2 Samuel 9:1-8
Sunday Morning – 1 Jul 2018 11:27:10 am – Pastor James Yang
I asked myself when I would be the happiest. The answer I found was when I am connected in the heart. It is not that great wealth or success makes us happiest. But when we are connected in the heart, we are happy.
I received salvation in the army base. Prior to that, I was unhappy. I also had the heart to be good. I struggled a lot because of this. Superficially it seemed possible but deep in the heart, it was not possible. I was afflicted in the heart because of this. The pastors, the elders, the deacons in the church all seemed so good. I however was very far from being like them and so I was so frustrated. Even my friends were struggling.
Here is a folk tale: Hung Bu was a poor man and Nor Bu was a rich man. One day, there was a swallow and the leg was broken. HB treated it very well. Then one day the swallow brought the seed of a melon. The gourd grew well and became very big. Later, they cut open the gourd. In it, was a lot of treasures. I heard this in my childhood story. So I had this fixed idea that one has to help out a bird like a swallow.
One day NB also waned to become richer although he was already rich. He caught one swallow and broke its leg and then treated it. The swallow flew away and brought a seed of a gourd. It grew and when NB cut it open, it was cursed.
Like this many had the fixated idea that one has to treat the swallow or the sparrow well. I once saw a sparrow’s nest and I broken its nest with a stick. My grandma told me that because of this, I may be in trouble. Coincidently, I sat an exam and my exam results was not good. I thought it was because of my misdeed.
One day a pastor said that if we do not come to service, then we would have an accident. So I had this idea that we should never skip a service. Everyone received this Word as it was. The problem is that people do not know why their heart flow like this.
If you try to be good, where do you end up after you die? A lot of people say that they go to heaven. But in our church, we do not say so. If one believes in God so zealously, it does not guarantee that they end up in heaven.
If you have offerings, you have to remove your own heart but only do it through Jesus. This church is a church of Jesus Christ.
The heart of Jesus must flow into each and everyone of us.
Someone who has good blood circulation, then one is very healthy. But those who do not have such good circulation, they experience pain and suffering. Some get paralysed.
It is not that we have to strive so hard to be good. But in the church, there is only one thing we have to do – that is to listen to the Word.
God made us such that we can close our eyes if we do not want to see something. But how about our ears? We cannot close it. Because God says that “Faith comes by hearing and hearing by the Word of God”. Thus, God wants to give us until the last chance to listen to the Word of God.
One day my brother in law went to the retreat to listen to the Word. Now, his wife had received salvation earlier. He had persecute his wife so much for going to church.
Once I went to his house, his furniture had a lot of holes. Why was this so? I discovered that one day he brought a big hammer and tried to break all the furniture because his wife was supposedly rumoured to be going to a heretic church. So he wanted to divorce her but her last wish was that he would come to the retreat. After much persuasion, he came to the retreat. He was blocking his ears as he did not want to hear the Words — however his arms were tired. As soon as he let go, he heard the word in the gospel class – “The human body consists of 60% water. We are really nothing”. And these two sentences came to his heart. The day, he received salvation.
My wife’s younger brother as well realised how his older brother had become changed because he had received salvation. He saw how his brother does not drink anymore but only talks about God. So over time, they started fighting. The older brother’s temper was very charismatic and he was also hot-tempered. He said to his younger brother – “Hey bro, you can only be like this” and he left. The younger brother was really shocked. These words echoed in his heart and eventually, he also received salvation.
Folks, as his heart was connected to his older brother’s he received salvation. It is not that we have to strive to do well.
Folks, when the spouses hearts are connected to one another, they can be very happy. It is not that they have to do well or they have to be parsimonious.
I know our choir members. They are not good in singing. But because of our hall which produces echo, it is good. People thus think they sing well. Folks, our choir members are all lacking. Their circumstance are all very devastating. One of them for instance is nearly going to divorce because of the husband who is cheating. It does look very depressing, right? But we have the Words of God.
For me as well, I have problems. For instance, I have diabetes because it is hereditary. In the hospital they tickle me with something to test my circulation. Since my blood circulates, I feel the tingling sensation. Like this, the circulation of the connection of our hearts with the Word of God is very important.
Today we read about the love of David for Mephibosheth because of the love he had for Jonathan. This is not about something homosexual but it represents the love of God for us humans. It is very supreme.
“Now when he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul. Saul took him that day, and would not let him go home to his father’s house anymore. Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.”
I Samuel 18:1-3 NKJV
In 2008, between IYF and the city of Wollongong, we signed the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU). Before the bible seminar began we visited the mayor of Wollongong. The mayor is now changed. Towards the end of the meeting, the mayor closed the door. He asked us “Pastor, can you please pray for me and the city? I used to be a pastor as well. But I am not longer as pastor now, but a mayor. I wish I can cooperate with you so that we can do the gospel work together”. We are now making a plan as to do the gospel works for the city of Wollongong. Because of the MOU, the city of Wollongong and the IYF is still connected. In other words, we still have a relationship.
