All right, we were talking last week about David having an intercessor, somebody that would go between, you know, in the case of somebody's upset, somebody else has upset them, to get in between and try to work those things out. Normally we think of intercession as between us and God, and that's the focus of the application of what we've been looking at. But in this case, it is that the king is upset at David, And so he's issued an edict to his men, say, kill David on sight. And so Jonathan has secured David's safety and gone to him because he had a strong friendship with him. Verse two of 1 Samuel 19. But Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David. And he could have hid his father's threat against David, but he didn't. Jonathan told David, saying, Saul, my father seeketh to kill thee. And then he encouraged David to hide. Now, therefore, I pray thee, take heed to thyself until the morning and abide in a secret place and hide thyself. And we talked about he that dwelleth in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty. And no doubt David in those places where he hid away really was secreting himself in God and that God was the one in reality that was taking care of David. Secondly, Jonathan plans a way to get to the heart of the conflict, okay, is what we looked at. Verse 3, And again, we talked about the wisdom of Jonathan. He's going to search this out in the heart of his father. He's going to try to reveal both to himself and his dad what exactly is taking place there in his heart about David. And then, Jonathan boldly spake well of David, and this is where we ended last week. Verse four, Jonathan spake good of David unto Saul his father and said unto him. Okay, so he's gonna start, begin to talk to him well about David. We talked about Jonathan's not afraid of the reaction that he's gonna get from King Saul. Right is right. You know, he's gonna stand with right. And if that causes problems for himself, so be it. And so he's gonna be very bold to speak to his dad. So this is where we pick up from where we left off last week. And so he begs of King Saul not to sin against David. Verse four, let not the king sin against his servant, against David. Now that's a bold statement. King Saul is not somebody to be trifled with. We know this because we know the rest of the story. There are gonna be people that die. because of the hatred that King Saul has for David. So it's no little thing to go before this king, and I think Jonathan's aware that this is fragile ground that he's on. It's kind of unsettled territory where he could incur the wrath of the king if he says something. We gave the verse last Sunday night. of Proverbs 28, 1, the wicked flee when no man pursueth, but the righteous are bold as a lion. It is a great thing to be in the right, to be able to stand up against that which is wicked and have courage because you're clearly standing for that which is right. You know, some people have had to face kings at times and confront them. We know the story of Elijah. and King Ahab, right? And he had to confront the king about his wickedness and say, king, it's not gonna rain until this situation is right, until I give the word. And then he has to flee for his life. We talked, I preached recently on the story of the widow woman that sustained Elijah during the drought, but he was in hiding from the king. John the Baptist faced an ungodly King Herod. And the story there is as Herodias danced and it pleased the king, the king said, unto the half of my kingdom, I'll give it you. Herodias' mom said that, I'm sorry, Herodias' daughter, Herodias is the mom, said, ask for the head of John the Baptist and we know that John the Baptist was beheaded because he confronted a king and he was in prison because he confronted a king in his wickedness. In modern life there's been people that have had the privilege to be brought into the king's presence and try to convince the king of truth. Our family's reading Adoniram Judson's biography and Judson goes up to Ava with an entourage to go before the king and try to convince the king to put some religious liberty protection upon them and their disciples because they're being persecuted. And he asked the favor of the king and the king got upset. And many times they had to go before the king and there was danger in that and some other dangers that we're reading about right now. That's a very serious thing. It'd take a lot of boldness to enter into the king's presence. Well, when's the last time you were called to go before Queen Elizabeth? When's the last time you were called before the Prime Minister or the First Minister or even lower levels of government? This past week in my evangelism, I didn't witness to any heads of state. I witnessed to a stonemason this past week and that was kind of neat. He was right there outside the church on the other side of the wall, repairing the wall. We did some evangelism over in the area just to kind of get to know the area a little bit and he was there. And I was able to ask him about, what do you think? Looking at the building, I saw him out there working. And then I was able to give him the gospel. I witnessed to a joiner in Livingston this past week that he was installing a bathroom. That was kind of a neat opportunity because he said, are you guys part of that group that stands out in front of the mall? I said, well, I'm with the man that does that. Don's church goes and they witness