The place of Grace
Daniel Lawson
New Bethel Baptist Church Collinsville, Alabama
II Samuel 9:1-13
“And David said, Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul, that I may shew him kindness for Jonathan’s sake?
And [there was] of the house of Saul a servant whose name [was] Ziba. And when they had called him unto David, the king said unto him, [Art] thou Ziba? And he said, Thy servant [is heAnd the king said, [Is] there not yet any of the house of Saul, that I may shew the kindness of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king, Jonathan hath yet a son, [which is] lame on [his] feet.
And the king said unto him, Where [is] he? And Ziba said unto the king, Behold, he [is] in the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar.
Then king David sent, and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Ammiel, from Lodebar.
Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face, and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant!
And David said unto him, Fear not: for I will surely shew thee kindness for Jonathan thy father’s sake, and will restore thee all the land of Saul thy father; and thou shalt eat bread at my table continually And he bowed himself, and said, What [is] thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I [am]?
Then the king called to Ziba, Saul’s servant, and said unto him, I have given unto thy master’s son all that pertained to Saul and to all his house.
Thou therefore, and thy sons, and thy servants, shall till the land for him, and thou shalt bring in [the fruits], that thy master’s son may have food to eat: but Mephibosheth thy master’s son shall eat bread alway at my table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then said Ziba unto the king, According to all that my lord the king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. As for Mephibosheth, [said the king], he shall eat at my table, as one of the king’s sons.
And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name [was] Micha. And all that dwelt in the house of Ziba [were] servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem: for he did eat continually at the king’s table; and was lame on both his feet.”
Intro: What kind of Church do we have @ New Bethel? Is it a place where visitors are as welcome as members? What if you were a visitor @ New Bethel, do you think you would experience the kind of welcome that would cause you to come back?
What about this question, do you have any enemies? Has anyone ever done you wrong? Have you done someone else wrong? What if they showed up next Sunday Morning? How would you react?
What if we were having Communion next Sunday morning, could you truly participate and experience the Koinonia that you should with Christ and with your estranged friend?
In our text today we find a powerful story of Grace and forgiveness. David who was King of Israel asks the question, “Is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that I might show kindness unto him?” The Hebrew word here is Checed and is pronounced Kheh’sed (Taken from Strong’s Concordance). The meaning literally is Kindness. In this case the recipient of this kindness had done nothing deserving, on the contrary he was of the family of the man who had sought to kill David. So this favor or kindness that is to be bestowed upon Mephibosheth is truly unmerited. That’s what grace is, unmerited favor. You did not deserve it, but God in his Grace has bestowed upon you his favor that you might have an inheritance that is indescribable.
So lets break down this text and apply it to our own lives and see if we can make New Bethel and indeed our own homes, a “Place of Grace.”
Notice first of all:
I.)Saul was an enemy of David. I Sam. 18:20-29
Saul made 21 attempts on the life of David. 21 times the Bible records that Saul sought the life of David. Now even a novice in the reading of God’s word understands that everything that happened in any circumstance that is recorded in the Bible was not written down. Take for instance the life of Jesus. The Gospel of John Chapter 21 verse 25 contains this interesting acknowledgement, “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, the which, if they should be written every one, I suppose that even the world itself could not contain the books that should be written. Amen.” So we know that the Bible records 21 times that Saul sought David’s life, could there have been more? Certainly! Imagine though, if you would 21 times that someone tried to kill you, not 1, but 21! Don’t you think you might have somewhat of a grudge against this person? Do you think that you would be sitting around one day and say, “you know what, I think I need to find someone from Saul’s family so I can bless them?” That is exactly what David did, he said I need to find someone from this mans family and show him kindness. That’s Grace my friend!
So what about this character Saul, what do we know about him?
First notice:
A.)The cowardice of Saul. Saul was head and Shoulders above the rest of Israel.
Despite the fact that Saul was such an intimidating specimen, he himself was very easily intimidated.
Notice a couple of key occurrences in Saul’s life.
1.Saul hiding among the stuff. I Samuel 10:22 Samuel has anointed Saul as king and here it is the big day, he is to be presented before Israel. This man that is to be king, this man that is head and shoulders above the rest of Israel cannot be find. Why? The bible says he was “hiding among the stuff!” Saul’s cowardice and his unwillingness to follow directions will be his demise. How often are we Christians like Saul, when it is time to stand up and be counted we are nowhere to be found, instead we are “hiding among the stuff?”
