All right, if you wish to follow
along, turn back to the Song of Solomon again. This morning's
Song of Solomon, Chapter 5. The Song of Solomon, Chapter
5. The title of my message is this,
and I will allude to it on a couple occasions. And the one verse
that I will read, I'm not really gonna deal with the verse in
and of itself, per se, but it will give you a little idea,
I hope, of what I want to bring to you this morning. The title
of my message is this, The Garden of Love. The Garden of Love. And Solomon wrote these words
in Song of Solomon, chapter five, in verse one. I am come into
my garden, my sister, my spouse. I have gathered my myrrh with
my spice. I have eaten my honeycomb with
my honey. I have drunk my wine with my
milk. Eat, O friends. Drink, yea, drink
abundantly. Oh, beloved. Now, if you look
at the context, you will see that there are two that are eating.
If you look at the last part of chapter four, which I will
mention in a moment, we see him, Solomon, eating, feeding in his
garden, and he comes into his garden eating, but then he tells
his friend to do what as well? To eat as well. We have thus
far examined from the Song of Solomon. And before I give you
rehash briefly, remember, from the literary backdrop, we have
Solomon, we have the Shulamite, we have gardens, we have spices,
we have places, but this book is not about those things. Those
things are the literary backdrop to what Solomon's true message
is, and that is Jesus Christ in the church. Men want to, sometimes
they want to argue and debate on whether the Shulamite was
a real individual. It does not matter. It does not
matter. You know, were the spices, I
figured there probably was Jewish Shulamite, just like there were
spices, Jack, and there were all of these places and all of
these smells, this flora and fauna, but that's not the point.
David Wright, if the point were Solomon and a Shulamite, then
the point would also be pomegranates and figs and strawberries or
whatever else there was. That's not the point. This book
is about Jesus Christ and His church. And what we have seen
thus far is this, these two things thus far. The church loves Christ's
perfections. It's not about our love. It's
about His perfections. but we love his perfection. You see, Christ is worthy of
love. Christ deserves love. Christ is due love. So we looked at that a couple
of weeks ago. Then last week we looked at this, Christ sovereignly
draws his four ordained church. We see that in the little sister.
Even the elect, and Joe has already mentioned it, even the elect
are born just as dead in trespasses and sins as the reprobate. Or, in other words, those who
are saved, are being saved, and shall finally be saved, they
in their natural state are just as bad as those who will never
be saved and will perish under God's wrath. Christ has a people
before they know they are His people. But He will bring each
and every one of them to know that they are His people. what
I want to do this morning is glean some more in this garden
of love because this whole book is about love. Love, love, the
beloved. It's every, Joe, it permeates
this book. Love permeates this book. As I said last week, it's sad
but true that you have many who profess to be Christians, they
read the Song of Solomon and they see sex. rather than reading
the Song of Solomon and seeing Christ. Now if that's not a testimony
against the human mind, I don't know what else is. So let's glean
here a little more in this garden of love. Think about this. We're
going to see, God willing, if God is pleased this morning,
we're going to see how we see Christ. how we see Christ, but
more importantly, and you remember, I think I mentioned this, maybe
it was last week, maybe a week before, maybe both, but it's
more than how we see Christ. It's not, well, yeah, Joe sees
Christ this way, and me and Joe sees Christ this way. It's how
I see Christ. We see Christ this way together.
But I have to see Christ this way for myself. I can't see him
for you, Joe. and you can't see him for me.
We cannot see him for someone else to where they'll be blessed
by our seeing. That's what I'm trying to say.
It is how we see Christ, his church, all of us, those who
are called of God. This is how we see Christ. But
remember, it must be personal. It's how I see Christ. So much
so that the apostle Paul put it this way. You know that he
summed it this way. And we know that all things work
together for good. To them that, what? Love God. And who is it that really loves
God? Because thousands say they love God. I said to them that
love God, everything works together for their good. To them that
love God. But who are those that really
love God? To them who are the called according to His purpose. And I will add, because it's
the testimony of Scripture, them and them only. It's the only
ones. But also we will see, God willing,
if time allows, how Christ sees us. And oh, what a glory that
is. That even transcends how we see
Christ. Now I say that not to belittle
how we see Christ. But how he sees us, Neil, means
far more than how I see him. Because he's seen me as he has
ordained me to be in himself before I ever saw him as he was.
and as He is. As Paul kind of put it this way,
Paul said to the Galatians, and he was actually saying it because
of some negative things they were doing. They were turning
back to some things concerning the law. But he put it this way,
after that you've known God, or rather, are known of God. Because you do not know God in
order for Him to know you. You know God only because He
has first foreknown you. So we're gonna look at how Christ
sees us, but remember, again, let me stress and emphasize this,
it's not just how Christ sees us. It is that. But remember,
this is meant to be personal. It's how Christ sees David, right?
