Please turn in your Bibles with me to 1 Samuel chapter 20. First Samuel 20, we have to read the whole chapter. It's a little lengthy, but it's important because the events are, or you can even say event is connected together. And to get the whole picture of what's going on here, we need to read the whole section here. Beginning in verse one, then David fled from Nioph in Ramah and went and said to Jonathan, what have I done? What is my iniquity and what is my sin before your father that he seeks my life? So Jonathan said to him, by no means, you shall not die. Indeed, my father will do nothing either great or small without first telling me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. And David took an oath again and said, Your father certainly knows that I have found favor in your eyes. And he has said, Do not let Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the Lord lives and as your soul lives, there is but a step between me and death. So Jonathan said to David, Whatever you yourself desire, I will do it for you. And David said to Jonathan, Indeed, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king to eat. But let me go, that I may hide in the field until the third day at evening. If your father misses me at all, then say, David earnestly asked permission of me that he might run over to Bethlehem, his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he says thus, it is well, your servant will be safe. But if he is very angry, be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore, you shall deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. Nevertheless, if there is iniquity in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father? But Jonathan said, Far be it from you! For if I knew certainly that evil was determined by my father to come upon you, then would I not tell you? Then David said to Jonathan, Who will tell me, or what if your father answers you roughly? And Jonathan said to David, Come, let us go out into the field. So both of them went out into the field. Then Jonathan said to David, The Lord God of Israel is witness. When I have sounded out my father sometime tomorrow, or the third day, and indeed there is good toward David, and I do not send to you and tell you, may the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan. But if it pleases my father to do you evil, then I will report it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. And the Lord be with you as he has been with my father. And you shall not only show me the kindness of the Lord while I still live, that I may not die, but you shall not cut off your kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord has cut off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord require it at the hand of David's enemies. Now Jonathan again caused David to vow because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon, and you will be missed, because your seat will be empty. And when you have stayed three days, go down quickly and come to the place where you hid on the day of the deed, and remain by the stone Esau. Then I will shoot three arrows to the side, as though I shot at a target. And there I will send the lad, saying, Go, find the arrows. If I expressly say to the lad, Look, the arrows are on this side of you, get them and come. Then as the Lord lives, there is safety for you and no harm. But if I say thus to the young man, look, the arrows are beyond you, go your way, for the Lord has sent you away. And as for the matter which you and I have spoken of, indeed, the Lord be between you and me forever. Then David hid in the field, and when the new moon had come, the king sat down to eat the feast. Now the king sat on his seat, as at other times, on a seat by the wall, and Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, but David's place was empty. Nevertheless, Saul did not say anything that day, for he thought, something has happened to him, he is unclean, surely he is unclean. And it happened the next day, the second day of the month, that David's place was empty. And Saul said to Jonathan his son, Why has the son of Jesse not come to eat, either yesterday or today? So Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem. And he said, Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in this city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers. Therefore he has not come to the king's table. Then Saul's anger was aroused against Jonathan, 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? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul, his father, and said to him, Why? Why should he be killed? What has he done? Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had treated him shamefully. So it was in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David and a little lad was with him Then he said to his lad now run find the arrows which I shoot as the lad ran. He had shot an arrow beyond him When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, Is not the arrow beyond you? And Jonathan cried out after the lad, Make haste, hurry, do not delay. So Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. But the lad did not know anything. Only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad, and said to him, Go, carry them to the city. As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another, and they wept together, but David more so. Then Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, May the Lord be between you and me, and between your descendants and my descendants forever. So he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. Let's pray. Father, as we look at this text this morning and in a few weeks when we come back to it, we pray, Lord, that You would be pleased to minister to our hearts, open up the hearts of these men to us, reveal Your truth to us, what we are meant to see from this and to apply to us today. We thank You for Your Word. We thank You for the way that these truths illustrate many biblical principles to us in a very pictorial way. And we ask, Lord, that You would forgive us for our sins, that You'd be gracious to us and bless our time together now. We pray in Christ's name, Amen. Well, David is on the run, as we've seen last time. He is a righteous fugitive whom Saul, the king, is trying to murder. And we find God continuing though to protect and preserve David the whole time through various providential means. Last time God had intervened, in fact, in a most direct way by bringing King Saul and his messengers into a prophetic trance of some sort by the power of the Holy Spirit. Saul wound up prophesying the whole day, laying before Samuel, on the ground, on his face, stripped of his outer garments while David