Hope Sabbath School Lesson 6 The Royal Love Song

[Music] [Applause] [Applause] welcome to Hope Sabbath school an in-depth interactive study of the Word of God we are in the middle of a wonderful practical series of studies on family seasons today the royal love song why did the Holy Spirit inspire this book the song of songs by Solomon to be included in the scriptures what lessons are there that can bless us in our families today that's the question we'll ask on this study of Hope Sabbath school so welcome to the study today and welcome to our team are you learning some things family seasons were all involved in change I guess that's the only thing that is certain isn't it and we've learned some practical counsel I'm looking forward to today's study hopefully I will be a better husband and a better father and a better man of God by listening to the word you can be a better husband wife woman of God what God wants you to be as we listen to his word today here's just a few notes from some hope Sabbath school members we know of a hundred and fifty countries and if you haven't written we'd love to hear from you write to us sent SS hope at hope TV org and Bridget wrote from Borneo in Malaysia and she writes Borneo is two parts to the on is that right I'll get an email on that one hello everybody I'm from the island of Borneo in Malaysia my mum was the first to watch hopes ABBA school many years ago I was a young teenager then ever since we found you we've been watching every Friday night and if we couldn't watch it on Friday then we'd want it watch it early on Sabbath morning we learned so much from the program as a family there's always something new in every lesson as I got older my mom continues watching Hope Sabbath school my sisters and I stopped watching but since I'm away from home because we watched it every time I always remembered hope Sabbath school when the week's coming to an end or when I can't go to church so now I watch it online when I can and every time I do the lessons are so powerful thank you and God bless you sending a big smile and hug from me to you well Bridget we all go through seasons that's part of our series when we maybe are less connected to the Word of God and less connected to our loving Savior and I'm just so thankful to hope Sabbath school is helping you to stay connected with him thanks for writing from Borneo and Malaysia Merle writes from Australia Travis you've been to Australia right though don't claim it as your home but here it says thank you for the wonderful in-depth study of God's Word which is such a blessing to us from the beautiful Gold Coast of Australia well more we're thankful it's a blessing to you thanks for joining us here's a note from Georgia in the United States from a donor hope TV has been such a blessing to me and I'm sure to thousands of other viewers my favorite programs are hopes that was goal and go healthy forget that's one of my favorite programs to inclosed as my gift to thank the Lord for His many blessings and a gift for 500 dollars to bless the Ministry of Hope Sabbath school thank you so much and thanks to each one of you who supports this donor supported ministry you're partnering with us in sharing God's good news Alexander is from Malawi but he is doing an internship in Israel and he writes and says right now I'm doing an internship in Israel I have my church with the hope Sabbath school study this is amazing and touching may the good Lord bless you all let's continue praying for one another well we're glad that you're studying there in working I guess in an internship Alexander in Israel god bless you we're glad we can be part of your family your church family well this one I don't remember if we've ever had a letter from Tortola before have we Tortola in the British Virgin Islands we don't like to go and visit hope sabbath-school fellow men a is the name hi sisters and brothers in Christ thank God for hope Sava school I can't go to church as I used to because my husband suffers from Alzheimer's disease it's extremely challenging to get him ready and out of the house hope Sabbath school has really blessed me amen I'm happy to be a part of the team I shared the information with my friends may God bless you all see you in the earth made new writing to you from Tortola British Virgin Islands well thanks for writing fellow many god bless you and God bless you for your ministry to your husband that's a season of life too isn't it when we can continue to show the immeasurable unfailing love of God today the Royal love song I know it's going to be thought-provoking and a blessing too but before we study we're going to sing our theme song 3,000 years old Psalm 150 it's a song of praise to our great and awesome God if you haven't learned it yet download it from our website mp3 files sheep music it's all there at hope tv.org slash hope SS and if you've learned it let's sing it together [Music] Oh [Music] Oh [Music] I feel like I need some steel drums or something you know I'm sure that our hope service school members in the Caribbean and probably in Guyana and some of those other Caribbean influence parts of the world they're going to be singing and playing they steel drums and but you know it's a happy song isn't it we can praise Him in the heights for all of his mercy in his love and nowhere do we need that show more than in our families and we're talking about the royal love song today also called the song of songs of the Song of Solomon let's pray God would be our teacher by His Spirit as we study together in the name of Jesus Father in Heaven we thank you that your word is indeed a lamp to our feet even this small book called the song of songs by