I Think I'm in Love Again...

I Think I'm in Love – Part 2

Song of Solomon 1:4-6, 9-17; 2:1-7

It's Senior Adult Sunday. We really have some cool senior adults. Do you know that? Just to show you how cool they are, in their Sunday school they were learning about alcohol and drugs last week, and one them said, "Wow, we learned about alcohol and drugs in Sunday school and sex in the worship service." I love our senior adults. They're great.

Last week's sermon made for very interesting conversation around the lunch table at the Mead house. I asked my oldest daughters, "What did you think of the sermon?" It went something like this: "Awkward. Is that really in the Bible?" "Yeah, it's in the Bible." Then I think it was Abigail who said, "Well, I'm working in KidsLife until this series is over." I said, "Oh no, you're not. You're going to be in here every one." She says, "Well, I'm not going to be in there for the wedding night."

The Song of Solomon is in the Bible, and it is the Word of God. It is about marriage. It's God's gift to us, marriage and love and romance and intimacy. It is in the Scriptures. It is in the Word of God, because God created intimacy. He created romance and love. It's the fall that has perverted all these things God has created. Remember when God created everything he said it was good. When he created man and woman, he said it's very good. Then he says it's not good that man be alone, so he created Adam and Eve. So all of this is from God. It's God's gift to us.

The Song of Solomon is an idyllic picture of the relationship between husband and wife, man and woman, in the context of a covenant relationship. It's an intimidating book. It's also a very difficult book. There are different interpretations. There are those who believe the couple is already married when the book starts. I can understand that. Then there are those who hold to the view they're in the process. They're in love, then they get married in the middle of the book, and everything after the middle of the book is life after the wedding.

At this time I hold to that view, so that means as we study this and we look at the first three chapters, it's pre-marriage. It's a couple that is in love, and they're anticipating getting married. I said this last week. The first unit of thought starts in verse 2 of chapter 1 and ends in verse 7 of chapter 2. In that unit of thought you have anticipation.

They're anticipating the wedding, and they're anticipating life beyond the wedding, especially the woman. The woman is the most expressive in this book. I just read last week they didn't allow little Hebrew boys to read this book because of some of the explicit language the woman expresses. She's expressing her desire for her man, and there's this anticipation to be with her man, to make a home with her man. It's about true romance, about true love.

Last week we noticed true love delights in and takes pleasure in one another. The first four verses start off with her expressing her desire just to lay a good passionate kiss on her man. She wants to kiss him, and there's a desire for her to be intimate with her fiancé, because they anticipate getting married. That is not the root of their relationship.

The root of the relationship is they delight and take pleasure in who the other person is, their character and their spirituality. If you root a relationship in the physical, that will destroy your relationship over time. So they are taking pleasure and delight in who they are, the character, the spirituality. He loves the Lord.

Then we noticed how true love will conquer insecurities so you can give yourself to one another. In verses 5 through 8, she's very open and honest about her insecurities, her fears, her self-doubts. She expresses those, but she also expresses the fact that she's able to overcome those insecurities. Insecurities, and we all have them, will wreak havoc on a relationship, so you have to learn to accept yourself before you can give yourself away. She was doing that. She was conquering her insecurities.

We continue with the love song today, and we see true love that is God-honoring, that is glorifying to God, is what this book is about. It's interesting that the Song of Solomon is like the book of Esther in that it does not mention God. You won't find the name of God in the Song of Solomon. You don't find it in Esther either, but you know God is at work.

Even so, the book is written with the assumption that what takes place in this relationship between man and woman, husband and wife, is in the context of and in accordance with God's will, which is a relationship that glorifies God. Everything you see happening here is in the context of a relationship that is honoring to God and glorifying to God.

1. What we see is a God-honoring relationship expresses value and worth to one another. As Christians, if you think about it, we should be spokespeople for communicating value and worth to all people, because all people are created in the image of God. That means every person, all life, has value, and all life has worth. We should be the speakers and those who speak forth value and worth for all people.

When it comes to the marriage relationship, when it comes to a relationship where you have two people in love, expressing value and worth to one another is crucial, and we see this with the man and woman. Pick up the story in verse 9. We see the man's voice in verse 9. Guys, I do not recommend you use this as a compliment to your wife.

He says, "I compare you, my love, to a mare among Pharaoh's chariots." Believe it or not, this is actually a compliment, because the chariots of Pharaoh were pulled by beautiful, elegant, strong stallions, and he is basically saying to his woman, "You are beautiful. You are elegant." He's expressing her value and her worth. "You're everything."

Some have suggested he's also saying… I'm going to use vernacular our young people understand. He is basically saying, "Baby, you are hot, and you're driving all the men crazy." It wasn't uncommon for an enemy to take a mare in heat, and what they would do is let that mare in heat loose so the stallions that were pulling the chariots would go crazy. That was a way of attacking the enemy. He's basically saying the same thing to her. "You are hot. You're driving all the guys crazy." He speaks value and worth with his words.

He also shows value and worth by giving gifts. Look at verse 10. He says, "Your cheeks are lovely with ornaments…" It's not that the ornaments are lovely but that she brings out the beauty. The ornaments are bringing out the beauty of her cheeks. Her neck… We see the beauty with the strings of jewels.

So we have the chorus speak up in verse 11, and they say, "We will make for you ornaments of gold, studded with silver." They're saying, "Here. Give her a gift. Express her value. Express her worth. Give her a gift." That's one way you can express value and worth to another person. Give them gifts. Of course, that's not the only way.

Most of you are familiar with Gary Chapman's book, The Five Love Languages. How many of you are familiar with that? If you're not, you don't even have to read the book. You can go online. You can actually understand and find out what your love language is, not only for adults, but they have it for children so, parents, you can understand the love languages of your children.

In his book he identifies five love languages. He identifies them as, first of all, words of affirmation, a person who wants affirmative words. You build them up with your words. That's how you can love them best. Then there's receiving gifts. For people who have that love language, the best thing you can do is give them a gift. Sometimes it doesn't even have to be a big gift. Just give them a gift, and you show them their value and worth.

Then there are acts of service. After acts of service there's quality time. Some people just want you to spend time with them, and that's really what matters. Then the last one is physical touch. Usually, you can tell. The really touchy people are people who have that love language. Usually, they express their love language in the same way, either acts of service or physical touch or quality time.

One of the best things you can do when it comes to expressing value and worth is understanding your mate's love language. It took me several years. I would say early on in our marriage and early on in my ministry it would be words of affirmation because I was such a people person and a people pleaser I wanted words of affirmation, but that can only go so far because sometimes people aren't going to give you words of affirmation. God had to break me of that. I think over the years my dominant love language would be acts of service.

It took me several years to really understand Christy because she's so complicated. No, she's… It took me years to really understand her and maybe some struggles in our marriage, and probably just recently I realized the best way I can communicate value and worth to her is through acts of service. When I clean the kitchen, that's like giving her a dozen roses. Right? And it's cheaper too.

One of these days… She's just waiting for me to start doing the laundry. That would be like giving her a diamond ring. One of these days… I'm going to wait for those girls to get out of the house and take their clothes with them. Oh my goodness, if I start doing it, they'll only have about five pairs of clothes, but anyway…

That's the way you can express it. He's expressing her value, and he's expressing her worth. She reciprocates. Look in verse 12. "While the king was on his couch, my nard gave forth its fragrance," talking about her perfume. What's she's saying is, "My perfume is for him and him alone. I really don't care what the other people think. What really matters is he likes how I smell." So she's expressing his value and worth.

Listen to this next verse. Don't get caught up with what it says. "My beloved is to me a sachet of myrrh that lies between my breasts." Get past that word breasts, and there is some good meaning here. She's basically saying, "I hold him close to my heart. I cherish him." Then she goes, "My beloved is to me a cluster of henna blossoms in the vineyards of Engedi." This is her man.

In fact, she uses a term of endearment for him. Twice she calls him king. She says in verse 12, "While the king was on his couch…" Back in verse 4, she says, "Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers." Some suggest that's the title. Solomon would become a king, but I believe it's a term of endearment.

She's calling him king, and here's why: he treats her like a queen. She says, "I hold you dear to my heart. I dream about you." Women don't dream about guys who treat them with no respect. They dream about guys who treat them like a queen, and that's what she's saying. They're communicating value. They're communicating worth. I think it's interesting because we all have insecurities, and one of the things we can do as couples and as spouses in the married couples is…

2. We can help our mates with their own insecurities. Guys, one of the greatest areas women struggle with is in their appearance, because that's what she was talking about back in verse 6. When she said in verse 5, "I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon," she was expressing her value. She was expressing her own worth because she was able to overcome her insecurities.

