HIS HEART SONG…Part 23

“The Accountability of the Bride”

· DEFINITION OF ACCOUNTABILITY: an obligation or willingness to account for ones activities and accept responsibility for them, and to disclose the results in a transparent manner. It also includes the responsibility for money or other entrusted property.

· In the next Song of Solomon verse we are going to look at, the bride totally understands that she is ACCOUNTABLE to God because she is a tenant of His vineyard…she is a caregiver of His people…

· We are all accountable for what we say and do….not only are we accountable to God, but to each other as “sisters in Christ”…the Bible teaches us to encourage each other, exhort and pray for each other…as well as to correct one another IN LOVE AND IN CHRIST.

· ACCOUNTABILITY PARTNERS… are other believers with the same goals that we have that we are willing to be accountable to…they can help us stay focused, encourage us when we need strength, and help us get right back on track when we start to stray…

· We also have to remember that we are accountable to OURSELVES…WE are responsible for our actions…we can’t go blaming our actions and the RESULT of our actions on other people!

· Before we get to our Song of Solomon verse where the Bride is talking about her accountability before Christ…let’s look at a few Scriptures where God shows us that He holds US accountable when we don’t exhort others or when we fail to warn others who are going the wrong way…

· 1 Thessalonians 5:11 “Therefore encourage one another and build each other up, just as in fact you are doing.”

· Ephesians 4:25 “Therefore, laying aside falsehood, speak truth, each one of you, with his neighbor, for we are members of one another.”

· Colossians 3:16 “Let the word of Christ dwell in you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom, and as you sing psalms, hymns and spiritual songs with gratitude in your hearts to God.”

· James 5:16 “Therefore, confess your sins to one another, and pray for one another so that you may be healed. The effective prayer of a righteous man can accomplish much.”

· Proverbs 24:24-25 “He who says to the wicked, “You are righteous,” Him the people will curse; Nations will abhor him. But those who rebuke the wicked will have delight, And a good blessing will come upon them.”

· Proverbs 12:15 “The way of a fool is right in his own eyes, but a wise man is he who listens to counsel.”

· Romans 14:11 “For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ. For it is written: “ As I live, says the LORD, Every knee shall bow to Me, And every tongue shall confess to God.””

· Ezekiel 3:18-19 “When I say to a wicked man, ‘You will surely die,’ and you do not warn him or speak out to dissuade him from his evil ways in order to save his life, that wicked man will die for his sin, and I will hold you accountable for his blood. But if you do warn the wicked man and he does not turn from his wickedness or from his evil ways, he will die for his sin; but you will have saved yourself.”

· Romans 14:12 “So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” (KJV)

· So……………….with all that said….let’s get into our verse from the Song where the bride shows us that she knows she is to be accountable to Christ…

Song of Songs 8:11 “Solomon had a vineyard in Baal Hamon; he let out his vineyard to tenants. Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver”

· SOLOMON REPRESENTING PEACE:

· This is so super cool…..we just got finished talking about PEACE in the previous verse…and check out how this verse starts….with the bride SAYING her Beloved’s name…SOLOMON…..remember his name means “PEACEABLE”…and Solomon represents JESUS here in the Song…who IS our PRINCE OF PEACE!

· 2 Thessalonians 3:16 “Now may the Lord of PEACE himself give you his peace at all times and in every situation. The Lord be with you all.”

· SOLOMON REPRESENTING WISDOM:

Solomon also represented WISDOM…Jesus IS WISDOM itself…

· Matthew 12:42 ” The queen of Sheba will also stand up against this generation on judgment day and condemn it, for she came from a distant land to hear the wisdom of Solomon. Now someone greater than Solomon is here--but you refuse to listen”

· Colossians 2:3 “In Him lie hidden all the treasures of wisdom and knowledge.”

· When it seems like everything around you is trying to overwhelm you….just stand on HIS WISDOM and HIS PEACE will rule!

· James 3:17 “But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, open to reason, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial and sincere.”