Solomon has powerful insights that will help us in the seasons of life and I pray your Holy Spirit would be our teacher and each hopes have a school member even those joining us for the very first time would receive a practical and profound blessing from you in the name of Jesus we pray amen I'm Ava well the song of solomon called the royal love song some people ask why in the world Nicole did this book find its way in the scripture I mean if you said why is the Gospel of John there we say well that's very clear I mean it's all about Jesus it's very you know profound and why is the Song of Solomon here an uninhibited description of the beauty of human love what do you think well you know I think that we've distorted this view of this kind of love in this in this world in this sinful world and I think God is letting us know that the love between a romantic love between a man and a wife is beautiful he's given it to us as a gift and if you let the world take you away from what God's purpose was for this relationship it becomes something that is shameful but if you look at it the way God looks at it's a beautiful thing and he's like this is a gift I'm giving you because I think this is that you could really use and so I think that we just had to look at it as this is a god-given thing for us to really enjoy you know it's interesting while you were sharing that I I thought of that passage in Genesis 2 where it said the man and woman stood together they were naked and they were not ashamed mm-hmm there is something very beautiful about the gift of human love that has really been distorted and what commercialized and Exploited you could add a lot of verbs there which have taken the beauty away from it but certainly as we come to this book the role of song we need to come and view it with the the God's intention right so what is it important to recognize that every aspect of life is a gift from God we're talking there about sexuality but eating sleeping working God why is it important to not just view like our church attendance as part of our spiritual life but in every aspect of life well that's a good question I mean God God created life he created us as as relational beings and so everything we do is really a part of what he created and so in that sense I guess everything we do is connected to God and is a part of of how we should view our the what his will we should see his will for how we should live in a church part of our lives that's I was thinking the Bible takes them just quoting it maybe you can finish it where Paul says whether you eat or whether you drink or whatever you do and it's actually part of that is the context of sexual conduct of purity whatever you do yeah do it all to the glory of God that every aspect of our lives is connected to our relationship with God yeah amen let's go back to Genesis chapter 1 and 2 that creation account verses twenty six and twenty and let's let's see how the story begins and and answer a question for me about what it means to be created in the image of God Rinella would you start our study with Genesis chapter 1 verses 26 and 27 sure and I'll be reading from the New King James Version then God said let us make man in our image according to our likeness let them have dominion over the fish of the sea over the birds of the air and over the cattle over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth so God created man in his own image in the image of God he created him male and female he created them okay so what does that mean to be created in the image of God is that talking about physical appearance by the way it says male and female right created in the image of God what do you think that means what's that talking about Lisa well we know that God is in relationship Father Son and Holy Spirit and so when he's seen creating my image he's saying that male and female together that relationship kind of reflects what he has with himself and what he would like to experience with us that's interesting you're you're you're not just setting adam aside but you're saying that well the two shall be one right you're saying that that relationship in the human family is a kind of a glimpse of the unity within the Godhead Nicole I would expand a little bit on that and also say that a likeness also is we have similar traits that God has so we have the ability to choose we have the ability to think we have the ability to do things that other created beings or created things don't have so I think that image is also we have a capacity and in us to be humans which is the capacity that God has also okay anybody else Kyle I was thinking also I mean the fact that we have children you know that it we don't create them but in a sense you know that relationship begets gave us that gift participating in the creation right right and ruphylin multiply and he calls himself a father so there's a glimpse into that as well a reflection of God's relationship with us in our relationship with our children all right we're not quite there yet created in the image of God I believe when we're reading the verses it's like after God had created all these animals and all the living things he said let us create he said let us we're just talking about eternity I believe create a human being in our image to be like us so to be like us and I guess different dimensions and it could be its physical reflection of the image just the capabilities of what we're able to do just to reflect it we may not be able to do exactly what they do but we reflect it's kind of like I kind of look at it as an image of something you see an image reflected of another one it's not the real thing but it's you can see that it looks like