WEBVTT 00:00:00.080 --> 00:00:07.120 Listen, as we close out our unsung hero series that we've been going through throughout this summer, we're gonna be doing that today. 00:00:07.200 --> 00:00:15.599 And we're gonna be taking a look at the life of Jonathan from 1 Samuel 18, chapter 18 to chapter 20. 00:00:15.759 --> 00:00:19.839 Not looking at every single verse in there, but certain chunks of those verses along the way. 00:00:19.920 --> 00:00:23.920 So if you would turn in there now to 1 Samuel 18, that would be so great. 00:00:24.079 --> 00:00:28.800 Okay, now typically David is the guy who gets all the attention. 00:00:30.320 --> 00:00:34.799 He was the shepherd boy, and we know you know some of his life doing that. 00:00:34.960 --> 00:00:38.000 He was fighting off bears and lions and all of that. 00:00:38.159 --> 00:00:51.679 He becomes, of course, the giant slayer, and he takes down uh Goliath, and through that he becomes this great warrior and eventual king uh over Israel. 00:00:51.840 --> 00:00:54.000 We also know that uh things weren't all roses. 00:00:54.159 --> 00:00:56.880 He was also, I would say, uh a giant screw-up, right? 00:00:56.960 --> 00:01:03.520 He messed up a lot, and there were some major, uh, major sins in his life that he was um that he committed. 00:01:03.759 --> 00:01:07.359 But at the same time, the Bible calls him a man after God's own heart. 00:01:07.519 --> 00:01:14.959 We also know that he was a a uh writer of many of the psalms that we would uh that we would read and that we know very well. 00:01:15.120 --> 00:01:29.920 So again, it's David uh that typically gets all the attention because he's done all these great things, and we give him a lot of uh of the glory, if you will, but but Jonathan is who we're going after here today, and he's one of my favorites. 00:01:30.079 --> 00:01:39.040 And what we're gonna be exploring here is just how he was such an intensely loyal friend uh to David. 00:01:39.439 --> 00:01:45.439 Okay, he was he was the kind of guy that that you and I all wish that we had in our corner, right? 00:01:45.519 --> 00:01:51.280 We all need a guy like that, a guy who's there with us, for us, through, thick, or thin. 00:01:51.439 --> 00:01:59.200 I think we he's also the kind of guy that you and I would aspire to be like uh to other people that we know. 00:01:59.359 --> 00:02:17.599 Okay, but beyond our individual friendships and the loyalty that we would love to express and receive there, okay, it's it's loyalty that should really mark the kinds of relationships that you and I have have here as a local church. 00:02:17.759 --> 00:02:23.520 Okay, as Christians, think about it, we should be the most loyal people on the planet. 00:02:24.080 --> 00:02:29.280 Okay, uh we should, but unfortunately, we often, I think, don't see that. 00:02:29.599 --> 00:02:48.960 Christians have a uh in in many circles a miserable reputation of being backbiters and and slandering and gossip, and we we stab one another and we sell each other out and we don't stick through relationships and you know all of that type of thing. 00:02:49.199 --> 00:02:52.159 Okay, we're not often very loyal. 00:02:52.479 --> 00:02:54.560 And so you might be thinking, yeah, I could grow at this. 00:02:54.639 --> 00:02:56.400 I would I would love to be more loyal. 00:02:56.479 --> 00:03:01.199 Well, loyalty it's a it's a character trait that's developed in us. 00:03:01.360 --> 00:03:15.520 If you're trying to figure out how do I become more loyal, it's really developed in us by the Holy Spirit as you and I, as we recognize and and then of course embrace God's loyalty and commitment to us, right, through the gospel. 00:03:18.560 --> 00:03:20.639 Lots, lots for us to get into. 00:03:20.719 --> 00:03:23.759 So why don't you join me as we pray and then we'll dive in. 00:03:24.000 --> 00:03:26.080 God, we want to give this time to you. 00:03:26.240 --> 00:03:36.800 We want uh to cry out to you, Lord, recognizing that as as loyal as we think we might be, Lord, maybe there's a long way for us to go, Lord. 00:03:36.879 --> 00:03:47.840 I pray that uh our church, Harvest New Market, would uh be marked by this amazing trait that we see in Jonathan and it is expressed ultimately through Jesus Christ Himself towards us. 00:03:47.919 --> 00:03:51.599 And so, God, would you do some heart work in us here today? 00:03:51.919 --> 00:03:58.719 Lord, would we uh submit ourselves in humility before you and invite your Holy Spirit to change us and transform us? 00:03:58.800 --> 00:04:01.520 Lord, I pray that we would be encouraged here today. 00:04:02.159 --> 00:04:08.080 Lord, I pray that you would motivate us, not shame, not guilt, not fear, not any of those things, Lord. 00:04:08.159 --> 00:04:09.919 It would be you and you alone. 00:04:10.240 --> 00:04:12.400 God, we pray all these things in Christ's name. 00:04:12.639 --> 00:04:13.280 Amen. 00:04:13.680 --> 00:04:14.240 Amen. 00:04:14.479 --> 00:04:17.439 So, what is loyalty exactly? 00:04:17.600 --> 00:04:17.920 Right? 00:04:18.079 --> 00:04:18.639 What is it? 00:04:18.800 --> 00:04:20.319 What does it look like? 00:04:20.480 --> 00:04:31.279 Well, that's what we're gonna be covering here today, and here's the first thing loyalty is this engaging in covenant love for others, engaging in covenant love for others. 00:04:31.519 --> 00:04:41.759 Well, 1 Samuel 18, okay, it's it brings us to the very beginning of David and Jonathan's friendship. 00:04:41.920 --> 00:04:49.120 Okay, and the timeline here is just kind of give you a sense as to what's going on here in this book of the Bible in the Old Testament. 