What Kind of Christian are You?

What kind of Christian are you? Can you be described as a loyal Christian? When I was in college, I went to the church's college. I went to Ambassador University. We were learning the way of God, and we were comrades in the Word of God. We studied together, and it wasn't just cramming for a test. It was cramming for a test in the Word of God. We would stay up late at night and discuss important issues about eternal life, not just about career and making money. It's a wonderful experience. I had an interesting conversation one night with a group of buddies. When one of them said, What would it take for you to leave the church? What a weird question. Nothing would take nothing for me to leave. And yet, that question was entertained. Would it be offense from somebody? Would it be loss of health? And we went through all of these different scenarios. What would it take for you to leave God? And, sadly enough, every single one of those guys in the conversation, except me, walked away. Interesting. Entertaining that thought is a dangerous thing to do. What kind of a Christian are you? Can you be described as being a loyal Christian? Or are you a fair-weather Christian? You only stay with God as long as things go well. Or, on the other hand, are you a foul-weather Christian? You only turn to God when things get really bad. Or are you a loyal Christian, faithful to the end?

Today I want to talk about loyalty, and I want to do it through a narrative. The narrative of Jonathan and David. Saul displeased God as king, and he was disqualified by God for being king. So God told Samuel to go and anoint another king, and he went and anointed a young runt named David. And then David went to the armies. He visited the front line where he saw a giant taunting the armies of Israel and blaspheming the name of God. And David slew that giant with one stone from a sling and chopped off his head.

And David became very popular. Saul took him in to play music at his court. And right after that, Saul being a very selfish, very evil man by this point, let's pick up the story in chapter 18 of 1 Samuel. Verse 1. After David had finished talking with Saul, Jonathan became one in spirit with David. Now I'm reading from the NIV because it reads better.

And since this is narrative and not doctrine, it's okay to do so. And loved him as himself from that day Saul kept David with him and did not let him return to his home or to his family. And Jonathan made a covenant with David because he loved him as himself. Jonathan makes an agreement, gives his word, his oath of friendship to David on the day he slew Goliath. We, you and I, gave our oath to God when we were baptized.

Same thing. Jonathan took off his robe he was wearing and gave it to David. Now David was poor. Jonathan had tons of clothes and he gave him a kingly gift. The robe he was wearing gave it to David along with his tunic and sword and bow and his belt. And whatever mission Saul sent him on, David was so successful that Saul gave him a high rank in the army. This pleased all the troops and Saul's officers as well. When the men were returning home after David had killed the Philistine, the women came out from all the towns of Israel to meet King Saul with singing and dancing, with joyful songs, with timbrels and lyres.

And as they danced, they sang, Saul has slain his thousands and David his tens of thousands. Saul was very angry. This refrain displeased him greatly. They have credited David with tens of thousands, he thought. But me? Only thousands. What more can he get but the kingdom? So even though Saul didn't know that David was anointed to be king, he knew David was in line to be the next king. Saul was no dummy. And from that time on, Saul kept a close eye on David. The next day, an evil spirit from God came forcefully on Saul.

That word means torment, extreme displeasure. Saul's in a really bad mood. He was prophesying in his house while David was playing the lyre, as he usually did. So David's strumming on the guitar, so to speak, playing music for Saul in the court, and this bad mood comes over Saul. Saul had a spear in his hand, and he hurled it, saying to himself, I'll pin David to the wall. But David eluded him twice.

Saul was afraid of David, because the Lord was with David, but had departed from Saul. So he set David away from him, and gave him command over a thousand men, and David led their troops in their campaign. Now, why would Saul give David command over a thousand men if he hated him? To kill him! Constantly sending the man out to battle, he's bound to die! Verse 14, In everything he did, he had great success, because the Lord was with him. With Saul, Saul saw how successful he was. He was afraid of him. But all of Israel and Judah loved David, because he had led them in their campaigns.