It's how Christ sees me. Because I can't rest, Joe, in
how Christ sees you. My only hope is not just, well,
I know how God sees Joe, and I'm kind of like Joe, so I hope
He sees me that way too. You understand what I'm saying?
It's how Christ sees me. Yes, He sees all of us in this
way. But this is personal. So much
so that Paul summed it up again. Paul put it this way in Galatians
2 and verse 20. And let me read it because it's
just The fact of it's not left me, but how to quote it is just
not there for me. Look at it. Galatians 2 verse
20, I am crucified with Christ. Now weren't we crucified with
Christ? God's people, yes. But this is what Paul said, this
is personal. I am crucified with Christ. Nevertheless,
I live. Yet not I, but Christ liveth
in me. And the life which I now live
in the flesh, I live by the faith of the Son of God who loved not
just us, though that's true, but who loved me and gave himself
for me. And I say this with all reverence,
as God is my witness. Paul is saying as though Jesus
Christ died for me as if he died for no one else at all. He died
for me. And that's what I hope we will
actually, God will enable us to get here this morning. Not
just how we see Christ, and not just how Christ sees us, though
that's certainly true and comforting. Because we need one another's
fellowship. Neil, it's lonely out there in the world by yourself.
But remember, it's how I see Christ. And then even transcending
that, it's how Christ sees me. So then, with that being said,
here is how Christ is. I'm not talking about here's
how I ought to see Christ. We're going to talk about here
is how Christ is. Now the question I have to ask
myself, because it is that personal, the question you should ask yourself
is, do I see him that way? See, it's not, well, I see Jesus
as I want to see Jesus, and I know I ought to see him maybe in a
more light note. Jesus is who he is, and this
book gives us some good, beautiful, aromic snapshots of it. And if we knew some of these
smells, Joe, the real smells of that day, we could probably
relate to it a little better. But be that as it may, we will,
by God's grace, relate to it as best we can when we see this. So think of that. Do I see him
in this light? That's the question this morning.
I don't say that to try to cast doubt on anybody. I'm just saying
this is the way it is. Here's who Christ is in the Song
of Solomon, and we'll see that it's backed up by the rest of
the, I shouldn't say scripture, by the rest of scripture as well.
Let me just give you five things, and we'll try to go through this
fairly quick, because I do want to get to, as much as I can,
to how Christ sees us, because it transcends even that. It's
the foundation of how I see him. It's the foundation of how I
see him. But first of all, how Christ is. How do I see Christ? Here's number one of these five
things. See the royal dignity of Christ's deity. Look at chapter
three and verse 10. He made him pillars. Pillars,
you know what that is, don't you? Something that supports
something else. We usually think of it, David,
like a grand house with huge pillars out front. It is said
that Solomon's temple had great pillars to it. Look at it. He
made the pillars thereof of silver. What is that? That's redemption.
The bottom thereof of gold. What's the foundation of it?
Deity. deity, the covering of it of
purple. What's that? Royalty, His kingship. Do you see it? The midst thereof
being paved with what? Love. Do you see it? Some people
think that for some reason that we don't believe in the love
of God. Oh, we believe in the love of God. It's a glorious
thing. But let me tell you, the love
of God for any fallen son and daughter of Adam is found only
in Jesus Christ. Outside of Jesus Christ, God
is absolute, pure, righteous hate. That's just the facts. Look at it. In the midst thereof
being paved with love, who? For the daughters of Jerusalem.
And remember Paul writing to the Galatians, who were mostly
Gentiles, said that, you are what? He said, you are what?
