Wednesday Night Service 7PM Good King David pt 2 - Pastor Ryan Nichols

all right good evening it's good to see every one of you all glad you're here i want to invite you to stand with me we'll pray and we'll get started lord we just give you thanks for the day lord we just uh we give you praise for for who you are for all the ways you take care of us all the ways you love on us lord now we ask your blessing upon this evening help us to lift a joyful noise to you lord and let your word go out with power as always lord we love you we praise you in jesus name amen

and you guys can go and have a seat if you like

thank you

sing that again hope is built jesus blood and righteousness not trust the sweetest frame first in jesus name

with soundness lord god we just want to take them all get ready to sing this last song lord just thank you for who you are thank you lord that you are never changing you are always the same thinking that you were the same yesterday today and forever

we thank you for the day well we thank you for your son jesus and the precious blood that he spilt out on the cross for us, Lord. Come to you this evening, and we ask that you give us hearts to receive the word that you've prepared for us. Lord, prepare our hearts. Do something awesome in our lives, Lord. Pray that you would overflow Pastor Ryan with your Holy Spirit,

Lord, with your gift of teaching. Give him the words to speak. Give us ears to hear. In Jesus' name, amen. Good evening. If you would open up in your Bibles to the book of 2 Samuel chapter 7. 2 Samuel chapter 7. Now, I know we just prayed, and I just feel really led by the Holy Spirit just because of everything going on in our country and in our world right now that I just want to

take a couple minutes just to pray for the things going on right now. As I was back there worshiping, it felt like that's what the Lord told me that we needed to take a couple of minutes and do. So, would you bow with me one more time? Father, we come before you, and Lord, there is much going on in our world right now. Father, we need your hand to move. Father, we know that you are the God who

answers prayer. And Lord, just like that song said, nothing's changed about you, Lord. You're the same God, the God who has done miraculous things in the past, the God that still does the miraculous. But Lord, also the God who moves in the hearts of men through various situations throughout the world. And so, Father, I just want to lift up our world to you right now. And I want to start with

Israel. And Lord, I just want to pray for Israel. I know they got barraged with rockets again this morning. And I know some lives were lost in that. So, Father, I just want to lift up your people in Israel, that you would protect them. Father, that you would give them victory over their enemies. But more than anything, Lord, would you pour out your love for them? Would you pour out

your spirit of revival in Israel? Because I know your heart's desire is to see your people come back to you. And so, Lord, we lift up the nation of Israel right now. And just pray that you would pour out your spirit of revival there. Father, I want to lift up our friends that are in the path of this storm, Lord. What they're calling a historic hurricane heading towards Florida,

even as we speak. And Father, our hearts hurt knowing that so many that have already been a major hurricane within the last two weeks are about to go through it again. And so, Father, I just pray for the protection of those that are in Florida right now. In particular, Lord, Kalia. I know that she's down there with that school. And they've moved inland, Lord. But I

just pray your protection on that school. Lord, for Calvary Chapel, Merritt Island, the different places that are about to be hit by this storm. And we just pray your protection on them, Lord, your protection of life. And Lord, may you use this as another opportunity for us to pour out your spirit, Lord, that people would turn to you. And Father, we lift up our friends in

North Carolina and in Georgia, eastern Tennessee, Lord, those places that are still trying to figure out how they're going to do life. Whether or not they're going to have power this week from the last hurricane that came through. And Lord, we just pray your protection over them as well. And God, that your people would continue to rise up in those areas. And Father, I just ask that

as our people, as our people, as our people, as our people, as our people, as our people, as our nation is watching all of these things take place. Father, we are all aware that these are somewhat biblical in nature. And so, Father, I know that you're using all of these things to call your people back to yourself. And so, Lord, may revival begin in the hearts of your people. May we not

just hope that the world around us will come to know you, but Lord, may it start with us. May it start with a renewed desire and a renewed understanding of your power in our lives, so that it can then extend to the lives of others. And so, Father, as we come to your word again, we know that you are the same God. And so, Father, I pray that you would speak to us through your word, because the same God that spoke the world into existence, the same God that holds the world in the palm of his hand, the one that keeps the world spinning by the breath of his mouth, is the same God that is speaking to us through your word tonight. And so, Lord, move, I pray, in our hearts. In Jesus' name, amen.

