Chapter 4: A Friendship for All Time
I Samuel 20
Friendship traits we
can learn from David & Jonathan … and our best friend, Jesus!
I.
David found Jonathan trustworthy.
a.
He trusts Jonathan to tell him truthfully why he
was worried.
b.
He trusts that Jonathan is not on his father’s
side or going to turn on him.
c.
He trusts him enough to tell him what is
weighing heavy on his mind.
d.
Jesus is trustworthy, too. Prov. 30:5 says “Every
word of God is pure: He is a shield to them that put their trust in Him.”
II.
They were considered servants to each
other.
a.
In verse 4, Jonathan tells David that he will do
whatever David desired him to do.
b.
In verse 8, David calls himself Jonathan’s
servant.
c.
Jesus came to serve us too. Mark 10:45 says, “For
even the Son of man came not to be ministered to, but to minister, and to give
His life a ransom for many”
III.
Jonathan and David support each other to
stay out of danger.
a.
David said he wanted Jonathan to let him know if
he had done something wrong. He said, “if there be in me iniquity, slay me
thyself.”
b.
Later, Jonathan finds out that Saul’s anger had
nothing to do with David doing anything wrong and warns David to flee.
c.
God’s word tells us many ways to stay out of
danger. James 4:7 says, “Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil,
and he will flee from you.”
d.
They came up with a plan to keep David safe.
i.
We can let our friends know in a loving way if
they’re doing something wrong. We should want to protect them by helping them
stay on the straight and narrow.
ii.
We should give them godly advice and come up
with a plan with them to help them stay on the right path. Not just tell them
they’re wrong and headed for danger and leave them to figure things out.
IV.
Jonathan was unselfish.
a.
Jonathan was confronted by Saul and told to
fetch David to be killed so Jonathan could have the kingdom.
b.
That would’ve sounded tempting had he not been a
loyal and unselfish friend.
c.
Jesus was unselfish. Romans 5:8 says, “But God
commendeth His love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died
for us.”
V.
Jonathan put his life on the line for
David.
a.
No one WANTS to have to die for anyone, but a
true friend is willing.
b.
Jonathan stood up for David against his angry
father, just as Jesus stands up before God the Father and takes our sin upon
himself and tells His Father that we are made blameless.
c.
Saul tried to kill Jonathan.
d.
Jesus died for us! What an amazing friend. John
15:13 says, “Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life
for his friends.” And I Peter 2:24 says, “Who His own self bare our sins in His
own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sin, should live unto
righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.”
VI.
Good friends are hard to part!
a.
Verse 41 says they “wept one with another” when
it was time to say goodbye.
b.
They were both very saddened at losing each
other, but knew it was for the best and was God’s plan for some reason.
c.
Now days, we have telephones, but they didn’t
then, so I can’t imagine how hard it was to not have any form of contact with
friends we’ve departed from.
d.
Jesus even wept with Lazarus died as John 11:35
says.
e.
They made a pact to be faithful and true friends
for generations to come. True friends don’t let anything come between them!
f.
Nothing can separate us from Jesus’ love! Romans
8:38-39 says, “For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels,
nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, nor
height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from
the love of God, which is Christ Jesus our Lord.”
“A
new commandment I give unto you, that ye love one another; as I have loved you,
that ye also love one another.”
-
John 13:34
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