was given the chance to escape once again. And our text for this morning brings us then to the next part of David's journey as a fugitive where he seeks aid once again from Jonathan, the king's son. You might recall that on a previous occasion, Jonathan was able to reason with his father on behalf of David, one of the only people, in fact, the only person who actually was able to get through in some way to Saul and restore David to favor with Saul for a time at least. He was able to do that. And maybe David had hoped that something like that could happen again. Well, as we consider the events that take place here, brethren, in chapter 20, I want us to begin this morning by focusing primarily on the heart of Jonathan. Once again, I believe that we will find very helpful practical and biblical principles taken from the heart and actions of this beloved friend of David. And then Lord willing, brethren, next time when we continue on with this passage, next week we will have a message more geared toward the Christmas holiday, but following that week we will come back to this passage and draw other important principles from the text as well, especially concerning the very specific details given herein. Well, let's look at the events then that transpire here. We're told here that David flees from Nioph and he runs to where Jonathan is. Certainly, he is full of confusion, to say the least, as he was under the impression that all would be well. The last time that he spoke to Jonathan, David was restored to King Saul, and he thought everything was well. A time of great joy and thanksgiving to the Lord, certainly, for David. But things have changed again. And since then, we know that David has done absolutely nothing wrong. He's obeyed the king. He has honored God and been faithful to God. But things have only gotten worse now. Now he is on the run. He is a fugitive. Understandably bewildered, David begins then by questioning Jonathan. He says to him, what have I done? What is my sin and my wrong which has led your father to pursue my life? I don't get this, Jonathan. He's even pursuing me to the point where I'm not even a threat to him. I'm not even present with him. I've run away to another land or another area, another city, and he's pursuing me even there. Why is he doing this? Well then Jonathan, we find, responds and he seems to be a bit bewildered himself because this time he himself has not even been made aware of all that is going on. He is ignorant of what is going on. He doesn't know. He doesn't even realize what is taking place. And so in essence he says, David, this can't be true. There's no way that my father could be doing this. He would not do anything, big or small, without telling me first. He always comes to me. He always seeks my counsel, my advice. I'm one of the first people he comes to. Why would he hide this from me when he trusts me? At least, so Jonathan thought. But he is about to find out that his faithfulness to David, his righteous acts on behalf of David, are actually beginning to drive a wedge between him and his father. Well, David then wisely responds to Jonathan's bewilderment. Jonathan, don't you see? Your father realizes that I have found favor in your eyes. He knows. You spoke to him last time. He knows the relationship that we have. He knows that you are a threat to his concealed darkness. You are a light, in a sense, to the truth. And so he has kept back from telling you of his ill intentions anymore. Perhaps he doesn't want to upset you. Whatever the case, you have to believe me. Your father is hunting me down. I tell you, Jonathan, there is literally but one step between me and death. In fact, I've only narrowly escaped from my life a few times already. Well, convinced now of what David is saying. First, Jonathan again was like, David, you know what, this can't be. But now, recognizing that what David is saying is true, Jonathan responds and says, in essence, look, David, tell me whatever you want me to do. You tell me what you want me to do. In whatever way I can help you, I am here, I'm here for you. What's the best way that I can help you in this situation? And then David comes up with this plan, which would in fact test the heart of Saul before Jonathan. Jonathan would be able to see for himself as well what's going on. And also it would determine if Saul's desire is indeed still to pursue David and to kill him. Maybe he is, we've seen in the past, his fury has at times has been alleviated and David was restored in some sense, or at least he would not pursue him. So he wants to see what Saul's state is now. Perhaps the king will once again have a change of heart, especially after hearing the voice of reason coming from his son, Jonathan. And so here is the plan. The festival of the new moon was to start. This is a Jewish festival each month that they had celebrated, and it would start the next day. And usually, in fact, it was required that David would have to sit at the king's table and partake in this special feast with those who ate at the table which included Jonathan and Abner who was a commander of Saul's army and other high officials and so on who were there they would eat and they would celebrate this new moon for a few days and eat and feast and so on and David was expected to be there now one might say why would Saul expect him to be there when he had run from him already but apparently it was so important that he would realize that David would not miss this feast Well, Jonathan would observe the king to see how he responds to David's absence. David would not be there this time, and Jonathan would observe and see how the king responds to his absence. David would be in hiding for three days. He'd be out in this field near this rock in this area where Jonathan and him were familiar with from the past, and he would wait in the field to hear from Jonathan concerning the king's response to David's absence. Should the king ask Jonathan where David was? Jonathan was to tell the king that David had asked for permission to go to Bethlehem. David had said to Jonathan to tell him that my family yearly has this special sacrifice where we sacrifice as a family together and I'm asking for him to be forgiven or to be able to be absented from this special feast with the king this one time. And Jonathan granted that request. He would tell his father that he allowed David to go and to perform this sacrifice. Well, the king's response at that moment would indicate whether or not David would be welcomed back again. How he responds to Jonathan allowing David to go back to Bethlehem would tell a lot about where his heart is and so Jonathan would find that information out and then he would go out