WEBVTT

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If you would open your 
Bibles with me, please

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to the Song of Solomon 5.

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I take the view of this book

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held by great men of old.

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That the Song of Solomon

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is about Jesus Christ and His bride.

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But there is an interpretation held

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in some circles today

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that says that this book

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is about nothing more

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than the love between a man and a woman.

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And I want to very quickly address that

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because there may be some of you

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perhaps listening that 
have only ever heard

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that interpretation.

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And so, let me remind you

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that when Jesus rebuked the Pharisees

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in John 5,

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because in their search,

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in their study of Scriptures,

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they missed the One Whom

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all Scripture was about.

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And Jesus did not say there

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that these are they which testify,

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which speak of Me,

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except the Song of Solomon.

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But rather, all Scripture,

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it communicates to us truth

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about Jesus Christ.

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You see, marriage itself, we're told

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in Ephesians 5:25 is giving us a picture

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of Jesus Christ and His bride,

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His church.

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And we see this allegory

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of God and His bride all over Scripture.

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So then, the subject matter of this book:

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The Song of Solomon,

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just like the rest of the Scripture

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is a greater than Solomon -

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Jesus Christ.

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He must have the first 
place in everything.

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And so, this book contains

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such beautiful, picturesque allegories

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and parables;

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it is meant to communicate to us

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something of the deep and intimate

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love relationship between Jesus Christ

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and His bride - His church.

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And just to clarify, by "church,"

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I do not mean a building

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or an organization or an institution.

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But by "His bride," "His church,"

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I mean the redeemed people of God;

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the true believers of every age.

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You see, true Christianity

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is a love relationship

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between Jesus Christ and His bride,

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the believer.

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It is about being loved by and loving Him.

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It is about knowing and being with Him.

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Listen to me now,

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because someone can have all the doctrines

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lined up like mason work -

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stone upon stone -

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and may be able to argue theology

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as good as any scribe.

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But as the Apostle Paul said

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if any man love not the Lord Jesus Christ,

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if you don't have love for Him,

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then you're still lost and under a curse.

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Have you seen that Jesus Christ

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is everything to you?

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And so you love

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and you desire

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and you want Him

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more than anything else in life.

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Satisfied in Him alone.

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You see, that is what a true Christian is.

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Someone who loves Jesus.

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Blessed is the man who 
perseveres under trial,

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for once he has been approved,

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he will receive a crown of life

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which the Lord has promised to who?

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To those who love Him.

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That is the only way you're 
going to persevere.

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A true Christian, when you boil it down,

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is someone who loves Jesus.

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Not a Jesus of their 
own making, of course.

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But you love and want Jesus Christ

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as He is revealed in the Scriptures.

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You want Him more than 
anything else in life.

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Let me ask you,

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do you have a form of religion;

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a form of Christianity

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that really consists of no more

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than a well set form of 
doctrines in your head?

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Or has this Word of Christ 
truly penetrated your heart?

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You see, this is life and death.

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Listen, despite your failing;

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despite, like the bride here in our text,

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which we're going to look at in a moment,

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you may at times grow cold

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in your love for Him.

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Can you honestly say like Peter,

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"Lord, Thou knowest I love Thee!"

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You see, Christianity is not giving

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mental assent to a few 
doctrinal statements.

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Ticking off a daily list of rules.

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You know, read Bible.
Done that once today.

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Tick that one off.
Prayed. Done that one.

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Kept this rule. Kept that rule.

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But rather, Christianity 
is faith working -

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real faith always results in good works.

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It is faith working through love.

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We do those good things

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out of love for Him.

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And brethren, I am convinced;

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I am fully persuaded of this,

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that the primary way 
in which you will grow

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as a Christian,

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and you will become more like

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the Person of Jesus Christ,

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is that you learn and you come to know

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more of His great love to you,

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which is what I want to happen

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in this message today.

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You see, the Bible says,

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we love Him because He first loved us.

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The more we truly of His love for us,

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the more we will love Him.

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So, we must ask,

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what does love for Him look like?

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What is it evidenced by?

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Well, Jesus said, if anyone loves Me,

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he will keep My Word.

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Whoever does not love Me,

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does not keep my words.

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So, how do we as 
Christians increase in this?

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How do we as Christians

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grow in obedience and 
become more like Him?

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And keep His Word and 
keep His commands more?

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What will motivate us to do this?

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Well, if obedience to Him is 
linked to love to Him,

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then we grow in obedience to Him

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when we grow in love for Him.

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So then, how do we come to love Him more?

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Well, we love Him 
because He first loved us.

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Brethren, hear me.

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The more you know -

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the more you personally know,

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not just in a general sense

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of His love for everyone,

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but Him even more you personally know

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and you take ownership of these truths

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of His love for you.

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This will cause you to love Him more;

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to lean upon and trust Him more,

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and act in obedience in love to Him

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out of love for Him.

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And so, I want you to see now

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in these verses which we're going to read,

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how Christ woos and He draws His bride

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by His sovereign love -

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a love that passes all understanding.

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And even when in times like the bride

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here in this text, grows 
cold towards Christ,

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His love for her -

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His love for you, believer,

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is passionate and unfailing.

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And let this motivate you

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to keep yourself in the love of God;

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to cling to Him.

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And so, let's look and learn of this now

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as we read Song of Solomon,

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and I'm going to read from chapter 5,

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from verses 2-6.

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We'll probably touch on a 
couple more verses as well.

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But I'll just read v. 2-6 now

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and then we'll pray.

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"I sleep, but my heart waketh.

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It is the voice of my 
beloved that knocketh,

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saying, 'open to me,

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my sister, my love, my dove,

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my undefiled.

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For my head is filled with dew

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and my locks with the drops of the night.'

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I have put off my coat;

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how shall I put it on?

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I have washed my feet;

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how shall I defile them?

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My beloved put his hand

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by the hole of the door

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and my bowels were moved for him.

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I rose up to open to my beloved;

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and my hands dropped with myrrh,

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and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh

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upon the handles of the lock.

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I opened to my beloved,

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but my beloved had withdrawn himself

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and was gone.

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My soul failed.

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When he spake, I sought him,

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but I could not find him.

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I called him, but he gave me no answer."

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Let's pray.

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Oh, Father, I pray now

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as we look at these glorious truths

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of Your unfailing love towards us,

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may Your Spirit teach us now, Lord.

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We don't want to just 
learn Bible trivia today.

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But, Lord, help us to own this truth

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that we can see saying, my beloved -

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these words of Christ - is mine.

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Help them belong to us now.

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I pray, Lord,

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You would shine Your love into our hearts.

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Help us, Lord. Have mercy.

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In Jesus' name,

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Amen.

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Ok, so, in the preceding 
chapters of this book,

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the bride of Christ - the believer -

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she has experienced many

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wonderful times of knowing

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Christ's love and His presence.

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And every time when she has grown cold

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towards Him, Jesus has never once

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cooled His love for her.

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And immediately before our text in v. 1,

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the bride is once again,

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she is experiencing a refreshing time

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of Christ's love and sweet 
fellowship with Him.

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However, v. 2 begins with what should

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really be a new chapter here.

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It's kind of an awkward chapter break.

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(He's referring to a break between 
Song of Solomon 5:1 and 5:2.)

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And so sometime has elapsed

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between v. 1 and v. 2 here.

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Because if you notice that,

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after a previous season of feeling close

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to the heart of Christ

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and clinging to Him in love,

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in v. 2 here, a season of night

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has once come again upon the believer.

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The bride here in v. 2 is once again

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in a season of darkness.

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Does that sound familiar?

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And so, in v. 2 here,

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as Christ comes to the believer's door,

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the bride says, "I sleep,

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but my heart waketh.

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It is the voice of my 
beloved that knocketh,

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saying, 'open to me.'"

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So, notice here in this verse,

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that Christ at this time,

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He has somewhat withdrawn His presence,

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because at this point,

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He is outside of her house here

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and knocking.

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The bride here, she has locked Him out.

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So, firstly, I want you to notice

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the current state of the believer

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here in this text.

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I want you to notice her current attitude,

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which has caused Christ

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to withdraw Himself.

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She says, "I sleep, but my heart waketh."

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At this point in time,

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she is half asleep, half awake.

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She's half for Christ,

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half for the cares of 
this world and for self.

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She is compromised.

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Brethren, maybe this sermon finds you

00:12:29.787 --> 00:12:32.759
this morning in a place of compromise;

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in a place of half-heartedness;

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a place of struggle.

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Maybe you've even been real busy

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doing Christian things.

00:12:41.780 --> 00:12:43.942
But in all your running around;

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in all your busyness,

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listen to me,

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never forget.

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Never lose sight of the One

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Who you are to do all 
those things for and with.

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In Revelation 2, we hear of Christ

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speak to the church of Ephesus.

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And He says to them,

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I know your works and your labor

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and your patience

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and how you cannot bear them

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which are evil.

00:13:11.674 --> 00:13:13.786
And you've tested them which say

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they are apostles

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and you've found them to be liars.

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And He goes on commending them there.

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How they have endured and they've labored

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with much patience 
for Christ's name's sake.

00:13:25.565 --> 00:13:28.225
But then He says, "nevertheless..."

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"I have this against you,

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because you have left your first love."

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You see, in doing all those things

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and all the busyness,

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the church there at Ephesus 
became mechanical.

00:13:42.963 --> 00:13:45.111
Because love to Christ

00:13:45.111 --> 00:13:50.507
was no longer at the center of it all.

00:13:50.507 --> 00:13:52.348
Now, what I want you to see here

00:13:52.348 --> 00:13:56.038
in this text is the love of Christ

00:13:56.038 --> 00:13:58.762
and His attitude toward the believer

00:13:58.762 --> 00:14:01.689
when or if we ever get like that.

00:14:01.689 --> 00:14:04.794
Notice here: Christ 
is knocking at the door

00:14:04.794 --> 00:14:06.746
of the believer's heart here.

00:14:06.746 --> 00:14:09.210
And He is calling out to her

00:14:09.210 --> 00:14:13.424
to open up fully to Him.

00:14:13.424 --> 00:14:16.403
Maybe this sermon finds you in a place,

00:14:16.403 --> 00:14:17.748
or if you're a Christian,

00:14:17.748 --> 00:14:19.567
I certainly suspect there are times

00:14:19.567 --> 00:14:21.102
when you feel like Christ

00:14:21.102 --> 00:14:26.070
has withdrawn His presence from you,

00:14:26.070 --> 00:14:29.390
where He's standing at 
the door of your heart,

00:14:29.390 --> 00:14:31.308
because in your compromised

00:14:31.308 --> 00:14:33.720
and half-hearted state in love to Him,

00:14:33.720 --> 00:14:36.919
you've locked Him out.

00:14:36.919 --> 00:14:38.939
You see believers, when Christ

00:14:38.939 --> 00:14:41.148
withdraws His presence like this,

00:14:41.148 --> 00:14:44.116
it is not because He is angry with you,

00:14:44.116 --> 00:14:47.314
but because He wants what 
is best for you, believers.

00:14:47.314 --> 00:14:50.754
He wants you to learn to cling to Him,

00:14:50.754 --> 00:14:53.424
which is what happens to 
the bride in this book.

00:14:53.424 --> 00:14:55.386
By the time you get to chapter 8,

00:14:55.386 --> 00:14:58.147
she knows the love of Christ

00:14:58.147 --> 00:14:59.284
to be unfailing

00:14:59.284 --> 00:15:01.052
and she comes out of the wilderness

00:15:01.052 --> 00:15:04.547
leaning upon her beloved.

