Who's ever heard of the story of David and Goliath, story that's world famous but often misunderstood, and I want to make sure you know someone who understood it. His name is Jonathan, and I invite you to open the Bible and turn with me to 1 Samuel 18:1. And I just want to look at this one verse as we kick off our Fellowship groups coming back this week, as we kick off the fall season, as unfortunately, things are going to look less like summer and more like school in the weeks to come. And so, we want to then talk about fellowship and relationships that we have with one another, that we share the life of Jesus here at the church. And I want to study this example of how this man, Jonathan, responded to David killing Goliath. And so, this is 1 Samuel, chapter 18, verse 1, just one verse that we're going to study together tonight. And out of respect for God's Word, I would ask everybody to stand up for the reading of this one verse. And you're going to see two very important things as we pay attention to what the scripture says here. So let me read 1 Samuel, 18, verse 1.
As soon as he had finished speaking to Saul, the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.
That's the reading of God's Word. Please go ahead and have your seat. So, David is talking to King Saul. Something that happened in the previous chapter. The famous chapter of 1 Samuel is chapter 17, where David kills the giant. And then it says, “As soon as David had finished speaking to Saul,” two things happen here, and these are the two things that are going to become our two points. They're on your handout. If you want to take some notes, we're going to see two points from this verse. And the first one is when Jonathan hears what David says to Saul, Jonathan's soul is knit to David's soul. And the word here for knit in the Hebrew it is this idea of being bound together or tied together. Okay, so Jonathan hears David say something to who? King Saul, who turns out to be Jonathan's dad. So, if you don't know the context here, we'll start to unpack it.
Jonathan is the prince of Israel. He is the one whose dad is the king, and usually the way that it works, if your dad is the king and you're the oldest of the sons, then you would be the next king. But back in chapter 16, Samuel anointed David to be the king. Okay, so you would think there would be a great conflict between Jonathan and David. But instead, whatever David says to King Saul, when Jonathan hears it, he feels bound to him. He feels tied to him. There's a connection that immediately happens between Jonathan when he hears David. In fact, look at what it says next, “and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.” This the response of Jonathan to what David says. Is this love, this brotherly kind of love that one man would have for another, this fellowship that they would share. And so, we want to see these two things. First of all, what is it that tied them together? And then secondly, what does that love look like that Jonathan has for David? How do you love someone like you love yourself or as you love your own soul? So, we have to really see. What did David say to King Saul that produced such a profound response from Jonathan?
Now, David is the main character of Samuel. We break it down into 1 and 2 Samuel. Originally, it was all one big book of Samuel, and you don't even meet David until Samuel 16. And so, this book of Samuel is like an epic telling of the king of Israel, and it's so epic we don't even start with the king. We start with the guy, Samuel, who's going to anoint the king, and we start way back with his mom, Hannah, and the corrupt priests and how Samuel ended up becoming the priest, and then how Samuel is going to end up anointing God's king, a man after his own heart, David. And so, David gets introduced in this epic telling of the story in this way where Samuel is ready to anoint one of the sons of Jesse, the Bethlehemite, to be king. And you see these Gaston-looking sons that he's got. And Samuel is like, surely this guy's got main character energy right here. Let's anoint this guy. And the point is, God doesn't see as man sees out the outward appearance, but the Lord looks on the what, everybody? The heart.
And so, we’ve got this, the youngest brother, the shepherd, a young man out there with the with the animals, and we’ve got to wait for him to show up, and then God tells Samuel to anoint him. Now David has not said anything up to this point. In fact, we have this other plot going where King Saul, who's this very troubled king who doesn't have a heart for God over Israel, the first king of Israel, he's so troubled that they need to find a way to soothe him. And they're like, well, I know this guy, David. He's great with the lyre. And so, David comes in, he plays the lyre, and it brings comfort to King Saul. So over here, he's been anointed to be the king. Now he's over here playing the lyre to comfort the king. And then the story with Goliath happens.
And so, this is the first time you ever hear David say anything is in 1 Samuel 17, and he says kind of the same thing three different times. Okay, so go back with me to verse 26 of 1 Samuel 17, and I want you to really pay attention to what David says, because what David says is the point of him fighting Goliath that many people fail to see. Okay? Many people allegorize the story like David is the example of the underdog and Goliath is the example of the giant. And anytime the underdog has like the faith to defeat the giant. That's the story of David and Goliath. But if you listen to what David says, you would not come to that conclusion at all. And we've talked about this before at our church. I want everybody to make sure you have a right understanding of what David and Goliath was all about. Well, look here at verse 26, “And David said to the men who stood by him, ‘What shall be done for the man who kills this Philistine and takes away the reproach from Israel? For who is this uncircumcised Philistine, that he should defy the armies of the living God?’” Okay, so that is the main repeated word, what's translated “defy”. There is the main repeated word in 1 Samuel 17. Hey, who is this guy to think that he can defy, not just us as Israelites, not just us as men, but this guy thinks he can talk trash about our God. Who does this guy think he is that he can talk about our God like that? See, not only is David a man after God's own heart, that God sees David's heart, but David is not intimidated by the size of Goliath. He's offended by the words of Goliath. In fact, go back to verse 10 where this word was introduced, this idea that Goliath was defying God, “And the Philistine said, ‘I defy the ranks of Israel this day. Give me a man, that we may fight together.’ When Saul and all Israel heard these words of the Philistine, they were dismayed and greatly afraid.”
