II Samuel 9:1-11         A Child of the King             May 2, 2010

      I heard a story from many years ago of an old man from Greece who saved his money for many months to buy a ticket aboard a ship bound from Europe to America to visit his daughter who lived in New York.  The trip required a couple of weeks to cross the sea.  Just prior to his departure, he bought and filled a suitcase with cheese a crackers to eat during the voyage.  It was all he could afford.  Once on board, each day as other passengers went to the dining room for their meal; this man sat on deck and ate his cheese and crackers, staring out to sea.  He sometimes heard the other passengers speak of the wonderful food on board, but he had no extra money.  One day, another passenger approached the man and said, “Excuse me; I’ve noticed you always eating cheese alone on deck.  Would you like to join my table for dinner tonight?”  The man was embarrassed but he admitted that he had no extra money.  He only had the money to buy his ticket.  The other man raised his eyebrows in surprise and said, “But sir, don’t you know that your meals are included in the price of your ticket?  Your meals are already paid for.” 

     When I first heard that story, I thought of how many people are just like that naïve traveler.  So many people are missing out on the blessings of God because they do not know that everything has already been paid for.  In the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, we were made the Children of the King.  Our debts were paid.  The door was opened.  With the coming of God’s Holy Sprit into our lives, God has already equipped you with everything you need to live.  We are continuing a sermon series called “Who Am I in God?”  We have already seen that what we believe about ourselves will determine much of our life.  We will never rise above what we believe.  Seeing ourselves as God sees us can raise our view of ourselves.  And while we do not always get all we want in life, we will rarely get more than we believe.  Today I want to see clearly that our true identity is that we are the children of the great king.  And God has already given His children great gifts.  But each of us needs to open those gifts and learn how to use them.

     In our scripture today, we see a young man who lived in fear, depression and poverty for many years.  Mephibosheth was the son of Jonathan, David’s best friend.  But in the midst of war, in the death of Saul and Jonathan, in changing of the Kingdom, Mephibosheth ended up on the far outskirts of the nation for some years.  Then one day, he received word that King David was calling him to come.  Mephibosheth in great fear went to the capital city.  He was the last of King Saul’s grandchildren and surely David would have him put to death.  That is what ancient kings did to insure their own claim to the throne.  When he came before David, he fell down on his knees and asked, “What do you want with an old dog like me?” 

      You know, too many people view themselves like that.  There is even some religious thinking that always makes us out to be worms and worthless in the eyes of God.  There was a seminary New Testament class one day and the professor asked a young man to open the class in prayer.  The young man began, “Oh Lord, look upon us your worthless servants who are…”  The professor cut him off.  “Mr. Timlin, you are not worthless.  You may be unworthy at times, but you are never worthless.  You are a child of God.  Please continue your prayer.”   How about you?  Have you taken in too much of that “worthless me” thinking?  Do you constantly think, “Well, I can’t do it?  I don’t have what it takes.  I am not smart enough.  I don’t have the time.”   If that is your thinking, then you are just eating cheese and crackers.  Every time you are filled with fear, anxiety, and worry, you need to tell yourself, “Put down those cheese and crackers.”  There is a feast waiting for you.  That is what Mephibosheth discovered.  He went into the throne room saying, “I am just an old dog.”  And David told him that he was the grandchild of the king.  And verse 11 says that from then on, Mephibosheth ate at the King’s table just like one of the King’s sons.  

       The Bible says in     , “God has blessed you with every spiritual blessing.”  I want you to notice that the description in that verse is past tense.  God has already done it.  In Christ, we are already the children of God.  Mephibosheth did not have to do anything to be the son of Jonathan or the grandson of Saul.  He already was.  But he did have to begin to act on what was already true.   In Genesis, God says to Abraham, “Abraham, I have made you the father of many nations.”  Now this was said before Abraham even had any children.  And he was an old man.  But Abraham acted on what he was told.  He trusted God, followed him to a new land, and he became a father.  Let me ask you, what do you need to do to really act this week on the promise of God?  The promise of God is already true for you.  You just need to act on that promise.  In the eyes of God, Abraham already was the father of many nations.  You see, God’s promise always carries a past tense, a present reality, and a future fulfillment.  We will not see the complete fullness of all God has for us until we reach that city made not with human hands.  But even now, God says in the past tense that God has already blessed us with every spiritual blessing.  And already in the present reality, we are the children of God. 

        Some Christians act like God and Jesus are only in the past tense.  The stories of the Bible are just events that happened long ago.  Other Christians act like the promises of God are only for the future when we die and go to heaven.  Other Christians do get crazy and think that faith will give them anything they ask for right now.  None of those are completely true.  But each contains some truth.  The promise is from the past because everything has been paid for.  The promise is for the future when we will see everything fulfilled.  But the promise is also for your life today.  Right now, God wants you to be more.  To give up your old dog mentality and realize that you still have purpose in life.    

    Now maybe you think, “But I am getting old and I cannot do what I use to do.”  Listen.  No one in this room can do what they use to do.  God never calls you to do what you use to do.  God has a new “to do” for you everyday that you are alive.  Maybe you cannot do such and such anymore.  Then do something new.  If your dream has died, then dream a new dream.  If you are knocked down, get back up.  If one door closes, God will open a better door.  You have to believe you are a child of God.  You have to begin seeing yourself in a new way.  You have to begin acting out your new life.  Remove the negative thoughts, words, and actions from your life, and in their place, fill yourself with the belief that you are a child of God already with every spiritual blessing.

      Everyone has heard that most of an iceberg is below the waterline and cannot be seen.  It is true.  Listen.  The natural everyday power that you normally use each day is like that small visible segment of an iceberg.  And that is all most people ever see.  But in reality, truly in reality, there is a huge spiritual power beneath the surface of our lives.  It is already there.  All we need do is realize that and let the power of God move through you.  Believe you are a child of God.  See that as a reality.  And act on that promise this very week in your life.  Amen.