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Guest Speaker Sermon
15 years ago
General
Kk, I know this is a long one, but it was writin for you guys from my buddy Matt. Me and him get into some deep DEEP spiritual (and sometimes personal) conversations that'll challenge me to think differently about my faith.
He's the one who told me that God told him that "Life is meaningless, God is the only thing that gives it purpose."
That thought is what made me beg God to make me a reverend, which some have noticed I removed the title from myself...I don't deserve it right now....
Kk! Matt has the floor!
The Two Lovers
Hello, my name is Matt. I hope to be a light for you as I submit this, my first message for you. Now, I have never been a fan of easy messages, so I hope you have come with a prepared heart and an open mind.
Today, I would like to discuss with you the benefit of having two lovers. Most may consider having two lovers a bad idea, but hear me out. If you are a new believer or a seasoned Christian or not even a believer in Christ as Savior, I hope to reach and remind you of the beauty that lies in this message, and perhaps provoke you to think a little more deeply as you walk out your faith and life.
Men and women alike generally speaking feel a lack of ‘something’ and seek to fill that lack with whatever they choose. Let’s fast forward through the roads and roadblocks found in drugs, alcohol, sex, illegitimate relationship et al. Ultimately where people end up is with the understanding that they need someone, or in the very least they have a desire for family. If you are married or in a ‘serious’ relationship, you may understand this message a little easier as a retrospective than as a fresh perspective on a prospective happening. : )
It is important to know that everything in life is meaningless, and if this truth inhibits your desire to read on, then let Pastor Walt know and I will submit also a message on that very hard truth. If this does inhibit your reading, try and forget it for now and please keep your heart open to the word of God through the message.
Okay, to the message. It is Biblical to say that Jesus is the lover of our soul.
(NIV) John
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ[j] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.
31"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[k] gives the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."[l]
-AND-
Matthew
15Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. (Both taken from biblepassageway.com)
Based on these and countless other verses, it is easy to see that Jesus and others were very aware of His position as the Bridegroom. If there is a Bridegroom, then logically there must be a Bride. Who is the Bride? In the Amplified version of the Bible, Revelations puts it like this.
7Let us rejoice and shout for joy [exulting and triumphant]! Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb [at last] has come, and His bride has prepared herself.(D)
8She has been permitted to dress in fine (radiant) linen, dazzling and white--for the fine linen is (signifies, represents) the righteousness (the upright, just, and godly living, deeds, and conduct, and right standing with God) of the saints (God's holy people).
We see how the Bride is God’s people, His saints, and how the Bride (us) is preparing herself for the Bridegroom (Jesus). So, how can we prepare for the Bridegroom? By living righteously. At this point, I will encourage you to set some time aside to read Song of Songs or Song of Solomon (depending on your version of the Bible) and get just a great understanding of what it is like to be a Lover, and to be pursued. Imagine yourself as the Lover, and Jesus as the bridegroom, the language may be elusive to you, and maybe you will feel lost in the reading. For example, it talks often of how the lover has dove’s eyes. If you look at an actual dove, you will think that this beauty has beady little eyes! BUT, if you think of it spiritually, remember when Jesus was baptized? Remember how the Spirit descended on Him like a dove?! Think of it as Jesus saying that He sees the Holy Spirit in your eyes! And to even further His love we remember that the eyes are the window to our soul! So, Jesus is saying I can see the Holy Spirit dwelling deep within your being, but if we get caught up in the language, we will miss what is actually being said. Do you have beady eyes Christian lover? NO! You have the Holy Spirit dwelling deep within you and it is so attractive to the Lord! He is our lover, and we are His.
Now, to the part where I mentioned how we should desire two lovers… Actually, before I get to that, I should probably explain the term ‘lover’.