00:15:04.547 --> 00:15:06.739
You know, coming to maturity

00:15:06.739 --> 00:15:09.019
as a Christian,

00:15:09.019 --> 00:15:13.549
it is really clinging to Christ more.

00:15:13.549 --> 00:15:16.821
It's the opposite of worldly maturity

00:15:16.821 --> 00:15:20.029
in which people become more independent.

00:15:20.029 --> 00:15:21.832
You see, in Christian maturity,

00:15:21.832 --> 00:15:26.425
we grow in being dependant upon Him.

00:15:26.425 --> 00:15:29.011
And so, what is happening here,

00:15:29.011 --> 00:15:32.171
is that Christ, in great 
love for His spouse,

00:15:32.171 --> 00:15:34.112
He is chastening the believer here

00:15:34.112 --> 00:15:36.672
in a compromised, half-hearted state

00:15:36.672 --> 00:15:38.893
as a father chastens those,

00:15:38.893 --> 00:15:40.449
his son in whom He loves,

00:15:40.449 --> 00:15:42.990
in whom He delights.

00:15:42.990 --> 00:15:47.259
And brethren, we must learn to be careful

00:15:47.259 --> 00:15:49.126
not to provoke Christ

00:15:49.126 --> 00:15:52.834
to withdraw the sense of His presence.

00:15:52.834 --> 00:15:56.283
We're told in the New Testament

00:15:56.283 --> 00:15:59.407
to be careful not to quench the Spirit;

00:15:59.407 --> 00:16:01.467
not to grieve the Holy Spirit of God.

00:16:01.467 --> 00:16:03.542
As Paul said to Timothy,

00:16:03.542 --> 00:16:08.014
take pains to walk in a clear conscience.

00:16:08.014 --> 00:16:10.275
Take pains. This sometimes hurts.

00:16:10.275 --> 00:16:13.546
You have to cut things off to do it.

00:16:13.546 --> 00:16:17.702
Do not walk, believer, in unconfessed sin.

00:16:17.702 --> 00:16:22.270
But quickly confess it and forsake it.

00:16:22.270 --> 00:16:26.466
Do not live with a defiled conscience.

00:16:26.466 --> 00:16:27.912
You see, in the Song of Songs

00:16:27.912 --> 00:16:30.092
we're given this principle several times

00:16:30.092 --> 00:16:32.623
where the bride of Christ, see,

00:16:32.623 --> 00:16:35.316
she exalts these daughters of Jerusalem.

00:16:35.316 --> 00:16:43.085
Now these are less mature or new converts.

00:16:43.085 --> 00:16:47.800
And this is really the maturer believer

00:16:47.800 --> 00:16:49.932
exhorting the younger.

00:16:49.932 --> 00:16:53.012
And she exhorts them that ye stir not up,

00:16:53.012 --> 00:16:57.085
nor awake my love until he please.

00:16:57.085 --> 00:16:59.086
Now, the idea here is like,

00:16:59.086 --> 00:17:03.076
supposing I'm sat at home on my sofa,

00:17:03.076 --> 00:17:08.561
and I'm asleep and my 
wife is cuddled up to me,

00:17:08.561 --> 00:17:11.291
my right hand is under her head

00:17:11.291 --> 00:17:13.917
and my left hand doth embrace her.

00:17:13.917 --> 00:17:16.562
And she's just enjoying 
that loving position,

00:17:16.562 --> 00:17:20.037
and then the children come running in

00:17:20.037 --> 00:17:22.863
and so my wife Zoe says,

00:17:22.863 --> 00:17:28.511
shhh... don't wake your daddy up.

00:17:28.511 --> 00:17:30.879
Because she likes this position.

00:17:30.879 --> 00:17:33.927
She wants to stay there.

00:17:33.927 --> 00:17:36.605
So, she doesn't want them

00:17:36.605 --> 00:17:40.116
to stir up, giving me any reason

00:17:40.116 --> 00:17:43.125
to remove myself from 
that position of love

00:17:43.125 --> 00:17:46.699
before I would naturally wake up.

00:17:46.699 --> 00:17:48.383
The teaching there for Christians

00:17:48.383 --> 00:17:51.166
is be careful - be very careful

00:17:51.166 --> 00:17:53.876
not to stir up Christ

00:17:53.876 --> 00:18:01.831
to withdraw His presence from you.

00:18:01.831 --> 00:18:03.942
Now, the next thing I want you to notice,

00:18:03.942 --> 00:18:05.972
believer, in this text

00:18:05.972 --> 00:18:09.207
is that in our coldness to Him,

00:18:09.207 --> 00:18:11.635
I want you to notice how He acts

00:18:11.635 --> 00:18:13.989
towards you.

00:18:13.989 --> 00:18:16.286
Notice here, in v. 2, the bride,

00:18:16.286 --> 00:18:19.765
she is being awakened from 
her sleep at this point.

00:18:19.765 --> 00:18:22.456
She is being awakened from a state

00:18:22.456 --> 00:18:25.334
of spiritual slumber.

00:18:25.334 --> 00:18:27.221
And when you fall into that state,

00:18:27.221 --> 00:18:28.770
the only reason you will awake

00:18:28.770 --> 00:18:31.810
is because Christ knocks.

00:18:31.810 --> 00:18:34.706
And she is being awakened here by Christ

00:18:34.706 --> 00:18:36.745
banging out on the door

00:18:36.745 --> 00:18:40.401
calling out to her.

00:18:40.401 --> 00:18:42.581
You see, the knocking here,

00:18:42.581 --> 00:18:45.508
it's in the sense of Revelation 3:20

00:18:45.508 --> 00:18:48.276
where it's not like a 
gentle and polite knock,

00:18:48.276 --> 00:18:50.676
but it's like a hammer.

00:18:50.676 --> 00:18:53.290
Bang, bang, bang, bang!

00:18:53.290 --> 00:18:55.686
This knock is from One Who

00:18:55.686 --> 00:18:57.439
out of great love to you, believer,

00:18:57.439 --> 00:19:01.166
is desperate for you to open up to Him,

00:19:01.166 --> 00:19:03.785
so that He can come and be with you

00:19:03.785 --> 00:19:06.337
and you with Him.

00:19:06.337 --> 00:19:10.874
But also notice, Jesus doesn't just knock.

00:19:10.874 --> 00:19:13.099
But in your half-hearted state

00:19:13.099 --> 00:19:14.374
of neglect to Him,

00:19:14.374 --> 00:19:17.179
He calls out to you

00:19:17.179 --> 00:19:19.580
and He says, "Open to Me,

00:19:19.580 --> 00:19:23.416
My sister, My love, My dove, My undefiled.

00:19:23.416 --> 00:19:25.711
For My head is filled with dew;

00:19:25.711 --> 00:19:31.876
My locks with the drops of the night."

00:19:31.876 --> 00:19:35.336
And brethren, how often is this

00:19:35.336 --> 00:19:37.888
that when we fall into a state

00:19:37.888 --> 00:19:39.816
of spiritual slumber,

00:19:39.816 --> 00:19:41.361
and it feels as though Christ

00:19:41.361 --> 00:19:43.387
is distant from us -

00:19:43.387 --> 00:19:45.632
it's not that we can't hear Christ

00:19:45.632 --> 00:19:48.426
knocking at the door.

00:19:48.426 --> 00:19:50.043
It's not that those promises

00:19:50.043 --> 00:19:52.908
suddenly disappear from His Word.

00:19:52.908 --> 00:19:55.172
It's not that you can't hear the voice

00:19:55.172 --> 00:19:59.314
of your Beloved crying 
out to you to open up.

00:19:59.314 --> 00:20:02.738
But in the Christian's determination

00:20:02.738 --> 00:20:05.247
to hold on to some idol;

00:20:05.247 --> 00:20:08.862
to hold on to some 
pathetic state of compromise,

00:20:08.862 --> 00:20:11.189
which is between the believer and Christ,

00:20:11.189 --> 00:20:14.894
the bride locks Him out.

00:20:14.894 --> 00:20:16.554
And even when He knocks

00:20:16.554 --> 00:20:18.332
and pleads for you,

00:20:18.332 --> 00:20:20.709
you are still stubborn

00:20:20.709 --> 00:20:22.589
and won't repent straightaway

00:20:22.589 --> 00:20:24.558
and return to your first love.

00:20:24.558 --> 00:20:25.893
And so you stay in bed

00:20:25.893 --> 00:20:27.123
and you make excuses

00:20:27.123 --> 00:20:28.842
which we'll see in a moment,

00:20:28.842 --> 00:20:31.712
like the bride does here.

00:20:31.712 --> 00:20:33.290
You know, so often,

00:20:33.290 --> 00:20:37.358
I've heard believers 
who are in this state,

00:20:37.358 --> 00:20:40.109
where they have some compromise

00:20:40.109 --> 00:20:41.385
in love to Christ,

00:20:41.385 --> 00:20:42.707
and they say things like,

00:20:42.707 --> 00:20:45.932
I feel like Christ has withdrawn 
His presence from me.

00:20:45.932 --> 00:20:47.682
I feel like He's distant from me,

00:20:47.682 --> 00:20:51.598
and He's not revealing Himself to me.

00:20:51.598 --> 00:20:55.121
But you know, He's 
hiding His face from me -

00:20:55.121 --> 00:20:59.312
as if Christ is to blame.

00:20:59.312 --> 00:21:02.137
Let me ask you, what 
would you think, believer?

00:21:02.137 --> 00:21:03.674
If you went to the house

00:21:03.674 --> 00:21:07.608
of one of your married 
ladies in your church.

00:21:07.608 --> 00:21:09.723
And all over the house,

00:21:09.723 --> 00:21:11.767
you could see notes

00:21:11.767 --> 00:21:14.857
that the husband had given to his wife,

00:21:14.857 --> 00:21:16.704
saying come away with me, my love.

00:21:16.704 --> 00:21:18.762
I just love you so much.

00:21:18.762 --> 00:21:22.850
I want to be alone with you.

00:21:22.850 --> 00:21:25.715
And your friend, she got a text message

00:21:25.715 --> 00:21:27.306
from her husband.

00:21:27.306 --> 00:21:28.563
And you're sat next to her

00:21:28.563 --> 00:21:31.105
and so you sort of lean over

00:21:31.105 --> 00:21:32.803
and have a sneaky read

00:21:32.803 --> 00:21:36.814
like ladies often do.

00:21:36.814 --> 00:21:39.846
But it said the same thing.

00:21:39.846 --> 00:21:41.978
Now what would you think if that wife

00:21:41.978 --> 00:21:44.655
then turned around to you and said,

00:21:44.655 --> 00:21:49.322
I think my husband is ignoring me?

00:21:49.322 --> 00:21:53.405
I think he's gone cold on me.

00:21:53.405 --> 00:21:54.760
Believers, listen to me,

00:21:54.760 --> 00:22:00.623
Christ never grows cold 
in His love for you.

00:22:00.623 --> 00:22:03.747
The next thing I want you 
to see here in this text

00:22:03.747 --> 00:22:06.675
is look with me in v. 2.

00:22:06.675 --> 00:22:08.772
That in the times the believer

00:22:08.772 --> 00:22:10.881
has been cold towards Christ,

00:22:10.881 --> 00:22:13.315
I want you to take notice here

00:22:13.315 --> 00:22:15.152
of Christ's plea for you

00:22:15.152 --> 00:22:18.579
to open your heart fully to Him.

00:22:18.579 --> 00:22:20.864
Look at His plea here.

00:22:20.864 --> 00:22:22.822
There's no fault on His part.

