0:00:01.532,0:00:03.751 You can open your Bibles once again 0:00:03.751,0:00:07.843 to the Song of Solomon. 0:00:07.843,0:00:11.418 Let's pray. 0:00:11.418,0:00:17.479 Father, we're coming to Your Word. 0:00:17.479,0:00:18.798 Your Word. 0:00:18.798,0:00:25.058 Speak, O Lord. Speak. 0:00:25.058,0:00:30.923 Speak. 0:00:30.923,0:00:33.803 May my brothers and sisters in this place 0:00:33.803,0:00:36.623 hear more than the voice of a man. 0:00:36.623,0:00:40.340 I pray in Christ's name, Amen. 0:00:40.340,0:00:45.807 The Song of Solomon. 0:00:45.807,0:00:53.767 I look forward to looking [br]at this Song with you 0:00:53.767,0:01:00.632 one last time. 0:01:00.632,0:01:04.335 Because, for one reason, 0:01:04.335,0:01:07.427 just looking at it this week, 0:01:07.427,0:01:12.163 two realities jumped out at me 0:01:12.163,0:01:16.096 that once again just assure me 0:01:16.096,0:01:20.587 and give me unwavering confidence 0:01:20.587,0:01:23.117 that this is speaking [br]of more than Solomon. 0:01:23.117,0:01:25.206 And I want you to see it as we look 0:01:25.206,0:01:29.492 at what we're going to look at today. 0:01:29.492,0:01:34.610 Really, all my messages 0:01:34.610,0:01:36.705 from the Song of Solomon 0:01:36.705,0:01:46.622 have been moving us and [br]directing us towards today. 0:01:46.622,0:01:50.320 We've been thinking [br]about the love of Christ. 0:01:50.320,0:01:51.892 The breadth, and length, 0:01:51.892,0:01:54.619 and the height, and depth. 0:01:54.619,0:01:57.591 To know the love of Christ 0:01:57.591,0:02:01.032 that surpasses knowledge. 0:02:01.032,0:02:02.775 That's why we've taken this trip 0:02:02.775,0:02:04.567 back into the Old Testament, 0:02:04.567,0:02:07.559 which I believe Spurgeon was right. 0:02:07.559,0:02:09.588 When it comes to the love of Christ, 0:02:09.588,0:02:13.976 this is the holy of holies. 0:02:13.976,0:02:28.856 Let's read in this Song in chapter 5. 0:02:28.856,0:02:33.351 Chapter 5:2. 0:02:33.351,0:02:37.390 "I slept, but my heart was awake. 0:02:37.390,0:02:40.026 A sound. 0:02:40.026,0:02:42.293 My Beloved is knocking. 0:02:42.293,0:02:44.320 'Open to Me, My sister, My love, 0:02:44.320,0:02:47.079 My dove, My perfect one, 0:02:47.079,0:02:48.955 for My head is wet with dew, 0:02:48.955,0:02:52.665 My locks with the drops of the night.' 0:02:52.665,0:02:55.922 I had put off my garment. 0:02:55.922,0:02:58.391 How could I put it on? 0:02:58.391,0:03:00.787 I'd bathed my feet. 0:03:00.787,0:03:04.191 How could I soil them? 0:03:04.191,0:03:06.751 My Beloved put His hand to the latch 0:03:06.751,0:03:09.909 and my heart was thrilled within me. 0:03:09.909,0:03:11.635 I arose to open to my Beloved 0:03:11.635,0:03:13.211 and my hands dripped with myrrh, 0:03:13.211,0:03:15.174 my fingers with liquid myrrh 0:03:15.174,0:03:17.780 on the handles of the bolt. 0:03:17.780,0:03:19.653 I opened to my Beloved, 0:03:19.653,0:03:24.433 but my Beloved had turned and gone. 0:03:24.433,0:03:28.101 My soul failed me when He spoke. 0:03:28.101,0:03:32.169 I sought Him, but found Him not. 0:03:32.169,0:03:38.491 I called Him, but He gave no answer." 0:03:38.491,0:03:41.029 I feel it's time to move on. 0:03:41.029,0:03:44.721 I feel Ephesians is calling. 0:03:44.721,0:03:47.043 I have one more sermon 0:03:47.043,0:03:51.976 from this Song of songs. 0:03:51.976,0:03:53.379 You know it was called that. 0:03:53.379,0:03:56.493 Look back in chapter 1:1, 0:03:56.493,0:03:57.993 right at the very beginning. 0:03:57.993,0:04:00.385 Look at the very first thing that's said. 0:04:00.385,0:04:06.671 "The Song of songs which is Solomon's." 0:04:06.671,0:04:08.188 What I want you to recognize 0:04:08.188,0:04:10.471 is we're holding in our hands a book 0:04:10.471,0:04:12.666 that is God-breathed. 0:04:12.666,0:04:16.012 All Scripture is God-breathed. 0:04:16.012,0:04:18.860 This is Scripture. 0:04:18.860,0:04:20.299 So whoever the author is, 0:04:20.299,0:04:22.340 you can clear that right out of your mind. 0:04:22.340,0:04:25.557 Whether it's Solomon or somebody else, 0:04:25.557,0:04:27.155 the reality is this, 0:04:27.155,0:04:29.378 this is the Word of God. 0:04:29.378,0:04:31.901 And so what we have in this title 0:04:31.901,0:04:35.639 is we have what God wants us to know 0:04:35.639,0:04:39.133 this letter by. 0:04:39.133,0:04:42.654 This is in God's estimation - 0:04:42.654,0:04:45.854 this is so important that you get this. 0:04:45.854,0:04:49.121 In God's estimation, 0:04:49.121,0:04:53.741 for God to identify any song 0:04:53.741,0:04:55.907 that has ever been sung by men, 0:04:55.907,0:04:57.387 for God to look down, 0:04:57.387,0:04:58.890 clear all the rest away, 0:04:58.890,0:05:01.710 and leave that one standing and say: 0:05:01.710,0:05:05.539 that is the Song of all songs. 0:05:05.539,0:05:08.191 And it can only be [br]because in God's estimation 0:05:08.191,0:05:10.988 this is a song about the [br]greatest imaginable thing 0:05:10.988,0:05:13.278 that a song could ever be written about. 0:05:13.278,0:05:15.088 That fact alone should lift us 0:05:15.088,0:05:17.449 above the physical, above the worldly, 0:05:17.449,0:05:19.010 above the mundane, 0:05:19.010,0:05:23.737 above Solomon, 0:05:23.737,0:05:25.091 up into the heavenlies 0:05:25.091,0:05:27.567 to behold something beyond this. 0:05:27.567,0:05:29.301 Something beyond Solomon 0:05:29.301,0:05:32.199 and one of his thousand wives. 0:05:32.199,0:05:35.919 Listen, when it comes to relationships - 0:05:35.919,0:05:37.367 and there's a relationship 0:05:37.367,0:05:41.317 that's being put on display for us here - 0:05:41.317,0:05:45.275 Christ and Christians 0:05:45.275,0:05:50.058 are the greatest persons [br]if you think about it - 0:05:50.058,0:05:51.879 they're the greatest persons 0:05:51.879,0:05:57.511 who have ever, ever partaken of humanity. 0:05:57.511,0:06:00.129 And the truth is that [br]in every relationship, 0:06:00.129,0:06:02.372 anything that's good, [br]anything that's excellent, 0:06:02.372,0:06:04.870 anything that's desirable, [br]anything that's beautiful, 0:06:04.870,0:06:06.529 and all the relationships out there 0:06:06.529,0:06:08.475 whether it be between a man and a woman - 0:06:08.475,0:06:09.664 you know what Paul did. 0:06:09.664,0:06:11.223 Paul looked at that and he said 0:06:11.223,0:06:12.679 you may see a man and a woman, 0:06:12.679,0:06:15.044 and that's maybe what [br]you see here in this book, 0:06:15.044,0:06:18.743 but he says what's behind[br]all this is a mystery. 0:06:18.743,0:06:20.321 The mystery of mysteries. 0:06:20.321,0:06:22.421 Christ and the church. 0:06:22.421,0:06:24.479 That's what we're supposed to see. 0:06:24.479,0:06:29.355 The two greatest lovers of them all. 0:06:29.355,0:06:32.167 You just never forget this. 0:06:32.167,0:06:37.055 God Himself says this is the Song 0:06:37.055,0:06:38.816 above every other song, 0:06:38.816,0:06:41.873 which must mean it's about a topic 0:06:41.873,0:06:45.655 that is above every other topic. 0:06:45.655,0:06:48.545 So we turn our attention [br]here one more time, 0:06:48.545,0:06:50.898 not to find Solomon, 0:06:50.898,0:06:54.777 but something greater than Solomon 0:06:54.777,0:06:57.692 and to behold once again 0:06:57.692,0:07:00.634 His - He that is greater than Solomon - 0:07:00.634,0:07:05.788 His love that He has for His bride, 0:07:05.788,0:07:07.543 the church. 0:07:07.543,0:07:12.480 Now, what I want to do 0:07:12.480,0:07:14.888 is we're going to end up in these verses 0:07:14.888,0:07:17.240 in chapter 5. 0:07:17.240,0:07:18.950 But I want you to see, 0:07:18.950,0:07:20.818 because you know what I've been doing 0:07:20.818,0:07:23.016 over the last couple of months? 0:07:23.016,0:07:25.522 I read this. I pore over this. 0:07:25.522,0:07:28.122 (incomplete thought) 0:07:28.122,0:07:29.920 I'll tell you what I'm watching 0:07:29.920,0:07:33.783 is I'm watching fluctuation. 0:07:33.783,0:07:35.967 You say: what do you mean? 0:07:35.967,0:07:37.841 (incomplete thought) 0:07:37.841,0:07:41.536 I mean, it's very interesting. 0:07:41.536,0:07:44.266 Right here is one of the reasons 0:07:44.266,0:07:47.568 why I know this is not [br]speaking about Solomon. 0:07:47.568,0:07:52.065 Solomon the man had [br]all manner of imperfections. 0:07:52.065,0:07:53.616 But you know what's interesting? 0:07:53.616,0:07:55.477 As you watch this letter, 0:07:55.477,0:07:57.295 and you go through from the beginning, 0:07:57.295,0:07:59.698 it's 8 chapters and you [br]go all the way through, 0:07:59.698,0:08:01.079 you know what you see? 0:08:01.079,0:08:05.947 You see in her fluctuations - 0:08:05.947,0:08:10.451 spiritual alterations. 0:08:10.451,0:08:12.079 But you know what? 0:08:12.079,0:08:13.970 When you look at Him, 0:08:13.970,0:08:17.023 there's no movement. 0:08:17.023,0:08:20.336 Oh, yes, there's movement as far as 0:08:20.336,0:08:23.275 His proximity to her. 0:08:23.275,0:08:27.621 But in His attitude towards her; 0:08:27.621,0:08:30.264 in His responses to her, 0:08:30.264,0:08:35.638 what you find is He's steady. 0:08:35.638,0:08:40.286 She's the one that's given to fluctuation. 0:08:40.286,0:08:42.549 And what I want you to see right now - 0:08:42.549,0:08:45.679 what I want you to do is come with me 0:08:45.679,0:08:51.570 and just walk through the up's and down's, 0:08:51.570,0:08:57.224 the back and forth's of her. 0:08:57.224,0:08:59.498 Look right at the beginning of the letter. 