All right, 2 Samuel chapter 7. When last we were together, we saw David officially become king over Israel. He was anointed as king over all 12 tribes of the nation of Israel, and God was at work in David, and God was expanding his kingdom. And David even had the heart to bring the Ark of the Covenant back. And even though he did it wrong the first time around, he ended up getting it

right. And they brought the Ark of the Covenant back, and they brought the Ark of the Covenant back into the land. David was having victory over his enemies. And as the Ark of the Covenant is back where it belongs, in the tabernacle, that sets the scene for where we are tonight in chapter 7. Because in chapter 7, by the way, the title of the message is Good King David, part 2. My goal is to

cover a serious amount of territory tonight. I can't guarantee that that's going to happen, but that's my goal. But as we come to chapter 7, we're going to see God's covenant with David that will start with David's desire. To build a temple for the Lord. So we start off in chapter 7, verse 1, and it says this. Now it came about when the king lived in his house,

and the Lord had given him rest on every side from all of his enemies, that the king said to Nathan the prophet, See now, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells within tent curtains. And Nathan said to the king, Go and do all that is in your mind for the Lord, is with you. Now David has this great desire, and you can imagine how the scene goes, right? David had just had a beautiful home built for him by Hiram, king of Tyre. They'd sent cedar down to build a

home, and it would have been a phenomenal home at that point in time because cedar was about the best building material you could have had at that point in time, and still today. But it would have been a beautiful home that was built for him. You can imagine him living in his palace, right? And then you think about where the Ark of the Covenant is dwelling.

Now if you were here and you remember when we talked about the tabernacle, you know that on the inside of the tabernacle, it was absolutely beautiful, ornately decorated. But when you looked at the outside of the tabernacle, it was nothing to behold because the outside of the tabernacle was covered in those skins that would have just looked a little homely. Plus, quite frankly, it made a journey through the wilderness and probably has gotten a little dirty over the years. And it's not an overly big building. The tabernacle

is probably somewhat the size of this stage here, right? This is a pretty small place where where where the Ark of the Covenant would have dwelt. And you can imagine David living in this stately, ornately built home, and he looks down and he sees some animal skins covering the tabernacle, and he goes, boy, this just doesn't seem right. And you can imagine maybe one night Nathan the prophet's over at his house and they're eating dinner and they're maybe talking about the good things of the Lord. Maybe even

reminiscing on some memories of what God had brought him through. Because remember, we're given the statement in the beginning that God had given David, rest from all of his enemies. And maybe David's even telling some stories about the wilderness and how God had been so faithful to him. And perhaps he looks out his window, and as he looks out his window, he goes, boy, it just doesn't seem right, Nathan, does it? I'd kind of like

to do something for the Lord. He said, I dwell in a house of cedar, but the Ark of God dwells in a tent made out of curtains. And Nathan looks at him and says, I think I'm picking up what you're putting down here. You should go do everything that's in your heart. Now, the one mistake that Nathan makes is he hears a good idea, he sees the heart behind the idea, but he doesn't ask God

if it's a good idea. Now, this isn't necessarily a sinful thing that David wants to do, and I don't even know that he was in sin for wanting to go forward with it. But the fact of the matter is, God has a timing for everything, and he has a time when things are going to take place, and it wasn't time for a tabernacle or for a temple to be built yet. And so Nathan sort of presumptuously says, that's in your heart, to do, it's something for God, it's something for good, you go ahead and do it.

Right? And we can do that sometimes, can't we? We see something that's good, we see it for God, and it's like, yes, go ahead and do it. When maybe it's not God's timing yet, and so God has to correct Nathan a little bit here. So we jump over into verse 4, and it says this,

Are you the one who should build me a house to dwell in? For I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up the sons of Israel from Egypt, even to this day. But I have been moving about in a tent, even in a tabernacle. Wherever I have gone with all the sons of Israel, did I speak a word with one of the tribes of Israel which I commanded to shepherd my people Israel, saying, Why have you not built me a house, a house of cedar?

