Tag: Christian faith

March 9th 2025: Jonathan Scott

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March 9th 2025: Jonathan Scott
Jesus Calms a Storm: Mark 4: 35-41

Last time I was here we looked at Mark Chapter 1 where we found out what it means to be a true follower of Jesus. We found out 3 things we should do as a follower of Jesus:

  1. We are called to be with Jesus. We should follow Him, listen to His teachings, and watch His miracles to learn from them and also and pray with Him.
  2. We are called to imitate Jesus. When we see Jesus’ walking in step with His Father, it means we are meant to be a people in constant relationship with our Father in heaven. When we witness His compassion and mercy, it means our inner attitudes are to give way to His. We are to weep for the world as He wept. We too should pursue a consistency between our beliefs and our lifestyle.
  3. We are called to do what Jesus did. We are called to this life; we are called to reach out to those in need and those who are lost. For a few people, their full-time work will be gospel work, but for most of us, we are to live the disciple life in our families, friendships and communities. We are meant to go out and help hurting children, serve the sick, minister to the forgotten, and proclaim the good news of Jesus to all. We are made to be fishers of men today.

Having looked at what it means to follow Jesus, today we will go on to look at how to trust in Jesus in all circumstances.

News had been spreading. Everyone was talking about Jesus. People said that He could do things they had never seen before. Amazing things! Astonishing things! Jesus was able to make sick  people well and blind people see. Why was Jesus able to do these things?

Jesus is able to do things which are impossible for us, because despite being 100% human, He is also 100% God. Jesus has the power and authority over all things. We see right at the start of creation – He was there with God and the Holy Spirit –  Genesis 1: 1-2  ‘In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was over the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters.’

As the news travelled about Jesus and His miracles, many people would want to meet Jesus and follow Him wherever He went. After a busy day, Jesus and His disciples got into a boat to cross the sea of Galilee. Many of Jesus’s disciples were fishermen, so traveling in a small boat across the lake was something they were well used to.  Jesus was tired after teaching and meeting lots of people. Don’t we often feel the same way after a long day?  He went to the back of the boat and lay down to sleep. But if Jesus is God, why did He need to rest? In Psalm 121 it tells us that ‘God does not slumber nor sleep’. Even though He was fully God, He was also fully human like us and had feelings too. That’s why we read of Him sleeping and eating. He is not faking it with one eye open. He actually needed to sleep. There are also accounts when Jesus felt happy, sad, tired and experienced pain. He was fully human.

The Sea of Galilee is a real place that many people still visit today. It is 696 feet (212 meters) below sea level. The frequent cold air blowing down from the mountains resulted in sudden storms being whipped up from time to time.  Mark 4:37, “A great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat.”

Now these were experienced fishermen and were used to such storms. However, this storm was so large, it should not be underestimated. This was translated as a great whirlwind or a large hurricane. The winds blew, the rain splashed, the thunder roared and the waves crashed against the boat. As fishermen, Jesus’ disciples would have been in storms before, but this one was different – this one was huge; this was a really bad storm. The wind was so strong and whipped the sea up so much it nearly swamped the boat and the disciples were terrified. The storm was so terrible that the disciples thought they were going to die.

Do things which happen to you sometimes make you worried or overwhelmed?  Many times we face problems which are out of our control.

  • Bereavement  – Family or Friend
  • Loss of Job
  • Break up of Relationships
  • Illness

Do you sometimes feel like there is a storm around you?

When problems come our way, who do we turn to? Maybe a close friend or family member? Remember you have a friend who sticks closer to you than a brother. If you belong to Jesus, know that He is in control of all things. This means that you can trust Him to do what is best for you, even when things are difficult. He knows about your problems and how difficult they can be. He wants you to remember that He is always in control and you can trust Him.