You are what? You are from Jerusalem? Your
mother is who? Jerusalem, which is above. Now look, go forth, O ye daughters
of Zion, and behold King Solomon with the crown. You see that? Behold King Solomon with the
crown. We're talking here not about
Solomon, David the king's son, we're talking here about Christ. Here is the royal dignity of
his deity. Do I see him in that light? Paul put it this way, Colossians
two and verse nine, for in him, that's in Jesus Christ the man,
even the man, and here's why I say that, for in him dwelleth
all the fullness of the Godhead, how? bodily, not mystically even,
Joe. Not mystic, this wasn't magical. For in him dwelleth all the fullness
of the Godhead bodily. And let me jump the point, jump
forward now to that transcendence. How does he see me? And ye are
complete. in Him. Now, what else, Neil,
do I need if I got that? I don't need nothing or anything
else. You see the royal dignity of
His deity? Now, look at this. See Christ's
sovereignty. Chapter 2 and verse 7. I charge
you. Now, some people think, well,
okay, God's sovereign, but don't hammer on it. Well, yeah, God's sovereign,
but that's just something for the really wise amongst God's
people. No, I charge you, do you see
it? I charge you, O ye daughters
of Jerusalem, by the rows and by the hinds of the field. What's
she talking about here now? What's she talking about? There
is life here. There is vibrancy here, do you
see it? Look at it. That ye stir not up nor awake,
my love, till he please. What is she saying here about
Christ? What is the church here charging
everyone else about concerning Christ? He gets up and he does
when he's pleased to do. He does amongst the armies of
heaven and amongst the inhabitants of the earth, whether they be
animal or human, and he does amongst both companies according
to his will. Our God is in the heavens. He
hath done whatsoever, whatsoever he hath pleased. And then if
you go read Romans chapter nine, you'll see this sovereign God.
you'll see the sovereign God. Now you're aware of that. Some
people who get the TV message may not be aware of it. Go read
Romans chapter nine. You will see this sovereign God
defined, Jack, in no uncertain terms. But what I want to point
out is remember, this sovereign God you read about in Romans
nine, that is none other than Jesus Christ the man. Jesus Christ
the man is that sovereign God. Think of it, Joe kind of mentioned
it. There were people. who wanted to kill him as soon,
almost as soon as he started his public ministry. On one occasion,
even in his hometown, they led him out of the synagogue. They
went straight from the church to the brow of the hill. And
for what reason? To cast him down headlong so
they might burst his head and his guts on the rocks below.
But it said he passed out of their midst because it was not
his time. Now, Neil, that's some sovereignty. When you got a whole crowd of
people, and they can do, if a whole crowd of people come at me like
that, Joe, they gonna do with me what they want to do with
me. That's what they do. You got enough to overpower one
individual with a certain number of other individuals, they gonna
do with you what they want to do with you. But you don't do
that with Jesus Christ. He is absolutely sovereign. In other words, God is God. God is God. Do you know how profound
that is? And the reason it's so profound
is not because in and of itself, God is God. You know why that
is so profound? Because most people today don't
know that God is God. They view God as that old, really
old being up there that would just love to do things for men,
but men just will not let him. And that is a lie. That is an
idol, that is something that men have imagined in their own
mind. God is God, and God Almighty
has men and women's souls. Not only their body, Christ said,
but he has their souls in his control, and he has the right
to even destroy it in hell. Now granted, David, right, he
will not destroy them just for destroying's sake. He will destroy
them because of sin. But he has that right. And Neil,
he's got the right to have compassion on one and mercy on one. And
if he wills to do it, he'll do it. But he also has the right
to harden another. And when God hardens, God's not
putting something in you bad. You know what God does when he
hardens men? Puts the truth before them while they're unregenerate. While they're in their regenerate
state, the more God puts the truth before you, if he never
opens your heart, it will harden you. It will harden. Look at what
happened to Pharaoh. Did Moses ever lie to Pharaoh?
