For those of you who have randomly viewed my blog; I honestly don't really keep track with this site as much as I could. I want to state again that the Song of Songs studies are outlined by my studies done by Mike Bickel. I have had three separate classes by three different people who all had their own way of presenting the teaching, but they all stemmed out of Bickle's teachings. After finding myself with very little foundation that wasn't really rooted and grounded in the love of Christ I came to a dead end. In His mercy, He gave me the grace and the charge to really go after the Song of Songs. So in January 2007 - July 2008 I took all my notes, audio's and commentaries. I then devoted myself to the call of God on my life to really fall in love with God. I have come quite along way since I really pursued Jesus for real. I give God all the glory for revealing the truths of His nature and as well our nature through this book. The study is a work in progress that I am laying down for a few years. Please enjoy and go deep into the heart of Jesus. Blessed be the Lord for all His mercies.
Just a brief update on me. I praise the Lord for all the wonderful things He has done in my life. I am going to do a Discipleship Training School(D.T.S.) through Youth With A Mission(YWAM) starting on September 1, 2008. So 5 more weeks. I love how the Lord takes us in to seasons when He knows we will have the capacity to take it. I am sure that if I had done a D.T.S before the upcoming season it would have been harmful to what the Lord has done in my heart and in my life these past few years. So praise God that He is faithful to bring us into maturity at a speed that will not cause us to freak out and lose it.
Prayer points:
Focus on D.T.S. That I may be faithful and get all that I can get from the 5 month program.
Spirit of wisdom and revelation of the knowledge of God; a healthy fear of the Lord.
Contending for a laboring Spirit; not through striving, but flowing through the grace of the Holy Spirit.
Financial support. I need to raise 6,000.00-8,000.00 Kiwi dollars.
Faith.
Jesus, I pray through all things that You may be glorified. Awaken my heart to the affections that You have for me. Cause my heart to yearn. Lord raise up an awareness in my heart for the Holiness of God almighty. Pour out Your redeeming blood. Do not depart Your Holy Spirit from me oh God. You are worthy Blessed Father. I give You the glory of the redemption and remission of sins in my life. I am thankful that it pleased the Father to pierce the Son. Your grace is sufficient and i long to know You more Son of God. Amen
Thursday, July 24, 2008
Sunday, July 13, 2008
SONG OF SONGS: THE BRIDES FINAL INTERCESSION AND REVELATION. (8:8-14)
THE BRIDES FINAL INTERCESSION AND REVELATION.
(8:8-14)
8:8; We have a little sister and she has no breast. What shall we do for our sister in the day when she is spoken for?
Sister: Remembering babes in Christ.
And she has no breast: Immature.
What shall we do for our sister: 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12; The responsibility of exhorting and nurturing new and immature believers.
In that day: The day or days of God’s visitation. Seasons in which God does a new and higher level of work in us that matures us. There are times and seasons when the Lord requires more from us in our devotion to Him.
* Isaiah 62:6; "I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent". We need a visitation from God that would cause us to long for the habitation of God. Prayer again is the only way to really fall in deep affection for the God-man. Prayer and fasting will give us the burden for the mission field. To evangelize, and to strengthen the church we must have an active prayer life. I love that the beginning of the last section is a commission to strengthen the bride of Christ. She is seasoned and very mature. With confidence she can now go to the nations. She can boldly proclaim the affections of God over her peers, as well as random people walking along the street.
* Statistics show that some 90% of young kiwi converts in the nation of New Zealand walk away from their faith in God within 12 months of leaving home for university. They find fascination in drugs, sex and violence. Fueled with the intellectual bull crap their being fed by science, psychology, and other philosophical nonsense, they become justified in the sights of men. I think mainly because people are scared to have to own up to anything. So again the crisis situation at hand, which the Lord is charging us here is to edify and equip the immature in Christ( especially the youth ). We need to be devoted to them, helping them attain a one thing desire for Jesus is more important than keeping them out of gangs or off drugs, if their fascination is in Jesus than they will stay out of gangs and off drugs by default. We need leaders and teachers who are willing to throw away all their time and get deep rooted foundations so that they can edify and equip by the Spirit.
* I believe the Lord longs to pour out His Spirit on anyone who will worship in Spirit and truth. He wants to interact with weak broken people. I also believe that many people are missing out on the visitation of the Lord. People are ill-equipped, therefore they are not prepared for the visitation of the Lord and they would not recognize the Lord if He did come to them. I don’t know of any other means that by which we are filled with God and taken from immature to mature than by the way of prayer and fasting. Imagine if all our youth groups and programs were ignited by the fire of the Holy Spirit? All we would have to do is show up and Jesus would lead us to salvation and restoration.
8:9; If she is a wall, we will build upon her. A battlement of silver. And if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
If she is a wall: Defense and protection. We need to build walls for the immature believers.
Mentoring and praying for immature believers for strong foundations.
We will build upon her: Feeding, exhorting. Teaching immature believers. Commitment to equip.
Battlement: A place for protection and the raising up of mature believers.
Silver: Redemption.
Door: Colossians 4:3-6; Walking out your salvation. Redeeming the time. Giving time and energy into exhorting Godly wisdom into others. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
We will enclose her in boards of cedar: The clothing of Jesus. Reconstruction from the old man unto transformation into the new man.
* Again, a declaration to equip the immature bride. Helping them put on their battle suits (Ephesians 6:10-20), equipping them for war. It is our job to respond to the Holy Spirit of God, He uses us as His vessel of knowledge and truth, that it may go forth for all to know. Lord raise up laborers and set Your watchmen on the wall. Acts 4:29; Give Your saints boldness to go into the nations and preach the kingdom of truth.
* Redemption, being fully clothed in mature confidence comes from many seasons with toiling through night and day prayers with fasting. Being corrected, submitting fully to the beatitudes. Saints of old not only give us inspiration by their intense writing and sermons that led to thousand and even millions of converts in their day to the Lord, but as well the extreme things that they faced in their lives. Many were sick to the point of death. Many suffered from the tragic loss of family. They are a cistern of deep hope and inspiration that we can draw from. The one thing they all had in common, they all embraced prayer and fasting. Their close relationship with the Lord caused them to have a deep foundation in love the gave them the ability to fully trust in their Lord and Savior. When others told them to stop for health sakes they would continue. Charles Finney was told several times if he continued on that his health would fail him and the result would be death. Finney pressed through and found that the Lord healed him in every case, and thousands, entire towns were converted because he continued on.
* The hymn, "It Is Well" was written by Wesley in response to his wife and kids death. Their ship sank killing them and many others. Wesley was supposed to be on that ship but was asked to stay for a few more weeks. I fear that we as a people of the church are not equipped to handle such devastating blows. It is a miracle of God that I have not walked away from God. Jesus has never given up on me. And instead of letting me fall into oblivion He has strengthened me and my faith in God has become even stronger in the last year. God is faithful to preserve His children. He is sovereign to perfect that which concerns Him ( Psalm 138:8).
8:10; I am a wall and my breast like towers. Then I became in His eyes as one who found peace.
I am a wall: She see’s herself as a well built wall of protection. Confidence to nurture and guide others.
My breast like towers: Maturity in Christ. Strength.
Towers: Strong.
His eyes: The living flame of love see’s her as a confident lover of peace and the concerns of God. Revelation 1:14; …and His eyes like a flame of fire.
* Oh for Godly confidence. Again Romans chapter 8 needs to be a graven reality in our hearts. When we get a revelation that cuts us to the core of our being that we are set free, we are no longer under condemnation, that we can never be separated from the love of Christ and that we are more than conquerors through this Christ, our reality changes from timid to powerfully bold. Nothing can stand against the true word of God, if we be in Christ than nothing can stand against us. Even if they trash our bodies and throw us in the fire we will not be separated from Christ. Jesus is with us, declaring over us His love and affirming us through all trials. Let us therefore come to the throne of grace boldly, let us go out to the streets boldly. He is with us, His eyes like a flame of fire. His heart burning in righteous jealousy over His bride(Deuteronomy 4:24). He is and will be forever faithful. He longs, yes, Jesus even yearns for our affections and our fascination to be in Him. And only through the Longing and fascination and the revelation that Jesus really does feel these things for us do we find rest and peace.
8:11; Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon; He leased the vineyard to keepers; Everyone was to bring for its fruit a thousand silver coins.
Solomon: A picture of Jesus as king.
He leased: God has entrusted His kingdom to the church.
The vineyard: Isaiah 5:7; For the vineyard of the Lord of host is the house of Israel. The global church is the vineyard of the new testament.
Keepers: Those entrusted I with responsibility to cultivate His truths in the earth.
Everyone: Everyone must bring forth fruitfulness ( Luke 12:31-48 ).
For its fruit: Matthew 21:33-41; Jesus requires that we bring forth fruit through the gifts that He freely gives to us.
Thousand: Fullness of giving our heart back to the pursuit of God.
Silver: Redemption. Purity ( Malachi 3:3 ).
* Just as Israel is the vineyard of God, the global church is also a vineyard of God. Matthew 21:33-41 is really intense. He is entrusting us with to cultivate the church in His name. He is letting us cultivate, nurture and protect it. All those that manipulate, try to over throw and blot God out. Those who defile the church with their own self righteous plans fueled by pride will be thrown into eternal condemnation.
* He is the refiner. He makes all things new. He is the great purifier. Those who seek the love of God will be given peace and love. Those who seek the attention and seek credit from crowds might get it, or they might not, but the one thing that is certain for them is eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus will give redemption and restoration in fullness to those who have in righteousness faithfully brought forth the fruitfulness of God in their lives. Jars of clay sings a song called, "I Need Thee Every Hour". Let us return to the Lord every hour of our lives.
8:12; My own vineyard is before me. You, O Solomon, may have a thousand. And those who tend its fruit two hundred.
My own vineyard: Accountability and responsibility to yourself before God.
Is before me: She is aware that she is going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ (Revelation 20:11-15).
And those who tend its fruit: Acknowledging those who helped her mature in the Lord. Those who helped will also rejoice and have honor and joy over her (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).
* In Songs 1:6 she could not keep her own vineyard. She had no personal accountability before God. Now out of the grace and affections of Jesus, she can boldly keep her own vineyard. I pray daily that the Lord would grind us into a confident place of mature love with Him, and that we might respond to the calling of a higher standard of integrity to follow His commandments.
* She is fully aware (as should you and I be) that she is going to come before the judgment seat of Christ. We will be accountable for every action we did and did not do. Every word and every thought. The only thing that we will have for eternity is the righteous things we did for the Lord through His holy Spirit, and likewise, the only thing that the children of wrath will have for eternity is what they did in unrighteousness. Halfhearted, self righteous attitudes will lead to a second death; Eternal separation from the Lord.
* Finally, she acknowledges and encourages those who helped her come to maturity with the Lord. It has been said of me by several people, "When I look or think about where the Lord has brought you out of, it gives me hope of the sovereign faithfulness of the Lord in my life". This coming from people I consider to be more mature in their walk than me. Yet they are inspired because the Lord has not let me fall away, they have watched me go from ate up drug addict to a regenerated prayer obsessed lover of God. And I probably wouldn’t have made through the last year without dedicated people keeping tract of me and fasting and praying for me. I thank God and them for their faithfulness.
8:13; You who dwell in the gardens. The companions listen for your voice- Let Me hear it.
You who dwell in the gardens: Individual and worldwide church.
Companions: Fellow believers who receive this Gospel of love.
Listen for your voice: Believers that eagerly desire an impartation of God from her. Shows credibility and maturity in her life.
Let Me hear it: The Lord wants to continually hear her voice.
