A Friend Who Sticks

Welcome to the Enduring Grace Sermons Podcast.

This is the home for the weekly teaching and ministry of Pastor Ben Hill.

Our mission is to share the timeless truth of God's Word with a world in need of hope.

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And now, here is this week's message.

Amen.

I want you to answer this question honestly.

Obviously, don't talk to me because if you all answer, I would not hear any of your answers.

But if life fell apart right now, who would be the friend you called?

If you you woke up tomorrow morning and you got news that your life is falling apart, you got a report that's bad.

Your wife or husband informs you that they're leaving you, or that you got a pink job slip of saying you're no longer welcome here tomorrow morning at your job.

Who would be the first person you'd call?

And it can't be your spouse.

Who would that person be?

Who would be your first call?

Because oftentimes we don't really think about who our true friends are until we're in the midst of darkness.

Who would be that first call?

We're living in a day and age where we're more connected than we've ever been.

Every single one of you in this room, more than likely, came in with a phone in your pocket unless you left it on your bedside because you got in a hurry this morning because you had so much fun yesterday at 4th of July.

But on most occasions, you have a little telephone that sits in your pocket.

Within seconds, you can probably reach most people unless you're at Camp McCall where there is no service.

But you can reach most people within seconds.

And even today, you can send a text message via satellite.

We're more connected today than we've ever been.

Many of us say that we have hundreds of Facebook friends, or maybe Instagram followers, or ex.com, or used to be Twitter followers.

And yet, really do they know you?

Does your friend that came to mind that you would call, do they really know you?

Do they know the depths of your heart?

Do they know your struggles?

Do they know the deepest, darkest parts that you try to hide from everyone else?

Because true friendship is friendship that knows who we are.

No matter the cost.

And so this morning I want to take just a few minutes talking to you this morning about what true friendship is.

And we see it unfold in the life of David and Jonathan.

But before we get there, I'm actually going to ask for you to stand in the honor of reading God's word.

We're going to actually read from Proverbs 18, 24.

It's actually from David's son, from the inspiration of God's Word.

It says, Proverbs 18, 24, a man of many companions may come to ruin.

But there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

You may be seated.

This morning, Jonathan and David serve as an example of the ultimate friend who sticks closer than a brother.

Their friendship, as good as it was, was still imperfect because we're imperfect people.

But let me tell you, Jonathan was one of those friends that stuck closer than brothers.

Jonathan is an example to us that points us to the greater friend, that is Christ.

And we will see how that unfolds towards the end of the message this morning.

But if you found your place in 1 Samuel 18, we're going to begin with verses 1 through 4 this morning.

Would you say word if you have found your place?

And it says, 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.

And Saul took him that day and would not let him return to his father's house.

Then Jonathan made a covenant with David 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.

Jonathan demonstrates a devotion of true friendship.

And so we need to commit to being devoted as true friends.

The devotion of true friendship.

You see, Saul sees David's success and brings him into his family.

Keep in mind, just prior to this, David just slew Goliath.

The Israelites or the people of Israel are all on top.

They're celebrating because they've been victorious when it looked like it was impossible.

And as we saw two weeks ago, that was God showing up and demonstrating his authority through David, an unlikely warrior.

But in this case, Saul sees David and he recognizes him and brings him into his own home.

And Jonathan, his son, the prince, who is the rightful heir to the throne, recognizes David, and he falls for him as a friend, a brother in arms, and goes, I want to be your best friend.

And they literally have their souls knit to one another, their blood brothers in heart, even though by flesh they are not.

Saul and Jonathan have David now in their home.

But here's the thing: David is the anointed heir to the throne by God.

Jonathan is not, even though by bloodline he should be.

Jonathan could easily look at David as a rival.

He could look at him with envy.

Why did he have success and not me?

Why was he courageous and not me?

But instead, Jonathan has the exact opposite response.

He gets excited about who David is, and he wants to be close to him.

And so he draws close to him.

In fact, we see that Jonathan, unknowingly possibly, demonstrates David as the next heir by taking off his own royal robe, his own armor, his own military equipment, and gives it and puts it on David, giving him glory and praise for what he has done by the power of God.

And yet Jonathan has no envy towards David.

Jonathan demonstrates a devotion to David that is sacrificial, that he wants to praise David rather than himself, that he wants to lift David higher than himself.

True friendship is not built on what you can get, folks.

It is built on what you can give.

Jonathan understood that reality and was giving David all he had.

Jonathan says, David, I want you to have everything.

