Enjoying the Love of Christ

Romans 8:31-39
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Pastor Colin stresses that the Bible is fundamentally a love story, originating from the eternal love within the Trinity – Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. God’s love predates creation and is profoundly demonstrated by Jesus Christ, who presents Himself as the heavenly bridegroom and the Church as His bride, exemplifying His steadfast love even when He seems distant.

The sermon addresses how sin distorts love by turning it inward towards selfish desires instead of God. Pastor Colin urges listeners to avoid a “gold-digger” mentality towards Jesus – seeking Him for the benefits He provides rather than out of genuine love. He emphasizes that true Christians love Jesus for who He is, not just for His gifts.

Pastor Colin recounts how loving Christ in the midst of suffering and loss can be a powerful testimony of faithfulness, ultimately glorifying God and encouraging fellow believers. He gives practical examples from Job’s steadfast love for God amidst suffering, illustrating that such love silences Satan and brings glory to God.

He concludes by encouraging listeners to recognise the personal love Christ has for each of them and to respond by giving themselves fully to Jesus without hesitation. This mutual love brings assurance and simplifies life’s complexities, grounding believers in their identity in Christ and His unwavering love.

1 00:00:00,000 –> 00:00:02,440 This is the last of our four week series 2 00:00:02,440 –> 00:00:04,440 on the subject of God’s love, 3 00:00:04,440 –> 00:00:07,520 loving and being loved by Jesus Christ 4 00:00:07,520 –> 00:00:09,520 and I’d like you to open your Bible, if you would, 5 00:00:09,520 –> 00:00:13,740 at the Song of Solomon chapter 6 and verse 3. 6 00:00:13,740 –> 00:00:17,180 Song of Solomon chapter 6 and verse 3. 7 00:00:17,180 –> 00:00:20,340 We saw last week that the Song of Solomon, 8 00:00:20,340 –> 00:00:22,980 the whole book is a beautiful love story 9 00:00:22,980 –> 00:00:26,020 about a king and about his bride 10 00:00:26,020 –> 00:00:28,340 and it points us to Jesus Christ, 11 00:00:28,400 –> 00:00:32,020 the great king and his bride, the church 12 00:00:32,020 –> 00:00:34,299 and I want to draw your attention 13 00:00:34,299 –> 00:00:38,860 especially to Song of Solomon, chapter 6 and verse 3 14 00:00:38,860 –> 00:00:43,779 where we really have the believer’s relationship with Christ 15 00:00:43,779 –> 00:00:48,279 expressed very beautifully in just a few words. 16 00:00:49,160 –> 00:00:51,860 Chapter 6, verse 3, 17 00:00:51,860 –> 00:00:59,360 I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine. 18 00:00:59,360 –> 00:01:04,360 I am my Beloved’s, and my Beloved is mine. 19 00:01:05,220 –> 00:01:08,660 We’ve seen that later in the bible in the new testament 20 00:01:08,660 –> 00:01:12,559 Jesus Christ presents himself to us, his redeemed people 21 00:01:12,559 –> 00:01:15,180 as the great heavenly bridegroom 22 00:01:15,180 –> 00:01:17,360 and that he speaks of us, 23 00:01:17,400 –> 00:01:20,320 the church, as being his bride. 24 00:01:20,320 –> 00:01:22,339 We’ve been looking at the strength of Christ’s love 25 00:01:22,339 –> 00:01:24,660 even when he seems far away, 26 00:01:24,660 –> 00:01:26,540 that he loves us well, 27 00:01:26,540 –> 00:01:29,379 and today we’re looking at what it means 28 00:01:29,379 –> 00:01:33,540 to enjoy the love of Jesus Christ. 29 00:01:33,540 –> 00:01:34,919 Now I want you to think about this, 30 00:01:34,919 –> 00:01:39,019 the whole bible really is a love story. 31 00:01:39,019 –> 00:01:42,599 In the beginning, was God. 32 00:01:42,599 –> 00:01:45,199 And God is love. 33 00:01:46,099 –> 00:01:47,739 So think about this. 34 00:01:47,739 –> 00:01:49,580 Before anything else existed, 35 00:01:49,580 –> 00:01:51,639 before the world, before the creation, 36 00:01:51,639 –> 00:01:55,419 before there was anything that we could see, 37 00:01:55,419 –> 00:02:00,419 love existed because love flowed 38 00:02:00,580 –> 00:02:03,459 between the three persons of the Trinity, 39 00:02:03,459 –> 00:02:07,059 the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. 40 00:02:07,059 –> 00:02:10,699 Jesus refers to this specifically in John 17, 41 00:02:10,699 –> 00:02:12,860 that records his prayer to the Father 42 00:02:12,880 –> 00:02:15,279 the night before he was crucified. 43 00:02:15,279 –> 00:02:19,059 And he says this, John 17, 24, it’s a very important verse, 44 00:02:19,059 –> 00:02:20,139 he says to the Father, 45 00:02:20,139 –> 00:02:25,139 you loved me before the foundation of the world. 46 00:02:26,559 –> 00:02:30,240 Before anything was created, Jesus says to the Father, 47 00:02:30,240 –> 00:02:33,380 you loved me. 48 00:02:34,520 –> 00:02:39,520 Now, I can still remember when I first heard this truth 49 00:02:39,919 –> 00:02:42,559 and the impact that it made on me. 50 00:02:43,220 –> 00:02:47,860 I was about 16 years old in the small Baptist church 51 00:02:47,860 –> 00:02:52,339 that I grew up in, in Edinburgh, and Scotland, 52 00:02:52,339 –> 00:02:55,419 and our pastor was speaking on this verse, 53 00:02:55,419 –> 00:02:58,020 John 17, and verse 24. 54 00:02:58,020 –> 00:03:03,020 And he simply said, before anything else existed, 55 00:03:03,679 –> 00:03:05,240 there was love. 56 00:03:06,199 –> 00:03:10,559 And he went on to speak about how there is one God 57 00:03:10,559 –> 00:03:15,179 who exists in three persons, and how love flows 58 00:03:15,179 –> 00:03:18,580 between the Father and the Son and the Spirit, 59 00:03:18,580 –> 00:03:23,580 always has, always will, so that the life of God 60 00:03:23,740 –> 00:03:26,759 is a life of perpetual joy, 61 00:03:26,759 –> 00:03:31,399 because of this constant self-giving and receiving 62 00:03:31,399 –> 00:03:35,600 that takes place within his own being. 63 00:03:37,339 –> 00:03:39,440 And I remember thinking, sitting in church 64 00:03:39,479 –> 00:03:42,279 that Sunday morning as a 16-year-old, 65 00:03:42,279 –> 00:03:46,500 that is the most beautiful thing I have ever heard. 66 00:03:46,500 –> 00:03:51,339 And I remember thinking, this is why love is so great. 67 00:03:51,339 –> 00:03:54,059 This is why the longing to love, 68 00:03:54,059 –> 00:03:57,559 and the longing to be loved, to give and to receive in love 69 00:03:57,559 –> 00:03:59,679 is so deeply in all of our hearts, 70 00:03:59,679 –> 00:04:02,020 because we are made in the image of God, 71 00:04:02,020 –> 00:04:04,979 and God is love, and love always has been 72 00:04:04,979 –> 00:04:07,880 flowing within his very nature. 