0:08:59.498,0:09:01.373 Chapter 1:2. We're just going to do 0:09:01.373,0:09:03.075 a quick survey, 0:09:03.075,0:09:05.600 because I want you to see this. 0:09:05.600,0:09:10.059 "Let Him kiss me..." v. 2 of chapter 1. 0:09:10.059,0:09:14.558 "Let Him kiss me with [br]the kisses of His mouth, 0:09:14.558,0:09:16.795 for Your love is better than wine." 0:09:16.795,0:09:19.953 Now, what do you see there? 0:09:19.953,0:09:22.338 What I see there is desire. 0:09:22.338,0:09:24.511 You know what I see there? 0:09:24.511,0:09:28.270 A woman who wants a man to kiss her, 0:09:28.270,0:09:30.652 but she is not at that moment 0:09:30.652,0:09:33.611 experiencing his kisses. 0:09:33.611,0:09:35.924 But she desires it to be so. 0:09:35.924,0:09:37.842 Right? You see that. 0:09:37.842,0:09:39.206 Desire. 0:09:39.206,0:09:42.829 And then, look at v. 4. 0:09:42.829,0:09:48.346 "Draw me after You and we will run." 0:09:48.346,0:09:50.303 You know what I see there? 0:09:50.303,0:09:54.853 A desire for desire. 0:09:54.853,0:09:56.887 You know, having desire is one thing. 0:09:56.887,0:09:59.798 Having a desire to have desire 0:09:59.798,0:10:01.867 is another thing. 0:10:01.867,0:10:03.099 I mean, do you feel that? 0:10:03.099,0:10:05.607 I mean, you feel the desire in v. 2, 0:10:05.607,0:10:07.252 but then in v. 4, 0:10:07.252,0:10:14.550 she's sensible of some need to be drawn. 0:10:14.550,0:10:18.312 She's sensible of some sort of coldness 0:10:18.312,0:10:20.133 or deadness in her spirit, 0:10:20.133,0:10:23.753 and she secretly desires [br]further quickening. 0:10:23.753,0:10:27.460 Now, brethren, what I [br]want you to see in all of this 0:10:27.460,0:10:29.245 is I want you to see something 0:10:29.245,0:10:32.462 that every single Christian in [br]this room can identify with. 0:10:32.462,0:10:33.657 Every one of us. 0:10:33.657,0:10:35.870 I want you to feel the movement 0:10:35.870,0:10:38.040 and the fluctuations 0:10:38.040,0:10:41.227 in our relationship with Christ. 0:10:41.227,0:10:46.617 That's what I want you to feel here. 0:10:46.617,0:10:49.090 She has desire. 0:10:49.090,0:10:50.941 We are like that. 0:10:50.941,0:10:52.320 We desire Him. 0:10:52.320,0:10:54.094 But then, there are other times 0:10:54.094,0:10:56.496 we're asking Him to draw us. 0:10:56.496,0:10:58.240 There are times we recognize 0:10:58.240,0:11:00.165 we don't long for Him like we should. 0:11:00.165,0:11:03.263 We want Him to operate on us 0:11:03.263,0:11:05.658 and make us want what is good 0:11:05.658,0:11:07.790 more than we want it. 0:11:07.790,0:11:10.306 There's a desire for desire. 0:11:10.306,0:11:16.247 You go to chapter 2:3-4. 0:11:16.247,0:11:17.810 Look with me here. 0:11:17.810,0:11:23.497 Song of Solomon 2:3-4; 0:11:23.497,0:11:29.362 she says, "With great delight 0:11:29.362,0:11:34.305 I sat in His shadow and [br]His fruit was sweet." 0:11:34.305,0:11:38.993 Now see, again, as Christians we can say 0:11:38.993,0:11:41.313 we know these seasons 0:11:41.313,0:11:44.882 of delight and sweetness. 0:11:44.882,0:11:47.279 We know that. 0:11:47.279,0:11:49.649 Christ came along and He upbraided 0:11:49.649,0:11:51.254 that church at Ephesus 0:11:51.254,0:11:53.299 because they had lost their first love. 0:11:53.299,0:11:55.625 But there is some reality as first love. 0:11:55.625,0:11:58.184 There's that sweetness to that love. 0:11:58.184,0:12:00.278 That's what you see 0:12:00.278,0:12:06.486 being put on exhibition for us there. 0:12:06.486,0:12:10.013 Now, look, I'm going to tell you 0:12:10.013,0:12:11.995 that the next thing I see here 0:12:11.995,0:12:14.240 is a decline. 0:12:14.240,0:12:17.576 Now you may have question [br]about that at first, 0:12:17.576,0:12:19.501 but stay with me. 0:12:19.501,0:12:22.558 I see a decline in the affection. 0:12:22.558,0:12:27.872 Because what I see here is a distance. 0:12:27.872,0:12:30.132 You see, last we heard, she was 0:12:30.132,0:12:31.878 in His shadow. 0:12:31.878,0:12:33.239 That's close. 0:12:33.239,0:12:36.396 You're close when you're [br]in someone's shadow. 0:12:36.396,0:12:38.983 Later on, we're going to see, [br]she's leaning on Him. 0:12:38.983,0:12:41.186 There's actual contact there. 0:12:41.186,0:12:44.194 She's close. 0:12:44.194,0:12:49.952 But notice what happens in chapter 2:9. 0:12:49.952,0:12:53.206 Just go down a little bit [br]from v. 3-4 to v. 9. 0:12:53.206,0:12:55.859 Now follow me. 0:12:55.859,0:12:59.992 "Behold, there He stands..." 0:12:59.992,0:13:03.605 But where is He? 0:13:03.605,0:13:08.435 He's behind our wall. 0:13:08.435,0:13:11.540 Now, I probably should have done more 0:13:11.540,0:13:17.739 with just this possessive pronoun "our." 0:13:17.739,0:13:19.726 It shows up in every translation. 0:13:19.726,0:13:22.367 I'm just not going to take [br]the time to go there, 0:13:22.367,0:13:29.334 but I find that - it's "our wall." 0:13:29.334,0:13:32.674 Maybe because it's "our" house. 0:13:32.674,0:13:34.402 But notice this, 0:13:34.402,0:13:39.852 He stands behind it. 0:13:39.852,0:13:43.064 What does that mean? 0:13:43.064,0:13:44.366 He's behind the wall. 0:13:44.366,0:13:46.044 Does that mean He's on the inside? 0:13:46.044,0:13:47.862 Or does that mean He's on the outside? 0:13:47.862,0:13:50.276 And where is she at? 0:13:50.276,0:14:01.522 Look at the position. 0:14:01.522,0:14:03.531 He's behind the wall. 0:14:03.531,0:14:07.346 He's gazing through the windows 0:14:07.346,0:14:09.677 looking through the lattice. 0:14:09.677,0:14:12.234 Who knows what a lattice is? 0:14:12.234,0:14:15.415 What's a lattice? 0:14:15.415,0:14:18.826 (unintelligible) 0:14:18.826,0:14:21.551 It's an opening of some sort 0:14:21.551,0:14:28.034 that you look through. 0:14:28.034,0:14:30.803 Which direction is He facing? 0:14:30.803,0:14:32.104 He's looking through it. 0:14:32.104,0:14:34.350 Is He on the outside looking in? 0:14:34.350,0:14:39.545 Is He on the inside looking out? 0:14:39.545,0:14:43.659 What's He looking at? 0:14:43.659,0:14:46.021 I'll tell you what He's looking at. 0:14:46.021,0:14:49.316 He's looking at you, Christian. 0:14:49.316,0:14:50.767 You say: how do you know that? 0:14:50.767,0:14:56.012 I know that from v. 10. 0:14:56.012,0:14:57.322 You see what He's saying? 0:14:57.322,0:14:59.840 "Arise My love, My beautiful [br]one, come away." 0:14:59.840,0:15:01.199 He's speaking to her. 0:15:01.199,0:15:04.652 This basically is a picture of Him 0:15:04.652,0:15:06.470 standing there at a distance. 0:15:06.470,0:15:08.297 He's on the other side of the wall. 0:15:08.297,0:15:09.639 He's behind the lattice. 0:15:09.639,0:15:13.053 He's gazing through the window. 0:15:13.053,0:15:17.769 What is this wall that [br]has come between them? 0:15:17.769,0:15:20.710 Between Him and us. 0:15:20.710,0:15:23.777 What's happened? She was [br]in the shadow before. 0:15:23.777,0:15:25.493 Now He's looking through the window. 0:15:25.493,0:15:29.215 Some sort of distance has taken place. 0:15:29.215,0:15:32.682 And you know what you [br]find all the way through? 0:15:32.682,0:15:34.564 He's calling to her. 0:15:34.564,0:15:37.059 He's constantly calling to her. 0:15:37.059,0:15:39.401 No matter how far away she gets; 0:15:39.401,0:15:41.486 no matter what walls come up, 0:15:41.486,0:15:44.302 He's just always calling. 0:15:44.302,0:15:51.065 That is the steadiness of Him. 0:15:51.065,0:15:52.742 What's happened to us? 0:15:52.742,0:15:56.598 See, we can enter in here. 0:15:56.598,0:15:58.908 We realize some distance has come 0:15:58.908,0:16:00.618 between us and Christ. 0:16:00.618,0:16:02.596 And you know what, the [br]devil's right there to say 0:16:02.596,0:16:04.838 He doesn't want anything to do with you. 0:16:04.838,0:16:07.585 And yet, if you'll open your [br]eyes and ears to Scripture, 0:16:07.585,0:16:09.614 He's constantly bidding us, 0:16:09.614,0:16:14.688 "Come. Come. Come." 0:16:14.688,0:16:17.262 He's speaking. 0:16:17.262,0:16:18.808 Whatever coldness has crept in, 0:16:18.808,0:16:20.408 He's not silent. 0:16:20.408,0:16:21.870 Look at v. 10. 0:16:21.870,0:16:24.761 From the other side of [br]the window, He's saying, 0:16:24.761,0:16:27.474 "My Beloved speaks..." that's her. 0:16:27.474,0:16:29.063 She's recognizing this. 0:16:29.063,0:16:32.046 She's recognizing that He speaks. 0:16:32.046,0:16:35.827 Oh, it is so good when [br]we recognize He's calling us. 0:16:35.827,0:16:38.204 Don't be deceived, brothers and sisters. 0:16:38.204,0:16:40.463 He's calling. 0:16:40.463,0:16:42.006 But watch. 0:16:42.006,0:16:44.266 "He says to me, 0:16:44.266,0:16:47.426 'Arise, My love, My beautiful one 0:16:47.426,0:16:49.015 and come away.'" 0:16:49.015,0:16:51.051 And you see this in v. 13-14. 0:16:51.051,0:16:55.030 And again, "Arise, [br]My love, My beautiful one..." 0:16:55.030,0:16:56.456 You see, it's repetitive. 0:16:56.456,0:17:00.234 Why? What's repetition in Scripture? 0:17:00.234,0:17:02.362 You know what it is. It's emphasis. 0:17:02.362,0:17:04.024 What's the emphasis? 