Become a Creator today!Start creating today - Share your story with the world!
Start for free
00:00:00
00:00:01
Joshua Generation: Mephibosheth and the Gospel image

Joshua Generation: Mephibosheth and the Gospel

FDTC Extras
Avatar
10 Plays2 days ago

Like! Share! Subscribe! 

David summons Jonathan's son to his court... and we get a beautiful picture of the Gospel and the love of Jesus! 

 If you would like a copy of the Bible study, reach out to me and we'll make it happen!  And get your REVIVAL tickets here on Eventbrite:  https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ohm-revival-ireland-february-2026-tickets-1974914453293?aff=ebdssbdestsearch  

And in May, we're having a REVIVAL Men's Conference. Get your tickets on Eventbrite, too: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/ohm-rize-mens-retreat-ireland-2026-tickets-1978682463513?aff=ebdssbdestsearch   

The content used in this video is intended for educational and informational purposes only. All rights to the images, music, clips, and other materials used belong to their respective owners. I do not claim ownership over any third-party content used. ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  

📘 Order My Books Read faith-filled adventure, fantasy, and science-fiction books to support Christian entertainment.

 👉 https://www.amazon.co.uk/GHOST-UNSAID-ONE-PANOPTICON-Triumvirate/dp/1948581647 

👉https://www.amazon.co.uk/GHOST-UNSAID-BOOK-RECKONING-Triumvirate/dp/B0CH2H6LSX  

🎥 Watch More Videos: Teaching, encouragement, testimony, and biblical truth. 

👉 https://www.youtube.com/@brendanthomasmarrett9868/videos 

🧢 From Dublin to Cleveland – Official Merch: Wear the message. Support the work.  

👉 https://www.bonfire.com/from-dublin-to-cleveland-shirt/?srsltid=AfmBOorvSsSmUI-oAQ9mC4uSVWhkPmZvaMkeouFcmZEM8G3eJAqNyGnT  ━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━  

🤝 Support the Ministry: If this ministry blesses you and you’d like to help it grow, please consider becoming a monthly supporter or making a one-off love offering: 

 💸 PayPal: paypal.me/BrendanMarrett 

💵 Revolut: https://revolut.me/brendanthomasmarrett

Recommended
Transcript

Introduction and Overview

00:00:03
Speaker
All right, great. All right, guys. So 2 Samuel, chapter 8. We're going to read the first 13 verses. and Will you please read these ones, Catherine? No, I will stop you every yeah few words. and I'm to give this one a title.

Understanding Gangstalking

00:00:23
Speaker
Gangstalking. Gangstalking is a word that came to me this morning. and And I have to say, as the morning has gone on, it has only gotten more and more prevalent to me.
00:00:38
Speaker
Gang stalking is the idea that people and or demons are absolutely hellbent on sabotaging you. They're working together, sometimes knowingly, sometimes unknowingly, sometimes very knowingly.
00:00:57
Speaker
And their intention is is to gaslight you, to make you think you're going crazy. They are hounding you. They are harassing you.
00:01:09
Speaker
They have an orchestrated persecution against you.
00:01:17
Speaker
And as we read this story today, how much that we get through, i don't know, we'll see how Holy Spirit leads. There might be so much of this, we need to break it over two weeks.

Spiritual Warfare and David's Battles

00:01:28
Speaker
But as we see today in David's story, he had to fight enemies and more enemies and more enemies and more enemies.
00:01:42
Speaker
He was a man of war and he had to pick up his knife, his blade, his sword, put it down and rest in the Lord, pick up his weapon again,
00:01:56
Speaker
Worship the Lord. Pick up his weapon again. Pray the Lord. Pick up his weapon again. Rejoice in the Lord. Pick up his weapon again. But every day was a battle. It was a fight. a fight. fight. A fight. a fight And as I remember sharing once ago.
00:02:11
Speaker
to the surprise of some of you. The promised land is not where you put your feet up. On the beach. On a lounge. Sipping margaritas. Having the time of your life.
00:02:23
Speaker
The destiny God has for you. is war. The destiny that God has for you is spiritual combat. Because we're fighting a battle here in the spiritual, and the enemy has already taken ground.
00:02:39
Speaker
And our lives are about taking that back. um In the natural, you know, whether it's karate, jujitsu, taekwondo, kung fu, your body is a fighting machine.
00:02:52
Speaker
And in the same way, your soul and spirit were made for spiritual warfare, for spiritual combat. Because God knew before he even made Adam and Eve, the first man and the first woman, that evil was going to come and it would have to be brought into subjugation and dominion to the kingdom of righteousness.
00:03:22
Speaker
Because when good people don't fight, The Empire of Darkness has a field day and totally takes control. So yes, we have God Most High, God Almighty fighting on our behalf, fighting alongside us, leading us into battle, and that's great.
00:03:42
Speaker
We're fighting at a strategic disadvantage insofar as evil has already taken over the world. And now we're fighting to get the territory back for Jesus.
00:03:57
Speaker
Depression already has a foothold in every second person you talk to.
00:04:03
Speaker
I used to think suicidal ideation was rare. And then you know what? I began doing deliverances. Or i began just having transparent conversations with God's sons and daughters.
00:04:17
Speaker
And I realized it's not rare.
00:04:21
Speaker
I used to think rape and molestation was the affliction of the few. It really isn't.
00:04:33
Speaker
And all these things where evil has had its hooks into people, had them pushing people down, has been squashing and quashing them and squeezing them like snakes, we have been called by Jesus to fight back into darkness and to set those people free.

Hidden Spiritual Threats

00:04:51
Speaker
And you're go to see that in David's life. Where this study today is basically David going from one battle, another battle, another battle, another battle, another battle, another battle. And it doesn't really stop until he's dead.
00:05:04
Speaker
He doesn't die today, but effectively he was a man of war. And the enemies that he faced, which we're going read of today, perhaps you can see them in your life today too.
00:05:20
Speaker
Okay, so you please start reading, Pastor. In the course of time, David defended the Philistines and subdued them, and he took Mahath from the control the Philistines. Okay, thank you.
00:05:35
Speaker
All right, guys, we're taking an notes. Philistines. The Philistines means to make you weaker.
00:05:53
Speaker
It means to burrow. Think of a rabbit digging a hole in the ground. Have you ever had enemies or found yourself in a situation and you did not know what was happening, but you knew something was?
00:06:10
Speaker
You didn't know who your enemies were because it all felt underground. It all felt like an underground operation was happening, something under the shadows, under the surface.
00:06:26
Speaker
Philistines also means to grieve loudly. As in, you will be the one who is grieving loudly. You'll be crying your eyes out after they've destroyed you.
00:06:43
Speaker
And Philistines also means to equalize. Now, when people hear the word equal today, you're like, know, equal rights. That's not what this means. This is not, let's lift you up so you're equal.
00:06:57
Speaker
This means to level. And man, you have a mountain and you equalize the mountain. You cannot make the mountain like a square or a cube.
00:07:08
Speaker
You equalize a mountain by leveling and destroying it. That is what the Philistines did. They weakened their enemies and
00:07:21
Speaker
They burrowed underground. Everything was under the surface, under the radar, where you couldn't see. You knew something was happening, but you didn't know who, what, when, where, or why.
00:07:34
Speaker
You ended up grieving loudly because you lost everything you had.
00:07:40
Speaker
And they leveled you. You were a strong, mighty mountain, and then you became the rubble. That's what Philistines means.
00:07:52
Speaker
David had to fight an army called the Philistines. But we have spiritual enemies and that is their goal in our lives.