4 WAYS FOR HIM TO HEAR OUR VOICE:
1. Worship
2. Teaching
3. Evangelism
4. Intercession
* The Lord’s final commandment is to hear her voice. He affirms her that He longs to hear her voice, it is lovely to hear her worship, teach, evangelize and intercede. He is also speaking to the church as a whole crying aloud in one voice in unity. Jesus does speak to those who speak to Him in continual pursuit to hear His voice. So lift your voice to the Lord.
* The Shulamite is finally in a place of confidence before the Lord. When you read the Epistles you get the feeling that these guys were not just throwing up hopeful prayers, they know that even before they prayed that what they asked the Father would be answered. They had confidence that Jesus loved their voice and loved to answer their weak cries for help. And just as we seek their writings to connect with God, the believers around us will seek our advice because it is full of the fruit of God.
8:14; Make haste my Beloved! And be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
Make haste: (2 Peter 3:12) Immediate response through intercession.
My Beloved: (Jesus) Divine love is the main source for motivation.
Gazelle: Swift.
Young stag: Strength.
Mountains: Human or demonic obstacles.
Spices: ( 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 ) His grace flourishing in our inner life.
* Her final response: Lord come quickly. Hasten Your return, I long to see Your face and Your kingdom come. Intercession will quicken His coming(Revelation 8:1-6; 2 Peter 3:12). In context to the end of the age. Come swiftly oh Lord with Your strength and deliver us from the demonic regime that is being raised up by satan. God come swiftly and be glorified. Deliver justice and have mercy on Your elect.
* This response is fully generated out of a heart that has become fully in love. In the midst of global persecution ( Revelation 13:5-10 ) what will cause the saints to not take the mark of the beast ( Revelation 13:16-17 )? There is a easy way out, so deceiving that even the elect might be deceived ( Matthew 24:24 ). We need to be rooted and grounded in the love of God that surpasses all knowledge. We can do nothing in our own strength, we need our foundations to be in God. We need the grip of the Holy Spirit of God to be the obsession of our lives.
* God is faithful. He longs for us to be in Him and not of this age. He is sovereign to perfect us. He is sovereign to save us. Even at the end of the age, when the saints refuse to follow the anti-Christ regime, and the on slaughter of the saints of God comes to a fullness unlike any other time on earth. We have faith that God is who He says He is and that He hasn’t left us nor forsaken us.
(8:8-14)
8:8; We have a little sister and she has no breast. What shall we do for our sister in the day when she is spoken for?
Sister: Remembering babes in Christ.
And she has no breast: Immature.
What shall we do for our sister: 1 Thessalonians 2:11-12; The responsibility of exhorting and nurturing new and immature believers.
In that day: The day or days of God’s visitation. Seasons in which God does a new and higher level of work in us that matures us. There are times and seasons when the Lord requires more from us in our devotion to Him.
* Isaiah 62:6; "I have set watchmen on your walls, O Jerusalem; They shall never hold their peace day or night. You who make mention of the Lord, do not keep silent". We need a visitation from God that would cause us to long for the habitation of God. Prayer again is the only way to really fall in deep affection for the God-man. Prayer and fasting will give us the burden for the mission field. To evangelize, and to strengthen the church we must have an active prayer life. I love that the beginning of the last section is a commission to strengthen the bride of Christ. She is seasoned and very mature. With confidence she can now go to the nations. She can boldly proclaim the affections of God over her peers, as well as random people walking along the street.
* Statistics show that some 90% of young kiwi converts in the nation of New Zealand walk away from their faith in God within 12 months of leaving home for university. They find fascination in drugs, sex and violence. Fueled with the intellectual bull crap their being fed by science, psychology, and other philosophical nonsense, they become justified in the sights of men. I think mainly because people are scared to have to own up to anything. So again the crisis situation at hand, which the Lord is charging us here is to edify and equip the immature in Christ( especially the youth ). We need to be devoted to them, helping them attain a one thing desire for Jesus is more important than keeping them out of gangs or off drugs, if their fascination is in Jesus than they will stay out of gangs and off drugs by default. We need leaders and teachers who are willing to throw away all their time and get deep rooted foundations so that they can edify and equip by the Spirit.
* I believe the Lord longs to pour out His Spirit on anyone who will worship in Spirit and truth. He wants to interact with weak broken people. I also believe that many people are missing out on the visitation of the Lord. People are ill-equipped, therefore they are not prepared for the visitation of the Lord and they would not recognize the Lord if He did come to them. I don’t know of any other means that by which we are filled with God and taken from immature to mature than by the way of prayer and fasting. Imagine if all our youth groups and programs were ignited by the fire of the Holy Spirit? All we would have to do is show up and Jesus would lead us to salvation and restoration.
8:9; If she is a wall, we will build upon her. A battlement of silver. And if she is a door, we will enclose her with boards of cedar.
If she is a wall: Defense and protection. We need to build walls for the immature believers.
Mentoring and praying for immature believers for strong foundations.
We will build upon her: Feeding, exhorting. Teaching immature believers. Commitment to equip.
Battlement: A place for protection and the raising up of mature believers.
Silver: Redemption.
Door: Colossians 4:3-6; Walking out your salvation. Redeeming the time. Giving time and energy into exhorting Godly wisdom into others. For the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
We will enclose her in boards of cedar: The clothing of Jesus. Reconstruction from the old man unto transformation into the new man.
* Again, a declaration to equip the immature bride. Helping them put on their battle suits (Ephesians 6:10-20), equipping them for war. It is our job to respond to the Holy Spirit of God, He uses us as His vessel of knowledge and truth, that it may go forth for all to know. Lord raise up laborers and set Your watchmen on the wall. Acts 4:29; Give Your saints boldness to go into the nations and preach the kingdom of truth.
* Redemption, being fully clothed in mature confidence comes from many seasons with toiling through night and day prayers with fasting. Being corrected, submitting fully to the beatitudes. Saints of old not only give us inspiration by their intense writing and sermons that led to thousand and even millions of converts in their day to the Lord, but as well the extreme things that they faced in their lives. Many were sick to the point of death. Many suffered from the tragic loss of family. They are a cistern of deep hope and inspiration that we can draw from. The one thing they all had in common, they all embraced prayer and fasting. Their close relationship with the Lord caused them to have a deep foundation in love the gave them the ability to fully trust in their Lord and Savior. When others told them to stop for health sakes they would continue. Charles Finney was told several times if he continued on that his health would fail him and the result would be death. Finney pressed through and found that the Lord healed him in every case, and thousands, entire towns were converted because he continued on.
* The hymn, "It Is Well" was written by Wesley in response to his wife and kids death. Their ship sank killing them and many others. Wesley was supposed to be on that ship but was asked to stay for a few more weeks. I fear that we as a people of the church are not equipped to handle such devastating blows. It is a miracle of God that I have not walked away from God. Jesus has never given up on me. And instead of letting me fall into oblivion He has strengthened me and my faith in God has become even stronger in the last year. God is faithful to preserve His children. He is sovereign to perfect that which concerns Him ( Psalm 138:8).
8:10; I am a wall and my breast like towers. Then I became in His eyes as one who found peace.
I am a wall: She see’s herself as a well built wall of protection. Confidence to nurture and guide others.
My breast like towers: Maturity in Christ. Strength.
Towers: Strong.
His eyes: The living flame of love see’s her as a confident lover of peace and the concerns of God. Revelation 1:14; …and His eyes like a flame of fire.
* Oh for Godly confidence. Again Romans chapter 8 needs to be a graven reality in our hearts. When we get a revelation that cuts us to the core of our being that we are set free, we are no longer under condemnation, that we can never be separated from the love of Christ and that we are more than conquerors through this Christ, our reality changes from timid to powerfully bold. Nothing can stand against the true word of God, if we be in Christ than nothing can stand against us. Even if they trash our bodies and throw us in the fire we will not be separated from Christ. Jesus is with us, declaring over us His love and affirming us through all trials. Let us therefore come to the throne of grace boldly, let us go out to the streets boldly. He is with us, His eyes like a flame of fire. His heart burning in righteous jealousy over His bride(Deuteronomy 4:24). He is and will be forever faithful. He longs, yes, Jesus even yearns for our affections and our fascination to be in Him. And only through the Longing and fascination and the revelation that Jesus really does feel these things for us do we find rest and peace.
8:11; Solomon had a vineyard at Baal Hamon; He leased the vineyard to keepers; Everyone was to bring for its fruit a thousand silver coins.
Solomon: A picture of Jesus as king.
He leased: God has entrusted His kingdom to the church.
The vineyard: Isaiah 5:7; For the vineyard of the Lord of host is the house of Israel. The global church is the vineyard of the new testament.
Keepers: Those entrusted I with responsibility to cultivate His truths in the earth.
Everyone: Everyone must bring forth fruitfulness ( Luke 12:31-48 ).
For its fruit: Matthew 21:33-41; Jesus requires that we bring forth fruit through the gifts that He freely gives to us.
Thousand: Fullness of giving our heart back to the pursuit of God.
Silver: Redemption. Purity ( Malachi 3:3 ).
* Just as Israel is the vineyard of God, the global church is also a vineyard of God. Matthew 21:33-41 is really intense. He is entrusting us with to cultivate the church in His name. He is letting us cultivate, nurture and protect it. All those that manipulate, try to over throw and blot God out. Those who defile the church with their own self righteous plans fueled by pride will be thrown into eternal condemnation.
* He is the refiner. He makes all things new. He is the great purifier. Those who seek the love of God will be given peace and love. Those who seek the attention and seek credit from crowds might get it, or they might not, but the one thing that is certain for them is eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth. Jesus will give redemption and restoration in fullness to those who have in righteousness faithfully brought forth the fruitfulness of God in their lives. Jars of clay sings a song called, "I Need Thee Every Hour". Let us return to the Lord every hour of our lives.
8:12; My own vineyard is before me. You, O Solomon, may have a thousand. And those who tend its fruit two hundred.
My own vineyard: Accountability and responsibility to yourself before God.
Is before me: She is aware that she is going to stand at the judgment seat of Christ (Revelation 20:11-15).
And those who tend its fruit: Acknowledging those who helped her mature in the Lord. Those who helped will also rejoice and have honor and joy over her (1 Thessalonians 2:19-20).
* In Songs 1:6 she could not keep her own vineyard. She had no personal accountability before God. Now out of the grace and affections of Jesus, she can boldly keep her own vineyard. I pray daily that the Lord would grind us into a confident place of mature love with Him, and that we might respond to the calling of a higher standard of integrity to follow His commandments.
* She is fully aware (as should you and I be) that she is going to come before the judgment seat of Christ. We will be accountable for every action we did and did not do. Every word and every thought. The only thing that we will have for eternity is the righteous things we did for the Lord through His holy Spirit, and likewise, the only thing that the children of wrath will have for eternity is what they did in unrighteousness. Halfhearted, self righteous attitudes will lead to a second death; Eternal separation from the Lord.
* Finally, she acknowledges and encourages those who helped her come to maturity with the Lord. It has been said of me by several people, "When I look or think about where the Lord has brought you out of, it gives me hope of the sovereign faithfulness of the Lord in my life". This coming from people I consider to be more mature in their walk than me. Yet they are inspired because the Lord has not let me fall away, they have watched me go from ate up drug addict to a regenerated prayer obsessed lover of God. And I probably wouldn’t have made through the last year without dedicated people keeping tract of me and fasting and praying for me. I thank God and them for their faithfulness.
8:13; You who dwell in the gardens. The companions listen for your voice- Let Me hear it.
You who dwell in the gardens: Individual and worldwide church.
Companions: Fellow believers who receive this Gospel of love.
