Intimacy with GOD by Esher Shoshannah (e book reading free .txt) 📕

Now His Lordship is proclaimed loud and clear, "First and foremost in my life I belong to my Beloved, and of less important now is that "I have Him". THIS IS LORDSHIP! THIS IS WHY JESUS DIED. "For to this end (purpose) Christ both died, and rose, and revived, that he might be Lord (not just Savior) both of the dead and living." (Rom. 14:9)! He didn't come to just save you but to sanctify you (set you apart for Himself alone)! This is what surrender is all about! This is where God's power becomes real in your life: power over habits (Rom. 6:6,11,14), power over your thought life (II Cor. 10:3-5), exercising power over the enemy (Eph. 6:10-19), power to experience the precious filling of the Holy Spirit (Eph. 5:18-21), power to receive the deep and intimate things about your Bridegroom, the Lord Jesus Christ (I Cor. 2:9-12). It will be progressive; your love will grow deeper and deeper just be patient.

She knew that her beloved "feedeth among the lilies" in 2:16. Even way back then He was revealing precious, practical truth to her. Did she act upon that knowledge? No! She had heard the truth but did not abide in it so that it set her free (John 8:30-31; 15:7,8). As with many Christians, they have a lot of biblical knowledge in their heads and they can "talk" truth real good with others, but the power of God is sadly missing in their daily walk and it is obvious to all. If you want the Lord's power in your life, then there is no middle ground! Listen to the words of the Lord Jesus Christ, "So likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." (Luke 14:33)! Why fear to give it all to the Lord? Will you be deprived? That's a lie from the pit of hell! Consider carefully the following thoughts.

What will cause me to turn everything over to the Lord? Promises such as this, "And we know that all things work together for good to them that love God, to them who are the called according to His purpose." (Rom. 8:28). The key is loving God. If I am in love with Him He will cause everything to turn out right, even the attacks of the enemy that I will feel. What does it mean to have Jesus as Lord of my life? What I give up He gives back on loan. I no longer own anything! I am a steward or manager of His property! My wife does not belong to me, she is on loan from the Lord. She belongs to Him. I had better take good care of His "property"! I find out what His management manual says about treating my wife along with everything else and do it in His power (Eph. 5:25-27; John 2:5).

He gives me back the car I once owned and He tells me to manage His car carefully. If He asks me to take people some place, even though inconvenient to me, I will do it because it is His car, not mine. But O the benefits! You will have in your life the fruit of His Holy Spirit (results of daily surrender (Rom. 12:1,2)! Everything people are desperately searching for, you will possess in your daily life: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. It's Christ's image in you (Rom. 8:29).

Why is it that we Christians are unable to truly receive what we already have according to Eph. 1:3? "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ." Did you catch it? It says "hath" not "will"! This "blessings" box is filled with God's promises. The key to unlocking the safe deposit box is simple, trust in God's character that He does not lie (Num. 23:19; II Cor. 1:20). Exercise faith. If you are surrendered completely to Jesus, you have no need to worry about Him answering your prayer requests. Why? Because you will not ask for anything that will not bring Him glory (John 14:13-15; I John 3:21-24).

 His will is found in His promises. Read I John 5:14,15 and Heb. 4:14-16 and start waiting on your Abba Father and Bridegroom to pour out the "spiritual blessings" upon you! The enemy prowls about like a roaring lion seeking those he may devour (I Pet. 5:8). In surrender we have the victory (II Cor. 2:14). We'll have trouble, "Yet man is born unto trouble, as the sparks fly upward." (Job 5:7). But, Praise God, we know the Troubleshooter! Surrender to Him and victory is ours!

Surrendering all to the Lord is so important that without it you will never experience the next three chapters of this Song. The whole purpose of this Holy Spirit inspired Song is to get you and me, dear reader, to enter into and live out daily the verse found in 8:5.

From a distance a group of people are watching a couple coming up toward them. Wondering if it might be the bride and Bridegroom they ask, "Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness, leaning upon her beloved...?" Answer it by placing your name in the reply, "Why that's _______ and Jesus!" We are to be leaning on Jesus, not "hanging" in there by our fingertips. Leaning declares I’m weak but He is strong! We will discuss this verse later.

All the joys of former moments with Him had just flashed through her mind; the loving, intimate words He had so often spoken to her (1:9-11,15; 2:2; 4:1-7,9-15) which had so filled her heart. Now a darkness seemed to envelope her thoughts. Seeds of doubt and depression were creeping in. "What is happening to me?" she thought. It was the enemy attacking her thought life by placing these questions before her. "To think that I have thrown it all away, how could I have done this? Why did I give it all up? Look at Him there with all those other lilies, He doesn't need me! I am a failure! I am no good!" She bowed her head and would not go a step further.