it I'm running out of words wrestling but I think we're dealing with an important topic we've got several hands raised Travis I think I think of the verse where it says be thou perfect either and as your father in heaven is perfect we were created in the perfect image of God character body mind and soul okay I'm talking about character that's important yeah because in the parallel to be perfect in in Luke's Gospel it says be merciful as your father in heaven is merciful in other words to be in the image of God would mean that we reflect character right right and how is his character summarized the God is love so if it is indeed the ability to love which in a previous study we said requires us to have the freedom to write you can't love if you're not free to choose that we're given the freedom of choice so that we can reflect the beautiful character of God who loves with an immeasurable and unfailing love so I don't not to surprise us then that there should be a a book in the Bible that speaks about the precious gift of human love as a reflection of the immeasurable unfailing love of God so before we look at the love between humans what scriptures can you think of that really reinforce the character of God as a God of love give some thought just kind of scan through the computer scan hear this there's several that maybe will jump to our minds and we may want to read some figures did you have your hand raised yeah which text came to your mind jumps to me is John 3:16 that God loves us so much that He gave His only begotten Son okay that's God so loved the world okay that's the agape love if you look at it in the original text right so this self-sacrificing love God so loved the world travis hebrews 12:2 hebrews chapter 12 would you read that for us sir I could read Hebrews chapter 12 that's John 3:16 I think we can all quote but Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 we're talking about the immeasurable and unfailing love of God Hebrews chapter 12 and verse 2 and I'll be reading from the New King James Version looking unto Jesus the author and finisher ever finisher of our faith who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross despising the shame and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God so even though the word love is not mentioned specifically finish the sentence he counted a joy joy to suffer for it crosses the demonstration of the immeasurable unfailing love of God right Rinella yeah one that came to mind wine was romans chapter 5 verses 6 through 8 can I do you like to read it it's in Romans chapter 5 we're talking about text that we enforce the character of God is immeasurable and unfailing love and it would make sense why wouldn't he encourage us to reflect that in our relationships with each other right Romans 5 verses 6 to 8 through 8 and I'll be reading from the New King James Version it says for when we were still without strength in due time Christ died for the ungodly for scarcely for a righteous man will one die yet perhaps for a good man someone would even dare to die but God demonstrates his own love towards us in that while we were still sinners Christ died for us beautiful and the verse right before it says God's love is poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit right which tells me that God doesn't want us only to admire him as the God of love father son and holy spirit but he wants us to to reflect that love one last one Pedro well I think chapter 8 of Romans is a beautiful chapter and it concludes in the beautiful way and it says here like to read a verse for us where would you like to read is from Romans 8 chapter 38 and 39 from the New King James Version give us just a moment to find that romans chapter 8 verses 38 and 39 this is at the end of a powerful discourse of God being for us who can be against us right and verse 38 yes and it says for I am persuaded that neither death nor life nor Angels nor principalities nor powers nor things present nor things to come nor height nor death nor any other created thing shall be able to separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus ordered a man so can we settle that God is the God of love he wants us to reflect his immeasurable unfailing love first of all in response to his love right we love him because he first because He first loved us but he also wants us to reflect that love mm-hmm each other right and so you say okay I guess having a book in the Bible about the beauty of human love is not inappropriate but it's kind of little awkward with the way relationships and have been exploited today but let's go to the song of songs also called the Song of Solomon and let's begin by talking about the gift of friendship and Kyle could you read for us from Song of Solomon chapter 5 and verse 16 and the question is why is friendship an important foundation for any love relationship okay Song of Solomon chapter 5 verse 16 and I'll be reading from the New King James Version his mouth is most sweet yes he is altogether lovely this is my beloved and this is my friend o daughters of Jerusalem well he already loves this you know might woman right but he he also says this is my my friend this actually this is the Shulamite who's speaking right so she's speaking about him right right his mouth so he's he's someone I love but he's also my friend yeah help me with that Haiti I know you're married you have a family but let's let's go back okay the friendship why is friendship such an important foundation for any love relationship well it allows you to get to know that person better to see if going on to the next step of marriage is even something that you should pursue okay is it possible to