00:04:49.199 --> 00:05:00.240 And in chapter 16, David had just been anointed as the next king over Israel after Saul was done being king. 00:05:00.319 --> 00:05:03.120 And all of that, of course, uh was in the Lord's hands. 00:05:03.279 --> 00:05:22.639 David was chosen as uh he wasn't all that flashy, you know, he had a lot of you know bigger, more strapping, and you know, from a worldly sense, more capable maybe uh men who uh who David's father thought would be chosen as king, but but the Lord through the prophet Samuel chooses David. 00:05:22.800 --> 00:05:24.959 No, David is my guy, okay? 00:05:25.040 --> 00:05:31.040 So that happens in chapter 16, and he's got to wait now for the Lord uh to finish things off with Saul. 00:05:31.120 --> 00:05:38.160 In chapter 17 is when he has the very well-known showdown with the giant Goliath. 00:05:39.120 --> 00:05:51.360 Goliath and the Philistines have been wreaking havoc and terrifying uh God's people Israel, and there was no one, as through the intimidation of Goliath, there was there was no one in all of Israel who would square off and fight. 00:05:51.439 --> 00:06:07.759 But Jonathan, full of faith, full of courage in the spirit, uh, he steps up, and through that God asserts his supremacy and his dominance over the Philistines by uh by using David to slaughter Goliath. 00:06:08.000 --> 00:06:14.399 So David already, right out of the gate, he's becoming this rising star in everybody's eyes. 00:06:14.480 --> 00:06:18.399 Everyone's like, wow, David, and they're very starry-eyed uh about him. 00:06:18.560 --> 00:06:30.160 And it's through these circumstances as as David gets to know Saul and he becomes close to the king, that Jonathan and him strike up this friendship. 00:06:30.240 --> 00:06:32.079 Now keep in mind, who's Jonathan? 00:06:32.240 --> 00:06:34.959 Okay, Jonathan is the son of the king, isn't he? 00:06:35.120 --> 00:06:40.079 He's he's King Saul's son, which brings some very helpful context to us. 00:06:40.240 --> 00:06:41.680 So uh let's read here. 00:06:41.839 --> 00:06:47.040 If you would join me as we read, we're gonna read the first five verses of chapter 18. 00:06:47.199 --> 00:06:47.600 Here we go. 00:06:47.680 --> 00:06:55.600 It says, As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, so that's David, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David. 00:06:55.839 --> 00:06:59.040 And Jonathan loved him as his own soul. 00:06:59.439 --> 00:07:04.720 And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house. 00:07:05.120 --> 00:07:10.480 Then Jonathan made a covenant with David, because he loved him as his own soul. 00:07:10.639 --> 00:07:19.680 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword, and his bow, and his belt. 00:07:20.000 --> 00:07:34.560 And David went out and was successful wherever Saul sent him, so that Saul set him over the men of war, and this was good in the sight of all the people, and also in the sight of Saul's servants. 00:07:35.360 --> 00:07:44.240 Alright, so it doesn't take a whole lot of digging here to sense the type of bond that existed between Jonathan and David. 00:07:44.399 --> 00:07:48.399 Verse 1 there says that their souls were knit together, right? 00:07:48.800 --> 00:07:49.279 They were very close. 00:07:49.439 --> 00:07:54.160 Jonathan, it says, loved him as his uh as his own soul. 00:07:54.319 --> 00:07:59.279 All right, so they were close, but I weren't what I want you to really notice here is in verse 3. 00:07:59.439 --> 00:08:00.240 Take a look at that. 00:08:00.399 --> 00:08:03.519 It says, then Jonathan made uh, what's the word? 00:08:03.920 --> 00:08:04.800 Covenant, right? 00:08:04.879 --> 00:08:07.120 He made a covenant with David. 00:08:07.279 --> 00:08:21.680 Okay, so so prominence throughout the relationship of Jonathan and David, throughout these chapters that are going to be where we're gonna be looking at here, is this strong covenant relationship that existed between uh these two young men. 00:08:22.079 --> 00:08:26.319 It means that that Jonathan was extremely committed. 00:08:26.480 --> 00:08:29.360 Okay, he was extremely committed to his friend. 00:08:29.920 --> 00:08:31.279 That's loyalty right there. 00:08:31.360 --> 00:08:33.519 I mean, that's a huge part of it. 00:08:33.919 --> 00:08:42.559 There was nothing casual or or or half-hearted or surfacey about the relationship. 00:08:42.720 --> 00:08:49.679 There, you know, Jonathan didn't have any selfish or self-centered ambition in any of this uh at all. 00:08:49.919 --> 00:08:55.200 No, it was a covenant relationship that he he initiated with him. 00:08:55.440 --> 00:09:02.639 You know, this ad this this idea of covenant, it originated with, surprise, surprise, with God. 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:14.879 In in Genesis 15 and chapter 17, if you want to jot those down, uh the Lord initiates this covenant, uh, this which is really it's a promise, okay? 00:09:14.960 --> 00:09:28.559 It's it's an agreement, uh kind of like a contract, really, uh, with Abram, where God commits himself to be Abram's God and his descendants forever. 00:09:28.720 --> 00:09:31.440 He says, I will be your God. 00:09:31.600 --> 00:09:39.679 Okay, there's no wiggle room in there for God to bail out of this if if the going gets tough. 00:09:39.840 --> 00:09:50.000 Okay, so we see covenant in the Old Testament, we see it right there in the beginning in the book of Genesis, but you better believe we absolutely see it all the way through the scriptures and in the New Testament for sure. 00:09:50.240 --> 00:09:53.919 Luke chapter 22, if you want to jot that down. 00:09:54.080 --> 00:10:02.399 Okay, Jesus tells his disciples, he's gathering with them in the upper room, he's about to go to the cross, he shares a final meal with them. 00:10:02.559 --> 00:10:09.360 He says, This, this cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant, okay, in my blood. 