So Saul comes up with a nasty little plan. Saul offers Merab his daughter to David. But it's a trap to kill David. Now, David has to win a battle, and then he goes out and he does it, and Saul doesn't come up with the goods. He gives the daughter to another man, and David is left without a bride. Which David was okay with, because he didn't really want to be the son-in-law of the king.

That wasn't his goal in life. He already knew he was ordained to be king. And he didn't. David was not a presumptuous man at all. He didn't want status. He didn't want Saul's daughter. So he was okay with it. They moved on. Then Saul discovered that his other daughter, Michael, or Michael, however you pronounce it, loved David.

She was in love with the man. This was another opportunity to kill David. Saul sends David out to fight the Philistines again. Now he has to kill 100 Philistines and bring back proof that he did it. And he will win Michael as his bride. And David doesn't want it. He doesn't take the deal. So Saul sends all of his advisors to David and tucks him into it. Oh, this would make Saul so happy.

Oh, it's so important for you to do. And they coerce him and they push him. He's like, okay, fine. I'll do it. So he goes out and he kills 200 Philistines and brings back the proof. And Saul absolutely disappointed that David didn't die yet again, gives in, and lets Michael become his wife. And then, so in verse 28, make sure I'm still in, yep, chapter 18, verse 28.

Verse 28, king of the congregation of Israel. Right? He was supposed to be this example to the rest of the people. And here he was, absolutely disqualified, nasty to David. Have you ever felt like that? Have you ever felt oppressed, just mistreated by your brethren, mistreated by people above you? What kind of Christian are you? Are you the loyal kind? Are you the fair-weather kind or the foul-weather kind? Or are you faithful to God forever?

Because you gave your word to him and you stick to it. This is a great story. We can all relate to this story. Just think about it. Put yourself in David's shoes. Put yourself in Jonathan's shoes in just a minute. You can relate to both of these guys, whether you're male or female, because this is a relationship story. Verse 30, The Philistine commanders continued to go out to battle, and as often as they did, David met them with more success than the rest of Saul's officers, and his name became well known.

Even though David was being mistreated by Saul, even though you might get mistreated in life, God used this opportunity to put David where he wanted him. You think David felt great as he was going through all of this? Okay, my job is to go out and kill people and risk my life every day, and my reward is to come back and be hated by the guy who sent me.

I bet you can relate to that at some point in your life. And yet, did David break? Did he waver?

Let's go to chapter 19.

Verse 1, Saul told his son Jonathan and all the attendants to kill David. But Jonathan had taken a great liking to David and warned him, My father Saul is looking for a chance to kill you. Be on your guard tomorrow morning and go into a hiding and stay there. And I will go out and stand with my father in the field where you are, and I'll speak about him. I will speak to him about you, and I will tell you what I find out. Jonathan spoke well of David to Saul his father and said to him, Let not the king do wrong to his servant David. He's not wronged you, and what he has done has benefited you greatly. He took his life in his hands when he killed the Philistine, speaking of Goliath. The Lord won a great victory for Israel, and you saw it and were glad. Why, then, would you do wrong to an innocent man like David by killing him for no reason? Saul listened to Jonathan and took this oath. As surely as the Lord lives, David will not be put to death. Now, as we read much later in the story, Saul was already the kind of guy that didn't care a thing about an oath. Saul couldn't care less about an oath, as we will see. What we don't realize right now is Saul has done a great atrocity in Israel that God is going to hold the nation accountable for long after Saul is dead. Because Saul does not respect oaths. So here is Saul giving his word to Jonathan. Okay, you're right. We won't kill the boy. So, verse 7, Jonathan called David and told him the whole conversation, and he brought him to Saul, and David was with Saul as before. Oh, we're all back. We've had reconciliation, and everybody's happy. Or are we? And then David won another battle with the Philistines. And Saul tried to kill him again with a spear, and David fled his house again. And he goes home to his wife, Michael, or however you pronounce that name. And she told him, buddy, you need to not be in this house right now, because if you sleep here tonight, you'll be dead by morning. And so she helps him out the window and out the door. She puts a statue in the bed and puts goat hair on top of the statue and covers it with a blanket. And then his pursuers come in in the middle of the night. Where's David? Eyes in bed sick. And so she argues with him, and she buys David time to escape. And eventually they bust in the room and find out that it's a statue. But by that time, David was long gone.

