Thank you, Paul. I appreciate
you and members of this church and your stand for the true gospel
of God's amazing grace. It's just good to be with God's
children. I'm being a little standoffish
this morning. I've come down with something.
I don't think David gave it to me, but it's going around and
so I don't want to give it to anybody else. There's an article
that the interim pastor that I was a part of that organization
in Rescue California, I get their bulletins, and there's an article
that the interim pastor put in last Sunday's bulletin by Pastor
Darwin Pruitt. Boy, he's a gifted man and also
a prolific writer. And he took his thoughts from
Hebrews 6, verses 17 through 19, which talks about the strong
consolation that God's enlightened saints have. And Pastor Pruitt
writes, if only one of God's sheep were to perish, the purpose
of God would be frustrated, the power of God resisted, the promise
of God broken, the faithfulness of God would be a mockery and
the Word of God proved to be a lie. If but one of his little
ones were to be lost and sin win the day, where would be the
veracity, the honor, the grace, the covenant, and the oath of
God? The assurance of faith is not
in my ability to hold on but the immutable character of God
who loved me and gave himself for me." End of quote. And I'm
so thankful that that truth has been revealed to me, that my
hope is built on nothing less than Jesus' blood and his righteousness. I had a conversation with John
Reeves, who is the interim pastor there in Rescue, California,
and I told him as we were discussing gospel truths, I said, the more
I study, the more I realize how much I don't know. So I want
to ask you to turn with me, if you will please, to 1 Samuel
chapter 20. I appreciate what I heard from
Larry Brown this morning, that was so well put and so true to
what God has ordained for His people, brought forth in an illustration
placed on the pages of Holy Scripture to remind us of the power of
God in this great salvation that he has bestowed upon us through
the merits of Christ our Savior. I remember reading a story years
ago about a little boy who was sick so he couldn't go to school
and he was upstairs in his bedroom and he'd been just a little too
quiet for his mama's likeness. So she hollered up the stairs,
Johnny what are you doing? He said, I'm watching Jesus raise
Lazarus from the dead. He was so wrapped up in reading
the story of the resurrection of Lazarus by the sovereign power
of Jesus Christ our Lord that he was watching it. He had gotten
a vision of it in his mind and he was right there, right there
in his mind he was watching the power of our Lord raising one
from the dead. You know, I can identify with
that little story because I do that when I read the scriptures.
I believe the Word of God so much that it's not just something
I'm reading, it's something I'm living. Are you that way? Does
the stories in the Bible become so real in your mind that you
have a picture of it? I know we can't get an exact
picture. I know we can't. But we can,
in our mind, place ourselves right there. Right there. Because we believe what the Word
of God says. He that is of God, heareth God's
words, our Lord said, speaking to some unbelieving Jews. And
he said, you believe not, because you're not of God. He didn't
say you're not of God because you don't believe, he said you
don't believe because you're not of God. Faith and belief
is a gift from God himself under the preaching of his glorious
gospel. Well this morning my subject is God's eternal covenant
of grace. And I know my understanding on
any subject of the Bible is Very, very limited. But I believe just
a limited understanding of any of God's gospel truths will increase
our understanding and our trust in Him who loved us and gave
Himself for us. God declares Him to be a covenant
God. To deny The covenant of God's
eternal amazing grace is to deny God. To deny His word is to deny
Him. God's electing grace is as true
as God Himself. And we dare not twist it around
to make it sound like election is based on something God foreknew
that we would do. That destroys the meaning of
the word grace. God's irresistible drawing power
is a doctrine that is plainly set forth in Holy Scripture. If we deny that, we deny God
himself. And he chose a people in Christ
before the foundation of the world. He sent his son, the Lord
Jesus Christ, to do what no other could do, to save his people.