Now to understand the context of the world. At this time, most nations had many gods. They were polytheistic. And so, when one nation battled another nation, that it was like whose God, not just whose army is more mighty and going to win, but whose gods are more mighty and going to win. And so, the Philistines have their gods, and then the Israelites are unique in that they have one god named YHWH. And so, when you're trash-talking Israel, you're not just belittling their army, you're saying derogatory things about YHWH himself. And so, David, he starts kind of raising a ruckus here among the troops. Hey, what's going to happen to this guy? He's defying God. And eventually, David says that so many times that they bring him before King Saul. Go to verse 36, or a little bit before that, verse 32 we can pick it up. And this is what Jonathan hears that ties his soul to David. So, in verse 32 “And David said to Saul, ‘Let no man's heart fail because of him. Your servant will go and fight with this Philistine.’” Hey, guys, don't be afraid. I'll go take that guy down. I'll kill the giant. “And Saul said to David, ‘You are not able to go against this Philistine to fight with him, for you are but a youth, and he has been a man of war from his youth.’ But David said to Saul,” now, picture this from Jonathan's perspective. He doesn't know who David is, but now David is saying this, and Jonathan hears it. Here's what he hears. “But David said to Saul, ‘Your servant used to keep sheep for his father. And when there came a lion, or a bear, and took a lamb from the flock, I went after him and struck him and delivered it out of his mouth. And if he arose against me, I caught him by his beard and struck him and killed him. Your servant has struck down both lions and bears, and this uncircumcised Philistine shall be like one of them, for he has defied the armies of the living God.’ And David said, ‘The Lord who delivered me from the paw of the lion and from the paw of the bear will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine.’ And Saul said to David, ‘Go, and the Lord be with you!’”
So, notice what David says in response to Saul, yeah, you think I'm young. Well, I actually have experience killing lions and killing bears. But that's not the main reason I'm going to go fight this guy. The main reason is he trash-talked our God and YHWH, who delivered me from the lion and the bear, he will deliver me from the hand of this Philistine. David makes this about YHWH, and Jonathan hears that. And Jonathan's like, yes, and he feels tied to what David says. In fact, David, let's make sure we hear what David says the third time he speaks. Verse 45 this is what he says to Goliath. “Then David said to the Philistine, ‘You come to me with a sword and with a spear and with a javelin, but I come to you in the name of the Lord of hosts, the God of the armies of Israel, whom you have defied.’” So notice, David is very clear why he has to fight, it's not because he's just got strength or courage or some kind of unique faith. David is offended that he has defied YHWH. That's why he's going to fight Goliath. And he says in verse 46 “’This day the Lord will deliver you into my hand, and I will strike you down and cut off your head. And I will give the dead bodies of the host of the Philistines this day to the birds of the air and to the wild beasts of the earth, that all the earth may know that there is a God in Israel, and that all this assembly may know that the Lord saves not with sword and spear. For the battle is the Lord's, and he will give you into our hand.’”
This was never supposed to be some underdog story about a boy versus a giant. This story was always meant to be about whose God reigns supreme, and there's only one God who reigns it all, and his name is YHWH. And everybody on planet Earth is supposed to know the name of YHWH. That's what David says. That's me, not what the movie on Amazon Prime says, or maybe not what somebody else telling the story says, but that's what David says in the Scripture, and that's what Jonathan hears. And Jonathan's like, this guy's about YHWH. This guy believes YHWH can save. This guy believes that YHWH has the battle already won. And Jonathan immediately connects with David being about YHWH. See, that's the formation of their relationship. The beginning of their fellowship is we both believe YHWH will save his people. Now you have to know the story of Jonathan to understand why he connects so much with David, and you have to go back to chapter 14 to really see this. If everybody can turn back to chapter 14, because when this battle or war between the Philistines and Israel kind of kicked off in 1 Samuel 13, and King Saul is showing himself to be very inept in leading God's people and obeying God's commands, that eventually, when kind of the Philistines are growing in might and mustering up their troops, and Israel is kind of shrinking back and becoming afraid. The one young man decides, hey, I'm going to do something. And it's Jonathan the prince of Israel, the king's son. And here's what it says. 1, Samuel 14, verse 1, “One day Jonathan the son of Saul said to the young man who carried his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the Philistine garrison on the other side.’ But he did not tell his father. Saul was staying in the outskirts of Gibeah in the pomegranate cave at Migron. The people who were with him were about six hundred men.” And so go to verse 6, “Jonathan said to the young man who carried his armor, ‘Come, let us go over to the garrison of these uncircumcised. It may be that the Lord will work for us, for nothing can hinder the Lord from saving by many or by few.’” So here, what Jonathan says to his armor bearer. So, picture Israelites on one side, this kind of valley down between them, Philistines on the other side. So, to get to the other side, you’ve got to really kind of climb down on the surface of the rock there. So, it would take great skill to climb down one side, go across and then climb up the other side, and that's what Jonathan says. He says, hey, how about me and you? We just climb over there and see what happens. Because if YHWH wants to save, YHWH can do it by many, or he could do it by few. He could do it with just the two of us.
This is the attitude Jonathan has, an attitude that YHWH can save. And if YHWH is going to save us, he could do it however he wants. So, let's go see what happens over there with those Philistines. What do you say? He says that to his armor bearer. And I love this guy. We don't even know his name, “And his armor-bearer said to him, ‘Do all that is in your heart. Do as you wish. Behold, I am with you heart and soul.’” Like that's one of the great texts you could ever get in your life, right there. If you have a friend, you should just text them this week. Behold, I am with you, heart and soul, like that's the guy you want to climb up a rocky crag with. You know what I'm saying? And so, this armor-bearer, I like this guy, he says, yes, Jonathan, let's do it. I'm with you. And so, they come up with this idea. We'll cross over there. We'll climb down our side. We'll climb up their side, and we'll shout to them. And if they say, come up, if they act like, hey, what are you guys doing? Then we'll stop. But if they say, come up, that means the Lord's given us into their hand, and we'll go find them. And so, if you keep reading the story here, that's exactly what happens is they climb up. The Philistines, proud, overconfident, knowing that the Israelites are probably afraid. Who are these guys climbing up here? Yeah, sure. Come on up here. Well, they come up and Jonathan and his armor-bearer, they do some business. Pick it up. In verse 12, “And the men of the garrison hailed Jonathan and his armor-bearer and said, ‘Come up to us, and we will show you a thing.’” Famous last words right there. “And Jonathan said to his armor-bearer, ‘Come up after me, for the Lord has given them into the hand of Israel.’ Then Jonathan climbed up on his hands and feet, and his armor-bearer after him. And they fell before Jonathan, and his armor-bearer killed them after him. And that first strike, which Jonathan and his armor-bearer made, killed about twenty men within as it were half a furrow's length in an acre of land. And there was a panic in the camp, in the field, and among all the people. The garrison and even the raiders trembled, the earth quaked, and it became a very great panic.” The whole army starts freaking out. Saul and the other Israelites see it, they decide to come over and fight them. And guess what YHWH does? He saves Israel, not by many, but by a few. And if it says that in verse 23 the summary of this whole story, with Jonathan and his armor-bearer going to battle, so the Lord saved Israel that day, and the battle passed, and it kept moving on. But just like Jonathan said, YHWH is able to save. The conclusion of the story, YHWH saved.
