We're gonna look at the whole
chapter. Wonderful, wonderful chapter. We see David, King David, sending
for, fetching, and rescuing this one who's called Mephibosheth.
It's a picture, a lovely picture of what God does for sinners. It had been said by a preacher
of old that there is in every congregation at least these three
types of people. There are those that are lost
yet think they are saved. There are those that are lost
and know they are lost. And there are those that are
saved and yet struggle with their confidence and assurance in Christ
and salvation. And there might be a few others,
but I think these three cover most people that assemble to
worship. One portion of David's life,
you could look at him and there's nobody going to move him away
from worshiping God and in the next minute he's under severe
trial and he doesn't know which way is up or down so there is
the struggles of the believer. But among the congregation, there
are at least these three types of people, those who are lost
and yet think they're saved, those who are lost and know that
they do not understand or know the gospel, and those who are
redeemed and yet sometimes struggle. I have a message for you today,
for all such groups of people, because I have a message for
you out of this book. I don't have a message based
on tradition. I don't have a message based
on my religious upbringing or a Baptist upbringing or any of
that. I have a message for you out of this book. Your need and
my need is always the same. We need to hear. Trust. Believe Christ as he is revealed
in this book. I'll repeat what I've said many
times before. Do not trust your soul to feelings
because feelings come and feelings go. If sunny outside, you might have
an extra pickup in your step. If it's raining and cloudy, You
might not, you know, that's how we are feeling. We're, we're,
we're creatures of feelings. So don't trust the eternal salvation
of your soul on mere feelings. And I'm not saying God bypasses
feelings because when he saves the man or the woman, he saves
us completely. Don't trust your soul to tradition or customs. Well, that's what mama said,
that's what daddy said. If it's what they said is based
in the scriptures, then that's fine. But don't trust your soul
to tradition or customs. I've heard it in my own ears.
People say that if they could just get to Jerusalem, they would
believe or feel more in touch with God. If they could go to
this so-called holy land, they would feel closer to God. If they could just go to some
of the cities that Paul preached at, if they could just go to
Corinth, they would feel more spiritual.
It's nonsense. Let's see if I can back that
up. Turn to 2 Peter 1. Turn to 2 Peter 1. Do you know how many people lived
in the time of Christ, spoke with Christ, heard Him preach,
touched Him, was around Him when He preached the truth, and still
died in their sins? 2 Peter 1. And let's look at verse 17, start
in verse 17. For he received from God the
Father honor and glory when there came such a voice to him, that
is to Christ, from the excellent glory. He said, this is my beloved
Son in whom I am well pleased. God the Father speaking about
God the Son. In verse 18, and this voice, which came from heaven,
that Peter was there on the Mount of Transfiguration, is what he's
talking about. We were there, we heard it when we were with
Christ in the Holy Mount. Now look at verse 19. And this
is what I've been saying for 19 years, and this is what I'll
keep on saying, is what Bruce said in Bible class this morning.
Peter said, who was there with Christ, Saul Christ was on the
Mount of Transfiguration. Look at what he says in verse
19. We have a more sure word of prophecy where unto you do
well that you take heed as unto a light that shines in a dark
place unto the day dawn and the day star arise in your heart.
He's talking about the written word of God. He's talking about
this Bible right here. You have a more sure word of
prophecy. God does not, as we've seen in
Hebrews, God doesn't speak to people like He did in Old Testament,
where He might speak with them through a burning bush, or He
might speak with them in dreams. God speaks to His people through
the preaching of the Word, but He speaks to His people through
this book. Every situation, every circumstance
that you have that goes on in your life can be answered from
this book. We have a sure more sure word
of prophecy. People sit there in the crowd
with God give me direction and they're waiting for God to speak
to him. You open the book. And you'll find everything right
here. You have a more sure word of
prophecy. The book, this book, we stand
on this book and his promises in Christ. The old saying goes,
if you don't stand for something, you will fall for anything or
everything. Nobody wants to make a stand
about anything. Well, that's not politically correct to say
this, it's not politically correct to do that, it's not. That's
why I'm so thankful, you know, preaching or pastoring, if it's
done according to Scriptures, it's very difficult, it's very
burdensome, it's all these things. But, you know, really the only
thing I have to do, it's very simple, not easy, it's simple,
is to stand up here and speak to you from the book. I can't
convert anybody, I can't change anybody's mind, I can't do anything,
but I can prepare and preach the message. That takes everything
out of my hands. I'm not going to coerce you to
make a decision for Jesus. I'm not going to get you to walk
an aisle. I'm not going to get you to go through confirmation
class, all these different things. I'm going to preach the gospel.