When Saul questions Michael about that, she said, well, David threatened to kill me, so I had to help him. And she gets away with it. And then so David fled to Samuel, God's prophet, the one who ordained him to be king. And Saul heard about this, and he sent three waves of men, three waves of troops, to go kill David. And every time they get to Samuel, the Spirit of God comes over them, and they sit down, and they start prophesying. So one wave of men comes, and they sit down on the ground, and they seem like they're prophets. The next wave of soldiers comes up, what's going on with you guys? Babbling. Get the job done. And all of a sudden, they sit down and start prophesying. It happens three times. Finally Saul just goes himself. And he goes up there, and all of a sudden, he gets hit with the Spirit of God, and he starts prophesying. But he takes his clothes off. Now he's running around like a naked fool, prophesying, and he spends it. He's that way an entire day and night, and it gives David plenty of time to get away. There's nothing they can do but sit on the ground and battle.

And then we'll pick it up in chapter 20 and verse 1.

And then David fled from Nahom at Romah, and that's where Samuel was, and went to Jonathan. He goes to his friend who made an oath with him, and asked, What have I done? What is my crime? How have I wronged your father that he's trying to kill me?

How have you wronged somebody that they're trying, that they're mistreating you? They're mistreating you in the family. They're mistreating you at work. Maybe they're mistreating you at church. What did you do to deserve it? What kind of Christian are you?

Verse 2. Never, Jonathan replied, you are not going to die. Look, my father doesn't do anything, great or small, without letting me know. Why would he hide this from me? It isn't so. But David took an oath and said, Your father knows very well that I have found favor in your eyes. And he has said to himself, Jonathan must not know, or he will be grieved. And yet, surely as the Lord lives, and as you live, there is only one step between me and death. Jonathan said to David, Whatever you want me to do, I will do it for you. So David said, Look, tomorrow is the new moon feast, and I am supposed to dine with the King. But let me go and hide in the field until evening of that day, the day after tomorrow. And if your father misses me at all, tell him David earnestly asked my permission to hurry to Bethlehem, his hometown, because of an annual sacrifice being made there for the whole clan. And if he says very well, then your servant is safe. If Saul has no problem with David missing the dinner, then Saul is not trying to kill David, and David is safe. Oh, family sacrifice misses one meal? Yeah, we'll have another one next month. No big deal. But if Saul gets angry, then Saul expected him to be there for one reason and one reason only, because he wants to put him to death.

Verse 8, As for you, show kindness to your servant, for you have brought him into a covenant with before the Lord. So David reminds Jonathan, you and I have a pact of friendship. You and I made an oath. Are we going to be loyal to each other? Are we going to stick this out all the way to the end? If I'm guilty, then kill me yourself. Why hand me over to your father? Which would be the fair thing to do. Never, Jonathan said, if I had the least inkling that my father was determined to harm you, wouldn't I tell you?

David asked, who will tell me if your father answers you harshly? Come, Jonathan said. Let's go out into a field so they went together. And so they go out into a field. And let me just read this. Let's skip down to verse 14. And Jonathan says, But show me unsailing kindness like the Lord's kindness as long as I live, so that I may not be killed. And do not ever cut off your kindness from my family.

Now, this is Jonathan asking David to make the same exact covenant that he had made to David so many years ago. He says, Not even when the Lord has cut off every one of David's enemies. Jonathan recognized that God was with David. God wasn't going to let David die. Jonathan had already concluded that. He was thinking ahead. And he said, You just make sure you don't kill me when you're in charge, buddy. Because we're friends to the end from the face of the earth.

