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And I ask, is this the place where hope abides And this the center to me? Beyond the cross is a tomb that is empty You won't find him there anymore And beyond the tomb is life everlasting And all forever home Then I sought reassurance And I went to the tomb To the place where his body once lay And I cried, Lord, help me see Is there hope here for me? And is this what I heard? Beyond the cross is a tomb that is empty You won't find him there anymore And beyond the tomb is life everlasting And all forever home And I cried, Lord, help me see Is there hope here for me? Oh, in the grave he lay Jesus my Savior Waiting the coming day Jesus my Lord Up from the grave he rose, he rose With the mighty triumph over his throne He rose, he rose A victor from the dark domain And he lives forever with his age to reign He rose, he rose He rose, hallelujah, nice to come Death cannot keep his prey Jesus my Savior He tore the bones away Jesus my Lord Up from the grave he rose With the mighty triumph over his throne He rose, he rose A victor from the dark domain And he lives forever with his age to reign He rose, he rose He rose, hallelujah, nice to come For what earthly reason Would a heavenly Father send down his Son? To suffer rejection And pay for crimes he had not done For what earthly reason Would a Father let him hang on a tree? I wept with the anger That one earthly reason was me I was the reason The one earthly reason I was the guilty He was the sacrifice I was the taker He was the giver Dying while I go free That one earthly reason was me The fairest of angels Were not summoned From the throne up in the sky To purchase my pardon Not even the angels could die The only provision For my freedom was destined to be The sweet lamb of glory And his only reason was me I was the reason The one earthly reason I was the guilty The first works Baptist church let's all make our way inside and find a seat Grab a song book, open that song book up to song number 114 And let's all stand together for our first song which will be song number 114 The Great Physician Song number 114 for our first song The Great Physician Everyone nice and strong all together on that first verse The Great Physician now is near The sympathizing Jesus He speaks a drooping heart to cheer Oh hear the voice of Jesus Sweetest note in seraph's song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus, blessed Jesus Your many sins are all forgiven Oh hear the voice of Jesus Go on your way in peace to heaven And wear a crown with Jesus Sweetest note in seraph's song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus, blessed Jesus All glory to the dying lamb I now believe in Jesus I love the blessed Savior's name I love the name of Jesus Sweetest note in seraph's song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus, blessed Jesus When to that bright world above We rise to be with Jesus We'll sing around the throne above His name, the name of Jesus Sweetest note in seraph's song Sweetest name on mortal tongue Sweetest carol ever sung Jesus, blessed Jesus God, give us your ears to hear your word tonight, God. We love you, Lord. It's in Jesus' name we pray. Amen. You may be seated. Song number 22. Song number 22, Are You Washed in the Blood? Song 22, everyone nice and strong altogether. Have you been to Jesus for the cleansing power? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you fully trusted in His gracious hours? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you walking daily by the Savior's side? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Do you rest each moment in the crucified? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? When the fried fruit comes in, will your robes be white? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Will your soul be ready for the mansion's bright? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Lay aside the garments that are stained with sin And be washed in the blood of the Lamb There's a fountain flowing for the soul unclean Oh be washed in the blood of the Lamb Are you washed in the blood, in the soul cleansing blood of the Lamb? Are your garments spotless? Are they white as snow? Are you washed in the blood of the Lamb? Alright, great singing, thank you for being here this evening Just a few announcements before we sing our next song Which will be lead me to Calvary song number 15 If you want to get that ready in your songbook Song number 15, lead me to Calvary If you did not get a bulletin, go ahead and raise your hand One of the ushers can get one for you Some important information on there, of course our services Our as follows Sunday morning is at 1030 Sunday evening is at 5pm And then our Thursday night Bible studies at 7 o'clock Tonight we are in 1st Samuel chapter 20 You see there the sowing teams and times The list of expecting mothers if you can continue to pray for them And the weekly reminders there at the bottom And then of course we have some of these upcoming church events The June birthday breakfast in Judea sowing is this Sunday June 5th And then we have Pastor Anderson coming to preach for us on Thursday June 16th And so I want to encourage you to be here for that He is going to be traveling to all the new IFB churches Preaching through a series And so we are looking forward to having him with us on that day And then on Sunday June 19th is the most important day of the year Which is Father's Day Amen And so make sure you are here for that To honor all the dads that come Bring your dads, bring someone's dad so we can give them a gift And of course the service will be geared towards fathers on the 19th And then on Saturday June 25th There will be a ladies prayer breakfast here in the building If you have any questions about that You can see my wife for more details And then Monday July 4th is the 4th of July picnic Where we celebrate our liberty in Christ Amen And so we are looking forward to that We will give you more information for that As we approach that date And then you see there the weekly reminders No food or drink allowed in the main auditorium except for water and coffee Make sure you are not loitering in the foyer or fellowship hall during the preaching service And then make sure you silence your phones during the preaching So as to not be a distraction during the service Go ahead and pull out your prayer sheet there We are going to briefly cover this And then brother Morrie is going to come on up To pray over these specific needs here Continue to pray for our church corporately Just the basic necessities of our church For God's favor For the soul wanting that we continue to see more people saved And it has been a blessing from January up until this month Or last month we have seen well over 470 people saved And we have had a lot of baptisms as well And so it has been a blessing It has been very fruitful this year Thank God for that And then continue to pray for the missions program And protection of our church The spiritual and numerical growth of the new Christians in our church When someone gets saved They will immediately get baptized Get assimilated Become faithful to church Start reading their Bibles And become faithful unto the Lord If you can continue to pray for more laborers New people and of course the leadership The basic needs of different Needs of our church members Family salvations, families to grow Barren women, expecting mothers And of course those with illnesses as well Please keep them in prayer And then if you have an additional prayer request You would like to be mentioned Please put that at the bottom And we will make sure that it gets on there for the following week If you don't want your name to be on there You can just put anonymous and put the need there And we will make sure that it is printed on that For the bulletin for the following week Alright please bow your heads in the word of prayer Dear Lord Heavenly Father Thank you for allowing us to be able to come to church Lord just thank you for our church that you have given us here Lord I would just like to We have some prayer requests that I would like to lift up to you Lord I pray for Miss Abigail As she is going through her health issue I pray that you are able to help her out And have a hand of healing and protection over her and her family Lord I also pray For all the seeds that were planted this week As we went out giving the gospel Lord I also want to pray for all the souls that were actually saved as well Lord Additionally I would like to pray for the sickness that is potentially going through the church Lord I pray that you have a hand of healing and protection over us here Lord Lord I also want to pray for favor on our church I pray that you continue to bless our church Allowing us to grow Grow numerically Family wise And also grow spiritually As we are reading your word Meditating on your word Thinking about the deep truths of your word Lord Lord I just also want to pray for protection for our church And our family As we are going to and from work Lord keep us safe And protect us As we go to and from work Or as the men are going to and from work Lord I just also pray for us to spiritually go And numerically to grow as a church I pray that more people are coming to our church And as we are reaching more people And giving the gospel To more people Lord Lord I just pray that they Ultimately stop cutting the church Get saved and get acclimated to the Christian life Lord I pray for the leadership in our church I pray that you bless Pastor Mejia As he leaves our church In a way that is honoring and glorifying to you Lord Lord I want to pray for the church families here I pray that you meet the requests here But I want to point out one specifically I want to pray that you Bless the expecting mothers And the new moms and the newborns Lord I want to pray for Ms. Ceri Solis And Ms. Sarah Ortiz And Ms. Kimberly Lance And Ms. DJ Hernandez As