Declaring Spiritual Victory

00:08:10
Speaker
And then it says he took Mepheg Amma from the control of the Philistines. Mepheg Amma.
00:08:20
Speaker
Picture a horse, you know and and yeah and you want to go horseback riding. It means bridle, bit, control, bondage.
00:08:35
Speaker
You're supposed to be a horse, a powerful animal, running for Jesus, galloping over the fences, over the fields. But the enemy puts a bit in your mouth, a bridle around your head, to control you,
00:08:50
Speaker
to bring you into bondage.
00:09:02
Speaker
But here's the best thing. The name David, circle it, highlight it, underline, write it in your notepad, however you take notes. The name David means beloved.
00:09:18
Speaker
And you, are God's beloved.
00:09:23
Speaker
So in the course of time, Steve, God's beloved. Catherine, God's beloved. Kitty, God's beloved.
00:09:34
Speaker
Mandy, Priya, Lisa, Carolina, Ramis, Brendan, God's beloved, defeated the spiritual enemy that want to weaken you, borrow and attack you underground, make you grieve loudly,
00:09:50
Speaker
level you and subdued them and he took bondage and control from the Philistines. That's in this read. So whatever enemies you're facing in your life, I want you to declare this over your life.
00:10:07
Speaker
You are God's beloved and you will defeat the enemies designed to level and subjugate you. Amen.
00:10:47
Speaker
All right, everyone, look at verse number two.

Overcoming the Orphan Spirit

00:10:50
Speaker
So David's author. David also defeated the Moabites. He made them lie down on the ground and measured them off with a length of cord.
00:11:02
Speaker
Every two lengths of them were put to death, and the third length was allowed to live. So the Moabites became subject to David and brought him tribute. Okay, thank you.
00:11:13
Speaker
All right, the Moabites. Have any of you ever heard Sodom and Gomorrah? Yeah. Sodom and Gomorrah was in the book of Genesis.
00:11:25
Speaker
They were different city. Sodom was the worst of them all, but Gomorrah followed suit. um They did insane levels of evil in God's eyes. Up to and including trying to rape two of God's angels.
00:11:47
Speaker
So there were very few survivors from that city, and God obliterated them with fire. Where is Sodom today?
00:11:57
Speaker
it is now the Dead Sea. If you go on a tour of the Dead Sea, it is the lowest point on Earth, and nothing sinks, everything just floats covered in salt.
00:12:12
Speaker
And the historians and the archaeologists will tell you it was like a volcano, like volcanic fire came out of the sky and destroyed it. That's how they'll describe it. We're not just talking, you know, God lit a candle and we're talking intense heat here because of how wicked it was.
00:12:30
Speaker
But one man survived, whose name was Lot. He he got away, ran to a mountain. That's L-O-T. And his daughters, he had two daughters,
00:12:43
Speaker
Their fiancées stayed in Sodom. And they were burned alive. So the two daughters said, Oh no, now we have no husband and we're never going to have kids.
00:12:58
Speaker
So they devised the most... I mean, the Bible has some really wicked people in it. This might be one of the most wicked, evil, disgusting plans I knew the Bible ever had.
00:13:10
Speaker
They decided to get their father drunk. and to rape him so that they would get pregnant with his kids slash grandkids.
00:13:21
Speaker
um So it's basically incest and rape where they they raped him. The Moabites came from that incest and rape.
00:13:34
Speaker
Two nations did, Moabites were one of them. And their name is, in 21st century slang, Who's your daddy?
00:13:46
Speaker
Who's your father? um You could look at that perhaps as an orphan mentality. Who's your father? Who's your daddy? Who do you belong to? And on one hand, you have the disgusting physical act itself.
00:14:03
Speaker
The fact that they were born of incest and rape, but then also that orphan mentality. Who's your daddy? Who's your father? Who do you belong to? If you want to achieve your destiny in Christ, you have to defeat an orphan spirit, an orphan mentality.
00:14:23
Speaker
You need to know who you are in Christ. You need to know whose you are. That God is not some impersonal cosmic being who just lives somewhere, but that actually he desires a relationship with you.
00:14:42
Speaker
and he created you to be in relationship with him. That he is the healer. He is the restorer. He is the lifter of your head.
00:14:53
Speaker
He is your all in all. He is your all sufficient one. He is the one who holds his precious people and says you're a diadem in my hand.
00:15:07
Speaker
Jesus is the cornerstone of our faith. He's not the leaning tower Pisa where your life is supposed to feel lopsided. He's the one who actually keeps you in place, keeps you standing, keeps you solid. He is your firm foundation. He is the rock of aging. matter what season it is, what generation it is what century it is, he is the one thing that never changes. All right, verse three.

