Being connected when you feel DISconnected

2 Samuel 9:8

"Mephibosheth bowed down and said, “What is your servant, that you should notice a dead dog like me?”

Romans 8:11

"But if the Spirit of Him who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, He who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies through His Spirit who dwells in you."

 

John 10:10

"The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly."

 

 

 

In 2 Samuel passage, we see that Johnathan's son Mephibosheth is lost.  

 

Mephibosheth is the son of Johnatahn. Johnathan is the Son of Saul. Saul is the King of Israel. 

 

Saul has been killed. Johnathan is dead. The caretaker who was holding Mephibosheth is stunned by the news and Mephibosheth is dropped as a child and breaks his legs. He is disabled from this point on. 

 

He has becomes DIS-couraged and Dis-located and DIS-connected. 

"Dis" negates the power of the root word. You may be DIS-appointed but are still appointed. You don't see it, that you are still appointed, because of the "DIS". 

5 is the biblical number that correlates to Grace. 

Mephibosheth was dropped at age 5... dropped in Grace. 

Mephibosheth finds his way into the town of  Lo Debar. It's a bad place. Place of DIS-connection. He doesn't know, or has become DIS-connected from realizing, he is the son of Johnathan and grandson of Saul, the king

Don't find your place in a LO-wly place. 

We forget at times that God placed his hand on you. If you not careful, you will hang out with people who are DIS-couraged, DIS-connected, and DIS-located. And they don't see or acknowledge your anointing and then don't push you to your anointing. 

Mephibosheth feels he doesn't qualify for positions of higher degree. He doesn't understand. This is because He is stuck in a place where he doesn't belong, a LO place

David then calls out (2 Samuel 9:3-4)  if there is anyone left of the house of Saul. Ziba says there is  Mephibosheth. David says to go get him. 

They come to get Mephibosheth from Lo Debar. Mephibosheth can't walk. They bring him to the table of the David, the new king. 

 

Disabled people at this time were not allowed at the king's table. David tells Mephibosheth you are here SOLELY based on my relationship with your dad, Johnathan. Nothing else. Not based on how you are and what you done. Now, most likely due to the social norms, David must have covered up his brokenness

None of us deserve to be where we are. But we are because others have prayed for you that God shows you kindness. 

A 37 year old got pulled over by police. He was tailgating the police car. The cop pulls him over. The young man then begins to state who he is and that he is the son of the police chaplain. The police officer, knowing who the police chaplain is, apologizes and lets him go. 

 

(This is not to advocate bending of the law using personal connections for your own advantage. this is to illustrate a point)

 

His son is connected. 

It's all about your connections !! If your connected, stay connected. 

When a believer, who is suppose to live in a resurrected place, lives in another place especially a LO place, the King will come looking for you. 

The King takes your broken down self and says "I holds nothing against you. The price is paid for you. You don't need to be in this negative place where you THINK you belong. 

To get you, God came down and became like you. He will go anywhere to get you. He wants you that bad. 

Whatever God promises to bless, he will not stop until you are blessed. . 

Someone dropped you. Disappointed you. Broke you. The one who you thought would never let you down. And then the King comes and lifts you up and restores you. 

There is a promise over your life. 

The call of God is not to make you "holy holy" or "utterly righteous". 

He will make you nice and kind. You will be full of joy and happiness.

The king knows of your brokenness, even if you hide it. 

Bring all your DIS-functions to the foot of the cross and get back your function. 

A church don't need to hunt you down or chase after you. If Jesus has hit your life, you will hunt down the church.

Another look on Forgiveness...same passage

JESUS, TAKE THE STONES FROM MY HANDS
by Carter Conlon


"Jesus went unto the mount of Olives. And early in the morning he came again into the temple, and all the people came unto him; and he sat down, and taught them. And the scribes and Pharisees brought unto him a woman taken in adultery; and when they had set her in the midst, they say unto him, Master, this woman was taken in adultery, in the very act.
“Now Moses in the law commanded us, that such should be stoned: but what sayest thou? This they said, tempting him, that they might have to accuse him. But Jesus stooped down, and with his finger wrote on the ground, as though he heard them not. So when they continued asking him, he lifted up himself, and said unto them, He that is without sin among you, let him first cast a stone at her. And again he stooped down, and wrote on the ground.


“And they which heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning at the eldest, even unto the last: and Jesus was left alone, and the woman standing in the midst. When Jesus had lifted up himself, and saw none but the woman, he said unto her, Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee? She said, No man, Lord. And Jesus said unto her, Neither do I condemn thee: go, and sin no more” (John 8:1–11).