73 00:04:08,779 –> 00:04:12,199 He made us to give and to receive love 74 00:04:12,199 –> 00:04:14,539 as he in himself does. 75 00:04:14,539 –> 00:04:17,220 And you begin to think about that. 76 00:04:17,220 –> 00:04:19,380 You say, of course, that’s why Jesus says, 77 00:04:19,380 –> 00:04:21,119 The first and greatest commandment, 78 00:04:21,119 –> 00:04:22,399 The thing for which you’re made, 79 00:04:22,399 –> 00:04:23,899 the thing to which you’re called, 80 00:04:23,899 –> 00:04:26,040 the thing in which you find yourself 81 00:04:26,040 –> 00:04:27,899 is this, to love God with all your heart, soul, 82 00:04:27,899 –> 00:04:29,279 mind, and strength, and the second, 83 00:04:29,279 –> 00:04:33,559 he said, is like it, to love your neighbor as yourself. 84 00:04:33,559 –> 00:04:35,420 So what was it that went wrong? 85 00:04:35,420 –> 00:04:37,700 Here we are, we’re created in the image of God. 86 00:04:38,640 –> 00:04:41,459 In his very being, knows the perpetual joy 87 00:04:41,459 –> 00:04:43,619 of this constant giving and receiving 88 00:04:43,619 –> 00:04:46,519 within the being that he is, 89 00:04:46,519 –> 00:04:49,100 Father and Son and Holy Spirit, 90 00:04:49,100 –> 00:04:52,380 and we’re made in that image to reflect this love. 91 00:04:52,380 –> 00:04:54,119 What in the world went wrong? 92 00:04:56,399 –> 00:04:57,540 Listen to this answer. 93 00:04:58,459 –> 00:04:59,579 I just came across this in my reading this week 94 00:04:59,579 –> 00:05:02,019 from a writer by the name of Michael Reeves, 95 00:05:02,019 –> 00:05:03,200 very perceptive. 96 00:05:05,220 –> 00:05:06,040 I quote, he says this, 97 00:05:06,140 –> 00:05:07,279 what went wrong? 98 00:05:08,640 –> 00:05:12,380 It was not that Adam and Eve stopped loving. 99 00:05:14,000 –> 00:05:18,160 They were created as lovers in the image of God 100 00:05:18,160 –> 00:05:20,160 and they could not undo that, 101 00:05:21,200 –> 00:05:23,760 Instead he says, 102 00:05:23,760 –> 00:05:28,600 that love turned it turned, 103 00:05:29,559 –> 00:05:33,160 so that when the apostle Paul writes of sinners, 104 00:05:33,160 –> 00:05:38,160 he describes them as lovers of themselves, 105 00:05:38,519 –> 00:05:40,959 lovers of money, 106 00:05:40,959 –> 00:05:43,459 lovers of pleasure, 107 00:05:43,459 –> 00:05:46,739 rather than lovers of God. 108 00:05:46,739 –> 00:05:47,559 And he says, 109 00:05:47,559 –> 00:05:50,019 lovers we remain, 110 00:05:50,019 –> 00:05:52,000 but twisted. 111 00:05:52,000 –> 00:05:54,299 Our love misdirected, 112 00:05:54,299 –> 00:05:56,679 our love perverted, 113 00:05:56,679 –> 00:05:58,579 created to love God, 114 00:05:58,619 –> 00:06:01,940 we turn to love ourselves 115 00:06:01,940 –> 00:06:04,519 and anything but God. 116 00:06:05,839 –> 00:06:08,200 Now, that’s very, very insightful. 117 00:06:08,200 –> 00:06:12,160 And it really is the heart of what the Bible calls sin, 118 00:06:12,160 –> 00:06:13,720 what is sin as its core. 119 00:06:13,720 –> 00:06:17,480 At its core, it is a misdirected love. 120 00:06:17,480 –> 00:06:19,640 It’s a disorder in the affection. 121 00:06:19,640 –> 00:06:24,119 At its root, it is that we love the wrong things, 122 00:06:24,119 –> 00:06:25,799 which is why it says in James one 123 00:06:25,799 –> 00:06:27,140 that this is how we’re tempted. 124 00:06:27,140 –> 00:06:30,980 Each one is tempted as he’s drawn away by his own desire. 125 00:06:30,980 –> 00:06:35,700 It’s the twist in the love that makes us sinners, 126 00:06:35,700 –> 00:06:40,459 the misdirection of it, loving the wrong things. 127 00:06:41,459 –> 00:06:43,220 And of course that is why by nature 128 00:06:43,220 –> 00:06:46,179 our first instinct is never to seek God 129 00:06:46,179 –> 00:06:49,079 but always to hide from God. 130 00:06:49,079 –> 00:06:50,579 See, when Adam really loved God 131 00:06:50,579 –> 00:06:52,019 and God came into the garden, 132 00:06:52,019 –> 00:06:54,980 Adam loved to walk with God in the cool of the day. 133 00:06:55,019 –> 00:06:57,600 But when Adam’s love turned, 134 00:06:57,600 –> 00:07:00,760 and it turned on himself and it got misdirected, 135 00:07:00,760 –> 00:07:02,779 then he doesn’t want to come and seek God 136 00:07:02,779 –> 00:07:04,019 and walk with God, what does he do? 137 00:07:04,019 –> 00:07:05,459 He hides from God. 138 00:07:05,459 –> 00:07:08,820 God’s seeking him, but he’s hiding from God. 139 00:07:08,820 –> 00:07:12,540 Love is seeking him, but he’s hiding from love 140 00:07:12,540 –> 00:07:14,579 because something has become twisted 141 00:07:14,579 –> 00:07:19,260 and misdirected in his own affections, in his own heart. 142 00:07:20,700 –> 00:07:22,220 And you see the same, for example, 143 00:07:22,220 –> 00:07:24,019 with the calling of the first disciples. 144 00:07:24,019 –> 00:07:26,459 So God comes into the world in Jesus Christ. 145 00:07:26,459 –> 00:07:30,420 And Jesus goes and he calls the first disciples. 146 00:07:30,420 –> 00:07:32,299 And Luke, chapter 5 tells us 147 00:07:32,299 –> 00:07:35,940 of how he unveiled his glory in some degree 148 00:07:35,940 –> 00:07:38,260 through a miraculous catch of fish. 149 00:07:38,260 –> 00:07:40,440 These folks who were to become disciples later, 150 00:07:40,440 –> 00:07:42,100 they’d been out, they’ve been fishing. 151 00:07:42,100 –> 00:07:42,940 The catch, nothing. 152 00:07:42,940 –> 00:07:44,600 Jesus says threw in the net the other side. 153 00:07:44,600 –> 00:07:48,059 There was this enormous catch and Peter becomes aware 154 00:07:48,059 –> 00:07:51,260 that he’s in the presence of at least someone awesome, 155 00:07:51,260 –> 00:07:55,019 someone holy, someone he calls Lord. 156 00:07:56,559 –> 00:07:58,200 And so what’s his response? 157 00:07:58,200 –> 00:08:00,239 Is his response to say, oh, this is amazing? 158 00:08:00,239 –> 00:08:01,959 Jesus, I’ve got to become your follower. 159 00:08:01,959 –> 00:08:04,299 I’m seeking you, I’m going after you, no. 160 00:08:05,839 –> 00:08:10,500 What Peter says is, depart from me, Lord, 161 00:08:11,500 –> 00:08:13,880 because I am a sinful man. 162 00:08:13,880 –> 00:08:15,500 I don’t belong here with you. 163 00:08:16,880 –> 00:08:19,140 You gotta find someone else who’s holy. 164 00:08:19,640 –> 00:08:23,059 I’m not the kind of person that you’re looking for. 165 00:08:23,059 –> 00:08:25,779 There’s something way, way too twisted inside of me. 166 00:08:27,600 –> 00:08:31,140 So here’s Peter doing exactly what Adam did 167 00:08:31,140 –> 00:08:33,719 after his love turned in the garden. 168 00:08:33,719 –> 00:08:36,599 He’s not seeking God, he’s hiding from God. 169 00:08:36,599 –> 00:08:39,880 He’s saying, I need to keep a distance from you. 170 00:08:39,880 –> 00:08:43,000 And of course, isn’t that the most tragic waste of all? 171 00:08:43,000 –> 00:08:44,940 Because here is God in the flesh. 