00:22:22.822 --> 00:22:24.445
He begins by saying to you,

00:22:24.445 --> 00:22:28.759
Open to Me.

00:22:28.759 --> 00:22:31.268
Believer, that should be reason enough

00:22:31.268 --> 00:22:33.087
for you to open the door,

00:22:33.087 --> 00:22:34.618
because of Who He is

00:22:34.618 --> 00:22:36.605
Who is knocking at your heart

00:22:36.605 --> 00:22:39.093
and calling out to you.

00:22:39.093 --> 00:22:41.340
This is the great I AM.

00:22:41.340 --> 00:22:42.635
This is the God Who spoke

00:22:42.635 --> 00:22:45.508
the universe into existence.

00:22:45.508 --> 00:22:47.602
I mean, I'm sure there must be

00:22:47.602 --> 00:22:49.824
some person whom you somewhat

00:22:49.824 --> 00:22:52.920
admire and esteem.

00:22:52.920 --> 00:22:56.010
And if he, or perhaps, she contacted you

00:22:56.010 --> 00:22:57.773
and wanted to come over

00:22:57.773 --> 00:23:00.415
and have some fellowship with you,

00:23:00.415 --> 00:23:02.600
and you'd be really, really excited

00:23:02.600 --> 00:23:05.432
about this person coming to visit.

00:23:05.432 --> 00:23:07.194
And you're changing your schedule

00:23:07.194 --> 00:23:09.969
to fit him in.

00:23:09.969 --> 00:23:12.643
Maybe as we're in a church here,

00:23:12.643 --> 00:23:16.184
maybe for you it would 
be a famous preacher

00:23:16.184 --> 00:23:17.357
like a John Piper

00:23:17.357 --> 00:23:22.021
or a Paul Washer.

00:23:22.021 --> 00:23:25.259
Brethren, is it not more exciting

00:23:25.259 --> 00:23:29.352
that God wants to 
have fellowship with you?

00:23:29.352 --> 00:23:31.293
That He wants you to come away

00:23:31.293 --> 00:23:34.089
and be alone with Him?

00:23:34.089 --> 00:23:35.818
You know, it should make us wonder

00:23:35.818 --> 00:23:39.278
that God would even knock at our door.

00:23:39.278 --> 00:23:42.279
It should astound you, 
believer, in amazement,

00:23:42.279 --> 00:23:46.058
that God would want 
anything to do with you.

00:23:46.058 --> 00:23:50.184
You see, when you're just content

00:23:50.184 --> 00:23:52.684
to go on casually in your slumber

00:23:52.684 --> 00:23:55.200
and neglect communion with Him,

00:23:55.200 --> 00:23:58.492
then at least two things 
have become manifest.

00:23:58.492 --> 00:24:00.509
Number one, you've lost a sense

00:24:00.509 --> 00:24:02.264
of Who God is.

00:24:02.264 --> 00:24:03.436
To leave Him at the door

00:24:03.436 --> 00:24:06.231
and carry on in our compromised state.

00:24:06.231 --> 00:24:07.960
And number two, when this happens,

00:24:07.960 --> 00:24:11.428
we have developed an over-inflated opinion

00:24:11.428 --> 00:24:13.684
of who we are.

00:24:13.684 --> 00:24:15.128
To leave Him outside

00:24:15.128 --> 00:24:18.152
and be cold to His calling

00:24:18.152 --> 00:24:21.977
to have fellowship with Him in everything.

00:24:21.977 --> 00:24:23.804
And so let's look at the second part

00:24:23.804 --> 00:24:25.084
of Christ's plea here

00:24:25.084 --> 00:24:26.937
for you to open up to Him.

00:24:26.937 --> 00:24:28.662
Look what He says to you here.

00:24:28.662 --> 00:24:34.720
He says, "My sister."

00:24:34.720 --> 00:24:36.476
You see, like Abraham and Sarah,

00:24:36.476 --> 00:24:40.139
Christ is not only the believer's husband,

00:24:40.139 --> 00:24:45.715
but He is also the 
believer's elder brother.

00:24:45.715 --> 00:24:48.153
But whereas Abraham at times,

00:24:48.153 --> 00:24:50.333
denied and forsook his bride,

00:24:50.333 --> 00:24:53.474
because he wanted to protect his own life,

00:24:53.474 --> 00:24:55.010
a greater than Abraham

00:24:55.010 --> 00:25:02.602
willingly laid down 
His life for His bride.

00:25:02.602 --> 00:25:06.709
And when the Bible speaks 
of Christ in this way,

00:25:06.709 --> 00:25:07.990
as our Brother,

00:25:07.990 --> 00:25:11.345
it is speaking of His humanity.

00:25:11.345 --> 00:25:12.925
In all things, Christ was

00:25:12.925 --> 00:25:17.023
made like unto His brethren.

00:25:17.023 --> 00:25:21.451
You see, Jesus was and is fully God.

00:25:21.451 --> 00:25:23.988
Without beginning and without end.

00:25:23.988 --> 00:25:25.318
But at a point in time,

00:25:25.318 --> 00:25:28.725
He became humanity.

00:25:28.725 --> 00:25:30.190
You see, we do not have a God

00:25:30.190 --> 00:25:32.569
Who is distant like Allah.

00:25:32.569 --> 00:25:34.046
We do not have a God

00:25:34.046 --> 00:25:38.801
that only knows in theory how we feel

00:25:38.801 --> 00:25:40.173
because He knows all things

00:25:40.173 --> 00:25:43.827
like a sort of academic paper.

00:25:43.827 --> 00:25:46.145
Because, let me remind you brethren,

00:25:46.145 --> 00:25:50.007
that when He took on humanity,

00:25:50.007 --> 00:25:51.700
Jesus - He did not become this

00:25:51.700 --> 00:25:54.829
super bullet-proof human being.

00:25:54.829 --> 00:25:57.412
But He became fully man.

00:25:57.412 --> 00:26:01.121
And so He felt firsthand what we feel.

00:26:01.121 --> 00:26:04.664
He experienced what we go through.

00:26:04.664 --> 00:26:07.635
He hungered; He thirsted like we do.

00:26:07.635 --> 00:26:11.954
He sat thus exhausted by the well.

00:26:11.954 --> 00:26:13.807
When Jesus went to the tomb

00:26:13.807 --> 00:26:17.149
of His friend Lazarus and Lazarus died,

00:26:17.149 --> 00:26:18.719
even though He knew He was

00:26:18.719 --> 00:26:21.481
about to raise His friend Lazarus,

00:26:21.481 --> 00:26:24.152
it says, "Jesus wept."

00:26:24.152 --> 00:26:25.700
He wailed there.

00:26:25.700 --> 00:26:27.892
Why?

00:26:27.892 --> 00:26:29.926
I mean, if He was about to raise Him,

00:26:29.926 --> 00:26:32.344
why did He weep?

00:26:32.344 --> 00:26:36.668
The answer is because He loved Lazarus.

00:26:36.668 --> 00:26:39.039
Jesus, being fully humanity,

00:26:39.039 --> 00:26:40.676
He experienced what we feel

00:26:40.676 --> 00:26:45.589
at the death of a loved one.

00:26:45.589 --> 00:26:47.427
Last time, I preached that somewhere,

00:26:47.427 --> 00:26:49.573
I got an email from 
somewhere claiming that

00:26:49.573 --> 00:26:52.630
God does not have feelings.

00:26:52.630 --> 00:26:54.274
My Bible says we do not have

00:26:54.274 --> 00:26:57.388
a great high priest Who cannot be touched

00:26:57.388 --> 00:27:00.676
with feelings.

00:27:00.676 --> 00:27:02.795
As it says there in the book of Hebrews,

00:27:02.795 --> 00:27:05.273
we do not have a high priest -

00:27:05.273 --> 00:27:07.105
a representative -

00:27:07.105 --> 00:27:09.365
who is unable to sympathize

00:27:09.365 --> 00:27:13.008
with our infirmaties; with our weaknesses,

00:27:13.008 --> 00:27:15.876
but One who was in all points tempted

00:27:15.876 --> 00:27:20.201
like we are tempted, and yet without sin.

00:27:20.201 --> 00:27:21.500
And so therefore, we have

00:27:21.500 --> 00:27:24.014
a sympathetic God.

00:27:24.014 --> 00:27:26.313
We are told there to go boldly

00:27:26.313 --> 00:27:28.566
to His throne of grace to find help

00:27:28.566 --> 00:27:32.967
in time of need.

00:27:32.967 --> 00:27:34.522
You see, is it not true

00:27:34.522 --> 00:27:37.443
that often when the 
believer is being tormented,

00:27:37.443 --> 00:27:39.371
when the believer is struggling,

00:27:39.371 --> 00:27:41.582
in that time of need,

00:27:41.582 --> 00:27:43.894
they feel like they can't go

00:27:43.894 --> 00:27:46.873
to His throne of grace in that state.

00:27:46.873 --> 00:27:48.584
But you must own this truth

00:27:48.584 --> 00:27:50.445
that this is the time He tells you

00:27:50.445 --> 00:27:55.734
to go boldly to Him.

00:27:55.734 --> 00:27:58.975
The One Who knocks at 
your door here, believer,

00:27:58.975 --> 00:28:01.257
He's not angry with you 
because you've fallen,

00:28:01.257 --> 00:28:03.429
but He has pity on you.

00:28:03.429 --> 00:28:10.248
He wants to help you.

00:28:10.248 --> 00:28:11.530
Let me say it again,

00:28:11.530 --> 00:28:13.584
when Satan comes to you with temptation

00:28:13.584 --> 00:28:15.234
and all manner of assault

00:28:15.234 --> 00:28:17.153
and accusations against the Christian,

00:28:17.153 --> 00:28:19.804
don't become deceived.

00:28:19.804 --> 00:28:21.444
When you're struggling, believer,

00:28:21.444 --> 00:28:23.519
don't think that you can't go to Him

00:28:23.519 --> 00:28:27.074
in that state to His throne of grace.

00:28:27.074 --> 00:28:28.772
Because the time of need

00:28:28.772 --> 00:28:34.322
is the time He tells you 
to come boldly to Him

00:28:34.322 --> 00:28:35.534
to find help.

00:28:35.534 --> 00:28:38.329
And then look what He calls you next

00:28:38.329 --> 00:28:41.086
in His plea for you to open up to Him.

00:28:41.086 --> 00:28:47.217
He then calls you, "My love."

00:28:47.217 --> 00:28:48.892
Listen to me, believer.

00:28:48.892 --> 00:28:51.303
You must get out of this trap

00:28:51.303 --> 00:28:54.026
of basing His love for you

00:28:54.026 --> 00:28:56.256
on your performance.

00:28:56.256 --> 00:28:58.923
It's so easy to fall into.

00:28:58.923 --> 00:29:00.284
You know, when you think

00:29:00.284 --> 00:29:02.350
you're doing really good.

00:29:02.350 --> 00:29:03.837
You get up for prayer early.

00:29:03.837 --> 00:29:04.949
You read your Bible.

00:29:04.949 --> 00:29:06.710
You share your faith with someone.

00:29:06.710 --> 00:29:10.228
You know, you're 
just giving, sacrificial.

00:29:10.228 --> 00:29:12.117
Or, you know whenever you speak

00:29:12.117 --> 00:29:14.821
the right words just 
pour out of your mouth.

00:29:14.821 --> 00:29:17.775
And you have no problem

00:29:17.775 --> 00:29:22.935
believing Christ's love for 
you on days like that.

00:29:22.935 --> 00:29:26.026
That's just pride.