Worldly Distractions vs Divine Strength

00:15:36
Speaker
Moreover, David defeated Hathir's son of Rehob, king of Zohar, when he went to restore his monument at the Yerthreuth River. David captured a thousand of his chariots, seven thousand charioteers, and twenty thousand foot soldiers.
00:15:54
Speaker
He hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses. Okay, thank you. in verse three there, Hadadizer, his name,
00:16:05
Speaker
again, for your notes taking, so circle them, underline them, highlight them whatever you wanna means to thunder, to make a loud noise, to shout.
00:16:22
Speaker
And think of the world that we're living in. We are living in a world of thunder, of noise, of shouting.
00:16:36
Speaker
where everyone and everything all the time is competing for your attention. Where you could not, let's be honest, in this day and age, have a prayer meeting for an hour or and church service and not have your phone go...
00:16:58
Speaker
don out why i are you what the crack Someone having an emergency. Someone saying, oh my goodness, did you see what that politician just said on the news? Or, oh wow, you know, this just happened.
00:17:09
Speaker
We're living in a world of noise, a world of conflict, and the conflict is for your all. Not that you say, God is awesome. That you say, oh, that's awful.
00:17:23
Speaker
Everything is competing for your attention. Especially the negative. I thinking just yesterday, when I was doing my teacher training back in 2016. um think I started on a Monday, if I'm not mistaken.
00:17:38
Speaker
And the day beforehand, and Britain had just decided to leave the European Union. And I'll be honest, I was politically clueless back then. I did not know what Brexit meant.
00:17:50
Speaker
I just remember turning up on day one for teacher training and someone saying, oh my goodness. Britain, what have you done? The world is finished.
00:18:02
Speaker
We're in crisis. And I was like, good morning to you too. hey And she said, oh, it's awful. And I was thinking, what just happened? was like, what's awful?
00:18:14
Speaker
She said Brexit. I didn't know what that word meant. So I kind of played along. i was like, shocking stuff altogether, Missy?
00:18:25
Speaker
And then you know what? A few months later, the US voted for a president who wasn't Hillary Clinton. And that was the worst thing in the world. And then you fast forward a few years later, next thing there's COVID. And that's the thing that's going take us all out.
00:18:40
Speaker
And then Putin invades Ukraine. And suddenly we're supposed to care about that. And then you have Israel, Hamas, and yada, yadda yada, yada. Everything is competing for your attention. And the people who are pushing for your attention...
00:18:55
Speaker
Rarely have good intentions. but So that's what Hadadezer did. He thundered. He made a noise. He shouted, and it's all about intimidating you.
00:19:07
Speaker
It's all about making you feel afraid. Making you feel so small, so insignificant, that you hear the... And you hide under the vent of the system.
00:19:24
Speaker
But not with David. David saw the threat and he ran towards it with God's help, with God's leading. he won. And then he hos he hamstrung all but a hundred of the chariot horses.
00:19:39
Speaker
Basically crippled them so that they couldn't and lead chariots against him anymore.
00:19:49
Speaker
Alright, verse 5. When the army Damascus came to Hazir... ze ear King of Zobah, David struck down 22,000 of them. He put garrisons in the Aramean kingdom of Damascus, and the Arameans became subject to him and brought to great.
00:20:05
Speaker
The Lord gave David victory wherever he went. Thank you. Okay, the Arameans. Again, circle, underline, highlight. Aramean means elevation or to be high. Now I know to be high means something very different in 2026. It's all about, you know, drugs.
00:20:26
Speaker
But Arameans as in self-elevation. Your enemies are always so superior so that you, their victim, feel inferior.
00:20:40
Speaker
They put themselves on a pedestal to make you feel like you're insufficient. You're not good enough. You'll never measure up.
00:20:55
Speaker
But what love here, the Lord gave David victory wherever he went. Again, David means beloved, beloved one. The Lord gave the one he loved victory wherever he went.
00:21:09
Speaker
The Arameans may have said you're insufficient, but David knew his God was the all sufficient one.
00:21:19
Speaker
And his grace is sufficient for you and for me. So I'll be honest with you, I would circle, underline a highlight. The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.
00:21:31
Speaker
And underneath David, or in brackets, write me. The Lord will give me victory wherever I go. He's on your side. He's cheering you on. He wants what is best for you.
00:21:45
Speaker
Yes, God loves everybody. But he has a very special, tender affection for his kids.
00:22:01
Speaker
And even you see here with the gang stalking, when the Arameans of Damascus came to help Hadadezer, that idea that your enemies will work together against you.
00:22:15
Speaker
That can happen in the natural and in the supernatural. And sometimes you feel so overwhelmed. You feel going crazy.
00:22:26
Speaker
Like every day is a challenge. Every day there's a threat. Every day there's a new threat. You take down one enemy and all of a sudden there's another one. And you feel overwhelmed.
00:22:37
Speaker
You feel overcome. Like you can't catch your breath. Like you're just worn out. But that's where we have to say our strength comes from the Lord.
00:22:50
Speaker
And we are strong and mighty in his power. Not our own.
00:22:58
Speaker
Because in your humanity, the body needs sleep and rest. It's how we were made. But he is a God who never sleeps. He's a God whose energy levels are always 100%. Okay, and 8.
00:23:14
Speaker
David took the golden shield that belonged to the officers of the Hazar and brought them to Jerusalem from Tibet and Bethlehem, towns that belonged to Hazar. King David took a great quality of wrongs. Okay, lovely.
00:23:30
Speaker
That town there, Teba. Just in case you think, oh my goodness, David's killing all these people. Is David the baddie? Teba means to butcher, to murder, to slaughter.
00:23:44
Speaker
These people were killers. And what does the enemy come to do? Steal, kill, and destroy. So Teba means to butcher, to slaughter, to murder.
00:23:59
Speaker
The enemy had a plan for every person on earth. And it is to butcher and to slaughter them, to take them off the chessboard.
00:24:11
Speaker
What is that for us in a spiritual sense? Spirits of death.
00:24:17
Speaker
Which can also be spirits of suicide, where demons who literally prey on people, telling them to kill themselves.
00:24:30
Speaker
And Berethi, in English, translates as wells. Wells. Again, it's the idea of deck. Levels. Something underground. Something hidden.
00:24:53
Speaker
But David did not run away from a fight. Whenever... He had an enemy he had to overcome. As per God leading, he was on the battlefield.
00:25:05
Speaker
He fought against it. He fought against them. And Lord gave him great success. And look at this. He got tribute from the Arameans.
00:25:19
Speaker
He got gold shields from Hadadezer. He took a great quantity of bronze from Teban Berethi. This is probably one of my favorite Bible verses of 2026. And it's one that I want all of you to take notes of and to declare over yourselves.
00:25:42
Speaker
Proverbs 13, 22.
00:25:46
Speaker
A good person leaves inheritance for their children's children, but a sinner's wealth is stored up for their righteous.
00:25:59
Speaker
Other translations say the wealth of the wicked is stored up for the just.
00:26:13
Speaker
I gave a prophetic word a couple of months ago about difficult times ahead for the Western world, but I kept coming back to this Bible verse. And I'm telling you, it is something I absolutely am standing on right now.
00:26:30
Speaker
Even thinking the likes of Ireland, I think the UK is going through something very similar. Where basically it's near impossible anyone to afford house, especially if you're a first-time buyer.
00:26:42
Speaker
um And I've lost count the number times people have told me, would you not just leave Ireland? Just go to Asia, teach English as a foreign language, come back with your hundreds of thousands or your millions.
00:26:57
Speaker
And my response is always the same. I should not have to And what really keeps me planted here is this verse. That evil people have stored up wealth for far too long.
00:27:12
Speaker
through taxation, through stealing, through manipulation, through policing people, through robbing people blind. But we are living in days of revival and we are living in days of justice.

