Beloved Is…

To Live Life as God’s Beloved!

Song of Solomon 7:10
Audio MP3

Pastor Craig Ledbetter

Bible Baptist Church, Ballincollig, Cork, Ireland

14 Feb, 2010  AM

www.biblebc.com

 

I.       Introduction (Song 7:10)

 

A.     Song of Solomon 7:10, “I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.”

B.     “Beloved” means, “So loved” and “Greatly loved”

C.     It’s Valentine’s Day.

 

1.      A pagan holiday about love. Mainly about erotic love, and physical love.

2.      But it is the world’s attempt to answer the need of the human heart to be loved

3.      THE most talked about subject, day-in and day-out is LOVE. Whether in music, on talk-shows, in magazines, and novels. You can’t sell coffee without two people eying one another like it is an aphrodisiac!

 

D.     God has the market cornered on love. He “wrote the Book” on love (1John 4:7,8). Let’s look at what he says about it, and focus on one unique word that puts everything in perspective – Beloved!

E.      The Challenge (Eph 3:17-19) – To Live a Life as Beloved!

 

1.      That Christ may dwell in your hearts by faith – That’s Salvation

2.      That ye, being rooted and grounded in love – That’s Foundation

3.      May be able to comprehend with all saints what is the breadth, and length, and depth, and height; And to know the love of Christ, which passeth knowledge – That’s Revelation

4.      That ye might be filled with all the fulness of God – That’s Satisfaction

 

F.      It will help you understand that, it is one thing to be loved

G.     It is quite another to be BELOVED!

 

II.    Message – Beloved Is…

 

A.     Beloved is How a Believer Sees Himself

 

1.      How do you normally see yourself? It is called Self-Esteem, or Personal Value. So many have no self-worth at all! It is because they have never known God!

2.      A Christian is in the Middle of Three Attitudes

 

a.       He or She is Beloved of God

 

1)      God doesn’t just like us, He loves us!

2)      I’m talking about sinners, who have been saved by the grace of God!

 

a)      Romans 5:8 “But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us.”

b)      John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.”

 

3)      Listen to God talk about “His beloved”

 

a)      Psalm 127:2 “It is vain for you to rise up early, to sit up late, to eat the bread of sorrows: for so he giveth his beloved sleep.”

b)      Romans 1:7  “To all that be in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints”

c)      Jesus actually loves us like a Groom loves his new bride

 

4)      Quit letting Hollywood tell you how to look at yourself – not skinny enough, not pretty enough, not smart enough, not enough hair, not having enough money…

5)      Quit letting others decide how loved you are

6)      Realise that you are BELOVED of God – so loved by God!

7)      We have been made accepted in the beloved (Eph 1:6)

8)      You and I may not be much, but we are greatly loved by Almighty God!

 

b.      He or She is Beloved of the Brethren – at least true brethren

 

1)      1John 4:7,8

2)      Romans 16:8, 9, 12

3)      Colossians 4:7, 9, 14

4)      Hey! I may not have a load or friends and a fan club, but I know I am loved HERE

 

c.       He or She is Hated by the devil, and by the world – goes with the territory! (Luke 21:17; 1John 3:13). But that’s okay! Being SO loved by God and by other believers makes up for it! As a matter of fact, I am kind of GLAD to not be loved by the devil! The feelings are mutual!

 

B.     Beloved is How a Christian Sees Others

 

1.      How Do You See Your Companion? – Your Wife or our Husband?

 

a.       It ought to be like Jesus Christ loves His church

 

1)      Eph 5:25 Husbands, love your wives, even as Christ also loved the church, and gave himself for it

 

b.      It ought to be like you are perpetually newlyweds!

                                                                                                                                              

1)      Song 1:14  My beloved is unto me as a cluster of camphire in the vineyards of Engedi.

2)      Song 2:3  As the apple tree among the trees of the wood, so is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.

3)      Song 2:8  The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

4)      Song 2:10  My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

5)      Song 2:16  My beloved is mine, and I am his: he feedeth among the lilies.

6)      Song 4:16  Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits.

7)      Song 5:10  My beloved is white and ruddy, the chiefest among ten thousand.

8)      Song 5:16  His mouth is most sweet: yea, he is altogether lovely. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem.

9)      Song 7:10  I am my beloved's, and his desire is toward me.