172 00:08:44,940 –> 00:08:47,880 Here is love in the flesh. 173 00:08:48,559 –> 00:08:52,380 And hiding from God is hiding from love, 174 00:08:52,380 –> 00:08:54,840 and running from God is running from love. 175 00:08:56,020 –> 00:08:58,400 And that’s the most tragic waste in all of the world. 176 00:08:58,400 –> 00:09:00,239 Thank God Jesus doesn’t let him go. 177 00:09:00,239 –> 00:09:02,479 He says, now I’m gonna make you something. 178 00:09:02,479 –> 00:09:05,559 And so they draw up the boats and they leave everything 179 00:09:05,559 –> 00:09:07,059 and they follow him. 180 00:09:08,559 –> 00:09:09,760 And it’s very interesting to me 181 00:09:09,760 –> 00:09:12,299 as you just follow this story of the Bible here 182 00:09:12,299 –> 00:09:15,059 that later, this same man Peter 183 00:09:15,059 –> 00:09:17,780 describes why it was that Jesus came into the world, 184 00:09:17,780 –> 00:09:19,320 and this is how he puts it, he says, 185 00:09:19,320 –> 00:09:21,880 Jesus suffered once for sins, 186 00:09:21,880 –> 00:09:23,960 the righteous for the unrighteous. 187 00:09:23,960 –> 00:09:27,559 Here’s what it was all about, to bring us to God. 188 00:09:27,559 –> 00:09:30,039 To bring us to the God who loves us 189 00:09:30,039 –> 00:09:33,799 who otherwise we find ourselves running away from. 190 00:09:34,679 –> 00:09:38,760 Peter is saying, here’s why Jesus went to the cross. 191 00:09:38,760 –> 00:09:40,880 He went to the cross so that people like us 192 00:09:40,880 –> 00:09:43,719 who love the wrong things and therefore feel 193 00:09:43,719 –> 00:09:46,479 that we don’t belong anywhere near to God 194 00:09:46,520 –> 00:09:50,099 that we should actually be brought back to him. 195 00:09:51,679 –> 00:09:55,520 And Jesus specifically had this in mind 196 00:09:55,520 –> 00:09:57,719 when he went to the cross. 197 00:09:57,719 –> 00:09:59,880 Again, John chapter 17 that tells us 198 00:09:59,880 –> 00:10:02,440 all that was in the mind of Jesus as he went to the cross. 199 00:10:02,440 –> 00:10:05,200 The night before he suffered and died, 200 00:10:05,200 –> 00:10:06,619 the night that he was betrayed, 201 00:10:06,619 –> 00:10:08,159 he prays to the father. 202 00:10:08,159 –> 00:10:09,919 And this is what he prays, 203 00:10:09,919 –> 00:10:14,919 he prays that the love with which you father have loved me 204 00:10:17,000 –> 00:10:19,539 may be in them. 205 00:10:20,880 –> 00:10:22,299 Now friends, just look at these words 206 00:10:22,299 –> 00:10:23,320 and try and take that in, 207 00:10:23,320 –> 00:10:25,359 that’s one of the most amazing statements 208 00:10:25,359 –> 00:10:26,359 in all of the Bible. 209 00:10:28,119 –> 00:10:29,599 Jesus has just said, 210 00:10:29,599 –> 00:10:32,799 father you’ve loved me before the foundation of the world, 211 00:10:32,799 –> 00:10:34,479 before everything else existed. 212 00:10:34,479 –> 00:10:37,280 There was this love that was between father, son, spirit, 213 00:10:37,280 –> 00:10:40,039 flowing eternally within the being of God. 214 00:10:41,359 –> 00:10:43,799 And now Jesus says this is what I’m praying 215 00:10:43,799 –> 00:10:46,159 and this is why I’m gonna die on this cross. 216 00:10:46,200 –> 00:10:49,099 That the love with which you have loved me, 217 00:10:50,000 –> 00:10:52,719 the love of the father for the son 218 00:10:53,679 –> 00:10:55,919 may be in 219 00:10:55,919 –> 00:10:57,080 these 220 00:10:57,080 –> 00:10:58,080 disciples, 221 00:10:58,080 –> 00:10:59,599 in them, 222 00:10:59,599 –> 00:11:01,679 in my people. 223 00:11:02,739 –> 00:11:04,099 So you see what this is saying. 224 00:11:04,099 –> 00:11:06,539 It’s quite staggering when you think about it. 225 00:11:07,479 –> 00:11:11,000 Jesus is saying that the very purpose for which he suffers 226 00:11:11,000 –> 00:11:15,099 is to bring us into his own enjoyment 227 00:11:15,140 –> 00:11:19,340 of the father’s love that we should enter into 228 00:11:19,340 –> 00:11:24,260 and share in the delight that the father has in the son 229 00:11:24,260 –> 00:11:29,260 and that we should be caught up in the circle of their love, 230 00:11:29,340 –> 00:11:32,820 which has always existed from before the beginning of time. 231 00:11:34,340 –> 00:11:35,460 And that is surely why, 232 00:11:35,460 –> 00:11:38,000 when you get to the end of the Bible’s story, 233 00:11:38,000 –> 00:11:40,039 you have this great scene that we call 234 00:11:40,039 –> 00:11:42,280 the marriage supper of the Lamb. 235 00:11:42,280 –> 00:11:44,020 What are you having at the marriage supper of the Lamb? 236 00:11:44,020 –> 00:11:47,080 You have the father full of joy, why? 237 00:11:47,080 –> 00:11:50,400 Because it is the son’s wedding day 238 00:11:50,400 –> 00:11:53,239 and here is the son full of joy 239 00:11:53,239 –> 00:11:54,960 and the father’s love for the son. 240 00:11:54,960 –> 00:11:59,020 And now there’s a bride being brought into this great love 241 00:11:59,020 –> 00:12:01,500 that father and son have always shared. 242 00:12:01,500 –> 00:12:04,179 And the bride is the church, the bride is the redeemed, 243 00:12:04,179 –> 00:12:05,340 the loved of Christ, 244 00:12:05,340 –> 00:12:10,000 and therefore the loved of the father. 245 00:12:10,000 –> 00:12:11,919 So I’m saying to you, this is marvelous. 246 00:12:12,119 –> 00:12:14,739 The whole Bible story from eternity past 247 00:12:14,739 –> 00:12:17,380 to eternity future is one great story of love. 248 00:12:17,380 –> 00:12:22,059 God is love and the whole of the creation 249 00:12:22,059 –> 00:12:23,799 is the overflow of this love 250 00:12:23,799 –> 00:12:25,539 between father, son, and spirit 251 00:12:25,539 –> 00:12:27,619 that has always existed 252 00:12:27,619 –> 00:12:29,619 and our redemption flows out of it 253 00:12:29,619 –> 00:12:33,739 because it is all about the son bringing us into the love 254 00:12:33,739 –> 00:12:36,460 that he has always enjoyed flowing into him 255 00:12:36,460 –> 00:12:37,940 and flowing from him, 256 00:12:37,940 –> 00:12:40,219 communicated between the father and the son. 257 00:12:40,219 –> 00:12:41,580 Don’t you think that’s amazing? 258 00:12:42,159 –> 00:12:44,940 That we should be brought into the enjoyment 259 00:12:44,940 –> 00:12:47,239 that Jesus has of his own father’s love? 260 00:12:48,460 –> 00:12:50,340 That’s why I’m suffering, Jesus says. 261 00:12:51,780 –> 00:12:54,200 That’s what I’m asking for. 262 00:12:55,140 –> 00:12:57,500 Well, that of course is a very good reason 263 00:12:57,500 –> 00:12:59,020 for going right to the middle of the Bible 264 00:12:59,020 –> 00:13:00,219 and the song of Solomon, 265 00:13:00,219 –> 00:13:04,039 which very significantly is a human love story 266 00:13:04,039 –> 00:13:07,059 that obviously points to something much more, 267 00:13:07,059 –> 00:13:08,900 which is the big love story 268 00:13:08,960 –> 00:13:12,320 that is the whole of the Bible. 