So Jonathan made a covenant with the house of David, saying, May the Lord God call David's enemies to account. And Jonathan had David reaffirm his oath out of love for him, because he loved him as he loved himself. These guys were loyal friends. Imagine Jonathan. Put yourself in his place. He was the future king. He knew God was with David. And he knew that if David lived, he would replace him. Jonathan wasn't an idiot. Saul, his father, was after him. Saul was about to make that point at dinner in just a minute to make it very, very clearly.

But I am very confident Jonathan already knew because of what he said in verse 15. He already knew. He indicated, David, you're going to be in charge of me one day. And when you are, don't cut me off at the knees. Don't harm my children. So they make a plan to meet in a field after the feast. So to find out if Saul really wanted to kill David.

So Jonathan goes to dinner the next night. And Saul ignores David's empty seat. He figures, ah, he was ceremonially unclean. He'll show up tomorrow night. So Saul doesn't tip his hand to Jonathan. Saul's a very clever guy. But the next night, the feast continues. And Saul asks Jonathan about David. So Jonathan goes through the whole Bethlehem story. Oh, he really wanted to go to have the family sacrifice for the whole clan. I couldn't deny him. I let him go. Saul flew into a rage. You idiot! Your mother is an idiot! He tells him. And he says, don't you know he's going to replace you as king?

We have to kill him. And Saul chucks the spirit at Jonathan. Of course, he misses his son. He doesn't really want to kill him. But Saul is just this temper tantrum, raging infant at this point. Jonathan flies into a rage, leaves without even eating dinner, can't eat anymore. He's so sickened by his father. And he walks out.

And he never wavers once in his loyalty. But that's not all Jonathan does. This is amazing to me. So Jonathan storms away. And in verse 35, in the morning, Jonathan went out into the field for his meeting with David. He had a small boy with him in verse 36. And he said to the boy, run and find the arrows that I shoot. So they made a plan that he would send this young lad out into the field, and he would shoot some arrows. If he shoots the arrows beyond the boy, David's in trouble. If he shoots some arrows to the left or to the right of the boy, David can come out of hiding.

He's safe. And, of course, David's not safe. So Jonathan chucks those arrows really far down the field and yells out to the boy, I shot them beyond you. Go get them. And that lets David know, you keep your head down, you're a dead man. And the boy collects the arrows and brings them back to Jonathan. And that wasn't enough for Jonathan. So he sends the boy home. And in verse 41, after the boy had gone home, David got up from the south side of the stone, where he had bowed down before Jonathan three times. He shows respect to his friend. Here he is ordained or anointed to be the king.

And what does he do out of loyalty and respect both to God and to his friend? He bows in respect, not once, but three times to his friend Jonathan.

Then they kiss each other and wept together, but David wept the most. Let me tell you about these kisses. I lived in the Middle East, and it's their custom for men to kiss each other on the cheek, not once, but twice. So when they come and greet you, it's, mwah, mwah, mwah.

And they don't shave.

