The King and a Cripple

Introduction

When Peter ended his second epistle, he left with us what are really his final words to all disciples, and here’s what he said. He said, You therefore, beloved, since you know this beforehand, beware lest you also fall from your own steadfastness, being led away by the air of the wicked, but grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and forever. When you listen to Peter and he talks about, here’s what you need to do to keep from falling. Well, you know, you should listen to it. Because Peter knew what it was like to fall and to give in. And he certainly endured what I would hope none of us ever have to endure, and that is the shame that comes with, well, denying the Lord and having the Lord turn and look at you.

And so it shouldn’t surprise us that as Peter leaves us his final words, he says, here’s how you keep from falling like I did. And this is the secret, he says, grow. Grow. Grow in knowledge. I can understand that, can’t you? There’s something that all of us need to have, and that is a better understanding of God’s will to have a stronger faith, and faith comes from hearing God’s word, and we can certainly see how knowledge can increase the more we get into it, and we can grow in that knowledge, and we want to keep that fertile field of our heart always filled with the word of God. But I want you to listen to what he said. He didn’t just say, grow in knowledge.

He said, I want you to grow in grace. Grow in the grace and the knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Can you grow in grace?

Can grace be something that actually can multiply and increase like knowledge? Well, I believe it can. In fact, I firmly believe it can. And if you ever spend any amount of time really thinking about this wonderful library that our Heavenly Father has given us, it’s all about grace. It’s all about his incredible love for us. It’s a love story, and I don’t say that to water it down. I don’t say that to simplify it, but when you really open your ears and more importantly, your heart to what God is saying through this inspired word, is He’s talking to us about grace. Tonight, I want you to hear a story of grace. But I’ve got to give it a little bit of a qualifier.

First of all, it comes from the Old Testament. And typically we don’t look at the Old Testament as being all about grace. We see God is almost an avenger and a judgment judge who is going out and wreaking havoc on nations who don’t obey. In fact, some people will say the Old Testament is all law, the New Testament is all grace. Well, no. No, you’ve misread your Bible. There’s grace all through its pages as well. But I also want you to think of it like this as we get into this story, and this is the qualifier. You’re not going to find the word grace ever mentioned in the story. Okay. I don’t want you to, after we read this story, you go, what?

1. A Story of Grace

But I want you to hear the story. Because I believe that this story is overflowing with grace. I’m so glad you’re with us tonight. And if you’re visiting, so very much we appreciate your attendance tonight. Hope you have the Heavenly Library with you. And here’s what I want you to do. I want you to take down the book of 2 Samuel. 2 Samuel. Go to 2 Samuel chapter 9. 2 Samuel chapter 9. And while you’re turning to the passage, if you’ll allow me, I want to just set the context and set the stage for you. This is a story about a very successful young king. If you know your Bible and you know 2 Samuel, 2 Samuel, the entire book, pretty much, is about the reign of David.

And so David is a very young, successful king when we get to this portion of the story. And here’s what he’s already done. David has taken a divided kingdom and he’s united it. And not only has you united the kingdom from the idea that everybody’s now on the same page together, he has united the kingdom spiritually. For the first time, for the first time in many years, the Ark of the Covenant is now back where it belongs with the people of God. David has retrieved it. So you have physical and spiritual prosperity in the land. In fact, the book will even tell us that David had already made a name for himself, and everybody, even in the surrounding countries, had heard of David. And what’s even more important, at this moment, at this moment in his reign, there’s no enemies.

There’s no enemies. Well, you would think David would be just kicked back, taking it easy. But no. While David is the king here and his kingdom is flourishing, David is not content. And here’s why. 2 Samuel 9, verse 1. And David said, Is there still anyone left in the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan’s sake? Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. And they called him to David, and the king said to him, Are you Zibah? And he said, I am your servant. And the king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness of God to him? And Zibba said to the king, There is.

