0:00:01.371,0:00:09.797
Please open your Bibles [br]to the Song of Solomon.

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Right before the prophet Isaiah.

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Chapter 5.

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Lord, please help

0:00:26.011,0:00:33.058
as we handle the Word of God.

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Do we not read that it's like a hammer?

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The Word of God.

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Do we not read that it is living?

0:00:50.149,0:00:54.013
There's activity in this Word.

0:00:54.013,0:01:01.844
There's power to be unleashed.

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It's living.

0:01:04.080,0:01:06.073
It's abiding.

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It's active.

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It's cleansing. It's sanctifying.

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But oh, Lord, if You make it to not be

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a dead letter -

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we know that the words [br]on the pages of our Bibles

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are just ink

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unless You allow the thoughts

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captured in these sentences

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and these paragraphs

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to enter through our eyeballs,

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through our ears

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into our minds and to process them

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to where our faith clings [br]and lays hold, adheres.

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Lord, give us ears to hear at this time.

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I pray in Christ's name.

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Song of Solomon.

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Look there at chapter 5 and verse 9.

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You'll notice if you have the ESV -

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and I know that depending [br]on the Bible that you have

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is going to depend on whether this is

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actually identified to you or not,

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but in the ESV, you'll notice

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that verse 9 has that caption above it:

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"Others."

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The primary individuals

0:02:41.387,0:02:45.393
that we find in the Song of Solomon

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are Solomon and his love.

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The Shulammite.

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But right here, "others" interject.

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In 5:8, you'll notice from v. 2 to 8 -

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again, the ESV, it says "she."

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The bride.

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And in v. 8, "I adjure you, [br]O daughters of Jerusalem..."

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So we see who's being addressed.

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And that's who answers in v. 9.

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It's the others.

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It's the daughters of Jerusalem.

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"If you find my Beloved,

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tell Him I am sick with love."

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And then they come back here:

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"What is your Beloved

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more than another beloved,

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O most beautiful among women?

0:03:36.893,0:03:38.625
What is your Beloved

0:03:38.625,0:03:43.577
more than another beloved?"

0:03:43.577,0:03:50.308
Now, lest we forget where we're at,

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I would remind you that we have come

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to the Song of Solomon

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in the midst of a series in Ephesians.

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Ephesians 3 - now you [br]don't need to turn there,

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but listen to this.

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The words that we were [br]dealing with are these:

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Paul praying for the Ephesians.

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That according to the [br]riches of God's glory

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He might grant the Ephesians

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to be strengthened with power

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through the Holy Spirit in their inner man

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that they being rooted [br]and grounded in love;

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they might have this ability to comprehend

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the dimensions - what is the breadth,

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and length, and height, and depth;

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to know this love of Christ

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that passes knowledge.

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And what I find interesting is this:

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I have dug up Hudson Taylor's little book

0:05:03.991,0:05:06.888
on the Song of Solomon.

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I've pulled off my shelf Richard Sibbes,

0:05:09.702,0:05:11.788
the Puritan, "The Love of Christ,"

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that deals with mainly chapter 5.

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I have dug up John Gill,

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the old Particular Baptist -

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the work that he did [br]on the Song of Solomon.

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Actually, when I was out in Portland,

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a brother there brought me a book

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by James Kennedy DD -

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this is not D. James Kennedy,

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this is somebody that lived back

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in the 19th century.

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I have looked at various things

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concerning the Song of Solomon

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and you know what's interesting to me?

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Every book, every sermon,

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every commentary that I have referred to -

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many of them, most of them, or all of them

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that deal with the Song of Solomon,

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they reference these [br]verses in Ephesians 3.

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Why would they do that?

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See, that's what led me there.

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And it wasn't so much that I was reading

0:06:12.722,0:06:15.100
all these things that [br]make that connection.

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It was that I felt resonating in me

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that if we want to capture something

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of the dimensions of the love of Christ,

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I honestly couldn't [br]think of a better place

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to go in Scripture than [br]the Song of Solomon.

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And what I'm finding is these preachers

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that have gone before me -

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they made the same connection

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over and over and over again.

0:06:35.159,0:06:38.848
They made that connection.

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So let's think about our [br]two main characters.

0:06:42.563,0:06:46.298
Solomon. That's the first one.

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You can see that if you [br]go to chapter 3:11.

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"Go out, O daughters of Zion,

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and look upon King Solomon."

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As I've told you before,

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"Solomon" shows up - that word -

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shows up 7 times in the book

0:07:02.480,0:07:04.506
of the Song of Solomon

0:07:04.506,0:07:05.885
which is significant.

0:07:05.885,0:07:09.960
The number 7 is a significant one.

0:07:09.960,0:07:11.882
The other main character

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is the Shulammite,

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and you see that in Song of Solomon 6:13.

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You can look there.

0:07:18.893,0:07:23.629
"Return, return, O Shulammite.

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Return, return, that [br]we may look upon you.

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Why should you look upon the Shulammite?"

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Now, let's think about that a second.

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Solomon is the idea of peace.

0:07:35.997,0:07:42.833
This Solomon is the peace-giver.

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What is Shulammite?

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Now you might say Shulammite -

0:07:47.648,0:07:51.627
isn't that somebody from Shulam?

0:07:51.627,0:07:55.570
That's what that sounds like.

0:07:55.570,0:07:57.689
It describes a female inhabitant

0:07:57.689,0:08:00.947
of a place called Shulam.

0:08:00.947,0:08:02.418
You know what's interesting?

0:08:02.418,0:08:08.818
Shulam is basically "Salem."

0:08:08.818,0:08:11.532
Do you know what Salem means?

0:08:11.532,0:08:14.875
It's basically "Shalom,"

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which is basically "Solomon."

0:08:20.456,0:08:26.206
What Shulammite is is simply the feminine

0:08:26.206,0:08:29.339
of Solomon.

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That's the issue.

0:08:31.160,0:08:33.059
Melchizedek was called

0:08:33.059,0:08:36.103
"the king of Salem."

0:08:36.103,0:08:41.239
And most assume that that is Jerusalem.

0:08:41.239,0:08:45.148
What we have is a picture of somebody

0:08:45.148,0:08:50.892
who is a citizen of Salem or of Jerusalem.

0:08:50.892,0:08:54.395
And again, perfectly describes us.

0:08:54.395,0:08:57.593
We are fellow citizens with the saints.

0:08:57.593,0:08:59.684
We are the true Jerusalem.

0:08:59.684,0:09:01.825
Jerusalem comes down

0:09:01.825,0:09:05.233
in the book of Revelation.

0:09:05.233,0:09:07.387
This new Jerusalem.

0:09:07.387,0:09:15.304
A bride prepared for Christ.

0:09:15.304,0:09:19.080
The word "Solomon" - peace giver.

0:09:19.080,0:09:20.953
He's the prince of peace.

0:09:20.953,0:09:26.665
She is the daughter of peace.

0:09:26.665,0:09:28.464
The idea is it's the feminine -

0:09:28.464,0:09:31.123
she's peace-laden.

0:09:31.129,0:09:37.092
She's peace-crowned.

0:09:37.092,0:09:41.646
I just talked to Craig's boss on Friday.

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One thing he kept saying to me

0:09:46.347,0:09:52.899
is I envy Craig's peace.

0:09:52.899,0:09:56.979
We are a peace-laden; a peace-crowned -

0:09:56.979,0:09:58.950
if there's anything that's true

0:09:58.950,0:10:00.712
about the children of God,

0:10:00.712,0:10:02.511
it is that Christ comes

0:10:02.511,0:10:06.209
and He whispers peace.

0:10:06.209,0:10:08.940
Peace.

0:10:08.941,0:10:13.887
We are a people no longer at war with God.

0:10:13.887,0:10:15.474
And even on your worst day,

0:10:15.474,0:10:17.691
you're not at war with God anymore.

0:10:17.691,0:10:22.971
There is peace between He and you.

0:10:22.971,0:10:27.975
Now, I want you to think about this.

0:10:27.975,0:10:30.471
If all you see here in the Song of Solomon

0:10:30.471,0:10:33.964
is the literal King Solomon;

0:10:33.964,0:10:38.782
if you don't see Christ in this

0:10:38.782,0:10:42.258
and you see the Shulammite is simply

0:10:42.258,0:10:47.281
one of his thousand wives or concubines,

0:10:47.281,0:10:51.073
you've got a problem.

0:10:51.073,0:10:55.957
Here's one of the problems [br]that I see that you have.

0:10:55.957,0:11:03.770
Notice Song of Solomon 5:16.

0:11:03.770,0:11:09.573
He is altogether - altogether desirable.

0:11:09.573,0:11:11.079
Look back a little ways

0:11:11.079,0:11:16.332
at Song of Solomon 5:9.

0:11:16.332,0:11:18.490
This is where we started.

0:11:18.490,0:11:23.702
"What is your Beloved more [br]than another beloved?"

0:11:23.702,0:11:26.363
Well, you know what? That's easy

0:11:26.363,0:11:30.910
if we're talking about King Solomon.

0:11:30.910,0:11:36.043
Diego brought up David.

0:11:36.043,0:11:38.254
Think about the question.

0:11:38.254,0:11:40.413
"What is your Beloved

0:11:40.413,0:11:42.188
more than another beloved?"

0:11:42.188,0:11:45.142
Well, if all we're talking [br]about here is Solomon,

0:11:45.142,0:11:48.601
I would say Solomon

0:11:48.601,0:11:50.674
is no more than his father David.

0:11:50.674,0:11:52.049
In fact, I would say David

0:11:52.049,0:11:54.961
was a much greater man than Solomon.

0:11:54.961,0:11:56.427
Would you not agree?

0:11:56.427,0:12:01.501
I mean listen, since I've been a Christian

0:12:01.501,0:12:03.590
more debate has come up

0:12:03.590,0:12:06.966
over the salvation of three [br]men in the Scripture

0:12:06.966,0:12:10.741
more than any others.

0:12:10.741,0:12:13.166
Adam,

0:12:13.166,0:12:14.968
King Saul,

0:12:14.968,0:12:16.946
and King Solomon -

0:12:16.946,0:12:20.363
as to whether they were [br]genuinely saved or not.

0:12:20.363,0:12:22.956
Now maybe you've got [br]your theories on those,

0:12:22.956,0:12:24.990
but all I'm saying is King Solomon

0:12:24.990,0:12:27.109
falls in the ranks of men

0:12:27.109,0:12:29.347
that often the question gets raised:

0:12:29.347,0:12:32.093
was he even saved?

