09-26-21 “Can iron float?”

Scripture   2 Kings 6:1-7
JOKE:         Dear Frank. We've been neighbors for six tumultuous years. When you borrowed my tiller, you returned it in pieces. When I was sick, you blasted rap music. And when your dog went to the bathroom all over my lawn, you laughed. I could go on, but I'm certainly not one to hold grudges. So, I am writing this letter to tell you that your house is on fire. Cordially, Bob
 
That’s funny, but borrowing your neighbors’ tools can have serious consequences, especially if you lose or break one. I recently borrow some tools from my neighbor. I have a dog who likes to chew – well anything. Yep, he chewed up the neighbor’s tool I had borrowed. Needless to say, this created a bit of anxiety on my part. Fortunately for me, I was able to find the exact make and model in a store and gave it to my neighbor with the explanation as to why I bought him a new one.

ANXIETY IN AMERICA
Anxiety is the most common mental illness in the country.
Who is experiencing anxiety in our country right now?
Healthcare workers.
Airline attendants.
Employers who can’t get help. (Including - Churches who can’t find pastors.)
Teachers / Students
First Responders / Police officers
Politicians
Small Business owners
All ages, races, male & female, and across all socio-economic parts of society.
 
What Is Anxiety?
Anxiety is worried thoughts and associated physical changes like increased heart rate. Anxiety is natural, anxiety disorders are more extreme. Anxiety disorders involve intense fears with more severe physical responses that can interfere with a person’s daily life. Living with anxiety is like living with a piece of iron across your shoulders weighing you down.
Why Is Anxiety So Common in America? What Changed?
It should come as no surprise that many mental health consultants blame the rise of the internet, and social media especially, for anxiety in teens and twenty-somethings. Comparing lifestyles depicted in social media and a fear of missing out (FOMO) are likely causes of anxiety as well as the way social media ironically makes people feel lonely. Not to mention the fact that social media is addictive, producing the same increase in dopamine that drugs give you. At this point, it appears anxiety and millennials are intertwined.
With the rise in technology also came an increase in artificial lighting and bad sleep habits. The blue light waves from your phone or computers late at night can have twice the adverse effects on your body’s production of melatonin, the sleep hormone, than normal artificial light. Could something as simple as unplugging alleviate some of the anxiety in millennials?
(fire & candlelight – to gas & oil lamps – to electric lights, to television, to computers & phones)
 
We could focus on how someone might overcome anxiety – which is a Christian thing to do BTW. God cares about the smallest details of your life – he doesn’t want you living with anxiety and fear.  1 Peter 5:7  Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Jesus said, Matthew 10:28-31   Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Rather, be afraid of the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell. Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. So don't be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.
          Clear back to the prophets, we see what God doesn’t wanting us carrying anxiety with us through life.  Jeremiah 29:11   The Lord declares, For I know the plans I have for you,  plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.

 

          These verses tell me something about God. Not only does he want us to not live in fear and anxiety, but more so, he wants us to live in peace. Before we get to anxiety’s alternative as a way to walk and live in peace, let’s look at one of HIStories (a not so famous one). It covers a mere 7 verses in scripture and doesn’t seem to be tied to anything around it. It seems to be a small unrelated story, but God has it there for a reason, and today we are going to see what that reason might be for you and me.
HIStory “Can iron float?
2 Kings 6:1-7
The company of the prophets said to Elisha, "Look, the place where we meet with you is too small for us. Let us go to the Jordan, where each of us can get a pole; and let us build a place there for us to live."
And he said, "Go."
          3 Then one of them said, "Won't you please come with your servants?"
          "I will," Elisha replied. And he went with them.
          They went to the Jordan and began to cut down trees. 5 As one of them was cutting down a tree, the iron axhead fell into the water. "Oh, my lord," he cried out, "it was borrowed!"
          6 The man of God asked, "Where did it fall?" When he showed him the place, Elisha cut a stick and threw it there, and made the iron float. 7 "Lift it out," he said. Then the man reached out his hand and took it.
 
JESUS GIVES PEACE
          When Jesus healed someone, he would often say what? “Your faith has made you well, go in peace.”
Luke 19:41-42   As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, “If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace — but now it is hidden from your eyes.”
 
John 14:25-27   “All this I have spoken while still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. 27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.”
 