The disciples were very afraid! They were in a small boat in the middle of a big storm and they thought they were going to die. But what was Jesus doing? He was fast asleep. He wasn’t afraid at all. He was in control of all things and wanted His disciples to trust Him. And trust is such an important word. Trust means to be 100% sure that whatever Jesus says He will and can do it. Because He is the One in control of all things and holding all things together.

When you came into church today, did you pick where you were going to sit and then assess the safety of the pew? (Just like me asking a Health and safety Question!) Did you check that it was safe to sit on? I doubt it. You probably came in, chatted to a few folk on the way to your chosen seat and sat down, trusting completely that the seat was safe and would not collapse. 

You can trust Jesus completely. He is bigger and stronger than we are and even when things don’t seem to go the way we had hoped. He is working all things together for good and to the glory of God. So, whenever things happen and you don’t understand why, you need to trust that He is still 100% completely in control. 

During this account in Mark we read that the disciples finally woke Jesus up in a Panic, “But He was in the stern, asleep on a cushion.” (Mark 4:38) And they awoke Him and said to Him. “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4: 38) Would you have reacted any differently to what the disciples did here?

Jesus stood up, felt the wind blowing and looked at the crashing waves. Then He said, “Peace, Be Still.” (Mark 4: 39) Immediately everything was still and calm. Wow! Isn’t that amazing. Jesus was able to speak directly to the wind and the rain and they listened, responded and obeyed.  If you or I went outside on a stormy night and told the wind and rain to stop, nothing would happen, but when the Creator of all things spoke, there was an immediate response. He has the power over the wind and the rain because He is the Son of God. He is the only one who could calm the storm and rescue the disciples.

In Colossians 1:15 – 17 we read, “The Son is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn over all creation. For in Him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and in him all things hold together.”

Not only did He make all that we see in the world. He also made you and He knows you inside out. If you have put your trust in Jesus, you can trust Him for everything that happened in your life because He is in control of all things. God doesn’t promise that life will be easy. You will face many problems and difficulties just like the disciples. However, it is important to remember who walks alongside you. Jesus cares about every detail of your life. He has promised that He will never leave you. (Hebrews 13:5) “I will never leave you nor forsake you.” He will always be there to help you. Trust Him to take care of you. Talk to Him about your fears, problems and struggles.

I just want to take us back a little step, and look at the phrase that the disciples say to Jesus, “Teacher, do you not care that we are perishing?” (Mark 4:38), this question sounds really negative at first, as if the disciples were telling Jesus off. But in reality, if we look at the original translation it is slightly different to that. It translates as, ‘You do care that we are perishing, don’t you?’ The disciples trust Jesus, but here in this situation the suffering they are encountering introduces doubt into this Trust. They believe Jesus cares, but this storm looks deadly, Jesus appears unfazed by the storm surrounding them. The disciples are confused by this. They do not understand His reaction. To them it appears that Jesus does not care or show concern for their wellbeing, but in fact, it is the complete opposite. He is ready and able to calm the storm immediately in order to protect them, and demonstrate His power.

Suffering can disrupt our trust too. We think God cares, but when suffering comes, it stretches our ability to see His care, even if it is right in front of us. It can seem as if God is sleeping and doing nothing. In the boat, it did not merely seem like Jesus was sleeping, He Was! Sometimes when we don’t notice Jesus, He doesn’t look like He is doing anything. Because actually He is carrying us through the most difficult situations in our lives.

The Poem Footprints depicts the journey of a person with the Lord. It says these words:

One night I dreamed a dream.
As I was walking along the beach with my Lord.
Across the dark sky flashed scenes from my life.
For each scene, I noticed two sets of footprints in the sand,
One belonging to me and one to my Lord.
After the last scene of my life flashed before me,
I looked back at the footprints in the sand.
I noticed that at many times along the path of my life,
especially at the very lowest and saddest times,
There was only one set of footprints.

