Crippled By Life, Carried By Grace

[0:00] Praise the Lord, everybody. Oh, man.

[0:14] The weather was really good while we were gone.! I don't know what the weather was like there or here, but it was beautiful in Hawaii. And he's excited to be in church this morning. Amen.

[0:37] Y'all can excuse my voice. I feel, I'm kind of fighting through it, but I'm not sick. I'm just dealing with some other stuff, and my voice is kind of suffering for that. Praise God. Hey, listen.

[0:50] I want God to do whatever he wants to do in my life. Amen? I want God to do, amen? Because I want to be what God wants me to be.

[1:03] I want to be what he is outlining his word to me. And, you know, life, as one writer put, life is difficult.

[1:14] And life's got its challenges. Life's got its ups and downs. Amen? Amen. And, but at the end of the day, that was kind of what Pastor was alluding to.

[1:27] And what Jesus is speaking to us about is that we need to take responsibility for our lives. We need to take responsibility for our faith.

[1:39] Amen. And, you know, my message is titled, Crippled by Life, Carried by Grace. And life can be crippling. Amen?

[1:51] Life can be a struggle. But you know what? When I put my reliance upon Jesus Christ, and I take responsibility for my life, and responsibility for my faith.

[2:04] Amen. Great things can happen. I don't want to be a victim. I don't want to have that victim mentality that, whoa, it's me. Life gave me a hand.

[2:18] And, you know, feel sorry for me. That's not it. It's that when you are a new, when you are in Christ Jesus, hello, somebody. When you're in Christ Jesus, and you apply his gospel to your life, you've repented your sins, you're baptized in water in the name of Jesus.

[2:41] And you were brought to new life by being filled with the baptism of the Holy Ghost. If you've been born again, you are a new creature. Amen.

[2:52] Amen. All things are passed away. All things are now become new. Amen. Praise God. Hallelujah. And for the Holy Ghost in this place.

[3:05] You may have been crippled by life, but I'm telling you, God's grace wants to carry you now. God's grace wants to lift you up. God's grace wants you to stand tall. Hallelujah.

[3:17] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise God. Hallelujah. I'm excited about church. Are you excited about church?

[3:30] Are you excited about what God's going to do in this house here this morning? Amen. Praise God. I don't want to miss it. Kids, you can be dismissed at Sunday school. My wife's waiting in the back there, and Tom is excited to be going.

[3:45] All right, kiddos. Say your goodbyes and kisses and all that. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. It's cash.

[4:00] Have you ever had a moment? I'm sure we could all line up and get the microphone and talk about these moments that just changed everything for our lives.

[4:18] You know, for good or for bad. I mean, phone calls or text messages, mistakes, decisions that we made that just kind of flipped our world upside down.

[4:31] You know what we're talking about. Maybe you got a diagnosis. Or a doctor said, hey, we got to talk. Or a family member that said, hey, I need to tell you something.

[4:46] I got to confess something. Or your spouse says with tears in their eyes. I have to confess something to you. Or I have to tell you something that's going to rock your world.

[4:57] That's going to rock our world. And we've had those kinds of calls or text messages or discussions. Or maybe on the flip side, you got calls that says, hey, congratulations, you got this.

[5:10] And we like those phone calls, don't we? We love those text messages. We love those, hey, you won $1,000. Or you got $1,000 in the mail or whatever it might be.

[5:21] But one phone call, one decision, one moment can just flip all the world. Either upside down or right side up.

[5:35] And for many of us, for many of us, we have encountered those situations, those moments. And for some of us, those are still happening right now.

[5:45] We're still going through those situations. We're still getting those phone calls. We're still getting those text messages that are not doing something good for us, but something that's negatively affecting our lives.

[5:58] You know, you're doing your best in life. And you think you're doing the best that you can. And it seems like life just steamrolls right over you. It just takes you out.

[6:11] And you don't know up from down, right from left. And you're kind of left in a quandary. You're saying, okay, Lord, now what? Or why me? Or why now? When things were looking bright.

[6:23] But perhaps God, maybe He's going to show me something, Lord, that He wanted to do in my life. And I believe and I feel in this place that there are some people, there are some families that are going through that very situation where they cannot seem to get some traction in life.

[6:41] And you feel like life has dropped you. Fear has dropped you. Failure has dropped you. Or you yourself have dropped you.

