Sunday sermon by Pastor Rajesh Mathew, 14th May 2023 

John 1:16- Out of His fullness we have all received grace in place of grace already given. 

2 Samuel 9: 1-3,7- David asked, “Is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake?” Now there was a servant of Saul's household named Ziba. They summoned him to appear before David, and the king said to him, “Are you Ziba?” “At your service,” he replied. 3 The king asked, “Is there no one still alive from the house of Saul to whom I can show God’s kindness?” 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.” 

I was at my parent’s place and Tanya was at our home. Tanya prepared for the Word in our house and me at my parents. And both of us received the same Word at the same time - GRACE. If that is from the Holy Spirit, then today the Lord wants to release a great grace upon your life.

May you receive grace upon grace this morning. 

• The apostle Paul said in the New Testament, I am what I am by the grace of God. Paul was a surprise from God to the other disciples. And because Paul took refuge in God’s grace, he ministered more than all other disciples, he healed more people more than others, and God used him more than others, he cast out demons more than others, he preached the Word more than others, he wrote epistles more than others. If so, this morning, if God releases His grace upon you, HE can increase you and bless you more than others.

May you be God’s surprise. May He bring you to the front from behind. May His name be glorified through you. 

• There are seniors and there are elders. You can give them their due honour, but don’t look at seniority. Whether it is in ministry, in your office, or in the family, if you have received grace, God will use you more than others. 

Zechariah 4:7- 7 “What are you, mighty mountain? Before Zerubbabel you will become level ground. Then he will bring out the capstone to shouts of ‘God bless it! God bless it!’” 

• Zerubabbel stood before the mountain and he decided that he was not going to go around it like his forefathers. He was not going to pay attention to how big his mountain is, how wide, how tall and how lofty it is. But there was just one thing that he knew he needed: The Grace of God.

Today all you need is the grace of God to bring down every mountain that you are facing. 

• MAY HIS GRACE COME UPON YOU. You will see your mountain become a level plain and you will walk over it. Open your mouth and ask for God’s grace. You will become unstoppable if God’s grace comes upon you.
• Only a person who has experienced and received grace will be able to show grace, only he/ she who has received mercy can show mercy. Only those who have shed tears understand the pain. 

TEARS BEFORE GOD: What is the taste of tears? Tears are salty. For any food to be made tasty, you need to add some salt. If you have poured out your tears before the Presence of God, your life will become tasty. God’s hand will move favourably towards you if you have cried before His presence. 

In 2 Samuel 9, David is asking, who is left in the household of Saul that I should show kindness/grace? 

• Jesus Christ died for us on the Cross and because we belong to Him, we are positioned to receive kindness and grace. Are you desiring grace from Him? If yes, open your mouth and heart and surrender to that Holy Spirit and receive grace. 

WHY DAVID RECEIVED GRACE

• David received grace. David sang about grace. Why did he receive grace? He was the 8th son among others, he was belittled and insignificant. He wasn’t called by his father when the prophet came, in fact, the prophet had to send word for him particularly. He faced rejection. 
• When Hiroshima and Nagasaki were bombed, people instantly just vaporized! But rejection doesn’t vapourize you, it kills you inch by inch. In the midst of that rejection, if you will still open your heart before God and cry to Him, God’s angels and His Holy Spirit will come looking for you. He will release His grace upon you. Prophet Samuel called for David and anointed him in the midst of his brothers, in full view of them.

If that was so, then the Lord will lift you up in the midst of the very people who rejected you and wrote you off. 

• David was sent away into the wilderness, it became His training ground, David was not destroyed in the wilderness but he was trained in the wilderness. He became a songwriter, he worshipped, he played and create instruments, he learnt to use weapons, and he became a psalmist. 

This morning God will train you in the midst of your rejection, to enter into the next level of grace and next level of strength. You will become multi-talented. You will not think only in one stream but God will be glorified through you in multiple ways.

David became a leader, a forefather, a mentor, and a worshipper. 

YOUR LIFE WILL NOT BE LIMITED TO ONE ROLE. Grace Grace Grace Grace. By Grace, my life will not be limited to one role.

• David wasn’t complaining in the wilderness. He was a worshipper. 

Today’s worshipper is tomorrow’s warrior 

• When David was in the wilderness, there was only one friend. The person who stays with you during your bad days is a friend. The ones who stay with you only during your good times are fans, not friends. Friends are those who stay with you when you have nothing and when you are struggling. 