You can imagine Nathan, probably kind of excited about what David wants to do, right? Kind of excited about this idea, this is going to be great. Like, there's going to be a temple. This is, I'm kind of excited God's really moving in David, moving in the nation of Israel, and so they just jump into it, right? And that night, you can imagine him kind of laying down

and thinking through things, and God shows up. And God says, I have a question for you. Do you think I need a house to live in? Have I ever asked anybody to build me a house? I've always kind of dwelt in a tent. And if you think about it, that tabernacle, that tent, is very picturesque of who Jesus is, right? Because as you move into the New Testament, in the

Gospel of John, it talks about the fact that Jesus took on the form of a man and dwelt among us. That word dwelt means that he pitched his tent among us. It's the same idea of the tabernacle. He tabernacled among us. And so as David has this idea, it's not a bad idea, but he wants him to truly understand, first of all, that God doesn't dwell in houses. And this is going to be an

important issue, because for the nation of Israel, they will come to a place where they begin to view their hope in the tabernacle instead of the God who the tabernacle represents. They put their hope in a temple instead of the God that the temple represents. He says, I never have dwelt in a house before, and I didn't ask anybody to build me a house. I never once said to any of the nation of Israel, those that would shepherd my people, you should build me a house. So

I need you to understand this is not what I need, and it's not what I've ever asked for, because I've always tabernacled amongst you. And instead of this, God has an idea. He has something that he wants to do. He says, verse 8, Now therefore, thus you shall say to my servant David, thus says the Lord of hosts, I took you from the pasture, from following the sheep, to be ruler over my people Israel. I

have been with you wherever you have gone and have cut off all your enemies from before you. I will make you a great name, like the names of the great men who were on the earth. I will also appoint a place for my people Israel, and will plant them that they may live in their own place and not be disturbed again, nor will the wicked afflict them any more as formerly, even from the day that I commanded judges to be over my people Israel. And I will give you rest from all your enemies.

The Lord also declares to you that the Lord will make a house for you. When your days are complete and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your descendant after you who will come forth from you and I will establish his kingdom. He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. I will be a father to him, and he will be a son to me. When he commits iniquity

I will correct him with the rod of men, and with the strokes of the sons of men. But my loving kindness shall never depart from him, as I took it away from Saul, whom I removed from before you. Your house and your kingdom shall endure before me forever. Your throne shall be established forever in accordance with all these words and all this vision. So Nathan

spoke to David. Now I hope that as we read through that you picked up on a theme. Did you pick up on a theme as you read through all that? It all centered around God's work. Did you notice that? There was a whole lot of I will, and I will, and I will. Because God says, I know what you want to do for me. Let me tell you what I want to do for you. Let me tell you

what I plan to do for you. And I think there's a really good point here that's made for us. Sometimes we think we need to do all of these things for God. And it's easy, especially as a preacher, to start telling you what you should be doing for God. And I'm always reminded in sections like this, it's less about what I do for God, and more about what God has already

done for me. It's less about what you have to do for God, and more about you understanding what God has done for you. Did you take note? I wrote down a handful of these things that God said for Nathan to tell to David. I took you from the pasture, and I made you a ruler. Isn't that just like God? Isn't it just like God to take us from the pasture and make us

a ruler? To take us from the lowest place and make us like the kings? To make us a son of the king? To take us from the trough yard and put us in the king's palace? That's just like God, right? That's what he does for us. He says, I took you from the pasture, and I made you a ruler. He says, I have been with you, and I have given you victory. I've been with you everywhere that you've

gone, and I've given you victory over all of your enemies. That's what I've already done for you. And as a matter of fact, what I want to do for you is I want to make your name great. Not only do I want to make your name great, but I want to appoint a place for my people, a place where they will have rest from all of their enemies. That place will be in Jerusalem,

where they'll have rest from all of their enemies. And now's where it gets really good. And I will establish your house forever. This is what we call the Davidic covenant. This is the promise that there will always be someone from the seed of David sitting on the throne. And from the time of David until the Babylonian, captivity, there was always a descendant

of David sitting on the throne. From the time of the Babylonian captivity on, there's been no throne. Therefore, no descendant of David has sat on the throne. There's one descendant of David we're waiting to officially sit on the throne for the very last time and for all of eternity. And that descendant of David is named Jesus. That's why it's so important to understand the Davidic

covenant, because the Davidic covenant finds its ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ. That's why he's referred to as the son of David. Because he is the rightful heir to the throne. But he makes this wonderful covenant with him and says, I will make you a house forever and don't worry about it. I'm going to give you a son. And that son that I give you, he will build me a home.