This really troubled me, so I asked the Lord about it.
“Lord, you said once I decided to follow you,
You’d walk with me all the way.
But I noticed that during the saddest and most troublesome times of my life,
There was only one set of footprints.
I don’t understand why, when I needed You the most, You would leave me.”
He whispered, “My precious child, I love you and will never leave you
Never, ever, during your trials and testings.
When you saw only one set of footprints,
It was then that I carried you.”

This is encouraging that no matter what we go through the Lord carries us through all our troubles. Imagine the disciple’s faces when they saw this miracle. The waves that had been crashing against the boast were now perfectly still. ‘A great Calm’

The Fishermen of the time (Disciples) would have known the psalms. In Psalm 89:s9 it says, ‘You rule the raging of the sea; when its waves rise, You still them.’

Also in Psalm 107: 25 – 30:

25 For he commanded and raised the stormy wind,
    which lifted up the waves of the sea.
26 They mounted up to heaven; they went down to the depths;
    their courage melted away in their evil plight;
27 they reeled and staggered like drunken men
    and were at their wits’ end.
28 Then they cried to the Lord in their trouble,
    and he delivered them from their distress.
29 He made the storm be still,
    and the waves of the sea were hushed.
30 Then they were glad that the waters were quiet,
    and he brought them to their desired haven.

This Psalm describes men who go to sea and they witness a great storm which is God’s doing. The sailors are at their ‘wits end’ they are in the same boat, so to speak, as the disciples and they are terrified. But they know there is only one who can help. The Lord. They cry out in Verse 28 to the Lord ‘in their troubles’. God is the one who can calm storms. In Mark 4:41, the question, “Who then is this, that even the wind and the sea obey him?” shows that the disciples had forgotten who was in the boat with them. The One who had created the storm is the exact one who is there with them and can and will calm it again.

Many Jews were taught the scriptures from an early age, and were encouraged to memorize it. A scripture that would have been committed to memory was Deuteronomy 31:6, which says, ‘‘Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”

If the disciples knew this, why are they questioning? I could ask the very same question to ourselves. Are we any different? We know the scriptures and yet do we follow them. They are only human at the end of the day. But must we strive for this? Yes of course we should aim to live our lives in a way which is pleasing to God and following Jesus’ example. We can only do this with the help of the Holy Spirit.

Be encouraged! The Lord, our God, who created the universe is interested in you. Not just that, He loves, cares and wants to guide you through every circumstance. God is so amazing that He inspired David to write many Psalms, which not only foreshadowed New Testament events (including the storm in Mark’s gospel), but are also relevant and encouraging for us today. What an amazing God we have.

God’s Word is full of encouragement and wisdom for us to hold onto. It is a guiding light to our souls and the more we read the Bible, the more it speaks into our lives. When we are afraid or worried we can turn to passages such as Philippians 4:6-7, ‘Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.’ He says we don’t have to worry about anything, as He’s got it! He will ’guard your hearts and your minds’ (Philippians 4:7). He will protect and keep us against evil with the peace that only God can give.

He was like us in every way – except one. Jesus is perfect and has never sinned. Hebrews 4:15, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathise with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin.” So when we come against the storms in our lives, we can be assured that Jesus is able to sympathise and have compassion towards us. He can do immeasurably more than we can ever ask. We can do everything through Him.

After He calmed the storm, Jesus questioned the disciples. “Why are you so afraid? Have you still no faith?” This is a challenging question for them to hear. They had just witnessed a wonderful life saving miracle, yet were still afraid. Maybe you have seen God work in a miraculous way, but still struggle to come to Him for help. Lean into Him, trust Him more each day and give Jesus full control of every situation. It isn’t easy, but prepare to witness amazing things!

The greatest gift and miracle from God is salvation through His Son. If you don’t know Jesus as your personal Saviour, please be encouraged that His word is true. It is written that ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ Romans 10:13.  Maybe you are going through a tough season, and unsure which way to turn, Jesus said, ’ I am the way, the truth and the life, no one comes to the father except through me’ (John 14:6) If you would like to know more after the service please ask me or one of the Deacons here and we would love to help you.