269 00:13:12,320 –> 00:13:15,159 And we saw last week as we looked at this together 270 00:13:15,159 –> 00:13:18,679 that it is the story of a king’s love for his bride, 271 00:13:18,679 –> 00:13:20,479 a king’s love for his bride, 272 00:13:20,479 –> 00:13:22,299 and the bride’s love therefore 273 00:13:22,299 –> 00:13:25,580 for the king who becomes her husband. 274 00:13:26,979 –> 00:13:28,359 And of course, the king in the story is Solomon, 275 00:13:28,359 –> 00:13:29,580 the song of Solomon. 276 00:13:29,580 –> 00:13:32,260 And Solomon, if you read earlier in the Bible 277 00:13:32,260 –> 00:13:35,260 was famed around the world for his wealth, 278 00:13:35,260 –> 00:13:37,880 fabulously wealthy Solomon was. 279 00:13:39,140 –> 00:13:41,760 And so when this woman marries Solomon 280 00:13:41,760 –> 00:13:43,500 and becomes his bride, 281 00:13:43,500 –> 00:13:46,700 she enters into the most extraordinary wealth. 282 00:13:46,700 –> 00:13:49,520 Immediately she’s gonna be surrounded by servants 283 00:13:49,520 –> 00:13:52,900 and the most lavish imaginable lifestyle 284 00:13:52,900 –> 00:13:56,820 and all that becomes hers because she becomes his. 285 00:13:58,880 –> 00:14:00,419 But what’s very striking to me 286 00:14:00,419 –> 00:14:02,539 as I’ve read through Song of Solomon 287 00:14:02,539 –> 00:14:04,820 and reflected on it over these days 288 00:14:06,179 –> 00:14:07,780 is that as far as I can see, 289 00:14:07,859 –> 00:14:10,859 she doesn’t say a single word about any of that. 290 00:14:10,859 –> 00:14:11,820 Not a single word. 291 00:14:14,159 –> 00:14:17,299 Her song is not about the lifestyle 292 00:14:17,299 –> 00:14:19,380 into which the King has brought her. 293 00:14:21,340 –> 00:14:24,559 Her song is about the King himself. 294 00:14:26,179 –> 00:14:28,580 It’s about her love for the King 295 00:14:29,859 –> 00:14:34,460 and it’s about the King’s great love for her. 296 00:14:34,460 –> 00:14:37,659 And if you want one verse to encapsulate 297 00:14:37,859 –> 00:14:39,179 the whole message of the story, 298 00:14:39,179 –> 00:14:41,960 it’s our verse in chapter six and verse three 299 00:14:41,960 –> 00:14:43,460 in which she says, 300 00:14:43,460 –> 00:14:46,039 “‘I am my Beloved’s 301 00:14:46,039 –> 00:14:50,739 “‘and my Beloved is mine.’” 302 00:14:52,619 –> 00:14:54,260 Now, I want to focus in first 303 00:14:54,260 –> 00:14:56,780 on this word beloved. 304 00:14:56,780 –> 00:14:58,859 That’s the heart of what it is. 305 00:14:58,859 –> 00:15:00,960 We miss it if we miss 306 00:15:00,960 –> 00:15:03,679 that it’s all about love, 307 00:15:03,679 –> 00:15:05,700 a relationship of love. 308 00:15:05,700 –> 00:15:09,400 That’s the bond that this book is pointing to 309 00:15:09,400 –> 00:15:10,900 that is at the very heart 310 00:15:10,900 –> 00:15:14,020 of the relationship between Christ 311 00:15:14,020 –> 00:15:16,340 and the believer, the bond of love. 312 00:15:17,719 –> 00:15:20,780 I want you to consider this first here. 313 00:15:22,419 –> 00:15:24,960 As we think about what it means to love, 314 00:15:26,559 –> 00:15:31,559 beware of the gold-digger mentality. 315 00:15:32,500 –> 00:15:37,500 Beware of the gold-digger mentality. 316 00:15:38,599 –> 00:15:39,919 Now I checked the dictionary 317 00:15:39,919 –> 00:15:42,900 for a definition of the word gold-digger, 318 00:15:42,900 –> 00:15:46,099 and this is what I found in Merriam-Webster. 319 00:15:46,099 –> 00:15:49,099 And actually to my surprise it was the first definition 320 00:15:49,099 –> 00:15:50,539 and not somewhere down the list, 321 00:15:50,539 –> 00:15:51,580 but this is what it says. 322 00:15:51,580 –> 00:15:52,539 I Googled it. 323 00:15:52,539 –> 00:15:54,179 This is what came up. 324 00:15:54,179 –> 00:15:56,739 Gold-digger. 325 00:15:56,859 –> 00:16:01,619 A woman who becomes or tries to become 326 00:16:01,619 –> 00:16:05,260 romantically involved with a rich man 327 00:16:05,260 –> 00:16:10,159 in order to get money and gifts from him. 328 00:16:11,159 –> 00:16:11,979 Now I don’t know about you, 329 00:16:11,979 –> 00:16:14,039 but that, when I read it, immediately seemed to me 330 00:16:14,039 –> 00:16:17,799 to be a somewhat sexist definition, 331 00:16:17,799 –> 00:16:19,559 because I’m quite sure that it can 332 00:16:19,559 –> 00:16:21,840 and does happen the other way around. 333 00:16:21,840 –> 00:16:23,640 So let me just, to balance this up, 334 00:16:23,640 –> 00:16:26,219 put it the other way around and let’s paint the picture 335 00:16:26,599 –> 00:16:29,200 and will you think about this with me for a moment. 336 00:16:30,159 –> 00:16:33,359 Picture a rich widow. 337 00:16:33,359 –> 00:16:35,780 I mean, this woman is loaded, 338 00:16:35,780 –> 00:16:38,039 she is very wealthy, 339 00:16:38,039 –> 00:16:41,020 she lives in the most marvelous home, 340 00:16:41,020 –> 00:16:44,780 she takes the most exotic vacations and so forth and so on. 341 00:16:46,260 –> 00:16:48,520 And a man comes alongside her 342 00:16:49,659 –> 00:16:52,440 and he becomes romantically involved with her. 343 00:16:53,400 –> 00:16:55,880 And then the end, he marries her. 344 00:16:56,820 –> 00:16:58,520 And now he enters into 345 00:16:58,520 –> 00:17:01,679 and enjoys all the benefits of the life 346 00:17:01,679 –> 00:17:03,099 that he now shares with her, 347 00:17:03,099 –> 00:17:07,260 the lavish home, the marvelous and exotic vacations 348 00:17:07,260 –> 00:17:08,920 and so forth and so on. 349 00:17:08,920 –> 00:17:13,520 But he does not love her. 350 00:17:15,800 –> 00:17:19,160 He never did and he never will. 351 00:17:19,459 –> 00:17:24,459 He does not love her, his whole intent 352 00:17:24,880 –> 00:17:27,880 right from the beginning was simply 353 00:17:27,880 –> 00:17:32,719 that he should have what she enjoys. 354 00:17:35,979 –> 00:17:38,079 Now let that picture settle in your mind 355 00:17:38,079 –> 00:17:40,839 and what would you think of such a man. 356 00:17:40,839 –> 00:17:43,020 Clearly you would not admire him, 357 00:17:44,060 –> 00:17:46,719 you would call him a gold digger, 358 00:17:47,579 –> 00:17:52,060 you would think him selfish at the core, 359 00:17:52,060 –> 00:17:57,060 dishonorable, unworthy and you would be right. 360 00:17:59,760 –> 00:18:00,979 But here’s my question, 361 00:18:00,979 –> 00:18:04,500 is that not precisely the way 362 00:18:04,500 –> 00:18:09,099 in which too often we may have regarded Jesus Christ? 