I did choose thee, Lord. Todd's Road Grace Church would
like to invite you to listen to a sermon by our pastor, Todd
Nybert. We are located at 4137 Todd's
Road, two miles outside of Manowar Boulevard. Sunday services are
at 10.30 a.m. and 6 p.m. Bible study is at
9.45 a.m. Wednesday services are at 7 p.m. Nursery is provided for all services.
For more information, visit our website at toddsroadgracechurch.com. Now here's our pastor, Todd Nybert. In John 5, verse 39, the Lord
Jesus Christ made this statement with regard to the scriptures,
the holy scriptures, the Bible. You know, the Bible claims to
be the inspired word of God. All scripture is given by inspiration
of God. This was not written by men. This was written by God, inspiring
men to record each single word. The Bible is the inspired word
of God. I need to introduce this message
with that statement. The Bible is the inspired word
of God. We could not know God or his
character without this book called the Bible. Now the Lord Jesus
made this statement with regard to the scriptures in John chapter
5 verse 39. He said to the Pharisees, you
search the scriptures for in them you think that you have
eternal life. If I can just learn the commands
of this book and keep them, I will have eternal life. And then the Lord said, they
are they that you think you have eternal life in, they are they
which testify of me. Now that's true with regard to
every scripture. They are they which testify of
me. And we have in the scripture
I'm going to try to preach on a beautiful, wonderful example
of that, how the scriptures are they are they which testify of
me. I've entitled this message Mephibosheth,
The Salvation Story. In 2 Samuel 9, verse 1, David
speaks. And when he is speaking at this
time, he is the most powerful man on planet Earth. The scripture actually says the
Lord put the fear of David in every nation. They were afraid
of him. They would not fight him. The
Lord was with him, and he at this time was speaking as the
most powerful man on planet Earth. And David said, 2 Samuel 9, verse
1, and David said, is there yet any that's left of the house
of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now, the house of Saul was King
Saul who sought David's life. He hated David. He was the enemy
of David, wanted David dead. And the Lord killed Saul, David's
enemy. And David says, is there any
of his descendants left that I can show kindness to? for Jonathan's sake. Now, this story actually begins
in 1 Samuel 18. Jonathan. He was Saul's son. Now in chapter 17, we have the
great story of David battling and defeating Goliath. And while
that's a very familiar story with most people, it's a sports
metaphor. David beats Goliath. It's actually a picture of the
gospel. If David wins, all of Israel
wins. By that one victory that he would
accomplish, all of Israel would be free from the Philistines. But if David loses, all of Israel
loses. That's the point behind that.
It's a gospel type. Well, you know the story of David's
conquest over Goliath. Jonathan observed this. He witnessed this, and it made
him love David. We read in 1 Samuel 18, and it
came to pass when he'd made it into speaking unto Saul that
the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan
loved him as his own soul. He saw what David did to Goliath,
and he loved Jonathan, and they became, David and Jonathan, became
best of friends. Now remember Saul. We read in
verse 6 of this same chapter, it came to pass as they came
when David was returned from the slaughter of the Philistine,
that the women came out of all the cities of Israel singing
and dancing. to meet King Saul with tabrets, with joy, with
instruments of music. And the women answered one another
as they played and said, Saul has slain his thousands and David
his tens of thousands." Saul didn't like this. And Saul was
very wroth, and the saying displeased him. And he said, they've ascribed
unto David ten thousands, and to me they've ascribed but thousands.
And what can he have more but the kingdom? And Saul eyed David
from that day forward. He no longer loved David. He was jealous of David. He was
envious of David. He hated David. He wanted David
dead. He was consumed with this spirit
of jealousy. Saul, King Saul. As a matter
of fact, we read in verse 28 of the same chapter, And Saul
saw and knew that the LORD was with David, and that Michael's
daughter loved him. And Saul was yet the more afraid
of David, and Saul became David's enemy continually. We read in
chapter 19, verses 1 and 2, And Saul spake to Jonathan his son,
and to all his servants, that they should kill David. Even
after David had wrought this great victory, Saul was consumed
with jealousy, and he called everybody to kill David. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted
much in David. And Jonathan told David, saying,
Saul, my father seeketh to kill me. Now, therefore, I pray thee,
take heed to thyself into the morning, and abide in a secret
place, and hide yourself. Now, this is the time when he
was going to warn David and let David know what was going to
take place. Now we read in chapter 20 verse
11, And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into
the field. And they went out, both of them, into the field.