I can't imagine what my wife goes through when I kiss her. Because I can't stand it. When a guy comes up and kisses me on the cheek, that's bad enough. When he has a bristle pad scratching my cheeks, that's a horrible feeling. But back then, that's the way, and they still do today in the Middle East, that's the way they shake hands. We guys now in America, that's sissy stuff to us. We'll give a big bear hug, punch him on the shoulder, shake their hand. We don't kiss, but they did back then. And that was their affection. And, I mean, this is life or death. This is, I will never see you again, and I love you like a brother. More than my own life. You are my brother, and I will never see you again. So, they kiss each other, they wept in verse 42. Jonathan said to David, go in peace, for we have sworn friendship to each other in the name of the Lord, saying, The Lord is witness between you and me, between your descendants and my descendants, forever. And then David left, and Jonathan went back to town. David lived a life on the run after that. He had several hundred loyal men who followed him, and they ran from Saul constantly. And some really good Psalms were written, by the way. I'm sure Mr. Henderson will be singing some from the Sons of Korah. Some really good Psalms were written during that time when he was running. But God is my rock. And they ran from Saul, and Saul sought to kill David the rest of his life. Saul got close several times, but he never succeeded. But you know what? Eventually, David had to leave the nation of Israel. He had to leave his own country that he was anointed to be king over, because it was just too much heat in Israel. Ironically, he was so respected by the Philistines at that time that he and his men became soldiers for them. He had defeated them so soundly that literally left them running in all directions that they knew they had a real commando on their hands. They took him in in a heartbeat, and he became a commando for the Philistines and fought their battles, not against Israel, but he fought battles against other enemies. Amazing. David was a man without a country. Through it all, Jonathan remained loyal to David and David to Jonathan. Eventually, the Philistine kings banded together to fight against Saul. They sent David away because they knew his loyalty with Israel would be strong. They didn't want to have David on their side all of a sudden flank them and turn around and start cutting them down from the side. So they said, David, you sit this one out. So David was completely out of this battle, just biting his nails, waiting to see what would happen. Jonathan remained loyal to Israel and to God, so he fought beside his father Saul. Israel was defeated in that battle, and both Saul and Jonathan were killed. David was now the new king. He fought many battles with his surrounding enemies and won, but David remembered his promise to Jonathan all of his life. So after several battles, David came back and he inquired if any of Jonathan's households were still alive. A lot of them got killed in the battle.

Jonathan did have one son still alive, and in 2 Samuel chapter 4 were introduced to him. This is an interesting part of the story to me. Jonathan's dead. Saul is dead. There's nobody left to hold David accountable to his oath.

And David is about to go through some very serious hard times. It would be much easier for him to forget his oath.

But he doesn't. 2 Samuel chapter 4 and verse 4 were introduced to a son.

Jonathan, Saul's son, had a son who was lame in his feet. He was five years old when the news about Saul and Jonathan came to Jezreel, and his nurse took him up and fled. And it happened, as she made haste to flee, that he fell and became lame. And his name was Mephibosheth. Now, in chapter 9, David meets a man named Zebah. He's Saul's former servant, and Zebah is taking care of Mephibosheth. Sure, I'm mispronouncing that, so we're going to call him Mep.

So he inquires, David inquires, of any of Jonathan's household is still alive, and he finds Mep. So David charges Zebah and his family to take care of all of Saul's former land. David makes this really generous offer. He says, in order to fulfill my oath to Jonathan, Zebah, the former servant of Saul himself, without a caretaker of Jonathan's son, Mep, he's going to care for all of Saul's former land. He's going to grow things and raise cattle and sheep and goats and sell them and have an income. And they're going to be well taken care of. But Mep himself is going to live in the palace with David and eat at David's table as though he were a son. He takes him in. So Mep, all of his entourage, gets to live in the best land that Saul himself took. And Mep gets to live at the palace.

Many years later, David's son Absalom incites an insurrection against his own father. Now Absalom had a large enough army to cause David to have to flee. Zeba, Saul's former servant, meets David on the way to give him supplies. And Zeba tells David that Jonathan's son Mep stayed in Jerusalem in order to claim his grandfather Saul's throne back. Zeba tells him that your best friend's son has betrayed you and only I stand loyal to you. So David said from this day forward, all of those lands that I gave to Mep that you're taking care of now belong to you.

And David fled. David was hurt by this, so he gave Saul's former lands, and Mep was cut off. God gave David victory in Absalom's rebellion, and at David's return, Mep comes back and talks to David. And now he claims that Zeba lied. I'm crippled, and I couldn't get on the horse myself to come meet you, and Zeba wouldn't put me on, so that he could betray me.

