Friday, August 13, 2010

"You Are Altogether Beautiful My Darling"

Sorry, I haven't posted in so long. I have been working on my novel non-stop lately. trying to finish up before the new school year begins. :)

The other day I heard an INCREDIBLE sermon by Paul Washer. If you can please please please listen to it. It encouraged me so much. I'll put the link to it right here. http://www.sermonaudio.com/sermoninfo.asp?SID=62706235611 It's a long one so make sure you have about two hours. :)

I am going to highlight a few of his points though.

Brother Paul's message was from Song of Solomon 4:7-6:2

4:7 "You are altogether beautiful my darling and their is no blemish in you." This is the bridegroom speaking to the bride. Christ speaking to us. To me. To you.

See how Christ looks at you. Beautiful and perfect. Why? Why does someone as holy as God look at me and say, "You're beautiful?" We are beautiful to Him because His blood covered the multitude of our sins.

v.8 "Come with me from Lebanon, my bride, may you come with me from Lebanon, journey down from the summit of Amana, from the summit of Senir and Hermon, from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards."

"Come with me from Lebanon, my bride" Jesus wants to retreat with us. He wants us to be with Him. "The Christian life is more about retreating with Christ than marching on to war." Sometimes we need to just STOP DOING so much. Deeds tend to be for our own honor and glory. Real love for Jesus Christ is retreating to just be with Him. If we do this, the rest will fall in place.

"from the dens of lions, from the mountains of leopards" Jesus calls us away from the dangerous places. He says, "Come down from there! you're going to be hurt! Come, retreat with Me." Dangerous places-places that will tempt us to sin and pull our hearts away from our Father.
We say, "I am ready to live for Christ and be on fire for Him." But we don't come down from the dangerous places. We don't remove temptation and sin from our lives. Giving our lives to Christ requires this.

Jesus says, "Come down."

v.9 "You have made my heart beat faster, my sister, my bride; you have made my heart beat faster with a single glance of your eyes, with a single strand of your necklace." The Bridegroom tells us that His heart beats faster with one glance of our eyes towards heaven. We have no motivation to pray?

Christians fall into thinking that Christ loves us because we read our Bibles or because we visit the homeless shelter. That is not why Christ loves us. Praise God it isn't though because I have done nothing to earn His love. Christ loves us because of a work HE DID in us.

If God is of the most value and worth and He is the most holy it would be condescending for Him to take His eyes off Himself and look at any other thing. "How can He look at us?" He can look at us because of what He has done in us and the fact that His blood has covered the multitude of our sins.

v.10 "How beautiful is your love, my sister, my bride! How much better is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your oils than all kinds of spices!" Think about being in the presence of God. That is such an unspeakable gift. Something we cannot describe with words. And here God is saying the same thing about our presence and our love. God doesn't just tolerate us!

v.11 "Your lips, my bride, drip honey; Honey and milk are under your tongue..." He longs to hear your voice.

Question: Can we just be with God? People say that true friendship/love is when you can just be with each other and not have to say anything. Just being together is good enough. Can we be like that with the Lord? I know that I for one get caught up in....Bible reading? Check. Book reading? Check. Worship? Check. Prayer? Check...But where is the just being with Christ and just marveling in His presence? And waiting on Him? We are moving more toward a work based religion than we think.

v. 12 "A garden locked is my sister, my bride, a rock garden locked, a spring sealed up." We are to be a garden sealed up. The church must be sealed and not give ourselves away to harlotry and idolatry.

The garden of our life should be about cultivating Christ-likeness rather than good works. We are to be fruitful but we don't have to be busy. Paul Washer told us, "Some of the most fruitful times of my life were the easiest. You don't see apple trees groaning and pushing to make fruit grow."