363 00:18:10,300 –> 00:18:12,199 He owns heaven, 364 00:18:13,420 –> 00:18:16,300 he can get us out of hell, 365 00:18:16,380 –> 00:18:18,680 he can get the blessings of God 366 00:18:18,680 –> 00:18:20,760 that will make life better for us 367 00:18:20,760 –> 00:18:25,199 and so we are going to accept him. 368 00:18:25,199 –> 00:18:28,660 By the way, isn’t that the strangest way 369 00:18:28,660 –> 00:18:31,339 for a Christian believer to speak about 370 00:18:31,339 –> 00:18:34,199 their relationship with Jesus Christ, 371 00:18:34,199 –> 00:18:37,199 to accept him? 372 00:18:37,199 –> 00:18:41,380 I mean I would never speak about my wife in that way. 373 00:18:41,380 –> 00:18:45,760 34 years ago when we got married, I accepted her. 374 00:18:46,359 –> 00:18:48,800 You would find that an offensive way of speaking. 375 00:18:48,800 –> 00:18:50,000 It wouldn’t enter my head. 376 00:18:50,000 –> 00:18:52,199 I love her. 377 00:18:52,199 –> 00:18:54,380 I embraced her. 378 00:18:54,380 –> 00:18:57,079 I gave myself to her and counted myself so privileged 379 00:18:57,079 –> 00:19:01,079 that she would give herself to me. 380 00:19:01,079 –> 00:19:04,500 A. W. Tozer sounded the alarm over what I’m calling 381 00:19:04,500 –> 00:19:08,599 gold-digger Christianity. 382 00:19:08,599 –> 00:19:11,760 In these words, 383 00:19:11,760 –> 00:19:14,959 the whole transaction of religious conversion 384 00:19:15,060 –> 00:19:19,839 has been made mechanical and spirit-less. 385 00:19:19,839 –> 00:19:23,760 Christ may be, quote, received 386 00:19:23,760 –> 00:19:27,520 without creating any special love for Him 387 00:19:27,520 –> 00:19:30,560 in the soul of the receiver. 388 00:19:30,560 –> 00:19:34,060 The man is, quote, saved, 389 00:19:34,060 –> 00:19:40,760 but he is not hungry or thirsty after God. 390 00:19:40,839 –> 00:19:46,160 Now, friends, Tozer wrote these words in 1948. 391 00:19:46,160 –> 00:19:50,380 That is, 66 years ago, 392 00:19:50,380 –> 00:19:52,939 which means that the vast majority of us 393 00:19:52,939 –> 00:19:54,900 all of our lives have grown up 394 00:19:54,900 –> 00:20:02,060 breathing the air of an emaciated form of Christianity 395 00:20:02,060 –> 00:20:04,839 that he describes here. 396 00:20:04,839 –> 00:20:08,540 Gold digger Christianity. 397 00:20:08,540 –> 00:20:11,819 In which you make a decision in order to get out of hell, 398 00:20:11,819 –> 00:20:15,579 get into heaven, accept Jesus, get God on your side, 399 00:20:15,579 –> 00:20:17,199 your life will be better that way, 400 00:20:17,199 –> 00:20:25,359 but very little love for Jesus Christ. 401 00:20:25,359 –> 00:20:32,040 And you open the Bible and you find a different world. 402 00:20:32,040 –> 00:20:34,359 You find Peter writing to real Christians 403 00:20:34,359 –> 00:20:40,319 and saying this, though you have not seen him 404 00:20:40,319 –> 00:20:46,160 you love him, you love him. 405 00:20:46,160 –> 00:20:50,839 So I am saying to you beware of gold digger Christianity, 406 00:20:50,839 –> 00:20:52,959 the gold digger mentality. 407 00:20:52,959 –> 00:20:55,819 Jesus, at the end of the Bible actually 408 00:20:55,819 –> 00:20:59,800 gives us a profile of what I am calling the gold 409 00:20:59,800 –> 00:21:01,560 digger mentality. 410 00:21:01,599 –> 00:21:03,719 It’s actually there in the words that Christ 411 00:21:03,719 –> 00:21:08,640 speaks to the church at Ephesus in Revelation and chapter two. 412 00:21:08,640 –> 00:21:10,119 You may recall what he says, there 413 00:21:10,119 –> 00:21:11,619 are three things basically. 414 00:21:11,619 –> 00:21:16,939 Jesus says to these folks, I know your works and your toil 415 00:21:16,939 –> 00:21:19,540 and your patient endurance. 416 00:21:19,540 –> 00:21:22,839 So here are people who are hard workers in the church. 417 00:21:22,839 –> 00:21:24,780 Here are people who are loyal folks, 418 00:21:24,780 –> 00:21:26,800 who stick at it with steady tenacity. 419 00:21:26,800 –> 00:21:29,339 Show up, good people. 420 00:21:29,339 –> 00:21:31,160 Then he says, I know that you cannot 421 00:21:31,180 –> 00:21:34,180 bear those who are evil, but you have 422 00:21:34,180 –> 00:21:37,420 tested those who call themselves apostles and are not. 423 00:21:37,420 –> 00:21:40,000 And you have found them to be false. 424 00:21:40,000 –> 00:21:46,119 So here are people of moral integrity, can’t stand evil. 425 00:21:46,119 –> 00:21:48,760 Here are people of doctrinal orthodoxy, 426 00:21:48,760 –> 00:21:51,439 discerning with regards to false claims, 427 00:21:51,439 –> 00:21:55,920 sticklers for being Biblically orthodox. 428 00:21:55,920 –> 00:21:58,119 And Jesus commends all of these things, 429 00:21:58,119 –> 00:22:02,839 hard work, moral integrity, Biblical orthodoxy, 430 00:22:02,839 –> 00:22:05,180 He commends them all and then He says this. 431 00:22:05,180 –> 00:22:08,699 But I have got one thing against you. 432 00:22:08,699 –> 00:22:16,500 You have abandoned the love that you had at first. 433 00:22:16,500 –> 00:22:20,400 You are doing the work, you are living the life, 434 00:22:20,400 –> 00:22:24,819 you are holding the line. 435 00:22:24,839 –> 00:22:30,300 But whatever happened to I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine’. 436 00:22:30,300 –> 00:22:33,199 Christ is saying I don’t hear that from you. 437 00:22:33,199 –> 00:22:36,439 I don’t hear it from you. 438 00:22:36,439 –> 00:22:39,099 And therefore he says to this church in Ephesus, 439 00:22:39,099 –> 00:22:40,520 you’ve got to repent. 440 00:22:40,540 –> 00:22:43,579 Something’s got to change because otherwise I’m going to take the candlestick away. 441 00:22:43,579 –> 00:22:46,219 Now he’s talking about a church and what he’s saying is 442 00:22:46,219 –> 00:22:51,719 How the life of a church is sustained or how the life of a church dies down. 443 00:22:52,640 –> 00:22:56,239 That’s what the reference to the candlestick is all about. 444 00:22:56,239 –> 00:22:58,359 And what we learn from it is simply this. 445 00:22:58,359 –> 00:23:02,739 That the life of a church cannot be sustained by hard work, 446 00:23:02,739 –> 00:23:06,520 by moral integrity and doctrinal orthodoxy alone. 447 00:23:06,520 –> 00:23:09,660 The life of a church, and therefore the life of a Christian 448 00:23:09,660 –> 00:23:17,079 is sustained through a vibrant love for Jesus Christ. 449 00:23:17,079 –> 00:23:19,099 Lose that and you lose everything. 450 00:23:19,800 –> 00:23:21,260 You’re only left with a shell. 451 00:23:23,719 –> 00:23:28,060 And so beware of the gold digger mentality. 