We heard that illustrated through what Brother Larry brought this
morning. Joshua, Savior. And God's irresistible drawing
power gives glory to the one who brought us to Christ, God
the Holy Spirit. And when we understand that salvation
is of the Lord in all of its perfections and everything that
happens, God bringing us all the way from that horrible pit
we were wallowing in and loved, all the way to glory through
the merits of Jesus Christ our Savior, there's no room in our
hearts but praise to our God for His unspeakable gift. In this passage of scripture
that I have asked you to turn to in 1 Samuel chapter 20, we
have a covenant established between David and Jonathan. David was the one who was anointed
to be king over Israel, but the people wanted the king that they
chose. Their eyes had beheld. Saul was
the first king over Israel. He stood a head and shoulders
taller than the rest. He was good to look upon as far
as the physical eye is concerned. But God looks upon the heart. I wish I could get that fully
embedded in my mind. God looks upon the heart. And
it's not that old stony heart we come into this world with.
It's the heart he gives his chosen people under the preaching of
the gospel. And we're not talking about that
little muscle that pumps the blood. We're talking about the
inward man. Out of the heart proceed evil
thoughts and murderers and things like that. Well, that heart has
to be replaced with the heart that God gives. And he sees that
heart that he gives with delight and joy. There was nothing in
us, absolutely nothing in us in our unregenerate state that
delights God, nothing. But He delights in His own sovereign
work of grace in the hearts of His people, the heart that He
gives. So we're here in 1 Samuel chapter
20 and starting at verse 14, this is Jonathan speaking to
David when Saul was trying to kill him because he didn't want
David to be king. He wanted one of his sons to
be king, which was probably Jonathan. And Jonathan, speaking to David,
says that thou shalt not only, while yet I live, show me the
kindness of the Lord that I die not, but also thou shalt not
cut off thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when the
Lord hath cut off the enemies of David, every one from the
face of the earth, So Jonathan made a covenant with the house
of David saying, let the Lord even require it at the hand of
David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to
swear again because he loved him for he loved him as he loved
his own soul. So here's two hearts united together
in a love that just defies description. And that's the way it is with
God's enlightened children. We show our love for the Lord
Jesus Christ by our love one for another. And so a covenant
was made between David and Jonathan because of the love that they
had for one another. And Jonathan knew David was going
to be king, he knew that. And so he wanted the kindness
of the king. Now turn, if you will, to 2 Samuel
chapter 9. 2 Samuel chapter 9. Now, Saul and Jonathan had died
in a battle with the Philistines. After their death, David did
become the king right at the exact time God meant for him
to become the king. And this covenant that we read
about between Jonathan and David typifies a covenant of God's
grace. Everything in the Bible from
cover to cover points to the glorious redemption of God's
children through the perfect redeeming work of Christ our
Savior, who is King of Kings and Lord of Lords. Now, we can
only take a type as far as it is intended, but God helped us
to take it as far as it is intended. I picture myself in Jonathan's son, whose name
is Mephibosheth, how he, according to a covenant between the king
and Jonathan, how he typifies every child of God that is lost,
dead in trespasses and sins, and brought to the king by the
power of the king because of a covenant. So here in 2 Samuel
chapter 9, look at verse 1. David is king, remember? And
David said, is there yet any that is left of the house of
Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Saul was
Jonathan's father, Mephibosheth's grandfather. And so he wants
to show kindness because of the covenant that he made with Jonathan.
And so he doesn't know if any are left alive or not. And this
pictures us receiving the blessings of our king, the Lord Jesus,
for Christ's sake. He wants to show kindness. The
king wants to show kindness to any of the house of Saul for
Jonathan's sake, because of the covenant that he had made with
Jonathan. And so we read in verses 2 and
3, 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 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? And Ziba said, unto the king,
Jonathan hath yet a son which is lame on his feet. Now this
son, Mephibosheth, was picked up by his nurse when
he was a little bitty boy, when he was in danger, and while she
was running, to try and deliver him from that danger, she fell.