[6:52] Your wife has dropped you. Your husband has dropped you. Your dad dropped you. Your mom dropped you in life. And you're left to live in a crippled state.

[7:05] And something that maybe you did not do for yourself. Or maybe you didn't cause. And you smile in public. And you smile around the church people, around the church house.

[7:17] But inwardly, you're crippled and you're hurting and you're limping around in private. You're functioning, but you're not free. You're moving, but you're not quite getting the traction that you want.

[7:32] And I just want to stop here. I want to tell somebody in this place, God knows where you are. God knows what you're going through. God knows where you are right now in your life.

[7:45] Amen. He has not forgotten you. He has not left you. But He's closer than you think. He's as close, as the writer said, as the mention of His name.

[7:58] Hallelujah. And if this morning, if you'll simply say, as the song we just sang a little bit ago, if you just speak the name of Jesus, if you'll whisper it, if you'll have some desperation in your life, if you'll say, Jesus, I need you in my life right now, I'm telling you, He will come in and He will give you the strength.

[8:16] Oh, I wish I had somebody in this place that believed that this morning. Hallelujah. Praise God. Hallelujah. My heart is heavy this morning.

[8:27] My heart is burdened because I really feel like there are some people that are crippled by life. But God's grace wants to pick you up. God's grace wants to carry you through your season.

[8:39] Everyone say season. Season. I don't want to just tell you something right now. Whatever you think you're going through, it's just the season. Whatever you're facing, it's just the season.

[8:51] I remember when I was in high school. And, you know, things happen. Girls, whatever. I broke up with a girlfriend. The girlfriend broke up with me. Friends did stuff to me, whatever. And I thought my life was over.

[9:04] I said, my life is done for. And that's it. It's over with. There's no hope. And someone older and wiser would always say, you got the rest of your life to worry about.

[9:14] This is just a little season you're going through. What you're feeling is real. But there are better things ahead for you in your life. And I want to just tell somebody here this morning that's going through a season in their life that God's got great things for you.

[9:33] God's got greater things for you. God's got plans for your life. So don't give up. Hang on to the gospel. Hang on to Jesus Christ. Amen.

[9:45] But see, this is kind of where we meet this man. This man named Mephibosheth. Say that five times really fast. Yeah, good luck. Thank you for doing that.

[9:55] He was born into royalty. He was the grandson of King Saul, son of Prince Jonathan, who was David's really good friend, dearest friend.

[10:08] So Mephibosheth knew about growing up in the palace and not in the desert or in the pasture. But one day for him, everything changed.

[10:21] One day for him, everything was altered. He got news of something that happened. Word had spread that Saul and Jonathan, Saul and Jonathan, Saul, the first king of Israel, Jonathan and his son had been killed.

[10:40] And now David is the new king. What exciting news for some and not so exciting for Mephibosheth and his family. And in that world at that time when a new king would take the throne, every descendant of that king that was sitting would be wiped out, would be killed, would be destroyed to protect the dynasty of the new king that was coming in.

[11:06] And so hearing this, Mephibosheth's nurse grabbed this little child of Mephibosheth and ran for her life.

[11:17] And the scriptures tell us that in her panic, okay, she tripped and she dropped Mephibosheth. And many of you could testify about being dropped as a child.

[11:29] And you probably use that to tell us, oh, you're probably dropped in your head as a child. And my parents had no problem telling me they dropped me on my head. Oh, yeah, we dropped you.

[11:40] But when Mephibosheth was dropped, his feet were crushed and they were injured. And he survived, but he was now crippled. And he would never, ever walk again.

[11:53] He had his moment, his diagnosis. He had that dreaded text message or phone call in his life. But he grew up there forgotten, crippled, and afraid.

[12:05] Because they want to kill him. They want to kill the line of Saul. Saul is wiped out. And they want to get rid of that name. Mephibosheth, this son of a fallen, grandson I should say, of a fallen king.

[12:20] Living like a fugitive. Until one day, until one day, years later, a question that echoed through the palace halls.

[12:33] A question that came resounding in the palace halls. Is there anyone left in the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

[12:45] And that one question changed everything. Changed everything for Mephibosheth. See, grace is God looking for you when you stop looking for yourself.

[13:01] When you stop looking for the good. When you stop looking for God's goodness in your life. Amen. Grace is God looking for you. And this morning, I'm here to tell somebody God's grace is looking for somebody in this house this morning.