0:17:04.024,0:17:06.825 The emphasis isn't on [br]the other side of the wall. 0:17:06.825,0:17:09.857 The emphasis is: Come away. 0:17:09.857,0:17:11.482 Come away. 0:17:11.482,0:17:14.392 Why? Because that's what [br]God wants you to get. 0:17:14.392,0:17:16.498 That's what He really wants you to hear. 0:17:16.498,0:17:19.054 Open your ears, brethren. Come away. 0:17:19.054,0:17:20.221 Come away. 0:17:20.221,0:17:23.650 "Arise, My love, My beautiful [br]one and come away. 0:17:23.650,0:17:27.504 Let Me see your face. [br]Let Me hear your voice. 0:17:27.504,0:17:29.672 Your voice is sweet. Your face is lovely." 0:17:29.672,0:17:32.625 And then you see - look at v. 1 0:17:32.625,0:17:34.415 of chapter 3. 0:17:34.415,0:17:38.075 Go to chapter 3:1. 0:17:38.075,0:17:43.207 Now you see, she's not with Him. 0:17:43.207,0:17:49.308 At one time, she's in His shadow. 0:17:49.308,0:17:52.021 Another time, He's on the [br]other side of the window. 0:17:52.021,0:17:54.835 He's calling to her. 0:17:54.835,0:18:00.016 Where is He now? 0:18:00.016,0:18:03.624 I know this. He's not with her. 0:18:03.624,0:18:05.440 Or maybe I should put it like this, 0:18:05.440,0:18:09.172 she's not with Him. 0:18:09.172,0:18:12.415 "On my bed by night, I sought Him 0:18:12.415,0:18:14.895 whom my soul loves." 0:18:14.895,0:18:19.648 There's a stirring of [br]desire here on her part. 0:18:19.648,0:18:22.205 "I sought Him but found Him not." 0:18:22.205,0:18:24.823 He's not with her. She's not with Him. 0:18:24.823,0:18:25.871 And you know what? 0:18:25.871,0:18:28.516 She can't find Him. 0:18:28.516,0:18:32.156 Again, the Christian life. 0:18:32.156,0:18:37.122 There are times when it's [br]like some cloud has come. 0:18:37.122,0:18:41.551 And you look and you can't find. 0:18:41.551,0:18:44.263 Where is He? 0:18:44.263,0:18:46.574 He hides His face. 0:18:46.574,0:18:48.455 We all know that. 0:18:48.455,0:18:51.774 That's reality to the Christian. 0:18:51.774,0:18:55.686 But... look at v. 4. 0:18:55.686,0:18:57.540 And you know what happens. 0:18:57.540,0:18:59.770 See, He departs for those seasons, 0:18:59.770,0:19:01.888 but it's not to be cruel. 0:19:01.888,0:19:04.037 And it's not because [br]He lacks desire to us, 0:19:04.037,0:19:07.043 because every time He comes [br]popping back up in this story, 0:19:07.043,0:19:10.556 it's with such desire for her. 0:19:10.556,0:19:13.356 But He doesn't depart to be cruel. 0:19:13.356,0:19:17.448 He departs so that she might 0:19:17.448,0:19:19.627 think on Him and muse about Him 0:19:19.627,0:19:23.617 and have her passions [br]stirred up about Him. 0:19:23.617,0:19:25.851 And see what happens 0:19:25.851,0:19:27.800 when there's those seasons of departure? 0:19:27.800,0:19:29.869 When she finds Him after that - 0:19:29.869,0:19:32.374 after you seek and you don't find 0:19:32.374,0:19:34.864 for a season and you can't find Him 0:19:34.864,0:19:36.376 and you can't find Him, 0:19:36.376,0:19:38.543 there's this darkness; there's this wall; 0:19:38.543,0:19:40.837 there's this distance; [br]there's this coldness, 0:19:40.837,0:19:43.156 and you search for Him [br]and you search for Him 0:19:43.156,0:19:45.106 and then He comes. 0:19:45.106,0:19:48.205 Oh how you value that! 0:19:48.205,0:19:52.857 And look at it. Look what she says. 0:19:52.857,0:19:55.200 She says, "Scarcely had I passed them 0:19:55.200,0:19:56.648 when I found Him. 0:19:56.648,0:19:58.305 I found Him whom my soul loves." 0:19:58.305,0:20:02.736 And look, she's not casual now. 0:20:02.736,0:20:07.166 "I held Him and I would not let Him go." 0:20:07.166,0:20:10.553 But you know the problem is 0:20:10.553,0:20:14.303 we're such vacillating creatures. 0:20:14.303,0:20:16.792 We know that. He's come back again. 0:20:16.792,0:20:19.677 And we're like I'm holding on to Him. 0:20:19.677,0:20:20.879 I'm not letting Him go. 0:20:20.879,0:20:22.940 I'm not going back down in that valley. 0:20:22.940,0:20:24.701 I'm not going back out in the desert. 0:20:24.701,0:20:27.236 I'm not going back to where [br]I don't know where He is. 0:20:27.236,0:20:28.920 I am not going to let sin creep in. 0:20:28.920,0:20:31.300 I am not going to grieve the Spirit. 0:20:31.300,0:20:32.636 We make these resolutions. 0:20:32.636,0:20:34.249 We plead - you ever been there? 0:20:34.249,0:20:35.381 Pleading with the Lord: 0:20:35.381,0:20:38.181 Please Lord, don't ever let [br]me go back to the way it was. 0:20:38.181,0:20:41.163 Keep me here on this [br]mountaintop always. 0:20:41.163,0:20:43.937 You ever been there? 0:20:43.937,0:20:46.964 I've been there. 0:20:46.964,0:20:51.999 Because the pitiful thing about this - 0:20:51.999,0:20:54.199 it's the reality. 0:20:54.199,0:20:59.475 Now we go to chapter 5. 0:20:59.475,0:21:04.180 And in v. 2, she says - 0:21:04.180,0:21:05.608 and the interesting thing is, 0:21:05.608,0:21:08.815 she's not with Him anymore. 0:21:08.815,0:21:13.336 In fact, she's sleeping. 0:21:13.336,0:21:16.826 She's fallen asleep. 0:21:16.826,0:21:19.793 She's not with Him again. 0:21:19.793,0:21:23.798 She's allowed separation - again. 0:21:23.798,0:21:25.942 She's not dead 0:21:25.942,0:21:29.300 like those who know not the Lord. 0:21:29.300,0:21:32.878 There's still reality in her heart. 0:21:32.878,0:21:36.029 Still His voice resonates with her. 0:21:36.029,0:21:37.974 Her heart is awake. 0:21:37.974,0:21:39.299 And we know this. 0:21:39.299,0:21:43.790 Christ's sheep hear His voice. 0:21:43.790,0:21:45.995 There's still, though we can become 0:21:45.995,0:21:48.433 cold and calloused in seasons. 0:21:48.433,0:21:49.971 And He's speaking to her, 0:21:49.971,0:21:53.592 and like always here, what's He saying? 0:21:53.592,0:21:55.776 What does He say to her? 0:21:55.776,0:22:00.072 "Open to Me." 0:22:00.072,0:22:03.830 Oh, if we only had ears to hear that. 0:22:03.830,0:22:06.517 He's saying it all the time to His people. 0:22:06.517,0:22:09.651 "Open to Me." 0:22:09.651,0:22:13.482 "My sister, My love, [br]My dove, My perfect one." 0:22:13.482,0:22:18.766 And notice the excuses. 0:22:18.766,0:22:20.437 Yes, this is us as well. 0:22:20.437,0:22:24.545 Again, you know what I [br]want to emphasize to you? 0:22:24.545,0:22:28.931 You will never find Him making excuses. 0:22:28.931,0:22:32.009 He is always saying, "open." 0:22:32.009,0:22:35.098 He is always calling to her. 0:22:35.098,0:22:36.917 He doesn't make excuses. 0:22:36.917,0:22:38.839 Only she does. 0:22:38.839,0:22:40.211 Now look, if you went back 0:22:40.211,0:22:42.870 to the earthly Solomon 0:22:42.870,0:22:46.415 and one of his brides, 0:22:46.415,0:22:49.056 you would not find [br]such perfections in him. 0:22:49.056,0:22:50.929 He was not a perfect man. 0:22:50.929,0:22:52.753 We know that. 0:22:52.753,0:22:55.088 But here, we're dealing with a Solomon 0:22:55.088,0:22:56.655 who is perfect. 0:22:56.655,0:23:00.082 We're dealing with One who is constantly 0:23:00.082,0:23:02.249 in the right frame; 0:23:02.249,0:23:04.516 constantly expressing His love; 0:23:04.516,0:23:05.853 constantly loving - 0:23:05.853,0:23:08.197 no matter how He's treated, 0:23:08.197,0:23:12.033 He's constantly expressing His desire. 0:23:12.033,0:23:13.833 It's unwavering. 0:23:13.833,0:23:15.054 It's unchanging. 0:23:15.054,0:23:17.285 She's the one that vacillates. 0:23:17.285,0:23:21.935 She makes excuses. He never does. 0:23:21.935,0:23:24.655 That's not real to life. 0:23:24.655,0:23:26.739 That's not real to a man and a woman 0:23:26.739,0:23:28.137 in any marriage here. 0:23:28.137,0:23:30.293 The man and the woman [br]both have their problems. 0:23:30.293,0:23:33.004 What's interesting is in [br]the Song of Solomon 0:23:33.004,0:23:34.813 only she has problems. 0:23:34.813,0:23:36.283 He never does. 0:23:36.283,0:23:37.952 He's perfect. 0:23:37.952,0:23:39.583 He's altogether blameless, 0:23:39.583,0:23:42.391 altogether beautiful, [br]altogether desirable, 0:23:42.391,0:23:44.647 the chief among ten thousand. 0:23:44.647,0:23:46.630 You find that. 0:23:46.630,0:23:51.618 And notice: "I put off my garment. 0:23:51.618,0:23:53.758 How could I put it on? 0:23:53.758,0:23:56.958 I bathed my feet. How could I soil them?" 0:23:56.958,0:23:58.825 And brethren, I'll just say this, 0:23:58.825,0:24:00.138 do these verses not agree 0:24:00.138,0:24:04.359 to the experience of us all? 0:24:04.359,0:24:07.799 Our Lord is bidding us to come. 0:24:07.799,0:24:14.014 This is such a cheap excuse. 0:24:14.014,0:24:18.210 But does it not resonate with us? 0:24:18.210,0:24:21.275 And then you see what happens. 0:24:21.275,0:24:26.175 She moves, but she moves too late. 0:24:26.175,0:24:27.723 And He's gone. 0:24:27.723,0:24:30.169 Look at v. 4 and following. 0:24:30.169,0:24:33.779 "My Beloved put His hand to the latch. 0:24:33.779,0:24:36.358 My heart was thrilled within me. 0:24:36.358,0:24:37.826 I arose to open to my Beloved, 0:24:37.826,0:24:40.753 and my hands dripped with myrrh,[br]my fingers with liquid myrrh 0:24:40.753,0:24:42.047 on the handles of the bolt. 0:24:42.047,0:24:43.190 I opened to my Beloved, 0:24:43.190,0:24:46.346 and my Beloved had turned and gone." 0:24:46.346,0:24:50.250 He was gone. 0:24:50.250,0:24:52.896 "My soul failed me when He spoke. 0:24:52.896,0:24:55.556 I sought Him but found Him not. 0:24:55.556,0:24:57.548 I called Him but He gave no answer." 0:24:57.548,0:25:01.434 How did she get back here again? 0:25:01.434,0:25:06.540 By her own excuses and by her own sleep. 0:25:06.540,0:25:11.372 She delayed and now He's gone. 0:25:11.372,0:25:13.760 And she can't find Him. 0:25:13.760,0:25:16.443 And then you look what happens in v. 7. 0:25:16.443,0:25:18.624 She gets a thrashing. 0:25:18.624,0:25:21.352 "The watchmen found me as [br]they went about in the city. 0:25:21.352,0:25:22.870 They beat me. They bruised me. 0:25:22.870,0:25:24.826 They took away my veil." 0:25:24.826,0:25:28.970 These watchmen of the walls. 0:25:28.970,0:25:31.920 And the reality is, with His departure, 0:25:31.920,0:25:33.961 she becomes exposed to such things 0:25:33.961,0:25:37.718 as she would have never been exposed to 0:25:37.718,0:25:43.668 if she had gotten up in time. 0:25:43.668,0:25:46.363 She's suffering this for [br]her own consequences. 0:25:46.363,0:25:48.542 If she'd gotten up [br]in time, He'd be with her 0:25:48.542,0:25:51.628 and none of this would have ever happened. 0:25:51.628,0:25:53.617 And the thing about it is, 0:25:53.617,0:25:57.023 it just makes me think, 0:25:57.023,0:26:01.514 as a Christian, we can bear trials 0:26:01.514,0:26:06.563 as long as He's with us. 0:26:06.563,0:26:08.691 Have you been in the midst of a trial 0:26:08.691,0:26:10.938 and you can't find Him? He's gone? 0:26:10.938,0:26:13.249 And there's no answer? 0:26:13.249,0:26:16.290 Yeah, that's where Job was. 0:26:16.290,0:26:18.379 Job in the midst of all of his trials, 0:26:18.379,0:26:20.218 you don't see him bemoaning too much 0:26:20.218,0:26:21.696 the loss of his children 0:26:21.696,0:26:23.335 or the loss of his riches. 0:26:23.335,0:26:24.786 The thing he really bemoaned 0:26:24.786,0:26:28.015 was the loss of the face of God. 0:26:28.015,0:26:32.706 And that makes any trial most miserable. 0:26:32.706,0:26:35.226 And you know what's interesting? 0:26:35.226,0:26:40.959 From this point to the end of this Song, 0:26:40.959,0:26:47.574 it's not apparent when [br]she finds Him again. 0:26:47.574,0:26:50.900 You will find no specific verse that says, 0:26:50.900,0:26:54.097 "I found Him." 0:26:54.097,0:26:56.006 Not after this. 0:26:56.006,0:27:01.034 But, we only know that she does find Him. 0:27:01.034,0:27:02.130 How do we know that? 0:27:02.130,0:27:07.457 Well, look at chapter 8:5. 0:27:07.457,0:27:10.015 What we find after this 0:27:10.015,0:27:12.039 through the rest of this Song 0:27:12.039,0:27:15.836 is just enormous amounts [br]of mutual adoration. 0:27:15.836,0:27:18.663 She overflows about Him. 0:27:18.663,0:27:21.272 He overflows about her. 0:27:21.272,0:27:23.454 But when exactly she finds Him, 0:27:23.454,0:27:25.453 we're not made overly aware. 0:27:25.453,0:27:27.445 We just know that she does find Him 0:27:27.445,0:27:31.401 because in chapter 8:5, 0:27:31.401,0:27:33.979 "Who is that coming [br]up from the wilderness 0:27:33.979,0:27:36.921 leaning on her Beloved?" 0:27:36.921,0:27:39.804 Well, she's at His side now. 0:27:39.804,0:27:42.645 And you know what's [br]interesting for all that? 0:27:42.645,0:27:48.447 There's never any indication [br]of separation after that. 0:27:48.447,0:27:52.321 And yet, when you get [br]to the very last verse 0:27:52.321,0:27:54.794 of this Song of Solomon, 0:27:54.794,0:27:56.452 notice what it says. 0:27:56.452,0:27:58.668 Chapter 8:14, 0:27:58.668,0:28:04.821 she ends with these last words. 0:28:04.821,0:28:06.975 Looking to Christ, 0:28:06.975,0:28:11.140 she says, "Make haste." 0:28:11.140,0:28:14.186 "Make haste, my Beloved, [br]and be like a gazelle." 0:28:14.186,0:28:16.677 Gazelles are fast. 0:28:16.677,0:28:20.300 "...Or a young stag on the [br]mountains of spices." 0:28:20.300,0:28:22.172 Make haste. 0:28:22.172,0:28:27.880 To me, that's a perfect finale. 0:28:27.880,0:28:31.270 Because it resonates [br]with that finale we find 0:28:31.270,0:28:33.759 in Revelation, does it not? 0:28:33.759,0:28:36.283 The Spirit and the bride - 0:28:36.283,0:28:39.554 what are their words [br]as you end the Scripture? 0:28:39.554,0:28:41.286 "Come." 0:28:41.286,0:28:44.991 Make haste, Lord. Come. 0:28:44.991,0:28:47.442 Because the reality is - 0:28:47.442,0:28:49.506 the reality of all this is 0:28:49.506,0:28:52.388 that no matter how much you have here, 0:28:52.388,0:28:54.117 you want Him to make haste to come 0:28:54.117,0:28:57.110 so that we might have [br]something even better, 0:28:57.110,0:29:01.814 even fuller, even deeper, even richer. 0:29:01.814,0:29:07.434 So, you have these separations. 0:29:07.434,0:29:09.024 You have excuses. 0:29:09.024,0:29:11.125 You have her finding Him.[br]You have her close. 0:29:11.125,0:29:14.559 You have Him departing. 0:29:14.559,0:29:16.800 What makes this so wonderful 0:29:16.800,0:29:19.939 and so practical is that every one of us 0:29:19.939,0:29:21.890 true Christians in this room - 0:29:21.890,0:29:24.566 we know this. We feel this. 0:29:24.566,0:29:27.001 This is reality. This is reality. 0:29:27.001,0:29:29.002 Seasons where we can't find Him. 0:29:29.002,0:29:30.604 Seasons where He's silent. 0:29:30.604,0:29:32.005 Seasons when we're close. 0:29:32.005,0:29:34.114 Seasons when we desire more desire. 0:29:34.114,0:29:35.898 Lord, draw me. 0:29:35.898,0:29:39.311 Seasons when, ah, we want. We desire. 0:29:39.311,0:29:40.737 Seasons when we have Him. 0:29:40.737,0:29:43.477 Seasons when our souls [br]are ravished by Him. 0:29:43.477,0:29:46.943 But this is our experience - fluctuation. 0:29:46.943,0:29:50.601 Spiritual fluctuation are all part of it. 0:29:50.601,0:29:54.426 In heaven, there is going to be a sense - 0:29:54.426,0:29:56.213 I want to be careful how I say this. 0:29:56.213,0:30:01.240 In heaven, there's going to be this [br]glorious unchangeableness. 0:30:01.240,0:30:04.650 But by that, I don't mean static. 0:30:04.650,0:30:07.670 I just mean this: 0:30:07.670,0:30:09.667 I think everything increases, 0:30:09.667,0:30:11.956 because I think Edwards was right. 0:30:11.956,0:30:15.345 Because the longer we're in heaven, 0:30:15.345,0:30:18.366 the more we're going to come to know Him 0:30:18.366,0:30:20.844 and to know Him is to love Him, 0:30:20.844,0:30:22.537 so with the increase of knowledge 0:30:22.537,0:30:24.411 will come the increase of love. 0:30:24.411,0:30:27.152 But I see it unchangeable in the sense 0:30:27.152,0:30:30.866 that it's this unchangeable increase. 0:30:30.866,0:30:32.572 There will never be the decrease 0:30:32.572,0:30:33.986 that we experience here 0:30:33.986,0:30:38.805 because here it's spirit and flesh. 0:30:38.805,0:30:46.567 The spirit is willing, and... 0:30:46.567,0:30:49.206 the flesh is weak. 0:30:49.206,0:30:52.169 That's where we find ourselves. 0:30:52.169,0:30:53.628 In heaven, there's going to be 0:30:53.628,0:30:58.048 this increasing consistency 0:30:58.048,0:31:00.453 in our love, in our communion, 0:31:00.453,0:31:02.502 intimacy, fellowship. 0:31:02.502,0:31:04.522 But how given to change we are here! 0:31:04.522,0:31:06.015 And it's not just us. 0:31:06.015,0:31:07.520 You know what? 0:31:07.520,0:31:10.251 Don't you love that Scripture is real? 0:31:10.251,0:31:12.987 I mean, you go to it and what do you find? 0:31:12.987,0:31:15.726 Abraham - a friend of God. 0:31:15.726,0:31:17.876 Certainly here is a pillar of faith. 0:31:17.876,0:31:21.405 Certainly here in [br]Romans 4, he's set forth. 0:31:21.405,0:31:26.009 His faith didn't waver. 0:31:26.009,0:31:31.619 Well, what's this with Pharaoh? 0:31:31.619,0:31:33.764 Abraham, you couldn't trust the Lord 0:31:33.764,0:31:37.378 well enough to protect you and Sarah 0:31:37.378,0:31:41.425 to not be letting Pharaoh snatch 0:31:41.425,0:31:45.087 your wife away? 0:31:45.087,0:31:48.743 Or, Elijah - I mean, bold! 0:31:48.743,0:31:52.681 400 prophets of Baal. 0:31:52.681,0:31:54.502 Where is Baal? 0:31:54.502,0:31:56.885 Maybe he's gone on a vacation? 0:31:56.885,0:32:00.587 In the literal, it's: [br]maybe he's in the bathroom. 0:32:00.587,0:32:06.883 But then he's running away from Jezebel. 0:32:06.883,0:32:10.404 David - you see David - 0:32:10.404,0:32:12.168 he makes expression, 0:32:12.168,0:32:14.214 surely, one of these days, 0:32:14.214,0:32:17.242 Saul is just going to catch me. 0:32:17.242,0:32:20.154 Yet, he can hear the threats of Goliath 0:32:20.154,0:32:22.764 and he is bold as a lion. 0:32:22.764,0:32:25.754 There are fluctuations, fluctuations. 0:32:25.754,0:32:26.781 We see it. 0:32:26.781,0:32:29.712 I mean, sometimes, 0:32:29.712,0:32:32.373 Samson looked like a champion. 0:32:32.373,0:32:34.488 We know he was one of the people of God. 0:32:34.488,0:32:36.777 And there's other days, [br]he didn't look so good. 0:32:36.777,0:32:39.917 Solomon himself - 0:32:39.917,0:32:43.869 what wavering, what vacillating! 0:32:43.869,0:32:45.827 We see that. We're vacillating. 0:32:45.827,0:32:47.190 We're unsteady. We waver. 0:32:47.190,0:32:48.600 But you know what's beautiful 0:32:48.600,0:32:50.574 about the Song of Solomon? 0:32:50.574,0:32:56.636 Is He, our Beloved, 0:32:56.636,0:33:00.898 there's no fluctuation with Him. 0:33:00.898,0:33:02.512 There's steadiness. 0:33:02.512,0:33:03.885 Steadiness. 0:33:03.885,0:33:06.486 You know what I find? 0:33:06.486,0:33:10.272 She made her excuses. 0:33:10.272,0:33:13.960 He still addresses her as "My love." 0:33:13.960,0:33:15.608 She's been asleep. 0:33:15.608,0:33:17.755 He still addresses her as "My love." 0:33:17.755,0:33:19.293 There's been separation. 0:33:19.293,0:33:22.616 He still addresses her as His love. 0:33:22.616,0:33:26.988 He still is inviting her to come close. 0:33:26.988,0:33:28.960 He still calls her. 0:33:28.960,0:33:30.409 Just look at it. 0:33:30.409,0:33:36.473 Look at chapter 2:13. 0:33:36.473,0:33:39.799 Notice. He says, 0:33:39.799,0:33:43.874 "Arise, My love, My beautiful [br]one, and come away." 0:33:43.874,0:33:47.340 But then when we get to chapter 3, 0:33:47.340,0:33:48.844 He's gone. He's not with her. 0:33:48.844,0:33:51.151 There's been some separation. 0:33:51.151,0:33:52.695 She's thinking about Him. 0:33:52.695,0:33:54.893 She pursues Him - can't find Him. 0:33:54.893,0:33:58.174 But notice, when He shows up again, 0:33:58.174,0:34:03.286 Song of Solomon 4:1. 0:34:03.286,0:34:05.488 "Behold, you are beautiful, My love. 0:34:05.488,0:34:09.085 Behold, you are beautiful." 0:34:09.085,0:34:11.480 She's been asleep. She's fallen asleep. 0:34:11.480,0:34:13.462 Take this as spiritual sleep. 0:34:13.462,0:34:14.950 We slumber sometimes. 0:34:14.950,0:34:18.355 We fall into some spiritual sleep 0:34:18.355,0:34:20.227 and what happens? 0:34:20.227,0:34:22.627 There He is again. 0:34:22.627,0:34:24.636 "Open to Me, My sister, My love, 0:34:24.636,0:34:26.625 My dove, My perfect one." 0:34:26.625,0:34:28.680 Even when she's been sleeping. 0:34:28.680,0:34:30.343 And then beyond that, 0:34:30.343,0:34:32.197 she makes the excuses. 0:34:32.197,0:34:34.318 Well, I can't get up and let Him in. 0:34:34.318,0:34:35.815 My feet are clean. 0:34:35.815,0:34:37.687 And you know what, even after that, 0:34:37.687,0:34:39.175 after that account, when you go 0:34:39.175,0:34:41.884 to Song of Solomon 6:4-5 - 0:34:41.884,0:34:45.790 see, there's no movement on His part. 0:34:45.790,0:34:49.572 There's no excuse-making. 0:34:49.572,0:34:54.525 He simply says, 0:34:54.525,0:34:56.636 "You are beautiful as Tirzah, My love, 0:34:56.636,0:34:58.195 lovely as Jerusalem, 0:34:58.195,0:34:59.973 awesome as an army with banners. 0:34:59.973,0:35:04.881 Turn away your eyes from Me,[br]for they overwhelm Me." 0:35:04.881,0:35:09.116 This is what you need to grasp. 0:35:09.116,0:35:14.771 On your worst day, you're still His love. 0:35:14.771,0:35:18.064 His sister, His friend, His bride. 0:35:18.064,0:35:21.081 None of that ever changes. 0:35:21.081,0:35:22.634 Do you see that? 0:35:22.634,0:35:24.491 Do you feel that? 0:35:24.491,0:35:28.499 In this state of grace in which we stand, 0:35:28.499,0:35:31.552 oh, how many fluctuations and alterations 0:35:31.552,0:35:33.155 and changes do we experience, 0:35:33.155,0:35:35.238 and yet the reality of all this is, 0:35:35.238,0:35:38.155 Christ's love to us remains unmoved, 0:35:38.155,0:35:39.506 it remains the same. 0:35:39.506,0:35:42.755 Once loved, forever loved. 0:35:42.755,0:35:44.941 That's the reality of all this. 0:35:44.941,0:35:47.189 No inconsistency on His part. 0:35:47.189,0:35:53.505 Yes, flesh and blood, united to us - 0:35:53.505,0:35:55.945 or flesh and spirit. 0:35:55.945,0:35:57.882 The spirit willing... 0:35:57.882,0:36:00.260 we feel weighed down by the flesh. 0:36:00.260,0:36:03.120 We feel its tug. 0:36:03.120,0:36:05.703 I'll tell you this, consistent 0:36:05.703,0:36:09.544 uninterrupted communion with Christ - 0:36:09.544,0:36:11.327 greatly to be desired, 0:36:11.327,0:36:13.534 greatly to be sought. 0:36:13.534,0:36:16.048 And I'll tell you, we should [br]be moving towards that. 0:36:16.048,0:36:18.699 We should be longing towards that. 0:36:18.699,0:36:22.172 But the realities in this life 0:36:22.172,0:36:25.428 is it does get interrupted. 0:36:25.428,0:36:28.664 There's yet unsubdued corruption 0:36:28.664,0:36:30.357 and it gets the best of us. 0:36:30.357,0:36:32.241 And we've all been there as Christians. 0:36:32.241,0:36:35.248 And yet His voice - it's like [br]through all of it though, 0:36:35.248,0:36:36.630 even on our worst day, 0:36:36.630,0:36:38.458 even when we fall into temptation, 0:36:38.458,0:36:43.254 even when we're discouraged [br]and we're cast down, 0:36:43.254,0:36:46.462 and yet the thing about His voice, 0:36:46.462,0:36:50.209 His voice all the way through this song - 0:36:50.209,0:36:51.752 it's a Song! 0:36:51.752,0:36:55.192 He's singing over His bride. 0:36:55.192,0:36:59.457 He sings to us constantly this voice. 0:36:59.457,0:37:01.994 Chapter 5:2, "Open to Me, 0:37:01.994,0:37:04.741 My sister, My love, [br]My dove, My perfect one, 0:37:04.741,0:37:06.366 for My head is wet with dew, 0:37:06.366,0:37:11.733 My locks with the drops of the night." 0:37:11.733,0:37:14.901 The causes of sleep - [br]let's think about this. 0:37:14.901,0:37:17.270 She's sleeping. 0:37:17.270,0:37:19.110 (incomplete thought) 0:37:19.110,0:37:21.953 Oh, that's another thing. 0:37:21.953,0:37:24.474 You'll notice this. 0:37:24.474,0:37:28.867 She sleeps. 0:37:28.867,0:37:32.687 You'll find her on her bed. 0:37:32.687,0:37:34.474 He never sleeps. 0:37:34.474,0:37:36.668 You'll never find Him sleeping 0:37:36.668,0:37:39.229 one time in this whole Song. 0:37:39.229,0:37:42.764 He doesn't sleep. 0:37:42.764,0:37:45.189 And I was thinking, 0:37:45.189,0:37:46.748 what are some of the reasons 0:37:46.748,0:37:49.551 that we go to sleep? 0:37:49.551,0:37:55.277 Spiritual sleep. Spiritual slumber. 0:37:55.277,0:37:56.994 You remember this? 0:37:56.994,0:37:58.711 "When Christ arose from prayer, 0:37:58.711,0:38:00.066 He came to the disciples 0:38:00.066,0:38:05.501 and found them sleeping for sorrow. 0:38:05.501,0:38:06.548 And He said to them, 0:38:06.548,0:38:08.565 'Why are you sleeping? Rise and pray, 0:38:08.565,0:38:10.911 that you may not enter into temptation.'" 0:38:10.911,0:38:15.337 You know one of the [br]reasons we can go to sleep? 0:38:15.337,0:38:18.467 Sorrow. 0:38:18.467,0:38:19.825 Trials. 0:38:19.825,0:38:21.323 (incomplete thought) 0:38:21.323,0:38:25.744 You know, if anyone in here 0:38:25.744,0:38:27.542 says the Christian life is easy, 0:38:27.542,0:38:30.945 you haven't lived it that long. 0:38:30.945,0:38:34.118 Through many tribulations - 0:38:34.118,0:38:36.746 and be sure, that's no exaggeration. 0:38:36.746,0:38:38.586 Momentary light affliction, 0:38:38.586,0:38:41.983 but affliction nevertheless. 0:38:41.983,0:38:44.130 (incomplete thought) 0:38:44.130,0:38:46.496 Not every season's the same. 0:38:46.496,0:38:47.597 I'll grant you that. 0:38:47.597,0:38:50.438 And we're all in different seasons. 0:38:50.438,0:38:52.729 There may be some [br]commonalities that overlap 0:38:52.729,0:38:54.071 with some of us here, 0:38:54.071,0:38:55.803 but we're all in different seasons. 0:38:55.803,0:38:59.076 (incomplete thought) 0:38:59.076,0:39:02.792 We're all at a different [br]place in the race. 0:39:02.792,0:39:04.404 Some more near the beginning, 0:39:04.404,0:39:07.590 some more near the end. 0:39:07.590,0:39:10.926 We're at different places of maturity. 0:39:10.926,0:39:13.323 We're in different forms and shapes 0:39:13.323,0:39:15.068 of trials in our life. 0:39:15.068,0:39:17.214 But you know, 0:39:17.214,0:39:19.167 we can get to places where we're 0:39:19.167,0:39:23.260 just barraged by temptations. 0:39:23.260,0:39:26.726 We're barraged by emotions 0:39:26.726,0:39:29.769 like sorrow and grief. 0:39:29.769,0:39:32.615 And then there's this, 0:39:32.615,0:39:36.251 sometimes just discouragement. 0:39:36.251,0:39:38.485 We get discouraged. 0:39:38.485,0:39:40.218 Discouraged with our own growth, 0:39:40.218,0:39:47.308 discouraged by our own [br]lack of sanctification, 0:39:47.308,0:39:50.430 discouraged by God not doing everything 0:39:50.430,0:39:52.846 that we desire God to do. 0:39:52.846,0:39:56.060 We can just get discouraged. 0:39:56.060,0:39:58.255 And you know what? We can get weary. 0:39:58.255,0:39:59.748 Just with striving, 0:39:59.748,0:40:02.867 just with the spiritual exertion required 0:40:02.867,0:40:04.422 especially in some seasons. 0:40:04.422,0:40:06.076 The truth is, why do you think 0:40:06.076,0:40:07.426 there are texts that say 0:40:07.426,0:40:08.990 not to get weary in well-doing, 0:40:08.990,0:40:10.805 and we should pray and not faint? 0:40:10.805,0:40:14.348 Because the reality is we get worn down. 0:40:14.348,0:40:16.166 I feel that. 0:40:16.166,0:40:17.511 Oh, there are some seasons 0:40:17.511,0:40:20.168 that are a breath of fresh air. 0:40:20.168,0:40:22.886 There's these reviving winds. 0:40:22.886,0:40:25.420 But there are times when it's difficult 0:40:25.420,0:40:26.731 and we get worn out. 0:40:26.731,0:40:29.807 And that can put us to sleep. 0:40:29.807,0:40:31.735 We can sleep for sorrow. 0:40:31.735,0:40:34.448 You can want to sleep [br]when things get difficult. 0:40:34.448,0:40:36.748 Because you know what, [br]when they get difficult, 0:40:36.748,0:40:38.493 you want to turn aside. 0:40:38.493,0:40:40.564 You want to lay down. 0:40:40.564,0:40:41.877 You want to withdraw. 0:40:41.877,0:40:44.835 You want the trial to stop. 0:40:44.835,0:40:47.505 Or there's this, and it comes [br]out of this letter too. 0:40:47.505,0:40:49.157 Another way we fall to sleep 0:40:49.157,0:40:52.584 is by neglect of prayer. 