Listen for your voice: Believers that eagerly desire an impartation of God from her. Shows credibility and maturity in her life.
Let Me hear it: The Lord wants to continually hear her voice.
4 WAYS FOR HIM TO HEAR OUR VOICE:
1. Worship
2. Teaching
3. Evangelism
4. Intercession
* The Lord’s final commandment is to hear her voice. He affirms her that He longs to hear her voice, it is lovely to hear her worship, teach, evangelize and intercede. He is also speaking to the church as a whole crying aloud in one voice in unity. Jesus does speak to those who speak to Him in continual pursuit to hear His voice. So lift your voice to the Lord.
* The Shulamite is finally in a place of confidence before the Lord. When you read the Epistles you get the feeling that these guys were not just throwing up hopeful prayers, they know that even before they prayed that what they asked the Father would be answered. They had confidence that Jesus loved their voice and loved to answer their weak cries for help. And just as we seek their writings to connect with God, the believers around us will seek our advice because it is full of the fruit of God.
8:14; Make haste my Beloved! And be like a gazelle or a young stag on the mountains of spices.
Make haste: (2 Peter 3:12) Immediate response through intercession.
My Beloved: (Jesus) Divine love is the main source for motivation.
Gazelle: Swift.
Young stag: Strength.
Mountains: Human or demonic obstacles.
Spices: ( 2 Corinthians 2:14-17 ) His grace flourishing in our inner life.
* Her final response: Lord come quickly. Hasten Your return, I long to see Your face and Your kingdom come. Intercession will quicken His coming(Revelation 8:1-6; 2 Peter 3:12). In context to the end of the age. Come swiftly oh Lord with Your strength and deliver us from the demonic regime that is being raised up by satan. God come swiftly and be glorified. Deliver justice and have mercy on Your elect.
* This response is fully generated out of a heart that has become fully in love. In the midst of global persecution ( Revelation 13:5-10 ) what will cause the saints to not take the mark of the beast ( Revelation 13:16-17 )? There is a easy way out, so deceiving that even the elect might be deceived ( Matthew 24:24 ). We need to be rooted and grounded in the love of God that surpasses all knowledge. We can do nothing in our own strength, we need our foundations to be in God. We need the grip of the Holy Spirit of God to be the obsession of our lives.
* God is faithful. He longs for us to be in Him and not of this age. He is sovereign to perfect us. He is sovereign to save us. Even at the end of the age, when the saints refuse to follow the anti-Christ regime, and the on slaughter of the saints of God comes to a fullness unlike any other time on earth. We have faith that God is who He says He is and that He hasn’t left us nor forsaken us.
SONG OF SONGS: THE BRIDAL SEAL OF MATURITY. (8:5-7)
THE BRIDAL SEAL OF MATURITY
(8:5-7).
8:5; Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved? I awakened you under the apple tree. There your mother brought you forth, there she who bore you brought you forth.
Coming up: Ascending.
Wilderness: Seasons of personal testing.
Under the apple tree: Refreshing; Place of rest.
Mother: Church.
Brought you forth: The church brought her forth.
* Holy Spirit prophesies of her full maturity. Her total victory leading to that maturity. She has passed through some intense trials. Seasons of pain and struggle, but she has pressed in deep to the Lord, placing her affections and her longing for affirmation to come from Jesus. She is in a place of knowing who God is ( Songs 2:8-10 ). And through this revelation she is beginning to know who she is.
* She has fully embraced a heart for those around her. She see’s that although the church has been against her, it is the church who helped her eyes open. God used the church to open the eyes of her understanding, and she yearns for God to open up the churches eyes as well.
* Who is this? Lovely beautiful one. The relative see’s something different and good in this new regenerated character. The relative has known and has probably been there for her trials and sufferings. She has seen the shulamite in her worse hopeless struggles. So now the shulamite has come through these painful seasons and has become victorious and set free through the Lord. The shulamite has fully embraced suffering and used it as a tool to cry out and press into God ( 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ). The Lord has the ability to use our weakness to perfect us and strengthen us. Calling upon the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior will bring peace and restoration to our hearts, in your hour of need Jesus is waiting and longing for you to choose Him. Therefore through toiling in prayer night and day she becomes strong and mature. Made ready for any circumstance.
8:6; Set me as a seal upon Your heart. For love is strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave. Its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame.
Set me as a seal upon Your heart: Ezekiel 9:4-6; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Timothy 2:19: The Lord knows who are truly His. He has given a divine guarantee of salvation through the sealing of our hearts in truth. Jesus will uphold those who worship in spirit and truth.
Jealousy as cruel as the grave: Unyielding. What does it mean or to feel a Godly jealousy for what Jesus feels about humanity. God will remove everything that hinders love.
Its flames are flames of fire: Do not consider the way of death and destruction(Proverbs 5:5). God will set right every wrong thing. His love is an all consuming fire that will devour everything that stands to defy Him. Sin will be put under His feet.
A most vehement flame: For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24).
* First I would just like to state that this is one of my favorite passages in the bible. Set me as a seal upon Your heart oh God, Your affections for me are unyielding. Your burning jealous heart is so far past my understanding, but I want it. I have to feel what You feel, know what You know. God to be separated from You is not an option. I must have You. John 17:24; "Father I desire them, that they may be with Me where I am". This my friends is a deep well to begin your foundation on. The Lord is extremely jealous over mankind.
*Jesus is going to destroy all un-Godliness and rid the earth of it. Jesus rules with an iron rod, His sharp sword will strike the nations. He ( Jesus ) Himself will tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God ( Revelation 19:15 ). Those who have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger will stand before the judgment seat of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 ). To those in Christ justice and mercy are His forever, and He will deliver justice and peace to those that remain in Christ. But those with out the seal of God, those who walk as if they were their own god will suffer eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth ( Matthew 8:12 ).
* When we let in the intense desire for love that Jesus has for us it truly changes everything. The way we live becomes set on fire out of romance. No longer do we seek out of pressure or obligation. Rather the desire to seek God comes purely out of a heart that is really in love, for real! The Gospel is romance, and if you let it consume you it will really strike you to the core and become a holy obsession.
2 FOLD BRIDAL SEAL:
1. Heart; Affection for Jesus.
2. Arm; Works. Wholehearted love for people.
7:7; Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.
Many waters: Obstacles that hinder love.
Floods: Persecution.
Drown it: Overflow. Washed away.
* Love cannot be attained through money or gifts. Incentive can be a devise for lust, or power over another, but I do not believe that real love can ever be attained by persuasion of gifts. The lust of the flesh will lead to eternal destruction, so therefore flee the temptations of false pleasure and security. Love, real love is relentless in its desire to consume all things that might quench it.
* The day of the Lord is at hand, it shall come as destruction from the Almighty ( Joel 1:15). Scoffers will have their place, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ( Hebrews 10:31 ). The mockers, murderers, all whom blaspheme will fall into a pit which they cannot escape. ( Psalm 74:10 ); I think the Lord is very merciful that the full measure of this prayer has not been answered yet, "O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your Name forever"? The promise here is that the Lord is going to protect us. Nothing that ever arises in the earth shall separate us from the love of God. No matter what should happen lovers of God will stand in confidence out of the affirming love of Jesus. Jesus will deliver victory to those that have pursued Him.
* We are bought by the blood of the Lamb. God has plucked us from the fire and set us into the salvation of His love. His mercy to do so is so deep that even if we wanted to pay Him back, we could not! Therefore, embrace who you are, and how merciful the Lord is to save you from the old you. The old you was sending your degenerate nature to hellfire forever. So put on the new man, do not worry about the rest of the earth and what they think of you for your newness of life, they scoff, they even accurse us to the point of death. Yet above all that they could ever say or do to us, we are honored with freedom and eternal life. We are called by God, chosen vessels. Not many wise nor many strong are called, lest they should boast in themselves. So rejoice with singing and proclamation of our beautiful God.
LOVE HAS NO PRICE TAG, LOVE ITSELF IS ITS OWN REWARD! Mike Bickel
(8:5-7).
8:5; Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning upon her Beloved? I awakened you under the apple tree. There your mother brought you forth, there she who bore you brought you forth.
Coming up: Ascending.
Wilderness: Seasons of personal testing.
Under the apple tree: Refreshing; Place of rest.
Mother: Church.
Brought you forth: The church brought her forth.
* Holy Spirit prophesies of her full maturity. Her total victory leading to that maturity. She has passed through some intense trials. Seasons of pain and struggle, but she has pressed in deep to the Lord, placing her affections and her longing for affirmation to come from Jesus. She is in a place of knowing who God is ( Songs 2:8-10 ). And through this revelation she is beginning to know who she is.
* She has fully embraced a heart for those around her. She see’s that although the church has been against her, it is the church who helped her eyes open. God used the church to open the eyes of her understanding, and she yearns for God to open up the churches eyes as well.
* Who is this? Lovely beautiful one. The relative see’s something different and good in this new regenerated character. The relative has known and has probably been there for her trials and sufferings. She has seen the shulamite in her worse hopeless struggles. So now the shulamite has come through these painful seasons and has become victorious and set free through the Lord. The shulamite has fully embraced suffering and used it as a tool to cry out and press into God ( 2 Corinthians 12:7-10 ). The Lord has the ability to use our weakness to perfect us and strengthen us. Calling upon the name of Jesus our Lord and Savior will bring peace and restoration to our hearts, in your hour of need Jesus is waiting and longing for you to choose Him. Therefore through toiling in prayer night and day she becomes strong and mature. Made ready for any circumstance.
8:6; Set me as a seal upon Your heart. For love is strong as death, jealousy as cruel as the grave. Its flames are flames of fire, a most vehement flame.
Set me as a seal upon Your heart: Ezekiel 9:4-6; Ephesians 4:30; 2 Timothy 2:19: The Lord knows who are truly His. He has given a divine guarantee of salvation through the sealing of our hearts in truth. Jesus will uphold those who worship in spirit and truth.
Jealousy as cruel as the grave: Unyielding. What does it mean or to feel a Godly jealousy for what Jesus feels about humanity. God will remove everything that hinders love.
Its flames are flames of fire: Do not consider the way of death and destruction(Proverbs 5:5). God will set right every wrong thing. His love is an all consuming fire that will devour everything that stands to defy Him. Sin will be put under His feet.
A most vehement flame: For the Lord your God is a consuming fire, a jealous God (Deuteronomy 4:24).
* First I would just like to state that this is one of my favorite passages in the bible. Set me as a seal upon Your heart oh God, Your affections for me are unyielding. Your burning jealous heart is so far past my understanding, but I want it. I have to feel what You feel, know what You know. God to be separated from You is not an option. I must have You. John 17:24; "Father I desire them, that they may be with Me where I am". This my friends is a deep well to begin your foundation on. The Lord is extremely jealous over mankind.
*Jesus is going to destroy all un-Godliness and rid the earth of it. Jesus rules with an iron rod, His sharp sword will strike the nations. He ( Jesus ) Himself will tread the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God ( Revelation 19:15 ). Those who have provoked the Holy One of Israel to anger will stand before the judgment seat of Christ ( 2 Corinthians 5:9-11 ). To those in Christ justice and mercy are His forever, and He will deliver justice and peace to those that remain in Christ. But those with out the seal of God, those who walk as if they were their own god will suffer eternal weeping and gnashing of teeth ( Matthew 8:12 ).
* When we let in the intense desire for love that Jesus has for us it truly changes everything. The way we live becomes set on fire out of romance. No longer do we seek out of pressure or obligation. Rather the desire to seek God comes purely out of a heart that is really in love, for real! The Gospel is romance, and if you let it consume you it will really strike you to the core and become a holy obsession.