So that's who Jonathan is. Jonathan, he saw how afraid the army was, and he had faith that the Lord was mighty to save. Then, all of a sudden, Goliath shows up. He's trash-talking. Everybody's afraid of him. And then David shows up, and he starts saying how YHWH is able to deliver and how dare he defy our God. And God will surely deliver him into my hand, and everybody will know who YHWH is. And Jonathan hears this, and he's just like, yes, this guy thinks the same way I do. This guy has the same heart that I have. We both believe that YHWH is going to save his people. And so, what they have in this unique relationship between David and Jonathan, this fellowship that they share is they have YHWH in common, and that's what we need to have if we're going to share fellowship here at our church.
So, let's get this down for point number one: “Consider WHO we have in common.” Consider who we have in common as New Covenant believers in the church. We're not a part of the nation of Israel. Our mission is not to go fight the Philistines and claim the promised land. No. Our mission is to make disciples in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ. And so, do you believe that Jesus is mighty to save people? We're not going to go out into battle with swords and spears. Or remember, how did David kill Goliath? I just want to bring this up to make sure everybody sees this, because this was something awesome that God taught our church. How did David kill Goliath? Shout it out if you know the answer. Stones. Now, look now, a lot of times when the story of David and Goliath is told, David's like, this young boy who, you know, he can't really fit into the armor of the big people, and so, it's like he uses stones, because that's like a warrior junior version, and that's how you would fight if you're a junior. Well, actually, if you keep reading in Samuel, David proves to be a very capable warrior among full grown men. In fact, the saying quickly becomes after he beheads Goliath and he goes to many other battles, quickly they're saying that David has killed his tens of thousands, and Saul has only killed thousands. So, if you have this idea that David is some kind of a little dude, and he needs to use stones because he's got to keep a healthy distance from Goliath, that's the wrong impression. David will walk up to a lion or a bear and grab it by the beard. He's not afraid of Goliath. Why is he using stones? Because in the law it says that anyone who blasphemes the name of YHWH should be what he's stoning the guy for being a blasphemer is what he's doing. He's an expert at warfare. He's not some young guy. Like, don't let what Saul says about David make you think that was actually true about David. No, David, he proved that he could kill anybody that was walking around that wasn't on the Lord's side. And he decided to kill Goliath that particular way because he was so offended by how he blasphemed the name of YHWH, and that's what the law says should happen to a blasphemer.
And so, David, he has a faith in YHWH, and Jonathan, when he when he hears David express that faith in YHWH, Jonathan is like, yes, I relate to that. I'm bound to that. I'm with that. Have you ever heard somebody say something at church about how Jesus saved them, about who they really think Jesus is as Lord through the power of his resurrection? Have you ever heard somebody express what Jesus is doing in their life, or in the life of their family, or to build up his church? And as you hear somebody else talk about Jesus, you're like, yes, I relate to that. I'm with that, I'm tied to that. That's what happens here between these two men, and that's what needs to happen here at this church. Too many people, when they come to church, they evaluate people on their external appearance, and they evaluate people like who here is like me? No, the thing that we're supposed to all have in common is not how we're like each other, it's that we all know him. That's what unites us together. See, Jesus is our common denominator, and that's what these two men had. They both knew YHWH could save, and then they had fellowship. If you know Jesus can save if you know it from your own story, if you believe he's able to do that here among us as a church, if you believe he's able to do that in Tokyo, in the far reaches of the world, well, then, when you hear somebody else saying that about Jesus, you feel tied to them. You feel bound to them. You feel like, okay, yes, we have Jesus in common. There is nothing more important in any relationship that you're ever going to have with another human being than having Jesus in common. Those will always be the strongest and most fruitful relationships in your life.
Some of us, we have family that we dearly love, we have friends that we would die for, but if we don't share Jesus with them, we feel the limits of how much fellowship we can really have, how much we can really share with them. Whereas if you are with Jesus, I'm with you, heart and soul, and there's no limit to the fellowship that we can share. And so, that's what these men had. And Jonathan, think about this, just by hearing what David says, he's like, yes, I love this guy. I'm with this guy, heart and soul.
Go with me to Philippians 1:27 let's now transfer this same thought of who we have in common to us as the Church of Jesus Christ, people who've been saved by the death and resurrection in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Let me take you to some of our favorite verses that we've studied over the years to describe the fellowship that we share together, what has bonded us, what has tied us here together as a church in Huntington Beach. And Philippians, chapter 1, verse 27 is one of these verses that we've celebrated and talked about. We did it in a sermon called “Team Jesus” on the Fourth of July weekend in 2019 here. We looked at Philippians 1:27 where it says, “Only let your manner of life be worthy of the gospel of Christ.” Hey, did Jesus die for your sins? Then don't live in those sins any longer. Did Jesus rise? Rise from the dead? Then walk in newness of life. Let your life, the manner of your life, the conduct of your life, be worthy of the gospel of Christ, so that whether I come and see you or I'm absent, I may hear of you that you are standing firm in one spirit with one mind striving side by side for the faith of the Gospel. Is that what your life is about? Is your life about the faith of the gospel of Jesus Christ and there's like, what does that phrase mean, striving side by side for the faith of the gospel? Is that talking about my faith? Is that talking about our faith? Is that talking about spreading faith to other people who need it out there? The answer to that is, yes, all of it, I've got faith in Jesus. We can share that faith together in Jesus, and together we can even go spread the Good News of the Gospel so more people can have faith in Jesus. And we're doing this side by side. We're doing this together. It's something that we share. It's fellowship.