0:40:52.584,0:40:55.146 And you see that in the same text. 0:40:55.146,0:40:58.994 "Watch and pray that you may [br]not enter into temptation..." 0:40:58.994,0:41:00.558 is what Scripture says. 0:41:00.558,0:41:03.984 Watch and pray that you may not... 0:41:03.984,0:41:05.912 you see, it's not "sleep and pray," 0:41:05.912,0:41:08.311 because you don't pray when you're asleep. 0:41:08.311,0:41:10.085 Neglect of prayer. 0:41:10.085,0:41:14.445 Staying awake. 0:41:14.445,0:41:16.400 You know, in Scripture, 0:41:16.400,0:41:17.990 being alert, being awake, 0:41:17.990,0:41:21.401 goes hand-in-hand with praying. 0:41:21.401,0:41:24.968 Oh, Christian, we can very foolishly 0:41:24.968,0:41:28.156 get to the place where we lay 0:41:28.156,0:41:30.165 a small priority; 0:41:30.165,0:41:34.700 we give little creedance to prayer. 0:41:34.700,0:41:36.652 We can get to the place where: 0:41:36.652,0:41:38.834 Oh, I can miss the prayer meeting. 0:41:38.834,0:41:40.262 It won't affect my life. 0:41:40.262,0:41:41.975 I won't go to sleep. 0:41:41.975,0:41:43.792 And yet, Jesus is specifically saying 0:41:43.792,0:41:45.135 watch and pray. 0:41:45.135,0:41:46.309 And these two things: 0:41:46.309,0:41:47.948 an alertness, an aliveness, 0:41:47.948,0:41:50.044 an awareness - 0:41:50.044,0:41:52.778 it goes hand-in-hand with prayer. 0:41:52.778,0:41:55.814 Oh, it's okay that I didn't get [br]into the secret place today. 0:41:55.814,0:41:57.567 I did it three days ago. 0:41:57.567,0:41:59.951 It's okay that I don't go to the [br]prayer meeting this week, 0:41:59.951,0:42:03.305 because after all, it won't matter. 0:42:03.305,0:42:04.580 It won't matter. 0:42:04.580,0:42:07.572 I won't be more asleep for [br]not having been there. 0:42:07.572,0:42:09.645 That's not true. 0:42:09.645,0:42:12.766 Be very careful. 0:42:12.766,0:42:14.380 Be very careful. 0:42:14.380,0:42:17.386 Not praying is not being watchful 0:42:17.386,0:42:18.655 and you go to sleep. 0:42:18.655,0:42:22.542 And that's exactly what [br]he is describing here. 0:42:22.542,0:42:26.939 Sleep takes you. 0:42:26.939,0:42:29.991 The individual who sleeps - [br]you think about it - 0:42:29.991,0:42:31.392 they're not cognizant. 0:42:31.392,0:42:32.690 They're not aware. 0:42:32.690,0:42:33.745 When you're sleeping, 0:42:33.745,0:42:35.788 you're not really aware [br]that you're asleep. 0:42:35.788,0:42:38.070 You're aware of dreams, 0:42:38.070,0:42:40.826 but you're not really aware of reality. 0:42:40.826,0:42:42.600 You're disconnected from reality. 0:42:42.600,0:42:44.152 That's the reality with sleep. 0:42:44.152,0:42:46.658 While you sleep, you can't discuss sleep. 0:42:46.658,0:42:49.198 You can't contemplate how you sleep. 0:42:49.198,0:42:52.567 Why? Because you're asleep. 0:42:52.567,0:42:57.991 Or besides these two things - 0:42:57.991,0:42:59.865 we get weary, 0:42:59.865,0:43:02.271 we get negligent of prayer. 0:43:02.271,0:43:04.152 How about this? 0:43:04.152,0:43:06.371 (incomplete thought) 0:43:06.371,0:43:08.746 Have you ever been around [br]somebody that yawns? 0:43:08.746,0:43:10.088 You're in a group of people 0:43:10.088,0:43:11.852 and you watch somebody yawn over here 0:43:11.852,0:43:15.900 and then, something happens in our brain. 0:43:15.900,0:43:19.205 You get around yawning persons 0:43:19.205,0:43:22.021 and it's contagious. 0:43:22.021,0:43:23.439 There's something to that. 0:43:23.439,0:43:25.667 So it is spiritually speaking. 0:43:25.667,0:43:28.295 If you want to fall asleep, 0:43:28.295,0:43:30.455 truthfully, you want to fall asleep? 0:43:30.455,0:43:33.088 Surround yourself with [br]spiritual sluggards. 0:43:33.088,0:43:35.792 It will put you down. 0:43:35.792,0:43:39.151 I'll tell you, there is nothing like, 0:43:39.151,0:43:41.485 if you're in biography 0:43:41.485,0:43:42.883 or you're in the church, 0:43:42.883,0:43:45.135 there is nothing like surrounding yourself 0:43:45.135,0:43:48.050 with people who run faster than you do. 0:43:48.050,0:43:50.416 People who are all out. 0:43:50.416,0:43:52.613 You want to fall asleep? 0:43:52.613,0:43:55.569 I'm talking about professing believers 0:43:55.569,0:44:01.378 who are just content [br]with the way their life is. 0:44:01.378,0:44:05.648 They're just an example of [br]slumbering Christianity. 0:44:05.648,0:44:07.975 The contented - you know the kind. 0:44:07.975,0:44:10.900 They're just coasting. Contented coasters. 0:44:10.900,0:44:14.738 Or worse, the complainers. 0:44:14.738,0:44:16.926 The cold. 0:44:16.926,0:44:19.258 Those who are just cold water 0:44:19.258,0:44:21.713 on any sort of heat in the church, 0:44:21.713,0:44:23.534 alertness, any sort of fire 0:44:23.534,0:44:26.332 to live for Christ and run for Christ 0:44:26.332,0:44:28.076 and have intimacy with Christ. 0:44:28.076,0:44:30.355 Surround yourself with [br]those kind of people. 0:44:30.355,0:44:31.766 They're just a wet blanket, 0:44:31.766,0:44:35.713 a cold bucket of water. 0:44:35.713,0:44:37.441 That'll put you down. 0:44:37.441,0:44:39.185 Get around people who, you know, 0:44:39.185,0:44:41.341 you want to talk about something spiritual 0:44:41.341,0:44:44.292 but it always goes carnal. 0:44:44.292,0:44:46.740 That'll put you to sleep. 0:44:46.740,0:44:50.023 That's a sleep-inducer. 0:44:50.023,0:44:51.691 What's the hallmark of sleepers? 0:44:51.691,0:44:55.101 (incomplete thought) 0:44:55.101,0:44:57.558 You know what it's like. 0:44:57.558,0:44:59.751 Somebody wants to sleep? 0:44:59.751,0:45:01.530 They often want to be alone. 0:45:01.530,0:45:03.364 You know, if one of my children gets sick 0:45:03.364,0:45:05.071 and they want to sleep, where do they go? 0:45:05.071,0:45:06.424 They go to be alone. 0:45:06.424,0:45:08.561 Scripture actually says [br]something about being alone. 0:45:08.561,0:45:11.279 "Whoever isolates himself [br]seeks his own desire." 0:45:11.279,0:45:13.988 It says that in Proverbs. [br]That's not such a good thing. 0:45:13.988,0:45:15.130 People who want to sleep 0:45:15.130,0:45:17.758 typically don't want to be around those 0:45:17.758,0:45:19.303 that are on fire. 0:45:19.303,0:45:22.031 Men who want to sleep - [br]what do they like to do too? 0:45:22.031,0:45:26.522 I mean, oftentimes, 0:45:26.522,0:45:27.826 my wife closes the blinds. 0:45:27.826,0:45:29.366 Why are you closing the blinds? 0:45:29.366,0:45:31.028 People can see us in here. 0:45:31.028,0:45:32.705 Well, we're on the second story 0:45:32.705,0:45:34.561 and we've got trees all the way around 0:45:34.561,0:45:36.747 and I like to see the light come through. 0:45:36.747,0:45:38.671 But typically, people when they sleep, 0:45:38.671,0:45:39.931 they close the blinds. 0:45:39.931,0:45:41.145 They draw the curtains. 0:45:41.145,0:45:43.798 Why? They want dark. 0:45:43.798,0:45:46.741 Or they don't want people to see them. 0:45:46.741,0:45:50.490 That's true of people that want to sleep. 0:45:50.490,0:45:52.647 They don't want to be in the light. 0:45:52.647,0:45:56.289 You know, there's something about light. 0:45:56.289,0:45:58.607 Guys that have to work third shift, 0:45:58.607,0:46:00.615 to me, that would be extremely difficult 0:46:00.615,0:46:02.501 because there's something about light. 0:46:02.501,0:46:04.247 In fact, they say that about people 0:46:04.247,0:46:05.602 who live like up in Alaska, 0:46:05.602,0:46:07.664 and the closer you [br]get to the Arctic Circle 0:46:07.664,0:46:09.294 where in the summertime - 0:46:09.294,0:46:11.130 our sister was up there working 0:46:11.130,0:46:12.792 way up in Canada. 0:46:12.792,0:46:15.450 You can ask her what that [br]was like in the summertime. 0:46:15.450,0:46:17.890 You know, where your days [br]are 18 or 20 hours long. 0:46:17.890,0:46:21.294 Very difficult to sleep [br]when there's light. 0:46:21.294,0:46:24.757 You want to not sleep? Come in the light. 0:46:24.757,0:46:27.184 Come where the light is. 0:46:27.184,0:46:30.221 Get away from the slumbering life 0:46:30.221,0:46:38.995 and example of some professing Christians. 0:46:38.995,0:46:42.924 Those who sleep sleep at night. 0:46:42.924,0:46:46.959 How do you discern your own sleep? 0:46:46.959,0:46:51.979 Well, there's a couple good rulers. 0:46:51.979,0:46:54.046 Are you running as well as you did before? 0:46:54.046,0:46:55.575 I mean, that's where Jesus goes 0:46:55.575,0:46:59.306 with the church at Ephesus. 0:46:59.306,0:47:03.425 You know, you have this coming 0:47:03.425,0:47:04.629 from the mouth of Paul: 0:47:04.629,0:47:06.446 You did run well. 0:47:06.446,0:47:07.962 That was said of the Galatians. 0:47:07.962,0:47:09.861 You did run well. 0:47:09.861,0:47:11.315 In other words, he's implying, 0:47:11.315,0:47:13.032 you're not running well now. 0:47:13.032,0:47:14.769 But you did run well. 0:47:14.769,0:47:16.740 That's often a good marker. 0:47:16.740,0:47:19.464 Did I run better in the past? 0:47:19.464,0:47:22.679 Did I have a greater love in the past? 0:47:22.679,0:47:23.848 What's another way? 0:47:23.848,0:47:26.462 Another way is compare yourself. 0:47:26.462,0:47:28.429 Example is powerful in Scripture. 0:47:28.429,0:47:30.994 But compare yourself to people [br]who you know are godly 0:47:30.994,0:47:32.616 and who do run well. 0:47:32.616,0:47:34.733 If you're sadly lacking, 0:47:34.733,0:47:38.678 that can be a good way [br]to discern your own sleep. 