Homecoming (2)

Cinderella part 2. Cinderella came home from the palace and reconnected with her sisters. How was she gonna be treated? She is the princess now would there be redemption, right? Well step mother was still step mother, but one of her sisters Anastasia reconciled with Cinderella and she helped her with a boy she liked. In the end, we witness forgiveness on Cinderella's part and the development of a relationship with her step sister.

Cinderella part 2. Cinderella came home from the palace and reconnected with her sisters. How was she gonna be treated? She is the princess now would there be redemption, right? Well step mother was still step mother, but one of her sisters Anastasia reconciled with Cinderella and she helped her with a boy she liked. In the end, we witness forgiveness on Cinderella's part and the development of a relationship with her step sister.

Like Cinderella, Christ is coming back. We will be in the presence of the King of kings. We will be in the presence of royalty. Will we be like the step mother, using it as a self-centered opportunity? Will we be eager for claim our rewards? Will we be repentant? Will we be found faithful? Will we simply be happy that Christ is back? What will we do at the King’s homecoming?

As we saw last time, David was cast out of the kingdom because of Absalom. The final battle for the kingdom took place and Absalom was defeated and paid for it with his life. Now David, the rightful king, was coming back to Israel. What was everyone going to do? Well Israel eventually moved past their hesitancy and decided that they would welcome David back to the throne of Israel, but for some reason, Judah, David's own tribe, was hesitant and still not committed to welcoming him back to the throne. After an appeal from David, he finally won their hearts and Judah finally called him back to the kingdom. And now before David even got to the palace, he had 3 important encounters with some key figures in David being exiled. What will they do with this homecoming?

Shimei fell before the king, knowing that he will be judged, and repented for all that transpired when David had to flee. Not only that, we saw that he would come face to face with Ziba and the found to be faithful, Mephibosheth and would have to make a judgement as to what actually happened and what should be done because of all that transpired. Not only that, he would come face to face with a man who was consistently obedient and faithful to David and David tried to reward him. But, Barzillai showed a wonderful picture of true godliness with contentment. Something we can all learn in our consuming culture today. And in this passage, we see repentance, the finding of faithfulness, and consistent obedience with David's homecoming. Hear the word of the Lord.

2 Samuel 19:27–30 NLT

Ziba has slandered me by saying that I refused to come. But I know that my lord the king is like an angel of God, so do what you think is best. All my relatives and I could expect only death from you, my lord, but instead you have honored me by allowing me to eat at your own table! What more can I ask?” “You’ve said enough,” David replied. “I’ve decided that you and Ziba will divide your land equally between you.” “Give him all of it,” Mephibosheth said. “I am content just to have you safely back again, my lord the king!”

2 Samuel 19:

The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of our God stands forever.

The Hesitance

The Encounters

The Gospel

Today as we go through this passage, I will first look at the Hesitant people in accepting the homecoming of the king and how this would be experienced by Christ in his coming. Then we will look at each of the encounters faced by David on his return and how it will parallel the coming of Christ and His return. Will we be repentant, found to be faithful, and consistently obedient? Finally, we will see how Christ was obedient and found to be faithful for our sake for all eternity.

Thesis: Though sin and the pattern of this world cause us to look out for our own interests, as always it is the presence of the king that will draw us to repentance, faithfulness, and obedience by the power of the Spirit.

I. The Hesitance

I. The Hesitance

-How will we respond when the King comes back?

A. What is up with the people? Why all the hesitance? Is David not the undisputed king of Israel anointed and confirmed by the prophet Samuel and shown to be divinely sanctioned blessed in all of his exploits? We see that Israel came to their senses, but why not Judah? Is this even possible?

B. Judah is David's tribe. They were his immediate family... they are David's ... using David's words... my flesh and blood. Why the hesitance? So David appeals.

C. He appeals to their sense of ethnicity. Look at who you are. How could you let the other tribes to bring me back? He appealed to relationship. We are flesh and blood. He appeals to the elimination of their anxiety by appointing Amasa showing that there will be no retribution against the people who supported Absalom. David overcame the hesitance. David once again won the heart of the people.

D. And did not our Lord receive similar hesitance at His coming? The people did not know how to receive him. Many even rejected Him. Those of his own flesh and blood. But in the end, He won the hearts of many. He won the hearts of His people. He overcame our hesitance. He won our hearts did he not?

E. Some of us today may have a hesitance to accept the king, but it is my hope and prayer that he will win our hearts today with the Gospel.