00:29:26.026 --> 00:29:27.834
But then on another day,

00:29:27.834 --> 00:29:30.342
you're kind of like the 
bride here in our text.

00:29:30.342 --> 00:29:33.054
You're in a state of spiritual slumber.

00:29:33.054 --> 00:29:34.395
And you think,

00:29:34.395 --> 00:29:41.488
surely Christ must love me less now.

00:29:41.488 --> 00:29:44.844
What is the greatest command in Scripture?

00:29:44.844 --> 00:29:46.433
Jesus said: To love God

00:29:46.433 --> 00:29:52.907
with all your heart, soul, 
mind, and strength.

00:29:52.907 --> 00:29:55.785
Did Jesus do that perfectly?

00:29:55.785 --> 00:29:57.366
Of course, He did.

00:29:57.366 --> 00:29:59.923
He always did what is 
pleasing to the Father.

00:29:59.923 --> 00:30:02.278
Well, Jesus said as the 
Father has loved Me,

00:30:02.278 --> 00:30:04.973
even so I have loved you.

00:30:04.973 --> 00:30:06.707
With that exact same love

00:30:06.707 --> 00:30:09.278
and that intensity of that love

00:30:09.278 --> 00:30:11.540
God the Father has for God the Son,

00:30:11.540 --> 00:30:13.141
and the Son has for the Father,

00:30:13.141 --> 00:30:16.972
that is how much Jesus loves you.

00:30:16.972 --> 00:30:19.265
I mean, did the love of Jesus

00:30:19.265 --> 00:30:20.531
for the heavenly Father -

00:30:20.531 --> 00:30:24.413
does it only go thus far and no further?

00:30:24.413 --> 00:30:26.625
Is there any limit to the infinite love

00:30:26.625 --> 00:30:31.639
between the Father and the Son?

00:30:31.639 --> 00:30:34.683
This world was made for God to share

00:30:34.683 --> 00:30:37.342
this love with you.

00:30:37.342 --> 00:30:42.152
To show how much the Father loves the Son.

00:30:42.152 --> 00:30:46.309
And He does that by loving 
us in the same way.

00:30:46.309 --> 00:30:48.289
You see, believer, there may be times

00:30:48.289 --> 00:30:52.249
when you're cooled in your love for Him.

00:30:52.249 --> 00:30:55.063
But what was His love towards 
you like in those times?

00:30:55.063 --> 00:30:56.559
Listen to me now, believer,

00:30:56.559 --> 00:31:00.204
Jesus - He always passionately loves you

00:31:00.204 --> 00:31:06.492
with all of His heart, 
soul, mind, and strength.

00:31:06.492 --> 00:31:07.987
With all of His thoughts,

00:31:07.987 --> 00:31:14.844
with all of His emotions.

00:31:14.844 --> 00:31:18.287
So how can we not fully open up to Him?

00:31:18.287 --> 00:31:19.446
And so then,

00:31:19.446 --> 00:31:21.640
Christ's appeal for you to open up

00:31:21.640 --> 00:31:23.524
fully to Him - it continues.

00:31:23.524 --> 00:31:25.940
Look what He calls 
you next here, believer.

00:31:25.940 --> 00:31:29.098
He calls you, "My dove."

00:31:29.098 --> 00:31:31.043
A dove is a clean,

00:31:31.043 --> 00:31:33.286
a gentle and beautiful bird.

00:31:33.286 --> 00:31:36.724
A symbol of innocence and peace.

00:31:36.724 --> 00:31:40.214
Notice the tender way, believer,

00:31:40.214 --> 00:31:43.296
in which Christ sees you;

00:31:43.296 --> 00:31:44.640
how He looks upon you

00:31:44.640 --> 00:31:47.244
with the deepest of affections.

00:31:47.244 --> 00:31:49.186
And a dove, of course, in Scripture

00:31:49.186 --> 00:31:51.922
is a symbol of the Holy Spirit

00:31:51.922 --> 00:31:56.948
who resides in the believer's heart.

00:31:56.948 --> 00:31:58.745
You know, and He's beginning to awake

00:31:58.745 --> 00:32:02.365
the bride here from her state of slumber.

00:32:02.365 --> 00:32:04.066
Let not conscience make you linger

00:32:04.066 --> 00:32:06.036
nor of fitness fondly dream,

00:32:06.036 --> 00:32:08.209
all the fitness He requireth

00:32:08.209 --> 00:32:10.291
is to feel your need for Him.

00:32:10.291 --> 00:32:11.455
And this He gives you -

00:32:11.455 --> 00:32:13.659
this is the Spirit working in you,

00:32:13.659 --> 00:32:17.250
when we feel our need for Him.

00:32:17.250 --> 00:32:18.868
And then, look, He calls you,

00:32:18.868 --> 00:32:21.053
"My undefiled,"

00:32:21.053 --> 00:32:22.613
Or as the New American Standard

00:32:22.613 --> 00:32:28.654
translates it, "My perfect one."

00:32:28.654 --> 00:32:32.620
Notice, He's not knocking at the door

00:32:32.620 --> 00:32:34.646
in wrath for you.

00:32:34.646 --> 00:32:38.339
He calls you now His undefiled.

00:32:38.339 --> 00:32:40.761
Because from the moment someone

00:32:40.761 --> 00:32:43.497
truly repents and puts 
their faith in Christ,

00:32:43.497 --> 00:32:48.780
God is never angry at the believer again.

00:32:48.780 --> 00:32:50.522
Because as we've just sung there

00:32:50.522 --> 00:32:52.049
on that cross, the wrath of God

00:32:52.049 --> 00:32:55.886
was completely satisfied.

00:32:55.886 --> 00:32:57.304
He was punished in our place.

00:32:57.304 --> 00:32:59.012
Jesus cried out upon that cross,

00:32:59.012 --> 00:33:02.687
"It is finished!"

00:33:02.687 --> 00:33:03.843
Do you see that?

00:33:03.843 --> 00:33:04.893
It is finished.

00:33:04.893 --> 00:33:09.640
Or are you still trying to finish it?

00:33:09.640 --> 00:33:13.053
Because seeing that is eternal life.

00:33:13.053 --> 00:33:16.165
Seeing what He has done there -

00:33:16.165 --> 00:33:18.547
that He has completely and perfectly

00:33:18.547 --> 00:33:20.737
satisfied the wrath of God

00:33:20.737 --> 00:33:25.402
on behalf of all those who will trust Him.

00:33:25.402 --> 00:33:27.787
He paid the penalty for 
the sins of His bride -

00:33:27.787 --> 00:33:32.756
past, present, and future.

00:33:32.756 --> 00:33:34.964
You know, when I first went to a church,

00:33:34.964 --> 00:33:36.966
I was told there that when you believe,

00:33:36.966 --> 00:33:39.262
Christ paid for the sins up to the point

00:33:39.262 --> 00:33:42.936
that you become a Christian,

00:33:42.936 --> 00:33:46.594
and then you were sort of left then.

00:33:46.594 --> 00:33:48.477
That didn't bring me much joy.

00:33:48.477 --> 00:33:52.732
Of course, it's false.

00:33:52.732 --> 00:33:54.297
But He's taken away our sins

00:33:54.297 --> 00:33:56.653
as far as the east is from the west,

00:33:56.653 --> 00:33:57.750
the Bible says.

00:33:57.750 --> 00:34:03.226
So far has He removed our 
transgressions from us.

00:34:03.226 --> 00:34:04.557
I mean, think about this.

00:34:04.557 --> 00:34:06.997
How far is the east from the west?

00:34:06.997 --> 00:34:11.061
You just keep going.

00:34:11.061 --> 00:34:13.045
He says, "For I will be merciful

00:34:13.045 --> 00:34:14.445
to their unrighteousness."

00:34:14.445 --> 00:34:16.519
This is what He's doing here at the door.

00:34:16.519 --> 00:34:18.414
"...and their sins and their iniquities

00:34:18.414 --> 00:34:22.807
will I remember no more."

00:34:22.807 --> 00:34:28.479
You see, He brings us under conviction

00:34:28.479 --> 00:34:31.617
to chasten us as a father chastens the son

00:34:31.617 --> 00:34:34.794
in whom he delights, in whom he loves.

00:34:34.794 --> 00:34:39.158
But once you rest in His finished work,

00:34:39.158 --> 00:34:47.891
He never comes to you in wrath again.

00:34:47.891 --> 00:34:51.285
I mean, God did not go to such an expense

00:34:51.285 --> 00:34:52.574
to pay for your sins,

00:34:52.574 --> 00:34:56.451
so He could just frown 
at you all day long.

00:34:56.451 --> 00:34:59.374
But everything Christ does is perfect.

00:34:59.374 --> 00:35:03.595
You see, when He saves someone,

00:35:03.595 --> 00:35:05.854
He perfectly saves them.

00:35:05.854 --> 00:35:08.770
When God adopts someone as His child,

00:35:08.770 --> 00:35:11.575
He perfectly adopts them.

00:35:11.575 --> 00:35:14.734
When God forgives someone,

00:35:14.734 --> 00:35:21.225
He perfectly forgives them.

00:35:21.225 --> 00:35:23.078
It's not like man often does,

00:35:23.078 --> 00:35:24.641
where they say I forgive someone

00:35:24.641 --> 00:35:26.413
and they bury the axe,

00:35:26.413 --> 00:35:28.546
but they leave the hatchet showing

00:35:28.546 --> 00:35:32.600
so they can dig it up at a later date.

00:35:32.600 --> 00:35:34.520
"I have blotted out as a thick cloud

00:35:34.520 --> 00:35:35.616
your transgressions,

00:35:35.616 --> 00:35:37.551
as a thick cloud your sins.

00:35:37.551 --> 00:35:43.926
Return unto Me, for I have redeemed you."

00:35:43.926 --> 00:35:45.687
Look, believer, despite your feelings

00:35:45.687 --> 00:35:47.655
of neglect of Him,

00:35:47.655 --> 00:35:49.978
He's not knocking to you in anger here.

00:35:49.978 --> 00:35:56.091
He calls you, "My undefiled."

00:35:56.091 --> 00:35:57.591
These hands that knock here

00:35:57.591 --> 00:36:00.920
have holes in,

00:36:00.920 --> 00:36:03.812
pierced for your sin, believer.

00:36:03.812 --> 00:36:05.473
Is that not enough to you?

00:36:05.473 --> 00:36:07.766
This should really motivate you

00:36:07.766 --> 00:36:13.131
to just yield yourself to Him.

00:36:13.131 --> 00:36:15.269
There's a dear brother in England we met,

00:36:15.269 --> 00:36:18.236
Leslie Smith.

00:36:18.236 --> 00:36:23.170
One thing he told me: yield.

00:36:23.170 --> 00:36:25.620
Because Satan comes with all accusations

00:36:25.620 --> 00:36:27.517
and thoughts, different things,

00:36:27.517 --> 00:36:31.301
and people start toying with it,

00:36:31.301 --> 00:36:33.287
but the moment you yield to Christ,

00:36:33.287 --> 00:36:36.257
it's over.

00:36:36.257 --> 00:36:37.445
And it's so true.

00:36:37.445 --> 00:36:46.675
Take captive every thought.

00:36:46.675 --> 00:36:48.759
And then in the third part

00:36:48.759 --> 00:36:50.376
of His plea to the believer

00:36:50.376 --> 00:36:51.373
to open up the door,

00:36:51.373 --> 00:36:54.679
Christ says, "For My 
head is filled with dew,

00:36:54.679 --> 00:36:58.647
and My locks with the drops of the night."