Then she expresses her own struggle, and it all ties with her appearance. She says, "Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!" She has this natural beauty about herself, but she acknowledges this is an area where she struggles. Guys, this is one of the areas we can really help our women, help our wives, feel good about themselves, and here's how.

A. Do it with your actions. You say, "What do you mean?" This is destructive across the board, but it's especially destructive to your wife. Get rid of any pornography in your life, because when you look at pornography, when you… We'll take it down just below hard-core pornography, even soft pornography. Soft pornography is all over the television. Do you know that?

We have underwear commercials. We have Victoria's Secret commercials. At 9:00 you can watch a special with these ladies walking around in lingerie. What does it take to buy that stuff? Do you really need all that stuff? Listen, guys. How you view women in front of your wife can really communicate and devalue your wife's worth and value.

At my house… I don't do it just with my daughters. I made a covenant. I have to overcome… Guys, this is an area… We're very visual. I have three daughters at my home. If I'm watching TV with them, if one of those commercials comes on, I either pause it and we'll wait until it's over and we'll get through it, or…

I'm not watching it. I don't want my daughters and I don't want my wife seeing me going, "Oh boy, she's hot. Woo-hoo!" because I care about them. I care about how they think of themselves. I want them to feel value. I want them to feel worth. How dad and how a husband responds is a big key. So dads, husbands, express value and worth with your actions and with your eyes.

B. True love and true romance builds up one another with creative compliments. We have this back-and-forth going here, and now the man speaks up again in verse 15. He says, "Behold, you are beautiful, my love; behold, you are beautiful; your eyes are doves." Rabbinic tradition believed when you talked about the beauty of a person's eye you talked about the beauty of their personality, their soul. He's saying, "Your beauty is way beyond skin deep. You are beautiful from the inside out."

Have you heard of the old saying, "Beauty is skin deep, but ugly is to the bone"? Beauty can also be to the bone. What he's saying is it's beyond just her physical appearance. He sees her personality. He's complimenting her on her soul, and she responds in verse 16. "Behold, you are beautiful, my beloved, truly delightful." She delights in him, and she's saying it to him. "I delight in you."

Then she says, "Our couch is green; the beams of our house are cedar; our rafters are pine." Most likely this is in anticipation here. It could very well be they're out enjoying time together. People in love like to spend time together. I see some couples… The guy walks into the room, and the woman says, "Stop it." "What?" "Stop that inhaling and exhaling. Stop it. I don't want you breathing around me. Get out of here." Do you know what? When you're truly in love, you love to spend time together.

Most likely they're spending time together. They're out. They're lying on the grass, maybe having a picnic, maybe in public. But she's anticipating, "One day we're going to be married, and one day we're going to make a home together. I can't wait for that day when we commit ourselves to one another in a covenant relationship." So there's this anticipation on her part. You know it, guys. We love to hear it. I don't know about you. I love it when my wife says, "You're a stud." I say, "Honey, you're just expressing what everybody else is thinking."

The creative compliments continue. Notice what she says in verse 1. "I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys." We look at that, and we think, "Man, she's feeling pretty good about herself," but that's not what's happening here. Guys, she is fishing for a compliment. You know, "Hey, does this dress make me look skinny?" She's fishing for a compliment. Here's what happens. She's basically saying, "You know, I'm just an ordinary gal. I'm just like all the other flowers in the field."

He responds. He hits a home run. Verse 2: "As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women." He is saying, and let me paraphrase it, maybe modernize it, "When you walk in the room, baby, you're in color, and all the other ladies are in black and white." That's what he's saying. He hit a home run. He understood she was fishing for a compliment. He gave her a compliment. "There's none like you. All the others are thorns."

She responds in verse 3. "As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men." She's a rose among thorns, and he's an apple among all the other guys. Again, she's saying, "You're the stud. There's no man like you." They're complimenting each other creatively.

It says, "With great delight I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste. He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love. Sustain me with raisins; refresh me with apples, for I am sick with love." She is telling him, "Man, I am lovesick." Then she gets very expressive again about her desire to be with her man intimately.

She says in verse 6, "His left hand is under my head, and his right hand embraces me!" The world would look at this first passage and the anticipation, and especially where the woman is expressing her desire to be with her man intimately… The world says, "Why wait?" The world says, "Act upon those passions and desires," and the world does.

In fact, our flesh says the very same thing. "Why wait? Act upon those God-given desires," but she understands this relationship needs to be in the right context. It needs to take place and things need to happen at the right time with the right commitment. What she does is she takes an oath in verse 7. She's saying it to the daughters of Jerusalem, but in this oath she is basically saying, "I am not going to allow my passions, and they are God-given passions, to become an idol for me."

That's what happens, and that's what the world does. We turn our sexual passions into idols. We let them control us. Whatever controls you is an idol. The world says, "Let your passions go free." She says, "I am not going to do that. I'm not going to allow my passions to go free. I'm not going to allow relationships to become an idol." Even though she's expressing how she's in love with this man, she's sick in love, she understands you have to control your passions for the sake of purity and ultimately for the glory of God.

Notice verse 7. She says, "I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles or the does of the field, that you not stir up or awaken love until it pleases." Though she's speaking to the daughters of Jerusalem, she's making an oath. She is saying true love waits for the right time and the right commitment. To act upon those passions, to act upon those desires God has given us and in the right time, is a committed, covenant relationship between a husband and a wife.

She acknowledges the way you keep your passions from becoming idols, the way you keep relationships from becoming idols, is by putting God first, and that's what she's doing. "I'm in love with this man, but I am more in love with Jesus. I'm more in love with the Lord." She puts it all into the context, and that is true of all of us. No matter where you are in life, anything can become an idol, and if we are not careful, we can allow those things to become our gods. What we have to do daily is to seek first his righteousness and his kingdom.

This passage speaks to us. It speaks to singles. Some of you might be single. Some of you maybe were married, and you're no longer married. Here's how it speaks to you. It speaks to you about priority. Don't make finding a husband or a wife your main goal. Don't think, "If I just had a husband or a wife, I would feel better about myself."

Listen. The only way you can really overcome insecurities is by the grace of God in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I encourage you if you're in that season of life don't make finding a husband or a wife your main goal. Seek Jesus. Seek his righteousness. Love him. Treasure him more than anything else in life.

As Christy's old pastor used to say to singles back in the 90s, "You love Jesus. You serve Jesus. You run the race, and you keep your eyes on Jesus. Every once in a while, you look to the left, or you look to the right. If you see somebody running the race with you, if you see somebody loving on Jesus and seeking Jesus and y'all get along, marry them."

That's what happened to us. She had to really convince me that was the right thing to do. (I'm kidding. I had to beg her, "Please marry me.") Singles, focus. Run the race. Serve the Lord and guess what? Don't awaken it. Don't try to make things work. At God's timing, if it is his will, you will find your mate.

Let me speak to students. Students, don't make priority finding a boyfriend or a girlfriend. Make priority loving Jesus. That's the best thing you can do. I tell that to my kids all the time. Love Jesus. Don't waste… Listen. You're young. You're not emotionally mature. We see this with all the different things that are happening, with our young people taking their lives. Do you know what that's connected to? Emotional immaturity and falling in love too soon, and it's not even love.

Focus on Jesus. Trust Jesus. Serve Jesus. Grow emotionally. Grow spiritually. Do the same thing as you're running. For my girls, by the time you're 30, that's when you start looking over. Look over when you're 30. Yeah, you can live at home the rest of your life. Sure. No, I'm just kidding. We have to get rid of some of that laundry. Don't make that your focus. Don't awaken love before it's time. Focus on Jesus.

For those of you who might be in a relationship and you're contemplating, "Well, is this the person?" if it's not, then don't waste your time. If it is, then here's what you do. You put Jesus first, and you don't awaken love before it's time. Make sure that relationship is not rooted in the physical but it's rooted in Jesus and it's rooted in who that person is, their character, their spirituality, their godliness. Do they love Jesus? That's all I pray for my kids, and if they really truly love Jesus and if they find a man who loves Jesus, that takes care of a lot of stuff, doesn't it?

Then for us who are married, do you know what? This ought to challenge us. First of all, we ought to be striving every day to put Jesus first in our marriage and in our families, praying together, spending time together with the Lord. Then, guys, I'm having to step up my game with this study. I'm kind of convicted. There's no reason why we can't fan into flame those passions and desires we once had.

