True Worth (2 Samuel 9:1-13)

WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.400 --> 00:00:05.679 Please stand for the reading of God's word which is coming from Second Samuel Chapter 2 00:00:05.679 --> 00:00:11.589 Nine this evening. Second Samuel Chapter Nine is will be the whole chapter. 3 00:00:12.949 --> 00:00:17.870 For many of you will probably be quite familiar the second Samuel Chapter Nine, 4 00:00:17.910 --> 00:00:27.500 versus one through thirteen. And David said, is there still anyone left of 5 00:00:27.620 --> 00:00:33.060 the House of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now 6 00:00:33.340 --> 00:00:36.609 there was a servant of the House of Saul whose name was Zeba, and 7 00:00:36.729 --> 00:00:40.289 they called him to David and the king said to him, are you zeba? 8 00:00:40.729 --> 00:00:44.609 And he said I am your servant. And the king said, is 9 00:00:44.689 --> 00:00:49.049 there not still someone of the House of Saul that I may show the kindness 10 00:00:49.090 --> 00:00:53.320 of God to him? Zeba said to the king, there is still a 11 00:00:53.399 --> 00:00:57.520 son of Jonathan. He's crippled in his feet. The king said to him, 12 00:00:57.520 --> 00:01:00.759 where is he? And Zeba said to the king he is in the 13 00:01:00.840 --> 00:01:04.269 House of Makhir, the son of Amiel at Lodi Bar. Then King David 14 00:01:04.390 --> 00:01:07.750 sent and brought him from the House of Makiir, the son of Amiel at 15 00:01:07.790 --> 00:01:11.790 Loda Bar, and the FIBISHEF A, son of Jonathan, son of Saul, 16 00:01:12.590 --> 00:01:17.750 came to David and fell in his face and paid homage, and David 17 00:01:17.790 --> 00:01:21.659 said, my fibishef, and he answered, behold, I am your servant. 18 00:01:22.939 --> 00:01:26.780 David said to him, do not fear, for I will show you 19 00:01:26.859 --> 00:01:30.459 kindness for the sake of your Father Jonathan, and I will restore to you 20 00:01:30.579 --> 00:01:33.609 all the land of Saul, your father, and you shall eat at my 21 00:01:33.769 --> 00:01:38.609 table always. And he paid homage and said what is your servant that you 22 00:01:38.689 --> 00:01:45.290 should show regard for a dead dog such as I? Then the king called 23 00:01:45.329 --> 00:01:49.239 Zeba Saul's servant and said to him all that belonged to Saul and to his 24 00:01:49.400 --> 00:01:56.159 house I have given to your master's grandson, and you and your sons and 25 00:01:56.359 --> 00:02:00.519 your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce that 26 00:02:00.599 --> 00:02:06.349 your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But mafivishef, your master's grandson, 27 00:02:06.709 --> 00:02:10.750 shall always eat at my table. Now ziba had fifteen sons and twenty 28 00:02:10.870 --> 00:02:15.430 servants. Then Zeba said to the king, according to all that my Lord, 29 00:02:15.469 --> 00:02:19.740 the King, commands, is servant. So will your servant do so? 30 00:02:19.900 --> 00:02:23.539 Of fibishchef ate at David's table like one of the king's sons. Am 31 00:02:23.620 --> 00:02:28.620 A FIBISHEF had a young son whose name was Mica, and all who lived 32 00:02:28.659 --> 00:02:34.569 in Zeba's house became a fibishf servants. So mfivishef lived in Jerusalem, free 33 00:02:34.650 --> 00:02:39.090 ate, always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his 34 00:02:39.210 --> 00:02:45.520 feet. This is the word of the Lord. Thanks be to God. 35 00:02:45.759 --> 00:02:53.159 Please be seated. This accounts is easily one of my favorite stories in the 36 00:02:53.280 --> 00:02:59.430 Bible because it addresses, it gets to the heart of a question that many 37 00:02:59.469 --> 00:03:02.750 of us, probably all of us, have asked at some point. Where 38 00:03:02.870 --> 00:03:08.590 can I find a sense of worth? Where can I find a sense of 39 00:03:08.750 --> 00:03:15.539 value? Or, to put it another way, how do I know that 40 00:03:15.819 --> 00:03:22.460 my life matters? When I was a teenager, this is a question that 41 00:03:22.580 --> 00:03:24.379 was often on my mind. How do