There is still a son of Jonathan. But he is crippled in his feet. Did you hear why David wasn’t content? Well, what David is actually remembering and what’s on his mind now is that he had made a promise. And more importantly, if this promise was more like a covenant that he made with his good friend Jonathan, if you were to go back into 1 Samuel, and you actually go back to when David fought Goliath, there was one warrior that saw everything going on, although he wasn’t out there fighting himself, and I still haven’t quite figured out why Jonathan wasn’t out there. If Jonathan was going to fight an entire garrison on his own with he and his armor bearer, why didn’t he go fight Goliath? I don’t know.

I have a lot of speculation. Maybe he was saying, All right, Dad, it’s time for you to step up, maybe. Or maybe he was hurt. I don’t know. But when he saw David killed Goliath, he’s like, that’s a guy I gotta know. And they became very good friends. In fact, they became such good friends when it was very clear to both of them that God had chosen David to be the next king. Jonathan was like, okay. Even though he really should be the next king, his father is Saul, Jonathan sees God’s plan. He accepts God’s plan. And so he tells David this, all right. I need you to look after my family. Make me a promise that you will always take care of my family. And David said, Yes.

And so now that Jonathan is gone and David is on the throne, David is wanting to fulfill the covenant. Now, did you catch what Ziba did? Anyone catch that? David had a question. Is there still anyone? And Zippa goes, Yeah, there is. This is this there is one. But I gotta tell you, King, he’s lame. He’s lame. You ever done that? Have you ever sized somebody up by their failures? Or by their inadequacies, or their weaknesses. Let me put it another way to you. Say Tony is really working on a great series on evangelism, and I mean he has been sharing some powerful lessons. In fact, they’re so powerful. Everybody here is going, yes, I can do this, I can do this. Oh, I want to be a personal worker.

Oh, I would love to go out there and help save his whole. Yes. And one Monday morning, after you were really fired up from Tony’s preaching, you wake up and you go, I’m gonna do it today. In fact, you’re going outside, you’re kind of having to drag your, you know, your trash out to the curb, you know, before you go to work, that fun chore. Anyway, as you’re walking out, you see this neighbor also dragging his trash out, and you go, huh? Yes, oh, yes, I know this guy. He’ll be perfect. And you’re just getting ready to run across the street to maybe just strike up a good conversation, see where he is. And before you really take the first step, you go, oh, no.

He isn’t gonna really work. Because you notice in his trash there’s a lot of bottles. And you kind of remember he’s got a lot of partying going on, and it’s kind of the fun house. And you’re like, well, no, he’s got some issues there. In fact, and some other issues that I know about. Nah, he’s not a good candidate. That’s got this. I know there’s other people in the world, and so you get in your car and you go to work, and you get to work, and you’re all excited, and you’re looking, you’re looking, you’re looking, you’re looking. Yes, that lady, oh yeah. I noticed she’s got a spiritual calendar by her desk and everything else. Oh, yes, and you’re getting ready to go talk to her, and you go, oh no, I can’t go to her.

I mean, oh my word, her relationships and everything that she has going on and all the divorces and all these issues and all. No, she’s not going to work either. And so the rest of the day you’re looking and you’re looking, you’re looking, and you realize at the end of the day, there’s no one out there that really can hear the gospel.

You would love to do it, but they’re just not out there. Why? Because you’re doing what Ziba does. David didn’t ask for a scouting report on his health or physical well-being. He just said, Is there still anyone? Because David doesn’t care. Notice what David says in verse 4. Where is he? You can almost hear the king after Zebba said all this. Where is he? Where is he? And Zibah said to the king, he’s in the house of Macir, the son of Amiel at Lodabar. Then King David sent, and he brought him from the house of Macir, the son of Amiel at Lodabar. And Mephibesha, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and he fell on his face and he paid homage. And David said, Mephiboshe.