00:36:58.647 --> 00:37:01.895
He's left in the cold outside here.

00:37:01.895 --> 00:37:04.873
And a night and dew in Scripture

00:37:04.873 --> 00:37:08.469
is sometimes symbolic 
of trial and affliction.

00:37:08.469 --> 00:37:10.985
In Daniel 4, when Nebuchadnezzar

00:37:10.985 --> 00:37:13.174
was at his lowest state -

00:37:13.174 --> 00:37:17.424
he was said to be wet 
with the dew of heaven.

00:37:17.424 --> 00:37:22.127
And brethren, Christ feels the hurt.

00:37:22.127 --> 00:37:24.167
You know, since I've been in the U.S.,

00:37:24.167 --> 00:37:27.067
I've been able to contact my wife on Skype

00:37:27.067 --> 00:37:30.096
almost every day.

00:37:30.096 --> 00:37:33.308
That was, except last Monday,

00:37:33.308 --> 00:37:34.687
because we were so busy,

00:37:34.687 --> 00:37:36.646
we were doing various outreaches,

00:37:36.646 --> 00:37:38.503
and with all the time differences

00:37:38.503 --> 00:37:42.473
I was unable to speak to her that day.

00:37:42.473 --> 00:37:45.777
Each time I turned on my laptop

00:37:45.777 --> 00:37:47.329
hoping to see her,

00:37:47.329 --> 00:37:49.898
it was a time when either she wasn't there

00:37:49.898 --> 00:37:52.735
or she was in bed.

00:37:52.735 --> 00:37:54.293
On the morning before we left

00:37:54.293 --> 00:37:56.667
the house to go to the outreach,

00:37:56.667 --> 00:37:57.991
I put on my computer,

00:37:57.991 --> 00:37:59.974
and I was so excited to speak with her,

00:37:59.974 --> 00:38:02.626
but she happened to be out.

00:38:02.626 --> 00:38:03.940
Then, when we came back

00:38:03.940 --> 00:38:05.792
from the outreach,

00:38:05.792 --> 00:38:08.265
I was getting all excited again,

00:38:08.265 --> 00:38:11.851
longing to speak to my wife.

00:38:11.851 --> 00:38:14.240
I'm getting flutters in my heart

00:38:14.240 --> 00:38:17.549
as I switch the computer on.

00:38:17.549 --> 00:38:20.534
But she'd gone to bed.

00:38:20.534 --> 00:38:22.838
It was kind of late there.

00:38:22.838 --> 00:38:25.257
But it just really brought home to me

00:38:25.257 --> 00:38:27.802
just how much more

00:38:27.802 --> 00:38:30.336
God longs to hear from us

00:38:30.336 --> 00:38:32.374
and speak with His bride.

00:38:32.374 --> 00:38:34.248
And how He feels it

00:38:34.248 --> 00:38:39.119
when we don't come to be alone with Him.

00:38:39.119 --> 00:38:42.276
While we're here, if you'll just look

00:38:42.276 --> 00:38:46.152
at Song of Solomon 2:14.

00:38:46.152 --> 00:38:47.526
At the end of v. 13,

00:38:47.526 --> 00:38:49.719
Christ says, "Arise, My love,

00:38:49.719 --> 00:38:52.713
My fair one and come away."

00:38:52.713 --> 00:38:54.681
And then He says there in v. 14,

00:38:54.681 --> 00:38:56.195
"Oh, My dove,

00:38:56.195 --> 00:38:59.367
that art in the clefts of the rock,

00:38:59.367 --> 00:39:01.335
in the secret places in the stairs."

00:39:01.335 --> 00:39:03.414
These are the little cracks

00:39:03.414 --> 00:39:04.810
in the rock, if you like,

00:39:04.810 --> 00:39:08.611
where doves would hide for protection.

00:39:08.611 --> 00:39:11.685
The analogy here is, as we sang there,

00:39:11.685 --> 00:39:13.748
Jesus Christ being our hiding place.

00:39:13.748 --> 00:39:15.198
Coming to hide in Him.

00:39:15.198 --> 00:39:17.452
But notice here what He calls you.

00:39:17.452 --> 00:39:19.892
"Let me see thy countenance."

00:39:19.892 --> 00:39:23.230
Let me see your face.

00:39:23.230 --> 00:39:24.825
He wants to see your face.

00:39:24.825 --> 00:39:28.395
"Let me hear thy voice,

00:39:28.395 --> 00:39:31.318
for sweet is thy voice

00:39:31.318 --> 00:39:33.054
and thy countenance (your face)

00:39:33.054 --> 00:39:34.732
is beautiful."

00:39:34.732 --> 00:39:38.276
Because Christ doesn't 
just put away your sin,

00:39:38.276 --> 00:39:39.760
but He gives you the perfect,

00:39:39.760 --> 00:39:44.322
the beauty, the righteousness 
of Jesus Christ.

00:39:44.322 --> 00:39:47.168
If ever I feel cold and dry in prayer,

00:39:47.168 --> 00:39:50.230
I come back to these verses.

00:39:50.230 --> 00:39:51.651
That Christ, He says,

00:39:51.651 --> 00:39:53.744
let Me hear your voice.

00:39:53.744 --> 00:39:56.866
Let Me see your face.

00:39:56.866 --> 00:39:59.514
You know, Keith Green sang:

00:39:59.514 --> 00:40:01.482
"Oh, Lord, You're beautiful.

00:40:01.482 --> 00:40:04.171
Your face is all I seek.

00:40:04.171 --> 00:40:06.733
And when Your eyes are on this child,

00:40:06.733 --> 00:40:09.697
Your grace abounds to me."

00:40:09.697 --> 00:40:11.287
Well, brethren, this is a song.

00:40:11.287 --> 00:40:12.434
The Song of Solomon.

00:40:12.434 --> 00:40:17.741
And God is singing the 
same thing to us there.

00:40:17.741 --> 00:40:19.132
Believe it.

00:40:19.132 --> 00:40:20.390
He sees you as beautiful.

00:40:20.390 --> 00:40:25.973
Your face is all He seeks.

00:40:25.973 --> 00:40:30.783
We go back to chapter 5.

00:40:30.783 --> 00:40:32.516
But believer, when we neglect

00:40:32.516 --> 00:40:35.108
secret communion with God -

00:40:35.108 --> 00:40:37.566
Jesus said not if, but when

00:40:37.566 --> 00:40:40.310
you pray in secret.

00:40:40.310 --> 00:40:42.540
Or when we leave our first love

00:40:42.540 --> 00:40:44.584
to be busy in some cold,

00:40:44.584 --> 00:40:46.180
compromised way,

00:40:46.180 --> 00:40:49.452
Christ feels this.

00:40:49.452 --> 00:40:53.147
The Bible speaks of His 
Spirit being grieved.

00:40:53.147 --> 00:40:56.219
Grief is an emotional hurt.

00:40:56.219 --> 00:40:59.573
You see, God is not 
some feelingless robot.

00:40:59.573 --> 00:41:04.866
The Bible says He is 
longsuffering towards us.

00:41:04.871 --> 00:41:07.549
Now, that implies that He feels

00:41:07.549 --> 00:41:11.715
the suffering towards our cold behavior.

00:41:11.715 --> 00:41:13.380
This is the same God, brethren,

00:41:13.380 --> 00:41:17.577
Who wept over Jerusalem.

00:41:17.577 --> 00:41:21.053
Now, look in v. 3 here at the bride's

00:41:21.053 --> 00:41:24.855
half-hearted response.

00:41:24.855 --> 00:41:27.037
After she hears her beloved outside

00:41:27.037 --> 00:41:29.613
knocking and pleading with her

00:41:29.613 --> 00:41:30.961
in great love for her

00:41:30.961 --> 00:41:32.678
to open up the door,

00:41:32.678 --> 00:41:35.109
she just makes excuses.

00:41:35.109 --> 00:41:38.813
She says, v. 3, "I have put off my coat.

00:41:38.813 --> 00:41:41.904
How shall I put it on?"

00:41:41.904 --> 00:41:44.916
This refers to the full middle-Eastern

00:41:44.916 --> 00:41:46.670
robe or garment.

00:41:46.670 --> 00:41:49.292
Basically, she's gone to bed.

00:41:49.292 --> 00:41:50.890
"I have washed my feet.

00:41:50.890 --> 00:41:54.900
How shall I defile (or dirty) them again?"

00:41:54.900 --> 00:41:56.963
You know, if I get up to answer the door,

00:41:56.963 --> 00:41:59.606
I'm going to have to wash my feet again.

00:41:59.606 --> 00:42:02.511
I'm cozy in bed now.

00:42:02.511 --> 00:42:05.104
But brethren, how many times

00:42:05.104 --> 00:42:09.127
have we been cold to Christ -

00:42:09.127 --> 00:42:10.853
locked Him out, so to speak,

00:42:10.853 --> 00:42:13.779
because you want to do your own thing

00:42:13.779 --> 00:42:16.568
or hold on to some idol?

00:42:16.568 --> 00:42:18.520
But even when you hear Him knock

00:42:18.520 --> 00:42:21.056
and call out to you,

00:42:21.056 --> 00:42:23.350
when you're reminded of Who He is,

00:42:23.350 --> 00:42:26.246
and you're reminded 
of His great love to you,

00:42:26.246 --> 00:42:28.930
and you're reminded of 
what He's done for you,

00:42:28.930 --> 00:42:30.655
and how He is grieved;

00:42:30.655 --> 00:42:32.382
how often do you, like the bride,

00:42:32.382 --> 00:42:35.866
still make excuses

00:42:35.866 --> 00:42:38.652
and start reasoning

00:42:38.652 --> 00:42:40.704
to continue in a half-hearted state

00:42:40.704 --> 00:42:47.190
of compromise?

00:42:47.190 --> 00:42:48.490
You know, one thing I heard

00:42:48.490 --> 00:42:50.512
that really helped me

00:42:50.512 --> 00:43:00.279
is we know right and wrong in His Word,

00:43:00.279 --> 00:43:01.727
but what tends to happen is

00:43:01.727 --> 00:43:03.607
the believer at times will be deceived

00:43:03.607 --> 00:43:06.200
and start reasoning,

00:43:06.200 --> 00:43:08.311
when it's a simple yes or no.

00:43:08.311 --> 00:43:11.828
Will you obey Christ or won't you obey?

00:43:11.828 --> 00:43:14.277
And once you boil it down to that,

00:43:14.277 --> 00:43:17.584
and you stop reasoning,

00:43:17.584 --> 00:43:20.246
and just yield to Christ,

00:43:20.246 --> 00:43:25.013
it's over there.

00:43:25.013 --> 00:43:29.000
How often have you 
heard a sermon like this

00:43:29.000 --> 00:43:30.766
speaking of God's love for you

00:43:30.766 --> 00:43:33.282
in spite of your failings?

00:43:33.289 --> 00:43:35.999
And you're convicted, and you're thinking,

00:43:35.999 --> 00:43:38.007
yeah, I'm going to commune with Him now,

00:43:38.007 --> 00:43:39.922
put Him first in all of my affections.

00:43:39.922 --> 00:43:41.652
I'm going to rise up early

00:43:41.652 --> 00:43:44.742
and meet Him for secret 
communion and prayer,

00:43:44.742 --> 00:43:48.064
but then it gets to Monday or Tuesday,

00:43:48.064 --> 00:43:51.047
and you're making excuses

00:43:51.047 --> 00:43:54.015
in order to keep Christ out

00:43:54.015 --> 00:43:58.774
and carry on in your compromised way.