May the Holy Spirit release some good friends for you these days. 

V.I.P- Very Important Person- VIP is not one who comes in a Benz car to the church. But the ones who join themselves to the vision and the system of the church. 

V.N.P- Very Needy person- VNP- In 2 Samuel 9, there is a mention of Ziba, the one who was drawing benefit out of Mephibosheth. Say ‘no’ to such people.

V.D.P- Very Destructive Person- VDP- those who are destructive or distractive, who walk against the people of God. 

Jonathan was the greatest friend of David. May the Holy Spirit give you some good friends this year. 

• May the Lord grant you some VIPs who will help you with their skill and capacity to grow your company or your network.
• The connections with the right people and not the wrong people. The same grace that connected Ruth to Boaz’s field, the grace that connected Esther to Mordecai, may that grace connect you to the right people who will help you fulfil your prophecy and vision over your life. 
• Jonathan came to David and said ‘though my father Saul is king, I know that the Lord has seen you as King. When you become the King, will you make me the prime minister?’ asked Jonathan. Jonathan said this went back to the palace and David went back to the wilderness. Some people just receive the prophesies and promises and don’t do anything about it. They return to their palaces. After Jonathan went back, we don’t see him again until on the battlefield where he and Saul lose their lives.
• You need to walk with the truths that you have understood and the prophecies that have been spoken. David, though in the wilderness, knew there was a promise upon his life that he will become king. 

Every problem has an expiry date. Your problem has an expiry date. 

• May the heavens release a great grace upon your life. David was prepared by Grace. If there is a helipad, there is a runway, the plane will land. If you prepare your heart and if you prepare your life, what needs to land, the Word, the Grace and the blessing of God will be able to land there. 

Have a LARGE HEART! 

• Some of you need to prepare your heart. Some of you have a large head and a small heart. Jonathan had a big head (He knew that David was called to be the king) but a small heart. But David had a small head but a large heart. May the Lord grant you a large heart. 
• Saul was head and shoulders above everyone. But David had his heart in the right place and that’s why when he became king, he brought the Ark of the Covenant back to Jerusalem. • David was not thinking of physics when he cast the stone at Goliath. When the stone struck his forehead, he should have fallen backwards but he fell forward. It was not a physics phenomenon, but His grace. It is not your intelligence, intellect, or abilities but only his grace. It is not your calculations, it is grace.
• This morning it is only His grace that gives you victory. Taking refuge in Him, and trusting His Word is what will grant you victory. You need to receive the Word in your heart. • The doctor may have given you 6 months. But if God has intended to keep you for 60 years, you will live. It is not science, it is His grace that delivers you. 

The Word we read was what David did when he was in the palace. He wanted to show grace to someone who was from the household of Jonathan. He received grace and he wanted to show forth that grace. 

Some people are so full of bitterness. If you have received mercy, show mercy, if you have received love, show love. 

MEPHIBOSHETH

Jonathan had a son, Mephibosheth. The name means from the mouth of shame, bad smell in the mouth. It was reflection of a stinky case. He was known as a stinky person in horrid circumstances. We are known for the negativities of our lives. God is ready to show His mercy to some ‘stinky’ cases. Through Jesus Christ, The Father wants to show mercy to His people, for those who are the descendants of Adam. 

• Mephibosheth was in a place called Lo Debar – it was a deserted place, there was no growth, a dried-up place, only hot dry air. He was in such a place/ situation. David called for him when he reached that place. Ziba, his caretaker said, he can’t run, he can’t walk, he is lame. He can’t come. He is addressed as a lame person. That was his identity. People recognize us by our weaknesses many a time! For example, the house with that mentally challenged person etc. Such are the identities that are cast upon people by the world.

But God will change your level. God will do such a mighty work for you, that the very people who cast negative identities upon you will be amazed!

• If you believe it, receive it in the Spirit. Receive your blessing in Jesus Christ, If God shows forth your mercy, you will be blessed. 
• Mephibosheth could walk until he was 5 years but now he couldn’t. Somebody had to carry him now.

Do you remember the time when you were 5 years old? Do you have any memories? Maybe in the past, you had walked with God, you wanted to serve Jesus, and you had a strong desire for Jesus. Now you don’t even remember those days. If you are no longer like that, it means that the devil has tricked you, deceived you and trapped you. If you had walked that way once upon a time, once again the Holy Spirit wants to strengthen you to walk for God. May the Lord strengthen you once again so that you can walk with HIM again, and serve Him again. 