And he answered, Behold, I am your servant. And David said to him, Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. And I will restore to you all the land of Saul, your father, and you’ll eat at my table always. And Mephiboshev kept paying the king homage. And he says, What is your servant? What is your servant that you should show regard for a dead dog, such as I? Well, you stop right here and notice something very interesting about this story, and it’s kind of a word study. David wants to show kindness. In fact, that’s the way it’s expressed here in the text. David says, I want to show you kindness. That word kindness in the Hebrew actually refers to the idea of covenant faithfulness.

I want to keep a promise. I want to show you that I care for you. And when you hear this and when you see it, you’ll notice that David is trying to share his heart, but Mephibosheth is going, no. No way. This can’t be happening. Ziba says, David, is there anyone still left? And he goes, Yeah, there is this lame guy, but he’s lame in both his feet. And Mephibosheth is going, no. No. I want you to notice, and I want you to see that Mephibosheth, unfortunately, is living up to his name. Anybody know what Mephibosheth means? Another great word study. He’s a man clearly who is very humble. Maybe he’s humble because his name. Mephibosheth means big shame. Who names their kid that? Who does that?

You know, actually, I have to confess to you, I was getting a little excited when I was doing this lesson, and I was kind of getting into this word study kick, and I saw what Mephibosheth names mean, and I’m going to show you another one here in just a moment. And I got to get to think it. Oh, what does my name mean? Phil. Philip. This could be good. I immediately went back to Alexander the Great. Philip the Great. Oh, yes, I’ve got some lineage of great mighty warrior. And I remember I was looking it up, I was so excited, it’s probably going to mean gargantuan of a man. You know? Mighty warrior, you know, something. The beast. Yeah. You ready? Anyone know what Philip means?

Anybody? Anybody? Lover of horses.

I see my little pony. Come on. I should call my parents. I said, what were you thinking? Well, let me let me share something with you. Did his parents literally name him Big Shane? Possibly. He had an uncle by the name of Ishboshef, which means son of Shane. Maybe it was just passed down. But I want to throw something out there to you, and this comes from a book that is a wonderful book, but you’ve probably never read it, but you should. It’s the book of first Philippines. Alright? It is a great book if you ever want to read it. Have you ever noticed that a lot of people in Scripture really do live up to their names? Y’all remember a guy, also in the life of David, named Nabal.

Anybody know what Nabal means? Anybody know? Come on. Wasn’t he? Fool. I mean, did his parents really name him? I mean, was his kid born and he couldn’t play with blocks? And they went, This kid is an idiot. He must be a fool. We’ll call him the fool, Nabal. Did they really do that? Did they? Or was it just because of the way he acted? That’s what everybody else called him. You see what I’m saying? But it really doesn’t matter. It doesn’t matter if that was his literal name or if that’s the way he viewed himself and the nickname or the name everybody gave him, this was his life. A life of shame. You see, you can also look back in 2 Samuel 4 and you can read a little bit about Lephibishet.

He wasn’t born lame in both his legs. He was born as healthy as any other healthy baby would be born. Unfortunately, when the news came back to the castle that King Saul and Jonathan had died in battle, it says a nurse dropped him as they were running from the palace. Can you imagine? This young little boy dropped by his nurse. Was he dropped from a high precipice, maybe a balcony, or was he dropped and everybody ran over him, stampede to get him? We don’t know, but he’s left lame in both his feet. And here’s up in Lodabar. Another good word study. If you were to look in your map in the back of your Bible, you probably wouldn’t even see Lodabar mentioned. It’s a desolate place to the east, northeast of the Sea of Galilee.

And Lodabar means no pasture. No pasture. Think back to Bible economics. All right? Bible economics 101. If you have no pasture, you have no what? No flocks, no herds, no agriculture. If you have no herds or flocks, no agriculture, then chances are you have no what? No resources. Amos the prophet will actually many years later make fun of people who live in Lodabar as if they think they have something, and he simply calls it a place of rocks. What Lodabar has become is a home for the forgotten, a wasteland for the weary.