We all experience times of difficulties and suffering, it is what we do at those times that is most important. Jesus tells us to, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11 :28) Will you turn to Jesus and put your full trust in Him that He will get you through? Or will you try and solve the problem yourself, eventually realising its no good, the situation is beyond your control.

As we read the words of the final Hymn this morning:

My hope is built on nothing less
than Jesus’ blood and righteousness;
I dare not trust the sweetest frame,
but wholly lean on Jesus’ name.

The Chorus says:

On Christ, the solid Rock, I stand:
all other ground is sinking sand;

Those who have trusted in Jesus as their Saviour, have the assurance in Christ alone. In Him, we can place our trust and we can never fail if we are on the Rock that is Christ Jesus.

What is our response to this? Hallelujah!

We read Psalm 135:1-7 at the start of this service as a wonderful reminder to lift high the name of the Lord and I would like us all to read it together from the screen if we can.

Your Name, O Lord, Endures Forever

135 Praise the Lord!

Praise the name of the Lord,

    give praise, O servants of the Lord,

2 who stand in the house of the Lord,

    in the courts of the house of our God!

3 Praise the Lord, for the Lord is good;

    sing to his name, for it is pleasant!

4 For the Lord has chosen Jacob for himself,

    Israel as his own possession.

5 For I know that the Lord is great,

    and that our Lord is above all gods.

6 Whatever the Lord pleases, he does,
in heaven and on earth,
in the seas and all deeps.

7 He it is who makes the clouds rise at the end of the earth,
who makes lightnings for the rain
and brings forth the wind from his storehouses.

What an amazing God we serve. The everlasting Father, who delights in our praise to Him.

This is a response to what we have looked at this morning in Mark 4. As we can trust wholly in our wonderful Saviour, as it says in the Psalm, Our Lord is Great, our Lord is above all gods. Therefore we should respond in praise, as the Psalm states: Praise the Lord! That should be our Worship to Him. We really have a lot to praise Him for. And as Verse 13 of Psalm 135 says:

13 Your name, O Lord, endures forever,

    your renown, O Lord, throughout all ages.

For those who have trusted in Jesus, we need to remind ourselves that He is our brother and friend. Talk to Him and cut out the embarrassment of calling for help. Take all your heartache and troubles to the Lord our God. He will be there to comfort, listen, guide and help you. Nothing is too big or small to bring before Him. Put our trust in Him and He will be with us forevermore. For now and in this generation, He will support and guide you in the days ahead and when we follow His will.

Allow Him to go before you as you face the challenges of the coming week. Do everything in His strength and not your own and He will provide for all your needs in abundance.

Let’s finish by singing the hymn we mentioned earlier. My hope is Built on nothing less.

August 20th 2023: Peter Gleave

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John 2:1-11

When we go to a wedding we want to record it, to remember it. We take photographs. After a while, they get put away in the loft. They may get forgotten about for generations. The wedding albums are passed on, and people they are passed onto may not even know the names of the those in the photographs.

Today, we’re hearing about a wedding which took place 2000 years ago in Cana, Galilee. We don’t know the names of the people at the wedding, but there were some very important names on the guest list: Jesus’ mum, Jesus and His disciples. This passage shows us that Jesus is OK to have a good time. These weddings would have been held at night. The bridegroom would have been dressed like a king. He would go through the street to collect his bride and bring her back to his home. The bride would be veiled. It would be a very happy procession. The bride would then have her hair done and this would be followed by a benediction. The bright and bridegroom would then be married. The celebrations would last a week!

We are going to visit this wedding feast. As you hear the sound of the music and singing, see the bright colours of dresses and smell exotic food, you will see Jesus and his friends laughing. In the middle of all of this, Mary came to Jesus saying the wine had run out. Mary might have been linked to the family to know this. It was a social gathering, and it would have been a no-no to run out of wine.