I know what God is doing with me as I remember. This is my bride, and I love who she is. I love her character. I love her spirituality, and you need to do that too, husbands and wives. How many of you went home and did the one-minute passionate kiss last week? You're not going to admit it. Okay. Go home, do a passionate kiss with your wife, husbands, and fan into flame.

Think of ways you can compliment one another creatively. Think of ways you can express value and worth to your spouse. Wives, we like it. Call us kings, call us studs, but please, we really like it. Husbands, speak value and worth to your wives with your words and with your actions. The key to all of this, and I always bring it back to this, is we have a fallen nature, and that's the problem. That's why we have problems in relationships. The only way we can overcome that fallen nature is with Jesus. It always brings us back to the gospel.

I performed a wedding last night, and they did a covenant marriage. I love doing those, because I asked them to commit to it. When you do a covenant marriage, you're saying, "We're in this till death," so the only way out is you're going to have to kill each other. In a covenant relationship and in a marriage, and this is what a Christian marriage is, it's about you giving of yourself. It's living out the gospel for your mate. Y'all become one.

Here's what Jesus did for us. He put aside all of his interests, he put aside all of his rights, and he gave himself for us. Right? That's what it means to live out the gospel in your marriage. Husbands, you give yourself to your wife in spite of your own interests, in spite of what it costs you. Wives, you do the same in spite of your own interests, in spite of what it will cost you. That's the gospel, and we need that. All of us need that, every one of us, because we all have a fallen nature.

Let's bow our heads and close our eyes. You're here this morning. All of us have a fallen nature. Every one of us has insecurities. Every one of us has fears and self-doubts. We all act them out in different ways, but the only way you can overcome those insecurities and fears is through a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. You're here this morning. I want you to know Jesus can make you whole. Jesus can heal you. Jesus can deliver you. Turn from your sin and place your faith in him today.

You're here this morning, and maybe you're in a relationship and you know it's not God-honoring and unhealthy. God is a God of second chances. Do you know that? Come to him in repentance. He'll forgive you. Start afresh today in that relationship. Maybe you're here this morning, and you're in a marriage and you don't have anything good to say about your spouse. The gospel can change your heart. You may not be able to change your spouse, but you can allow the gospel to change you and make you more like Jesus.

In a moment we're going to sing about needing God. If you need Christ as your Lord and Savior today, you just walk down the aisle, grab me by the hand, and say, "Pastor, I need Christ." If you need prayer, I would love to pray with you today. All of us go through struggles. Nobody is perfect. All of us fall, and that's why we need grace.

Father, have your way. Speak to our hearts now as we respond to you. In Jesus' name, amen.

I Think I'm in Love

I Think I'm in Love
Song of Solomon 1:1-7

 I have a confession to make, and I'm probably going to lose my man card, but hey, it's all about transparency, right?  I do not watch ESPN, at least not enough to say I do. It has nothing to do with the fact that I have all females in my house. I just don't watch sports very much. Of course, if you're a Cowboys fan, who wants to watch it? I've given up on watching them. They make me mad. If you were to look at my life and measure my life, I watch more Hallmark movies than I do sporting events. Yeah, I know. Some of the men have just checked out. "He watches Hallmark movies."

I love Hallmark movies. I have them all down too because most of them are like this: Man and woman fall in love, and then there's something that threatens their love, but love wins, and they always end up together at the end. I can watch those over and over again. My girls are looking at me. "Amen." They're telling me, "Dad, do we have to watch a Hallmark movie?" "Yeah, we do."

Every year I have to watch The Christmas Card. Anybody with me there, ladies? Come on. Any men want to dare? Any men want to come out with me? I love that movie. Christmas is not Christmas unless I watch The Christmas Card. It's a beautiful, beautiful movie. I can watch them over and over again. God loves a good love story. If you think about it, the very nature of the triune God is love.

God is love, and within the Godhead, there is perfect love demonstrated and experienced between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. Then, of course, there's that wonderful love story in the Bible between Holy God and sinful humanity, best described with this verse: "For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that those who believe in him shall not perish but have eternal life." What a beautiful, beautiful love story.

But don't forget about the love story God creates between man and woman. We have that in Genesis, chapters 1-2. Adam and Eve is actually a love story, much like a Hallmark movie. They were created by God to have fellowship with God, but they were also created to have perfect love, mutual love and affection for one another. Of course, like a good Hallmark movie, something threatens that.

Disobedience comes and the fall, and what happens after that? There is a disaster between God and man. That relationship is now destroyed because of sin, and not only our vertical relationships with God, but now our relationships with other people and our relationships between men and women. All of that is tainted by sin. Fortunately, the story of the relationship between God and man does not have to have a terrible ending if you give your life to the saving work of Jesus Christ.

Now even though we have fallen (and we are fallen; we're tainted by sin, and it hinders our relationships), by the grace of God, men and women can have relationships that glorify God, can have a marriage that glorifies God. In fact, God dedicates a whole book of the Bible, believe it or not, to the relationship between a man and a woman before marriage and then within marriage. That's what we're going to be doing. We're going to be spending the next several weeks looking at the picture of what I would consider an ideal relationship.

It's not history, and we have to remember that. This is Wisdom Literature, by the way. We read in verse 1, "The Song of Songs, which is Solomon's." King Solomon wrote this. Many scholars believe he wrote the book of Ecclesiastes toward the end of his life, and we studied that. He came to a point where he realized he had turned his back on God, and he turns back to God. Ecclesiastes is him saying, "Listen, you're only going to find happiness in God."

Then scholars believe Proverbs was written mid-life. He had enough wisdom to write. Then they believe Song of Solomon was written at a very young age, just before he decided he would have over 700 wives and concubines. Yeah, Solomon was this guy who did not take his own advice. Early on, he had this ideal relationship between a man and a woman.

We need to understand it's not an allegory. Some of you may have heard this taught before as an allegory. It's really not an allegory. It's not an allegory of how Christ loves the church, because I'm here to tell you this is a fairly intimate and sensual book, and I don't know if I want my relationship with Christ to be represented in some of the sensuality he uses. It's not an allegory. It's not a drama. It's not a hymn. It's not history. It is a love song that uses poetic lyrics, and it's describing the ideal relationship between a man and a woman, a husband and a wife.

Dr. Danny Akin says the Song of Solomon goes back to the past, but it also goes to the future. It goes back to the past because it takes us all the way back to Genesis, chapters 1-2, where God created man and woman. They would become husband and wife, and they were to live this relationship together, become one flesh. Well, Song of Solomon is a commentary to that relationship. So it takes us back to the past.

It also takes us to the future found in the New Testament, because it points to that picture of marriage we find in Ephesians, chapter 5, verses 22-33, where it says the marriage of man and woman is a picture of the relationship Christ has with his church. So Ephesians becomes the blueprint for Christian marriage. Now it is a very sensual book. It speaks of sexual intimacy within a marriage relationship.

I know some of you are going, "Oh." These young people are going, "Yeah! Did he say sensual? Did he say intimacy?" Oh, you're going to love this book. You really are…maybe. All of us…I don't care who you are…need to understand what this book says for at least two reasons. First, we live in a sexually-charged and sexually-deviant culture, and we the church need to be able to speak into this culture God's plan for marriage, God's plan for sexuality, and God's plan for romance. He actually has a plan. In fact, he has given us a whole book of how it all works out.

The second reason we need to understand what it says is that marriage is a picture of our relationship with Christ, the church's relationship with Christ, and likewise his relationship with us. As we study this and as we bring the gospel into it, it ought to draw us near to Christ when we realize what he has done so we can have a personal relationship with him.

I don't know how valid this is, but some believe the book of Proverbs was written to little Hebrew boys, and they taught that to them in the home, and the Song of Solomon was written to little Hebrew girls. I don't know if there's any validity to that, but I will say the woman is doing most of the singing. But that's nothing unusual. They're singing and talking all the time.

Fifty-six percent is the woman singing. Thirty-six percent is the man. Then you have this small little chorus. They sing about six percent of the time. The book is a chronological progression of a relationship. When we start this book, we're not going to watch… Like in a Hallmark movie we watch two people fall in love. They're already in love, and let me tell you, it's hot and it's heavy.

What we're going to see is how they relate to one another before the wedding, and then you get to the middle of the book and they have the wedding, and then how they relate to one another after. We call that "the marriage." Every time I do marriage counseling I say, "You're getting ready for the wedding; I'm preparing you for the marriage, life after the wedding."

This first section really starts from verse 2 of chapter 1 and goes to verse 7. There's so much stuff in there I had to do it in two parts. I've titled it I Think I'm in Love, because this man and this woman are truly in love, but they're not married. What we're going to do is glean into their relationship and see what true love and true romance looks like. Not only does it apply to those who are in a relationship outside of marriage; it applies to single people, it applies to anyone who speaks to a culture that needs to know God's plan, and it speaks to marriages.