• Let down and dropped by the ones who trusted? Mephibosheth was hiding in Lo-Debar. They had killed his father and grandfather and all the members of the royal family were killed. Mephibosheth was in hiding. Every potential leader in that family would be killed and it was then that Mephibosheth went into hiding to save his life. How did he become lame? The nurse who looked after him had dropped him by mistake. The nurse in charge of the royal kids was perhaps the best, well-trained and knowledgeable about how to raise kids. Despite that, she dropped him. It is when the very people who are supposed to take care of you, protect you, hold and save you drop you, that is when you feel most let down and emotionally distraught. God is watching you.

Because you have been dropped by the very hands that you trusted, you are lame, you are unable to walk. But the chariots are coming looking for you, Jesus is coming for you to lift you. 

• You were not dropped down by the devil, but by the ones who were supposed to take care of you. Today are you hurt and are you feeling let down and are in pain? Today the Lord’s grace will come to you to pick you up to take care of you.
• Mephibosheth is living in fear and in limitation. He will be killed if he went to Jerusalem.

The time for you to live in hiding and in fear is over! The years of compromise are over! God has released chariots, he has released helpers, to bring you to the palace, and HE has dispatched something for you. This is not the chariot to kill you.

Grace will help you to reach where you are supposed to reach! This is not the chariot to destroy you but to guide you and help you get to your destination.

• You have spent years, months and days of regret, you think it is over, people haven’t helped you, or cared for you, you are full of regret, and you feel you have lost precious time. You feel you should not have taken up that job, you feel you should not have been sent for that competition. Some of you are fearful. But God is sending the chariots for you.

1) JUST LIKE HOW DAVID ASKED, “IS THERE SOMEONE IN THE HOUSE OF JONATHAN THAT I CAN SHOW MERCY TO?”, God will show mercy to the lineage of Adam! If you desire God’s mercy, your story will change. 

Your stagnant life will change. There will be a positive change in your story because Jesus has come here to open HIS heart to show mercy for you.

• May your stagnation, discouragement and complaints leave. May your thoughts of defeat be broken in Jesus’ Name. May your life and your levels shift today. It’s time to get out of Lo Debar. It’s time to get into your palace. Your levels will change. He is releasing grace upon your life. He is a God who gives you back years and months. Your family status is going to change. God will do it for you.
• God sent His chariots, sent HIS mercy and grace that took him by speed to the palace from Lo debar. Not by his intellect, his smartness or his capability. He did not enter into the chariot on his own accord, He was pushed into it. The grace of God enabled him. 

The David of the New Testament, Jesus, will catch hold of you, grab you by His grace and take you in! The ministry of angels will be revealed here. When Mephibosheth came in front of David, Land, house- everything that he lost was restored to Mephibosheth.

May the Lord restore to you what you lost. Health, intelligence, finance, house, family life, children, spiritual, business, ministry. May the Lord give it back to you in Jesus Name.

2) DAVID SAYS, ‘HE WILL SIT WITH ME AT THE DINING TABLE AND EAT WITH ME FOR THE REST OF HIS LIFE.’ Amen.

• Wow! Sit at the table with Jesus, continually! Jesus is lifting up a generation who will sit at the royal table of Jesus Christ.

All your years you will sit with Jesus and dine with him. Do you desire so? God is raising up a generation like that. I will sit at the table with Jesus.

• Mephibosheth is on the table. Next to him is smart Absalom. Next to him is wise Solomon- an influential and wise person. The one who had not passed tenth grade failed regularly, was lame etc, was now sitting at the table with the influential.
• Not your degree or your education level. You will be placed and seated with some influential and wise people by the grace of God. 

If you are grace conscious, you will raise up. 

3) A LAME PERSON, MEPHIBOSHETH WAS SEATED WITH DAVID. HE WAS A LAME PERSON. 

• Though Mephibosheth was lame, the table hid his weakness. The Lord’s table covered his weakness. There is a Grace that covers your weakness. Take it, receive it! 
• God is raising up a generation to sit on the King’s table. There is a generation that is smarter and wiser and more anointed- That generation is only by grace, by grace, by grace. The table that covers your weaknesses is available for you through GRACE!