OPEN: I sang “You’ve Got A Friend” (a song by James Taylor and made popular by Carole King - if you’d like a copy of the words with guitar chords e-mail me at jesus@kconline.com)
APPLY: Several years ago the song “You’ve Got A Friend” was extremely popular. And it was popular because it caught the very essence of what friendship was all about. Friendship is a powerful thing, and almost everyone senses that is a necessary part of their lives.
ILLUS: Years ago I attended the North American Christian Convention (a gather of our brotherhood churches) at Indianapolis. I thought it would be fun and educational. I walked into the Hoosier Dome (now the RCA Dome) and was surrounding by 1000’s of people… but I was surprising lonely. I had no one to talk to. No one to share with. No one who was “my” friend.
Friendship is a powerful need in our lives. How many of you have a friend? (almost everyone raised their hand). So you know the satisfaction of having someone you can share with and count on.
In fact, a person without friends is a person in utter poverty… even if that individual has all the wealth in the world.
ILLUS: Just recently, Hollywood released a film called “The Aviator”. Does anyone know who that movie was about? That’s right Howard Hughes. When he died, Hughes was one of the wealthiest men who ever lived - worth approximately 2.5 BILLION dollars. He owned a private fleet of jets, hotels and casinos. He had everything a man could possibly desire… except close friends or relatives who knew him and cared about him.
When asked to claim his body, his nearest relative, a distant cousin, exclaimed: “Is this Mr. Hughes?”
When he died, not a single acquaintance or relative mourned his death. The only honor he received was a moment of silence in his Las Vegas casinos. Time magazine put it this way: “Howard Hughes’ death was commemorated in Las Vegas by a minute of silence. Casinos fell silent. Housewives stood uncomfortable clutching their paper cups full of coins at the slot machines, the blackjack games paused, and at the crap tables the stickmen cradled his dice in the crook of their wooden wands. Then a pit boss looked at his watch, leaned forward and whispered: “O.K., roll the dice. He’s had his minute.” (Time, Dec. 13, 1976)
Let me repeat: People without friends are people who live in utter poverty. For most people, friendship is one of their deepest needs and desires.
Now, Scripture tells us that David was a man after God’s own heart. And Psalms 37:4 Delight yourself in the LORD and he will give you the desires of your heart.
So, as you might imagine, since David was a man after God’s own heart - a man who delighted in the LORD – God supplied him with a close companion – a REAL friend. A friend named Jonathan. And this was not just any friend… this was a SON OF THE KING.
This friendship with Jonathan was so powerful and so true, that it has been practically a Biblical standard of friendship ever since.
I. At this point in our story, David is a very fortunate young man.
* Not only has he has just killed Goliath - the champion of the Philistines – and thus become the beloved hero of the people…
* David has also been the personal servant of King Saul. Before the incident with Goliath, David had already been a regular visitor to the King’s palace.
Saul had been plagued by an evil Spirit and only the singing of David could alleviate his torment. But now that David has slain the giant, Saul makes David a permanent part of his family.
* And… not only is David a favorite of the people, and of the King… but God Himself has honored David by selected him to be the next king of Israel
So David is a very fortunate young man…
But life is about to get VERY UNCOMFORTABLE for this young shepherd boy.
For example… let’s read the next few verses in this chapter - I Samuel 18: 5-11
Whatever Saul sent him to do, David did it so successfully that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the people, and Saul’s officers as well.
When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs and with tambourines and lutes. As they danced, they sang: "Saul has slain his thousands, and David his tens of thousands."
Saul was very angry; this refrain galled him. "They have credited David with tens of thousands," he thought, "but me with only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom?" And from that time on Saul kept a jealous eye on David.
The next day an evil spirit from God came forcefully upon Saul. He was prophesying in his house, while David was playing the harp, as he usually did. Saul had a spear in his hand and he hurled it, saying to himself, "I’ll pin David to the wall."
But David eluded him twice.
You see, King Saul became jealous over David’s popularity, and a number of times Saul attempted to kill young David. Eventually, David needed to flee for his life, but even then, Saul pursued him into the wilderness to destroy him.
David HAD BEEN a very blessed man, but he soon came to understand that there are times when life gets hard… things go wrong… experiences are harsh.