00:10:09.759 --> 00:10:22.559 Okay, so the the sacrificial system that that Israel had had lived under and had you know engaged in, it was always, according to the Lord, it was always a temporary fix. 00:10:22.639 --> 00:10:26.960 It was always, it was always limited in what it could do. 00:10:27.120 --> 00:10:31.519 And and now, through Jesus Christ, it was no more. 00:10:31.919 --> 00:10:34.320 He fulfilled the law's demands. 00:10:34.639 --> 00:10:39.759 He would come and die as the ultimate sacrifice once and for all. 00:10:39.919 --> 00:10:55.519 And through that, there is now this new agreement, new contract, new new covenant uh with man that would be based purely on faith in the finished work of Jesus Christ on the cross. 00:10:55.840 --> 00:11:16.879 Okay, so you see here that that from the very beginning of uh of time till now, God is just intense and and just unceasingly uh pursues his creation, uh, mankind, his bride, uh the the church, right? 00:11:16.960 --> 00:11:18.559 We we again we see it all through the Bible. 00:11:18.639 --> 00:11:27.279 He's he's covenanted, agreed to love us, which means that it's a promise that he cannot, will not break. 00:11:27.759 --> 00:11:29.440 And he and he's proven it to us. 00:11:29.600 --> 00:11:35.200 We need to remind ourselves of this, he's proven it to us in the most ultimate way through his death and resurrection, right? 00:11:35.279 --> 00:11:39.360 Through the cross, through what we celebrate uh intensely at Easter. 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:53.679 Okay, so Jonathan, he enters into a covenant with David, and as a way to express the seriousness of this, and that this is not just some some flimsy agreement. 00:11:54.080 --> 00:11:55.759 Look at what it says in verse 4 here. 00:11:55.840 --> 00:11:57.120 Here's the expression. 00:11:57.519 --> 00:11:58.720 Avrah chapter 18. 00:11:58.799 --> 00:12:11.600 It says, and Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David, and his armor, and even his sword, and his bow and his and his belt. 00:12:12.240 --> 00:12:16.960 You know, understand that the significance of this is striking. 00:12:17.200 --> 00:12:23.279 Okay, it's so much more than like, you know, two kids at school, you know, sitting in the cafeteria. 00:12:23.360 --> 00:12:24.320 We're in a cafeteria right now. 00:12:24.399 --> 00:12:27.039 It's like more than two kids sitting at school saying, hey, like we're friends. 00:12:27.120 --> 00:12:28.639 Here, have half of my sandwich. 00:12:28.799 --> 00:12:30.559 Okay, it's it's a lot more than that. 00:12:31.039 --> 00:12:37.200 Understand that that Jonathan was next in line for the throne after Saul, right? 00:12:37.279 --> 00:12:39.039 He was the he was the son. 00:12:39.200 --> 00:12:45.039 And so Jonathan giving up his robe, keep in mind his it was his royal robe. 00:12:45.120 --> 00:12:49.600 It wasn't just some rag that he had, like having an extra hoodie that you let somebody wear to keep warm. 00:12:49.679 --> 00:12:50.720 It's not like that. 00:12:50.960 --> 00:12:58.080 It was a statement saying, Here, you take my place as the next in line. 00:12:59.759 --> 00:13:00.399 Wow. 00:13:01.360 --> 00:13:03.840 I mean, that's that's pretty huge, right? 00:13:04.000 --> 00:13:06.720 For a guy to do that, that's unheard of. 00:13:06.799 --> 00:13:17.840 And it just goes to show you the depth of the loyalty that Jonathan exuded, his commitment, his love towards his friend here. 00:13:18.480 --> 00:13:44.799 Okay, and just like how Jonathan's love for David is expressed, this idea of covenant, okay, the only way that we truly get to experience the kind of relationships that God intends for us here as the church, and our various relationships that we have is to adopt this covenant type mindset in our relationships with each other. 00:13:45.200 --> 00:13:54.000 Okay, I think sometimes we don't think about our love and our commitments and our uh loyalty to each other nearly deep enough. 00:13:54.320 --> 00:13:56.960 And it tends to be quite flimsy, I think. 00:13:57.200 --> 00:14:07.840 And we're kind of committed to people, but but only to a point, only as long as it's easier, only as long as I get something out of it, as long as it makes me feel good. 00:14:08.720 --> 00:14:09.919 And so, how do we do this? 00:14:10.080 --> 00:14:16.080 How do we have a real biblical sense of loyalty and commitment and and covenant towards people? 00:14:16.240 --> 00:14:30.879 Well, I believe wholeheartedly that it happens as we, you know, first of all, individually ourselves understand and and and believe and delight in God's covenant love for us. 00:14:31.200 --> 00:14:32.000 Do you understand that? 00:14:32.080 --> 00:14:39.360 You have to understand how much God loves you, and then you will want to love him well, right? 00:14:39.519 --> 00:14:44.159 And then you will be delighted to love other people the way that he has loved you. 00:14:44.480 --> 00:14:46.879 Like that's the way that all of that works. 00:14:47.120 --> 00:15:12.240 And until you and I begin to absorb in deeper ways in our hearts and in our minds and in our life, just how intense and how how thorough and how fulfilling his love is for us, and and embrace that individually and personally, okay, listen, we just quite simply will not have the proper inner motivation to love other people biblically through thicker thin. 00:15:12.399 --> 00:15:13.759 We just won't do it. 00:15:14.080 --> 00:15:22.559 Embracing God's covenant love for you is what inspires and drives you to engage in covenant love for others. 