0:12:32.093,0:12:37.724
If we want to go around saying

0:12:37.724,0:12:40.507
that King Solomon was altogether desirable

0:12:40.507,0:12:46.722
and who is comparable to that beloved,

0:12:46.722,0:12:49.239
then we run into some issues.

0:12:49.239,0:12:52.396
Have you ever noticed this?

0:12:52.396,0:12:55.605
That those who do not see Christ

0:12:55.605,0:12:58.614
and the church in this Song -

0:12:58.614,0:13:00.339
this Song of all songs -

0:13:00.339,0:13:03.609
have you ever noticed they [br]never preach on this book?

0:13:03.609,0:13:05.043
They don't go there.

0:13:05.043,0:13:07.068
Even though it's holy Scripture,

0:13:07.068,0:13:08.461
they don't preach from it.

0:13:08.461,0:13:10.970
Isn't all Scripture profitable

0:13:10.970,0:13:12.729
for the man of God?

0:13:12.729,0:13:15.775
Well, you would think that they [br]would go there and preach then,

0:13:15.775,0:13:17.542
but they don't preach on it. Why?

0:13:17.542,0:13:19.986
Because who wants to spend sermon time

0:13:19.986,0:13:21.859
on trying to proclaim Solomon

0:13:21.859,0:13:23.326
as being altogether desirable

0:13:23.326,0:13:25.445
and more than all other beloved's?

0:13:25.445,0:13:28.428
Nobody wants to do that!

0:13:28.428,0:13:31.494
Because you feel kind of foolish doing it.

0:13:31.494,0:13:35.886
Over the years,

0:13:35.886,0:13:37.885
questions come up about whether

0:13:37.885,0:13:42.310
Solomon even came to the end of his life.

0:13:42.310,0:13:43.838
You know, even his wives -

0:13:43.838,0:13:45.802
he mutliplied wives and they led him away

0:13:45.802,0:13:48.862
into all manner of idolatry.

0:13:48.862,0:13:51.658
Now look, I believe he was Jedidiah.

0:13:51.658,0:13:53.187
He was loved of the Lord.

0:13:53.187,0:13:55.841
I believe that what you have

0:13:55.841,0:14:02.447
is a man who drifted away

0:14:02.447,0:14:04.437
and God brought him back.

0:14:04.437,0:14:07.974
I very much believe he was saved,

0:14:07.974,0:14:11.798
but like I say, who wants to preach

0:14:11.798,0:14:16.232
on a book that presents [br]us with the question:

0:14:16.232,0:14:18.585
Why is our Beloved more [br]than all other beloveds

0:14:18.585,0:14:21.344
if the beloved being [br]referred to is Solomon?

0:14:21.344,0:14:23.532
But the reality is if it's Christ,

0:14:23.532,0:14:25.850
then this book explodes

0:14:25.850,0:14:27.756
with all manner of light and love

0:14:27.756,0:14:30.409
and power and beauty and glory.

0:14:30.409,0:14:32.492
And it does!

0:14:32.492,0:14:34.069
Think about it.

0:14:34.069,0:14:36.839
Think about if I was up [br]here trying to convince you

0:14:36.839,0:14:40.158
that Solomon is altogether lovely.

0:14:40.158,0:14:43.013
I mean, it's not going [br]to inspire much in us

0:14:43.013,0:14:45.370
because you're going to [br]be thinking all the time:

0:14:45.370,0:14:48.666
yeah, but this guy, I mean, [br]he was an idolater.

0:14:48.666,0:14:55.065
He did what God told him not to do.

0:14:55.065,0:14:59.604
The question of the hour is this:

0:14:59.604,0:15:03.041
We're talking about Christ here.

0:15:03.041,0:15:07.744
Christ is the true Solomon.

0:15:07.744,0:15:09.856
And if we're talking about Christ,

0:15:09.856,0:15:12.228
then the question comes up:

0:15:12.228,0:15:16.423
What is your Beloved more [br]than another beloved?

0:15:16.423,0:15:21.629
That is a worthy matter of contemplation.

0:15:21.629,0:15:24.730
Just thinking...

0:15:24.730,0:15:28.747
what a profitable thing to [br]consume your mind with.

0:15:28.747,0:15:33.195
What is Christ more [br]than all other beloved's?

0:15:33.195,0:15:36.472
What is He more than all others?

0:15:36.472,0:15:38.692
And we can answer.

0:15:38.692,0:15:42.413
What is our Beloved more [br]than all other beloved's?

0:15:42.413,0:15:44.629
And I would just say this:

0:15:44.629,0:15:49.499
Has anyone ever loved [br]us like He has loved us?

0:15:49.499,0:15:50.917
That's the question.

0:15:50.917,0:15:52.973
And where I would have you take your eyes

0:15:52.973,0:15:55.874
is just look at Song of Solomon 4.

0:15:55.874,0:15:58.469
This is really what I want [br]to spend some time with.

0:15:58.469,0:16:01.332
What is our Beloved more [br]than all other beloveds?

0:16:01.332,0:16:03.214
And the thing is, I'm going to take you

0:16:03.214,0:16:07.882
to some verses that actually describe us.

0:16:07.882,0:16:09.948
And that might seem odd.

0:16:09.948,0:16:13.439
I mean, what's our Beloved [br]more than others?

0:16:13.439,0:16:16.908
Well, why would we look at the bride?

0:16:16.908,0:16:19.426
But I just want you to think with me.

0:16:19.426,0:16:23.591
When you look at the bride here,

0:16:23.591,0:16:27.235
what we're seeing is the love of Christ

0:16:27.235,0:16:33.299
expressed to us just in [br]what He's making us into.

0:16:33.299,0:16:35.874
Feel this. I love the imagery.

0:16:35.874,0:16:38.669
I parked right here [br]for this whole message.

0:16:38.669,0:16:42.919
The idea of a garden.

0:16:42.919,0:16:46.412
Many of you know I have a garden.

0:16:46.412,0:16:51.538
You know, Kevin Williams.

0:16:51.538,0:16:54.881
We stayed in a room on [br]the back side of his house

0:16:54.881,0:16:56.613
and there's a big window there

0:16:56.613,0:16:58.499
and you look out and his backyard

0:16:58.499,0:17:02.312
goes straight out and then [br]there's a fence across there.

0:17:02.312,0:17:05.253
And then across is a house

0:17:05.253,0:17:07.628
that his house backs up to

0:17:07.628,0:17:09.612
that's over on the other street.

0:17:09.612,0:17:11.423
They have a backyard.

0:17:11.423,0:17:17.626
Their backyard is full [br]of trees and plants.

0:17:17.626,0:17:20.167
In fact, it's become so overgrown

0:17:20.167,0:17:22.226
the people there don't go out there.

0:17:22.226,0:17:24.326
And they actually told Kevin

0:17:24.326,0:17:29.658
that he could buy it if he wanted to.

0:17:29.658,0:17:33.099
It's like this paradise garden.

0:17:33.099,0:17:35.663
And I thought how can [br]we help Kevin get this?

0:17:35.663,0:17:38.919
I mean, what a place

0:17:38.919,0:17:41.688
if he just put a door right there

0:17:41.688,0:17:44.633
and the whole thing is walled around

0:17:44.633,0:17:46.867
and a place where you go into

0:17:46.867,0:17:49.480
and you just disappear in there

0:17:49.480,0:17:52.367
because it's all full of trees and plants

0:17:52.367,0:17:55.758
and bushes... it's just a paradise,

0:17:55.758,0:17:57.388
at least in my estimation.

0:17:57.388,0:17:59.378
So when I think of gardens -

0:17:59.378,0:18:01.937
especially gardens like that;

0:18:01.937,0:18:04.067
especially gardens like in Manchester,

0:18:04.067,0:18:05.300
not where you go out

0:18:05.300,0:18:08.968
and the sun sizzles you.

0:18:08.968,0:18:10.710
But this idea of a garden.

0:18:10.710,0:18:13.050
Look at Solomon's Song here,

0:18:13.050,0:18:16.145
chapter 4:12.

0:18:16.145,0:18:21.047
This is Christ speaking to His people.

0:18:21.047,0:18:27.666
"A garden locked is My sister, My bride,

0:18:27.666,0:18:30.572
a spring locked,

0:18:30.572,0:18:33.323
a fountain sealed.

0:18:33.323,0:18:36.671
Your shoots are an orchard [br]of pomegranates

0:18:36.671,0:18:40.110
with all choicest fruits, henna with nard,

0:18:40.110,0:18:42.626
nard and saffron,

0:18:42.626,0:18:45.333
calamus and cinnamon,

0:18:45.333,0:18:48.407
and all trees of frankincense, [br]myrrh, and aloes

0:18:48.407,0:18:51.012
with all choice spices.

0:18:51.012,0:18:52.845
A garden fountain,

0:18:52.845,0:18:56.019
a well of living water,

0:18:56.019,0:19:01.590
and flowing streams from Lebanon."

0:19:01.590,0:19:03.313
And I would just ask you again,

0:19:03.313,0:19:09.398
what is our Beloved more [br]than another beloved?

0:19:09.398,0:19:13.595
Do you realize how much He is loving you?

0:19:13.595,0:19:16.362
Do you realize what He's doing to you?

0:19:16.362,0:19:20.891
Do you realize this is not a [br]fictitious description here?

0:19:20.891,0:19:22.709
This is actual.

0:19:22.709,0:19:25.149
This is from Christ's perspective.

0:19:25.149,0:19:26.676
This is what He sees.

0:19:26.676,0:19:30.426
This is how He views us.

0:19:30.426,0:19:33.264
We need that to sink in: A garden.

0:19:33.264,0:19:35.548
What is a garden?

0:19:35.548,0:19:37.839
I put a garden in my backyard.

0:19:37.839,0:19:39.548
What did I do?

0:19:39.548,0:19:41.794
I went into that backyard

0:19:41.794,0:19:45.123
and I partitioned a part of my yard off.

0:19:45.123,0:19:47.050
It's a piece of my yard

0:19:47.050,0:19:49.623
that I separated.

0:19:49.623,0:19:51.264
That's the idea.

0:19:51.264,0:19:54.310
It's a piece of ground [br]that's distinguished.

0:19:54.310,0:19:58.274
It's set aside. It's separated.

0:19:58.274,0:19:59.852
And so we are.

0:19:59.852,0:20:02.094
We are a people that have been

0:20:02.094,0:20:05.378
specifically hand-chosen by God

0:20:05.378,0:20:07.121
and set apart.