And then God uses his truth. It opens the heart and opens
the mind. What does this book say about
salvation? What does it say about sin, about
sovereignty or depravity? Another writer of old said, you
look at that moon and if you've noticed the moon here in the
last week or so, it's just absolutely beautiful. But the moon never
spoke to anyone about blood and redemption. It tells you about
creation. The streams and the trees in
the wilderness never revealed anything concerning redemption
in Christ, but right here, In front of us, this book that we
read and see, we see what God has in store for ruined sinners
through the work and accomplishments of the Lord Jesus Christ. And
I would almost venture to say that in this country, there's
one of these books, whether it's ever looked at or not, in every
home. And I almost guarantee there's
one in every motel and hotel. The Gideons stuck them everywhere,
but they can't even they can't mess the Word of God up. But
the truth is the truth. We need to pay attention and
take heed to what's written in these pages. We value its pages,
learn its wisdom, and you will behold the Lamb of God. So let's
take a look in this passage in Samuel, how God saves sinners
like you and I. And David, David's king, he's
king at this time, at this point. David said from his throne room,
is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that I,
the king, may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? You remember
Saul's son, his name was Jonathan. Jonathan and David were very
close. And we'll get to that later. And they said, there's
of the house of Saul of the house of Jonathan, a servant whose
name is Ziba. And when they had called him
unto David, the king said unto him, Are you Ziba? And he said,
Thy servant is he. And the king said, Is there yet,
not yet any of the house of Saul that I may show the kindness
of God unto him? And Ziba said unto the king,
he said unto the king, Jonathan, has yet a son who is laying on
his feet. He can't walk. He's a cripple. And the king said unto this servant,
he said, where is he? And the servant said to the king,
behold, he is in his house, the house of Micah, the son of Amiel
in a province called Lodabar. And David the king said, go fetch
him. Go get him out of this house
of Micah, the son of Amiel, from the province of Lodabar. And
verse 6, and when Mephibosheth, this is the one, the man that
is going to be received mercy from this king. with 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, and he said, Behold thy servant. And 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,
continuing. And then Mephibosheth said, he
bowed himself and he said, what is thy servant that you should
take, that you should look upon such a dead dog as I am? He doesn't even want to raise
his eyes and look up at the king. He just feels so undeserving
of this mercy and this grace. And in verse 10 he said, or verse
9, then the king called Ziba, that servant, and Saul's servant,
and said unto him, I have given unto thy master's son all that
pertains to Saul and all his house. Thou therefore and thy
sons and your servants shall till the land for him." He's
gonna make garden for him. You're gonna bring him the fruits
of that labor of the master's son. That means he may have food
to eat. But Mephibosheth, thy master's son, shall eat bread
always at my table, said King David. Now Ziba had 15 sons and
20 servants, and all of those had to serve this one Mephibosheth. Now, that's a welfare system
that works. I mean, it's going to get done. Why? Because you're
talking about a king who is directly going to be responsible to oversee
this. Then Ziba said unto the king, according to all that the
king hath commanded his servant, so shall thy servant do. And
as for Mephibosheth, said the king, He shall eat at my table
as one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young
son whose name was Micah, and all that dwelt in the house of
Ziba were servants unto Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem,
for he did eat continually at the king's table and was lame
on both his feet. Now, we're just going to go through
here and just see how this is a beautiful picture of how God
and how the Lord Jesus Christ calls, fetches, and takes care
of sinners who are lame on their feet. That means they cannot
help themselves. They can't till the ground. They
can't prepare the food. They can't get the harvest. It
has to be done for them. And that's, you know, we try
to be, I'm a self-made man. I'm a self-made woman. Well,
the believer says, I'll have Christ or nothing at all. The
believer owns up that we need him continually. The first thing
we see is David the king decides by his own will and choice of
covenantal engagements to show mercy to somebody. This is where
the fountain of mercy starts. Here is the mouth of the stream
of life. It doesn't start with you. It
doesn't start with me. David said in verse one, And
two, is there yet any that is left of the house of Saul that
I may show him the kindness for Jonathan's sake? Is there anybody
that I can show kindness for? Salvation, just like this story
here, is initiated, is started from stem to stern, from start
to finish, alpha to omega, in the mind and will of God. And He sent His servant, the
Lord Jesus Christ, to fulfill that demand and that initiation
and salvation to His people. You see, salvation begins in
the mind and will and choice of the King, God the Father or
the Lord Jesus Christ, the King of kings and Lord of lords. Turn
to 2 Timothy. 2nd Timothy chapter 1 in verse
9. Let's look at verse 8, starting
with verse 8. But thou, but not thou therefore, Be not thou therefore
ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me, Paul says to
Timothy, his prisoner, but be thou partaker of the afflictions
of the gospel according to the power of God. According to the
power of God, connecting verse 8 with verse 9, God, who has
saved us and called us with the holy calling, not according to
our works, But He called us and saved us according to His own
purpose and grace, which was given us in Christ Jesus before
the world began. Now, you don't need to know Greek
and you don't need to know Hebrew to understand what that's saying.
