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A
GATEWAY SERMON
SUMMARY
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AUDIO
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The
power and authority
to possess the land
Jerry
Varnado,
pastor
Gateway
Church,
Athens GA
Pentecost
Sunday
May 30, 2004
(NOTE:
This sermon was preached at an
outdoor service on Gateway's
new
property.)
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- Main
Scripture
text:
2
Samuel
16:1-4.
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Outdoor
service - May 30,
2004
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- I
talked last
Sunday
about Mephibosheth, the
grandson of King Saul, the son
of Jonathan.
- Although
he was a of royal line, he had
encountered things in life
that had robbed of his
dignity, his wealth, and his
sense of self-worth.
- All
the time Mephibosheth was
thinking of himself as "a dead
dog," he was actually entitled
to sit at the King David's
table and to inherit of all of
his grandfather's assets.
- The
reason: years earlier, his
father Jonathan had made a
covenant with David.
Mephibosheth had rights of
blessing under that covenant
he know nothing about.
- David
sought out Mephibosheth,
restored to him all of Saul's
land, and he ate at the kings
table from that time on. But
he had self-worth problems
that continued to plague
him.
- We
pick up the story in 2 Samuel
15, King David withdrew from
Jerusalem to avoid a bloody
conflict with his son Absalom,
who was trying to take over
the throne.
- In
2 Samuel 16, we read of
David's encounter with a man a
named Ziba, who apparently had
been an important servant of
the previous king, Saul. I
think we can safely speculate
that Ziba was angry about
Saul's land being given to
Mephibosheth. He wanted it --
or at least some of it.
- Ziba
comes to David with all kinds
of gifts and then makes a case
against Mephibosheth. Ziba
acts very much like the devil
in this encounter -- "a liar"
and "the accuser of the
brethren."
- Ziba
claims Mephibosheth is
positioning himself to take
the kingship from David. David
should have known that was a
lie. Is Absalom really going
to risk his life to overthrow
the king and then hand the
throne to Mephibosheth? Is
Mephibosheth, this pathetic
figure without backbone, going
to stand up and take the
throne?
- But
David let himself be impressed
by Ziba's gifts, which
perverted his judgment. He
gives a large portion of
Saul's land to Ziba, even
though had no right to do it.
It was Mephibosheth's
inheritance. David broke the
covenant.
- Eventually,
Absalom's rebellion ends and
David returns to Jerusalem.
Let's look at how Mephibosheth
responds in 2 Samuel 19. He
says to David, "Let
[Ziba] take
everything, now that my lord
the king has arrived home
safely."
- Sounds
like a humble, honorable and
very spiritual response,
doesn't it? Not so. It is
weak, pathetic and stupid.
Mephibosheth had a covenant
right to it and David had a
covenantal obligation to
restore it to him.
- But
because of his emotional
damage or his sense of
unworthiness, Mephibosheth
doesn't raise an objection to
Ziba getting half of his
inheritance. In fact, he is
ready to give it all away.
- He's
the application for us: The
Lord has given us covenantal
blessings that often we don't
lay claim to because we feel
unworthy. In fact, the devil
likes to trick us into giving
them up.
- Here's
the truth: Everything we lost
because of the sin of Adam,
God has graciously restored to
us in Jesus Christ. Now, Jesus
has commissioned the Church to
"possess the land." It is our
right and our privilege -- and
God has us the authority and
the power necessary to do the
job.
- It's
high time we tell the devil to
shut up and to take back what
he has stolen from us.
- Now,
let me talk about Gateway. We
are taking steps in these days
to claim part of our
inheritance. We are standing
on $270,000 worth of real
estate God has given to us. I
believe He has commissioned us
to possess this land for His
kingdom.
- The
devil will not take this lying
down. We will encounter
problems, difficulties,
obstacles along the way. We
will suffer disappointments
and setbacks before this
building is finished and
occupied. But we must not lose
heart.
- We
must maintain our unity and
not let the devil trick us
into arguing and fighting
about the color of the carpet
and where we put the piano. We
must walk by faith.
- We
didn't get here by ourselves
and we can't finish by
ourselves. We must be willing
to believe and trust that God
will provide what we need to
complete the job.
- We
are his covenant people and we
must not let the devil have
our inheritance.
Supporting
texts: 1
Samuel
20:12-17
| 2
Samuel
15
| John
8:44
| Revelation
12:10
| 2
Samuel
19:24-30
| Romans
8:15-17
| Ephesians
1:13-14
| Luke
10:19
| Ephesians
1:18-21
A
mp3 audio file of this sermon is
here.
(Download
to a PC by right clicking on the
link and choosing "Save Target
As." Mac users: click, hold, and
choose "Download Link to Disk."
Depending on your connection
speed, the file may take several
minutes to
download.)
An
audio tape of the sermon
summarized above is available
free of charge (U.S. requests
only).
Request
a tape by calling
or writing the Gateway Church
office.
Please specify tape number
040530a: The Power and
Authority to Possess the
Land
©
2004 Gerald R.
Varnado
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