CONCLUSION
Philippians 4:6-7
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 
Notice the condition:
Prayer – coming to God            (coming into His presence – “Surely the presence,,,”)
Petition – asking God               (James 4:2 You do not have, because you do not ask God. 
John 16:24   Until now you have not asked for anything in my name. Ask and you will receive, and your joy will be complete.)
Praise – thanking God               (Ps 100:4 Enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts
with praise; give thanks to him and praise his name.
 
When you break the tool you borrowed from your neighbor, God can work a miracle moving you on a pathway from Anxiety to Peace: Prayer, Petition, & Praise… And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 
Living with anxiety is like living with a piece of iron across your shoulders weighing you down.
          Jesus took, not a piece of iron, but a beam of wood on his shoulders and bore it for us. He died and was buried in a sealed tomb. God threw a stick down form heaven that rolled away the stone and lifted Jesus out of that tomb of death. And now he tells us to reach out and grab him.

09-19-21 “Preaching, like you’ve never heard before!”

Scripture       Matthew 5-7

Why I don’t subscribe to canned sermons. The word is living and active. A passage I preached 5 years ago is fresh when I prepare to preach it now. I don’t read sermons – I don’t use someone else’s sermon – except today.
 
Jesus taught about subjects such as prayer, justice, money/giving, lust, anger, swear words, care for the needy, handling the religious law, divorce, fasting, judging other people, salvation,
 
Here is the manifesto of the new Monarch, who ushers in a new kingdom with a new message.
The last message in the Old Testament is, “And he will restore the hearts of the fathers to their children, and the hearts of the children to their fathers, lest I come and smite the land with a curse” (Mal. 4:6). By contrast, this first great sermon of the New Testament begins with a series of blessings.
 
