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StoneCreek

You are Welcom

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www.rossvillechurch.com

781 Salem Road, Rossville, GA 30741

August 26, 2012

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1 Samuel 20 1 And David fled from Naioth in Ramah, and came and said before Jonathan, What have I done? what is mine iniquity? and what is my sin before thy father, that he seeketh my life? 2 And he (Jonathan) said unto him, God forbid; thou shalt not die: behold, my father will do nothing either great or small, but that he will shew it me: and why should my father hide this thing from me? it is not so.

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3 And David sware moreover, and said, Thy father certainly knoweth that I have found grace in thine eyes; and he saith, Let not Jonathan know this, lest he be grieved: but truly as the Lord liveth, and as thy soul liveth, there is but a step between me and death.

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4 Then said Jonathan unto David, Whatsoever thy soul desireth, I will even do it for thee.

Thus Christ testifies His Love to us -- "Ask, and it shall be done for you;"

and we must testify our love to Him, by keeping His Commandments. Matthew Henry

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John 14 23 Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love Me, he will keep My Words: …

John 14 24 He that loveth Me not keepeth not My Sayings: …

John 15 14 Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you.

It's easy to say, "I love The Lord."

It's easy to sing, "I'll be a friend to Jesus."

But genuine love is fulfilled in actions.

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The same is true if we love one another.

Genuine godly love is manifested through deeds.kindness humility

In difficult situations and with

difficult people.

Simple, every day stuff

Not a big show; humble

Study 1 Corinthians 13

See what real love looks like.

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5 And David said unto Jonathan, Behold, tomorrow is the new moon, and I should not fail to sit with the king at meat: but let me go, that I may hide myself in the field unto the third day at even. 6 If thy father at all miss me, then say, David earnestly asked leave of me that he might run to Bethlehem his city: for there is a yearly sacrifice there for all the family. 7 If he say thus -- It is well; thy servant shall have peace: but if he be very wroth, then be sure that evil is determined by him. A Test

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8 Therefore thou shalt deal kindly with thy servant; for thou hast brought thy servant into a covenant of the Lord with thee: notwithstanding, if there be in me iniquity, slay me thyself; for why shouldest thou bring me to thy father?

Humility, even though David knows he is God's choice to be King of Israel.

He has already been anointed with oil by Samuel, and with the Holy Spirit by God.

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In spite of their covenant with one another before God, David tells Jonathan to kill him, if he is guilty of any wrong doing toward Saul.

David would rather be executed by his friend than by Saul.

"if there be in me iniquity"

David knew he had done no wrong to the king.

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9 And Jonathan said, Far be it from thee: for if I knew certainly that evil were determined by my father to come upon thee, then would not I tell it thee? 10 Then said David to Jonathan, Who shall tell me? or what if thy father answer thee roughly?

David said that they should make a plan for Jonathan to warn him if Saul was angry.

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11 And Jonathan said unto David, Come, and let us go out into the field. And they went out both of them into the field. 12 And Jonathan said unto David, O Lord God of Israel,* when I have sounded my father about tomorrow any time, or the third day, and, behold, if there be good toward David, and I then send not unto thee, and shew it thee;

The Plan

Jonathan made this Promise to David before "The Lord God of Israel."

He's calling on God as a witness.

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13 The Lord do so and much more to Jonathan: but if it please my father to do thee evil, then I will shew it thee, and send thee away, that thou mayest go in peace: and the Lord be with thee, as He hath been with my father. 14 And thou shalt not only while yet I live shew me the kindness of the Lord, that I die not:

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15 But also thou shalt not cut off thy kindness from my house forever: no, not when the Lord hath cut off the enemies of David every one from the face of the earth.

It was not unusual for a new king to kill the entire family of the old king, if he overthrew him;

That way the throne would not be challenged by the old king's family.

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16 So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, Let the Lord even require it at the hand of David's enemies. 17 And Jonathan caused David to swear again, because he loved him: for he loved him as he loved his own soul.

David was willing to swear again to protect Jonathan and his entire family.

He loved Jonathan as his own soul.

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How much do you love?Do your actions reflect that love?

1 Corinthians 13 NIV 4-8a Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes (for the best), always perseveres. 8 Love never fails. …

Do your actions line up with God's Word?

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Who do you love?Do you love only those easy to love?

Or do you love as God loves -- the difficult too?

Romans 5 8 But God commendeth His Love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.

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Luke 6 32-33 For if ye love them which love you, what thank have ye? for sinners also love those that love them. And if ye do good to them which do good to you, what thank have ye? for sinners also do even the same.

In verse 36, Jesus tells us to be merciful -- as our Father in Heaven is merciful.

People need loving the most when we deserve it the least.

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You see, love is not primarily about feelings.

Feelings are a poor compass on the road of

life.We must obey Scripture no matter

how we feel about it.

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We choose to love and act in love,

Or we choose to behave selfishly, loving no one as we ought.

Examine your own mind and heart.What choice will you make beginning today?

Don't go by your feelings or talk about your feelings; show your love with your deeds.