[13:16] God's grace is looking for someone here today who's lost hope. Who is feeling a little discouraged today. Amen. Amen. You may smile on the outside, but God knows what's going on on the inside.

[13:30] God knows exactly what he's doing here this morning. But see, this is where the story stops being ancient history.

[13:41] And it really starts being personal for every one of us. Because we all know what it's like to live in those seasons. In those seasons of just dryness. Those seasons of hopelessness and despair.

[13:55] We know how it is to live in our own Lodabar like Mephibosheth. Mephibosheth. You see, Lodabar isn't just a physical place, but it's a condition of the heart.

[14:07] It's where life breaks your confidence but leaves you breathing. Lodabar is where Mephibosheth ran to and was hiding. A place of feeling lonely and trapped.

[14:21] Mephibosheth ran to this place. Well, it is not where he was going, but he went to this. He went to this place feeling hopeless. Feeling, what else am I going to do in this life?

[14:36] Feeling crippled. Amen. And for some, it's the memory of something you can't shake in your life. For others, it's that slow drift into numbness.

[14:47] You're surviving but not really living your life to the fullest. Like Jesus talked about, that he came to give life and life more abundantly.

[14:58] Amen. That's the kind of God that you serve. A God that came to give you life that isn't just mediocre. That isn't just 25%, but he came to give you life that is overflowing.

[15:09] A life that is, hallelujah, come on somebody. Life that, see some of us don't believe that because we're still in Lodabar. We're still in that desert place this morning, but I'm trying to get us to shake us here today and realize, hey, God has more for your life.

[15:30] You show up to work. You show up to church, to family dinners, but on the inside, you've accepted this emptiness as normal. Hello, somebody.

[15:41] You've accepted this, and you go through your life. This is normal. This despair, this hopelessness, this anxiety is normal. So I'm going to take some medication to take care of that, to take whatever I got to do.

[15:55] Some people take drugs. Some people, I mean, illicit drugs. Some people, they drink alcohol, okay? They dive into other promiscuous things just to satisfy that emptiness or that feeling in their hearts.

[16:10] To try and feel better about themselves. Only to drive themselves deeper and deeper into hopelessness. Hallelujah. And to discard their bodies and to let their bodies be used because of how they feel about themselves and what they can't see to get out of what I'm trying to tell us here this morning.

[16:32] That God wants to bring you out today. God wants you to reach higher, further. Amen. Hallelujah. Praise God. See, that's low to bar.

[16:45] And the longer you stay there, the more it convinces you that you deserve it. The longer you stay in that state of hopelessness and feeling ashamed and feeling worthless, the longer you stay there.

[17:00] I'm telling somebody. The longer you stay there, you start to think to yourself, this is what I deserve in life. This is what I deserve right now. This is what I'm good for.

[17:12] Hallelujah. But here is the truth. The king has not forgotten where you are. He knows your name. Hallelujah. He knows your name.

[17:23] And he knows what dropped you or who dropped you. And the question is still being asked, is there anyone I can show kindness to? Hallelujah.

[17:34] God wants to show you kindness. God wants to show you kindness this morning. Thank God for his goodness. Thank God for his kindness. And hey, and even when I've been wrong and done wrong and been out, thank God for his long suffering.

[17:49] Hallelujah. And it's because of his long suffering and his grace in our lives that we're able to come out of whatever we're in right now. Praise God.

[18:00] Praise God.

[18:30] And he's searching for you this morning. Well, Mephibosheth's story. Grace moved him into Mephibosheth's life.

[18:44] Because the way David responded to that question shows us exactly how God wants to respond to you and I. Thank God for his grace.

[18:57] Thank God for his grace. And it starts in that throne room. You see, 2 Samuel 9 and verse 1 says, And David said, Is there yet any that is led to the house of Saul that I may show him kindness for Jonathan's sake?

[19:13] And before Mephibosheth ever thought about the king and the king was already thinking about him, Before he ever reached out, David was planning his restoration.

[19:25] And that's what grace looks like for you and I. It begins in the heart of the king, not the effort of the broken. You see, the scripture says that, But God commanded his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners.

[19:41] Hear me, somebody. That while we were yet sinners, while we were still sinning, While we were still doing the drugs, drinking the alcohol, doing all those things. The Bible says that Christ died for us.