Brother Paul gives a testimony of times when he was in the jungles of Peru that Christian families down there who practically don't have anything would give him the best food they had. Some times it would be chicken or a boiled snail. Brother Paul would eat it and say, "Can I have some more?" Not because the food was good, he prayed to God to help Him swallow, but because it came from them.

v. 16 16"Awake, O north wind, and come, wind of the south; Make my garden breathe out fragrance, let its spices be wafted abroad may my beloved come into his garden and eat its choice fruits!" All we have to offer to God is boiled snails and scrawny pieces of chicken. He takes it because it's from us. Out of all the gardens he is going to come to ours and visit ours. Why? Cause is spectacular? No, because its yours. It's mine.

The bridegroom come for the bride.

5:2-3 "I was asleep but my heart was awake. A voice! My beloved was knocking:'Open to me, my sister, my darling, my dove, my perfect one! For my head is drenched with dew,my locks with the damp of the night.' "I have taken off my dress, how can I put it on again? I have washed my feet, how can I dirty them again?

The Bridegroom came for the bride and called to her. Jesus calls us but we are too tired to get out of bed. God loves us soooo much, He is wounded when we respond to His calling with, "I'm too tired. I work hard."

"When love becomes common place it becomes a very cold place. It's not His love that has changed, but our hearts. Is He not beautiful to us anymore?"

Then the bride has a change of heart.

v.6 "I opened for my beloved but my beloved had turned away and was gone. My heart leaped up when he spoke. I sought him but I couldn't find him; I called, but he gave no answer."

The Jesus doesn't leave us because He is upset or self-centered. He does it for our good. Sometimes we have to be without something before we realize it's value.

The Daughters of Jerusalem say to the bride.

v. 9 "What kind of beloved is your beloved, O most beautiful among women? What kind of beloved is your beloved, that thus you adjure us?" Can the world say this about the church? Do they see such a passion in us for God that they can say, "Who is this God? This beloved? We will help you search for Him!"

I hope this all made a little since. I was trying to make something out of my notes. And this is how it turned out. Lol.

Seriously though. Jesus longs for us to just be with Him. We need to stop selling ourselves to other things. THIS is an intimate relationship with the Lord. I think about Jesus in His ministry on earth. People were looking for Jesus. Where was He? He slipped away to pray. He slipped away to be with His Father. Retreat with the Lord you guys. Lay aside all the cares of life, all your hobbies, all your friends and just be undistracted with the Lord.

This is love.

22 comments:

Nate said...

Wow, Ash. Good stuff. Song of Solomon is such an encouraging book of Scripture. Many people kind of stay away from it because it makes them feel embarrassed. However, though it's a book of great love poetry, it truly is a wonderful picture of God and His church. I struggle so much with this idea that God is angry and is always displeased when we fail. But is that how a husband is to his wife? No way! He loves her, despite her faults. He wants to be with her--he wants to dote on her. This is how God is with us, desiring to be with us; desiring to give us His good gifts. I also love to see how the bride responds to the bridegroom. She also desires to spend time with Him. She sees His good gifts and appreciates Him. This is how we should be to God, desiring to be with Him, thanking Him for who He is and for His good gifts to us. Good post Ash--it's always good to be reminded of how loving God truly is. So many times we get caught up with, "Does God love me?" when we are the ones who are struggling to love God. Oh how weak we are! Yet His strength is made perfect in our weakness. I firmly believe that the more we understand God's own love for us, the more we will learn to love Him.

Ashley said...

HAHAHA! Okay, first off, you crack me up. Lol. Way ta just say it like it is. :D

ME TOO! Sometimes when I am having a bad day, I think it's because God is upset with me because I didn't do my devos or something. Talk about prideful! That I could even think my actions will sway the way God deals with or loves me. (not that I'm denying our actions have general consequences)

But yeah, you hit the nail on the head. It's such a beautiful picture. If we would only take the time to ponder the depths of God's love for us, we would love Him more. Like Joshua Harris said, "In order to feel deeply, we have to think deeply." Just thinking about the wonderful sacrifice and intimate love God has for us when we get saved is not enough. It has to be entwined in every day we live. And the more we realize it, the more we realize it....If that makes since. Just seeing it in small ways is so eye-opening to the next way and the next....