  1. A Problem of Insufficiency.

Jesus was told by his mother that there was no more wine. Jesus addresses Mary saying, “Woman.” This would have shown respect. Jesus continues, “Why are you involving me? My time hasn’t come.” His time was the cross. This was a time leading up to it. Mary didn’t actually ask Jesus to do anything, she simply took the problem to Him. Mary knew that running out of wine was a big problem, but she knew Jesus was special and could do something about it.

Have you got a problem of insufficiency in your life? Maybe, a relationship problem, a problem at work or maybe insufficiency of joy? Are you feeling depressed? You may be on holiday but thinking about the work back home. You may be searching the world for meaning and cannot find it because you haven’t met Jesus. What do you do when there’s a problem of insufficiency in your life? Do you take it to Jesus, or try to solve it yourself first because you doubt and lack faith? What do you do if you don’t know Jesus?

  • Jesus was present at the wedding and it made all the difference.

Jesus was right there in the middle of it all. Is Jesus present in your life? Mary told the servants to do whatever Jesus told them to do. Maybe, you’ve taken your insufficiency problem to Jesus, but still worry because it’s so big and you don’t know how you’re going to cope. Then you spiral. What is Jesus saying to you this morning? Ask him to be present in your life. His presence makes all the difference. Give him your burden and leave it with him.

“Jesus said to the servants, “Fill the jars with water.” And they filled them up to the brim.” (John 2:7).   Jesus is now involved. Six stone water jars were used for ceremonial cleansing. They held between 20 and 30 gallons – that’s a lot of water! Jesus told the servants to fill the jars to the brim with water. He then told them to draw some out and bring it to the master of the banquet. The master tastes the wine and doesn’t know where it has come from. It tastes good! He goes to the bridegroom and asks why he has saved the best wine till last. This was the first recorded miracle Jesus did. Jesus willed this to happen.

  • Jesus’ power was at work, unseen by some.

When we come to Jesus with our insufficiency problem and realise Jesus is the answer to our broken relationship with God, His Power is at work. Jesus’ power can change things in a moment. It is a power that can help you with your difficulties. This miracle needed faith, obedience and the unlimited power of Jesus. With it, the problem was solved.

There was some symbolism in this miracle that people wouldn’t understand. The stone jars would have been used for ceremonial washing. The water was transformed into wine. The time would come when Jesus would say that His hour had come. We have symbolism in the shedding of His blood – blood cleansing us from sin.

When we come to Jesus, we can be sure our insufficiency problem will be dealt with, our relationship with God can be put right. We will have Jesus present in our lives. When we face all difficulties, Jesus will be present with us. His power will be present and provide abundance in our life.

  • The purpose for which all of this happened.

“This, the first of his signs, Jesus did at Cana in Galilee, and manifested his glory. And his disciples believed in him.” (John 2:11). This was the first recorded miracle of Jesus. It revealed His glory. The purpose is that ultimately, He might be glorified, to realise that Jesus is the King of Kings, the one who was prepared to give up the glory of heaven and show complete humanity. The miracle of turning water into wine shows His divinity. The disciples put their faith in Jesus.

We must be ready to meet face to face with Jesus. Have you got faith, knowing Jesus is present with you in your circumstances? For those of us who put our faith in Jesus, the best is yet to come. We have eternity in the presence of God. Are you ready to meet Him today? Have you put your faith in Him, to allow Him to meet you in your insufficiency problem today?

Sunday afternoon August 7th 2022: 200th Anniversary Service: Jonathan Thomas

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To watch this service click on the link to our YouTube channel: https://youtu.be/D01LcP8ZoGk

Song of Songs Chapter 2

If you’re a Christian, I want to ask you some questions. They may seem strange and you may not be sure of the answer. You might not even agree that my questions are appropriate. If you are a Christian today, you know you are saved, but do you know you are special? You know that God has chosen you, but do you know He cherishes you? You know that you are redeemed, but do you know that Jesus relishes time with you? You know that God loves you, but do you believe He likes you? I wonder what you think of those questions? I’ll be honest, I struggle with them. It’s as if the gospel is good but I struggle to believe it’s great.