be a friend with a person and decide you shouldn't marry them absolutely right don't marry all of your friends but you're saying that it's a it's a place where you can really get to know each other anybody else what do you think Daisy why is friendship such an important foundation that's the beginning because you can't love somebody if you don't have you haven't had that relationship with them yet you have to get to know the person and then I think the the description of love over here is like a higher form of the friendship it's both friendship but it's at a higher level I believe so if a friend comes to you and says I met this fellow last night and I love him you would say what possible it's possible could be infatuation if you don't even know anything about him or her if you've come back and met this beautiful lady if you don't know anything about her that you go she's my friend or he's my friend how can you really go to that next level of of falling in love well if if friendship is the foundation how is friendship nurtured Lisa how do you how do you nurture friendship so that it could possibly come to saying I think we're going to the next level mmm it's nurtured by getting to know each other being honest and open having conversations spending quality time with them and even within social situations to see how they behave around other people especially in church or with older people because that would reflect how probably that person would behave with you if that relationship were to progress I met someone today who courted for six years and for those years they were living in a different place Wow how did that relationship survive to make it to the wedding day communication they had to he said this is BEC when he wrote the letters on paper no email yet imagine life without email writing letters communicating right allowing the friendship to grow Travis I think time could be summed up in one word as time but I think if you really want to get to know or to be find out if you're gonna be friends long lasting you just got to work together for a while oh okay I'd be challenging you know and you got to start working together like laboring together and finding you know wheat and you start to find weak points and you can see hey can I work with this or can I work with this okay could you still marry them my wife and I tried hanging wallpaper the other one didn't work we still were still married but you may decide someone else needs to help with the wallpaper okay friendship a foundation this is a beautiful text in John chapter 15 verses 13 to 15 and Daisy if you could read that for us from John 15 verses 13 to 15 where Jesus calls us his friends a Barina from the New Living Translation there is no greater love than to lay down one's life for one's friends you are my friends if you do what I command I no longer call you slaves because your because a master doesn't confide in his lace now you are my friends since I have told you everything the father told me okay so what do you thoughts Rinella about Jesus calling you his friend Wow you know I think that it's a great relief because when you are around a friend you I mean they're your friend you chose them you know you don't choose your family you make them your friends and you grow up with them and they become your friends and hopefully they are but friends are very interesting because you choose who you want to be friends with and to know that God really likes me and loves me so much and and values me so much that he was actually willing to give his life for me I think that just takes it to a completely different level that's as more than friends you know that's just a deep commitment but even just at the friendship level it's very encouraging you can have no other friends in the world but Jesus and that would be enough Wow Wow for those of you who can see she was really smiling when she was talking about Jesus as a friend but in order for that friendship to grow thanks to becoming a musician what what's gonna happen I mean Jesus can come and say Richard my friend mmhmm yeah is that it no know what's gonna happen sometime you have to spend time together you have to share together you have to be vulnerable yeah dialogue in order for that friendship to grow and that's the same in any relationship isn't it okay which means honest good and the bad sure sure I think there's no doubt that a friendship is the best foundation for any growing relationship the friendship is a foundation well the song of songs doesn't end there with my friend but goes on to talk about the gift of love so let's look at Solomon's words in the Song of Songs chapter 4 and verse 9 Song of Songs chapter 4 Nicole would you read that for us verse 9 okay some songs chapter 4 verse 9 the New International Version says you have stolen my heart my sister my bride you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes with one jewel of your necklace really one glance of your eyes you stole my heart like what were you drinking someone spiked your fruit juice or something how do i distinguish between infatuation and and love I'm not judging here because this may be true love they were friends before right so it's growing one look of your eyes how do you distinguish between infatuation and love Kyle well that's a hard one but we're calling you because of your experience oh my experience I think that you know of course there's that initial attraction to somebody because their eye catches you you know or they're beautiful or whatever or they have a beautiful personality treat and that's good I think God intends for us to be attracted to each other but infatuation only goes so far the ups and downs of life