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All right, all right, all right, all right. Here we go. Let's read. This is how we know what love is. Jesus Christ laid down his life for us, and we are to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. Amen. Hallelujah. Old school love. Or new school situation. And I want to read one verse of our text, our main text this morning. And I want to encourage you to read all of the chapters, 2 Samuel chapter. Verse 1. I want to encourage you to read the whole chapter. But verse 1 pretty much captures the context for the entire story. And here's how it reads. David asks, is there anyone still left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan? I want to talk about now. This is love. This is love. How many of y'all know we live in a day that we're kind of confused about love? And please hear me today when we talk about the old school music, it wasn't too bad, was it? Had a nice funky sound to it, right? Alright, but when we talk about the old school music for a new school situation, we're not talking about returning to the old school ways of love in relationships. Hear me well. How many of y'all know we don't need to go back and do things the same way they've done in the past? That's not what we're trying to do. And when we talk about love, I'm talking about relationships as a whole. Not just love, not just romance or marriage or dating, but family. Friendships. As well as church and Christian relationships. What I mean here is that though we may not do relationships the way they did in the old school, there's still some good core values that undergird love throughout time. Think of it like this. Think of it like your laptop or your cell phone. These devices need updates and upgrades from time to time. Without the upgrades and the updates, we will not, those devices will not remain relevant and will not be able to deal with the malware and the context they need in terms of functioning as time passes. But the truth is, the device does not work unless it has a core operating system. As much as we need the upgrades and the updates, the device is useless without an operating system. So also too. Relationships from time to time need updates and upgrades. Tell your neighbor, that don't mean you need to get a trade in. Preach. But from time to time you need updates and upgrades. But that does not dismiss the importance of a core operating value system. Needs a value system, which is why Al Green's love and happiness is so appropriate here. Something make you do wrong. That's love. And then here's the line that gets me. Make you come home early. Don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about. And then make you stay out all night long? Make you do wrong, make you do right, make you come home early, make you stay out all night. Seem like a little bit confused, ain't it? How many of y'all know we need another operating system? Because a lot of times it seems like that's how love is today. It's one thing one particular way, but give it time, it'll change and become something else. And the reason why I gave us the meditation text today, because if people, as people of faith, we ought to be clear on what love is. And John would love to have a conversation with Brother Al and let him know now, this is what love is. It's not whether you come home early or stay out all night long, it's whether Jesus Christ has laid his life down for us. And that's the basis for how we ought to share love with one another. So here he defines it that the operating system of love is Christ and the example he's left for us. And when we operate out of that example, we experience the kinds of relationships that God desires for us. And we get a hint of this with David in 2 Samuel chapter 9. This is love. David, the undisputed king of Israel, early in his administration here, shows himself to be the unconventional statesman or politician. While most politicians are after taking office or trying to solidify their power by redrawing and redistricting the voting mass or getting the or gutting the voting rights act, David here honors God by demonstrating true political leadership. He shepherds God's people according to the integrity of his heart. And surrounded by his servants and his advisors, sitting on his terrace, overlooking his vast kingdom, he blurts out the unconventional question of a promising politician. Is there anybody in House of Saul that I can show Heset for Jonathan's sake? I love that. Kindness. The Hebrew word is hesit. That word hesit, it is a word that is used of God's unconditional love for his people. It's a word about God's unwavering love for his people, even though sometimes, as his people, we may waver. It's a word about God's faithfulness and his loyalty to us, even though we're not always as loyal as we ought to be. I wish I had a witness right there. God remains in Hesse, even when sometimes we step outside of Hesse. And if you read through the Bible, that's the sense of how God relates with his people. Speaks of his love for his people. Matter of fact, a phrase you'll see from Genesis to Malachi is where God would say, I will be your God and you will be my people. And now we're clear that that phrase was kind of reminiscent as to how folk would share their love for one another. I don't know how we do it today, but when I was come along, if I wanted my wife to know I loved her, I just said, baby, I love you. And I still do that, baby. I love you. She'll say, Well, baby, I