I wrote and lead this sermonette for a Young Adult small group (18-30 years old). When preparing, I started off trying to summarize the 4-5 chapters of Jonathan and David’s relationship in only a single lesson; then realized it could EASILY be turned into a 4-5 part series. I call part number one, “Relationships: Covenant Love”. I may complete this series in the near future. Our pastor of student ministries, Scott Pontier extended an invitation to me to complete this series. Originally, it was supposed to be just this one lesson because he was getting his baby back from hospital on the day this group was being led.

I will pray to see if God wants me to go that direction (Young Adults). I’ve been so involved with the Middle School ministry lately and those responsibilities are actually starting to ramp up. Paul Bradshaw, our middle school pastor, had invited me to teach middle school sometime this summer.

Boy, I’m just a jack of all trades! Children’s Sunday School, Middle School, High School, Young Adult Group, and Adult Small Groups!

Relationships: Covenant Love
Thesis: When we establish covenant love, we humble ourselves to the other person and submit to the purposes of God.

Introduction
We all have relationships. We have a relationship with God, Parents, Siblings, coworkers, other Christians, a best friend, close friends, etc…

The Bible is no different. God relating to us. Us relating to God. People relating to people.

The fact that God gave us a book to reveal Himself through relationships tells us that: 1) We worship a relational God; 2) Relationships are very important to Him. Since relationships are important God, I would like us to look at a story in the Bible that demonstrates a healthy relationship. If you have a Bible, I’d like you to turn to 1 Samuel 18. We’ll be looking at how Jonathan and David started their friendship.

Contextualize
As a young boy, David primarily served Saul by playing the harp and most recently as one of Saul’s armor bearers. We pick up the story immediately after David returns from slaying Goliath. With the head of Goliath in his hand, he gives Saul an account of the battle.

Passage
1 Samuel 18:1-4
1 After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David, and he loved him as himself. 2 From that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his father’s house. 3 And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. 4 Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.

1. Jonathan – Who is Jonathan? He is the King Saul’s first born son, a prince. Not only was he royalty, he was a brave warrior that led numerous troops into battle against the Philistines. He had tremendous victory on the battlefield. He also had a rocky relationship with his father because Saul was starting to loose his mind.

2. One in spirit - It says, “Jonathan became one in spirit with David.” You’ve heard of expressions like, “Blood Brothers”, “Soul Sisters”, and “Soul Mates”. That’s what was going on within Jonathan. The literal translation of this passage reads, “…the soul of Jonathan was knit to the soul of David…” How could that be possible? He just met the dude! Think back… what just happened in the previous chapter? David slew Goliath and brought back the Goliath’s head to show King Saul. Can you guess who was there with the king? Jonathan! Remember, Jonathan wasn’t just a prince, he was a WARRIOR! So when Jonathan saw David come back from battle with head of Goliath, Jonathan’s WARRIOR SPIRIT was bound to David’s WARRIOR SPIRIT!

This isn’t a rhetorical question: Have you ever looked at someone and had that instant bond? What bonded you to that person? I’ve sensed that bond before; it’s when I see someone who reminds me of myself. It’s when I see some part of myself within that person. That’s what was going on in Jonathan. This union of spirits was so strong it resulted in Jonathan loving David as he loved himself.

3. David - It goes on to tell us, “Saul did not let him return to his father’s house.” Why is that significant? In the previous chapter we learn that David was the youngest of eight brothers and the “three oldest [brothers] followed Saul, but David went back and forth from Saul to tend his father’s sheep at Bethlehem.” David really wasn’t taken seriously as a warrior, probably because of his age. But now, after killing Goliath, he gets the honor of officially joining Saul’s army just like his older brothers.

4. Covenant – In verse 3 we read, “Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself.” First of all, what’s a covenant? A covenant is a solemn agreement, witnessed by God, that brings unrelated people into kinship relationship. In the ancient near eastern culture, if two non-blood related members make a solemn agreement then the price of breaking it is death. These kinds of covenants were usually sealed with the shedding of an animal’s blood. One of the ceremonies that was frequently use was taking an animal and splitting it into two pieces. Then they place those pieces on the ground and the two people cutting the deal would walk in between the pieces together. Essentially what they were saying to each other was, “See what happened to that animal? That will happen to me if I don’t fulfill the agreement.”

