The King Is Looking For You

Pastor Joel @ Lakewood Church

It's easy to live guilty sitting on the sidelines in self pity. God is not in the condemning business, he's in the restoration business.

• MEPHIBOSHETH
• 2 Samuel 4
• Son of Jonathan, David's best friend. She dropped him and he became cripple.
• Sometimes in life well-meaning people can put you at a disadvantage.
• They tripped but we have to pay for their mistake.
• It's easy to make excuses especially when it wasn't your fault.  But you have to take the hand that you were dealt and make the best of it.
• A lot of times people aren't giving you something because they don't have it.
• Mephibosheth ended up living in poverty.
• Your location doesn't change your identity.
• When you gave your life to Christ you were made royalty.
• Revelation 1:6 NIV 
• ...and has made us to be a kingdom and priests to serve his God and Father—to him be glory and power for ever and ever! Amen. 
• 2 Samuel 9
• Years later David (the King) went looking for Jonathan's son.
• Luke 15: Parable About the Lost Sheep
• Jesus's parable about the lost sheep.
• In the natural you're lost but the shepherd will leave the 99 to come looking for you.
• David gave all of the land back to Mephibosheth
• He was restored.
• Religion can make God mean but God is not looking for you to condemn you,  but to restore you.
• Luke 4:18
• “The Spirit of the Lord is on me,    because he has anointed me    to proclaim good news to the poor.He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners    and recovery of sight for the blind,to set the oppressed free....
• Mephibosheth had settled in Lo Debar
• It's easy to settle in place of no pasture and/or communication.
• Mercy is all about God not giving us what we deserve.  God doesn't write us off when we make mistakes.
• Prodigal Son
• The younger son asks for his inheritance before the father dies, and the father agrees. The younger son, after wasting his fortune (the word "prodigal" means "wastefully extravagant"), goes hungry during a famine, and becomes so destitute he longs to eat the same food given to hogs, unclean animals in Jewish culture.
• He then returns home with the intention of repenting and begging his father to be one of his hired servants, expecting his relationship with his father is likely severed. Regardless, the father finds him on the road and immediately welcomes him back as his son and holds a feast to celebrate his return, which includes killing a fattened calf usually reserved for special occasions. 
• John Osteen's first marriage didn't work out and his church wrote him off so he left the ministry for 2 years.
• Romans 11:29
• God's gifts and his call are irrevocable.
• God knows where you are and he's not going to stop until he puts you back where you're supposed to be.
• Psalm 147:3 NIV 
• He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 

Victoria Osteen @ Lakewood Church

On the phone with son who thanked her for something that she did for him and then shared something that he did because it would make her happy. He thanked her with his actions.

• Hebrews 13:15-16
• Through Jesus, therefore, let us continually offer to God a sacrifice of praise—the fruit of lips that openly profess his name.And do not forget to do good and to share with others, for with such sacrifices God is pleased.
• The closest thing to God is helping hurting people. That's how we express our gratitude with our actions.
• Let's show God that we want to please him.

• We're blessed to be a blessing.