2 FOLD BRIDAL SEAL:
1. Heart; Affection for Jesus.
2. Arm; Works. Wholehearted love for people.
7:7; Many waters cannot quench love, nor can the floods drown it. If a man would give for love all the wealth of his house, it would be utterly despised.
Many waters: Obstacles that hinder love.
Floods: Persecution.
Drown it: Overflow. Washed away.
* Love cannot be attained through money or gifts. Incentive can be a devise for lust, or power over another, but I do not believe that real love can ever be attained by persuasion of gifts. The lust of the flesh will lead to eternal destruction, so therefore flee the temptations of false pleasure and security. Love, real love is relentless in its desire to consume all things that might quench it.
* The day of the Lord is at hand, it shall come as destruction from the Almighty ( Joel 1:15). Scoffers will have their place, for it is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God ( Hebrews 10:31 ). The mockers, murderers, all whom blaspheme will fall into a pit which they cannot escape. ( Psalm 74:10 ); I think the Lord is very merciful that the full measure of this prayer has not been answered yet, "O God, how long will the adversary reproach? Will the enemy blaspheme Your Name forever"? The promise here is that the Lord is going to protect us. Nothing that ever arises in the earth shall separate us from the love of God. No matter what should happen lovers of God will stand in confidence out of the affirming love of Jesus. Jesus will deliver victory to those that have pursued Him.
* We are bought by the blood of the Lamb. God has plucked us from the fire and set us into the salvation of His love. His mercy to do so is so deep that even if we wanted to pay Him back, we could not! Therefore, embrace who you are, and how merciful the Lord is to save you from the old you. The old you was sending your degenerate nature to hellfire forever. So put on the new man, do not worry about the rest of the earth and what they think of you for your newness of life, they scoff, they even accurse us to the point of death. Yet above all that they could ever say or do to us, we are honored with freedom and eternal life. We are called by God, chosen vessels. Not many wise nor many strong are called, lest they should boast in themselves. So rejoice with singing and proclamation of our beautiful God.
LOVE HAS NO PRICE TAG, LOVE ITSELF IS ITS OWN REWARD! Mike Bickel
SONG OF SONGS: THE BRIDES MATURE PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS. (7:9B-8:4)
THE BRIDES MATURE PARTNERSHIP WITH JESUS.
( 7:9B-8:4 ).
7:9 b; The wine goes down smoothly for my Beloved. Moving gently the lips of sleepers.
Wine: Meat of the word of God ( Hebrews 5:12-14 ).
Smoothly: Easily received.
Lips: Words; Speech.
Sleepers: Idle Christians ( Ephesians 5:14-21 ).
* First off I would just like to state that in this generation there is truly no excuse for idle time as a Christian. With the internet and mass publications on the truths of God in every avenue. Thousands upon thousands of libraries with hundreds and thousands of titles on the truths of God at hand for the western church to feed themselves. On the internet there is an endless selection of documents and audio files for us to feed from. The challenge for me in 2008 has been to start studying saints and doctrines of old. We need to have revelation, and in this mass media generation we have no excuse and no reason to stand clueless to the questions unbelievers have. I charge us all to seek out the knowledge of God.
* So how do I begin this life pursuit to study the knowledge of God. I embrace fasting and prayer. I call upon God. I cry out to God the prayer from Ephesians 1:17-19.. Then the Holy Spirit will cause our hearts to yearn for truth. The Holy Spirit will give us grace to fast and pray, which believe it or not will cause us to grow in faith. So therefore have permission to go deep into the study of the word of God.
* Wine speaks of the word of God, the influence of the Holy Spirit and as well the judgments of God ( Revelation 19:15 ). He is sovereign God, King of kings and Lord of lords. If anyone be in Christ they are a new creation. Abandoning their formal ways. God calls us to go against every thing that seems normal in the eyes of man. Know that seeking God is hard and that the cost of discipleship is great. I myself, gave up countless secular pleasures. A chance for money, secular job, seeking secular wisdom and pursuing a secular lifestyle. A chance at a normal and easier life. Hundreds of my so called friends have nothing to do with me any longer. My family believes that I am far more nuts to pursue this lifestyle than the former rage filled cocaine addict who brought them nothing but pain and anger. From my experience thus far it seems that the world takes in the drug addict because they cant live life without their addiction, it helps them cope with day to day issues. But the Christian is seen by the world as one who needs a fairy tell to hide behind. I hated the world and everyone in it, now my heart is filled with real love and compassion for my fellow humans. I do not write any of this out of a form of pity, but I say all this to give a point. Paul came to a place in his walk where all things became rubbish in comparison to the glory of the Holy God( Philippians 3:7-8 ).
* Point and case: The Gospel, the word of God, a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. It all goes down smoother when we have embraced who we are in God, and what God says and thinks about us. Make no mistake, the only hope we have of obtaining who we are in Christ, for real, is only out of a sincere pursuit for the knowledge of God through toiling night and day ( Isaiah 62:6 ) with fasting and prayer with long hours of dissecting the word of God ( Joshua 1:8 ). We need to go deep into this. So therefore you have permission, and you don’t need the approval of others, and as well you need not to apologize to anyone for this pursuit. ( Proverbs 1:7; 2:3-6 ), seek her as silver.
So let the sleepers arise!!!
7:10; I am my Beloved’s and His desire is for me.
* Spiritual identity. Again, letting this revelation go deep into your heart; To know who we are in the eyes of our God. God wants to make us a voice, not an echo. So it is a vital necessity for us to be fully in love with the Son of God; John 17:20-26, Jesus is absolutely lovesick over us. Sleepers and the children of wrath will never come into the light without an example coming forth from a lovesick bride. So therefore let us become lovesick over our Lord Jesus Christ.
7:11; Come, my Beloved, let us go forth to the fields, let us lodge in the villages.
Come my Beloved: Intercession; Prayer for the church. ( Revelation 22:17 ).
Field: Worldwide harvest.
The villages: Small unpopulated area’s in the world.
* The love of God compels us to intercede. Out of this the Lord compels her heart to go to the nations and proclaim this love so that all might come in and have the love of God in their hearts ( John 4:35 ). My Beloved shows her commitment to the first commandment in the midst of revival. The commitment to not get caught up in hype and lose focus on her true and first love ( Jesus ), as well her commitment to stay ( lodge ) and see the work of God come to fruition. Charles Finney would stay for months and even years in certain places to see that the work of God in that area would come to fruition. But only if God was there with him ( Exodus 33:12-16 ).
Prayer and mission must be of one accord.
7:12; Let us go up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine has budded, whether the grape blossoms are open. And the pomegranates are in bloom, there I will give You my love.
Get up early: Embracing diligence and discipline through inconvenience.
Vine: Work of God.
Budded: Immaturity.
Pomegranate: Individual; Her ministry to God is sweet.
* There I will give You my love; Revival, and signs and wonders may fascinate the soul, but it does not sustain the soul. Again , in the place of revival she holds fast to the first commandment, never taking her eyes off her first love. Falling in love with God takes time, and commitment. The flesh rages against us, so if it isn’t normal for you to get up at 4 in the morning and pray, and you start to do it, it will be an everyday battle to climb out of bed and get started. Just remember that countless of saints of old did it, and without an alarm clock. But sincerely seeking God in inconvenient circumstances will ignite our heart in love. Oh it is so worth the affections of God to be a reality on your heart, when we really are encountered by the love of God, all secular things become rubbish in comparison.
* I encourage you to get fully committed. This will cultivate true and strong foundations that will sustain and mature the bride of Christ. Not only for leadership, but also for when any and all seasons come she will be made ready to stand firm in her convictions and doctrinal foundations in God. The church in that reality will probably see the greatest display of the power of God the earth has ever seen, and it will all be made manifest by the sincere affections of Jesus being displayed through His ravished lovesick bride.
Isaiah 62:6; Leviticus 6:12-13. The fire shall never stop burning, day or night.
7:13; The mandrakes give off a fragrance, and at Your gates are pleasant fruits. All manner, new and old. Which I have laid up for You my Beloved.
Mandrakes: Intimacy.
Fragrance: Our devotional life; Our ministry is sweet to God ( Revelation 5:8 ).
Pleasant fruits: Perfect mature fruits. Not immature or rotten.
New: New victories and truths in God.
Old: Old victories and experiences in God.
Gates: Spiritual authorities over the things in her life.
* I cannot over emphasize or over state the importance of a devotional life with God ( Revelation 5:8, 8:3 ). Are prayers are a sweet essence, a beautiful fragrance that is rising constantly before the throne of God. And not only does He hear and smell them, He is the only God that answers them.
* Psalm 51:5-13: Lord purge us through the fire. Although it hurts and the journey is long. God create in me a clean heart, that I might be found pleasant before You. This is the cry of the Shulamite, as should it be our hearts cry. We cannot rely on old experiences. The building of our foundation is not in what we learned or have the ability to hold on to, it is the grace of God to continue to give us new revelations on the old studies as well as new revelations on the things we don’t know or understand. We must pursue new experiences with God, longing for new romance with our Creator. Spiritual authority comes from perpetual longings , and with each new experience we become more convinced and confident in the love of Christ.
8:1; Oh, that You were like my brother, who nursed at my mothers breast! If I should find You outside, I would kiss You. I would not be despised.
Oh that You were like my brother, who nursed at my mothers breast: She longs to boldly show her affections towards Jesus in public. In that day the only public display of affection she could show was toward her immediate family.
Breast: In this passage it refers to blood relation, and not through marriage.
I would kiss You: Philippians 3:10; She is longing to fully express the love that God has allowed her to experience.
I would not be despised: She wishes that it was safe to display her full affections toward God in public.
* During the time she is living public display could cost you your head. So people who chose to be affectionate outside of marriage would have had to try to be as secret as possible. So she relates her brother in this sequence to show that she wishes she could publicly display her affections for God. Just like the apostles, the church wanted her removed so that their self righteous power could go forth without resistance. In my opinion the church in that hour did not believe that God displayed personal affection to individuals, and the governmental structure of her day would have probably not tolerated a church that defied its role and power. So therefore, she would have to hide her inner life if she wished to keep her head. In her case she is compelled to not worry about that risk, and has followers. God has at this point caused her heart to boil over in excitement, and she wants to scream it from the mountaintop. She wishes to go to the streets and ally ways and tell everyone of her new found love, and that He is the only true and everlasting one who is forever faithful to the backslider. Pure, Holy and faithful, these are just a few of His names and truths.
* Ephesians 3:16-19 is where she is at, and this has her fueled to cry out for Colossians 1:9-12 over the church. Instead of bitterness she humbly embraces the beatitudes towards the oppressors in her life. Oh for the day when she can freely run through the streets with her Jesus without mockers and scoffers who wish to put her out.
8:2; I will lead You and bring You into the house of my mother. She who used to instruct me. I would cause You to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.
Mother: Church; She refuses to compromise in the midst of family and friend relations.
Used to instruct me: Long term relations.
Spiced wine: Very expensive. She wishes to give Him the very best that she has to offer.
Pomegranate: Emotions; they are sweet to God.
* She makes her stand in the midst of friends and family. Even though hey don’t understand what she is doing. She refuses to compromise and continues to bring her faith in full force. The Lord has poured out grace for Acts 4:29. She is speaking boldly the love and truths of God to everyone, new and long term relations, she is not afraid to speak out. She does not care that the leaders in all area’s of her life are speaking out against her. She is boldly proclaiming the doctrine of her new found love in church as well, and out of this she is a tool for God to raise up firm believers. This kind of behavior gets ones like Stephen stoned to death ( Acts 7:54-60 ). Stephen was in the church of his day preaching the truth of God and the religious structure of that day was rooted in pride and deception caused them to engulf themselves in hatred, and with that rage they forced him out of the city and stoned him to death. They lashed out because this affection based Gospel went against the honor of works, this began a wave of 2000 years of the murdering of the saints of Christ. Stephen being the first Christian to be martyred.