What did Moses do? Did Moses come and jab him with
a stick? No, he came and presented the
truth of God to him. And in so doing, God himself
said, I will harden Pharaoh's heart. How did he do it? By sending
Moses to tell him the truth. Exactly. Christ is sovereign. And that's how you see him. Yeah. And Joe's already preached it,
or you don't see him at all. Amen. Here's number three, see
Christ's friendship. I like this one, chapter five
and verse 16. See Christ's friendship. His
mouth is most sweet. Now granted, this is set with
the literary backdrop of Solomon and Eshulamite, of a relationship
between a man and a woman, but it's talking about Christ and
his church. His mouth is most sweet, why? Because what he says
means everything. What Jesus Christ is God's Word
incarnate. He is this Bible manifest in
the flesh. And even much more than that.
Because there are certain secret things that God hadn't even revealed
to us. He's still that as well. But you know what matters to
us? What's in this book. The secret things belong to God,
but the things that are revealed to belong unto us and to our
children. See Christ's friendship? His
mouth is most sweet, yea? He's altogether lovely. This
is my beloved. Oh, look at it. And this is my
friend. Oh, daughters of Jerusalem. Can you imagine, heaven? Here's
one with the royal dignity of deity. Here's one who's absolutely
sovereign. And Linda, he's my friend. Now
what greater friend could I have than that? This lump of clay,
this lump of dust, this corrupt son of Adam. What better relationship
could I have with one who is of royal dignity and deity and
sovereignty and for him to even allow me to say, he's my friend. friend. And you remember it was
meant as a jeer toward him. You remember what some of the
people said whenever our Lord was here in the flesh in his
sojourn here in his condescension. I was a friend of publicans and
sinners. They were trying to throw down on him. But that which
made them so angry And that which caused them to jeer the Son of
God is that which makes my soul so happy. He's a friend of publicans
and sinners, and that's the kind of friend I need. Because I'm
a sinner. I sometimes think, within myself,
I even give sinners a bad name. Have you ever felt that way about
yourself? I even give most sinners a bad name. Most sinners probably
wouldn't want to be around me if they really knew me by nature. Now come on now. If you let your
spouse know what you really think sometimes, how well will it go?
Now come on now. And yet we lie to ourselves.
Well, but that's the devil making me think that. No, that's coming
right from in here in my own evil, wicked heart. But here's
the friendship of Christ. You see it? Oh, friend of sinners. Here's number four. See Christ
embraced by faith. I mentioned this one a couple
weeks ago. Verse 13 of chapter one. A bundle of myrrh is my
well-beloved. I wish I knew what myrrh smelled
like. David, I might could relate to that a little more. but yet
we know there's gotta be something there. What was it, what are
the three gifts that was brought to our Lord at his birth, or
a couple years later, was what? Gold, frankincense, and myrrh. Joe, that's some expensive stuff
out here. Look, a bundle of myrrh is my
well-beloved unto me, not just unto us, yes, unto us, but unto
me. Look, he shall lie all night
betwixt my breasts. What is she talking about here?
Literarily speaking, what's the shulamite saying? I grab him
and hold him up here tight. You see, Christ can be embraced,
how? By faith. Paul said, oh, that
I might know him. He said, all of my legal righteousness
that I had before, He said it means nothing but dung. I even
count it but dung. That what? That I might win who?
Christ. And be found in Him. Not having
mine own righteousness which is of the law, but that righteousness
which is through the faith of Christ. The faith of Christ. In other words, Paul is basically
saying that Christ is everything to me. And by faith, Joe, we
are enabled that grand and glorious gift of God. The believer is
enabled to grab Christ and pull him right in amidst your breast
and embrace him. What is it? All night. All night. Now that's true faith
whether we experience it like that or not. But think also it's
during the night. What is the night? The night
sometimes is when things rattle and scare you. when you hear
a noise and it wakes you up. But He's right there, where?
Right here. Right here, up close. Look at
number five. See Christ joyfully and boldly
approached. Song of Solomon chapter one,
verse four. Draw me, we will run. And you got preachers today
trying to beg people. to come to Jesus, begging them,
why? Why do you have to beg them?
Because they ain't been drawn. They're trying to force them
to Jesus Christ when they got no affections for him. When they
don't see him as lovely and pleasant, when they do not see him as royal
dignity and deity, when they do not see his sovereignty, when
they do not see his friendship, when they have no ability to
embrace him betwixt their breasts. Oh, but once God gives you that
ability, Run to him, you will. And when you're running to him,
what's that mean? You're leaving all the other stuff behind. Now listen, you don't leave the
other stuff behind then run to him. The other stuff is began,
you begin leaving that behind when you run to him. And did
not Paul say to the Thessalonians, he put it this way, you turned
to God from idols. Not from idols to God. Because
if you try to turn from your idols first, you'll never get
it accomplished. And you'll never make it to God.