The enemy of her soul continued the attack on her mind. He was doing everything to keep her from taking this step in to her Beloved's power. Satan knew that if she did she would have authority over him and all his demonic hoards. Excruciating emotional pain, waves of guilt, replaced the joy of the moment. With tears dropping at her feet, she bowed her head. The bride was so ashamed and did not have the courage to look up. She feared it was too late to have the surrendered intimacy once experienced.

At the very lowest moment in this satanic attack she felt a powerful presence of someone standing in front of her. Her head was still bowed but she cleared her eyes of tears. She went limp as she saw the nail-scarred feet. It was her Beloved! She still could not bring herself to look up. He gently lifted her head and bid her to look into His eyes. He brushed away the tears from her cheeks. O how wonderful that hand felt to her. As her eyes met His, her heart melted! Instantly, every doubtful and depressing thought disappeared from her mind! There was no more attack! An awesome power was flowing through her from head to toe! She was filled with the Holy Spirit, His very special, eternal gift to her!

The enemy could not stay in the presence of the Ruler of her heart. Because of that one statement, "I am my Beloved's" she experienced for the first time, surrendered victory. She learned, in a moment’s time, that having her eyes on her Beloved during an attack will bring sweet victory! The victory over the enemy of our minds comes when we are focused on Jesus alone, the Bridegroom of all grace! O the words He is about to breathe upon her heart and mind, they will become a total balm of healing so that she could experience, "...forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before..." (Phil. 3:13; Isa. 54:4-8). Rejoicing with great joy the Bridegroom reassures her heart that He still loves her with the same fervent “first love, love” as from the beginning. His love had not changed nor His desire for her though she had brought momentary shame to His name. He forgave her without hesitation. The Bridegroom said, "I am restoring your soul and will once again lead you in the paths of righteousness for My Name’s sake." The Beloved takes both of her hands in His, and with great delight in His voice tells her what He sees in her:

THE DELIGHTS OF HIS HEART REVEALED 6:4 - 7:9

V.4 "Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah, comely (lovely) as Jerusalem, terrible (fearful) as an army with banners."

With her heart bursting with love, she thought, "He hasn't changed! He hasn't changed! His 'first love' love for me is still as intense as it was from the very beginning!" Love entirely engulfed her heart, soul and mind. It was the same spiritual passion, that Holy Spirit electricity, which she had felt the first time He kissed her with the kisses of His Word (1:2)! The joy of intimate acceptance sweeps over her soul as the Lover of her soul continues...

"Thou art beautiful, O my love, as Tirzah...."

"Tirzah" (Heb. "to be pleased with", "to accept favorably", or "approved") was the capital city of the northern kingdom's ten tribes (I Kin. 14:19). Listen to Him speak again to her, "O My love, you are beautiful, you please My heart so. I completely accept you and approve everything about you!" Why does He not remind her of the deep failure? Why does He not speak in ominous, warning tones of strong discipline? Because He knew that her heart had never really walked away from Him. It had always been surrendered even if her walk deviated at times from what was truly in her heart.

A true surrendered believer will always respond to godly repentance worked in the heart by the blessed Holy Spirit. O how this pleases the Beloved. By her very coming to Him, it implied that she had repented! He says absolutely nothing concerning the sin. Repentance makes you beautiful, delightful and lovely in His sight and He tells her as much...

"...comely (lovely) as Jerusalem..." (Heb. "place" or "foundation of peace").

What greater compliment could the Beloved pay the one and only love of His heart by comparing her to Jerusalem? Jerusalem has a special place in the heart of God (Psa. 48:1-3,8). It was God's special dwelling place on Earth (the Temple). His glory dwelt in Jerusalem! It was lovely to God because wherever He is beauty is! The Bridegroom could see His peace dwelling in her. It was that confident peace, after describing Him in 5:10-16, which caused her to boldly proclaim, "I am my Beloved's...!" Without His peace as the foundation of your life you cannot please Him or have His plan accomplished in your life (John 14:27; Phil. 4:6,7). As her Beloved, the Prince of Peace, gazed into her eyes He saw the peaceful, still waters of her heart and soul resting in Him (Heb. 4:10)! To have His total peace activated in her brings a walk of holiness. Peace and holiness complement each other. Listen to Heb. 12:14, "Follow (pursue) peace with all men, and holiness (sanctification) without which no man shall see the Lord." (See II Cor. 7:1; Eph. 4:24; I Thess. 3:13).

Come with me to Rev. 21:9 and see yourself described there! "And there came unto me one of the seven angels...saying, 'Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb's wife'. And he