The focus today is on the Christian. The whole book of Song of Solomon deals with the Bride of Christ. Nothing in this book has anything at all to do with the non-Christian.
Applying anything in this book to the non-Christian is completely wrong. As a Christian, God has things to say to me that the worldly person can never hear or understand.
This is a source of frustration with the non-believer.
With this said, let me also say that in the Christian community there are a variety of levels. The same is true for every Christian.
In talking to the seven churches, Jesus has this to say about the church in Ephesus.
“4Nevertheless I have somewhat against thee, because thou hast left thy first love.
5Remember therefore from whence thou art fallen, and repent, and do the first works; or else I will come unto thee quickly, and will remove thy candlestick out of his place, except thou repent” (Revelation 2:4-5).
There are many levels and degrees of Christians and I believe it is important for everyone to find out where they are in this regard. Most Christians are experiencing an unsatisfied life. The abundant Christian life as many refer to, is not the normal in many Christian churches.
Once, Christianity influenced the culture.
Now, the culture is influencing Christianity.
This has caused great unsettling of many Christians and brings them to a point of dissatisfaction in their Christian life. The culture can never satisfy the heart longing for God.
The problem with the church in America is the majority of Christians are living an unsatisfied life and are trying to substitute it with aspects of the world. No longer does it have the influence it once had.
Theme…The abundant Christian life cannot be taken for granted, but must be intentional. The key to the abundant Christian life is a radical focus on Jesus Christ.
In the true Christian experience there is a longing for fellowship with God. Notice how the bride expresses it here.
Song of Solomon 1:2-4 – 2 “May he kiss me with the kisses of his mouth! For your love is better than wine. 3 Your oils have a pleasing smell. Your name is like oil poured out. So the young women love you. 4 Take me away with you, and let us run together. The king has brought me into his room.
“We will have joy and be glad because of you. We will praise your love more than wine. They are right to love you.”
Several things are involved in this “unsatisfied Christian life.” The more we know about it the more we can correct it in our own life and experience the fullness of God in Jesus Christ.
I. The Unsatisfied Life Begins with Delusion
This is really where it all begins. Delusion is not built on a lie; rather it is built on partial truth.
A con man (confidence man) builds his con on truth, especially truth people want to hear. The problem is, although what they say is true, it is not the total picture.
This is what is happening in Christianity today. If you listen, in particular, many of the preachers on TV are using a con to get people to give them money. They take Scripture and pull it out of context and make it say something that God never intended to say.
Here are a few samples…
• Matthew 7:1 – “Judge not, that ye be not judged.”
• Romans 8:28 – “And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to his purpose.”
• Luke 11:9 – “And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”
• Philippians 4:13 – “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.”
• John 8:32 – “And ye shall know the truth, and the truth shall make you free.”
To take these out of context is to create a delusion. Every delusion is built on partial truth. As a follower of Christ, I need to know the whole truth and understand it in the context that God established it and how it affects my communion with him.
II. The Unsatisfied Life Is Vulnerable to Distraction
If I fall victim to delusion it will create a great deal of distraction. People, health, money and situations. A distraction is anything that takes the focus off of Christ and lead me away from that fellowship and communion with God, which create a spirit of dissatisfaction.
(1:5-7) 5 “I am dark but beautiful, O people of Jerusalem, like the tents of Kedar, like the curtains of Solomon. 6 Do not look hard at me because I am dark, for the sun has burned me. My mother’s sons were angry with me, and made me take care of the grape-fields. But I have not taken care of my own grape-field. 7 Tell me, O you whom my soul loves. In what field do you feed your flock? Where do your sheep lie down at noon? Why should I need to look for you beside the flocks of your friends?”
This distraction creates in our life an emptiness that nothing in this world can fill. There is a deep spiritual hole we try to fill with other things.
The basic question is, “Where.”
There is a search for something that will satisfy and were not quite sure what it is and where we go to find it.
Many Christians try to get satisfaction out of ministry and service. This helps initially, but it is not a permanent satisfaction and can be a distraction. We were not created for “ministry and service” but for fellowship with God through Jesus Christ.
The dynamics of this fellowship are nourished within the Fellowship of God’s people. That is the purpose of our coming together. We do not come together to show off our “ministry and service” skills.
This is an indication of spiritual immaturity.
We use legitimate things like “ministry and service” to distract us from our grand purpose of fellowship with God. We were created to bring him pleasure through our communion with him.
2:3-6 – 3 “Like a fruit tree among many trees, so is my loved one among the young men. With much joy I sat down in his shadow. And his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4 He brought me to his special large room for eating, and his colors over me were love. 5 Make me strong with cakes of dried grapes. Make me strong again with fruit, because I am sick with love. 6 Let his left hand be under my head and his right hand hold me close.”
My Christian life is so designed by God that nothing really satiates me but that intimate communion with God.
The devil cannot take away my salvation, but he can distract me so that I am not giving the pleasure to God that he desires. This is the great goal of the enemy.
III. The Unsatisfied Life Is Remedied
by My Determination
7 “I tell you, O daughters of Jerusalem, by the gazelles and deer of the field, you must not wake up my love until it is pleasing to her.”
When we have been distracted enough and become tired of an unsatisfied life we need now to have the determination to remedy this situation to the glory of God.
How long God waits for us to get tired of the routine work and begin longing for the intimacy of that spiritual communion with him.
The apostle Paul put it this way. “38For I am persuaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor things to come, 39Nor height, nor depth, nor any other creature, shall be able to separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.” (Romans 8:38-39).
Also, “For I determined not to know any thing among you, save Jesus Christ, and him crucified” (1 Corinthians 2:2).
If I am going to overcome this unsatisfied Christian life, I need to make it a priority in my everyday life.
My ministry and service does not bring me the satisfaction and contentment that my communion with God does.
My commitment every day is to spend significant time alone with God, exercising that communion with him that delights and pleasures him.
I need to be careful about any delusions that sneak into my life that end up distracting me from the real purpose of my Christian life. My determination is to know him in the depths possible only through the Holy Spirit working in my life through the word of God.
Conclusion…
The question I need to bring to focus in my own life is simply this, is the life I am living now up to the standard that God has set for me?
Am I enjoying the kind of communion with him that delights and pleases him?
Or, am I trying to please myself…others?
I need to get out of my life anything that so hinders this aspect of my life. I need to make sure that my union and communion with God is a top priority in my life.
Some things and people need to go.
How much time did you spend this week alone with God in fellowship and communion?
Those moments will be so special and it will lift our life above the mundane and the unsatisfaction that I have experienced so much in the past.
And then when I come into the Fellowship of brothers and sisters in Christ there is a dynamic that cannot be manufactured emotionally. It is that unction from on high that blends our fellowship into a delightful encounter with God.