No one finds you. And that’s where Mephibosheth is when David finds him, and David brings him back to the castle. Now I want you to put yourself in the place of Mephibosheth, the king of Israel, the mighty king who’s destroyed Goliath, has already made a name for himself, he’s restored the kingdom. He has found you and he’s bringing you back. What usually happened to heirs to previous thrones when a new king took over? Imagine what’s going on in his mind. It kind of explains his behavior when he falls down in front of David and he says, David, I don’t know why you want me. Why would you even show any regard to somebody like me? I’m of no more value than a dead dog. Now that doesn’t take a lot of interpretation there, does it?

That’s had the same meaning for thousands and thousands of years. It’s that which is disgusting or worthless or has no value. Mephibisha was filled with shame. Mephibesha was filled with pain. And the Shafibeshah was filled with a hopeless lie. Now can I just stop real quickly for just a moment and make just one quick application? You ever felt like that? Have you ever had that moment in your life where you felt worthless? Maybe a decision that you made was horrible, and it brought great pain on you and maybe other people, or maybe you made some choices that led to some horrible consequences, or maybe you found yourself in a situation because those around you in your life had made such horrible decisions and you were bearing the brunt of that shame because you had the same last name or you were associated.

Have you ever felt like that? I want you to hold your place here, and I want you to go to the book of Ephesians real quick. Ephesians chapter 2, verses 1 through 3. I want you to listen to the way Paul describes all of us. And when I say all of us, I mean all of us. Ephesians 2, verse 1, you who were dead in trespasses and sins and what you once walked according to the course of this world. According to the Prince of the power of the air, the Spirit who now works in the sons of disobedience, among whom also we all once conducted ourselves in the lusts of the flesh, fulfilling the desires of the flesh and of the mind, and were by nature children of wrath, just as the others.

Can you imagine how Peter felt when he turned after denying the Lord the third time and he actually had eye contact with his Lord? You ever thought of how Jesus looked at him? You think Jesus, when he realized Peter denied him the third time, and somehow they were able to see one another. Was it through a window? Was it across the courtyard? We don’t know. But somehow they have eye contact. You ever wondered how Jesus looked at him? Do you think Jesus gave him one of these? You think he gave him one of these? Really?

Or do you think he gave him one of these? He broke my heart, Peter. He broke my heart. I think it’s the third one. Again, first Phil opinions. But Peter went out and wept bitterly. Why? Because he knows how Mephibosheth felt.

Go back to our story. 2 Samuel chapter 9, verse 9. Then the king called Ziba, Saul’s servant, and he said to him, All that belong to Saul, and to all his house, I have given to your master’s grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce. That your master’s grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master’s grandson, shall always eat at my table. Now Zippah had 15 sons and 20 servants. Then Zuvah said to the king, according to all that my Lord the king commands, his servant, so will your servant do. So Mephibosheth ate at the table of David like one of the king’s sons. Did you hear that? Did you hear the story?

I told you when we started this, you’re not going to hear the word grace. You didn’t hear it. Not once. But I think when you slow down and you listen to what is being said and what’s being shared, this is a story of incredible grace. The exile is now a son. The recluse is now redeemed. The forgotten is forgiven. You have to see this. You have to see this. I want you to do something for a moment. Just set your Bible aside, alright. Hold on to your notes, and I want you to use your imagination. I want you to slow down, and I want you to imagine something just for a moment, okay? I want you to imagine. I want you to imagine that David has decided to hold a huge state dinner at the castle.

Alright. And like any dignitary will do, he’s going to send out the invitations, and he’s going to invite all the who’s who of the land, all the nobles, all the rich, all the important people. And they all come to the great dinner. And the tapestries have been hung, and oh, the castle is just immaculate. And they pull up. They pull up in their fancy chariots, you know, two horsepowers sitting out front. They got racing stripes on their camels. They’re so big and important. And they get out all dressed to the hilt and they make their way into the palace. And they’re amazed at what they see. All the decorations, all the beauty. The feast is amazing. The band is just unbelievable. And they’re mingling with all the who’s who.

