Our text this evening is found in 1 Samuel 23. If you're using the Pew Bible in front of you, it's found on page 290. Actually, it would be 291. We're coming into a story in the life of David. And earlier in this book, David was anointed to be king, a very young man. anointed to be king and then he encountered all kinds of troubles, all kinds of hardships. Saul tried to kill him several times. We find David is on the run again. He's running for his life. And then we have an encounter here as we look at this text tonight with Saul's son, Jonathan.
1 Samuel 23, beginning with verse 15: "David saw that Saul had come out to seek his life. David was in the wilderness of Ziph at Horesh. And Jonathan, Saul's son, rose and went to David at Horesh and strengthened his hand in God. And he said to him, do not fear, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul my father knows this. And the two of them made a covenant before the Lord. David remained at Horesh, and Jonathan went home."
Here ends the reading of God's holy word. The grass withers, the flower fades, but the word of the Lord stands forever.
In November, Pastor Gordon preached a sermon on "You Have a Need for Endurance." You remember that? "You have a need for endurance." And his text was in Hebrews chapter 10, which was: "Therefore, don't throw away your confidence. You have a great reward. For you have need of endurance, so that when you've done the will of God, you may receive what is promised. But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls."
So we have a need to endure all the way to the end of our life to keep the faith. And the promise of Scripture is that God will preserve us in that faith. In other words, those who are born of God are eternally secure in Jesus Christ. And yet God has ordained that we must endure all the way with faith until the end of our life. How does He do that? Well, God has ordained, again, as we have just heard earlier from the confession, that the ordinary, the dominant means of grace is through the preaching of His word, the administration of the sacraments, and in church discipline. The Scriptures affirm this. The Forms of Unity reaffirm it. We have this ministry. Paul said it's the gospel ministry it's the preaching of the gospel, the announcement of salvation by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. We need to proclaim it precisely and urgently and plainly. That's how God keeps us in the faith. That's how we endure all the way to the end.
This evening, I want to focus, on not on preaching but on another part of the answer to the question of how we are to endure until the end. That is: God has ordained that we be related to each other as believers in such a way that we help each other to fight the good fight of faith with all diligence daily until the end.
The biblical basis for this answer, of course, is also found in Hebrews chapter 3, verses 12 through 14: "Take care, brethren, lest there be in you an evil heart of unbelief, leading you to fall away from the living God. But exhort one another every day, as long as it's called today, that none of you would be hardened by the deceitfulness of sin. For we have shared in Christ, if we hold our first confidence firm until the end."
So we're not talking tonight. I want to make sure you understand about the authority of preaching and teaching. That's the predominant way that God saves people. That, of course, requires calling and giftedness and special preparation. But what we're talking about tonight is something else.
So I want to consider with you Jonathan's friendship with David, and I want to encourage you to be in relationship with other faithful believers where you can exhort and encourage one another day in and day out. As Paul says in 1 Thessalonians 5: "Encourage one another and build up one another." That's what I'm talking about tonight.
As we heard from this text, David is going, and he is on the run. Imagine having been anointed to be king at such a young age and then to have the current king seeking his life. David has fled into the Judean hills as far as the town of Ziph, which is perched in some of the high hills overlooking the wilderness of Judah, some 12 miles southeast of Kilah. Saul, king of Israel, wants to kill David because he's insecure. He thinks David is a rival. Jonathan, Saul's son, loves David, sees him as a friend, and he hears that he's in the wilderness of Ziph. He knows what's going on, and it says he goes down to strengthen his hand in God.
From this encounter tonight, I want to mention very quickly four lessons that we can gather.
The first is this: Every Christian believer has a need for constant encouragement. The most mature saints, the strongest Christian leaders, Everyone needs strengthening in God. David was passionate. He was young. He was strong. He was a warrior. He had the promise of God. But David needed Jonathan.
Christian brotherhood and sisterhood is not just for the new recruits. It's not just for the catechumens. It's not just for the people who are in the new members class. Every believer needs encouragement. We never grow out of our need for such exhortation. If you and I think that somehow we're beyond it now, I've graduated, I don't need that kind of encouragement anymore, then perhaps we have actually fallen prey to what the author of Hebrews was saying earlier about the deceitfulness of sin.