love you too. So I'm not sure how they do it today, but but in that day, that's not what they said. It said, I will be yours and you will be mine. And so God here, when He makes this statement, He's making an unequivocal statement that I belong to you for all time. And I'm sharing my love with you because I love you. I'm committed to you. I'm here to protect you, I'm here for your good. I'm here to build into you everything that I believe that you can become. And so, in a word, here's my thesis statement as we get into this word. Love that is real, or love that is love always flows through us and not just to us. Love that is truly love is love that flows through us and not just to us. If you really experience the kind of love that God wants us to experience, it will not start with us. We are not the target of love. No, we are the conduit of love. I recently saw a picture of this at a graduation here in Texas, actually, in Arlington. Principal of that school. Been principal there for years. And every year, he writes a handwritten note to every graduating senior to encourage them, to let them know how proud he is of them, and how he believes in their destiny. 496 students every year. He writes a handwritten letter. He he wants to give them a personal touch. See, that's love right there. That's how I know God loves me. I know in one says God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son. But I wish I had a witness. I've been through some stuff in my personal life. I've had some difficulties in my life, I've had some sicknesses, and though I can't explain it, it was a personal touch of God's love in my life that I'm even standing here today. God can love me in a universal way, but how many of y'all know God has a personal touch when it comes to his love? That's what that principal was trying to do. He's trying to give a personal touch for every single student with his care as a principal. But on the day that they graduate and he gives them their diploma, they turn around and surprise him. All 496 students gave him a letter letting him know how much they appreciate him. So love didn't stop with the students, but it reciprocated and came back to the principal. In other words, hear me today. Love is never meant to be a one-way street or a one-way road. If you pour into something, something ought to come back your way. Y'all don't hear me today. Something ought to come back your way. That's what happened in our relationship with Jesus Christ. He pours into us so that something can return back to him. That's why we praise him this morning. We're praising him because we know what he's done. Anyone know that God's been good to you? Has he ever made a way for you? Did he ever save you? Does he walk with you in darkness? That's a response to God's love. And love that is real always flows through us and doesn't stop with us. It's not a one-way street. And too many Christians believe that God's supposed to do 100% of the love while we do zero. And I don't know about you, that's foolishness. God's like, wait a minute. If my love lands with you, it's so real, it's so personal. You can't sit still and not do something with the love that I pour in your life. You gotta pour something back, at least with a thank you, at least with a hallelujah, at least with trying to help somebody, at least with a good attitude, at least with something that says, I care about you. That's love. And that's what David communicates. Let me run through this so we can get out of here. How does that work? A few things very quickly. Number one, we understand here then, just at the basic level, that love is a mutual agreement. Love is a mutual agreement between two individuals or a group. It's a mutual agreement. The technical phrase here for a mutual agreement is the word covenant. And that's what David is trying to honor here. When David asked the question, is there anyone left of the house of Saul to whom I can show kindness for Jonathan's sake? He's honoring a covenant he had made with Jonathan. While Jonathan was alive, he made a promise to him that I will take care of your family no matter what happens to you. Jonathan dies, and David ascends to the throne and becomes the king of Israel. And he does not forget his promise, the covenant he made with Jonathan. That's how God relates with us. When we mess up and we're in our mess, aren't you glad God doesn't forget the covenant he's made in Christ Jesus? He stays with us. Alright, but let me put some framing on this thing so it makes sense. Understand when David becomes king, it comes on the heels after Saul's administration. And the way the kings flowed in that era is you kill all of your political opponents. No such thing as reaching across the aisle. No, you reach across the aisle to execute whatever is across the aisle. And so you didn't just kill the brother or the person, you killed family, you killed children, you killed uh grandchildren. Why? Because you're trying to solidify your power. David doesn't do that because he's a shepherd. He cares for people. So instead of trying to kill the son of Jonathan, a man by the name of Mephibosheth, which is in chapter 9, he reaches out to him and lets him know I'm not trying to kill you. I made a promise to your daddy. I'm gonna bless you. I know what all the other kings do, they take this as a political opportunity to assassinate their opponents. I'm not gonna do that because I know the God that I serve is the one that put me in this position. If it had not been for