This morning we looked at the barrier to spiritual intimacy of knowing Christ; we just can’t believe that God would love a sinner like me. It is something that we all struggle with. But then there’s a time that comes when we realise that that’s exactly the gospel – I’m not loveable but He loves me. He has made me lovely and now I can rejoice because everything I have is His and it all depends on Him. We see that the answer to how we view ourselves is this great exchange – that He takes my sin and gives me His righteousness. So now everything I have is Christ’s.

But then, as we come into the Christian faith, even though we understand that we are in Christ, and even though we cherish Him, it’s possible to hide from true intimacy with God. There’s a barrier. Let me show you what I mean. Songs of Songs 2, verse 1, she says, “I am a rose of Sharon, a lily of the valleys.” He replies, “As a lily among brambles, so is my love among the young women.” (Song of Songs 2:2) I feel for this young woman. What we have here is a continuation of the conversation in chapter 1. She is making a bold statement which we misunderstand today. We think she is quite confident! Actually, at this time and in this location, the rose and the lily were the commonest of flowers. They just sprung up everywhere. It’s like saying, ‘I am a daffodil.’ She is saying ‘I’m pretty – pretty common.’

I think the reason we struggle with the opening questions are because we feel, ‘I am loved because the church is loved.’ We struggle with individual language. We are happy with corporate language. We are happy to have the church be the bride of Christ, but we struggle to bring that to us. There is a danger here; we must remember that we are united to Christ, but by being united to Christ we are united with all other believers. You have to remember that you are part of the church. Galatians 2:20 says, “I live by faith in the Son of God who loved me and gave Himself for me.” One of the wisdoms of the Christian life is learning both – Christ loves the church and vice versa. It’s so important to try not to think of ourselves as a common Christian but a special saint – but no more special than any other saint. We are all equally priced because everything we have is based on Christ. What we tend to do is, because we all have the same, we lower it. I’ve got three boys so whenever I give them the same, they don’t want it. One of them wants to have more than the other. Having the same thing as everybody else makes it seem not special. We need to understand that all of us having the same Christ does not make it not special. It’s still special.

One of the implications of this thinking is that we can become Christians who don’t believe that God is interested in us. Think of Jesus as a doctor who gives us life-saving surgery. Sometimes, you see people doing an ultra-marathon because they had a car accident, and a surgeon saved their life and saved their leg. They then want to raise money. You also see it with the RNLI – someone was going to drown, and these men and women go out and save their lives. You see photos or television programmes of them being reunited and saying, ‘Thank you so much.’ Often, we can think of Jesus like that. He’s done an amazing thing but then it’s over.

The point of conversion is not the end of the story, it’s the start of the story. That’s the complication of the fairy tale ending. When we come to Christ, that’s not the ending. Fairy tales end with the wedding and then they all lived happily ever after. But I want to know what happened then. That’s the problem; we create a society where everybody thinks the happy ever after is the boring part that we’re not interested in. But actually, that’s the bit I’m fascinated by.

What does it mean to know Christ now that you are united with Him? Because of this view of ourselves being quite common, as she has in verse 1, we can end up not wanting to spend time with Jesus because we  think He doesn’t want to spend time with us. We’ve got this transaction of salvation and we leave it there. Because of this, she comes to the point where she actually hides from him. In verse 14 he says to her, “O my dove, in the clefts of the rock, in the crannies of the cliff, let me see your face, let me hear your voice, for your voice is sweet, and your face is lovely.” She is hiding from him.

I think, as Christians, sometimes we can hide from Jesus. You have a problem so big that deep down in your heart you’re thinking, ‘I’m in this problem because of me. I’ve created this.’ We don’t pray about it, we don’t go to Jesus about it.