And when she fell, injury came upon Mephibosheth and he was
lame, he couldn't walk. Well that's a picture of us in
our depraved condition, sinful condition, ungodly condition. running from God, trying to escape
in the only way we know how, by putting God completely out
of our mind, because of the fall of Adam. This man Mephibosheth
suffered, lame on both feet, because of a fall. And David
wants to show him kindness. Notice how he puts it. God's
kindness. God's kindness. Dave is not taking
any credit to himself. He knows that he has been made
king by the decree of God, by the power of God, for the glory
of God. And our Lord Jesus Christ right
now, right now sits on his sovereign throne of power working all things
after his own will for his glory. For his glory, the glory of the
great triune God who placed him on his throne. God has highly
exalted Jesus Christ and has given him a name which is above
every name because of his obedience to the Father's will when he
came here and walked on this earth. He was obedient unto death,
even the death of the cross. So God has highly exalted him. And God's preachers and all of
God's enlightened saints know that God shows us kindness, mercy,
all of that compassion and love that he has for Jesus Christ
is bestowed upon us for Christ's sake. For Christ's sake. Mephibosheth is a picture of
every enlightened child of God that cannot come to Christ because
of our total depraved condition. Not only can we not come to Christ, we
have no desire to come to Christ. And Mephibosheth didn't either.
He feared the king. It was common in those days to
get rid of any opposition to that throne over Israel. I know Saul was the first king,
but they were copying other nations, and that was the manner of other
nations. Get rid of any opposition. Kill
them. And Mephibosheth feared that. Brethren, listen. God will not,
He will not share His glory with another. Any threat on the part of finite
sinful men and women to take the glory away from Jesus Christ
is a threat to rob God of His glory and take Christ off of
His throne. That's the problem with this
world today, this world of religious people. That was the problem
with Satan when he fell. He wanted to be like the Most
High God. He wanted glory to come to him. And that's what
these works religionists, all the way down to free will people
who think they gain favor with God by their decision for Jesus,
that's what they're trying to do. Take Christ off of his throne. God's children. will not tolerate
that, knowing that God despises those who despise His Son, who
is worthy of all praise, honor, and glory. Look at verse 4. And
the king said unto him, Where is he? Speaking of Mephibosheth. And Ziba said unto the king,
Behold, he is in the house of Makar, the son of Aniel, in Elodabar. Now this probably meanings to
every one of those names. All John Gill hints at from verse
4 is that this house of Maker could very well be the relatives
of Mephibosheth's mother. That's only speculation. Look
at verse 5. Then King David sent and fetched
him out of the house of Maker, the son of Ammiel, from Lodibar.
The king sent and fetched him. And along with the command to
Ziba and whatever servants that went to get Mephibosheth, came
the means to bring him before the king. The means. Now all those men, and remember
Mephibosheth is lame. So they had to take some means
to carry him back to the king. But all of that is provided by
the king. So, Brother Henry Mahan, when
he preached from this passage of scripture out in rescue years
and years ago, titled his message, Fetching Grace. Fetching Grace. Along with the command to come
to Christ, God provides the means. makes us willing in the day of
his power. And Ziba is sent to fetch Mephibosheth
from where he was. Now he's hiding. Mephibosheth
is hiding. He doesn't want to come to the
king. He has no desire to come to the king. So we read in verse
6, 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. So he comes before the
king, and he's very well aware that David could easily command
that his head be taken off of him, and he be buried in the
dirt that he came from, he's aware of that. All the king has
to say is, kill him, and there will be one there to obey the
king's command. So he fell down before the king
on his face, and did reverence Now remember, he's lame. I can't
get a picture of that humbling deed that he performed. I can't
get a picture of that in my mind. Whatever he was using to support
himself, let go. It's gone. He just fell on his
face before the King of Israel. and did reverence. And that's
exactly what we do. We prop ourselves up with anything
that we can hold onto to try to assure ourselves that we're
not all that bad. We're really not, you know. My
good's gonna outweigh my bad. We have no good. There's no good
in any of us. And whatever prop we're using,
we need to get rid of it and fall on our face before King
Jesus and reverence him. We had no fear of God in our
unregenerate state. Oh, we feared death. We feared
hell. We feared Judgment Day. But we
had no reverential fear. We didn't reverence God. Mephibosheth reverenced the king. That's a picture of our attitude
before God when we're fetched out of that awful state of spiritual
darkness we were in. We were fetched by God the Holy
Spirit and brought before the King and our lame condition was
made known to us. We knew that we had no way of
coming to our Lord Jesus Christ by our own means. This is God's
revealing grace. This is what he reveals to us
so that we'll reverence him for his power that delivered us from
darkness and translated us into his kingdom. This call This call
to come to Christ, like I said, is accompanied by God's ordained
means. And these ministers of God's
glorious gospel, these faithful witnesses, whether it be parents
in their home or co-workers that we have the honor of witnessing
to, all of this that we are allowed of God to do, these are means
that God uses. We must hear the truths of the
gospel. We must hear who Jesus Christ
is. I heard this this morning from
Brother Larry Brown. He's Jehovah. He's Jehovah God. He's God our creator. He's the
one that came to this earth. God himself took upon himself
a body, a human body. Without controversy, great is
the mystery of Godliness. God was manifest in the flesh.
