From Fear to Favor: Mephibosheth's Journey to King David's Table

He covered his nakedness and he covered him and the Bible in order

to do that.

The Bible says there was an animal that was slain.

I believe it was a lamb.

That's the first picture of Jesus in the Bible.

Now he was there at creation.

Let us make man in our image.

The Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit, they weren't separated.

That's another sermon.

But the only time Jesus and his father ever separated was when

he hung on the cross for our sins.

Our sins.

He was separated from God.

God's too holy to look upon sin.

And all the sin of every man that would ever live was laid on

Jesus.

And God the Father punished his Son because of us.

But there's pictures all through the Bible.

And I want you to go to the book of Second Samuel, the book of

Second Samuel, chapter number nine.

There's a man in this chapter that most of us know very well, and

we don't know.

We probably have not memorized possibly his name.

But his grandfather was Saul, King Saul, and his father was Jonathan.

Now it's starting to come together, right?

Jonathan, Jonathan and David, we're like that.

And so we find this man in second Samuel, chapter nine, possibly

maybe sitting on the floor.

I'll tell you why in just a moment.

Boy, what an artist picture.

I'd love to wish I could paint, paint this picture.

There was a knock on the door, and Mephibosheth is his name, couldn't

get up and answer the door because he was lame in both of his

feet.

When he was a baby, he was dropped and it broke his legs and

back.

In those days, they didn't know how to reset and fix him so

he could never walk again.

So there's a knock on the door and he couldn't answer the door.

So evidently he had a servant.

We'll tell you his name in a moment.

And so a servant answered the door.

And Mephibosheth heard some armor clanging together.

What in the world?

And then he began to hear them talking.

And pretty soon he realized they'd come for him.

Mephibosheth, he's minding his own business, just sitting in the

corner on the floor.

Lo Debar was a very poor place in those days, a place of famine.

And it was a very poverty stricken neighborhood.

And I would imagine that Mephibosheth thought to himself,

oh, no, they're taking me to David.

The king.

And my great, my grandfather tried to kill David more than once.

Saul's dead, Jonathan's dead.

They died on the battlefield.

And now out of Nowhere.

I knock on the door and here's a small group of men that come to

take Mephibosheth to King David.

Don't you think he must have thought, David's going to get revenge

after all these years.

He's going to take it out on me because of Saul.

But something happened that day.

When he got to the palace and was brought before David, everything

changed.

The Bible doesn't tell us this, but it's almost like David

said, come here.

Well, he couldn't walk, so again he had to be carried.

And David puts his arm around him and says, welcome, you have a

new home now.

And we soon find him sitting at the table of King David with David.

If I was an artist and could picture that, I would picture Mephibosheth

staring at David in unbelief.

I would paint some tears coming down his face.

I don't know if I could do it, but if I was a good artist, I would

maybe picture paint from the side that you could kind of see under

the table.

And Mephibosheth's feet are dangling because he can't stand or

walk, but they're dangling.

And I would paint a table, a banquet table.

And if I could do it, I would paint a picture of David winking

at Mephibosheth, smiling.

And the great part of this is it wasn't just a one time event,

but David said, for the rest of your life, you're eating.

Every time I eat, you're going to eat at this table.

That's your chair.

I'm going to take care of you.

Boy, what a difference a day makes.

Or an hour.

Assuming possibly that this could be his day of death.

That became without a doubt the greatest day in the history of

his life.

Can you see yourself in that picture?

You say, well, I was running to Jesus.

No, you weren't running.

You were running from Jesus.

You couldn't, you were just.

Your legs weren't any better than Mephibosheth.

You couldn't run to heaven, you couldn't get to the Savior.

And you got into conviction about realizing that you've sinned,

not just made some mistakes, but you've been selfish and self

centered and full of pride and said, I'm going to live the way I

want to live.

And the Holy Spirit convicted you and you began to fall down in

your heart and on your knees possibly and said, oh no, I've sinned.

It's called repentance.

It's not seen much anymore these days.

People come forward many times and say, oh, yeah, I agree.

I've sinned.

Yeah, everybody's sinned.

Okay, now what do I do?

What do you mean, now?

Do I.

What do I do?

Don't you want to think about this?

Oh, I already did.

No, really.

A lot of people do not understand the consequences of sin.

But not only what about hell and all that, but to think what it's

done to God and how it affects God.

Don't you remember your life changing?

And all of a sudden you're invited to the table of Jesus?

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, till

the hungry calleth, now come and dine.

And if you've not been dining with Jesus at his table every day

since then, that's not his fault.

That's not his fault.

Come and dine.

Mephibosheth was not kidnapped.

He was not forced at the point of a spear.

These men, however many there were, must have said, wow.