II. Encounters

- Repentance, faithfulness, and contentment.

A. Here are the moments David has with some who played an integral role when he was exiled. Now that David is back what will they do?

Encounter number 1. Repentance. Shimei falls at the feet of David and apologizes for all that he did before. You remember him, right? He is the guy that cussed at him, verbally abused him, and threw rocks at him when he David was fleeing. He was the abusing enemy of David. His men wanted to cut off his head. But David saw him as an instrument of the Lord's judgement.

B. Now Shimei's repentance may not have been all genuine. As we will see later. But it is clear that he has gathered men and came before the king appealing to David's mercy. All of what he did in gathering the army was appeal to David’s policy of mercy. The mercy given to a surrender. But, why would he appeal to the mercy of king if there was no mercy to be found. Because there was mercy.

C. In the coming of our Lord. Will we appeal to His compassion? We should because there is mercy to be found in Him.

Mark 1:40–41 NLT

A man with leprosy came and knelt in front of Jesus, begging to be healed. “If you are willing, you can heal me and make me clean,” he said. Moved with compassion, Jesus reached out and touched him. “I am willing,” he said. “Be healed!”

Matthew 3:2 NLT

“Repent of your sins and turn to God, for the Kingdom of Heaven is near.”

- Now why would John declare repentance if there was no possibility of the King being merciful to us? Repentance comes because we believe that our Lord is one full of mercy and rich in love.

Romans 2:4 NLT

Don’t you see how wonderfully kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Does this mean nothing to you? Can’t you see that his kindness is intended to turn you from your sin?

Lloyd H. Steffen wrote in The Christian Century how when King Frederick II, an eighteenth-century king of Prussia, was visiting a prison in Berlin, the inmates tried to prove to him how they had been unjustly imprisoned. All except one.

That one sat quietly in a corner, while all the rest protested their innocence. Seeing him sitting there oblivious to the commotion, the king asked him what he was there for. "Armed robbery, Your Honor." The king asked, "Were you guilty?" "Yes, Sir," he answered. "I entirely deserve my punishment." The king then gave an order to the guard: "Release this guilty man. I don't want him corrupting all these innocent people."

The coming of the king is the coming of the mercy and compassion of Christ. Repent for the kingdom of the Lord is at hand. He is not only coming to judge, but to have mercy.

D. The second encounter… David found faithfulness. When David left Ziba came to bring aid to the fleeing king, but used it as an opportunity to profit from it. He got all the land David gave to Mephibosheth by falsifying the motives and intentions of Mephibosheth. He lied on him. This encounter, however, brought forth the truth.

To escape the distress caused by regret for the past or fear about the future, this is the rule to follow: leave the past to the infinite mercy of God, the future to his good providence: give the present wholly to his love by being faithful to his grace. - Jean-Pierre de Caussade

E. When David saw Mephibosheth he noticed that he did not care for his feet, cut his beard, or washed his clothes. He was in mourning since the departure of David. He did not make his loyalty to David a secret. He was with David in spirit for all to see.

F. He claimed that Ziba lied. He desired to go with David into exile. But he then states that it was of no consequence anymore. I know you are like an angel, do what you think is best. He trusted David to do the right thing. All I know is that all I deserve from you is death, but you have had compassion on me all this time. You have given me more than I deserve.

G. David decided to split the land between the two. Even if Ziba was deceptive he did actually help me by giving me provisions when I left. He did deserve some sort of reward. But Mephibosheth told David to give it all to Ziba, he was just happy that David was home.

H. And yet again, we are like Mephibosheth. We deserve only death because of our sin. I wonder about this. Will our response to Lord when He comes back be the same? When it comes to the rewards that the Lord promises us in heaven…will it even matter? What we think is fair and what we think we are owed? Mephibosheth was plenty content with the presence of the king more than his possessions, his reward, or his treasure. Especially because he knew all that he deserved was death. All we deserved was death… He had mercy on us. How much will our streets of gold, mansions of glory, the jewels in our crowns really matter in the presence of the King? When all of it is given to us by grace anyway. All that we have and will have is because the Lord gave it to us out of His grace, not because we deserved it.

I. Is Christ not the only reward that we desire anyway? Christ coming back in all of His glory… are we not completely content if that’s all there is? Well the elders in heaven in John's vision showed that no other reward mattered.

Revelation 4:10–11 NLT

the twenty-four elders fall down and worship the one sitting on the throne (the one who lives forever and ever). And they lay their crowns before the throne and say, “You are worthy, O Lord our God, to receive glory and honor and power. For you created all things, and they exist because you created what you pleased.”

