EXTENDING GRACE TO OTHERS
2 Samuel 9

Good morning! Open Bible to 2 Samuel chapter nine. We are wrapping up our series on Grace today. The title of the message is Extending Grace to Others, and I want to take you to a rather obscure story, buried in the Old Testament, that I think really pictures for us what real gracious living looks like. [READ 2 SAM 9]
And David said, “Is there still 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 the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” And he said, “I am your servant.” And the king said, “Is there not still someone of the house of Saul, that I may show the kindness of God to him?” Ziba said to the king, “There is still a son of Jonathan; he is crippled in his feet.” The king said to him, “Where is he?” And Ziba said to the king, “He is in the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar.” Then King David sent and brought him from the house of Machir the son of Ammiel, at Lo-debar. And Mephibosheth the son of Jonathan, son of Saul, came to David and fell on his face and paid homage. And David said, “Mephibosheth!” And he answered, “Behold, I am your servant.” And David said to him, “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” And he paid homage and said, “What is your servant, that you should show regard for a dead dog such as I?” Then the king called Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, “All that belonged to Saul and to all his house I have given to your master's grandson. And you and your sons and your servants shall till the land for him and shall bring in the produce, that your master's grandson may have bread to eat. But Mephibosheth your master's grandson shall always eat at my table.” Now Ziba had fifteen sons and twenty servants. Then Ziba said to the king, “According to all that my lord the king commands his servant, so will your servant do.” So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons. And Mephibosheth had a young son, whose name was Mica. And all who lived in Ziba's house became Mephibosheth's servants. So Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem, for he ate always at the king's table. Now he was lame in both his feet.
This story is one of my favorite stories in the Bible, even though it is a bit obscure. Not many people know this great story. This event takes place after David, the King of Israel, became powerful and wealthy. In chapter eight, David is a conquering King. In fact, in my Bible there is heading there that simply says, “David’s Victories.” And here, we see David subduing his enemies, expanding his boarders, exerting his power. One verse summarizes the whole chapter. 2 SAM 8:6 - And the Lord gave victory to David wherever he went. David and later his son, Solomon, led the nation to its greatest heights- militarily, economically and in pure size. The nation grew and flourished and prospered under David’s leadership. These were the “golden years.” But when we get to chapter nine, David has it in his heart to show kindness. He calls his servants and he asks them a question (v1) “Is there still anyone left of the house of Saul, that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?” Now there are two people mentioned here in this verse. First is Saul. Saul was the first king of Israel, Saul was God’s anointed king, but Saul’s heart wasn’t fully devoted to the Lord and over time Saul imploded as a leader. At this point Saul is dead. He died in a battle against his longtime rival, the Philistines. The second person mentioned is Jonathan. Jonathan was King Saul’s son, who was the next in line to the throne. Now David and Jonathan were dear friends, they loved each other like brothers. And Jonathan saw that the Lord was with David and realized that God had not chosen him to be the next king, but God had chosen David. And so Jonathan and David made an agreement together, a covenant – and Jonathan said to David, “…do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off everyone one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth” (I Sam 20:15). In other words, he was saying, “David, when you become king and the Lord gives you victories over your enemies, show “steadfast love” to my household. The words “steadfast love” is the Hebrew word (Hesed) which is translated kindness, lovingkindness, steadfast love. Not long after that, Jonathan died with his father, King Saul on Mount Gilboa. And so David is now in power, he’s subdued his enemies and he remembers this promise to Jonathan and he asks, “Is there anyone left of King Saul’s house that I can show kindness to? (By the way, the word “kindness” is the same word used by Jonathan – lovingkindness). David’s going to make good on his promise to his friend. And the servant named Ziba tells him, “Yes, there is King Saul’s grandson still alive in a small remote village and in fact, this is actually the only surviving son of Jonathan – and his name is Mephibosheth (say that 3 times fast!).” And I’m sure David was thinking, “Perfect! Bring him in!” So they find him and bring him in and David says to him, (v7) “Do not fear, for I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan, and I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.” See what David is doing here? David is extending grace to Mephibosheth. And he’s blown away! He said, “Why would you do this to a dead dog like me?” He was blown away! You see, this was completely counter to everything a King would normally do.

