To be Drawn to Christ, Himself
Song of Solomon 1:2 “Let Him kiss me with the kisses of His mouth, for Thy love is better than wine.”
(Wine is given here, for all that inebriates….all that lifts us up. But the Lord’s intimate love to me, is better than all)
Here is the cry of a Christian knowing full well her lack of spirituality. She knows Jesus as Savior….and she obeys what she knows to be His Will….but…
…she wants closeness to the Lord……and no matter how many commitments she has made, or how many times she determines to “have more of God”,….
Still she is troubled by the feeling of dryness in her personal devotions and prayers…..where can she find Him? Do we have this desire?
(I want to say here, that the Word of God is full of the names of God. It is a very interesting study….the places where God gives a fuller revelation of His character and care….and to whom.
He wants each of us to come to know Him more and more….so each name of God, expresses a means by which we can know Him better.
He is the Word, He is the Way, He is the Shepherd, He is the Prophet, He is the Branch, He is the Son of Man, He is the King of Kings….etc.
There are so many more….each to give us a more complete understanding of His character, power, and care.)
She reads the promises of God….she wants them, and more……it has become a yearning of her whole soul after Christ, alone.
She speaks honestly about how she is….she knows she is not worthy to have fellowship with Him….but if He would tell her how….she would follow after.
Song of Solomon 1:7 “Tell me, O Thou Whom my soul loveth, where Thou feedest, where Thou makest Thy flock to rest at noon: for why should I be as one that turneth aside by the flocks of Thy companions?”
So she starts praying; “How can I learn of You, Lord Jesus?
Where is that personal relationship, I hear about?
I am afraid to stay still and afraid to walk ahead…..yet here I am, please help me.”
Song of Solomon 1:8 “If thou know not, O thou fairest among women (what a name He calls the one who wants to get closer to Him!),
…go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, and feed thy kids beside the Shepherd’ tents.”
And He does speak. He gives a slight rebuke (those who will not be corrected will never be true followers, for corrections come to all of us….to love we must obey)
“Shouldn’t you know where to find me?……but since you don’t……the answer is….follow the flock and get to the Shepherd’s tent”
We should not neglect the gathering together with other Christians….but when it come to fellowship and that direct expression of His love for us, ourselves….then we must find it in submission to the Shepherd, Himself.
This is not submission to obey….but submission of person to Person…..character to His character….my love to His love.
Psalm 23:1 “The Lord is my shepherd: I shall not want.”
Jehovah-Raah: the Lord my Shepherd
The word Shepherd here means to Tend, to Feed, to Rule, to Associate with.
It is a full and expressive word, which covers the actions of One Who has taken responsibility for me……wherever He leads, and whatever is ahead…
Have we bowed to His authority here?
Psalm 23: 2-6 (condensed) “He maketh me to lie down in green pastures: He leadeth me beside the still waters.
He restoreth my soul: He leadeth me in the paths of righteousness…
Though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death…Thou art with me; Thy rod and Thy staff…comfort me.
Thou prepares a table before me in the presence of mine enemies: Thou anointest my head with oil; my cup runneth over.
Surely goodness and mercy shall follow me all the days of my life (here); and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever.”
If you read this psalm, you will notice that all the praise goes to our Shepherd for His care, and protection.
But there is more….notice that it is “He” and “I”. This is not the church….but me….personally.
(Some say that this was written by David in his old age….after a lifetime following his Shepherd…through battles, corrections, and blessings.
As a young man tending his father’s sheep, he knew what being a shepherd meant……he had defended the flock against a lion and a bear…..even taking one lamb out of the mouth of one. 1 Samuel 17:34-36)
Isaiah 40:11 “He shall feed His flock like a Shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young.”
He carries us through many situations….in sickness, anxiety, and trouble, within and without.
He stops some situations from becoming worse…..He bears us up, by strength and wisdom, to go through others…..He makes us to feel His loving presence at times more strongly, to help us cope with circumstances.
I must explain here, that though He is the Good, the Great, and the Chief Shepherd….and He calls us….yet we must will to follow where He leads….
We choose where we are in His flock….following close to Him, or at a distance.
John 10:11, 14, 27 “I am the good Shepherd: the good Shepherd giveth His life for the sheep.
I am the good Shepherd, and know My sheep, and am known of Mine.
My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me:”
The Good Shepherd knows His sheep, He calls them and they answer Him. He leads them, and they follow Him.
Hebrews 13:20-21 “Now the God of peace, that brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep, through the blood of the Everlasting covenant,
Make you perfect in every good work to do His Will, working in you that which is well pleasing in His sight, through Jesus Christ; to Whom be glory for ever and ever. Amen.”
The Great Shepherd came to die for the sheep, that they might live. He covers us with the protection of His blood. Entering into an Everlasting covenant of peace with us.
1 Peter 5:4 “And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away.”
The Chief Shepherd watches from heaven for any slight done His sheep….and will come again to reward all who seek the good of the flock. (Acts 20:28-29, 32, John 13:35)
Jesus Christ is the Shepherd of the sheep. There is a fullness in this title of our Lord Jesus….are we His sheep? are we resting under His gaze, following in His paths, eating at His table?
Are we following close to Him,…….or getting distracted and lost in the world?
He will come to find us….(Frankly, I think, that we sometimes put these verses just for children….but if we are born again, we are His sheep….following Him…..or lost,….having wandered away)
Luke 15:4-5 “What man of you, having a hundred sheep, if He lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, till He find it?
And when He hath found it, He layeth it on His shoulders, rejoicing.”
But why should we be wandering? What has claimed our attention? What can’t we give up, or talk over with Him?
(Problems, grief, pain, hurt? Maybe we are not even aware of what has come between us….He will show it to you, if you come to Him)
1 Peter 2:25 “For ye were as sheep going astray; but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls.”
He alone is our Shepherd…remember it means:
to tend (to care and protect),
feed (meeting our necessities, spiritual and physical)
rule (to be our King),
associate with (He is personally there with us in all the things we go through).
Are we enjoying that relationship with Him?
If not, we can,…..for He says come to Him, as our Shepherd.
2 Corinthians 13:14 “The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, and the love of God, and the communion of the Holy Ghost, be with you all. Amen.”
Preaching, Teaching, and Notes 