they are expecting Lord I pray that they have healthy deliveries And that you have a hand of healing Over them and that they are nourishing their bodies And that they have a healthy delivery Lord I just pray that you Bless the church events that we have here And Lord I pray that As your word is being preached today And Lord I just pray that We go closer to you to the message And I pray that Pastor Mejia has your spirit on him Lord I pray that you have a name Amen Alright please turn your hymnos to song number 15 Song number 15 lead me to Calvary Song number 15 Lead me to Calvary Song 15 lead me to Calvary Everyone nice and strong all together on that first verse King of my life I crown thee now Thine shall the glory be Lest I forget thy thorn-crowned brow Lead me to Calvary Lest I forget Gethsemane Lest I forget thine agony Lest I forget thy love for me Lead me to Calvary Show me the tomb where thou wast laid Ten early, morn, and wept Angels and rogues of light arrayed Guarded thee while south slept Lest I forget Gethsemane Lest I forget thine agony Lest I forget thy love for me Lead me to Calvary Let me, like Mary, through the gloom Come with a gift to thee Show to me now the empty tomb Lead me to Calvary Lest I forget Gethsemane Lest I forget thine agony Lest I forget thy love for me Lead me to Calvary May I be willing, Lord, to bear Daily my cross for thee Even thy cup of grief to share Thou hast borne all for me Lest I forget Gethsemane Lest I forget thine agony Lest I forget thy love for me Lead me to Calvary piano plays softly piano plays softly Good evening. Tonight we're in 1 Samuel chapter 20. 1 Samuel chapter 20, and the Bible reads, And David fled from Naoth and Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? And he said unto him, God forbid, thou shalt not die. Behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show it to me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes, and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly, as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meet. But let me go, that I may hide myself in the field until the third day at even. If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly ask to leave of me, that he might run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If he say thus, it is well. Thy servant shall have peace, but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. Therefore, thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant, for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee, notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself. For why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee, for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would I not tell it thee? Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? Or what if thy father answered thee roughly? And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out, both of them, into the field. And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time, or the third day, and behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and showeth thee, the Lord do so, and much more to Jonathan. But if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will show it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. And thou shalt not only while yet I live, show me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not, but also, thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever. No, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. Then Jonathan said unto David, Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be mist, because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly, and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself, when the business was in hand, and shalt remain by the stone Ezell. And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And behold, I will send a lad, saying, Go, find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee, take them. Then come thou, for there is peace to thee, and no hurt, as the Lord liveth. But if I say thus unto the young man, Behold, the arrows are beyond thee, go thy way, for the Lord hath sent thee away. And as touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, behold, the Lord be between thee and me forever. So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon was come, the king sat down to eat meat. And the king sat upon his seat, as at other times, even upon the seat by the wall. And Jonathan arose, and Abner sat by Saul's side, and David's place was empty. Nevertheless, Saul spake not any thing that day, for he thought, Something hath befallen him, he is not clean, surely he is not clean. And it came to pass on the morrow, which was the second day of the month, that David's place was empty. And Saul said unto Jonathan his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meet, neither yesterday nor today? And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. And he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for our family hath a sacrifice in the city, and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there. And now, if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away, I pray thee, and see my brethren. Therefore he cometh not unto the king's table. Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan, and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse, rebellious woman, do not I know that thou hast chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion, and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom. Wherefore now send and fench him unto me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done? And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. So Jonathan arose from the table in fierce anger, and did eat no meat the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David, because his father had done him shame. It came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David, and a little lad with him. And he said unto his lad, Run, find out now the arrows which I shoot. And as the lad ran, he shot an arrow beyond him. And when the lad was come to the place of the arrow which Jonathan had shot, Jonathan cried after the lad, and said, Is not the arrow beyond thee? Jonathan cried after the lad, Make speed, haste, stay not. And Jonathan's lad gathered up the arrows, and came to his master. But the lad knew not anything, only Jonathan and David knew the matter. And Jonathan gave his artillery unto his lad, and said unto him, Go, carry them to the city. And as soon as the lad was gone, David rose out of a place toward the south, and fell on his face to the ground, and bowed himself three times, and they kissed one another, and wept one with another, until David acceded. And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for as much as we have sworn both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, and between my seat and thy seat forever. And he arose and departed, and Jonathan went into the city. Let's pray. Dear Lord God, we thank you for this church, Lord. We thank you for everything you've given us, Lord. Thank you for the people here, Lord. Thank you for pastor, we pray that you bless him and fill him with your spirit as he preaches your word, Lord. And I pray that we're edified by the preaching, Lord, and we go away learning more about your word, Lord, and we're edified by the preaching, Lord. We pray this in Jesus' name. Amen. Okay, we're going to continue this evening with the book of 1 Samuel, and tonight we're in chapter 20, and things are just getting worse and worse for Saul's kingdom. And as we saw in chapter 19, we begin to look at the deterioration of Saul's mind. Obviously, he's the king, he's the one in charge, but God has left him, the spirit of God has departed from him, and the evil spirit from the Lord is plaguing him. And it's really skewing and perverting his judgment. He can't seem to make right decisions. And even aside from that, he's without security, so to speak, where he is suspicious of David, who's essentially kind of like his right-hand man. This is the guy who is expanding the kingdom for him, he's doing great exploits, and he's very loyal to Saul, but in spite of that, Saul is envious of David, he hates David, and he wants to actually kill David, and he has attempted to on various occasions throughout these last couple of chapters. And of course, in chapter 19, he plots to assassinate David in his own home. Obviously, he sends people to go and kill David while he's lying in bed in the house of David and Michal. Michal basically discloses this plan to David. David escapes, and of course, the pursuit ensues there, and Saul continues to persecute David and seek after him. And so we leave off there, and then in chapter 20, we're really going to see that Saul's wrath, we see that it has no boundary, because aside from the fact that he wants to kill David, we're going to see later on in this particular chapter that he even tries to kill his own son, Jonathan, which is a sad thing if you think about it. Saul, who's a man of God, or used to be a man of God, who loved the Lord and wanted to serve the Lord, would go this far to the point where he not only wants to kill a man of God, but even his own son. And then later on, of course, we see that he actually carries out killing some of the priests. And one of the lessons that we can learn from that is that Christians can go pretty far when they're backslidden. Sometimes we think of Christians, how far can they go? Well, we have an example here of one of the most backslidden believers in the Bible, and man, he went really far, even to the point where he just went on this murderous rampage against other believers, against his own son, against the priest of the Lord. And so this shows us that people can go pretty far, and it doesn't mean that they'll lose their salvation, or they're no longer a child of God because of the fact that we know that you can never lose your salvation. We believe what the Bible