And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I
have sounded my Father about to-morrow, any time, or the third
day, and behold, if there be good toward David, I then send
not unto thee, and showeth thee the Lord do so much and more
to Jonathan. But If it pleased my Father to do thee evil, then
will I show it thee, and send thee away, and the Lord be with
thee as he hath been with my Father. I'll tell you about it.
And 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." My descendants, my children,
I want you to show kindness to them. No, not when the Lord hath
cut off the enemies of David, everyone from the face of the
earth. He says, I know that the Lord's going to cut off all your
enemies and you're going to be a mighty victor. Now I'm asking
that you'll be merciful toward my descendants after I'm dead
and gone. So Jonathan and David made a
covenant before this man Mephibosheth was ever born. Now, that represents
the covenant of grace, the covenant God the Father made with God
the Son before time began to have mercy on, to save a people
for Christ's sake. When He came into the world,
Matthew 121 says, Thou shalt call His name Jesus, for He shall
save His people from their sins. A covenant was made before Mephibosheth
had any existence. Now we're going to read about
Mephibosheth for the first time in 2 Samuel 4. Verse 4, and Jonathan, Saul's
son, had a son that was lame on his feet. He was crippled. He couldn't walk. He was five
years old when the tidings came of Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel.
And this is when Saul was destroyed, killed. Jonathan was too. All
the house of Saul was destroyed. Now what happened in those days
when one king was destroyed, they would kill all the sons.
lest any of them would rise up later and save the throne as
mine. So they'd go ahead and kill them to take care of that.
And so when the nurse of Mephibosheth, the grandson of Saul, the son
of Jonathan, heard about it, she rose up to flee. She was
going to try to save him from being destroyed. He was five
years old when the tidings came to Saul and Jonathan out of Jezreel,
and his nurse took him up and fled. And it came to pass as
she made haste to flee that he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. Lame through a fall. Now, the typical significance
of that is so clear. Do you know why you and I are
as sinful as we are and we were born that way? Because we were
lame through the fall of our first father, Adam. Mephibosheth was dropped. He became lame. Our first father,
Adam, became lame, dead in sins through his fall in the garden. You'll remember that God said
in the day you eat thereof, you'll surely die. Well, he ate. That Today, he didn't die physically,
but he died spiritually, and Adam all died. The reason you and I are born
into this world dead in sins is because when Adam died, you
and I died. When Adam sinned, you and I sinned. When Adam died spiritually, you
and I died spiritually, and we're born into this world with spiritually
dead natures. Now, what does that mean? I'm
born into this world, and you are too, totally depraved. Now, that doesn't mean that we're
all practicing ax murderings and things of that nature. Here's
the scripture that demonstrates what that means. John 6, 5 says,
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth,
and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was
only evil continually, totally depraved, and because of our
total depravity, totally unable to save ourselves. The Lord said,
No man can come to me. He lacks the ability to come
to me. No man can come to me, except
the Father which has sent me draw him, and I'll raise him
up at the last day." Now, Mephibosheth, lame through a fall. And that explains you and me. spiritually unable, lame through
a fall. Now, 2 Samuel 8 speaks of the
military conquests of David. He defeated all of his enemies. As a matter of fact, the Chronicles
account in 1 Chronicles 14, 17 says, and the fame of David went
out into all lands, all over the world. Somebody says, is
that talking about other continents? I don't suppose, but all the
known world. At that time, the fame of David
went out over all lands, and the Lord brought the fear of
him upon all nations. Now, they were so afraid they
wouldn't battle Israel. They paid tribute instead because
they knew that if they tried to fight Israel, defeat was inevitable. The most powerful military force
in the world at that time. David became the most powerful
man on planet Earth. Now, Jonathan had been dead a
long time at this point. So speaking from this position
of power, and David said, 2 Samuel 9, verse 1, and David said, is
there yet any that's left of the house of Saul that I may
show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? You see, he remembered
that covenant he made with Jonathan. David initiated this. Mephibosheth
didn't. Mephibosheth was in hiding. David
initiated this. He remembered that covenant and
he said, is there any of the house of Saul that I can show
kindness for Jonathan's sake? God the Father says, is there
any of the house of Adam that I can show kindness to for Christ's
sake? You see in this story, David
represents the father. Jonathan represents the son. Mephibosheth represents the sinner
that God saves. and we find the whole salvation
story in this. Remember, the Lord said with
regard to the scriptures, they are they which testify of me.