and all the challenges that we go through true love goes deeper than just those surface attractions and carries us through the ups and downs of life I would see it as as true love being a choice a commitment that that that dives deep beyond just the surface attraction which it's not wrong to have that but you've got to have both and both for the long-haul seems to me like that would make it happy marriage crucial word that I heard there was the word commitment I don't think if maturation has any Commission is I like what I see and I'll take what I can get love is a commitment right big difference several hands let's start with page Pedro I like what he was saying here about the love and what I see in love you know we're being mentioning here about friendship most of time we're in friendship with a law what we see mmm but I think deep love is one you love without seeing it's it's loving the person without even know what's gonna happen next and that's commitment amen okay and loving even during the difficult seasons yes not just the good seasons Travis I'm just gonna say when I read this you know he's reading to his or he's writing to you about his wife my sister which would be a friend my spouse so I mean to think that he a person in a in a committed relationship and as a husband would look at his wife and say just one look at you and I just melt I mean that's a loving thing I'm for sure you know this wouldn't be just something you would say to anybody some people are even a little embarrassed by some of the reading in the Song of Songs because it's like who is very you know very intense but but there is something I'm learning here and I want to unpack it with you a little and that is that thoughts and feelings aren't communicated unless they're expressed mm-hm and you must say one thing about both of these individuals in this song they are very expressive both in words and in actions they're coming running all of those words and actions conveying what they're feeling on the inside so is a question and you can talk about it both in terms of our love relationship with God and our love relationships together why is it so important to express what we feel or think on the inside help me yes I think what you think of you safe so if I am feeling this love for this person is saying it confirms what I feel so if I actually saying it do they know if I don't express it no no no I may not use words I may use body language right you know I mean use body language not just words but if it's just inside we're not no we're not right love that's not expressed I guess it's still love but nobody nobody can see it right right so you when we read this love song we we get lots of expression Nicole but if you look at our example our ultimate example which is Christ when he was here on earth he expressed his love for his father by the things that he did it wasn't just his talk but he was healing the sick and he was he was executing a service so I think it's important for us to take that example and say if we love someone our actions will follow that love and we'll be doing for them the things that they need to have done mm-hmm so my wife and I we've been married for a long time and and my wife gives me some like remedial reading every once in a while one was a book called the five love languages right and you know that that that had five now there may be more than five but those five gave me a place to start and one of them was quality time and another one was gifts gifts and words of affirmation and and then the acts of service and physical touch right those those were the five that were in this book five love languages and it didn't take long for me to figure out which one of those five was my wife's primary love language she probably wish they found it out a long time before that but I discovered that my wife's primary love language is quality time mmm so if I'm ignoring her and I just bring her a gift I don't know she throw it back at me but doesn't work quality time so so let's be practical if love to be really experienced has to be expressed how do you find out what the love language and of course this could apply to friendships between two people not only to courting or married people how do you find out the love language that Nicole you have to put the work in it's not you're not gonna just it's not gonna just appear to you out of nowhere in order to be in a friendship you find out what is your friend like to do what things that we do that we have a similar understanding about and then you actually continue to do those things and I know that in relationships it's not it's not easy to become a friend with someone and once you learn what they like you just keep doing what they like because you've got a reaction that says thank you they've shown you that they like what you've done for either with words or body they you you go oh that connected right that that beautiful bouquet of flowers you know there's just because maybe a gift is a love language for a person so you're saying probably you have to just invest have to spend their time and find out and do it right and well that didn't work right let's try something else a couple of hands raised here Kyle okay one quick thing and I'm not an expert at this but I think I think if you try to observe the way the other person expresses their love language to you that's what you'll figure out how to love them back so but my love language may not be the same as my wife's right right but if you're watching her to see how she's expressing her love to you and maybe even trying to get it out of her then you can know how to better meet her lovely okay I'll take the tux here an expert another hand