8:3; His left hand is under my head. And His right hand embraces me.
Left hand: The things God does in our life that we cant directly see.
Right hand: The Lord’s manifest activity that we can plainly feel and see.
Under my head: Ephesians 1:17-19 being answered.
* At His right hand are pleasures forevermore: Habakkuk 2:16.… The cup of the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory. My point here is to show that God is in every ones life, believer and unbeliever. Pouring out eternal pleasures to those who are sons of righteousness, and indignation and eternal condemnation for the children of wrath.
* Though we do not see some of the things the Lord is doing, the Lord is there. The knowledge of God is a thing poured out over time, and He is there, holding and embracing us. Carrying the weight of our sin so that we might not fall through the torn and molded pathway that leads to hell. Destroying the un-Godly burdens in our being. So yes, long for the manifest presence of the Lord, but long more for the things of God that are done in secret, they hold more power to help you out of the mire.
8:4; I charge you. O, daughters of Jerusalem. Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.
I charge you: A bold declaration given in authority.
Daughters: Immature believers.
Do not stir up nor awaken love: Do not disturb her in this strategic season.
Until it pleases: Do not disturb her from God’s love.
* This is the third and final time this statement is charged ( 2:7; 3:5;8:4 ). I am convinced that every time she states this she is proclaiming it out of a new revelation of what it actually means.
* We are charged, do not distract anyone out of a season of intimacy with the Lord. He will awaken her out of this season when the work that He is doing in that season is complete. The Lord is constantly doing a good work in us, to pull someone out of it could be destructive. This is why the guarding of our heart is so important in these seasons, so that we might get the fullness of what God has for us in that season. Hebrews 12:3-11; The Lord’s chastisement is His divine correction for us, it may hurt but it is rooted in His deep fountain of desire for us to be maturely in love with Him.
( 7:9B-8:4 ).
7:9 b; The wine goes down smoothly for my Beloved. Moving gently the lips of sleepers.
Wine: Meat of the word of God ( Hebrews 5:12-14 ).
Smoothly: Easily received.
Lips: Words; Speech.
Sleepers: Idle Christians ( Ephesians 5:14-21 ).
* First off I would just like to state that in this generation there is truly no excuse for idle time as a Christian. With the internet and mass publications on the truths of God in every avenue. Thousands upon thousands of libraries with hundreds and thousands of titles on the truths of God at hand for the western church to feed themselves. On the internet there is an endless selection of documents and audio files for us to feed from. The challenge for me in 2008 has been to start studying saints and doctrines of old. We need to have revelation, and in this mass media generation we have no excuse and no reason to stand clueless to the questions unbelievers have. I charge us all to seek out the knowledge of God.
* So how do I begin this life pursuit to study the knowledge of God. I embrace fasting and prayer. I call upon God. I cry out to God the prayer from Ephesians 1:17-19.. Then the Holy Spirit will cause our hearts to yearn for truth. The Holy Spirit will give us grace to fast and pray, which believe it or not will cause us to grow in faith. So therefore have permission to go deep into the study of the word of God.
* Wine speaks of the word of God, the influence of the Holy Spirit and as well the judgments of God ( Revelation 19:15 ). He is sovereign God, King of kings and Lord of lords. If anyone be in Christ they are a new creation. Abandoning their formal ways. God calls us to go against every thing that seems normal in the eyes of man. Know that seeking God is hard and that the cost of discipleship is great. I myself, gave up countless secular pleasures. A chance for money, secular job, seeking secular wisdom and pursuing a secular lifestyle. A chance at a normal and easier life. Hundreds of my so called friends have nothing to do with me any longer. My family believes that I am far more nuts to pursue this lifestyle than the former rage filled cocaine addict who brought them nothing but pain and anger. From my experience thus far it seems that the world takes in the drug addict because they cant live life without their addiction, it helps them cope with day to day issues. But the Christian is seen by the world as one who needs a fairy tell to hide behind. I hated the world and everyone in it, now my heart is filled with real love and compassion for my fellow humans. I do not write any of this out of a form of pity, but I say all this to give a point. Paul came to a place in his walk where all things became rubbish in comparison to the glory of the Holy God( Philippians 3:7-8 ).
* Point and case: The Gospel, the word of God, a lifestyle of prayer and fasting. It all goes down smoother when we have embraced who we are in God, and what God says and thinks about us. Make no mistake, the only hope we have of obtaining who we are in Christ, for real, is only out of a sincere pursuit for the knowledge of God through toiling night and day ( Isaiah 62:6 ) with fasting and prayer with long hours of dissecting the word of God ( Joshua 1:8 ). We need to go deep into this. So therefore you have permission, and you don’t need the approval of others, and as well you need not to apologize to anyone for this pursuit. ( Proverbs 1:7; 2:3-6 ), seek her as silver.
So let the sleepers arise!!!
7:10; I am my Beloved’s and His desire is for me.
* Spiritual identity. Again, letting this revelation go deep into your heart; To know who we are in the eyes of our God. God wants to make us a voice, not an echo. So it is a vital necessity for us to be fully in love with the Son of God; John 17:20-26, Jesus is absolutely lovesick over us. Sleepers and the children of wrath will never come into the light without an example coming forth from a lovesick bride. So therefore let us become lovesick over our Lord Jesus Christ.
7:11; Come, my Beloved, let us go forth to the fields, let us lodge in the villages.
Come my Beloved: Intercession; Prayer for the church. ( Revelation 22:17 ).
Field: Worldwide harvest.
The villages: Small unpopulated area’s in the world.
* The love of God compels us to intercede. Out of this the Lord compels her heart to go to the nations and proclaim this love so that all might come in and have the love of God in their hearts ( John 4:35 ). My Beloved shows her commitment to the first commandment in the midst of revival. The commitment to not get caught up in hype and lose focus on her true and first love ( Jesus ), as well her commitment to stay ( lodge ) and see the work of God come to fruition. Charles Finney would stay for months and even years in certain places to see that the work of God in that area would come to fruition. But only if God was there with him ( Exodus 33:12-16 ).
Prayer and mission must be of one accord.
7:12; Let us go up early to the vineyards, let us see if the vine has budded, whether the grape blossoms are open. And the pomegranates are in bloom, there I will give You my love.
Get up early: Embracing diligence and discipline through inconvenience.
Vine: Work of God.
Budded: Immaturity.
Pomegranate: Individual; Her ministry to God is sweet.
* There I will give You my love; Revival, and signs and wonders may fascinate the soul, but it does not sustain the soul. Again , in the place of revival she holds fast to the first commandment, never taking her eyes off her first love. Falling in love with God takes time, and commitment. The flesh rages against us, so if it isn’t normal for you to get up at 4 in the morning and pray, and you start to do it, it will be an everyday battle to climb out of bed and get started. Just remember that countless of saints of old did it, and without an alarm clock. But sincerely seeking God in inconvenient circumstances will ignite our heart in love. Oh it is so worth the affections of God to be a reality on your heart, when we really are encountered by the love of God, all secular things become rubbish in comparison.
* I encourage you to get fully committed. This will cultivate true and strong foundations that will sustain and mature the bride of Christ. Not only for leadership, but also for when any and all seasons come she will be made ready to stand firm in her convictions and doctrinal foundations in God. The church in that reality will probably see the greatest display of the power of God the earth has ever seen, and it will all be made manifest by the sincere affections of Jesus being displayed through His ravished lovesick bride.
Isaiah 62:6; Leviticus 6:12-13. The fire shall never stop burning, day or night.
7:13; The mandrakes give off a fragrance, and at Your gates are pleasant fruits. All manner, new and old. Which I have laid up for You my Beloved.
Mandrakes: Intimacy.
Fragrance: Our devotional life; Our ministry is sweet to God ( Revelation 5:8 ).
Pleasant fruits: Perfect mature fruits. Not immature or rotten.
New: New victories and truths in God.
Old: Old victories and experiences in God.
Gates: Spiritual authorities over the things in her life.
* I cannot over emphasize or over state the importance of a devotional life with God ( Revelation 5:8, 8:3 ). Are prayers are a sweet essence, a beautiful fragrance that is rising constantly before the throne of God. And not only does He hear and smell them, He is the only God that answers them.
* Psalm 51:5-13: Lord purge us through the fire. Although it hurts and the journey is long. God create in me a clean heart, that I might be found pleasant before You. This is the cry of the Shulamite, as should it be our hearts cry. We cannot rely on old experiences. The building of our foundation is not in what we learned or have the ability to hold on to, it is the grace of God to continue to give us new revelations on the old studies as well as new revelations on the things we don’t know or understand. We must pursue new experiences with God, longing for new romance with our Creator. Spiritual authority comes from perpetual longings , and with each new experience we become more convinced and confident in the love of Christ.
8:1; Oh, that You were like my brother, who nursed at my mothers breast! If I should find You outside, I would kiss You. I would not be despised.
Oh that You were like my brother, who nursed at my mothers breast: She longs to boldly show her affections towards Jesus in public. In that day the only public display of affection she could show was toward her immediate family.
Breast: In this passage it refers to blood relation, and not through marriage.
I would kiss You: Philippians 3:10; She is longing to fully express the love that God has allowed her to experience.
I would not be despised: She wishes that it was safe to display her full affections toward God in public.
* During the time she is living public display could cost you your head. So people who chose to be affectionate outside of marriage would have had to try to be as secret as possible. So she relates her brother in this sequence to show that she wishes she could publicly display her affections for God. Just like the apostles, the church wanted her removed so that their self righteous power could go forth without resistance. In my opinion the church in that hour did not believe that God displayed personal affection to individuals, and the governmental structure of her day would have probably not tolerated a church that defied its role and power. So therefore, she would have to hide her inner life if she wished to keep her head. In her case she is compelled to not worry about that risk, and has followers. God has at this point caused her heart to boil over in excitement, and she wants to scream it from the mountaintop. She wishes to go to the streets and ally ways and tell everyone of her new found love, and that He is the only true and everlasting one who is forever faithful to the backslider. Pure, Holy and faithful, these are just a few of His names and truths.
* Ephesians 3:16-19 is where she is at, and this has her fueled to cry out for Colossians 1:9-12 over the church. Instead of bitterness she humbly embraces the beatitudes towards the oppressors in her life. Oh for the day when she can freely run through the streets with her Jesus without mockers and scoffers who wish to put her out.
8:2; I will lead You and bring You into the house of my mother. She who used to instruct me. I would cause You to drink of spiced wine, of the juice of my pomegranate.
Mother: Church; She refuses to compromise in the midst of family and friend relations.
Used to instruct me: Long term relations.
Spiced wine: Very expensive. She wishes to give Him the very best that she has to offer.
Pomegranate: Emotions; they are sweet to God.
* She makes her stand in the midst of friends and family. Even though hey don’t understand what she is doing. She refuses to compromise and continues to bring her faith in full force. The Lord has poured out grace for Acts 4:29. She is speaking boldly the love and truths of God to everyone, new and long term relations, she is not afraid to speak out. She does not care that the leaders in all area’s of her life are speaking out against her. She is boldly proclaiming the doctrine of her new found love in church as well, and out of this she is a tool for God to raise up firm believers. This kind of behavior gets ones like Stephen stoned to death ( Acts 7:54-60 ). Stephen was in the church of his day preaching the truth of God and the religious structure of that day was rooted in pride and deception caused them to engulf themselves in hatred, and with that rage they forced him out of the city and stoned him to death. They lashed out because this affection based Gospel went against the honor of works, this began a wave of 2000 years of the murdering of the saints of Christ. Stephen being the first Christian to be martyred.