452 00:23:28,060 –> 00:23:30,219 Beware of simply looking to Jesus Christ, 453 00:23:30,219 –> 00:23:32,780 to what he can give you, and what he can make right, 454 00:23:32,780 –> 00:23:34,040 and what you want in your life. 455 00:23:36,780 –> 00:23:40,079 Now, of course, the time when this really comes home. 456 00:23:40,079 –> 00:23:44,260 And these times may prove to be the sparkling moments 457 00:23:44,260 –> 00:23:47,260 of our Christian lives. 458 00:23:47,260 –> 00:23:49,959 Are the moments when Jesus Christ allows us 459 00:23:49,959 –> 00:23:53,859 to walk in a place where we very obviously don’t receive 460 00:23:53,859 –> 00:23:56,619 from the hand of God what we asked and what we wanted. 461 00:23:58,339 –> 00:24:01,079 And I want to say to you, for your encouragement today, 462 00:24:01,079 –> 00:24:05,140 the very best place of all, the very best time of all, 463 00:24:05,140 –> 00:24:08,099 for you to tell Christ that you really love him 464 00:24:09,380 –> 00:24:11,180 is when you find yourself in the middle 465 00:24:11,180 –> 00:24:14,380 of an experience of pain, and of loss. 466 00:24:15,380 –> 00:24:18,420 And I say that for this reason, 467 00:24:18,420 –> 00:24:20,420 there is nothing very surprising 468 00:24:20,420 –> 00:24:21,900 about a Christian who loves God 469 00:24:21,900 –> 00:24:23,819 when everything in life is going well, 470 00:24:25,599 –> 00:24:28,060 but Christians who love the Lord 471 00:24:29,020 –> 00:24:33,420 when good gifts are taken away or are withheld, 472 00:24:34,459 –> 00:24:38,979 they demonstrate to heaven, on earth, and in hell 473 00:24:39,979 –> 00:24:42,660 that they really do love God 474 00:24:42,939 –> 00:24:46,079 and not just his gifts. 475 00:24:47,219 –> 00:24:48,060 And you know, of course, 476 00:24:48,060 –> 00:24:49,420 that that is the main, in fact, 477 00:24:49,420 –> 00:24:51,459 the whole point of the Book of Job, 478 00:24:52,420 –> 00:24:56,300 which begins with Satan slandering God. 479 00:24:57,660 –> 00:24:59,260 And here was his blasphemy. 480 00:25:00,400 –> 00:25:01,880 He comes to God and he says, 481 00:25:01,880 –> 00:25:05,520 “‘Now, the only reason that Job loves you, 482 00:25:06,500 –> 00:25:09,920 “‘the only reason that he’s living this righteous life 483 00:25:09,939 –> 00:25:13,239 “‘is that you have filled his life with blessings. 484 00:25:14,239 –> 00:25:16,420 “‘You have showered him with wealth. 485 00:25:17,339 –> 00:25:21,479 “‘You have surrounded him, God, with loved ones. 486 00:25:21,479 –> 00:25:26,079 “‘Job is blessed, blessed beyond measure, 487 00:25:26,079 –> 00:25:29,140 “‘and he knows where his bread is buttered, 488 00:25:30,319 –> 00:25:33,180 “‘and that’s why he loves you. 489 00:25:33,180 –> 00:25:35,880 “‘It’s just because of what you give him.’” 490 00:25:36,959 –> 00:25:39,540 Now, you can understand Satan saying such a thing 491 00:25:39,640 –> 00:25:42,300 because hell knows nothing of love, 492 00:25:42,300 –> 00:25:45,219 and Satan could not believe 493 00:25:45,219 –> 00:25:48,819 that anyone could possibly love God for who he is, 494 00:25:50,180 –> 00:25:54,979 and so he slanders God by essentially accusing God 495 00:25:54,979 –> 00:25:58,439 of buying Job’s affection. 496 00:26:00,060 –> 00:26:01,300 Well, you know the story. 497 00:26:02,380 –> 00:26:06,800 One gift after another was stripped away from Job, 498 00:26:07,800 –> 00:26:11,359 and this godly man then walked 499 00:26:11,359 –> 00:26:14,819 through a dark valley of pain, 500 00:26:16,180 –> 00:26:21,180 and he struggled with many, many unanswered questions, 501 00:26:21,439 –> 00:26:24,579 and the whole book depicts the depth of that struggle 502 00:26:24,579 –> 00:26:26,380 and the agonies of it, 503 00:26:26,380 –> 00:26:31,380 but in all of that struggle, he did not stop loving God. 504 00:26:32,599 –> 00:26:34,400 That’s the point of the book. 505 00:26:34,439 –> 00:26:37,719 He did not stop loving God, 506 00:26:37,719 –> 00:26:41,439 though He slay me, yet I shall trust Him. 507 00:26:41,439 –> 00:26:43,760 I know that my Redeemer lives, 508 00:26:43,760 –> 00:26:47,199 and even if worms destroy this body in my flesh, 509 00:26:47,199 –> 00:26:49,040 I shall see God. 510 00:26:50,920 –> 00:26:53,540 What I’m saying to you is that when Job loved God 511 00:26:53,540 –> 00:26:57,079 in the middle of his pain and his suffering and his loss, 512 00:26:57,079 –> 00:27:01,479 his testimony glorified God in heaven. 513 00:27:01,520 –> 00:27:04,979 It silenced Satan in hell, 514 00:27:04,979 –> 00:27:07,280 and throughout thousands of years 515 00:27:07,280 –> 00:27:11,660 it has brought strength to millions of Christians 516 00:27:11,660 –> 00:27:15,439 to persevere and to glorify God. 517 00:27:15,439 –> 00:27:16,719 So here’s my conclusion. 518 00:27:18,119 –> 00:27:20,439 Of all the things that you and I may do 519 00:27:20,439 –> 00:27:23,099 in the service of God in the course of our lives, 520 00:27:24,560 –> 00:27:27,579 loving Christ still 521 00:27:27,579 –> 00:27:30,140 in the middle of unexplained suffering and loss 522 00:27:30,500 –> 00:27:32,219 and may prove to be 523 00:27:32,219 –> 00:27:35,219 the greatest contribution you will ever make 524 00:27:35,239 –> 00:27:37,099 to glorifying Christ 525 00:27:37,099 –> 00:27:39,699 and to the advance of his kingdom in the world. 526 00:27:39,699 –> 00:27:41,439 It’s that important. 527 00:27:42,800 –> 00:27:46,140 Loving Christ in the face of pain and of loss 528 00:27:46,140 –> 00:27:48,660 glorifies God in heaven, 529 00:27:48,660 –> 00:27:52,780 it causes consternation in hell, 530 00:27:52,780 –> 00:27:55,219 and it brings strength to believers 531 00:27:55,219 –> 00:27:59,459 who see that God is worthy for himself 532 00:27:59,459 –> 00:28:03,780 and not simply on account of his gift. 533 00:28:05,140 –> 00:28:08,819 So beware of the gold digger mentality. 534 00:28:08,819 –> 00:28:11,420 And when you walk through a place of difficulty 535 00:28:11,420 –> 00:28:13,939 and suffering and loss and you love Christ still, 536 00:28:13,939 –> 00:28:16,660 you shoot it to bits to the glory of God 537 00:28:16,660 –> 00:28:18,619 and to the silencing of Satan. 538 00:28:18,619 –> 00:28:19,640 It’s marvelous. 539 00:28:19,640 –> 00:28:21,560 It’s that important. 540 00:28:23,939 –> 00:28:26,060 Two other things to say in the few minutes 541 00:28:26,060 –> 00:28:27,099 that remain here. 542 00:28:27,819 –> 00:28:30,420 The main thing I’ve wanted to focus on 543 00:28:30,420 –> 00:28:32,060 is this word, beloved. 544 00:28:32,060 –> 00:28:37,060 I am my beloveds and my beloved is mine. 545 00:28:38,579 –> 00:28:41,359 Beware of the gold digger mentality. 546 00:28:43,579 –> 00:28:44,959 But think about this. 547 00:28:46,040 –> 00:28:49,439 My beloved is mine. 548 00:28:50,57 –> 00:28:51,979 Isn’t that great? 549 00:28:51,979 –> 00:28:54,800 To be able to say that of Jesus Christ. 