So, the Greek word here that's translated “striving side by side,” it's this word sunathleo, and immediately, we have an idea of what that means. It means we're all like on a team, sun as a prefix, that means “together” or “with” and athleo, they would have this idea of contending or competing in the games. And so, hey, if we're striving side by side, that means we're on the same team, and we're working towards a common goal. And what is the goal that we have? The goal that we have is faith in the Gospel of Jesus, that you would live out your faith by wholeheartedly trusting Jesus, that we would build up each other's faith to grow in our faith in Jesus, and then that God would even use us to share the good news so that more people would have faith in Jesus. This is our battle. This is our mission. This is what God has given us to do. And all it takes is hearing somebody else say, wow, this is what I want to see Jesus do. And when you hear them say that, you can say, yes, yes, that's what he's done in me. That's what I want to be a part of. And at that moment when you express your heart for Jesus, and I also share that heart to have faith in the Gospel of Jesus, now we have something to share together. Now we can have fellowship.
And so, that's got to be what we have in common. And I'll tell you, this happens to me regularly. I'm blessed to have fellowship with many people here at this church. We break into these smaller groups, we sit in circles, and somebody starts sharing, and I just feel this fire burning within me as this person's talking, I just want to say yes, it's okay to say, Amen. If you're excited about what somebody else is saying. I don't know if you knew that. Some of you know it, but not all of you know it, all right. And so, you hear somebody else talking, and you're just like, as you hear it, you're just knit to it. That is the idea. You're tied to it. Now, sometimes you hear people saying stuff, and you're like, what in the world are they talking about? You have those moments too, but then you have moments where somebody just says something and you're like, wow, it's like, I just saw this person. It's like, I just got a glimpse not of what they look like on the outside, but who they really are in their soul. And I feel connected to them, because that's how I feel in my soul. That's what God's taught me as well. That's what Jesus has done for me as well.
So, there's a moment here that that's very important in the story of the life of King David, is that when David went out there for YHWH, Jonathan saw that, and he was tied to that. And that's how it's supposed to be. We, yes, we go and live for Jesus. Every one of us has to follow Jesus, though none go with me, I still will follow. But if you're following Jesus and I'm following Jesus, see then that can tie us together, that can unite us. There are brothers and sisters at this church. I don't know what we would have in common, but because we have Jesus in common, I feel so close to them. I feel tied to them. And so, I really think we have to be careful about all the superficial things that we can use to evaluate other people. Has that person been saved? Have they put their faith in the Gospel of Jesus? If the answer to that is yes, boom. That's a strong bond for fellowship, right there.
Okay, now go with me to another passage. Go with me to Romans, chapter 1. We went through the book of Romans together as a church, and one of the verses that definitely had the biggest impact on me is in Romans, chapter 1, verse 12. I'll start reading in verse 8. This is when Paul's just introducing this master class on the gospel that he's about to give them. But he starts with more of a personal tone here, and he says in Romans 1:8, “First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. For God is my witness, whom I serve with my spirit in the gospel of his Son, that without ceasing I mention you always in my prayers, asking that somehow by God's will I may now at last succeed in coming to you. For I long to see you, that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to strengthen you— that is, that we may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith, both yours and mine.” I just think that's awesome that Paul says that the apostle, Paul the missionary, Paul the evangelist, Paul the guy who, in Acts 14, they threw big stones at him to kill him. They left him outside the city for dead. He got back up, went back into the city and kept preaching the gospel. That guy, he's not like it'll be really good for you guys if I come to Rome, that's not his tone at all. His tone is, I want to come and strengthen you. And here's what will happen. We'll be mutually encouraged when I see your faith and you see my faith, we'll both be built up.
Now, here's the Greek word for mutual encouragement, sunparakaleo. So, you can see it's a very similar idea to what we just saw in Philippians 1:27, striving side by side. Well, this is like calling alongside with each other or together. This is more emphasizing the speaking to one another. See, Paul pictures a moment when he gets to Rome, if God allows him to go there. Finally, when he gets there, he pictures a moment where he's sharing about what Jesus has done with him, and they're sharing about what Jesus has done with them. And as we talk about our mutual faith in Jesus, oh, that will be so encouraging to hear about that. And as you speak and I hear what you say, I'll be tied to you. I'll be bound to you. That's what Paul's expecting is going to happen, not that he could give a report and they would just be blessed, but that they would share their faith and he would be blessed as well. This is how encouragement works. Encouragement is a mutual experience.
And this is what I would say is the difference between friendship and fellowship. Okay? If you look up friendship, if you look up a definition in the dictionary of friendship, it'll use this phrase, mutual affection. It might be a good definition for friendship, but fellowship, the definition I think of, is mutual encouragement. Okay? And I think in the past, I kind of misdiagnosed David and Jonathan as friends, when really, when you think about your friends, friends are people you spent time with. Friends are people you share memories with. Friends are people. You go way back in the day, and then this happened, and that happened. And when friends, yeah, when I see my friends, even if I haven't seen them for years, when I see a friend, oh, I immediately like them. When I see them, I feel this strong affection. But see, the friendship is based on what's happened between me and you. Fellowship is based on what's happened between us and Jesus, and that's why fellowship is even a stronger bond, I believe, than friendship. Because friendship is like, if you like me and I like you, I hope you like me back. That's kind of the beginning of a friendship. But a fellowship is like, well, Jesus has saved you and you have faith, and Jesus has saved me, and I have faith. And so now we share that. We have fellowship, and it's based on Jesus, not just us. See, when I started this church, some of us moved here together to Huntington Beach when we planted, when we got to see Jesus do it back in 2014. And at that time, I would have told you I had some really good friends. And why would I have said that? Because we go way back in time, because we share a lot of memories. Because every time I see this person, I feel very affectionate towards them, like they're my friend. I care about them. I love them. But what I've seen over the last, now almost eleven years that we've been doing this in Huntington Beach, is put me in a room with complete strangers. Put me in a room with people I don't even know who they are. We have no past, we have no shared experiences and just let them start talking about Jesus and I find myself tied to these people, bound to these people. I found that people, where our primary purpose is to get together and talk about the Word and what the Word is doing in our life, and how are we growing in the knowledge of Jesus? I find that I grow closer to those people, and I grow closer to them quicker than I even do with my friends, because it's not just about us sharing life together. It's about us sharing Jesus together. That's what I'm now looking for. I mean, about five years into this one fellowship group I was in, I realized that some of these guys sitting in this circle with me, and especially we went through the time of covid together, and that was kind of the climax of our time together. And these brothers, they would share what God was doing in their life, and they would be honest and open, and they were growing. They were growing and being husbands. They were growing and being dads. They were growing and sharing the gospel in their workplace. And we're talking about all these things and what the Word is teaching us. And guys are being honest, I don't really know how to pray. I don't really know how to discipline my kids without getting angry. And they're starting to say things, and we're talking about and we're praying for one another. Man, I got so close to these guys. I realized, wow, five years of fellowship, these guys are more my brothers than decades of friendship, because our whole relationship is based on who we have in common, not what we have in common, but who we have in common. And so that's why this kind of fellowship, where I don't know you and you don't know me, but we both know Jesus, I believe that is the foundation to build strong and lasting and meaningful relationships, even with people that are complete strangers and might have very different interests than you, if we have him in common.