J. If there really are rewards other than Christ in heaven, then they will not be of any worth to us in the presence of Christ. Look at how big my mansion is, look at how many jewels I have in my crown. Will not all of these things fall away in the presence of Christ. We will be like Mephibosheth and the elders... give away all that I have. I am plenty happy and content that I am with the King.

K. Christ is worth so much more than we could ever hope for. He is able to do exceedingly above all that we could ever ask or imagine. There is nothing that could ever compare with Him. Know this... Christ will be so magnificent that even if you only get one jewell in your crown it will not matter you will have it all. Even if you get the biggest mansion in heaven, it will not matter. Even if you have the longest street of gold it will not matter.

L. Christ is exceedingly more than it all. Exponentially more than it all. And that is why I say that you have it all right now. If you are in Christ today. You already have more than the richest, wealthiest, powerful, and most popular jet-setter. You have more than it all in Christ our King. What an encounter it will be with the King.

M. Finally, Contentment. Barzillai was obedient all the way. But would not accept a reward. Why should he. He was only doing what he was supposed to do for the King of Israel. He did not see that David owed him anything. But he had all that he needed. He did not desire more even though David thought he should. He like was like Mephibosheth.

Comedian Jim Carrey presented a similar struggle at a Golden Globes ceremony. Before announcing the nominees for Best Motion Picture in Comedy, he said to Hollywood's elite:

I am two-time Golden Globe Winner, Jim Carrey. You know, when I go to sleep at night, I'm not just a guy going to sleep. I'm two-time Golden Globe winner, Jim Carrey, going to get some well-needed shut-eye. And when I dream, I don't just dream any old dream. No sir. I dream about being three-time Golden Globe winning actor, Jim Carrey. Because then I would be enough. It would finally be true. And I could stop this terrible search for what I know ultimately won't fulfill me.

The actors, dressed to perfection in designer gowns and tuxedos, doubled over in laughter. But as the camera panned their faces, it seemed that his words rang truer than any of Hollywood (or we) are comfortable admitting.

If a Golden Globe (or three) will not satisfy us, what will?

N. Even if we have done all that the Lord asks, do we realize that we do not deserve a reward? We are obedient to the Lord yes, but it is what we are supposed to be doing anyway. Why should we be rewarded for doing what the Lord asked us to do? We are supposed to obey are we not?

Luke 17:7–10 NLT

“When a servant comes in from plowing or taking care of sheep, does his master say, ‘Come in and eat with me’? No, he says, ‘Prepare my meal, put on your apron, and serve me while I eat. Then you can eat later.’ And does the master thank the servant for doing what he was told to do? Of course not. In the same way, when you obey me you should say, ‘We are unworthy servants who have simply done our duty.’ ”

O. As you can see, this encounter teaches us a lot. We are unworthy when we obey, how much more unworthy when we don't. How much more when he was away we were unrepentant, unfaithful, rebellious and unbelieving. How many times this past week?

III. The Gospel

- When the King comes there will be judgement and mercy.

A. This is the problem we face. It is a real coming encounter. As we come before the Lord this day…before the King of kings. How will we respond? Many of us were like the people of Israel in our many acts of unfaithfulness and rebellion against the king. How will we respond with all of the sin that we have committed last week?

B. Here is the important piece. The King is coming back. And this time it will be a time of judgement. We have to be honest with ourselves today. All have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. The wages of sin is death. What are we gonna do when the end comes?

C. The good news is that we do not have to wait for the end. We can like Shimei did with David and appeal to the grace and mercy of our Lord. And we can. We can repent and rest in the hands of the Lord. He is merciful.

Psalm 145:8 NLT

The Lord is merciful and compassionate, slow to get angry and filled with unfailing love.

D. It will not only be a time of judgement, but it will be a time of mercy toward His people. He desires to have mercy on us like David did. This is the good news of the Gospel. He paid the price for us. Jesus died for our sins according to the scriptures... the saying is trustworthy and deserving of full acceptance…

E. He became sin who knew no sin... Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those…

F. There is a promise today that if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead…All who call upon the name of the Lord.

G. Make no mistake the King of kings is coming back. I hope he has won your hearts with the Gospel today. How will we respond with this encounter? Thank the Lord for his grace. Thank the Lord for his faithfulness and we thank the lord for His obedience. It is our hearts cry today for the Lord to return. Come Lord Jesus.