And this story gives us a beautiful picture of how it is that Christ
saves sinners. Now, when David posed that question,
we read in verse two, and there was at the house of Saul a servant,
he wasn't a descendant of Saul, he was a servant that served
in his house, whose name was Ziba. And when they 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 him the kindness
of God? That's what David wanted to do.
I want to show any descendant left of the house of Saul the
kindness of God. And Ziba said unto the king,
Jonathan hath yet a son, but he's not worth much. He's lame
on his feet. He can't work for you. He's lame.
He can't fight your battles. He's lame. All he can be is carried. He can't provide anything to
enrich you or make it better for you. All he can be is carried. He's laying in both of his feet. The only thing he can do is demonstrate
your generosity and kindness and love and grace. That's all
he can do for you. He's lame on both of his feet. And the king said unto him, where
is he? And Ziba said unto the king, behold, he's in the house
of Maker, the son of Ameliel in Lodabard. Now there's significance
to that. Maker means sold. It's what Paul
meant when he said, we know that the law is spiritual, but I am
carnal, sold under sin. Emilel means God is my kinsman. Christ, the kinsman redeemer
of Ruth. How can a man like this have
any hope? Only if somebody is his kinsman
redeemer, Christ, the near kinsman. Lodabar. the house of no bread,
the place of no pasture. That's where Mephibosheth was. And I have no doubt that he was
in hiding. He thought all he knew was he was of the house
of Saul, David's bitter enemy. And he knew what happened to
people like that. Verse five, then King David sent
and fetched. him out of the house of Maker,
the son of Emiel from Lodabar. Now this is so significant. This
is so significant. David didn't say, invite him
to come over here and I'll have mercy on him and I'll forgive
him and I'll do things for him. If he can get here, I'll have
mercy on him. He said, go fetch him. You see, Mephibosheth couldn't
get there. He was laying on both of his
feet. And the only way he can be brought to David is David
went and fetched him. Fetching grace. Invincible, irresistible,
all-powerful grace. That's what saving grace is.
You see, grace is not an offer from God. Grace isn't put up
to you for you to accept or reject. No, not the grace of God. God's
grace is saving grace. It's sovereign grace. It's fetching
grace. David said, go fetch him and
bring him to me. Verse six, now when Mephibosheth,
the son of John, Jonathan, the son of Saul was coming to David,
Mephibosheth, He didn't know why he was being fetched. For
all he knew, he was going to be executed as a member of the
House of Saul, David's enemy. He didn't know what was going
to take place. He didn't have any knowledge of this covenant
that was made between Jonathan and David so many years ago,
Jonathan his father. For all he knew, he was going
to be executed. Now, when Mephibosheth the son
of Jonathan and the son of Saul was come to David, he fell on
his face and did reverence. Now, that word reverence is the
word worship. He fell on his face and did reverence. Now, what's the significance
of that? If you and I are Fetched by His grace into the presence
of the Lord Jesus Christ, this will be our response. We'll fall
on our face and do reverence. You see, Mephibosheth understood,
I'm in David's hand. He's not in my hand. I'm in his
hand. And He can do with me whatever
He's pleased to do. He can have me executed. He can
have mercy on me. He's an absolute sovereign. He
can do with me whatever He's pleased to do. He's not in my
hand. I'm in His hand. Did you know
that you'll only worship an absolute sovereign, one you can't control,
one that you cannot manipulate? You're in His hand, and He can
do with you whatsoever He is pleased to do. If He is pleased
to save you, He can do it as an act of His glorious will.