It is the place to be. But then all of a sudden the place goes quiet. Because the king has stepped out. And everybody stands at their place, showing honor to the king, and the king welcomes his guest. And then he says, I want to introduce to you my family. First one to come in is Amnon, the oldest. You know how old his kids are. They’re kind of a little cocky. They’ve done it right their whole life. They don’t mind telling you. And he comes and he takes his place at the other head of the table. Tamar comes in. Oh man. She’s wearing Gucci of Jerusalem. And I mean, her hair is just beautiful. She’s got flowers, and they’re just really shining all around her. And she comes in and she takes her place, and you can hear all the women going, oh, wow.

Then comes Absalom. He’s got his hair flowing even longer than Tamar’s. He’s not going to put it up in a man bun. No, he wants everybody to see it. In fact, before he came in, he did about 50 push-ups, so he had the veins kind of popping out in his biceps, and he kind of works his way over there. He’s probably a little bit taller than Amnon, so he kind of does that to his little brother, and he takes his place. Then there’s Solomon who comes in. Kind of bored with it all. He’s got a book in his hand. Doesn’t even look up to the crowd. He’s too busy reading. And then you notice there’s a there’s an empty city. And it’s right by the king.

And you know a whole family, you’re kind of they’re all there, they’re all there, but the king, the king’s doing this number, and there’s there’s this, there’s that awkward feeling in the air. What’s wrong? What’s wrong? What’s missing? What’s missing? And then in the silence you hear. And you see this lame, weak boy. Drag his feeble body with his crutches up to the seat right beside the king. And the king smiles. Puts his arm around that young man and says, ladies and gentlemen, my son.

In the place of rubps and the laws. Don’t go looking for that story in scripture. I made it up. Okay? I made it up.

2. The Story Is About a King

But I don’t think it’s too terribly far fetched. Because when you look at this story, the story isn’t about Mephiboshe. No, the story. The story is about a king. And what you see with this king is this king understands what it means to be a true king. And he is a merciful king. And what does he do? He accepts the humble regardless of their shame. Just like it says to all of us in James 4 6, God gives more grace. Therefore he says, God resists the crowd but gives grace to the humble. Ephesians 2, verse 8, for by grace you have been saved through faith, but not of yourselves. It is the gift of God. Proverbs 3, 34. Surely he scorns the scornful, but he gives grace to the humble.

Proverbs 22, 11. He who loves purity of heart and has grace on his lips, the king will be his friend. What you see in David is the heart of our heavenly Father. Who accepts those who are humble, regardless of their shame. But it’s not just that. Notice what David does in the story. He restores honor and privilege to the fallen. Notice the text makes it very clear. And Samuel wants us to know this. Zebah had 15 sons and 20 servants. Who are they all working for now? Mephibosheth. Mephiboshe. And what do they do? They take care of Mephiboshe. It’s not enough that David just brought him back. It’s not enough to keep the covenant. He’s going to restore everything. Psalms 84, verse 11. For the Lord is a son in a shield.

The Lord will give grace and glory. No good thing will he withhold from those who walk uprightly. 1 Peter 5, verse 10. But may the God of all grace who called us to his eternal glory by Christ Jesus, after you have suffered a little while, may he perfect, establish, strengthen, and settle you. And then Psalms 103, one of my favorite Psalms, the psalmist says this, bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits, who forgives all your iniquities and redeems your life from destruction. And notice this, verse 4, and crowns you with loving kindness and compassion.

It’s not enough just to redeem us.

As family. As family. During World War II, there were tens of thousands of children born out of wedlock in Europe. The fathers were GIs or soldiers from the Allied forces. And when they went home, they left behind children. Many of those children were abandoned and left at the doorstep of police stations and fire stations or other places of refuge throughout Europe. In fact, there’s actually been a documentary done through a periodical called Project Roots, in which there were probably more than 40,000 just from Canadian descent that were born during World War II, and these children grew up in orphanages and never knew who their parents were. And so when the internet became popular, there was a huge campaign by many of these orphaned children to post their own pictures on these sites to see if somebody would recognize a resemblance between them and maybe their parents, who clearly by this time had already passed on.