[19:55] Hallelujah. Grace does not start with your worthiness. It starts with God's willingness. Amen. Hallelujah.

[20:07] And God's hand is extended to you here this morning. Praise God. He remembers the covenant even when we've forgotten his name. Praise God.

[20:18] But grace doesn't stay seated on the throne. It doesn't just think about you. It comes looking for you. And grace finds you right where you are.

[20:29] 2 Samuel 9, 4-5. And it says, And the king said unto him, Where is he? And Ziba, unto the king, said unto the king, Behold, he is in the house of Machir, the son of Emiel, in Lo-Debar.

[20:44] The king sent David's scent and fetched him out of the house of Machir, the son of Emiel, from Lo-Debar. You see, David didn't just talk about kindness.

[20:57] He acted on it. He didn't just talk about grace. Grace. He didn't just talk about those great things, these buzzwords. He actually acted on this. And he sent men to go get Mephibosheth, to pull him out of hiding, and to bring him home.

[21:15] And can you imagine that? This guy, Mephibosheth, crippled. All these years. Thinking, you know, living in terror, they're going to find me one day.

[21:26] And finally that door comes a knock. Can you imagine the terror of Mephibosheth? Because he's been living in that state for so long.

[21:41] He thought, it's going to happen one day. And maybe every day he crawled around, moving himself around, thinking, they're going to come and get me one day.

[21:53] And finally that day came. But it wasn't a knock of judgment. But it was a knock of grace. Hallelujah. And if you've been in Lodabar for so long, if you've been in despair for so long, I want you to understand, your understanding may be skewed of the scripture.

[22:17] Your understanding may be skewed of God's mercy and his grace in your life. What might be kindness, you might perceive as judgment. What might be his goodness, you may perceive as more hurt or more pain.

[22:31] But I want to tell you this morning, when grace comes knocking, he wants to remove all that fear in your life. He wants to remove all that doubt in your life. He wants to remove all that hopelessness in your life when grace comes knocking on that door.

[22:49] Hallelujah. It wants to pull you out of hiding and pull you out of darkness. Hallelujah. And bring you into his presence. That's what grace does.

[23:00] That's what God's kindness does for us. He wants to pull us out of those situations. I don't deserve any of that goodness, but because he is good and he is just and he is righteous.

[23:13] Hallelujah. He looks down and says, I'm still going to reach out to you. The world may have given up on you. People may have given up, but I have not forgotten you. That's what grace does.

[23:28] It walks into the barren places and it calls your name. It walks into the lonely places and it calls your name. Hallelujah. It walks into the places where all you can hear is chaos and God says, be still.

[23:40] And he silences the noise. and his voice stands out and says, I still want you.

[23:58] But all his voices are speaking evil and horrible names into your life and making you want to think horribly yourself. God steps in and you hear that small, still voice.

[24:14] I still want you. I don't care what you've done. I know what you've done. I know what you've been in. I know what you've been in. But I still want you. I want to pull you out of that.

[24:26] I want to pull you out of that stuff. Hallelujah. Praise God. Grace always goes first. And when grace finds you, it doesn't just point you toward home.

[24:39] Grace carries us. Grace carries us because maybe you don't have the strength right now. Maybe where you are in Lodabar, you don't have the strength to quite get up and to quite keep moving.

[24:55] But that's the wonderful thing about grace is that it doesn't just call us. It carries us. Hallelujah. Grace is not just God's favor on our lives, but it's power.

[25:07] Grace is an empowerment to carry us. God wants to empower you. I feel the Holy Ghost right now. God wants to empower you to come to him, to carry you to come to him.

[25:18] Your legs may feel like they can't move. That's when grace says, I got you. I got you. I'll carry you. Then King David sent and fetched him out of the house of Mekir from Lodabar.

[25:34] You see, Mephibosheth couldn't walk to the place even if he wanted to because he was crippled. Remember, he got dropped as a child. His legs were broken, crippled, and the strength was gone.

[25:48] And David said, fetch him. That literally means carry him. And that's what grace does. When you can't take another step, grace carries you.

[26:01] When you can't climb, grace carries you. Grace lifts you. When you can't run, grace holds on to you and carries you in that way. Grace meets you in your weakness, in your place of weakness.

[26:16] And after you fix it, grace, hello somebody. Well, when I get everything right in my life, then I'll come to God. No, no, no, no, no. You need to come to God to get fixed.