And if He is pleased to pass you by and let you be condemned,
just, right, and holy is His name. You only worship an absolute
sovereign. He fell on His face and worshiped,
did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth. Do you know what the word, the
name Mephibosheth means? It means shattered, shameful
thing. That was his name. Did he know
what it meant? Perhaps, I don't know, but that
is what it means. Shattered, shameful thing. And when David looked upon him
and said, Mephibosheth, do you know who he saw? He saw Jonathan. He saw that boy's father. He
remembered the covenant he made with him. And he looked upon
that shameful, shattered thing, Mephibosheth, and he saw Jonathan. And that is who God sees when
he looks upon the sinner. He sees Christ. That's why they're
accepted. That's why they're saved. For
Christ's sake, be ye kind, tender-hearted, forgiving one another, even as
God for Christ's sake hath forgiven you. Mephibosheth. And he answered, Behold thy servant. And David said unto him, Fear
not. And no doubt, Mephibosheth was
scared to death. He thought, I'm going to be executed as one
of the descendants of Saul. And perhaps he's trembling in
fear. And David said unto him, fear
not, for I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's
sake. That's the only reason I need
to show you kindness for your father's sake. for Jonathan's
sake, who I made that covenant with before you were ever born.
And God shows kindness to everybody he saves for Christ's sake, not
because of anything you've done, not because of anything you can
be, but simply for Christ's sake. And he says, I will restore thee
all the land of Saul thy father, and thou shalt eat bread at my
table continually. As a matter of fact, if you go
on reading, he was going to eat bread as one of the king's sons.
Verse eight, this is Mephibosheth's response to this. And he bowed
himself and said, what is thy servant that thou should look
upon such a dead dog as I am? Now, if we ever see the glory
of Jesus Christ, Who he is, that is how we'll see ourself. And
that's how Mephibosheth saw himself. Who am I? Why would you show
such kindness and mercy to such a dead dog as I am? Verse nine. Then the king called
to Ziba, that servant, Saul's servant, and said unto him, I've
given unto thy master's son, Mephibosheth, all that pertain
to the house of Saul. Thou therefore and thy sons and
thy servants shall till the land for him. Thou shalt bring in
the fruits that thy master's sons may have food to eat. But
Mephibosheth, thy master's son, shall eat bread always at my
table. Now Ziba had fifteen sons and
twenty servants. 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, He shall eat at my table as one of the king's sons. Now that is what the Lord Jesus
Christ has done for all of His people. He's made them sons of
God, special to God, His children. Verse 12, 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, favored as the king's, one of the king's
sons. And the last thing that's pointed
out about Mephibosheth is he was laying on both his feet. Now, if I was telling this story,
I would have changed it. I would have said he was miraculously
cured and he could now walk again. That's the way I would tell the
story. But the story God the Holy Spirit leaves us with is
He was laying on both His feet. you know that you're still a
sinner in and of yourself. Lame on both your feet, that
old sinful nature you had that when you were saved is still
with you and still just as bad, but your feet are covered at
the king's table And you are one of the king's sons for Christ's
sake. And that is where you rejoice.
That's where you find all your hope, all your salvation. Now, what a wonderful story.
How true were the Lord's words? You search the scriptures. In
them you think you have eternal life? And they are they which
testify of me." Mephibosheth is the salvation story. To receive
a copy of the sermon you have just heard, send a request to
todd.neibert at gmail.com. Or you may write or call the
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