I want to talk about the relationship between union and communion. So far this weekend, I have been teaching union with Christ. It’s the biggest doctrine in the New Testament and it is the most important. That’s why Paul keeps saying, ‘In Christ.’ You are united to Christ. Jesus has done everything and now we are in Jesus. We are united to Him. If you are united in Christ and in Him, you are as sure of heaven now as you will be when you get there. He has us and we are His.

But within our union with Christ, which is unchanging, unmovable and utterly secure -nothing can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus – there is communion with Christ. Within the union there is experience of communion in Christ, of spiritual health and vitality. This covers a whole host of things: you can feel it, it can be peace in the midst of confusion, it can be balm to the soul in the midst of hurt and pain. We need to grasp that within the union we have with Christ, He wants us to have communion with Him.

The Lord Jesus invites us to abide in Him, to draw near to Him, to come to Him. What we tend to do as Christians, which causes us lots of heartache, is judge our union with Christ on our communion with Christ. For example, if I feel Christ, I must be secure in my faith. But it’s like being on a spiritual roller coaster all the time. You can be high on a Sunday morning, feeling the Lord loves you and you are going to heaven. Other times, on Saturday nights, you can be in the depths of despair, feeling Jesus doesn’t love you and you don’t know if you’re going to heaven or hell. When you base the judgement of your union with Christ on your communion and experiences of Him, it is up and down, up and down. Never do that.

Our communion with Christ and enjoyment of Him comes from our union: I can know Christ because I am united with Him. Because I am united with Him, even if I can’t feel Him, I am secure. Isn’t that wonderful! Even if I don’t feel the Lord Jesus, He still loves me. I am His. If we get our union with Christ right, we can go for this invitation of intimacy, of communion with Christ, knowing Him in our weakness and in our sorrows, in our joys and in our difficulties. We can ponder, spend time with the Lord, meditate on scripture, allowing our minds to wonder. We have this communion that we are invited to. This communion is based on how amazing Jesus is.

She sees herself as lowly, common, but he responds in verse 2 by saying she is “a lily among brambles.” He is saying, ‘My darling, among the young women, you are special to me.’ We need to see Jesus. If we see Jesus, we will know our union more and we will enjoy our communion more. This is something that open to all Christians. It looks different for so many Christians. Sometimes, Christians talk about it in two stages; there’s a time when they were a Christian but they weren’t enjoying God, and then something happened and they enjoyed God. For most Christians though, I think it’s just steps, experiences, different seasons of life and experiencing the Lord in those different seasons. And that looks different for everybody. The wonderful thing is the Lord meets us where we are.

There are three things we see about Jesus in this passage. Firstly, when she looks at the king, she sees him as her protector. Jesus is our protector (verses 3 & 6). She sits in his shade. He protects her. It’s a lovely picture of protection and embracing. It’s a picture that is repeated in scripture in lots of different ways, particularly with the church. One of my favourites is in Revelation 1. John, as a persecuted Christian, is given a vision of heaven. The curtains of heaven are rent so he can look in. Although he’s being persecuted, he can see a great throne, a higher throne. Everything is going to be OK. You get this amazing vision where the church is there, represented as lampstands and Jesus stands among them. Wonderful! All the churches in Pembrokeshire, Jesus stands among them. Then we see Jesus holds the churches in His hands. Is He standing there or holding the churches? Both! Then, whilst He is standing among the churches and holding them in His hands, John is falling down on the floor as if dead, so Jesus places His hands on John’s shoulders and says, ‘Don’t worry. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the first and the last.’

The Lord Jesus is our protector and He is amongst us.  We remember the words of the Lord Jesus, ‘I give them eternal life and they shall never perish, no one will snatch them out of My hands.’ Nothing can separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus. If you know Christ is your protector, and you are safe and secure in Him, in your union, you can enjoy communion.