Lover goes much deeper than what many perceive the word to mean. I am unmarried, but I have a lover, two actually. My first lover is Jesus, and my second is my girlfriend. My girlfriend and I don’t have sex and of course Jesus and I don’t yet we are still able to call each other lovers! Think of something even simpler. A person who listens to music all the time call themselves music lovers, but of course there is no sexual implication there! No musical lover buys a CD and makes any sort of pass at it, if they did, they may want to talk to someone about it! No, I see and define the term lover as someone who has a deep appreciation of someone that not only appreciates him or her but also pursues him or her for the sake of mutual growth. With that in mind, reflect again on how Jesus is the lover of our soul. I have heard it said before that the sign of the Father is movement and reproach. So, as our lover, Jesus wants mutual growth because we grow in Him as He grows in us, and He disciplines us as we may become upset with out physical lover. But, just as our physical lover should, Jesus never stops loving us. This is important, I’ll say it again. JESUS. NEVER. STOPS. LOVING. US! No matter what we have done, Jesus is patient and still draws near to us as we draw nearer to Him. Our physical lover is a reflection of our relationship with our spiritual lover, Jesus. If you don’t find this to be true, seek God about this matter. I think what you will find is that if we are good lovers of Jesus, it will transfer to our physical lovers and be perceived in the same way. Now, this is not an easy task to live in or act in, but in your heart as you seek God, I believe this is the best way. If you are married or committed to someone already, this may be a harder truth as I don’t know what the foundation of your relationship is. The foundation of course should be Jesus, and as you pursue Him what you will find is that if He isn’t the foundation, that will be exposed to you very quickly. We know that God is a jealous God, and that if anything is put before Him, He has a good track record of wiping whatever it is out! But think about it like this. You see your lover with another person of the opposite sex, you trust that your lover has pure intentions of just talking, but say you know the other person and know that they are quite devious. Would you be jealous? ABSOLUTELY! We are by nature, selfish lovers. Even the swinging life style (Which I do not approve of!) ends with the true lovers returning home to each other. I don’t know how they have tricked themselves into believing that they don’t get jealous, but even watching shows case studying them, I recognize that they literally have to close their heart off to commit such acts with people that are not there lover, you can see this in their eyes. Some try to put on a good show for the camera, but if we try and see their heart as God does, we realize these people are to be pitied, not celebrated! And if you have deceived yourself into thinking the swinger life style is right, seek God truly in your heart with no expectations and go, GO wherever He leads you! You may not want to trust the words of a random man, but do trust the words of a Living and Eternal God!
Okay, let me summarize as best I can and wrap this in a bow for you all. We need two lovers. One, Jesus Himself and He needs to be our first lover. Two, our significant other who should be revealed to us as we seek Jesus and seek to love Him more. He is a Good Lover, and we should be too, and we can see if we are by how we treat our significant other. When our other asks us to do something, do we grumble about it? What about when God asks us to do something? We can see that where we need work in our physical relationships is probably also where we need work in our spiritual relationship. Because, the one carries over to the other. How we interact with God should be expounded on with how we treat out lovers! God loves the heart first and caters to us in that way, we should reflect that in how we see and work with our significant others! If we are lousy lovers of Jesus, we will most likely be terrible lovers to our others. Remember, being a good lover goes far deeper than the physical!
At this point I will close and encourage you this way. Seek God and His kingdom and His righteousness as His amazing Lover, and He will give you precious gifts for you devotion. I once was a man that always needed a girlfriend to make me happy. And it took me one whole year without a girlfriend to realize that God makes me happy. Now, the relationship I have with my girlfriend only expounds on how much I love God! I see Him in her, and because I love Him, I love her as well. Because He is beautiful and I see Him in her, she is beautiful! Etc…
I pray that you may seek God diligently in this message, and that you would forgive any careless spelling or grammatical mistakes. I tend to write how I talk, and how I talk isn’t always grammatically sound. Be blessed in the Lord, and seek Jesus to be that amazing lover you will see He is as you continue on in the faith! Amen, and God keep you all!
--Matt--
He's the one who told me that God told him that "Life is meaningless, God is the only thing that gives it purpose."
That thought is what made me beg God to make me a reverend, which some have noticed I removed the title from myself...I don't deserve it right now....
Kk! Matt has the floor!
The Two Lovers
Hello, my name is Matt. I hope to be a light for you as I submit this, my first message for you. Now, I have never been a fan of easy messages, so I hope you have come with a prepared heart and an open mind.
