How Good is God?
September 12, 2021 MW
Acadiana Baptist Church
HOW GOOD IS GOD?
2 Samuel 9:1-13
INTRODUCTION:
When we look at the statistics, watch the evening news, look at our city and have conversations with people, it is very evident that our world is in quite a mess. I heard a young adult say this week that she wished her parents would’ve aborted her. She said this world is so messed up, no one should be forced to have to live in it.
Look, I get it, this world is an ugly place but at the same time can be a beautiful place. While we see such horrible news and terrible things, we can also experience and express true love! Like one person, “This world is the only bit of Hell that a believer will ever have to experience, but at the same time it is the only bit of Heaven a lost man will get to enjoy.”
It is a touch of Hell for the believer because of the influence of evil and wickedness that abounds. However, it is the only bit of Heaven for the lost man to experience because of the existence and experience of the goodness of God. Mankind has always tried to pass on the responsibility of the world’s mess onto someone else. They never take responsibility (Genesis 3:12-14)! Things are so messed up because of man’s continual rejection of God and how they continually rebel against His Will.
This world needs a cure! It is not in better teachers, higher taxes, more legislation, or more rock-n-roll song services in church! The answer is people experiencing for themselves the goodness of God!
If there was ever a Bible story that bears this truth out, it is the story of Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth was the son of David’s best friend Johnathon and the grandson of King Saul. His story of redemption is a perfect mirror to what your story of redemption looks like.
Several year’s earlier (about 20 year or so), Israel under Saul’s leadership was fighting the Philistines. As the battle raged, all of Saul’s sons, and Saul himself, were killed in battle.
Since the King died, David (the anointed successor) became the King of Israel. Now, most kings would secure their throne by making sure all possible heirs of the former king were executed. David never intended to do this but Mephibosheth’s family did not know this and according to 2 Samuel 4:4, they fled and some things happened.
For 20 years, Mephibosheth lived in fear of a king that he had never seen or met. Once royalty, he is now crippled, living in a place called Lodebar, and is a pauper. I’m sure hopelessness and bitterness ruled his days and nights.
David wanted to show kindness to a man that did not deserve it. And in so doing, shows us exactly what God offers and extends to each of us!
BIG IDEA: Experiencing the goodness of God changes everything!
BODY: Like Mephibosheth, we also were…
I. CRIPPLED BY SOMEONE ELSE’S CARELESSNESS
(vs. 1-3, 2 Sam. 4:4)
Note: Did you know that God created man perfect? Adam and Eve were innocent and perfect yet had the ability chose. God placed a Law for them to heed and they chose to rebel. When Adam ate of the forbidden tree, mankind was plunged into sinfulness. Sin became inherited to all of us…many don’t like this but even if you don’t agree with inherited sin, what about our OBVIOUS sin.
A. Created in the Image of the King
B. Ruined by Sin Romans 5:19
II. LOVED BECAUSE OF A PROMISE (vs. 4-10, 1 Samuel 20:14-15)
Note: Luke 2:9-11 is a declaration of God’s promise to us! Mephibosheth was loved by David because of a promise that was made to his father.
A. Loved Unconditionally
Crippled, Lodebar (barren place), enemy
B. Loved Unselfishly vs. 8-10
1. God gives us what we DO NOT deserve
2. God DOES NOT give us what we deserve
This is Joh 3:16 in a nutshell! The GRACE and MERCY of God!
III. EXTENDED THE GREATEST GIFT OF ALL—REDEMPTION
vs. 11-13
Note: Please notice what he received!
A. Forgiveness vs. 11
B. Fellowship vs. 12-13a
1. walking with him
2. talking with him
C. Seat at His Table Forever vs. 13
CONCLUSION:
Max Lucado says it perfectly. “Driven not by our beauty but by His promise, He calls us to Himself and invites us to take a permanent place at His table…and we share in God’s glory.”
Charles Swindoll has penned a galaxy of fine paragraphs. But my favorite is this imagined scene from David’s palace.
Gold and bronze fixtures gleam from the walls. Lofty, wooden ceilings crown each spacious room. . . . David and his children gather for an evening meal. Absalom, tanned and handsome, is there, as is David’s beautiful daughter Tamar. The call to dinner is given, and the king scans the room to see if all are present. One figure, though, is absent.
Clump, scraaape, clump, scraaape. The sound coming down the hall echoes into the chamber. Clump, scraaape, clump, scraaape. Finally, the person appears at the door and slowly shuffles to his seat. It is the lame Mephibosheth seated in grace at David’s table. And the tablecloth covers his feet. Now the feast can begin.
This message is largely aimed at you who do not know Jesus as your Savior. You are crippled by someone else’s mistake yet loved because of a promise!
However, it applies to all of us who, like Mephibosheth, have been dropped…dropped by people we loved, dropped from success, dropped from belonging etc…or maybe you live in a barren place like Lodebar, alone, things are just spiritually dry, nothing is really happening in your life, your family, or your job…did you know you are still LOVED by the promise of God and STILL offered a seat of fellowship at the Kings table…beaten up, forgotten, wasting away yet still loved like Mephibosheth.