The Place Of Grace

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!