A Preachers Plea. The End of The Matter: LOVE
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Holy Holy Holy - 4HimTrust & Obey - Discovery SingersNothing Compares - Third DayWhen I Was Young - Brandon HeathThe Perfect Wisdom Of Our God - GettyNo Turning Back - Brandon Heath
Call To Worship Scripture
Call To Worship Scripture
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
Sermon Scripture
Sermon Scripture
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.
Song of Solomon
5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.
5 Who is that coming up from the wilderness,
leaning on her beloved?
Under the apple tree I awakened you.
There your mother was in labor with you;
there she who bore you was in labor.
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.
From the Burning Love of Elvis, to the Can’t buy Me Love of the Beatles, to Johnny Cash’s Ring of Fire, none of their descriptions of love escape the original Love Song of Solomon.
The title most historically given to this book “Song of Songs” demonstrates that this is viewed as Solomons best writing, his “Song of Songs” (ie. King of Kings, Lord of Lords).
This love song exalts the purity of marriage and of marital affection. It comes along side other portions of scripture to demonstrate God’s plan for marriage and the beauty thereof. The heart of this song is captured most clearly in
4 Let marriage be held in honor among all, and let the marriage bed be undefiled, for God will judge the sexually immoral and adulterous.
When we take this song at face value then we see it as doing just that, lifting up God’s ordained plan of marriage. As such Solomon takes us through his (1) courtship, (2) the early days of his first marriage and (3) the maturing of the royal couple through both the blessings and storms of life.
This book is given to us by God and as such it serves to demonstrate God’s intention for the romance, purity and loveliness of marriage which is the most precious of human relations and “the grace of life”.
7 Likewise, husbands, live with your wives in an understanding way, showing honor to the woman as the weaker vessel, since they are heirs with you of the grace of life, so that your prayers may not be hindered.
At the heart of this song and at the heart of marital relations, and at the heart of God is the word love. The word which describes ones affections and dedication towards and object; from human to human and God to his people. It is to this word that we seek the counsel of God to gain understanding on this morning through the request and description of the beloved in .
6 Set me as a seal upon your heart,
as a seal upon your arm,
for love is strong as death,
jealousy is fierce as the grave.
Its flashes are flashes of fire,
the very flame of the Lord.
7 Many waters cannot quench love,
neither can floods drown it.
If a man offered for love
all the wealth of his house,
he would be utterly despised.
The Beloveds Request
“Set me as a seal upon your heart, as a seal upon your arm,”
Seal - symbolizes ownership of a valued possession.
The request it to be marked as her lovers most valued possession
Upon your heart: The internal effects of love. That her lovers thoughts and affections would be towards her supremely.
Upon your arm: The outward displays of love. That his actions would echo the internal passion of love.
The desire hear is for complete and sincere love. The lover does not desire actions which do not overflow from a heart of sincerity, nor is it desired for a heart to keep hidden it’s love. Unlock the full power of love is the request - heart, soul, hands and feet.
The Power of Love
“for love is strong as death, jealousy is fierce as the grave. Its flashes are flashes of fire, the very flame of the Lord. 7 Many waters cannot quench love, neither can floods drown it. ”
Practical Explanation
What is the power of love?
It is irresistible & unyielding - When love awakens you, it is as irresistible as death. It has a stregnth or power over you and all circumstances. In other words, love, in its pull upon us is as universal and as inexcapable as death, love is unyielding and is to be as such. In the covenant of marriage, love is as unyielding as death. “till death do us part”
It is exclusive and possesive - Upon death, one is placed in the grave. Each man must lie in his own grave, he is possessed by it. So is love, though it is universal as death, it is as exclusive and possesive as the grave.
It is passionate - passionate as a blazing fire or in modern song, a ring of fire. The passion of love progresses it ever onward letting nothing prevent it’s path. It burns brightly as a flame, it shines bright as ones glory, as the glory of the Lord.
It is invincible and perserving - Even if many waters came together in great force and the depths of the waters rose to drown out the flames of love, they could not. Love would rage on through the storm and prevail. Flooded by difficulty, love overcomes.
Why is all of this true of love?
Because love is ordained, it is put in place and held up by the Creator, who holds all power. Thus, the power of love is, “like the very flame of the LORD.”
Practical Explanation
Practical Explanation
“If a man offered for love all the wealth of his house, he would be utterly despised.”
What is the price?
Finally we learn that such love is priceless. In other words, “You can’t buy me love”. If a man offered all of his wealth it would be despised, it would be seen as woefully inadiquete. Love cannot be bought, for any such attempt to cheapens the great value of love.
How is love obtained?
If you cannot by love and it is priceless, then how can it be obtained?
Answer: It must be given. It is a priceless gift that is given.
Ultimately love, is a gift from God.
By the power of love God gave us himself
16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.
38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.
By the grace of God, God gave us love
By the grace of God, God gave us love
7 for God gave us a spirit not of fear but of power and love and self-control.
By the grace of God, God gave us love
By the call of God, we walk in love
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
1 Therefore be imitators of God, as beloved children. 2 And walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us, a fragrant offering and sacrifice to God.
3 But sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness must not even be named among you, as is proper among saints. 4 Let there be no filthiness nor foolish talk nor crude joking, which are out of place, but instead let there be thanksgiving. 5 For you may be sure of this, that everyone who is sexually immoral or impure, or who is covetous (that is, an idolater), has no inheritance in the kingdom of Christ and God. 6 Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience. 7 Therefore do not become partners with them;
1 If I speak in the tongues of men and of angels, but have not love, I am a noisy gong or a clanging cymbal. 2 And if I have prophetic powers, and understand all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have all faith, so as to remove mountains, but have not love, I am nothing. 3 If I give away all I have, and if I deliver up my body to be burned, but have not love, I gain nothing.
4 Love is patient and kind; love does not envy or boast; it is not arrogant 5 or rude. It does not insist on its own way; it is not irritable or resentful; 6 it does not rejoice at wrongdoing, but rejoices with the truth. 7 Love bears all things, believes all things, hopes all things, endures all things.
8 Love never ends. As for prophecies, they will pass away; as for tongues, they will cease; as for knowledge, it will pass away.
22 Wives, submit to your own husbands, as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife even as Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit in everything to their husbands.
25 Husbands, love your wives, as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her, 26 that he might sanctify her, having cleansed her by the washing of water with the word, 27 so that he might present the church to himself in splendor, without spot or wrinkle or any such thing, that she might be holy and without blemish. 28 In the same way husbands should love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself. 29 For no one ever hated his own flesh, but nourishes and cherishes it, just as Christ does the church, 30 because we are members of his body. 31 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and mother and hold fast to his wife, and the two shall become one flesh.” 32 This mystery is profound, and I am saying that it refers to Christ and the church. 33 However, let each one of you love his wife as himself, and let the wife see that she respects her husband.
35 And one of them, a lawyer, asked him a question to test him. 36 “Teacher, which is the great commandment in the Law?” 37 And he said to him, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind. 38 This is the great and first commandment. 39 And a second is like it: You shall love your neighbor as yourself. 40 On these two commandments depend all the Law and the Prophets.”
8 Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. 9 For the commandments, “You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,” and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: “You shall love your neighbor as yourself.” 10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
8 If you really fulfill the royal law according to the Scripture, “You shall love your neighbor as yourself,” you are doing well.
2 During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, 3 Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, 4 rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.
34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
4 For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes.