Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 1

Transcription

1 Making True Friends: David and Jonathan Theme: Insights for Living from the Life of David Scripture: 1 Samuel 19:1-7, 20: and Things I d like to remember from today s sermon: Meditation Moments for Monday, May 2 Read 1 Samuel 24 This is the story we read in the sermon from two weeks ago where David spares Saul s life, even though Saul was trying to kill him. You also read Saul s response to David where he says David is a bigger man than he. What do David s actions force Saul to conclude about David? David kept his promise that we find at the end of this chapter. He never took revenge on Saul s family or descendants. David had promised to be kind to the descendants of Saul s son Jonathan, and he kept this promise when he invited one of Jonathan s son to live in the palace later when David became king. Have you ever made a promise that was hard to keep? Has anyone ever made a promise to you that you know they had a hard time keeping but they did it anyway? We are promised by God to be loved as one of his creation. Do you trust in that promise? Why or why not? Prayer: God, help me to trust in you and your promise that you will love me always. Help me to be someone who keeps my promises, even when they are hard. I promise to love and follow you all of my days. Please forgive me when I stray from that promise and give me the courage to come back to you in those moments. Amen. Tuesday, May 3 Read 1 Samuel 25 At one time or another you have probably found yourself saying or thinking, I ll get you for this! You ll be sorry you ever treated me that way! You ll wish you had never been born! When people mistreat us, we instinctively want revenge. We want to get even, to show them how it feels. In this chapter David is insulted by a man named Nabal. David s response gives us both a positive and negative example of how we should respond to those who mistreat us. When have you been tempted to get even with someone? Why do you think the events of in this chapter are deliberately sandwiched between two accounts were David had a chance to kill Saul? What does the author tell us about the two new characters in this drama in verses two and three? Why is David so offended by Nabal s response to his request? Even if David s offense is justified, how would you evaluate his plan to get even with Nabal? What methods do we sometimes use to get even with those who mistreat us? What impresses you about Abigail s response when she finds out what is happened? What lesson does it seem like God is repeatedly tried to drive home to David and to us? How would Nabal s fate encourage David to trust God about Saul? Think of someone who has recently mistreated you. How can this story affect your attitude and actions towards that person? Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 1

2 Prayer: Take time to pray for the person you named above. Ask the Lord for grace to show love toward the person and to entrust the matter into God s hands. Wednesday, May 4 Read 1 Samuel 30:1-25 In a chapter titled, The False Hope of Modern Christianity, Larry Crabb writes, Modern Christianity, in dramatic reversal of its biblical form, promises to relieve the pain of living in a fallen world. The message, whether it s from fundamentalists requiring us to live by a favored set of rules or from charismatics urging a deeper surrender of the Spirit s power, is too often the same: the promise of bliss is for NOW! Complete satisfaction can be ours this side of heaven. The Christian life is often portrayed as a before-and-after story, with everything after think sweetness and light. How do you respond to that kind of portrayal? In what ways have you struggled or faced difficulties since becoming a Christian? In this chapter David and his men experience a devastating crisis. Yet in the midst of the crisis, they also find strength and help from God. Think of a time in your life when you felt overwhelmed by a problem. How did you respond with tears, bitterness or in some other way? In the midst of his distress, how do you think David, found strength in the Lord his God? After David has found strength in the Lord, how does he also find help from the Lord in verses 7-20? How can David s experience help us to have a realistic view of the difficulties we my face as Christians? How can David s experience give us hope? Prayer: God, give me strength in the midst of difficult times. Help me to hope and trust in you like David. Amen Thursday, May 5 Read 2 Samuel 1 Saul and his sons were killed at the end of 1 Samuel. In this chapter we read about David hearing that news and grieving over the loss of his king and his best friend. David sings a beautiful song dedicated to Saul and Jonathan at the end of this chapter. As you read through the song in verses 19-27, which words or lines speak most powerfully to you and why? Saul had caused much trouble for David, but when he died, David composed a song in memory of the King and his son. David had every reason to hate Saul, but he chose not to. Instead, he chose to look at the good Saul had done and to ignore the times when Saul had attacked him. It takes courage to lay aside hatred and hurt and to respect the positive side of another person, especially an enemy. Prayer: Dear God, help me to see the good in those I often see his enemies, and be with me as I grieve the loss of enemies and friends like David grieved the loss of Jonathan and Saul. Amen Friday, May 6 Read 2 Samuel 6 In this chapter we find David becoming King and as one of his first acts he brings the Ark of the Covenant, which holds the stone tablet 10 Commandments, back to Jerusalem. There were specific instructions on how to move the Ark and they were not being followed by David or Uzzah. They actually placed the Ark on a cart like the Philistines would ve done instead of using the carrying poles. David was seeking to bring Israel back into a relationship with God and this story is meant to remind David and Israel to treat God with honor and respect. Uzzah s act of taking hold of the arc seemed well-intentioned. Why are sincerity and good intentions sometimes not enough? Although the Lord had struck down Uzzah, he blessed his house. What was the Lord saying about himself through these events? In the second part of this chapter we see David dancing before the Lord as an act of worship. Do your times of worship tend to be somber or joyous? In what ways can you make your times of worship more of a joyful celebration? Prayer: O Lord, help me to give you the honor and respect you deserve. When I come before you and worship, help me to do so with a joyous heart of celebration, willing to dance in those moments of joy and knowing you stand with me in moments of sorrow. Amen Saturday, May 7 Read 2 Samuel 7 At some point in our lives, most of us want to do great things for God. We may imagine ourselves as world-famous evangelists, proclaiming the good news to thousands. Or we may aspire to be the Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 2