[26:28] You need to come to God to get right. You need to come to God to get your life in order. Amen. Amen. Grace is God's goodness towards us.

[26:43] And what we don't deserve is favor. God still, perhaps his arm around us and says, I still want you. Praise God.

[26:56] And when grace finally carries you home, it doesn't shame you for being broken. It doesn't shame you for being in your state. It doesn't shame you.

[27:09] You know what it does? It redefines who you are. Grace redefines who you are because it's no longer your identity that you're putting on.

[27:22] You know who you're putting on? Christ Jesus. You're no longer putting on your identity. You're no longer having to walk in that.

[27:33] You're no longer having to carry that on you. You know what you're doing? You're putting on Christ Jesus. You're putting on Christ Jesus. You're putting on the one who loved you, the one who shaped you, the one who kept you all this time.

[27:48] And when you come to him and you get his blood applied to your life and you accept the gospel and you die of your sins and you're buried in baptism and you're filled with the Holy Ghost and newness of life, you put on Christ Jesus.

[28:03] Hallelujah. You put him on. Hallelujah. You are now redefined and no longer what has been, but now you are what could be and what shall be.

[28:14] Hallelujah. Praise God. Now when Mephibosheth, the son of John, the son of Saul, was come unto David, he fell on his face.

[28:29] He didn't have far to fall. Someone's standing. He did reverence. And David said, Mephibosheth.

[28:43] And he answered, Behold thy servant. And David said unto him, Fear not. Fear not.

[28:54] For I will surely show thee kindness for Jonathan thy father's sake and restore thee all the land of Saul thy father. And thou shalt eat bread at my table continually.

[29:07] And he bowed himself. Look what David just told him. All these things. I'm going to restore you.

[29:19] I'm going to restore you to this place. I'm going to restore you to your position. I'm going to restore you. I'm going to give you a seat at my table. And here is his response.

[29:30] What is thy servant? Who am I? Who am I? What is thy servant that thou shouldest look upon such a dead dog as I am?

[29:49] This is the identity that he brought in to the king's palace. This is the identity that he carried with him his whole life in Lo Debar.

[30:03] He had been told all that's going to be done for him. All that's going to be restored to him. His response is that's great but I'm a dead dog.

[30:15] Why would you do that for me? Why would you allow a dead dog be treated like this? Why?

[30:29] And when Mephibosheth finally stood before David he bowed low and said what is thy servant? I'm a dead dog. Because this is how he saw himself.

[30:43] Unworthy. forgotten. Unwanted. Broken. Worthless. Not valuable. But the king looked at him.

[31:00] Everyone say the king. The king looked at him and said fear not. Fear not.

[31:12] anyone ever tell you hey don't be afraid. You ever go into a haunted house when you're a kid or you ever go on a trip like a hiking trip or you go on a building or you ever I don't know something that's kind of scary at some point don't be afraid you'll be alright.

[31:30] That's easy for you to say. Because that's what's happening to Mephibosheth. He's saying fear not.

[31:42] but I'm a dead dog. Fear not. I'm a lowly mutt who's got no value or worth. Why are you saying this to me? Because fear not.

[32:00] David was saying you know you're not a problem to fix. You're not a problem to try and tinker with. You're not a problem to try and alter and mess with.

[32:13] He's like you're a person to restore. You're a person to restore to God. And I feel like this morning someone needs to hear that that you're not just a problem to fix or to be tinkered with or to have worldly ideologies to mess with but you are someone that needs to be restored here this morning.

[32:36] Someone that needs to be restored to your rightful place in living for God. I don't know what you've done. I don't know what you've been through or what you've been caught up with. I don't know what you did this morning.

[32:47] I don't know what you did last night. I don't know who you were with or what you did but I want to tell you something. You're not a problem to fix. Hallelujah for God. God's not in a quandary trying to figure out how am I going to make it without Him.

[33:01] God wants to just restore you. Hallelujah. And forgive you what? Hallelujah. Not if you got it right but only if you're willing to come to Him.

[33:13] Praise God. Anybody willing to come to God this morning? Hallelujah. To be restored. To be healed. Praise God.

[33:28] David gave him back everything he lost and a permanent seat at the king's table. and under the table under the tablecloth no one could see his broken feet.