00:43:58.774 --> 00:44:00.549
"I have put off my coat.

00:44:00.549 --> 00:44:02.880
How shall I put it on?

00:44:02.880 --> 00:44:04.390
I have washed my feet.

00:44:04.390 --> 00:44:08.328
How shall I defile (or dirty) them?"

00:44:08.328 --> 00:44:10.275
Notice also here,

00:44:10.275 --> 00:44:12.729
that in the bride's thinking here,

00:44:12.729 --> 00:44:16.372
in making excuses to carry on in her state

00:44:16.372 --> 00:44:18.803
of compromise - in her reasoning,

00:44:18.803 --> 00:44:20.992
she has come to the conclusion

00:44:20.992 --> 00:44:23.305
that to fully open up to Christ -

00:44:23.305 --> 00:44:25.246
to submit to Him fully -

00:44:25.246 --> 00:44:27.113
would somehow be a great trouble

00:44:27.113 --> 00:44:29.648
or burden to her.

00:44:29.648 --> 00:44:31.286
She's been deceived at this point

00:44:31.286 --> 00:44:33.333
into thinking she's better off

00:44:33.333 --> 00:44:35.163
with whatever carnal security

00:44:35.163 --> 00:44:37.076
she's getting from whatever is between

00:44:37.076 --> 00:44:42.045
her and Christ.

00:44:42.045 --> 00:44:43.166
Listen to me.

00:44:43.166 --> 00:44:45.843
Anytime we do not put Christ

00:44:45.843 --> 00:44:47.594
at the chiefest of our affections,

00:44:47.594 --> 00:44:52.459
it is because we have been deceived.

00:44:52.459 --> 00:44:56.796
How often does one think of sin

00:44:56.796 --> 00:45:01.012
or toying with sin as if it's a virtue?

00:45:01.012 --> 00:45:06.017
No one would ever do it otherwise.

00:45:06.017 --> 00:45:07.395
No one sins unless they feel

00:45:07.395 --> 00:45:11.852
it's going to benefit them in some way.

00:45:11.852 --> 00:45:17.006
And v. 4, and the bride continues to say,

00:45:17.006 --> 00:45:18.649
"My beloved put His hand

00:45:18.649 --> 00:45:20.182
by the hole of the door,

00:45:20.182 --> 00:45:24.485
and my bowels were moved for Him."

00:45:24.485 --> 00:45:28.178
Jesus Christ - He is the everlasting door.

00:45:28.178 --> 00:45:29.350
And the Bible says,

00:45:29.350 --> 00:45:31.587
while were yet sinners,

00:45:31.587 --> 00:45:35.441
He made His way into our hearts.

00:45:35.441 --> 00:45:37.880
You see, this hole in the 
door here in this text,

00:45:37.880 --> 00:45:42.513
you would have basically a large door

00:45:42.513 --> 00:45:44.397
with a wooden bar across it

00:45:44.397 --> 00:45:46.483
and various pins and locks.

00:45:46.483 --> 00:45:49.991
And there's a hole you 
can put your hand into

00:45:49.991 --> 00:45:52.158
to remove some of those pins

00:45:52.158 --> 00:45:54.525
and some of those locks.

00:45:54.525 --> 00:45:56.571
Although, there's more to it than that.

00:45:56.571 --> 00:46:00.730
You have to open it on the inside also.

00:46:00.730 --> 00:46:01.945
As we can see there,

00:46:01.945 --> 00:46:03.501
the bride still needs to open up.

00:46:03.501 --> 00:46:06.231
But notice here, that when the bride

00:46:06.231 --> 00:46:07.971
is locking Christ out here,

00:46:07.971 --> 00:46:09.613
and even when He knocks

00:46:09.613 --> 00:46:12.779
and calls her in love to 
her to open up to Him,

00:46:12.779 --> 00:46:17.626
and she makes excuses,

00:46:17.626 --> 00:46:22.520
He doesn't just leave her,

00:46:22.520 --> 00:46:26.419
but He finds this little gap

00:46:26.419 --> 00:46:29.064
and undoes some of those pins.

00:46:29.064 --> 00:46:31.419
Basically, He makes it easier here

00:46:31.419 --> 00:46:34.946
for the bride to open up fully to Him.

00:46:34.946 --> 00:46:37.655
Christ begins here to effectually move

00:46:37.655 --> 00:46:40.026
on the bride's heart.

00:46:40.026 --> 00:46:41.714
And so she's going to rise now

00:46:41.714 --> 00:46:45.248
to open up the door.

00:46:45.248 --> 00:46:47.943
And Jesus often does this.

00:46:47.943 --> 00:46:49.995
When Peter denied Christ,

00:46:49.995 --> 00:46:53.906
the only thing that made 
Peter turn again to Him,

00:46:53.906 --> 00:46:56.300
was Christ praying for Peter

00:46:56.300 --> 00:47:00.573
that his faith fail not.

00:47:00.573 --> 00:47:03.525
As I read Octavius Winslow said,

00:47:03.525 --> 00:47:07.982
it takes as big a miracle

00:47:07.982 --> 00:47:11.995
for a believer when we fall in any way

00:47:11.995 --> 00:47:14.118
to come back to Christ - to turn -

00:47:14.118 --> 00:47:19.100
than for the new birth in the first place.

00:47:19.100 --> 00:47:21.142
When Peter was at his lowest ebb

00:47:21.142 --> 00:47:22.222
in running from God,

00:47:22.222 --> 00:47:23.437
Jesus went after Peter

00:47:23.437 --> 00:47:27.075
and won him by His love.

00:47:27.075 --> 00:47:28.929
And believer, when you fail,

00:47:28.929 --> 00:47:31.883
the only reason you return to Him

00:47:31.883 --> 00:47:34.766
is because He effectually draws you

00:47:34.766 --> 00:47:36.780
by His love.

00:47:36.780 --> 00:47:39.220
If He left you to yourself,

00:47:39.220 --> 00:47:43.592
then you would be long gone.

00:47:43.592 --> 00:47:46.018
His love is a love that 
will not let you go.

00:47:46.018 --> 00:47:48.935
It says in chapter 8: 
"stronger than death."

00:47:48.935 --> 00:47:50.903
Death is pretty strong.

00:47:50.903 --> 00:47:53.510
It's quite final.

00:47:53.510 --> 00:47:56.642
So rest your weary soul in Him.

00:47:56.642 --> 00:47:59.727
In v. 5, after Christ effectually moves

00:47:59.727 --> 00:48:01.549
the heart of the bride here,

00:48:01.549 --> 00:48:05.357
she says, "I rose to open to my beloved,

00:48:05.357 --> 00:48:07.518
and my hands dropped with myrrh,

00:48:07.518 --> 00:48:09.811
and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh

00:48:09.811 --> 00:48:13.600
upon the handles of the lock."

00:48:13.600 --> 00:48:15.822
I want you to notice here first of all

00:48:15.822 --> 00:48:21.004
that repentance always results in action.

00:48:21.004 --> 00:48:25.141
Repentance involves all 
of your inner being,

00:48:25.141 --> 00:48:27.503
being moved with compassion,

00:48:27.503 --> 00:48:29.064
with longing for Christ,

00:48:29.064 --> 00:48:30.559
and so it will be evidenced

00:48:30.559 --> 00:48:34.576
by a turning from the present state one is

00:48:34.576 --> 00:48:39.984
and to the living God.

00:48:39.984 --> 00:48:42.259
There is no such thing 
as a true repentance

00:48:42.259 --> 00:48:44.720
that does not involve action.

00:48:44.720 --> 00:48:46.230
And notice in v. 5,

00:48:46.230 --> 00:48:47.967
when the bride rises up to open

00:48:47.967 --> 00:48:49.605
to her beloved, she says,

00:48:49.605 --> 00:48:51.938
"My hands dropped with myrrh,

00:48:51.938 --> 00:48:54.230
and my fingers with sweet smelling myrrh,

00:48:54.230 --> 00:48:58.058
upon the handles of the lock."

00:48:58.058 --> 00:48:59.958
Although as we see in the next verse

00:48:59.958 --> 00:49:02.242
that by this time when 
she finally responds,

00:49:02.242 --> 00:49:04.915
Christ has further withdrawn His presence

00:49:04.915 --> 00:49:06.319
from her, but notice here -

00:49:06.319 --> 00:49:07.633
don't miss this.

00:49:07.633 --> 00:49:10.026
Before He did, He put His hand

00:49:10.026 --> 00:49:12.746
through the hole in the door to her heart

00:49:12.746 --> 00:49:14.960
in the previous verse.

00:49:14.960 --> 00:49:18.878
He left her here with 
the fragrance of Himself,

00:49:18.878 --> 00:49:24.792
so that she would long for Him.

00:49:24.792 --> 00:49:26.762
And how true this is, believer,

00:49:26.762 --> 00:49:29.236
that even when it times Christ withdraws

00:49:29.236 --> 00:49:32.531
His presence from you,

00:49:32.531 --> 00:49:34.165
because of your disobedience

00:49:34.165 --> 00:49:35.628
and stubborn will to carry on

00:49:35.628 --> 00:49:36.825
in a compromised state,

00:49:36.825 --> 00:49:39.400
He graciosly leaves you, believer,

00:49:39.400 --> 00:49:44.226
with a longing - with 
a yearning for Himself.

00:49:44.226 --> 00:49:48.092
And in v. 6, the bride 
finally rises and says,

00:49:48.092 --> 00:49:51.091
"I opened to my beloved,

00:49:51.091 --> 00:49:53.126
but my beloved had withdrawn Himself

00:49:53.126 --> 00:49:54.223
and was gone.

00:49:54.223 --> 00:49:57.680
My soul failed when He spake.

00:49:57.680 --> 00:50:00.265
I sought Him, but I could not find Him.

00:50:00.265 --> 00:50:05.417
I called Him, but He gave me no answer."

00:50:05.417 --> 00:50:08.317
For the bride's own good here,

00:50:08.317 --> 00:50:13.153
Christ has withdrawn the 
sense of His presence.

00:50:13.153 --> 00:50:14.734
Of course, He's still with her,

00:50:14.734 --> 00:50:16.425
watching over her.

00:50:16.425 --> 00:50:19.233
But He's done this to teach her a lesson

00:50:19.233 --> 00:50:21.476
that she cannot be half-hearted

00:50:21.476 --> 00:50:23.665
towards Him.

00:50:23.665 --> 00:50:27.114
And after finding her 
in this prolonged state

00:50:27.114 --> 00:50:28.518
of compromise,

00:50:28.518 --> 00:50:30.207
when despite His pleas of love

00:50:30.207 --> 00:50:31.357
for the bride,

00:50:31.357 --> 00:50:34.481
she was continually cold to Him,

00:50:34.481 --> 00:50:36.725
and so He left her with the fragrance

00:50:36.725 --> 00:50:40.939
of Himself so that she would yearn for Him

00:50:40.939 --> 00:50:42.809
and cause her to seek Him.

00:50:42.809 --> 00:50:44.692
And so, when she finally rises

00:50:44.692 --> 00:50:47.578
from her state of spiritual slumber

00:50:47.578 --> 00:50:49.339
and opens the door,

00:50:49.339 --> 00:50:52.131
she finds that her beloved 
has withdrawn Himself,

00:50:52.131 --> 00:50:55.685
because listen to me.

00:50:55.685 --> 00:50:58.124
Christ does not want us to continue

00:50:58.124 --> 00:51:01.848
in this half-hearted state of devotion,

00:51:01.848 --> 00:51:05.792
nor does He want our 
three-quarter devotion.