Today, I would like to discuss with you the benefit of having two lovers. Most may consider having two lovers a bad idea, but hear me out. If you are a new believer or a seasoned Christian or not even a believer in Christ as Savior, I hope to reach and remind you of the beauty that lies in this message, and perhaps provoke you to think a little more deeply as you walk out your faith and life.
Men and women alike generally speaking feel a lack of ‘something’ and seek to fill that lack with whatever they choose. Let’s fast forward through the roads and roadblocks found in drugs, alcohol, sex, illegitimate relationship et al. Ultimately where people end up is with the understanding that they need someone, or in the very least they have a desire for family. If you are married or in a ‘serious’ relationship, you may understand this message a little easier as a retrospective than as a fresh perspective on a prospective happening. : )
It is important to know that everything in life is meaningless, and if this truth inhibits your desire to read on, then let Pastor Walt know and I will submit also a message on that very hard truth. If this does inhibit your reading, try and forget it for now and please keep your heart open to the word of God through the message.
Okay, to the message. It is Biblical to say that Jesus is the lover of our soul.
(NIV) John
27To this John replied, "A man can receive only what is given him from heaven. 28You yourselves can testify that I said, 'I am not the Christ[j] but am sent ahead of him.' 29The bride belongs to the bridegroom. The friend who attends the bridegroom waits and listens for him, and is full of joy when he hears the bridegroom's voice. That joy is mine, and it is now complete. 30He must become greater; I must become less.
31"The one who comes from above is above all; the one who is from the earth belongs to the earth, and speaks as one from the earth. The one who comes from heaven is above all. 32He testifies to what he has seen and heard, but no one accepts his testimony. 33The man who has accepted it has certified that God is truthful. 34For the one whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God[k] gives the Spirit without limit. 35The Father loves the Son and has placed everything in his hands. 36Whoever believes in the Son has eternal life, but whoever rejects the Son will not see life, for God's wrath remains on him."[l]
-AND-
Matthew
15Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast. (Both taken from biblepassageway.com)
Based on these and countless other verses, it is easy to see that Jesus and others were very aware of His position as the Bridegroom. If there is a Bridegroom, then logically there must be a Bride. Who is the Bride? In the Amplified version of the Bible, Revelations puts it like this.
7Let us rejoice and shout for joy [exulting and triumphant]! Let us celebrate and ascribe to Him glory and honor, for the marriage of the Lamb [at last] has come, and His bride has prepared herself.(D)
8She has been permitted to dress in fine (radiant) linen, dazzling and white--for the fine linen is (signifies, represents) the righteousness (the upright, just, and godly living, deeds, and conduct, and right standing with God) of the saints (God's holy people).
We see how the Bride is God’s people, His saints, and how the Bride (us) is preparing herself for the Bridegroom (Jesus). So, how can we prepare for the Bridegroom? By living righteously. At this point, I will encourage you to set some time aside to read Song of Songs or Song of Solomon (depending on your version of the Bible) and get just a great understanding of what it is like to be a Lover, and to be pursued. Imagine yourself as the Lover, and Jesus as the bridegroom, the language may be elusive to you, and maybe you will feel lost in the reading. For example, it talks often of how the lover has dove’s eyes. If you look at an actual dove, you will think that this beauty has beady little eyes! BUT, if you think of it spiritually, remember when Jesus was baptized? Remember how the Spirit descended on Him like a dove?! Think of it as Jesus saying that He sees the Holy Spirit in your eyes! And to even further His love we remember that the eyes are the window to our soul! So, Jesus is saying I can see the Holy Spirit dwelling deep within your being, but if we get caught up in the language, we will miss what is actually being said. Do you have beady eyes Christian lover? NO! You have the Holy Spirit dwelling deep within you and it is so attractive to the Lord! He is our lover, and we are His.
Now, to the part where I mentioned how we should desire two lovers… Actually, before I get to that, I should probably explain the term ‘lover’.