1. True love constantly finds delight and pleasure in one another. The woman begins the song. She starts singing in verse 2, and it's full of delight. It's full of passion. It's full of pleasure. Here's what she says, the very first lyric: "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!" Doesn't that sound good? Some of you are going, "No, that's gross." The world loves to put the physical first, and that's why we as believers need to make sure we are renewing our minds constantly.

The world says, "Yeah!" The world always puts the physical as the most important thing in a relationship. If you think about it, physical attraction, because that's what she's talking about here… And it's not just a little, "Oh, give me a little kiss on the lips." She wants to lay a big one on him, like maybe even over a minute. That's passionate. (That's a good way to measure your relationship, husbands and wives. Are you kissing for a minute still? If you're not, go home and time yourself. Get back into practice.)

She is physically attracted. Physical attraction doesn't take work; it just happens. You don't have to work at it. You just see and go, "Wow." They always say, "Wow, he's hot" or "He's a hunk." A hunk of what I don't know, but he's a hunk. They don't say "hunk" anymore. That was my day. Remember the 80s? The hunks? Yeah.

She's not basing her attraction and the goal of her relationship… Young people, listen to this. Her goal isn't to lay a big kiss on her man. No, that's the result. That's the desire she has because he loves her. It says here, "Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth!" Why? "For your love is better than wine…" What a description.

I read through the Bible every year, and my wife always knows when I'm reading through the Song of Solomon, because all through the time I'm reading, I'm flirting with her. I always text her little emojis with a verse. So hey, husbands, you want to flirt with your wife? There are some really good verses in the Song of Solomon.

She is saying, "His love for me intoxicates me. It's like wine." The Hebrew word there for love is somewhat ambiguous, but it is used in other places where it talks about the sexual intimacy between a husband and a wife. So is this woman actually saying and expressing her desire for intimacy with her man? I say yes, and I say it because of what she says in verse 4. She says, "Draw me after you; let us run. The king has brought me into his chambers."

Now we have to put this into the context of covenant relationship. What she is saying is, "Man, I can't wait till that wedding night." And that man is going, "Yeah! I'm right there with you." That's what she's saying. "I cannot wait to consummate this relationship." She's actually expressing her physical desire, sexual desire, for her man. She's in love with her man because of his affection for her.

Then she goes on to express a little bit more about her physical attraction. She says, "…your anointing oils are fragrant…" Back then, taking a bath was few and far between. It's not like us getting up… Sometimes I'll take one or two showers a day. I'll take a shower, go mow the yard, and take another shower. I like showers.

But during that time, what the guys would do for hygiene is they would get this oil that smelled good. If they really cared about themselves and wanted to have good hygiene, they would put this cologne on them. What she is saying is, "You smell good. You cover the stink well." That's what she's saying. "You're going out of your way to make yourself attractive."

Every time I read that verse, I think of camp with all of these little sixth graders and seventh graders who think, "I'm not going to take a bath the whole camp. I'm going to be sweaty, and I'm just going to cover it up with all this cologne." Yeah, we say, "Gross," but back then they said, "Woo-hoo, you smell good. You're covering up the stink well." So she's attracted to him physically. There's physical attraction.

There's a good lesson for us here because he's taking effort, guys, to make himself attractive to the woman, and that's a good lesson for all of us. Ladies, if the barn needs painting, paint it. Do whatever you need to do within reason to make yourself attractive. Guys, comb your hair, take a shower, brush your teeth, and iron your clothes. When I met Christy, on our first date my clothes were all wrinkled. I had no clue until she told me. I always wore my clothes that way.

Husbands and wives, we get married and think, "Well, I'm married; I don't have to keep myself up." Well yes, you do. You have to. You have to do what you can to keep yourself attractive for one another. So there's the physical attraction here, but don't be mistaken. Her relationship and even her desire for physical activity with her man is not the root of this relationship.

This is the biblical principle we're going to learn from these verses: physical activity cannot be the root of a relationship, because you will destroy true delight and true pleasure in one another. Even though, yes, she's attracted to him physically and, yes, she wants to have physical activity with him on that wedding night, what really attracts her is the type of person he is.

She says, "Your anointing oils are fragrant. You smell good. But your name…" Here's the most important aspect of what attracts her to this man. "Your name…" That speaks of his character. "Your character, your integrity, your virtue that flows from a relationship with God. You're a godly man. You're a hot godly man who smells good." That's what she's saying. "You have character. You have spirituality. You love the Lord, and that's what attracts me to you."

She loves him for who he is, not what he looks like. In fact, she says, "Your good character and your godly character, everybody knows it. Even the virgins love you." What that means is they're waiting in line. "Listen, if it doesn't work out between you two, I want him." He is a good catch. He loves the Lord. He smells good. Oh, and he looks good too. She's attracted to him.

When we delight and take pleasure in one another, it can't be rooted in the physical. It can't be. We must delight and take pleasure in who that person is, and that's what she is doing. Really, you destroy true love and true romance when you delight in the physical more than you delight in the spiritual and the character aspect of it. You destroy true love, and you destroy a relationship. When a man and woman get married, they intend to stay together. "We're going to live and grow old together."

Here's the problem. If you root your delight and pleasure in the physical… Listen to this, young people. Y'all need to hear this because one of these days you're going to get married, and one of these days you're going to grow old, and you know what? There are all kinds of things that can affect your physical appearance. You know, health. I have a disease. Y'all didn't know this. Well, yes you did. I'm going to identify it for you. It's called "furniture disease." Does anybody else have that? It's where your chest drops down into your drawers.

Yeah, things change when you get older. Your physical appearance changes. Diseases can come along. If your relationship is rooted in the physical, I'm here to tell you it will not last. When you grow old together, you want to grow old together because you delight and take pleasure in each other, who you are, who you are as a person who loves the Lord. What we see here is a woman who delights and takes pleasure in this man, not because of his physical appearance, but because of who he is.

C.J. Mahaney… I encourage husbands and wives to read it, and even people thinking about getting married. It's a really catchy title to the book. It's called Sex, Romance, and the Glory of God. It's based upon the Song of Solomon. He said to husbands, in order for true love to deepen, you must touch the heart and soul of your wife before you touch her body. That's what's happening here. He has touched her heart and soul, and now she says, "I can't wait until you touch my body on the wedding night."

Let me just say this. Young people, you're in relationships, and men, boys, you touch heart and mind before you touch the body, and you don't touch that body until you make a commitment and say, "I do." That's how God designed it. Especially if you're dating my kid. Husbands, you know that physical activity you desire? Well, prior to that is you touching the heart and mind of your wife throughout the day. She's a crockpot; you're a microwave. Remember that.

You start touching that heart and mind early in the morning, and maybe by the time you get home, it'll be ready. Maybe. So true love constantly finds delight and pleasure in one another, in who you are. Physical activity is part of it, but it is not the root of a relationship. We see that with this man and this woman. Remember, they're not married, but there is that sexual desire.

By the way, sexual desire is not evil. Do you know that? God is pro-sex. You know why? Because God created it. In fact, what God has done is he has made man and woman to become husband and wife. Within that relationship, he has given them sexual desire, to have intimacy with one another. That's how God made us. Sexual desire is actually a gift from God. Where it becomes sinful is when we act upon that sexual desire outside of the marriage covenant.

Like premarital sex. That's sinful behavior when you act upon that sexual desire outside of the marriage covenant. Or when you're in a marriage covenant and you decide to act upon that sexual desire with someone other than your spouse. That's sinful. Or when you act upon that sexual desire with someone of the same sex. That is sinful sexual desire. But God gave us that desire.

2. For true love to be maintained, you must conquer insecurities so you can give yourself to one another. This woman in her song is transparent. She's open about her fears, her insecurities, and her self-doubts, and she expresses them. Verse 5: "I am very dark, but lovely, O daughters of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. Do not gaze at me because I am dark, because the sun has looked upon me. My mother's sons were angry with me; they made me keeper of the vineyards, but my own vineyard I have not kept!"

All of us have insecurities because we're fallen people, and she's expressing some of hers. Where she says, "Do not gaze at me because I am dark…" In that culture, a tan… We all go to the tanning salon. We want to look good because tan is attractive. In that culture, having a tan wasn't attractive. Light skin was attractive. If you were light-skinned you were seen as attractive, because that meant you were indoors all day, which probably meant you were from wealth.