Now that may not be the greatest theological way of stating it,
but you know what I'm saying. Because we have so many idols. No draw me, we will what? We
will run after thee. The king hath brought me into
his chambers. He didn't just invite me to come. He brought me into his chamber. That's the bedchamber, folks.
That's the place where there's intimate union with, not sexual
union, no, but it's the bedchamber. It's intimate union with the
Son of God. Mm, what a glory. And does not
Hebrews say that we can approach unto the throne of grace in what
way? What's the one word it uses? Boldly. A sinner like me? Yeah, because he's a friend of
sinners. It's a throne of grace. The problem, you know why most
people don't want to approach the throne of grace? They don't
think they need grace. What they want is merit. What they want,
they want reward. Well, let me tell you, even my
righteousnesses are as filthy rags in God's sight. This is
not how my love for Christ should be. This is how my love for Christ
is if I am really a believer. This is how it is. There are
those today who teach. They actually teach this. Receive
Jesus Christ as your personal Savior. And they will actually
teach that you don't have to have Him as your Lord. That can
happen later when you really become a faithful Christian.
That's a lie. That's a lie. This is not how
a love for Christ should be. This is how my love for Christ
is if I'm a believer, if I'm really one of the called, if
I really love God. My life, my walk, my way, even
my failures. Even, I'm not talking about a
believer being, having no fault. Look at it, chapter five, this
very same, the passage I read to you from, look at it. I am
coming to my garden, my sister, my spouse. I have gathered my
myrrh with my spices. I have eaten my honeycomb with
my honey. I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, oh friends. Drink, yea, drink abundantly,
oh beloved. And then what does she say? I
sleep. You ever felt yourself to be asleep when it comes? to
the beloved. Look, I sleep. But think about,
but my heart waketh. And why is that important? Why? Because a heart work is
a God work. You cannot make your own heart
clean. We can sleep with the best of
them. But we can't make our own heart
wake. Only God can give us that waking heart, Joe, even while
I sleep. You know what it says? I sleep,
but my heart waketh. It is the voice of my beloved
that knocketh, saying, open to me, my sister, my love, my dove,
my undefiled. Now we're getting a look. Look
at how he sees us, but we're not quite there yet. You see
it? Look, for my head is filled with dew and my locks with the
drops of the night. But here's what she answers.
But I put off my coat. How shall I put it on? I've washed
my feet. I'm in bed. Right? Have you ever been there with
your Lord? I have. Oh, and I'm not saying
this boastfully. Oh, God help me. I've put off
my coat. How shall I put it on? I've washed
my feet. How shall I defile them? But
look, my beloved put his hand by the hole of the door and my
bowels were moved for him in spite of all that. Do you see
it? In spite of all that, he still
engages me. But now look, I rose up to open
to my beloved, and my hands dropped with myrrh, and my fingers with
the sweet-smelling myrrh upon the handles of the lock. What
is she saying? Okay, I'd finally arise, but
I could smell him. He had on that cologne, and he'd
retch in and laid ahold of the door, and Paul, when I retched
over and touched the knob, In other words, if you're a real
believer, you can't get away from Jesus Christ. But now look, I opened to my
beloved, but he had withdrawn himself and he's got that right.
You've heard the phrase and I know it's a worldly phrase, but it
has some meaning. Absence makes the heart grow
fonder. Sometimes God puts us in the
dark just so we'll long once again David right for that sweet
smelling savor of Christ our Savior That's why he let Peter
fall So Peter know where else am I supposed to go? Hmm. I denied him. Oh God help me. I've denied him three times to
a little girl And he went out when he seen when did he when
he seen when the Lord looked at him? Isn't that what the book
teaches? They brought, was bringing Christ
out evidently of that judgment hall. And Christ looked at him.