God on my side, I would have been assassinated. So I'm gonna do the right thing, and I am going to bless you. I'm gonna give you your dad's land, and more than anything, you're gonna sit at my table. That's a covenant. It's a mutual agreement between two parties. Now, let me say this. We have to understand a covenant is not a contract. Let me say it again. Covenant is not a contract. A contract is only concerned with the legal benefits as a result of the agreement between two parties. That's a contract. Make a contract with your cell phone provider. They say as long as you pay the money, we'll give you cell phone coverage. But the moment you miss a payment, some of y'all act like you know what I'm talking about. I'm yanking your coverage. That's a contract. In other words, in a contract, whether it's ATT or Sprint, they really don't care about me. All they care about is the benefit I can provide them financially. That's not how a covenant operates. Covenant says, regardless of the benefits I ought to get, first and foremost, I care about you. And I've committed myself to invest in you for the long haul. That's what it means to be in relationship with Jesus Christ. It's not where you sit down and have a cup of coffee, no. It's a word about Jesus saying, I've made a commitment to you, even though I may not get what I deserve out of you. I'm gonna commit myself to invest my Holy Ghost, invest my promise. I'm gonna give you spiritual gifts, I'm gonna walk with you in this life, I'm gonna make your path straight, even though I already know I'm not gonna get everything I'm gonna get from your life. Why? Because one day I hope you'll reciprocate and understand you ought to love me not for what I can just do for you. But just for who I am. And the problem today is we get caught up in the contract element of our relationship with God. And God's like, don't you know I'm with you, and I ain't getting nothing out of this. That's a mutual agreement. It's what he commits to us for who we are. And a lot of times, a lot of times we make the mistake, well, if I can find the right person, no, you know what, you know what the issue is in relationship? You gotta be the right person. You have to be the right person that God calls you to be, and you bring to the table what God expects you to do, and you trust God to make the difference. That's why it's gotta be a mutual agreement. Oh my God. And so, David here, David here, he goes into this relationship. Uh, he has this relationship with Jonathan, and he says, Look, uh, I'm gonna, I'm gonna be, I'm gonna commit myself to do what I promise to do because I care about you. Whether or not I get the benefits I deserve. And so let me just say it like this. God says this in our relationship with Him. Before you even come talk to me, before you share all your different issues and all that you're going through. Enter my gates with thanksgiving and my courts with praise. In other words, watch this. There's a certain way you gotta approach me. Because this is a mutual, mutually agreeable relationship. You can't approach me any kind of way. But approach me in a way, watch this, that respects who I am. Whether you get out of me what you need, give me my respect first. Watch this. And if God expects us to do that with him, how many of y'all know with one another? There's a certain way we have to learn to talk to one another. I'm not asking you to give thanks for me or praise me, but at least when you talk to me, say, Pastor, I'm gonna start out positive and say how much I appreciate you before I say what I really want to say. Let me get this thing moving. Y'all messing with me. Number two, mutual service, mutual agreement, mutual service. I'll get more into this in the series about mutual agreement. But it's agreeable based on who you are. Number two, mutual service. And here David puts himself in a position of service to Mephibosh. It's the first. Many times when a king becomes king, everybody serves him. But here David says, I'm gonna serve you. I'm gonna have you sit at my table. And that's what he does. Verses five through eight. Mephibosh is lame. Lame in both his feet. Don't have time to chase that. Anyway, another way to say, he comes with baggage. This relationship comes with baggage. Preach, Archery. And yet David says, I'm gonna serve you for your ultimate good. Submission or service is not about somebody being able to put their foot on your neck. It's not about being a doormat. Matter of fact, if you have time, read chapter 10. Because in chapter 10, David wants to show Hesed to somebody on the outside of Israel. They didn't appreciate it and they felt they could pip David, and David said, Oh no, to the no-no. And there was a side of him that came out. Hear me well, don't mess with me. There's a side of me that you don't want to see. And that's with anybody. But my point is, God does not call us to be a doormatic. Which means that's why you need the mutual agreement to be clear on who each one is so that we can connect in a way that benefits both parties. And then when we serve each other, hear me, I serve you for your ultimate good. That's why Jesus would say, I didn't come to be served, but what? Served. Give my life as what? A ransom for many. He could have made it about himself, but he made it about others. Why? Because he knew that if he went to a cross, it would elevate other people. So he gave himself to one another. David says he prepares a table before me in the presence of my enemies. He anoints