0:20:07.121,0:20:10.221
Electing, distinguishing grace

0:20:10.221,0:20:13.491
has set us aside.

0:20:13.491,0:20:16.579
You think about a garden.

0:20:16.579,0:20:18.382
This garden -

0:20:18.382,0:20:20.812
there are such things [br]come out of this garden

0:20:20.812,0:20:26.695
as are impossible to come [br]out of any of our gardens.

0:20:26.695,0:20:29.674
But just think: myrrh, aloes,

0:20:29.674,0:20:33.757
choice spices, trees of frankincense,

0:20:33.757,0:20:36.754
calamus, cinnamon, nard, saffron.

0:20:36.754,0:20:38.421
He goes on and on about this.

0:20:38.421,0:20:41.668
Such flowers and herbs and plants.

0:20:41.668,0:20:44.449
And have you ever noticed this?

0:20:44.449,0:20:48.440
They don't grow naturally by themselves.

0:20:48.440,0:20:51.397
Any of you had a garden [br]spring up in your backyard?

0:20:51.397,0:20:54.164
It just happened to happen?

0:20:54.164,0:20:58.143
You know, you forgot to [br]mow a part of the yard

0:20:58.143,0:21:00.298
and it just turned into a garden?

0:21:00.298,0:21:02.837
Anybody have that happen?

0:21:02.837,0:21:05.188
Have you ever noticed that doesn't happen?

0:21:05.188,0:21:08.665
Have you ever noticed flowers don't [br]grow up naturally by themselves?

0:21:08.665,0:21:14.640
Listen, look at Song of Solomon 5:1.

0:21:14.640,0:21:19.798
You know what captures me in this verse

0:21:19.798,0:21:23.500
is the number of times He says, "My."

0:21:23.500,0:21:25.062
Look at this.

0:21:25.062,0:21:30.004
"I came to My garden."

0:21:30.004,0:21:32.309
Who's the garden?

0:21:32.309,0:21:34.756
It's this woman.

0:21:34.756,0:21:36.914
It's the bride.

0:21:36.914,0:21:38.902
It's His sister.

0:21:38.902,0:21:43.671
I gathered My myrrh, My spice,

0:21:43.671,0:21:46.379
My honeycomb, My honey.

0:21:46.379,0:21:48.919
I drank My wine and My milk.

0:21:48.919,0:21:50.835
That's what I'm saying - it's impossible

0:21:50.835,0:21:54.066
for you to get out of your garden [br]what He gets out of His garden.

0:21:54.066,0:21:56.405
I never got wine out of my garden.

0:21:56.405,0:21:59.290
I never got milk out of my garden.

0:21:59.290,0:22:02.148
I never got honey out of my garden.

0:22:02.148,0:22:04.237
Now, I guess some bees could be in there

0:22:04.237,0:22:05.794
and I could throw a cow in there

0:22:05.794,0:22:08.203
and I could raise grapes.

0:22:08.203,0:22:10.214
But He gets such things out of His.

0:22:10.214,0:22:12.674
Mine! You notice how He says Mine.

0:22:12.674,0:22:14.793
It's His garden. My garden.

0:22:14.793,0:22:17.903
How does Christ find [br]such things in a garden?

0:22:17.903,0:22:19.641
Myrrh, honey, wine, milk.

0:22:19.641,0:22:21.830
What a garden it must be

0:22:21.830,0:22:23.384
to have those kind of things!

0:22:23.384,0:22:25.614
But I guarantee you this,

0:22:25.614,0:22:28.076
our hearts, our selves,

0:22:28.076,0:22:30.739
what we are naturally -

0:22:30.739,0:22:34.485
you know what springs up in us naturally.

0:22:34.485,0:22:37.042
Even as Christians, give [br]yourself to the flesh.

0:22:37.042,0:22:39.015
What did Paul have to tell the Galatians

0:22:39.015,0:22:40.894
when they gave themselves to try to be

0:22:40.894,0:22:42.688
perfected by the flesh?

0:22:42.688,0:22:45.483
He had to tell them, [br]"don't bite, don't devour." Why?

0:22:45.483,0:22:49.953
Because the flesh breeds [br]corruption in sin.

0:22:49.953,0:22:52.507
Naturally, that's what comes [br]forth from our hearts.

0:22:52.507,0:22:54.466
Only weeds grow by themselves.

0:22:54.466,0:22:57.244
If I just let my garden go -

0:22:57.244,0:22:58.723
I was gone for two weeks.

0:22:58.723,0:23:00.363
I go out there and look at it.

0:23:00.363,0:23:05.487
It shriveled and there's weeds.

0:23:05.487,0:23:07.202
That's what happens.

0:23:07.202,0:23:11.199
To keep a garden, it requires help.

0:23:11.199,0:23:13.993
If Christ finds all such [br]things in His garden,

0:23:13.993,0:23:15.421
you know what we have to do?

0:23:15.421,0:23:18.389
This is where His love comes in.

0:23:18.389,0:23:20.925
We have to stand back and say:

0:23:20.925,0:23:23.508
what have You done, Lord?

0:23:23.508,0:23:26.298
What have You done that those [br]weeds aren't there anymore,

0:23:26.298,0:23:28.133
but there's milk, there's wine,

0:23:28.133,0:23:30.069
there's honey, there's honeycomb,

0:23:30.069,0:23:34.714
there's all manner of frankincense?

0:23:34.714,0:23:37.318
Listen, you know what Scripture says?

0:23:37.318,0:23:43.304
Christ loved the church

0:23:43.304,0:23:46.898
and He gave Himself for her

0:23:46.898,0:23:52.250
that she might be sanctified.

0:23:52.250,0:23:55.505
Isn't that what Scripture says?

0:23:55.505,0:24:01.597
That by the washing of [br]the water of the Word

0:24:01.597,0:24:04.631
He might cleanse her.

0:24:04.631,0:24:07.652
And the thing is it's for the sake

0:24:07.652,0:24:16.591
of making the church [br]a splendor to Himself.

0:24:16.591,0:24:21.083
Without spot. Without blemish.

0:24:21.083,0:24:23.425
Without wrinkle.

0:24:23.425,0:24:25.799
Holy.

0:24:25.799,0:24:27.470
Isn't that what Scripture says?

0:24:27.470,0:24:28.956
Splendor.

0:24:28.956,0:24:31.093
That's what we have here.

0:24:31.093,0:24:34.184
We have Christ tending His garden.

0:24:34.184,0:24:37.986
It takes a massive amount [br]of labor and care,

0:24:37.986,0:24:40.318
weeding, watering, fertilizing,

0:24:40.318,0:24:43.976
pest control, pruning, thinning.

0:24:43.976,0:24:46.900
All this and much more [br]Christ does to His church.

0:24:46.900,0:24:49.375
He watches over us night and day.

0:24:49.375,0:24:52.075
Again, what I'm wanting you to recognize

0:24:52.075,0:25:02.436
is for starters, you have to [br]realize this about yourself.

0:25:02.436,0:25:06.998
I am such a garden to Christ.

0:25:06.998,0:25:08.689
And He's not just making this up.

0:25:08.689,0:25:14.563
He actually finds such spices and fruit

0:25:14.563,0:25:18.053
and milk and wine in His garden

0:25:18.053,0:25:20.298
which is me.

0:25:20.298,0:25:23.741
And He's the one responsible for this.

0:25:23.741,0:25:29.475
Brothers and sisters, we don't [br]tend to view ourselves this way.

0:25:29.475,0:25:30.840
You know what happens?

0:25:30.840,0:25:33.896
We tend to get engaged in life.

0:25:33.896,0:25:35.233
Life.

0:25:35.233,0:25:37.977
Life happens. Trials happen.

0:25:37.977,0:25:39.909
We get distracted.

0:25:39.909,0:25:41.160
There's difficulties.

0:25:41.160,0:25:43.528
We get weary. We get worn.

0:25:43.528,0:25:45.784
There's challenges of life.

0:25:45.784,0:25:47.613
There's monotony of life.

0:25:47.613,0:25:51.358
We forget just what it is [br]that His love is doing for us;

0:25:51.358,0:25:53.921
what He's making us into.

0:25:53.921,0:25:57.433
This beauty He finds in her

0:25:57.433,0:25:59.198
is beauty that He brings forth

0:25:59.198,0:26:02.722
by washing of the water of the Word,

0:26:02.722,0:26:04.842
but by trials.

0:26:04.842,0:26:06.944
Have you ever read in Scripture

0:26:06.944,0:26:11.878
the sons of Levi - we are the preisthood.

0:26:11.878,0:26:13.915
He purifies them.

0:26:13.915,0:26:16.702
They're put in the fire.

0:26:16.702,0:26:18.838
The fruit.

0:26:18.838,0:26:20.629
Think about the fruit.

0:26:20.629,0:26:22.184
Flowers.

0:26:22.184,0:26:23.580
The beauty.

0:26:23.580,0:26:24.798
What is this?

0:26:24.798,0:26:27.571
We read in the New Testament about fruit.

0:26:27.571,0:26:30.968
The fruit of the Spirit.

0:26:30.968,0:26:32.845
Love.

0:26:32.845,0:26:35.564
We talked about peace.

0:26:35.564,0:26:37.713
There's joy.

0:26:37.713,0:26:39.238
And there's gentleness

0:26:39.238,0:26:43.670
and there's goodness.

0:26:43.670,0:26:47.050
Do you recognize what's happening?

0:26:47.050,0:26:50.284
He's doing this that He [br]might present the church

0:26:50.284,0:26:53.545
to Himself in splendor.

0:26:53.545,0:26:55.906
Like a garden.

0:26:55.906,0:26:58.551
But you know what? We doubt it.

0:26:58.551,0:27:00.253
We tend to doubt it. Why?

0:27:00.253,0:27:03.157
We can tend to feel dirty.

0:27:03.157,0:27:06.547
Or we feel unworthy.

0:27:06.547,0:27:08.105
Yet, there's Christ at work.

0:27:08.105,0:27:09.132
Think about this.

0:27:09.132,0:27:11.002
A trial comes into your life.

0:27:11.002,0:27:14.068
And you recognize you [br]don't have the strength.

0:27:14.068,0:27:17.636
This is one of the such [br]good things about trials.

0:27:17.636,0:27:19.359
They show us we're weak.

0:27:19.359,0:27:20.480
We don't have strength.

0:27:20.480,0:27:22.174
So what happens?

