He is the Price

By Yolandie Mostert (September 2023)

 

This is my beloved and this is my friend, O daughters of Jerusalem. (Songs 5:16c) 

 

We reach the pinnacle of the young girl’s testimony in this message; her conclusion of what was said. Her testimony was personal and based on her deep intimate knowledge of her beloved. For this reason she can proudly declare: ‘this is who He is, He is mine and I belong to Him’. She is not talking of just anyone; the owner of all these wonderful attributes is her friend and beloved.

 

Recently I realised something that I haven’t planned beforehand – this series consists of twenty-four facets of His character. I believe that through this the Holy Spirit also testifies to this series. The figure twelve finds a prominent place in the Bible. Think about the 12 tribes of Israel, the 12 disciples and the 12 gates to the new Jerusalem. We can deduct that twelve refers to government, authority and might. Twenty-four is twelve times two. Think about the 24 elders around the throne. Even greater authority, power and dominion. It’s no coincidence that all these facets also add up to 24.

 

In this verse in Song of Songs we can see a differentiation between the girl that is testifying and the daughters of Jerusalem. I have already explained that the daughters are those that are not walking in such a deep friendship with Jesus Christ. The distinction made in this verse enables us to examine this difference and to apply it to our own introspection. Maybe we have always just assumed that we are a friend of the King.

 

This is my beloved…

The bride of Jesus has come to know His loveliness personally – she identifies Him as her beloved. He is her first love and her whole life exists in and through Him. She knows Him closely through first-hand experience and the evidence of this lies in Him revealing His heart to her.

 

And this is my friend …

I’ve once read words written in great ignorance. The person claimed that we should not be saying that we serve the Lord. Apparently, we then humiliate ourselves since we are all friends of Jesus. He based his statement of a half-quoted passage from John 15 where Jesus declared that He now calls us friends. Let us read the passage to see what it is that qualifies us as friends of Jesus. Because the reality is that many who claim to be friends of Jesus, are not.

You are my friends if you keep on doing what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, for the servant does not know what his master is doing; but I have called you [My] friends, because I have revealed to you everything that I have heard from My Father. (John 15:14-15) 

I believe this passage in Scripture doesn’t need a lot of comments. I’m just going to highlight two points.

Jesus gives two requirements: obedience and revelation. There is an ‘if’ in the first sentence: we are His friends if we do whatever He commands us to do, in other words if we lead a life of obedience. Then, disobedience will disqualify us from being called a friend of Jesus. The unfortunate reality is that most Christians walk in disobedience. Spiritual discipline and subjection to God’s will are not popular topics for sermons and teachings. Because young disciples are not taught the importance of obedience, we find a lot of people claiming to be friends of Jesus, but living their lives according to their own will and pleasure.

The second requirement entails the revelation of everything Jesus heard from the Father to His friends. There is a ‘because’ in the last sentence. Because we receive revelation from Him, He calls us His friends. This point refers us back to the message about first-hand revelation from Jesus to His bride. I have to point out something important in this regard. The revelation we receive from Jesus didn’t stop when the Bible was compiled or ended with the first twelve disciples. It’s a lie that everything that could’ve been said has been said and that the canon is now closed. Jesus Himself says the following:

I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. However, when He, the Spirit of truth, has come, He will guide you into all truth; for He will not speak on His own authority, but whatever He hears He will speak; and He will tell you things to come. (John 16:12-13)

 

It’s really not the intention of my heart to bring people to a place of condemnation or even hopelessness. Rather, I want to bring hope by saying that the same level of intimacy seen in this testimony, is available for each of us. This is supposed to be our own testimony. But it will be dishonest of me to give the impression that it’s already the testimony of each and every one of us, because it’s not.