into the field where David was on the third day and he would send a signal to David involving the shooting of arrows he would tell this young lad who would go and chase it, isn't it wonderful to have these young children go and chase your arrows for you well Jonathan would shoot these arrows and if he shot him in one direction he would tell the lad to go and to get them over there to decide, and then David would know that everything is well. But if he shot the arrows beyond a certain destination, he would yell out to the lad to go, the arrows are beyond there, and David would know that he has to leave, and that Saul intends to do him harm. And so, we find that what happens then on the first evening of this feast, David is not present, but the king remains silent. He is quiet. He does not ask Jonathan anything at this time. But we're told that the reason why the king did not say anything, at least on that first night, was because he thought that David had become unclean somehow. If someone had become unclean, they were not able to attend this feast. They had to go and perform the rituals of purification according to the Levitical laws. So Saul said, certainly David is probably unclean and he's not able to be here, so he'll be here tomorrow. Well, On the second day of the feast, Saul begins to realize that something is wrong as David's seat remains empty a second time. Now he knows, okay? The first night it may have been that he was unclean, but here he's not here again. Something is wrong. And so he looks over to Jonathan. And he says to him, why has the son of Jesse not come to eat either yesterday or today? So he's looking for some answers and he figures Jonathan may have the answers to those questions for him. And brethren, here the moment of truth has finally arrived for Jonathan to determine what is in his father's heart. Because now the question is asked. Look at verses 28 and 29 in fact. where he gives his father the excuse that David had told him to use. So Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked permission of me to go to Bethlehem, and he said, Please let me go, for our family has a sacrifice in the city, and my brother has commanded me to be there. And now if I have found favor in your eyes, please let me get away and see my brothers. Therefore he has not come to the king's table. And so Jonathan lays down the excuse, And then the telltale sign of Saul's fury is let loose. Look at verses 30 to 32 as we see the heart of Saul exposed in a great way here to Jonathan. Then Saul's anger was aroused against Jonathan. 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? For as long as the son of Jesse lives on the earth, you shall not be established, nor your kingdom. Now therefore send and bring him to me, for he shall surely die." So Jonathan sees the wrath of his own father here begin to come out. he calls him in what modern-day language might involve a different term than a son of a perverse woman but it was very offensive and hurtful and really was a it really was an embarrassment it was a shaming to Jonathan what his father had said to him in front of these other commanders Well, brethren, needless to say, as you follow these texts on, and we'll see in a moment when Jonathan wound up having to dodge a spear with his own name written on it, a spear that was thrown at him as his father tried to kill him, he knew that his father's intent was to murder David. He knew that his father was very angry with David and wanted to kill him. And so, Jonathan is now enraged himself, and he angrily gets up from the table. He does not eat that meal. And we're told, though, and I thought this was wonderful to expose the heart of Jonathan, that in all that just took place, the embarrassment, the shame that his father had done in trying to kill him, that he was especially grieved for David. Look at verses 33 and 34, brethren. Well, let's go 32 into 34. So Saul tells him to bring him to me, and he'll surely die. You know, he's a threat to your own kingdom, Jonathan, verse 32. And Jonathan answered Saul, his father, and said to him, but why should he be killed? What has he done? Then Saul cast a spear at him to kill him, by which Jonathan knew that it was determined by his father to kill David. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger and ate no food the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David. because his father had treated him, had treated Jonathan, so shamefully. See, by the way that Saul had grossly mistreated and shamed his firstborn son, who was merely trying to defend a righteous man, trying to bring his father to the place of reason because David had done nothing wrong, Jonathan knew by the way his father had treated him in response, that he was well over the cliff in his rage and madness. Saul's wicked intentions toward David were so strong that he would publicly shame his own son Jonathan as an expression of this evil. And brethren, I think by way of a small application we can say here, whatever ill motives lay in the resources of the heart, when we have bitterness in our hearts and ill motives toward other people for whatever reason, jealousy or envy or some kind of anger toward someone that is not dealt with, they have a way of uncontrollably coming out when they are tampered with, don't they? they have a way of coming out. In fact, the Apostle James tells us in his short epistle, he says that an evil root of bitterness, beware of an evil root of bitterness because eventually it will spring up and defile many. When you harbor bitterness, when you harbor envy and jealousy toward others and you think you can control that, he says beware, it will spring up and at some point it will cause devastation, it will cause conflict and problem and brethren while this event that had taken place at the table there certainly hurt can you imagine this certainly hurt and wounded Jonathan's own heart make no mistake Jonathan was angry here but he was hurt by what his father had done to see your dad who in this case happens to be the king treat you the well-respected firstborn son of the king Jonathan was the most well-respected person to Saul. Remember he was the only one given power over an entire army there. His father had power over an army and Jonathan as well originally. Jonathan had armor and so on. His father respected him, loved him in great ways, wanted him to reign in succession to his own reign. To see this happened from Jonathan's perspective would indeed tear the heart to pieces. Yet, Jonathan, we're told, was all the more especially grieved because of what this meant for David. Jonathan was so caught up, more so, in how his father's shaming of him, what that meant for David. That