3 next Mother Teresa, bringing care to the sick and needy. Have you ever wanted to do great things for God? What have you wanted to do and why? In what ways has God used you to accomplish his purposes? David wanted to build a magnificent temple for God. However, in this passage he is surprised to discover that God s plans for David are far greater than David s plans for God. What different names for God are used in this passage? Throughout history, sincere people have built monuments for the Lord that he never asked for. How can we avoid involvement in these misguided projects? Versus 8-16 have been called the Davidic covenant. What specific promises does God make to David? How do the promises in those verses find their ultimate fulfillment in Jesus Christ? (You might read Luke 1: for some clues to this.) In what ways has the Lord demonstrated his greatness or goodness to you recently? Family Activity: Take turns reading aloud David s prayer of thanks in verses What part of the prayer do you each like best? Now take turns thanking God for whatever comes to your heart. End with the following prayer. Prayer: Dear God, we are thankful for David and his story. You helped him become a King and slay a giant and you promise to help us in our lives. Help us to remember that Jesus, who came from the line of David, will be our helper and protector. Amen. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 3

4 Theme: Insights for Living from the Life of David Making True Friends David and Jonathon Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 at First United Methodist Church, Durango Scripture: 1 Samuel 19:1-7, 20: and Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his close friendship with David, 2 told him what his father was planning. Tomorrow morning, he warned him, you must find a hiding place out in the fields. 3 I ll ask my father to go out there with me, and I ll talk to him about you. Then I ll tell you everything I can find out. 4 The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. The king must not sin against his servant David, Jonathan said. He s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. 5 Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all! 6 So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed. 7 Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before. 16 So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, saying, May the Lord destroy all your enemies! 17 And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself. 41 As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile. Then David bowed three times to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said goodbye, especially David. 42 At last Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever. Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town. VIDEO Sermon Intro Making True Friends David and Jonathon Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 4

5 We continue today in a sermon series that we began two weeks ago in which we are looking at the Old Testament figure of King David and how his story and our story meet. Even though David lived over 3000 years ago, there are insights from his life that speak directly to our lives today and over the next few weeks we will continue to look at those insights from the life of David. Today we turn our attention to the relationship between David and King Saul s eldest son, Jonathan. As we do that, I invite you to take out of your bulletin your Message Notes and your Meditation Moments. You will find a space to take notes and my hope and prayer is that you hear something that you feel the holy spirit is speaking to you and you would write those things down. Below that and on the backside you will find meditation moments in which you will get a chance to read this story in depth as well as other Scriptures that relate to this story. If you will take a few minutes each day to read some Scripture and reflect upon them I believe they can make a profound difference in your life. What is a friend? Many have grappled with this question, so let s do that together. Turn to someone near you and answer this question together. A true friend is someone who. Here are a number of responses that are both profound and humorous. Grace Pulpit once said GRAPHIC 1 GRAPHIC 2 C.S. Lewis wrote A friend is the one who comes in when the whole world has gone out Friendship is born at that moment... Friendship is born at that moment when one person says to another, "What! You, too? I thought I was the only one." C.S. Lewis. Elbert Hubbard said GRAPHIC 3 GRAPHIC 4 Oscar Wilde wrote Lawrence Peters said A best friend is someone who knows all about you and loves you anyway A true friend always stabs you in the front. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 5