I know that my life is going 42 00:03:24.379 --> 00:03:29.969 to count for something? And maybe you've asked this of yourself to at some 43 00:03:30.169 --> 00:03:32.849 point in your life, maybe maybe as a teenager like me, maybe a 44 00:03:34.210 --> 00:03:38.050 sort of midlife crisis point, you're wondering, well, that was all a 45 00:03:38.090 --> 00:03:42.879 waste. What's what's ahead? What's next? How do I know that my 46 00:03:43.120 --> 00:03:47.719 life has value? And, practically speaking, even if you're a Christian here 47 00:03:49.319 --> 00:03:53.680 tonight, it's very easy for us to place our sense of worth in the 48 00:03:53.800 --> 00:03:59.830 things that we have done, making a list of our accomplishments, whether it 49 00:03:59.909 --> 00:04:04.550 be with respect to our educational level, that the kind of work that we 50 00:04:04.750 --> 00:04:11.819 do, that the the projects we've accomplished and the rewards that we've received for 51 00:04:11.979 --> 00:04:16.579 our work, even even in the way that we raise our children and taking 52 00:04:16.699 --> 00:04:20.660 pride in the way that they behave, being disappointed in the way that we 53 00:04:21.019 --> 00:04:26.610 that they behave, there by showing that we've placed all this worth on them. 54 00:04:28.769 --> 00:04:30.490 We do this. It's very easy. It's very easy for us as 55 00:04:30.529 --> 00:04:33.170 parents to do that, very easy for all of us to do this kind 56 00:04:33.209 --> 00:04:36.889 of thing. And if you're here this evening and that's you, that describes 57 00:04:36.930 --> 00:04:45.360 you, this passage strips away the list of accomplishments. It says none of 58 00:04:45.480 --> 00:04:49.920 that matters and it challenges us to truly see ourselves, not based on what 59 00:04:50.079 --> 00:04:57.430 we've done, who we are, but how God sees us. But I'm 60 00:04:57.470 --> 00:05:03.389 betting there's also some others of you here tonight. Maybe you have wrecked your 61 00:05:03.470 --> 00:05:13.379 life on the rocks and shoals of sin. Maybe you're haunted by the past 62 00:05:14.259 --> 00:05:19.660 regrets, the choices that you've made poor decisions and you look back and you 63 00:05:19.779 --> 00:05:28.050 say, I wish that ten years of my life was just gone. Perhaps 64 00:05:28.050 --> 00:05:30.689 that's you. Maybe you're at a point in your life where it seems like 65 00:05:30.089 --> 00:05:36.160 God has taken everything from you, where once you found your value or your 66 00:05:36.199 --> 00:05:44.160 sense of worth. Maybe you've lost a spouse, maybe you've had a miscarriage. 67 00:05:46.120 --> 00:05:53.269 Maybe you've struggled for years to find a husband or wife. It doesn't 68 00:05:53.269 --> 00:06:00.910 seem like anything's forthcoming. Maybe you've failed some important exam which sort of shut 69 00:06:00.069 --> 00:06:04.779 off these job opportunities that you were hoping to have in the future. Maybe, 70 00:06:05.459 --> 00:06:08.980 if you're younger in here, maybe you deal day in and day out 71 00:06:09.019 --> 00:06:15.019 with overly critical parents who are always writing on you and making you feel as 72 00:06:15.060 --> 00:06:21.689 if you could never do anything right. Maybe you've lost your job, maybe 73 00:06:21.689 --> 00:06:29.410 you suffer from a disability, or maybe you experience constant, consistent, day 74 00:06:29.490 --> 00:06:33.399 in and day out pain, physical pain, was just makes you feel like 75 00:06:33.879 --> 00:06:40.759 you have nothing to contribute. You're always sick, you're always hurting, you 76 00:06:40.800 --> 00:06:45.000 can't do anything because you don't feel well. If that's where you are tonight, 77 00:06:45.160 --> 00:06:48.790 friends, God too is speaking to you from Second Samuel Chapter Nine, 78 00:06:50.310 --> 00:06:56.949 because, despite the worthlessness that others have heaped on you, or maybe the 79 00:06:57.029 --> 00:07:02.540 worthlessness that you have heaped on yourself. God counts you as worthy if you're 80 00:07:02.579 --> 00:07:08.300 trusting in Jesus, not because of anything you've