grieved him all the more. You see, brethren, we see something, another pattern here. The same pattern we've seen in Jonathan before. And we'll see this again in the few chapters ahead. We see this consistent pattern in Jonathan. The antithesis of his father in so many ways. The outward focused brother in Christ who was more concerned for David than he was for himself. This is a pattern that has been and will continue to be consistent with his godly character. Brethren, when you look at Jonathan, you can't help but see that. And I think it's something as Christians that we ought to covet in a sense, to have such a heart as that. Because I know my temptation would be to look and concentrate only on what my own father had done to me. But he was grieved more so for David. Well, brethren, needless to say, in the morning, Jonathan goes out into the field, and he wants to send David this warning signal, and he does it, in fact, in a way that is even more urgent. The terms that he uses when he speaks, in essence, he's saying, David, not only do you have to flee, but you need to hightail it. You need to get out of here right away. My father is furious, and this leads to a tearful farewell between these two beloved friends. Look at verses 35 and following again in the closing out of this chapter. And so it was in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field, at the time appointed with David, and a little lad was with him. Then he said to his lad, Now run, find the arrows which I shoot. As the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. When the lad had come to the place where the arrow was which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried out after the lad and said, Is not the arrow beyond you? And Jonathan cried out after the lad, Make haste, hurry, do not delay. Which was an indication to David, wasn't it? So Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows and came back to his master. But the lad did not know anything, only Jonathan and David knew of the matter. Then Jonathan gave his weapons to his lad and said to him, Go, carry them to the city. As soon as the lad had gone, David arose from a place toward the south, fell on his face to the ground, and bowed down three times. And they kissed one another, and they wept together, but David more so. Then Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, since we have both sworn in the name of the Lord, saying, May the Lord be between you and me and between your descendants and my descendants forever. So he arose and departed. And Jonathan went into the city. Well, brethren, there is much to be said about what has transpired here, and I hope to continue with this text next time, Lord willing, for this purpose. But for today, I want to hone in on a critical principle taken from the heart of Jonathan. We're gonna spend more time with David next time, maybe with Saul, but I want to just pull them out of the picture somewhat, other than the fact that they're written contextually, of course, but I want to focus on Jonathan. I want us to stop, and I want you to place yourself in Jonathan's shoes here for a few moments, and I want you to appreciate his own circumstances for a few moments as we get to the bottom of a critical gospel principle here. If you are Jonathan now, what types of thoughts might be going through your mind here? And what manner of sorrow might be welling up in your heart as you strive to make the right decision concerning your friend, your beloved friend David, whom you know is destined to take the throne, which normally you would have been entitled to sit upon in the future. This is a friend, indeed, you love him, but he's gonna take the throne that by every outward circumstance, by the way that kings generally function, would have belonged to Jonathan after his father had left the throne himself. Isn't it true, brethren, think about this, that even close friends, even good friends part and become enemies when power and money are at stake? Isn't that the truth? I can say of myself, now maybe you examine your own heart, that there are times when I could see someone advancing, and I'm speaking from a Christian standpoint. I'm not talking about before I was saved. I'm saying as a Christian, I see people get something, certain things, or they advance in their career in some way, or they're successful in some way, and I have to struggle with bitter envy and jealousy. I find these things beginning to rise in my own heart. with people who love the Lord, godly people who are doing nothing wrong, who God is prospering. I find myself struggling at times with these kinds of thoughts and emotions. David, the shepherd boy, the shepherd boy, the mangy boy who took care of sheep, is presumed to be Jonathan's king in the future, though Jonathan is currently the firstborn prince. Now that's a lot more at stake than any circumstance I've ever faced in comparing myself to a friend or someone who is advanced in some way. We're talking about far more than David purchasing a nice computer or a nicer car, if we can bring it into modern language, or a nicer house here. We're talking about Jonathan being willing to bow to the authority and kingship of David, though Jonathan would have been, again, would have been the one that naturally would have been entitled to that throne, brethren. Let's bring our current context here into the equation, though, as a whole. That's just one aspect of it. With what happens here, let's bring the whole context into this equation with Jonathan thinking about David and so on, and see where this really takes us, and then reveal something profoundly glorious about the heart of Jonathan. What are some of Jonathan's thoughts along the way here in chapter 20? If we could create some thought life based upon what he's seen going on and observing. What are some of his thoughts perhaps? First, he might be thinking earlier on in the chapter, my father has always confided in me about everything. Don't you love it when people trust you? Don't you love it when you have somebody who especially is close to you? Children, one of the greatest feelings as a child is to have a father who confides in you, a mother who confides in you, who talks to you, who loves you, who can trust you. And likewise, as a parent, to have a child who confides in you. It's a great feeling. It's a wonderful thing. Jonathan could say originally my father is always confided in me about everything. I was his most respected soldier I was heir to the throne the one to whom he always came for advice concerning Even the so-called little things he tells David my father wouldn't even pass me by over the little things let alone this kind of major event and And yet