When did God decide He was going to do something for His people
before the foundation of the world? And when He decided to
do it, it was according to the election of His grace, it was
according to His grace, according to His choice. not ours. So that's where just like in
this story back to second Samuel chapter 9. Just like all of the
things in this book. If you read these lessons is
merely historical and merely to learn trivial facts. You've
missed the import of the scripture everything in this book. As one
old writer says, it's like a scarred thread. And that scarred thread
is the blood of Christ that goes from Genesis to Revelation. And
part of my responsibility in years is to find that thread
and see Christ in the passage. And that's what we're seeing.
We're seeing how God in Christ, like King David, can be merciful
to sinners like you and I. It all starts in the mind and
will of God, or in this case, in the mind and will of David
and based on covenantal engagements, prior covenantal engagements.
You notice he says, I'm going to show him mercy because I'm
the king, but I'm going to do this for Jonathan's sake. Keep
that in the back of your mind. And we're going to go back to
first Samuel and see this covenant in effect before we close. Look
at the second thing here, the recipient. In verse 3, his name
is Mephibosheth. I didn't look that up to see
what that name meant. It doesn't matter in a sense.
He's lame on his feet. He's lame on his feet. He'd be
one of these neighbors that'd be calling you all the time because
they can't do anything for themselves. He'd be one of those kind. Not
skilled or not under... More than not skilled, he can't
do it physically. He's lame on His feet. He has
the greatest need of mercy and help and grace because grace
is for the sinner. Mercy is for the undeserving.
The physician is sent to the sick. We've got too many healthy,
self-righteous folks in this area, in this county. They don't
need a Redeemer. They don't need a Savior. But
old Mephibosheth, he needs some help. because he can't do it
himself. He can't figure it out. Nobody
is in trouble anymore. Nobody needs healing or needs
help. But when God in Christ begins a true work in that person,
they'll see their need all in due time. And as some of the
old writers said, they'll sue God for mercy. They'll sue God
for mercy. I remember I told you this. I
think I told you this story before. Years ago, we went out on Tuesday
nights or whenever it was, and we would go to a nursing home
in Cape and preach the gospel. And we would go in and bring
people who wanted to come. We would go and ask them if they
wanted to come. And they said, yeah, could you
wheel me down? Well, in the process, I'd go into this one room. She
wanted me to get her all the time. I'd get this gentleman. And when I would pass, there
was two beds in that room. I'd go get to the farthest bed
to get the gentleman who was in his wheelchair waiting for
me. And then in the bed right next to this gentleman was another
man who was ate up with cancer from head to toe. And he'd always
come in and he was, well, what are you doing in here? Oh, it's
Tuesday night. I'm going to get your, I don't,
you know, he was always kind of curt and kind of rude and
kind of mean. Well, he started really getting
sick and a couple of several months passed and then all of
a sudden he wanted to start talking to me. He said, you're a preacher,
you know, so he wanted to start talking to me. And I'll never
forget this as long as I live. Here's a man, he's laying, he
can't, he said he can only lay on one side because the other
side was so ate up he couldn't hardly move. So here's a man
laying on his side, has tubes, can't do anything for himself
and he asked me, A few questions, and I said,
sue God for mercy, ask God for mercy. And he said, when I think
I need mercy, I'll call. Now, if there's anybody that
needed help and mercy, and it was a day or two after that,
when I went back in to get the other gentleman, that bed was
empty, he's gone. We don't know how sinful we are
until God shows us we're lame on our feet, and then we'll call
for mercy. But until then, I was baptized
as a little kid. Everything's fine. I've been
this and that. The church I go to, I got a little
marker on there because I always said, do you know Christ? Do you know Christ? Do I know
Christ? The third thing we see in here
is the way of grace. Here's the way of grace. Look
at Verses 3 through 5. And the king said, Is there not
yet any of the house of Saul that I may show kindness? And
they said, Yeah, there's just one Mephibosheth. He's laying
on his feet. In verse 4, the king said unto him, Where is
he? And they told him where he was. And verse 5, David said,
Go get him. Go get him out of that place and bring him to me. That's the way of grace. Fetching grace is what many of
the old writers called God's free and sovereign grace to sinners.