See, this is what I want you to think about this, because I was at like a family party earlier today for a whole extended family, right? And it's like somebody's birthday, and so the whole family gathers. Now, does everybody in this massive like eighty people, extended family, do they all know the person really closely whose birthday it is? No, but why do they all show up? Because they're all a part of the what? The family. See, why don't we think that same way here at church? See, that's my big question for church folks in in Orange County in 2025. You will go to some reunion in some state you don't even want to go to with people you barely know, because one of those people you're very close to, or because they're your family, they're your name. But then when you go to a group of people here at church, I'm not sure about these people, when the person that we all have in common is Jesus.
Hey, Jesus is calling, and he's got one of his people, and he wants you to hang out with him. Are you going to say yes to that or no to that? See, that's how we need to think. You know, the reason I care about the other people at church is they are people who know Jesus, at least. That's the premise of our fellowship, at least, that's the goal of our relationships is that we all have this one relationship in common. And I don't know about you, and I'm not sure about what you're saying, and I like this guy over here, but who knows, what brings us all together? Is that the way that you think? Are you like, I don't know about these people at church. Are you like, these are the Jesus people at church. See, that's how we're supposed to think.
There's this guy. I don't know if you heard about this guy, Ryan Trahan, he went through fifty states in fifty days. Did anybody hear about this? Real popular with the young people, because it's on YouTube. And this guy, he literally pulled it off, fifty states in fifty days in a row. It's all on YouTube. You can watch it. And he carries around this thing. It sounds silly, but stick with me. It's called the wheel of doom, right? And when somebody donates a bunch of money to his cause, St. Jude's Children's Hospital, this wheel of doom goes off, and then it presents a challenge that he and his wife have to figure out. One of the challenges is they have to split up and both get to the place they're going in the next state separately. And so, hey, he sends his wife with the car, and then he's got to go ask people for a ride. He's in Minnesota. He's got to get to the next state, five hours away, and he's got no way to get there, but asking people for a ride. So, he remembers somebody he knows in Singapore, and that guy's from Minnesota, and he calls a guy in Singapore and says, do you know anybody in Minnesota who can give me a ride? And some dude in Minnesota shows up and gives him a ride because somebody in Singapore gave him a phone call, and I'm sitting here watching this guy give him a ride. That's for hours one way, doesn't even factor in the trip back by himself, right? All because he got a phone call from Singapore. And I'm thinking, man, if the brothers and sisters at church would just receive a call from heaven and welcome some people, we could really see something happen.
What did Jesus say? Hey, when I was hungry, you gave me something to eat. When I was thirsty, you gave me something to drink. When I was sick, you visited me. When I was naked, you clothed me. When I was in prison, you came for me. And the people are like, Jesus, we never did that to you. And what did Jesus say? When you did it to the least of these, my who? My brothers. When you did it for the least of my people it's like he did it for me. Yeah, because what we have in common is him. And so, I don't need to know who this other person necessarily is, but I can go and love them based on who Jesus is and the premise that we're in this together with Jesus.
Now go back with me to 1 Samuel, because that's just the beginning of the thought between Jonathan and David is who they had in common. But then I want to get to this very important concept that Jonathan loved him as his own soul. And it's going to go on and say this a couple more times in Samuel, so we kind of looked past to see what Jonathan's soul was about YHWH saving and what David's soul is about YHWH not being defied, and how that ties them together. Well, now let's go forward. What does it look like for Jonathan to love David as his own soul? Well, if you keep reading ahead here in 1 Samuel 18, you come to verses 3 and 4, where it says, “Then Jonathan,” key word here, “made a covenant with David.” Why? Because he loved him as his own soul. And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was on him and gave it to David and his armor and even his sword and his bow and his belt. Okay? So, when you see this, you might think of like athletes swapping jerseys after a game or something like that, as Jonathan is now taking off his armor and his weapon and giving it to David. But let's really think that through, everybody. Who is Jonathan? He is King Saul's son. So, what kind of armor is he wearing? What kind of shield and sword does he have? I would imagine he's got an upgraded version from the average guy, because he is the prince of Israel. He is the future king. And Jonathan already had a great reputation among all the men in the army of Israel, because of what he did with his armor-bearer to go defeat the Philistines that one day by climbing up that rocky crag. And so, I mean, people had respect for Jonathan. And here's Jonathan now, as the prince, saying, take my armor, take my weapons, because Jonathan is the guy who's supposed to be king. And later on, Saul's even going to say this. Jonathan, what are you doing being friends with David? Don't you realize you're supposed to be the next king, and people think David's going to be the next king. Like Jonathan. Where's your self interest, Jonathan, this is not a good career move for you. This is not going to benefit you. Jonathan, this is not going to work out for your best. If you make your life about David, David will end up being the king and you won't. And Jonathan loved David as his own soul. See, Jonathan didn't mind if David was the king, and he wasn't, as long as it was about YHWH.
