An Enduring Love

Excellent. What do you make of this line?

It's from a film that came out in 1987, and if you're wondering, I was too.

I won't ask you to work out the master of what you were.

It's a film that had this iconic scene.

Now, I've never watched this film, but I know this iconic scene,

and I know this quote from this film,

and the scene is these two characters who've been far apart in this film.

They're called Wesley and Buttercup.

All of a sudden, at the end of the film, they're reunited,

and they come out with this line.

He says this over her. It's iconic.

He says,

Death cannot stop true love.

All it can do is delay it for a while.

And lines like that, they kind of grab our hearts, don't they?

Lines like that, you'll hear them everywhere

if you listen out hard enough for them in movies,

in books, in musicals, and in particular,

you'll hear them everywhere in songs,

because we love the thought of a happily ever after.

Love when you have it,

it feels, doesn't it,

like the most intoxicating and precious thing to you in the world

when you have it,

when you find it.

And because of that love,

when you lose it,

it feels like a piece of you goes missing.

Summed up, I think,

in that famous insight from Queen Elizabeth II,

all those years ago,

who just said simply,

grief is the price that we pay for love.

Now, to some extent,

as we bring this series home this morning,

as we think about love when we have it

and what it feels like when we lose it,

to some extent,

we all know what that feeling is like.

But for many of us,

we will know that pain so acutely

and so deeply this morning,

as maybe you recall that person

who used to be in your life

and you miss them more than words can convey.

And you've been so in my mind

and my prayers this week

as I've been studying this text.

And my prayer for you has simply been

that God would meet you

and he would comfort you

and he would remind you

by his Holy Spirit gloriously

of the most wonderful news

that you'll ever hope to hear.

Because this really is,

as we take this in at the end of this song,

this is the most glorious song

that we could ever hope to hear.

And that you would know

that Jesus has gently placed

the stories that our wounds tell

within the bigger and the eternal story

that his wounds tell.

And that's the theme of this couple's song

this morning in the Song of Songs.

Because what this is,

is both a celebration

and a declaration of

a love that will last forever.

And it's a massive signpost

to the only place

where we can ever hope

to experience a love like this

and a love that's so much greater than this.

So let's pick this up,

will we, at verse 5.

As we get into this last little section

of the Song of Songs.

And through this song,

if you remember this journey,

if you're just joining us this morning,

you're joining us right at the end of the series.

We've journeyed with this couple.

We've thought about the fact

that in this song,

there is a kind of narrative progression.

We've heard this couple

at the beginning,

and you can check these out online

if you want to go back

and get the series.

We've met this couple.

They've told us about their first date,

as it were,

where their eyes first met,

how they felt about each other.

It was all butterflies in the stomach.

We've heard about their wedding day.

We've come through that.

We've heard about a cold patch

that they came through together.

And last week,

we heard them sing about

just how exclusive

their love for each other is.

And now,

as we approach these final few verses,

notice the touching detail in the text.

Verse 5.

That she is now leaning

on her beloved.

Do you see it?

Now, question,

when do people normally

lean on each other?

Okay, think Bill Withers.

Lean on me when you're not strong.

When do we lean on each other?

Periods of our lives

when we're not strong, right?

So here,

right at the end of the song,

I don't think it's too much of a stretch,

and a lot of commentators

will say this as well,

to view this couple

as now being nearing old age.

And if that's the case,

here they are,

verse 5,

they're reminiscing about

the early days, right?

That's what's going on here.

They're reminiscing about

the early days.

And it's almost as if

she grabs the microphone

at verse 6 and 7,

and she sings

all about the quality

of the love that they have

for each other.

And just see,

there's two things in her song

that she's telling us

about their love.

Firstly,

she's telling us

that she wants their love

to be permanent.

Do you hear that in her voice?

She's speaking to him.

She's saying,

set me as a seal

upon your heart.

Now,

a seal there

that she's singing about

is just this marker

of ownership.

Okay,

I often do this

with my books

when I buy them.

Alex,

knowing me well enough,

bought me a

personalized book name stamp

a number of years ago.

Still one of my favorite gifts

I've ever received.

And I stamp my books

with this thing,

Graham Shanks.

And that's what a seal

is in this day.

It's a stamp

of ownership.

And what she's saying

is that I want you

to write my name

onto your body.

That's what she's saying.

I want you to make

this permanent.