0:47:38.678,0:47:40.170 But you just have to ask. 0:47:40.170,0:47:42.066 Joy. 0:47:42.066,0:47:45.556 Joy in the singing. 0:47:45.556,0:47:46.923 Has that diminished? 0:47:46.923,0:47:48.061 You know, you can tell. 0:47:48.061,0:47:51.174 You can kind of feel if you've [br]grieved the Spirit in your life. 0:47:51.174,0:47:53.106 Because part of the fruit - 0:47:53.106,0:47:56.610 that so desirable fruit 0:47:56.610,0:47:58.348 that comes from the Spirit, 0:47:58.348,0:48:01.814 a certain aspect of that is joy. 0:48:01.814,0:48:04.555 And you know when you [br]begin to lose joy in prayer 0:48:04.555,0:48:06.898 and you lose joy going to the Word 0:48:06.898,0:48:08.781 and you lose joy in the singing, 0:48:08.781,0:48:10.407 that can be a real wake up call. 0:48:10.407,0:48:12.186 Something is lacking. 0:48:12.186,0:48:14.391 Something isn't here. 0:48:14.391,0:48:17.415 You can tell that something is diminished. 0:48:17.415,0:48:19.244 There's this fluctuation. 0:48:19.244,0:48:23.624 You're kind of on the down side of things. 0:48:23.624,0:48:25.407 Coming into the presence of Christ 0:48:25.407,0:48:27.330 is just not so thrilling to your soul, 0:48:27.330,0:48:28.720 not so exciting. 0:48:28.720,0:48:30.445 (incomplete thought) 0:48:30.445,0:48:32.147 We get sloppy. 0:48:32.147,0:48:34.937 You get sleepy. You get sloppy. 0:48:34.937,0:48:36.834 Somebody was just telling me recently 0:48:36.834,0:48:39.298 about being in class and taking notes. 0:48:39.298,0:48:40.560 And I remember, 0:48:40.560,0:48:43.306 being in college myself, 0:48:43.306,0:48:46.677 and you're so tired and [br]you're taking the notes 0:48:46.677,0:48:49.495 and the prof is writing [br]on the board up there 0:48:49.495,0:48:50.602 or on the overhead, 0:48:50.602,0:48:52.153 and you're taking these notes 0:48:52.153,0:48:55.445 and you just fall asleep. 0:48:55.445,0:48:57.150 That's what happens when you sleep. 0:48:57.150,0:48:58.388 You get sloppy. 0:48:58.388,0:49:01.407 And remember what it's like in Malachi? 0:49:01.407,0:49:04.256 What kind of offerings [br]are you bringing Me? 0:49:04.256,0:49:05.572 Blind? 0:49:05.572,0:49:08.788 You go offer that to your governor. 0:49:08.788,0:49:12.693 We can get sloppy in what [br]we're offering to the Lord. 0:49:12.693,0:49:16.251 That's what happens when you go to sleep. 0:49:16.251,0:49:18.628 Brethren, before we wrap this up, 0:49:18.628,0:49:19.991 what I want you to see 0:49:19.991,0:49:29.283 is the greatest offense in all of this. 0:49:29.283,0:49:32.153 Notice Song of Solomon 5:2, 0:49:32.153,0:49:35.251 "I slept, but my heart was awake. 0:49:35.251,0:49:39.895 A sound, my Beloved is knocking." 0:49:39.895,0:49:41.612 Oh, I want you to see something here 0:49:41.612,0:49:46.890 that you probably have missed up till now. 0:49:46.890,0:49:49.026 "Open to Me, My sister, My love, 0:49:49.026,0:49:52.669 My dove, My perfect one. 0:49:52.669,0:49:58.130 For My head is wet with dew, 0:49:58.130,0:50:03.745 My locks with the drops of the night." 0:50:03.745,0:50:06.328 And she responds: [br]Well, I'd put off my garment, 0:50:06.328,0:50:07.531 "how could I put it on? 0:50:07.531,0:50:10.115 I bathed my feet. How could I soil them?" 0:50:10.115,0:50:13.404 And yet, here is Christ saying, 0:50:13.404,0:50:16.335 "My head is wet..." 0:50:16.335,0:50:19.655 and she's saying, [br]"I've put off my garment." 0:50:19.655,0:50:24.176 "My locks drip..." 0:50:24.176,0:50:26.700 She's saying, "I've bathed my feet." 0:50:26.700,0:50:29.124 May God give us eyes to [br]see what's happening here. 0:50:29.124,0:50:32.847 When the Lord calls to His love 0:50:32.847,0:50:34.729 and He says these words: 0:50:34.729,0:50:39.193 "My head is wet with dew," 0:50:39.193,0:50:45.127 that may not strike [br]you at first as it ought, 0:50:45.127,0:50:46.549 but here's the thing, 0:50:46.549,0:50:50.530 don't imagine that prior to Him 0:50:50.530,0:50:52.351 coming to her door, 0:50:52.351,0:50:55.616 He was out in the middle of the fields 0:50:55.616,0:50:58.503 sitting there getting wet 0:50:58.503,0:51:00.957 and now He's wet and He says, 0:51:00.957,0:51:02.506 I know what I'm going to do, 0:51:02.506,0:51:07.758 I'm going to go to My [br]love's bedroom and knock. 0:51:07.758,0:51:10.797 That's not the picture. 0:51:10.797,0:51:15.117 Rather, the picture you [br]probably want to see here 0:51:15.117,0:51:21.170 is He was dry and He came to the door. 0:51:21.170,0:51:24.290 And He began knocking. 0:51:24.290,0:51:26.744 And He knocked so long 0:51:26.744,0:51:29.931 and He called so long 0:51:29.931,0:51:31.901 that the dew settled on Him. 0:51:31.901,0:51:34.326 I think that's the picture 0:51:34.326,0:51:37.384 that you want to see. 0:51:37.384,0:51:39.099 He was wet. 0:51:39.099,0:51:42.238 He was wet due to the time 0:51:42.238,0:51:45.845 he stood outside that door knocking. 0:51:45.845,0:51:47.397 Not because of what He was doing 0:51:47.397,0:51:49.077 before He came knocking. 0:51:49.077,0:51:53.674 And I would just say this: what love! 0:51:53.674,0:51:55.545 And what patience! 0:51:55.545,0:51:58.328 Oh, have you not found it so? 0:51:58.328,0:52:03.324 Has Christ not been [br]abundantly patient with us? 0:52:03.324,0:52:05.333 Have you not repeatedly said, 0:52:05.333,0:52:09.224 oh, what a fool I am! 0:52:09.224,0:52:15.073 And He still says, "Come to Me, My love." 0:52:15.073,0:52:16.457 He continues knocking. 0:52:16.457,0:52:17.920 He continues calling 0:52:17.920,0:52:21.387 until His head is wet with the dew. 0:52:21.387,0:52:23.195 And what does she do? 0:52:23.195,0:52:26.412 What do we do? 0:52:26.412,0:52:27.726 Well, you know what we do? 0:52:27.726,0:52:29.844 We miss His heart. 0:52:29.844,0:52:31.645 (incomplete thought) 0:52:31.645,0:52:35.188 Get the picture! 0:52:35.188,0:52:38.957 This is a bedroom. 0:52:38.957,0:52:40.912 Christ comes. 0:52:40.912,0:52:43.169 Excuse me if you have tender ears, 0:52:43.169,0:52:47.455 but He wants to make love to your soul. 0:52:47.455,0:52:51.278 And we have excuses. 0:52:51.278,0:52:52.434 I can't go to prayer. 0:52:52.434,0:52:53.803 I can't go walk with Him. 0:52:53.803,0:52:57.364 I can't go meditate on what He says to me. 0:52:57.364,0:53:00.366 I don't have time for this. 0:53:00.366,0:53:08.016 Because after all, I have social media. 0:53:08.016,0:53:11.130 We are fools. 0:53:11.130,0:53:12.914 And I'll tell you this, 0:53:12.914,0:53:17.029 what this says to every one [br]of us is we could have more. 0:53:17.029,0:53:19.805 And He wants more. 0:53:19.805,0:53:24.174 And He calls to us to give us more. 0:53:24.174,0:53:26.668 Oh, what excuse making on our part! 0:53:26.668,0:53:29.739 What hesitations! 0:53:29.739,0:53:31.455 I won't put my garment on 0:53:31.455,0:53:32.818 and risk soiling my feet. 0:53:32.818,0:53:36.295 Oh brethren, that sounds silly. 0:53:36.295,0:53:38.768 It's almost like to write that in here, 0:53:38.768,0:53:41.365 what silliness! 0:53:41.365,0:53:43.880 Oh yeah, but if we're honest, 0:53:43.880,0:53:46.676 we've probably missed 0:53:46.676,0:53:48.933 intimacies with Christ 0:53:48.933,0:53:53.904 for even more silly excuses. 0:53:53.904,0:53:56.679 Isn't that the way we live our lives? 0:53:56.679,0:54:00.577 We're constantly measuring. 0:54:00.577,0:54:02.281 Should I do this? Should I do this? 0:54:02.281,0:54:05.516 We're constantly making these decisions. 0:54:05.516,0:54:07.426 Should I sit down and do this? 0:54:07.426,0:54:09.727 Should I do this? Should I do this? 0:54:09.727,0:54:13.200 And in these decisions that we make, 0:54:13.200,0:54:15.828 oh, on a regular basis, every one of us 0:54:15.828,0:54:20.051 would confess we've made decisions. 0:54:20.051,0:54:22.442 We've hesitated. 0:54:22.442,0:54:25.784 That's the thing. Hesitations. 0:54:25.784,0:54:27.420 He's come to His bride at night 0:54:27.420,0:54:30.053 to her bedroom ready for intimacy. 0:54:30.053,0:54:31.913 He calls to her. He knocks. 0:54:31.913,0:54:35.452 He beckons until His head is wet with dew. 0:54:35.452,0:54:37.879 And what's she doing? [br]She's making excuses. 0:54:37.879,0:54:39.134 And I would just say this, 0:54:39.134,0:54:42.066 brethren, look, sometimes we can take 0:54:42.066,0:54:45.086 this idea from Scripture about hastiness. 0:54:45.086,0:54:47.108 Whoa, I'm not going to be hasty. 0:54:47.108,0:54:50.542 I'll tell you this, you should be hasty 0:54:50.542,0:54:52.469 to run into the arms of Christ. 0:54:52.469,0:54:55.143 You should be hasty [br]to spend time with Him. 0:54:55.143,0:54:56.738 We deliberate too much. 0:54:56.738,0:54:58.100 We're too cautious. 0:54:58.100,0:54:59.351 Too much calculation. 0:54:59.351,0:55:01.240 Too much carefulness on our part 0:55:01.240,0:55:03.485 when it comes to living all out for Christ 0:55:03.485,0:55:07.325 and being for Christ [br]and being with Christ. 0:55:07.325,0:55:10.127 Right here, His unimaginable love 0:55:10.127,0:55:11.875 is put on display. 0:55:11.875,0:55:16.015 He endures such indignities from us 0:55:16.015,0:55:18.704 as to sit outside that door and knock 0:55:18.704,0:55:22.283 and call to us until His head is wet 0:55:22.283,0:55:23.279 with the dew. 0:55:23.279,0:55:29.908 Christ endures indignities [br]from His church. 