And He came here to do His Father's will. He came to establish a
righteousness for His people by His perfect obedience to the
law of God. That's all taken care of. Our
Lord did not come here to change the law. He came to fulfill it. And when He went to Calvary,
when our Lord Jesus went to Calvary in obedience to His Father's
will, He obtained eternal redemption for us. He by Himself purged
our sins. He didn't try to save us. His name is Savior. Jesus. Savior. And we have to believe. that after he died, he was raised
from the grave on that third day. We have to believe in the
resurrection of Jesus Christ. He was delivered for our offenses.
He was raised again for our justification. All of that which God requires
to bring us from that awful pit all the way to glory is found
in Jesus Christ and only in Jesus Christ. We have to believe. We have to believe that when
He was raised from the dead, He ascended to glory there to
appear in the presence of God for us. We have to believe there's
one seated on His throne in glory pleading for all of His children
and he doesn't have to say a word. The wounds in his hands and his
feet and his side, that's all that has to be said. He, by himself,
satisfied the holy justice of God to where not one thing can
be laid to the charge of God's elect. We have to believe that,
and we have to believe as our blessed surety He's on His sovereign
throne of power, able to save to the uttermost all those who
come to God by Him, seeing He ever lives to make intercession
for us. So Mephibosheth coming to the
King is a picture of us coming to the King, and we will hear
these blessed gospel truths from God's messengers, but we must
hear them from the life-giving voice of Jesus Christ our King.
Look at verse 6. Verse 6 of this 9th chapter of
2 Samuel. Now when Mephibosheth, the son
of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was coming to David, he fell
on his face and did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth? And he answered, Behold thy servant. The king spoke to Mephibosheth. Hearing the truths from messengers
is one thing, But hearing the truths from the king himself
is quite another. Look at verse 7. David said unto
him, Fear not, for I will surely show 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. He heard
King David He heard from the lips of his new master, he heard
that he was not to fear. I can't imagine anything more
comforting to a person who is fearful of God's wrath fearful
of being killed by God because of my sin. I can't think of anything
more comforting than to hear the King say, don't fear, fear
not. Mephibosheth heard this from
the King. We must hear the voice of Jesus Christ our Savior. I
can preach the gospel to you and I delight in doing that,
but I know that only God can make it effectual. I know that
God must speak to the heart. He's the only one who can. That
God is Jesus Christ. He said, my sheep hear my voice,
and I know them, and they follow me, and I give unto them eternal
life. Brethren, listen, all the blessings
of God himself, all the blessings of Jesus Christ in heavenly places
belong to every promised, enlightened child of God whom Jesus Christ
laid down his life for. All the blessings, all of them.