now I take a stand for David, because David is in fact innocent here, and my father has distanced himself from me concerning what he is presently doing." There's a break in that trust somewhere between Jonathan's father and himself that was not there before. That's got to be pretty painful for Jonathan. How could he do this, he might say. How could my own father snuff me in this regard? He's probably whispering around with some of his other gods. He sent messengers to take David, but he's bypassing me. What does this say about his love and respect for me now? Well, I suppose best case scenario is that David is right and maybe my father is is only, doesn't want to grieve me. He knows my respect and love for David and he's trying to protect me. Best case scenario. Of course, as we go on, we see that that was not the case. Saul was not thinking about Jonathan at all in a positive sense, but we could have wishful thinking at this point in the mind of Jonathan. Secondly, another thought that Jonathan might be having, I know and accept that David is going to be the next king and not me. We already see that in this chapter. Jonathan is seeing that by the language that he's using when he makes a covenant with David. Only protect my family, David. Assure me that you will not come after me or my family. We will have this respect between us when you get to that position. And may the Lord do to your enemies as he's done for my father. What's the assumption? He knows right now that David is going to be the king. And so he says, in essence, in his mind, I know and accept that David is going to be the next king and not me. And I'm very happy for him. He deserves it. God is with him. God has made his will known. He has chosen David and not Jonathan. I will do whatever I can on my part to serve and help David get there in accordance with God's revealed will. I will risk my own life and even jeopardize my relationship with my father to do what I know to be right, though I love my father and treasure his love and respect toward me. I will make a covenant with David, both to assure him that I support him to this end, I will stand against my father and protect David, and also to ensure that David is willing to maintain kindness toward my house when he does reign." And we see that, these implications in verses 11 through 17 by that covenant that takes place between Jonathan and David. That's a second thought that we see there, perhaps going on maybe a little differently, but in Jonathan's mind that we can appreciate. Thirdly, in light of what happens at the feast. My father used to respect me. I was the son of whom he was so proud. Everyone in the kingdom knew this by the office that Jonathan had been given, by the way that Saul had elevated him. But now that is all changed. He has shamed me in front of Abner. who was a commander in the army, and later on we'll see Abner plays a predominant role for a brief time before Joab kills him, but he is the commander of Saul's army. In fact, you wonder sometimes if the break in Saul and his son's relationship, which is there in some sense, doesn't cause him to elevate Abner a little more. We don't know for sure, but in front of Abner and the others who were present, the officials who were there, calling me the son of a perverse woman. And brethren, when he says that, I want you to understand something. When we think of that, it's not like he's just using, when we say things in our day and age, or we might sadly, in our anger, curse or say something offensive, we say, oh, what's the big deal? When you said this, in the Jewish sense, when you use this kind of term, it really was a deep insult. It really was serious. It wasn't just a slip of the tongue. It was something that you said that was really harmful and shameful to the person. And then he tells me that David is an obstacle to my potential future reign, ordering me to go and get David so that he could be killed. And when I seek to merely ask my father what David has done wrong, that's all I did, I just said, well, what'd he do wrong? He casts a spear at me and nearly kills me. Saul tried to kill Jonathan. The text clearly says that. He didn't just kind of float by him, he tried to pin him to the wall as he had done to David before. How could his hatred of David be that strong to the extent that he would murder his own son in order to remove any hindrance from laying hold of his conscience with the truth? Think about that. Jonathan is the voice of truth. What did David do wrong? Think, Dad. What's going on here? And Saul, in order to shut out that truth, was so wrathful, jealously wrathful toward David that he would rather kill his own son then hear that truth come from his son's lips. Indeed, I am grieved and deeply hurt by the way my father treated me, but I'm even more grieved for David, who has done no wrong in all this. As shamed as I've been, I'm more hurt for David. Fourthly, a fourth thought that Jonathan might have along these lines. While I could remove, while I could remove the wedge that now stands between me and my father, while I could easily regain his respect in a moment and erase the present tension that exists between us by merely turning David over to him And if I turn David over to him, David's dead, and I could also become the king. I could rule this kingdom one day, too, as well. And it doesn't take much to regain my father's respect. Losing the kingdom is hard enough, but to lose his respect is even harder. After all, I know where David is, don't I? However, I could never commit such a great injustice. My father is wrong, dead wrong, and God forbid that I should sin against David, and more importantly God, by caving into my father's demands. David is to reign, and although I lose that close relationship with, and respect from my own father, I will go in the morning and I will warn David to flee, as I had promised. And in the morning, brethren, we find that Jonathan did that very thing, didn't he? He bid his beloved friend and brother in Christ farewell. Brethren, can we imagine for a moment how difficult this was for Jonathan? Can you stop and imagine that for a moment? And what is the root principle here, brethren? What is the root principle breaking out of this text to us? Gospel principle. Jonathan's fear of God... Listen up, children. Jonathan's fear of God brought him to the place that he was in contention with his own father. And his father happened to be the most respected person in the entire kingdom. He was King Saul. Indeed, Jonathan nearly lost his life for defending David. Here it is. You see, friends, God's providence, because we still know who's reigning, don't we? Is God sovereign over all this? He is, isn't