0:55:29.908,0:55:31.647 And we all have to raise our hand - 0:55:31.647,0:55:33.243 this is true to our experience. 0:55:33.243,0:55:36.211 We all know it. We feel it. 0:55:36.211,0:55:42.632 Still, after this insult, in chapter 6:4, 0:55:42.632,0:55:45.471 "You are beautiful as Tirzah, My love." 0:55:45.471,0:55:47.324 He's making us beautiful. 0:55:47.324,0:55:49.360 And we just can never get away from that. 0:55:49.360,0:55:52.713 "Lovely as Jerusalem." 0:55:52.713,0:55:56.588 He says, "Turn away your eyes from Me, 0:55:56.588,0:56:04.019 for they overwhelm Me." 0:56:04.019,0:56:06.127 Yes, when she delayed, 0:56:06.127,0:56:09.076 He turned and He left. 0:56:09.076,0:56:11.505 But again, I'll tell you, [br]it's not to be cruel. 0:56:11.505,0:56:12.920 And if you look right there, 0:56:12.920,0:56:15.851 if you've got your Bibles [br]open to chapter 5, 0:56:15.851,0:56:20.729 you'll see that when He left, 0:56:20.729,0:56:23.544 "my Beloved had turned and gone," 0:56:23.544,0:56:27.029 when you get over to v. 10, 0:56:27.029,0:56:28.738 you know what it produces in her? 0:56:28.738,0:56:33.672 It produces her thinking about Him. 0:56:33.672,0:56:36.477 Her longing for Him just erupts. 0:56:36.477,0:56:38.748 "My Beloved is radiant and ruddy, 0:56:38.748,0:56:41.809 distinguished among ten thousand..." 0:56:41.809,0:56:44.002 See what His departure did? 0:56:44.002,0:56:48.834 It causes a yearning. It's a good thing. 0:56:48.834,0:56:51.540 It's a good thing. 0:56:51.540,0:56:54.688 And He's withdrawn, [br]but it's only for a season. 0:56:54.688,0:56:57.232 It always is for His children. 0:56:57.232,0:56:59.314 Because His heart really is like this. 0:56:59.314,0:57:01.681 It's yearning for His people. 0:57:01.681,0:57:03.856 What you need to see here is Christ 0:57:03.856,0:57:08.162 never has enough of [br]you and your affections. 0:57:08.162,0:57:10.341 You'll remember back there in Ephesians 3 0:57:10.341,0:57:12.452 where we came from. 0:57:12.452,0:57:17.854 It's that Christ might dwell [br]in your hearts through faith. 0:57:17.854,0:57:19.931 It's Christ coming close. 0:57:19.931,0:57:21.407 He desires that. 0:57:21.407,0:57:24.154 He will have more and more of you. 0:57:24.154,0:57:26.906 That's why He says to [br]a church like Ephesus: 0:57:26.906,0:57:30.706 Repent! I will remove candlesticks 0:57:30.706,0:57:32.524 if I do not have your love. 0:57:32.524,0:57:35.096 It means that much to Me. 0:57:35.096,0:57:37.158 He will have our love. 0:57:37.158,0:57:40.952 And He still greatly desires her. 0:57:40.952,0:57:42.848 He will have your love more and more. 0:57:42.848,0:57:45.168 He will have your hearts more and more. 0:57:45.168,0:57:48.195 He desires further [br]entrance into your heart, 0:57:48.195,0:57:49.840 into your affections, 0:57:49.840,0:57:52.677 that He might dwell there more deeply 0:57:52.677,0:57:53.723 all the time. 0:57:53.723,0:57:56.985 I'll tell you, He is not content 0:57:56.985,0:58:00.491 with any of this until [br]we're all in heaven. 0:58:00.491,0:58:02.818 And you see it in that [br]high priestly prayer. 0:58:02.818,0:58:04.697 I mean, when He's praying to His Father 0:58:04.697,0:58:06.732 there in John 17, He says: 0:58:06.732,0:58:10.921 "My desire is that they be [br]with Me where I am." 0:58:10.921,0:58:12.595 And that's where we're all headed. 0:58:12.595,0:58:15.986 He's not content. His desire is that we 0:58:15.986,0:58:17.364 would be with Him. 0:58:17.364,0:58:19.340 You answer me, Christian. 0:58:19.340,0:58:22.082 When there's any separation, 0:58:22.082,0:58:24.473 when there's any coldness or strangeness 0:58:24.473,0:58:26.797 between your soul and Christ, 0:58:26.797,0:58:28.786 are you going to blame Christ? 0:58:28.786,0:58:31.154 Will you blame Him? 0:58:31.154,0:58:34.076 Not when He's the one who [br]is portrayed in Scripture 0:58:34.076,0:58:36.486 as standing at the door and knocking - 0:58:36.486,0:58:39.003 even knocking until the [br]very locks of His head 0:58:39.003,0:58:44.438 are dripping with dew. 0:58:44.438,0:58:46.422 This speaks loudly to the fact 0:58:46.422,0:58:48.401 that He takes no delight or desire 0:58:48.401,0:58:51.695 in separation or distance between us. 0:58:51.695,0:58:54.567 And look, when we don't prize Him 0:58:54.567,0:58:56.016 as we ought to, 0:58:56.016,0:58:58.071 and we make our excuses against 0:58:58.071,0:59:02.284 drawing close to Him, 0:59:02.284,0:59:07.292 it's no wonder that [br]He draws away at times. 0:59:07.292,0:59:09.981 He knocks. Oh, He knocks. 0:59:09.981,0:59:14.406 Therefore, we should lay [br]the blame on ourselves. 0:59:14.406,0:59:16.795 If we don't know more of revival, 0:59:16.795,0:59:19.846 more of the ravishing of the soul, 0:59:19.846,0:59:24.254 more of filling, more of glory, 0:59:24.254,0:59:28.012 typically, we can blame [br]ourselves for that 0:59:28.012,0:59:32.507 because of choices that we've made. 0:59:32.507,0:59:35.185 Look, what you have to gather from this 0:59:35.185,0:59:39.912 is nothing contents Him [br]about saving a people 0:59:39.912,0:59:43.415 but intimacy. 0:59:43.415,0:59:47.754 Eternal life is that we might know Him. 0:59:47.754,0:59:49.880 Intimacy. 0:59:49.880,0:59:51.656 That's it. 0:59:51.656,0:59:54.587 What condescension on His part! 0:59:54.587,0:59:56.252 I mean, you think about this. 0:59:56.252,0:59:58.606 You think about this. 0:59:58.606,1:00:01.427 He's in heaven. 1:00:01.427,1:00:05.844 I mean, He asked His Father to restore Him 1:00:05.844,1:00:07.991 to the glory that He had with the Father 1:00:07.991,1:00:10.272 before the world began. That's happened. 1:00:10.272,1:00:12.300 He's in the glory. 1:00:12.300,1:00:13.822 Surrounded by angels. 1:00:13.822,1:00:16.100 He's got His Father at His right hand. 1:00:16.100,1:00:20.270 And seriously? For all that, 1:00:20.270,1:00:24.353 He comes to us down here? 1:00:24.353,1:00:26.769 And He asks us to open to Him? 1:00:26.769,1:00:30.736 And He speaks such sweet [br]things to our souls? 1:00:30.736,1:00:35.412 And He even stands outside [br]and gets His head wet? 1:00:35.412,1:00:40.473 And we make excuses? 1:00:40.473,1:00:41.804 What is this? 1:00:41.804,1:00:44.694 Look, what has all this been about? 1:00:44.694,1:00:46.968 It's been about the love of Christ. 1:00:46.968,1:00:49.942 Is there any such love [br]like this for anybody? 1:00:49.942,1:00:51.497 He laid down His life. 1:00:51.497,1:00:53.323 He comes. He knocks. 1:00:53.323,1:00:56.052 Look, He comes out of love for us. 1:00:56.052,1:00:57.740 He knocks out of love for us. 1:00:57.740,1:01:00.129 He lets His head grow wet for love for us. 1:01:00.129,1:01:02.838 He waits for us. He calls to us. 1:01:02.838,1:01:05.710 I would just say this, for any of you 1:01:05.710,1:01:09.117 believers out here, you've relapsed. 1:01:09.117,1:01:10.996 Oh, we don't like "backsliding" 1:01:10.996,1:01:12.624 in our circles. 1:01:12.624,1:01:15.317 It's too much of the carnal Christian. 1:01:15.317,1:01:18.071 Yeah, but there are seasons [br]where Christians get carnal, 1:01:18.071,1:01:19.769 and you can call them carnal Christians 1:01:19.769,1:01:22.357 just like the Corinthians were [br]called carnal Christians 1:01:22.357,1:01:23.949 and the reality is this, 1:01:23.949,1:01:25.200 we do backslide. 1:01:25.200,1:01:26.730 We do have fluctuations. 1:01:26.730,1:01:28.775 And I would just say to any 1:01:28.775,1:01:31.040 who have relapsed in any way, 1:01:31.040,1:01:34.838 don't be discouraged to [br]return to Him but at once! 1:01:34.838,1:01:36.391 Go to Him! 1:01:36.391,1:01:38.613 Don't stay away. Don't stay at a distance. 1:01:38.613,1:01:41.803 The church here was drowsy, sleepy, 1:01:41.803,1:01:44.749 treated Christ unkindly, made excuses, 1:01:44.749,1:01:48.548 yet He's so patient and He waits for her, 1:01:48.548,1:01:53.074 like at her leisure, you could say. 1:01:53.074,1:01:56.633 Constantly saying, [br]"open to Me, open to Me." 1:01:56.633,1:01:59.325 You just remember times like Thomas, 1:01:59.325,1:02:01.682 how condescending Christ was. 1:02:01.682,1:02:04.594 He didn't just blast him for his unbelief. 1:02:04.594,1:02:07.596 Come. Come. 1:02:07.596,1:02:09.254 Put your finger in here. 1:02:09.254,1:02:11.051 Or Peter after the rejection. 1:02:11.051,1:02:12.915 He comes to him. 1:02:12.915,1:02:15.239 Be encouraged. 1:02:15.239,1:02:18.855 Christ never has enough of His church. 1:02:18.855,1:02:23.243 And He's calling, calling, calling. 1:02:23.243,1:02:26.937 "Come closer. Come, My love." 1:02:26.937,1:02:28.671 Just let this grab you 1:02:28.671,1:02:31.135 through this whole thing, 1:02:31.135,1:02:37.063 He never ever stops calling her His love. 1:02:37.063,1:02:39.515 She may mistreat Him. 1:02:39.515,1:02:45.404 He doesn't stop calling her His love. 1:02:45.404,1:02:51.121 "Father, I desire that they may [br]be with Me where I am." 1:02:51.121,1:02:54.071 You hear His voice in this. 1:02:54.071,1:02:56.827 "Come away. Come away. 1:02:56.827,1:03:02.148 I desire to see your face." 1:03:02.148,1:03:05.440 If you've got eyes to see, 1:03:05.440,1:03:09.250 if you've got ears to hear, 1:03:09.250,1:03:14.253 something greater than Solomon is here. 1:03:14.253,1:03:19.653 Father, I pray that Your Word [br]would speak to Your people. 1:03:19.653,1:03:22.086 I pray it in Christ's name, Amen.