550 00:28:54,800 –> 00:28:56,500 Christ is mine. 551 00:28:57,800 –> 00:28:59,579 So as we take this into our hearts today 552 00:28:59,579 –> 00:29:01,280 I just want to give you this encouragement 553 00:29:01,280 –> 00:29:04,119 that you should enjoy the strength of Christ’s love. 554 00:29:04,119 –> 00:29:05,540 Christ is mine. 555 00:29:05,540 –> 00:29:08,060 My beloved is mine. 556 00:29:08,060 –> 00:29:10,560 That’s one of the great blessings of being a Christian 557 00:29:10,560 –> 00:29:13,599 that a Christian can say Christ is mine 558 00:29:13,599 –> 00:29:14,959 and there’s a strength in that. 559 00:29:14,959 –> 00:29:16,280 There’s a peace in that. 560 00:29:16,280 –> 00:29:18,160 There’s a confidence in that. 561 00:29:18,160 –> 00:29:20,180 There’s a security in that. 562 00:29:20,180 –> 00:29:21,239 Christ is mine. 563 00:29:21,239 –> 00:29:26,239 I’m in him and he is in me and that’s not in doubt 564 00:29:26,239 –> 00:29:28,339 and notice how personal this is. 565 00:29:28,339 –> 00:29:29,800 Christ is mine. 566 00:29:29,800 –> 00:29:32,400 My beloved is mine. 567 00:29:34,319 –> 00:29:37,319 I found just the other week 568 00:29:38,900 –> 00:29:40,920 the passage of one of Jerry Bridges’ books 569 00:29:40,920 –> 00:29:43,520 in which he shares his own personal testimony 570 00:29:43,520 –> 00:29:48,199 in relation to this personalizing of the love of God 571 00:29:48,199 –> 00:29:49,280 and I found it very helpful. 572 00:29:49,280 –> 00:29:51,140 He says this, 573 00:29:51,140 –> 00:29:55,520 There was a period in my early Christian life 574 00:29:55,540 –> 00:29:58,640 when my concept of God’s love 575 00:29:58,640 –> 00:30:02,239 was little more than a logical deduction. 576 00:30:03,199 –> 00:30:06,180 God loves the world. 577 00:30:06,180 –> 00:30:08,959 I am part of the world. 578 00:30:08,959 –> 00:30:12,180 Therefore God loves me. 579 00:30:13,319 –> 00:30:14,140 He says, 580 00:30:14,140 –> 00:30:18,160 It was as if God’s love were a big umbrella 581 00:30:18,160 –> 00:30:21,900 to protect us all from his judgment against sin 582 00:30:21,900 –> 00:30:24,459 and I was under the umbrella 583 00:30:24,459 –> 00:30:27,300 along with thousands of other people. 584 00:30:28,319 –> 00:30:32,739 There was nothing particularly personal about it. 585 00:30:34,180 –> 00:30:36,819 Then one day I realized 586 00:30:37,780 –> 00:30:40,859 God loves me. 587 00:30:42,459 –> 00:30:46,900 Christ died for me. 588 00:30:48,819 –> 00:30:51,540 So that’s Galatians chapter two in verse 20, isn’t it? 589 00:30:52,180 –> 00:30:55,599 The Son of God loved me 590 00:30:56,800 –> 00:30:59,199 and gave himself for me. 591 00:31:00,079 –> 00:31:03,119 He actually loves me. 592 00:31:04,479 –> 00:31:07,760 Friend, put yourself in the picture here. 593 00:31:08,640 –> 00:31:12,719 He had you in mind when He came into the world. 594 00:31:12,719 –> 00:31:15,800 He had you in mind when He bore sins on the cross. 595 00:31:15,800 –> 00:31:18,760 He had you in mind when He ascended to the Father. 596 00:31:18,900 –> 00:31:20,739 He has you on His heart right now. 597 00:31:20,739 –> 00:31:24,140 Conscious awareness of you at the right hand of the Father. 598 00:31:24,140 –> 00:31:26,579 When He comes back it’s to get you. 599 00:31:28,459 –> 00:31:31,339 He does not simply save a mass. 600 00:31:32,500 –> 00:31:35,199 He saves people with names and faces 601 00:31:35,199 –> 00:31:38,239 and if you’re a Christian believer you are one of them. 602 00:31:39,780 –> 00:31:42,880 I just thought about it that generally God loves the world. 603 00:31:42,880 –> 00:31:44,859 I’m part of the world biological deduction. 604 00:31:44,859 –> 00:31:47,579 He must love me and then I came to the place of saying, 605 00:31:48,119 –> 00:31:49,939 God loves me. 606 00:31:51,040 –> 00:31:52,660 That was my biggest prayer for today 607 00:31:52,660 –> 00:31:54,880 that that’s gonna dawn in a fresh way 608 00:31:54,880 –> 00:31:56,280 and perhaps for the first time 609 00:31:56,280 –> 00:31:59,939 in some parts right here God loves me. 610 00:31:59,939 –> 00:32:01,780 This is for me enjoying Christ. 611 00:32:01,780 –> 00:32:03,459 Love Christ is mine. 612 00:32:03,459 –> 00:32:06,339 My beloved is mine. 613 00:32:08,920 –> 00:32:10,880 This Christ is always for you. 614 00:32:11,800 –> 00:32:13,839 He is always with you. 615 00:32:13,839 –> 00:32:16,459 He is always working for your good. 616 00:32:16,520 –> 00:32:19,000 Let this be your strength. 617 00:32:19,000 –> 00:32:20,199 Let this be your light. 618 00:32:20,199 –> 00:32:23,000 Let this be your hope as you’re going into another week. 619 00:32:23,000 –> 00:32:25,579 My beloved is mine. 620 00:32:26,500 –> 00:32:28,699 And remember the great thing about being able 621 00:32:28,699 –> 00:32:31,260 to say that Jesus Christ is yours 622 00:32:31,260 –> 00:32:36,260 is that Christ is yours not only for time but forever. 623 00:32:36,280 –> 00:32:38,800 Because all other gifts that are given to you 624 00:32:38,800 –> 00:32:42,119 everything else about which you may say mine in this life 625 00:32:42,119 –> 00:32:44,319 is only given to you for a time. 626 00:32:44,319 –> 00:32:47,540 Other gifts have a beginning and a middle and an end. 627 00:32:47,540 –> 00:32:50,540 You may say mine of your home. 628 00:32:50,540 –> 00:32:52,660 You may say mine of your money. 629 00:32:52,660 –> 00:32:54,079 You may say mine of your work. 630 00:32:54,079 –> 00:32:56,339 You may say mine of your loved ones. 631 00:32:57,859 –> 00:32:59,920 But they are only yours for a time. 632 00:33:01,900 –> 00:33:06,900 But when you say of Jesus Christ my beloved is mine 633 00:33:08,500 –> 00:33:12,619 you can know for sure that he is yours forever. 634 00:33:14,439 –> 00:33:19,439 Forever and an unbreakable bond of amazing love. 635 00:33:23,680 –> 00:33:26,219 The very last thing to say is simply this. 636 00:33:27,280 –> 00:33:29,160 In the light of all this why would you not 637 00:33:29,160 –> 00:33:31,640 then give yourself to Jesus Christ 638 00:33:31,640 –> 00:33:34,300 without condition and without reservation. 639 00:33:34,300 –> 00:33:38,699 Why would you not then say, I am my beloved? 640 00:33:39,520 –> 00:33:41,800 What a marvelous statement that is of 641 00:33:41,800 –> 00:33:43,560 complete self-giving. 642 00:33:44,760 –> 00:33:47,959 I’m Christ’s, Christ is mine, I’m Christ’s 643 00:33:47,959 –> 00:33:50,939 without reservation, without condition. 644 00:33:52,319 –> 00:33:54,140 What could possibly hold you back 645 00:33:54,140 –> 00:33:56,260 from giving yourself to Jesus Christ 646 00:33:56,260 –> 00:33:59,280 without condition, without reservation today? 