What's So Amazing About Grace?

“What’s So Amazing About Grace?”

2 Samuel 9

READ 2 Samuel 9:1—13

GRACE WILL SEEK YOU OUT

- David was on the throne of Israel when he asked about Saul’s descendants…Grace begins in the throne room

- Like Mephibosheth, before we were aware of grace, it was already seeking us out.

- Romans 5:6—8: Paul tells us that “at just the right time, when we powerless…God demonstrated His love.”

God’s Grace Remembers us

-(v. 5a) Forgotten by his nation, abandoned by his family…no one remembers Mephibosheth. Out of grace, David sought him out.

- Ziba quickly told David that Mephibosheth was crippled (In other words, of no use), it didn’t matter…David was motivated by grace, not need

- We could never be of use to God (Rom. 3:23); it is only by His pure grace that He reaches out to us

God’s Grace Pursues us

-Ask the Prodigal Son, it found him in the pig sty.

- Ask the Samaritan Woman; it found her in the middle of the day.

- Ask Joseph; it found him in the bottom of the cistern.

- TRUTH: God’s Grace can and will find you wherever you are.

God’s Grace Carries Us

- (v. 5b) Mephibosheth couldn’t get to David if he had wanted to; David had to send men to get him

- God’s grace is dependent upon HIS ability…not mine.

- 2 Cor. 12:9—“My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.”

APP: Like David, God sends out his message of grace to people who feel that they’ve been forgotten…are you being a carrier of the message; or are you telling God that the people He’s trying to reach are crippled, and of no use to Him?

GRACE WILL HELP YOU

ABANDON A CRIPPLED PAST

- (v. 6)—David has summoned M, but M had to choose to come

- When grace is offered, it’s up to me to embrace/accept it

- Embracing grace means letting go of a crippled past

ILLUS¬—M. Phelps & Ian Crocker @ 04 Olympics

Abandon A Crippled Life

- He could have been bitter, and stayed home

- He could have let fear keep him (fear of David)

- Mephibosheth was crippled when his nurse dropped him; sometimes our families have dropped us…parent/spouse/sibling

- God want us to let go of our past and take hold of His Presence.

Abandon A Crippled Mentality

-(v. 8)—Mephibosheth’s past had left him feeling worthless

- ASK: How many times has your past kept you from seeing the call of God?

- How transforming it must have been for Mephibosheth to see that he was valued in the eyes of the King!

- When you & I awaken to the reality that we are worth something to the King; we can abandon that mentality!

GRACE WILL SHOW YOU WHO YOU WERE BORN TO BE

- At some point, Mephibosheth must have looked back on his life and imagined, “What if?” We too were born for something more than we’re experiencing…sin has caused us to become “crippled.”

-(v. 11)—M was raised to a position as “one of the King’s sons”

- John 1:12 tells us that God’s grace will enable us to become “children of God”—not children of descent, but adopted into…

- Mephibosheth had the King’s ear (Hebrews 4:16 tells us that we can “approach the throne of grace w/ confidence”)

- Verse 7 shows us that David was making a continual arrangement for Mephibosheth; John 3 shows us that our life with Christ is a continual life

NOTE: Mephibosheth wasn’t receiving this because of himself, or his goodness; it was the actions of his father, Jonathan. Likewise, we receive God’s grace not on our own merits; but because of the actions of Jesus Christ.

ASK: What’s So Amazing About Grace?

Grace says: “I will let you live in the achievement of another”

Am I living my life in the achievement of Jesus?