Now, that story seems kind of thin to David. He didn't know what to believe. He didn't know if now it was convenient for Mep to say that, or if Mep was really telling the truth. So David said, no matter, it's over. You can have half the land back, and half the land goes to Zeba. And you know what? Mep said, you know, I don't want the land. Just let me live in your palace with you. What good is that land to me anyway? I'm crippled. There's nothing I can do with it.

And so, David takes him back in and maintains his oath to Jonathan. Years later, a famine hits. This famine lasts three years. Food's not growing, animals are starving, people are going into what today we would call bankruptcy, the economy is in shambles. And David goes to God and asks him what to do. And God instructs him to ask a people called the Gibeonites. Now, if you will remember, when Joshua, after Moses, led Israel into the land, a group of people who were in a city that was supposed to be conquered, came and tricked Joshua, making Joshua think that there were people from way far off.

And they wanted to make a pact with Israel before Israel got to them. Now, Joshua didn't have any marching orders to take people from a long way off. So, Joshua had no problem making a deal with them. He made a note that these people would not be killed. Well, it turns out that those people were just in the next town. So, Joshua's oath stuck. They had to keep the oath that they made. And Saul, those people were servants in Israel, all through the times of the Judges. And now Saul was king.

And he decided that that oath didn't mean anything. And he tried to exterminate the Gibeonites. He tried to wipe them out, but he didn't succeed. He was too busy with other matters. And he didn't kill them all, but he killed a lot of them. And now God was sending this famine on Israel because Saul broke the oath of Joshua many hundreds of years earlier. That's how loyal God intends his people to be. That is how loyal he intends his people to be. God saw that Israel owed a great debt. Now David was the king. Saul wasn't even the king anymore. Irrelevant. Israel, as a nation, broke their oath to the Gibeonites, and it was owed back to them.

So David went to ask how they could settle the account with them. And in 2 Samuel 21, we read the story. 2 Samuel 21. David asked them, What can I do for you? How can I make amends so that you will bless the Lord's people again? Well, the Gibeonites said, Money can't settle this matter between us and the family of Saul. The Gibeonites replied, Neither can we demand the life of anyone in Israel.

So they said essentially to King David, Well, this is quite a pickle, because we won't accept money for the blood that was spilled. But we know that the people of Israel aren't guilty, so we can't ask for their blood. What can I do then? David asked. Just tell me, and I will do it for you. And then they replied, It was Saul who planned to destroy us, to keep us from having any place in the territory of Israel.

So let seven of Saul's sons be handed over to us, and we will execute them before the Lord at Gibeon, on the mountain of the Lord. All right, the king said, I will do it.

Years have gone by. Jonathan was dead, but an oath was made. An oath between two that loved each other like they were brothers. So in verse seven, it says, The king spared Jonathan's son, Mesibosheth, who was Saul's grandson, because of an oath that David and Jonathan had sworn before the Lord.

What kind of Christian are you? What kind of Christian am I? Can you be described as being a loyal Christian? Are you a fair-weather Christian?

Only staying with God as long as things go well, but as soon as they're hard, as soon as something happens that you don't like, you forget your oath and walk away?

I'd like to read from an article called Becoming All-Weather Christians by Larry Walker. This was in the Good News, April 6, 2001. Quote, There are those who cry out to God during times of trouble. When the storm passes, their commitment vanishes. These people often seek to bargain with God. Quote, Oh, if only you would get me out of this, I will always do what you want me to do, they profess. But when things in their life return to normal, they forget God and continue to go their own way. You know what? We do that. We get busy with life and goals and the things we want, the things we covet, and sometimes we forget an oath that we made.