Why didn't God want David to build him a home? Well, we're told in Scripture because David was a man of bloodshed. Now, the David and Bathsheba thing and the killing of Uriah hadn't happened yet. So what does he mean he's a man of bloodshed? We see David was a man of war. David was a man of war who was constantly winning victories for the Lord. And you see the one who fights the wars

can't be the one who will build the temple. It will be the son who is a son of peace that will build the temple. Because the temple would not be a place of war. The temple would be a place of peace. That's why Solomon, his son, would ultimately be the one who would build the temple. And he said, I will give you a house. I will give you a son and he will build me

a house. And that son, I'll never reject him. When he sins, and Solomon did sin, when he sins I will correct him as a father corrects a child. I will correct him when necessary but I will not reject him. And I think there's an interesting word for us there because David, as that picture of Jesus, had a son named Solomon who would have to be corrected but would never be rejected.

You and I, as children of God through Jesus, though sometimes we have to be corrected, will never be rejected by the Lord. And he makes this wonderful covenant. Can you imagine? At first Nathan's probably like, oh man, I really screwed up by telling David to roll with this. And then all of this stuff, I mean, even though Nathan wasn't the one who the covenant was for, you can imagine how

overwhelming this was for him to take in. How overwhelming it was to take in the fact that God just made an eternal covenant with David. So he goes and he tells David, David, everything that he had told him. And I want you to notice how David responds. In verse 18 it says, Then David the king went in and he sat before the Lord. Now before we go into what David

says, I want you to take note of that line. Matter of fact, I underlined that because I found that to be kind of an interesting thing. That that's what David did. And he's going to go on and pray and it's going to be a very humble prayer of thanksgiving that he gives to the Lord. But David went in and he sat before the Lord. And I think that there's a word there for us as well.

And I've shared this several times. One of the most difficult things we do in the culture that we live in right now is to sit before the Lord. Have you ever tried to do that? Have you ever tried to just stop everything you're doing, just shut everything, all your devices off, all of the noise off, and just sit before the Lord? As you think about the greatness

of who God is and the greatness of what he's done for you and the and the amazing grace that he has shown to you. Do you ever just sit before the Lord and allow yourself to be overwhelmed? I would venture to say that you're, we're all a little bit like me. And that sometimes that's a hard thing to do. Because I've always got to think about the next thing that there is to do.

Every day when my, when my wife and I both get home from work, we take a little drive together. Usually it involves us getting a coffee somewhere, but that's neither here nor there. But we take a little drive together and we just talk about the day. And she says, tell me about your day. And I, oddly enough, take up most of the time talking. I know, I know, right?

Like you never talk, Ryan. But I do, I take up most of the time talking because I have a significant number of things in the air floating around right now. And I said, I'm sorry, I just, I have a lot of balls in the air right now. And she said, that's okay, that's why I ask how your day is because I know you have a lot more going than I do. And I go, but the problem I have sometimes is

I can't put all that stuff aside to sit down and really just sit before the Lord. But I find that if I'll do that, if I can just sit down, clear it all out, and really meditate on God's grace, it just becomes overwhelming. And it's such a beautiful moment. I think David is overwhelmed by the goodness of God at this point in time. And so he goes in and he just sits before the Lord.

Somebody told me one time about a book, I haven't read it yet, I need to get it, I haven't read it yet, called The Tyranny of the Urgent. I don't remember who told me about it, but I was like, that sounds like a great book to read because I think that I, that I fall into that. And because I give in to the tyranny of the urgent, sometimes I forget to do the one most important thing, the thing that Jesus told Martha Mary had chosen, and that's just to sit before the Lord and to see what God has to say. And that's what David does.

David is so overwhelmed by what God says, so overwhelmed with this covenant, this everlasting covenant, that he says, that he just sits before the Lord and he says, back in the middle of verse 18, "'Who am I, O Lord?'' "'And what is my house, that you have brought me this far?' "'And yet this was insignificant in your eyes. "'O Lord, for you have spoken also "'of the house of your servant, "'concerning the distant future. "'And this is the custom of man, O Lord. "'Again, what more can David say to you?

"'For you know your servant, O Lord God. "'For the sake of your word "'and according to your own heart, "'you have done all this greatness "'to let your servant know. "'For this reason, you are great, O Lord God. "'For there is none like you, "'and there is no God besides you, "'according to all that we have heard with our ears. "'And what one nation on the earth

"'is like your people Israel, "'whom God went to redeem for himself as a people "'and to make a name for himself "'and to do a great thing for you "'and awesome things for your land "'before your people, "'whom you have redeemed for yourself from Egypt, "'from the nations and their gods. "'For you have established for yourself "'your people Israel as your own people forever, "'and you, O Lord, have become their God.'" I love this. David goes, who am I? Who am I that you would do this for me?