 

c.       You USED to see your spouse that way!

d.      Maybe you find it hard to see them that way now! But that only proves you need the love of God shed abroad again in your heart like it once was when you got saved!

e.       If you find it so hard to so love, then it is simply because you are so unforgiven YOURSELF!

f.       Jesus explains this in Luke 7:47  Wherefore I say unto thee, Her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little.

 

2.      How Do You See Your Children? (Prov 4:3) – as ONLY beloved

 

a.       People do not love their children today – not like they SHOULD!

 

1)      They never really felt loved growing up

2)      They have no idea how to love their own children

3)      they feel guilty about it all

4)      They neglect them, They spoil them, They let them do their own thing

5)      And then they get so angry at them

6)      It is a vicious cycle!

 

b.      Most parents don’t know HOW to truly love their children

 

1)      They think spanking them is so wrong

2)      They think controlling them is so unfair

3)      They think a 5 year old should be reasoned with, and should be asked their opinion

 

c.       To truly love your children means you treat them as God treats you!

 

1)      To be ONLY beloved does not mean that you never get angry at them

2)      It doesn’t mean that you never correct them, and punish them

3)      As a matter of fact, if you want to love your children, then start correcting them, start limiting them, start moulding them into proper, respectful, submissive and obedient young men and women!

4)      That’s how God loves you!

 

a)      Chastening you often (Heb 12:8), and moulding you – not letting you run wild!

b)      Being firm with you, and in charge!

c)      Causing you to take responsibilities for your own messes, and making you reap what you sow!

 

d.      You say that is unfair! God calls it love! It is strong love. It is the best kind of love!

 

3.      How Do You See Your Church? (1John 4:11; Romans 12:10)

 

a.       We are family (Mt 12:47-50)

b.      You have got to make church priority

c.       Meet each other’s needs, ahead of your own! That’s what family does!

d.      Why? Because they are beloved! Especially the hard ones to love!

 

C.     Beloved Is How We Live (Col 3:12,13)

 

1.      Forbearing and Forgiving is the Bible’s Act of Love

2.      Why does God focus more on forbearing and forgiving than on romance and on enjoying each other?

 

a.       Because fun and happiness are fleeting

b.      Because people change

c.       Because sin ruins things

d.      Only forbearing and forgiving enables the innocence of romantic love to flourish, even when they seem to have died!

e.       God gets all the glory when people who should be enemies rely on God’s grace to help them cover a multitude of sins!

 

3.      To Forbear is

 

a.       To endure! To abstain, avoid, forgo, go easy, hold back, refrain, restrain yourself, avoid confrontation, to pass-over, to pass up an opportunity, to refuse to attack, to starve one’s anger and frustration,

b.      It is a readiness to resist the urge to hurt someone back!

c.       It allows for love to continue!

d.      The opposites would be: to give in, indulge your feelings, yield to your anger towards someone that you are commanded to love

e.       In other words, a Christian is commanded to Put up with each other, AND to stay in love with each other!

 

4.      To Forgive is:

 

a.       To not exact payment. To treat people better than they deserve (Eph 4:32)!

b.      When people wrong you, justice dictates that they OWE you, and you have the RIGHT to demand of them some kind of payment for all the suffering they have caused you

 

1)      Maybe an apology

2)      Maybe some grovelling

3)      Maybe JAIL

 

c.       But if you forgive them you DON’T demand payment; you actually end up freely giving good for their evil

 

5.      Why? Because you are:

 

a.       Elect of God – His choice! You didn’t have to earn His love; He chose to love you when you were ungodly (Rom 5:6,8)

b.      Holy – been forgiven! If you have been forgiven then you can forgive!

c.       BELOVED of God!

 

III. Conclusion

 

A.     There is a huge difference between being loved, and being BELOVED!

B.     If you are not a born again Christian, know this – God loves you (John 3:16). He wants you, and His Son died in your place under the righteous wrath of God, so that you could be forgiven

C.     Once born again, you are totally and absolutely accepted in the beloved! You have moved from being loved (which is cool enough), to being BELOVED! Being the most special person to God, and to Christians all over the world!

 

1.      Forget the pagan aspect of love that is so promoted at Valentine’s Day!

2.      Start basking in the perfect love of the God who loved you and gave Himself for you on the cross to save you and make you His beloved!

 

D.     Beloved Is…

 

1.      “Beloved” is How a Believer Sees Himself

2.      “Beloved” is How a Christian Sees Others

3.      “Beloved” Is How We Live

 

E.      All of this only happens because of Jesus Christ in your life. have you allowed Him to come in and save you?