He went out and wept bitterly. I'm saying, if you're a believer,
you're not going to be able to get away from Christ. He may
withdraw himself for his own purposes for the time, but that's
still for your good. Amen. Exactly. That's still for
your good. Why? Because then you're going
to start crying. I need him. Where is he? Look at it. Read
the rest of it. You'll go everywhere. Where is
he? Great, Dave, what a thing flying
around here. The enemy will attack no matter
what it is. That threw me for a loop. Okay, now, isn't it a glory? We're not talking about why it
gives people license to sin. You don't need a license to sin.
You're going to sin without a license. My life, my walk, my way, even
in my failures, Christ is there. Paul, even when he withdraws
himself, I can still smell him. I can still smell him. I can
still smell him. Oh, but let's also see how Christ
sees us now. Look at chapter four and verse
nine. This is literally speaking of
Solomon talking about the Shulamites. We know what it's really talking
about, it's Christ talking about us now. Wait a minute, Christ talking
about me. Look, thou hath ravished my heart,
my sister. Can you think of it? Thou, this
is Christ talking to me. This is Christ talking to you.
If you're a believer, if he's called you, if you love God,
thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, my spouse. Thou hast
ravished my heart with one of thine eyes. One of thine. Remember
having a single eye? Does that ring a bell to you?
This is not coincidental stuff. With one of that, now I'm not
saying I can show you all the meanings of all this, but every
once in a while something will jump out at you. Ravish me with
one of the eyes, with one chain of thy neck. How fair is thy
love, my sister, my spouse. But my love is so weak, but the
love you have for him, he gave you. He honors that. He loves that. He rejoices in
that. And as a matter of fact, go back
and read sometime Zephaniah 3 verse 17, Jesus Christ said, I will
rejoice over you, his people now, with singing. That boggles
my mind. He rejoices over me with singing. How much better is thy love than
wine? And the smell of thine ointments
than all spices. Thy lips, O my spouse, drop as
the honeycomb. Now, wait a minute. What was
he eating? The honeycomb. Remember? Huh? Honey and milk
are under my tongue. Oh, wait a minute. Didn't he
say he was drinking the milk too? You see it? And the smell of thy
garments. He's talking to us. He's talking
to me. A garment of what? A garment
of righteousness. And of thy garments is like the
smell of Lebanon. I wish I could smell that too.
David, I don't even know if it smells now like it used to smell
back then. I doubt it does. But look, a garden enclosed is
my sister. You know what that garden enclosed
is? That's a garden that belongs to one single individual. A garden
enclosed is my sister, my spouse, a spring shut up, a fountain
sealed. What's that really talking about?
In other words, nobody got the right to drink from that one
except for me, Christ says. Now this is what he's saying
about us. This is what he's saying about me. Thy plants are an orchard
of pomegranates, with pleasant fruits, camphor and spikenard,
spikenard and saffron, calamus and cinnamon, with all trees
of frankincense, myrrh and alloys, with all the chief spices. We're
something else to Christ. I'm something else. To Christ, do you see it? A fountain of gardens, a well
of living waters, and streams from Lebanon, a wake old north
wind, and come thou south, blow upon my garden. Now who is this
garden? His people. You see it? The Spirit of God, blow upon
my people. That's how we became this way. It's not my own personal garment.
It's the garment He gave me. It's not my own personal eye,
my own personal neck, my own personal smell. That's a stench
in God's nostrils. It's me as His garden. He's created
me, Joe. He tends me. He grows me. Mmm, a fountain of gardens, a
well of living water, the streams of leaven. Awake, O north wind,
and come thou south. Blow upon my garden that the
spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his
garden and eat his pleasant fruits. He feasts on me. Go back some time now. Go back
to Jerusalem of old, and especially that time that Ezekiel speaks
of in Ezekiel chapter 16. I don't have time to turn there.
Time's going away, but let me preface it by this. You remember
what Paul said in the New Testament? I am what I am by the grace of
God. And you know what? God is pleased
with that. Because he's the one that made that garden. He's the
one that plowed the dirt. He's the one that planted the
plants. He's the one that brings it forth. He's the one that makes
it bud. He's the one that makes it fruit. And He takes of that
fruit. He takes of that fruit. This
is what God said about Jerusalem of old. And remember, He's talking
about the people there. Jerusalem, when it began, He
said, your father was a Hittite and your mother was an Amorite. You know what Jerusalem was?