Sorry, that prolly made no since. Ah! I'm trying to work on sticking with a point. I'm bad at it!

Thanks! your comment was extremely insightful!

Oleg said...

What version of the Bible does he use?

Anonymous said...

What version of the Bible did he use?

Oleg said...

This is my commentary on just two verses using the King James Version of the Bible!! Amen! May someone read this and be encouraged!

Part 1


Inspired by Speaker: Pastor Paul Washer 10/23/2010
Text: Song of Solomon 4:7 – 4:8
Commentary by: Oleg Syurko
Vs. 7: A Fruit of the Cross
Verse Breakdown:
I.) The Fact of Beauty
“Thou” : The audience of this passage is the Christian. He is directly talking to not only the Bride of Christ but to also every single person, individually. Every single Christian is being addressed here.
“art” : This is not a suggestion, a maybe, no action required! You are!!! NOT you should be, not you should seek to become, and certainly not you can make yourself. If you are a Christian, you are!
“all fair” : These two words describe the Bride of Christ as not just beautiful and gorgeous, but also perfect in every aspect in how Christ sees you. You are complete!
Commentary: Even though these words may be somewhat difficult to be accepted by a man, we must all understand these precious words of Christ. These four words are an introduction to not only this verse but also to the rest of the text. He declares us perfect before Him in not just how He sees you spiritually, but also in how He sees you physically. There is simply nothing about you that he doesn’t love because the rest is washed in His blood. He only sees Himself in you.

Oleg said...

Part 2

II.) The Fire (to consume) of Love
“my” : You are not the worlds, Satan’s, or even your own, you are Christ’s. What a glorious statement. What a change in position. What a glorious position. You are accountable to the one who is the source of all Love, Grace, Mercy, Joy, Beauty, Holiness, Righteous Wrath on Sin, Kindness, Peace, Long-suffering, Patience, and even Forgiveness. You are His! (Salvation, what a wonderful exchange!!)
“Love” : Notice, He does not call you His slave. We would all be more than privileged to be called his slave for the rest of our eternal lives. He would be the kindest, most wonderful slave master in entire eternity. Also, He does not call us His Servant or Worker. Now at least we would receive rewards for our labor, but the same rule applies even here. We should all be more than willing to be His Servant. Lastly, He does not even call us His Friend. A friend is an intimate companion or a familiar person who shares the same goals and interests. They both strive to achieve these goals together. Now we are getting close. He does not even leave it at friend, for He names us His Love, Darling, and Object of Love. His love for us is not some of His, for some of ours. It is all Him even if we give none in return. He names us His lover. You are not only slaving, working, and trying to reach His goals through Him, you are intimately involved with each other. You seek to please Him and He seeks to please you. You both seek to know each other on every level, seek to talk to each other, and fulfill each other’s needs, wants, and desires. Yes, Christ does not need, but that does not take away from how greatly you will hurt him if you don’t seek to please Him in every area. You never want to disappoint each other, but only to over joy each other with your love for each other; A love of sacrifice. There is simply no end in your relationship for each other. You are forever His and He forever yours never to be separated for eternity.
Commentary: Notice that this Love that He has for you seeks to become part of you. This is not a selfish Love. This is not a Love that can even be hidden. It will be something that will flow out of you unto others. It is a crime when it is hidden from other’s eyes. You are not to try to keep it for yourself because it is not only yours. The interesting thing with His everlasting love is the fact of giving something that Christ gives does not mean that you will have less but more. The more you give, the more you receive. Christ’s math is simply this: 2-2=8. It is not only doubling but also exponential. He desires to give you an overwhelming amount of too much. His eyes are not only on you but on everyone. His goal is to see everyone become His Bride and Love.