6 GRAPHIC 5 You can always tell a real friend - when you ve made a fool of yourself he doesn t feel you ve done a permanent job A British publication once offered a prize for the best definition of a friend. Among the thousands of answers received were the following: One who multiplies joys, divides grief, and whose honesty is inviolable. One who understands our silence. A volume of sympathy bound in cloth. The reality is that in today s world, many people are looking for meaningful relationships and yet so few actually find them. It seems everyone wants a friend, but few people actually have real friends. We are becoming an increasingly private society and it seems that fewer people than ever actually have life-long intimate friends any more. We might have hundreds of friends on Facebook but none of them may really know us or fits any of those descriptions you named or that we just quoted. Statistics tell us that most people are lucky if they have one close friend in their lifetime. And with the fact that Americans are moving from place to place more now than ever before, it becomes very difficult to make and keep such a friend. As we continue in our series about Insights from the Life of David, this week our text is the story of David and Jonathan, true friends. What we discover in this week s scripture lesson is a relationship that most of us could only hope to have because David and Jonathan had an intimate friendship. Last week, you ll remember our story turned to a rather difficult time in David s life. Things had been great for a while: as a teenager he had been anointed as the next King, he had killed Goliath, he had been working in the King s Court and he had been very successful in his leadership of the King s military. But the more successful he became the more King Saul despised him, to the point where the King tried to kill David. Into that time stepped Jonathan. Listen these words from 1 Samuel Saul now urged his servants and his son Jonathan to assassinate David. But Jonathan, because of his close friendship with David, 2 told him what his father was planning. Tomorrow morning, he warned him, you must find a hiding place out in the fields. 3 I ll ask Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 6

7 my father to go out there with me, and I ll talk to him about you. Then I ll tell you everything I can find out. 4 The next morning Jonathan spoke with his father about David, saying many good things about him. The king must not sin against his servant David, Jonathan said. He s never done anything to harm you. He has always helped you in any way he could. 5 Have you forgotten about the time he risked his life to kill the Philistine giant and how the Lord brought a great victory to all Israel as a result? You were certainly happy about it then. Why should you murder an innocent man like David? There is no reason for it at all! 6 So Saul listened to Jonathan and vowed, As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be killed. 7 Afterward Jonathan called David and told him what had happened. Then he brought David to Saul, and David served in the court as before. It was during this time that David was trying to convince Jonathan that Saul was trying to kill him but Jonathan would not believe it. He is finally convinced when Saul once again screams at Jonathan because David had not come to a banquet, at which Saul was planning to kill David. Jonathan is furious at his father and meets David to warn him that Saul is planning to hunt him down. 16 So Jonathan made a solemn pact with David, saying, May the Lord destroy all your enemies! 17 And Jonathan made David reaffirm his vow of friendship again, for Jonathan loved David as he loved himself. David escapes the King s attempts at murder more than once and for 10 years he finds himself on the run. We don t know for sure when David wrote the words of the 23rd Psalm, but you ve got to wonder if it was during this time, because in verse 4 of that Psalm he says, even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil At this point David was in grave danger. The King had a contract out on him. This time in his life was more than likely the worst thing he had ever faced. Some of you know what he felt like. I m talking about those valleys in our lives that take us lower than we ve ever been before. The ones where we feel as if we just can t go on and that the whole world has caved in on us. Some of you are there now. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 7

