"He's All Together Lovely" - Reflections by Pastor Daniel Batarseh (Maranatha 2021)

Oh most beautiful among women, what is your beloved more than another beloved that you thus adjure us? And I can't help but read these verses and immediately examine my own heart and ask, how would I answer these types of questions if somebody were to ask me about my personal relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ? You gotta know the person of Jesus Christ. Who is he to you? What has he done for you?

Or is he just theology? Is he just doctrine? Look what she says in verse 10. My beloved is radiant and ruddy, distinguished among 10,000. His head is the finest gold.

His locks are wavy, black as a raven. His eyes are like doves beside streams of water bathed in milk sitting beside a full pool. His cheeks are like the beds of spices, mounds of sweet smelling herbs. His lips are lilies dripping liquid myrrh. His arms are rods of gold set with jewels.

His body is polished ivory, bedecked with sapphires. His legs are alabaster columns, set on bases of gold. His appearance is like Lebanon, choice as the cedars. His mouth is most sweet, and he is altogether desirable. This is my beloved, and this is my friend, oh daughters of Jerusalem.

See, what this woman is saying is whether you're from far up close, you'll realize something. He is beautiful from head to toe. There is no one like this man. And like with Christ, take any angle. Look at him in his holiness.

Look at him in his love. Look at him in his mercy and his grace. Look at him in his judgments. Just like a diamond, no matter what face you turn it towards, it will radiate his beauty and his majesty. Look at any aspect of who he is and you will come to this conclusion.

He is infinitely glorious. He is altogether desirable. He is altogether lovely. Heavenly Father, we're humbled in this place. We wanna partner with you to know the depths of who Jesus is.

Lord, we don't wanna just know general things. Lord, take us up close. We pray that one thing would be true, that you would be the supreme desire of our hearts. Transform us. Because, Lord, we know that when we see you rightly, we see other things, everything, the way we're supposed to see them.

We pray, Lord, that we would love you the way you deserve to be loved. And we know that you're able to bring us there. We commit these things into the hands of the living Christ. In Jesus name, we pray. Amen and amen.

Christ is not in the business of exposing sinners in the sense of shaming them and embarrassing them. The Bible tells us that people repent because of the goodness of God. They are drawn by his mercy and his tenderness. A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, give me a drink.

This is far less about Jesus being tired and far more about a divine appointment. She was a lost Samaritan. And she's being taught one of the greatest truths about how you experience salvation. About water. You'll never thirst again.

You drink of this and you'll be satisfied. Look what John shows us, the patience that Jesus has for one soul. That's

the heart of Jesus.

Jesus did not just come to die, he came also to pray certain promises that affect my eternal destination. But now I am coming to you, he's speaking to the father, and these things I speak in the world, for what purpose? That they may have my joy fulfilled in themselves. The one intention that Jesus has, the one sole purpose of this is that you would leave here with a greater joy. Verse four, I glorified you on earth having accomplished the work that you gave me to do.

Verse six. Glorify God wherever you are, whatever season you're in, manifest his name. Radiated. In the world that God has ordained for you. He says, all mine are yours.

So those ones that you have given me, they're not just mine father, they belong also to you. Now that doesn't seem so profound, but it is when you understand it in light of our relationship with God himself. Everything that I have, every ounce of health in my bones, every penny, everything that I have is yours. Sanctified unto God, consecrated for his glory. I promise you Christian, that is the safest place to be in this life.

Imagine the joy of the disciples that heard Jesus praying this prayer. What do you think went into their hearts, when in the presence of the master as he looks up to Heaven and speaking to the father on their behalf, they hear out of his lips, and I am glorified in them. Wow. They have kept your word. When the word went out, they believed on me.

I do not ask that you take them out of the world, but that you keep them from the evil one. I am not going anywhere and neither are you if you're filled with the spirit of God. If you're set on glorifying God, you have a certain promise. And here's the comfort, not that I just have purpose, but the evil one can't touch you. I do not ask for these only, but also for those who will believe in me through their word.

That's us now. This is you. You know what Jesus prayed for you? Father, I desire that they may be with me, that they may behold my glory, and God will answer that. Eternity.

That is your destination, if you're in Christ. Peter wasn't the only one who heard the rooster crow. Jesus heard the rooster crow. And they both, at that sound, locked eyes. What did he see in those eyes?

What kind of reflection? What was on the face of Christ? I believe he saw the compassion of God. Something enough for this hardened heart to melt again. He wept bitterly.

And the man that was following Jesus at a distance was the first one to jump in the water to go back to him.

We are not under the law anymore, but under grace. We believe, God, we're saved by grace and faith and not by our own works, Lord Jesus. I pray, Lord Jesus, that your holy spirit fills us and speaks to us when we become sensitive to your voice, father god, in Jesus' name.

Father, we take the shield of faith today. We're going to trust you. We're going to trust you in every aspect of our lives. And today, father, we take the sword of spirit, your

word.

That's the heart of Jesus.

Zoom into your Bibles. Go beyond the things that are obvious and look at the things that He does tucked in between those wonderful truths and see how He talks to people, how he answers people, how he sits with people, how he exercises his beauty and his gifts. And I guarantee you, you will fall deeper in love with him. Let's pray. Lord, after a weekend of hearing about your beauties and your loveliness and your grace and your wonderful prayer for us and the plans that you have for us and the way you deal with us even when we're not faithful to you, Lord, we end this meeting lest we be exposed as Peter was to all the things that were so glorious yet still was able to make these decisions.

Protect us, Lord. Keep us, Lord. We can't walk faithfully without you. Lord, if you were to let go of us, we will surely fail and disappoint you. But Lord, you call us to receive your grace.

The truth of those lovely eyes, those same eyes that looked at Peter, look at us now. With no desire to condemn, no desire to strip away because you promised that you'll hold us forever, but Lord with the desire for us to be where you want us to be. With all the mistakes and all the dirt that we've collected on our feet, you're willing to wash our feet again. Blessed be the name of the Lord. We give all glory to you in this place.

In Jesus name we pray. Amen.