00:51:05.792 --> 00:51:08.315
But He wants us to desperately seek Him

00:51:08.315 --> 00:51:11.120
with all our heart.

00:51:11.120 --> 00:51:14.293
And so that when you find Him,

00:51:14.293 --> 00:51:16.488
He doesn't want us to have the attitude

00:51:16.488 --> 00:51:19.036
of slip back into the previous attitude

00:51:19.036 --> 00:51:23.108
that we can just take Him or leave Him;

00:51:23.108 --> 00:51:25.304
pick Him up and drop Him

00:51:25.304 --> 00:51:26.444
whenever we like.

00:51:26.444 --> 00:51:28.104
But as you go through this book,

00:51:28.104 --> 00:51:29.763
the Song of Solomon,

00:51:29.763 --> 00:51:32.170
you see this Christian life

00:51:32.170 --> 00:51:34.033
where the bride comes to maturity,

00:51:34.033 --> 00:51:35.965
and He teaches the bride

00:51:35.965 --> 00:51:38.335
by chastening her in this way,

00:51:38.335 --> 00:51:40.263
to cling to Him;

00:51:40.263 --> 00:51:43.372
to lean upon Him.

00:51:43.372 --> 00:51:45.677
Again, growing in Christian maturity

00:51:45.677 --> 00:51:48.437
is growing in dependence upon Him;

00:51:48.437 --> 00:51:52.623
clinging more to Christ.

00:51:52.623 --> 00:51:54.144
And notice here, she sought Him

00:51:54.144 --> 00:51:55.831
by calling Him in prayer,

00:51:55.831 --> 00:52:00.957
but He gave no answer.

00:52:00.957 --> 00:52:04.139
Let me ask you a question, believer.

00:52:04.139 --> 00:52:08.376
Have you ever woken up 
early in the morning,

00:52:08.376 --> 00:52:12.635
and you feel like you must get up to pray?

00:52:12.635 --> 00:52:14.065
And you know it's God tugging

00:52:14.065 --> 00:52:16.351
on your heart to spend time with Him.

00:52:16.351 --> 00:52:21.039
Or maybe it's late at night.

00:52:21.039 --> 00:52:23.510
But you just roll over.

00:52:23.510 --> 00:52:25.419
You stay in bed.

00:52:25.419 --> 00:52:27.839
Because you're reasoning within yourself.

00:52:27.839 --> 00:52:31.175
Well, I need to get more sleep

00:52:31.175 --> 00:52:33.615
because if I get extra sleep,

00:52:33.615 --> 00:52:35.391
then I'll have more strength

00:52:35.391 --> 00:52:39.048
to live this coming day 
in my own strength.

00:52:39.048 --> 00:52:41.956
That's what it is, isn't it?

00:52:41.956 --> 00:52:44.560
The Lord woke me up at 4 a.m. this morning

00:52:44.560 --> 00:52:46.158
and preaching this, I thought,

00:52:46.158 --> 00:52:54.417
I better get up.

00:52:54.417 --> 00:52:56.059
But what happens?

00:52:56.059 --> 00:53:01.296
After putting Him off like 
the bride in our text?

00:53:01.296 --> 00:53:02.898
You eventually wake up

00:53:02.898 --> 00:53:05.357
and you still pick your Bible up

00:53:05.357 --> 00:53:07.411
and pray as duty.

00:53:07.411 --> 00:53:08.980
You try to make a deal with God

00:53:08.980 --> 00:53:10.459
saying well, if I do my bit,

00:53:10.459 --> 00:53:13.104
then You do Yours today.

00:53:13.104 --> 00:53:15.999
But then you find that God 
has withdrawn Himself.

00:53:15.999 --> 00:53:17.515
And so for the rest of the day,

00:53:17.515 --> 00:53:19.756
you can't find Him.

00:53:19.756 --> 00:53:20.831
As John Bunyan said,

00:53:20.831 --> 00:53:22.746
"he who runs from God in the morning

00:53:22.746 --> 00:53:27.701
will scarcely find Him 
the rest of the day."

00:53:27.701 --> 00:53:30.889
Or, have you ever felt

00:53:30.889 --> 00:53:33.522
like Christ is bringing conviction

00:53:33.522 --> 00:53:35.256
over you for something,

00:53:35.256 --> 00:53:37.335
but despite His many pleas to you,

00:53:37.335 --> 00:53:39.149
you make excuse after excuse

00:53:39.149 --> 00:53:41.284
to hold on to it?

00:53:41.284 --> 00:53:44.780
And when you finally come to your senses,

00:53:44.780 --> 00:53:46.376
and you let go of what is between

00:53:46.376 --> 00:53:48.086
you and Christ,

00:53:48.086 --> 00:53:51.312
you find He has withdrawn Himself.

00:53:51.312 --> 00:53:55.207
And you can't find Him.

00:53:55.207 --> 00:53:57.886
You see, the lost, carnal church member

00:53:57.886 --> 00:54:01.232
experiences something like this

00:54:01.232 --> 00:54:03.088
when after living like a spiritual,

00:54:03.088 --> 00:54:04.376
lukewarm sluggard,

00:54:04.376 --> 00:54:06.804
they reject Christ's mercy and conviction

00:54:06.804 --> 00:54:08.885
time after time.

00:54:08.885 --> 00:54:11.279
And when they finally open the door,

00:54:11.279 --> 00:54:12.336
they find He's gone.

00:54:12.336 --> 00:54:14.471
And so, the lost, carnal church member,

00:54:14.471 --> 00:54:16.269
they think well, if that's the case,

00:54:16.269 --> 00:54:18.611
I may as well go back to bed again.

00:54:18.611 --> 00:54:19.754
I may as well carry on

00:54:19.754 --> 00:54:24.358
in my lukewarm slumber.

00:54:24.358 --> 00:54:25.846
But look here, what happens

00:54:25.846 --> 00:54:27.399
to the true believer

00:54:27.399 --> 00:54:29.477
when Christ does this.

00:54:29.477 --> 00:54:31.418
The true believer, like the bride here,

00:54:31.418 --> 00:54:33.083
Christ brings us to our senses,

00:54:33.083 --> 00:54:35.477
so that he or she will desperately

00:54:35.477 --> 00:54:38.293
seek Him and try to find Him,

00:54:38.293 --> 00:54:42.749
and will not stop until we do.

00:54:42.749 --> 00:54:43.939
Because the beloved

00:54:43.939 --> 00:54:45.639
has the words of eternal life -

00:54:45.639 --> 00:54:48.588
to whom else is she going to go?

00:54:48.588 --> 00:54:51.489
And then in v. 7,

00:54:51.489 --> 00:54:53.208
the bride in her search for Christ,

00:54:53.208 --> 00:54:54.522
she runs about the streets.

00:54:54.522 --> 00:54:57.572
She's wounded by these false teachers.

00:54:57.572 --> 00:54:59.617
"The watchmen that went about the city,

00:54:59.617 --> 00:55:01.030
the smote me.

00:55:01.030 --> 00:55:02.235
They wounded me.

00:55:02.235 --> 00:55:03.486
The keepers of the walls

00:55:03.486 --> 00:55:06.766
took away my veil from me."

00:55:06.766 --> 00:55:09.463
You have wolves in sheep's clothing here

00:55:09.463 --> 00:55:14.970
who when they find 
the true bride of Christ

00:55:14.970 --> 00:55:16.904
in desperation and despair,

00:55:16.904 --> 00:55:20.179
they only smite her and wound her more.

00:55:20.179 --> 00:55:22.458
They rudely rip off her veil

00:55:22.458 --> 00:55:23.868
or a cloak or a shoal -

00:55:23.868 --> 00:55:25.831
it's not quite clear what it is.

00:55:25.831 --> 00:55:31.390
But basically, they're 
showing no respect for her.

00:55:31.390 --> 00:55:33.261
And listen to me,

00:55:33.261 --> 00:55:35.054
you need to make sure

00:55:35.054 --> 00:55:37.815
you're in a Biblical fellowship

00:55:37.815 --> 00:55:39.924
with true believers.

00:55:39.924 --> 00:55:42.899
This is so important.

00:55:42.899 --> 00:55:50.459
If you need to, move.

00:55:50.459 --> 00:55:51.972
Sometimes, I speak to people

00:55:51.972 --> 00:55:53.732
all the time who are looking

00:55:53.732 --> 00:55:56.007
for a true church; a true fellowship

00:55:56.007 --> 00:55:59.639
who can find nothing where they are.

00:55:59.639 --> 00:56:00.820
But what I've noticed is

00:56:00.820 --> 00:56:02.316
when someone's a true believer,

00:56:02.316 --> 00:56:08.654
they'll crawl over 
broken glass to find it.

00:56:08.654 --> 00:56:10.078
But in some cases,

00:56:10.078 --> 00:56:11.970
people can't find a true fellowship

00:56:11.970 --> 00:56:14.554
because they don't love the brethren.

00:56:14.554 --> 00:56:18.519
No church is perfect enough for them.

00:56:18.519 --> 00:56:20.759
We know that we have passed

00:56:20.759 --> 00:56:21.881
from death to life

00:56:21.881 --> 00:56:24.805
because we love the brethren.

00:56:24.805 --> 00:56:26.863
This is one of the chiefest evidences

00:56:26.863 --> 00:56:29.457
that you are a Christian.

00:56:29.457 --> 00:56:31.007
I was told that, I think,

00:56:31.007 --> 00:56:32.948
it was Frances Havergal who said

00:56:32.948 --> 00:56:37.310
if you miss one meeting

00:56:37.310 --> 00:56:40.822
which you otherwise have no real excuse

00:56:40.822 --> 00:56:42.301
not to attend,

00:56:42.301 --> 00:56:50.690
then there's a red flag there.

00:56:50.690 --> 00:56:52.774
You must find, like the bride did,

00:56:52.774 --> 00:56:54.990
earlier on in this book,

00:56:54.990 --> 00:56:58.478
where Christ feeds His flock.

00:56:58.478 --> 00:57:05.681
It's no good having an Internet pastor.

00:57:05.681 --> 00:57:07.090
And then in v. 8,

00:57:07.090 --> 00:57:09.899
she says, "I charge you, 
O daughters of Jerusalem,

00:57:09.899 --> 00:57:11.758
if ye find my beloved,

00:57:11.758 --> 00:57:16.690
that you tell Him that I am sick of love."

00:57:16.690 --> 00:57:19.704
The idea here is that she is lovesick.

00:57:19.704 --> 00:57:24.652
Just like if a husband 
is called to go to war,

00:57:24.652 --> 00:57:26.622
and his bride is left at home

00:57:26.622 --> 00:57:28.624
yearning for him.

00:57:28.624 --> 00:57:29.852
Notice here, the bride,

00:57:29.852 --> 00:57:34.451
she desperately wants Him now by her side.

00:57:34.451 --> 00:57:39.884
And brethren, let me finish 
with this this morning.

00:57:39.884 --> 00:57:42.373
Maybe this finds you

00:57:42.373 --> 00:57:44.568
in a state of compromise

00:57:44.568 --> 00:57:47.627
like the bride in v. 2 and v. 3.

00:57:47.627 --> 00:57:49.313
Locking Christ out.

00:57:49.313 --> 00:57:52.470
Making excuses not to 
fully open up to Him.

00:57:52.470 --> 00:57:56.074
And He even tugs on your heart.

00:57:56.074 --> 00:57:59.032
But now, even though

00:57:59.032 --> 00:58:02.730
He has withdrawn His presence,

00:58:02.730 --> 00:58:05.844
but you're desperate for Him.