Oleg said...

II.) The Fire (to consume) of Love
“my” : You are not the worlds, Satan’s, or even your own, you are Christ’s. What a glorious statement. What a change in position. What a glorious position. You are accountable to the one who is the source of all Love, Grace, Mercy, Joy, Beauty, Holiness, Righteous Wrath on Sin, Kindness, Peace, Longsuffering, Patience, and even Forgiveness. You are His! (Salvation, what a wonderful exchange!!)
“Love” : Notice, He does not call you His slave. We would all be more than privileged to be called his slave for the rest of our eternal lives. He would be the kindest, most wonderful slave master in entire eternity. Also, He does not call us His Servant or Worker. Now at least we would receive rewards for our labor, but the same rule applies even here. We should all be more than willing to be His Servant. Lastly, He does not even call us His Friend. A friend is an intimate companion or a familiar person who shares the same goals and interests. They both strive to achieve these goals together. Now we are getting close. He does not even leave it at friend, for He names us His Love, Darling, and Object of Love. His love for us is not some of His, for some of ours. It is all Him even if we give none in return. He names us His lover. You are not only slaving, working, and trying to reach His goals through Him, you are intimately involved with each other. You seek to please Him and He seeks to please you. You both seek to know each other on every level, seek to talk to each other, and fulfill each other’s needs, wants, and desires. Yes, Christ does not need, but that does not take away from how greatly you will hurt him if you don’t seek to please Him in every area. You never want to disappoint each other, but only to over joy each other with your love for each other; A love of sacrifice. There is simply no end in your relationship for each other. You are forever His and He forever yours never to be separated for eternity.
Commentary: Notice that this Love that He has for you seeks to become part of you. This is not a selfish Love. This is not a Love that can even be hidden. It will be something that will flow out of you unto others. It is a crime when it is hidden from other’s eyes. You are not to try to keep it for yourself because it is not only yours. The interesting thing with His everlasting love is the fact of giving something that Christ gives does not mean that you will have less but more. The more you give, the more you receive. Christ’s math is simply this: 2-2=8. It is not only doubling but also exponential. He desires to give you an overwhelming amount of too much. His eyes are not only on you but on everyone. His goal is to see everyone become His Bride and Love.

Oleg said...

Part 2

II.) The Fire (to consume) of Love
“my” : You are not the worlds, Satan’s, or even your own, you are Christ’s. What a glorious statement. What a change in position. What a glorious position. You are accountable to the one who is the source of all Love, Grace, Mercy, Joy, Beauty, Holiness, Righteous Wrath on Sin, Kindness, Peace, Longsuffering, Patience, and even Forgiveness. You are His! (Salvation, what a wonderful exchange!!)

Oleg said...

Part 3

“Love” : Notice, He does not call you His slave. We would all be more than privileged to be called his slave for the rest of our eternal lives. He would be the kindest, most wonderful slave master in entire eternity. Also, He does not call us His Servant or Worker. Now at least we would receive rewards for our labor, but the same rule applies even here. We should all be more than willing to be His Servant. Lastly, He does not even call us His Friend. A friend is an intimate companion or a familiar person who shares the same goals and interests. They both strive to achieve these goals together. Now we are getting close. He does not even leave it at friend, for He names us His Love, Darling, and Object of Love. His love for us is not some of His, for some of ours. It is all Him even if we give none in return. He names us His lover. You are not only slaving, working, and trying to reach His goals through Him, you are intimately involved with each other. You seek to please Him and He seeks to please you. You both seek to know each other on every level, seek to talk to each other, and fulfill each other’s needs, wants, and desires. Yes, Christ does not need, but that does not take away from how greatly you will hurt him if you don’t seek to please Him in every area. You never want to disappoint each other, but only to over joy each other with your love for each other; A love of sacrifice. There is simply no end in your relationship for each other. You are forever His and He forever yours never to be separated for eternity.