First, Mephibosheth had nothing to offer David. You see, usually a king would bless those that could help him down the road. “I’ll scratch your back if you scratch mine.” They would strike alliances and draft treaties with the wealthy and powerful. But Mephibosheth had no way to bless David in return. He was living in a little town called Lo-debar which means “wilderness, a parched and dry place” (had no power, no property, he was crippled from birth, couldn’t even walk on his own ability). He had nothing to give and everything to gain.

Second, Mephibosheth was actually an heir to the throne, which made him an enemy of David. In those days, if a new king came to power, he would kill every living heir to the throne so that there would be no one to contest his reign. Any living heir could mount up a rebellion, claim the throne for himself, stir up an insurrection. That’s probably why the first words he spoke to Mephibosheth were, “Don't be afraid!” But instead of killing Mephibosheth, David blessed him.

This is grace. Unwarranted, unearned, undeserved grace. Why would David do this? Back to verse 7, “…I will show you kindness for the sake of your father Jonathan…” He said, “I’m showing you kindness NOT because you deserve it.” “I’m doing this NOT because you earned it.” “I’m blessing you NOT because you can repay it. He said, “I’m doing this because of the covenant I made with your dad. I promised him that I would not cut off my lovingkindness from his household, and that’s you!”

GETTING AND GIVING GRACE
Why am I telling you this story? We’ve been talking about grace for the past several weeks. And it’s been so good to think about and look at the depth of God’s grace. We’ve seen how God’s grace saves us from our sin. At the moment you were saved, you were saved by the grace of God. He chose to set his affection on you, to love you, to draw you to himself, to forgive your sin and make you his own! But God’s grace doesn't stop there. We’ve also seen that God’s grace helps us when we are weak, God’s grace sustains us when we doubt and God’s grace will carry us home to heaven. From beginning to end, your relationship with God is based on grace! But get this - God doesn’t want you to only receive his grace, he also wants you to extend his grace to others around you. Jesus said, “Freely you have received, freely give” (Matthew 10:8). Now here is the problem. We love to receive grace, but we often don’t want to extend grace to others, right?

[Jesus told the story of a servant who owed millions of dollars, called before the king to pay up, but he begged for mercy and the king canceled his debt and let him go free. But then that servant found another servant that owed him just a few dollars and he wouldn’t forgive his debt.] That’s us so many times. We want to experience God’s grace in our lives, but we don’t want to extend His grace to others – especially those who annoy us, disappoint us, or hurt us. We are quick to judge, quick to hold grudges, quick to remember an offense, quick to pay back and slow to give grace. But what if God wants you to be a channel of his grace to the people around you? What if God showed you grace so you could be a giver of grace? Listen, if you and I have received grace, then you and I should be the first to extend grace to others.

Who do you need to extend grace to?
Who are you withholding grace from?

HOW TO EXTEND GRACE TO OTHERS
Brian Jennings and Tim Williams were best friends. [pic] Though Brian was two years older than Tim, the two became buddies in High School. They both went to the same church growing up in Burleson. They both attended Howard Payne University together. Both felt a call to ministry and served the Lord in churches. They even stood as best man at each other’s weddings. Brian and Tim were close. So you can imagine the shock that went through Tim’s mind when he learned that Brian had been killed by a young teenage drunk driver. That teenager was Ethan Couch, [pic] who became famous for his arrogant disregard for authority and for life. His attorneys argued that because Ethan had been raised with so much wealth, he didn’t know right from wrong. They claimed he suffered from “affluenza.” Couch was convicted and given probation, but later fled to Mexico where he continued to indulge in alcohol and drug use. He was later captured and sent back to the United States. But it was during this time that Tim decided to reach out to Ethan while he was in prison. Tim asked Tarrant Country Sherriff Dee Anderson if he could visit Ethan, and the Sherriff was surprised. “Why would you want to do that?” Tim said he didn’t know, he just wanted to meet him. Tim’s first meetings with Ethan were through a video monitor. Ethan was in solitary confinement. But over time, they were able to speak to one another separated by a glass wall. Time visited Ethan for months. They spoke about Ethan’s crimes, the terrible impact his choices have made on so many people and Ethan’s need for forgiveness. And in October of last year, Ethan made a breakthrough. He acknowledged what he had done. His pride and arrogance was replaced with brokenness. He knew he needed forgiveness. Ethan is set to be released from prison this week. What Tim did, reaching out to Ethan, was unthinkable to most people. But it was an amazing act of grace. God doesn’t just want us to experience his grace, he wants us to extend his grace to others.

