came to power, that new king eliminated all competition to the throne. That king would definitely kill Mephibosheth even though he is a cripple. David is not that kind of king. Found Mephibosheth because he wanted to show kindness for Jonathan’s sake. Remembered his convent with Jonathan and wanted to do something about it. The king turns Mephibosheth from someone whose disability makes him think of himself as a “dead dog” into one of his own sons. Another Bible dictionary defined kindness as: An attribute of God and quality desirable but not consistently found in humans. God wants to be kind to us. Titus 3:4-6: “when the kindness and love of God our Savior appeared, he saved us, not because of righteous things we had done, but because of his mercy. He saved us through the washing of rebirth and renewal by the Holy Spirit, whom he poured out on us generously through Jesus Christ our Savior.” Definite describes what happened to Mephibosheth and what can happen to us. We don’t deserve to be at the king’s table, but we belong there.