I.
A PREVIEW OF SPIRITUAL MATURITY.
1.
The Mindset of Maturity.
Philippians 3:12
12 Not that I have already
attained, or am already perfected; but
I press on, that I may lay hold of that for which Christ Jesus has also laid
hold of me. 13 Brethren, I do not count myself to have
apprehended; but one thing I do, forgetting those things which are behind and reaching forward to those things which
are ahead, 14 I press toward the goal
for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus.15 Therefore let us, as many as are mature,
have this mind; and if in anything you think otherwise, God will reveal
even this to you.
2.
The Goal of Maturity.
Matthew 22:37
35 Then one of them, a lawyer,
asked Him a question, testing Him, and saying, 36 “Teacher,
which is the great commandment in the law?” 37 Jesus said to him, ‘You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with
all your soul, and with all your mind.’ 38 This is the
first and great commandment.
I.
PROGRESSIVE STEPS
TO MATURITY.
1.
Awakening of Desire.
Song of Solomon 1:2-4
2 Let him kiss me with the
kisses of his mouth—For your love is better than wine. 3
Because of the fragrance of your good ointments, Your name is ointment poured
forth; Therefore the virgins love you. 4
Draw me away! We will run after you. The king has brought me into his
chambers. We will be glad and rejoice in you. We will remember your love more
than wine.
2.
Self Discovery and Revelation of Grace.
Song of Solomon 1:5-6
5 I am dark, but
lovely,…But my own vineyard I have not kept.
3.
Revelation of the
Grandeur of our Savior.
Song of Solomon 2:3-5
3 Like an apple tree among the trees of the woods, So is my beloved
among the sons. I sat down in his
shade with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4
He brought me to the banqueting house, And his banner over me was love. 5
Sustain me with cakes of raisins,
Refresh me with apples, For I am lovesick.
4.
The Challenge to Leave
our Nest (Comfort Zone).
Song of Solomon 2:8-13,15-17
8The voice of my
beloved! Behold, he comes Leaping
upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. 9 My beloved is
like a gazelle or a young stag. Behold, he stands behind our wall; He is
looking through the windows, Gazing through the lattice. 10 My beloved spoke, and said to me: “Rise up, my love,
my fair one, And come away. 11 For lo, the winter is past, The rain is over and gone. 12
The flowers appear on the earth; The time of singing has come, And the voice of
the turtledove Is heard in our land.13 The fig tree puts forth her
green figs, And the vines with the tender grapes Give a good smell. Rise up, my
love, my fair one, And come away! …15 Catch us
the foxes, The little foxes that spoil the vines, For our vines have tender
grapes. 16 My
beloved is mine, and I am his. He feeds his flock among the lilies. 17
Until the day breaks And the shadows
flee away, Turn, my beloved, And be like a gazelle Or a young stag Upon the mountains
of Bether.
5.
The Season of Discipline.
Song of Solomon 3:1-5
By night on my bed I sought the one I love; I
sought him, but I did not find him. 2 “I will rise now,” I said,
“And go about the city; In the streets and in the squares I will seek the one I
love.” I sought him, but I did not find him. 3 The
watchmen who go about the city found me; I said, “Have you seen the one I
love?” 4 Scarcely had I
passed by them, When I found the one I love. I held him and would not let him
go, Until I had brought him to the house of my mother, And into the
chamber of her who conceived me. 5
I charge you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the gazelles or by the does of the
field, Do not stir up nor awaken love Until it pleases.
6.
Greater Revelation of
Jesus as a Trustworthy Savior.
Song of Solomon 3:6-11
6 Who is this coming out of the wilderness Like
pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all the
merchant’s fragrant powders? 7 Behold,
it is Solomon’s couch, With sixty valiant men around it, Of the valiant of
Israel. 8 They all
hold swords, Being expert in war. Every man has his sword on his thigh Because
of fear in the night. 9 Of the wood of Lebanon Solomon the
King Made himself a palanquin: 10 He
made its pillars of silver, Its support of gold, Its seat of purple, Its
interior paved with love By the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go forth, O daughters of Zion, And see King Solomon
with the
crown With which his mother crowned him On the day of his wedding, The day of
the gladness of his heart.