God's Justice and Provision

00:27:25
Speaker
And God's justice hits this earth, now people think that they want it to a certain degree, but God's house needs to get cleaned out first. But when God's justice fully hits this earth,
00:27:39
Speaker
You're not going to see the wicked evil people who are running the world right now. They will not be there to be seen. And that wild path goes somewhere. And it's going to the house of God.
00:27:59
Speaker
Brandon, where when do you see that happening? I... Think it will happen later than we want, but sooner than think.
00:28:12
Speaker
And by that I mean i would have loved to have seen this several years ago, Kitty. But the reality is God postpones his enactment of justice sometimes to give people time to relent, repent, and get their act together.
00:28:31
Speaker
am because he wants as many people to get in on the blessing as possible. He prefers grace and mercy to justice. He would love nothing more than for the wicked to say, hands in the air, sorry, we've done a lot of wicked things. We've been very, very bad. We apologize. We're just going rat out all the wicked, evil people and expose them.
00:28:53
Speaker
That's what he would like. And I believe he's already spoken to a number of them in their beds. But Baal did have to make that decision and to hearken to his words or not.
00:29:06
Speaker
All right.
00:29:11
Speaker
Okay, now you can continue on. When Tau, king of When Tau, king of Hamath, heard that David had defeated the entire army of Hazir, he sent his son, Joram, to King David to greet him and congratulate him on his victory in battle over Hazir.
00:29:27
Speaker
who had been at war with Turam, brought him articles of silver, of gold, and of bronze. Thank you. Okay, the name Tau there, or Tau, whoever it's pronounced, Tau, and Tau, King of Pamath, his name, this is T-O-U now, his name means error, wander, in, you know, walking around namelessly, and stray, like a stray dog or a stray cat.
00:29:58
Speaker
This king had been living in error. He was wandering around the wilderness, spiritually speaking, going to all wrong places and all the wrong things.
00:30:11
Speaker
He had strayed from the road of righteousness. Error, wander, and stray. And still, God used this wicked king, who was in error, who was wandering, who had strayed,
00:30:28
Speaker
To be a blessing to David. And again. not a good king. a king in error. a king was a wanderer. Who had strayed with righteous path.
00:30:40
Speaker
But still. He then gave a blessing. Of articles of silver, gold and bronze. To David. This is a case where Tao was at war. But Hadadessa as well. So my enemy's enemy is my friend.
00:30:54
Speaker
God is going to start blessing some of you. through very unexpected sources. People who have been
00:31:07
Speaker
gaining for themselves a bad reputation. People that most of us would kind of avoid, would try not to spend time around. God is going to start speaking to those people to be a blessing into your life, to give you godly provision, to help you out, to give you sustenance.
00:31:32
Speaker
yeah
00:31:39
Speaker
I even think of times in my life where
00:31:44
Speaker
i just said, God, help. I need someone, or I need something, or I need this. and he would spend the most unusual okay unexpected, and I'm going be honest, unwanted people to my doorstep.
00:32:05
Speaker
The people that i did not want in my life. The kind of people i would never have chosen. The kind of people that, to be honest, I would have been embarrassed being seen with in real life. i hope you're not talking with me now. Family excluded. Family excluded.
00:32:28
Speaker
But he knows the lives he wants connected to each other. And it could be people, even like when i was in school, people who bullied me in primary school, but then became some of my best friends in secondary school in my early university years.
00:32:43
Speaker
He just, he has a funny way of doing it. very funny way of making these cross connections. Because he knows who has what you need at a given time.
00:32:54
Speaker
All right, then, verses 11 to 13, please.

Facing and Overcoming Pressure Challenges

00:33:00
Speaker
King David dedicated these articles to the Lord, as he had done with the silver and gold from all the nations he had subdued. Edom and Mwag, the Ammonites, and the Philistines and Malach.
00:33:12
Speaker
He also dedicated the plunder taken from Hazir's son of Rehob, King Azawel. And David became famous after he returned from striking down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. Okay, thank you.
00:33:27
Speaker
All right. Edom. Edom, originally it was a man, but we'll look at him at discipleship on Wednesday, means red.
00:33:41
Speaker
And that's not like I read a book, it's red, like the color red. i And there's a pun in the name. It's also etymologically related to boiling soup.
00:33:55
Speaker
To boiling soup.
00:33:58
Speaker
Maybe you've had... It challenges you, like maybe you have one now. and it feels like the heat is being applied.
00:34:10
Speaker
Starts off the cold water, and then you start seeing some wisps of steam, and then bubble, bubble, bubble, and suddenly things reach a boiling point, a pressure point.
00:34:29
Speaker
And the ammonites are also related to Sodom and Gomorrah. When Lot and his two daughters escaped from Sodom and were hiding up in the mountains, one of his daughters raped him and she got pregnant with the head of the Moabite line.
00:34:49
Speaker
The other daughter raped him and she became the mother of the Ammonite line. So Ammonite, again, their history is related to incest and rape.
00:35:01
Speaker
Their name means people. Because let me tell you, fear of people, it's a genuine fear. Fear of man.
00:35:13
Speaker
Fear of the masses. Fear of the crowds. Fear of what people might think. Fear of what people might say. God tell you to step out in faith and you think, oh what would my family think?
00:35:27
Speaker
I'll be honest with you. Back in November 2024, when God told me to start the Joshua Generation in a room and on a Zoom, that was one of my first thoughts.
00:35:38
Speaker
i was like, God, I'm going to a church of 500 people. You are telling me to stop going there so I can sit in my sitting room on a laptop.
00:35:50
Speaker
One of my first thoughts was, what is my family going to think? Or my second thought was, what are the the friends I have my congregation going i think?
00:36:06
Speaker
Then thought, God, what will the pastor of that church think? Because you know what? It all just sounded wow. But I had to make it as a decision. Do I let fear of man lend itself to disobedience?
00:36:23
Speaker
Or do I have a healthy fear of God, a reverential awe of God, that lends itself to obedience? And I, for one, am very happy I chose the second option.
00:36:36
Speaker
But it's not always easy.
00:36:41
Speaker
All right. Now we're going look at a couple other there victories that David had.
00:36:54
Speaker
oh
00:36:57
Speaker
Okay, so these ones can be found in 1 Chronicles 18, 12-13, and also 2 Samuel 8-14. and also second samuel eight fourteen Now, 1 and 2 Samuel were written to the nation of Israel just about you know their history, especially the high points um and the most important details in David's life and his children's lives.
00:37:26
Speaker
1 and 2 Chronicles, especially 1 Chronicles, tells you the story of David again, but it gives some details that you don't really get the first time. Because Chronicles was written hundreds of years later,
00:37:40
Speaker
after the nation had been invaded by the Babylonian Empire. So they kind of needed to be reminded of their history, especially the high points, especially how God had provided for them.
00:37:51
Speaker
So you end up with stories which are quite similar, but you get details in each one that fit together like a jigsaw, but sometimes the same details aren't in both sides.
00:38:07
Speaker
All right, so 1 Chronicles 18,
00:38:11
Speaker
Abishai, son of Zeruiah, struck down 18,000 Edomites in the Valley of Salt. He put garrisons in Edom, and all the Edomites became subject to David.
00:38:26
Speaker
The Lord gave David victory wherever he went.