David was a man after God's own heart. He was a great warrior. He was no doubt superior to Jonathan in stature, intelligence, in depth. He's the one who composes so many of our Psalms. He had a relationship with God. But verse 16 says, "Jonathan went and strengthened his hand in God." Beloved, don't ever think that you are so strong that you don't need to be strengthened in God. And don't ever think that somebody is far superior than you, that you can't encourage them in the hand of God.
Charles Spurgeon, of course, spoke for so many of us Christian leaders years ago when he wrote: "Some years ago I was the subject of fearful depression of spirit. Various troublous events had happened to me. I was also unwell, and my heart sank within me. Out of the depths, I was forced to cry unto the Lord."
I reference Spurgeon here because all of the great saints, the most valiant warriors, are not above the need to have their hands strengthened in God. In fact, I think the devil attacks some of the great Christian leaders even more so.
Think about Paul. Paul had been persecuting the church, and then he is converted on the road to Damascus. And the Christian community is afraid of him. They're still afraid of him, even though he has become a follower of Jesus. Barnabas sees this. And instead of allowing Paul to languish, he brings him alongside. That Barnabas, that son of encouragement, comes alongside of Paul and brings him to the saints in Jerusalem and says, "He's one of our people. He trusts in Jesus also." And he encouraged Paul, and he encouraged John Mark.
Have you ever read through the whole book of Acts and seen the progression? How it talks about "Paul and Barnabas, It says Barnabas and Paul, Barnabas and Paul," Barnabas and "Paul and then it switches and it says Paul. and Barnabas, Paul and Barnabas, and then Barnabas kind of drops behind the scenes and it's just Paul. Paul needed encouragement.
The deepest saints and the strongest leaders need Christian encouragement. The second lesson is that strengthening a person's hand in God involves a conscious effort. It has to be intentional. You don't just on the fly go and encourage someone. You think about it. You think about someone's need. You hear, maybe even after church or having coffee with someone, you hear you're listening to people And you hear the struggles and you think about, it and you think about, "How can I encourage them in the Lord?" And so it's intentional. You don't do it on the fly.
Just like Jonathan, he rose and he went, it says, to Horesh. What a difference it would make in our congregation if we were, every one of us, intentional about encouraging each other in the Lord! I know many of you do it already. I hear it. But what if all of us were intentional? We kept our ears open. We're watching for people's needs.
You know, we have wonderful pastors, very caring elders. They have so many needs that they're attending to. The deacons are procuring for the physical needs of the church, but they can't do everything. They can't see every need. We need to be encouraging one another in the Lord.
And so I encourage you this evening to form Christian friendships for Jesus Christ, that you have a group of brothers and sisters with mutual love, that you will continually pointing each other to Jesus Christ for hope and strength.
The third lesson we gain from this text this evening is: We are to strengthen each other, and this is important, in God. The strength we are to receive, the strength that we're to give each other, is the strength in God, not in ourselves.
Notice how Jonathan doesn't come down and try to build up the self-esteem of David. He doesn't say, "You know, David, just a short time ago, it was acknowledged that you were ruddy and handsome and such a good-looking young man. You've got a bright future. You're such a good guy." He doesn't say that, does he? He strengthens him in the promises of God. He doesn't address any self-esteem or self-assurance.
And this is the difference between Christian fellowship and support groups. And I have nothing against support groups, but there is a difference between Christian fellowship and other support groups. The whole point of Christian friendship is to point each other to God, not to man.
And there is a kind of paradox in that, isn't there? I mean, what we're saying is: we need each other. We need each other, and God has appointed us to encourage each other to endure all the way to the end through each other's encouragement. But the need that I have for you is not that you'll somehow fill a need. It's that you're going to point me to Jesus Christ. That's the paradox. We need each other, but we really need each other to point to the Lord.
Richard Sibbes, a Puritan, said: "It is of no small consequence that we keep company with wakeful Christians, Wakeful Christians, such as neither sleep themselves nor do willingly allow any to sleep that are near them. It is one of the best fruits of the communion of saints and of our spiritual good acquaintances to keep one another awake."
That's one of the fruits of the communion of the saints. We're to keep each other awake, to be alert, to be sober-minded. All our friendships, all our family relationships exist to glorify God. And if it's going to be a friendship for Christ, it must point to Him. That's the third lesson.
Jonathan rose and went to David at Horesh, and he strengthened his hand in God.
That brings me to the fourth point: How did he do this? I've already mentioned it in some ways. He reminded David of the promise that he had received, the promise from God. "Do not fear, David, for the hand of Saul my father shall not find you. You shall be king over Israel, and I shall be next to you. Saul, my father, also knows this."
