Loves intensity can be at different levels.
“Love is… a flame above all other flames.” 8:6 “better than wine.” 1:2
It can be felt when feeling loved. Even though you are loved it may not feel that way sometimes. Other times you can really feel it. And there are some special times where the experience of the love of Jesus Christ gets to a point where 1 It is more delightful than any other experience Song 1:2-3. 2 Your body can’t physically sustain itself Solomon’s Song of songs 2:4-6 3 You can drink up as much as you want 5:1. 4 Give all of yourself to Jesus, always, as soon as He calls. 7:9-12 5 Look forward to the greatest drink of love ever when He returns to pick up His bride and she see’s his face in all it’s unveiled glory in the most beautific vision. 8:14
It can be felt to greater and greater degree’s of duration and intensity.
In the first section of the greatest love poem that a great king of peace and Messiah of Israel wrote the woman he was courting felt love to greater and greater degree’s of intensity to the point were her body could not hold itself up with it’s own strength.
Imagine thinking about all the ways someone has loved you to the point where you physically can’t stand anymore!
In her words she says,
“Strengthen me with raisins and refresh me with apples for I am faint with love.” Solomon’s Song of Songs 2:5
Then she passes out and he is there tenderly and affectionately holding her. From her vantage point she says
“His left hand is under my head and his right embraces me.“
My main point in this post is to let you know that if you are a true Christian that God wants you to experience His Love to greater and greater degree’s and if it so happens you also will not be able to stand.
At the movies. Have you ever been in a movie and the person is crying and you cry. Or they laugh and you laugh. Or they feel good and you feel good. Humans have an ability to empathize and feel the emotions of other’s. We will put ourselves in their situation and feel what they are feeling. Want to sense love, then think about what it would be like to be the woman falling in love with a great type of Jesus Christ in the love Song.
The Song is divided up into parts. The first section is “Arousal”. For she says, “Under the apple tree I aroused you.” This arousal is not sexual. But her feelings for and desire for him increase. He loves her and expresses his love to her in an increasing manner. Meaning that in this section their feelings get aroused toward each other to greater and greater heights and depths. She both feels loved to greater and greater levels of intensity and feels greater and greater love to him. The arousal section is a vehement spark that starts when she first see’s him at his first anointing. She desires him and he takes her to his chambers. She wants to be near him at noon. They go on their first date that ends with her passing physically not able to stand as she mediates or thinks about all the ways in which he has shown love to her that day. This arousal section goes from Song 1:2-2:6
God is love. God wants you to know what love is in the mind and sense it in your heart. The woman in the Love Song knew what love was. She had experienced it through God’s beloved son, Jedidiah, the king of peace Solomon the first day she met him. What was it like? It was more delightful than wine, caused her to want to be near him as soon as possible, caused her to think highly of him, caused her to highly value him, he became precious in her eyes, caused her to be willing to give up her life in order to have him close to her heart. And on and on. to the point where she drinks up his love in her mind until she grows faint.
You also can experience God’s love to greater and greater degree’s of intensity just by mediating on truths in certain orders with a pure heart. Im not saying you have to be practically perfect but you do have to be positionally perfect in Christ and not living in known sin for a decent amount of time in order to experience God’s love in an increasing manner. Not saying that your obedience will earn God’s favor toward you but that your mind and heart must be able to meditate on God and the truths of Scripture in a way that affects your heart and gives it a delight more delightful than any other experience. A piece of heaven on earth for heaven is a place of love.
These experiences are in God’s timing and you can’t arouse or awaken love until it desires for love is Sovereign. Love is also free and priceless so you can’t do anything to earn this privilege for Jesus Christ has earned it for you.