In verse 6 we read, “His left arm is under my head and his right arm embraces me.” Wonderful protection and embrace. Does that mean we will never get sick? No, you’ll get sick. Does it mean you’ll never get persecuted? In all probability you might get persecuted and have problems for being a Christian. You might get into difficult conversations. But it does mean that Jesus will never leave you and He will keep you forever. Even if we don’t trust Jesus in difficult times, He still has us. He is our protector.

Jesus is not just our protector, He is also our provider. “Let him lead me to the banquet hall and let his banner over me be love. Strengthen me with raisins, refresh me with apples, for I am faint with love.” (Song of Songs 2:4-5). “My beloved is mine and I am his.” (Song of Songs 2:16a). He is the provider. Everything that is his is hers. He brought her to a banquet, to a public feast. He is giving her food and recognition. Food is a time of celebration. Here he is celebrating her, providing for her. We pray for the Lord to provide, but we also remember the Lord Jesus is the bread of life. He provides Himself. We should want Him.

When it comes to this kind of union, we must make sure we do not get it wrong. When we think of relationships, we can think of a symmetrical, equal, mutual relationship. That is not the case. We haven’t all brought something equal to this relationship. Jesus has brought His righteousness, His love, His eternity, His beauty, His holiness, His sovereignty. What have I brought? My sin and my need. We don’t come symmetrically, but in our union we are one and all that is His is mine. It’s phenomenal, isn’t it?

Thirdly, we see that Jesus is our pursuer. In verses 8-15 we see the king comes leaping across the mountains and hills. He’s really excited. But then in verse 14 he says, ‘My dove is in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside.’ It seems to me she is hiding. She really wants the Lord but there’s something stopping that. She’s building a wall, this cleft of rock around her. She knows he bounds towards her, she knows that he loves, but yet she’s in the cleft of the rock.

This is the great struggle of the Christian life; I know the Lord loves me, I know the Lord will forgive me, I know the Lord is gracious, yet will I confess that sin? No. Why? Because deep down, I’m not sure He will forgive me. I know the Lord is calling me to do something, to step out in faith, to trust Him, to follow Him, to give my all to Him in that certain area of my life, but will I do it? No. Why? Because I’m not really sure He is the provider.

Here, she remembers what the Lord is like, and she see that he is a pursuer. She has built this wall, but he comes. See how he comes to her – this is really important. We hide from the Lord and when we don’t believe we can come to Him, listen to how He comes, “My dove in the clefts of the rock, in the hiding places on the mountainside, show me your face. Let me hear your voice; for your voice is sweet and your face is lovely.” (Song of Songs 2:14). Do you believe that your voice to the Lord Jesus is sweet and that your face is lovely?

When we build walls between us and God, He doesn’t come and bulldoze them down. He doesn’t come and say, ‘How dare you build a wall, don’t be so silly.’ He comes and wants her to being the walls down, he wants her to see him. Hosea is so similar because there’s this marriage picture being used when Israel has gone away from the Lord completely. Yet the Lord says these wonderful words, “I will allure her.” (Hosea 2:14). He is the one who comes and says, ‘Speak to me. I want to hear your voice. Come before me. I want to see your face.’

In verse 11 we see what she remembers about him, “See! The winter is past; the rains are over and gone. Flowers appear on the earth; the seasons of singing has come, the cooing of doves is heard in our land.” What we call experience in our communion with Christ of going away, backsliding, a wilderness period, which there can be so many reasons for, in Revelation it is talked of as ‘being cold.’ A winter has come in our relationship with the Lord. The wonderful thing is, if we call to Him, the winter is over. The flowers come out. The wall can be brought down. We can stand face to face. “Behold I stand at the door and knock. If anyone hears my voice and opens the door, I will come in and dine with him and he with me.”

Friends, is the Lord calling you to open the door? Is the Lord calling you to speak to Him again? Have you grown cold? Have you built a wall and you’re willing to go this far but no more? The Lord says, ‘Come to me. All that is mine is yours and you are mine. I love you. I want you to enjoy me and to know me.’ The Lord will meet you in the way that you need Him.