was raised yes Wilbert um I think with any let's say married couples for example it won't hurt to ask because maybe my love language might be quality time but I actually prefer something else even though it seem like we're spending time and you know I'm happy but maybe something else more her it may be acts of service right so just ask and then you find them by the way that's a second if I'm busy cleaning up and helping and vacuuming or whatever you know I'm buying happiness acts of service I don't do it for that reason you know but acts of service but what a great idea to ask mm-hmm yes yeah Patricia I think it's important for us to remember especially for a married couples who have been together for a long time that we it's easy for us to make that effort in the beginning of the relationship when you're just trying so when that person over but then after a while it's kind of get used to things and you don't write poems or that's it that's a powerful point isn't it that we don't even in our relationship with God mm-hmm but in our relationships with us either life partner or a special friend we don't stop doing the first works that's the scripture when isn't it go back to the first person thank you go first love yeah the first love is if is the Ephesian Church but also in in the book of Revelation to do the first works so whatever those were you're saying just because you've been in a marriage relationship for a long time or even a friendship don't forget the things that brought you together yes tickets I want to throw something in like even if we knew this is gift is her first language right what if we don't like buying gifts it might not be what I love doing but because this connects us I must do it I might not love's quality time and just talking and having deep conversations but I have to do it because this connects us it works for this other person so what I'm saying is whatever works for the other person might not be my kind of thing to do but we do it anyway because we are investing in this relationship so if it is like a burden for me to do it then maybe that's not the friendship or relationship worth investing I don't think that people just infatuated will put in that work but I do believe and I can give testimony that if we do that intentionally we will see the value of whether it's quality time or acts of service and are our love grows we're going to move on we've talked about friendship as the foundation important yes essential right and then we've talked about the gift of love and that that love we want it to be expressed let's talk about the gift of intimacy Song of Solomon chapter 4 and verse 16 Patricia if you could read chapter 4 and verse 16 and we're talking here about not just intimacy but the gift of intimacy I'll be reading from the New King James Version ESS awake all north wind and come all south fall upon my garden that it's spices may flow out let my beloved come to his garden and eat its pleasant fruits I don't know how you transcribe a whistle but I just whistle my garden his garden unpacked that for me my garden his garden are those different Gardens no my garden dried Allah his garden talked to me about what's being said there about the gift of intimacy right there is definitely a sense of you know that you are are barring something beautiful and I think that as we're looking at this whole book we have to look at it through the lens of what God has ordained in a marriage commitment and that's what makes it so beautiful as we were reading in previous lessons you know that we're drinking from our own cisterns this is something God has entrusted to you it is yours at what cigar is this mind we are sharing this together because we've committed to one another and this is the blessing that we get from making this commitment to one another and no one else and so it's a beautiful experience when it's done in the correct order and yeah you know I just very quickly I once heard from a man named dr. Pierre Steinberg he talks about these four pillars that are so important in a marriage relational safety emotional intimacy commitment and then physical intimacy in that order and when you have it in that so yeah they're so deep each one of them relational safety is the first one you know you have that trust emotional intimacy there's that friendship aspect then you have commitment you've decided that this is the only person I'm going to share this experience with and then there's physical intimacy and in that that whole package that God gives to us is a beautiful thing to share together so why is it important to recognize the intimacy is a gift and not an entitlement mm-hmm a gift and not an entitlement yes Pedro well the premises of love love is about giving is not about receiving true and when we look at this you know this imagery here is his garden and my garden I look at a garden a place to need me to needs to be taken care of and if I take care of my own garden being selfish and God is giving us this gift to take care of somebody else garden somebody's life and when we look and we behold the blessings that God has provided through us it's it's there's a connection that brings the love and the connection between the relationship a man yes biggest I don't see any kind of control here it's like the lady is completely submitted to this person and she's saying that let him come to his garden because the commitments there now right and enjoy the choice of his food it's like she's not even dictating which one where there's complete submission so then and one might respond to that and say anyone who loves a person the way he's loving her right and committing to her has demonstrated that it's safe to