teaches in regards to the eternal security of the believer, that once you're saved, you're always saved. The Bible tells us, I give unto them eternal life, and they shall never perish, neither shall any man pluck them out of my hand. You can't lose your salvation for any reason because of the fact that you didn't do anything to earn salvation, so you can do nothing to maintain salvation. Salvation is kept by the power of God. And so even though Saul is eternally secure in the hand of God, he's about to suffer a lot of punishment because he's being disobedient unto the Lord. And the fact that we know that at the latter end of Saul's life, he dies a very dishonorable death, that proves that he's a child of God. So how does that prove that he's a child of God if he dies such a brutal death? Well, because the Bible tells us, whom the Lord loveth, he chasteneth, and scourgeth every son whom he receiveth. And it even tells us in Hebrews chapter number 10 that God is willing to punish people to the point where he even takes their lives. I preached a sermon years ago called, Are God Kills? And this is very much a true concept in the Bible where he'll even take a believer's life if they just go too far, if they're too involved in sin, at the point of no return, God basically has to take them home early. And so that's what we see with Saul. And we see this decline, this progression here in chapter number 20. So we started off, of course, David still fleeing for his life. And we're going to look at the conversation between him and Jonathan regarding Saul's objective. We're going to look at his assumption right here. Verse number one, look what the Bible says here. It says, And David fled from Naoth and Rhema, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? What is my iniquity? And what is my sin before thy father that he seeketh my life? You know, you got to put yourself in David's shoes. He's kind of beside himself here. And he's thinking to himself, you know, what is it? Have I done anything against Saul? I've been loyal to him. I've expanded the kingdom for him. I've been serving him. What is it that I've done that's caused him to hate me so much? Okay. And you know, you really got to put yourself into the story when you read the Bible. Because sometimes you can just read past verses. And it doesn't really mean much. It's just like, you know, someone's life can be summed up in like two verses or something, right? Or someone's emotions can be summed up in one sentence. But you really got to think about how David is feeling right here. You know, he's an innocent man. He hasn't done anything wrong. He hasn't, there's no iniquity found in his heart. Yet he has this individual who is with a considerable amount of effort trying to take his life. Someone who he looks up to, someone who's a mentor. But even worse than that, it's the most powerful man in the land. So when you have the most powerful man in the land, the king, the monarch of that country, that nation, after you, you know, you start thinking to yourself, I'm probably going to die soon. Because, you know, David, although he is somewhat of a prestigious person in the kingdom, he's not as powerful as Saul. But here's the thing is that we know that God is with David, right? We know God's going to deliver David. But you got to put yourself in David's heart that although he may believe that and he knows that, there's still fear in his heart because there's a person who wants to kill him. And it's someone who is very important in the land. So he's telling Jonathan, like, what have I done? What's my iniquity? Why does he hate me so much? Look at verse two, and he's sending to him, God forbid, thou shall not die. Behold, my father will do nothing, either great or small, but that he will show it me. And why should my father hide this thing from me? It is not so. So what is he saying here? He's saying, look, it's not going to happen. I'm his son. Whatever my dad plans to do, whether good or bad, I'm going to disclose it to you so that you're one step ahead, in a sense, okay? Because we obviously see that Jonathan loves David. They're best friends. They're like brethren. And so he's trying to comfort him. He's trying to bring some security to him by telling him, like, don't worry. I'm always with my dad. He's going to disclose what plans he has. And so I'm going to help you be one step ahead in case evil is determined against you, okay? Look at verse three. We're going to look at David's assumption here. He says, And David sware moreover and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes. And he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved. But truly as the Lord liveth and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death. So what is David assuming? He's saying, look, I get what you're saying, but the truth is this. Your dad probably knows that you and I have a good relationship. And it's for that reason that he's not going to disclose if evil is determined against me. He's going to keep it from you. He's not going to tell you because he knows that if he tells you, you're probably going to end up telling me, and I'm going to be, you know, I'm going to run, and then he's not going to be able to get me here. And he's right about that because later on in the story, we see that, you know, Saul's not really saying anything to Jonathan. It's not until he knows what Jonathan has done that he kind of allows his wrath to be made manifest, his foolishness to be made manifest. And then, of course, Jonathan understands what his motive, his intentions were. Look at verse four. By the way, I want you to notice the end of verse three. It says, there is but a step between me and death. That's a scary thought there. He's basically saying, I could die at any moment. Okay? You know, he's like, I can take one wrong step, and it's my life. Okay? He says in verse number four, then said, Jonathan unto David, whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee. He's just like, just ask what you want, and I'm going to help you. I'm going to do the best that I can. So David's assumption is that Saul is not going to disclose anything to Jonathan, knowing that Jonathan has a good relationship with him. Now we're going to look at that. He's going to fabricate an arrangement. Look what it says in verse five. Excuse me. It says, and David said unto Jonathan, behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at me, but let me go that I may hide myself in the field until the third day at even. If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asks, leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem to his city. For there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. If you say thus, it is well, thy servant shall have peace, but if he be wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. So he basically wants to take advantage of the fact that it's the beginning of the month. Now the new moon is simply referring to a new month. Okay? When you hear that phrase, when you read that phrase, new moon in the Bible, it's simply the fact that, you know, the Hebrews use the lunar calendar. So they would basically describe the beginning of a new month as the new moon. And during the new moon, they would offer sacrifices unto the Lord. They would have these feasts. And so it was customary, obviously, that when the new moon would take place, that the king would gather his people together, and they would feast, they would be together. So in a sense, he knows that Saul's going to take advantage of the new moon to see David. Because since everyone's supposed to be gathered and congregate together during that time, this is basically his opportunity to see David and, of course, take advantage of that and kill him. But David knows this. So he knows this, and in light of this, he says, you know, when the new moon takes place, I'm not going to be at the king's table because he's going to throw a javelin at me. Like he typically does, okay? It's just like the same thing. You understand? It's like, why go to dinner when I already know what's going to happen, you know? It's like some of you, you know, for Thanksgiving, it's just like, I think I'm going to go to my family's house, you know? Last five years, people got drunk and started fighting, bringing up all kinds of stuff. But maybe this year will be different or something, you know? David's a little wise here. He knows, he's like, probably, you know, he's probably going to try to kill me, regardless if it's the new moon or not, okay? So what he does, he tells them, look, just tell him, if he doesn't see me there, and he asks for me, that I went home to Bethlehem, because we have a custom to have a yearly feast there with my family. And then if he reacts to that in a very bad way, then obviously we know the evil's determined against me, he wants to kill me. If he's like, oh, cool, that's great. Well, hopefully, you know, Godspeed and he has a good time, we'll see when he gets back. Then we'll know that, you know, he's kind of gotten over it. Maybe he got some rest. Maybe, you know, someone played a heart before him or something like that, and the evil spirit is departed from him, and then we're good to go, okay? So he fabricates this arrangement. Look at verse number eight, we're going to see Jonathan's allegiance to David, verse number eight. Therefore, thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant, for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee, notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself. For why shouldest thou bring me to thy father? So this kind of shows you that, you know, David is an upright man, because he's saying, look, if there is iniquity found in me, if I'm worthy of death, then just you kill me yourself. So it shows you that David does want to do that which is right, and he's saying, look, if it's true that this is what I deserve, then you should just take me out right now, because, you know, if I'm guilty, I'm guilty, okay? So it's obviously showing you that David is sincere, he has a pure heart, he wants to do that which is right, even to the point that if he were actually guilty of a specific crime, that, you know, he'd be willing to be put to death, okay? And so let's read on here, it says in verse 9, And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee, for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would I not tell it thee? Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me, or what if thy father answered thee roughly? Verse 11, so I'm sorry, before we get into that, so basically David's saying, all right, well we got to come up with a plan where you can communicate to me, where you can communicate to me whether he wants evil against me or good against me, so who's going to tell me, okay? So that was the conversation, now we're going to look at the covenant that's made between them, Jonathan's plea for mercy here in verse 11, it says, And Jonathan said unto David, Come and let us go out into the field, and they went out both of them into the field. And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel, when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time or the third day, behold if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee and show it thee, the Lord do so and much more to Jonathan, but if it please my father to do the evil, then I will show it thee and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace, and the Lord be with thee, as he hath been with my father. So what is he saying here? He's basically saying, look, if my father is determining good or if there's no bad or ill will towards you David, and I don't tell you about it, then may God strike me down. He's basically saying, what he's trying to do here is provide security for David. He's just trying to tell him, I'm going to be the one communicating with you, I'm going to make sure that you know what's going on, whether it's good or bad. And he says, if evil is determined, then I'll make sure that you get the news of that so that you have enough time to get away from my dad. This is a screwed up situation by the way. Look at verse 14. And thou shalt not only, while yet I live, show me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not, but also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever, no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David, every one from the face of the earth. So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying to let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. So what is he saying here? He's like, the only thing I ask in return is that when you take over, please be kind to me and to my household. Now this basically shows us that Jonathan has an idea that obviously David's going to take over after Saul. Now the reason that's an important point is because of the fact that when there's a king and that king is no longer in charge, traditionally the son takes over. But obviously the kingdom of God has been taken from Saul and given to someone who's better than him and that is David. So Jonathan knows this, he understands that this is the case, and in light of that, he wants to make sure that David is going to be good to him when he takes over. Because obviously Jonathan is of the household of Saul, but he's not doing it just because he has his self-interest, but he's just doing it for the safety of his family. Because obviously the house of Saul is going to become an enemy of the house of David. So he's just saying, look, as I'm swearing unto you that I'm going to make sure that you're protected and you're taken care of, just remember this in the future when I need your help. Now what's the principle that we can learn there? Well, you know, obviously we know that the New Testament teaches us that we should not swear at all. And by the way, this is one thing that needs to stop every once in a while. You know, sometimes Christians, they have a tendency to go, oh, I swear. Or how about this, oh, I swear to God. Don't do that. The Bible says, swear not at all. Let your yay be yay and your nay be nay. Don't just make vows and swear and make these flippant promises and vows that you cannot keep. And by the way, that shouldn't be used in a flippant manner either. Either way, you're just having a conversation and you're just like, oh, man, yeah, I swear to God that if this is X, Y, and Z or something, that's wicked. You know, if you don't know what you're talking about or if you can't keep a promise, let your yay be yay and your nay be nay. Don't use swear words or don't try to commit a vow that you can't keep or a promise. But what is the application that we can get from this? Well, the application that we can get is that we need to sow good seeds today so we can reap the benefits of it tomorrow. Be good to someone today so that you can reap the benefits of that tomorrow. You say, well, that sounds kind of, you know, shouldn't we just do good just to be good? Well, yeah, of course. However, the fact remains is that the Bible teaches us the law of sowing and reaping. And there's nothing wrong with sowing good seeds of righteousness and doing good unto all men, especially those of the household of faith, knowing full well that God will recompense you in the future. So it's important that while you prosper or you are doing good, whether it's financially, in your health, in your possessions or just spiritually speaking, you know, you've got to make sure that you're a blessing to someone else because that's going to come around and bless you in the long run, not because karma exists, because it's not about karma. It's because God is the one who will recompense you. You understand? God is the one who remembers your deeds. God is the one who remembers your works. He remembers the times that you saw opportunity to do good unto all men, especially they of the household of faith, and he's going to recompense you for that. It may not happen tomorrow. It may not happen next week, but it's going to happen someday, okay? And so take heed to this of what Jonathan is saying here. He's like, I'm going to help you because there's going to be a time when I'm going to need your help. So think about that. Help someone in our church because there's going to come a time when you're going to need their help. Be a blessing to someone in our church today because there's going to come a time when you're going to need them to bless you as well. And you want to have a reserve of blessings that you have this reputation of just kind of going out of your way to be in a blessing to the couples in our church when they are expecting, or you have a reputation of just being a servant or just being a blessing or just parting with your resources, helping people because there's going to come a time when you're going to need that. And in your time of prosperity, that's when it's time to be a blessing to others because we're not always going to prosper. And in times when we're not prospering, we're going to want someone who is prospering to be a blessing to us. So that's the simple principle that we can learn there between Jonathan and the covenant that Jonathan is making with David. It says in verse 16, So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. And Jonathan caused David to swear again because he loved him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul. By the way, when you read later on in the story, when Jonathan's already dead and Saul's dead, that David does take care of Jonathan's house. He watches over him. They're able to feast at the king's table and he remembers that covenant that he made with Jonathan and he keeps his end of the bargain. Now, I want you to notice what it says in verse 17 that he caused them to swear again because he loved him. So this kind of shows you, by the way, this is the narrator speaking here, right? This is showing us that Jonathan is not doing this because he's being selfish or because he wants something, you know, selfishly. Why is he doing this to David? Well, because he actually loves David. So what is the motive behind helping David? Is it because he hates his dad? No, it's because he loves David. You understand? And so that's going to come into play later on in the chapter, but I want you to remember that. Look at verse 18. It says here, Then Jonathan said to David, Tomorrow is the new moon, and thou shalt be missed because thy seat will be empty. And when thou hast stayed three days, then thou shalt go down quickly and come to the place where thou didst hide thyself when the business was in hand and shall remain by the stone easel. And I will shoot three arrows on the side thereof, as though I shot at a mark. And behold, I will send a lad saying, Go find out the arrows. If I expressly say unto the lad, Behold, the arrows are on this side of thee. Take them, then come thou, for there is peace to thee, and know her as the Lord liveth. So what is Jonathan doing here? He's like, this is the plan. Once I've found out the news of what my dad wants to do, this is essentially what he's planning to do. He's going to take his armor bearer, or lad, so to speak, and he's going to shoot three arrows. And he basically says, when he tells the lad, Hey, collect those arrows because they're close enough, you're going to hear me say that because David is abiding in the field, and that basically means you're good to go, you can come back home. And then later on we'll see if I tell the lad, Hey, they're too far for you, then basically that means evil is determined. And the reason he's doing this is because he doesn't want the lad to know what's going on. It's a very tense moment, very tense time in the kingdom right now where I'm sure there's a lot of people who would want to gain favor with the king, and one of the best ways to do it right now is by turning David in. And so Jonathan basically is saying, I can't trust anybody, I