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You know, if Chad keeps working at it he is going to be halfway decent musician and singer
someday. If he just keeps working, he has got some great folks up here trying to teach
him. We appreciate that. That is one of my favorite songs, I will tell you why, because
it challenges me that there is always at least two voices I can listen to. Every time God
through his Holy Spirit whispers to me that he wants me to do something invariably the
voice of the enemy says "don't do that, not important, or you can wait till tomorrow . That
is getting a little bit too radical. You really don't have to do that to be a Christian."
You know, and I think about these cards and Back to Church Sunday. I promise you if you
take one of these cards, if you are serious, God will put somebody in your path to give
it to. But I promise you before it happens a little voice will tell you "don't do that,"
that little voice may tell you don't even pick up the card before you leave today. I
mean, that is for really crazy radical Christians, okay, so you don't need to do that. We always
have a choice. If God speaks the truth to you here today it won't be from me. It will
be his quiet Holy Spirit revealing the truth to you. When that happens you have a choice,
here today in this room before you leave you can listen to the voice of truth or you can
listen to the voice of the enemy that will tell you wait till next week or that is not
for you or you don't need to worry about that. We always have that choice. As we continue
today with kind of a fun series, although there are some very serious lessons in it,
a series about names we don't know, stories we should know. You need a sense of humor
folks, it is okay to laugh at church. You are not going to get in trouble with God if
you come here and you crack a smile, laugh at something. Lord knows two weeks ago I talked
about gallbladders from up here. That's nuts, right? Last week I talked about love
bugs from up here. This week you probably think man he has finally lost it when I tell
you how I am going to get you thinking about names in the Bible that we don't know or stories
in the Bible we know but we don't know the name that goes with it, or both. The Bible
is rich with people that God put in there who have a little story. And some of them
it is just a small short little mention but there is some stories in there that we need
to know about. And so I am going to challenge you. Last week I showed you a name and see
if you knew the story, this week I'm going to show you a story and see if you know a
name. Trust me, I haven't lost it, there's a method to my madness here okay. Karen show
that, this is the story, there's a fat guy who got his tummy rubbed in a woman's dream.
Now that is not a Bible story so don't look for it in your Bible it is not in there, okay?
There is a fat guy, and no offense guys, I mean since I retired I haven't done any PT,
people wonder why I wear Hawaiian shirts, it covers up a multitude of sins, okay. You
know, I just look lean and mean, I am really not. Okay, anybody know the answer? Okay.
I'm going to show you the answer and you will think I'm crazy, I don't know his name and
in a minute you are going to understand why I don't want to know his name, okay. See,
if that was a Bible story we should want to fill in those blanks. We should want to know
what name goes with the story. Here is how I arrived at this. I don't know about some
of you guys, I have told you before when Joyce has a dream she has very vivid dreams and
she remembers her dreams. Often times I get in trouble for what she dreams about. I don't
know if that happens to any other man around here, but I wake up and you know I get in
trouble for it. Well, she woke up one day recently and she said, "I am really upset
with you." I said, "Why is that?" She said, "Because I had a dream that I was
rubbing some other fat guys stomach at church." Some other fat guy? I said, "What are you
talking about?" She said, "Well, it is your fault." How can that be? She said,
"Well, because you had your gallbladder removed and a hernia fixed I couldn't rub your
tummy for a while so I had to rub some other fat guy's tummy at church." So, I don't
know who you are but you better quit letting my wife rub your stomach, all right? See because
I get blamed and I am not going down alone for this one. So, no offense to fat guys,
you guys all look great, okay. But the point of that is, see I don't want to know his name,
but if that is a Bible story I should be hungry for the names in here. I should want to connect
the dots between the story and the name, the name and the story. That is the purpose of
this series is to help us understand. It is great to read the famous stories, you know.