Forgiveness—that is what this story is all about. How important is forgiveness? Well, very simply, without it we are not saved. It is conclusive in the Scriptures that all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God. We have fallen short of who we were created to be, of how God designed our lives to be lived, of what kind of testimony we should have here on earth. We are truly amazed when we come to a place of understanding the depths of our sin yet recognize how God, in His mercy, chose through His Son to forgive us.


Forgiveness is also directly linked with mountain-moving faith. Jesus once told His disciples, “...Whosoever shall say unto this mountain, Be thou removed, and be thou cast into the sea; and shall not doubt in his heart, but shall believe...he shall have whatsoever he saith. Therefore...What things soever ye desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and ye shall have them. And when ye stand praying, forgive, if ye have ought against any: that your Father also which is in heaven may forgive you your trespasses” (Mark 11:23–25). Jesus was saying, “I am willing to give you faith that can move mountains—all those things that stand before you and hinder what your life is destined to be. Whatever you are lacking, I will supply. But when you come to Me, if you have anything in your heart against others, forgive them, that your Father in heaven may forgive your trespasses.”


It is clear that without forgiveness, we cannot remain in the life flow of the blessing of God. Jesus went on to say, “But if you do not forgive, neither will your Father which is in heaven forgive your trespasses” (Mark 11:26). That does not mean that you lose your salvation every time you struggle with unforgiveness, for it is a struggle that no one is immune to. However, it does mean that when we harbor unforgiveness in our hearts, a sense of well-being is lost. That life flow and ability to hear from God becomes hindered because ultimately the kingdom of God is all about forgiveness.


AN OUTWARD DISPLAY
Picture for a moment the scene in our opening text: Jesus is sitting in the temple teaching the people when suddenly in bursts some scribes and Pharisees. Keep in mind that the scribes and Pharisees were the keepers of the law—the ones who were supposed to represent the testimony of God in the earth. To their credit, they started out with the desire to preserve the Word of God. Fearing that it might eventually devolve into something other than what God had originally meant, they set out to be purists. They intended to guard the Word and to exemplify what was written in the text of Scriptures that they had up until that time. However, they ended up being more of an example of how religious zeal and incomplete obedience to the full revelation of God in the Scriptures can leave people bearing very little resemblance to Jesus.


Into the midst of the crowd they came, bringing a woman who was of the family of faith but who obviously had fallen and failed. Casting her down at the feet of Jesus, they said, “This woman claims to belong to the family of Abraham, part of the seed of God’s testimony on earth, but we caught her in the very act of adultery. Our Scripture says that she should be condemned and stoned to death. What do you say, Jesus?” The Word says that they asked this question in order to test Jesus and have reason to accuse Him. Ironically, they were quoting the Word of God, but they were arguing with the author—trying to tell Him what He meant when He wrote the Book.


Consider as well the outward appearance of the scribes and Pharisees in this whole scene. They would have been spit-and-polished, with everything pristine—their garments pressed with precision, the borders of their sleeves and skirts measured to exactly the right length. They had prayer shawls over their shoulders and prayer beads attached to their sides so that they would be known as people of prayer. Standing there adorned with all of this paraphernalia, they also had one more thing—they had stones in their hands. Or at least they had stones very close at hand, ready to condemn anyone who failed to meet their religious ideals.





REWRITING THE SCENE
Now contrast this to Jesus, who, according to Scripture, identified with the common man. He was made in our likeness, He took upon Himself our frailty, and He understands our weaknesses. He had no outward display—no symbols of prayer and obedience—except the manifestation of the full power and purpose of God.


As a carpenter’s son, Jesus likely wore regular workman’s garments. There was probably dirt around His knees since He had stooped down to write on the ground with His finger. Although we do not know exactly what He wrote, we do know that it stung the conscience of the religious but gave hope to a woman who had fallen. In other words, Jesus rewrote a scene of judgment and death into a place of forgiveness and hope. He rewrote this woman’s future—perhaps giving her the reassurance that her past as well as present frailties were still covered by the mercy of God, for she knew she was a sinner in need of a Savior. On the other hand, those standing by with the stones had long lost the understanding that they themselves were outside of the kingdom of God, having failed to represent His heart of mercy.