So we hear our Lord Himself speaking to His disciples. Fear not. You believe in God, believe also
in Me. And what He obtained for us that's
waiting for us in glory You're just going to have to
wait until you get there before you know what that is. There's no way
we can describe it. But I'll tell you what, the sufferings
of this life are not worthy to be compared to the glory that
shall be revealed in us. Grace and glory go hand in hand. They're inseparable. If God has
bestowed his grace upon us, if we have heard the life-giving
voice of Jesus Christ promising us eternal life, glory is waiting
for us. We can't separate the two. Grace
and glory are inseparable. We have the promise from King
Jesus and he cannot lie. Grab a hold of that. Get a firm
hold of that. By God-given faith, believe that
glory is waiting for us. because we've heard the voice
of the one who cannot lie promising us eternal life through what
Jesus Christ accomplished for all of his people while he walked
here on this earth. Brethren, we have a lot to rejoice
in. We have a lot to be happy for.
God calls his sheep by name, and King David called Mephibosheth
by name. He calls his sheep by name with
a personal, inward, efficacious call. that gets the job done,
a call that's holy, a call that comes from God Himself that delivers
us from that awful state of unbelief, that awful pit of sin that we
just wallowed in, all of that which we delighted in as far
as what this world has to offer, and all of what God has given
to us In His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ is far greater than anything
that this world has to offer. That song, that last song we
just sang, it points to that. The things of this world grow
dimmer and dimmer and dimmer as we grow in grace and in the
knowledge of our Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ. And verse
7 assures us that we have absolutely nothing to fear. Nothing. Nothing
to fear. As Jesus Christ is, so are we
in this world. He's the Son of God. We're adopted
sons and daughters of God. And He's in glory. We've been
made to sit in heavenly places in Christ Jesus our Lord. We
have nothing to fear. All of our sin debt has been
taken care of by Christ our Savior when He hung there on that cross.
We have nothing to fear. I know we have doubts and misgivings
because of the old nature keeps us from doing what we should
and causes us to do what we shouldn't. I know that's still there. But
God sees no sin in Israel. In verse 8, we read where Mephibosheth
bowed himself and said, What is thy servant that thou shouldest
look upon such a dead dog as I am? And every enlightened child
of God is aware that we're nothing but dead dog sinners deserving
nothing but God's wrath, but are set free from that because
of the perfect redeeming blood of Jesus Christ our Savior. And
we never lose sight of that. We never lose sight of what God
has delivered us from. That old nature is still there. Look down at verse 13. So Mephibosheth
dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually at the king's
table and was lame on both his feet." Even seated at the king's
table, he knew he was still lame on both of his feet. And those
who helped him, those who brought him in, he had to be helped.
He couldn't come himself. He had to be helped by his fellow
men that sat at the king's table. And so they knew he was still
laying on both of his feet. But while he sat at the king's
table, his legs were under the table. Did you hear that? His legs were
under the table. The king looked out on all of
those who were of the royal family, and he sees Mephibosheth as part
of the royal family, but he can't see his legs. Listen to me. God sees no sin in his royal
family. Now Mephibosheth was of the house
of Saul, a wicked king. That's where we were delivered
from. The house of the wicked people upon the face of this
earth. But God sees us in Christ. members
of the royal family of King Jesus, and he sees no sin in his people. That's why our Lord admonishes
us to love one another. We show our love for the Lord
Jesus Christ by our love for each other. God loves us with
the perfect everlasting love in Christ Jesus, and He has forgiven
us for Christ's sake. I've been offended by some of
God's children, but you know, I consider, I try to, I'm weak
in this area, but I try to consider how offensive I still am in God's
sight. And our Lord tells us that we
should love one another and forgive one another, even as God, for
Christ's sake, has forgiven us. If God doesn't see any sin in
us, shouldn't we, as His enlightened children, look upon one another
as perfect in Christ? and love each other in spite
of our faults and our shortcomings. Love is a language that Satan
cannot penetrate. He will try to get in and divide
us. He'll try to cause us to look down on one another, but
brethren, there's nobody in this world who is as sinful as I am. That's just the way I feel. That's
how I think. I know we look down on child
molesters and murderers and these kind of people who do these gross,
evil, ugly, sinful things, but there's only one hell, and all
liars shall have their place in that eternal torment, unless
we're in Christ, because He's delivered us from the wrath to
come. God must punish sin. He must. But if we're in Christ,
we've already been punished in our substitute. And it's all
because of an eternal covenant of amazing grace that was established between
God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit before
time began. Can I take you... I'm ahead of my notes, but that's
okay. I want to take you, well before I do, we're right here
in 2 Samuel 9. Look at verse 12. 2 Samuel 9 12, And Mephibosheth
had a young son, whose name was Micah. And all that dwelt in
the house of Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. reveals to us something here
that we might overlook if we don't give it a little bit of
a thought to. And I've told my children this.