8 It was during this period of David s life that God showed his faithfulness and his love for David by providing Jonathan, a true friend. Before David flees Saul s court for good he and Jonathan meet up in secret. We see in these words the essence of a true friendship in 1 Samuel As soon as the boy was gone, David came out from where he had been hiding near the stone pile. Then David bowed three times to Jonathan with his face to the ground. Both of them were in tears as they embraced each other and said good-bye, especially David. 42 At last Jonathan said to David, Go in peace, for we have sworn loyalty to each other in the Lord s name. The Lord is the witness of a bond between us and our children forever. Then David left, and Jonathan returned to the town. Jonathan immediately took a liking to David and we re told, was bound to his soul. As you ll see in the next few minutes, God used Jonathan to meet the needs of David as he journeyed through this dark valley. One of the things that s amazing about this entire story is that while the hatred of Saul for David was growing every day, David was surrounded by others who loved him. We re told that the Israelites loved him, that the King s son Jonathan loved him, and that the King s daughter loved him (in fact, when the text says in I Samuel 18:20 that Saul s daughter Michal loved David, it s the only place in the Hebrew scripture where a woman is said to love a man). In the midst of this darkest hour of David s life, while Saul s hatred for David burned within him, everyone else was growing more and more fond of David. I heard a preacher once say that the closer we get to becoming the man or woman God wants us to be the more enemies we create one hand, but on the other hand, the more attractive we become to others. This is exactly why Saul became such an enemy of David: because David was gaining popularity with everyone around him and stealing the attention away from Saul. There was a reason why Jonathan and his sister Michel both were drawn to David because David was a young man of exemplary character whose integrity and honor shone through so that those with whom he came in contact wanted to spend time with him. Have you ever been around a person like that? These are the kind of people that we want to be friends with and who make friends much more easily because they re attractive on the inside and make excellent friends. When you and I grow Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 8

9 in the image of Jesus Christ, when we begin to evidence the fruits of the Holy Spirit in our lives, when we, because of what s on the inside become different on the outside we will begin to draw people to ourselves. There will be something attractive about us that has nothing to do with external appearances. But the converse is also true: there are a lot of people today who have no friends because they re just plain ugly on the inside and it shows through to the outside. If we want to have a friend, then the contemporary proverb is true: to have a friend you ve got to be a friend. We ve got to be the kind of people with whom others want to be friends. If we re hungering for a close friend, or for deeper intimacy in a relationship that we already have then there s a lot that we can learn from the story of David and Jonathan. Let s look at four characteristics of intimate friendship as exemplified by their relationship and then talk about three simple things that we can do to develop such relationships. The first characteristic of intimate friendship is this: An intimate friend is willing to sacrifice. Look at the sacrifice Jonathan made for his friend David in our story today. He sacrificed his own relationship with his father Saul. Jonathan stripped himself of the robe he was wearing and gave it to David along with his armor, his sword, his bow, and his belt. Jonathan s actions were a lot more than just a generous personal gesture. The robe symbolizes the kingdom. Jonathan was the potential heir to his father s throne, but now we see him sacrificing his future for David. He literally gives David his place as King. Sacrifice is the ultimate example of intimate friendship. The Make-A-Wish Foundation has been granting the wishes of children with life-threatening illnesses since Most commonly, children wish to meet a celebrity, shake the hand of the president, or go to Disney World. GRAPHIC 6 Mak Shulist But Mak Shulist, a critically ill nine-year-old, wished to enrich the lives of others. He got the Make-A-Wish Foundation to build something for his friends: a rock-climbing wall on the playground of Ellisville Elementary School before a brain tumor took Mak s life. Dave Knes, principal at the 600-student school in suburban Ellisville said, "We learned a lesson from a nine-year-old that even when we re going through tough times we should be thinking of other people and not ourselves." Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 9

10 GRAPHIC 7 Maks Playground What young Mak illustrated is that true friendship means a willingness to sacrifice for each other. It s the ability to put another s needs, desires, and wishes above those of our own. Ultimately it s what Jesus showed when he laid down his life for us reminding us of his word s in John 15:13. There is no greater love than to lay down one s life for one s friends. Sacrifice is the ultimate example of intimate friendship. Intimate friends defend each other The second characteristic of intimate friendship is that an intimate friend is a loyal defense before others. We re told that Jonathan went to his father and spoke well of David. He stood up to his dad and said, Dad, you re wrong about David. In fact, not only did he defend his friend, but he also rebuked his father for his attitude toward David. He says, Don t sin against David, he hasn t done anything wrong to you, in fact, everything he s done has helped you. Don t you remember? He risked his life fighting Goliath and when he won, you were happy. Why are you going to kill him when he s innocent? What a friend Jonathan was! In fact, Jonathan was so convincing that his father agreed that he was right and the text tells us that things were as they once had been for a short while. David was brought back into the palace and everything was good again for some time. A true friend is a loyal defense before others. A true friend won t talk about you when you re not around. True friends stick up for each other and defend each other when others attack. In his first seasons with the Brooklyn Dodgers, Jackie Robinson, the first black man to play Major League baseball, faced hatred nearly everywhere he traveled--fastballs at his head, spikings on the bases, brutal nicknames from the opposing dugouts and from the crowds. During one game in Boston, the taunts and racial slurs seemed to reach a peak. In the midst of this, another Dodger, a Southern white named Pee Wee Reese, called timeout. He walked from his position at shortstop toward Robinson at second base, put his arm around Robinson s shoulder, and stood there with him for what seemed like an eternity. The gesture spoke more eloquently than the words: This man is my friend. GRAPHIC 8 Pee Wee Reese and Jackie Robison A true friend is a loyal defense before others. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 10