done or anything that you have 81 00:07:08.740 --> 00:07:15.100 failed to do, but simply for the sake of Christ. God counts you 82 00:07:15.579 --> 00:07:18.930 as worthy, not because of anything you've done or anything you've failed to do, 83 00:07:19.889 --> 00:07:26.810 but simply because of Jesus, who he is and what he's done. 84 00:07:27.009 --> 00:07:29.410 That might not that might seem like. How do you get that from Second 85 00:07:29.410 --> 00:07:30.480 Samuel Nine? There's nothing about Jesus in there. Well, we're going to 86 00:07:30.519 --> 00:07:33.319 see. We're let's dive in. We're just basically going to walk through this 87 00:07:33.959 --> 00:07:40.519 chapter and I want to point out for us three statements of worth, three 88 00:07:40.560 --> 00:07:45.709 statements of worth here that we find in this passage. Look again with me 89 00:07:45.750 --> 00:07:50.750 at verse one and David Said, is there still anyone left of the house 90 00:07:50.870 --> 00:07:58.819 of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Let's just stop 91 00:07:58.899 --> 00:08:03.740 there for a moment because the context here is really important. That's all. 92 00:08:03.860 --> 00:08:09.259 In case you don't remember, he was the first King of Israel and Jonathan 93 00:08:09.699 --> 00:08:15.449 was his oldest son. The crown prince air to the throne and Saul new 94 00:08:15.889 --> 00:08:20.850 that God had appointed an anointed David to be king instead of him, and 95 00:08:20.930 --> 00:08:24.370 so saul tried to hunt David Down and exterminate him, snuff him out, 96 00:08:24.649 --> 00:08:28.839 so that couldn't happen in Jonathan could become king. Will God protected David, 97 00:08:30.360 --> 00:08:35.039 preserved his life and it ends up that Saul and Jonathan are both killed in 98 00:08:35.159 --> 00:08:41.110 battle off one of Israel's enemies, the Philistines, and now David has become 99 00:08:41.149 --> 00:08:48.750 king, King over all of Israel. And ordinarily, when a new king 100 00:08:48.950 --> 00:08:52.230 comes to the throne, especially king from outside the dynasty, outside the family, 101 00:08:52.309 --> 00:08:58.340 that new king will hunt down and wipe out all the relatives, all 102 00:08:58.419 --> 00:09:01.940 the friends, all the associates of the old king. You want to make 103 00:09:01.980 --> 00:09:05.940 sure that there's no one who could challenge your power, no one who could 104 00:09:05.940 --> 00:09:11.330 pose a threat to you and your own family line. This is the politics 105 00:09:11.370 --> 00:09:16.490 of regime change and the ancient nearis this is how it worked. Today it's 106 00:09:16.529 --> 00:09:22.690 a little less violent, just cabinets and appointments and all that that goes away 107 00:09:22.769 --> 00:09:26.039 in a whole new set, whole new Sleu of people comes in. You 108 00:09:26.080 --> 00:09:31.919 don't kill anyone it's not that I know, but this is how it worked 109 00:09:31.960 --> 00:09:35.200 in the old and the Old Testament and throughout the Middle East. You wipe 110 00:09:35.200 --> 00:09:41.789 out everyone who is related to the old king. And here we have the 111 00:09:41.990 --> 00:09:48.470 grandson of King Saul, my fhibish chef. But David doesn't do what we 112 00:09:48.509 --> 00:09:52.659 would expect him to do. Instead, he wants to show, as he 113 00:09:52.740 --> 00:09:56.100 says in verse one, kindness. At least that's how the English Standard version 114 00:09:56.179 --> 00:10:01.500 translates it. and that word kindness in the Hebrew is that word has said 115 00:10:03.700 --> 00:10:09.889 covenant, love or or like, a steadfast faithfulness towards someone. If we 116 00:10:09.970 --> 00:10:13.490 go back a bit further in the story, to First Samuel Twenty, verse 117 00:10:13.610 --> 00:10:18.649 Fifteen, Jonathan Swore a covenant with David, saying this, do not cut 118 00:10:18.690 --> 00:10:24.200 off your steadfast love, your he said, from my house forever, when 119 00:10:24.240 --> 00:10:30.000 the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of 120 00:10:30.120 --> 00:10:33.720 