00:15:22.879 --> 00:15:26.240 That's the way that the church is supposed to operate. 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:31.919 Okay, so just think about your various relationships that you have with people. 00:15:32.320 --> 00:15:47.600 Maybe it's with your friends or your of your or your family, maybe it's in your marriage, it's the church relationships that you've got here, it's it's the people that you serve with, it's the people in your your small group. 00:15:48.159 --> 00:15:52.720 How committed to them are you exactly? 00:15:53.519 --> 00:16:02.559 If we were to go and and ask all of those people, hey, what do you think of your relationship, your their their covenant love for you? 00:16:02.639 --> 00:16:04.879 How do you think that they would answer that question? 00:16:05.679 --> 00:16:08.480 Think about your marriage. 00:16:09.039 --> 00:16:17.519 Do you understand the covenant bond uh that you have with your husband or with your wife? 00:16:18.639 --> 00:16:24.879 You stood up on your wedding day, I'm sure, I hope, and you put some thought into your vows. 00:16:25.279 --> 00:16:28.000 And and you made a commitment before God. 00:16:28.159 --> 00:16:31.120 I am I'm gonna love you till death do us part. 00:16:31.679 --> 00:16:33.600 There is no one else for me. 00:16:33.919 --> 00:16:37.919 It is only you through the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:16:38.159 --> 00:16:38.480 Right? 00:16:38.799 --> 00:16:41.360 How is your marriage since that day? 00:16:41.840 --> 00:16:43.120 Would your spouse say that? 00:16:43.200 --> 00:16:45.039 Yeah, I sense the covenant love there. 00:16:45.200 --> 00:16:47.039 I sense that, yeah, this isn't perfect. 00:16:47.279 --> 00:16:49.120 In fact, it's extremely difficult. 00:16:49.440 --> 00:16:53.519 But I know that that person is there for me no matter what. 00:16:54.000 --> 00:17:01.919 Where are you starting to get the loyalty, that covenant bond that that you expressed on your wedding day, is that starting to erode? 00:17:02.480 --> 00:17:14.000 And maybe it's it's not happening physically in the sense where you physically left your marriage, but maybe it's happening in your heart and in your mind, and your mind is drifting to other things, other people. 00:17:14.319 --> 00:17:22.480 Maybe you busy yourself with other things because you don't want to face the relationship, you don't want to strengthen it, and that relationship in your marriage is becoming a divide. 00:17:24.079 --> 00:17:27.359 What about in your in your small group? 00:17:28.400 --> 00:17:33.119 Do the relationships there uh need a recommitment? 00:17:34.000 --> 00:17:38.079 Could could they be better in terms of covenant love? 00:17:39.200 --> 00:17:45.519 You know, do you are are you there because you're you're checking a box of, yay, I did my Christian duty for this week? 00:17:45.839 --> 00:17:49.359 Are you like, no, I'm gonna I'm gonna be there for those people. 00:17:49.920 --> 00:18:00.000 I'm not just gonna show up unprepared, I'm gonna come, I'm gonna, I'm gonna have listened to the sermon, I'm gonna jot down some thoughts and some notes, I'm gonna contribute to the discussion, I'm gonna pray for these people at that night, I'm gonna pray for them during the week. 00:18:00.079 --> 00:18:02.160 I'm gonna follow up and see how they're doing. 00:18:03.359 --> 00:18:04.640 We're gonna build relationships. 00:18:04.799 --> 00:18:06.160 This is a this is a small group. 00:18:06.240 --> 00:18:08.240 This is the church, this is what it's about. 00:18:09.039 --> 00:18:11.200 This is a covenant that we enter into. 00:18:12.160 --> 00:18:18.319 Are you like, well, I'm I'm kinda I'm kinda tired, so I don't think I'm gonna go. 00:18:18.799 --> 00:18:19.279 Guess what? 00:18:19.359 --> 00:18:21.759 That tiredness that you feel that never goes away. 00:18:22.000 --> 00:18:23.200 That's what I'm realizing. 00:18:23.359 --> 00:18:23.599 Right? 00:18:23.680 --> 00:18:24.880 Not until heaven. 00:18:25.440 --> 00:18:27.119 You're always gonna be tired. 00:18:27.519 --> 00:18:29.119 They're probably gonna make coffee. 00:18:29.279 --> 00:18:31.200 Just go drink a cup when you get there. 00:18:32.400 --> 00:18:32.720 Right? 00:18:32.880 --> 00:18:43.279 Are you every little excuse now, I'm I'm not gonna show up, or I'll go, but I'll only be present in body and not in spirit. 00:18:44.319 --> 00:18:44.640 Right? 00:18:44.799 --> 00:18:49.119 Covenant relationship, it's it's a different animal altogether. 00:18:49.279 --> 00:19:14.240 Now listen, if if you're feeling, with with through what I'm saying here, if you're feeling guilt-tripped or or coerced by me in any way to make some, you know, one more half-hearted yet ultimately flimsy attempt to commit to loving your wife better or or or jotting down a couple of notes uh you know for small groups so you have something to say if someone asks, or, or something like that. 00:19:14.400 --> 00:19:16.960 Listen, you're you're you're not getting it, you're missing the point here. 00:19:17.440 --> 00:19:26.079 Okay, instead, I think the answer is really spending some time recounting the covenant love of God towards you. 00:19:26.640 --> 00:19:29.440 Think about that, meditate on that. 00:19:30.640 --> 00:19:41.279 Think through all the different ways that that Jesus Christ, through the gospel, has rescued you from sin and death, has protected you from who knows what path you could have gone down. 00:19:41.599 --> 00:19:54.000 Think about all the ways, recount the ways, rejoice in the ways, praise God for all the ways that He has shown you grace and poured that out on you and answered prayers so many times, time and time again, throughout your life. 00:19:55.039 --> 00:19:55.359 Right? 