He’s one of the gruffest guys you would ever be around. In fact, his wife was a member of the congregation where we were, and she would always come in to worship and be as sweet as she could be. But he would generally just stand outside. He might come in generally after a while, but he always had to smoke his pipe first. And he had kind of this gruff voice, and he had his pipe, and he was a former Navy guy, so we called him Popeye. You know. His name was Robert. And for many years, everybody had tried to talk to him or spent some time with him. He didn’t want any of it. And we got sick, and it wasn’t really a big time threatening illness, but sick enough that I gave him a visit with one of the other men, and before we went to visiting my that guy goes, Are you gonna ask him for a Bible study?

And I was like, I’m not sure yet. He goes, Well, he won’t affect a Bible study, you’re just wasting your time if you try it. I said, Well, we’ll just we’ll see, we’ll just hold on. We went in there and we hung out with Robert for a little bit, and as we were getting ready to leave, I could see my friend kind of looked at me and went, so and so I looked to Robert and I said, Robert, Mr. Robert, would you be available next week if I was to come by the house and we just read the Bible together? No study, we’re just gonna read a little bit. Would you be good with that? And he went, Yeah, I think I’d be alright. I looked over at my friend who was like a codfish.

And I just smiled, winked at him. We got in the car. He goes, I can’t believe that. I said, I know. And this car. He goes, What are you gonna read? What do you read? I was like, the Bible? I don’t know. He goes, I guess we’ll just start reading from Acts. Or we’re gonna start reading from the Gospel of Luke and we’ll read about Jesus and the crucifixion. And so that’s what we did. We just started reading, and we read for a while. We read through a lot of Luke and read through the crucifixion, and we just had visits and then read through a major portion of Acts, and I could tell he was thinking. He’s thinking hard. So one day I just asked him, I said, Mr.

Robert, come on, you know what God wants you to do, and you believe in God, right? Yeah, and you believe in God for that. What’s the deal here? He goes, Well, I gotta be honest with you, I’m still a little bitter. And I’m like, now what did I do?

And the reason he was bitter is he started sharing his story. His dad had abandoned him as a child. And so he was reared by his mother in New York, who was far from a godly woman, in fact, so far from a godly woman, that when he was at the age of 14, he left home and joined the Navy, and he charged his mother, don’t have any more children. Because you shouldn’t. So he never had a dad. He never understood what being the father really was. And he was a gruff, old man. Well, that’s when it hit me. There’s another passage we really need to be reading. So I turned over to Romans chapter 8. And how God adopts all of us as his own children.

Every single one of us. And we become sons of God. And I shared that with him. And I shared with him what God wants him to do. And it melted his heart. I said, Mr. Robert, you and I have the same father. And he loves you more than you could ever imagine. Well, you can tell where I’m headed with this story, can’t you? That’s the point.

3. Grace Reminds All of Us That We're Lame

That’s the point. When you see the story of Mephibosheth, you see the story of God. And here’s what I want you to hear as your take home, real quickly, real quickly. I want you to be mindful of just a few important things about grace. What does it mean to grow in grace? How can I grow in grace? Well, I grow in grace when first and foremost I recognize grace reminds all of us that we’re lame. Every single one of us are lame. Every single one of us need the grace of God. Every single one of us are saved by grace. And folks, we need to have the courage to say it. If somebody asks you what saves you, please don’t immediately say, baptism. Because that’s not the correct answer at that moment.