the earth. See, David knew that day. Are Sorry, Jonathan knew 121 00:10:33.720 --> 00:10:39.429 that David one day was going to become king. So Jonathan and David I 122 00:10:39.710 --> 00:10:48.070 love for each other. David swears to Jonathan that he will not pursue this 123 00:10:48.269 --> 00:10:54.059 the politics of regime change. He will instead be faithful to Jonathan, to 124 00:10:54.100 --> 00:11:00.659 Jonathan's descendants, and that's why David Calls for Zeba Family Servant from the household 125 00:11:00.700 --> 00:11:03.330 of Saul to ask him if anyone still alive from Saul's family. Look again 126 00:11:03.370 --> 00:11:07.690 at verse three. Zeba said to the king there is still a son of 127 00:11:07.730 --> 00:11:13.529 Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. And the king said to him, 128 00:11:13.529 --> 00:11:16.129 will wear is he? And Zeeba said to the king he is in 129 00:11:16.210 --> 00:11:20.639 the House of maker, the son of Amiel, a load of bar and 130 00:11:20.799 --> 00:11:26.679 here we find the first statement of worth in this chapter. If you notice, 131 00:11:28.639 --> 00:11:35.509 Zeba doesn't actually mention my phibish chef's name. Instead, how does he 132 00:11:35.629 --> 00:11:41.710 refer to him? Son of Jonathan. He is crippled in his feet. 133 00:11:41.909 --> 00:11:46.669 It's interesting. So he doesn't say his name, just says he's crippling his 134 00:11:46.750 --> 00:11:50.100 feet. So Jonathan in the heat. In the Hebrew it's actually that bit 135 00:11:50.139 --> 00:11:54.580 of sentence. He's crippling his feet. It's actually even shorter and simpler. 136 00:11:54.220 --> 00:11:58.700 The English actually has to add in a few words to like make sense to 137 00:11:58.820 --> 00:12:05.370 us. In the Hebrew is just crippled feet. Son of Jonathan, crippled 138 00:12:05.409 --> 00:12:13.529 feet. Do you hear what Zeba's doing. This is a statement or or 139 00:12:13.169 --> 00:12:18.919 it's like a term, a statement at designation. This is how mafhibishef is 140 00:12:20.080 --> 00:12:26.320 known. This is who he is. He's a cripple. Cripple feet almost 141 00:12:26.320 --> 00:12:31.870 like a derogatory nickname. It's like four eyes calling someone four eyes. All 142 00:12:31.870 --> 00:12:35.269 right, that's what is happening with mafhibishef. Oh yeah, he's that son 143 00:12:35.350 --> 00:12:45.779 of Jonathan, the cripple. This is what he's known for. He wasn't 144 00:12:45.779 --> 00:12:48.419 always this way. Second, Samuel for for gives us a bit of the 145 00:12:48.539 --> 00:12:54.100 background. He became crippled when he was five years old, when Saul and 146 00:12:54.139 --> 00:12:58.850 Jonathan were killed by the Philistines. MAFIBISHEF's nurse picked him up and ran with 147 00:12:58.889 --> 00:13:03.090 him to get away from this invading army, and while running she dropped him 148 00:13:03.970 --> 00:13:09.529 and he became crippled in both his feet. And think about the implications that 149 00:13:09.649 --> 00:13:16.679 this would have on his life. Think about that. Being crippled in ancient 150 00:13:16.759 --> 00:13:22.120 times meant you couldn't fight, couldn't work in the fields, couldn't even travel 151 00:13:22.240 --> 00:13:28.110 very far on your own, had to have help all the time. Needless 152 00:13:28.110 --> 00:13:31.909 to say, there was no wheelchairs or eight a compliance in those days he 153 00:13:33.230 --> 00:13:39.669 was. He was unable to do anything on his own, unable to go 154 00:13:39.789 --> 00:13:43.860 anywhere, unable to contribute, unable to be a meaningful part of society. 155 00:13:45.019 --> 00:13:46.820 He couldn't be the next king. The king had to lead your warriors into 156 00:13:46.860 --> 00:13:54.340 battle. Couldn't do that. He was entirely dependent on the community around him 157 00:13:56.330 --> 00:14:01.409 and they all knew he was just simply a burden upon them, and they're 158 00:14:01.409 --> 00:14:09.919 very open and honest about it. Imagine few were overhearing this, over hearing 159 00:14:09.960 --> 00:14:16.519 other people talk about you like this. Imagine the shame you would be experiencing. 