So you have these girls… Y'all know how girls are. They're making fun of her. "Oh, look at her. She's not wearing any makeup. Look at her hair." She has this natural beauty about herself, and there could be some jealousy that they have to go put on all this stuff and she still looks good. I don't know. But they're making fun of her. Then, of course, her brothers were mad at her, and they made her go out to the vineyard and work, and that's why she's so tan.

Then she says, "But my own vineyard…" She's not talking about a literal vineyard; she's talking about her femininity. She says, "I don't have time like you gals. I don't have time to put makeup on and fix my hair." She's acknowledging some insecurities and fears and self-doubts, but I want you to see how she overcomes it. She actually accepts her natural beauty. She says, "I am very dark, but lovely."

The world is telling her, "Look, you don't have beauty like these ladies do, like the daughters of Jerusalem." She says, "That's okay. I don't need the world to give me my worth. I don't need the world to give me my value." In fact, she goes on and celebrates it. She says, "My darkness is lovely like the tents of Kedar." The tents of Kedar were made out of very expensive material. She is saying, "I have value. I'm lovely because I have value."

Then she talks about her worth. She talks about the curtains of Solomon, which means she says, "I'm worthy to go into the presence of kings." Do you see what she's doing here? She has self-acceptance. The world might be telling her, "You don't look that good," but she says, "That's okay; I'm lovely. I have value, and I have worth." That is true self-acceptance.

We need to be very careful, because sometimes what we call self-acceptance or self-confidence is really false self-acceptance. Here's how you differentiate between false self-acceptance, where you don't accept yourself but it looks like self-acceptance, and true self-acceptance: False self-acceptance is desperate and wild; true self-acceptance is focused and self-controlled.

I want you to see how her self-acceptance worked out into the relationship she had with her man. Go down to verse 7. She says, "Tell me, you whom my soul loves, where you pasture your flock, where you make it lie down at noon; for why should I be like one who veils herself beside the flocks of your companions?" "Tell me where you're going to be. I don't want to go down there and be like those ladies who veil themselves."

What she's talking about are ladies who sold their bodies. She said, "I don't want to go out and hang around all of your companions and all of these guys. I don't want them to think I'm out there giving myself to anyone or anybody." She didn't want that. In fact, she said, "I don't want anybody to think for a moment that I find my value in other relationships, that I have to go from man to man to find self-worth."

What we call false self-acceptance are those who say, "Okay, I have to have a boyfriend. I have to have a girlfriend." We think, "Wow, they have real self-confidence." No, they probably don't. It's probably a sign they're looking for value and self-worth, and they have to find it in another person and what that other person says.

I see this with young ladies all the time. Young men too. We call them "boy crazy," but is that maybe a sign you have to find self-worth and self-acceptance in having a boyfriend or a girlfriend? That's not a good sign. Parents, it's not okay. It is not okay that your teenagers are going from boyfriend to boyfriend. That's probably a sign they're struggling with insecurities, which we all have. As a parent, you need to help them through that.

Are they desperate and wild, or are they focused and self-controlled? Focused and self-controlled says, "You know what? I'll wait. I value myself. I find worth in who I am. It doesn't matter whether I have a boyfriend or a girlfriend. It doesn't matter if I'm in a relationship, because I'm lovely in spite of what the world says. I'm okay in spite of what the world says. I have value. I don't care what all of the popular people are saying. I don't care what this group is saying. I don't care, because I have value and worth and I'm lovely." That's what she's saying.

She's focused. She says, "Listen, I don't want to give the impression that I need people to give me value. I'm waiting for you. I'm self-controlled." Insecurities destroy relationships. It's true in marriages as well. We often say, "Marriage is 50/50." No, it's not. It's 100 and 100. You give 100 percent to your spouse, and your spouse gives 100 percent to you. Insecurities will hinder us in our ability to give ourselves to one another. Why? Because we're trying to find value and worth from them. We become these codependent people.

What you should be doing as a spouse is saying, "You know what? I want to make sure my wife or my husband find their value and worth and know that, no matter what, they are valuable and worthy." So how do we overcome the insecurities? See, how we view ourselves affects all of our relationships. Not just the marriage relationship, but all of our relationships are hindered by how we view ourselves.

How do we overcome them? First of all, we know God created everyone. Every human has value. Every human has worth because every human is created in the image of God. Everyone has value. Everyone has worth. Secondly, we need to understand that though we are created in the image of God, we are tainted by sin and we have insecurities. Therefore, we need God to help us with those insecurities.

How does he do that? He does it through Christ. That's why the gospel is so important to be the foundation of your life. As believers, we find our security not in what people think about us; we find it only in Jesus Christ. He's our security. It doesn't matter what the world says. What really matters is what Jesus says, and Jesus says, "There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus."

The Scripture says that if you're in Christ Jesus, God has a wonderful plan for you. The world may hate you and the world may say you have no value, but you're valuable, because in Christ you're being conformed into the image of Christ on a daily basis. You're valuable and you have worth because of Jesus Christ. Nothing can separate you from the love of God. That is so crucial to relationships and overcoming those insecurities. Knowing who we are in Christ.

The truth of the matter is all of us need security, no matter who you are, and that security is found only in Jesus Christ. All of us are broken. All of us are tainted. All of us have insecurities and fears and self-doubts. True security is only found in the person and work of Jesus Christ. That's it. That's why we always come back to the gospel.

This book will bring us back to the gospel, because this is the picture of an idyllic relationship between a man and a woman, and the only way you can have that idyllic relationship after the fall is through the saving work of Jesus Christ. You find value and you find worth in him and in him alone.

It's True. All of It

God’s Word abounds with the truth. Whether we believe it or not, whether we like it or not. It is true. All of it. 

Yes, we’re tempted to doubt some stories in the Bible. Jonah in the whale, Samson toppling the pagan temple, God’s fire burning up Elijah’s wet wooden altar, the virgin birth of Jesus, Jesus feeding the 5,000 and my favorite: Moses and the parting of the Red Sea. I mean, how did God do that? It boggles the mind – so incredible, so awesome, so spectacular in scope. It’s been popularized again and again in movies and TV. But the biggest part of the story – the part that Hollywood always leaves out – is that in crossing the Red Sea, the people of Israel were baptized into God’s truth that day!

We can only imagine what the Israelites must’ve felt like standing on the banks of the Red Sea, watching the water engulf pharaoh’s men and seeing their dead bodies washed up on the shore (Exodus 14:30). They must’ve stood there with their mouths agape, eyes saucer-wide, holding onto each other with astonished disbelief thinking, saying: “THAT’S the God we serve?? … wow.”

I grappled with the truth of the Red Sea crossing for years, even creating plausible explanations for how it happened: maybe there was a very long, contiguous sand bar connecting the eastern shore from the west; the tide went out revealing this miracle and the Israelites crossed it. And then pharaoh’s men went across, the tide came back in and they drowned.

Possible, right? Sure.

But that’s not what Scripture says happened.

In Exodus, it says there were walls of water on either side, and they crossed on dry ground (Exodus 14:29) – that’s kicking-up-sand dry. And we’re not talking about a few folks skipping across an archipelago of rocks. Scripture says 600,000 men on foot, which didn’t include their wives or kiddos (Exodus 12:37). So at a minimum, between 1.5-to-2 million people were making that journey. And here’s the really crucial part: two million people – that’s a lot of eyewitnesses to the event. Either they were either all liars, every last one of them -OR- they were all off-the-wall, out-of-their-minds insane. Every man, woman, and child who made that crossing.

Are you picking up the scent here? Guys, this stuff happened. It really did. I can’t explain how it happened. It doesn’t matter how. I’ve been in professional ministry for more than 17 years, and I still struggle with God’s truth at times. And that’s okay. The feeling is emblematic of who we are as humans beings. 

But God’s Word, this truth we talk about in church and with friends exists whether we’re around to say it does. And we’re not prayerfully hoping it happened. The more time you spend in God’s Word, through praying over it before you read and paying close attention to the details, you’ll find the truth is speaking to you.

And it will convict you soundly. And one day, you’ll be on the banks of the Red Sea just like the Israelites were that day, you’ll do like they did: you’ll sing (Exodus 15) worshipping the Lord and praising His name.

Sometimes, that’s all you can do. And all you want to do.

Surviving a Standstill Season

Isaiah 43:14-21

As a child, I remember Christmas taking forever to arrive.  The days between Christmas seemed to drag on and even seemed to be at a standstill.  Ironically, now that I’m much older Christmas comes way too fast, in fact, everything is going way too fast.  Time seems to speed up the older you get. Though time continues to move forward, life can seem to be at a standstill. 