be that vulnerable right right it's it's certainly a very much of an openness but it's a trust in the context of relational safety and emotional intimacy and commitment that that kind of intimacy can take place I just thought of a verse as she was saying that you know Paul says husbands love your wives as Christ loved the church and gave himself for her and so this this sharing this opening up that can't happen unless there's that safety of that purely the love from the husband which is the love Christ had for his church the love of the led Christ to lay down his life for us so there's no control or abuse or any type of hint of that right you know it's that love that's reflected ultimately in what Christ did for us beautiful we're going to go to first Corinthians after Wilbur's comment in 1st Corinthians 7 okay so I was also thinking that this is a gift of sharing so if you're sharing with somebody then the you know neither party who would have to demand or ask for something and say all right well it's my right to right through that yes that's what the word came in that you use the entitlement I think when I hear the word entitlement it just sounds almost like has to it there's a sense of control a sense of Dhamma nation and entitlement versus a gift is something that you share something that you enjoy something that either party can partake in other than other than that word entitlement entitlement just seems very restrictive sure sure it doesn't sound loving at all does it first Corinthians chapter 7 verses three through five Lisa if you could read that for us first Corinthians chapter seven verses three through five how does Paul's teaching about Christian marriage help us to understand this idea of intimacy as a gift I'll be reading from the New King James Version let the husband render to his wife the affection due her and likewise also the wife to her husband the wife does not have authority over her own body but the husband does and likewise the husband does not have authority over his own body but the wife does do not deprive one another except with consent for a time that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer and come together again so that Satan doesn't tempt you because of your lack of self-control some people would like to read part of that verse that the wife doesn't have control over her body but the husband does right period but then it says but the husband doesn't have control over his body so so what's it talking about here sharing he was saying the sharing the mutual love that I'm I'm can't like we care for each other it's not one person controlling somebody but you know you're both submitting to each other yeah and if I'm serving the other person in love then I think his Pedro was speaking of earlier I'm actually more concerned about the other person's needs yes than my own yeah right yes Travis it says let the husband render to his wife the effect she'd do her and also the wife to her husband basically it starts off by saying once you enter into this marriage relationship you owe that affection to your wife and likewise she owes it to you don't withhold that now she's now getting used to that affection and will desire that and if you withhold that from her you've left her you know empty in a sense so back to what we said earlier you need to do the work yeah and you need to realize that you don't just stop doing what you did early in your relationship you continue to nurture that relationship so it can continue to grow so this whole issue of appropriateness and the right time is what we want to look at now because in our cultures many of us depending on where you come from around the world certainly in the culture where we live the right time is whenever you can get away with it but that's not that's not a biblical perspective is it so let's look and see what the Bible says in Song of Solomon chapter 4 and verse 12 the Song of Solomon chapter 4 and verse 12 Haiti if you could read that for us yes I'll be reading from the New King James Version and it says a garden enclosed is my sister my spouse a spring shut up a fountain filled mmm what's it talking about spring shut up fountain sealed wait wait no access right off-limits right this is the same book that will later say my garden is your garden right when the commitment under God is there but until that time off-limits sealed right no access why is that so important why is that so important look at one passage in in a culture in current Corinth 1st Corinthians 6 is the passage verses 15 through 18 in a culture in Corinth where promiscuity was not owned be permitted but encouraged yeah does that sound familiar at all a culture where promiscuity was not only permitted and encouraged but was part of the worship of the pagan fertility cults right so in this culture where people are hearing the good news about Jesus and about the plan of salvation and are having to reframe their thinking about relationships let's see what Paul has to say in first corinthians chapter 6 verses 15 through 18 and 1/2 that would be willing to read it for us pedro thank you I'll be reading for the new King James Version chapter 6 verses 15 do you not know that your bodies are members of Christ shall I then take the members of Christ and make it them members of harlot certainly not or do you not know that he who is joined to a harlot is one body with her for two he says shall become one flesh but he who is joined to the Lord is one spirit with him flee sexual immorality every sin that Amend us in is outside the body but he who commits sexual immorality sin against his own body you know the word flee in the original language is the verb Hugo we get the English