He must come down and get us because we can't go up to him.
God is not on our timetable, nor does he accommodate our blueprint. You know, people get people are
really big nowadays about goals, goals oriented where I work at
now. You know, what's your goals? This still this that go. Everybody,
and then so what they do is they take that and they put that,
they try to apply that in a spiritual application. And they say, okay,
by the time I'm 15, you know, I'm going to make my decision
for Jesus, and then I'm going to get married at 20, and I'm
going to do, and I'm going to have... The guy's not on your blueprint.
What he's going to do is you have it all written out, and
he's just going to take it and tear it to pieces. Melinda never
wanted, she said, you know, we get married, She makes, I don't
ever want to be, I don't ever want to, you know, one thing
I don't want to do, I want to marry a preacher. I want to marry a preacher. Well,
she didn't marry a preacher at first. He's just, sometimes he
just, you know, God does what he has to do. I didn't want to
preach. We were looking for a preacher.
I was out like Jonah running around. Bruce and I were trying
to keep this thing going. Do you want to preach, Bruce?
No, I don't want to preach. We'll just keep, you want to preach? I don't want
to preach, but we got to keep it going. Because everybody said,
we don't want to go anywhere. We want to stay here. So there
first has to be a willing heart and a willing mind. People say,
no, we're not going anywhere. We want to sit right here and
we want to hear the gospel. And if it costs everything we
have, we're going to stay here under the gospel. So we weren't
going anywhere. OK, we're going anywhere. Next
thing you do, I don't want to preach. He don't want to preach.
Well, let's call some preachers down for it. Let's call some
of these pastors that we know. And they started sending people
in. And that that took about a year. Nothing happened. Then, should have never went
to that Bible conference, then we go to Donnie Bell's Bible
conference, and Henry Mahan's preaching the message, and there's
a hundred people in that whatever, and then it's like, there's nobody
in there but me. It's like he's just preaching
right at me. Made me mad. Because I didn't want to do it. My blueprint People just get such a tickle
out when they talk to me and says, well, what did you, did
you go to school to business? Forestry, selling insurance. Oh, that's a good fit. But you know what, it doesn't
make any difference. I'd rather have no education, rather have
a third grade education and know Christ. Because if that's the
case, you know more than most people who are in seminaries
and don't have a clue about who they're preaching or who's in
this book, thinking that everything is in man's hand and God's just
upstairs wringing his hand, wishing you would do something for him.
He's on the throne, just like this king. Is there anybody else
out here I'm going to show mercy to? I'm the king. I have the
power and authority and the will to do it. He said, yeah, there's
this one. Go get him. Go get him. Fourthly, look at the servant. Look at the servant in verses
6 through 8. Now, when Mephibosheth, the son
of Jonathan, the son of Saul, was come to David, he fell on
his face and he did reverence. And David said unto Mephibosheth,
Mephibosheth. And this man answered, Behold,
thy servant. And David said unto him, Fear not. I will surely
show thee the 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, not another's, my table continually. And then look
at what he says in verse eight. Then Mephibosheth bowed himself
and he said, what is thy servant that you should look upon such
a dead dog as I am? This is the true attitude and
repentance and mindset and heartfelt conviction of a servant of God.