0:27:22.174,0:27:24.069
We become more dependent on Him,

0:27:24.069,0:27:25.950
more trusting of Him.

0:27:25.950,0:27:27.370
Our pride is broken.

0:27:27.370,0:27:30.711
Do you know what that is?

0:27:30.711,0:27:32.104
Your pride gets broken.

0:27:32.104,0:27:33.819
It's replaced by humility.

0:27:33.819,0:27:41.387
That's like a bush of roses over there.

0:27:41.387,0:27:43.157
You ever go walk by a bush of roses

0:27:43.157,0:27:44.452
when they're all in bloom?

0:27:44.452,0:27:46.966
I mean, the aroma...

0:27:46.966,0:27:49.657
That's what He's likening this to.

0:27:49.657,0:27:52.103
Your self-sufficiency gets broken

0:27:52.103,0:27:53.385
and you're dependent.

0:27:53.385,0:27:56.289
As Diego was talking about, you pray.

0:27:56.289,0:27:57.598
You pray.

0:27:57.598,0:28:00.234
Not hypocritically; not to be seen by men.

0:28:00.234,0:28:02.123
You pray because you want God

0:28:02.123,0:28:03.459
and you need God.

0:28:03.459,0:28:08.219
And that's like this shrub -

0:28:08.219,0:28:12.354
I'm growing goji berries and they are red.

0:28:12.354,0:28:14.657
I pick them and throw [br]them in the smoothie.

0:28:14.657,0:28:16.618
It's like that.

0:28:16.618,0:28:19.174
It's like you look in this garden

0:28:19.174,0:28:22.974
and the trees - my trees in my yard,

0:28:22.974,0:28:25.825
sometimes the boughs bend over so far

0:28:25.825,0:28:28.355
they're so heavy-laden with peaches

0:28:28.355,0:28:29.349
that they break.

0:28:29.349,0:28:30.932
I just clipped one off yesterday.

0:28:30.932,0:28:33.108
It was broken because of the weight.

0:28:33.108,0:28:34.856
He comes into His garden.

0:28:34.856,0:28:37.049
These trials, these things that we fear,

0:28:37.049,0:28:38.448
these things that we dread,

0:28:38.448,0:28:40.960
these things that we [br]don't like in our life.

0:28:40.960,0:28:42.013
What's happening?

0:28:42.013,0:28:43.774
The outer man wasting away,

0:28:43.774,0:28:45.641
but He's doing such things

0:28:45.641,0:28:47.822
through the washing of [br]the water of the Word.

0:28:47.822,0:28:51.203
This is why getting in the [br]Word every single day -

0:28:51.203,0:28:52.987
not just five minutes -

0:28:52.987,0:28:55.048
How fast can I get though it? Check mark!

0:28:55.048,0:28:57.445
No, it's meditating on it

0:28:57.445,0:28:58.796
and it's washing.

0:28:58.796,0:29:00.380
Sanctify them with Thy Word.

0:29:00.380,0:29:01.817
Thy Word is truth.

0:29:01.817,0:29:04.339
And it's washing. It's cleansing.

0:29:04.339,0:29:10.222
And it's like the vine heavy with grapes.

0:29:10.222,0:29:13.448
It's like herbs are being talked about.

0:29:13.448,0:29:15.771
I've got a rosemary plant in my garden.

0:29:15.771,0:29:18.830
I just threw a seed in - [br]it was just a little seedling.

0:29:18.830,0:29:20.225
It was just this little thing

0:29:20.225,0:29:22.434
and now it's grown into [br]this monstrous thing.

0:29:22.434,0:29:24.061
I'm going to have to hack it back.

0:29:24.061,0:29:27.299
But it's these herbs and these spices

0:29:27.299,0:29:29.968
and these fruits and the frankincense

0:29:29.968,0:29:31.732
and the trees.

0:29:31.732,0:29:37.473
It's like every one of [br]our lives is like that.

0:29:37.473,0:29:39.546
It's like He's working such things

0:29:39.546,0:29:42.993
that sometimes it's hard.

0:29:42.993,0:29:46.376
Has He not promised to cleanse [br]us of every one of our idols?

0:29:46.376,0:29:48.055
And He pulls those out.

0:29:48.055,0:29:50.113
And to cleanse us from the idol

0:29:50.113,0:29:52.957
means that our affections to other things

0:29:52.957,0:29:55.997
are shifted towards Him more and more.

0:29:55.997,0:29:57.834
And that is just this fruit.

0:29:57.834,0:30:00.688
And our love for one another is increased.

0:30:00.688,0:30:03.191
And it's just like apples heavy,

0:30:03.191,0:30:04.355
hanging on the tree.

0:30:04.355,0:30:06.337
That's what He likens all of this to.

0:30:06.337,0:30:08.870
The new man -

0:30:08.870,0:30:12.392
true righteousness and holiness.

0:30:12.392,0:30:17.879
And all of this is like [br]vegetables and fruit.

0:30:17.879,0:30:20.397
And I don't know, there must be a cow.

0:30:20.397,0:30:22.319
How is He getting milk?

0:30:22.319,0:30:26.100
I guess you could get almond milk maybe.

0:30:26.100,0:30:29.206
Isn't that a strange thing [br]to bring out of the garden?

0:30:29.206,0:30:31.084
And yet, it's there.

0:30:31.084,0:30:33.326
It's like the riches.

0:30:33.326,0:30:34.637
This is us!

0:30:34.637,0:30:36.392
And this is what He's doing to us.

0:30:36.392,0:30:37.636
We don't feel it.

0:30:37.636,0:30:39.691
We feel like: ah, I go out in this world

0:30:39.691,0:30:44.397
and I feel like I'm trying to walk upright

0:30:44.397,0:30:48.134
and I'm trying to be what I should be.

0:30:48.134,0:30:50.262
But such things, such things

0:30:50.262,0:30:53.799
Christ is doing in us.

0:30:53.799,0:30:57.466
And He finds us garden-esque.

0:30:57.466,0:31:00.092
I mean, that's what this is all about.

0:31:00.092,0:31:01.743
Garden.

0:31:01.743,0:31:09.299
Do you look at yourself [br]like that, believer?

0:31:09.299,0:31:12.892
You find meekness.

0:31:12.892,0:31:14.695
You find love.

0:31:14.695,0:31:16.620
You find in Scripture it says

0:31:16.620,0:31:19.189
I shouldn't just give myself

0:31:19.189,0:31:20.453
to my own things;

0:31:20.453,0:31:23.533
I ought to give myself [br]to the things of others.

0:31:23.533,0:31:26.914
Let this mind be in you [br]which was also in Christ.

0:31:26.914,0:31:30.477
You find in Scripture all thanksgiving.

0:31:30.477,0:31:32.320
Have you ever read how often

0:31:32.320,0:31:37.115
the evil - those in Romans 1 -

0:31:37.115,0:31:39.377
they didn't give God thanks.

0:31:39.377,0:31:41.091
Thankfulness.

0:31:41.091,0:31:43.674
What fruit of the lips!

0:31:43.674,0:31:46.364
Do you recognize when you're thankful,

0:31:46.364,0:31:47.943
when you're loving others,

0:31:47.943,0:31:49.033
living for others,

0:31:49.033,0:31:50.954
depending on the Lord,

0:31:50.954,0:31:53.422
going to the Lord often in prayer,

0:31:53.422,0:31:56.145
just eating His Word,

0:31:56.145,0:31:57.510
finding Christ,

0:31:57.510,0:31:59.566
studying His person,

0:31:59.566,0:32:01.546
seeking to imitate Him,

0:32:01.546,0:32:03.501
that meekness is in your life,

0:32:03.501,0:32:05.152
that humility is in your life,

0:32:05.152,0:32:06.807
that gentleness is in your life,

0:32:06.807,0:32:09.238
even a sternness or a boldness -

0:32:09.238,0:32:12.172
even cleansing the temple [br]kind of boldness;

0:32:12.172,0:32:14.458
when you stand for the name of the Lord,

0:32:14.458,0:32:15.986
you stand for Christ.

0:32:15.986,0:32:17.450
You proclaim the Gospel

0:32:17.450,0:32:20.664
in the midst of this darkness.

0:32:20.664,0:32:24.527
That is like a garden that is just like

0:32:24.527,0:32:29.371
that behind Kevin's house.

0:32:29.371,0:32:32.808
It's just beautiful.

0:32:32.808,0:32:35.685
And brethren, this really happens to us.

0:32:35.685,0:32:37.774
We don't often feel like it's happening.

0:32:37.774,0:32:39.897
Often, the more like Christ we become,

0:32:39.897,0:32:42.617
the more remaining defilements

0:32:42.617,0:32:45.517
and failures and flaws and rough edges -

0:32:45.517,0:32:48.956
the reality is the more they haunt us.

0:32:48.956,0:32:50.622
The more we feel them a lot of times

0:32:50.622,0:32:52.657
and the more it stinks in our nostrils.

0:32:52.657,0:32:54.836
The more there's a sting and we sigh

0:32:54.836,0:32:56.213
and we groan.

0:32:56.213,0:32:58.118
The more unworthy and dirty

0:32:58.118,0:33:00.101
and unbeautiful we feel.

0:33:00.101,0:33:03.474
But really, the truth is

0:33:03.474,0:33:06.294
we are being beautified.

0:33:06.294,0:33:08.058
This is what Christ is doing.

0:33:08.058,0:33:09.159
Splendor.

0:33:09.159,0:33:10.936
Don't you love that word?

0:33:10.936,0:33:12.970
You may not feel that, because like I say

0:33:12.970,0:33:14.375
the old man is wasting away.

0:33:14.375,0:33:16.352
You go look in the mirror and it's like,

0:33:16.352,0:33:18.590
splendor? My wife was [br]just telling me yesterday

0:33:18.590,0:33:26.512
how to comb my hair so [br]that the baldness can't be seen.

0:33:26.512,0:33:29.012
You know, I was talking [br]to Charles Leiter one day

0:33:29.012,0:33:31.717
and we were both saying [br]we both imagine ourselves

0:33:31.717,0:33:33.484
to still be 25 years old.

0:33:33.484,0:33:36.190
And he said my dad was the same way.

0:33:36.190,0:33:38.251
And Papa, I hear Papa talk.

0:33:38.251,0:33:40.113
He thinks he's 25.

0:33:40.113,0:33:41.661
But you go look in the mirror

0:33:41.661,0:33:44.777
and it's almost like sometimes -[br]does this ever happen to anybody?