Oleg said...

Part 4

Commentary: Notice that this Love that He has for you seeks to become part of you. This is not a selfish Love. This is not a Love that can even be hidden. It will be something that will flow out of you unto others. It is a crime when it is hidden from other’s eyes. You are not to try to keep it for yourself because it is not only yours. The interesting thing with His everlasting love is the fact of giving something that Christ gives does not mean that you will have less but more. The more you give, the more you receive. Christ’s math is simply this: 2-2=8. It is not only doubling but also exponential. He desires to give you an overwhelming amount of too much. His eyes are not only on you but on everyone. His goal is to see everyone become His Bride and Love.

Ashley said...

Wow. Like a whole other post. Thanks for visiting! Who are you? Lol.

AShley said...

Have we met?

Ashley said...

Wow, After reading that. That was great! Thanks for sharing it with me! It is wonderful huh? We serve an awesome incomprehensible God!

Oleg said...

Commentary: Notice that this Love that He has for you seeks to become part of you. This is not a selfish Love. This is not a Love that can even be hidden. It will be something that will flow out of you unto others. It is a crime when it is hidden from other’s eyes. You are not to try to keep it for yourself because it is not only yours. The interesting thing with His everlasting love is the fact of giving something that Christ gives does not mean that you will have less but more. The more you give, the more you receive. Christ’s math is simply this: 2-2=8. It is not only doubling but also exponential. He desires to give you an overwhelming amount of too much. His eyes are not only on you but on everyone. His goal is to see everyone become His Bride and Love.

Oleg said...

Part 6 (Sorry forgot to number my last post)


III.) The Foreknowledge of Purity
“there is” : Again, He has done the work. You are simply the bearer of His Grace.
“no spot in thee” : No leprosy, no blemishes, no scars, but completely pure.
Commentary: This is talking about purity that will take place after the “old man” or the flesh passes away in death. For the unsaved, this is the beginning of their eternal second death, while for the saved or the Bride of Christ, it is only the beginning of her life with Christ.
Commentary on verse: All of us as Christians, every day, read our Bibles and find the “spots” in our Christian walk with Christ. We pray so hard, ask for forgiveness, and it seems that the harder we look, the more blemishes we find. We see leprosy rampant in our lives, killing everything in its path. All of us need these words of encouragement to remind us of what Christ has bought for us on the Cross. He has completely purified us through His blood, made us whole, and sees us as perfect. Yes, we still have the flesh, the “old man”, the old nature, but we also have a future to look forward to that is absent of all of these hindrances. We will be able to experience a perfect relationship unhindered for an eternity. What a future! While we are here, though, never forget what He died for. Yes, He saved us, but he has also made you His Bride, pure, spotless!

Oleg said...

Part 7


Vs. 8 He is wanting to retreat with the one He loves!
Verse breakdown:
I.) Call to Communion
“Come with me from Lebanon, my spouse, with me from Lebanon: look from the top of Amana, from the top of Shenir and Hermon” : This is His call for you. Lebanon is a picture of the world. Amana, Shenir, and Hermon are pictures of the summits of hiding. These are places of safety, security, and purity. He is literally calling you to spend time with him, to get away from your business, from all of the distractions of the world, and simply spend time with Him. We get so militant! So much doing! So many things! So much NOISE! And forget the most important part of the Christian life. Retreat in communion with Christ and EVERYTHING will fall into place! Everything! In silence, the quiet of the night, listening to Him, in retreating with Him, and tarrying with Him. Even in prayer, our mouths begin to move before our knees ever hit the floor. What happened to Matt. 18:3 that speak of being converted and becoming like little children, to just play, to experience, to just be there with Him. You want to do so much as a young Christian, only to find out that much of your doing has been promoted by the flesh and a desire for honor and glory. Real love for God is demonstrated not in advancing in power but in retreating in communion. Just to be with Him is enough! More than enough, too much!

