Song of Solomon Chaper 4: Seeing The Church Through Jesus Eyes

This is the Truth Network treasurers of the song of songs, which is so well, I wasn't terribly surprised this morning when God put me right back in the fourth chapter of the song of Solomon as I know we went through each of the verses but clearly God still has some more stuff for me in that chapter and so he had me revisit actually the beginning of the chapter. Specifically, the first verse and so we talked about yesterday that is the is the chapter ended it ended and I am verse the 16th letter of the Hebrew alphabet, which has to do with the vision, the vision of having in open the eyes of our heart. Essentially, help us to see things as Jesus sees them, and specifically then what would Jesus like us to see in the fourth chapter and clearly it starts out with an idea that also has to do with vision, because as you might remember the first verse reads right, behold, thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair that has no eyes and thy hair appears behind my locks as a flock of goats on Mount Gilead.

So you know, as I did as I thought more and more about this. It would appear that what God has in the fourth chapter is trying to help us to see a vision of the beauty of the church and he repeats it twice because it's not. It's just one thing to know something with your head but it's quite something different to know it with your heart, so I wonder how many of us really think were beautiful right I mean you look in the mirror. Are you think about amateur where are you know which teeth look like or whatever the situation may be, if you ever see my teeth. You know why that's an issue you know I don't get the picture that I'm beautiful but it would appear that Jesus considers that we are and it's very important. From his perspective that our hearts see that and also that we get a vision that would be his eyes and how beautiful the church is especially when it reflects him and we are in a passionate state of of the relationship right that we are very close to each other that we are practicing the statutes for which we are studying this this whole versus whole book. As you know, the ideas we went into this is all through the hundred 19 Psalm you know David cried out, teach me thy statutes in our lives will utter praise when I was taught me by statute, so you know Mike, I surmise that that song of Solomon had something to do with statutes based on the idea of our union and so that's why working on. Apparently, part of that is this fourth chapter where we are to catch this vision of how beautiful we are, and I've missed something clearly in this first verse that I wanted to share today briefly about the flock you go to the plea appear on Mount Gilead. We talked about first time we passed through this verse that clearly Gilead is Jesus okay and I'll explain again how that is. But is a beautiful thing in Jeremiah 822 where you know so many of us when we are praying were always asking God why am I I by following this category. Why is this happening with my daughter. Why am I going through this. Why is that wise that in so Jeremiah 822 is an amazing verse where Jesus counted, or God kinda turns that the table on us and asked this question, which is a famous question anything about it. Is there no balm in Gilead. In other words, why you going to the doctor. You know, why didn't you go see the physician you know my daughter is hurting and is there no balm in Gilead and so as we think about this idea here of, is there no balm in Gilead and the idea that our house is that her hair appears behind his veil as a flock of goats on Mount Gilead. Did you know is this amazing thing. The more I thought about it and actually Michael Carbone is our CEO pointed this out to me as we are talking about it that your hair covers your head it is kind of the crown of your head and into some extent. A woman you know it's it's kind of her cover and it certainly a lot of people consider beauty has to do with hair and so what could be more beautiful than the balm of Gilead. I mean for our hair to look like or reflect Jesus. In other words, his blood is our cover and and so as you think about your hair coming down and is your cover that like okay just to begin with. Jesus has is covered, behold, thou art fair right were trying to get that picture that we are beautiful and we can somehow another make that transition between just knowing that with our heads and understanding it with our hearts and how important is it that we get these eyes to see the beauty when we see it, especially because so many people in the church are so discouraged right and so we can certainly reflect Christ. When we have that believer whoever it may be, and we go, behold, thou art fair in all, behold, thou art fair and and I've told the story before the hundred 19 solitaire again because I never forgotten that the and I taught high school Sunday for class years before I taught special needs and this one time. God is put on my heart to do. It was called mutual admiration society and the way that worked was that I had. Each student like put a sign on their back and at bright Great Britain actually wrote was wool. It was a yarn thing that held that the sign on their back and each student and if you can imagine. These were high school seniors that the time each had a pen and they were to write on the back of their fellow students how they felt like they reflected Christ and although my little kids at the time saw me with all these red yarns thinking daddy. There's no way these high school kids are to do this. As I explained it to him.

When I explained the high school kids. On the contrary, oh my goodness did they engage in this, as they went around the room on site you know everybody had their sign-on and everybody had their pen and really went right to one person wrote wrote wrote and then they went to another and this went on for the entire Sunday school hour they were writing and they didn't want to stop writing has that is the time came to a close and then all my as each person was able to turn that piece of paper around and see what the other people had written about them right and so very very cool part of that story is that the two or three years later we had a reunion with that Sunday school class after they'd all gone and the college they were two or three years in the college and in most of the students came to this reunion and it was a pretty good class size class MMXXX students on like that and they were all there at the reunion, and so you know we had five or six teachers and who knows how many lessons because we had those kids for two years we taught, but somebody said you know of all the Sunday school lessons, you know that you were taught which one do you remember the most are which one had the most impact on right and in the first child.

You know that did raise her hand and said well you know that one that Robbie did where we all rode on each other's backs, about how we reflect Christ she said, and I still have that that sheet that I had of my back is a precious remembering and I keep it with me.

You know it's always in my dresser drawer and then one by one the students all confess that they had kept those sheets with the point being that oh my goodness, do we need to know how beautiful we are void. We need to know how we reflect Christ I and so you know since everybody can go read the song of Solomon all day long every day.

You know it's kind of our opportunity to be the mutual admiration society for the church and so when you see somebody reflect Jesus. Maybe you got a penny right on their back, but it would be nice if you told them or put it in writing is something that they might have because it is so important apparently that we get this vision that Jesus is trying to share with us that he sees his church as absolutely beautiful.

Satan tries to tear that away. But the whole thou art fair, my love, behold, thou art fair that caused allies and my hair appears like a flock of goats on Mount Gilead