Here is me trying to be humble. I do not want to take credit for anything good God does for me. I deserve nothing and am less than nothing apart from God, yet at the same time I would like to encourage those true believers out there that God is immensely Good and wants you to be fully satisfied in Him alone. He weans you off your sin and draw you closer by His Love and the delightful experience of it. I have experienced this overwhelming river of pleasure for an hour about twice, for about two hours another time and I have no clue how long another time. Where I could not move for my body couldn’t but my mind was much on the excellencies of Jesus Christ, particularly at the cross. I don’t want to say that it was only delight and happiness. Or joy and peace beyond my imagination but also what seems to be a mix of what would seem to be apposing emotions all at the same time. “Rejoice with trembling” Psalm 2:11
For me it starts with a spark that turns to a flame wether it be sweet or previous due to my sin differs, but a flame non the less then as time goes on in the same day, usually fasting, I have the day off, my phone off and only time is for the One I love. And the flame gets hotter, meditations can be easy or hard to keep focus, all the while being sensitive to the Spirit, to not grieve him with pride, selfishness or unbelief. High thoughts of Him for longer periods of time that result in praise or worship is also key. Wether it be praise, adoration, meditation on the cross, a verse or God’s glory in nature, or his love to me from the foundation of the world until now and on into eternity, each one being a delightful kiss of love that my thirsty soul drinks up, God tends to increase desire then fill it, repenting of wrong idea’s of God thus purifying my heart so I can see God, confessing unbelief, following convictions, thoughts of hell to increase joy, but generally the goal is to think higher and higher about Jesus, who He is, what He is like, what He has done for me and promises for longer times with purer motives.
I would say, Just pretend to be the woman in the Love Song and you will experience the love of God as she did. Though this is true to some degree, but you can’t put love in a box. Meaning you can’t think this thought then that thought then the next and you are guaranteed the most delightful experience. God/Jesus Christ wants a personal relationship with you, so He will personalize your relationship with Him. It’s principles of love, faith and humility that must be followed. If you have no idea what Im talking about here then that’s okay. Give it some time, fill your mind often and with lots of Scripture, get to know Jesus, who He is, what he is like and what he has done for you and promises, have faith filled prayers, lots of trials, lots of suffering for Christ’s sake and increase the length of time and degree of humility in your prayers and meditations and increase your sensitivity to what the Spirit wants of you by obeying Him sooner and no matter what and you will soon know though all of this does not earn you the right to be nearer to God but the fruit of your love to Him will draw Him closer. “Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.” James.
God is immense and his love is infinite. Love from a human is nice and delightful how much more delightful is it to be in a love relationship with God through Jesus Christ!!
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I will tell you what ruins the experience every time is when my eye goes off of Jesus and I think what a great experience I am having and am pridefully thinking highly of myself wether I notice it at the time or not. If i notice it and God is merciful, much sorrow ensues. But generally as I tried to extend the time spent praying and meditating on truth, I would often think “How spiritual I am” rather than giving Jesus the credit for doing the work in me. Getting sinfully prideful about high religious experiences is easy. Spiritual pride will make you feel more self righteous and believe you deserved and earned the experience but you can’t buy love.
True, yes, I am much more spiritual than before as the outer man decays and my inner man is renewed day by day. Yet pride and confidence in myself would rise with such thoughts mainly due to my immaturity and lack of experience in this area. “Dark am I, yet lovely” ought to be in my heart with proper emotions and balanced.
A Side note. This is a side note as to false and true religious experiences.
Benny Hinn took this concept to far and people were passing out all over stage, due to more of a show and type of what I call Satanic hypnosis.
The devil will always masquerade as an angel of light, but his experiences always tend to not transform a person into being more loving but actually harden a person in their sin.
So if your experience of what you believe to be the Love of God enables you to live a holier and less sinful life because the love of God has been shed abroad in your heart then the experience is of God. If your life is still the same pattern of sin then the experience is more than likely not of God. The experience if of a Holy God who is love also when all sin is repented of and your not hanging onto any one particular sin because love is universal and changes the whole heart, life and person. Not that you will be perfect but that every area of your life that you know you ought to be doing, you will be headed that direction.
Matthew 26:41
41 Keep watching and praying that you may not enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
1 Corinthians 15:43
43 it is sown in dishonor, it is raised in glory; it is sown in weakness, it is raised in power.