Spiritual Defenses and Heart Security

00:38:31
Speaker
Circle, underline, or highlight the word garrisons.
00:38:38
Speaker
You have to put up defenses. in your life. This is a simple example I give, but I give it so often because it's so important.
00:38:50
Speaker
Your mobile phone.
00:38:53
Speaker
If I wanted to read absolutely any of your WhatsApp messages, go onto your Facebook page or your Instagram app, I would not be able to.
00:39:07
Speaker
Why not? because you need to have a password to activate that information on your phone. People put protection on their mobile phone, but they do not put protection on their hearts.
00:39:24
Speaker
If i try to get into my own phone and I put the wrong information, it will say, access denied, wrong PIN. If I try again, it will say, access denied,
00:39:39
Speaker
Wrong pin. If I try again, it will say, you have put the wrong information in too many times, you have to wait 30 minutes. If I put the right pin in, access granted, and can access anything.
00:39:56
Speaker
You need to start putting garrisons in your heart. You need start putting defenses in your heart. And they need to be on the forefront of your tongue.
00:40:08
Speaker
The forefront of your mind, and the forefront of your heart. So when someone says, you're a worthless little scumbag, you're a brat, access denied.
00:40:21
Speaker
When someone says, oh yeah, you're such a holy person going to church on Sunday. I remember what you were like as a child. were an absolute brat. You were an absolute head case. Access denied.
00:40:33
Speaker
When your own vain imagination says... God doesn't love me. How could he? I promised him this on the 23rd of April 2021 and I still haven't done it. Access denied.
00:40:50
Speaker
When the enemy hisses in your ear and says God has big, exciting, amazing plans for everyone but not you. Access denied.
00:41:02
Speaker
When a word comes your way, God is fighting your battles for you and you will see your victory. Access granted. God loves you the same way he loves Jesus.
00:41:14
Speaker
Access granted. That's the garrison you need to have in your heart. And it's second by second, minute by minute, hour by hour, and it is every day.
00:41:35
Speaker
All right. Then 2 Samuel 8, 14. He put garrisons throughout Edom and all the Edomites became subject to David.
00:41:46
Speaker
And the Lord gave David victory wherever he went. All these enemies that he faced, all the threats, all the challenges and real challenges, real threats, real attacks, real stakes, life and death.
00:42:07
Speaker
But he relied on the Lord. He moved when God said to move. And the Lord gave him the victory.
00:42:18
Speaker
All right, turn to Psalm 60, verses 1 to 12. Here's a song that David sang to the Lord a about all the enemy that they had to face.
00:42:32
Speaker
and the victory he knew he would receive in the Lord. So Psalm 61 to 12.
00:42:45
Speaker
Priya, are you free to read the Psalm for
00:42:51
Speaker
us? Yes, Psalm 61 to 12, isn't it? Thank you, that's right, that's perfect. Thank you, one second.
00:43:08
Speaker
I'm just that ah turning my page 160. You're okay. you're okay You're fine. Thank you. and New came ah new ah King version.
00:43:22
Speaker
Oh God, you have cast us off. You have broken us down. You have been displeased or restored us again.
00:43:33
Speaker
You have made the earth tremble, you have broken it. Hail its bread breaches for it is shaking. Now you have shown us, now you have shown your people hard thing. You have made us drink the wine of confusion. You have given a banner to those who fear you that it may be this displayed because of the truth.
00:44:00
Speaker
that your beloved may be delivered. Save with your right hand and heal me. God has spoken in his holiness. I will rejoice. I will divide second and measure out the valley of second.
00:44:18
Speaker
Gilead is mine and Manasseh is mine. Ephraim also is the helmet of my head. Judah is my Lord. Moab is my wash pot over Adam, i will cast my shoe.
00:44:38
Speaker
Philistia shout in triumph because of me. Who will bring me to the to the strong city? Who will lead me to Adam?
00:44:49
Speaker
Is it not you, O God, who cast us off? And you, O God, who did not go out with your army? Give us help for trouble, for the help of men is useless. Through God we will do violently, a for it is he who shall tread down our enemy. Amen. All
00:45:18
Speaker
right, everyone look back at verse 6. Verse 6.
00:45:25
Speaker
where it says, God has spoken from his sanctuary. In triumph, I will parcel out Shechem. Shechem means shoulder, as in the shoulders and your body.
00:45:40
Speaker
But metaphorically, in Hebrew, but also we say in English as well, it's the things you carry on your shoulders. The responsibilities, the burdens.
00:45:56
Speaker
the personal interests and the problems, the things that are weighing you down, the things that are tiring you out, the things that are such a weight they're forcing you to the ground.
00:46:10
Speaker
He says in triumph, in victory, in celebration, I will remove your burden. I'll remove the things that are pushing you closer and closer and closer to the floor.
00:46:26
Speaker
The things that are stopping you from walking upright, they're making you walk like a hunchback.
00:46:36
Speaker
And look at verse eight. Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal.
00:46:45
Speaker
The most famous Edomite in all of history, in all the Bible, you hear about him every December. His name is Herod the Great.
00:47:01
Speaker
You know when Jesus was born and the wise men were looking for him and they passed by you know the but the king, wherever the where the king was? Which makes sense. you know If a king is born, obviously you know you look for the current king. You assume it's his son or whatever.
00:47:18
Speaker
And Herod's like, say what now? And they're like, oh, um the king of Israel has been born. Herod was not an Israelite. He was not a native king.
00:47:31
Speaker
He was a foreign king, a puppet government that the Roman Empire had put in place. Herod the Great knew the likes of Julius Caesar, um Alexander, Cleopatra, all those big names from Egyptian and Greek, Macedon history. Herod the Great knew all these people.
00:47:53
Speaker
That's how closely they lived the birth of Jephah. So the emperor of Rome put him in place as a foreign king over puppet government in Israel.
00:48:04
Speaker
And he this is the same guy who then said, okay, slaughter all the baby boys under the age of two in Bethlehem. Murder them all. That's Herod the Great.
00:48:15
Speaker
And very soon after him, the Edomite line vanished from history. and I think his son stuck the throne and maybe his grandson, but within a generation or two, the Edomite line banished history.
00:48:33
Speaker
And the Lord truly did throw a sandal at them and they ceased to exist. But yeah, he's the most famous or infamous Edomite in history.
00:48:47
Speaker
Okay, and now I'm going to read another couple of verses for you, and then we'll resume with the story.