Jesus could not have rewritten this moment in history if He, too, had been holding stones. The same holds true for you and me. If we are found with stones in our hands, we will not have any power to make a difference or to rewrite the future; we will be unable to represent God in our generation. After all, how can we represent a kingdom that is established on a foundation stone of forgiveness if there is unforgiveness in our hearts? It is simply not possible, which is why we must come to a place of total forgiveness. Of course, this is never easy. It means that we must learn to overcome grievances that have been learned or personally experienced—sometimes deeply embedded over the course of our lifetime.


HOW TO LET GO
I remember a time when I was betrayed by somebody whom I loved and trusted. The betrayal was so deep in my heart that it took me about a year to get over it. I cannot tell you how many times I went before God and said, “Lord, I am not even at forgiveness yet—I am dealing with trying not to hate somebody. You have to help me.” No matter how many times I attempted to put those stones down, my hands simply would not let them go. If I succeeded in throwing them down for a moment, it was as if a bungee cord was attached to them, and they eventually bounced right back up into my hands again.


Nevertheless, I persisted in the battle, not willing to be a hypocrite in the kingdom of God. I found myself in the same place over and over, praying the same kinds of prayers, until one day, the Lord spoke to my heart: “Here’s how to do it. Turn your hands over and let Me take the stones away.” I realized at that moment that it was impossible for me to put them down in my own strength. Only the Lord could take away the stones, and I found that He was willing to do it.


The Scriptures speak of another man who had stones in his hands. He dwelt in the mountains and in the tombs—one is a high place and the other is as about as low as you can go on the earth (see Mark 5:1–5). However, instead of casting his stones at other people, he was cutting himself with them. It is a picture of a person who hates himself for what he has done and for what he is becoming. Just like the Pharisees, this man needed the courage to say, “Jesus, take these stones from my hands.”


Likewise, many Christians today are unwilling to forgive themselves for the things they have done in the past. Although the Lord has cleansed them, they persist in calling themselves unclean. God alone can give them the grace to let go of the past—to release the stones from their hands.


REPRESENTING CHRIST IN THE DAYS AHEAD
Without forgiveness at the core of our being, we can talk about Jesus, but we cannot represent Him. People who merely talk about Jesus become concerned solely about the exterior—about their own reputation, about being called, “Teacher, Teacher” and having the best seats at banquets (see Matthew 23:6–7). These things become the whole focus of their life. The people who truly represent Jesus are the ones bending down, writing in the sand. They are rewriting into people’s lives the mercies of Almighty God, no matter what they have done or how they have fallen.


I believe very soon many prodigals will be returning to the house of God—men and women who perhaps gave their lives to Christ when they were young, yet somehow ended up on a wrong path. They took the life of Christ and went far beyond the borders of where they should have been living—but not beyond the reaches of God’s love. And now the Lord is giving His church the opportunity to represent Him, offering these people hope for the present and rewriting their future. Just as the father welcomed the prodigal son when he came home, we can put our arms around others, covering their failures and empowering them to become everything that God is calling them to be. We can put a robe over their shoulders, shoes on their feet, and invite them to join us on the journey. But before we can do this, we must put down our stones.


I don’t know about you, but I do not want to misrepresent Christ in this world. Yet if I am ever going to err, let it be on the side of mercy. Let it be mercy that rewrites my life and the life of everybody God desires to touch through me. I want to be a bridge builder, not a bridge destroyer. I want to see the church come to life once again in our generation—every race, every nationality, every denomination coming together as one body in Jesus Christ for this final moment of time. This means that all of us must drop our stones—denominational stones, racial stones, all the grievances that we have been holding on to. By the grace of God, we must be willing to stoop down, get our hands and knees dirty, and start rewriting the future in people’s lives.


It all begins by holding up our hands and saying, “Jesus, take the stones from my hands. I know that I do not have a right to carry these, but I cannot put them down. You have to take them from me.” Remember, Jesus is not angry with your frailty or your struggle. All He is asking is that you simply turn your hands over and trust Him. Trust Him to take away any unforgiveness in your heart, any self-condemnation, any inner judgments that you may not even be aware of. It is God alone who can help you to forgive and bring you into this place of mercy and faith that He speaks of. It is God alone who can enable you to stop beating yourself for your past failures.