8:3; His left hand is under my head. And His right hand embraces me.
Left hand: The things God does in our life that we cant directly see.
Right hand: The Lord’s manifest activity that we can plainly feel and see.
Under my head: Ephesians 1:17-19 being answered.
* At His right hand are pleasures forevermore: Habakkuk 2:16.… The cup of the Lord’s right hand will be turned against you, and utter shame will be on your glory. My point here is to show that God is in every ones life, believer and unbeliever. Pouring out eternal pleasures to those who are sons of righteousness, and indignation and eternal condemnation for the children of wrath.
* Though we do not see some of the things the Lord is doing, the Lord is there. The knowledge of God is a thing poured out over time, and He is there, holding and embracing us. Carrying the weight of our sin so that we might not fall through the torn and molded pathway that leads to hell. Destroying the un-Godly burdens in our being. So yes, long for the manifest presence of the Lord, but long more for the things of God that are done in secret, they hold more power to help you out of the mire.
8:4; I charge you. O, daughters of Jerusalem. Do not stir up nor awaken love until it pleases.
I charge you: A bold declaration given in authority.
Daughters: Immature believers.
Do not stir up nor awaken love: Do not disturb her in this strategic season.
Until it pleases: Do not disturb her from God’s love.
* This is the third and final time this statement is charged ( 2:7; 3:5;8:4 ). I am convinced that every time she states this she is proclaiming it out of a new revelation of what it actually means.
* We are charged, do not distract anyone out of a season of intimacy with the Lord. He will awaken her out of this season when the work that He is doing in that season is complete. The Lord is constantly doing a good work in us, to pull someone out of it could be destructive. This is why the guarding of our heart is so important in these seasons, so that we might get the fullness of what God has for us in that season. Hebrews 12:3-11; The Lord’s chastisement is His divine correction for us, it may hurt but it is rooted in His deep fountain of desire for us to be maturely in love with Him.
SONG OF SONGS: VINDICATION OF THE PERSUCUTED BRIDE. (6:11-7:9)
VINDICATION OF THE PERSUCUTED BRIDE.
(6:11-7:9)
6:11; I went down to the garden of nuts, to see the verdure of the valley, to see whether the vine had budded. And the pomegranates had bloomed.
Nuts: Some say it represents a wall nut tree. An image of the seed of life. A wall nut tree provided shade. It was used for cleansing, soap, and medicine. It could only be used after it had died.
Verdure: Fresh. Vibrant and flourishing.
Vine: The work of God (John 15).
* Jesus is the seed of life. He provides shade for us to rest under. He is the cleanser and the restorer of broken down walls in our life. Healing is in His right hand. His mercy endures forever.
* Jesus had to die. His sacrifice is the only thing that makes it possible for our restoration and free gift of eternal life. John chapter 15, she is embracing the truth of the Gospel of Christ. His desire is that we would be with Him where He is. He is saying, "ABIDE IN ME". Jesus is the true vine. The only Savior of fallen men, the only way to the Father of Glory.
* Out of this she is compelled to serve Him and to serve church wholeheartedly. Because God has re-written her heart she embraces the immature believers with open arms. In my own personal testimony, before and after I was saved( I say after because it took some time of letting God in to restore me to the point of where I am now.) anger fueled me. My relations to people were rooted in deceit. I could not possibly say I love you to anyone and mean it. Even a girl that I dated for 2 years, when I said that I loved her it was rooted in pure lust and deceit. My point here is to give an example of what it takes some of the bride of Christ to purge through just to have a remote understanding in their hearts for real love. And out of this love, and only this love, given to us by our redeemer Christ Jesus, can we ever really with a pure heart have pure motives to serve God or the church. She has entered a season of maturity that is causing her to walk into the fullness of what God is calling her into.
6:12; Before I was even aware my soul had made me as the chariots of my noble people.
Before I was even aware: The suddenly of God. Without warning the work of God struck her to the core of her being.
Chariots: Swift
* 2 Corinthians 3:7-18; For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, how much more exceedingly glorious is the glory of the ministry of righteousness? Romans 8:1; There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. And if we are abiding in the love of Christ, than nothing can separate us from the love of Christ( Romans 8:35). So therefore, respond to the yearning cry of your heart ( Romans 8:23 ) the Spirit of God that is with in us groans for the righteousness of God to be made manifest in the lives of weak broken human beings. Through this revelation she is filled with deep love and compassion for the body of Christ. She is deeply filled with love for others. And because of her ability to love Him and others He raises her capacity for love in a way that takes her by total surprise. Pray for the suddenly of God over your life. I pray that the works of God would come in rapid fire mode over us all, life altering revelations that pierce the heart and ignite the groan for God to awaken.
6:13 A; Return, return O Shulamite; Return, return, that we may look upon you.
Return: Crying out for sincere urgency for the knowledge of God.
* A true response from the body of Christ. There is persecution from all corners; Government, Religious leaders and structures, friends and family. I believe very firmly that only by means of intense persecution will the church ever become globally united. By her standing in the gap and pressing forward through persecution she inspires the immature believers to stand by her side. Through her example they long for the affections of God to be made manifest in their lives. They express their deep desire for the deep things of God to become a reality in their own lives.
6:13 B; What would you see in the Shulamite- As it were, the dance of the two camps.
What would you see in the Shulamite: Could be taken as sarcastic! I think it is a declaration, I pledge allegiance to the Lamb of God! Who’s side are you on? Jesus, or corrupt men of the earth who will have their portion as children of wrath in the age to come.
The dance of the two camps: God or satan? Holy Spirit or spirit of this age? You cannot serve two masters!
* Jonathan Edwards: In his sermon called, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God", states some really intense statements. Here are an example:
" That the reason why they are not fallen already and do not fall now is only that God's appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, their foot shall slide. Then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight. God will not hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then, at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost.
The observation from the words that I would now insist upon is this. -- "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." -- By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God's mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment". Jonathan Edwards. Deuteronomy 32:35 End Quote.
The craziness of this verse; Stating both the severity and the goodness of the Lord. In one moment all degenerate children of wrath shall be swallowed into an eternal separation from God. Hell fire and destruction for an eternity. If it were not for the free gift of the mercies of God even over the unbelievers, that His hand is literally holding the weight of our iniquity so that we don’t fall through the molded and decaying path that we as sinners walk out. We shall surly reap what we have sown on this earth.
* So if the world hates us, as they hated Jesus. If they revile our every actions, as they reviled every action of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If the ultimate result of our beliefs cause pain and struggle and have the notions to lead to our brutal death, as did Jesus. Than why is this worth it. Outside the fact that eternal destruction waits for the children of wrath. What is it that is so enticing that we would give ourselves to the pursuit of the Holiness of God?
1. They see the work of God over our lives. The transformation of the old man to the new man.
2. They long to feel the love of God over their lives. They cannot live without it.
* The dance of the two camps. You cannot serve both God and satan. Matthew 6:24; "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. SO MAKE YOUR STAND!!! there is no room for half-heartedness. Sitting idle over this issue will get you nowhere, except to an eternity of hell fire. MAKE YOUR STAND!!! Are you for God or against God. If you are for God than seek 1st the kingdom of God; Matthew 6:33; But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. We need to embrace Joel 2:12-17 FOR REAL. Go after God and get filled with the knowledge of His truth, and what that means for those of us whom believe. DO NOT HESITATE. YOU WILL ONLY FIND RESTORATION THROUGH THE SEEKING OF GOD. God is looking for people in whom He can boldly pour out His powers upon, people in whom He can trust with that power. I don’t believe that we can boldly walk with the power and authority of God with out some major heart transplanting, deep restoration of the soul. So than take your stand, declare the cross over your life, you are a child of the most High God. Declare the truths of Romans 8 over your life. The time has come and is indeed now, that not only or our own sake but for the sake of others to take a stand for the righteousness of God.
7:1; How beautiful are your feet in sandals. O princes daughter. The curves of your thighs are like jewels. The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
Beautiful: Affirmation.
Your feet in sandals: Evangelism. You walk straight paths.
O princes daughter: Royalty; New blood line. New creation through the blood of the Lamb.
The curves of your thighs: Her walk is adorned with the grace of God.
Thighs: Strength.
* The words of Jesus are always affirming. He may rebuke, but He is quick to let us know how much He is ravished by our attempt in seeking Him. Voices that are full of condemnation are not of God. His words are sweet and pure like lilies, His words contain myrrh and frankincense; which refers to His exhortations to embrace self death as He did for us on the Cross. He is always reassuring us for the righteousness we display.
* We are no longer of the old man, we are now a new creation of Christ. Putting off the old ways of death, destruction and chaos for newness of life. Our hope is in the resurrection of the dead at His appearing.
* Ephesians 2:10; "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them". When the Lord describes us, He starts at the head and finishes with our feet to show us that He is looking own from heaven upon us. Humans; The church, we look at each other from the feet up. The work of God is rare and precious, not like the works and the praises of man that fade away.
7:2; Your navel is a round goblet. It lacks no blended beverage. Your waist is a heap of wheat. Set about with lilies.
Navel: Inner life with God; Early foundational nourishment in the mothers womb.
Rounded goblet: Healthy
It lacks no blended beverage: Full range of nourishment and maturity.
Waist: Womb
Lilies: Harvest
* We need an inner life that is sustainable in God. Corey Russell has said, "The prayer room is a birthing center". So in that context, we sit night and day in a room and study and pray. Many have said this is pointless and is a waste to the kingdom of God. I get emails all the time from believers and unbelievers telling me what a waste of time, energy and money it is to sit in a room for hours on end and pray and study. This only fuels me to pursue this calling even more. Every Christian must have seasons in the womb. We all must set apart time for prayer and study to the Lord. This causes our affections to truly turn toward Him and away from our own selfish desires and wasteful motives. A 5 year old does not pick up a sword and go to wield it in battle. He must first grow and become strong. He must learn to wield the sword and have the strength to carry his shield.
* Do not buy into the lie that says there is a way around your devotional life with God. No matter how much knowledge you attain, spiritual fruitfulness only comes laboring in prayer and fasting, toiling through sleepless nights. Realizing its not about you or the normal functions that you desire to attain or follow.
* 1 million souls came into the kingdom of heaven between 1820-1840. Not because of Charles Finney’s ability to give a good lecture. But because of hours of prayer and devotion that were spent from the beginning. And not just by Finney, others would actually go ahead of Finney and spend seasons in a town and fast and pray for that town and region. A few were well known to lock themselves in hotel rooms and not come out for days or weeks. Before Finney had ever even arrived to the town the spiritual atmosphere was changing. Strongholds removed and hardened hearts being softened with out a single lecture. It is even said that when a certain man passed on, Finney’s revivals come to a close and he went on to teaching at a school. The end time harvest will come out of a generation of those who have labored in the place of pray. Revival does not come without a contending-ship for God to pour out revival.
7:3; Your two breast are like fawns. Twins of a gazelle.
Two breast: Maturity.
Fawn: Youthful.
Twins of a gazelle: Double portion in the area of maturity.
* Because of her intense victory over the trials and pains through crisis. The Lord’s heart is ravished and full of delight toward her. He is affirming her again, this time He is assuring her of her maturity before God so that she might continue to press forward in confidence. Through this confidence she has the ability to help mature and edify other believers.
7:4; Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes like the pools in Heshbom. By the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks towards Damascus.
Neck: Free will; Psalm 27:4.