See, this is why the sermon is called “The Fellowship of the King,” because Jonathan was not trying to make himself king. He was okay with David being king because he knew who the real king was, it was YHWH Himself. And so, here, take all my princely stuff. Take all my armor. Hey, this isn't about me getting my spot. I'm ready to love you, David. Now King Saul decides that he must kill David because King Saul has the opposite attitude of his son, Jonathan. King Saul, he's jealous, he's envious, and he wants to protect his own position. King Saul, he very much wants to be the king, and he doesn't like how everybody's comparing him to David. And so, King Saul decides he must kill David, and Jonathan doesn't understand this. Go over to chapter 19. Look at what Jonathan says to his dad, the king, about David. “Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul, his father, and said to him, ‘Let not the king sin against his servant, David.’” So, look at how Jonathan now is defending David in front of his father, putting himself kind of out there in a dangerous position to address the king. Let not the king sin against his servant, David, because he has not sinned against you, because his deeds have brought good to you, for he took his life in his hand, and he struck down the Philistine and YHWH worked a great salvation for all Israel. You saw it and rejoiced. Why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause? Oh, Dad, weren't we both there? Didn't we both hear and see the same story? Didn't David put himself out there? Didn't David get used by YHWH to bring about this salvation? Didn't we all cheer and rejoice because the giant got his head got off, and now you're going to kill him? Wow, it's like Saul, don't you see how your selfishness is tunneling your vision?
And at this point, it's like Saul kind of listens to Jonathan, but Saul's not on the right track anymore. The Spirit of the Lord has departed from him, and so this idea of him, killing David, never really goes away. And so, we really get to see Jonathan loving David in 1 Samuel 20 where it becomes clear to both David and Jonathan that Saul is going to try to kill David, and so David's no longer going to the dinner that they're having. David's now hiding away because he thinks that Saul's going to kill him. And so, look at what it says in verse 6 of 1 Samuel 20. David speaks to Jonathan, “If your father misses me at all, then say, ‘David earnestly asked leave of me to run to Bethlehem his city, for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the clan.’ If he says, ‘Good!’ it will be well with your servant, but if he is angry, then know that harm is determined by him.” Therefore, now look at what David says to Jonathan, “Therefore deal kindly with your servant, for you have brought your servant into a covenant of the Lord with you. But if there is guilt in me, kill me yourself, for why should you bring me to your father?” So, notice how David in a moment here where he's vulnerable and he's concerned that Saul's going to try to kill him, and he's saying, hey, Jonathan, I’ll hide out. You go find out what Saul's attitude is really for me. Then notice, David makes this appeal to Jonathan, hey, remember your covenant you made with me? Remember when you gave me your armor and your weapons and you committed to me like, like, hey, remember how you love me? Like, Jonathan, I need you to love me right now. My life's on the line. Will you get my back? Basically, are you going to choose your father and your own ability to be king. Or will you really protect me? Like, hey, Jonathan, remember what you said? Like, where are you at right now? And then, look at how the response is. Verse 9. “And Jonathan said, ‘Far be it from you! If I knew that it was determined by my father that harm should come to you, would I not tell you?’” Like, what are you saying, David, I'm on your side. Of course, I tell you. “Then David said to Jonathan, ‘Who will tell me if your father answers you roughly?’ And Jonathan said to David, ‘Come, let us go out into the field.’ So they both went out into the field.” And they work out this whole system where Jonathan is going to be able to give the message to David, but look at what Jonathan says in verse 12. “‘The Lord, the God of Israel, be witness! When I have sounded out my father, about this time tomorrow, or the third day, behold, if he is well disposed toward David, shall I not then send and disclose it to you? But should it please my father to do you harm, the Lord do so to Jonathan and more also if I do not disclose it to you and send you away, that you may go in safety. May the Lord be with you, as he has been with my father. If I am still alive, show me the steadfast love of the Lord, that I may not die; and do not cut off your steadfast love from my house forever, when the Lord cuts off every one of the enemies of David from the face of the earth.’ And Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, ‘May the Lord take vengeance on David's enemies.’ And Jonathan made David swear again by his love for him, for he loved him as he loved his own soul.” Like these two men are having this intense heart to heart conversation, and David clearly is afraid. Like, how are you going to know if your dad's against me? Are you really going to tell me if your dad's against me? You told me that you would make a covenant with me, and Jonathan's like, not only will I make a covenant with you, what about your covenant with me when you actually become king. will you still look kindly on me when you have authority? Will you come and kill me as a threat? Will you come and cut off my family as a threat? Or will you love me? These guys are really looking at each other in the face, in the eyes, and they are questioning and making commitments to one another.
See, this is a level of love between grown men that honestly makes a lot of people uncomfortable, and they don't really think about the commitment this word covenant, where I'm going to love you even to my own hurt, even if it doesn't work out for me, even if it does, it goes poorly for me, but it goes well for you. I've made a covenant with you. I'm committed to you, and I'm going to love you to the end. So, there are a couple of key things we see about Jonathan's love, and it's for David, how he loved him as his own soul. One is that his love is demonstrated in action. He speaks to his Father. Now he's going to do this whole thing where he goes to the dinner and he tells his dad, David's not there, and King Saul is going to get so mad that David's not there because he does want to kill David, that he's going to end up throwing a spear at his own son in his rage and anger and envy to kill David, so David cannot become king. So, a father throwing a spear at his own son, Jonathan, he's going to end up dodging that spear, and then he's going to go out there and he's going to give David the message that my father is trying to kill you, and you should get far away from here.
And so, not only is there this demonstration in action, but this covenant commitment is kind of a ride or die commitment here. It's all the way to the end, like even if my father is going to kill me, I'll still be for you, David. And if you survive and you become king, hey, remember me, because we're going to have this go not just between our lives. We're going to have this go even into the next generation. That's the level of covenant love we're making with one another. So, what does it mean that he loved him as his own soul? Well, it was more than a sentiment. It was more than a feeling. The love was proven by his actions to get in between his dad and David, and his love had this commitment like even if it costs me my life, I am for you being the king rather than me.
So, this love that Jonathan gives is profound, and if you know the rest of the story, Jonathan ends up dying with his father in a battle, and David mourns Jonathan. And David says, nobody's really loved me like Jonathan, not even my own wife has really loved me like Jonathan loved me. And then later on, when David is king in the house, his line is established, the line that will eventually lead to Jesus. Remember what David says? He says, hey, does Jonathan still have any relatives that I can show love to, because he loved me, and I want to love him. We made a covenant. And so, this guy, who was actually lame, if you know the story, Mephibosheth, he becomes one of the people that sits at Kings David's table, just because he's a relative of Jonathan, because of their love for one another. So not only do you need to have something in common with someone based on Christ, but the command there is to love that person.