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· THE VINEYARD that Jesus has is HIS PEOPLE!

· Isaiah 5:7 “The vineyard of the Lord Almighty is the house of Israel, and the men of Judah are the garden of his delight.”

· The vineyard Solomon had was at BAALHAMON

· BAALHAMON means “lord or ruler of a multitude”…..some say it is a wealthy realm that Solomon ruled over…which makes perfect sense…because if SOLOMON (JESUS) is your LORD and RULER…then HIS PEACE AND WISDOM will rule over the multitude…over all the things you do during your day…

· “He let out the vineyard to tenants…”

· DEFINITION OF TENANT: One that pays rent to use or occupy land, a building, or other property owned by another.

· So…………..we are the tenants….not only collectively, as the body of Christ, but INDIVIDUALLY….we each have a sphere of influence that we are RESPONSIBLE FOR and we are ACCOUNTABLE TO GOD for what He has given us to be responsible for!!!!

· As a mom…where is my first sphere of influence?....it is with my CHILDREN…I am RESPONSIBLE for cultivating the ground of their hearts. Think of how awesome it would be if parents really did this!!!!! There would be a lot LESS issues in the world today!

· From this sphere…He might then lead me to a larger sphere of discipling others or simply encouraging others

· HE WANTS US TO BRING HIM FRUIT!!!!!!!...He has entrusted His vineyard to US!!!...in other words…the kingdom of this age is entrusted to us…He has leased it to us!

· WE ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR HIS PEOPLE!

· In the parable in Matthew 21:33-44….Jesus actually referenced the Song of Songs 8:11-2 by teaching about a landowner who planted a vineyard, built a tower, and “leased” it to keepers then went into a far country…WE ARE LIVING IN A TIME WHEN THE LORD IS IN A “FAR COUNTRY”!!!

· Matthew 21:33-44 (The Parable of the Tenants) “Listen to another parable: There was a landowner who planted a vineyard. He put a wall around it, dug a winepress in it and built a watchtower. Then he rented the vineyard to some farmers and went away on a journey. When the harvest time approached, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his fruit. “The tenants seized his servants; they beat one, killed another, and stoned a third. Then he sent other servants to them, more than the first time, and the tenants treated them the same way. Last of all, he sent his son to them. ‘They will respect my son,’ he said. “But when the tenants saw the son, they said to each other, ‘This is the heir. Come, let’s kill him and take his inheritance.’ So they took him and threw him out of the vineyard and killed him. “Therefore, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?” “He will bring those wretches to a wretched end,” they replied, “and he will rent the vineyard to other tenants, who will give him his share of the crop at harvest time.” Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone the builders rejected has become the capstone the Lord has done this, and it is marvelous in our eyes? “Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed.”

“…Each was to bring for its fruit a thousand shekels of silver”

· A THOUSAND SHEKELS OF SILVER…remember that SILVER represents REDEMPTION….

· SO………………….these pieces of REDEEMED SILVER…these ACTIONS, the things we do as we cultivate the vineyard…the ATTITUDE that we have, the WORSHIP that we give to Him, the SERVICE we do in His Name..all of that is the FRUIT that we harvest for Him (the people that we disciple, etc..)…THESE THINGS ARE the REDEEMED SILVER

· GO BACK JUST A LITTLE BIT and remember that the bride just got finished saying how much she loved living before His Eyes….she totally GETS the fact that she is ACCOUNTABLE to Him for EVERYTHING she does…she understands that on the last day, every believer will give a full account of what we did in our life here on earth to GOD!!!…she also understands the REALITY of her ETERNAL REWARDS before God…so therefore…EVERY SINGLE DAY and EVERY LITTLE THING she does in obedience is IMPORTANT!!!

· Colossians 3:23-24 “WHATEVER you do, work at it with all your heart, as working for the Lord, not for men, since you know that you will receive an inheritance from the Lord as a reward. It is the Lord Christ you are serving.”