11 Intimate friends respect each other s uniqueness The third characteristic of intimate friendship is that intimate friends give each other complete freedom to be themselves. I think this is one of the best signs to determine if a couple is compatible for marriage. Do they have freedom to be themselves? There s something very comforting about being with someone around whom you feel at ease because you know that they accept you for who you are. In an intimate friendship you don t have to explain why you do what you do. You just do it. In I Samuel 20:41 Jonathan had just given David the sign that things were not ok in the palace, that his dad was going to kill David, and David and Jonathan were forced to say goodbye as David would then take off to hide. The text tells us that they wept together. When your heart is broken, you can bleed all over a friend like this and he ll understand. He won t try to comfort you in your misery or tell you to straighten up. True friends don t try to fix what can t be fixed, but instead sit with you in those moments. When I was in high school my best friend was Dan. Dan was with me through some tough years as I dealt with living with my alcoholic step-father and my step brother who suffered from paranoia and schizophrenia. He never tried to fix my problems because he knew he couldn t. He simply sat with me in tough times and let me vent and be me. I got a chance to return that gift when Dan s father died suddenly of a heart attack. We sat together through the valley of the shadow of death. That s what an intimate friend is like. Intimate friends let each other hurt. They weep together. If your friend needs to complain, listen. Intimate friends don t bail, they stay. Intimate friends allow you to be yourself no matter what that self looks like on any given day. The final characteristic of intimate friendship that is exemplified in the relationship between David and Jonathan is that an intimate friend is a constant source of encouragement. Intimate friends encourage one another. Later on in the story when the King s men discovered where David was and Saul went out to kill him we re told that Jonathan went to David and encouraged him in faith. Think of that. Jonathan s dad is after David, they re out in the wilderness looking for him and the hit man s own son goes out and finds his Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 11

12 friend and encourages him. That s the kind of friend to have. He sees David at the lowest moment of his life, frightened and stumbling through the wilderness and he brings him encouragement. There ll be a brighter day someday, but right now I m here with you, no matter what. One of the Peanuts comic sequences shows Linus having just written a comic strip of his own, and he wants Lucy s opinion. In the first frame, he tentatively hands Lucy his comic strip and says, "Lucy, would you read this and tell me if you think it is funny?" In the next frame, you see Lucy patting her foot, and a little bit of a grin comes across her face. She looks at Linus and says, "Well, Linus, who wrote this?" Linus with his chest heaved out and a great big grin says, "Lucy, I wrote that." In the next frame, you see Lucy wadding it up, throwing it to the side, and saying, "Well, then, I don t think it s very funny." In the final frame, you see Linus picking up his comic strip, throwing his blanket over his shoulder, looking at Lucy and saying, GRAPHIC 9 "Big sisters are the crab grass in the lawn of life." We find that humorous. I dare say if you and I thought long and hard enough, we d remember being the crab grass in the lawn of somebody else s life. None of us wants to be a loser. None of us wants to be a source of discouragement. And yet, if we re not careful, we can find ourselves being more pessimistic than optimistic, more discouraging than encouraging. There s enough crab grass in our lives already. What we need is some encouragement. True, intimate friends bring encouragement not negativity. I don t know about you, but when I look at the kind of friendship that David and Jonathan has, it makes me long for that same intimacy in my own friendships. I mean, how many of us can actually say that we have a friend like that? Or how many of us can say that we are a friend like that? As we close here are three practical steps to take to develop a David/Jonathan relationship in your own life. First, ask God for a Jonathan. We have a tendency to underemphasize the power of prayer. Jesus said, Ask and it will be given to you, seek and you shall find. God wants us to have Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 12