Go with me to what Jesus says in John 13 verses, 34 to 35. If Jonathan's going to love David as his own soul, what does Jesus say about how we should love one another here in the church? And I want to read these two verses in John 13 verses, 34 and 35 and this is what Jesus taught his disciples at the Last Supper on the night before he died on the cross to prove his love for all of us. “Jesus said, A new commandment I give to you.” This is John 13:34. Is everybody there? Everybody with me? This is Jesus speaking to his disciples, “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another. By this all people will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.”
So, let's get this down for point number two: We want to “Use his definition to evaluate your love.” Okay? We want to use what Jesus says right here. You could say you love somebody, but what did Jesus just tell us to do? What is the definition that Jesus gives us for love? It's more than sentiment, it's more than a feeling. It's more than this friendship where we have mutual affection. Jesus says it's a new commandment. Well, the idea of loving your neighbor as yourself goes all the way back to Leviticus, 19:18, the idea of loving someone else as your own soul is exemplified beautifully between Jonathan and David. So, what makes this a new commandment when he says you are to love one another? Well, here's what makes it new, just as I have loved you, that's the new spin on the old commandment is now you have an example. Now you have someone to look at. Now you have someone who defines what love is and has put it and demonstrated it in his action. In fact, just on this very night, Jesus did something that's now another famous story is he washed the disciples’ feet before they would share the last supper together. Go back here to verse 12 in John 13, and he does the work of a servant. When they had a formal dinner like this, there would have been a servant there to wash everyone's feet. If they're wearing sandals and they're walking on roads that aren't paved, you wouldn't want to recline with a bunch of men whose stinky feet are all there while you're eating food. And so typically, in a household, there would have been a servant at this time who would wash the feet. And Jesus does it for the disciples, including Judas. And it says in verse 12, “When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, ‘Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.’”
So, there's Jesus just flat out saying it like, why did I put myself in the place of the servant? Why did I humble myself and wash all your feet to show you that this is how you should treat one another. To give you a pattern, an example, a type, so that you can follow to define that you can't just say, hey, do you love the other people at church? Well, when I think of the other people at church, I have a generally positive feeling, or I have a good sentiment in my heart about them. So, yes, I love them. No, that's not Jesus's definition of love. You cannot say that you love people that you do not demonstrate an action towards. And so, Jesus is saying, what do you do to love the other people? What are the actions that would verify your love. I'm just doing this meeting, this basic, practical, physical need of washing everybody's feet so we can have this meal. What are we going to do to love one another, following the example? If the master, if the teacher, is washing the disciples feet, how should we then love one another?
And so, I really want you to ask yourself and not, do you feel like you love the people at church? Do you feel like you love your fellowship group when you think of that brother or that sister in Christ? Do you have an affection towards them? No, no. What do you demonstrate as your action to love them? We should not just love in word or in tongue, but we need to love Indeed and in truth. And so, I know for myself, there have been times in my life where I'm like, of course, I love this person because I feel so positively towards them, and I like being around them, and I'm rooting for the best for them. But then I've had to rethink my definition of love and replace it with the definition of Jesus's love, which means, if I'm saying I love them, then what am I doing for them? How am I humbling myself and lifting them up and seeking to meet their needs? Jonathan, he had something in common with David, and he felt bound to him. He felt tied to him. But then he was tested by his own father, who also happened to be the most powerful person in the kingdom, and then his own father's throwing a spear at Jonathan for representing David. See, Jonathan's love was tested, and it was proven by his actions. Many people will profess that they love other people at church who's actually proving it by the things that they do. We need to evaluate ourselves like this. In fact, go back to the beginning of John 13. Look at verse 1, because John, who writes this gospel, who gives us such detail of this Last Supper, John refers to himself as the disciple whom Jesus, what everybody? Loved. And John, he writes this beautiful account from John 13, verse 1, all the way through Jesus's Prayer. In John 17, he describes with such detail, five chapters. He gives us this one dinner, the Last Supper between Jesus and his disciples and John. This is how he introduces it now, “Before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world, to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world. He loved them to the what everybody? To the end, to the fullness, to the completion. He loved them like he had a covenant with them. He loved them like he was ride or die with them.
That's what John thought Jesus did for him. He didn't just love me a little bit. He didn't just love me for a while, but he loved me to the end. In fact, all of us who are his people, he loved us to the end. And that's how John, one of the sons of thunder, becomes known as the disciple whom Jesus loved. How did Jesus love you? How did Jesus demonstrate his love for us that while we were still sinners? See, this is why it just doesn't make sense for people at a church that exists in the name of the Lord Jesus to then look at other people and be like, I'm not sure I want to fellowship with those folks. I'm not sure I want to be around that person. I understand. We need to protect the sheep. We need to be on guard. We need to watch out. But the idea of, well, that person looks like a sinner, so I'm going to stay away from them, that's not how Jesus loved you. That's not how Jesus loved me. No, while we were still sinners, in fact, when we were enemies of God, in fact, when we were children of wrath. See, the love of Jesus takes all the initiative. It waits for nothing. It goes for everything. If Jesus was waiting for you to love him so that he loved you back, Jesus would have never loved you. But Jesus took the initiative to love you and we love him because he first loved us.
Let me just tell you, as a guy who's worked at church for pretty much my whole adult life, it is an endless stream of people complaining about how other people don't love them. That's what church is like if you work at church in America these days, it's just people complaining, why aren't other people loving me. And if anybody ever could have complained like that, it would have been Jesus, but Jesus didn't complain about why didn't people love him. Jesus went and laid down his life as they mocked him, as they beat him, as they betrayed him, as they denied him, as they fled from him. Jesus, he laid down his life, he loved us as his own soul. Jesus loved you to the bloody end. That's the definition of love.
