Neck Grace City Church Chicago | October 25th, 6pm Service

Pastor Marcus Mecum

Introduction: Neck Grace: The word for “neck” in Hebrew means to be open or vulnerable. It comes from when gladiators would put a sword to their defeated opponent's neck and look to the King for a yes or no on his life. The word refers to that vulnerable, defeated moment when your life is in the King’s hands. The neck is the entrance for air, circulation, and life for our bodies. Neck Grace means the devil does not have the final say, that he can't stop the head of Christ from communicating with the body, and our voices will not be silenced.

Key Scriptures:

“My son, let them not depart from your eyes— Keep sound wisdom and discretion;

So they will be life to your soul And grace to your neck.” -Proverbs 3:21-22 NKJV

2 Samuel 21:1-14

Main Text:

2 Samuel 21:1-14 tells the story of Rizpah and her seven sons. Israel was in a time of famine, and the Lord told King David that it was because of the violent attacks Saul and his people had committed against the Gibeonites. In David’s efforts to reconcile with the Gibeonites, he gave seven men over to them to atone for the past bloodshed. The seven men were brothers, and their mother’s name was Rizpah. Her seven sons who were all hung on the gallows and left to rot for months. Rizpah stayed by their dead bodies and shooed the birds away during the day and the beasts away at night until King David ordered that the bodies be buried. This story illustrates the power of the past in our lives. The past never lets go of us. The past seeks revenge against us and harasses us. Satan dresses up our past like a long lost friend that misses us. It wouldn't be so strong if it weren't so attractive and if we realized that it was such a horrible enemy to us. Satan is also a fisher of men, and he wants to reel us back into our past habits and behaviors. The Enemy wants to use our past to tighten the noose around our necks and eat away at our bodies until we are nothing but bones.

The first son’s name, Mephibosheth, means “the end of shame.” Satan wants to tighten the noose of Shame. Shame is “I feel bad for who I am,” a step further than Remorse, which is “I feel bad for what I've done.” Shame binds us from getting the signals from Christ, the head of the body. Armoni, the second son’s name means “Royalty, one of great worth to God.” If the Enemy can get us to doubt our value to God, he can tighten our noose. We are joint heirs with Christ and of great worth to God, but the Enemy wants us to doubt that so that we think small and lack vision because of a self-worth issue. We are of great worth to God and can expect great things! Depression, unforgiveness, pride, wrong relationship, addiction... All are nooses that choke the Word of God out of our lives, and the Enemy wants to pull the pressure of the noose tighter in our vulnerable moments. You have to decide--will you keep allowing your past to choke out your future? We need to remember how grotesque our past is--seven dead rotting bodies--and not give it power through a presence or a belief that it is something attractive.

What can loosen the nooses around our necks?

1) Rizpah: Her name means “hot stone.” She fought off the birds by day and the beasts at night. The Enemy is always attacking our bodies, and the Church is the rock which the gates of Hell will not prevail against. How do we prevent the noose from tightening? Have a hot stone in your life - a fiery, passionate church. “And He put all things under His feet, and gave Him to be head over all things to the church,” - Ephesians 1:22 The church is the way that God makes principalities know that this person is off limits. The goal of the noose is to separate the head from the body - so it stops responding to the head. We need to always have a Rizpah reminding us of our life in God. 2) Knowing God’s heart: David was a man after God’s own heart, and he ordered that the bones be buried. Knowing God’s heart loosens the noose. Once the bones were buried, the famine ended. The past has no life unless you give it a presence. God wants to loose the noose and bury the bones. We can't change the past but we can bury its influence and presence.

Jesus was buried for three days, and He took our lack of self worth and all the other nooses with him. Why do we keep digging up what He has already buried?

Conclusion: When Jesus rose again, it meant that the spiritual famine in your life was lifted. Don't just loose the noose but go bury the bones--get rid of the evidence and reminders of your old self so that you can live in freedom from its power and come into the fullness of your identity in Christ.