And people do that,

don't they?

They get the names

of their spouse

or maybe the names

of their children

tattooed on their body.

It's their way

of saying that

I will always carry

your name permanently

with me

wherever I go.

And I take it

she's talking

about the arm there

because that's just

the most visible place.

So she wants

their love.

She wants it

to be permanent.

She wants it

to be sealed.

And then she moves

from telling us

about what she wants

for their love

and their relationship

to telling us

about what it means

to her.

And I think

that's what the word

for there indicates.

So to anyone

who will listen,

here's how she feels

about their love

and you can imagine

her, she's scratching

her head,

she's thinking to herself,

what is the most

final and fixed

thing that I can think of?

What is the one thing

in life that really

is permanent

that's not going to change?

And it might sound

a bit morbid

but see what she goes for

and this is important

for where we'll come back.

Love is as strong

as death.

It's the most

fixed thing,

it's the most permanent

thing that she can think of

as she's scratching

her head.

It's jealousy,

it's as fierce

as the grave.

It is the very flame

of the Lord

and it's interesting

that the first time

in this book

we get the covenant

name of God there,

L-O-R-D

in capital letters

and it's a reference

to the promise

making God.

So she's referring

there to the fact

that this God

does not change,

He never changes

and likewise

this love

will not change.

many waters

cannot quench it

or take it away

or floods drown it

so the best

fire brigade team

in the world

can't put out

the fire

of their love

and you can't

buy this kind

of love either

even if a man

emptied his savings

account

and was all geared up

to hit send

and a bank transfer

of everything

that he had

to try and purchase

this kind of love

for himself,

what she's saying

is it would be

futile

because you can't

buy

this kind of love.

Maybe there's a way

of reading this as well

when maybe you

consider verses

11 and 12

and that's kind of

a reference there

to Solomon

and his approach

to sex

and the mention

of Baal there

if you see it

is suggesting

in contrast

to the Lord

Baal

just this

idol

that's taking

God's people

away from him

it's suggestive

of the fact

that it's not

a good thing.

Maybe there's a sense

of which she's saying

no amount of money

in the world

would convince me

to walk away

from this kind of love.

Do you see how

verse 12

just see it

she says

my own vineyard

is mine to give

so this kind of love

is not something

that I think

you could say

there at verse

8 and 9

her predictive

brothers

are going to

usher her into

it's not something

that Solomon's

going to buy

from her

this is something

she's an independent

woman

she is saying

my vineyard

which is a metaphor

for her body

my vineyard

is mine to give

do you see that?

So this love

that I have

nothing

will tear me

away from it.

Remember that show

Deal or No Deal

well here she is

telling Noel Edmonds

no deal.