Or are you a foul-weather Christian, only turning to God when things get really bad? Quoting from the article again, Over the years, I have experienced examples of individuals burning up the phone lines, pleading for spiritual guidance to steer them through severe trials. But when the circumstances changed in their lives, became relatively trouble-free, I never heard from them again. Their former zeal for God was apparently motivated primarily by their need for help. It has been said that there is no such thing as an atheist lost in the middle of the ocean. Those who look to God only during times of trouble can be classified as foul-weather Christians. Or maybe, brethren, just maybe, we are loyal Christians. That would be my assumption, for the most part, that we are. It's so easy to get into a complaining attitude about the way things are. Conditions in life, I know it's easy. I've done it. I bet you've done it, too. I bet you have. Oh, I don't like that! What would it take for you to leave God? I had that conversation in college. And ironically, every one of them who entertained that thought left.

Matthew 13. In that chapter, Jesus talks about fair weather and foul-weather Christians. He gives the parable of the sower of the seed. Some are sown on stony ground, some among the thorns, and some on good ground. Those who are loyal to God. The stony ground, those are the fair-weather Christians. And in Matthew 13, verses 20 and 21, it says, But he who received the seed on stony places, this is he who hears the word, and that's the word of God, that's the truth, that's the hope that we have in us, he hears the word and immediately receives it with joy, fair weather. And yet he has no root in himself. He doesn't internalize it. He doesn't say forever, no matter what.

But he endures for a little while, for when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles. What about the guy or the gal who has the word in thorns? The foul-weather Christian. Verse 22, Now he who received the seed among the thorns is he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful. You know, when times get good, can be just as deceiving as when times get bad, and they can take us away from God just as easily.

Yeah, you know what? I was going to pray today. I was going to study the word of God, but this or that or the other thing. And pretty soon that just becomes a habit. You become one of those Christians who comes to church every week, and you watch the time to see when the sermon will be over eventually, not right at first.

And you try to find out where you're going to go for lunch. And as long as the social life is good, you stick around, sometimes for years. But the thorns are choking you out. Do you remember that you made an oath? God and Jesus Christ are loyal, but they expect that loyalty in return. In Hebrews 13, Paul talks about God's loyalty. This is the standard that we are supposed to live up to. This is pretty neat. It's encouraging. How loyal is your God and your Savior Jesus Christ? Verse 4. He starts off talking about something we're supposed to be loyal to. This is Paul, Hebrews 13, verse 4.

Marriage is honorable among all, and the bed undefiled. In other words, and the bed is supposed to remain undefiled. You were supposed to remain loyal to the one you made an oath to at the altar. But fornicators and adulterers, God will judge. You know, you break that loyalty, and God will not take it lightly. That's what he says. So he starts out with human loyalty. You made a promise to your spouse. God expects you to keep it, and here's where Paul moves it to. Let your conduct be without covetousness.

Don't let those thorns choke you out. Be content with such things as you have. For he himself said, and this is the loyalty of God, I will never leave you nor forsake you. Did you know God said that several times in the Old Testament, and Paul is quoting it? First, we read it in Genesis 28 and verse 15, when God says it to Jacob. He wrestles with him, and he says, I'll never leave you, I'll never forsake you. And then he says it to Israel through Moses in Deuteronomy 31 and verse 6, and then in verse 8.

And then Moses dies, and God repeats it to Joshua in Joshua chapter 1 and verse 5, when he tells him to be strong and of good courage, that he will never leave him, never forsake him. And then later David repeats that promise to Solomon in 1 Chronicles chapter 28 and verse 20. And then Paul repeats it in Hebrews. God will never leave us, never forsake us. Verse 6 of Hebrews chapter 13.

So, he draws the conclusion, we may boldly say, the Lord is my helper, I will not fear. What can man do to me? Remember those who rule over you, who have spoken the Word of God to you, whose faith follow, considering the outcome of their conduct. Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. Can that be said of you or me? Be loyal, like our Savior is.

Never waver in your commitment to Him. Don't let a trial take you away. Ask God to get you through it. It will make you stronger. It will make you closer to Him. Don't let the pursuit of the good life take you away. God wants you to have a good life. Don't feel guilty if you get something good. Take it as a blessing and thank God for it. That's not the point. The point is, don't let the good life make us forget that we made an oath to God when we were baptized. We said, my life is yours. Do not let your opinion about doctrine take you away. Don't let your opinion about anything take you away. I give this sermon because I love you.