00:19:55.440 --> 00:19:59.200 To pray for a for a soft heart that that wants that. 00:19:59.440 --> 00:20:02.400 Maybe you're thinking, well, I don't really feel like praying that I don't know where to begin. 00:20:02.559 --> 00:20:03.119 Guess what? 00:20:03.359 --> 00:20:03.920 Pray. 00:20:04.160 --> 00:20:05.599 Ask the Lord, Lord, help me. 00:20:05.680 --> 00:20:07.519 I don't know how to pray through these things. 00:20:07.839 --> 00:20:09.119 Lord, I I don't even know. 00:20:09.200 --> 00:20:12.079 I can't even really remember all the things that you've done in my life. 00:20:12.319 --> 00:20:14.559 Those are good things to pray and ask God to help you with. 00:20:14.640 --> 00:20:16.160 Lord, soften my heart. 00:20:16.319 --> 00:20:18.559 Help me help me to love you more. 00:20:18.880 --> 00:20:26.400 Help me to delight that in the gospel, help me to grasp it in in more profound ways. 00:20:26.559 --> 00:20:38.880 And and Lord, uh, allow me through that to commit to a better marriage and and loving my friends and and my wife or my husband better, even my in-laws. 00:20:40.000 --> 00:20:41.440 That was kind of a joke. 00:20:42.880 --> 00:20:43.200 Right? 00:20:43.279 --> 00:20:48.319 It's it's the covenant love of God that helps us and allows us to do that. 00:20:49.039 --> 00:20:58.240 Okay, when our hearts are saturated in that and fueled by that, our love for Him and for others are gonna go to different depths, right? 00:20:58.400 --> 00:21:00.400 Greater depths, greater heights. 00:21:00.640 --> 00:21:07.920 Okay, even when loving someone is an incredibly difficult thing to do, which is really the second thing here. 00:21:08.160 --> 00:21:16.319 Okay, loyalty is engaging in covenant love of others while persu uh while pushing through the inevitable challenges. 00:21:17.359 --> 00:21:33.839 Now, I can imagine somebody as you're kind of reading this thing between Jonathan and David, I can imagine somebody making the argument that Jonathan's loyalty to David wasn't really all that that difficult of a decision to make. 00:21:34.000 --> 00:21:34.319 Right? 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:35.599 Really, it maybe it was. 00:21:35.680 --> 00:21:38.880 And after all, they were they're kind of riding a high as a nation at that point, right? 00:21:38.960 --> 00:21:51.359 Like, you know, Goliath had just been defeated, and you know, David's still holding the head there, and he's got the sword, he hasn't even wiped it off yet, and everyone's excited, and all the armies cheering and everything, and you know, they're thinking like this is amazing. 00:21:51.440 --> 00:21:57.279 You could say it's pretty easy for him to to make that decision to be all in for David here. 00:21:57.759 --> 00:21:59.680 Maybe he was just caught up in the emotion of the moment. 00:22:00.319 --> 00:22:04.319 It's pretty easy to be loyal when life's easy. 00:22:04.640 --> 00:22:06.079 But of course, it doesn't stay that way. 00:22:06.240 --> 00:22:12.640 For any of us that know the story here, flip over to chapter 19, and I'll bring you up to speed as you're getting situated over there. 00:22:12.799 --> 00:22:16.960 David becomes this war hero, and Saul gives him this responsibility. 00:22:17.680 --> 00:22:23.200 But what ends up happening, the more successful that David is, the more jealous Saul gets. 00:22:23.680 --> 00:22:29.519 And so it's this weird and awful kind of dynamic that goes on between the two of these. 00:22:29.599 --> 00:22:32.799 And Saul's jealousy just gets uglier and uglier. 00:22:32.880 --> 00:22:41.359 And it gets to the point where he's he's really brooding and stewing over the fame that David's getting, and he's like basically being a real suck about it. 00:22:41.440 --> 00:22:43.680 And he wishes that he had a lot more of that. 00:22:43.839 --> 00:22:53.920 And so as David's trying to kind of calm his nerves and he's he's playing the lyre there, Saul just kind of snaps and he actually throws a spear at him and tries to peg him to a wall. 00:22:54.000 --> 00:22:54.720 He tries to kill him. 00:22:54.799 --> 00:22:57.759 Actually, it says that he tries to do that twice, which is kind of wild. 00:22:57.920 --> 00:23:04.000 And and so for Saul, the whole thing becomes this keep your friends close and your enemies closer type ideas. 00:23:04.160 --> 00:23:09.359 And what he ends up doing is he ends up giving David, uh, one of his daughters to Mary. 00:23:09.599 --> 00:23:12.799 You might be thinking, oh, that's kind of him to do, but it was just mind games. 00:23:12.880 --> 00:23:13.359 That's all it was. 00:23:13.440 --> 00:23:23.039 He's trying to control David and hoping that it would become a snare to him, and that the Philistines would kill him ultimately and clean up the whole situation for him. 00:23:23.200 --> 00:23:36.559 But of course, all of it backfires, and Saul starts to realize that David is, or sorry, God is with David, and and so he tends to just get more paranoid and more paranoid about it, gets more freaked out. 00:23:36.799 --> 00:23:37.920 Now take a look at this here. 00:23:38.000 --> 00:23:40.160 We'll pick it up in verse 1, chapter 19. 00:23:40.319 --> 00:23:47.039 It says, And Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and all his servants, that they should kill David. 00:23:47.200 --> 00:23:48.799 Okay, so he's got it in for him. 00:23:48.960 --> 00:23:51.920 But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. 00:23:52.079 --> 00:23:55.759 And Jonathan told David, My father seeks to kill you. 00:23:55.920 --> 00:23:58.559 Therefore, be on your guard until the morning. 