[33:43] No one could see his brokenness. The king's covering was upon him. Hallelujah. Because that's what grace does. Hallelujah. It covers your crippleness.

[33:55] It covers where you lack. His grace is sufficient. Because when your strength ends his grace continues. Praise be to God. His grace covers that brokenness in our lives.

[34:08] Hallelujah. And makes it whole again. Thank God for His goodness. Thank God for His grace. Praise God.

[34:21] And that's where his story turns towards you and I. this is where Mephibosheth's story turns to you and I here today. Because the same grace that called Mephibosheth out of Lodabar is the same grace that's calling to us this morning.

[34:40] That's calling to you and I today. Church, I don't know where you are this morning mentally. I mean, y'all look great today. You look really wonderful this morning. Okay?

[34:51] But you know where you are. You know where you're not. You know what's desert, what's dry. You know what's numb.

[35:02] You know what you're faking. You know what you're putting up. Amen. But I want to tell you something, God, that's exactly what's right behind that mask that you're wearing here this morning. Praise God.

[35:14] Because grace is more than forgiveness. Grace is transformation. It's transformation. Hallelujah. It doesn't just comfort you.

[35:24] It calls you to a higher level. Amen. It says you don't belong in Lodabar anymore. You don't belong in this desert place any longer.

[35:37] You don't belong in this place that's given you an identity for however many years you've been here. It's calling you. It wants to restore you to the king's table.

[35:48] Hallelujah. I wish I had a witness here this morning. Grace does not leave you where it found you.

[36:02] It doesn't leave you on the side of the road. It doesn't leave you in the trench. It doesn't leave you in that mess. Hallelujah. He's calling you out. And when you can't feel like you can't get yourself out of it, grace wants to carry you.

[36:17] But the question is this, are you willing? You see, this is where the personal responsibility comes from. Are you willing to allow God to carry you out?

[36:34] You see, Mephibosheth could have said, no, leave me alone. I'm staying here. I'm comfortable. This is my identity and this is what I've known. But he recognized I don't belong.

[36:51] I can't stay here anymore. And he wasn't too prideful to be carried. Think about it.

[37:01] A grown man being carried. I don't know how they carried him over his shoulder, side by side, in a seat. Who knows?

[37:16] It takes some personal responsibility for us to get out of that stuff, to get out of a low debar. Are we willing this morning to say, yes, Lord, I understand where I am.

[37:30] God, I don't want to be there anymore. I want to get out of this mess. God, I want to get out of this. I want to walk in newness of life. I feel crippled here, Lord. I don't want to stay here any longer.

[37:42] God, I want to get out. Are you willing? Are you willing? Are you willing? So what do we do with that?

[37:57] what do we do with all this? What do we do with this word and this truth? Because grace, I thought about this.

[38:10] Grace is not, and when it's preached and when it's read in the scriptures, grace is not meant to be this. Grace is not meant to be admired.

[38:26] applauded or patted on the back. That was good for them.

[38:37] You know what grace is? Grace is meant to be applied. Grace is meant to be applied. Mephibosheth could have rejected the help.

[38:49] He could have rejected those men that came. and he's still being low to bar. But he accepted that grace.

[39:03] He accepted that help. He accepted, and he applied that grace to his life and said, yes, I want that grace in my life because I'm tired of being here.

[39:14] I'm tired of sitting here in my mess. I want to get out. And he got restored to the king's table. Praise God. Because grace isn't just a moment.

[39:26] Grace is a movement. Grace isn't just a point in time. Grace is continual. Grace is continual. And Mephibosheth didn't just receive mercy.

[39:37] He lived differently. And he walked. He walked in that grace. He walked in that mercy.

[39:48] He walked in that goodness. Amen. He walked in the king's mercy. He walked in the king's mercy. Can that be said of us here this morning? Are we walking in his mercy?

[39:59] Are we walking in his grace? Hallelujah. Are we walking as king's kids today? Hallelujah. Or are we still in lo de bar in that desert place of shame and guilt?

[40:21] Here's how we're going to walk this out this week. Own where you are. Go ahead to your neighbor and say, own where you are.

[40:36] Because you can't heal what you keep hiding. You can't heal or what you have in you cannot be healed if you keep hiding it. You can hide it from us.

[40:47] You can hide it from me. You can hide it from Pastor. You can even hide it from your husband or your wife. But God knows. But Mephibosheth couldn't change that he had been dropped.