Oleg said...

Part 8


II.) Call from Sin
“from the lions’ dens, from the mountains of the leopards” : These are those dangerous things of which he is calling you from. You put yourself in so many dangerous places. You have your eyes and ears to so many dangerous things that can hurt you terribly. He is calling you away from that. You have got to understand, you must understand that when Christ calls you away from sin, it is not like a prison guard, a task master, or a cold, vile, school mar who wants to break us in half and make us disciplined to a rule. No, it’s a father calling his son from the edge of a cliff. It’s a lover calling his love away from lust that can destroy, rape, pillage, and do harm that cannot be undone. It’s a voice of love, cracking. It is saying come! Stay away from that, get away from it. Please, don’t take another step. Come back! There are so many things that want to destroy you and can destroy you and He is calling you away from them, giving you His Word as a means of discerning that which is evil so that you would run from it like the plague. And also, so you would discern that which is good so that you would cleave to it, like a lover. His word has not been set upon you just to drive you in the ground and make you some type of slave that knows nothing of a personal relationship. His Word has been given to you to save you, to bring you joy, and to bring you in communion with Him. It is so important that you discern His Word. It is so important that you realize the importance in retreating from all of those dangerous things in the secure arms of Christ in communion with Him. Come out of those dens! Come out of those mountains! Come out of those places! Get away from there! You are going to be hurt! You cannot fight it!

Oleg said...

Last Part


Commentary on verse: If a young, wise man who seeks to please God with his life, who is faithful to Christ, and loves not only God but those around him, were to come to a wise, experienced pastor for advice and guidance about his relationship in courtship with a young, godly lady. If he were to ask about a simple, yet heavy burden, a burden that not only he faces but also many young adults face when it comes to their relationship in courtship. If he were to seek wisdom in the area of being alone together with the young lady during their courtship, how would you respond? Would you say that as long as both of their parents trusted them, had enough faith in them, and if both of them have purposed in their hearts to not even touch each other before marriage, then they would be able to for a limited time not have a chaperone with them at all times, or should it be a safeguard that is never to be taken away. Is it too great of a risk for both of them and one of the things of the flesh that we as Christians flee from? This is where the rubber hits the road. Is this temptation not a lions’ den? Is this temptation not a picture of a mountain of leopards? Are we not to take our eyes away from that lust that can destroy? Should we not seek to cleave unto righteousness and flee from ANY appearance of evil? Why should we place ourselves in a situation that has even the slightest possibility of such a ruin for the price of convenience, right? To be honest with you, even I have a hard time with this verse simply because it is a verse I believe is left to the parents. I believe that this certain “rule” is to be set by the parents, whether it exists or not. To be honest with you, I would ask my own children to follow the rule of a chaperone simply because it doesn’t let them have an opportunity to fall. It is just too high of a risk for too little of a convenience. Whether or not this verse is describing this as a lion’s den or not, at least consider the choice’s consequences along with the good. Weigh the two options and make a wise decision. It is very important that we make decisions based on God’s discernment and not our own.

Oleg said...

I hope you guys enjoyed it!!! :)

Oleg said...

No to answer your question, Ashley.

If you want to get in contact, my email is: osyurko@gmail.com. I am originally from Ukraine, went to Girard High School, New Beginnings Academy, Chrainsville Christian Academy, and also did homeschooling. I go to Walnut Creek Baptist Church. I am currently going to Faith Baptist School of Theology. Thanks, and I hope that helps!!

Oleg said...

"Now to answer your question, Ashley" sorry, typo

Felipe Gama said...

A very wise man said that to reach the Kingdom of God, all one must do is to truly understand that we are already in it.

God loves us simply for being who we are, we don't need to earn his love, and that's why we are already born in Heaven.

So all we must do is accept this fact and that love, then we don't have to go to the Kingdom of God, the Kingdom itself takes us there.


This looks to me like a system truly worth of a God.