Jerusalem at first was a place of idol worship. and ungodly
practices that I can't even mention in mixed company. And yet God
came along and God did something for Jerusalem. And he brought
Joe the temple there eventually. And he said, I came, when I found
you, you were polluted. You were like a little baby that
was stillborn and dead with blood all over you. And I said to you,
that's what he's talking about to Jerusalem. That place of all,
look at the glory of it now. The temple of God's there. And
Neil, the Shekinah came down. And dwelt there. And he said,
I decked you with gold and silver and raiments. And I did all of
this. How did Jerusalem get like she was? God did all that. God
did it. Jerusalem didn't do it herself.
She was a habitation of every foul creature before. But then
what did Jerusalem do? Now God did all this for Jerusalem. And what did Jerusalem do? Go
back and look at it. Then he starts in verse 15 with these
words, but you started bragging in the very things, the very
glories I gave you, you started boasting of them as your own.
Oh, God help me not to do that. I'm his garden cause he made
me that way. I cannot boast in my own personal righteousness.
I cannot boast in my own personal good. Anything I got, he gave
it to me. And somebody says, well, a believer would never
do that. Well, turn to, let me find it here. Turn to what, 1
Corinthians chapter four. Now listen to what Paul warned
the Corinthians here. 1 Corinthians chapter four, verse
seven. For who maketh thee to differ
from another? I'll tell you what, God has made his people to differ
from another. He's decked us with all this
glory, right? For who maketh thee to differ
from another? And what hast thou that thou didst not receive?
And Bruce Crabtree yesterday pointed out a glorious thing
about this one word, receive. One word is that receive. I never
even noticed it. When you receive something, it
means it's gotta come from out without your sales. You know?
Now, the word is in the active, so yes, it is still a receiver.
You're active in it, but it's something that's given to you
from without. Something you didn't have of
your own, you've received it. You see, that's what he's talking
about. For whom maketh thee to differ from another? And what
hast thou that thou didst not receive? Okay, I've got this
glorious garment, Joe. This glorious eye and neck and
all these beauties, and Christ feasts upon it, but that didn't
originate with me. God gave me these things, and
look what he says. Now, if thou didst receive it,
why dost thou glory as if thou hast not received it? Why would
you turn around and brag about those things as yours? Look,
God, what I've got to offer you, huh, is look, God, what you gave
me, what you made me in your sight. And this is why Paul says
in Hebrews of, is it not, no, this is what Jesus Christ said,
and Paul wrote it down in Hebrews. I'm not ashamed to call them
what? Brethren. Me. You, if you believe Him. He's not ashamed to call you
a brother or a sister. He delights in partaking of what
He's done for you. Isn't that a glory, Neil? Isn't
that a glory? Let me put it this way. Let me
sum it up. Oh, God, make me believe. I told
you about the fellow that preached my grandmother's funeral, and
he said, God's a gentleman. He doesn't make anybody do anything.
I hope he makes me do some things, because I'll never do them if
he don't make me do them. Amen. Oh, God, make me believe. Oh, God, bow me by a grace wrought,
humility and thankfulness. Yes, sir. And this last phrase. Think about this now. Make me,
God, to rest in your acceptance of me in the beloved. He accepted
me in the beloved long before I even knew him. That's right.
He accepted me in the beloved, Jack, long before I ever accepted
him, if you even want to allow that language. Right? He accepted
me before the world was in the beloved. Oh God, make me to rest
in your acceptance of me in Christ. And he says in Ephesians 1, 6,
concerning the elect, he hath made us. So he does make some
people some things, don't he? He has made us accepted in the
beloved. Now this is a God acceptance. It ain't up to whether I accept
you. I cannot but accept you if He's
accepted you, because I know you just like me by nature. But
I tell you what, if you have the same grace I have, I know
God gave it to you and He gave it to me, and we ought to rejoice
with one another in that thing. Because draw me and we, we will
run. You'll run with God's people,
wherever God's people are running to, you're gonna run with them.
You know why? Because they're running to Christ. That's why.
That's why we find fellowship with one another, because we're
all running in the same direction to the same person. Amen. Amen. Father, oh God, teach us
these things, not just in doctrine, but in our lives and in our walk. I ask it in Christ's name. Amen. Thank you, Joe.