0:33:44.777,0:33:47.261
You're like who are you?

0:33:47.261,0:33:50.508
I don't even recognize you anymore.

0:33:50.508,0:33:52.359
But that's what's happening [br]on the outside,

0:33:52.359,0:33:53.664
but on the inside,

0:33:53.664,0:33:57.572
we are being loved to perfection.

0:33:57.572,0:33:59.894
Christ is loving us beautiful.

0:33:59.894,0:34:01.322
He's loving us perfect.

0:34:01.322,0:34:04.577
He's loving the blemishes out of us.

0:34:04.577,0:34:12.397
What is our Beloved more [br]than other beloveds?

0:34:12.397,0:34:14.218
Gardens.

0:34:14.218,0:34:17.621
Gardens are places that [br]people delight to walk in.

0:34:17.621,0:34:18.972
I do.

0:34:18.972,0:34:24.675
And notice, Song of Solomon 6:2.

0:34:24.675,0:34:26.935
This is the church.

0:34:26.935,0:34:30.850
She says, "My Beloved (Christ)

0:34:30.850,0:34:34.244
has gone down to His garden,

0:34:34.244,0:34:39.176
to the beds of spices to graze."

0:34:39.176,0:34:40.221
Don't you like that?

0:34:40.221,0:34:45.320
You go into a garden to graze.

0:34:45.320,0:34:47.623
"To gather lilies..."

0:34:47.623,0:34:51.800
Now the thing is, usually a garden

0:34:51.800,0:34:56.911
is comparatively a small space.

0:34:56.911,0:35:00.078
And that's the way it is with the church.

0:35:00.078,0:35:02.576
In comparison to the vast wilderness

0:35:02.576,0:35:04.584
and wasteland out there.

0:35:04.584,0:35:06.561
We're but a small flock.

0:35:06.561,0:35:08.076
We're a small place.

0:35:08.076,0:35:12.543
Do you realize what [br]Christ is doing for you?

0:35:12.543,0:35:14.956
He has chosen you out of this world

0:35:14.956,0:35:18.093
to be such a garden.

0:35:18.093,0:35:20.423
Where is He at?

0:35:20.423,0:35:23.991
He goes down to His garden to graze.

0:35:23.991,0:35:27.682
To gather lilies.

0:35:27.682,0:35:31.572
What is it in your life that is lily?

0:35:31.572,0:35:34.384
What is it in your life [br]that is for Him to graze?

0:35:34.384,0:35:37.475
That's what He's doing in our lives.

0:35:37.475,0:35:41.433
Notice this.

0:35:41.433,0:35:46.201
Look at 4:12.

0:35:46.201,0:35:54.162
"A garden locked is My sister, My bride."

0:35:54.162,0:35:57.685
His love has not only made us a garden -

0:35:57.685,0:36:03.165
His love has not only [br]made us into a garden,

0:36:03.165,0:36:04.993
but you want to notice those words:

0:36:04.993,0:36:07.787
Locked. Locked.

0:36:07.787,0:36:11.266
You know my children when they were young,

0:36:11.266,0:36:16.175
they would listen to an audio series,

0:36:16.175,0:36:21.018
an audio story called "The Secret Garden."

0:36:21.018,0:36:24.126
Probably some of your children [br]have listened to that.

0:36:24.126,0:36:27.121
It was a garden that was walled in.

0:36:27.121,0:36:28.207
And it had a door

0:36:28.207,0:36:32.932
and I think the door was hidden [br]behind some ivy that had grown.

0:36:32.932,0:36:35.280
And a key was found.

0:36:35.280,0:36:37.227
Do you recognize what this is saying?

0:36:37.227,0:36:41.428
When you have a garden that's locked,

0:36:41.428,0:36:42.965
that means it's got a wall.

0:36:42.965,0:36:44.948
It doesn't mean there's just a door there

0:36:44.948,0:36:47.273
with a keyhole in it

0:36:47.273,0:36:49.272
and the rest is wide open all around.

0:36:49.272,0:36:52.233
It's the idea that this [br]thing is walled in.

0:36:52.233,0:36:53.562
It's walled.

0:36:53.562,0:36:56.317
It's protected.

0:36:56.317,0:37:02.122
And it's got a door with a keyhole.

0:37:02.122,0:37:04.404
And that door is locked.

0:37:04.404,0:37:06.730
That door is shut.

0:37:06.730,0:37:09.729
What's that?

0:37:09.729,0:37:11.172
What is that?

0:37:11.172,0:37:13.969
Locked.

0:37:13.969,0:37:18.233
You know what that means?

0:37:18.233,0:37:20.241
What a thing for Him to say:

0:37:20.241,0:37:25.286
you are a garden locked.

0:37:25.286,0:37:29.060
That means you're for Him only.

0:37:29.060,0:37:31.690
No one else gets in.

0:37:31.690,0:37:34.867
No one else has a key.

0:37:34.867,0:37:36.995
We're for Him.

0:37:36.995,0:37:39.327
We're reserved for Him.

0:37:39.327,0:37:41.281
Locked.

0:37:41.281,0:37:42.723
No one else gets in.

0:37:42.723,0:37:44.479
It's His garden.

0:37:44.479,0:37:47.010
He has the key.

0:37:47.010,0:37:49.452
And I'll tell you what this ought to do -

0:37:49.452,0:37:51.103
this is what He's speaking to you:

0:37:51.103,0:37:53.677
You are a garden locked.

0:37:53.677,0:37:58.274
Don't give yourself to anyone else.

0:37:58.274,0:38:04.139
Don't share yourself [br]with the world or idols.

0:38:04.139,0:38:07.265
Give yourselves entirely to Him.

0:38:07.265,0:38:09.605
Entirely to Him.

0:38:09.605,0:38:11.057
To be a garden locked

0:38:11.057,0:38:13.166
means you're walled in.

0:38:13.166,0:38:16.221
What's that? It means we're protected.

0:38:16.221,0:38:18.299
We're protected by God's power.

0:38:18.299,0:38:20.619
Have you ever read there in Zechariah?

0:38:20.619,0:38:23.980
"I will be a wall of fire to her."

0:38:23.980,0:38:27.272
God protects. You know [br]what jumped out at me?

0:38:27.272,0:38:31.567
I was just recently reading John 17.

0:38:31.567,0:38:37.836
Christ said this - the high [br]priestly prayer in John 17.

0:38:37.836,0:38:39.946
Jesus praying to His Father

0:38:39.946,0:38:42.473
about the 11 disciples.

0:38:42.473,0:38:44.131
He says this,

0:38:44.131,0:38:48.169
"I have guarded them."

0:38:48.169,0:38:50.266
Those words jumped out at me.

0:38:50.266,0:38:51.938
I have guarded them.

0:38:51.938,0:38:55.306
You know what? The church may seem weak.

0:38:55.306,0:38:59.420
In the eyes of the world, we're despised.

0:38:59.420,0:39:03.016
We may seem like we're [br]open to all manner of attack -

0:39:03.016,0:39:06.678
doctrine, enemies,

0:39:06.678,0:39:08.813
false brethren,

0:39:08.813,0:39:10.699
anti-Christs who were among us

0:39:10.699,0:39:11.981
and they went out from us.

0:39:11.981,0:39:14.138
There's all sorts of things - [br]false teachers,

0:39:14.138,0:39:19.762
false prophets, false [br]apostles, false christ's,

0:39:19.762,0:39:21.321
the devil himself.

0:39:21.321,0:39:23.545
But Christian, never forget this.

0:39:23.545,0:39:26.552
We have an invisible hedge around us.

0:39:26.552,0:39:27.946
You may not see it,

0:39:27.946,0:39:30.359
but we are walled.

0:39:30.359,0:39:31.811
We are protected.

0:39:31.811,0:39:35.090
A wall of fire. I have guarded them.

0:39:35.090,0:39:36.970
You better believe there are such walls

0:39:36.970,0:39:38.507
around us right now.

0:39:38.507,0:39:39.949
We read in Hebrews 1

0:39:39.949,0:39:41.743
the angels are ministering spirits.

0:39:41.743,0:39:43.844
But you know, there are times in Scripture

0:39:43.844,0:39:45.261
when God Himself shows up

0:39:45.261,0:39:49.073
and you're not shown any [br]mediating activity by angels.

0:39:49.073,0:39:50.883
God shows up.

0:39:50.883,0:39:52.272
He comes.

0:39:52.272,0:39:56.392
He's there. He protects.

0:39:56.392,0:40:01.195
(coughing)

0:40:01.195,0:40:06.099
It was said of Canaan [br]back in Deuteronomy -

0:40:06.099,0:40:09.561
and I take Canaan as a type of the church,

0:40:09.561,0:40:10.972
a shadow of the church.

0:40:10.972,0:40:12.747
But it was said of Canaan,

0:40:12.747,0:40:15.666
you know, God was bringing [br]His people into this land.

0:40:15.666,0:40:16.807
He said,

0:40:16.807,0:40:19.335
"It's a land that the [br]Lord your God cares for.

0:40:19.335,0:40:21.905
The eyes of the Lord your [br]God are always upon it

0:40:21.905,0:40:23.464
from the beginning of the year

0:40:23.464,0:40:24.670
to the end of the year."

0:40:24.670,0:40:25.987
That's what the church is.

0:40:25.987,0:40:28.542
His eyes are on us.

0:40:28.542,0:40:31.531
All the time.

0:40:31.531,0:40:34.908
And I brought up that story, [br]"The Secret Garden,"

0:40:34.908,0:40:37.337
because I think of the secrecy of it.

0:40:37.337,0:40:39.342
You know, as I think of that area

0:40:39.342,0:40:43.337
out behind Kevin Williams' house,

0:40:43.337,0:40:46.484
you go in there and you just disappear.

0:40:46.484,0:40:47.833
It's secret.

0:40:47.833,0:40:50.774
It's a private place.

0:40:50.774,0:40:56.751
The wall around it keeps all the eyes out.

0:40:56.751,0:40:58.468
This is being described of us.

0:40:58.468,0:41:03.386
We're a garden that's walled in.

0:41:03.386,0:41:05.390
We're a garden that's secret.

0:41:05.390,0:41:06.836
A garden that's locked.

0:41:06.836,0:41:08.550
That's what locked means.

0:41:08.550,0:41:13.213
It's secret.

0:41:13.213,0:41:16.124
We're like this garden that's walled in,

0:41:16.124,0:41:19.336
closely locked, protected,

0:41:19.336,0:41:22.215
and inside all manner of flowers

0:41:22.215,0:41:23.794
with their fragrance,

0:41:23.794,0:41:27.868
and trees heavy-laden with fruit.

