Jonathan - "A Man of Accountability" - 1 Samuel 18:1-4

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Hello men! Thank you all for being here today. I’m grateful for another opportunity to gather around and study the Bible together.

Before we begin, I do want to remind you all of a few things:

If you miss or would like to go back, you can download/listen to the MP3 that’ll be sent out tomorrow.

April 23, sign up for that exciting event… Pastor Phil is going to come in a moment and give some more information.

We will be studying in our Bible study book on pages 12-19

This morning, I’d like to give you all a few minutes to recap last week:

Jonathan was a man of action .

He recognized the enemy around him.

He knew who he was!

He decided to do something about it.

Jonathan was also a man of obedience

you can be a man of action without obedience, but you can’t be a man of obedience without action.

Take a moment to discuss at your table this question:

Have you noticed the trend nowadays to not take responsibility for personal actions?

Why do

Alright, let’s get started… If you have your Bibles this morning, turn to 1 Samuel 18.

The title of today’s lesson is: “A Man of Accountability”

Today’s statistics of adult Christians prove the point: (Barna and Brannon Howse)

2% of self-identified Christians can defend their faith.4-6% are living out their faith9% believe in moral absolutes63% do not believe Jesus is the Son of the one true God.51% do not believe Jesus rose from the dead.

We are called to action by our Lord and Savior.

We are supposed to be obedient.

And accountability is important because it allows us to ruotinely check up on how (1) active and (2) obedient we are.

RESPONSIBILITY

When Queen Victoria was a child, she didn't know she was in line for the throne of England. Her instructors, trying to prepare her for the future, were frustrated because they couldn't motivate her. She just didn't take her studies seriously. Finally, her teachers decided to tell her that one day she would become the queen of England. Upon hearing this, Victoria quietly said, "Then I will be good." The realization that she had inherited this high calling gave her a sense of responsibility that profoundly affected her conduct from then on.

Source Unknown.

She recognized that she would be responsible for her actions and this led her to be accountable for her decisions.

accountability begins when we recognize who we are and who we will ultimately answer to.

So to be accountable for something is to be “able to give an account,” or to have the capacity to report or describe that thing. To be accountable to someone is to have the responsibility of offering an account to that person.

Most of us are accountable to someone (a boss, partner, board members, or shareholders) in our jobs, but that’s not personal accountability, that is corporate accountability.

Principles:

We are responsible for our actions.

Hebrews 4:13 KJV 1900

13 Neither is there any creature that is not manifest in his sight: but all things are naked and opened unto the eyes of him with whom we have to do.

We are to recognize that we will one day give an account.

2 Corinthians 5:10 KJV 1900

10 For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad.

Romans 14:12 KJV 1900

12 So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.

3. We can rejoice that we don’t have to be in this battle alone.

Ecclesiastes 4:9–12 KJV 1900

9 Two are better than one; because they have a good reward for their labour. 10 For if they fall, the one will lift up his fellow: but woe to him that is alone when he falleth; for he hath not another to help him up. 11 Again, if two lie together, then they have heat: but how can one be warm alone? 12 And if one prevail against him, two shall withstand him; and a threefold cord is not quickly broken.

Being involved in an accountability relationship promotes a healthy fear of God, gives us a posture of

How can I set up solid accountability in my life?

1. The Initiation of Accountability

1 Samuel 18:1 KJV 1900

1 And it came to pass, when he had made an end of speaking unto Saul, that the soul of Jonathan was knit with the soul of David, and Jonathan loved him as his own soul.

How did David and Jonathan become friends? What should I look for in initiating an accountable friendship?

a. Their Similarities

Jonathan, the son of Saul, appeared before in 1 Samuel 14. He is the remarkably brave man of faith who initiated a one-man war against the Philistines.

i. Jonathan was a lot like David. They were approximately the same age, though Jonathan was probably at least five years older.

They both were bold, both were men of great trust in God, and both were men of action.

Most of all, both had a real relationship with God.

b. Their Differences

At the same time, Jonathan and David were different. Jonathan was the first-born son of a king (1 Chronicles 9:39) and David was the last-born son of a farmer.

This made Jonathan more than a prince, he was the crown prince.