But the fact of the matter is, is that our world gets it backward oftentimes.

In fact, the closest friends that we have oftentimes are those that can help us advance our career.

We get close to those who can give us better positioning or influence.

We get somebody that can tell us how good we are.

We want someone to puff us puff us up.

We also want someone that can help encourage us to see to the end.

We want someone that allows us to have good experiences.

We want someone that puts a smile on our face and tells us what we want to hear.

That is American friendship.

It is superficial and it's surface level oftentimes.

It is not devoted friendship.

It is not sacrificial.

It is not a selfless friendship.

Jonathan demonstrates a selflessness.

He celebrates David instead of envying David.

It reminds me of a story about the Special Olympics several years ago.

There's a story that goes that there was a group of eight runners and they were getting ready to do the hundred-yard dash.

They prepare and the waiting for the gunfire to go off, and as they sit ready to listen, it goes off and they start running.

They're running as hard as they can, but one of the runners stumbles and falls and rolls and begins to cry.

One athlete hears it and begins to slow down.

The next athlete hears it and begins to slow down.

And before long, all of them have come to a stop.

And they turn around and go to that one who is crying.

And this one particular girl gets down on her knees and kisses the knee of that boy and says, It's gonna be okay now.

And they all helped him up and locked arms, and the eight of them proceeded to finish together.

True friendship is willing to stop what they're doing to help their friend who is in need.

Devotion requires us to be selfless, not to think about winning, because we realize that even when our brothers and sisters in Christ win around us and we are feeling like we just can't help but lose, we still celebrate because God is using them.

Because when our brothers and sisters win, we win.

So we want to be a people who lift others up that are devoted to one another, and that we encourage one another.

But not only are true friends built on devotion, there's also the defense of true friendship.

We see Jonathan demonstrate this in 1 Samuel 19.

Look at verses 1 through 7.

It says, And Saul spoke to Jonathan, his son, and to all his servants that they should kill David, but Jonathan, Saul's son, delighted much in David.

And Jonathan told David, Saul, my father, seeks to kill you.

Therefore be on your guard in the morning, stay in a secret place and hide yourself.

And I will go out and stand beside my father in the field where you are, and I will speak to my father about you.

And if I learn anything, I will tell you.

And Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul, his father, and said to him, Let not the king sin against his servant David, because he has not sinned against you, and because his deeds have brought good to you.

For he took his life in his hand, and he struck down the Philistine, and the Lord worked a great salvation for all Israel.

You saw it and rejoiced.

When then will you sin why then will you sin against innocent blood by killing David without cause?

And Saul listened to the voice of Jonathan.

Saul swore, as the Lord lives, he shall not put to death put to death.

And Jonathan called David, and Jonathan reported to him all these things, and Jonathan brought David to Saul, and he was in his presence as before.

So this success of David, he goes out and he keeps battling wars, and Saul sees that David is being praised more than him, and this monstrous thing called envy and jealousy bowls over in Saul, and Saul has decreed that David must die.

Now put yourself in Jonathan's shoes.

Jonathan has he, this is his blood brother.

As far as he was concerned, David was his best friend, and here is his father, the king, the most powerful person in Israel, saying that David must die.

Now, Jonathan could have easily just stopped and said, Hey, I'm gonna let my father just do his thing and see where what happens.

But Jonathan doesn't do that.

What does he do?

He goes and warns David, and then he defends David.

And tell reminds Saul that, hey, David has done nothing against you.

Why are you falsely accusing David?

Why are you trying to kill David?

It doesn't make sense.

It's sin.

Now that's some boldness for a son in this particular period of time to come against his father, first of all, but also to come against the king and say, hey, king, pay attention.

You are in sin.

He goes to bat for David.

And so he's standing protecting David.

He spoke well of David.

See, a true friend will not allow slander to take place against their friends, especially when it's behind their back.

They will stand up for their friend.

They will stand in the gap.

Are you a friend who stands in the gap?

Or are you a friend who allows the gossip to spill over and you pour on?

True friendship is one that does not slander but defends.

The fact of the matter is, is that all of us can have a whole lot of friends when we're successful.

When we are having everything we touch turn to gold, we have a whole lot more people that want to be our friends.

There's probably no one that knows that better than Elon Musk.

Just think about all the people that want to be around him.

First trillionaire, that means that his like pocket change he'll never miss, right?

Like he's just gonna dump cash everywhere.

He can gather a crowd real quick.

But you know what happens to Elon if he goes bankrupt and he loses all of his companies?