word fugitive like run for your life run for your life from the word is pornea pornea yeah we get in any inappropriate sexual activity and you immediately thought of the word pornography right or near but more than just that run for your life why why why do we run we're talking about the right time why do we need to run from for our lives and what is inappropriate pedra well going back to the beginning in some ways God God love is his character and he wants to trust from his character or according to his character and by just destroying our bodies with things from the outside can can also destroy the character that God wants to built in us and like preventing or waiting for the right moment or after wedding to receive your spouse that will prevent you to damage your character in many ways okay that is an important point and there's more because it's not just about me right it can damage me why else does God say run for your life damage those that are watching you are condemning you condemned you have influence so it can not only damage me it can damage those to whom I'm a witness but we're not quite done yet Kyle why should I run from my life because from that which is inappropriate in terms of sexual conduct because it ultimately it can damage the person that you love the most or the person you will come to love the most that you haven't met yet right it it has many effects down the line and god says run because he wants us to flee from that what's gonna harm ourselves and harm others he wants us to have life and joy and happiness and love a young man came to my office one day and he said I I was married for several years he was a young man and he said my spouse died and it was very challenging for him having in an appropriate way expressed intimacy in a marriage relationship to now be single again does that make sense okay the problem was he got involved with pornography and he said I feel like I'm trapped and I don't know what to do so what would you say to that young man and I'll give you the answer that I gave to him but I want to know from you he wants to live in a way let's unpack what we said again we want to honor God and reflects his character we know people were witness to other people and we don't want to damage our most cherished either relationship or future relationship right now he's single what would you tell this young man to do what would you counsel for him be Travis I know exactly what I would counsel him to do I've been in his shoes I will run to Jesus and get your source of intimacy right there and leave that stuff behind don't touch it don't go near it get rid of it okay run to Jesus and leave that stuff behind what if he keeps going back do we not sometimes go back to things that aren't helpful for us and we're like Jesus help me give me some practical counsel Daisy this is practical enough but self-control is a fruit of the Spirit it's not something that you can create on your own it's a gift from God so if not being able to control your urges you have to go to God and ask for the Holy Spirit's and give you that ability because it's not something you can do on your own so running to Jesus we're asking the Holy Spirit to give us the gift of self-control by the way we all made that right we all do but he did to Lisa practical also I think it's a journey as well and so I think because it's an addictive behavior with most addictions there are periods where people will relapse and go back but it's important to remain focused it's important to continue the journey of healing and hope and to have enough grace and forgiveness even for himself not just for what he has done but to allow himself to grow allow himself enough time to heal and that may be a painful journey but he needs to surround himself with friends with Christians who are praying for him with the church people who will continue to support him because it is a difficult journey well I just want to tell you he listened to the counsel he ran to Jesus he disconnected from the internet and he came back to me six months later and he was really happy I said what's up he said I met a beautiful Christian girl and you know that woman was not praying for a man who had that addiction so the one who began a good work in us he can be faithful to complete it he's not trying to hold us back from anything but to protect us and to help us to experience the gift of love at the right time to have it expressed in the right way so that we can experience not only the fullness of human love but the fullness of his love we're out of time maybe you have a testimony you'd like to share we'd love to hear from you you can write to us at SS hope at hope TV org but the right time is God's time and he will bless your relationships in ways that you've not imagined and the gift of love is just a beautiful reminder human love is the gift a beautiful reminder of God's immeasurable and unfailing love for us may we know that love in our lives and in our relationships let's pray father in heaven thank you for challenging us through this love song to go beyond the superficial relationships of the world and to love you and love others in a way that honors you in harmony with your good plan in the name of Jesus amen well thanks for joining us for hope Sabbath school I hope you've been challenged as I have the precious gift of love should not be squandered but cherish the gift and share it in a way that honors God [Music] [Applause] [Applause] [Music] you

Channel: HopeSabbathSchool

Views: 25,935

Rating: 4.5782313 out of 5

Keywords: Derek Morris, hope sabbath school, Seventh-Day Adventist

Id: nlSWXw6nhOs

Length: 58min 29sec (3509 seconds)

Published: Sun May 05 2019