"Do not fear, David."
Fear is something that we always move into when we don't trust in the promises of God. When we don't trust what God has told us, we end up with fear. Think about instances in your life. Think about right now. Are there fears that you have? Is it because that you are trusting in a promise of God or not?
Well, Jonathan strengthened David's hand by reminding him of his destiny in the purposes of God. David's future destiny. that is that he would be king over Israel. And he expects nothing more. Jonathan has given him assurance and has spoken this awesome truth. Jonathan and David make a covenant. This is the third covenant that they've made together. And then Jonathan leaves, and we will not hear about him again until his death at the end of this book.
And so it is. We strengthen each other's hands by reminding each other of God's promises for us. Those very great and precious promises, as Peter says, especially those suited for each other's needs.
Some of you have gone through some hardships and experiences that others have not. And you're uniquely equipped and prepared to say some word to someone who's struggling with that same issue, that same struggle.
Some of you might say, "I don't know what to say. Or, I don't feel qualified to do that."
Remember the teaching from Psalm 1: that as you meditate on God's word, you will be like a tree planted by streams of living water. And in your season, you will bear fruit. And that fruit is a ministry to others. God has equipped you because His word is in your heart.
Listen to Proverbs 15, 23. "To make an apt answer is a joy to a man, and a word in season, how good it is. That's how good it's received when you bring encouragement and strengthening in God's hand.
And someone who knew something about the need for encouragement was Dietrich Bonhoeffer. You know, it was about 90 years ago that the Nazis had formed a church called the German Christian Church Movement. And it was a mixture of nationalism and Nazi beliefs. And then there was the Confessing Church, and Bonhoeffer was a part of the Confessing Church. And gradually, over time, those Confessing Church members were arrested, and so they had to go underground.
Bonhoeffer, a pastor and a teacher, formed a small seminary and went underground. Those seminarians eventually ended up being arrested. Bonhoeffer was eventually, of course, arrested and hanged by the Gestapo. That, of course, is an example of the kind of thing that Confession is talking about, that when we join with the church of Jesus Christ, we also intentionally say, "I will not join that church. That church is a false church." That's what Bonhoeffer was doing.
Well, Bonhoeffer understood the need for encouragement because as the church had to go underground, they recognized how precious, how precious it was to have Christian fellowship and friendship. And so Bonhoeffer wrote: "The physical presence of other Christians is a source of incomparable joy and strength to the believer."
We're so used to having this wonderful fellowship. Don't ever take it for granted. They were forced to go underground, and they truly understood what a joy it was when they were able to occasionally gather together and enjoy fellowship.
Bonhoeffer would go on and say: "Therefore, the Christian needs another Christian who speaks God's word to him. He needs him again and again when he becomes uncertain and discouraged. For by himself he cannot help himself without belying the truth. He needs his brother man as a bearer and proclaimer of the divine word of salvation. He needs his brother solely because of Jesus Christ."
Friends, what an encouragement that we have from this passage tonight to covenant together, to bind ourselves together, to care for one another in ways of encouraging each other and exhorting each other in God!
I mentioned that Jonathan and David formed a covenant, a third covenant, and then they parted ways. You know, they were only able to form a covenant because God has already formed a covenant with His people. God has formed a covenant with us through Jesus Christ.
God the Father sent His Son into the world to assume our flesh and blood and to fulfill for us all obedience to the divine law, even to the bitter and shameful death on the cross. All of that condemned to death so that we might be acquitted at the judgment seat of God. He took upon Himself the curse due to us, that He might fill us with His blessings. He humbled Himself unto death, even that bitter, shameful death on the cross. All so that we could be accepted of God and never, never be forsaken by Him. And He confirmed it with the shedding of His blood, and He said, "It is finished."
God has established an everlasting covenant with His people. There is no greater encouragement that we have than that covenant of Jesus Christ. We can, therefore, bind together, covenant together as God's people, and love and encourage each other in this coming year.
Will you pray with me?
Heavenly Father, we thank you for your word, for your encouragement tonight. We thank you for King David and for the way that he points to his greater Son, the Lord Jesus Christ. And I pray, Father, that you will help us to follow the Lord Jesus Christ more and more closely. to know that if we are to love Jesus Christ, we are called to love one another. help us to do that, and help us to endure all the way to the end. Through Christ we pray. Amen.