And the more that he really started thinking about what God had done, the more humbled he was by it, the more he wanted to respond to God with a wholehearted faith. The following of him. I had a conversation with somebody today, and it was a teacher at the college, and she said, we were talking about the need for more of an influence of Christianity on the college campus. And she said, I had a conversation with a kid, and he said, I heard that the more you learn about Christianity, the less you want to do with it.

And I said, well, he clearly hasn't heard the truth about Christianity. He clearly hasn't heard the truth about who Jesus is. I find that the more I learn about who God is, I find the more that I learn about what the Bible says, I find that the more that I learn about the grace that God has shown to me, the more I say what David said. And I say, Lord, who am I?

Who am I that you would show me this kindness? Who am I that you would show me this grace? Who am I that you would pour out your love upon someone like me? Because I know who I am, and I know who you are. And to think that you would show that kind of grace to me is more than my mind can take in. And that's how David responds. He just responds in this humble way of saying,

Lord, Lord, who am I that you would continue to do this? And this is what you've always done, because you took this nation, you made a nation, and you brought them out of Egypt, and you made them your own special people. Of course you do things like this, because that's the kind of God that you are. And he goes on to say in verse 23, Now therefore, O Lord God, the word that you have spoken concerning your servant and his house, confirm it forever, and do as you have spoken, that your name may be magnified forever, by saying, The Lord of hosts is God over Israel, and may the house of your servant David be established before you.

For you, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to your servant, saying, I will build you a house. Therefore your servant has found courage to pray this prayer to you. Now, O Lord, you are God, and your words are truth, and you have promised this good thing to your servant. Now therefore, may it please you to bless the house of your servant, that it may continue forever before you.

For you, O Lord God, have spoken, and with your blessing may the house of your servant be blessed forever. There's a couple things I'd like to point out to you about that. Did you notice how David then just claimed that truth? He claimed the truth in his own life. He claimed it as his own. God made the promise, and now David says, Now keep your promise, Lord,

and I'm claiming it as my very own. Now listen, I'm not going to name it and claim it as sort of a preacher. I don't think you need to go out and start claiming houses and cars for yourself. But if it's a promise that's given to you in Scripture, if it's a truth of who God is and what He's promised to do for you, then the best thing you can do is start to believe it.

And start to believe what God wants to do for you. Because while I don't know that necessarily all of the worldly treasures are something that God has intended for every person in here, I believe that every spiritual blessing in heavenly places is ours. And we need to begin to believe it. And we need to begin to say, Lord, this is what Your Word says, and I would like for You to do this in my life.

I want to see You accomplish this in my life. And that brings me to the second point. Do you notice that God's grace brings boldness? Do you notice that God's grace always brings boldness into our life? Did you notice what David said? He says, Now, O Lord God, no, excuse me, verse 27, For You, O Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, have made a revelation to Your servant, saying,

I will build you a house. That's God's grace. Therefore Your servant has found courage to pray this prayer. That's confidence. The more that we understand God's grace in our life, the more that it gives us confidence in our relationship with Jesus Christ. Because with knowledge comes confidence. And this is what happens with David. So David just overwhelmed

by what God wants to do for him. Started off with him wanting to build a temple for the Lord. It ends with God saying, I will build you a house that will never be torn down because I will never remove my promise from you. Interestingly enough, David does start gathering all of the materials so that everything's prepared for Solomon. And Solomon does end up building a house for the Lord.

And we'll get there eventually. But you should look up the scripture where it talks about Solomon dedicating the temple to the Lord. Because that is truly one of the most moving portions of scripture in all of the Bible. When you see Solomon's prayer to the Lord and the glory of God fill that temple, it is truly a moving portion of scripture. And so we see God's covenant with David.

And now we move into chapter 8. And as we move into chapter 8, we see an expanding kingdom. It says, Now after this, it came about that David defeated the Pharaoh, the Philistines, and subdued them. And David took control of the chief city from the hand of the Philistines. And he defeated Moab, and he measured them with the line, making them lie down on the ground.