Ivory: Rare and costly; solid, full of strength.
Eyes: Her understanding. Revelation from God ( Ephesians 1:17-19 ).
The pools of Heshbom: Clean; Abundant.
Bath Ribbim: A resort area; abundance of clean and pure water.
Nose: Spiritual discernment.
* Psalm 27:4 is a rare quality for a person to attain in this fast food theology of life, especially in this generation. God see’s those ones in whom their hearts cry out for the will of God and not for the will of man. Ephesians 1:17-19. Lord open the eyes of our understanding, reveal the deep things of Your heart toward us. Cause our hearts to burn for the will of the Son of God.
* Having a true hearts cry and desire to live for God will lead us to a clean and pure heart. Over time the Lord gives us a desire for the righteous and pure things of His heart and a pure hatred for the things of the flesh and the spirit of this age. The nature of our heart and mind is set on the dark things of this age, but when we seek the Lord, He re-writes the format of our heart and mind toward the attributes of the character of God. We need spiritual depths, we need spiritual discernment for the cleansing and restoration of our souls to made Christ like. WE MUST GO DEEP!!!
7:5; Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple. A king is held captive by your tresses.
Head: Wisdom.
Mount Carmel: Strength; The ability to overcome.
Hair: Dedication; Consecration.
Purple: Royalty.
Held captive by: John 15:12-13; This is my commandment. That you love one another as I loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends. Therefore, seek the King of all righteousness in all His glory. He has displayed His affections to you through the Cross.
Tresses: Locks of hair. Devotion; Dedication.
* I think again the brilliance of the Lord is that anything we attain; Spiritual authority, knowledge, love and blessing…ETC.. It is all freely given to us by the Lord. Than by walking out what He has given us, He rewards us. Our dedication and to devotion to serve and live for Him is a thing that surpasses our understanding. We do not really realize that with one look, one act of affection toward this man Christ Jesus, we move His very heart. Our weak cries really do hasten the day of the Lord. His heart is yearning with deep jealousy for His bride.
* He will come and redeem us. Psalm 138:8; Philippians 1:6 is on His agenda. He will perfect that which concerns Him(you and I). He will complete the good work that He alone has started in us. Crucified to set us free. He takes no partiality. He does not wish that any man spend eternity in hell. The lake of fire was intended for satan and the other back stabbing angels. It is not His will for our life, but know that all who enter the lake of fire are deserving of it in its fullness. Man in his arrogance says, "I can avoid hell fire by some other means than the Cross". Man is mistaken in his pride, the wisdom of this age will not help in the day of His vengeance. Only embracing the free gift of the Cross, only the blood of the Lamb that is certainly sufficient will save us from hell fire.
7:6; How fair and how pleasant you are. O love, with your delights!
Fair: Beautiful.
* Speaking of her devotion and obedience. Ephesians 2:8-9; For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:18; For through Him we both have access by one spirit to the Father.
* Again, God delights in our ability to use the gifts which are given freely by Him, and can only be used through Him. And for that He calls you and I beautiful, desire of My affections.
7:7; This stature of yours is like a palm tree. And your breast like its clusters.
Stature: Confidence in yourself.
Palm tree: Maturity in dry places.
Breast like its clusters: Abundance of nourishment and maturity.
* Again Jesus is affirming His bride through her victory. This builds up strong confidence in the Lord’s sovereignty, so that in dry seasons of our lives we can boldly stand firm in the affections of Jesus. We need a strong and deep foundational system in our God so that in dry barren seasons our hearts are still alive and burning for the things of God. Discerning truth for reality. When others see us press forward through crisis and pain with a fervent heart that nothing can separate us from the love of God, they being weary, broken, poor and devastated by the seasons of life can therefore find rest and hope for the restoration unto the resurrection for their souls.
7:8; I said, " I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches". Let now your breast be like clusters of the vine. The fragrance of your breath like apples.
I will go up to the palm tree: Jesus’ promise to come boldly with His manifest presence to the church.
Branches: Ministries that glorify God.
Let now your breast be like clusters of the vine: Let your maturity shine so that you can feed babes of the faith
Breath like apples: Refreshing; Inner life in God.
* John 14:12; Signs and wonders. I believe that the Lord wants to pour out His Spirit on anyone who will call upon His name( Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18). I am not saying that miracles don’t happen. But what I am saying is I don’t believe the Lord is going to pour out His Spirit on an immature people. I firmly believe the Lord is going to pour out His Spirit on a bunch of crazy nuts devoted to fastings, prayer and study of the word of God, those who have deep rooted foundations in God. Not saying that these people will be perfect in any way, but they will be devoted to God in at a mature level that sustains the heart to Jesus, because signs and wonders do not sustain the heart. Elijah called fire from heaven, and later he still had a pity party and tried to quit( 1 Kings 18:20-40).
* We need deep foundations in God that will sustain the heart through any crisis situation. Let God in to the deep parts of your heart, we need to be restored. I believe of the promised restoration of Joel 2:18-27 only comes through the fervent seeking of the calling of Joel 2:12-17. So out of maturity and a deep well system in God, God can use you for signs and wonders because with a mature heart you wont freak out and let it go to your head.
7:9; And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.
Mouth: Intimacy.
Best wine: Most refreshing.
* Purity changes everything. A sailors mouth becomes a righteous tool for the Gospel of Christ. Murderers, thieves and adulterers become clean and made pure through the blood of Christ Jesus. At Pentecost, 120 people, all formal people that partook of the spirit of that age were filled with the Holy Spirit. Made pure and Holy only through the Cross of Christ. Saul of Tarsus(Paul) went from slaughtering Christians to becoming a foundational tool of the first church and a large chunk of the Holy cannon is written by Him through the inspiration of the Holy God. God is Holy, when God comes righteous judgments take place. Acts 5:1-11; Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied to the Apostles and dropped dead before their eyes, the holiness of the Lord is not to be taken in vein. During the revivals of Charles Finney people would blaspheme God and the work of God in the revivals, for the most part a lot of the hardest of hearts that blasphemed the work of God were usually converted, but there were a few cases of ones who continually blasphemed the work of God and they just dropped dead before they could finish their blaspheming( young healthy people). When God comes He comes as Himself.
* We are refreshing to the Lord. In a world so cold and callous towards the name of Jesus. Regenerate, redeemed by the blood Christians are a sweet pleasant refreshment to the Lord.
(6:11-7:9)
6:11; I went down to the garden of nuts, to see the verdure of the valley, to see whether the vine had budded. And the pomegranates had bloomed.
Nuts: Some say it represents a wall nut tree. An image of the seed of life. A wall nut tree provided shade. It was used for cleansing, soap, and medicine. It could only be used after it had died.
Verdure: Fresh. Vibrant and flourishing.
Vine: The work of God (John 15).
* Jesus is the seed of life. He provides shade for us to rest under. He is the cleanser and the restorer of broken down walls in our life. Healing is in His right hand. His mercy endures forever.
* Jesus had to die. His sacrifice is the only thing that makes it possible for our restoration and free gift of eternal life. John chapter 15, she is embracing the truth of the Gospel of Christ. His desire is that we would be with Him where He is. He is saying, "ABIDE IN ME". Jesus is the true vine. The only Savior of fallen men, the only way to the Father of Glory.
* Out of this she is compelled to serve Him and to serve church wholeheartedly. Because God has re-written her heart she embraces the immature believers with open arms. In my own personal testimony, before and after I was saved( I say after because it took some time of letting God in to restore me to the point of where I am now.) anger fueled me. My relations to people were rooted in deceit. I could not possibly say I love you to anyone and mean it. Even a girl that I dated for 2 years, when I said that I loved her it was rooted in pure lust and deceit. My point here is to give an example of what it takes some of the bride of Christ to purge through just to have a remote understanding in their hearts for real love. And out of this love, and only this love, given to us by our redeemer Christ Jesus, can we ever really with a pure heart have pure motives to serve God or the church. She has entered a season of maturity that is causing her to walk into the fullness of what God is calling her into.
6:12; Before I was even aware my soul had made me as the chariots of my noble people.
Before I was even aware: The suddenly of God. Without warning the work of God struck her to the core of her being.
Chariots: Swift
* 2 Corinthians 3:7-18; For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, how much more exceedingly glorious is the glory of the ministry of righteousness? Romans 8:1; There is no condemnation for those in Christ Jesus. And if we are abiding in the love of Christ, than nothing can separate us from the love of Christ( Romans 8:35). So therefore, respond to the yearning cry of your heart ( Romans 8:23 ) the Spirit of God that is with in us groans for the righteousness of God to be made manifest in the lives of weak broken human beings. Through this revelation she is filled with deep love and compassion for the body of Christ. She is deeply filled with love for others. And because of her ability to love Him and others He raises her capacity for love in a way that takes her by total surprise. Pray for the suddenly of God over your life. I pray that the works of God would come in rapid fire mode over us all, life altering revelations that pierce the heart and ignite the groan for God to awaken.
6:13 A; Return, return O Shulamite; Return, return, that we may look upon you.
Return: Crying out for sincere urgency for the knowledge of God.
* A true response from the body of Christ. There is persecution from all corners; Government, Religious leaders and structures, friends and family. I believe very firmly that only by means of intense persecution will the church ever become globally united. By her standing in the gap and pressing forward through persecution she inspires the immature believers to stand by her side. Through her example they long for the affections of God to be made manifest in their lives. They express their deep desire for the deep things of God to become a reality in their own lives.
6:13 B; What would you see in the Shulamite- As it were, the dance of the two camps.
What would you see in the Shulamite: Could be taken as sarcastic! I think it is a declaration, I pledge allegiance to the Lamb of God! Who’s side are you on? Jesus, or corrupt men of the earth who will have their portion as children of wrath in the age to come.
The dance of the two camps: God or satan? Holy Spirit or spirit of this age? You cannot serve two masters!
* Jonathan Edwards: In his sermon called, "Sinners In The Hands Of An Angry God", states some really intense statements. Here are an example:
" That the reason why they are not fallen already and do not fall now is only that God's appointed time is not come. For it is said, that when that due time, or appointed time comes, their foot shall slide. Then they shall be left to fall, as they are inclined by their own weight. God will not hold them up in these slippery places any longer, but will let them go; and then, at that very instant, they shall fall into destruction; as he that stands on such slippery declining ground, on the edge of a pit, he cannot stand alone, when he is let go he immediately falls and is lost.
The observation from the words that I would now insist upon is this. -- "There is nothing that keeps wicked men at any one moment out of hell, but the mere pleasure of God." -- By the mere pleasure of God, I mean his sovereign pleasure, his arbitrary will, restrained by no obligation, hindered by no manner of difficulty, any more than if nothing else but God's mere will had in the least degree, or in any respect whatsoever, any hand in the preservation of wicked men one moment". Jonathan Edwards. Deuteronomy 32:35 End Quote.
The craziness of this verse; Stating both the severity and the goodness of the Lord. In one moment all degenerate children of wrath shall be swallowed into an eternal separation from God. Hell fire and destruction for an eternity. If it were not for the free gift of the mercies of God even over the unbelievers, that His hand is literally holding the weight of our iniquity so that we don’t fall through the molded and decaying path that we as sinners walk out. We shall surly reap what we have sown on this earth.
* So if the world hates us, as they hated Jesus. If they revile our every actions, as they reviled every action of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. If the ultimate result of our beliefs cause pain and struggle and have the notions to lead to our brutal death, as did Jesus. Than why is this worth it. Outside the fact that eternal destruction waits for the children of wrath. What is it that is so enticing that we would give ourselves to the pursuit of the Holiness of God?