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· One Thousand : 1000 - Christian Numerology meaning deals in reference with having or achieved divine completeness

· Only IN CHRIST are we complete…Everything else leaves us unsatisfied

· It seems like everyone in the world is on the lookout for the next “new thing”…o, I gotta have the new iphone or I am not complete”…I gotta have this car or that house”….a new job, a new relationship, a new toy….but all of these things leave us UNSATISFIED…because NONE of these things can COMPLETE us

· There is a “God-shaped hole in all of us…the restless heart is yearning…”

· There is NOTHING that satisfies us outside of HIM and HIM ALONE

· Paul even tried to explain this to the Colossians

· Colossians 2:9 “For in Christ all the fullness of the Deity lives in bodily form”

· Then he goes on in verse 10 to say that you are COMPLETE IN HIM…

· Colossians 2:10 “and you have been given fullness in Christ, who is the head over every power and authority”

· John 1:16 “And from his fullness we have all received, grace upon grace.”

· Revelation 1:8 says that He is the “Alpha and Omega, the Beginning and the End, who is and who was and who is to come”

· IT DOESN”T GET ANY MORE COMPLETE THAN THAT!!!!

· So………………….1,000….divine completeness……as we MOVE, and DO, and BREATHE in HIM….we are complete…

· Acts 17:28 “for “‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, “‘For we are indeed his offspring.”

· As we LIVE and MOVE in Him…we are storing up for ourselves “treasures in heaven”

· Matthew 6:20 “But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.”

· 2 Corinthians 5:10 “For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ, that each one may receive what is due him for the things done while in the body, whether good or bad.”

· I don’t know about you, but I LOVE LOVE LOVE to give people things! I love to see their face light up….I would much rather GIVE something to someone than to RECEIVE something…

· There is even a verse about it…

· Acts 20:35 “…it is more blessed to give than to receive.”

· THINK ABOUT IT THIS WAY…..if God is storing up everything we do for Him in heaven…because He plans on rewarding us for it…..why would we DENY HIM THAT JOY by not doing anything for Him here on earth!!!!

· It will bring ULTIMATE JOY TO HIM to give our inheritance to us!!! HOW COOL IS THAT!

· I want to hear Him say….

· Matthew 25:21 “…well done My good and faithful servant…!”

· It is a JOY to give to Him….and a JOY for Him to give to us! A WIN-WIN SITUATION!!!!!

· Ephesians 2:10 “For we are God's workmanship, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.”

· WE WERE CREATED FOR THIS!!!!

· As we are tending this vineyard…laying treasures up in heaven…there are 5 different crowns that we may receive from our King!!! (we talked about them a long while back…but we will go over them again super quick)

· 1. FOR SELF-CONTROL:

· 1 Corinthians 9:25 “Everyone who competes in the games goes into strict training. They do it to get a crown that will not last; but we do it to get a crown that will last forever”

· 2. FOR LOVING JESUS’ APPEARING AND KEEPING THE FAITH:

· 2 Timothy 4:8 “Now there is in store for me the crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous Judge, will award to me on that day--and not only to me, but also to all who have longed for his appearing”

· 3. FOR PERSEVERING UNDER TRIALS:

· James 1:12 “Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.”

· 4. FOR KEEPING, CARE GIVING OR SHEPHERDING OTHER CHRISTIANS:

· 1 Peter 5:1-4 “To the elders among you, I appeal as a fellow elder, a witness of Christ’s sufferings and one who also will share in the glory to be revealed: Be shepherds of God’s flock that is under your care, serving as overseers—not because you must, but because you are willing, as God wants you to be; not greedy for money, but eager to serve; not lording it over those entrusted to you, but being examples to the flock. And when the Chief Shepherd appears, you will receive the crown of glory that will never fade away.”

· 5. FOR BEING FAITHFUL IN SUFFERING FOR CHRIST:

· Revelation 4:10 “Do not be afraid of what you are about to suffer. I tell you, the devil will put some of you in prison to test you, and you will suffer persecution for ten days. Be faithful, even to the point of death, and I will give you the crown of life”