And so bring

all those similes

bring all those

metaphors

bring all those

longings

bring all those

comparisons

in her song

together

what is she

saying about

their love

first of all

it's permanent

second of all

it's priceless

and we all

long for the

kind of love

that she describes

here don't we

we all long

for that kind

of love

that's permanent

that's priceless

it's why the

official music

video to Ed Sheeran

song Perfect

when I checked

it the other day

on YouTube

it presented me

with a number

that was so

large that I

actually had to

take the number

copy and paste it

and put it into

Google to tell me

what it was in

words because it

was just so many

digits

and if you're

wondering it's

just short of

four billion views

that that music

video has

since it came out

seven years ago

only goes to show

that we all

long for a love

that is both

permanent and

priceless

a love that

will last

forever

a love like

this

but it raises

the question

doesn't it

and she's

raised it in

her song

how secure

is all of

this

particularly if

they are in

their old age

let's run with

that theory for a

minute if they

are in their

old age

they know

what's around

the corner

how secure

is all of

this

because once

the enchanted

spell of the

Disney like

ending has

worn off and

we touch back

down onto

planet reality

as wonderful

as this is

they know that

there is someone

who is out to

put a full

stop into

their relationship

sentence

someone who

is a hundred

percent guaranteed

to succeed

and we've heard

about him already

in her song

because she's

right isn't

she that there

is nothing

as certain

and permanent

as death

and you can

attempt to

recreate that

scene from

Titanic where

Jack and Rose

are floating on

the water as

the Titanic

sinks behind

them and you

can sing along

with Celine Dion

and believe that

your heart will

go on and you

can sing it

till you're

hoarse

but at the

end of the

day that is

shallow and

short-lived

comfort when we

feel the sting of

being separated

from love

you know we've

talked about in

this series all

the way along

about turning

down the

world's song

and turning up

the song of

God

see when it

comes to

this

friends I've

been to

enough

humanist

funerals in

my time to

know that

those feelings

that love

will go on

that memories

will last

they are

shallow and

short-lived

and God in

his word wants

to give us

something so

much better

so much more

permanent

something so

much more

priceless to

base our

lives upon

because there

is nothing as

final and as

fixed as the

grave right

not so says

Jesus

not so says

Jesus

you know one of

my favorite

scenes in the

gospels

and you can go

home and read

this in your own

time if you want

is we find it

in Matthew 22

where a group

of people called

the Sadducees

right we

know one thing

about the

Sadducees

they're so

Sadducee

and this will

come on to

explain why

this group of

Sadducees

they come to

quiz Jesus

this new kid on

the block with

all his religious

theories with

all his wisdom

his so-called

wisdom they come

to him to

quiz him

now the

Sadducees are a

group of people

who view the

world in a

certain way

we'll come on

to it a minute

but before we

get on to the

Sadducees

here's what we

need to see

friends we all

view the world

in a certain

way

all view the

world in a

certain way

this is what

Christians call

your world

view

we all put on

a pair of

spectacles every

day and we

look at the

world and we

interpret the

world

you know I

was walking

home with a

fellow school

parent about

six months ago

and we're

walking up to

King's Buildings

from our school

at Liberty

primary

and we're

talking about

life and we're

talking about

jobs and we're

talking about

the football and

we're talking about

holidays and we're

talking about

weekend activities

and we're talking

about hopes and

aspirations for our

kids and then

they said of

course but we're

not religious

and the conversation

ended about ten

seconds later as

we parted and it

suddenly occurred to

me in that moment

that I'd missed a

massive evangelistic

opportunity

because you know

what I should have

said

to get her to

think I should

have said

yes you are

I view the

world in a

certain way

you view the

world in a

certain way

I believe that

life is all

about something

you believe life

is all about

something

the only difference

between you and

I is that the

glasses that I

wear every day

are Jesus

shaped

and so here's

my confession as

I was thinking

about this passage

today never miss

those evangelistic

conversational

connecting points

friends we all

view the world in

a certain way

all view the

world in a certain

way the only

question is is it

right and will it

hold what are you

basing it on

you know there was

a survey of

students recently

a survey of

serving students up

and down the UK

and apparently

74% of students

around today who

currently don't

attend church

said that they

would be going

up for going to

church if a friend

asked them

well cool 74%

do you know I

think what I

think that shows

I think it shows

that there's a

massive openness

right now the

likes perhaps of

which there has

never been in

many of our

lifetimes

this group called

the Sadducees

they view the

world a certain

way and one

of those things

that they are

massively sceptical

about is this

whole idea of

resurrection

it's this whole

idea of