00:23:58.880 --> 00:24:01.920 Stay in the secret in a secret place and hide yourself. 00:24:02.079 --> 00:24:10.720 And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you, and if I learn anything, I will tell you. 00:24:10.960 --> 00:24:21.920 And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you. 00:24:22.160 --> 00:24:29.440 For he took his life in his hand, and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel. 00:24:29.680 --> 00:24:31.519 You saw it and rejoiced. 00:24:31.839 --> 00:24:37.680 Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause? 00:24:38.319 --> 00:24:41.359 And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan, his son. 00:24:41.599 --> 00:24:48.160 Saul swore, as long as the Lord or as the Lord lives, he shall not be put to death. 00:24:48.400 --> 00:24:59.519 And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things, and Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before. 00:25:00.319 --> 00:25:03.359 Think about the position that Jonathan is in here. 00:25:03.599 --> 00:25:06.079 A pretty tricky situation. 00:25:06.640 --> 00:25:09.279 He's in a really hard spot here. 00:25:09.359 --> 00:25:17.839 It's tough between his you know his best friend, excuse me, and his father, who again uh just so happens uh to be the king. 00:25:18.000 --> 00:25:19.920 But he's he's loyal to his friend. 00:25:20.000 --> 00:25:32.480 He does the right thing during David's darkest hours, and he's got his back for sure all the way, and he sticks up for him when Saul completely loses his mind and goes off the deep end, right? 00:25:33.359 --> 00:25:38.960 Jonathan pushes through some extremely heavy challenges here and some dynamics. 00:25:39.119 --> 00:25:48.400 Imagine how awkward and you know, I'm not too sure what to do here, uh, some of those moments would have been for Jonathan, but he does that when David needs him most. 00:25:49.039 --> 00:26:04.480 Now, I wish I could stand here and say to you that if you simply commit to being more loyal by accepting Christ's love for you more deeply through the gospel and allowing that covenant love to drive you into deeper covenant love for others. 00:26:04.559 --> 00:26:12.000 Listen, I wish I could say that if you just did all of that, everything will just work itself out so much more smoothly, and it'll be nothing but roses here on out. 00:26:12.160 --> 00:26:17.279 Okay, but of course, you and I know that that's that's not reality. 00:26:17.440 --> 00:26:17.680 Right? 00:26:17.839 --> 00:26:21.680 And the Bible never promises easy street for us. 00:26:22.160 --> 00:26:31.200 You and I, we get thrust into situations all the time or or or often that that are extremely challenging sometimes. 00:26:32.400 --> 00:26:43.920 Loyalty sometimes requires getting into the middle of complicated and messy family drama, right? 00:26:44.000 --> 00:26:47.279 Like we see happening right here in this passage. 00:26:47.519 --> 00:26:53.279 Sometimes you gotta say something that's awkward, and I don't really know how to do that. 00:26:53.359 --> 00:27:14.319 Or sometimes loyalty requires that we have to say a hard word to the person that we want to be loyal to, because we we care more about their sanctification and their holiness, their relationship with God than we do about their, you know, their personal or worldly comfort. 00:27:14.480 --> 00:27:41.599 Sometimes loyalty means that we gotta stick up for somebody who's being mistreated, and it might be something at work, and there's some gonna be some kind of ramification for that, and maybe you don't end up getting the promotion that you wanted, or it's you become a social outcast because you've sided with this person who's being treated terribly, or maybe if for you it's just it's the challenge of having no clue how to respond in any given situation. 00:27:41.759 --> 00:27:43.039 That's that's the challenge. 00:27:43.200 --> 00:27:45.200 That's that's the difficulty. 00:27:45.359 --> 00:27:47.200 It's it's it's so difficulty. 00:27:47.440 --> 00:28:05.279 This this is just so murky, and and I don't know what to do, and I'm so stressed out about this, and I'm and I'm quite anxious about it, and it's requiring so much like mental and and emotional toil, and the gears are turning constantly, and it's sleepless nights, and and I don't really know what to do here. 00:28:05.359 --> 00:28:17.200 And and and you're trying to figure out though, how can I be as loyal as as possible to this person and handle this in a godly way and bring God the most glory as I possibly can. 00:28:18.079 --> 00:28:19.440 Those are just a couple of examples. 00:28:19.599 --> 00:28:25.920 Challenges are inevitable in these kinds of relationships as we seek to be loyal. 00:28:26.240 --> 00:28:44.400 But listen, the presence of challenges, it's not a reason to quit or or back down or give in to fear or justify inaction or be passive-aggressive or any of those types of types of routes that we tend to take because we're not bold. 00:28:44.720 --> 00:28:53.599 Rather, it's an opportunity to remind yourself again of Christ's loyalty and his commitment to you displayed in the gospel. 00:28:53.920 --> 00:28:58.079 It's an opportunity for deeper prayer, right? 00:28:58.400 --> 00:29:00.240 Deeper relying on the Spirit. 00:29:00.720 --> 00:29:02.640 Get down on your knees. 00:29:05.440 --> 00:29:07.119 Cry out to the Lord. 00:29:07.440 --> 00:29:13.119 Go on a walk, bring these things to him, ask people, godly people in your life for help. 00:29:14.160 --> 00:29:24.880 It's an opportunity for spirit-filled courage and and conviction as you as you push through the roadblocks and the challenges as they present themselves. 