647 00:34:00,359 –> 00:34:03,020 Yielding yourself in a fresh and a full way 648 00:34:03,020 –> 00:34:06,459 to Jesus Christ in the light of this amazing love 649 00:34:06,459 –> 00:34:07,339 that he has for you? 650 00:34:07,380 –> 00:34:09,179 What could you possibly be afraid of? 651 00:34:11,040 –> 00:34:12,939 What would be so good in your life 652 00:34:12,939 –> 00:34:14,760 that you might hold back? 653 00:34:16,100 –> 00:34:20,020 In order to hold onto that, hold back from this love 654 00:34:20,020 –> 00:34:23,340 that Christ has in his heart for you 655 00:34:23,340 –> 00:34:25,060 and reaches out to you with? 656 00:34:27,000 –> 00:34:29,100 As I think and pray of some of you 657 00:34:29,100 –> 00:34:32,379 who are still in the place of battling away 658 00:34:32,379 –> 00:34:34,239 as to whether you’re going to give yourself 659 00:34:34,239 –> 00:34:36,979 to Jesus Christ or not, the greatest sadness 660 00:34:37,000 –> 00:34:40,040 I feel for you is that by still holding out 661 00:34:40,040 –> 00:34:43,439 you are showing that you have not yet discovered his love. 662 00:34:45,060 –> 00:34:46,840 And the reason that you’re not yet his 663 00:34:46,840 –> 00:34:48,360 is he’s not yet yours. 664 00:34:49,520 –> 00:34:51,439 And the reason that he’s not yet yours 665 00:34:51,439 –> 00:34:53,959 is that you are not yet his, 666 00:34:53,959 –> 00:34:56,800 and the reality right now is that he is standing 667 00:34:56,800 –> 00:34:59,479 on the door of your life, knocking. 668 00:34:59,479 –> 00:35:01,879 He’s outside of your life, not inside, 669 00:35:01,879 –> 00:35:04,020 because you’re still pushing him away, 670 00:35:04,020 –> 00:35:06,600 and he wants to be invited in. 671 00:35:06,620 –> 00:35:09,139 And when he becomes yours, you will become his, 672 00:35:09,139 –> 00:35:11,340 and you’ll be able to say with all of the people of God, 673 00:35:11,340 –> 00:35:14,060 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. 674 00:35:16,760 –> 00:35:18,800 And what a blessing that is, 675 00:35:19,979 –> 00:35:24,820 to be able to go through life knowing who you are 676 00:35:26,340 –> 00:35:27,860 and to whom you belong. 677 00:35:27,860 –> 00:35:30,459 I am my beloved’s and my beloved is mine. 678 00:35:32,620 –> 00:35:34,860 I was listening a couple of weeks ago to a message 679 00:35:35,159 –> 00:35:36,939 in a completely different part of the Bible 680 00:35:36,939 –> 00:35:38,520 by Sinclair Ferguson. 681 00:35:39,540 –> 00:35:42,620 And he said something that struck me in a fresh way. 682 00:35:42,620 –> 00:35:44,239 He was talking about his years 683 00:35:44,239 –> 00:35:47,139 as a Christian following Christ. 684 00:35:47,139 –> 00:35:47,959 And he said, 685 00:35:47,959 –> 00:35:49,919 one of the things for which I’ve been so thankful 686 00:35:49,919 –> 00:35:52,379 in my life as a Christian 687 00:35:52,379 –> 00:35:55,159 is that being a follower of Jesus Christ 688 00:35:55,159 –> 00:36:00,159 and belonging to Jesus Christ has simplified my life. 689 00:36:01,040 –> 00:36:04,520 And I thought, that’s a very striking thing to say. 690 00:36:05,879 –> 00:36:08,879 And here was his explanation as to why he said that. 691 00:36:09,879 –> 00:36:14,879 He said, you see, we go through life with so many demands, 692 00:36:15,320 –> 00:36:17,659 so many pressures, so many things coming at us, 693 00:36:17,659 –> 00:36:19,679 work and what we’ve got to do that, 694 00:36:19,679 –> 00:36:21,899 and family and children and church 695 00:36:21,899 –> 00:36:24,159 and people asking things of us. 696 00:36:24,159 –> 00:36:27,580 And we find ourselves increasingly saying, 697 00:36:27,580 –> 00:36:30,239 how can I keep all the balls in the air 698 00:36:30,239 –> 00:36:32,459 and all these things that I’ve got to do and be 699 00:36:32,459 –> 00:36:33,820 and all the rest of it. 700 00:36:33,820 –> 00:36:36,179 And sometimes you come to the place of saying, 701 00:36:37,100 –> 00:36:40,060 who am I and what am I supposed to be doing? 702 00:36:41,659 –> 00:36:43,219 And here’s where you begin. 703 00:36:44,860 –> 00:36:46,659 I am my beloved. 704 00:36:47,659 –> 00:36:48,719 That’s who I am. 705 00:36:50,239 –> 00:36:51,620 I belong to Christ. 706 00:36:51,620 –> 00:36:54,000 That’s the first and the single most important 707 00:36:54,000 –> 00:36:55,719 defining thing about me. 708 00:36:56,060 –> 00:36:57,719 And everything else is gonna have to find 709 00:36:57,719 –> 00:36:59,179 it’s place underneath that. 710 00:37:00,260 –> 00:37:01,840 That’s who I am. 711 00:37:01,840 –> 00:37:03,040 I’m my beloved. 712 00:37:04,479 –> 00:37:07,899 And my beloved is mine. 713 00:37:07,899 –> 00:37:10,919 Christ is mine. 714 00:37:10,919 –> 00:37:14,219 And with all the stuff that’s coming at me this week 715 00:37:14,219 –> 00:37:16,199 and in the months and perhaps even the years 716 00:37:16,199 –> 00:37:18,479 that lie ahead that would perplex me, 717 00:37:18,479 –> 00:37:21,560 this is how I’m going to face the challenges 718 00:37:21,560 –> 00:37:23,639 on the road ahead of me. 719 00:37:23,639 –> 00:37:25,959 Christ is mine, Christ is with me. 720 00:37:27,139 –> 00:37:28,699 Christ is for me. 721 00:37:29,639 –> 00:37:34,000 And Christ will never let me go. 722 00:37:34,000 –> 00:37:35,000 Let’s pray together. 723 00:37:36,760 –> 00:37:40,439 Father, we are so grateful to be able to say of Christ, 724 00:37:40,439 –> 00:37:45,439 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine. 725 00:37:48,800 –> 00:37:52,159 Flood our souls we pray in a fresh way 726 00:37:52,280 –> 00:37:55,719 by the knowledge of your love that we may give ourselves 727 00:37:55,719 –> 00:37:58,879 without condition or reservation to you 728 00:37:59,780 –> 00:38:03,939 in a bond of joyful love 729 00:38:03,939 –> 00:38:07,360 that beginning now in the realities of this life 730 00:38:07,360 –> 00:38:10,179 may find its fullness as we are caught up 731 00:38:10,179 –> 00:38:14,560 into the full blessing of your everlasting love, 732 00:38:14,560 –> 00:38:17,280 the love of Father, Son, and Spirit 733 00:38:17,360 –> 00:38:20,860 to share this with you forever and forever 734 00:38:22,540 –> 00:38:24,219 through Jesus Christ our Lord. 735 00:38:24,219 –> 00:38:26,199 And everyone said, Amen.

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Colin Smith

Trustee / Founder and Teaching Pastor

Colin Smith is the Senior Pastor of The Orchard Evangelical Free Church in the northwest suburbs of Chicago. He has authored a number of books, including Heaven, How I Got Here and Heaven, So Near – So Far. Colin is the Founder and Teaching Pastor for Open the Bible. Follow him on X formerly Twitter.

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