Shelly will tell you. She's here this morning. I told
my children as they were growing up, you cannot get to heaven
on your mama and your daddy's coattail. This is a personal
relationship between you and God. You must see Jesus Christ
as your Savior, as your Lord, as your God, through the same
eyes of faith that God has given me and your mama. And so this
is pointing to that. Micah wasn't allowed to sit at
the king's table, but Mephibosheth was. Now Micah might have been
delivered, I don't know, it doesn't say, later on, but he could not
sit at the king's table because I don't read where he was included
in that covenant. We must be included in the covenant
of grace. We must see that God chose us
in Christ before the foundation of the world. That he, by himself,
determined that we would be recipients of his amazing grace through
Christ Jesus and be brought into the royal family by that same
grace that the covenant was established by. God's grace. God's grace. God's grace and God's glory go
hand in hand. Now turn with me to 2 Samuel
23. 2 Samuel I said earlier that even a limited
understanding of the everlasting covenant of God will encourage
God's children to trust Him even more. And let me show you something
that David wrote, or David didn't write it, Samuel did, but David
said it, what he said about this eternal covenant of grace. In
2 Samuel 23, Verse 5, and this is not too
long before David died. And he says, although my house
is not so, speaking of his children, although my house be not so with
God, yet he hath made with me an everlasting covenant, ordered
in all things and sure, for this is all my salvation and all my
desire, although he make it not to grow. Now David didn't know.
what the eternal state of his children would be or his grandchildren.
But he did know this, that God had established with him an everlasting
covenant, ordered in all things. Everything that happens is ordered
by God. Everything. Everything that happens
in time was ordained by God before time began. And it's always well
with the righteous We know, we read in Romans 8.28, we know
that all things work together for good to them that love God,
to them who are called according to His purpose. So David, a man
after God's own heart, and once again, that's not the old unregenerate
heart, that's the new heart that God gives us. David knew he was
chosen by God Himself in that everlasting covenant of grace
and all things All things are ordered and are all good. All bring glory to God our Savior
and all will be used by God to increase our faith that we'll
see that Jesus Christ is sovereign over everything. ordained everything. Everything's in perfect order.
I know there's sin still running rampant. I know that Satan is
still like a roaring lion seeking whom he may desire. But a roaring
lion, that's all he can do. He can only roar. He's God's
Satan. All the fallen angels are under
God's sovereign control. Our Lord Jesus controls all of
that. Everything for His glory and
for the good of His people. Grab that. Grab hold of that. Jesus Christ is Lord of all. And serve Him in a way that's
pleasing in His sight. Trying the best we can to do
all things without murmuring, disputing. Resting in Him. Trusting in Him that when it's
all over, God's grace will lead us right
into the presence of the King. Nothing can hinder that. And we, forever and forever and
forever, will be worshiping the Lord Jesus Christ and all the
fullness of the Godhead in Him without sin. Without sin. No longer tempted by Satan. No longer... I wish I had the words. No longer... Good grief, Gene. Offended. by any ungodly people of this
world, free from everything that prohibits us from worshiping
God perfectly, without bothered by anything, and live in His
presence, the presence of Jesus Christ, forever and forever. You know, we do an injustice
to heaven itself by some of our words. We talk about the ages
of eternity. There are no ages in eternity.
No time. God is the one who created time. But time will be forever gone
as we enter into eternal bliss all because of the eternal covenant
of God's grace. that gives our great triune God
all the praise and all the glory. God bless you, Indians. Thank
you.