can't trust the lad, I can't trust anyone because we don't know if the lad's going to see us talking together and then he's going to go rat you out and say, Hey, David's hiding in the field. And so this is the plan. Look what it says in verse number 23, and it's touching the matter which thou and I have spoken of, Behold the Lord be between thee and me forever. So David hid himself in the field, and when the new moon was come, the king sat him down to eat meat, and the king sat upon his seat as at other times, even upon his seat by the wall, and Jonathan arose and Abner sat by Saul's side and David's place was empty. Now I do find it interesting that it says that Saul sat in a seat and it says there by the wall. I don't think that's there on accident. What it's saying is essentially, he's not just putting his chair right here, he's making sure that his back is up against the wall. Now why is that? Because he's paranoid. That's kind of showing you where his mind's at right now. Where he doesn't want anybody to sneak up on him, and he doesn't know if David's right around the corner or something like that. I mean in his mind, that's why it's saying that. And let me say this folks, is that paranoia is very much a real thing, even amongst Christians. And it's something that is not good. It's obviously a byproduct of fear. Now here's the thing, before you think to yourself, is this even a thing amongst Christians though? Folks, a lot of Christians sometimes are paranoid. I dare even say this, there's probably people in this building right now that are paranoid. Multiple people. They could be paranoid. And I'm telling you, and we chuckle at it, because when we think of paranoia, we think of Saul. Where it's just like, he doesn't want no one behind him, because someone's going to get him or something like that. But it may not be that serious with Christians or people in our church or people in other churches, but it is to this extent where it's just like they feel like someone's out to get them, or they feel like they can't trust certain people, and they can say, well I'm just being cautious. Come on folks. Obviously we understand that we need to be cautious as Christians, and make sure that we're aware of our surroundings, but folks, aware of our surroundings is right here, and then paranoia is right over here. Don't mask your paranoia in saying that you're just trying to be cautious. Cautious is like you can still live a normal life. Hey Saul, push up your chair a little bit. You look a little weird just being up against the wall. You think someone's going to do something to you? There comes a point folks that we have to trust the Lord. There comes a point where we just have to put our lives in the hands of the Lord, and stop putting them in our own hands. And by the way, I know what fear can do. I know how paranoid fear can make you, because there's a time when we were being persecuted, where I had a sense of paranoia, because people were waiting outside my house and everything, and I remember I would have to park really far from my house late at night, and I would just walk, and I'm thinking to myself, and there's tons of cars, and I'm thinking to myself, my killer could be in any one of these cars. Now, if you ask me now, I'm thinking to myself, hey, this is a legitimate concern, because apparently there was someone who was actually trying to take my life at one point waiting outside, but I got to a point where as I was walking for a really long time, because I had to park really far, you know what I had to do? I had to say this. Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil. And you know what? Instead of looking around and just looking at every car, I had to put my life in God's hands and say, Lord, I just need to enjoy this walk. And you know what? This may be the valley of the shadow of death. It's the shadow of death, by the way. It's not death itself, it's just the shadow of death. I'm not going to fear any evil, because at the end of the day, if God wants me to go at that moment, then that's when God wants me to go. And you know what? No level of awareness, no level of caution, no level of armory or guns or knives or artillery can keep me from dying if God wants me to go that day. Right? I mean, I can have AK-47s and grenades and, you know, like the, what do you call those, the night vision goggles. I can have it all. And God's just like, sucka, you forgot your heart. Right? I'm just dead right there. You know, and here's the most common verse that people use to teach to be cautious, the horses are prepared against the day of battle. Right? And that's the only part that they'll quote, but how about this, but safeties of the Lord. Now let me just explain to you, because that verse is often abused. Because I often say, horses are prepared against the day of battle and they take it as, you better prepare your horses against the day of battle. But folks, not everyone in the Bible even owned a horse. So what now? Well, I'll tell you what now, safety is of the Lord. And what that verse is teaching you and teaching me is that we should not put our trust in horses. And in fact, there's other portions of scripture God condemns men for placing their faith and their confidence in the arm of the flesh and in horses. They'll often fear other nations because they have so many horses. They feared Egypt and Assyria, the Israelites because of their vast army and how many horses they had and chariots of iron. And God said, safety is of the Lord. And so I'm all for being cautious. I'm all for owning a weapon. I'm all for if you don't have a gun, get yourself a machete or something. When I got a family, I went from a knife to a machete to then a gun and that's what I have right now. But you know what? I'll be honest with you. I will be honest with you. I have not seen my gun in like over a year. I'm not saying I lost it. Like, Sarah, you know where that gun's at? Did Bruce play with my gun? No, I mean it's like stowed away, okay? Like I don't check it. I probably should because I probably need to use it just to, you know, I don't know if it's rusting or something like that. But you know what that should show you is that I'm not really concerned, you know what I mean, if I need it. Because I've come to peace, I've come to grips with the fact that at the end of the day, more fearful, I should become more fearful of God who I can't hide from than some human being who can, all they can do is try to kill me or something like that. And you know what? At the end of the day, you have to understand this. You gotta make sure that you're just not becoming an enemy of God. Okay, an adversary of God. What do I mean by that? You gotta make sure that you're in the Christian life, that you're serving the Lord, because that's the only way you can, you know, confirm that you're gonna be okay. That's the best security system you'll ever have. You understand? You say, what's better than, you know, infrared cameras and, you know, chain guns that come out or flame throwers? I'll tell you what's better than that. Ten thousand angels. Right? Doesn't the Bible talk about that? The Bible talks about the fact that angels surround the righteous and protect the righteous. So better than any security system. And you know what? If you have a security system, all power to you, more power to you, we're probably gonna get some here. Just in case, you know, another episode happens once again of the bombing of the church or something like that. But this time we'll get them in 4K, alright? But you know what? At the end of the day, better than that is just the Lord sending forth His angels to protect us. And you know what? It seems as though we rest easier knowing that God is protecting us. I rest easier, I guarantee you, I get better sleep with no security system and only God's divine protection than the dude who has, like, eye scanners and, you know, you know, in order to get in his house, you have to, you know, go through the lasers and stuff, you know, the smoke. The thieves are all, they got the dust and they're trying to... I guarantee I sleep better than that, than that person. It's true. Now again, if you have that elaborate system, you know, I'm all for you because you've already spent the money, so... There's no going back, amen? But what I am saying is this, is that there does come a level of paranoia. You know, and again, don't try to say that your cautiousness, your cautiousness is not paranoia. Folks, if you can't close your eyes for prayer here at our church, this is not an old IFB church where people pray for like 15 minutes, okay? We pray for like, what? Like, I don't know, like a minute maybe? If you're paranoid that someone might just burst through the door so you just can't keep your eyes closed or something like that, you're paranoid. You're not being cautious, you're paranoid. Okay? If you feel like you have to be standing, you have to be in a certain part of the building to make sure you just know everything that's going on. You're not cautious, you're paranoid. Okay? Saul was paranoid, folks. He was allowing himself to be controlled by his own imaginations. Okay? And I guarantee there's plenty of people who might have told him and he just denied it. But we see here that his back's against the wall because he doesn't want anybody, even though no one's coming after him. But, oh wait, yeah, there is someone coming after him. Who is it? It's called God. That's who was coming after Saul. He's so busy worrying about David and David's not, David's running from him, he's not running to him. And by the way, what does the Bible say about that? Oh, the wicked flee when no man pursueth. So Saul is fearful of David who's not chasing him because he's wicked. You understand? And so, you know, let this be a lesson to us that we need to make sure that we have faith in the Lord, that we know that God's protecting us. You know, I don't know if God's protecting me, though. How do I know? Well, then just be right with God then. You know, the only reason someone would wonder if God's favoring them is if they're questioning whether maybe they have some sin in their life or something. Right? They're just like, I don't know if God, you're like, why would you question that, though? Are you guilty of something? Do you feel like there's some transgression between you and the Lord? If that's the case, then just repent of it, get it right, and then go back into God's graces and his favor where he'll protect you. Okay? And so, again, don't misunderstand what I'm saying. You can turn that up, Brother Albert. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying because I know there's like a freezer in here now, right? I see people shaking. It's because they're paranoid. No, I'm just kidding. Don't misunderstand what I'm saying. It's okay to be aware. It's okay to be cautious. You know, we don't want to be careless. Right? I'll give you an example. Was it a couple months ago, I was sick, and then, you know, I couldn't come to church because I didn't want to get anybody sick, of course, and then, you know, I was home with my family, and I got better, and so we decided to go take a walk, and we were going to the school, and there was no school. It was the weekend. We went to the school, and there was no one there. The kids are playing. All of a sudden, this person just shows up, right? He's kind of, he's this older gentleman, but he's walking really erratically, and my kids are just kind of roaming free. They're just running around, just playing, but I'm just kind of being aware. You know what I mean? I'm not like reprobate. Reprobate, you know. I'm just paying attention, and my mind is like person. You know what I mean? My mind is like a computer. It's just like person, okay, and I'm just keeping an eye on my kids, but then he starts like walking towards my kids, so my kids were actually getting a drink out of the water fountain, and he starts like bolting towards my kids, right, and I'm like person moving. Person picking up speed. So as a father, I just said, Bruce and Zias, I said get over here right now, okay, and my kids, they start coming towards me, and the guy's trajectory changes, and he's still going towards my kids, so I'm like person moving faster. So now my adrenaline, you know what I mean? Now my senses become more keen because that's already three things right there that I see, and then my kids are just kind of like, you know, they're just coming to, and I'm like get over here right now. So they're like almost meeting me like this, right, and you know, they get to me, and I kind of put him behind me, and he's just like this, and he just steps in front of me, just looks at me, and I'm just like can I help you? And he's like oh, hi. I'm like what do you want? You know, because it just looked weird that he was like, almost as if he was coming for my kids or something, you know, and then he's like was trying to go around me. It was the weirdest thing ever, and I'm just like am I going to have to knock this guy out here? Do I have to do this? You know what I mean? By the way folks, the Bible says no striker, no brawler. It just means like, I'm just trying to justify why I would knock him out, you know. What that means is that you're not characterized by that, okay. So I'm just thinking to myself, I'm going to end up giving him Nyquil. I'm going to put him to sleep, and then I said Sarah get the kids, we're leaving, and then like I just kind of turn my back, and I'm just looking at him, because he is older, you know what I mean, so I didn't think he was going to karate chop me or something like that. I just don't feel like he had, like I assessed him. You know men, we assess other people, other men. You kind of look at them, like I can take them kind of thing. You know what I mean, right? So I assessed him. I'm like, you know, he's not going to do much. So I'm walking, and then she's like, you know, my wife's like, where are we going? I'm like, get the kids, we're leaving now. I'm like, this dude's being weird, and he's like right there, I'm like, you know, I don't know what this guy's, what's up with this guy's mind, and he was being weird, he was being erratic or whatever, and then I just take my kids, and then we're walking out of the fence, and he just stays there, and he's just staring at us the entire time, and he had like normal clothes, you know, and you say, well see, see, see, that guy's just demon possessed, okay? But here's the thing, at the end of the day, God was still protecting us, I believe that beyond a shadow of a doubt, and by the way, that's like, that's happened, a crazier story than that has happened before, where, you know, I was taking pictures with my kids for, for fall, taking some fall photos with my kids with a pumpkin, and Bruce, he wanted, and then we had Bruce and Kyla during that time, and so Bruce is like, I want to play in the playground, and we take him to the playground, and I'm holding Kyla, Kyla was a baby at that time, and this lady comes up, and she walks up to me, she's like, what are you doing? And I'm just like, excuse me, she's like, that's my baby. Oh, what? And you know, you're just kind of like, and I'm like, what? That's my child, give him my child. He said, what did you do? I was like, the same thing I did, you know, a couple months ago, I said, Sarah, get the kids, we're leaving, or get Bruce, we're leaving, you know, and I was like, so I had Kyla, and I had a pumpkin on my left hand, you know, and then she literally followed us to her car, and she's just like, give me my baby, you know, give me my baby now, you know, and let's, I'm just gonna tell you, I had some choice words for her, and she kept coming at me, and I'm just like, get away from me, get away from me, get away from me, and she just kept coming, and I told her, I said, I'm gonna basically hit you with this pumpkin on your face. I said it differently. I'll give it to you in King James language, you know, I'm gonna smite thee, I'm gonna smite thee with this pumpkin, O thou woman, you know, if thou didst not depart from my presence, you know, and, because, you know, the pumpkin had like a little handle, so, so I grabbed it from the handle, and I told her, I was like, if you don't get away from me, I'm gonna bash this on your face, and then, you know, she just went back to normal, she just, you know, she just was no longer crazy, she was just like, oh, and then she started backing up, you know, and then I was just like, get in the car, I was like, relieve it, that's my child, that's my child, and stuff, and people were like, man, is that lady crazy? I'm like, yeah, she thinks this is, my kid is her daughter, she's like following us, so what am I saying? I'm saying, look, even in a situation like that, we shouldn't be paranoid, we should just, obviously, I think those things happen to me, and happen to even some of my pastor friends, just because people are just demon possessed, okay, and, and, you know, people, you know, are on drugs or whatever, but even then, you know, I'm not gonna stop us from going to parks, and I'm just like, I'm never gonna go to another park ever again, or, you know, I'm never gonna take photos with my kids, with the pumpkin, ever again, it's just gonna, that's the craziest thing ever, you know, no, it's just a matter of, Lord, you know, our life is in your hands, and I'm your man, I'm your servant, and whenever you want to take me home, then that's, so be it, but until then, we're just gonna live our lives, and just not be afraid, because look, folks, it's just not fun to live life afraid, it's not fun, it's not pleasurable, you know, where you're just constantly paranoid, you should be able to come to church, you know, and just kind of let your guard down a little bit, and I'm not saying completely, no one lets their guard down completely, I'm the pastor of this church, and I don't even let my guard down completely with my kids, even though this is my church, we've set up guidelines and safeguards here to protect the families of our church, I don't let them down completely, but you know what, I'm not paranoid either, you know, of what's gonna happen to my kids, or what's gonna happen to the family, who's coming through that door, why live like that? It's not worth it, and it's not, it's a work of the flesh, okay, and you can try to justify that all you want, and say, no, I'm just being cautious, folks, it's called paranoia, and you need to start placing your faith in God, and do as the Bible says, that you live from faith to faith, okay, and place your faith in God, and trust God that he's gonna protect you no matter what, and why would you question whether God's gonna protect you? Why? Why question if God's gonna protect you or not? And most people who are paranoid, they're just like, well, this is just in case or something, what, just in case he doesn't protect you? Just in case he's not gonna watch over you? Then the other question would be, why wouldn't he? Well, I just don't wanna die, well, if your life is in God's hands, and it's your time to go, then it's your time to go. We all need to make peace with the fact that one day we're gonna go, and for some, it's sooner than others, right? Now, I know that's not a nice message, but it's just reality, right? But if you could just make peace with that, and understand that the person you should be pleasing, the person you should fear more, why don't you be a little paranoid about God, actually, so that you obey the Lord, right? Like, you know what, I don't wanna just please God, I wanna make sure that I live uprightly, that I'm right with God, that I'm reading the Bible, that I'm pleasing the Lord, because of the fact that God is the worst enemy you can have. You know, God doesn't care about your security system. He can breach your security system, He can, you know, make your gun not work. I mean, folks, it's the