As James Taylor described it in his song… there’s going to be times
· when we’re going to be down and troubled
· when nothing is going right
· when the sky above us grows dark and full of clouds
He says that there are people out there who
· who will hurt you,
· and desert you
· and take our souls if we let them
Taylor’s answer to those problems in a person’s life?
We need friends, friends who will be there for us when life gets hard.
As one person put it: We need “someone who will walk in when the rest of the world walks out.”
And, that’s why God gave David a friend like Jonathan.
II. What kind of friend did God give David?
We’re given a very detailed description of what kind of friend Jonathan was to David. And I believe that this is NO coincidence. I believe God gives us this description for a purpose.
So, let’s examine the “details” of what made Jonathan’s friendship so powerful:
1st –this friendship started in Jonathan’s heart
1 Samuel 18:1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself.
2nd –Jonathan made a commitment to David
1 Samuel 18:3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.
3rd –Jonathan was willing to share whatever he owned with David
1 Samuel 18:4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.
III. Now, would God want us to see this type of friendship?
I believe it’s because this is the kind of friendship God wants us to be to each other.
When Jesus died on the cross, He did so to give us forgiveness of sins and a whole new life… but He also had another reason: Jesus came and died upon the cross to create something. He came to create “the church.” We (the church) are His bride whom He is preparing for the great Wedding Banquet.
I believe that the friendship in Jonathan displayed toward David is the same kind of friendship we should have for one another in the church.
When God created the church, His intention was to create an atmosphere of friendship that was like what Jonathan modeled.
God’s church is to be a group of saved people who are
1. Changed in their hearts, so that they could learn to love others
In book of Isaiah chapter 11 - the 1st few verses of this chapter have a beautiful description of Jesus’ earthly ministry. In fact, many scholars believe the first verse is referred to in Matthew 2:23 (he was a Branch or “netzer” – thus a “Nazarene”).
Then verse 10 of Isaiah 11 is quoted by Paul and he cites it as a description of the church of his day (Romans 15:12).
So, verse 1 refers to Jesus and his reason for coming and verse 10 refers to the church of Paul’s day… so what do you think the verse in between refer to? Well, let’s look:
“The wolf will live with the lamb, the leopard will lie down with the goat, the calf and the lion and the yearling together; and a little child will lead them. The cow will feed with the bear, their young will lie down together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox. The infant will play near the hole of the cobra, and the young child put his hand into the viper’s nest. They will neither harm nor destroy on all my holy mountain, for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD as the waters cover the sea” (Isaiah 11:6-9).
Now, there are people who teach that this is some future event… but it’s not. God is telling us that there are people here in His church who used to be
- wolves,
- lions,
- snakes in the grass
And there are others amongst us who have been as
- Meek as lambs,
- Gentle as new-born calves.
- Innocent as children.
Who would think that those kinds of people could live together and survive?
Well… they couldn’t. They’d tear each other apart. That’s their way of life. That’s how they live.
People who are vicious and mean spirited could never live together in the same building… that is unless God changed their HEARTS. God saved us. He changed us. And He showed us how to love each other. As John wrote: We love because he first loved us. (1 John 4:19)
God CHANGED our hearts so that we could be friends with each other. That’s why God created His church.
2ndly, God created His church for us so that we could be:
2. Committed to each other
Hebrews 10:24-25 tells us that we should “consider how we may spur one another on toward love and good deeds. Let us not give up meeting together, as some are in the habit of doing, but let us encourage one another— and all the more as you see the Day approaching.”
What’s that mean?
It means that God wants us to be committed to each other.
It means that God wants us to work at making each other successful
God wants us to think of ways
* To help each other learn how to love
* To help each other find good deeds that we can do
* And He wants us to find ways to encourage one another
God wants us to think this way… not just within these four walls, but also when we are working and dealing with each other throughout the week.
ILLUS: A man I was talking with last week told me about his experience in another church. The people would be very nice to each other during their time in the church building… but once they left those doors they became an entirely different kind of people. They abused and misused each other.
Why did they behave that way? Because they didn’t understand how crucial and important this issue was to God. They didn’t understand that this was key to showing love to God.
(pause…) In the Gospel of John we read about Peter sitting by a fire on the shores of the sea of Galilee, talking with Jesus. They’d just got done eating breakfast together when Jesus looks Peter in the eye and says:
"Simon son of John, do you truly love me more than these?"