If we do not come to God and allow Him to take away these grievances now, as the body of Christ we are going to be swallowed by the evil of this generation. After all, it is clear that we are living in an hour when society is becoming increasingly divided and civility has practically gone out the window. This comes as no surprise, for Jesus warned that in the last days, nation will rise against nation (see Matthew 24:7). In the original Greek, this means that ethnic culture will rise against ethnic culture. In other words, the world will be marked by bitter divisions and hatred. Yet in the midst of this, you and I cannot be found like the rest of society. If we end up embracing any part of this system that is throwing stones at each other, we will no longer represent the Christ who went to a cross. Let everyone else do the judging, but we are called to live by a higher law—the love of God, the mercy of God and the forgiveness of God in Christ Jesus. It is the willingness to embrace what we would not naturally embrace; the willingness to call “clean” what others regard as unclean; the willingness to receive with hope 
what others would call failed.


There is no other gospel that will change the hearts of men. It is not our garments, it is not our Scripture memorization, it is not our big Bibles —it is the love and mercy of God in our hearts that will make the difference. It is time to allow Jesus to take the stones out of our hands so that we can truly represent Him in this generation. As we learn to forgive, and as we are willing to stoop down and identify with people who the whole religious scene is about to write off in their ignorance, I believe there will be a harvest of souls in this generation beyond anything we ever could have imagined. Hallelujah!


Carter Conlon
©2012 Times Square Church

Correcting a Bad State of Mind

Romans 8:6
"The mind governed by the flesh is death, but the mind governed by the Spirit is life and peace."

Everyone wants life and peace 

Choose to be spiritual minded, to have a spiritual mindset. 

The bent of your thinking - it can be flesh based or spiritual based. 

Spirit means divine influence. 

Dominant interest of the mind will cause the person's will to follow. 

Will follows mind. 

"What am I interested in?" "Is it based on spirit or flesh?" 

Divine influence affects the temperament and disposition of your mind.  It is very easy to end up in a bad mind set. 

He - God, the Spirit,- influences your thinking - that in turn affects your mind. "Why am I like this?" 

Then the mind is corrected. - you feel "That's not good behavior"

Then you become elevated - you think "I can do better" 

You get noble - you then KNOW you are better

All this leads to door #2

You gotta admit that you need to change 

You have to have the desire to want to change

Get a new mind set - this is influenced by what you read, watch, who you go with, who you listen to

Show me who you go with and I will show you who you are

Forgiveness... there's no catch

John 3:16

"For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life."

People think God is angry at us, the human race, and judgmental. That He is waiting and needing to punish us. Holding this heavy rod over our heads, waiting to beat us.

But note, it says WHOEVER believes shall not perish! 

whoever [huːˈɛvə]

pron

1. any person who; anyone that 

2. no matter who 

So therefore it reads as: That anyone who believes is saved. 

John 3:17

"For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him."

Jesus never came to condemn.

Jesus wasn't sent to pass judgement. 

We are drilled into our minds about his suffering and if we don't behave right because of all he did, we need to be punished. We are drilled in with a sense of guilt 

BUT Jesus said the exact opposite. 

Jesus did not come to draw blood from you! Jesus already gave his blood. If He already paid the price, what price do you need to pay?

Romans 8:1

"Therefore, there is now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus"

Now- this now! Today now!

No condemnation!!! None whatsoever.... If your in Christ. 

No condemnation - God has not decided against you. 

If God be for you, who can be against you! 

God is on your side!!

Some preachers can tend to get mad over this blanketing forgiveness aspect! 

Judgement IS NOT coming for the children of God. All you got to do is believe. 

There are preachers out there today who behave like the self righteous Pharisees. 

Beware the doctrine of the Pharisees because the Bible teaches that a life can change. 

You serve a God who is IN LOVE with you.  

John 8:1-6

"But Jesus went to the Mount of Olives.² At dawn he appeared again in the temple courts, where all the people gathered around him, and he sat down to teach them. ³ The teachers of the law and the Pharisees brought in a woman caught in adultery. They made her stand before the group ⁴ and said to Jesus, “Teacher, this woman was caught in the act of adultery. ⁵ In the Law Moses commanded us to stone such women. Now what do you say?” ⁶ They were using this question as a trap, in order to have a basis for accusing him

Who were the Pharisees? These were high priests of the Jewish faith that followed the law of Moses and added the constitutions of elders. 

They added to the Laws of Moses. 

They paraded themselves around and bolstered that they were holier than the common people. 

They exclaimed and taught that all that happened in your life was a result of God and fate. Now this concept worked great for them because they were the top of the food chain. They exclaimed they were blessed by God and hence prosperous. 

The Pharisees caught Mary Magdalene in bed with another man. 

Adultery is an act condemned even to this day. We still drop the hammer on adulterers in today's world.  ( example: Tiger woods, etc. )

Moses law said to stone her, as stated in Leviticus 20:10. 