Lord, okay? That's who we should be fearing more than anything. The Bible says it is a fearful thing, listen to this, to fall into the hands of the living God. Not to fall into the hands of your enemy, right? And look, even when David was being chastised of the Lord, you know, he chose to fall into God's hands because he understood that God was more merciful than his own enemies. David had a good understanding of God's wrath, but he also had a good understanding of God's mercy as well. You know, and so we need to change our perspective of, you know, life and recognize that, you know, the person we should be fearing more. And by the way, that's why pastors don't preach things that they should be preaching, it's because they fear man more than they fear God. That's why. Because they're afraid of what man might do unto them. But what they should be afraid of is what God's going to do to them if they don't preach God's word. That's why I'm afraid. You say, oh, you're scared of God? Uh, yeah? Because of the fact that I know the Bible I know the word of God I've read it multiple times since I've been saved and I know what God requires of my life and you know what? And if I don't preach the Bible as God has commanded me to I might get chastised of the Lord and God's chastisement is worse than what any enemy could do unto me in this world. That's what we should be fearing as God. Okay? And so I know we chased a rabbit there but, you know, this is a perfect example right here of Saul just being paranoid, worried about David even though David is running away from him. What verse are we in here? Let's look at verse 24. It says, David hid himself in the field and when the new moon was come the king sat him down to eat meat and the king sat upon a seat as at other times even upon a seat by the wall and Jonathan arose and Abner sat by Saul's side and David's place was empty. Verse 26, Nevertheless, Saul spake not anything that day for he thought, listen to this, something hath befallen him. He is not clean. Surely he is not clean. So, you know, he's not telling anybody anything but he notices that David's absent. So he's like, I knew it. It's one of those things that he's just like, he's not clean. What he's saying is like, David's probably dead and he's probably dead because he's just a bad person. He's not clean. He's not clean. Now, what is this called? It's called projecting. Right? Because who's the one who's really not clean? It's Saul. David is clean. His hands are clean. His heart is clean. It's Saul who's not clean. It's Saul the one who's actually projecting what he sees in David. Okay? So he's assuming, oh yeah, he's dead. You know, something happened to him and he's, it's like, dude, the guy's just absent. The guy's just not there. You know, if someone's not in church, it's not like, yeah, got to judge that person. Someone doesn't show up today, it's like, for sure. They're backslidden. They went out from us for they were not of us for if they had been with us, they would have no doubt continued with us on Thursday nights. You know, that's a stupid assumption. And he's jumping the gun here. You know, he that answerth the matter before hearth it is foolishness and bawling to him. That's what the Bible says. Okay. Verse 20, this is what he wishes would have happened to him though. Verse 27, it came to pass on the morrow which was the second day of the month that David's place was empty and Saul said unto Jonathan and his son, Wherefore cometh not the son of Jesse to meet? Neither yesterday nor today. And Jonathan answered Saul, David earnestly asked leave of me to go to Bethlehem. And he said, Let me go, I pray thee, for our family hath a sacrifice in the city and my brother, and my brother, he hath commanded me to be there. And now if I have found favor in thine eyes, let me get away. I pray thee and see my brethren. Therefore, he cometh not unto the king's table. Then Saul's anger was kindled against Jonathan and he said unto him, Thou son of the perverse rebellious woman. So, by the way, you know there's not a whole lot that's said about Saul's wife, by the way, in the Bible. So like when it does say something about it, it's like this is, you know. But you know what? This actually, this actually clarifies a lot of things. Because it kind of clarifies why Michal's the way she is. Right? This is thou son of a perverse rebellious woman and then Michal, you know, God made Michal or he put, he gave David to Michal to marry him because he's like, she's going to be a snaring to him. Well, you know, the daughter is just like the mama. Now this is a great principle here. Men, remember this, single young men, who you marry, she's going to be just like her mama. Right? Now in some instances it's like, yeah! In other instances it's like, oh no. Now it doesn't have to be that way, ladies. You can obviously change that. Amen? But, we see here that it didn't change. Okay? The mama's a rebellious woman and Michal ended up being a rebellious woman, you know, a snaring to David, just not a good wife. Okay? And so we see that here. And, you know, this is the first thing he tells Jonathan. He's like, you want to talk about something, you know, first thing you bring up is my mom? Thou son of a perverse, rebellious woman, do not I know that thou has chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion and unto the confusion of thy mother's nakedness? Now this particular passage is kind of weird, isn't it? The way that's worded, you kind of wonder like, what is he saying? Like, this is weird. So I'm going to explain to you what I think it means. Okay? The first part is pretty obvious where he says, do not I know that thou has chosen the son of Jesse to thine own confusion? What is he saying there? Well, you know, Saul obviously knows that Jonathan has essentially pledged allegiance to David. Okay? He loves David. He is loyal to David and Saul knows this. Okay? And he's telling him, you know, you've chosen David to your confusion. And the reason I believe he's saying that is because of the fact that, again, traditionally, the son is supposed to take after the father once the king, who's the father, dies. The one who's supposed to take over after him is Jonathan. So he's basically saying, you know, you're kind of shooting yourself in the foot, Jonathan, because you're the one who's supposed to take over after me, but you've chosen David to your own detriment. That's basically what he's saying. Now, he's right. He's right that Jonathan is more loyal to David than he is to Saul. He's right about that. The part where he's wrong is why he's doing it. Because in Saul's mind, he's like, oh, you're just doing it to cement your position in the kingdom. You're just doing it so that when David takes over, he just favors you and you have position and you have authority in the kingdom. But that's not necessarily why Jonathan is loyal to David. Why is he loyal to David? Because he loves David. Understand? He's doing it because he actually loves him as his own soul. Now, having a position in the kingdom, would that be a byproduct of that? Yes, of course. But that's not why Jonathan is doing it. Now, you know, the way we can apply this is that, you know, if David pictures the Lord Jesus Christ, you know, people could often criticize us of like, oh, you're never only serving God because, you know, you just want to find a wife or you're just trying to find a spouse or you're just trying to, you know, do X, Y, and Z or you just want to be a pastor or you just want to do this, you just want to do that. But at the end of the day, what people don't realize is no, it's because these people just love the Lord. Now, these other things are a byproduct of serving David, of loving David, loving the Lord Jesus Christ, but it's not the main reason why. Now, are there people out there that actually do those things because they want, you know, to have some nefarious agenda behind it? Yes, of course. There's people who come to church and, you know, they try to be buddy buddies with the pastor and try to gain the pastor's favor so that they can get ordained and get sent down and go start a church and do their own thing, you know, and they have a bad motive of doing so. But, you know, sometimes there's people who actually come to church and they get sent out, men who get sent out to become a pastor and go start a church, not because that's why they came here, it's because that's just the byproduct of them being a good Christian. Right? That's just a byproduct of them loving the Lord, the Lord's called them, enabled them, and, you know, made them apt to be able to fulfill the position of a pastor. Okay? And you can apply this in different ways. Okay? Now, is it bad to come to church because you're just like, well I'm saved but I want to find a good Christian spouse? I don't think that's a bad thing to do because obviously the best place to find a spouse is in church. Amen? You know, I think that's a great place to find a spouse. But, you know, here's the thing is that, you know, if you're only here for that though, then, you know, it's not a good reason to be in church. You should be in church because you love the Lord. Okay? You should be in church because you love the Lord, you want to grow in your knowledge of God's word, because you want to please God and allow those other things to be a byproduct of serving God. Okay? When you become so focused on the byproduct and not why it is that you're doing the things that you do, you know, you're going to be very disappointed. You're going to become disillusioned with the Christian life because of the fact that you're not going to get what you expected. Whereas what you should expect is just to love the Lord and have the Lord bless you, you know, because you're loving Him regardless of how that blessing looks. You understand? And so, you're like, well, I want to come to First Works Baptist Church because, you know, I thought that, you