All ANE covenants carried the implications of the curse of death if the covenant was broken, but not all covenants used bloody animals to seal the deal. Sometimes they would build an altar, share a meal, or even give a gift. In Jonathan’s case, we read in verse 4 that, “Jonathan took off the robe he was wearing and gave it to David, along with his tunic, and even his sword, his bow and his belt.” What an incredible gesture! An older and seasoned warrior giving his armor to a young and emerging warrior.

5. Implications of the Covenant – So what was the agreement that Jonathan made with David? Seemly, out of the blue, Jonathan makes this covenant with David and gives him his robe and armor. I think the key to understanding the nature of this covenant is in the robe. It wasn’t just any robe; it was Jonathan’s royal robe. The royal robe symbolized his right to the throne.

I believe when Jonathan’s soul became knit to David’s he was able to see God’s anointing on David to become the next king. We find this out in Chapter 23 as David was running from Saul to save his life. Jonathan says to David, “Don’t be afraid, my father Saul will not lay a hand on you. You will be king over Israel, and I will be second to you. Even my father Saul knows this.”

Jonathan knew in his heart that the kingdom belonged to David, not to himself. When he gave his royal robe to David, he was essentially saying, “Even though I have a right to this kingdom through my blood, I willingly hand it over to you because I love you and God has anointed you, not me.”

Here is the essence of covenant love:

“I humble myself before you.”
“I’m not going to make decisions for selfish gain.”
“I sacrificially give you my life to help you fulfill your destiny.”
“I am in your life to help you achieve what God has called you into.”
“I exist for your success.”

That’s covenant love!

6. Our covenants – How are we doing with our covenants? Let’s take a minute to remember our covenants.
Covenantal Community – As the body of Christ, we live is a “covenantal community” Acts 2:42-46, “All the believers were together”, “had everything in common.” “Sold their possessions and goods, for anyone as he had need.” “broke bread” “prayed”

Jesus Christ – When Jesus shared Passover with his disciples he said, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood; do this, whenever you drink it, in remembrance of me.” When we entered into this covenant of love, we were taught to: Love God with all your heart, soul, strength, and mind. Love your neighbor as yourself. Love your enemies.

Marriage – Paul said, “Husbands are to love their wives and wives are to submit to their husbands.”

Best Friend & Close Friends – Those who have a relationship like the one Jonathan had with David.

7. Ministry Time
I just want to leave this time open to pray for each other about our relationships.
a. Healing from past hurts that is preventing us from entering into relationships.
b. Are you lacking a best friend, accountability partner, searching for that future spouse.
c. Those of you who have that covenant bond, is it where it needs to be spiritually?
d. How are we doing with our relationships within the covenantal community in the body of Christ? Is there any unresolved conflict?

This is a re-hash of a sermon called Compassion: Just Do It that I wrote for Vineyard Leadership Institute. It’s the same scripture passage, but I changed the thesis (the point I would drive home). I used slightly different illustrations. This was also presented in a home group setting, so it has conversational elements built-in. It could easily be adapted for a full-blown sermon.

Compassion: Conquering Apathy with the Love of Christ

Thesis: Apathy blinds our eyes, closes the door of our heart, and paralyzes the body of Christ. We are called to have the transforming love and compassion of Jesus Christ.

Introduction
I’m going to give you a quick quiz. Don’t worry, it’s easy! I’ll give you a word and you give me the opposite. READY?
The opposite of Fast is… Slow.
The opposite of Long is… Short.
The opposite of Cold is… Hot.
The opposite of Young is… Old.
The opposite of Soft is… Hard.
The opposite of Sour is… Sweet.
The opposite of High is… Low.
The opposite of Rich is… Poor.
The opposite of Love is… Hate???

Are we sure about that? From my own experiences, I’m coming to realize that the greatest insult against someone is not to hate them, it’s to be apathetic.

Here’s a definition of apathy:
It’s a lack of emotion or concern, especially when it relates to matters of general concern.

An Irish author, George Bernard Shaw said, “The worst sin toward our fellow creatures is not to hate them, but to be indifferent to them: that’s the essence of inhumanity.” George Bernard Shaw

If you please, turn your Bibles to Matthew 9:35-38. In this passage, Jesus addresses the issue of apathy.

Matthew 9:35-38
35 Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness. 36 When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

1) SAW THE CROWDS (EYES)
A) Jesus “saw the crowds”
B) It all starts with opening our eyes.
C) When Jesus saw a need; he didn’t turn a blind eye.
D) How can we make any difference in our world if we’re not aware of what’s going on?
E) Apathy blinds our eyes,
Apathy urges us to avoid those who need us.
Apathy makes us loose sight of the Kingdom.