160 00:14:18.639 --> 00:14:24.200 Everyone knows it. The PHIBISHEF knows it. This is his life. 161 00:14:24.509 --> 00:14:31.950 There is no future for him. And look at where he's hiding out too. 162 00:14:33.830 --> 00:14:37.350 He's hiding out in this town called load to bar. This town was 163 00:14:37.389 --> 00:14:41.340 probably somewhere near the River Jordan at, basically out in the middle of Nowhere, 164 00:14:41.340 --> 00:14:46.259 the Wilderness of Judea, Benjamin somewhere in there. It's small town Israel, 165 00:14:46.419 --> 00:14:52.860 and it's funny because load of bar actually means of no account or nothing, 166 00:14:54.090 --> 00:14:58.809 doesn't matter. It's like Pat Driving Down I ten, you drive through 167 00:14:58.809 --> 00:15:05.330 all these little towns. Is like doesn't matter. It's they're gone in that's 168 00:15:05.370 --> 00:15:11.360 that's what load of bar was. So He's a worthless man hiding out in 169 00:15:11.519 --> 00:15:18.679 a backwater community, fearing for his life, completely dependent upon a circle of 170 00:15:18.879 --> 00:15:26.509 friends who really don't care whether he lives or dies. He's just a burden 171 00:15:26.549 --> 00:15:31.149 upon them. That's Maphibush chef. That's who he is. But then look 172 00:15:31.190 --> 00:15:35.820 at verse five. Then King David sent and brought him from the House of 173 00:15:35.940 --> 00:15:41.820 Macire, the son of Amiel at load to bar. Now my fibishchef doesn't 174 00:15:41.860 --> 00:15:45.220 know what's going on. He he doesn't know what we know. He doesn't 175 00:15:45.259 --> 00:15:48.899 know that David is out to actually show compassion upon him. My phibish chef 176 00:15:50.570 --> 00:15:54.129 just thinks that day it is bringing him to the throne room so that David 177 00:15:54.169 --> 00:16:00.769 can personally chop off his head and wipe out the last link to the old 178 00:16:00.889 --> 00:16:06.600 family line. But just reflect for a second on what's going on here. 179 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:14.240 David wants to show covenant love towards his enemy, but his enemy can't even 180 00:16:15.159 --> 00:16:22.789 come to him. He's a cripple. So David actually has to go and 181 00:16:23.149 --> 00:16:29.429 send for him and have him carried brought to him so that he can then 182 00:16:29.470 --> 00:16:34.100 show love upon him and friends, it's not an act. We have to 183 00:16:34.139 --> 00:16:38.740 make a comparison to what God has done for us, because to when we 184 00:16:38.820 --> 00:16:45.620 were his enemies, when we were hostile to God, when we were far 185 00:16:45.820 --> 00:16:52.809 from God, hiding out in our sin, dead in our trespasses and iniquities. 186 00:16:52.289 --> 00:16:59.049 As effesians too says, God sent for us. He drew us to 187 00:16:59.169 --> 00:17:00.600 himself. We wouldn't go on our own. We couldn't go on our own. 188 00:17:00.639 --> 00:17:04.440 We were dead and mobile, we couldn't go anywhere. And so God 189 00:17:04.640 --> 00:17:11.599 raise the dead and brought us to himself so that he could show us and 190 00:17:11.720 --> 00:17:17.069 lavish upon his his love, his favor, his blessing, in His mercy, 191 00:17:18.190 --> 00:17:26.349 an immense measure. This is what God has done for us. And 192 00:17:26.509 --> 00:17:29.430 if you're here tonight and you haven't trusted in Jesus, God is calling you 193 00:17:30.140 --> 00:17:34.940 to to himself. Jesus says in the Gospel of Luke. Come to me, 194 00:17:36.819 --> 00:17:38.619 all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you 195 00:17:40.460 --> 00:17:45.650 rest. God knows who you are, he knows your sin, he knows 196 00:17:45.690 --> 00:17:49.410 your past. You can't hide it from him. He knows everything about you, 197 00:17:49.569 --> 00:17:56.369 and yet he's still calling you come, come to me. I love 198 00:17:56.490 --> 00:18:03.000 how John and the revelation puts it. The spirit and the bride say come, 199 00:18:03.839 --> 00:18:07.880 let everyone