0:41:27.868,0:41:29.756
Secret.

0:41:29.756,0:41:33.741
We're not known to the world.

0:41:33.741,0:41:36.215
Just thinking about that,

0:41:36.215,0:41:38.276
the text in 1 John occurred to me.

0:41:38.276,0:41:40.112
I preached on that several years back

0:41:40.112,0:41:46.113
and that text that says to us

0:41:46.113,0:41:48.232
the reason why the world does not know us

0:41:48.232,0:41:49.960
is that it did not know Him.

0:41:49.960,0:41:52.650
But what I'm pulling [br]on right there is this:

0:41:52.650,0:41:55.562
The world doesn't know us.

0:41:55.562,0:41:58.801
That's what John recognized.

0:41:58.801,0:42:01.075
We're hid.

0:42:01.075,0:42:03.197
The world doesn't know what's going on.

0:42:03.197,0:42:04.903
Not until this coming day

0:42:04.903,0:42:06.444
of the resurrection of the just.

0:42:06.444,0:42:08.918
Do you read about that in Romans 8?

0:42:08.918,0:42:14.369
It says the sons of God will be revealed.

0:42:14.369,0:42:16.928
The world doesn't know. They don't know!

0:42:16.928,0:42:20.209
These people out here - they don't know.

0:42:20.209,0:42:22.011
Wow, there's people

0:42:22.011,0:42:25.965
who the living God has taken out

0:42:25.965,0:42:27.510
from among their ranks

0:42:27.510,0:42:30.583
and made into these [br]vastly fruitful gardens.

0:42:30.583,0:42:31.639
They don't know that.

0:42:31.639,0:42:33.428
They don't know that we're the elect.

0:42:33.428,0:42:35.384
They don't know that [br]we're the chosen ones.

0:42:35.384,0:42:37.683
They don't know that God is [br]doing such things in us

0:42:37.683,0:42:39.142
and beautifying us this way.

0:42:39.142,0:42:42.311
They don't know what true [br]Christianity is all about.

0:42:42.311,0:42:43.676
They don't recognize it.

0:42:43.676,0:42:45.871
It's not known. We're not known.

0:42:45.871,0:42:50.232
And they don't know us [br]because they don't know Him.

0:42:50.232,0:42:55.175
The Christ we know about, [br]they don't know about.

0:42:55.175,0:42:57.219
They know the name Christ,

0:42:57.219,0:42:59.459
but in their minds, [br]He's altogether different

0:42:59.459,0:43:01.250
than what He's portrayed in Scripture

0:43:01.250,0:43:03.772
and the way we know Him.

0:43:03.772,0:43:04.905
Hidden.

0:43:04.905,0:43:09.614
The secrecy and hiddenness of it all.

0:43:09.614,0:43:13.685
Now look at this.

0:43:13.685,0:43:23.314
Song of Solomon 4:16.

0:43:23.314,0:43:28.182
"Let my Beloved come to His garden

0:43:28.182,0:43:30.671
and eat its choicest fruit."

0:43:30.671,0:43:34.361
Listen. Listen.

0:43:34.361,0:43:37.602
This is the church.

0:43:37.602,0:43:42.520
"Let my Beloved come to His garden."

0:43:42.520,0:43:47.236
She is saying let Him come to me.

0:43:47.236,0:43:49.002
You know, from the very beginning

0:43:49.002,0:43:52.816
of this little diversion,

0:43:52.816,0:43:55.239
the thing I've desired as much as anything

0:43:55.239,0:43:58.574
is that according to the [br]riches of God's glory -

0:43:58.574,0:44:00.380
like I talked about in the past -

0:44:00.380,0:44:03.902
that God would put a hunger and ache

0:44:03.902,0:44:05.222
in our hearts for this.

0:44:05.222,0:44:09.511
Recognize what's happening!

0:44:09.511,0:44:12.497
See, hear, feel it.

0:44:12.497,0:44:15.022
The desire of her heart is:

0:44:15.022,0:44:19.276
Christ, come to Your garden. Come!

0:44:19.276,0:44:21.594
Let my Beloved come to His garden.

0:44:21.594,0:44:23.774
Let Him eat.

0:44:23.774,0:44:25.000
That's the ache.

0:44:25.000,0:44:27.751
That's what I've wanted [br]to stir up in your hearts.

0:44:27.751,0:44:29.591
That is the kind of garden.

0:44:29.591,0:44:32.883
And what you have is [br]what He is doing in her,

0:44:32.883,0:44:34.242
what He's making her,

0:44:34.242,0:44:35.788
the kind of garden that we are.

0:44:35.788,0:44:38.153
We're a garden locked.

0:44:38.153,0:44:40.692
But we're a garden from [br]which Christ can come

0:44:40.692,0:44:42.772
and He can gather myrrh

0:44:42.772,0:44:44.837
and there's aloes and there's milk

0:44:44.837,0:44:46.971
and there's wine and there's frankincense

0:44:46.971,0:44:48.982
and all manner of these spices

0:44:48.982,0:44:54.154
and these fruits.

0:44:54.154,0:44:55.361
Think about this.

0:44:55.361,0:44:57.953
The imagery doesn't end here.

0:44:57.953,0:45:02.060
Notice 4:12.

0:45:02.060,0:45:05.432
"A garden locked is [br]My sister, My bride..."

0:45:05.432,0:45:07.676
but then He goes even further.

0:45:07.676,0:45:14.956
"A spring locked, a fountain sealed."

0:45:14.956,0:45:21.366
My grandmother up in Decatur, Michigan

0:45:21.366,0:45:22.923
when I was growing up as a kid,

0:45:22.923,0:45:25.801
we went way back - she had 80 acres.

0:45:25.801,0:45:28.633
If we went way back,

0:45:28.633,0:45:30.702
there was a place in the woods

0:45:30.702,0:45:34.181
where the spring bubbled [br]up out of the ground.

0:45:34.181,0:45:36.227
And there was a cup hanging on the tree.

0:45:36.227,0:45:39.130
I guess rumor had it my great-grandfather

0:45:39.130,0:45:42.038
put that thing there.

0:45:42.038,0:45:46.901
And he would use it to [br]drink from that spring.

0:45:46.901,0:45:49.189
The water tasted wonderful.

0:45:49.189,0:45:50.943
When you think of a spring -

0:45:50.943,0:45:52.948
spring water.

0:45:52.948,0:45:57.971
Typically, if somebody bottles water,

0:45:57.971,0:45:59.506
somewhere on there -

0:45:59.506,0:46:00.998
if you go to the grocery store

0:46:00.998,0:46:02.907
and look at the water on their shelves,

0:46:02.907,0:46:05.301
somewhere on the packaging it says

0:46:05.301,0:46:06.993
"spring water."

0:46:06.993,0:46:10.527
Why? Because that conjures [br]in the mind something.

0:46:10.527,0:46:12.587
Purity.

0:46:12.587,0:46:13.860
Refreshing.

0:46:13.860,0:46:15.673
But then He doesn't stop at spring.

0:46:15.673,0:46:16.952
Then you go to a fountain.

0:46:16.952,0:46:18.777
What do you think of with a fountain?

0:46:18.777,0:46:23.524
Not so much purity, but what?

0:46:23.524,0:46:25.807
Maybe just the amount of water.

0:46:25.807,0:46:27.915
A lot of water.

0:46:27.915,0:46:32.199
The idea that this thing is gushing.

0:46:32.199,0:46:36.808
Christ's garden is well-watered.

0:46:36.808,0:46:40.308
That's one of the things that we [br]could definitely say about that.

0:46:40.308,0:46:42.006
There's no danger that the herbs

0:46:42.006,0:46:43.618
and flowers and plants and fruit

0:46:43.618,0:46:45.054
are going to wither or perish.

0:46:45.054,0:46:47.694
What does the first psalm say?

0:46:47.694,0:46:51.777
It says that we're like trees

0:46:51.777,0:46:53.537
planted by the streams of water

0:46:53.537,0:46:56.610
that yield the fruit in its season.

0:46:56.610,0:46:57.588
What imagery!

0:46:57.588,0:46:59.186
And the thing about it is, again,

0:46:59.186,0:47:02.306
the natural man knows nothing

0:47:02.306,0:47:04.210
of these things.

0:47:04.210,0:47:05.575
He's a stranger

0:47:05.575,0:47:11.168
to what's really happening in the world.

0:47:11.168,0:47:16.488
The athiest.

0:47:16.488,0:47:19.435
I think about the athiest.

0:47:19.435,0:47:21.751
There's all these people that want to

0:47:21.751,0:47:24.937
continue to sell us on evolution.

0:47:24.937,0:47:26.980
Athiest.

0:47:26.980,0:47:28.561
A-thiest.

0:47:28.561,0:47:31.416
They're against the doctrine of God.

0:47:31.416,0:47:33.263
Agnostics.

0:47:33.263,0:47:39.713
Against the idea that [br]it's possible to know God.

0:47:39.713,0:47:44.939
But the reality is -

0:47:44.939,0:47:47.766
the reality is that we know something

0:47:47.766,0:47:50.178
about Christ walking in His garden.

0:47:50.178,0:47:51.347
And this is the cry,

0:47:51.347,0:47:54.196
this is the cry of the church here.

0:47:54.196,0:47:56.579
Let Him come walk.

0:47:56.579,0:47:59.370
Let my Beloved come to His garden.

0:47:59.370,0:48:01.969
And the truth is we know He's there

0:48:01.969,0:48:03.278
and we know what it is

0:48:03.278,0:48:05.223
to have Him walk in the garden.

0:48:05.223,0:48:06.648
And we are that garden.

0:48:06.648,0:48:10.035
And the truth is it's real and we know it.

0:48:10.035,0:48:11.468
This is true Christianity.

0:48:11.468,0:48:13.285
This is no dead religion.

0:48:13.285,0:48:14.740
It's real.

0:48:14.740,0:48:16.873
We're walled. We're locked.

0:48:16.873,0:48:19.072
We're safe. We're secure.

0:48:19.072,0:48:21.191
The grace of God has shut us in.

0:48:21.191,0:48:22.462
We're protected.

0:48:22.462,0:48:24.225
Christ can say it of us:

0:48:24.225,0:48:25.923
I have guarded them.

0:48:25.923,0:48:27.246
No one can ever get in.

0:48:27.246,0:48:31.831
We're hid with Christ in God in this.