David's Leadership and Governance

00:48:56
Speaker
Again, but just to try to put them in chronological order for you. right, 2 Samuel, chapter 8, 15 to 18.
00:49:14
Speaker
fifteen to eighteen
00:49:18
Speaker
David's officials, the people that David gave jobs and responsibilities to. David reigned over all Israel, doing what was just and right for all his people.
00:49:35
Speaker
We need more politicians like that in this country. Joab, son of Zeruiah, was over the army. Jehoshaphat, son of Elihud, was recorder.
00:49:48
Speaker
Zadok, son of and Ahimelech, son of Abiathar, were priests.
00:49:56
Speaker
Zariah was secretary. Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was king of the Karathites and Palathites. And David's sons were priests.
00:50:08
Speaker
And then in 1 Chronicles 18-17, Benaiah, son of Jehoiada, was over the Karathites and Palathites. And David's sons were chief officials at the king's side.
00:50:23
Speaker
So you might recognize some of those names, some of might be brand new to you, um but basically David surrounded himself with men that he trusted. And a number of them had had a very good rapport with them.
00:50:39
Speaker
We saw evidence of love for the Lord in their lives. They were good counsel.
00:50:52
Speaker
However, the person that David probably loved the most in his whole life, maybe with the exception of his kids, was his best friend, Jonathan. Now, as you might remember, a couple months ago, Jonathan died.
00:51:06
Speaker
got involved in witchcraft and fortune telling with the witch of Endor. And as a consequence, death came for Jonathan, because when you let the door to witchcraft in, it steals, kills and destroys, and not just you, but up to and including your whole family.
00:51:23
Speaker
But it was the number one bromance in the Old Testament. And the love that David had for Jonathan was greater than love he had for his own wives.
00:51:35
Speaker
So for those you with us for a long time, this is just little flashback. In 1 Samuel 20, 42, David and Jonathan um had a conversation when David knew he had to run away because Saul wanted to kill him.
00:51:50
Speaker
And Jonathan said to David all the way back then, Go in peace, for we have sworn friendship with each other in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord is witness between you and me and between your descendants. Now, David had had no kids by this stage and my descendants forever.
00:52:08
Speaker
Then David left and Jonathan went back to town. So this conversation happened years earlier. But in the context of their loving friendship and their brothers-in-law, they had said,
00:52:22
Speaker
I'm to look after your kids. going look after my kids. We're going to raise our families together.
00:52:29
Speaker
This obviously did not happen because Jonathan was dead. But everyone, now look at 2 Samuel chapter 9. Because this conversation, this promise, came back to David's mind.
00:52:50
Speaker
Lisa, are you free to unmute and read a chapter for us?
00:52:56
Speaker
Yeah. Okay, great. Will you please read 2 Samuel chapter on that? The whole chapter? Please, yeah. I'll stop you a couple times with the main little points here in there.
00:53:08
Speaker
Okay.
00:53:11
Speaker
Now David said, is there still anyone who was left of the house of Saul that I might show him? That I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake. Okay, so even though Jonathan is dead, David still loves him.
00:53:26
Speaker
And was thinking, okay, well, Saul is dead. Jonathan's dead. Jonathan's brothers are dead. Now, Saul's daughter McHale, his wife still existed, but at this point she was like, hated David for no reason whatsoever. i think And I thinking, is there literally anyone remaining that I could possibly extend some kindness to?
00:53:47
Speaker
And not because he wants anything back. This will mean, you know, giving. This will mean the king being generous, but just out of love he has for his dead best friends. Okay, go on.
00:54:00
Speaker
And there was a servant of the house of Saul whose name was Zeba. So when they had called him to David, the king said to him, Are you Zeba? He said, At your service.
00:54:13
Speaker
And the king said, Is there not still someone of the house of Saul to him to whom I may show the kindness of God? And Ziba said to the king, There is still a son of Jonathan who's who is lame in his feet.
00:54:30
Speaker
So the king said to him, Where is he? And Ziba said to the king, Indeed, he is in the house of Mahir, the son of Amir in Lodibar.
00:54:44
Speaker
Okay, thank you. All right, so all these years, David has had no idea that either Jonathan had a son or that his son was still alive. Now, lo-debar has a few different meanings.
00:54:59
Speaker
It means no word. Now, that might sound like a really strange name, no word. But in Hebrew, no word means stupid. Think of in English. If you say someone is dumb,
00:55:13
Speaker
One, it might mean that they're mute, they can't speak. Or it might mean you're an idiot. So today you would say dumb. So no word, stupid, dumb, no speech, so unintelligent. That's the name of the place.
00:55:28
Speaker
This place did not have a reputation for producing Albert Einstein.
00:55:36
Speaker
It also means without pasture.
00:55:46
Speaker
It translates as no place to feed. So this is inhospitable terrain. We're not talking about a place full of grass and trees and shrubbery and food.
00:55:58
Speaker
And it also means if only. If only. Sometimes I think I live in Lodabar. The town we're in right now in Ireland is called Ardy in County Loud.
00:56:10
Speaker
We're in the smallest county and with the smallest town in the smallest county. And I sometimes... used to grieve me, now I would just laugh.
00:56:21
Speaker
People say the best thing about R.I.D. is the road leading out of it. ah ah Before you get to all the real towns the country, drop it out in the dark. people will often mournfully say, well if only we had a swimming pool.
00:56:37
Speaker
We don't. If only we had a cinema. Well, we have a cinema, they just don't show movies. They just... It's a building with seats. I think a band uses it nowadays. um or they might say, if only had more industry.
00:56:54
Speaker
We have pubs and hairdressers. And somehow we still have 45 minutes of traffic regardless of where you try to go. And supermarkets. This idea of finding yourself in the middle of nowhere.
00:57:11
Speaker
And maybe you can relate to that spiritually in your heart, in your mind. Maybe you feel like you came from nowhere. You have arrived nowhere. And you're going nowhere.
00:57:22
Speaker
And you are in the realm of... and If only. Wouldn't that be nice? Wouldn't that be great? But your expectations and reality are on different wavelengths.
00:57:39
Speaker
what could be and what is, dine at different tables. That's where Mephibosheth is.
00:57:47
Speaker
Okay, Avigalitha, so King David. Okay, then King David sent and brought him out of the house of Mashur, the son of Amiel from Lodibar.
00:57:59
Speaker
Now when Mephibosheth, the son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, had come to David, he fell on his face and prostrated himself. Okay. And David said... So Mephibosheth, now you might be thinking, Jonathan was such a great man, could give his son a name that ugly?