13 these kinds of relationships in our lives. And if we begin asking for a Jonathan and asking God to turn us into Jonathans our prayers will be answered. God wants to provide intimacy for you in the form of a friend and the best place to begin looking for it is by asking God. In the same way as God provided Jonathan for David in the most difficult season of his life, so too will he provide a Jonathan for you if you ll only ask. Second, commit to the friendship because it takes time Second, when you find him/her commit to that friendship for life. True intimate friendship takes time. It doesn t happen overnight. It s something that takes commitment and longevity. We re told that Jonathan made a covenant with David. A covenant, as we ve discussed before is a relationship that is entered into and held in high esteem. It s more than a contract. I see too many fair-weathered friends. People who are friends for a season but then have it out and go their separate ways. Intimate friends are those who stay together and work things out. If we want to have that kind of relationship, then we have to commit to it for life. Proverbs 17:17 reads GRAPHIC 10 A friend loves at all times. How many of you remember the Carole King song, You ve Got a Friend? You just call out my name, and you know wherever I am, I ll come runnin, to see you again. Winter, Spring, Summer, or Fall, all you got to do is call, and I ll be there, yes I will. You ve got a friend. The idea of the song is that a friend is always available. Several years ago Steve Martin was a guest on Saturday Night Live and he did this incredibly funny bit about the Carole King song. In the sketch, Steve Martin is walking the Carole King character back from a date. He asks to come in, but Carole says that she s busy trying to finish a song and can t take any more time that evening. He gives up, and decides to just hang out outside Carole s apartment building. Next you see Carole through her window at her piano. All of a sudden, a couple guys come up and mug Steve Martin, stabbing him, and leaving him for dead. Just then, Carole starts the chorus, You just call out my name Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 13

14 And Steve Martin starts screaming, Carole! Carole! But she can t hear him because she is singing. Finally, a commentator comes on, and says that Carole was so touched by the tragedy of her friend that she wrote her next hit, It s Too Late, Baby. True friends are there when we need them, any time because they re committed to you for the long run. Be a friends that are good for each other The final practical step to take in developing this kind of friendship is to Be a friend that is Good for another. When I was a child my parents were very selective about who I spent time with. They didn t want me around kids who would be a bad influence on me. We re all looking for these kinds of friendships but are we the kind of people that others want to be friends with? Will others be better because they ve spent time with us? Proverbs 27:17 says GRAPHIC 11 As Iron Sharpens Iron so a Friend Sharpens a Friend Are you the kind of person that sharpens your friends? That s the kind of friend that Jonathan was. Jonathan made David a better person. He encouraged him and helped him spiritually. He was good for David. In one of our quiet moments together my friend Dan was trying so share something with me but I just kept talking about myself. Imagine me, talking a lot! Dan did something that day I ll never forget. He gently put his arm around my shoulder and said, You know Jeff, it s okay to LISTEN once in a while. I got it. Recently our family did a Shrek-a-thon and watched all of the Shrek movies several nights in a row. Shrek revolves around a boorish ogre, Shrek (voiced by Mike Meyers), who finds a friend in a talking donkey (voiced by Eddie Murphy) and unexpectedly falls in love with a princess (voiced by Cameron Diaz), whom he rescues from a castle. This fairytale spoof emphasizes how humans place too much importance on outward appearances. After freeing the princess, Shrek and Donkey escort her back to the village in keeping with the prince s orders. Because the journey is long, they decide to camp out. Around the campfire, Donkey talks to Shrek about what life will be like once they get the princess back to her kingdom and return to Shrek s home, a humble swamp. VIDEO Shrek and Donkey Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 14