0:48:31.831,0:48:34.196
And you know what? The imagery here

0:48:34.196,0:48:39.498
gets dangerous actually.

0:48:39.498,0:48:42.187
Let me just tell you this.

0:48:42.187,0:48:45.327
That the same author,

0:48:45.327,0:48:47.536
when he wrote the Proverbs,

0:48:47.536,0:48:49.851
he said this:

0:48:49.851,0:48:57.701
he's wanting to instill in young men

0:48:57.701,0:48:59.095
purity,

0:48:59.095,0:49:01.413
being devoted to a single wife,

0:49:01.413,0:49:05.469
not giving yourself to [br]the forbidden woman.

0:49:05.469,0:49:10.684
He says "drink water [br]from your own cistern."

0:49:10.684,0:49:13.966
He doesn't really mean water.

0:49:13.966,0:49:20.935
He means confine your [br]intimacy to your wife.

0:49:20.935,0:49:28.059
"Should your springs be scattered abroad?

0:49:28.059,0:49:30.130
Streams of water in the streets?

0:49:30.130,0:49:33.776
Let them be for yourself alone

0:49:33.776,0:49:37.311
and not for strangers with you.

0:49:37.311,0:49:42.445
Let your fountain be blessed

0:49:42.445,0:49:46.113
and rejoice in the wife of your youth."

0:49:46.113,0:49:50.616
And he goes on.

0:49:50.616,0:49:52.163
But you see, the idea here

0:49:52.163,0:49:56.284
of springs and fountains.

0:49:56.284,0:49:57.907
You know what?

0:49:57.907,0:50:03.212
We are locked when it comes

0:50:03.212,0:50:07.571
to being a spring and [br]a fountain in this sense.

0:50:07.571,0:50:09.962
We're virgins.

0:50:09.962,0:50:12.056
That's what Paul says to the Corinthians.

0:50:12.056,0:50:18.162
We are virgins reserved for Him.

0:50:18.162,0:50:20.210
We're a spring locked,

0:50:20.210,0:50:23.155
a fountain sealed.

0:50:23.155,0:50:27.679
Brethren, our purity and our chasteness

0:50:27.679,0:50:29.778
is for Him.

0:50:29.778,0:50:31.010
Our devotion to Him.

0:50:31.010,0:50:33.738
Our spotlessness is for Him.

0:50:33.738,0:50:36.580
When He talks about making us

0:50:36.580,0:50:40.782
into this splendorous thing,

0:50:40.782,0:50:42.720
it's as His bride.

0:50:42.720,0:50:46.841
He's beautifying us not for others,

0:50:46.841,0:50:52.060
but to present us to Himself in splendor,

0:50:52.060,0:50:54.505
in beauty.

0:50:54.505,0:50:57.164
She's Christ's garden.

0:50:57.164,0:50:59.200
And none but His.

0:50:59.200,0:51:00.853
She is Christ's spring,

0:51:00.853,0:51:02.803
Christ's fountain.

0:51:02.803,0:51:06.852
None have a right to her but Him.

0:51:06.852,0:51:11.665
She is sister and bride to Him alone.

0:51:11.665,0:51:13.307
What I'm getting at is this,

0:51:13.307,0:51:17.454
we dare not share ourselves

0:51:17.454,0:51:20.546
with other lovers.

0:51:20.546,0:51:24.945
You, Christian, are a locked garden.

0:51:24.945,0:51:32.055
Little children, keep [br]yourselves from idols.

0:51:32.055,0:51:34.689
One lover.

0:51:34.689,0:51:36.797
You are locked.

0:51:36.797,0:51:38.888
You are His.

0:51:38.888,0:51:41.179
You are private. You are secret.

0:51:41.179,0:51:44.968
You are for Him.

0:51:44.968,0:51:47.280
Brothers and sisters,

0:51:47.280,0:51:51.095
this is the heart of Christianity.

0:51:51.095,0:51:55.790
It is having Christ come to His garden.

0:51:55.790,0:51:57.214
This is the reality.

0:51:57.214,0:52:02.863
This is what true [br]Christianity is all about.

0:52:02.863,0:52:04.398
It's to have Him.

0:52:04.398,0:52:09.098
It's to know God and His Christ.

0:52:09.098,0:52:12.112
It's this:

0:52:12.112,0:52:15.850
you are reserved for Him.

0:52:15.850,0:52:19.262
Listen, if your Christianity [br]is mechanical;

0:52:19.262,0:52:21.616
if it's simply duty,

0:52:21.616,0:52:23.825
if it's simply the checklist,

0:52:23.825,0:52:27.535
if it's simply that which [br]you don't like to do

0:52:27.535,0:52:29.081
but you know you've got to do it

0:52:29.081,0:52:36.213
because you're trying to miss hell,

0:52:36.213,0:52:38.342
then it's not this.

0:52:38.342,0:52:40.496
If it's not this, it's not the real thing.

0:52:40.496,0:52:43.471
It's not the true Christianity.

0:52:43.471,0:52:45.857
And look what He does.

0:52:45.857,0:52:50.528
Look what He does in 4:16.

0:52:50.528,0:52:55.727
I want you to hear the voice of Christ.

0:52:55.727,0:52:57.605
Comprehend the love of Christ.

0:52:57.605,0:53:02.209
Because as His garden, [br]this is what He's saying:

0:53:02.209,0:53:06.612
"Awake..." Christ speaking.

0:53:06.612,0:53:08.331
"Awake, O north wind,

0:53:08.331,0:53:11.729
come, O south wind, blow upon..."

0:53:11.729,0:53:14.525
again, "My garden."

0:53:14.525,0:53:16.945
This is Mine.

0:53:16.945,0:53:19.627
He's calling to the winds

0:53:19.627,0:53:23.658
to come and blow upon His garden.

0:53:23.658,0:53:25.855
So as to do what to it?

0:53:25.855,0:53:29.436
Make it even more fruitful.

0:53:29.436,0:53:33.057
"Let its spices flow."

0:53:33.057,0:53:36.074
Christ calls forth the wind.

0:53:36.074,0:53:37.464
I love this imagery.

0:53:37.464,0:53:41.633
Almost always when I think of the Spirit,

0:53:41.633,0:53:43.234
when I think of revival,

0:53:43.234,0:53:45.993
don't we talk about the winds of revival?

0:53:45.993,0:53:48.719
When I think about revival,

0:53:48.719,0:53:50.679
I think about wind.

0:53:50.679,0:53:55.616
I often imagine like a [br]17th, 18th, 19th century ship

0:53:55.616,0:53:57.175
with those big masts.

0:53:57.175,0:54:00.613
We just saw the U.S.S. Constitution

0:54:00.613,0:54:02.399
when we were in Boston.

0:54:02.399,0:54:04.421
This great big war ship,

0:54:04.421,0:54:07.335
but it's got all these main masts on it

0:54:07.335,0:54:10.259
and multitude of sails.

0:54:10.259,0:54:12.246
That's what I think of: a ship.

0:54:12.246,0:54:14.058
We're like a ship with all these sails

0:54:14.058,0:54:16.422
and the wind blows

0:54:16.422,0:54:20.313
and it sends us mightily [br]through the water, rushing.

0:54:20.313,0:54:21.455
That's how I view it.

0:54:21.455,0:54:23.905
The Scriptures capture this idea

0:54:23.905,0:54:26.935
of the Spirit of God being like the wind.

0:54:26.935,0:54:30.617
Can you think of where?

0:54:30.617,0:54:34.344
Where do you get that [br]idea of wind in Scripture?

0:54:34.344,0:54:36.272
John 3 would be one.

0:54:36.272,0:54:38.574
"Like the wind that blows where it wishes,

0:54:38.574,0:54:40.487
you hear its sound, but you do not know

0:54:40.487,0:54:42.404
where it comes from or where it goes."

0:54:42.404,0:54:44.110
But can you think of another time

0:54:44.110,0:54:48.311
where the Spirit is associated with wind?

0:54:48.311,0:54:52.104
Yeah, the day of Pentecost.

0:54:52.104,0:54:54.628
A sound like a mighty, rushing wind.

0:54:54.628,0:54:56.061
These winds.

0:54:56.061,0:54:58.220
Christ speaks to the winds.

0:54:58.220,0:55:01.776
And they're at His service.

0:55:01.776,0:55:05.348
Come and do My garden good.

0:55:05.348,0:55:08.478
I see this as the Spirit of God.

0:55:08.478,0:55:10.642
Now you say, yeah, but those winds

0:55:10.642,0:55:12.046
are contrary to each other.

0:55:12.046,0:55:14.048
One's a north wind. One's a south wind.

0:55:14.048,0:55:17.238
I say that's just the Spirit's operations

0:55:17.238,0:55:21.766
coming at us from different directions.

0:55:21.766,0:55:24.181
Now, depending on where you live,

0:55:24.181,0:55:25.984
like up in Michigan if you thought

0:55:25.984,0:55:30.985
about a north wind, you think brrr...

0:55:30.985,0:55:36.740
Here in Texas, the idea of a north wind,

0:55:36.740,0:55:38.196
or a cool front -

0:55:38.196,0:55:40.011
you know when they first start coming

0:55:40.011,0:55:41.397
in late September,

0:55:41.397,0:55:43.825
that's a happy thing.

0:55:43.825,0:55:45.558
It depends on where you live.

0:55:45.558,0:55:47.479
Obviously, what part of the hemisphere,

0:55:47.479,0:55:49.276
(incomplete thought).

0:55:49.276,0:55:50.908
But we get the idea.

0:55:50.908,0:55:52.489
Some winds - they bring rain.

0:55:52.489,0:55:54.312
Some winds are destructive.

0:55:54.312,0:55:56.025
Some bring bitter cold.

0:55:56.025,0:56:00.354
Some bring pleasant [br]spring-like conditions.

0:56:00.354,0:56:05.676
Some winds are very favorable.

0:56:05.676,0:56:09.071
And some winds are bitter.

0:56:09.071,0:56:10.954
This is the idea.

0:56:10.954,0:56:17.408
I mean, sometimes God [br]blows upon us with comforts.

0:56:17.408,0:56:19.665
They're joyful times.

0:56:19.665,0:56:21.813
I mean, we should rejoice [br]in the Lord always,

0:56:21.813,0:56:24.427
but the truth is there are [br]some circumstances in life

0:56:24.427,0:56:29.032
that are just happy times.

0:56:29.032,0:56:32.893
And there are situations [br]that are bitter trials.