He? Over all of it. God's providence drew a line in the sand for Jonathan, didn't it? How hard is it, friends? Young people, how hard is it to live under the rejection of your own dad? We say more than anything, if we can only earn the respect of our dads. And many children, especially young boys, are distraught, destroyed, when their fathers do not show them that they love and respect them. Crushes many a young boy. How important it is to have the respect of a dad. But, if dad is ungodly, if dad is in darkness, Walking in the light might just bring that type of a hardship into your life. Are you prepared for that? Now many of you would say, especially young people here, because you're in church, we can assume this with most of you, if not many of you, well my dad loves the Lord. My dad's okay with my Christianity. My dad wouldn't do that. He respects me. He loves me. He shows that all the time. Well, let's take it down a notch. That's the worst case scenario, or one of the worst case scenarios. Let's go to a lesser scenario, young people, because this is where it's very relevant for you. What about your friends who are opposed to your Christian ways? You have friends who laugh at this whole notion of Christianity and Christ and church and God and the gospel and the kind of stuff that robs you of the fun things in the world. You have friends who mock and make fun of you. If you mention the name of Christ, they don't want to hear it. What about them? Will you stand with God at the expense of any other relationship in this world? If those around you If those who are visible indeed seek to push you in a direction that would contradict the righteous will of your invisible God, will you take a stand for righteousness sake? It's a lot harder, young people, and I know this. Not that I was a Christian, but I know the pressures. It's a lot harder to stay faithful to a God you can't see when you have the pressures of friends whom you love to gain respect of, to gain popularity among, pressuring you in a way that's contrary to the will of God. It's very hard. But that is the evidence of a true Christian, isn't it? Will you let God be true in every man a liar? Will you take a stand with Jonathan when you have so much to lose in doing so? Do you love Christ more than any other? I want you to hear again the words from our first scripture reading. Turn with me to Matthew chapter 10. I believe that Jonathan gives us a great illustration of what fulfills this text. He wasn't a perfect man, but he had this evidence. And this is a crucial evidence for anyone who would name the name of Christ. Listen closely. He is setting, he is drawing the line of division here, isn't he? Very tough words. Notice he's not going to say, just profess my name, just say, say that you believe me, say the prayer and everything's fine. He says, no, there's got to be feet attached to that commitment. to that verbal commitment listen to these words 3439 do not think these are hard words especially for a Jewish person because for a Jewish person you could very well and would lose your family status you'd be alienated from your family if you embrace Christ at this time do not think that I came to bring peace on earth I did not come to bring peace but a sword for I've come to set a man against his father a daughter against her mother and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law and a man's enemies will be those of his own household He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me. And he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he who does not take his cross, well that's what it would take to alienate, to be willing to alienate family, wouldn't it? He who does not take his cross and follow after me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it and whoever loses his life for my sake will find it. Those are some tough words. But that is the requirement for true Christianity. And you don't want to receive from this pulpit or anyone else the idea that just because you said this prayer, everything is fine, live the way you want, hide the truth of the gospel, be ashamed of Christ when He says, whoever is ashamed of me in this generation, I will be ashamed of in front of my Father and His holy angels. I just want you to see that there is sacrifice involved, and friends, every last one of us, I believe, at some point in time in this life, probably several times, but I don't know how often, will face this kind of a fork in the road. God will providentially ordain it. It's his providence, it's not just happening, where you will have to face a fork in the road where you have to make a decision and confirm your profession when the rubber meets the road. Will you serve Christ or will you serve man? How does this principle work its way out in everyday life? Now I'm gonna give you some examples, not necessarily, these examples aren't all salvation examples. I'm not saying if we failed in these ways as Christians that you're not saved. But I do wanna give you some examples, some illustrations, or just some thoughts. First, well, Dad, Mom, I know that you would like to get together and to do those things next Sunday. I know that you would desire to do that, to go to that movie or to do this at home or to watch the game next Sunday, mom, dad, but that's the Lord's day. And I just cannot do that with a clear conscience. Can we do it Saturday instead? You know, Sam, I would love to watch the Super Bowl, but Sunday is the Lord's Day, and my church has a six o'clock p.m. service. No, the Bible doesn't say you have to be there in the evening, but my church happens to have a time where the means of grace are present in the evening, and in the early church in Acts, they got together many times during the week, let alone just Sunday, but I'm gonna seek to make it out at least to that second service, because we have a service, so that I can be blessed and I can bless others. I would love to watch a recorded version with you on Monday, though, if you're available, even if you saw it already. Now that's talking about the Super Bowl, and I think we should sacrifice the Super Bowl, but I'm saying imagine all the lesser things that we do when we skip Sundays and are not with the people of God. Thirdly, Mr. Thompson, I really love this job, and I do everything I can to follow your orders, but for me to do that would require some level of dishonesty, and I just cannot do that before God. You're asking me to testify to something or to do something in this job here. I'm thankful for the promotion, I'm thankful for what you're doing, but I cannot do that in clear conscience, because it would be an offense to my God. It would not be honest. Dr. Wilson, I know that