Come with us.

We got some good news for you, Mr. Mephibosheth.

He was invited.

So many people today are invited, but they're not interested.

Behold, I stand at the door and knock.

How long does he have to knock?

How long?

How long has he been knocking?

If any man hear my voice and we'll open the door, listen, I will

come in and sup with him and he with me.

It's not just, hey, you're saved now you don't have to go to

hell.

See you later.

No, that's a byproduct.

That's really not what it's all about.

I mean, heaven is the cherry on top, but to be right with God

and reconciled and no, ever, ever be alone again.

That's what it means to be a Christian.

To have a God that knows every secret you've got and he still loves

you and says, come unto me.

I want to be your shepherd.

Second Samuel.

But so many people.

Listen, why?

Why do we wait?

Are you waiting for something better?

Are you afraid?

Maybe like Mephibosheth of, uh.

Oh, open that door.

I'm going to get what's coming to me.

No.

Jesus already suffered for what was coming to you.

Verse one of chapter nine.

David said, is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul

that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

There's your picture of Jesus in this story.

Jonathan is Jesus.

You see, God saves and blesses us for Jesus sake, not for our sake.

David.

Here is a picture of God the Father, who looks out and says, is

there any out there that I can bless for Jonathan, for Jesus sake?

And there was verse two of the house of Saul, a servant.

This is a picture of the Holy Spirit.

What this servant is going to do is what the Holy Spirit does,

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 he.

And the king said, is there not yet any of the house of Saul

that I may show the kindness of God unto him?

David loved Jonathan with all of his heart.

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?

Can't you feel the anticipation?

And Zeba said unto the king, behold, he is in the house of Machar,

the son of Ammiel.

Ammiel in Lo Debar.

He lives over on the other side of the tracks.

Then King David sent and fetched him out of the house of Machir,

the son of Emmiel from Lo Debar.

Now, when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul,

was come unto David, I don't know how long it took to get there.

The very first thing it says, he fell on his face and did reverence.

As far as I know, he never met David.

He knew who David was.

He knew the king.

Now he's inside where the king is, and he's looking at the king.

And instead of saying, oh, no, what are you gonna do?

He fell on his face and worshiped reverence.

And David said, mephibosheth, that he answered, behold thy servant.

And then David said unto him, fear not.

Why?

Why did he say that?

I think because the closer we get to God, the more we fear God.

He still didn't know what was going to happen.

David hadn't done anything yet.

He probably was trembling.

He probably was white as a sheet.

He probably was thinking, this is my last day alive.

Fear not, Boy, don't you love it when God says, fear not?

Who else can say that and really mean it?

The world will never say, fear not.

The devil will never say, fear not.

Fear not.

And I don't know if there was a pause or not, but I don't think

so.

He said, for I will surely show thee kindness.

Say that again.

I didn't say it.

He didn't have to say it again.

And he didn't have to say, surely he says, relax.

No, he said, surely going to show you kindness for Jonathan, thy

father's sake and will restore thee all the land of Saul, thy father.

What?

Not only is he not going to kill me, not only is he smiling,

at least maybe we can be friends.

I've just inherited a fortune.

Saul.

All the land that Saul owned.

I have no idea how much that would be.

I think if I'd have been Mephibosheth, I would have passed

out right there.

And they'd have to call in, get some oxygen, slap me around a

little bit, fan me, get me back to normal.

But he's still not through.

And thou shalt eat bread at my table.

Today.

No, he didn't say today.

What's it say?

Continually.

Continually.

And he bowed himself again, and he said this.

What is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog

as I am?

That gotta surprise me.

When I first read that, we don't use that term much, but in

biblical days, in fact, Gentiles were called dogs.

And if you weren't a Jew, you were a Gentile.

But that was pretty low to be called a dog.

But he knew in the face of the King David, just like we knew when

we realized our sin and the results of our sin and what was facing

us.

We felt like, I'm just a dead dog.

Maybe you didn't think of that word, but you didn't say, well, it's

about time you got here, because I've been trying to be a

good person for a long time.

Who am I that a king should bleed and die for?

Who am I that he should pray not my will, but dine for the answer.

I may never know why he ever loved me so, that to an old rugged

cross he'd go, for who am I?

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.

Now, that's interesting.

Ziba's a servant, but he's in the house.

Back in those days, your servant was almost like family.

And he looked around and he said, I'm giving him and all of you

guys all of his family.

Now, we're going to see in a moment, only Jonathan gets to sit

at the king's table every day.

But the rest of them, they're not going to have to worry about

much the rest of their life.

You know, the Bible interestingly says, when the jailer

said, what must I do to be saved?