1. They see the work of God over our lives. The transformation of the old man to the new man.
2. They long to feel the love of God over their lives. They cannot live without it.
* The dance of the two camps. You cannot serve both God and satan. Matthew 6:24; "No one can serve two masters; for either he will hate the one and love the other, or else he will be loyal to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve God and mammon. SO MAKE YOUR STAND!!! there is no room for half-heartedness. Sitting idle over this issue will get you nowhere, except to an eternity of hell fire. MAKE YOUR STAND!!! Are you for God or against God. If you are for God than seek 1st the kingdom of God; Matthew 6:33; But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. We need to embrace Joel 2:12-17 FOR REAL. Go after God and get filled with the knowledge of His truth, and what that means for those of us whom believe. DO NOT HESITATE. YOU WILL ONLY FIND RESTORATION THROUGH THE SEEKING OF GOD. God is looking for people in whom He can boldly pour out His powers upon, people in whom He can trust with that power. I don’t believe that we can boldly walk with the power and authority of God with out some major heart transplanting, deep restoration of the soul. So than take your stand, declare the cross over your life, you are a child of the most High God. Declare the truths of Romans 8 over your life. The time has come and is indeed now, that not only or our own sake but for the sake of others to take a stand for the righteousness of God.
7:1; How beautiful are your feet in sandals. O princes daughter. The curves of your thighs are like jewels. The work of the hands of a skillful workman.
Beautiful: Affirmation.
Your feet in sandals: Evangelism. You walk straight paths.
O princes daughter: Royalty; New blood line. New creation through the blood of the Lamb.
The curves of your thighs: Her walk is adorned with the grace of God.
Thighs: Strength.
* The words of Jesus are always affirming. He may rebuke, but He is quick to let us know how much He is ravished by our attempt in seeking Him. Voices that are full of condemnation are not of God. His words are sweet and pure like lilies, His words contain myrrh and frankincense; which refers to His exhortations to embrace self death as He did for us on the Cross. He is always reassuring us for the righteousness we display.
* We are no longer of the old man, we are now a new creation of Christ. Putting off the old ways of death, destruction and chaos for newness of life. Our hope is in the resurrection of the dead at His appearing.
* Ephesians 2:10; "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand that we should walk in them". When the Lord describes us, He starts at the head and finishes with our feet to show us that He is looking own from heaven upon us. Humans; The church, we look at each other from the feet up. The work of God is rare and precious, not like the works and the praises of man that fade away.
7:2; Your navel is a round goblet. It lacks no blended beverage. Your waist is a heap of wheat. Set about with lilies.
Navel: Inner life with God; Early foundational nourishment in the mothers womb.
Rounded goblet: Healthy
It lacks no blended beverage: Full range of nourishment and maturity.
Waist: Womb
Lilies: Harvest
* We need an inner life that is sustainable in God. Corey Russell has said, "The prayer room is a birthing center". So in that context, we sit night and day in a room and study and pray. Many have said this is pointless and is a waste to the kingdom of God. I get emails all the time from believers and unbelievers telling me what a waste of time, energy and money it is to sit in a room for hours on end and pray and study. This only fuels me to pursue this calling even more. Every Christian must have seasons in the womb. We all must set apart time for prayer and study to the Lord. This causes our affections to truly turn toward Him and away from our own selfish desires and wasteful motives. A 5 year old does not pick up a sword and go to wield it in battle. He must first grow and become strong. He must learn to wield the sword and have the strength to carry his shield.
* Do not buy into the lie that says there is a way around your devotional life with God. No matter how much knowledge you attain, spiritual fruitfulness only comes laboring in prayer and fasting, toiling through sleepless nights. Realizing its not about you or the normal functions that you desire to attain or follow.
* 1 million souls came into the kingdom of heaven between 1820-1840. Not because of Charles Finney’s ability to give a good lecture. But because of hours of prayer and devotion that were spent from the beginning. And not just by Finney, others would actually go ahead of Finney and spend seasons in a town and fast and pray for that town and region. A few were well known to lock themselves in hotel rooms and not come out for days or weeks. Before Finney had ever even arrived to the town the spiritual atmosphere was changing. Strongholds removed and hardened hearts being softened with out a single lecture. It is even said that when a certain man passed on, Finney’s revivals come to a close and he went on to teaching at a school. The end time harvest will come out of a generation of those who have labored in the place of pray. Revival does not come without a contending-ship for God to pour out revival.
7:3; Your two breast are like fawns. Twins of a gazelle.
Two breast: Maturity.
Fawn: Youthful.
Twins of a gazelle: Double portion in the area of maturity.
* Because of her intense victory over the trials and pains through crisis. The Lord’s heart is ravished and full of delight toward her. He is affirming her again, this time He is assuring her of her maturity before God so that she might continue to press forward in confidence. Through this confidence she has the ability to help mature and edify other believers.
7:4; Your neck is like an ivory tower. Your eyes like the pools in Heshbom. By the gate of Bath Rabbim. Your nose is like the tower of Lebanon, which looks towards Damascus.
Neck: Free will; Psalm 27:4.
Ivory: Rare and costly; solid, full of strength.
Eyes: Her understanding. Revelation from God ( Ephesians 1:17-19 ).
The pools of Heshbom: Clean; Abundant.
Bath Ribbim: A resort area; abundance of clean and pure water.
Nose: Spiritual discernment.
* Psalm 27:4 is a rare quality for a person to attain in this fast food theology of life, especially in this generation. God see’s those ones in whom their hearts cry out for the will of God and not for the will of man. Ephesians 1:17-19. Lord open the eyes of our understanding, reveal the deep things of Your heart toward us. Cause our hearts to burn for the will of the Son of God.
* Having a true hearts cry and desire to live for God will lead us to a clean and pure heart. Over time the Lord gives us a desire for the righteous and pure things of His heart and a pure hatred for the things of the flesh and the spirit of this age. The nature of our heart and mind is set on the dark things of this age, but when we seek the Lord, He re-writes the format of our heart and mind toward the attributes of the character of God. We need spiritual depths, we need spiritual discernment for the cleansing and restoration of our souls to made Christ like. WE MUST GO DEEP!!!
7:5; Your head crowns you like Mount Carmel, and the hair of your head is like purple. A king is held captive by your tresses.
Head: Wisdom.
Mount Carmel: Strength; The ability to overcome.
Hair: Dedication; Consecration.
Purple: Royalty.
Held captive by: John 15:12-13; This is my commandment. That you love one another as I loved you. Greater love has no one than this, than to lay down ones life for his friends. Therefore, seek the King of all righteousness in all His glory. He has displayed His affections to you through the Cross.
Tresses: Locks of hair. Devotion; Dedication.
* I think again the brilliance of the Lord is that anything we attain; Spiritual authority, knowledge, love and blessing…ETC.. It is all freely given to us by the Lord. Than by walking out what He has given us, He rewards us. Our dedication and to devotion to serve and live for Him is a thing that surpasses our understanding. We do not really realize that with one look, one act of affection toward this man Christ Jesus, we move His very heart. Our weak cries really do hasten the day of the Lord. His heart is yearning with deep jealousy for His bride.
* He will come and redeem us. Psalm 138:8; Philippians 1:6 is on His agenda. He will perfect that which concerns Him(you and I). He will complete the good work that He alone has started in us. Crucified to set us free. He takes no partiality. He does not wish that any man spend eternity in hell. The lake of fire was intended for satan and the other back stabbing angels. It is not His will for our life, but know that all who enter the lake of fire are deserving of it in its fullness. Man in his arrogance says, "I can avoid hell fire by some other means than the Cross". Man is mistaken in his pride, the wisdom of this age will not help in the day of His vengeance. Only embracing the free gift of the Cross, only the blood of the Lamb that is certainly sufficient will save us from hell fire.
7:6; How fair and how pleasant you are. O love, with your delights!
Fair: Beautiful.
* Speaking of her devotion and obedience. Ephesians 2:8-9; For by grace you have been saved through faith and that not of yourselves; it is the gift of God. Not of works, lest anyone should boast. Ephesians 2:18; For through Him we both have access by one spirit to the Father.
* Again, God delights in our ability to use the gifts which are given freely by Him, and can only be used through Him. And for that He calls you and I beautiful, desire of My affections.
7:7; This stature of yours is like a palm tree. And your breast like its clusters.
Stature: Confidence in yourself.
Palm tree: Maturity in dry places.
Breast like its clusters: Abundance of nourishment and maturity.
* Again Jesus is affirming His bride through her victory. This builds up strong confidence in the Lord’s sovereignty, so that in dry seasons of our lives we can boldly stand firm in the affections of Jesus. We need a strong and deep foundational system in our God so that in dry barren seasons our hearts are still alive and burning for the things of God. Discerning truth for reality. When others see us press forward through crisis and pain with a fervent heart that nothing can separate us from the love of God, they being weary, broken, poor and devastated by the seasons of life can therefore find rest and hope for the restoration unto the resurrection for their souls.
7:8; I said, " I will go up to the palm tree, I will take hold of its branches". Let now your breast be like clusters of the vine. The fragrance of your breath like apples.
I will go up to the palm tree: Jesus’ promise to come boldly with His manifest presence to the church.
Branches: Ministries that glorify God.
Let now your breast be like clusters of the vine: Let your maturity shine so that you can feed babes of the faith
Breath like apples: Refreshing; Inner life in God.
* John 14:12; Signs and wonders. I believe that the Lord wants to pour out His Spirit on anyone who will call upon His name( Joel 2:28-29; Acts 2:17-18). I am not saying that miracles don’t happen. But what I am saying is I don’t believe the Lord is going to pour out His Spirit on an immature people. I firmly believe the Lord is going to pour out His Spirit on a bunch of crazy nuts devoted to fastings, prayer and study of the word of God, those who have deep rooted foundations in God. Not saying that these people will be perfect in any way, but they will be devoted to God in at a mature level that sustains the heart to Jesus, because signs and wonders do not sustain the heart. Elijah called fire from heaven, and later he still had a pity party and tried to quit( 1 Kings 18:20-40).
* We need deep foundations in God that will sustain the heart through any crisis situation. Let God in to the deep parts of your heart, we need to be restored. I believe of the promised restoration of Joel 2:18-27 only comes through the fervent seeking of the calling of Joel 2:12-17. So out of maturity and a deep well system in God, God can use you for signs and wonders because with a mature heart you wont freak out and let it go to your head.
7:9; And the roof of your mouth like the best wine.
Mouth: Intimacy.
Best wine: Most refreshing.
* Purity changes everything. A sailors mouth becomes a righteous tool for the Gospel of Christ. Murderers, thieves and adulterers become clean and made pure through the blood of Christ Jesus. At Pentecost, 120 people, all formal people that partook of the spirit of that age were filled with the Holy Spirit. Made pure and Holy only through the Cross of Christ. Saul of Tarsus(Paul) went from slaughtering Christians to becoming a foundational tool of the first church and a large chunk of the Holy cannon is written by Him through the inspiration of the Holy God. God is Holy, when God comes righteous judgments take place. Acts 5:1-11; Ananias and his wife Sapphira lied to the Apostles and dropped dead before their eyes, the holiness of the Lord is not to be taken in vein. During the revivals of Charles Finney people would blaspheme God and the work of God in the revivals, for the most part a lot of the hardest of hearts that blasphemed the work of God were usually converted, but there were a few cases of ones who continually blasphemed the work of God and they just dropped dead before they could finish their blaspheming( young healthy people). When God comes He comes as Himself.
* We are refreshing to the Lord. In a world so cold and callous towards the name of Jesus. Regenerate, redeemed by the blood Christians are a sweet pleasant refreshment to the Lord.
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