Restored By The King

RESTORED BY THE KING

TEXT - 2 Sam. 9:1 - 13

INTRO. - The background for this message is found in 2

Sam. 4:4. When the news came back from the battlefield that

Saul and Jonathan had been killed, a nurse grabbed Mephib-o-

sheth, the son of Jonathan and the grandson of Saul and ran

with him to protect him from his enemies. In her haste she

accidentally dropped him and the fall crippled him for life.

This little known story is a picture of the grace of God to

the sinner.

LET US LOOK AT THE OLD TESTAMENT PICTURE AND SEE GOD’S LOVE

FOR US -----

I. MEPHIB-O-SHETH WAS THE KINGS ENEMY - 2 Sam.3:1

David and Saul were on different sides in a civil war. Their

children sided with their fathers.

A. King David was not his enemy but he was an enemy to the

king. It is hard to believe that God and man are enemies.

B. God is not man’s enemy but by nature man is an enemy to

God. God and Satan are on different sides and their

children are too.

II.MEPHIB-O-SHETH WAS LAME BECAUSE OF A FALL - 2 Sam. 4:4

A. The human race is lame because of the fall of Adam.

We cannot walk, talk, think, or act like we should.

B. Morally speaking people are lame through the fall.

We cannot be what we desire to be or should be.

C. Physically speaking men are lame through the fall.

Sickness, death, etc. have come as a result of the fall.

D. Spiritually speaking men are lame through the fall.

We cannot make ourselves righteous or holy. We cannot

clean our dirty record...

III. MEPHIB-O-SHETH WAS SOUGHT BY THE KING - 2 Sam. 9:1,3

A. He did not search for the King but the King searched for

him. He was afraid of King David. He had a wrong

perception of the character of the King.

B. Jesus said,"I have come to seek and to save that which

was lost." Luke 19:10

C. Man does not seek after God. God is not lost, we are!

We have turned our backs on God.

D. He was seeking Mephiboseth. He was seeking him through

the use of others - 9: 2-3

God uses his servants to find the sinner.

God uses the Holy Spirit....

IV. MEPHIB-O-SHETH WAS FOUND IN A FAR COUNTRY - 9:4

A. He was at Lo-de-bar. He should never have been there.

Lodebar means "the place of no bread"

It is a place of starvation.

There is no spiritual food in the far country.

There is no strength outside the will of God.

B. He was crippled and could not help himself - 9:13

He would have died without David - vs. 8

C. Jesus came into a country where there was no bread.

Praise God He came to save you and I.

V. MEPHIB-O-SHETH WAS RECEIVED IN HIS DEFORMITY - 9:13

A. There was nothing for him to do, but come! - Vs. 6a

B. There is nothing any one can do to help God save him

except come and take what is freely offered. Our part

is easy. Repent-Believe-Call-Accept

C. "Just as I am without one plea but that thy blood was

shed for me" wrote the hymn writer.

VI. MEPHIB-O-SHETH WAS RECEIVED FOR ANOTHER’S SAKE - 9:1,7

A. David loved Jonathan like his own son.

David made a promise to him - I Sam.20:14-15

B.God loved us for His Son’s sake - John 3:16

C. He became as a son of the King - 9:11

See Rom. 8:17

VII. MEPHIB-O-SHETH RESIDED WITH THE KING - 9:10-13

A. He was in the same place as the King.

One day we will be with our King.

Our King is with us now in the Person of the Holy Spirit.

B. He ate the same kind of food as the King.

We will be like him for we shall see him as He is...

C. He had more after the fall than he did before

We gain more in Christ than we lost in Adam.

CONCLUSION ---- It is true that, while we as human beings

were in our infancy, the devil grabbed us and

ran off into a far country and caused mankind

to fall and be crippled.

But thank god it is also true that the King

has come, sought us, and found us in a far

country, adopted us into His family, and will

take us to His country to sit at His table

forever.