February is the month that we generally turn our minds toward thoughts of love. We express our love to others, and yet it is only because of God's love toward us that we can know how to love Him and one another. John wrote, "We love Him, because He first loved us." This morning I want us to look at a vivid illustration of God's love to us.
To lay the foundation for what we are about to consider we need to understand that we are looking at a change in leadership of the nation of Israel. Saul's kingdom had been withdrawn because of his disobedience toward God and David is now in power. It was the custom for new kings to destroy any of the household of the previous leadership in order to prevent any conflicts from arising.
But David was not just any king, he was a man after God's own heart. Saul had been the people's choice, but David was God's choice! It was from the line David that the Messiah would eventually come. In many ways, David typifies the Lord Jesus Christ.
I. Note the Concern of the King. v1-3
A. Based on a covenant of love.
1. Jonathan and David were the closest of friends.
2. They were more like brothers who grew up together.
3. Jonathan protected David and literally saved his life. cf 1Sa. 19:1-2
4. They were bound to one another by a covenant of love. cf 1Sa. 20:42
B. David's love illustrates God's love to us.
1. His love was spontaneous.
a. It was the voluntary impulse of a kind and merciful heart.
b. God always takes the first step toward man's redemption.
c. He so loved the world that He gave His Son.
2. His love was gracious.
a. Mephibosheth was undeserving of this love.
b. David offered his love to an enemy.
c. God's love for the lost is a result of His grace.
d. Not one of us deserve the love that God gives to us.
3. His love was self-sacrificing.
a. David was willing to give what was his that he might show kindness to Jonathan's son.
b. We see that same self-sacrificing love in Jesus' willingness to go to Calvary that our sins might be forgiven.
c. What David offered was temporary, but what is offered through Jesus Christ is eternal!
II. Note the Condition of Mephibosheth.
A. Fearfulness:
1. Mephibosheth was hiding from the king.
2. His heart filled with fear that the new king would call for his execution.
3. He was unaware of the king's love that was to be extended toward him.
4. Many of those who do not know the love of God are afraid of Him.
5. Like Adam, they are hiding from their best friend.
B. Destitution:
1. Mephibosheth was "In the house of Machir (sold), the son of Ammiel, in Lodebar (without pasture)".
2. Once he was part of Saul's royal family, but now his father and grandfather had been killed and there was a new king.
3. He had nothing to look forward to but destitution and death.
4. Away from God, the sinner is without hope.
C. Helplessness:
1. Mephibosheth was lame on both feet.
2. When he was five years old he was injured in a fall. cf 2 Sa. 4:4
3. His helpless condition pictures each of us without Christ.
4. We cannot walk right before the Lord because we were damaged by the fall...we inherited the nature of sin.
5. Without Christ we are helpless to walk upright...there is none righteous, no not one...we have all have gone astray...we have come short of the glory of God.
III. Note Mephibosheth's Salvation.
A. The king's invitation.
1. David sought for Mephibosheth...Jesus came to seek and to save that which was lost.
2. He sent his servant to find him and bring him...Jesus said, "As the Father hath sent me, so send I you."
3. This is an invitation that is all of grace...he certainly didn't deserve David's kindness.
B. Mephibosheth's response.
1. He could have refused to come, but he really had no where to go.
2. Often times it seems that we turn to the Lord when there is no where else to go.
3. That was my testimony...I had tried what the world had to offer and came up empty and unfulfilled.
4. When I came to Christ I came empty handed with nothing to offer, but I received by grace all of what God had for me.
C. Mephibosheth's blessings.
1. He believed the message...the king wanted to show kindness toward him.
2. He humbled himself before the king and said, "What is thy servant, that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?" v8
3. He found that he was accepted not on the basis of who he was, but because of another, his father Jonathan.
4. When we receive God's blessings it is certainly not because we deserve it...but it is because of Christ.
5. He was adopted, made a part of the new royal family! v11
6. He received a new home...he was now a resident of the palace.
7. He received a great inheritance. v9-10
8. He now sat at the king's table and enjoyed his fellowship.
What a wonderful illustration of God's love to us. He cares for us, He sent His Son to die in our place, He calls for us to accept His invitation and be born again...to become part of His family. When we do, our lives will change just like Mephibosheth's did. Are you tired of living without Christ? Why not accept the love of God and trust Christ as your savior today?
Christian, are we sharing the love of God with those who need to hear? Many are hiding in loneliness and desperation thinking that there is no hope for them. We can introduce them to the Blessed Hope! We can tell them of the love of God that we have received through Christ. With Christ we can find acceptance and security.