physical life

after death

surely that is

jack-in-the-bean

stock stuff

and the

Sadducees

they come to

Jesus and they

hit him with

this ridiculous

hypothetical scenario

in Matthew 22

and the game

they want to

leave Jesus

floundering

they want to

put him in the

spot with a

hypothetical situation

that only goes to

show the fact that

he cannot answer it

goes to show the

ridiculous nature of

this notion of life

after death of a

physical new

creation so they

want to leave Jesus

scratching his

head which if you

know anything about

Jesus is a very

dangerous game to

play and here's

the scenario

they come to

Jesus and they

say suppose a

woman is married

to a man

you following it

suppose a woman

is married to a

man well suppose

that man dies

and as would have

been the Old

Testament custom of

the day that

man's brother

steps in to

marry the woman

to keep the line

going got it

right this is

always where I

lose the plot

in the scenario

okay but suppose

that man dies

and another brother

steps in

and suppose that

brother dies

and another brother

steps in and it

keeps going on and

on and on until

we're at the

seventh brother and

then they go for

the checkmate and

they say to Jesus

but suppose now that

the woman dies

at this resurrection

that you speak of

which brother's

wife will she be

and they think

rock hard place

Jesus surely

but don't

underestimate

Jesus

he is

beauty and wisdom

personified

and how he answers

that question

the scenario

is the solution

to our grave

shaped conundrum

Jesus says

your question

it only goes

to show

that you know

neither the

scriptures nor

the power of

God

because he is

not the God

of the dead

he is the God

of the living

and it is a

wonderful comfort

this morning

if you want to

read in Matthew

22 just while

we're here

we'll stop

it is one of

the places

in the Bible

thing that we

can say with

confidence

friends that

when our

loved ones

die and

they trust

in Jesus

they will

go to be

with him

spiritually

speaking

before the

new creation

before Jesus

comes back

they will go

to be with

him

one of the

places you can

go to make

that argument

but Jesus

says that the

resurrection

they will

neither marry

nor be given

in marriage

and what

he's saying

in the

broader

context

is that

because there

will only

be one

marriage in

heaven

and it's

the marriage

between him

and his

people the

church

there's only

going to be

one marriage

in heaven

you know

always think

about this

friends the

Bible should

be a three

chapter book

really really

should be

Genesis 1

and 2

God creates

the world

God creates

human beings

Genesis 3

Adam and

Eve they

rebel against

God

and that

really should

be game

over

game over

for mankind

but God

in his

grace

despite the

Old Testament

story developing

documenting

how human

beings have

given God

every reason

possible

to scrap

project

salvation

God

didn't

but it's

better than

that

God sent

his son

and his

son willingly

took on

human flesh

and entered

a world

of sinful

rebels

but it's

better than

that

Jesus came

desiring a

bride

desiring a

people

and desiring

that this

bride

would be

his

and so

the groom

was the

one who

went to

the cross

and who

gave up

his life

to save

his bride

and so

Jesus

prayed the

bride

place

of his

blood

friends our

sin was

nailed to

the cross

with him

and in so

doing he

wiped away

the guilty

record and

the sinful

stains of

his people

meaning

that if our

trust is in

him today

that we can

be forgiven

and we

can know

and be

made right

with the

living God

but it's

better than

that

God wanted

more than

just a

marriage of

convenience

the father

sent the

son

why

it was all

about freeing

sinners

and turning

them into

a bride

who delights

in his

son

the father

wants us

to feel

the same

way about

his son

as he

does about

his son

and so

by his

spirit

living in

them he

gave them

new hearts

complete with

new desires

that means

that we can

say we

love you

Lord Jesus

there is

none like

you

the discovery

our astonished

hearts make

as we live

the Christian

life is that

discipleship is

an invitation

to taste

joy

but it's

better than

that

when he

returns

this Lord

Jesus

there will

be a new

creation

just as like

he walked

out of that

tomb

dead

now alive

friends

all

one day

all of

creation

will walk

out there

with him

one day

in the same

way

and so if

our faith

is in him

we can know

that what

happened to

Jesus

is going to

happen to

us a

beautified

bride on

that day

when he

returns

a glorious

groom

a glorious

wedding

resurrection

bodies

and that

great day

stands

irremovable

in the

future

as the

hope

to which

we're

called

when we

will one

day be

free

from the

presence

of sin

and that

is Fort

Knox

secure

and today

what this

woman sings

about here

concerning the

love that

she knows

and enjoys

and rests

in with her

husband

we can take

her words

and quite

literally just

put them on

our mouths

and sing

them about

our groom

Jesus

can you

follow with

me here

in the text

verse 6

friends

Christ is

the one

who has

written

our names

as a

seal upon

his heart

you can

know that

today

Christ is

the one

whose love

is not

just like

the power

of death

Christ is

a love

that breaks

the power

of death

Christ's

jealousy

his yearning

that we

would be

his

is not

just like

the grave