Lover goes much deeper than what many perceive the word to mean. I am unmarried, but I have a lover, two actually. My first lover is Jesus, and my second is my girlfriend. My girlfriend and I don’t have sex and of course Jesus and I don’t yet we are still able to call each other lovers! Think of something even simpler. A person who listens to music all the time call themselves music lovers, but of course there is no sexual implication there! No musical lover buys a CD and makes any sort of pass at it, if they did, they may want to talk to someone about it! No, I see and define the term lover as someone who has a deep appreciation of someone that not only appreciates him or her but also pursues him or her for the sake of mutual growth. With that in mind, reflect again on how Jesus is the lover of our soul. I have heard it said before that the sign of the Father is movement and reproach. So, as our lover, Jesus wants mutual growth because we grow in Him as He grows in us, and He disciplines us as we may become upset with out physical lover. But, just as our physical lover should, Jesus never stops loving us. This is important, I’ll say it again. JESUS. NEVER. STOPS. LOVING. US! No matter what we have done, Jesus is patient and still draws near to us as we draw nearer to Him. Our physical lover is a reflection of our relationship with our spiritual lover, Jesus. If you don’t find this to be true, seek God about this matter. I think what you will find is that if we are good lovers of Jesus, it will transfer to our physical lovers and be perceived in the same way. Now, this is not an easy task to live in or act in, but in your heart as you seek God, I believe this is the best way. If you are married or committed to someone already, this may be a harder truth as I don’t know what the foundation of your relationship is. The foundation of course should be Jesus, and as you pursue Him what you will find is that if He isn’t the foundation, that will be exposed to you very quickly. We know that God is a jealous God, and that if anything is put before Him, He has a good track record of wiping whatever it is out! But think about it like this. You see your lover with another person of the opposite sex, you trust that your lover has pure intentions of just talking, but say you know the other person and know that they are quite devious. Would you be jealous? ABSOLUTELY! We are by nature, selfish lovers. Even the swinging life style (Which I do not approve of!) ends with the true lovers returning home to each other. I don’t know how they have tricked themselves into believing that they don’t get jealous, but even watching shows case studying them, I recognize that they literally have to close their heart off to commit such acts with people that are not there lover, you can see this in their eyes. Some try to put on a good show for the camera, but if we try and see their heart as God does, we realize these people are to be pitied, not celebrated! And if you have deceived yourself into thinking the swinger life style is right, seek God truly in your heart with no expectations and go, GO wherever He leads you! You may not want to trust the words of a random man, but do trust the words of a Living and Eternal God!
Okay, let me summarize as best I can and wrap this in a bow for you all. We need two lovers. One, Jesus Himself and He needs to be our first lover. Two, our significant other who should be revealed to us as we seek Jesus and seek to love Him more. He is a Good Lover, and we should be too, and we can see if we are by how we treat our significant other. When our other asks us to do something, do we grumble about it? What about when God asks us to do something? We can see that where we need work in our physical relationships is probably also where we need work in our spiritual relationship. Because, the one carries over to the other. How we interact with God should be expounded on with how we treat out lovers! God loves the heart first and caters to us in that way, we should reflect that in how we see and work with our significant others! If we are lousy lovers of Jesus, we will most likely be terrible lovers to our others. Remember, being a good lover goes far deeper than the physical!
At this point I will close and encourage you this way. Seek God and His kingdom and His righteousness as His amazing Lover, and He will give you precious gifts for you devotion. I once was a man that always needed a girlfriend to make me happy. And it took me one whole year without a girlfriend to realize that God makes me happy. Now, the relationship I have with my girlfriend only expounds on how much I love God! I see Him in her, and because I love Him, I love her as well. Because He is beautiful and I see Him in her, she is beautiful! Etc…
I pray that you may seek God diligently in this message, and that you would forgive any careless spelling or grammatical mistakes. I tend to write how I talk, and how I talk isn’t always grammatically sound. Be blessed in the Lord, and seek Jesus to be that amazing lover you will see He is as you continue on in the faith! Amen, and God keep you all!
--Matt--
debatable... but then again most things are
>.>
o.o