know, I'd be sent out or become a pastor and get married, you know, don't know what to tell you, go somewhere else if that's what you're here for because that's not the way it works. You know, come to church to enjoy the preaching and to grow from the preaching of God's Word, amen? Well, I was coming to church because I was hoping to find a husband. Well, husbands are taken here, so I don't know what to tell you. Well, I just come here because I just want to get married. Well, you know, is actually come here because, you know, you want to grow in your love for God. And here's the thing, when you put yourself in the right position spiritually, God will put you on the right track to get what's coming to you, so to speak. That's just how it works, okay? And so, what you need to be doing is serving God, reading the Bible, learning how to go so many, learning how to be a blessing, and you being in the way the Lord will lead you to that, you know, final destination, so to speak, okay? Well, you know, Jonathan is not necessarily doing anything bad here. He actually just loves David. Now, as far as like the confusion of thy mother's nakedness, two things can be said about this, okay? Number one, he could be saying, because the mother's nakedness would actually be shame, right? He's basically, and the mother's nakedness would be, or would be, excuse me, Saul. And that's often what the Bible talks about. You know, the father's nakedness would be considered the father, understand? So what he's possibly saying here is that by you doing this, you're shaming our family. By you becoming loyal to David, you're bringing shame to the family name because you're not trying to carry on this legacy that we have going on here. That could be an interpretation. But another interpretation is the fact that maybe Saul understands that if David replaces Saul, Saul's wife will become David's wife, a hinoham, which is actually what we see later on. Okay? Either way, you know, Saul's basically looking too much into this. Okay? And at the end of the day, we don't know exactly what he's saying. You know, he chose a very odd idiom to express his anger towards David and towards Jonathan. But at the end of the day, I think the culmination of what he's trying to say here is this, is that you're more loyal to David than you are to me, and that's a shame. Okay? And that's what he's stating there. And he's right about the first part, but he's not right about the second. Okay? Look at verse 31. For as long as the son of Jesse liveth upon the ground, thou shalt not be established, nor thy kingdom, wherefore now send and fetch him unto me, for he shall surely die. And Jonathan answered Saul his father, and said unto him, Wherefore shall he be slain? What hath he done? Verse 33. And this is why I call this the wrath without boundary. Verse 33 says, And Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. So he goes so far as to wanting to slay his own son. I always find that funny, by the way, when it says, Saul cast a javelin at him to smite him, whereby Jonathan knew that it was determined of his father to slay David. He tries to kill him, he's like, you know what? I think he's trying to kill David. Because he's just trying to kill me right now. We got Old Testament Sherlock Holmes over here. This guy is just an investigative journalist. Man, how'd you figure that out, Jonathan? So Jonathan arose, verse 34, from the table in fierce anger, and did not meet the second day of the month, for he was grieved for David because his father had done him shame. And it came to pass in the morning that Jonathan went out into the field at the time appointed with David and the little lad with him. So here, during the latter end of the chapter, he carries out that particular sign that he was gonna give to David with the arrows, and of course, the arrows go beyond the lad, indicating to David that yes, evil is determined against you. The lad picks up the artillery, the arrows, he sends them home, and then look at verse 41. And as soon as the lad was gone, David arose out of a place toward the south and fell on his face to the ground and bowed himself three times, and they kissed one another and wept with one another until David exceeded. Now, pay attention to this because this is actually really sad, okay? By the way, when it says they kiss one another, you know, the sodomites wanted you to think that, oh, see, David was a homosexual or whatever. Folks, just because it says they kiss one another doesn't mean they're, it's like mouth-to-mouth or something like that. And I preached about this a couple months ago, what the Bible talks about when it comes to being effeminate, and I talked about how, you know, kissing is actually not an effeminate trait and it's not even a homosexual thing if men kiss. Obviously, in this type of culture, they're not kissing in the mouth. He's probably kissing him on the forehead, and in fact, in Hispanic culture, you know, they'll often kiss the sides of the cheek, but they'll kind of kiss the air, okay? And so in this type of culture, he's probably giving him a kiss on the head, and that's what he's doing because he's just showing him affection, okay? Nothing bad about that. And anybody who looks at that and says, oh, man, is this gay or what? You know, they're obviously viewing the Bible through a perverted lens, okay? It says, they kissed one another and wept one another until David exceeded. So they're crying, and then David's weeping, his crying is actually greater than Jonathan. He said, why is that? Well, you know, David's devastated. I mean, think about it. He's devastated because he's thinking about himself like his worst nightmare has come to fruition, that Saul is out to get him. And he's thinking of himself like, I'm going to die. Like, I'm done. Saul's the most powerful person. He's even tried to smite Jonathan. And so, you know, David, we don't know exactly how old he is here, but, you know, he's probably a young man. He's married. And think about how you would feel if you're 100% innocent. You've never done anything wrong against your mentor or against anybody, and all of a sudden this vitriol against you, it's coming against you, and they're trying to take your life. You know, that would break your heart. You know, if like your mom or your dad tried to take your life, that would kind of shatter your heart. So this is why David is just weeping exceedingly because he's just thinking to himself like, this is such devastating news for me to hear. I mean, I'm getting emotional just like talking about it because, you know, it's sad that David has to experience this. You know, because you think to yourself like, where does he go from here? You know, you think of David like, David's probably thinking like, what am I going to do? Where am I going to go? I got nowhere to go. Like, I got to leave my wife. I got to leave my nation. I got to leave my country. You know what I mean? Just because this one man wants to kill me for no reason. Very sad, okay? And, you know, I think the reason this particular story is placed like this is because David is a picture of Jesus Christ. Because Jesus Christ, the Bible tells us that he's a man who's acquainted with grief, a man of sorrows, okay? And, you know, David was obviously an innocent man, but he was not a sinless man, whereas Jesus Christ, you know, was tempted in all points as we are, yet without sin. And think about the fact that, you know, God the Father forsook his son, Jesus Christ, on the cross, you know? And he said, Father, Father, why hast thou forsaken me? How heartbroken the Lord was when in the first time in all history, the Father actually turned his back on him for crimes that he did not commit. He was a complete innocent man, you know, and yet he's bearing the sins of the whole world upon his own body. I mean, it's a devastating thing to think about. And the fact that he went to hell for three days and three nights for the entire world for crimes that he did not commit. And the Bible says that God hath made them to be sinned who knew no sin, that we might be made the righteousness of God in him. And so this is why, this is saying here that he's weeping exceedingly, you know, because there's emotions of fear, there's devastation. You know, he feels betrayed. He kind of feels hopeless. Verse 42 says, And Jonathan said to David, Go in peace for as much as we have sworn, both of us in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord be between me and thee, between my seed and thy seed forever. And he arose and departed and Jonathan went into the city. And so to be continued until the following week. All right, let's pray. Father, we thank you so much for your word and thank you for this story, Lord. Help us to give heed to the people in the story, Lord, from Saul to Jonathan to David. And Lord, we're so thankful you gave us examples of men of like passions, men who failed, men who succeeded, men who expressed emotions like we do. And I pray, Lord, that you'd help us to learn from them, Lord, and bless us as we go on our way. Give us a great weekend to follow in Jesus' name. Amen. Song number 343 for our last song, Revive Us Again. Song number 343, Revive Us Again. Everyone nice and strong altogether. We praise Thee, O God, for the Son of Thy love, for Jesus, who died and is now gone above. Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again! We praise Thee, O God, for Thy Spirit of life, who has shown us our Savior and scattered our night. Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again! All glory and praise to the Lamb that was slain, who has borne all our sins and has cleansed every stain. Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again! Revive us again! Fill each heart with Thy love, may each soul be rekindled with fire from above. Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Hallelujah! Amen! Hallelujah! Thine the glory! Revive us again! Thank you for watching!