They're no longer cocky. Well, I, you know, I'm the son
of a preacher. You need to treat me. No. See,
the Pharisees, they always when they would come into a room,
they would always go to the nicest seats. And you knew it. But that's not
the way it is in the kingdom of God. Now, if President Obama
comes walking in here to show him the respect that he deserves
as president, he's just going to sit anywhere he can find a
place. He's not going to sit up here. The governor, the mayor,
people come in and expect to be treated The sinner who's called by God's
grace, even if they're like King David, they bow down. But what
the attitude? We come like this one came to
David. We come in faith. in faith. And Bruce was in Hebrews 11,
and he specifically read verse 6. And talking about that chapter
of faith, anybody that comes to God must believe that He is.
And that's how the sinner comes, to Christ. By God-given faith,
believing that He is. Now, what's that mean? And Bruce
touched on it, believing that He is. That is what this book
says about God, not your opinion or my opinion. There's a big
difference. There's a big difference. We
come like this servant Mephibosheth in faith, not our opinion, not
our feelings, not our preconceived notions or airs, but according
to as he is. Believing him, he came to David,
believing and trusting that what David said, David was gonna be
able to do. I'm promising you I'm gonna take
care of you for the rest of your life and you're gonna eat at
my table. I wanna see some proof. He didn't say that. He came and
he bowed down. This irreverent familiarity with
God in these days makes me sick. The man upstairs and we're pals
and all these different things. You just don't see that in the
scriptures. He fell on his face and did reverence. You know, some of the older folks
in this room would say that's, you know, growing up. Respect. Respect your elders. I'm not
preaching anything different that hasn't been spoken of by
true grace preachers throughout the ages. Respect your elders. There was a time, I remember
going to my grandma's house for meals for Thanksgiving and Christmas,
and we're sitting in a chair. The aunts and uncles all came
in. Mom said, get up out of the chair,
sit on the floor, or go back in the kids' room. You show respect. The reason why God is not respected
today is the God that's preached, He's nothing. He's a doormat. He's just a jack-in-the-box. He's whatever. He's just... No.
God is holy and sovereign and on His throne. And this Mephibosheth
coming in knew that He didn't deserve anything. He knew He
couldn't do anything. He knew everything he had to
have would have to be given to him. And David says, I'm the
king, I'm the highest law on the land, and I'm going to do
all this for you. I've talked to some folks that
are on welfare. It's about time I got that check, right? About
time I got that. About time Sadie came and picked
me up. I've been sitting here on 20 minutes waiting for that
bus. You owe me. I'm a senior citizen. You owe
me this. You owe me that. Thank you for being merciful
to me who deserves nothing. He falls on his face in reverence. And then David didn't say, yeah,
you're a dead dog. Mephibosheth said, why are you
even taking notice of me? I'm such a dead dog. That is
reverence. That's how the true servant comes
to him, comes to the king, comes to Christ in faith, believing
him reverently, low, humbled, not my way or not. But we say that I will be done
and in repentance, no repentance, no salvation, because repentance
is a gift of God. Fifthly, We see this true calling,
which is an effectual calling, verses 10, 11, and 13. David
says, I've called you. I brought you to my house. I'm
going to keep you here. Now, again, a weak, insufficient
Savior may be able to save you, but may not be able to keep you.
I don't know anything about that in this book. I know of a Redeemer
who calls, justifies, and keeps. Now, the believer, when you sin
and when I sin, and we will, and we will today, we will tomorrow,
we beat ourselves up with it. We get convicted by the Holy
Spirit and we beat ourselves up with it. One of the most comforting
things in the scriptures is that you didn't do anything to get
your salvation. You can't do anything to get yourself out
of your salvation. Now, I can hear the legalists say, well,
if I preached that way, people would do whatever they want to
do. If you're a child of God, you're going to do what Christ
would have you do. There's nothing more in my mind
discouraging than a marriage where people are putting up with
one another, just taking up space. I want a real active love relationship
all the way until the Lord takes us home. interaction, mingling,
not just, well, the kids are gone, so you got your side of
the house, I got my side of the house. And I've never had anybody
who's actually cared for somebody, say, you know, if they're married,
well, let me go get my marriage certificate or let me go, you
can tell by looking at them that they're, after work, they go
home, after, you know, they go home, they go because that's
where home is, that's where their love is, that's where the love
of their life is. The king will not let Mephibosheth
go. If he does, his question and
his authority as king has brought into question. And for God to
save a sinner and then let them go to hell, he can't be God. Not this God. Can't be done. calls a dead dog sinner unto
new life and peace, and they shall be kept unto the end. Not one of his sheep, our sons
or daughters, will ever be lost, because the food and fellowship
and communion will be eternally their reward. They will not be
separated. Who can separate us, this book
says, from the love of Christ? Nothing can. They can separate
your head from your shoulders, but they can't kill your soul.