David and Goliath, Peter walking on the water but let me tell you there are some little
known unknown people in here that have a powerful message for us. See, we are trying to fill
in the blank with the name that goes with the story. For example, the guy we're dealing
with today. Now, he is better known than the last two weeks, he is better known than Barzillai
and he is better known, who was the guy last week? Zaphenath-Paneah. See, you already forgot
his name. But hopefully you know his story. The guy today is better known than them but
I am willing to say that most of you in here don't know him. How many of you have heard
the Bible name Mephibosheth? A few hands around the room. Okay, how many of you actually know
the story of Mephibosheth? Fewer hands. Some of you have heard of him but you don't know
the story. A lot of you don't know the story or the name. When you leave here today you
will because Mephibosheth has a wonderful story. I tell you in fact his story is your
story. His story is my story. This unknown, little-known guy with a weird name in the
Bible reflects you and me. Mephibosheth, look up here. He has got a story about a seat at
the King's table. Let me tell you why, if you don't have a seat at the King of Kings
table you should have your seat reserved before you leave here today. This Old Testament guy
that we have never heard of tells us how to do it. He tells us how this seat is offered,
who is it offered to, how do you get a seat at the Kings table? All from this story about
a guy that many of us have never heard of. Now to read about Mephibosheth, and I have
trouble pronouncing it so if I mess it up you know what I mean, right? To read about
this guy you've got to go in the Bible to 2 Samuel in the Old Testament, 2 Samuel chapter
9 verse 1. Mephibosheth is mentioned in other places in the Scripture but this is the nugget
of his story. This is the crux of how his story is our story. 2 Samuel 9:1. If you didn't
bring a Bible, I promise you within arms reach of you somewhere under the chair in front
of you is a little black hardcover Bible, pick one of those up and turn to page 220
and you will be at 2 Samuel 9:1. I will give you a moment to find that. It is a short chapter,
13 verses, we're just going to read the whole chapter so that we get a picture of this guy
named Mephibosheth, 2 Samuel 9:1. I will give you just a second more to find that.
Let me tell you, this story is your story, it is either your story in the past or it
is your story right now. Because this is a story about how God's grace offers a seat
at the table and he offers a seat at the table to people who are helpless, people who are
hopeless, people who are undeserving of that seat, and people who humble themselves before
him. You have either recognized that about yourself and have humbled yourself before
the King and have your seat reserved in heaven forever or you don't have that seat but it
is your story. Now, to understand this guy's story you've got to understand a little bit
about what happened before what we read took place. Before David was king a guy named Saul
was king. Saul was Mephibosheth's grandfather. Mephibosheth's father was Jonathan. Jonathan
and David were the best of friends. David was a soldier for Saul, he was faithful to
Saul and Jonathan and David were best of friends. They made a deal with each other, they made
an agreement that they would always show kindness to each other. They would always be loyal
to each other and they would extend that kindness and loyalty always to each other's family
no matter what happened. Well, something did happen and Jonathan's father, King Saul became
jealous of David because God used David in such a mighty way that he became more popular
than Saul. And people were singing David's praises and the king, Saul, got jealous, so
jealous that he was unfaithful to God by trying to kill David. Well, the one who got killed
was King Saul and his son Jonathan. When that happened David was made king of Israel. Now,
how long he had been king before he wondered if Saul had any relatives left? We don't know.
But when David found out that one of King Saul's servants named to Ziba was still around
he asked him, he said, hey does Saul have any living relatives? Ziba said yeah he has
got one living male descendent his name is Mephibosheth, Saul's grandson. David said,
bring him to me. How does Mephibosheth represent helpless, hopeless, undeserving, humble people?
You'd be hard-pressed to find a guy who was more helpless and hopeless than him. You see,
when David became king under the norms of that day he had the right to kill all relatives
of the previous king. Why? Because you eliminate any future threat from the king's old family.
As long as some of them were around they could potentially raise a claim to the throne. What
is Mephibosheth going to do if the king decides to kill him? He is helpless, he has no hope
against that. But he is not only helpless and hopeless in that sense, why does it say
several times he was crippled in both feet? It is to establish that this was a guy who
couldn't even provide for himself. He couldn't meet his own basic needs. He was at the house
of someone else in Lo Debar depending totally upon them for food and shelter and everything
he needed. He was helpless and hopeless in many ways. Can I suggest to you that this
is your story because we are all crippled by sin. The Bible puts it like this, "All
have sinned and fall short of the glory of God." In a sense you could say all of us
are crippled and fall short of the glory of God. There is not a person in here who can
forgive their own sin and write their own name in Heaven's Book. We are helpless to
do that. Apart from Jesus Christ we have no hope, we are hopeless too. By the way, Mephibosheth,
when David offered him a seat, he didn't deserve it. He knew he didn't deserve it, what was
he going to do for David in return? How could he earn it? He couldn't do anything. A couple
of times in their David says, hey, I am doing it because of your father not because of you.