2.Saul’s cowardice toward Goliath. I Samuel Chapter 17 is a very familiar passage of Scripture. Growing up we have all heard the story of David and Goliath, and the courage that David had in facing the giant. What about the cowardice of Saul? What about the cowardice of all of Israel for that matter? Saul was literally terrified! I Samuel 17:11 states “When Saul and all Israel heard those words of the Philistine, they were dismayed, and greatly afraid.” My Bible tells me that perfect love casteth out all fear. We are serving a God who is more than able, but as usual Saul was too self absorbed to look to God. David took offense at the threats of this Philistine, because he knew that it wasn’t Israel he was taunting, it was Israel’s God. He knew that if Israel was to face this giant they had to face it in the strength of the one who had brought them across the Red Sea. They had to face this giant in the strength of the one who provided manna in the wilderness. And on a personal level David knew he had to trust the one who gave him strength to face the lion and the bear! What has God done in your life? You may be here and say, I’ve never done anything extraordinary like face a lion or a bear. Has God saved you? That’s pretty extraordinary to go from a life of sin headed for a devil’s hell to being born again by the Grace of God! The next time you face a Giant, and you will, stand in the Grace that brought you through in the past. Trust in the God that never fails.
B.)The Jealousy of Saul.
I Samuel 18:6-9 “Saul has killed his thousands but David his 10,000’s” Saul became infuriated that this “child” had done what he as king should have done. From this day forward Saul watched David. Have you ever seen someone who has been in a Church for years find fault when some “newcomer” comes along and begins to do things that should’ve been done long ago? I’ve got an idea, instead of finding fault, support them. Get off of your “blessed assurance” and begin to do the work of the kingdom. Anyone can sit back and become jealous and bitter. It takes someone anointed of God to step forward and face down the giant in the Name of the Lord!
II.)Grace knows no enemies. Rom. 5:7-8 God’s grace is undeserved by each of us. God extends His Grace to us while we are yet in our sins. So how is it that we the children of God can find people to which we will not extend the hand to show the love of God? If our life has been transformed by Grace, then we should be a transforming influence to those around us. A Christian is a thermostat not a thermometer! We don’t gage the environment around us and conform to it, rather we regulate the environment around us by changing attitudes and standards to conform to the Word of God. When Revival truly breaks forth in our hearts the first thing we will see is a change in our attitudes towards those that we might not get along with.
Jesus had 7 commands for us concerning our enemies in the Gospel of Luke. We would do well to heed those commands today.
A.)7 duties to enemies
1.Love them (Lk. 6:27)
2.Bless them (Lk. 6:28)
3.Do good to them ( Mt. 5:44)
4.Pray for them (Lk. 6:28)
5.Lend to them (Lk. 6:34-36)
6.Be kind to them (Lk. 6:35-36)
7.Be merciful to them (Lk. 6:36)
Why should we follow these commands? Because of the debt we owe for the Grace we have received.
III.)Grace is unmerited. II Sam. 9:3; Eph. 2:8; I Cor. 6:9-11
III.)The administration of Grace can be affected by our intercession.
Notice that the Bible records that this was done for Jonathan’s sake. Had it not been for the special relationship that Jonathan and David had, Mephibosheth may have spent the rest of his crippled life in obscurity. But because of the love of Jonathan, David extended Grace to Mephibosheth! Jonathan was a “place of Grace” toward David, and David in turn became the “place of Grace” toward Mephibosheth. You see how God works? He has given us this treasure in “Earthen Vessels.” The recipients of Grace are the bearers of Grace! “Freely you have received, freely give!”
II Sam. 9:1, “For Jonathan’s sake” Josh. 24:15, Joshua was
The place of Grace for his whole family. IIChron. 7:14 We need some men and women to stand up like Joshua for their family. We have women here whose husbands and children don’t come to Church, be the “place of Grace” for them! My mother went to Church faithfully for years without her husband, carrying 5 children. She got them ready by herself, she caught the Church bus with them and she took care of them during the service (yes we sat out in the sanctuary during preaching). After years of doing this all 5 children and eventually her husband were saved by the Grace of God! One son (me) is a Preacher, one is a deacon, God will honor those that honor him!
IV.)Grace will change your address. II Sam. 9:3-5,13 The Bible tells us that Mephibosheth ate
continually at the King’s table! He went from Lodebar to the palace. What about you? Have you received God’s Grace? If you have your address has changed, you are now seated in heavenly places with Christ Jesus. This morning Grace is available, it doesn’t matter what you’ve done or where you’ve been. If you trust in Christ you can be seated at the Master’s table. Growing up, we used to sing a hymn called “come and dine.” The first verse of that song goes something like this, “Jesus has a table spread, where the Saints of God are fed, He invites His chosen people, Come and Dine. With His manna He doth feed, and supplies our every need, O’ tis sweet to sup with Jesus all the time! Come and dine the Master calleth come and dine, you may feast at Jesus table all the time. He who fed the multitude, turned the water into wine, to the hungry calleth now, come and dine.”
Are you hungry this morning? Does nothing in this life seem to satisfy? Jesus is calling this morning come and dine?