Matthew 5-7
When Jesus saw his ministry drawing huge crowds, he climbed a hillside. Those who were apprenticed to him, the committed, climbed with him. Arriving at a quiet place, he sat down and taught his climbing companions. This is what he said:
Blessings
"You're blessed when you're at the end of your rope. With less of you there is more of God and his rule.
"You're blessed when you feel you've lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you.
"You're blessed when you're content with just who you are — no more, no less. That's the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can't be bought.
"You're blessed when you've worked up a good appetite for God. He's food and drink in the best meal you'll ever eat.
"You're blessed when you care. At the moment of being 'carefull,' you find yourselves cared for.
"You're blessed when you get your inside world — your mind and heart — put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.
"You're blessed when you can show people how to cooperate instead of compete or fight. That's when you discover who you really are, and your place in God's family.
"You're blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God's kingdom.
"Not only that — count yourselves blessed every time people put you down or throw you out or speak lies about you to discredit me. What it means is that the truth is too close for comfort and they are uncomfortable. You can be glad when that happens — give a cheer, even! — for though they don't like it, I do! And all heaven applauds. And know that you are in good company. My prophets and witnesses have always gotten into this kind of trouble.
Salt and Light
"Let me tell you why you are here. You're here to be salt-seasoning that brings out the God-flavors of this earth. If you lose your saltiness, how will people taste godliness? You've lost your usefulness and will end up in the garbage.
"Here's another way to put it: You're here to be light, bringing out the God-colors in the world. God is not a secret to be kept. We're going public with this, as public as a city on a hill. If I make you light-bearers, you don't think I'm going to hide you under a bucket, do you? I'm putting you on a light stand. Now that I've put you there on a hilltop, on a light stand — shine! Keep open house; be generous with your lives. By opening up to others, you'll prompt people to open up with God, this generous Father in heaven.
Completing God's Law
"Don't suppose for a minute that I have come to demolish the Scriptures — either God's Law or the Prophets. I'm not here to demolish but to complete. I am going to put it all together, pull it all together in a vast panorama. God's Law is more real and lasting than the stars in the sky and the ground at your feet. Long after stars burn out and earth wears out, God's Law will be alive and working.
"Trivialize even the smallest item in God's Law and you will only have trivialized yourself. But take it seriously, show the way for others, and you will find honor in the kingdom. Unless you do far better than the Pharisees in the matters of right living, you won't know the first thing about entering the kingdom.
Murder
"You're familiar with the command to the ancients, 'Do not murder.' I'm telling you that anyone who is so much as angry with a brother or sister is guilty of murder. Carelessly call a brother 'idiot!' and you just might find yourself hauled into court. Thoughtlessly yell 'stupid!' at a sister and you are on the brink of hellfire. The simple moral fact is that words kill.
"This is how I want you to conduct yourself in these matters. If you enter your place of worship and, about to make an offering, you suddenly remember a grudge a friend has against you, abandon your offering, leave immediately, go to this friend and make things right. Then and only then, come back and work things out with God.
"Or say you're out on the street and an old enemy accosts you. Don't lose a minute. Make the first move; make things right with him. After all, if you leave the first move to him, knowing his track record, you're likely to end up in court, maybe even jail. If that happens, you won't get out without a stiff fine.
Adultery and Divorce
"You know the next commandment pretty well, too: 'Don't go to bed with another's spouse.' But don't think you've preserved your virtue simply by staying out of bed. Your heart can be corrupted by lust even quicker than your body. Those leering looks you think nobody notices — they also corrupt.
"Let's not pretend this is easier than it really is. If you want to live a morally pure life, here's what you have to do: You have to blind your right eye the moment you catch it in a lustful leer. You have to choose to live one-eyed or else be dumped on a moral trash pile. And you have to chop off your right hand the moment you notice it raised threateningly. Better a bloody stump than your entire being discarded for good in the dump.
"Remember the Scripture that says, 'Whoever divorces his wife, let him do it legally, giving her divorce papers and her legal rights'? Too many of you are using that as a cover for selfishness and whim, pretending to be righteous just because you are 'legal.' Please, no more pretending. If you divorce your wife, you're responsible for making her an adulteress (unless she has already made herself that by sexual promiscuity). And if you marry such a divorced adulteress, you're automatically an adulterer yourself. You can't use legal cover to mask a moral failure.
Empty Promises
"And don't say anything you don't mean. This counsel is embedded deep in our traditions. You only make things worse when you lay down a smoke screen of pious talk, saying, 'I'll pray for you,' and never doing it, or saying, 'God be with you,' and not meaning it. You don't make your words true by embellishing them with religious lace. In making your speech sound more religious, it becomes less true. Just say 'yes' and 'no.' When you manipulate words to get your own way, you go wrong.
Love Your Enemies
"Here's another old saying that deserves a second look: 'Eye for eye, tooth for tooth.' Is that going to get us anywhere? Here's what I propose: 'Don't hit back at all.' If someone strikes you, stand there and take it. If someone drags you into court and sues for the shirt off your back, giftwrap your best coat and make a present of it. And if someone takes unfair advantage of you, use the occasion to practice the servant life. No more tit-for-tat stuff. Live generously.
"You're familiar with the old written law, 'Love your friend,' and its unwritten companion, 'Hate your enemy.' I'm challenging that. I'm telling you to love your enemies. Let them bring out the best in you, not the worst. When someone gives you a hard time, respond with the energies of prayer, for then you are working out of your true selves, your God-created selves. This is what God does. He gives his best — the sun to warm and the rain to nourish — to everyone, regardless: the good and bad, the nice and nasty. If all you do is love the lovable, do you expect a bonus? Anybody can do that. If you simply say hello to those who greet you, do you expect a medal? Any run-of-the-mill sinner does that.
"In a word, what I'm saying is, Grow up. You're kingdom subjects. Now live like it. Live out your God-created identity. Live generously and graciously toward others, the way God lives toward you.
The World Is Not a Stage
"Be especially careful when you are trying to be good so that you don't make a performance out of it. It might be good theater, but the God who made you won't be applauding.
"When you do something for someone else, don't call attention to yourself. You've seen them in action, I'm sure — 'playactors' I call them — treating prayer meeting and street corner alike as a stage, acting compassionate as long as someone is watching, playing to the crowds. They get applause, true, but that's all they get. When you help someone out, don't think about how it looks. Just do it — quietly and unobtrusively. That is the way your God, who conceived you in love, working behind the scenes, helps you out.