[41:00] He couldn't change that. But he could answer the call. He could answer the call. I don't know what his life was up to that point.

[41:11] If he blamed the nurse or if she was even still around. If she was a constant reminder of being dropped let alone not being able to walk. But at that moment, this is huge right here.

[41:24] At that moment, he made a decision. I am not going to be a victim anymore. I am not going to be a victim of life I am not going to be a victim of those circumstances that I can no longer control.

[41:41] Hallelujah. And I feel like God is trying to tell somebody in this place that instead of stop being a victim of those circumstances and instead of being a victor in God's grace.

[41:53] Hallelujah. Come on, somebody. That's good. Stop being a victim of life's circumstances. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hey, we may have been crippled by life, but I want to tell you something.

[42:06] Grace wants to carry you. Grace wants to carry me. Hallelujah. So this morning, this is on you. This is on me. Am I going to stop being a victim?

[42:18] This is real talk right now. Because many people walk through life being a victim. And there's nothing anyone can do to help them.

[42:32] Or satisfy that need in their life. Or satisfy that hole in their life. There's nothing I can do, you can do. Nothing anything can do.

[42:44] It's something that that person has to deal with themselves and look to God and say, God, I'm going to stop being a victim here this morning.

[42:57] I want to stop and blame everybody else for my shortfalls. And blame everybody else for my shortcomings. God, I'm tired of it. I want to accept the grace here today. Hallelujah.

[43:08] Grace empowers responsibility, not excuses. Grace empowers responsibility, not excuses.

[43:20] And grace meets you where you are, but it won't let you stay a victim. grace. The second thing, so the first one is own where you are. The second thing is move toward the king.

[43:34] Grace came to Lodabar, but Mephibosheth still had to say yes. And he can't live at the table if you refuse to leave the pasture.

[43:47] Can you take a step towards God this morning? Can you take a step towards his goodness this morning? Hallelujah. Pray, forgive, reconnect, serve, obey God.

[44:01] I want your goodness in my life. And lastly, live from the table, not the pasture.

[44:12] Live from the table of the king and not the pasture and Lodabar. Because once Mephibosheth sat down at the king's table, he never went back to Lodabar.

[44:23] Because I'm sure if he had asked David, you know what, I want to go back. David probably would have let him. But once he sat down at the king's table, he never went back because he had new surroundings.

[44:42] He had new hopes for his life. He had new dreams for his life. He had new habits for his life. He had new things surrounding him. Amen. And I want to tell someone, it matters who you allow around your life.

[44:59] It matters who you allow to speak into your life. Because there's a difference between you living at the king's table and the difference between that or going back to the life of sin.

[45:09] Between living at the king's table or going back to that life that you were called out of. Amen. Who you allow in your life matters.

[45:20] It matters a lot. It's the difference between living at the king's table or living in a crippled state in despair and hopelessness and in a desert and a pasture.

[45:35] So who you connect with and put around yourself matters to us. That's all Stan this morning. Hallelujah.

[45:47] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise God. Let's all close our eyes and bow our heads please.

[46:03] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Jesus. Oh God. Oh God. Oh God. Today we love you. We love you today Jesus.

[46:16] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank God for His grace.

[46:30] It finds us, carries us, and teaches us how to live free. Because at the end of the day that's all we want.

[46:42] We want to live free. We want to live free. not bound or drugged down by sin. And other unproductive things in our life.

[46:57] Grace wants to liberate you and empower you to live in freedom. grace. Because grace isn't about just being found.

[47:09] It's about being transformed and being conformed into His image. Jesus.

[47:22] grace gives you hope. Grace challenges you to change. Grace convicts us to take responsibility.

[47:37] And grace gives us something to do. And when we walk out today, I can say, you know, I know where I've been.

[47:56] I know what God's offering. And by God's grace, I'm going to do what I have to do next. I'm going to leave low to bar.

[48:11] I'm going to leave those habits. I'm going to leave those mindsets. I'm going to leave those things behind. And I'm going to sit at the king's table. So that's the challenge of sporting.

[48:25] God, can I draw closer to you today? God, can I draw closer to you here today? Because I'm tired of living in low to bar. I'm tired of living, oh God, in that shape and in that guilt and in that fear.

[48:47] But here's the question we have to be honest with. What are you and I going to do when grace comes looking for this?