And so, the question is, it's really important for all of us if we're going to have fellowship, if we're going to have Christ in common, if we're going to be the church, and church is not a place that you go to. Church is people you love. And if we're going to be the people of Jesus, then we must love one another. Do not assume that you love people. Evaluate if you love people. It's a great time for us to evaluate as we begin our fall season of Fellowship. Can you honestly say that you love Jesus' people here at this church, and can you prove that by your actions? And is that reflective of a kind of a commitment, like a covenant, like a ride or die, like I would be with these people to the very end, even if I just keep decreasing and they keep increasing, that's fine with me as long as Jesus gets the glory in the end.
See, I think a lot of us ask the wrong questions. We ask like, how will I have lived by the time I die, when the questions we should really be asking ourselves is, who will I have loved by the time I die? Is it about you preserving your own life, or are you here to give your life? Jesus did not come to preserve his own life, but he came to give his life for you. Even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve.
So, if you flip your handout over if you're taking notes, or even if you weren't taking notes, pull the handout out, and you'll see that we've got questions for our Fellowship group. And I understand maybe not every Fellowship group is back, because some people are still on vacation, but I know a lot of the Fellowship groups will meet this week, and throughout August, more and more groups will begin meeting. And you can see we have our normal Fellowship questions. There are application questions that we discuss together in our group. And maybe you're thinking, well, I'm not in one of these groups. I'd love to be a part of one of these groups. This sounds interesting. Well, in the bulletin, there's a Foundations class that begins tomorrow at one o'clock. And so, if you're new to the church and you'd like to learn more about these groups, come to that class. But if you are in one of these groups, if you do have brothers and sisters you already know here at the church, see, there's a special box in this handout for your personal reflection before you even go to your group. And you talk about how we can grow in our love for one another, and you pray that your love for one another would increase.
First, I want you to sit down with those two verses of what Jesus said, and I want you to ask yourself, do you really love these people? Not by your definition, but by his definition. I mean, these questions right here, how did Jesus love you? Let's think that through. Let's put some Scripture on that. Are you passing this love on to your Fellowship group? How is your love shown by what you do, not just by what you say or what you feel? Is your commitment a covenant? Or, as we might say, is it right or die? Are you really in it to the end with these folks? And then I love this question right here. We don't talk about this enough. Would other people know you are a Christian by your love for your Fellowship group? Would your extended family think, oh, you love those people at that church so much. Would your neighbors think, oh, you love those people at your church so much? Would other people who aren't even Christians, would they be able to see that you are one of the disciples of Jesus by your love?
You know, churches that are about the Bible, churches that preach the truth, sometimes you say negative things. Oh, those people, they act like they have love, but they don't have truth. Well, that works both ways, because you can say, well, I've got the truth, okay, but then do you have the love? Because Jesus said that the world is going to know we belong to Jesus by our love for who? Not our love for Jesus, not our love for our own families, our love for our one anothers, the other people we have Jesus in common with the other people that Jesus loved all the way to the end. And here's Jesus making it very clear to his disciples, and John definitely got it. I want you to love one another. I've given you an example. I've shown you the way. Now, here's what I want you to do, love my people. Peter, you denied me three times. Let's go have a walk. Let's have breakfast. Peter, here's what I want you to do, feed my sheep. Tend to my lambs. Feed my sheep. Remember when you denied me three times? Well, now I'm saying to you three times, Peter, do you love me? And what is it going to look like for Peter to love Jesus? Go start preaching the gospel on the streets of Jerusalem. That's what it's going to look like. The way you love Jesus is by loving his people. To say you love Jesus without loving his people is to deny the very words of Jesus, because Jesus said, there's a test, there's a proof, there's evidence that you love me, and everybody will be able to see it. It's when you love one another. And see, this guy, Jonathan, he and he and David never drew swords together. As far as I can tell, they never went to battle together. It's like he just sees what David does. He just hears what David says. He feels so connected to him after just hearing that, that he loves him. He makes a covenant with him, then his own dad's throwing a spear at him, and then it seems like after that. That's why I don't really think of Jonathan and David as a friendship anymore, because they never hung out, they never spent quality time, they never watched the angels lose together. It never happened. No, they had this connection based on YHWH, this commitment to one another, and then Jonathan went and died, and David always remembered. See, that's what love is, that's what fellowship is. That's what Jesus is looking for here at this church, he has most definitely loved us. That's not the question. His blood proves that. The question is, do we most definitely love one another? And if the answer to that is no, then that's where the Fellowship group should begin is, I don't love the people in this room like I'm supposed to. I don't love you like Jesus loved me. And I need to maybe start by apologizing for that. And so, we all need to evaluate our love based on his love, and then we need to share that love with one another. So let me pray for us right now.
Father, I pray this wouldn't be a place where people go through the motions of church, but I pray that this would be a place where people love one another like the church. And I pray that when we hear somebody, even if we don't know him, but we hear him talking about Jesus and how Jesus is mighty to save them, and we can tell they have faith in the Gospel of Jesus, I pray that we would be tied to them, that we would be bound to them, that we would connect and be like, yes, we both share that faith of the gospel. We can strive together. We can speak into each other's lives. We can have mutual encouragement. God, I pray that's what would happen in our groups, that we would share from your Word, that we would share what Jesus is doing, and we would find what we have in common, that we would find a connection through your Son, Jesus Christ. And I pray that through that connection, we would have a love for one another. I pray that this would be the kind of church where people know, yeah, they really love one another. At that church, not just that they preach the Bible, not just that they're about the gospel of Jesus, but they believe it to the point that they have it together, they share life, and there's real love, like I really think the people at that church care more about other people than they do about themselves. God, I pray that that would be true of us, and I pray where it's not true, that people won't fake it, that people won't act like everything's fine on the surface, but that people would confess their lovelessness, their selfishness, and that they would own up to the fact that I need to be here for other people and stop complaining why they're not here for me. And so, God, let there be a repentance and let there be a real evaluation of this love. Please increase our love for one another and let it all happen, because we know how Jesus first loved us. Oh, how he loved us. He gave his life for us. What more could he give? He was the king, and he died for his servants, so that we could be with him forever. If he's loved us in that way, who are we to not pass that on to his people? So, God, please let us know the love of Jesus and let us give it to one another. We pray this in his name. Amen. Amen.