my head with oil, my cup runs over. Hear the passage, hear the passage. It is Yahweh in the passage that is serving him. God here in this psalm in the 23rd Psalm is giving us a picture of his nature. I'm serving David that he might be his best because he honors me. Because he serves me. And thus the love is reciprocated in this relationship. Great quote. The health of love is measured by the positive service in that relationship. How are we serving one another? I saw an example of this. Read one story of a Christian principal. He was a principal of a school and a teacher came to his office and she was frustrated, angry, came in and said, Mr. Principal, the bathroom is never clean right. It's always a mess. Can't believe we're a Christian school and we have bathrooms that look as nasty as they do in this school. Principal said, I promise you we will take care of that problem. He said, But you gotta understand our budget has been tight, and we have not been able to hire the staff to do that kind of work, but I promise you we're gonna take care of it. Where he had been cleaning the bathrooms himself. Teacher felt guilty. Oh, Mr. Prussol, I didn't know you were gonna do all that. Why would you do that? And here's what he said. I just felt, since God had already cleaned up my mess, it ain't asking too much to clean up this mess at this school. And the moment you say you can't put up with somebody else's mess, preach all trades, don't forget the mess that God continues to clean up in your own life. Let me keep moving. Mutual loyalty. In this text, my last thought, mutual loyalty. In this text, Mephibosheth actually becomes someone who is loyal to David, which was unheard of in that era. Matter of fact, later on in the story of David, David's gonna be run out of his kingdom. And while he's out of his kingdom, many believe that Mephibosheth has an opportunity to bring the house of Saul back into power. But Mephibosheth refuses to do it because of this act of loyalty. And so a covenant shows loyalty to one another. I'm gonna be loyal to you no matter what. I'm gonna be available to you no matter what. I'm gonna be there and be committed to you. Why? Because it's not about the benefit, it's the person that I'm loyal to. And so let me close with this and I'm done. Here it is, here it is. And so they tell me that the Kenyans, the runners from Kenya, that there's a reason why they're so successful when they run marathons. When I was a kid watching marathons, I didn't see anybody look like me running marathons. All of a sudden the Kenyans got in the in the marathon. That's all you see now. And they just dominate the marathon race. Well, well, somebody did an expose and went to the country of Kenya and wanted to figure out how is it that y'all dominate marathon running? The first thing they discovered is that there's a certain portion in the country of Kenya that is elevated in such a way and flat, elevated and flat, that the very atmosphere is conducive for running. In other words, it's not too low and it's not too high. And it's the perfect environment in which long distance runners can train themselves, get their lungs strong enough to handle a 26-mile race. That's the first thing. But then the second thing, and probably the key is is this when they teach long distance running, they never do it solo. That when they train their runners, they train them in groups. I like that. So no, we we don't run solo. That's what y'all do in America and different places. He said, No, whenever we run, we always run in groups. And he said, there's a reason for that. He said, because if you're running 26 miles, you're gonna experience pain. You're gonna want to quit. And so what we teach our runners to do is that we teach them if you can just get the rhythm of running. And if you're running in rhythm, and then you learn to enjoy the rhythm together and get a little check together, you'll forget about the pain. So that when somebody's running in that group and they start cramping and they're feeling a little pain, they remind them, stay with the rhythm, brother. Keep on running. Because if you enjoy the rhythm, guess what? You'll get through the pain. Not only will you get through the pain, you'll forget the pain. That's all I'm saying about love. When we learn to run together and get the rhythm of God spirit in the relationship, we'll learn to enjoy the relationship and we'll forget the pain. We'll forget the hunt. We'll forget the betrayal. Because now we're learning to trust God and run with the right rhythm. Now this is love. This is love. This is love. And we're gonna spend some time making sure we understand this whole love thing in a way that honors God, in a way that honors his word. Come on, let's bow for a word of prayer. Father, we bless you and thank you again for your word. We thank you again for this thing called love. And though many times we don't get it right, we thank you that you've given us the example, the model, the standard by which we can get it right. First and foremost, Lord, we need to be right with you. We need to experience love for you there. Lord, you're really not after what we have, you're just after us. And as you invest in us, Lord, we will learn to reciprocate and invest in you. May that be the baseline, Lord. We can enjoy the rhythm of love. The pace that you've set since you came to this earth. We thank you, we love you, and we trust you in Jesus' name. And everybody say it Amen, Amen, Amen. Let's prepare our hearts for you.