actually

it's so much

more

it bursts

open the

grave

because

his love

for us

is the

love

that's

going to

last

truly

truly

that is

the song

of songs

you know

just as we

close

you know

there was

a romantic

comedy film

that was

released

back in

1989

it was

called

When Harry

Met Sally

and the

main character

Harry

had the

strange

personality

quirk

that showed

itself

in how

he read

a book

and this

was his

famous line

he says

when I

buy a

book

I read

the last

page

first

that way

in case

I die

before I

finish

I know

how it

ends

and it

turns out

what is

an annoying

personality

trait

is actually

a very

sound bit

of discipleship

advice

this morning

God wants

us to see

the last

page

wants us

to see

the last

page

and we

can base

all of

our lives

on the

truth

as it

were

united to

Jesus

now

but we

can base

all of

our lives

on the

truth

that we

know the

last

page

we know

how the

story

ends

this is

our future

with him

can I

try and

apply this

just as

we

close

to some

of us

here

today

friends

I know

that you're

in a

transitional

season

of life

and what

I mean

by that

is that

you're

leaving

something

that you

know

and you're

stepping into

something

that you

don't

know

as if

your life

was two

columns

if you

imagine

the

known

and the

unknown

is why

I imagine

it feels

like your

known

column

was really

full

and all

of a

sudden

it feels

like it

is being

depleted

and the

unknown

column

is going

up and

up and

up and

up and

up and

it's a

scary

place to

be

isn't

it

unknown

it's

why

often

when we

speak

to

kids

when we

do

the

issue

group

at

Liberty

!

primary

many

of them

will

tell us

that their

favourite

do

with

this

kind

of

stuff

is when

your

known

column

is at

its

max

we

know

everything

we

know

the

teachers

know

the

school

know

the

playground

know

everything

and all

of a sudden

when you

move up

to school

it just

goes

that way

many of us

are at

a

transitional

stage

of life

and that's

really

scary

but if

you're here

today and

your faith

is in

Jesus

can I

tell you

something

as scary

as life

feels

right now

here's

two

things

that

aren't

on your

unknown

list

number

one

your

union

with

Jesus

doesn't

change

you're

united

to

him

that

is

in

your

known

column

number

two

is

your

eternal

future

with

him

so

scary

as

life

gets

as

many

things

crop

up

in

that

unknown

column

there

are

two

things

that

are

not

going

to

change

and

nothing

absolutely

nothing

in

all

of

life

is

going

to

sever

you

from

Jesus

and

his

love

for

you

and

we

can

walk

confidently

into

an

unknown

tomorrow

knowing

that

that

will

never

change

is that

not

true

is that

not

why

we

can

take

risks

for

the

gospel

is it

not

why

we

can

contemplate

moving

out

of

our

comfort

zone

is it

not

why

we

can

think

about

having

evangelistic

conversations

with

our

friends

and

taking

a shot

that

God

by his

spirit

will

do

something

well

above

our

imaginations

see if

the future

is certain

see if

his love

for us

is sure

as hard

as it

gets

down

here

we

can

base

our

lives

on the

truth

of

his

love

for

us

and

so

let's

finish

this

series

then

with

just

the

words

of

Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter

8

and

let's

just

let me

read

these

to

you

friend

and

take

in

the

truth

of

these

today

because

this

is what

Paul

is

saying

in

Romans

if

you

want

to

track

it

through

this

is

what

he's

saying

in

Romans

is

he

climaxes

almost

his theological

argument

in this

section

what it

means

what does

the

gospel

mean

he

says

this

for

I'm

convinced

that

neither

death

nor

life

that's

what

we've

been

thinking

about

this

morning

neither

angels

nor

demons

neither

the

present

nor

the

future

nor

any

powers

neither

height

nor

depth

nor

anything

else

in all

creation

will be

able to

separate

us

from the

love of

God

that is

in Christ

Jesus

our Lord

friends

that truly

is

the song

of songs

Christ

and his

abounding

love for

us

so let

me pray

and then

we'll

stand and

respond to

this and

sing a

couple of

songs as

we close

and so

Father we

just thank

you for

your love

for us

this

morning

and we

thank you

for the

gospel

truth

that

nothing

will be

able to

separate

us

from the

love of

God

in Christ

Jesus

thank you

that Romans

Romans 8 · chapter mention

chapter 8

starts a

chapter that's

all about

no condemnation

and it

ends in

no separation

and so

Father

particularly

pray for us

this morning

for whom

this has

maybe been

painful

this has

been hard

this has

brought back

memories

oh Lord

may

the comfort

that's found

in Jesus

the fact

that he

is the

one who

will not

break a

bruised

reed

that he

will not

blow out

a

snuffering

candle

Father

may him

and his

gospel

today

come with

a

renewed

sweetness

Father

we just

thank you

for each

other

we thank

you

that we

do not

walk

this

Christian

life

alone

and may

today

just be

another

day

where we

help

each

other

remind

each

other

of

the

greatness

of our

King

and his

love

for us

so

Father

we thank

you

for

today

we

thank

you

for

this

series

and the

Song of

Songs

and we

just

commit it

to

you

Father

in

Jesus

name

we

pray

!

Amen

B