the insurance companies play certain games and set up all kinds of red tape. I know the government makes it difficult and hard for you to get your money and to save me some money and so on, but writing that down on the form would just not be honest. I don't have those symptoms. I can't say that I've been suffering from these kinds of things because it's not honest. I have to honor God and leave the consequences to him. I'd rather the government rob me a little bit than for me to lie. Mr. Jones, I cannot work off of the books. I know you want to pay me off the books, and it sounds great to not have to pay the taxes, but I can't do that. My God calls me, commands me to pay all taxes, regardless of how the government spends that money, because that's the excuse, isn't it? Well, look at what the government, they fund abortion, they fund all these things, they waste your money, they were going over the fiscal cliff and all this stuff, so why not keep some of your money? No, well, I'm responsible to pay the taxes, just like they paid them to Caesar, and he was not exactly a very good steward of the money. The government is responsible for what they do with the money from there, though. They're accountable. Well, Janet, you're right. If I did that, you would have to pay much less in taxes to the government. But that would be lying. And I just cannot bring myself to do that. I would like to remain being your accountant. And frankly, I'm sure of how I could go on. I'm not sure how I can go on without your business. You're such a big account for me. But I have to honor my God above all. Sandy, please don't take this the wrong way, but Johnny is not present now, and what you are saying is a form of gossip. I know you don't mean that, and you would not want to hurt anyone, but let's be careful with the things that we say, especially when the people we're talking about are not present here, and we know that these things would hurt them. And honestly, if you feel that way, I really think you need to go directly to Johnny. I think you need to go and tell him himself. He needs to hear that from you. There's a break in your relationship, and he may not even know about it. And rather than tell me, you should go to him. I love you, and I want you to know that. How many of us are comfortable doing that in the life of the church? Brethren, I have to say that gossip is the church killer, and it's gone on more than any other hurt in this church. has been gossip. And I'm not saying that I've been without it as well. I've gossiped. I know I failed myself in this area. Joe, Paul, I would love to continue this conversation. I'm having a good time here with you guys, but I have to get back to my shift. Of course I know that the boss would never know. He's not, he trusts us and he's telling us to take just a half hour and he knows that he's trusting us in that. But God knows and I fear him more than my boss. My half hour break is over and I need to get back to my shift. Yes, dear, I know that I could easily get that promotion if I do that, but if I do that, I realize that I will shatter my Christian witness before Cindy. And while I know that she's not been treating me so well, I want to continue to leave the fragrance of Christ around her. I may be the only light that she has, and that's more important than whatever advantage I can get in getting that promotion. Son, I love you so much, and I will always love you no matter what, but I cannot attend your wedding with a clear conscience. A marriage is to be between one man and one woman. God is not pleased with what you are doing, and for that reason, I cannot support it. I realize that embracing Christ will lead my family to reject me, but I must be willing to lose all for his sake. I know that this woman or this man likes me. They're interested in me. But the Scriptures clearly teach me to marry only in the Lord and to not bear an unequal yoke. Lord, my heart is ailing. You know my desire. I long to find a godly spouse, but I will wait upon you however long it takes. I know that I might get mocked or looked down upon by my family, but I must proclaim the gospel to them. I cannot hide the truth. There is too much at stake. They don't even know what's going on in my life and the changes. And I'm not saying that I should grill them with this, but I need to at least tell them the gospel. Tell them what's going on in my life about Christ and who he is and what he's done. Perhaps borrowing some Old Testament language, I will sacrifice my son Isaac in obedience to God. I will embrace the fiery furnace rather than bow down to that statue. I will take no shortcut, even unto the preservation of my own physical life, if that shortcut causes me to dishonor God. And brethren, there are millions of other examples that I can give, which are very at home, or you can give, which are very at home to your own circumstances. And while failing in any of these kinds of ways doesn't necessarily equal committing the unpardonable sin, I'm not saying that, we've failed in these kinds of ways. we must realize that every fork in the road where God's honor is on one side of that fork is hand-picked by God and providentially placed right in front of us as a means of testing our hearts. Don't look at it as a secular coincidence when you have to make that decision between God and something else. Always know that God has put it right there for you, as He did with Jonathan, and He is testing our hearts. And brethren, when we make the right choices by grace, we find great growth and blessing. The shortcuts are never the best way if they're a way of dishonoring God. When you face the difficult decision of having to choose between God and anything or anyone else, know that God has brought you right there. He has ordained that precious and yet difficult opportunity for you to glorify His great name, and you may be given the opportunity to be whipped in the back for the sake of His glory, even as His apostles were. And brethren, Jonathan made the right choice in our text, and he had much to lose because of it. May God give us the grace to do likewise, confirming again and again that a work of grace has infiltrated our hearts. That's one of the testimonies that we love Christ more than Father, more than Mother, more than anything else, is as we make the right choices that are honoring to God when the two come up before us. And when we fail, which we do, may God grant us repentance so that we will strive unto better obedience in the times ahead. Life is short, brethren. It is painful. There are many difficult decisions that we have to make in life, but it's short. Let us take every opportunity given. Let's make the best of every opportunity