You may say, “How can I extend grace to others?”

Reach out. David searched for him to restore him. Mephibosheth didn’t seek out David; it wasn’t his idea. He wasn’t lobbying for special favors! You see, grace always takes the initiative. Why? Because David wanted a relationship with him. David was persistent, he put out a search. He took the effort. Maybe you need to extend grace to someone – they aren’t going to come to you, they aren’t going to beg you for forgiveness, but you go to them. You make the call. You seek restoration. You take the initiative. You say the first word.

Overlook an offense. David chose not to be defensive or threatened. He overlooked his status as heir, overlooked his deformity, overlooked his potential to do him harm. David saw Mephibosheth as a person who mattered to Jonathan and therefore mattered to him! It is to one's glory to overlook an offense. Proverbs 19:11 (NIV)
Maybe you can extend grace by overlooking an offense. Instead of getting back or getting even.
Don't repay evil for evil. Don't retaliate with insults when people insult you. Instead, pay them back with a blessing. That is what God has called you to do, and he will bless you for it. I Peter 3:9 (NLT)
[example of a man who overlooked an offense]

Show kindness.
Over-the-top kindness. Property, wealth, servants. (v7) – “I will restore to you all the land of Saul your father, and you shall eat at my table always.”

Therefore, as God's chosen people, holy and dearly loved, clothe yourselves with compassion, kindness, humility, gentleness and patience. Colossians 3:13 (NIV)

[Who can you bless in a way that no one would expect?] Even those who treat you poorly. Jesus said, “love your enemies!Pray for those who persecute you! In that way, you will be acting as true children of your Father in heaven” (Matthew 5:44-45).

So Mephibosheth ate at David's table, like one of the king's sons (2 Samuel 9:11). David treated him as one of his own sons. He included Mephibosheth as a member of his own family.

Who do you need to extend grace to?

THE ULTIMATE GRACE GIVER
When I see this picture, I see what Jesus did for us! This next week is called “Holy Week” by so many people. This is the week that Jesus entered into Jerusalem. By Friday he would be celebrating Passover, tried, beaten, Saturday morning crucified, raised Sunday. Why did he do this for us? Because he was extending grace to you and me!

When we were utterly helpless, Christ came at just the right time and died for us sinners. Now, most people would not be willing to die for an upright person, though someone might perhaps be willing to die for a person who is especially good. But God showed his great love for us by sending Christ to die for us while we were still sinners. Romans 5:6-8 (NLT)

Like Mephibosheth we had nothing to offer God, no power to deal with our sin, no way to make things right, powerless, hopeless! Add to that we were enemies of God. Sinful. Wicked, wayward, estranged. But God chose to pour out his grace in our lives. David’s grace shown to Mephibosheth was a picture of God’s grace he would one day show us in Christ.

He reached down to us! He pursued us even when we were not pursuing him. “When we were enemies, Christ died for us.” God wants a relationship with you. And he sent Christ to make a way for that to happen.
He overlooked our offense. God chose to bless us, forgive, restore us!
And on top of all of it, he chose to bless, show his kindness, invited us to be a part of his family, to sit at the table with him in heaven. Jesus said, “eat this with me again in the kingdom of God.”

He has extended grace to us! Why? Because of Jesus. The Father showed us grace – not because we were worthy – but because of Jesus. That’s why we celebrate the Lord’s table. And now he wants us to be agents of grace in our world. To do for others what he has done for us! To show grace. To extend grace. To live by grace. To give grace in the face of other’s failures. He wants us to be a mirror of his grace. Do you live like that?

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