How many of you have ever been in standstill traffic? I have on several occasions. The most recent, I spent two hours in standstill traffic on my way to work.  It was so frustrating, especially when there was nowhere to go. I had already passed an exit and the next one was five miles away. It didn’t help the situation that I needed a restroom.  I had no idea what happened, nor could I see if any progress was being made. And just like traffic, life can come to what appears to be a standstill season.  

When you are in a standstill season it’s usually during a period of transition.  You feel like you are stuck, and you don’t know what to do. You can’t see what God is doing, and you struggle with taking things into your own hands.  

The Bible is full of examples of God’s people being in a standstill season.  The Israelites in Egypt were in a standstill season for hundreds of years. Again, in the wilderness, the Israelites were in a forty-year standstill season.  During the Intertestamental period, the time between the Old Testament and the New Testament, also known as the “Silent Years.” the people of God were at a standstill.  And that was the case for the Israelites during the Babylonian exile.  

For seventy years the people of God were at a standstill wondering and waiting for God to fulfill his promise of rebuilding and repopulating Jerusalem.  Anticipating their standstill season God, through the prophet of promise, Isaiah, gave them truths for surviving standstill seasons. A few of those truths are found in the forty-third chapter of Isaiah: “' Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake, I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King." Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick: "Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old. Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people, the people whom I formed for myself that they might declare my praise” (Isaiah 43:14-21).

How do you survive a standstill season? First, you need to recognize that God gives promises to stabilize his people.  

God gives us promises to stabilize (14-15)

Verses fourteen and fifteen reveal the promise God gives Israel: “Thus says the Lord, your Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel: "For your sake, I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice. I am the Lord, your Holy One, the Creator of Israel, your King” (Isaiah 43:14-15).

The Lord has promised Israel destruction by the Babylonians and deportation to Babylon for the first thirty-nine chapters of Isaiah. However, God is always faithful to his people, never leaving them, nor abandoning them.  Isaiah reminds them of God’s commitment to his people with the names that he uses for God: “Redeemer, Holy One, Creator, King.” What God is going to do for Israel is not based upon who they are, but whose they are. They belong to God, and God is their Redeemer. 

The Lord assures Israel of his love and commitment before Babylonian destruction and deportation ever happens: “For your sake, I send to Babylon and bring them all down as fugitives, even the Chaldeans, in the ships in which they rejoice.” The verb “send” is a perfect tense verb. Scholars refer to this particular tense as a prophetic perfect.  Even though the events that would bring about this promise have not happened, God intends to redeem them from this bondage.  God would use the Persian King Cyrus to overthrow the Babylonians and bring the people of Israel back from captivity and rebuild the temple and Jerusalem.   When God gives a promise it’s a done deal.  

God gives promises to stabilize us during tough seasons.  What I love about this particular promise is that it communicates to the Israelites that their failure and disobedience that brought about the destruction and deportation is not permanent.  Why? Because God is Redeemer, and he can and does redeem our seasons for his glory, and that’s a promise. Next, the text reveals that God gives a process to recognize.  

God gives a process to recognize  (16-17)

Verses sixteen and seventeen give a lengthy introduction to what the Lord is going to command the people of God in verse eighteen: “Thus says the Lord, who makes a way in the sea, a path in the mighty waters, who brings forth chariot and horse, army and warrior; they lie down, they cannot rise, they are extinguished, quenched like a wick.” These verses become the context of what God commands in verse eighteen and what follows.  

It doesn’t take a Bible scholar to recognize what the reference is in these two verses.  Isaiah is looking back to a past event in the life of God’s people. The Exodus is when God delivered his people from the bondage of Egypt and eventually brought them into the Promise Land.  The fact that the Lord uses present tense verbs and not past tense verbs is significant. God wants the Israelites to do more than just reflect upon the events of the past. More importantly, God wants them to recognize what God demonstrated during that event. 

When God delivered the Israelites from Egypt he invaded and intervened in their dire situation, and demonstrated his love, power, and his faithfulness to his promises and his people.  In other words, the same God who did powerfully delivered and redeemed the Israelites during the Exodus is the same God who will do the same for the Israelites during captivity. This process and pattern we see in the Exodus and captivity was also the process we see in the cross of Christ.  God is all about redeeming, delivering and setting people free. We need to recognize this process and pattern, especially when we are in a standstill season. Once the process and pattern are recognized, God then gives a perception to utilize.  

God gives a perception to utilize (18-20)

Perception is everything. In fact, perception becomes reality.  What we see and visualize becomes our reality; therefore, God wants his people to be very careful about how they perceive life and circumstances.  First, he addresses how we perceive the past.  

After bringing to remembrance the Exodus event in verses sixteen and seventeen, God commands his people to forget: “Remember not the former things, nor consider the things of old.” This seems like a contradiction. Does he really want God’s people to forget about the past events of God’s faithfulness? Not at all.  What the Lord wants from his people is not to focus on the events of the past that they fail to perceive and recognize what God is doing in the present and in the future.  The use of the present tense in verses sixteen and seventeen supports this truth.  

Instead of taking Israel back to the past event of the Exodus, Isaiah brings it and what God did into the present. It’s possible to turn past events into idols; therefore, instead of placing our faith in the event of the past, we must place our faith in the present God who continues to do the same things he did in the past today.   Don’t focus on past events, but on what God demonstrated during those events. If we focus on the past we will miss out on what God is doing now and in the future.  

Isaiah turns our attention to the now and not yet in verse nineteen: “Behold, I’m doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?” I love the fact that Isaiah can perceive and recognize what God is doing and going to do. He can see it because of faith in the God who promises in verses fourteen and fifteen to do deliver them from bondage and captivity.  

We forget the past events, but not what God demonstrated in the past. If we expect God to do the same thing he did for us in the past, we will miss and fail to recognize what God is doing in the present and future.  

What was God going to do for the Israelites when he delivered them from Babylonian captivity? Verses nineteen and twenty show us: “Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert. The wild beasts will honor me, the jackals and the ostriches, for I give water in the wilderness, rivers in the desert, to give drink to my chosen people.”  

The new thing that God was going to do for Israel would not be without its challenges.  They were over 500 miles away from Jerusalem. This would mean a long journey through the desert in unknown territory. As a result, they would experience obstacles, hardships, dangers, and exhaustion.  Even so, the God of the Old Exodus is the same God of the new exodus. He would not split the sea, but he would provide for them and protect them along the way.  

When the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary to announce the birth of Jesus, she would soon find out that God’s new thing can sometimes be difficult. It may lead us to set aside our own plans and dreams. It may mean risks. It may be frightening.  Even so, God promises to be with us, to intervene in our circumstances, to protect and provide for us along the way.  

We don’t have to live in old mercies because the mercies of God are new every morning. Don’t let the good old days of the past keep you from the great days of today.  Stand on the promises of God and utilize those promises to give you the perception you need to see the new thing God is doing in your life. The new thing God is doing is for a reason. In verse twenty-one, we see the reason and purpose of God’s new thing: “Than they might declare my praise.” In verse ten of this same chapter, he declares: “You are my witnesses.”  Because of God’s promises we can be assured that he is always at work, doing new thing after new thing so that we can declare his praise and witness of his goodness to a lost and dying world, who desperately needs God’s deliverance.   

The new thing that Isaiah is referring to goes beyond the Babylonian captivity.  It points to when God intervened in history and invaded the mess of humanity by sending his Son Jesus.  The ultimate thing God has done is through his son, Jesus. Notice verse twenty-five of chapter forty-three: “I, I am he who blots out your transgressions for my own sake, and I will not remember your sins.” In chapter forty-four, verse three: “For I will pour water on the thirsty land, and streams on the dry ground; I will pour my Spirit upon your offspring and my blessings upon your descendants.”  This is the good news of the gospel, and this is good news for you.  

The Redeemer wants to redeem you.  He wants to invade your messiness and intervene in your situation. Some are in bondage to sin and you need to be delivered. You need to be set free from the penalty and power of sin.  You have hope. All you have to do is turn to Jesus, and trust in his death burial and resurrection and you will be saved. God will redeem you and set you free. Will you trust him?

Some are in a very messy and painful situation. Some of the mess is your own doing, and some out of your control. You have hope.  God is present in the place of your pain. He is ready to redeem the negative outcome into something positive. It’s not over until God speaks, and he is speaking over you know: “Behold, I’m doing a new thing” 

Some are in a standstill season.  The new thing that God is doing in you seems to be a detour.  This standstill season is really a season of transition into a new direction. God is leading you on a journey through regions of your life and faith you would have never considered without the season you are in at this time. You are in this season so that you can see the heart of God.   