Pray with Simplicity
"And when you come before God, don't turn that into a theatrical production either. All these people making a regular show out of their prayers, hoping for stardom! Do you think God sits in a box seat?
"Here's what I want you to do: Find a quiet, secluded place so you won't be tempted to role-play before God. Just be there as simply and honestly as you can manage. The focus will shift from you to God, and you will begin to sense his grace.
"The world is full of so-called prayer warriors who are prayer-ignorant. They're full of formulas and programs and advice, peddling techniques for getting what you want from God. Don't fall for that nonsense. This is your Father you are dealing with, and he knows better than you what you need. With a God like this loving you, you can pray very simply. Like this:
Our Father in heaven, Reveal who you are. Set the world right; Do what's best — as above, so below. Keep us alive with three square meals. Keep us forgiven with you and forgiving others. Keep us safe from ourselves and the Devil. You're in charge! You can do anything you want!You're ablaze in beauty! Yes. Yes. Yes.
"In prayer there is a connection between what God does and what you do. You can't get forgiveness from God, for instance, without also forgiving others. If you refuse to do your part, you cut yourself off from God's part.
"When you practice some appetite-denying discipline to better concentrate on God, don't make a production out of it. It might turn you into a small-time celebrity but it won't make you a saint. If you 'go into training' inwardly, act normal outwardly. Shampoo and comb your hair, brush your teeth, wash your face. God doesn't require attention-getting devices. He won't overlook what you are doing; he'll reward you well.
A Life of God-Worship
"Don't hoard treasure down here where it gets eaten by moths and corroded by rust or — worse! — stolen by burglars. Stockpile treasure in heaven, where it's safe from moth and rust and burglars. It's obvious, isn't it? The place where your treasure is, is the place you will most want to be, and end up being.
"Your eyes are windows into your body. If you open your eyes wide in wonder and belief, your body fills up with light. If you live squinty-eyed in greed and distrust, your body is a dank cellar. If you pull the blinds on your windows, what a dark life you will have!
"You can't worship two gods at once. Loving one god, you'll end up hating the other. Adoration of one feeds contempt for the other. You can't worship God and Money both.
"If you decide for God, living a life of God-worship, it follows that you don't fuss about what's on the table at mealtimes or whether the clothes in your closet are in fashion. There is far more to your life than the food you put in your stomach, more to your outer appearance than the clothes you hang on your body. Look at the birds, free and unfettered, not tied down to a job description, careless in the care of God. And you count far more to him than birds.
"Has anyone by fussing in front of the mirror ever gotten taller by so much as an inch? All this time and money wasted on fashion — do you think it makes that much difference? Instead of looking at the fashions, walk out into the fields and look at the wildflowers. They never primp or shop, but have you ever seen color and design quite like it? The ten best-dressed men and women in the country look shabby alongside them.
"If God gives such attention to the appearance of wildflowers — most of which are never even seen — don't you think he'll attend to you, take pride in you, do his best for you? What I'm trying to do here is to get you to relax, to not be so preoccupied with getting, so you can respond to God's giving. People who don't know God and the way he works fuss over these things, but you know both God and how he works. Steep your life in God-reality, God-initiative, God-provisions. Don't worry about missing out. You'll find all your everyday human concerns will be met.
"Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.
A Simple Guide for Behavior
"Don't pick on people, jump on their failures, criticize their faults — unless, of course, you want the same treatment. That critical spirit has a way of boomeranging. It's easy to see a smudge on your neighbor's face and be oblivious to the ugly sneer on your own. Do you have the nerve to say, 'Let me wash your face for you,' when your own face is distorted by contempt? It's this whole traveling road-show mentality all over again, playing a holier-than-thou part instead of just living your part. Wipe that ugly sneer off your own face, and you might be fit to offer a washcloth to your neighbor.
"Don't be flip with the sacred. Banter and silliness give no honor to God. Don't reduce holy mysteries to slogans. In trying to be relevant, you're only being cute and inviting sacrilege.
"Don't bargain with God. Be direct. Ask for what you need. This isn't a cat-and-mouse, hide-and-seek game we're in. If your child asks for bread, do you trick him with sawdust? If he asks for fish, do you scare him with a live snake on his plate? As bad as you are, you wouldn't think of such a thing. You're at least decent to your own children. So don't you think the God who conceived you in love will be even better?
"Here is a simple, rule-of-thumb guide for behavior: Ask yourself what you want people to do for you, then grab the initiative and do it for them. Add up God's Law and Prophets and this is what you get.
Being and Doing
"Don't look for shortcuts to God. The market is flooded with surefire, easygoing formulas for a successful life that can be practiced in your spare time. Don't fall for that stuff, even though crowds of people do. The way to life — to God! — is vigorous and requires total attention.
"Be wary of false preachers who smile a lot, dripping with practiced sincerity. Chances are they are out to rip you off some way or other. Don't be impressed with charisma; look for character. Who preachers are is the main thing, not what they say. A genuine leader will never exploit your emotions or your pocketbook. These diseased trees with their bad apples are going to be chopped down and burned.
"Knowing the correct password — saying 'Master, Master,' for instance — isn't going to get you anywhere with me. What is required is serious obedience — doing what my Father wills. I can see it now — at the Final Judgment thousands strutting up to me and saying, 'Master, we preached the Message, we bashed the demons, our God-sponsored projects had everyone talking.' And do you know what I am going to say? 'You missed the boat. All you did was use me to make yourselves important. You don't impress me one bit. You're out of here.'
"These words I speak to you are not incidental additions to your life, homeowner improvements to your standard of living. They are foundational words, words to build a life on. If you work these words into your life, you are like a smart carpenter who built his house on solid rock. Rain poured down, the river flooded, a tornado hit — but nothing moved that house. It was fixed to the rock.
"But if you just use my words in Bible studies and don't work them into your life, you are like a stupid carpenter who built his house on the sandy beach. When a storm rolled in and the waves came up, it collapsed like a house of cards."
When Jesus concluded his address, the crowd burst into applause. They had never heard teaching like this. It was apparent that he was living everything he was saying — quite a contrast to their religion teachers! This was the best teaching they had ever heard.

09-12-21 “Always a Carpenter”

Scripture    Nehemiah 1:1-5
Oh Lord God, my brother Hanani and others have come from Judah here to Susa, the capital where I serve as cup bearer to the king of Persia, They said to me, "Those who survived the exile and are back in the province are in great trouble and disgrace. The wall of Jerusalem is broken down, and its gates have been burned with fire." You know oh Lord I have been weeping and fasting for days.
Nehemiah 1:5-11
          "O Lord, God of heaven, the great and awesome God, who keeps his covenant of love with those who love him and obey his commands, let your ear be attentive and your eyes open to hear the prayer your servant is praying before you day and night for your servants, the people of Israel. I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's house, have committed against you. We have acted very wickedly toward you. We have not obeyed the commands, decrees and laws you gave your servant Moses.
Remember the instruction you gave your servant Moses, saying, 'If you are unfaithful, I will scatter you among the nations, but if you return to me and obey my commands, then even if your exiled people are at the farthest horizon, I will gather them from there and bring them to the place I have chosen as a dwelling for my Name.'
They are your servants and your people, whom you redeemed by your great strength and your mighty hand. O Lord, let your ear be attentive to the prayer of this your servant and to the prayer of your servants who delight in revering your name. Give your servant success today by granting him favor in the presence of this man."
VIDEO: Nehemiah: What do you see? (Right Now Media)

          20 years ago today, we woke up to a different world. We woke up one day after the most gripping visual punch in the gut a country could imagine. On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks.
          Prior to that day, we lived in a world where war and mass killing took place “somewhere else”.  Our military intelligence have prevented many other such attacks with no guarantee to stop all of them.
          The spiritual parallel is found in the story of Adam and Eve. They lived in an idealic location where everyone lived in peace and relative safety. The moment they chose to sin and eat from the tree they were told to leave alone; it was like a terrorist attack on their soul. They woke up the next day, no longer walking with God in the cool of the evening. They were now separated from him and from the possibility of eternal life. It was not until one man took a risk with his own life, leaving the comforts and glory of heaven and taking on the form of a servant, he offered his life in place of all who sinned, so we could be made whole again and once more have, not the possibility, but the guarantee of eternal life.
 
          In the story of Nehemiah, we once again see who God is. When Nehemiah looked over the city of Jerusalem – he wept and mourned that the walls lie in ruins. When Jesus looked over the city of Jerusalem, he wept and mourned that the souls of men and women lie in ruins.
 