at the mall. He said, well, he's a really nice guy. And Don is a cheerful chap when it comes to doing evangelism out in front of the mall. So it was good to hear somebody say that. And it's neat to see that people are witnessing that, right? And have a good, favorable opinion of that. And I was able to encourage him, really, because he's a non-believer. He was working. I gave him a track. And I said, you really should go up to Don and say, Don, convince me. And I shared some things with him, but convince me that there is a God. So Jonathan is standing for what's right. He's very bold to face a king. I'm just saying to us, we're not gonna face that, probably. But there ought to be a boldness in our heart to stand up against ungodliness in lower levels of people and say, you know, this is what's right. Let's talk about this. And so he points out David's righteousness. He says to the king, don't sin against David, he entreats him not to, because he hath not sinned against thee. Okay, remember, Jonathan's plumbing the depths of Saul's heart. He's gonna try to shine a light into his dad's heart, try to help his dad to see some truth about David. And so if you were to ask the question, what one sin could King Saul point at and justify his behavior towards David, the answer would be nothing. Yeah, and that's what Jonathan's bringing to his attention. Look, David has done nothing against you. I don't know if you've ever watched court situations much. Recently, there's been some court cases that have been newsworthy, right? And kind of mainstream news have been covering and reporting on these stories. And it's interesting to watch. You've got a defense attorney, the guy that's protecting The client, and I just think, I'm glad I'm not a defense attorney. A defense attorney has to take a client, and whether that client has integrity or does not have integrity, in either case, they got to do their best to try to defend that person. Now, if I was a defense attorney, I'd be very glad to have a client that had a squeaky clean record that you know is just obviously in the right because then it's with great liberty go wait what what is this person done they've done absolutely nothing and that's that's what Jonathan is able to do he's able to say there is there is nothing that David has ever done. David didn't pick up a spear and throw it back. David, when Saul misbehaved towards David, David never responded ungraciously to Saul. He responded very graciously to him. You know, in our evangelism, again, as we try to reconcile people to God, it's easy for us to say, God has not done anything against you. God has done everything for you, right? God has never transgressed against you. Psalm 92 verse 15, to show that the Lord is upright, he is my rock, and there is no unrighteousness in him. If anyone ever feels like, hey, God has transgressed against me, the simple answer is no. God is perfectly right in everything that he has ever done. So if the courts of heaven were open and God was on trial, man was on trial, the court would ring with not guilty towards God and guilty towards man. There's a lot of people in our evangelism. As we speak to them, I had a man tell me yesterday, he said, I used to go to church, but ever since, and he went to Catholic church anyway, but ever since my mom died. That's me. And a lot of times when they're saying that, they're saying, if there is a God, why could he do that? They want to stand in judgment against God, but it's a great thing for us to be able to say, God is absolutely righteous. He's done nothing. And so he points that out. Then he points out David's goodness. And because his works have been, to the word, very good, very good. David was a loyal soldier. He was a loving son-in-law. He was a gracious musician in Saul's court. I mean, not only had David not transgressed against Saul despite what Saul had done, but David had been very gracious and good towards him. Matthew 5, 44. It says, but I say unto you, love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you and persecute you. Again, as we go from our story and we look at the, you know, David's a type of Christ, but as we look at Christ and we think about him, it's interesting to me that Jesus should have got the Nobel Peace Prize, right? Isn't that interesting? I mean, you think, I mean, just human nature being what it is, you look at Jesus, you think they ought to have embraced him. They ought to have rewarded him because he was exceptionally good. He was the answer to disease. He cured the incurable. He was the answer to death. He brought the dead back to life. He was the answer to world hunger. He fed the multitude. He was the answer to true knowledge. He was the fountain and the bread of life, right? Jesus Christ was exceptionally good to everybody. Has God been good to mankind? He gave us life. He gave us his word. He offers salvation and abundant life. And again, I know we understand this today, but as we deal with men, we're saying, God has not transgressed against you. In fact, God has been exceptionally good towards you. John 3, 16 says, for God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. Man transgressed against God. God, despite their transgression, has been exceptionally good in return to them. And that's the argument here with regard to David and a wicked king. He's not sinned against you, he's been very good to you. And then he reminds the king that David had done great