00:58:17
Speaker
It's actually beautiful in English. It translates as the end of shame. The end of shame. Or what I often tell people, especially when I can see that they're embarrassed or they're walking around carrying a heavy load or they they hate themselves because of past decisions.
00:58:38
Speaker
What I say is shame off you. And when I first began saying it, people were like, shame on you. said, that's not what I said. I said the opposite. Shame off you.
00:58:50
Speaker
The end of shame. This kid, well, maybe it might have been a young man by this stage, should have been a prince of the realm. Instead, he was living in the RD of ancient Israel with two lame feet.
00:59:06
Speaker
probably needed crutches to walk, or at least the Old Testament equivalent of crutches. am His family's name have become a name of disgrace.
00:59:18
Speaker
One of his uncles took the throne after Sol died. Sol was an evil demon-possessed man. and Let witchcraft in the family, first the whole family's dead. Everything they had had been lost or taken.
00:59:32
Speaker
he had grown up carrying shame. Not shame he was responsible for. Shame that began a generation or two generations earlier. But his name being the end of shame.
00:59:45
Speaker
Shame off you. No more embarrassment. No more regret.
00:59:55
Speaker
Okay, Lisa, go on. Then David said, Mephibosheth? And he answered, Here is your servant. So David said to him, do not fear, for I will surely show you kindness for Jonathan, your father's sake, and will restore to you all the land of Saul, your grandfather, and you shall eat bread at my table continually.
01:00:20
Speaker
Then he bowed himself and said, what is your servant that you should look upon such a dead dog as i Okay, wow. Wow. Underline, circle, highlight, a dead dog.
01:00:36
Speaker
Have you ever reached that point in your life where you feel your best days are behind you? And maybe the days behind you weren't even all that great? You feel spent.
01:00:48
Speaker
You feel like you've hit an expiry date. You feel like God has good, perfect, pleasing plans for everyone, but not you. You're the exception.
01:00:59
Speaker
It's already too late. I know I've been there.
01:01:08
Speaker
And yet, the king of that country, your dead father's best friend, is looking at you. And he's just saying, all the land that belonged to your grandfather's soul,
01:01:24
Speaker
is goingnna be handed back to you. All what has been sold kingdom is going to be your property. And you will always eat at my table. Mephibosheth looks at himself as someone who is lame.
01:01:39
Speaker
Someone who has got a funny walk. Someone who can't, literally can't walk. And yet the king... is saying, you're going to eat at my table like you're one of my sons. I'm adopting you, effectively.
01:01:57
Speaker
I'm going to dress you up as royalty. You're coming from the RD of ancient Israel to being in Jerusalem on God's holy mountain, the prince of the realm.
01:02:11
Speaker
And everything that was Saul's is being given over to you. Now Ziba, sole sort of the steward, had been looking after it, but now it's all going to go to Mephibosheth.
01:02:23
Speaker
And he's saying your best days aren't behind you. Your best days are ever before you.
01:02:32
Speaker
Whatever age Mephibosheth was by this stage, it was 30s, whatever it was, they may have been rough. They may have been challenging. There may have been moments that were downright unspeakable.
01:02:44
Speaker
But the king is saying your best days are before you. You have my kingly guarantee signed, sealed and delivered.
01:02:55
Speaker
All right, Lisa, verse nine. And the king called to Theba, Saul's servant, and said to him, I have given to your master's son all that belong to Saul and all his house.
01:03:07
Speaker
You therefore and your sons and your servants shall work. the land for him, and you shall bring in the harvest that your master's son may have food to eat. But Mephibosheth, your master's son shall eat bread at my table always.
01:03:23
Speaker
Now Ziba had 15 sons and 20 servants. Okay, thank you. Okay, so Ziba had been the steward of Saul's property.
01:03:36
Speaker
That doesn't mean he was ever given kingly titles. David is the king of the country. But he said to Ziba, okay, you can stay here. you can look after it. You can take care of the venue, take care of the property.
01:03:49
Speaker
And effectively, he'd been running a castle. He'd been running, you know, a a kingly territory. And Mephibosheth comes along. He's just left the RD of ancient and Israel.
01:04:03
Speaker
And now he's effectively in one day you become the prince of the realm. And David is saying, all this territory is now yours. I'm giving it right back to you. It belongs to your grandfather.
01:04:16
Speaker
It's yours again. How do you think Ziba might feel about this? How do Ziba's sons and servants might feel about this? Aggrieved. Aggrieved? Okay. Anything else?
01:04:28
Speaker
Let's be honest. Let's think. Drop any notion. The Bible's a fairy tale. These are real people.
01:04:35
Speaker
What kind of feelings or thoughts might be going through his head? Well, he might be... I think it's killing him maybe to get rid I think you're getting rid of him, okay. moon I think I'm killing him, but he'd be better off dead, be more suited to his own ambition, okay? Anything else?
01:04:53
Speaker
He has no power. He feels like he won't have any power over anything. Hmm, losing the power, okay, sure. Sure, okay, great. So... I'm just thinking, what's my part? Because I told you this news.
01:05:08
Speaker
Sure, yeah, yeah, yeah. yeah mean like Maybe I should have kept my mouth shut. All right, so all these thoughts are going to start going through Ziba's mind. He doesn't splice any of them today. He's in front of the king, and the king's word is law.
01:05:21
Speaker
But very soon, 2 Samuel is going to become a very political story. You're going to see the house of cards, and the cards all start collapsing.
01:05:34
Speaker
And you're to start seeing a lot of power plates. a lot of moves for a dominance, to get access to the king or whoever's sitting on the throne at a given point. And you're going to harken back to this point in a few weeks' time.
01:05:49
Speaker
So all these thoughts are going through Ziba's head. He doesn't say any of it, but going to see them unravel as weeks go on. All right, verse 11 to 13. Then Ziba said to the king,
01:06:02
Speaker
okay yeah then zeba said to the king According to all that my lord the king has commanded his servant, so will your servant do. As for Mephibosheth, said the king, he shall eat at my table like one of the king's sons.
01:06:20
Speaker
Mephibosheth had a young son whose name was Misha. And all who dwelt in the house of Zeba were servants of Mephibosheth. So Mephibosheth dwelt in Jerusalem, for he ate continually at the king's table, and he was lame in both his feet.
01:06:38
Speaker
Okay, thank you.
01:06:41
Speaker
You're welcome.
01:06:46
Speaker
All right, what we see here is one of my favorite pictures of Jesus' love in action in an Old Testament story.