And he measured two lines to put to death and one full line to keep alive. And the Moabites became servants to David, bringing tribute. Then David defeated Hadadezer, I think that's how you say that, the son of Rehob, king of Zobah, as he went to Rehob, to restore his rule at the river. And David captured from him 1,700 horsemen and 20,000 foot soldiers. And David hamstrung the chariot horses,

but reserved enough for 100 chariots. And when the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, king of Zobah, David killed 22,000 Arameans. And then David put garrisons among the Arameans of Damascus. And the Arameans became servants to David, bringing tribute. And the Lord helped David to bring victory to the land, wherever he went. Now, the Philistines and the Moabites

and the different ones that are mentioned here, David continues to have victory over. Now, these are enemies of God from ancient times. The enemies that they were supposed to have driven out of the land when Joshua and the rest of the children of Israel came into the land and they failed to drive them all out. And now God is using David as his instrument of judgment to continue to drive out these Philistines and the Moabites and the Arameans.

And as he does so, he's going to bring victory to the land. So, let's start with this little summary statement that I want to spend just a moment talking about. It says, And the Lord helped David wherever he went. I think it's easy to look at David and know what a mighty man of valor he was, to know what a great warrior he was, to know what a great leader he was and what a great king he was.

And it's easy to begin to look and say, Well, yeah, it's because he was this awesome guy. It's because he was this great warrior. But the strength of David's life did not lie in and of himself. It didn't lie in his military might. It didn't lie in his ability to think clearly. It didn't lie in his ability to lead. The true strength of David's life was in one place and in one place only,

the fact that the Lord helped him wherever he went. There has been a theme, and I don't know if you've noticed this, those of you that have been with us since we started in Genesis. I don't know if you've paid attention to the theme, but of all of the great men that God used, there was always one consistent theme in each of these men. And I hope you've picked up on the theme because the theme consistent throughout every one that God has used is that God always said, I will be with you.

That was always the theme of the greatness of what made these men who they were, of what made these servants of God who they were. It wasn't that they were perfect people because quite frankly, none of them were perfect. We've looked at the mistakes of all of them. And in a week or two, we've looked at more of the mistakes of David. It wasn't that they were perfect people.

It wasn't that they were such mighty people or such wise people or such rich people. The thing that made them great was the presence of God with them. And that's a really good reminder for us because we are reminded that not most of us are wise in this world's eyes. Not most of us are mighty or any of those kinds of things. But we all have one thing in common

because there's one thing that can make us great as far as this world is concerned, and that's the presence of God with us. The very thing that allows us to make it through a day is the presence of God with us constantly. I remember when I started really discovering this for myself in my mid-twenties of going, man, I really can't do anything without the presence of God with me. I can't even make it through a day of work without the presence of God with me.

And I remember almost getting frustrated about that, going, why is it that all of these other people are incredibly successful in everything that they do, and it seems like they just live their lives without God and they make it through a day without Him, and yet I can't seem to get out of bed in the morning without the presence of God being with me. And I remember kind of sensing the Lord saying, they're really not doing that well. Because if you think about it, the rest of the world is struggling right now. Why are they struggling?

Because they don't have the presence of God with them. Why is it that you can live in victory in spite of all of the things going on in the world right now? Because of the presence of God with you. Perhaps you saw the interview of the, it was a hard one. I'll do my best to make it through this one. Perhaps you saw the interview of the woman who lost her son in the flood.

As the son was being swept away by the river, he didn't cry out for his mom. He cried out for Jesus. She said all he ever wanted to be was a superhero. That was what he wanted to be, this little five-year-old boy. And she said what he doesn't realize is, in that moment, he became my superhero. Because the presence of God, because the presence of God was with him.

Why was he able to cry out for Jesus in the midst of that? Because he knew his one hope was not on topside of planet Earth. It was in the reality of eternity. And he cried out for Jesus. She said, I can't wait to go home and see him someday. Because I know where he is right now. He is now in the presence of God. It's not just the presence of God with him. It's him in the presence of God.

And she says, and I can find some peace in that. See, that's someone who no matter what's going on in her life, she is great in this world. Because God is with her. And that's what David knew to be true. That's why when the writer of 2 Samuel here looked at everything that had gone on and the victories that David was having, he said, and the Lord helped David wherever he went.

Because that was the true place of victory. And the life of David. Well, it goes on from there to say, And David took shields of gold, which were carried by the servants of Hadadezer, and brought them to Jerusalem. From those places. I don't know how to say those names. And from Hadadezer, King David took a very large amount of bronze. Now when Toy, why not,

King of Hamath, heard that David had defeated all the army of Hadadezer, Toy sent Joram, his son, to King David to greet him and bless him. Because he had fought against Hadadezer and defeated him. For, they just want to use that name as many times as possible. For Hadadezer had been at war with him. And Joram brought with him articles of gold and bronze. And King David also dedicated these to the Lord

with silver and gold that he had dedicated from all the nations which he had subdued. From Aram and Moab and the sons of Ammon, the Philistines and Amalek. And from the spoil of Hadadezer, son of Rehob, King of Zobah. So David made a name for himself when he returned from killing 18,000 Arameans in the Valley of Salt. And he put garrisons in Edom. In all Edom he put garrisons.