If you listen to or read this message and realise that you don’t meet the set requirements of being friend, there is no need for despair. There is still time to correction. There is still time to go before the Lord with a longing for deep friendship and to ask for it. Repent of deception, disobedience and a lack of zeal. Pray and fast for a revelation of Jesus Christ Himself, not for more theological knowledge. A book, teaching or message will not be able to bring us into intimate friendship. Only personal first-hand time spent with Him. Worship is also an important key to lead us there. And of course, obedience; obedience unto death. For all of us this means dying to self and all fleshliness, but for some it might even mean physical death for the sake of His Name.

 

Many times when people talk about heaven or eternal life, they talk about it as if it’s the highest price. As long as someone can just make it to heaven of just have eternal life…

There is a price much greater than this. Heaven is a destination and eternal life is a condition. It’s not the price. Jesus Christ, Yeshua HaMashiach, the Messiah of the world – He is the price. To know Him and to be able to make this declaration in Song of Songs is the highest price. The rest are secondary and blessings. When we truly come to know Him on this level, we can say the following with the apostle Paul. Not just mindlessly reading the passage, but declaring it as our personal truth:

But what things were gain to me, these I have counted loss for Christ. Yet indeed I also count all things loss for the excellence of the knowledge of Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them as rubbish, that I may gain Christ and be found in Him, not having my own righteousness, which is from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which is from God by faith; that I may know Him and the power of His resurrection, and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death, if, by any means, I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.  (Phil 3:7-11)

What is Paul saying here? Everything that previously meant something to him, now counts for nothing. There is nothing as important to him than deep knowledge of Jesus. Jesus is the price, the gain, that he pursues with his whole life. Jesus, not heaven, not being bride, not a calling, gift or ministry. No – only Jesus. He continues by describing two things of Jesus that he really wants to know: the death of Jesus and to be conformed to it and the power of the resurrection of Jesus. And even then, after this whole declaration of deep surrender and worship, he doesn’t even claim the resurrection from the dead as something that is due to him. How different is this image of humbleness compared to that of many Christians that expects the resurrection even though they walk in rebellious disobedience; just because they cited a prayer to be saved once in their life.

 

Who do we want to be?

The bride, the girl the Song of Songs whose life and words speak of deep knowledge of the death and resurrection of Jesus and of the loveliness of each facet of His character? Of the daughters, following from far and needing others to hear from them who Jesus is.

 

It’s available for each one of us to declare:

I know Jesus Christ personally. In each facet of Him, I found beauty and loveliness. I have tasted Him and cannot get enough of Him. Until my fleshliness has been conformed to His death, until there is nothing left of my fleshly nature, until His full resurrection power is working in me, until I have discovered everything there is to discover about Him, until I fully know His heart, until then I will count everything else as rubbish.

 

I believe that this series of messages about Him has blessed you and will continue to bless you as you grow into greater and deeper revelation of Him.

May each new revelation lead to deeper worship.

May the deeper level of worship lead to more dying to self.

May each piece of self that dies, be a sacrifice of worship and be rewarded with a new layer of fresh and deep revelation of who He is.

May this cycle of revelation and worship never cease, until we reflect the fulness of His glory.

 

Shalom to you and yours!

 

Links

To listen to the introduction, as well as the Word I’ve received by the Holy Spirit concerning this series, please click here.

The audio version of this message is availalbe on our telegram channel: https://t.me/+1hYU7h46Jj1hZDc8

Part 1 – Who is the Bridegroom (background)

Part 2 – Who is your beloved?

Part 3 – He is my beloved

Part 4 – Hy is Light

Part 5 – Hy is Holy

Part 6 – Hy is the Warrior and Avenger

Part 7 – He is the Conqueror

Part 8 – He is the Head

Part 9 – The Set-Apart One

Part 10 – He is Unchanging

Part 11 – He is the Zealous One

Part 12 – He is the Judge

Part 13 – He is Love

Part 14 – He is Unfathomable

Part 15 – Hy is the High Priest

Part 16 – He is the Creator

Part 17 – He is the Lamb of God

Part 18 – He is the Son of YHVH

Part 19 – The is the Eternal One

Part 20 – He is the Truth

Part 21 – He is Worthy

Part 22 – He is the Bridegroom

Part 23 – He is Indescribable