Divine Love and Transformation

01:07:02
Speaker
David is the king in this story, but as the church, the body of Christ, Who is our king? Who is our lord?
01:07:15
Speaker
Not a trick question. King Jesus. Jesus, thank you.
01:07:21
Speaker
And Mephibosheth didn't just have one lame foot. He hadn't just sprained his ankle. He had two lame feet. Whenever he tried to walk, he was walking like a penguin.
01:07:35
Speaker
or he was holding on to crutches and trying to move himself. His walk was a funny walk. It was an off kind of walk. It was impossible not to notice.
01:07:52
Speaker
Everyone saw it all the time. couldn't outrun it.
01:08:02
Speaker
Verse four, Ziba. says that Mephibosheth is living in Lodabar.
01:08:11
Speaker
Lodabar means no word. A strange place for a... a strange name for a location. But it has a connotation of stupidity. Think of in English we say dumb, meaning mute, but also silly, stupid, foolish.
01:08:32
Speaker
Lodabar also means without pasture.
01:08:37
Speaker
without a place to feed.
01:08:40
Speaker
It also has a connotation of if only. You know, I live in Ardee, a small town in the smallest county in Ireland.
01:08:55
Speaker
We often say, only we had a swimming pool. If only we had a bypass. If only we had a cinema.
01:09:07
Speaker
If only we had more industry. If only.
01:09:17
Speaker
Where Jonathan's son was living was the land of if only. He should have been a prince of the realm. And instead, he grew up with nothing.
01:09:34
Speaker
With lack.
01:09:40
Speaker
Verse six, then Mephibosheth, son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David and he bowed down to give him honor.
01:09:54
Speaker
Mephibosheth's name means the end of shame or shame off you.
01:10:05
Speaker
No more embarrassment. No more feeling sad or red-faced because of things that happened that were not your fault. It wasn't his fault he had two lame feet.
01:10:23
Speaker
It wasn't his fault that his grandfather was a demoniac.
01:10:33
Speaker
It wasn't his fault that witchcraft had gotten into his family and had claimed the lives of his grandfather, his father, and his uncles.
01:10:48
Speaker
And verse seven, David tells him not to be afraid, probably because he was afraid. For I will surely show you kindness for the sake of your father, Jonathan.
01:11:01
Speaker
I will restore to you all the land that belonged to your grandfather's soul. and you will always eat at my table. Effectively, I'll make you a prince of the realm. I'll scoop you up from obscurity, and you will dine with me and my sons and my daughters and my wives, the queens, the princes and the princesses of Israel.
01:11:30
Speaker
And in verse 8, Mephibosheth says, this is nuts, this is crazy, I can't. I'm just a dead dog. I'm spent. He wasn't particularly old, but he thought his best days were behind him.
01:11:47
Speaker
There was no future for someone like him.
01:11:52
Speaker
He was just an echo of a bygone era.
01:12:04
Speaker
He felt he had long since passed his expiry date. He had come from nowhere, he'd arrived nowhere, he was going nowhere. He had no manifest destiny, no trajectory, no future.
01:12:21
Speaker
His time was already up. He wasn't living, he was just existing, waiting for death.
01:12:38
Speaker
or the ward of the king remained. You are sitting at my table.
01:12:46
Speaker
You're one of my family.
01:12:51
Speaker
We have all been Mephibosheth at one point or another. Maybe you are right now.
01:13:00
Speaker
You look around you and all you can see is only and could do this but he's not gonna do it for me.
01:13:14
Speaker
If only I had this. If only I hadn't done that. You look around you when there's there's no pasture, no food, no greenery, no hope.
01:13:27
Speaker
Nothing thrives, nothing grows, no enrichment.
01:13:34
Speaker
You just feel spent.
01:13:38
Speaker
Like your whole life is one long saga of missed opportunities and disappointments, not all of which you're responsible for.
01:13:48
Speaker
You look at your feet and they're lame.
01:13:54
Speaker
You strayed off the straight and narrow, the road of righteousness. You went to the right when you shouldn't have, the left when you shouldn't have.
01:14:02
Speaker
And
01:14:05
Speaker
your pathway has been crooked. You're handicapped. Spiritually, you have retarded growth. You know you're not where you should be.
01:14:19
Speaker
And everyone around you is quick to point the finger and say, shame, shame, shame. And maybe it's not your fault. Maybe it's something from your ancestry. But it's you've inherited it.
01:14:31
Speaker
Bad reputation or offense. Troubles or problems. Burdens on your shoulders.
01:14:44
Speaker
And then the king comes along. The Lord of Jesus. The king of the world of heaven. The creator of this realm and that one.
01:14:56
Speaker
And he says, shame off you. You are Mephibosheth, you are the end of shame. Shame ends its course with you, the book stops with you.
01:15:11
Speaker
I will take off your poor man clothes and I will drape you in royal ones.
01:15:19
Speaker
I see your handicapped feet. And I say, doesn't matter. The feet of those who carry good news are beautiful.
01:15:31
Speaker
And I'm gonna give you super special, awesome, amazing shoes
01:15:37
Speaker
for spreading the gospel of peace. in all kinds of territory, rough terrain, unfamiliar environments. You're sitting at my table.
01:15:49
Speaker
You belong with me. I call you my child. A prince or princess of heaven. i am signing your adoption papers. If you're happy with it, sign the dotted line.
01:16:00
Speaker
Your sign seal delivered. You're mine.
01:16:05
Speaker
The old is gone, the new has come. You're not a dead dog. You're royalty. Your royal diadem in my hand. I define you. I tell you who you are.
01:16:22
Speaker
it's Psalm 23. We're told that our cup runs over. You know, if a king only gives you a little glass of wine, or a big glass with very little in it, he's not really enjoying your company. He doesn't want you to stick around.
01:16:41
Speaker
But if someone says, here, take some more. Take some more, take some more. Here's some more food. Oh, there's more food in the oven. There's dessert the fridge. Sit down. I'll be back.
01:16:55
Speaker
That's someone one who enjoys your company. That's someone who wants you connected with them forever.
01:17:04
Speaker
Someone who doesn't want you to leave. They're very happy with you in their home.
01:17:12
Speaker
That's the affection that David had from Ephesians, Jonathan's son. And it's a picture
01:17:21
Speaker
of the affection and the tender loving kindness, the obsession that Jesus has with you. Where you become his home and he becomes yours.
01:17:35
Speaker
Where he communes with you. and fellowships with you. And you can be totally, 100% honest and transparent with him about anything and everything. Because he loves you.
01:17:48
Speaker
And he made you to live in him.
01:17:55
Speaker
he wants to live in you too. To take up more and more space in your heart. And to make you more like him. So this beautiful little episode of David's deep fondness from Mephibosheth.
01:18:18
Speaker
Let it serve as a reminder
01:18:21
Speaker
of the enormous love that Jesus has for you that is so high you cannot measure it, that goes so low.

Conclusion: Affirmation of God's Goodness

01:18:37
Speaker
so far that crosses dimensions
01:18:43
Speaker
and that is a love so undying even death could not hold him down amen amen and amen thank you so much for joining today friends Have a beautiful Sunday.
01:19:03
Speaker
Have a super rest of your week. Maybe a fabulous one. And always remember, G-I-A-G. G-I-A-G.
01:19:15
Speaker
God is absolutely good. Bye-bye.