And all the Edomites became servants to David. And here's this line again. And the Lord helped David wherever he went. If the Bible says it once, you should pay attention. If it says it twice, you should really pay attention. So David reigned over all Israel. And David administered justice and righteousness for all his people. And Joab, the son of Zeruiah, was over the army.

And Jehoshaphat, the son of Helod, was recorder. Zadok, the son of Ahidub. And Ahimelech, the son of Abiathar, were priests. And Sariah was secretary. And Benaiah, the son of Jehoiada, was over the Cherethites and the Pelethites. And David's sons were chief ministers. I need to give my tongue just a second to rest from all of those names. Now in chapter 9, a beautiful story.

We were introduced to a character a few chapters back named Mephibosheth. Also an incredibly fun name to say. You all should just quickly say Mephibosheth. You're smiling now, aren't you? It's a fun name to say, is it not? It's like youth pastor time all over again. So we're gonna see this character one more time because this is David's kindness to Mephibosheth.

So chapter 9, verse 1, it says, Then David said, Is there yet anyone left of the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake? Now there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Ziba. And they called him to David. And David said to him, Are you Ziba? And he said, I am your servant. The king said, Is there not yet anyone of the house of Saul

to whom I may show the kindness of God? And Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan who is crippled in both feet. And the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Amiel in Lodabar. And David sent and brought him from the house of Machir, the son of Amiel from Lodabar. And Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan,

the son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and prostrated himself. And David said, Mephibosheth. And he said, Here is your servant. Now if we think all the way back to 1 Samuel, we're reminded of the relationship that David had with Jonathan. Jonathan, of course, was Saul's son and one of Saul's commanders. And when David came into Saul's army after he had defeated Goliath,

David and Jonathan's hearts were knit together like brothers. They became the best of friends and honestly had a bond in the Lord that went even deeper than blood. And when Jonathan knew that God had anointed David as king and that ultimately Saul and his household were probably going to be passing away, he said, Do me a favor. Make me a promise. In the future,

will you show kindness to my family? Will you show kindness to my descendants? And David made that covenant with Jonathan. And now that David is established in his kingdom and now that he's established as the king over Israel and God has moved in his heart, he thinks back on that covenant that he had made with Jonathan. And he says, Is there anyone of Jonathan's household

that I can show some kind of kindness to? And so they say, Well, you know, there is one servant of Saul that's still alive. His name is Ziba. Let's call him in and ask him. And so Ziba says, Yes, there's one left. And his name is Mephibosheth. Now I think in just a moment it's going to tell us what happened to Mephibosheth. But he is lame in his feet. When everything happened

with the death of Saul and Jonathan after that battle, they feared that David would go in and kill all of Saul's family. And so Mephibosheth's handmaid, if you will, the one that was taking care of him as a little boy, tried to rush him out, carry him out of the house to hurry up and get out. And he fell, and his legs were broken and never fully healed like they were supposed to. So he was lame in his feet.

And so they say, Yes, there's this one kid left. His name is Mephibosheth. Would you like me to bring him? And he said, Bring him in. And of course Mephibosheth comes in and he prostrates himself and is probably pretty scared about what's going to happen because you have to understand customs at that point in time. When a king took over and drove out another kingdom,

drove out another ruling dynasty, the thing that usually took place is they would kill all of the remaining descendants so that no one could rise up to try to take over. And so really, what most of the time would have happened is that David would have called Mephibosheth in, not to show some kind of kindness to him, but to put him to death so that there would never be a point in time when he could rise up and try to take the kingdom back from David. So you can imagine when Mephibosheth is brought in, he's pretty fearful at this point in time. He's like, I've been hiding this whole time, Ziba gives me away, now I'm going to lose my head.

And so he comes to David and the first thing that David says to him in verse 7 is, do not fear, for I will surely show kindness to you for the sake of your father Jonathan and will restore to you all the land of your grandfather Saul and you shall eat at my table regularly. Again, he prostrated himself and said, what is your servant that you should regard a dead dog like me? And then King Saul, then the king called Saul's servant Ziba and said to him, all that belong to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. You and your sons and your servants shall cultivate the land for him.