God gives us to bear witness to our Lord Jesus Christ. Whether we're received, whether we're mocked, or whether we're oppressed, or we're persecuted, let us be reminded that the fragrance of Christ is always left wherever we are faithful. Whether we're mocked or not, the fragrance is left wherever we are faithful. Leave the results to God. May God give us the grace to do that. Let me just close by saying this to those of you who are unsaved today. I want to speak to you very briefly. To those of you who are outside of Christ, young people, please give me your ears and your hearts for a few moments. Young people, please listen. Look up and look at me and listen to what I have to say to you. I don't want you to miss what I have to say. I want to put it right in front of your face because I believe it would be a waste of precious blood if I didn't do this. You all are aware of what happened a few days ago. You're not ignorant. I want you to think about that situation that took place in the Connecticut Elementary School. I want you to stop and ask yourself, what if you were in that classroom? You see, it shouldn't have happened in that school. It's not like it was in Camden or Chicago or LA. This was a quaint town, the last place in the world that you would ever expect something like that to happen. I want you to imagine there you are in Grace Christian Academy or some other school. You're sitting there in your seat and this gunman comes in the room. You have no time to think. The next thing you know, there's a child right up front in the front who just falls down to the ground and there's blood everywhere. And then there's another one over there, and another one over there, and the teacher's gone, too. And you see him continuing to shoot, and you have nowhere to run, because there's only one way out, and he's blocking that entrance. And you get up, and you go to run. And then finally, you turn, and you look, and you see that that gun is pointed in your direction, and the last thing that you see is a bullet before you face God. Those children were ages six and seven, 12 girls and eight boys. 27 dead in total, six women as well. Were they ready? Were they ready? If that were you in that classroom, in that short time where you have hardly any time to think, maybe you were the first one to get hit, maybe the last. Would you be ready to face God right now? Because it doesn't say in the Bible that seven-year-olds automatically go to heaven. Seven-year-olds are as sinful as the rest of us and need Christ. Are you ready? And parents, I say to you, we don't know how long we have our children, do we? Thank God for every year that he gives us. My son, just the other day, was in the kitchen, and we didn't know. He climbed over the gate, he's getting crazy with this stuff, with a chair, he got over the gate, got in there, took another chair to the stove, climbed up on the stove and got up into a medicine cabinet. My wife came down there and found pills all over the place. I ran downstairs, and like the father who has everything under control, because I'm a pastor, I'm screaming all over the place. My daughters are over there saying, is he gonna die? Took him to the emergency room. Spent eight hours there to find out if he had ingested too much iron, because iron is poisonous for young children. Turned out he had a low level of iron. So he spit it out. He put him in his mouth, but he spit it out. Could be the last day that I see my son. How much time do I want to spend bringing him to the feet of Christ? How much time do I wanna spend bringing him to the means of grace? Well, it's just an evening service. Well, the God doesn't command that. Well, Sunday school, don't worry about Sunday school. As long as he's there at the morning service. Well, we don't have to have devotions tonight. Friends, organize your priorities and ask yourself, what is most important in the life of your child? That they know Christ or that they make the ballet recital? or that they're top-notch in soccer and football, baseball, or that their academics are stellar. God has numbered the days of every one of us, and we don't know what a day is going to bring. In fact, on the same day, on the same exact day, we were told, and you might not have heard this, that 22 children in China were killed in an elementary school, not by gun, but by knife. 22 children in China, in an elementary school, same exact day. You didn't hear that because it was overshadowed by Connecticut, but it happened. I'm just saying whether there's guns, laws, and all this doesn't matter. It's in the heart of man and God ordains. And so I plead with you, parents, to take it to heart. Bring your children into every means of grace possible. Don't rest until you know they're resting in Christ. Let's pray. Father, we do thank you for your grace to us and your word. We thank you for the many wonderful illustrations that we are given in the real life events of the Old Testament as well as the Gospels, these historical accounts. We thank you for the heart of Jonathan, Lord, who is so easily often passed over as insignificant because we would focus mostly on David, and Lord, that's understandably so because David was a man after your own heart, the father of the greatest son of David. But Lord, we thank you for the friend, Jonathan. We thank you for the things that he was willing to lose for the sake of his friend, Lord, and more importantly, for your glory. We thank you that even later on, when you might think he has a change of heart, perhaps he would, but no, he runs out to David and strengthens David's heart when David is in a place of despair. We pray that we would learn from him, Lord, and we pray that as we come to those forks in the road in our lives, that we would see them not as secular coincidences, not as something that's just in the path of our lives and how we can move forward in this life, but may we see them as your tests, as your providential, Lord, means of dealing with us. strengthening our faith. When they have those moments, Lord, where it would be much easier to obey what's visible, to give into the visible, may we think of you, consider you, and honor you. And we pray for those who don't know you today. Lord, you know who they are in this room. We ask, Lord, that today would be the day that they would cry out to you, that they would see, Lord, that at any age, six and seven, as we saw the other day, these 20 children, 23 more in China, More than that, Lord, throughout the world who die of other causes, we pray that we would number our days and that we would seek you. Father, we pray before it's too late. So please hear our prayers. We thank you for your grace in Christ's name. Amen.