If any of this word is resonating with you then I invite you to respond. Open your hands to heaven and ask the Lord to do something new in your life, in your circumstances, or in your journey. Ask him for a fresh encounter with his presence and begin to live with hope and expectancy concerning the new thing he is about to do.    

Hang on, Change is Coming!

Hang on, Change is Coming 

Isaiah 41:1-20

Do you ever turn on the news and say to yourself, “We are in trouble!”? Or maybe you spend some time on social media, such as Twitter, and come to the same conclusion? With all the ways to stay connected to what’s happening in the world, it’s causing many fears and anxieties.

Chapman University in Orange, California for the past few years has done a yearly survey on what Americans fear the most. What is interesting is that Dr. Christopher Bader, professor of sociology at Chapman, and the one who oversees the survey has seen a trend in the survey since they started it. It’s not surprising that what they have noticed is that people tend to fear what they are exposed to in the media. Many of the top fears of one year were the top stories of the previous years.

The number one fear since 2016 has not changed: over seventy percent of people surveyed feared government corruption. I’m not an expert, but our government is corrupt on so many levels. In 2016 terrorist attacks and terrorism were both in the top ten fears. However, in the 2018 survey neither make the top ten. Instead, they have been replaced by pollution and global warming.

A combination of corrupt government, climate change, financial insecurity, escalating international tensions, and even the lack of social interaction is causing a fear and anxiety time bomb across our nation, even globally. As a result, it has created what experts are calling an “anxiety economy.” Fears and anxieties are spilling into and saturating our culture. This leaves God’s people with the challenge of responding to this “anxiety economy” in a way that represents and glorifies the Lord. Naturally, we face the challenge by turning to the scriptures.

Imagine you are living twenty-five hundred years ago in Israel, during the time of the prophet Isaiah. You don’t have CNN, Fox News, or social media to keep you updated on the times you are living in. Instead, you have a prophet named Isaiah, and what he has been prophesying is causing great fear and anxiety.

You are afraid because God is declaring judgment and deportation for his people if they don’t repent and return to him. If his people don’t repent he will cause the Babylonians to attack Israel, bringing judgment upon the people, the city of Jerusalem, and the temple, and ultimately he does exactly what he says he will do. Yet, in the promise of judgment and deportation is also the promise of return and restoration for God’s people. It’s no wonder that Isaiah is fondly referred to as the “prophet of promise.” God balances judgment and deportation with comfort and hope.

In chapter forty God gives his people the comfort of knowing that God will strengthen them so they can walk through despair. In chapter forty-one, he promises to help them walk through the fear and anxiety that will characterize the culture. Sound familiar?

In the first seven verses of chapter forty-one, the Lord is summoning the nations to what seems to be a courtroom setting. However, there is no third-party to pronounce judgment. In verse one, the Lord invites them to the courtroom, and in verses two through four he presents his case: “Who stirred up one from the east whom victory meets at every step? He gives up nations before him so that he tramples kings underfoot; he makes them like dust with his sword, like driven stubble with his bow” (Isaiah 41:2).

Verses two and three are a prophecy concerning the king of Persia, Cyrus. Though he is not named in these verses, in subsequent chapters he is named. The verb “stirred up” or “aroused” in some translations is in the perfect verb tense. In Hebrew, it is called a prophetic perfect. A prophetic perfect speaks of a prophecy that, though it is future, it’s already done. The book of Isaiah is full of prophetic perfects.

The calling of King Cyrus is significant to the unfolding plan of God’s redemption. The Lord is going to call King Nebacanezor to bring judgment, destruction, and deportation upon Israel in the first thirty-nine chapters, which God did do around 590 BC. God will use the king of Persia, Cyrus, to bring judgment upon the Babylonians, bring the exiles back to Jerusalem after seventy years of captivity, and rebuild the temple.

The point that God is making as he presents the prophecy about Cyrus is this: He is in control of history, not King Nebacanezor, not King Cyrus, but King Jehovah. The Lord drives this truth home in verse four: “Who has performed and done this, calling the generations from the beginning? I, the Lord, the first, and with the last; I am he” (Isaiah 41:4). The Great I AM is in control. He pervades and permeates all of history. He is above all history. He is above all his creation. The implication of verse four is significant: no matter how chaotic life may be or become, God is in control. Verses two through four exemplify beautifully the sovereignty of God.

The nations turn on the news and what do they hear? The prophet Isaiah is declaring the coming of Cyrus. How do they respond? Verse five reveals their reply: “The coastlands have seen and are afraid; the ends of the earth tremble; they have drawn near and come” (Isaiah 41:5). They are fearful, afraid, and trembling. They are creating an “anxiety economy.”

Unfortunately, instead of surrendering to the sovereignty of God, and trusting God, they take things into their own hands in verses six and seven: “Everyone helps his neighbor and says to his brother, "Be strong!" The craftsman strengthens the goldsmith, and he who smooths with the hammer him who strikes the anvil, saying of the soldering, "It is good"; and they strengthen it with nails so that it cannot be moved” (Isaiah 41:6-7). The blind nations have lost their sense of God, and are fearful. In their fears and anxieties, they look for new meanings and myths to sustain them. The late G. K. Chesterton said, “When people stop believing in God, they don’t believe in nothing; they believe in anything.”

Greta Thunberg, the Swedish sixteen-year-old climate activist, gave a speech at the United Nations Climate summit that illustrates the fearful response of people when belief in God is gone. In her speech to the nations, she passionately said, “You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words. And yet I’m one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are at the beginning of mass extinction, and all you can talk about is money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth. How dare you!” When people don’t believe in God they believe in anything. But how do God’s people respond to chaos?

In verse eight there is a very important word that contrasts the response of the godless nations to chaos and God’s people. It’s the word “But.” The nations may respond in fear and anxiety, but not God’s people. Three times in verses eight through twenty God tells his people not to fear. Verse ten, “Fear not.” Verse thirteen, “Fear not.” Verse fourteen, “Fear not.” When you find repetition you find a message, and the message for God’s people is not to fear.

If the declaration of God’s sovereignty in verses one through seven is not enough to help you walk through your fears and anxieties, then the assurances, commitments, and promises that God makes to his people in verses eight through twenty are given to embolden the people of God to do so.

First, God makes a promise of possession. He, in essence, says to his people, to us, “You are mine.” Verses eight and nine: “But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, "You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off” (Isaiah 41:8-9). Notice the use of the possessive pronouns: “My servant...my friend...my servant.” The Lord is communicating to his people that their identity is found in him. He’s communicating to us that we are his! We are his because he chose us and he called us.

As a pastor, I have been called many things. Some call me “brother.” Some call me “Reverend.” Some call me “preacher.” Some call me “pastor.” But the most affectionate, assuring, and comforting term I can be called is “my pastor.” It emboldens me in my calling. It cast out any doubt a may have about my calling. And it amazingly dispels any fear or anxiety I may have about my calling. It’s when church members move from “my pastor” to “the pastor” that I’m often consumed with anxiety. When God says “you’re mine,” it’s intended to drive out fear.

Second, God makes a promise of presence. Verse ten: “Fear not, for I am with you; be not dismayed, for I am your God; I will strengthen you, I will help you, I will uphold you with my righteous right hand” (Isaiah 41:10). It’s comforting to know that God is with us, and based on his presence, we are not to fear. Not only does he promise his presence, but he reiterates his possession, that we are his people and he is our God: “Be not dismayed, for I am your God.” On account of God’s grace, he possesses us and we possess him. I love how the NASB translates his statement: “Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God.” We have the promise of God’s possession, we are his, and he is ours. We have the promise of his presence.

Third, God makes the promise of deliverance. Verses eleven through thirteen: “Behold, all who are incensed against you shall be put to shame and confounded; those who strive against you shall be as nothing and shall perish. You shall seek those who contend with you, but you shall not find them; those who war against you shall be as nothing at all. For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who say to you, "Fear not, I am the one who helps you” (Isaiah 41:11-13). These verses give us a powerful picture of God as our defender and deliverer.

Whatever comes against us, God says he will put to shame and confound. Anything or anyone that opposes us does not stand a chance because God will defend us and deliver us, and verse thirteen is why: “For I, the Lord your God, hold your right hand; it is I who so to you, ‘Fear not, I am the one who helps you.’” In verse ten God upholds us with his right hand. In verse thirteen, God holds our right hand. Put verses ten and thirteen together and you have a beautiful picture of God the father defending his people with his right hand while holding on to our right hand with his left hand. He’s with us, he defending us, and he will not lose us.