15 Looking up at the sky, Donkey asks, "Hey Shrek, what are we going to do when we get back to our swamp, anyway?" "Our swamp?" Shrek challenges. "There s no OUR! There s just me and my swamp, and the first thing I m going to do is build a ten-foot wall around my land." Donkey is surprised. He thought they had developed a friendship that would result in sharing their lives and possessions once the quest was over. "You cut me deep, Shrek!" Donkey confesses. "You cut me real deep just now. You know what I think? This whole wall thing is just a way to keep somebody out." The two argue and exchange verbal jabs. At last Donkey asks, "Who are you trying to keep out? Just tell me that, okay?" "Everyone! Okay?" Shrek exclaims. "Hey, what s your problem, Shrek? What you got against the whole world, anyway?" The huge ogre seems almost childlike as he candidly explains, "I m not the one with the problem. It s the whole world that seems to have a problem with me. People take one look at me and go Ahhh! Help! Run! It s a big, stupid, ugly ogre! They judge me before they even know me. That s why I m better off alone." Donkey joins Shrek and says, "You know what? When we first met, I didn t think you were just a big, stupid, ugly ogre." "Yeah, I know," Shrek acknowledges with gratitude. For the first time he realizes someone has looked beyond his outward appearance and accepted him. There are an awful lot of us running around today with the attitude of Shrek, people who ve isolated themselves from the rest of the world out of fear. Maybe you re one of them. There s good news: it can be different. You can have the kind of intimate friendship that David and Jonathan shared. You don t have to be alone any longer. My hope is that each of us will find and develop and covenant to have those kinds of friendships in our lives. I want to remind you that Jesus was a descendant of David and just as Jonathan had David as a close friend we are invited to have this kind of friendship with Jesus, knowing that Christ came to sacrifice for us. Jesus came to defend us and be our Savior, saving us from death and brokenness. Christ came to love each Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 15

16 of us just the way we are in all our uniqueness and he came to encourage us and let us know we are not alone in our darkest moments. One of you sent me this story I have used before but it is so appropriate for today. A man's daughter had asked the local pastor to come and pray with her father. When the pastor arrived, he found the man lying in bed with his head propped up on two pillows and an empty chair beside his bed. The pastor assumed that the old fellow had been informed of his visit. I guess you were expecting me, he said. No, who are you? the man replied I'm the new associate at your local church, the pastor replied. When I saw the empty chair, I figured you knew I was going to show up. Oh yeah, the chair, said the bedridden man. Would you mind closing the door? Puzzled, the pastor shut the door. I've never told anyone this, not even my daughter, said the man. But all of my life I have never known how to pray. At church I used to hear the pastor talk about prayer, but it always went right over my head. I abandoned any attempt at prayer, the old man continued, until one day about four years ago my best friend said to me, Joe, prayer is just a simple matter of having a conversation with Jesus. Here's what I suggest. Sit down on a chair; place an empty chair in front of you, and in faith see Jesus on the chair. It's not spooky because he promised, I'll be with you always. Then just speak to him and listen in the same way you're doing with me right now. So, I tried it and I've liked it so much that I do it a couple of hours every day. I'm careful, though. If my daughter saw me talking to an empty chair, she'd either have a nervous breakdown or send me off to the funny farm. The pastor was deeply moved by the story and encouraged the old guy to continue on the journey. Then he prayed with him, and returned to the church. Two nights later the daughter called to tell the pastor that her daddy had died that afternoon. Did he seem to die in peace? he asked. Yes, when I left the house around two o'clock, he called me over to his bedside, told me one of his corny jokes, and kissed me on the cheek. When I got back from the store an hour later, I found him dead. But there was something strange, in fact, beyond strange--kinda weird. Apparently, just before Daddy died, Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 16

17 he leaned over and rested his head on a chair beside the bed. That s the kind of friend God s wants us to be for each other and one that Jesus wants to be for us. Let s pray. Prayer As we bow our heads and close our eyes, I want to invite you to picture a friend and hold them up in prayer. If you don t have a close friend, I invite you to ask God to help you find that Jonathan in your life. Just take a moment and lift that up to God in prayer. Lord God, we thank you for the gift of friendships. For those who don t feel like they have a friend, please be that for them today and help them to risk reaching out to those who would be their friends. For those who feel far away from their friend today, give them the courage to call them up and reconcile. For those who have lost a friend to death, comfort them in their grief. Help us to be there for our friends and be worthy of others friendship. May we be willing to sacrifice, defend, accept and encourage our friends. Most of all, thank you for Jesus who promises to be our friend always, in this life and the life to come. Amen. Sermon preached by Jeff Huber April 30-May 1, 2016 Page 17