Can I tell you, we don't deserve a seat at our King's table. And if we get one it is
not because of who we are it is because of who Jesus is. See, this is a reflection of
our story, we don't deserve it. Do you know that David wasn't obligated, he didn't owe
this young man anything. I don't want to hurt your feelings but God doesn't owe you a thing.
If we got what we deserved it would be bad news for all of us. But you see, this isn't
about what we deserve. This is about what someone else did for Jonathan or did for Mephibosheth
and about what Jesus did for us. So David said, hey, because of your father I'm going
to give you a seat at my table. What did it mean to have a seat at the King's table?
I mean, if you are this crippled guy -- you are a threat to the king because you are related
to the former king and you are helpless and hopeless in many ways and yet the king comes
in and says I'm going to give you a seat at my table. What does that mean? It means you
are one of my family now. If there was ever anything between you and I, Mephibosheth,
it is done with, it is over, it is forgiven, it is passed. Oh, by the way, there's no more
threat you don't have to fear anymore threat of punishment or banishment. Folks, that is
our story if we put our faith and trust in the Lord Jesus Christ. And God says, I'm going
to write your name in Heaven's Book and you've got a seat at my table. And anything
that was ever between us is forgiven, there is no more threat of punishment or banishment
from me. You are a part of my family, how long? Forever. How many times did it say in
there that little phrase that we throw away and Mephibosheth always ate at the king's
table. Always. That word is in there for a reason. Once your King offers you and you
accept a seat at the table it is always. What do you have to do? We are already helpless,
hopeless, and undeserving. What about the humble part? Well, Mephibosheth when he was
offered a seat at the table he showed humility, how? He bowed before the king and said why
would you even notice a dead dog like me? I mean I have already offended fat guys, let
me just offend everybody. Do you know we are all spiritually dead dogs? How many of you
have dogs as a pet? You love your little Flu-Flu, Fluffy, Fido, Tinkerbell, Whisper, whatever
you call your dog and you take better care of your dog than you do your kids and your
dog sleeps with you, you know and has little ribbons all over it and gets a bath all the
time. You better be glad you live today, do you know the ancient Jews hated dogs? Dogs
were despised. They were considered a nasty animal. It may be the only thing worse than
Fido was a dead Fido to them. And so what does Mephibosheth doing when he says why would
you notice a dead dog like me? He was humbly acknowledging to the king, I deserve none
of this, I am worse than bad, I don't know how to describe how unworthy I am. That is
humility, do you know that you can't approach the king out of pride and demand a seat? But
you can approach the King of King on your knees in your heart in humility and ask Him
for a seat. Because he has already said, you are saved by grace through faith. There is
nothing you can do to earn it. We don't deserve it. He wants us to ask for it. I know it is
hard to acknowledge, I mean I don't particularly like thinking of myself as a dead dog. Spiritually,
without Christ, that is what we are. In fact, the Bible says we are dead in our sins without
him. We only become alive when we become alive in Christ. Do you have a seat at the table
today? Remember a few weeks ago I told you about an old man that offered Joyce a seat
at his table? We stopped at McDonald's one morning for breakfast and Joyce has to go
to the bathroom everywhere we go so that is the first thing she did was go to the bathroom.
I sat at a table, remember I told you about this old man who was sitting near us? Joyce
came out of the restroom, she is doing the wrong thing, she was texting while she was
walking not paying attention to where she is going. I watched it happen, I knew it was
going to be funny. I watched her walk right up to the old man's table and sit down. with
him. And she looked up and she said, "You are not my husband." He said, "No, but
you can still sit there." See, I'm pretty sure he didn't do that out of kindness, I
am pretty sure that was a dirty old man at work. But let's pretend he did it out of kindness,
let's just pretend. He didn't owe Joyce a seat, she didn't deserve a seat, she was doing
the wrong thing on the way to the seat but if we are pretending he did it out of kindness
that is a picture of us. I don't deserve a seat, I can't earn that seat, God doesn't
owe me a seat, and on the way to that seat my life is about doing the wrong thing. Why
would you leave here today without a seat at the Kings table? How appropriate is it
that today I'm going to invite you to come to the Lord's Supper table? On a day when
we talked about getting a seat at the Kings table. Do you know what the Lord's Supper
is about? It is about reminding you what it took for Jesus to offer you a seat at the
Kings table. It is about remembering that it took the body and blood of Jesus Christ.
David offered Mephibosheth a seat because of Jonathan, God offers us a seat because
of what Jesus did.