7.
Prophetic Declaration
of Budding Virtues and Future Realities.
Song of Solomon 4:1-8
(King Speaking)
Behold, you are fair, my love! Behold, you are
fair! You have dove’s eyes behind your veil. Your hair is like a flock
of goats, Going down from Mount Gilead. 2 Your teeth …Your lips …
your mouth is lovely. Your temples …Your neck
(Bride
Speaking)
6 Until the
day breaks And the shadows flee away, I will go my way to the mountain of myrrh
And to the hill of frankincense.
(King
Speaking)
7 You are all fair, my
love, And there is no spot in you. 8 Come
with me from Lebanon, my spouse, With me from Lebanon. Look from the top of
Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions’ dens, From the
mountains of the leopards.
8.
God’s Reaction to Our
Steps of Obedience.
Song of Solomon 4:9-15
9 You have ravished my
heart, My sister, my spouse; You have ravished my heart With one look of your
eyes. With one link of your necklace…12
A
garden enclosed Is my sister, my spouse, A spring shut up, A fountain sealed.
13
Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates With pleasant fruits, Fragrant henna
with spikenard, 14 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and
cinnamon, With all trees of frankincense, Myrrh and aloes, With all the chief
spices—15 A fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And
streams from Lebanon.
(Brides Reply)
16 Awake, O
north wind, And come, O south! Blow
upon my garden, That its spices may
flow out. Let my beloved come to his garden And eat its pleasant fruits.
(King’s Reply)
I have come to 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.
9.
Invitation to
Fellowship in His Sufferings (Test of Maturity).
Song of Solomon 5:2-8
2 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: For my head is filled with dew, And my
locks with the drops of the night. 3I have put off my coat;
how shall I put it on? I have washed my feet; how shall I defile them?4 My beloved put in his hand by the hole
of the door, And my bowels were moved for him.5I rose up to open to
my beloved; And my hands dropped with myrrh, And my fingers with sweet smelling
myrrh, Upon the handles of the lock.6I opened to my beloved; But my
beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: My soul failed when he spake: I
sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer. 7The
watchmen that went about the city found me, They smote me, they wounded me; The
keepers of the walls took away my veil from me. 8I charge you, O
daughters of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, That I am sick
of love.
10.Opportunity to Avoid Offence and
Embrace Love.
Song of Solomon 5:8 –
6:5
8I charge you, O daughters
of Jerusalem, If ye find my beloved, that ye tell him, That I am sick of love. 9What
is thy beloved more than another beloved, O thou fairest among women? What is
thy beloved more than another beloved, that thou dost so charge us?10My
beloved is white and ruddy, The chiefest among ten thousand. 11His
head is as the most fine gold, His locks are bushy, and black as a raven. 12 His eyes are as the eyes of doves by the rivers
of waters, Washed with milk, and fitly set. 13 His cheeks are as a
bed of spices, as sweet flowers: His lips like lilies, dropping sweet smelling
myrrh. 14 His hands are as gold rings set with the beryl: His belly
is as bright ivory overlaid with sapphires. 15 His legs are as
pillars of marble, set upon sockets of fine gold: His countenance is as
Lebanon, excellent as the cedars. 16 His mouth is most sweet:
yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O
daughters of Jerusalem.
6
Whither is thy beloved gone, O thou fairest among women? Whither is thy
beloved turned aside? that we may seek him with thee. 2 My beloved is
gone down into his garden, to the beds of spices, To feed in the gardens, and
to gather lilies. 3 I am my beloved’s, and my beloved is mine: He
feedeth among the lilies. 4 Thou art beautiful, O my love, as
Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as an army with banners. 5 Turn
away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: Thy hair is as a flock of
goats that appear from Gilead.
11.Praise for Passing the Test.