          Nehemiah’s first response was to pray about the mess and destruction that people were having to endure around them.
          Jesus’s first response was to pray about the mess and destruction that people were having to endure within them.
          Nehemiah relied on a foreign king, with whom he was very close, whose life he held in his hands, to provide items that were needed to begin rebuilding.
          Jesus relied on the King of kings, with whom he was very close, to provide items that were needed to begin rebuilding people’s lives.
          After walking around the city and seeing the scope of the destruction, determining what it would take to rebuild the walls, Nehemiah called together the nobles and officials to help him do the work.
          After walking around for three years and seeing the scope of the destruction, determining what it would take to rebuild lives, Jesus called together his closest followers to help him do the work.
          Once the work of rebuilding the walls around Jerusalem began, opposition arose and tried to stop the rebuilding from happening so Nehemiah had everyone work with a weapon in one hand while they did the work with the other.
          Once the work of rebuilding the lives around the world began, opposition arose and tried to stop the rebuilding from happening so Jesus has everyone work with a Sword of the Spirit (word of God – Bible) in one hand while they do the work with the other.
          After 52 days, the walls were rebuilt and those living in Jerusalem could now live, work and worship in a place of safety, and a place of community.
          For Jesus, the work of building lives will continue until he returns. 2 Peter 3:9
The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance.
 
          Do you know that the core word that describes the heart of Ashland is the word “build”. During a 2 year process called church unique, everything we prayed and talked about considering who Ashland has been, is and will be, considering our current location and the culture in which we live, everything came down to the single word “build”.  I don’t know why I was surprised by that revelation, when we look at who God was, is and will always be. God is a builder.
 
God built the world and everything in it.
 
God built a nation of people for Himself.
 
When things fall apart, sometimes God builds new, sometimes God rebuilds.
-         Nehemiah – rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
 
God built a community into which Jesus would be born, minister, die, be raised, and ascend to heaven.
 
God is building His church
Matt 16:18   And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my church, and the gates of Hades will not overcome it.
 
God is building our lives for His glory.
 
God is building us a forever home.
John 14:2-6   In my Father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I am going there to prepare a place for you. And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am. You know the way to the place where I am going. Thomas said to him, Lord, we don't know where you are going, so how can we know the way? Jesus answered, I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.
 
I’m reminded of the 2^nd chapter of Acts song – Mansion builder.
https://youtu.be/QqEFokssrfk
 
CONCLUSION
Mark 6:1-3  Jesus left there and went to his hometown, accompanied by his disciples. When the Sabbath came, he began to teach in the synagogue, and many who heard him were amazed. “Where did this man get these things?” they asked. "What's this wisdom that has been given him, that he even does miracles! Isn't this the carpenter? Isn't this Mary's son and the brother of James, Joseph, Judas and Simon? Aren't his sisters here with us?"
 
God is always a carpenter.
 
Ashland is always a carpenter – Our Mission is to:
“Build an inspired community that creatively and compassionately connects people to Jesus Christ.”
 
 
Cornerstone

09-5-21 “A name you don’t know, that you will never forget!”

Scripture  2 Samuel 9:1-13

[TEACHING: Use Easel Pads and Markers to list main characters.]
PEOPLE:
Saul – 1^st King of Israel
Saul married Ahinoam, & they had 4 sons (Jonathan, Abinadab, Malchishua and Ish-bosheth) and two daughters (Merab and Michal).
Saul also had a concubine named Rizpah, and they had 2 sons, (That is important to our story and we will return to her two sons later.) Armoni and Mephibosheth.
Jonathan – Saul’s eldest son and a great warrior
Becomes best friends with another great warrior, David, who they both hope one day will be king.
Saul wanted Jonathan’s help to kill David because he was jealous of him and Jonathan refused and saved David’s life from his own father. Because David was married to Saul’s daughter, Michal, that means David and Jonathan were also brothers-in-law. Jonathan is the father of one son (also important later in the story).
David – Son-in-law of Saul, Friend of Jonathan, would become the 2^nd king of Israel.
 
In a battle against the Philistines, King Saul falls on his own sword knowing he will be killed, and Johnathan and two brothers are killed in that same battle. David becomes king after being contested by Saul’s one remaining son, Ish-bosheth who was eventually murdered.
 
DAVID a former shepherd was known for his passion for God, his meaningful-beautiful psalms and musical abilities, his inspiring courage and expertise in warfare, his good looks and illicit relationship with Bathsheba. Born around 1000 BC, like King Saul and King Solomon, David reigned for 40 years. Although just as flawed or sinful as the kings who preceded and followed him, in Judaism and Christianity, King David is presented as a model king of piety, repentance, and submission as well a forerunner to the Messiah-Jesus.
 