who thirst come. Let Him who is thirsty come to the 200 00:18:07.960 --> 00:18:15.829 water of life and drink of it without price. That is what God is 201 00:18:15.950 --> 00:18:25.309 offering you and me tonight, living water from our Lord Jesus Christ, to 202 00:18:25.470 --> 00:18:30.859 satisfy our thirst. Come to him, rest in him and know that he's 203 00:18:30.940 --> 00:18:34.420 not ashamed of who you are. You may feel ashamed of who you are, 204 00:18:34.460 --> 00:18:40.259 of what you've done, of the things you thought, but Jesus, 205 00:18:40.339 --> 00:18:44.089 in the book of Hebrews, says are. The author of the Book of 206 00:18:44.130 --> 00:18:48.130 Hebrews says of Jesus. He is not a shamed to call us his brothers 207 00:18:49.089 --> 00:18:53.970 and his sisters. He knows who we are, he knows our feebleness, 208 00:18:55.250 --> 00:19:00.400 he knows our weakness in our frailty. Come to him in faith, if 209 00:19:00.440 --> 00:19:03.839 you haven't yet. And so we move on. Look at verse six. 210 00:19:06.000 --> 00:19:08.559 I'm a FIBISHEF, the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to 211 00:19:08.640 --> 00:19:12.190 David and fell on his face and paid homage, and David said, my 212 00:19:12.309 --> 00:19:19.109 fibishef, and he answered, behold, I am your servant. Put yourself 213 00:19:19.190 --> 00:19:27.660 in my fibishef's shoes for a moment, terrified, you are quaking, you 214 00:19:27.940 --> 00:19:32.859 are you think that death is going to come in a matter of moments, 215 00:19:33.579 --> 00:19:40.130 especially when David gives us like cry my fibishef not knowing whether it's an anger 216 00:19:40.490 --> 00:19:45.650 or what. He just like HMM, prostrate on the ground before the King 217 00:19:45.769 --> 00:19:49.970 of Israel in His throne room, with all his servants and soldiers around you. 218 00:19:51.049 --> 00:19:57.640 You're terrified. You think the end has come. But then David continues 219 00:19:57.720 --> 00:20:04.759 in verse seven. Do not fear, do not be afraid, for I 220 00:20:06.000 --> 00:20:10.630 will show you kindness. That word has said, for the sake of your 221 00:20:10.670 --> 00:20:14.549 father, Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of saw 222 00:20:14.630 --> 00:20:18.309 your father, and you shall eat at my table always. And he paid 223 00:20:18.349 --> 00:20:23.940 homage and said, what is your servant that you should show regard for a 224 00:20:25.099 --> 00:20:30.779 dead dog such as I? David Turns Mathibish as world upside down. It 225 00:20:30.940 --> 00:20:38.250 doesn't make sense. What is going on? He's out of death has come 226 00:20:40.130 --> 00:20:45.410 life and love. And I said, and this is where we get our 227 00:20:45.490 --> 00:20:49.680 second statement of worth, this time it's on the lips of Maphibish, as 228 00:20:51.400 --> 00:20:56.720 his response to this incredible love is actually to cast contempt on himself, who 229 00:20:56.759 --> 00:21:03.039 am I that you would show regard for a dead dog such as me? 230 00:21:04.869 --> 00:21:12.150 Why? Why? Why me? And that's a question that you and I 231 00:21:14.589 --> 00:21:22.380 shouldn't stop asking ourselves either. Why me? Why has God shown this lavish 232 00:21:22.539 --> 00:21:26.619 love, it's incredible love, to a dead dog like me? See, 233 00:21:26.660 --> 00:21:33.650 God doesn't owe us anything. God's grace, by definition, is unearned. 234 00:21:33.809 --> 00:21:41.329 All we contribute to the equation is actually our sin and it's demerited. We've 235 00:21:41.369 --> 00:21:45.009 done everything we can to not earn God's favor, God's Love, God's blessing, 236 00:21:45.049 --> 00:21:48.359 and yet he still shows it to us, and not just shows it 237 00:21:48.440 --> 00:21:55.440 to us, he gives it to us, lavishing it upon us without measure 238 00:21:55.799 --> 00:22:04.309 and without price. Why does God love us this way? Moses told the 239 00:22:04.430 --> 00:22:10.109 Israelites why, back in Juterami. Seven versus seven and eight. I'm not 240 00:22:10.190 --> 00:22:15.710 sure if I've