No one knows who Elon is anymore.

Elon is popular because he's been successful.

If you think back to high school days, I know for many of us that's a long time ago.

It's hard.

But think about school.

For some of you, it's a lot closer.

But if you think about school, Mr.

and Mrs.

Popular always had a crowd.

But a lot of the times, those that are popular in high school are not always successful outside of school.

They can become incredibly lonely.

When life is going well, when things are going as according to plan, people will gather around us.

The test of true friendship is when you get falsely accused, who comes to bat for you?

The true test of friendship is that when you are in the thickest, darkest season of your life and you're open about it, who stands beside you?

Who's willing to defend you?

Those are your true friends.

And oftentimes we don't know who our true friends are until we've hit rock bottom.

Do you have a Jonathan in your life?

But better yet, do you yourself provide a Jonathan to others?

Are you that true friend that stands in the gap for others?

Or are you simply another person that likes to pile on when the person's down?

We have to be true friends.

Because the reality is when people stand up for others, it changes lives.

There's a lady that was retiring from her company, and it was the night of her celebration after decades of serving in this company, and one of her coworkers pulled her aside and said, Before your last day ends, I need to share something with you.

There were many occasions that you were the subject at the water cooler.

Because you were successful, and there were people that were envious of that.

They would accuse you, they would accuse you of trying to get ahead in bad practices, trying to do sexual favors for others.

But there was one man down the hall who was not even in your department who would always stand up for you and say, That's not the woman I know.

She loves the Lord and she'd never do that.

And it always shut it down.

That woman started crying because she realized that all that time she had someone who was quietly defending her when she never knew it.

Are you the person who's willing to defend others?

To stand in the gap, even if it means that you're not Mr.

Popular or Miss Popular, that people throw flaming darts at you because they understand that you defend others.

Are you that kind of person who stands and defends your friends?

But not only is there the devotion of friendship and also the defense of friendship, there's also the deliverance of true friendship.

Go to chapter 20.

You see that Jonathan begins to warn David that his father is going to put David's life in jeopardy.

But Jonathan, wanting to give his father the benefit of doubt, begs David to allow him to test his father.

Because he wants David to be part of his life.

He wants David to be around because it's his best friend.

Even though Saul has given no reason for David to be around.

So Jonathan, meeting with David, pleads with him in verse 17 to swear again by his love for him.

For he loved him as his own soul.

Jonathan brings back to David the remembrance in verse 17 that you and I have a friendship that is thicker than blood.

I want you to remember that I love you as if you are me.

David agrees.

They come up with the plan on how David will be warned if Saul wants to kill him, has murderous intent.

And so they come up with this beautiful plan that Jonathan would sit with his father, David wouldn't be there, that David went to Bethlehem to do a sacrifice there, that he would be coming back, and that Jonathan would then ask his father about David and see how that would uh respond, how Saul would respond.

But after, if it was dangerous for David, he would shoot a bow and he would tell him, hey, the arrow's gone beyond you.

And you know what?

That would be good news or bad news because that means David would be on the run.

But if it wasn't that response, if it was uh the other response, then guess what?

Good news.

You get to come home and be with us and have a wonderful time.

But as dinner unfolds, the king is enraged.

And he does something that even maybe caught Saul himself off guard.

He took his spear and threw it by his son.

Nearly killing his own son.

Jonathan realizes in this moment that there is no safety for David to be had.

That his father's intention is the murder of his best friend.

And so Jonathan delivers David the news, but also delivers safety to him by going out with a boy with his bow, shoots the arrow, and says to him that it is not the arrow beyond you.

And David knew that that meant that he had to run.

But he waits.

The boy is sent away, and as soon as that had happened, verse 41 shows us what transpires.

And as soon as the boy had gone, David rose from beside the stone heap and fell on his face to the ground.

Bowed three times and they kissed one another.

By the way, this is not a romantic kiss.

In the Middle Eastern culture, you give a holy kiss.

In fact, the New Testament tells us that we should be giving a holy kiss to one another.

Let me just tell you, I'm glad we don't do the holy kiss thing because that's too close for comfort, right?

A handshake's good enough.

Keith loves a handshake, doesn't like a hug.

Right?

And so listen, we in our society, we see whole kiss and we go, hold up, what is this?

No, this is a friendship kiss.

It's equivalent of what you see French do.

They go to the side and to the side.

They don't actually kiss.

Think of it more of a longing, a hugging embrace.

And there's weeping, the loss.