          So far we only have 3 main people in our story (Saul, Jonathan, and David). There is one more person whose name is largely unknown but whose place in God’s story is of great importance to understand how God views us. When we first meet him, he is a normal healthy 5-year-old boy, grandson of the king, and son of Jonathan. Being the son of royalty, he has a nanny, in this case, a nurse who takes care of him. When news reached his nurse that Saul and Jonathan had been killed in battle, his life was about to change forever…
 
2 Samuel 4:4
(Jonathan’s son was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came from Jezreel. His nurse picked him up and fled, but as she hurried to leave, he fell and became crippled in both feet. His name was Mephibosheth.) = “from the mouth of shame”
Imagine being 5 years old – healthy and happy, the son of royalty and in one day you lose 2 uncles, your grandfather, your father, and you become crippled – unable to walk for the rest of your life.
 
Why did the nanny run? In that part of the world at that time, the descendants of one king would be killed when another king took the throne. For that reason or for the reason of him being crippled and now put at the lowest state in society because there is little work he would be able to do, he was taken from the royalty of Jerusalem – plush yards and gardens to a place called Lo-debar (no pasture) the desert. This is where he grew up and eventually became a father, having a young son of his own but socially and economically having nothing.
 
          It’s at this point in scripture that we see Mephibosheth again.
2 Samuel 9:1-13
David asked, "Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?"
          2 Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They called him to appear before David, and the king said to him, "Are you Ziba?" "Your servant," he replied. 3 The king asked, "Is there no one still left of 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 crippled in both feet." 4 "Where is he?" the king asked. Ziba answered, "He is at the house of Makir son of Ammiel in Lo Debar."
          5 So King David had him brought from Lo Debar, from the house of Makir son of Ammiel. 6 When Mephibosheth son of Jonathan, the son of Saul, came to David, he bowed down to pay him honor. David said, "Mephibosheth!" "Your servant," he replied. 7 "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." 8 Mephibosheth bowed down and said, "What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?"
          9 Then the king summoned Ziba, Saul's servant, and said to him, "I have given your master's grandson everything that belonged to Saul and his family. 10 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.) 11 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.
          12 Mephibosheth had a young son named Mica, and all the members of Ziba's household were servants of Mephibosheth. 13 And Mephibosheth lived in Jerusalem because he always ate at the king's table, and he was crippled in both feet.
  
          David had built this new kingdom in a new place and was experiencing peace in the land and turned to old business. Previously,
1 Sam 20:15  Jonathan said to David, “do not ever cut off your kindness from my family — not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies from the face of the earth.”
1 Sam 20:42  Jonathan said to David, "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 and my descendants forever.'"

          We were created perfect in God’s eyes – like a 5-year-old child – so young and innocent but old enough to begin thinking for ourselves and having developed personality and also old enough to begin making some of our own choices. Once we do that, we find that our perfection-our innocence is removed – and we become spiritually crippled in both feet. We no longer walk in the way God designed us to walk – no matter how hard we try there is no way we will walk right again. It is at that point we are also sent to Lo-Debar – the spiritual desert – far from God and when God finds us, our end will be death because we are no longer in the king’s household, but rather the household of the enemy – the devil. When God searches and finds us and calls us before Him we come trembling knowing that death is what we deserve and what we expect – out of nowhere, he emphatically calls us by name “Mephibosheth!” When we bow before him, recognize his kingship and our unworthiness to even be in his presence, he then raises us up, restores to us, all the fruit this world has to offer provides others to tend it on our behalf and greatest of all insists that we eat daily at the king’s table, not as a guest, but s one of His sons.

 
Ephesians 2:1-7
          As for you, you were dead in your transgressions and sins, in which you used to live when you followed the ways of this world and of the ruler of the kingdom of the air, the spirit who is now at work in those who are disobedient. All of us also lived among them at one time, gratifying the cravings of our sinful nature and following its desires and thoughts. Like the rest, we were by nature objects of wrath. But because of his great love for us, God, who is rich in mercy, made us alive with Christ even when we were dead in transgressions — it is by grace you have been saved. And God raised us up with Christ and seated us with him in the heavenly realms in Christ Jesus, in order that in the coming ages he might show the incomparable riches of his grace, expressed in his kindness to us in Christ Jesus.
 
Let’s Pray:
Your blood has washed away my sin  -  Jesus, thank You
The Father’s wrath completely satisfied  -  Jesus, thank You
Once Your enemy, now seated at Your table  -  Jesus, thank You