1 Peter 1:8Whom having not seen, ye love; in whom, though now ye see him not, yet believing, ye rejoice with joyunspeakable and full of glory:
“The text we are upon speaks of “joy unspeakable, and full of glory.” And who that considers what man’s nature is, and what the nature of the affections is, can reasonably doubt but that such unutterable and glorious joys, may be too great and mighty for weak dust and ashes, so as to be considerably overbearing to it? It is evident by the Scripture that true divine discoveries, or ideas of God’s glory, when given in a great degree have a tendency, by affecting the mind, to overbear the body”
JE
The bride to be was “faint” and weak thinking of all the ways in which he is loving and has loved her. Her body could not hold herself up.
4 “He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.
5 Stay me with flagons, comfort me with apples: for I am faint with love.
6 His left hand is under my head, and his right hand doth embrace me.” Solomon’s Song of Songs 2:4-6
My point here is that if just a human experience of love can cause a woman to grow faint and physically weak so that she was being held by her lover in the banquet hall.
HOW MUCH MORE SO WOULD THE CONTEMPLATIONS OF THE LOVE OF JESUS CHRIST IN AN INCREASING MANNER DO TO OUR WEAK BODIES!!
The first drink or taste of his love was at his anointing when she fell in love with him for the first time and it was more delightful than wine. Song 1:2-4.
The second drink she is at the banquet hall and his banner over her is love and she has been in his private chambers, rejoiced and delighted in him, had balanced emotions “Dark am I, yet lovely, accepted by him, adored by him, praised by him, made promises to, looked at by his loving and peaceful doves eyes, dwelt with him in luxury and praised some more then brought to a banquet hall were his banner over her was love and she passes out in his arms. Overwhelmed by his love. Now this is only Solomon. She is experiencing God’s love through the greatest type of Jesus Christ alive at the time and on the first date his love has effected her heart so much that her body can’t physically hold itself up anymore! How much more so would our bodies feel the weakness of the flesh when the love of Jesus Christ is being poured out into our hearts as we think of all the ways He loves us. So long as we have a pure heart for”Blessed are the pure in heart for they will see God” and taste God who is love to the degree that it is possible that the body will not be able to hold itself up or get up. Stay humble and keep your emotions holy and balanced. “Rejoice with Trembling.” Psalm 2:11
The third drink is in Song 5:1 where she and him get to drink their fill!! Meaning how much do you desire to experience the Love of God through the one/One who loves you? How thirsty are you?
Warning!! “Do not arouse or awaken love until It desires.” Song 2:7
But when God desires then you can drink up as much as your hearts content. There is an infinite ocean out there and your heart can only drink a drop or two but if your really hungry for whatever level you desire, God will fill it! When He wants and if your thoroughly humbled, repentant and beholding the Glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ for great and greater lengths of time with more and more intensity and blameless in life for she was “flawless”. A piece of heavenly love here on earth as big as your heart desires and can handle is the 3rd drink. Be being filled with a river of pleasure that never runs dry.
I don’t see her getting a fourth drink of his love. I suppose this is the final drink she is waiting for at the end of the Song.
Now, I do see her giving him a drink of her love. “Spiced or mixed wine” in Chapter 7. Which is his/His image in her, holiness, her love to the greatest height, depth, width and length thus far. This fourth drink is for him. Its a labor of love. She has labored in service to his will alone and it’s all for him/Him alone to drink up, but her happiness is place in His, so that she is happy because He is pleased with her. Francis on Laboring in love.
Now some may say, “I have left all for Jesus Christ, I am living as righteous as I believe possible and my thoughts are often and long on the Love of Jesus Christ and I have not felt such things.”
Look closely at the reason you think God should pour out His Love to you in such a manner. Is it because you think you deserve it? Is it because you think you have humbled yourself and left all for Christ that he now owes you a great experience of His love? “If someone were to give everything he owned for love, the offer would be utterly despised.” Song 8:7. Jesus Christ, your Heavenly Bridegroom is holding back because you think you deserve it or believe you have done something to earn his better favors. This is self righteousness. Doesn’t God give us love and Grace. Grace is us getting something we don’t deserve. So you must constantly have the idea that you don’t deserve His Love but Jesus Christ has bought and earned it for us by His blood!! It took the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God in flesh in order to be of enough infinite worth to purchase the Holy Spirit without measure to give to us and indwell us, and shed abroad in our hearts. Apart from being untied to Jesus Christ we deserve nothing but the Lake of fire!!