[49:02] This morning, grace is looking for someone in this place. Grace is reaching for someone in this place right now. Grace is reaching for somebody in this house today.

[49:16] Hallelujah, Jesus. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Praise God.

[49:27] I want to open up these altars. grace. I don't want you to come down here and do business with God and allow grace to work in your life.

[49:43] Allow God's grace to work in your heart and in your mind. And that's to say, God, I want to come out of that place.

[49:54] I don't want to sit at the king's table alone today. Hallelujah.

[50:07] Hallelujah. Hallelujah. but I know you feel the tug of God in your hearts.

[50:28] I know you feel the pull of grace on you right now. I'm not a slave to me I'm not a child I'm not a slave to me I'm not a slave to me I'm not a slave to me I'm not a slave to me I'm not a slave to me I'm not a slave to me Hallelujah, that's it, hallelujah.

[51:23] Come on, sir, we just all pray right now. Let's all close our eyes and begin to pray. Let's sing to me I am a child You're a slave to me You're a slave to me So I could walk right through it My fears are drowned in perfect love You rescue me so I could stand and pray I am a child of God I am a child of God I'm not a slave to me I am a child of God I'm not a slave to me I am a child of God I am a child of God I can't believe in the shine of light

[52:35] Father, that's it. Come on. Let's pray.

[52:46] Come on. Holy Ghost right now. That's it. Come on, somebody. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Yes, God. Yes, God.

[53:02] There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus.

[53:16] Oh, that's it. Yes. Yes. There is power in the name of Jesus. Break everything. Break everything. Break everything.

[53:30] There is power in the name of Jesus. There is power in the name of Jesus.

[53:42] There is power in the name of Jesus. Hallelujah. I want to tell someone, you might feel a little insecure right now where you are.

[54:29] And you don't want, maybe some of us don't want to show others that we got stuff in our life. That we got problems in our life. We all got problems.

[54:42] You're in good company. You're in a good company. Hey, the church is made up of imperfect people. But believe that a perfect God is gracious to them.

[54:57] And is able to restore them. If we were to confess our week to all of us, we'd be here a long time.

[55:09] But I want to tell us something. You're in the right place here this morning. and we're not here by accident God knows exactly what he's doing he's putting this church together praise God and I want to just say to those that are still aren't quite sure you're in Little Debar here this morning you're in that desert place that pasture that dry place grace is still reaching for you grace is still reaching for you this morning what I felt as soon as I started this this morning

[56:10] I just if I can describe it there's no way to describe it I just felt this overwhelming power of God's move in this place but the question is are you willing are you willing like Mephibosheth even though he thought of himself as a dog and thought of himself lowly are you willing to allow grace to carry you I just want to encourage somebody this morning don't be too proud don't be too proud today allow God's grace to work in your life and the moment that you are willing to allow grace to carry you your identity will change in a moment do you think Mephibosheth forgot about Lodabar no no he didn't

[57:34] I don't think he did he still lived he still couldn't walk he still couldn't do some things but you know what changed his life was yes the king changed his life but he was also around good people he was also developing new habits and I want to tell someone here this morning God may have called you out but it matters who you're around and it matters whose table you are sitting at and it doesn't matter what habits you do take on amen praise God it all matters for that grace of God to keep working in your life it matters whose table you sit at don't give up don't stop coming don't stop praying you may feel down today but I'm telling you your day is coming but are you willing to allow grace to carry you let's pray before we go oh God

[58:50] I feel your power oh God I feel your power this morning Lord I feel your grace reaching for us God oh holy we don't have the strength to get up.

[59:35] We don't have the wherewithal to know even in what direction to go, Lord. But my prayer is, God, to be a willingness, a willingness, God, to open that door and allow grace to work in our lives and allow grace to carry us, Lord.

[60:01] Because, yes, we may have been crippled by life, but God's grace wants to carry us. So, God, I pray today, God, as we walk out this morning, Lord, help us to take responsibility for where we are, Lord.

[60:23] And to hold on to that goodness we call grace and mercy. God, I pray for every soul in this place, every child, every mom and dad, every boy and girl, every man, every woman, God, today, God bless God, to walk out with the newness of life.

[60:43] We love you. We praise you. In Jesus' name, we pray. Hey, love every one of you. God bless you. Have a blessed Sunday. We'll see you back.

[60:54] Amen. God bless. Amen. God bless.