When my oldest daughter was learning to walk, I took her to a store in downtown Athens, Texas. We had to park in the back of the store, and the parking lot was made up of these fist-sized rocks. The size of the rocks made it a difficult walk for a little girl learning to walk. I offered to carry her, but being a stubborn child, she refused. I even offered my hand, but she wanted to do it on her own. It didn’t take long for her to reach out and grab my hand, yet even holding on my hand she struggled. Even though she was holding onto my hand, she started to fall. That is when my hand grabbed her hand preventing her fall. At that moment, I became her deliverer. Don’t fear, in the same way, God is your deliverer.

Fourth, God gives the promise of strength. We see this promise in verse fourteen through sixteen: “Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them, and you shall make the hills like chaff; you shall winnow them, and the wind shall carry them away, and the tempest shall scatter them. And you shall rejoice in the Lord; in the Holy One of Israel, you shall glory” (Isaiah 41:14-16).

When God calls Israel “worm” it is not a derogatory term. It is a term that denotes weakness. By worldly standards Israel is weak, but with God’s help, though weak, Israel becomes strong. The Lord uses some interesting imagery in verse fifteen: “Behold, I make of you a threshing sledge, new, sharp, and having teeth; you shall thresh the mountains and crush them…” The power is not in the threshing sledge, but the one who is wilding it, which is the Lord. God promises that when we are weak, he will make us strong.

Fifth, God promises resurrection. Verses seventeen through nineteen: “When the poor and needy seek water, and there is none, and their tongue is parched with thirst, I the Lord will answer them; I the God of Israel will not forsake them. I will open rivers on the bare heights, and fountains in the midst of the valleys. I will make the wilderness a pool of water, and the dry land springs of water. I will put in the wilderness the cedar, the acacia, the myrtle, and the olive. I will set in the desert the cypress, the plane, and the pine together” (Isaiah 41:17-19).

When Isaiah is preaching these words, he is doing so before the events ever happened. It’s called a prophecy. These verses anticipate a people who have experienced the judgment, destruction, and deportation that the Lord promised through Isaiah. They are located in Babylon. Isaiah describes the people as “poor” and “needy.” This condition is not limited to material needs.

The needs that God’s people have encompasses physical, emotional, and spiritual. The condition involves suffering and severe needs that human means can’t meet. Notice how the conditions are described: “parched with thirst...bare heights...valleys...wilderness...dry land… the desert.” The imagery that Isaiah is using portrays a condition that is barren and unproductive. It’s dead, but God’s not dead.

In the seasons of drought, the seasons of death is when God’s people begin to question the goodness of God. We begin to think that God has abandoned us, that God is not answering our prayers. The Lord assures us in verse seventeen that not only does God hears our prayers; he answers them There is no need that God can’t meet.

Verses eighteen and nineteen reveal how God answers our suffering and painful season. He answers with a complete reversal of the condition. What is dead comes to life. That is what God is declaring in these verses, a renewal, a revival, a restoration, and resurrection of his people.

You see, God allows us to experience dead seasons, barren and unproductive seasons, dry seasons, and seasons that cause fear and anxiety. Why? So that he can bring a reversal to our situations, a resurrection to our dead circumstances, and peace to our frustrating outlook.

The imagery of water and trees represent God’s presence. Some commentators believe that the seven trees presented in verse nineteen represent the glory of God, his presence. God himself becomes our refreshment, our restoration, our renewal. Jesus spoke of this when he said: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as the Scripture has said, 'Out of his heart will flow rivers of living water” (John 7:37-38).

God himself becomes our resurrection. Jesus said outside the tomb of Lazarus: "I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live” (John 11:25).

One morning, a few years back, I was spending time with the Lord. As I was praying, I started to gaze upon a picture hanging on our wall. The artwork by Thomas Kincaid is called “The Passing Storm.” It consists of a lighthouse after a storm has passed. This print is special to us because it was given to us after a very, what seemed long at the time, trial. It was and is a sign of God moving us out of a dead season to a new season of life. 

As I looked at the picture I started to weep, wondering if the present season would every pass. While looking at the picture it went from being a lighthouse to being a tomb, at least it did in my mind. I found myself standing outside of the tomb, and next to me was Jesus. In the tomb was my calling and gifting, and my passion to advance the kingdom of God. I asked Jesus will my dead dreams ever come back to life? He then began to call them out. I could see them coming back to life. I’m still waiting.

I have a man cave at my house, and it’s not your typical man cave. Mine consists of my Library. It doesn’t have a television, but if it did, I would watch Hallmark movies on it. A couple of weeks ago I was spending time with the Lord. As I looked at my bookshelves this fear and anxiety came over me. I started to question my calling, wondering if I would ever prepare sermons and preach again. I was scared that I would forget how to preach and prepare sermons. As I was overcome with anxiety, the Lord spoke to me these words: “Did I not tell you that if you believed you would see the glory of God?" (John 11:40). The very same words that Jesus spoke to Martha and Mary before he raized Lazarus from the dead.

Why does God allow things to die in our lives? Why does he allow seasons in the desert and wilderness? Notice verse twenty: “That they may see and know, may consider and understand together, that the hand of the Lord has done this, the Holy One of Israel has created it” (Isaiah 41:20). We get the mercy, and God gets the glory! God’s ultimate purpose of restoration and resurrection is to lavish himself upon us. 

Are you poor and needy? Do you find yourself in a fearful and anxious wasteland, wondering if God hears you, or is he near you? Are you spiritually parched and thirsty? I have a word for you: Hang on. Change is coming. Hang on. Don’t you worry about a thing!

Constructive Criticism

Over the years I have had unsolicited feedback concerning my sermons, and some have been memorable, to say the least. The man who shook my hand after the service and said, "I thought you would never shut up" is definitely at the top of the memorable list.  The visitor who, between services, decided to tell me that my sermon was the worst he ever heard. He was a retired minister.  The church member that had my wife and me over for dinner to kindly tell me that I needed more humor. And then there's the letter I received after a church member moved away to basically tell me my sermons where to long.

Honestly, I initially didn't receive this criticism too well. But stumbling upon it six years later, I think it's not bad advice. So let me share his constructive criticism with you.

Brother Patrick,

            I hope this correspondence finds you doing well today.

            I am writing because I desire to follow where I am led by the spirit (though I would find it easier to not do this ☺).  I hope that as you read this you will view this positively as constructive feedback.  If you are not in the mood or mindset to deal with this, by all means, toss it away.  This is not intended to make you feel bad. 

            First the good stuff:  You have a wife that supports you passionately and children that look up to you.  That is a good indication that you are truly a good man and not just putting on a show.  I know you are proud of them.

            You have excellent speaking qualities, specifically, you have the good tonal quality (I’ve always wanted to sound like James Earl Jones myself but alas it is not so ☺) which means you are easy to hear, you have good pronunciation, enunciation, and inflection and you articulate well.  Feel good about this as well, not all public speakers have these qualities.  In your sermons, you also have good points with a clear understanding of those points you want to drive home.

            Now for the constructive feedback... Patrick you seem to have a proliferation of

verbiage surrounding those good points you want to drive home resulting in an excess of supporting conversation.  Please let me say this is not a complaint of time or duration (though this can sometimes be received back as time complaints).  And I know you have sometimes joked about your sermon lengths in a self-deprecating way (There is always some truth in humor and it is good to laugh at ourselves sometimes).  Let me put it this way, think about your sermon as a cake, the meat of the sermon are the key points and your supporting conversation is the icing.  You have a really good cake ☺.  I believe you have a really thick icing.  While some folks love the icing, too much tends to hide the cake itself.  The cake is what you want them to remember.

            Scientifically it is known that people process only a set amount of incoming information in a given time period.  If you want them to remember the meat of the subject try not to overwhelm them with supplemental extraneous speech to process least they remember the icing and not the cake.  An alternative response is seen as a person becoming bored or inattentive if they already get the point which runs the risk of them not being pulled back in when you get back on point leaving them saying later now what did he say ☺.

            A good historical example of this is the Gettysburg address.  The main speaker was Edward Everett who spoke eloquently for 2 hrs, Lincoln spoke for only 2 minutes, we remember everything of what Lincoln said but nothing of what Everett said.  I want people to remember your words.

            That is it like I said, to begin with, feel free to react to this in any way you deem fit.  If I am truly being led by the Lord you will react appropriately.  Now if you do act on this it will take weeks, more probably months and potentially years for you to realize the far-reaching effects.  I pray that God gives you the patience that I sometimes don’t have.

            Patrick, I love you as a brother and (since I have a real brother in the ministry) I know that the leadership role you have taken on is extremely taxing at times and I respect you immensely for taking on this role.  Please continue to do good and know you are making a difference.