0:56:32.893,0:56:34.302
And the idea is this,

0:56:34.302,0:56:38.179
these winds - however you take them,

0:56:38.179,0:56:39.983
it's Christ using different means

0:56:39.983,0:56:42.557
to perfect His garden,

0:56:42.557,0:56:44.865
even though they may seem contrary,

0:56:44.865,0:56:46.577
blows upon us with the warm winds,

0:56:46.577,0:56:49.141
blows upon us with refreshing winds.

0:56:49.141,0:56:51.338
Sometimes, blows upon us with winds

0:56:51.338,0:56:52.786
that seem to be damaging,

0:56:52.786,0:56:55.247
but you know, they never really damage us.

0:56:55.247,0:56:57.442
They damage our pride.

0:56:57.442,0:57:01.337
They damage our false securities.

0:57:01.337,0:57:03.716
They damage our false hopes.

0:57:03.716,0:57:06.645
But they're never really damaging to us.

0:57:06.645,0:57:09.205
Because all things work [br]together for our good

0:57:09.205,0:57:14.045
if we're truly loving God.

0:57:14.045,0:57:16.486
And He brings these winds.

0:57:16.486,0:57:22.960
It's key to emphasize these difficulties.

0:57:22.960,0:57:25.154
You have difficulties.

0:57:25.154,0:57:27.756
Some of you, I know, family difficulties,

0:57:27.756,0:57:31.540
difficulties with lost children,

0:57:31.540,0:57:33.169
financial difficulties,

0:57:33.169,0:57:36.866
health issue difficulties.

0:57:36.866,0:57:39.467
You get these things.

0:57:39.467,0:57:42.879
They're struggles. They're trials.

0:57:42.879,0:57:43.885
Marriage situations.

0:57:43.885,0:57:45.206
You know what that is?

0:57:45.206,0:57:46.794
That may be like the north wind.

0:57:46.794,0:57:48.939
It blows. It hurts. It's uncomfortable.

0:57:48.939,0:57:49.981
We don't like it.

0:57:49.981,0:57:53.369
But if we have eyes to see,

0:57:53.369,0:57:54.905
it's like through these things,

0:57:54.905,0:57:57.579
He's just spreading the seeds.

0:57:57.579,0:57:59.650
You can imagine, He spreads the seeds

0:57:59.650,0:58:03.467
and up grows these [br]beautiful trees in the garden.

0:58:03.467,0:58:04.923
And He spreads the seeds,

0:58:04.923,0:58:09.855
and up grows just heavy-[br]laden with fruit, bushes;

0:58:09.855,0:58:12.245
and He spreads these seeds

0:58:12.245,0:58:13.735
and plants and herbs

0:58:13.735,0:58:16.172
and all manner of flowers

0:58:16.172,0:58:17.794
and the bees must be in there

0:58:17.794,0:58:20.347
because there's honey and honeycombs.

0:58:20.347,0:58:21.961
This is what He's doing.

0:58:21.961,0:58:28.777
We look at it and we get so encased

0:58:28.777,0:58:32.324
in our surroundings and what we see.

0:58:32.324,0:58:34.101
But we live by faith, not by sight.

0:58:34.101,0:58:37.119
But sometimes we're [br]such creatures of sight.

0:58:37.119,0:58:40.871
Life is difficult.

0:58:40.875,0:58:43.459
What I'm wanting you [br]to do is just step back

0:58:43.459,0:58:45.239
in this message today

0:58:45.239,0:58:47.138
and just comprehend.

0:58:47.138,0:58:49.797
If you're a child of God,

0:58:49.797,0:58:53.759
Jesus Christ Himself is doing [br]such things in you

0:58:53.759,0:58:57.908
to make you this absolutely beautiful,

0:58:57.908,0:59:00.193
fruitful garden.

0:59:00.193,0:59:02.521
And where do you find Christ?

0:59:02.521,0:59:04.973
Grazing in the garden.

0:59:04.973,0:59:08.659
He likes to be there [br]and gather the lilies.

0:59:08.659,0:59:12.167
And then you hear the heart of the bride.

0:59:12.167,0:59:13.549
Have you ever noticed?

0:59:13.549,0:59:17.022
The Spirit and the bride say what?

0:59:17.022,0:59:18.064
Come.

0:59:18.064,0:59:21.901
And the Spirit in the bride

0:59:21.901,0:59:24.430
is never satisfied.

0:59:24.430,0:59:26.318
Come to Your garden!

0:59:26.318,0:59:28.893
I mean, that's the cry.

0:59:28.893,0:59:31.351
Don't you love that

0:59:31.351,0:59:33.860
when that's true of you?

0:59:33.860,0:59:37.154
That is such a healthy condition to be in

0:59:37.154,0:59:38.337
as a Christian.

0:59:38.337,0:59:42.629
When we are just so unsatisifed;

0:59:42.629,0:59:44.965
when we ache,

0:59:44.965,0:59:46.431
because when He comes,

0:59:46.431,0:59:47.988
there's such a release;

0:59:47.988,0:59:49.829
there's such satisfaction;

0:59:49.829,0:59:52.708
there's such joy.

0:59:52.708,0:59:54.739
Aching for something.

0:59:54.739,0:59:56.805
When the heart longs after;

0:59:56.805,1:00:00.072
when the soul is thirsty:

1:00:00.072,1:00:02.453
Come, Lord, come to Your garden!

1:00:02.453,1:00:03.976
Come! Come graze!

1:00:03.976,1:00:07.650
Come gather the flowers.

1:00:07.650,1:00:12.603
And isn't it such the [br]desire of the Christian

1:00:12.603,1:00:15.422
that you desire that when He comes,

1:00:15.422,1:00:18.619
He finds you to be a place [br]that He greatly delights

1:00:18.619,1:00:21.379
to walk in that place;

1:00:21.379,1:00:23.413
to commune in that place.

1:00:23.413,1:00:25.638
That He finds it a place [br]where He really is

1:00:25.638,1:00:29.065
gathering in the spices and the wine.

1:00:29.065,1:00:32.387
Remember, this wine, [br]this honey, this milk -

1:00:32.387,1:00:34.405
it's coming from us!

1:00:34.405,1:00:38.372
You've got to personalize [br]this. This is you!

1:00:38.372,1:00:41.144
And that ache for this.

1:00:41.144,1:00:43.571
So let us take fresh encouragement

1:00:43.571,1:00:46.288
from all of this.

1:00:46.288,1:00:49.402
Brethren, how daily we're [br]prone to offend Him.

1:00:49.402,1:00:52.368
Let's take special encouragement

1:00:52.368,1:00:55.184
that what we do be pleasing to Him.

1:00:55.184,1:00:59.347
We could say church of God arise.

1:00:59.347,1:01:01.172
Desire that Christ would cause

1:01:01.172,1:01:02.927
the north wind and the south wind -

1:01:02.927,1:01:04.396
pray that way!

1:01:04.396,1:01:09.690
Lord, cause the north wind to awake.

1:01:09.690,1:01:12.543
Why? I want spice.

1:01:12.543,1:01:18.018
Spice - but not for anyone.[br]You're a locked garden.

1:01:18.018,1:01:20.809
It's for Him.

1:01:20.809,1:01:23.497
But isn't that when we're most satisfied?

1:01:23.497,1:01:27.817
Isn't that when we take greatest joy?

1:01:27.817,1:01:30.822
I read those words.

1:01:30.822,1:01:34.759
Jesus said, "I guarded them."

1:01:34.759,1:01:39.311
Then He said, "they've kept Your Word."

1:01:39.311,1:01:41.335
I just want to cry when I read that.

1:01:41.335,1:01:43.886
I want to jump and shout when I read that.

1:01:43.886,1:01:46.160
"They kept Your Word."

1:01:46.160,1:01:49.420
Those guys, their faith teetered [br]and tottered at times,

1:01:49.420,1:01:52.572
and yet "they've kept Your Word."

1:01:52.572,1:01:57.234
To have Christ find you lovely,

1:01:57.234,1:02:00.524
desirable, beautiful,

1:02:00.524,1:02:04.164
a place where He wants to come

1:02:04.164,1:02:08.358
and graze -

1:02:08.358,1:02:10.760
what is that?

1:02:10.760,1:02:15.868
What love that He should [br]do such things to us!

1:02:15.868,1:02:21.576
And the thing is when our desire is:

1:02:21.576,1:02:24.564
let my Beloved come to His garden,

1:02:24.564,1:02:29.633
and He comes,

1:02:29.633,1:02:31.823
that's it.

1:02:31.823,1:02:35.248
What's all the world to [br]us when that happens?

1:02:35.248,1:02:36.556
This is it.

1:02:36.556,1:02:40.268
This is true Christianity.

1:02:40.268,1:02:41.539
And we should desire it.

1:02:41.539,1:02:42.979
That should be our prayer.

1:02:42.979,1:02:46.104
Lord, come.

1:02:46.104,1:02:49.904
Come to Your garden. Come.

1:02:49.904,1:02:52.174
Yes, and cause these winds to blow

1:02:52.174,1:02:54.476
from whichever direction [br]they need to blow,

1:02:54.476,1:03:02.915
but make us a richly spice-bearing church.

1:03:02.915,1:03:06.217
We're going to have the Lord's Supper now.

1:03:06.217,1:03:09.480
Because we're thinking on this.

1:03:09.480,1:03:12.495
Jesus has purchased this

1:03:12.495,1:03:22.476
at great, great, great expense to Himself.

1:03:22.476,1:03:26.867
He Himself has bore our sins

1:03:26.867,1:03:30.795
in His own body on the tree,

1:03:30.795,1:03:33.251
that we might live to righteousness.

1:03:33.251,1:03:37.198
This true righteousness and holiness

1:03:37.198,1:03:41.523
has come at great, great expense.

1:03:41.523,1:03:46.325
We are not a cheap garden.

1:03:46.325,1:03:48.129
We may feel ourselves unworthy,

1:03:48.129,1:03:51.791
but we're not a cheap garden.

1:03:51.791,1:03:55.415
The piece of ground that we're on

1:03:55.415,1:04:01.072
is expensive ground.

1:04:01.072,1:04:05.965
And we want to remember right now

1:04:05.965,1:04:12.712
that which our Lord has done.

1:04:12.712,1:04:16.197
Sister Jenny, could we get a song maybe?

1:04:16.197,1:04:20.164
Could we sing [br]"Stricken, Smitten, and Afflicted,"

1:04:20.164,1:04:24.448
while they're handing out these elements?