By everyone’s expectation Jonathan would be the next king of Israel.

c. Their Relationship

1 Samuel 18:3 KJV 1900

3 Then Jonathan and David made a covenant, because he loved him as his own soul.

They made a covenant.

Two men, each on track for the same throne – yet they made a covenant of friendship that would prove stronger than jealousy, than envy, than ambition.

2. The Intimidation of Accountability

Jonathan saw and heard about David’s heart and then they made a covenant.

Why do we sometimes shy away from it?

a. Culture

You know what culture is trying to say about their relationship now?

Some people read a homosexual relationship into the love between David and Jonathan.

They suppose that two men cannot love each other without it being something the Bible clearly says is immoral.

But the relationship between David and Jonathan shows the Bible doesn’t condemn real love between men, only a sexual relationship between men.

b. Comparison - Jonathan could have compared his battle wins with David’s.

sure he killed a lion and a bear with his bear hands.

but the battle I won caused the earth to quake.

Covetousness - “Jonathan could have grown jealous over what David was going to end up being… king.”

Jealousy.

Jonathan heard David give an extended explanation of his heart, his faith in the living God, and Jonathan knew that he and David had the same heart. They could not be such close friends until Jonathan knew that about David.

i. The way most people think, Jonathan was the one who had the most to fear from David’s success. Yet he loved David, because what they had in common – a real relationship with the Lord God – was bigger than any difference.

Conceit - “I’m good on my own.”

of this threats, which do you feel like intimidates you the most?

3. The Investment of Accountability

1 Samuel 18:4 KJV 1900

4 And Jonathan stripped himself of the robe that was upon him, and gave it to David, and his garments, even to his sword, and to his bow, and to his girdle.

What does this investment take?

a. Acknowledging the Truth

Jonathan could have easily gone against what God had already declared.

Yet, he trusted in God’s Word and plan.

b. Applying the Truth

When Jonathan gave David the robe and his armor, he said by this action, “You will be the next king of Israel. You should be dressed and armed as the crown prince. God’s hand is on you and these rightfully belong to you.”

Because Jonathan was surrendered to God he could see the hand of the Lord upon David. He knew David’s destiny and was perfectly willing to set aside his ambition to honor the Lord’s choice.

Proverbs

serve as a check and balance of our lives and faith

help those who want to live Godly lives, but struggle to see what is causing others to stumble by their behavior.

promote servant leadership

encourage us to encourage one another to live out Christ in all of life

c. Accepting the Truth

Consider this story told by Bernard L. Brown, Jr., president of the Kennestone Regional Health Care System in the state of Georgia.

Brown once worked in a hospital where a patient knocked over a cup of water, which spilled on the floor beside the patient's bed. The patient was afraid he might slip on the water if he got out of the bed, so he asked a nurse's aide to mop it up. The patient didn't know it, but the hospital policy said that small spills were the responsibility of the nurse's aides while large spills were to be mopped up by the hospital's housekeeping group.

The nurse's aide decided the spill was a large one and she called the housekeeping department. A housekeeper arrived and declared the spill a small one. An argument followed.

"It's not my responsibility," said the nurse's aide, "because it's a large puddle." The housekeeper did not agree. "Well, it's not mine," she said, "the puddle is too small."

The exasperated patient listened for a time, then took a pitcher of water from his night table and poured the whole thing on the floor. "Is that a big enough puddle now for you two to decide?" he asked. It was, and that was the end of the argument.

Bits & Pieces, September 16, 1993, p. 22-24.

What a sharp contrast with a scene that occurred on a New York street nearly two decades before. Kitty Genovese was slowly and brutally stabbed to death. At least thirty-eight of her neighbors witnessed the attack and heard her screams. In the course of the 90-minute episode, her attacker was actually frightened away, then he returned to finish her off. Yet not once during that period did any neighbor assist her, or even telephone the police.  The implications of this tragic event shocked America, and it stimulated two young psychologists, Darly and Latane, to study the conditions under which people are or are not willing to help others in an emergency. In essence, they concluded that responsibility is diffused. The more people present in an emergency situation, the less likely it is that any one of them will offer help. This is popularly called the "bystander effect." (In the actual experiment, when one bystander was present, 85 percent offered help. When two were present, 62 percent offered help. When five were present, then it decreased to 31 percent.)