quoted this passage before with you, but if so, sorry, 241 00:22:15.710 --> 00:22:18.980 it's a good one. Judomi, seven verses seven eight. It was 242 00:22:18.140 --> 00:22:22.539 not because you were more in number than any other people that the Lord set 243 00:22:22.660 --> 00:22:27.740 his love on you and shows you for you Israelites, for the fewest of 244 00:22:27.779 --> 00:22:33.970 all people's but it is because the Lord loves you and is keeping the oath 245 00:22:33.049 --> 00:22:38.329 that he swore to your father's God's telling you is rights. Here's why God 246 00:22:38.410 --> 00:22:44.839 loves you. It's because he loves you and he's keeping his promise to love 247 00:22:44.920 --> 00:22:52.799 you. And if that doesn't make sense math wise, it doesn't. But 248 00:22:52.960 --> 00:22:56.359 he loves you because he loves you. That's why, simply an atturnity past, 249 00:22:56.559 --> 00:23:00.470 God decided, in his sovereignty, in his graciousness and his compassion, 250 00:23:00.710 --> 00:23:07.190 to set his love on unworthy sinners like you and like me. That's the 251 00:23:07.349 --> 00:23:08.950 reason. And here's the thing, friends, that's good. Reformed people, 252 00:23:11.470 --> 00:23:18.660 we like our systems. We like correct, accurate, precise doctrinal formulae. 253 00:23:18.380 --> 00:23:23.339 We are overjoyed when things are done decently, in good order. I thought 254 00:23:23.420 --> 00:23:26.210 for sure that there would be more than just one chuckle in here. Right, 255 00:23:26.410 --> 00:23:30.769 it's true. If we and I agree, I am all on board 256 00:23:30.849 --> 00:23:38.890 with that, but we must it only put it this way, it can 257 00:23:40.049 --> 00:23:48.759 be easy, given our proclivities, to domesticate God's love. It can be 258 00:23:48.880 --> 00:23:53.640 easy for us to domesticate God's love, to think we have it figured out, 259 00:23:53.680 --> 00:23:59.509 because will we understand total depravity and we understand all the rest of Tulip? 260 00:24:00.150 --> 00:24:07.150 Unconditional election, limited toement irresistible grace perseverance of the saints. We must 261 00:24:07.349 --> 00:24:11.380 never, I don't say that slightly, we must never lose our wonder. 262 00:24:11.900 --> 00:24:19.420 That makes sense. We must never lose our wonder. We must never think 263 00:24:19.500 --> 00:24:22.700 we have this thing figured out, because when we start to lose our wonder 264 00:24:23.930 --> 00:24:30.690 we start saying things like well, of course God loves me, because is 265 00:24:30.650 --> 00:24:37.769 X, whatever it might be, a show up on Sunday twice. I 266 00:24:37.890 --> 00:24:42.839 must be on his good list all right. This is actually a good diagnostic 267 00:24:42.960 --> 00:24:47.960 when you hear the Gospel in its beauty, in its clarity and its lavishness 268 00:24:48.960 --> 00:24:57.829 and it's upside down world turning, mind numbing logic, is your heart warm 269 00:24:57.950 --> 00:25:03.430 to buy it? Does it? Does it cause you to wonder, to 270 00:25:03.470 --> 00:25:08.539 be amazed, to marvel at what God has done for you, knowing who 271 00:25:08.539 --> 00:25:14.700 you are? Does it cause you to say to yourself, why me, 272 00:25:15.579 --> 00:25:21.930 a dead dog like myself? There's still one more statement of worth here. 273 00:25:22.049 --> 00:25:26.210 Look with me. At the end of verse eleven. Here the author cut 274 00:25:26.369 --> 00:25:30.170 breaks into the story to tell us sort of what's what happens to my fibishef 275 00:25:30.849 --> 00:25:34.839 this is what happens. So my fibishef ate at David's table, like one 276 00:25:36.039 --> 00:25:41.759 of the king's sons. That phrase, eating at the king's table, actually 277 00:25:41.759 --> 00:25:49.000 occurs four times in this passage. So the way that the Hebrews wrote to 278 00:25:49.269 --> 00:25:53.549 emphasize things, they repeated it sort of like their way of underlining things, 279 00:25:53.990 --> 00:26:00.390 to repeat things. And so why is eating at the king's table so important? 