service to Saul's kingdom. Remember David, he reminds him David risked his life to kill the giant. Verse 5 says, for he did put his life in his hand and slew the Philistine. You know, put his life in his hand, that's the idea. He risked it all. for you, for God, and for this kingdom that we have, primarily for God and for God's glory. You know, Saul's kind of forgotten about the 40-day headache he had at the battle of Goliath, right, that was taking place, and the giant coming out and again and again, mocking, and all the things that were taking place. Saul's forgotten about that. Saul's turned from that, and the glory of that, and the thanksgiving for that, to hate the man that was instrumental in accomplishing that. David had risked everything. He's like the men of God in the New Testament, Acts 15, 25. It seemed good unto us, being assembled with one accord, to send chosen men unto you with our beloved Barnabas and Paul, men that have hazarded their lives for the name of our Lord Jesus Christ. David is a part of that group. He risked his life for God and for God's glory, physically risked his life. Again, as we look at our Lord, did Jesus risk his life to save those that were against him? Absolutely. In fact, he didn't just risk his life, he gave his life for them. Romans 5, 8, but God commendeth his love toward us and that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. To defeat the enemy, Satan, Jesus Christ, risked everything. He gave everything to be able to do that. And again, we say to people, wait a second, you're saying you're against God, he transgressed against you. No, he didn't. In fact, he's very good. In fact, he gave his life. for you, right? So you can see how this argument kind of fits together. Again, it's just an application of what he's trying to reconcile and there's similarities that we can look at with regard to Christ. And that God had used David to deliver Israel. It says, and the Lord hath wrought a great salvation for all Israel. It must have been evident for everybody that saw that battle that God had done something amazing with David, having used David as his tool. 1 Samuel 17, verse 45. The story of the battle as he comes out against Goliath David said this day will the Lord deliver me I'm sorry will the Lord deliver thee Into my hand and I will smite thee and take thine head from thee and I will give the carcasses of the hosts of the Philistines this day unto the fowls of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel and and all this assembly shall know that the lord saveth not with the sword and spear for the battle is the lord's and he will give you into our hands okay david as he went out to battle he didn't go as the great i'm the great shepherd boy that's going to slay the giant he went out saying no uh it's going to be about god doing this and god is going to do this so god gets the glory through this and he emphasized that everybody that was there heard david i think there was a probably a Holy hush over that valley on that day. It was evident that as David won that battle It was not David, but it was God and so he's saying he's saying to Saul Don't you realize? That this is God's champion Are you really wanting to go against God's champion? Again, as we think about our Lord and as we speak to people about Jesus Christ, he is God's champion. Of course, he is God, but he's the champion. 2 Peter 3, 18, but grow in grace in the knowledge of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, to him be glory both now and forever. Amen. There are people that blaspheme Christ, there are people that hate Jesus Christ, you know, they blame God and they say God isn't good and they forget about what Jesus Christ did, but He is God's champion. He's God's champion. 1 John 4, 14, we have seen and do testify that the Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world. Jude 1, 25, to the only wise God, our Savior, be glory and majesty, dominion and power, both now and evermore. Saul shouldn't go against God's little S, Savior. Mankind should not go against God's big S, Savior. And so it's good to say to them, you know, this is a person that you hate. This is a person that is the Savior of the world. And then reminder, You yourself, O king, had rejoiced in that victory. Notice what it says there. Thou saw'st it, and didst rejoice. Okay, on that day, the giant fell. I don't know if Saul gets excited or not, like David. We see David in the Bible getting excited as the ark comes back into Jerusalem. I don't know if there was any exuberance that was displayed by Saul, but somehow Jonathan said, on that day, Dad, you were excited. You were thrilled at what had taken place. And he's reminding of what he saw God do, who he saw God do it through, and the old response of his heart in rejoicing. in that. You know, it's sad to me today to know some who despise what they used to rejoice in. I mean, there was a day where they saw it like we just presented it, of what Jesus Christ did. I mean, they got so excited. Their life changed. I mean, they got involved. They got passionate about the things of God. But now, you know, whatever happened in their life, I don't know, You know, now maybe they got bitter against God. They begin to blame God. They begin to resist God. The things that they used to look at and say, hey, that's great about Christianity, separated Christian living and holy living and sanctified living and set apart living, now