Song of Solomon 6:4-10
4 Thou art
beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, Comely as Jerusalem, Terrible as an army with banners. 5Turn
away thine eyes from me, for they have overcome me: Thy hair is as a flock of goats that appear from Gilead.6Thy
teeth are as a flock of sheep which
go up from the washing, Whereof every one beareth twins, and there is not one barren among them. 7As a piece of a
pomegranate are thy temples within
thy locks. 8There are threescore queens, and fourscore concubines, And
virgins without number. 9My dove, my undefiled is but one; She is the only one of her
mother, She is the choice one of her that bare her. The daughters
saw her, and blessed her; Yea, the
queens and the concubines, and they praised her.10Who is she that looketh forth as the morning, Fair as the moon, clear as zthe
sun, And terrible as an army with banners?
12.Public Vindication and Admiration.
Song of Solomon 6:11-7:9
11 I went down into the garden of nuts
to see the fruits of the valley, And to see whether the vine flourished, and
the pomegranates budded. 12Or ever I was aware, My soul made me like
the chariots of Ammi-nadib. 13 Return, return, O Shulamite; Return,
return, that we may look upon thee. What will ye see in the Shulamite? As it
were the company of two armies.
7 How beautiful are thy feet with shoes, O prince’s daughter!
The joints of thy thighs are like jewels, The work of the hands of a cunning
workman. 2Thy navel is like a round goblet, which wanteth not
liquor: Thy belly is like an heap of wheat set about with lilies. 3Thy
two breasts are like two young roes that are twins. 4Thy neck is as
a tower of ivory; Thine eyes like the fishpools in Heshbon, by the gate of
Bath-rabbim: Thy nose is as the tower of Lebanon which looketh toward Damascus.
5Thine head upon thee is like oCarmel, And the hair of
thine head like purple; The king is held in the galleries. 6How fair
and how pleasant art thou, O love, for delights! 7This thy stature
is like to a palm tree, And thy breasts to clusters of grapes. 8 I said, I will go up to the palm tree, I
will take hold of the boughs thereof: Now also thy breasts shall be as clusters
of the vine, And the smell of thy nose like apples; 9 And the roof of thy mouth like the best
wine For my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, Causing the lips of those that
are asleep to speak.
13.Display of Maturity.
Song of Solomon 7:9-8:4
9And the roof of thy mouth like the
best wine For my beloved, that goeth down sweetly, Causing the lips of those
that are asleep to speak. 10 I am my beloved’s, and his desire is
toward me. 11Come, my beloved, let us go forth into the field; Let
us lodge in the villages. 12Let us get up early to the vineyards; Let
us see if the vine flourish, whether the tender grape appear, And the
pomegranates bud forth: There will I give thee my loves. 13 The mandrakes give a smell, And at our
gates are all manner of pleasant fruits, New and old, Which I have laid up for
thee, O my beloved.
8 O that thou wert as my brother, that sucked the breasts of
my mother! When I should find thee without, I would kiss thee; Yea, I should
not be despised. 2I would lead thee, and bring thee into my mother’s
house, who would instruct me: I would cause thee to drink of spiced wine of the
juice of my pomegranate. 3His left hand should be under my head, And
his right hand should embrace me. 4I charge you, O daughters of
Jerusalem, That ye stir not up, nor awake my love, until he please.
14.Seal of Divine Love.
Song of Solomon 8:5-7
5 Who is this that
cometh up from the wilderness, Leaning upon her beloved? I raised thee up under
the apple tree: There thy mother brought thee forth: There she brought thee
forth that bare thee. 6 Set
me as a seal upon thine heart, As a seal upon thine arm: For love is strong as death; Jealousy is cruel as the grave: The coals thereof
are coals of fire, Which hath a most vehement flame. 7Many
waters cannot quench love, Neither can the floods drown it: If a man would give
all the substance of his house for love, It would utterly be contemned.
Ephesians
3:17-19
17 so that Christ may
dwell in your hearts through
faith. And I pray that you, being rooted and
established in love, 18 may have power,
together with all the Lord’s holy people, to
grasp how wide and long and high and deep is
the love of Christ, 19 and to know this
love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to
the measure of all the fullness of God.
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