Grace is first. Say, those of you who are taking notes, you ready? I want to give you the steps of salvation. Alright? These are the steps of salvation. And it doesn’t begin with hearing. Are you ready? The first step of salvation. If you’re going to say, I’m going to go share the gospel, and I want to share the gospel with somebody, you don’t begin with baptism. That’s not the whole gospel. You begin first and foremost with grace. Grace. That’s where we begin. It’s a book of grace. It’s a book of unmerited favor. Even when you go back and you look at the story of Noah, what saved Noah? Grace. It says that in Genesis 6. That Noah found grace in the eyes of God. Yes, he did build an ark.

Yes, he did trust in the Lord. But do you think when Noah got off the ark, he turned and he looked at his sons and his daughter-in-laws and his wife, and he went, You owe me.

You’re welcome, God. No. What did he do? What did he do immediately? He bowed and he worshiped to God. Because God gives us favor we do not deserve. Ephesians 2, verse 8. For by grace you have been saved. But it’s not just grace. Secondly, the second step of salvation is mercy. Mercy. The loving kindness of God. That God does not give us what we deserve, and he shows this unying love for us. That he is merciful to us. A little later in Ephesians 2, we are reminded of just how rich the mercy of God truly is. Number three, here’s what saves you Jesus. Jesus. Our Lord Jesus saves us. He saves us from the judgment that we deserve. He saves us from our sins. He died on the cross for us.

Our Lord saves us. And how do we learn about the wonderful grace and the mercy and the love that comes through Jesus through number four, his word. Just like it says in James 1 and in verse 21, the word that is now able to save your souls. The word saves me. So then I hear.

I confess to my sins. And I’m baptized into Christ. And then I live the life of a Son and a child of God. See the point?

You can’t share the gospel without talking about grace. Or mercy. Or love. Because every single one of us need it. And here’s what that means. That means we’re patient with our brethren. We’re patient with them. Just, you know, I probably should. Oh my, I’m kind of embarrassed. I just forgot something.

4. Grace Can Be Multiplied

Is anybody here perfect? Anybody? I mean, really, go ahead. You can go ahead and say it. We won’t say anything. Really? Seriously. Anybody? Oh. So you need grace too, then, right? You realize who’s included in that statement? Your elders. Your preacher? No offense. But we all need grace. Because grace reminds me that I’m lame. Grace also, grace also can be multiplied. And this is what’s amazing when you think of it the way the way Paul, the way Peter is sharing. You can grow in grace. I already share with you guys a little bit about my brother, about my brother, my little brother, you know. For those of you who weren’t here the other night, when I was when I was four and my younger brother was two, he was already bigger than me.

And I’m the only kid to grow up with hand-me-ups throughout my life, pretty much. When we were 15 and 13, and I think that’s about the right age. Christmas came around, and my dad was opening presents from all the kids. And you know, and I gave my dad the, you know, the traditional, you know, cheat tie or whatever. I mean, it was just something cheap and insignificant. It’s what a kid buys his dad, you know, you find it at Dollar General, whatever. Here’s what you go, Dad. Well, my brother had this massive box that he brought in to give dad. And I’m looking at this going, what in the world? This is one of those gags where you’re going to open it up, you know, and it’s just going to be some silly putty or something, you know.

Well, when my dad opened up the very first box, he looked in the box and he goes, Todd. And he smiled at my brother, and he reached in and he pulled out a brand new set of golf clubs. I went over there and I grabbed Todd. I yanked him to the dining room and I said, What are you doing? Where are the kids? They’re the adults. They get us golf clubs. What are you going to do next year? Huh? How are you going to top that? You ain’t got this through, man. You’re embarrassing us. And oh, my dad talked about it all the time. Todd got me golf clubs. Todd got the golf.

About 15 years ago, my brother called and he goes, hey, Phil, I’m gonna let you know that Laura and I are getting married. And I’m like, oh, Todd, that’s great. You are the man. He goes, we’re gonna get married in Hawaii. And I’m like, well, have fun. And he goes, No, I want you to perform the perform the ceremony. And I went, oh no. And I’m immediately thinking, how am I going to pay for this? Well, I can’t take my wife and kids. I’m just gonna have to go by myself to Hawaii because there’s no way I can afford flying everybody over there. And Todd goes, Yeah, we’re all gonna stand at this real fancy resort trying to Grand Wayalea and this, that, and the other.