They cannot separate you from the love of Christ. Even the least in the kingdom is still
in the kingdom. Remember, this Mephibosheth was
lame on both feet. He could not, he couldn't do
anything for himself. It had to all be done by the
king. But look at what he says in verse
13. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he did eat continually
at the king's table and was lame on both feet. Melinda
and I were talking, I was talking to Melinda this morning about
this message. I said, I don't want to offend anybody, but if
I do, if I preach the truth, so be it. I told her, I said,
one thing I appreciate about the years of minute pastoring
here is there's some things that, you know, I've said through the
Word and from the Word that's been stiff, tough to take. Peter
said that about Paul. He said there's some things that
he says it's hard to be understood. But for me to water down the
gospel, you might as well get rid of me. For me to pare off
the edges of the gospel. I'm not going to stand up here
and tickle your ears. I'm not going to stand up here
and make you feel good about yourself, feel good in Christ. Because that's what's being done.
You just go up and down the road, wherever you want to go. That's
what's being done. What do we have for the children?
We have the truth. And if the truth is believed,
the truth is what sets them free, not these games and not these
programs and not these puppet ministries, the truth about who
God is in Christ. But I like it what it says here,
that God's promise, this King's promise to Mephibosheth, he's
gonna eat there continually, but he says, but he's lame on
both feet. And my point is, is this, the gospel continually
reminds you and me that we're sinners, that we're lame on both
feet. It's not all of a sudden, well
done brother, now everything's fine and you're not going to
have any troubles and you're going to be one of the best and
make the most money and all these different things. No. The king's
promise to Mephibosheth is that he's going to bring him at his
table and that's where he's going to be. But he's lame on his feet. So when the gospel is preached,
we always are reminded why we need him and why we need to continually
come to him. Now, Lastly, I told you that
salvation originates in the King's mind, but it also originates
in covenantal agreement. The Father, the Son, and the
Holy Spirit engaged in a covenantal agreement to save His elect. God the Father chose, the Son
came and redeemed, and the Holy Spirit quickens. They engaged
in what we call a covenantal agreement, the covenant of grace.
You say, well, what about this passage here? That's exactly
what happened here. Turn to 1 Samuel 20. Long before this story that we
have in 2 Samuel came about, we have 1 Samuel 20, because
Jonathan, in our text this morning, Jonathan's dead. Jonathan's been
killed in battle. And David says, I'm the king,
I want to show mercy on some person. But I'm going to do this
because of a agreement I had with Jonathan. Now look at 1
Samuel chapter 20. 1 Samuel chapter 20 and look
at starting verse 14. Jonathan and David are talking
back and forth and he says and thou shalt not only while yet
I live said Jonathan show me the kindness of the Lord that
I die not but also Jonathan's talking to David you shall not
cut off of thy kindness from my house forever no not when
the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David and everyone from the
face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with
the house of David saying, let the Lord even required at the
hand of David's enemy. And Jonathan caused David to
swear again because he loved him for he loved him as he loved
his own soul. David. Could be like God, the
father. Who sparked who struck an agreement?
with his Jonathan, whom his soul loved, the Lord Jesus Christ. And so we who are called by His
grace are done so based on a covenantal agreement. Mephibosheth wasn't
even there when this took place. Well, you and I weren't even
around when God in Christ, through the Holy Spirit, made a covenantal
agreement, sure and steadfast and cannot be broken, that He
would fetch sinners like you and I. This certain act and result
of salvation was thought about and set in motion long before
you and I were even born. The Father chose, the Son redeemed,
the Spirit quickened. Do you need saving? Best find your place, like Mephibosheth,
at the feet of Christ. Bruce, would you close this,
please? Beautiful days, how wonderful
it is.