And the Bible says, Paul said unto him, believe on the Lord Jesus

Christ and thou shalt be saved in Thy house.

You see, if your parents are Christians, you're not automatically

saved.

You can go to hell and still your mom and dad could be in heaven,

and you never see heaven.

You have to get saved for yourself.

You're not automatically got a free pass because mom and dad are

saved.

But it's never been God's will for only mom and dad to get saved

and not the kids.

God wants all the family to be in heaven together.

He don't want families to be splintered and divided and broke

up.

That's why it's so important, mom and dad, that you not only tell

your children how to be saved, but show them how wonderful it is

to be saved and that you don't have to do anything, but you get

to do everything that God wants you to do.

Verse 10.

Thou, therefore, and thy sons and thy servants shall till the land

for him.

Well, he couldn't till the land because he was crippled.

And thou shalt bring in the fruits of the land that thy master's

son may have food to eat.

Mephibosheth had a son.

So now we got another one in the picture.

A grandson of Saul.

Or is it a great grandson?

But Mephibosheth, he said his son will always have fruit, and all

the rest of you will, because I want you to take care of the land

and till it and bring in the fruits and enjoy it.

But again he says, for the second time.

But Mephibosheth, thy master's son shall eat bread always at my

table.

You know, the table of God.

It's not just food he's talking about.

In fact, God says, take no thought of what ye shall eat, or

what ye shall drink, or what ye shall put on.

Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all these things shall be

added unto you.

He's going to sit at the table forever.

Does that mean after supper he's on his own?

No.

Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants.

That's 35 altogether in one house.

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, this is the third time he shall

eat at my table as one of the king's sons.

I don't know how long it's been, Brother Nonson, but I know

you've used it before.

I'm a child of the king.

I'm a child of the king.

We don't act like it, we don't talk like it, and we don't live like

it.

That's not God's fault.

And Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Micah.

And all that dwelled 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.

David was not a healer.

He couldn't heal his legs.

He was lame, but never the same.

Amen.

You ever feel a little lame?

Sometimes.

You say feel a little.

Come on, preacher.

As a Christian, we still have that old nature in us, don't we?

And it causes us to limp.

One day we'll walk straight up and down and never take a wrong step

and never have a bad thought and never sin again.

We've already been saved from the penalty of sin.

That was paid for over 2000 years ago.

But you have to pick up the receipt.

You have to claim it.

You're not automatically saved.

But he paid the penalty.

And we, by the Spirit of God and the word of God, can have victory

over the power of sin.

We don't have to sin.

We do sin.

That's a fact that God never said.

You're just going to have to sin.

You're going to have to live with that.

No, we can not live above sin.

If there are denominations said if you're really saved, you

don't sin anymore.

You live above sin.

Well, the only way to live above sin is to rent an apartment

over a bar.

But we don't have to sin.

Sin shall not have dominion over you.

It does, but it doesn't have to.

We have power through the filling of the Holy Spirit.

You can't be filled with the Holy Spirit.

That means to be controlled and sin at the same time.

That is absolutely impossible.

You can't be filled with the Holy Spirit and lie.

You can't be filled with the Holy Spirit and spread gossip.

You can't be filled with the Holy Spirit and rob God of the tithes

and offerings.

You can't do it.

You have to stop being filled and fill yourself with yourself.

We've already been saved from the penalty of sin.

We can be saved from the power of sin if we really want to be.

But praise God, one day we shall be saved from the presence

of sin.

No devil, no temptation, no sin.

No need to confess our sin.

You see, we have been saved.

We are being saved, and we shall be saved.

It's not a process, but when you get saved, you've been forgiven.

Your sins are washed Away.

You're a child of God.

You can sit at the table as many times as you want to.

You have been saved.

You are being saved.

Now if you'll let God have his way in your life.

And one day we shall be saved forever from sin.

This is another sermon.

I'm running out of time.

But you may remember Jacob, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob.

Yeah, okay, I got it.

And Jacob, the Bible says, was supplanter.

He was a schemer.

He was not a good dude, pardon the expression, not yet.

He turned in to do good.

God used him greatly.

But he cheated his brother because taking his mother's bad advice,

and the Bible says he got on the run.

He ran because he was scared to death his brother was going to

catch up with him.

For 20 years he ran, hiding, living in fear.

Wonder if he's going to show up at the store around the next corner.

He's living in fear.

You see, when we hide sin in our life, we can't have peace and

joy.

We're not free and we walk afraid.

We're going to be find out.

Somebody's going to find out the truth.

I've been pretending, but there's somebody's going to find

it out.

Boy, what a way to live.

Amen.

Well, don't you want to live free in full liberty?

Jacob was running and finally he met God.

Actually, he met Christ.