And I’m like, and I’m thinking, oh my word, this is gonna cost $50,000 and everybody’ll afford it and everything else. And then Todd, and then Todd goes, and Laura and I are flying you and Jill and Gray and Cheryl out there, it’s all on us. And I went, Todd. Well, you know how that works, don’t you? You want to make a gift, grow, give it away. You want to make money truly have compounding interest, give it away. We see that and we understand that in our lives. In fact, Jesus is quoted as saying, it’s more blessed to give than receive. Why? Because it’s better. Well, that’s the way grace works, folks. Why are we hoarding grace all to ourselves? And why are we not sharing it with our neighbors?

Why are we not talking about it to others? Why is it not constantly on our lips and on our tongues? Why are we not talking about it and sharing it? All the wonderful treasures of God. It’s not going to limit your grace the more you give it away. It multiplies.

And can I implore you again? Do not be afraid to say grace. We have allowed our denominational world to steal it from us. And don’t feel like you have to constantly qualify it. Oh, yeah, I think we’re saved by grace, but no. No. Because if you truly understand you’re saved by grace, and you truly understand the wonderful gift from God. Obedience is not a butt or add to it. It’s just a reaction. Don’t misunderstand me. In no way am I saying obedience is not part of the plan. In no way am I saying faith is not part of the plan. And in no way am I saying baptism and all the other things that our Lord commands are not part of the plan. But what I’m saying is, you better put grace before it all.

5. Grace Is More Than Just Salvation

Because even the plan itself was given by grace. Grace is also more than just salvation. Real quick on this point. Have you thought about all the favor and unmerited gifts that God gives you on a daily basis? You ever just thought about how feeble our bodies are? You know what you’ve done over the past few minutes? Sorry? I’ve been preaching here about 10 minutes.

Alright? You’ve been breathing in air that you didn’t even think about. And your heart’s been beating the whole time. You didn’t think you didn’t go, oh, I just think it’ll be right with you. Alright, we’re back. Have you ever realized just how dependent we are on God for every breath we take? And then the people that he puts in our lives, the children that he puts in our lives, the love that he puts in our lives, and how we can see God in these hands and in these arms and in the feet and in the eyes and in the kiss and in the touch of those around us. Oh, grace goes far beyond just salvation. In fact, our entire existence, every single day. It’s by grace.

6. Being Loved and Invited to the Table With God

But then one more. You know what grace is? It’s being loved and invited to the table with God. Three times in the story. Three times in the story, David makes it very clear, Mephibosheth will eat at my table. Because that’s where he belongs. Do you know what Jesus would say to his disciples before he ascended? Actually, before he went to the cross. In Luke 22, and in verses 29 to 30, Jesus says, Behold, I bestow upon you a kingdom. Just as my Father bestowed upon me that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom. Jesus making a point.

You know where you belong? At my table. Not the kids’ table, not the guest table. Not table 100 in the back. You sit with me. Because you’re my child. And isn’t it interesting? How you can go and read through the gospel and hear how many times Jesus reminds us that our God is not just our God. He’s our what? Our Father. And he has adopted us into his family. How does that happen? By grace. Covenant faithfulness, if you will.

Conclusion

But the Almighty said, Is there anybody who I can show my covenant faithfulness to? And they said, there is one. But he’s lame. He’s lame. That’d be me. Bring him in. Bring him in. If you need to come to the Lord’s table tonight, if you need to come to the Lord, he’s waiting for you. Regardless of your shame, regardless of your weakness, regardless of how lame you may think you may be, he’s here to make you whole. And not just to restore you, but to adopt you as his family. That’s what the blood of Jesus does. And if you need to come to your Lord tonight, we invite you to come right now while we stand in silence.