"Yes, Lord," he said, "you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "FEED MY LAMBS."
Again Jesus said, "Simon son of John, do you truly love me?"
He answered, "Yes, Lord, you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "TAKE CARE OF MY SHEEP."
The third time he said to him, "Simon son of John, do you love me?"
Peter was hurt because Jesus asked him the third time, "Do you love me?" He said, "Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you."
Jesus said, "FEED MY SHEEP.
If we love Jesus… we will take care of each other… look out for each other. We’ll love each other, because that is THE way to show that we love Him.
LASTLY, God created His church for us so that we might be there as friends to
3. share with each other
In Galatians 6:9-10 Paul tells us “Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Therefore, as we have opportunity, let us do good to all people, especially to those who belong to the family of believers.”
ILLUS: In my house I have two children. Once in a while they’ll invite their friends over and those friends will eat our food, play on our computer, watch our TV and sometimes even sleep over night in our beds. We DO GOOD for those kids because they are friends with my kids. But they eventually they go home.
However, MY KIDS are different. They are part of MY FAMILY. I’ll do good for their friends… but I’ll especially do good for them, because they ARE my family.
That’s what Paul is talking about in Galatians 6. We should do good to ALL people, but ESPECIALLY to those who are part of our family.
ILLUS: I have been humbled over the past few months at the way in which I’ve watched people in this congregation do that for each other. (gave a few examples).
IV. (pause…) But, now… wait a minute
Here you are Jeff, telling us that God expects us to be friends to each other.
But… I want my own friend
I want somebody who’ll always be there for me
I want someone who’ll do good things for me
Someone who will watch my back and protect and listen to me.
I want someone who will always be there for me!
Well, God has supplied you with that kind of a friend.
He’s supplied you with someone who’ll ALWAYS be there for you
Someone who will never leave you
Someone who will never forsake you
Remember how I told you that God loved David so much that he didn’t give just any old friend. God gave David the son of the King for his friend.
Likewise, God didn’t give you just any old friend. We have the Son of the King - Jesus - as our friend. Proverbs 18:24 speaks of Him as “a friend that sticks closer than a brother.”
CLOSE: You know, the very MENTION of Jesus as our friend has the power to calm our souls and give us the comfort we need in our lives… even if we’re not Christians.
Syndicated columnist Deborah Mathis wrote about a day in her life in the nation’s capital when was passing through Union Station.
The first thing stamped on her memory was the noisy hubbub of sounds. The public address announcer calling out arrivals and departures.
Scores of pagers, walkie-talkies, and cell phones crying out for someone’s attention.
You could hear horns honking,
machines clinking out change,
and babies crying.
There were voices from every direction.
A nervous security guard yelled at a man about to enter a forbidden area.
Three women stood up from their bench in order to press the points of their squabble with more emphasis.
The man in line in front of her was pacing in tiny, agitated steps.
Then she heard someone singing.
"What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear;
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer."
She wrote there was a perceptible change came to the cacophonous crowd.
"O what peace we often forfeit,
O what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer."
The quarreling women quit their arguing and quietly took their seats.
Tense shoulders seemed to relax.
As the lone voice sang the remaining verses of from the song Mathis realized she was singing along now. So were the three women who had been bickering. And several more.
"Nice, huh?" offered the man who had been pacing his tiny, tight circle in front of her. "I don’t even believe in Jesus, but that’s nice."
SERMONS IN THIS SERIES (A Man After God’s Own Heart)
Measuring Up - 1 Samuel 16:1-16:13
Be Prepared/ Scout Sunday - 1 Samuel 17:1-17:53
A Friend After Your Own Heart - 1 Samuel 18:1-18:5
A Heart To Honor Authority - 1 Samuel 24:1-24:22
An Obedient Heart - 2 Samuel 6:1-6:15
A Heart To Worship - 2 Samuel 6:12-6:23
The Heart Of A Shepherd - Psalms 23:1-23:6
The Over-exposed Heart - 2 Samuel 11:1-11:5
The Undeserving Heart - Psalms 51:1-51:1
The Weakened Heart - 2 Samuel 3:17-3:39
The Heart Of A Father - 2 Samuel 13:1-13:39
A Heart to Build - 2 Samuel 7:1-7:17
The Dead Dog Syndrome - 2 Samuel 16:5-16:14