When I was thinking of this sermon, I was thinking, I love my brethren. You know one thing we are as Texans, which I love, I do love, we are opinionated. Boy, howdy! We are. I am. I know it. I love the Dallas Cowboys.

I am well aware that they are a terrible football team right now. I don't care. Best team on the planet. Nobody is going to tell me otherwise. I love them. I can't stand the owner and I still love them. Yeah, that's right. Because we are Texan. I've actually been a Cowboys fan all my life. I wasn't even born in Texas, but my older brother was. And he was a Cowboys fan and he was my older brother. So guess what I was, even though I was born in North Carolina. A Cowboys fan.

Ever since I was a little boy. We are opinionated. Boy, howdy! And it can be a good thing. You know, when we stand with God, we stand stubbornly with God. That's loyalty. And that's what we need to have. We just need to make sure, brethren, that we are standing with God and not with our own opinion. Because that will also take us away from God. Don't let little teachings, mistakes that people make in the church, opinions from the home office.

There's all kinds of things that we have opinions on. And you know, they make mistakes. They do. They're people. And you've known me for 18 years. You know how opinionated I am.

My apologies to those who I've offended, sincerely. But, and you know, I have not agreed with everything that came down from the home office. They made a decision this way. They changed their mind. They made a decision that way. I'm not going to criticize them. I'm not going to do it. It's not going to pull me away from God. I wasn't in on the meeting. I didn't see what changed to make them change their mind. It could have been a good thing. It could have been a bad thing. But I made an oath to God, and it is not going to pull me away.

Someone here might offend me. I will more likely get in your face and walk away and hide. I'm more extroverted than introverted. But I've made a commitment to God. You have made a commitment to God. We should make commitments to each other. Loyalty to the point where we can say, I will never leave you, never forsake you. Definitely, never get carried away by these special little doctrines that float around. They're constant now. It used to be every five years there'd be some pet doctrine that would float around. Now, we get pummeled with them one after another after another. Some specialty doctrine. Let's continue on in Hebrews. See what Paul said. You know, it's nothing new. It happened to the original church, the early church, the first century church, the same way, the same pressures that are on us, were on them.

There was some Judaizing going on back then. There's a lot of Judaizing going on that hits us today. Lots of it. Tons of it. You've got to become more Jewish. You know, I'm not again... I'm a fan of the Jews, believe me, I am. But we do not replace the grace of Jesus Christ with salvation by keeping the law. We just don't do it. So, there is no special way we have to say the name of God. There is no secret calendar that some people have that nobody else knows. Verse 9. They face the same things. We must first be loyal to God. Do not be carried about with various strange doctrines, for it is good that the heart be established by grace. What does that mean, established by grace? It means you made an oath, and I made an oath when we were baptized, that we would accept the sacrifice of Jesus Christ. That we didn't do anything to earn it. And we said, in return, my life is yours. What kind of Christian are you? And what kind of Christian am I? Are we loyal to God and to each other, like David and Jonathan? Or are we fair-weathered Christians? As long as everything is going well, we'll stick with God. Or are we foul-weathered Christians? I'll only pay attention to God if I'm in a trial. Otherwise, I've got things to do.

Or are we just 100% absolutely loyal to our God and to our brethren, and to being a shining example of His way to the rest of the world? That's where loyalty takes us. It's the loyalty that David had for Jonathan and Jonathan had for David. Where did it come from? It came from God Himself. And He is absolutely loyal to us. There's no shadow of turning with Him. What does that mean? What does that mean? It means if we're away from God, we left. He didn't. He's right where He always was. And all we've got to do is go back. Go back to Him and be loyal to Him. And never, ever forget that loyalty that He has for us and that He expects from us in return.