their life mocks what they used to believe. And that's like Saul. And Jonathan's just trying to take him back there. Dad, you were so excited about that. And it's good for us to think, man, pity the person that has gotten to the point where they despise what God did instead of going back to what they used to be and excited about what God's doing, thrilled at the grace of God, thrilled at the power of God, thrilled at the truth of Jesus Christ, involved in evangelism, involved in bus ministry, and somebody that I'm thinking about specifically with regard to that, this person was zealous for God. But it would be rare for this person now to darken the door of a church, and if they did, it would not be a church that honors God. And you look at it and go, man, what happened? You yourself, O King, you used to rejoice in that, remember these things. And so then, as we continue on, Jonathan questions the reason behind Saul's injustice against his servant. He said, wherefore then, based on all these things, he's good, he's not sinned against you, and he was God's champion, God has used David, wherefore then wilt thou sin against innocent blood to slay David without a cause? All right, he's at the point of conviction and decision. So he's brought Saul to it, he's made Saul look at it, examine it, and then he's gonna bring it all to bear. Okay, having seen that, what's going on? Why is it like this? You know, if he proceeds, it's with full knowledge that he's gonna kill the innocent. And we're gonna see that. He's gonna admit that at times in the future. And so if he proceeds, he's gonna transgress. I mean, he's just gonna step right over everything that God's tried to do in helping him see the truth through Jonathan's intercession about right and wrong. As we seek to reach men in our, again, it's the opposite of what we're looking at. We're looking at a wicked king and a righteous man. And it's the opposite of that. It's a righteous man who's king and wicked men that we're looking at. But as we deal with them, our work is to bring them to a point of decision and to say, based on this, this is where you're at. Why would you then continue on down this path against God? And won't you understand your need to repent and accept Jesus Christ as your Savior? You know, as we think about that this morning, what side of that work are we on? Are we on the side where somebody has to come to us and say, look, A, B, C, and D. A, B, C, and D. You're on this side, God's righteous, God's doing what's right. You need to get reconciled to God. Are we on that side today or are we on the side of God where we're going to people and saying, we're that intercessor where we've got a person that is not right with God and we've got a righteous God and we're doing our best to say, man, I just want to encourage you, get right with God. Get right with God. We ought to be intercessors like Jonathan, going between a righteous God and wicked disobedient men, trying to reconcile them by pointing out the righteousness of Christ and what he's done, and to try to reveal to them their wickedness against him. D.L. Moody, tried to witness to one person every day. And there was one day where he realized late that he had not gotten out and shared the gospel with anybody. So he went out and the story is there was a man that was walking past there. It was late at night. He engaged that man with the gospel. It was a tough conversation. It was very confrontational. conversation where he really tried to point out to this man that he had transgressed against God. That man got upset, told a business friend of his, a banker I think, or something like that, about what Moody had done. And that man called Moody into his office and confronted him and said, it's so wrong what you did there, and really kind of put that on Moody. But the story is, two to three weeks later, the man that he witnessed to got right with God. Because Moody had taken the opportunity to go to him and say, you know what, you need to get right with God. Again, God helped us to be bold like Jonathan. To be able to go to somebody and confront them and say, you know what? I just want to help you get right with God and be that intercessor like in our story here, all right? Opposite, but I think you understand the application. All right, let's pray and ask God to bless His word to our hearts. Father, I thank you for the example. Jonathan is a bold intercessor. Now we normally think of intercession as prayer, and that's a good thing for us to pray for people to get right with God. But another way we can intercede is to intercede with men to get right with God. And Father, I pray that the Holy Spirit of God would give us a burden to speak with people about the righteousness of God, the goodness of God, the truth of God, to bring it to bear upon their heart, to bring them to a point of a decision, and to encourage them to make the right decision towards God. And Father, if there's any here this morning, in their heart they just think, you know, the Spirit of God's been speaking to me. about an area I need to get right with God, then I pray for that, Lord, to take place, and for victory in our hearts and our lives, and so that, Father, we can help others to get right with God. Thank you for your love. Thank you for our time in the Word of God this morning. May it be a blessing to us even this week. Remind us of the truth that we've heard. It's in Christ's name we pray. Amen.