Extending A Blessing
DAVID | Part 9
There is a simple spiritual act that maybe more than any other can change the direction of a person's life. It is a gift that God has given to everyone, and calls us to spread to others. By it cold hearts become soft and enemies become friends.
Watch:
Listen:
“When we reflect God’s kindness toward us to others, they will be changed.”
Scripture:
2 Samuel 9
David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan’s sake?”
Now there was a servant of Saul’s household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?”
“At your service,” he replied.
The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?”
Ziba answered the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is lame in both feet.”
“Where is he?” the king asked.
Ziba answered, “He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar.”
So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel.
When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor.
David said, “Mephibosheth!”
“At your service,” he replied.
“Don’t be afraid,” David said to him, “for I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan. I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather Saul, and you will always eat at my table.”
Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”
Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul’s steward, and said to him, “I have given your master’s grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. You and your sons and your servants are to farm the land for him and bring in the crops, so that your master’s grandson may be provided for. And Mephibosheth, grandson of your master, will always eat at my table.” (Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants.)
Then Ziba said to the king, “Your servant will do whatever my lord the king commands his servant to do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David’s table like one of the king’s sons.
Mephibosheth had a young son named Mika, and all the members of Ziba’s household were servants of Mephibosheth. And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, because he always ate at the king’s table; he was lame in both feet.
More From This Series:
We all have hopes and dreams. But sometimes our dreams don't turn out as planned. And when our dreams don't work out...it can be hard to swallow. So what do you do when the legacy you thought you'd leave will never be realized? How do we deal with broken dreams?
Even when we're at our worst, God is for us. As we see towards the end of David’s prime, God was not done working in His life. And as long as there's breath in your lungs, He's not done with you either.
What good is it if you win all the prizes offered to you by the world and in the process lose your children? In "The Sins Of The Father," Pastor Tim portrays a first person narrative from the perspective of David during the most devastating time in his life...the loss of his son.
The cycle of sin, repentance, and forgiveness is a normal part of the faith journey. We're broken people that are prone to messing up and making bad decisions. But what if we messed up really bad? What if we’ve made choices that still haunt us to this day? Is there hope for repair?
Disastrous decisions often never just "happen." More often than not, the most destructive decisions we make in our lives are built on a series of smaller, less damaging choices. How do we pursue better choices that lead to a life well spent instead of just...spent?
There is a simple spiritual act that maybe more than any other can change the direction of a person's life. It is a gift that God has given to everyone, and calls us to spread to others. By it cold hearts become soft and enemies become friends.
Have you ever experienced times in your life where your plans just didn't work out the way you expected? You're not quite the person you’d hoped to be by now. Your career didn't excel in the way you wanted. You had dreams of being or doing more and yet God said, “No.” How do we navigate these instances when God shuts a door on the plans we've made?
How often do you connect fear and amazement with experiencing the presence of God? We're comfortable with a God who is always with us and is all loving. Which are true, but the Bible also tells us that the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom. As loving, gracious, and faithful as God is, He is also holy, different, other worldly. Those who know Him best, will reverently fear Him.
Sometimes there are people in our lives that make our lives simply unbearable. People that genuinely cause us suffering, hurt, and frustration. For David, this was Saul. If it's true that God hates our suffering, why does he allow people like this to remain in our lives?
Have you ever had the things you lean on for support in life kicked out from under you? It happened to David. One by one David lost his support systems, and the courageous shepherd who defeated Goliath was suddenly overwhelmed with fear. How do we overcome seasons of fear like this? How did David?
In "The Power Of Friendship," Pastor Peter Seide shifts our focus from David, to his beloved friend, Jonathan. We all need at least one good friend in our lives, and we need to be a good friend to others. Someone to walk with through the twists and turns of life. What does it mean to be a good friend? How can we learn from Jonathan's example of friendship?
Everything in David’s life seemed to be coming together. He was instantly a national hero after defeating Goliath; his career was about to skyrocket as he's chosen by God to be the next king of Israel. He was an overnight sensation. Yet, not everyone was excited about all of David's success. Sound familiar? We live in a society fueled by envy, but like in David's life, nothing can derail God's plan for our lives when we pursue His heart.
The story of David and Goliath is a familiar one, and it's an important lesson on how to face life’s most difficult challenges with courage. But what really is courage? Where does it come from? And why is courage still as relevant to us as it was for David when he battled Goliath?
The Bible calls David, "a man after God's own heart." And yet, at times he was brutal, faithless, and a lousy father. He was an adulterer. He was a murderer. And still, "a man after God's own heart." Sometimes God chooses the most unsuspecting people to do His work in the world. So what is it that God is looking for in the people he chooses?