“‘If a man commits adultery with another man’s wife —with the wife of his neighbor—both the adulterer and the adulteress are to be put to death."

Note, the law states that the woman AND the man gets put to death. 

The man wasn't even present when they brought Mary. Where did he go? How convenient. 

The Pharisees took bits and pieces of scriptures of what they wanted to. Preachers still do this to this very day. 

So, the Pharisees asked Jesus .. What do you say to this offense of the law?

John 8:6-8

"But Jesus bent down and started to write on the ground with his finger. ⁷ When they kept on questioning him, he straightened up and said to them, “Let any one of you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” ⁸ Again he stooped down and wrote on the ground."

Modern Day translation:

Want to live a happy life, then don't chuck rocks until you look at yourself. Are u without sin? Watch yourself first. 

John 8:9

"⁹  And they who heard it, being convicted by their own conscience, went out one by one, beginning with the eldest even unto the last, and Jesus was left alone with the woman standing in the midst."

Heard - they understand and comprehend  

Convicted - realize they were wrong.  Their conscience. 

Conscience - helps distinguish Right and wrong. 

John 8:10

"When Jesus had lifted Himself up and saw none but the woman, He said unto her, “Woman, where are those thine accusers? Hath no man condemned thee?”

Woman, where are your accusers? She was guilty .. Period! 

Has no one condemned you?

Condemned - judged and passed judgement. 

John 8:11

"She said, “No man, Lord.” 

No man condemn, Lord. She addressed Jesus as Lord.

Lord- deliverer, savior, redeemer 

John 8:11

"And Jesus said unto her, “Neither do I condemn thee; go, and sin no more.”

Jesus says (Jesus, the one who wrote Leviticus 20:10 himself - for he is the Word ) says to Mary  "I don't condemn you either" 

Moses brought the law, but Jesus brought grace. 

(Grace = undeserved, unmerited, unearned favor. Its a gift. it can't be worked for)

 

You don't get what you deserve, but instead you get what God wants you to have. 

Jesus forgave her BEFORE she even repented 

Jesus said "Go and sin no more." 

The law and Pharisees said - first you must clean up your act (change your life around), come before God, and then God will DECIDE weather to forgive you

Jesus just said plainly "go and sin no more" - with no catches, clauses, or maybes. 

Knowing that kind of forgiveness is there alone will stop you from sinning

John 11:25

" Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Anyone who believes in me will live, even though they die;"

Do we believe in Him more than we believe in ourselves?

He, Jesus, is our stand up and recovery! No matter how many times we fall! 

Be delivered from the weight of guilt and condemnation. 

Psalm 136

Give thanks to the Lord, for he is good. 
    His love endures forever. 
² Give thanks to the God of gods. 
    His love endures forever.
³ Give thanks to the Lord of lords: 
    His love endures forever.

⁴ to him who alone does great wonders, 
    His love endures forever.
⁵ who by his understanding made the heavens, 
    His love endures forever.
⁶ who spread out the earth upon the waters, 
    His love endures forever.
⁷ who made the great lights —
    His love endures forever.
⁸ the sun to govern the day,
    His love endures forever.
⁹ the moon and stars to govern the night;
    His love endures forever.

¹⁰ to him who struck down the firstborn of Egypt
    His love endures forever.
¹¹ and brought Israel out from among them
    His love endures forever.
¹² with a mighty hand and outstretched arm; 
    His love endures forever.

¹³ to him who divided the Red Sea^[a] asunder
    His love endures forever.
¹⁴ and brought Israel through the midst of it,
    His love endures forever.
¹⁵ but swept Pharaoh and his army into the Red Sea; 
    His love endures forever.

¹⁶ to him who led his people through the wilderness; 
    His love endures forever.

¹⁷ to him who struck down great kings, 
    His love endures forever.
¹⁸ and killed mighty kings —
    His love endures forever.
¹⁹ Sihon king of the Amorites 
    His love endures forever.
²⁰ and Og king of Bashan —
    His love endures forever.
²¹ and gave their land as an inheritance, 
    His love endures forever.
²² an inheritance to his servant Israel. 
    His love endures forever.

²³ He remembered us in our low estate
    His love endures forever.
²⁴ and freed us from our enemies. 
    His love endures forever.
²⁵ He gives food to every creature.
    His love endures forever.

²⁶ Give thanks to the God of heaven. 
    His love endures forever.

His LOVE endures FOREVER!