It was a theophany of Christ.

That means a pre incarnate presence of Christ.

And the Bible says they wrestled all night.

I wish we had time to go there.

Boy, you talk about a wrestling match.

And I believe Jacob was trying to get away.

But right in the middle of that fight, God touched the hollow

in his thigh and he fell and he grabbed ahold of Jesus.

Yeah, it was Jesus.

If we had time, I could prove that to you.

But now he's trying to get away.

Now he's trying to hold on.

And he said, I will not let thee go unless you bless me.

Well, what a story.

But what's interesting, the reason I brought that up, is as you

see him going on with his life.

Jacob, the Bible says he halted on his thigh.

He had to have a big stick.

You see, he had been running for 20 years and now he can't run

anymore.

But he's happier, even though he's got a limp.

He's much happier now because he got right.

He got right with God, he got right with his brother and his life

turned around and he became a great man of God.

He quit running.

You know, you can run while you're Sitting in church.

Yeah, you can.

A lot of people pretend.

They say, well, I'll get better or I'll think about it.

Some say, well, I'm living my life the way I want to live it.

I don't want change.

I don't want anybody telling me how I'm supposed to live and what

I'm supposed to do.

There's a lot of reasons, excuses, people give for not surrendering

and serving God or for not being saved.

But all this simply is that Mephibosheth, his life was changed

by the grace of God.

It wasn't a reward.

He didn't have anything to do with it.

He's just sitting on the floor just like you and I were before we

got saved.

Grace.

David said, do you know anybody that I can be a blessing

for?

Jonathan, my best friend's sake?

I miss him.

I love him.

I want to be good to anybody that's related to him.

You know, when we get to the place we need to be saved, you know

what we do, what we should do if we understand the gospel.

Lord, would you save me for Jesus sake?

Nothing in my hand I bring simply to the cross.

I cling.

I have no good works.

I've not done anything.

It's been all about me.

But could you save me?

Would you save me for Jesus sake?

That's grace.

It's not a reward.

A lot of people are hoping they're going to get to heaven and

that's their reward.

I'm going to go to heaven because I'm a good person.

You're saved by grace, not of works.

Lest any man should boast, Lay him on his feet.

Lived in lo debar, but he was fetched out.

He brought me also out of an horrible pit and set my feet upon

a rock and established my goings and put a song in my mouth.

And he became a servant of David.

Mephibosheth did, but not because he had to, because he wanted

to.

I can't put a want to in you.

I can tell you as a preacher what the Bible says and how you ought

to live and how God wants you to live and how God can bless you

and your life can be better and better and better.

Man, I can't make you want to do that.

That's between you and God.

Fear not.

I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan, thy father's

sake.

You eat at my table continually.

I know you feel like a dead dog, but I love dogs.

Forever taken care of.

Found out he had a son, Mephibosheth.

Wow.

He's still lame but never the same.

Don't get discouraged because sometimes you miss a step Sometimes

you realize I'm still lame.

I still didn't stand up like I should have for the cause I didn't

speak up.

I blended in.

I faded into the crowd.

Cause I'm lame.

Mephibosheth had to be carried.

Hey, good news.

God says, I'll carry you where you want to go, how close you want

to be.

I'll carry you.

Don't worry about you.

Can't walk very good.

Hey, listen, the old songwriter said I can't even walk

without him holding my hand.

He had to be carried.

Most of the time, God carries me.

No, no, no, that's not true.

All the time he carries me.

He puts me down sometimes knowing I can't walk.

But to teach me a lesson, I fall down.

See, I told you.

Let me carry you.

Hold my hand.

No.

Let me take that back and I'll shut up.

Let me hold your hand.

Mm.

There's a difference, isn't it?

I always wanted to hold my dad's hand.

When I was a little kid, if I was scared or in trouble or something,

I wanted to hold his hand so that after it was okay, I could let

go.

But when he was holding my hand, he was a little bit stronger

than me.

I had a little baby hand.

He had a big hand, and he held me.

You want to hold hands with God?

Or do you want God to hold hands?

Hold your hand.

You fall the way you lean, you lean.

The way you look, you look the way you love.

Let's stand together with heads bowed and eyes closed, everyone

standing.

Maybe God spoke to you and said, I don't think he did.

Or maybe you weren't listening.

I don't know.

I think God's always speaking.

I'll give you an opportunity to answer.

An opportunity like Mephibosheth, to come up and hold

your hands up and say, lord, would you hold me?

Would you pick me up?

Because I'm in trouble.

I don't know what to do.

Nobody believes me.

I don't have any control.

The future's not looking good.

I need you, Lord.

We're going to have a verse of invitation and ask you to come.

If you don't want to come, that's okay.