00:29:24.960 --> 00:29:27.200 It's an opportunity to be bold, right? 00:29:27.359 --> 00:29:30.319 Loyalty at times demands this. 00:29:31.920 --> 00:29:36.480 Man, as hard as all of that is, and I get it, trust me, I do. 00:29:36.960 --> 00:29:41.279 What an amazing occasion for God to come through, right? 00:29:41.759 --> 00:29:42.720 It really is. 00:29:43.200 --> 00:29:49.680 In you and through you for the good of somebody else, for the strengthening of your faith. 00:29:49.839 --> 00:29:55.200 Okay, listen, don't just see that the challenges in in the negative light. 00:29:55.519 --> 00:30:00.319 I mean, this is this is hard, and and now I've got to go have an awkward conversation with somebody. 00:30:00.559 --> 00:30:05.200 Or this is hard and I don't know what to do, so I'm gonna try and pass it on to somebody else. 00:30:05.359 --> 00:30:07.839 Don't just see it as hard and difficult. 00:30:08.000 --> 00:30:10.079 See it in the positive, too. 00:30:10.400 --> 00:30:13.680 It's a chance for you to grow closer to Christ. 00:30:14.559 --> 00:30:19.200 It's an opportunity for you for you to lean more uh harder on him. 00:30:20.240 --> 00:30:24.640 It's also an opportunity, a chance for the other person to learn and grow. 00:30:24.880 --> 00:30:28.799 And of course, for God to be glorified in all of this. 00:30:29.680 --> 00:30:41.200 The reason that God has you and I in these challenging situations in in any of our relationships is not just for us to be a hassle, it's to accomplish something in your heart. 00:30:41.440 --> 00:30:42.880 Do you realize that? 00:30:43.119 --> 00:30:45.119 So many times we want to push all of that away. 00:30:45.200 --> 00:30:48.400 It's the very thing that God is trying to do to transform us. 00:30:48.640 --> 00:30:53.440 It's the very thing that God is trying to do to strengthen our church. 00:30:53.759 --> 00:31:00.640 So many times we pray, God, do a great work in our church, Lord, strengthen our church, strengthen our smoker, but then problems come up, we want to bail. 00:31:01.440 --> 00:31:10.240 It's the very thing that God is using to bring glory to his name, to to grow you, to make you more like Jesus Christ, and do the same thing in the other person. 00:31:10.720 --> 00:31:13.200 Don't waste those opportunities because guess what? 00:31:13.440 --> 00:31:15.200 God will give you another one. 00:31:18.319 --> 00:31:27.839 All right, loyalty is engaging in covenant love of others while pushing through the inevitable challenges, despite the great personal cost to me. 00:31:28.319 --> 00:31:29.519 That's the last thing. 00:31:30.400 --> 00:31:38.079 I mean, we've been essentially barking up this tree the entire time, uh, all through this this morning, but uh you see it there. 00:31:38.160 --> 00:31:44.480 You can jump to chapter 20, uh, verse 30, and you'll definitely see it uh crystal clear. 00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:50.559 Okay, and again, I'll kind of provide, fill in some of the holes here in the story uh that's gone on. 00:31:50.799 --> 00:32:02.000 Saul has since uh gone back on his word and on his promise to not harm uh David, and he's thrown by my count, I see, uh spear number three at David. 00:32:02.160 --> 00:32:07.839 I mean, if there was like this is an Olympic year, javelin, I'm sure he's not making the Israeli Olympic team, right? 00:32:08.000 --> 00:32:08.880 Missed again. 00:32:09.039 --> 00:32:11.119 Okay, bad attempt at humor, I get it. 00:32:11.359 --> 00:32:16.480 Okay, so David, in all of this, he he flees town, right? 00:32:16.559 --> 00:32:19.519 He's like, Saul's off his rocker, right? 00:32:19.680 --> 00:32:21.119 Can't be trusted. 00:32:21.440 --> 00:32:23.680 His word means nothing. 00:32:24.000 --> 00:32:29.759 Uh my life is in danger here, so he flees with the the help of his wife. 00:32:29.920 --> 00:32:35.759 She actually uh helps him do this, and Saul takes off in hot pursuit. 00:32:35.839 --> 00:32:55.200 And so eventually, through all of this, David and Jonathan reconnect, and as the dust appears to settle, uh, in terms of the hot rage that Saul's got going on, um, the two of them, Jonathan and David, they they they hatch a plan to see, to test, is Saul, has Saul actually calmed down? 00:32:55.359 --> 00:33:06.319 Does he actually have my uh best intentions uh in mind here, or is he uh trying to trick me and get me close so that he can strike and toss a fourth spear or something? 00:33:06.400 --> 00:33:06.960 I don't know. 00:33:07.200 --> 00:33:08.720 This is what they're thinking. 00:33:09.039 --> 00:33:27.039 Now, after reaffirming the covenant bond uh between them, where Jonathan reassures David of his commitment and his love and his loyalty, that reminds me so much of how you and I, we question and doubt the commitment and loyalty of Jesus Christ towards us, don't we? 00:33:27.359 --> 00:33:30.079 We tend to want to run and we doubt it and we have fear. 00:33:30.319 --> 00:33:36.480 Well, David does the same thing with Jonathan, but Jonathan, as Christ does for us, reassures him of all of that. 00:33:36.720 --> 00:33:42.480 And so Jonathan, he goes back to Saul and he finds out that, yeah, for sure, Saul still wants David dead. 00:33:42.559 --> 00:33:46.799 And to make matters worse, on top of all of that, Saul is now furious with his son. 00:33:46.880 --> 00:33:51.680 He's furious with Jonathan for his friendship and the loyalty that he's shown to David. 00:33:51.920 --> 00:33:53.920 And so let's pick it up there with the conversation. 