280 00:26:00.950 --> 00:26:04.740 Well, he answers, he gives the answer. It's like you've become 281 00:26:04.859 --> 00:26:11.700 one of the king's sons. It's a privilege for an air of the king 282 00:26:11.740 --> 00:26:15.660 and even today, sharing a meal with someone is a personal act and an 283 00:26:15.700 --> 00:26:22.250 intimate act. You're inviting them in, passes the walls of safeguards, inviting 284 00:26:22.289 --> 00:26:26.130 them in to share life with them, to be open and honest about who 285 00:26:26.250 --> 00:26:30.609 you are and the state of your house, the fact that maybe not everything 286 00:26:30.650 --> 00:26:36.960 is spick and span and clean, the fact that you maybe you're a little 287 00:26:36.960 --> 00:26:38.759 rough around the edges. You really want to get to know me. Come 288 00:26:38.799 --> 00:26:44.680 over dinner sometime, will chat and as we spend time together who I am 289 00:26:45.519 --> 00:26:55.670 becomes very obvious. So that's what's happening here. David doesn't merely stop with 290 00:26:56.069 --> 00:27:03.779 sparing my fibishess life. David doesn't merely restore all of my fibishes, status 291 00:27:04.140 --> 00:27:11.180 and possessions and lands. David goes beyond that and invites him into his house 292 00:27:12.259 --> 00:27:18.210 and says, come and sit at my table and eat with me and my 293 00:27:18.410 --> 00:27:27.529 son's think about that. David is saying, come be part of my family. 294 00:27:27.569 --> 00:27:33.680 Yes, you should be dead right now. Yes, you're a grandson 295 00:27:33.759 --> 00:27:40.200 of my arch enemy. Yes, I should have wiped you off the map, 296 00:27:41.880 --> 00:27:45.390 but because of the promise I've made, I'm going to shower you with 297 00:27:45.470 --> 00:27:48.470 my love and invite you to eat with you, eat with me always, 298 00:27:48.509 --> 00:27:56.230 as if you were my own son. That's the third statement of worth. 299 00:27:56.869 --> 00:28:03.140 See, friends, God doesn't merely show US mercy, doesn't merely do that. 300 00:28:04.099 --> 00:28:10.460 He doesn't merely reconcile you to himself. He adopts you into his family. 301 00:28:11.299 --> 00:28:14.650 And First Shawn, chapter three, verse one, John Exclaims, see 302 00:28:14.769 --> 00:28:18.130 what kind of love the father has given to us, that we should be 303 00:28:18.250 --> 00:28:27.839 called children of God. And so we are. This is what our heavenly 304 00:28:27.880 --> 00:28:36.880 father says about us. This is what you are worth, no matter what 305 00:28:37.119 --> 00:28:42.150 others might say about you, no matter what you might think about yourself. 306 00:28:44.269 --> 00:28:48.789 And the middle of the night, you're up late, you can't sleep and 307 00:28:48.910 --> 00:28:52.630 you're just your men, you're mind your you have that instant replay of all 308 00:28:52.710 --> 00:28:59.059 the stupid things you did today and the regrets, the mistakes of past years. 309 00:29:00.579 --> 00:29:03.220 No matter what others might say a value or what you might think about 310 00:29:03.259 --> 00:29:11.250 yourself, God says you are my son, you are my daughter. Sit 311 00:29:11.289 --> 00:29:15.329 Up my table and eat with me. And we have the privilege tonight of 312 00:29:17.089 --> 00:29:25.880 sitting at the Lord's table and eating with him. Here we see what it 313 00:29:26.240 --> 00:29:33.039 cost for us to be sons and daughters of God. Here we get a 314 00:29:33.119 --> 00:29:40.869 sense of the value that God places upon us, worthless though we are, 315 00:29:41.589 --> 00:29:48.589 because, Peter says, you are ransom, not with silver or gold or 316 00:29:48.670 --> 00:29:55.579 other perishable things, but with the precious blood of Christ, as that of 317 00:29:55.619 --> 00:30:00.940 a lamb without blemish and without spot. Here we see what it cost God, 318 00:30:03.220 --> 00:30:07.099 the value that he puts upon us, again, not for anything that's 319 00:30:07.099 --> 00:30:12.049 in us, but simply because it is love. It's with that in mind 320 00:30:14.130 --> 00:30:15.970 we come to the table. Let's pray,