00:58:05.844 --> 00:58:10.862
This is Christ working on you.

00:58:10.862 --> 00:58:17.475
If that's you, be encouraged.

00:58:17.475 --> 00:58:19.867
I don't want to end on this note.

00:58:19.867 --> 00:58:23.484
The bride doesn't stop here.

00:58:23.484 --> 00:58:25.135
I can show you many places

00:58:25.135 --> 00:58:26.665
where she finds Christ

00:58:26.665 --> 00:58:28.954
and she clings to Him.

00:58:28.954 --> 00:58:31.960
In v. 9, the daughters of Jerusalem

00:58:31.960 --> 00:58:33.064
say to the bride,

00:58:33.064 --> 00:58:35.458
"What is thy beloved more 
than another beloved,

00:58:35.458 --> 00:58:37.819
O, thou fairest among women?

00:58:37.819 --> 00:58:40.005
What is thy beloved more 
than another beloved

00:58:40.005 --> 00:58:42.705
that thou dost charge us?"

00:58:42.705 --> 00:58:45.667
Now, it could be that the bride

00:58:45.667 --> 00:58:48.983
has left such a bad example,

00:58:48.983 --> 00:58:50.363
that they're saying here,

00:58:50.363 --> 00:58:52.216
why should we seek Him

00:58:52.216 --> 00:58:58.532
if He's so special?

00:58:58.532 --> 00:59:04.652
And we are all an example - good or bad.

00:59:04.652 --> 00:59:06.873
But I don't think that is the case

00:59:06.873 --> 00:59:08.463
here with this text,

00:59:08.463 --> 00:59:12.836
because these are the 
daughters of Jerusalem.

00:59:12.836 --> 00:59:15.614
They call her, "O, thou 
fairest among women."

00:59:15.614 --> 00:59:18.707
They have great respect 
for the bride here.

00:59:18.707 --> 00:59:20.707
I think this is a sense of when you hear

00:59:20.707 --> 00:59:22.096
a testimony of someone like

00:59:22.096 --> 00:59:25.749
Darlene Rose, Corrie Ten Boom,

00:59:25.749 --> 00:59:28.855
and they've seen Christ in heights

00:59:28.855 --> 00:59:30.057
of His love.

00:59:30.057 --> 00:59:32.018
They've experienced more than you have.

00:59:32.018 --> 00:59:36.120
So you want them to recount their stories.

00:59:36.120 --> 00:59:37.810
And you say what is thy beloved

00:59:37.810 --> 00:59:40.135
more than another beloved,

00:59:40.135 --> 00:59:42.009
O fairest among women?

00:59:42.009 --> 00:59:46.097
O, maturer Christian than me.

00:59:46.097 --> 00:59:48.745
Stir me up to seek Him with you,

00:59:48.745 --> 00:59:51.485
as she does in 8.1.

00:59:51.485 --> 00:59:53.654
And then the bride continues,

00:59:53.654 --> 00:59:55.415
"my beloved is white and ruddy,

00:59:55.415 --> 00:59:59.141
the chiefest among ten thousand."

00:59:59.141 --> 01:00:01.730
White here white as a lily,

01:00:01.730 --> 01:00:03.431
as pure as a lily, I think,

01:00:03.431 --> 01:00:04.758
is what this is teaching.

01:00:04.758 --> 01:00:06.765
And ruddy, a ruddy rose.

01:00:06.765 --> 01:00:10.185
Basically, my beloved is pure love.

01:00:10.185 --> 01:00:13.734
And then in such picturesque language here

01:00:13.734 --> 01:00:15.808
she describes Christ.

01:00:15.808 --> 01:00:18.139
She describes every part of her beloved -

01:00:18.139 --> 01:00:19.251
how glorious He is

01:00:19.251 --> 01:00:21.200
and she rounds it off in v. 16

01:00:21.200 --> 01:00:24.108
by saying, "His mouth is most sweet.

01:00:24.108 --> 01:00:27.285
Yea, He is altogether lovely."

01:00:27.285 --> 01:00:29.020
He is wholly desirable.

01:00:29.020 --> 01:00:33.738
Everything about Christ is desirable.

01:00:33.738 --> 01:00:35.715
There is not one flaw in Him.

01:00:35.715 --> 01:00:37.205
"This is my Beloved,

01:00:37.205 --> 01:00:41.265
and this is my Friend,

01:00:41.265 --> 01:00:42.748
O daughters of Jerusalem."

01:00:42.748 --> 01:00:44.655
I want you to notice there

01:00:44.655 --> 01:00:47.380
that by v. 16, she knows Christ

01:00:47.380 --> 01:00:50.842
once again to be close to her.

01:00:50.842 --> 01:00:53.797
She has the assurance

01:00:53.797 --> 01:00:56.005
that He is her friend.

01:00:56.005 --> 01:01:00.555
What caused this?

01:01:00.555 --> 01:01:02.303
The answer is by focusing

01:01:02.303 --> 01:01:03.647
on what Christ is like;

01:01:03.647 --> 01:01:05.033
on His character.

01:01:05.033 --> 01:01:06.855
She took her eyes off self

01:01:06.855 --> 01:01:10.297
and once she saw the character of Christ,

01:01:10.297 --> 01:01:20.442
she knew His love once again for her.

01:01:20.442 --> 01:01:26.948
Again, 6.1, I'm only going to go two more.

01:01:26.948 --> 01:01:28.414
They ask her once again,

01:01:28.414 --> 01:01:29.881
"Whither has thy beloved gone,

01:01:29.881 --> 01:01:31.479
O fairest among women?

01:01:31.479 --> 01:01:33.733
Whither has thy beloved turned aside

01:01:33.733 --> 01:01:35.860
that we may seek Him with thee?"

01:01:35.860 --> 01:01:37.347
This is a prayer meeting -

01:01:37.347 --> 01:01:39.820
seeking Christ together.

01:01:39.820 --> 01:01:42.378
But notice her answer.

01:01:42.378 --> 01:01:43.722
"My beloved has gone down

01:01:43.722 --> 01:01:45.073
into His gardens,

01:01:45.073 --> 01:01:46.596
to the beds of spices

01:01:46.596 --> 01:01:48.148
to feed in the gardens

01:01:48.148 --> 01:01:53.854
and to gather lilies."

01:01:53.854 --> 01:01:55.986
The reason He went from your door

01:01:55.986 --> 01:02:03.274
is to pick flowers for you.

01:02:03.274 --> 01:02:05.906
The lily also in chapter 2,

01:02:05.906 --> 01:02:08.526
you know Christ is compared to a lily.

01:02:08.526 --> 01:02:12.414
And then the believer 
is compared to a lily.

01:02:12.414 --> 01:02:13.797
A lily among thorns,

01:02:13.797 --> 01:02:16.380
so is my love among the daughters.

01:02:16.380 --> 01:02:19.628
The thorns are the false converts.

01:02:19.628 --> 01:02:23.237
Picture this. This is how 
Christ sees this world.

01:02:23.237 --> 01:02:26.039
This barren wildnerness of thorny ground.

01:02:26.039 --> 01:02:27.984
Good for nothing but burning.

01:02:27.984 --> 01:02:29.907
And then, there's this one precious lily

01:02:29.907 --> 01:02:32.129
in the middle of it all.

01:02:32.129 --> 01:02:34.744
That is how Christ looks upon you.

01:02:34.744 --> 01:02:36.992
Because He's taken away your sin

01:02:36.992 --> 01:02:39.152
and He's given you His perfect

01:02:39.152 --> 01:02:44.356
beautiful righteousness.

01:02:44.356 --> 01:02:46.592
At the death of a Christian,

01:02:46.592 --> 01:02:48.612
what happens?

01:02:48.612 --> 01:02:52.878
Christ is gathering lilies.

01:02:52.878 --> 01:03:00.900
He's picking flowers for Himself.

01:03:00.900 --> 01:03:04.426
So let me leave you with this.

01:03:04.426 --> 01:03:09.689
Am I speaking to lilies?

01:03:09.689 --> 01:03:13.997
Or am I speaking to thorns?

01:03:13.997 --> 01:03:16.570
Have you come to this place

01:03:16.570 --> 01:03:18.208
where you've seen Christ's love?

01:03:18.208 --> 01:03:19.519
Or do you still see Him

01:03:19.519 --> 01:03:23.258
as a hard taskmaster?

01:03:23.258 --> 01:03:27.303
Again, it is finished upon that cross.

01:03:27.303 --> 01:03:32.790
Just surrender to His love.

01:03:32.790 --> 01:03:36.225
You pass from death to life.

01:03:36.225 --> 01:03:37.792
If you will just surrender

01:03:37.792 --> 01:03:40.223
to what He's done -

01:03:40.223 --> 01:03:41.794
His finished work.

01:03:41.794 --> 01:03:49.849
If you come to Him, 
He will not cast you out.

01:03:49.849 --> 01:03:51.848
But come to Him on His terms.

01:03:51.848 --> 01:03:55.462
Yield to Him.

01:03:55.462 --> 01:04:00.739
Surrender to His love.

01:04:00.739 --> 01:04:02.330
Stop trying to save yourself

01:04:02.330 --> 01:04:05.220
and say, "Lord, save me."

01:04:05.220 --> 01:04:15.125
So let's close in prayer.

01:04:15.125 --> 01:04:18.420
Father, I just thank You

01:04:18.420 --> 01:04:19.841
that You chose to love us

01:04:19.841 --> 01:04:26.257
before You laid the 
foundations of the world;

01:04:26.257 --> 01:04:30.087
that Your love to us is 
without beginning, without end;

01:04:30.087 --> 01:04:31.889
that even before we were in the womb,

01:04:31.889 --> 01:04:34.714
You knew us, Father.

01:04:34.714 --> 01:04:36.334
I thank You that Yours is a love

01:04:36.334 --> 01:04:37.863
that will not let us go -

01:04:37.863 --> 01:04:40.328
a love that is stronger than death;

01:04:40.328 --> 01:04:41.892
that many waters, many floods,

01:04:41.892 --> 01:04:48.028
cannot quench the flame of Jehovah.

01:04:48.028 --> 01:04:51.834
I pray You would use 
these words now, Lord,

01:04:51.834 --> 01:04:55.300
to help us to put You first;

01:04:55.300 --> 01:04:57.910
to seek You first.

01:04:57.910 --> 01:05:02.063
May Your Spirit teach us these words,

01:05:02.063 --> 01:05:05.590
so they become our intimate friends.

01:05:05.590 --> 01:05:10.224
May we own these words, Father,

01:05:10.224 --> 01:05:14.631
and know that Your desire is towards us

01:05:14.631 --> 01:05:17.725
and that we are Yours

01:05:17.725 --> 01:05:19.942
because You sought us and bought us

01:05:19.942 --> 01:05:25.961
at a price.

01:05:25.961 --> 01:05:27.501
I pray, Lord, for anyone

01:05:27.501 --> 01:05:29.096
who does not know You;

01:05:29.096 --> 01:05:33.069
for anyone who is struggling 
with assurance even,

01:05:33.069 --> 01:05:37.124
that they would own these truths this day.

01:05:37.124 --> 01:05:38.937
That they would come to the Father

01:05:38.937 --> 01:05:40.810
through Jesus the Son

01:05:40.810 --> 01:05:42.820
and give Him the glory.

01:05:42.820 --> 01:05:46.359
Great things He has done.

01:05:46.359 --> 01:05:47.712
In Jesus' name,

01:05:47.712 --> 01:05:50.241
Amen.