How are we doing with looking at the crowds?
Who have we seen that is harassed, helpless, sick, or without a shepherd?
Who have we tried to “not see” or “avoid”?

2) FELT COMPASSION (HEART)
A) Jesus “had compassion on them”.
B) The Greek origin of the word “compassion” is splangkh-nid’-zom-ahee (Splagchnizomai)
The root Greek word is Splagchnon means bowels or intestines.
C) Have you ever seen something so intense that it affected your stomach? Butterflies, queasiness
D) German Theologian, Karl Barth gives us a revealing look at to what this Greek word means: “The term obviously defies adequate translation. What it means is that the suffering and sin and abandonment and peril of these men not merely went to the heart of Jesus, but right into His heart, into Himself, so that their whole plight was now His own, and as such He saw and suffered it far more keenly than they did. Splagchnizomai means that He took their misery upon Himself, taking it away from them and making it His own.”
E) Jesus didn’t insulate himself from their pain and suffering.
F) He lowered his guard and made himself emotionally vulnerable.
G) Some of the most amazing signs and wonders happened immediately after Jesus expressed emotion. 1) weeping; 2) anger; 3) rebuke; 4) moved with compassion; 5) being deeply distressed; 6) deeply sighing.
H) Apathy closes the door of our heart. Apathy rejects the poor and the oppressed. Apathy suppresses the transforming love of Jesus Christ.

How are we doing with feeling compassion?
What are some of the barriers to feeling compassion?
1) “The almighty I” – Are we too wrapped up with ourselves to care about others? Oh, I have so many problems right now. I’m so busy. I have no time.
2) Permission – Do we give ourselves permission to be emotionally vulnerable to bear another person’s burden?
3) Rationalize – How do we rationalize the situation and make ourselves feel better about not helping?
Homeless:
a) If I give him money, he’ll just spend it on drugs. I don’t want to enable him.
b) Giving him a buck won’t have any impact on getting himself out of this mess.
c) I would give him a big financial gift to get him back on his feet, if it were tax-deductible
d) Why doesn’t he just get a job at McDonald’s?

People who are stuck on the side of the road:
a) I’m in such a hurry right now; I don’t have time to pull over to help.
b) I’m alone right now; I don’t want to put myself in danger.
c) Huh, I thought everyone had a cell phone. Oh well.
d) Oh shoot, I didn’t see him in time to pull over. Maybe another person will help him.
4) Disassociation – It’s not my problem. There are good church ministries, non-profit organizations, and government-funded services to help those people. The “us and them” mentality.

I’d like you to ponder this quote from Dorothy Day. She was a social activist and co-founder of a charity called the “Catholic Worker Movement”. The Catholic Worker Movement was a ministry that offered hospitality for the impoverished and downtrodden. Dorothy Day once said, “I really only love God as much as I love the person I love the least.” My question for us is, who are we “loving the least”? Who are we pushing out of our heart?

3) TOOK ACTION (MOUTH, HAND, FEET)
A) Jesus took action.
B) He “went through all the towns and villages”, “taught in their synagogues”, “preached the good news of the kingdom”, “healed every disease and sickness”
C) Their pain became his pain, so he restored them physically, emotionally, and spiritually.
D) Throughout the Bible we read of Jesus raising the dead, casting out demons, bringing sight to the blind, giving speech to the mute, restoring hearing to the deaf, curing the leper, and healing the paralyzed.
E) Jesus wasn’t a benchwarmer!
F) Listen guys
Apathy paralyzes the body of Christ.
Apathy robs us of our salt.
Apathy covers our light.
Apathy neutralizes our effectiveness in the Kingdom.

How are we responding to the people that we see and the emotions that we feel? Are we doing the stuff or are we just sitting on the bench?

God hasn’t called us to be benchwarmers. Let’s re-read Matthew 9:37-38. 37 Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. 38 Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”

CONCLUSION/MINISTRY TIME: THE HARVEST IS PLENTIFUL BUT THE WORKERS ARE FEW
I’d like to leave this time open to respond and pray for each other. The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Perhaps God has been speaking to you about how you interact with a specific individual or certain people groups. Perhaps God is talking to you about getting involved with a particular ministry, or leading a new ministry, or leading a home group, or even going into full-time ministry. I want us to pray for you to be sent out into the harvest field.