And wept with one another, and David weeping the most.

David is heartbroken because he now has to flee for his life for something he did not even do.

It was God at work in his life.

Jonathan put his life on the line in order to make sure that David was safe, that David could live a healthy, vibrant life.

Now, sometimes when we love our friends dearly enough, sometimes it costs us something to make sure that they are safe.

There's a heartbreaking story about two young men in World War I.

They grew up in the same town, they enlisted together, they trained together, they shipped out even to the same trenches.

They were in the same unit.

And one night, as the bullets were flying, they made their way back to safety.

But the problem was that only one was safe.

Jim had made it back, but Bill was nowhere to be seen.

As he looked and confirmed that his friend was not there, he realized Bill was laying somewhere out in no man's land.

So he goes to his officer and says, Officer, permission to go after Bill.

And the officer said, permission denied.

If you go out there, you will die, and he's going to die anyway.

So as the officer turned his back, and Jim saw his opportunity, he bolted back into no man's land.

Crawling with bullets whizzing by his head.

After many minutes, he would preser he would manage to get back.

But as he got back in the trenches, it became clear that he had been shot multiple times, blood rushing from his body.

His officer came and said, You fool.

And you're going to die now, too.

I told you not to go.

Do you have any regrets for going now?

And the young man looked at his officer and said, No, sir, it was worth it.

Because when I got there, he was still alive.

And you know what he said?

He said, I knew you'd come.

Thank you.

Sometimes being a friend means going down with your friend.

Jonathan could have easily lost his life for his friend.

But he didn't.

Jonathan would not see David again until Samuel, 1 Samuel 23, 16.

And it says that Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horush and strengthened his hand in God.

Jonathan, even after all that time had passed, made sure that David understood that he needed to hold fast to the Lord.

True friends, even in the midst of trials, will remind their friends that God is worthy of our trust.

True friends are devoted to one another.

True friends are willing to give a defense for each other.

True friends help deliver each other by keeping their focus on the Lord.

But ultimately, it goes back to what Proverbs 18 24 tells us.

That a man of many companions may come to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.

For many in this room, you know who that true friend is.

That true friend is Jesus.

Our friends oftentimes will let us down.

Jonathan was still an imperfect friend, although he got a lot right.

He was not a perfect person.

Jesus Christ alone is the perfect friend for you and for me.

Jesus is the ultimate example of what it means to strip off his own robes to clothe us in righteousness.

Jesus.

He stepped down from heaven to live with his broken creation, so that he might rid us of our filthy sin through the sacrifice of his own life.

But that is not the end of the story.

Did you know Jesus is giving a defense for you daily in heaven on your behalf?

Hebrews 7 25 reminds us that consequently he is able to save the uttermost those who draw near to God through him, since he always lives to make an intercession for them.

He is always intercessing for you.

Jesus did not only give his life, he gave it up so that he could demonstrate a love that surpasses all other loves.

John 15, 13 reminds us, saying, as Jesus said, greater love has no one than this, that someone laid down his life for his friends.

Did you know that you are called a friend of God?

That you are called friends.

John 15, 15 tells us, no longer do I call you servants, for the servant does not know what his master is doing, but I have called you friends.

For all that I have heard from my father I have made known to you.

Jesus also promises that he will never leave or forsake you in Hebrews 13 5.

God will never leave you or forsake you.

He is the perfect friend because it is said that true friends stick with you when they know the darkest skeletons in your closet.

Jesus knows everything you've ever done, and yet he still died for you.

And because we have a friend that sticks closer than a brother, when we keep our eyes fixated on him, we can become a friend to those around us, replicating to them the love that God has.

And don't miss this.

When you're willing to go to bat and to stick with and be in the trenches with those who are suffering, and they ask the question, why would you stay by my side?

We point them to Christ saying, Well, Christ came, he died for me.

He stuck by my side when I was low, when I was separated, when I was an enemy of God, he still loved me enough to die for me, and he loves you too.

Are you the friend God is to you, to others?

This morning, maybe you don't have that friendship with the Lord.

I want to encourage you to say yes to surrendering your life to Jesus, that you will place your faith and trust in Christ in Christ alone this morning.

But for others in the vast majority of this room, you have a relationship with Jesus.

You have that friendship.

My encouragement to you this morning is if you're not already, will you be the friend who's willing to stand beside others to defend others and ultimately to help point them to Christ so that they can experience the same freedom that you've been given through Jesus' love and friendship.

With every head bowed and I closed this morning.