You shall bring in the produce so that your master's grandson may have food. Nevertheless, Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall eat at my table regularly. And Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. Ziba called to the king, then Ziba said to the king, according to all that my lord commands his servant, so your servant will do. So Mephibosheth ate at David's table

as one of the king's sons. And he had a young son whose name was Micah and all who lived in the house of Ziba were servants to Mephibosheth. So he lived in Jerusalem and ate at the king's table regularly and he was lame. He was lame in both of his feet. Now this story is an amazingly beautiful story because here is someone who technically should have been an enemy of David.

He should have been an enemy of the king. And yet instead of being an enemy of the king, David treats him like one of his own sons. And David treats him like one of his own sons not because he deserves it, not because he can do anything for David. He treats him like one of his own sons simply because of a promise that he made to Jonathan. Simply because he loved Jonathan so much

and had made a promise to show kindness to all of his descendants. And in this story, we have one of the most beautiful pictures of grace in all of the Bible. Because if you think about it, as we look at this story, we are kind of like Mephibosheth. Not only because we all have fun names to say, but because we, like Mephibosheth, are unable to do anything for ourselves.

We are lame. We're unable to offer anything to the king. We offer him nothing that would end up purchasing any sort of favor in the eyes of the king. We are lame in our feet and ultimately we were all under the curse just like he would have been under the curse and technically been put to death because he was the son of the former king. Just like Mephibosheth,

we were lame and we were under the curse. But in that same way, we were shown great kindness. And we were shown great kindness not because of who we are, but because of a promise made to Jesus. The promise that the father made to Jesus is that all who will put their faith in you will be given the kindness of the king. And so you and I have been shown that same kind of favor

and now we not only have been given fellowship with the king because ultimately that's what Mephibosheth was given. He got to eat at the king's table every single day. Something that anybody in the kingdom would have been incredibly envious of. But not only was he given daily fellowship with the king, but he was given an inheritance in the kingdom. Just like you and I have been given an inheritance

in the kingdom. And it's all because of the kindness that God has shown to us because of Jesus. Is that not one of the most beautiful pictures of grace? You can see in all of scripture, it reminds me of that song, Amazing Grace, how sweet the sound, saved a wretch like me. And he experiences this. He's given this inheritance in the kingdom and as he's given this inheritance in the kingdom,

you can only imagine the gratefulness in the heart of Mephibosheth. But can I remind us of one last thing? One last thing that I think is really cool. Did you notice how Mephibosheth responded to David? It sounded very similar to the way that David responded to God. Did you notice that? He said, who am I? Who am I that you would show this great kindness to me?

One of the most beautiful things about grace is that grace begets more grace in the life of others. You see, God had shown so much kindness to David. God had shown so much grace to David. And because he had received so much grace, it's like his heart was moved to continue to show grace to those that were around him. In particular, someone who could have technically been his enemy,

but because of the promise, he showed him grace. And do you know it's like that in your life too? The more that you truly understand the grace of God in your life, the more that we truly understand that great grace that God has shown to us in our lives, the more that we have a tendency to want to show that to everybody else that's around us. The more that we tend to have that storehouse of grace in our own lives to show to the people that are around us.

You say, Ryan, I have such a hard time showing grace to people. Well, I have a question for you. Do you really understand grace for yourself? Because when we really understand the kindness that God has shown for us, and we find ourselves in the place of David and saying, who am I that you would show this kindness to me? Then you find it a whole lot easier to show that same kindness to someone else

because you realize I don't deserve it. So let me show you something that you don't deserve. So if you are having a hard time showing grace to people, and I see a lot of that in our culture today, then maybe it's time for you to ask God to reveal to you just how much grace he's shown to you so that you can sit before the Lord and say, who am I? Who am I that you would show this kind of grace to me?

Who am I that you would show this kind of kindness to me? You are such a good and loving God. Amen? Father, we come before you, and Lord, I just thank you for the time that we've had in your word this evening. And Father, even though I didn't make it as far as I wanted to, I think your word was shared in a proper way. And so I pray that your grace would continue

to flow through each of us. Father, that we, like David, would understand as we sit before you, who are we that you would show this kind of kindness to us? And so, Lord, may we respond not only with wholehearted thanksgiving, but Lord, may we respond with a heart of grace to those that are around us in a world that is in such desperate need of your grace. Father, we thank you for who you are.

In Jesus' name. Amen. Amen. Be blessed.