Likewise, there is also the covenant between Jonathan and David. Jonathan knew that David would become king. When he does so, then he knew that his family would be in danger. So he made a covenant that David can look after Jonathan’s descendants.
One day, Mephibosheth was brought before David. He was in so much fear. Why? Because the heart of David was not transferred to Mephibosheth. The circulation of the connection of the heart was not in place.
When we came to Australia, my wife has arrhythmia. Her blood does not flow well and so her hands are cold. You know, we have a couple of aged women here. Some are nearly 100 years old. When I shake their hand, I can feel the warmth in their heart. Why so? Because their blood circulation is so good.
But for Mephibosheth, the heart of David was not in him. His heart was not circulating well with David’s. He had fear. Fear is sin before God. This is because of one’s thought that prevents the heart of God in reaching us.
When Saul and Jonathan died in the same battlefield, David mourned for them and David wrote a song for them. Saul was someone who tried to kill David. But what did David do? He never had any hostility towards Saul but made a song for him. This is the secret of the spiritual life behind David. If you have this secret of the world of the heart, then you can live in this generation very well.
David made the song and made all the people of Israel learnt this song which is in 2 Samuel 1.
“Then David lamented with this lamentation over Saul and over Jonathan his son, and he told them to teach the children of Judah the Song of the Bow; indeed it is written in the Book of Jasher: “The beauty of Israel is slain on your high places! How the mighty have fallen! Tell it not in Gath, Proclaim it not in the streets of Ashkelon— Lest the daughters of the Philistines rejoice, Lest the daughters of the uncircumcised triumph.
I am distressed for you, my brother Jonathan; You have been very pleasant to me; Your love to me was wonderful, Surpassing the love of women.”
II Samuel 1:17-20, 26 NKJV
This is the song that David made all the people of Israel learn. Don’t you think Mephibosheth would have learnt this as well?
In Korea, there was the new village movement one time initiated by President Park Jung Hee and he developed a song so that it was played in the streets of Korea for everyone to hear. Everyone learnt this song. Like this, David also made the people sing the song of Saul and Jonathan. Yet Mephibosheth was trembling in fear. He should have just received the heart of David and said “Amen” and eat together with him in joy. However, he did not have this heart. He had the heart that he was the son of an enemy of David, who could not receive his grace. This thought held on to Mephibosheth’s heart so tightly.
Some people talk to me saying they have sins in their heart. One person said that after marriage, she had an abortion of a six month old baby in her. So because of this, this became a grave sin for her. She felt that she was not clean at all. I told the lady that this is nothing but her thought. I asked her to put her thought down and receive the Word of Christ.
When Mephibosheth was five years old, he heard how his grandfather, father and his uncles died. All those belonged to the house of Saul fled. The nurse also picked up Mephibosheth and ran but she dropped him and he became lame in his feet. Since then, he lived with the nurse who raised him up.
As he was living with her, he was most likely educated that he should never walk in the streets where David or his men would recognise him. He was most likely taught that David and Saul were enemies and David would be seeking to avenge Saul. So this is why Mephibosheth was so scared of David.
If only Mephibosheth knew the heart of the song that David wrote and learnt of the heart, then he would have been able to defeat the thoughts of the nurse.
So many people these days feel fearful when they stand before God. This is because the heart of Jesus had never entered their heart.
In the bible, there is Absalom who was very handsome and from top to bottom, he had no blemish at all. He had the heart he could become king. And so he rebelled against the king and chased David outside of the palace. However, Mephibosheth did not follow David and when David returned to the palace after defeating Absalom his son, he asked Mephibosheth why he did not follow him. So Mephibosheth said this:
“For all my father’s house were but dead men before my lord the king. Yet you set your servant among those who eat at your own table. Therefore what right have I still to cry out anymore to the king?””
II Samuel 19:28 NKJV
This is the true heart of Mephibosheth.
Yet David continued to bestow grace to Mephibosheth.
Now after a few years, there was famine in the land for three years. When David asked God why this was so, it was discovered that Saul during his time as king had killed the innocent tribe of Gibeon. So God did not send rain to Israel for three years. The Gibeonites thus asked David to hand them over the sons of Saul so that they could be killed. Topping the list was Mephibosheth but since he received grace from David, he was safe and did not have to die.
Folks, when our heart is connected to the Lord, then amazingly, we can have peace and rest in us. This is why even though we may be poor, we are making many others rich; if we are sorrowful then we can be joyful always and if we have nothing then we have all things.
This is why when we come to church, it is very important that we attend all the meetings so that can dwell in Jesus Christ. No matter what it is – be it cleaning or witnessing time, just come. Dwell in the church and listen.
“Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.””
Matthew 11:28-30 NKJV
The burden of Jesus is light and easy. We can learn from Jesus a lot.
Folks, think about it. If you grow old and are hospitalised, you will regret not living for the gospel. As long as you are healthy and can still move around, come to the church and join us.
Mephibosheth is none other and you and I. As long as we are connected to David who represents Jesus, then all is ok.
Jesus being with us is so thankful. I really hope that you have the health interaction between you and Jesus.