If you have had no such experience God owes you none and may be saving the best for last. The longer you wait the greater the enlargement of your heart to handle more.
Also if the experience of His love seems far off this is okay as well because this will only increase your desire and He will fill it all the more.
Also, look to every area of your heart, look to your conscience. Is it clear or are you living in some known sin. Confess and then repent of all sin, fight, fight some more, keep winning the battles and cleanse your hands and purify your hearts. I would like to say that you can’t experience the love of God to high degree’s if your living in sin, but rarely I do believe the Lord will bless a repentant heart that day with a flood of love, felt greater than ever before just for the fact that when He does do it that you will definitely know that you didn’t deserve it so that you give Him all the glory!!
The Psalmist, speaking of the vehement religious affections he had, speaks of an effect in his flesh or body, besides what was in his soul, expressly distinguishing one from the other, once and again: Psal. 84:2, “My soul longeth, yea, even fainteth for the courts of the Lord: my heart and my flesh crieth out for the living God.” Here is a plain distinction between the heart and the flesh, as being each affected. So Psal. 63:1, “My soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee, in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is.” Here also is an evident designed distinction between the soul and the flesh.
The prophet Habakkuk speaks of his bodies being overborne by a sense of the majesty of God, Hab. 3:16: “When I heard, my belly trembled: my lips quivered at the voice: rottenness enter into my bones, and I trembled in myself.” So the Psalmist speaks expressly of his flesh trembling, Psal. 119:120: My flesh trembleth for fear of thee.”
That such ideas of God’s glory as are sometimes given in this world, have a tendency to overhear the body, is evident, because the Scripture gives us an account, that this has sometimes actually been the effect of those external manifestations God has made of himself to some of the saints which were made to that end, viz., to give them an idea of God’s majesty and glory. Such instances we have in the prophet Daniel, and the apostle John. Daniel, giving an account of an external representation of the glory of Christ, says, Dan. 10:8, “And there remained no strength in me; for my comeliness was turned into corruption, and I retained no strength.” And the apostle John, giving an account of the manifestation made to him, says, Rev. 1:17, “And when I saw him, I fell at his feet as dead.” It is in vain to say here, these were only external manifestations or symbols of the glory of Christ, which these saints beheld: for though it be true, that they were outward representations of Christ’s glory, which they beheld with their bodily eyes; yet the end and use of these external symbols are representations was to give to these prophets an idea of the thing represented, and that was the true divine glory and majesty of Christ, which is his spiritual glory; they were made use of only as significations of this spiritual glory, and thus undoubtedly they received them, and improved them, and were affected by them. According to the end for which God intended these outward signs, they received by them a great and lively apprehension of the real glory and majesty of God’s nature, which they were signs of; and thus were greatly affected, their souls swallowed up, and their bodies overborne. And I think they are very bold and daring, who will say God cannot, or shall not give the like clear and affecting ideas and apprehensions of the same real glory and majesty of his nature, to any of his saints, without the intervention of any such external shadows of it.
Before I leave this head, I would farther observe, that it is plain the Scripture often makes use of bodily effects, to express the strength of holy and spiritual affections; such as trembling,[5] groaning,[6] being sick,[7] crying out,[8] panting,[9] and fainting.[10] Now if it be supposed, that these are only figurative expressions, to represent the degree of affection: yet I hope all will allow, that they are fit and suitable figures to represent the high degree of those spiritual affections, which the Spirit of God makes use of them to represent; which I do not see how they would be, if those spiritual affections, let them be in never to high a degree, have no tendency to any such things; but that on the contrary, they are the proper effects and sad tokens of false affections, and the delusion of the devil. I cannot think, God would commonly make use of things which are very alien from spiritual affections, and are shrewd marks of the hand of Satan, and smell strong of the bottomless pit, as beautiful figures, to represent the high degree of holy and heavenly affections.
Jonathan Edwards
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