00:33:54.000 --> 00:33:57.279 This is how Saul responds to him in verse 30 to his son. 00:33:57.359 --> 00:34:02.799 He says, Then Saul, it says, Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan. 00:34:02.960 --> 00:34:13.679 And he said to him, You son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do I not know that you have chosen the son of Jesse to your own shame and to the shame of your mother's nakedness? 00:34:13.920 --> 00:34:21.599 And he says, For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, neither you nor your kingdom shall be established. 00:34:21.840 --> 00:34:26.000 Therefore, send and bring him to me, for ye shall surely die. 00:34:26.960 --> 00:34:31.679 Then Jonathan answered Saul's father, Why should he be put to death? 00:34:31.840 --> 00:34:33.119 What has he done? 00:34:33.440 --> 00:34:35.840 But Saul hurled his spear, what? 00:34:36.079 --> 00:34:38.719 Hurled his spear at him to strike him. 00:34:39.119 --> 00:34:44.559 Okay, so Jonathan knew, yeah, I guess, that his father was determined to put David to death. 00:34:44.800 --> 00:34:53.280 And Jonathan rose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month. 00:34:53.440 --> 00:35:00.960 For he was grieved, not for himself, notice this, but for David, because his father had disgraced him. 00:35:01.840 --> 00:35:10.159 And we see here that obviously Jonathan's loyalty to his friend David cost himself personally big time. 00:35:10.719 --> 00:35:16.239 It cost him the throne as the next king of Israel. 00:35:16.480 --> 00:35:25.599 Though we know earlier, of course, that he had given up uh that up willingly, but even if he hadn't, uh Saul, his father's saying, yeah, it's not happening. 00:35:25.840 --> 00:35:29.920 Okay, and now he loses, of course, the relationship uh with his father. 00:35:30.079 --> 00:35:33.679 He gets verbally just eviscerated here by him and cursed. 00:35:33.760 --> 00:35:35.760 I mean, just devastating words, right? 00:35:35.920 --> 00:35:41.920 Imagine the imagine the damage that this would have caused, any son from any father. 00:35:42.000 --> 00:35:43.280 This would have been devastating. 00:35:43.440 --> 00:35:49.920 And then you keep in mind again the fact that that you've got the king and and really the prince here and and what's happening. 00:35:50.000 --> 00:35:56.400 And you know, Saul, on top of all of it, he's so out of his mind that he tries to kill Jonathan in a fit of rage. 00:35:56.559 --> 00:36:04.079 I mean, a staggering amount of personal cost uh to Jonathan, okay, all because of loyalty. 00:36:05.760 --> 00:36:08.000 So we feel inspired or what? 00:36:08.480 --> 00:36:08.880 Right? 00:36:09.199 --> 00:36:10.880 Yay, loyalty. 00:36:11.119 --> 00:36:11.519 Right? 00:36:11.679 --> 00:36:13.519 Let's let's go for this. 00:36:14.000 --> 00:36:18.000 It kind of makes you wonder though, as you're thinking about this, like, is loyalty worth it? 00:36:18.079 --> 00:36:19.599 Look how much it costs this guy. 00:36:19.840 --> 00:36:21.679 What could it cost us? 00:36:22.000 --> 00:36:25.760 I mean, especially when you hear like how this story ends. 00:36:26.800 --> 00:36:31.679 We're left at this point, we're like kind of just hoping, like, come on, Lord, let's come through and bless Jonathan. 00:36:31.760 --> 00:36:33.679 He deserves it, he's been so great and all of this. 00:36:33.760 --> 00:36:36.000 You're hoping that he gets some kind of earthly blessing for his troubles. 00:36:36.239 --> 00:36:42.239 And you know, maybe there's some of that and we don't see it in the text, but but even if so, we don't ever, again, we don't hear about it. 00:36:42.559 --> 00:36:50.480 In fact, last we hear about him, he he dies in battle with with Saul and the rest of his brothers. 00:36:50.800 --> 00:36:53.199 We don't know a whole lot more than that. 00:36:53.440 --> 00:37:06.079 He kind of just has this brief moment in the scriptures here as this support cast hero of sorts, but but then over the next bunch of chapters, his narrative just ends, right? 00:37:06.320 --> 00:37:12.960 It goes silent, and then of course, it all finishes on a on a pretty depressing note, let's be honest. 00:37:13.760 --> 00:37:15.360 So, how do we handle this? 00:37:17.599 --> 00:37:19.519 What do we glean from it? 00:37:20.239 --> 00:37:30.000 As we look at loyalty, and we, you know, obviously the intention of our time together here today is like let's be loyal. 00:37:30.239 --> 00:37:30.559 Right? 00:37:30.800 --> 00:37:35.840 Let's allow that to mark the church, but this is kind of dark. 00:37:37.199 --> 00:37:48.400 In a world of Hollywood endings, and you know, the guy finally gets the girl and the rags to riches documentaries that we've all seen. 00:37:49.440 --> 00:37:58.800 The story of Jonathan is just such a stark reminder to you and I that we're not guaranteed any of that stuff. 00:37:59.920 --> 00:38:04.880 We don't obey God through our loyalty to others, right? 00:38:05.119 --> 00:38:06.559 That's it's obedience, right? 00:38:06.719 --> 00:38:17.519 But we we don't do that because we're trying to get fame and we're trying to get a bunch of good stuff or riches or glory or or any of the other good stuff that we might get in return. 00:38:18.400 --> 00:38:19.519 We do it for God's glory. 00:38:19.599 --> 00:38:22.400 We do it for the fame of his name and for the good of other people. 00:38:22.559 --> 00:38:30.320 We do it because our God is great and because he has called us to this, and we trust him with the results. 00:38:30.559 --> 00:38:32.079 That's it right there. 00:38:32.400 --> 00:38:40.400 Having this, having an eternal perspective that this life is not the be-all end all. 00:38:41.440 --> 00:38:45.599 That is quite a shift for many of us. 00:38:45.840 --> 00:38:46.159 Right? 00:38:46.320 --> 00:38:47.519 We want the blessing now. 00:38:47.599 --> 00:38:48.960