The Enjoyment of God
Pastor Eric Gilmour
November 28, 2021
Read Songs of Solomon
Christianity is like the cross. Both the horizontal and vertical beams support each other in their relationship as the vertical beam holds up the horizontal beam. The horizontal beam represents your relationship with others and the vertical beam represents your relationship with Christ. Both beams need to be equal for a balanced and successful relationship with others and Jesus.
It is impossible to be rightly related unless we have vertical contact with God. Your personal experience of God and your enjoyment of His presence enables you to do anything in line with His nature and person. You can only take delight and benefit from His relationship if you are connected to Him. We must all come to the place of enjoying God.
ARE YOU AWAKE?
Your Christian life is intended to be enjoyed, and when you lose that sense of enjoyment, it is easy for you to fall asleep—meaning that there is no longer a conscious presence of God in your life. Similarly, you tend to fall asleep because you are tired or drained from things that you do not enjoy or from things that are draining your energy. This is not God’s desire for you and your walk with Him. He wants you to have a relationship with Him, and most importantly, He wants you to be satisfied in Him. He wants you to come alive in His presence.
WHEN WAS YOUR LAST KISS?
Most of your problems can be solved with just a sweet morning kiss. We’re not talking Hershey’s kisses or even the physical embrace we might share with a loved one. These kisses are the direct contact of the Holy Spirit upon our soul.
There is no higher reason to live than the kisses that come from God. The kisses are the manifestation of His love. He loves you, and because of that, He kisses you. When He kisses you, you get a taste of Him and you are changed into His likeness. In the time of victory, His kisses commend you for a great job done, and even in times of failure, He kisses away any form of condemnation.
His kisses are not conditional. They are not dependent upon how perfect or good you are. They do not work on conditional terms. His kisses are everlasting once you stay conscious and remain in His presence. His kisses are the type of kisses you should live for.
Songs of Solomon 2:3 says, “As an apple tree among the trees of the forest, so is my beloved among the young men. With great delight, I sat in his shadow, and his fruit was sweet to my taste.” Similar to the apple tree, Jesus is the only one who has nourishment for your soul. You cannot run to the other trees, or to someone else, and expect them to do what Jesus does. There is nothing else in the world to compare to what you encounter when you eat from this apple tree. You can expect to find great enjoyment when you take a bite of the golden apple.
You cannot run to ministers or even your pastor to obtain that nourishment. They can point you in the right direction but they are not the direct source of nourishment. You were not created to eat bark. In other words, you were only created to eat from the apple tree which is Jesus.
WILL YOU EAT FROM THE APPLE TREE?
The apple tree awakens your soul. Song of Solomon 8:5 says, “Who is that coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved? Under the apple tree, I awakened you. There your mother was in labor with you; there she who bore you was in labor.” You come alive by sitting, resting, and eating from the golden apples of fellowship with God. This is how the soul awakens and this is how the soul falls asleep by neglecting the apple tree.
You live independent of the conscious presence of God when you neglect the apple tree. You cannot want to know God and not have a relationship with Him. In other words, you cannot just admire the golden apple tree and expect to have a relationship with Him. You have to eat the apple to benefit from the nourishment. You have to seek a relationship, and not focus on religion.
Songs of Solomon 8:5 says, “Who is this coming up from the wilderness leaning on her beloved?” This is what happens when you rest in his divine shadow and eat of the golden apples. You move from solitude to a state of dependency upon Jesus. This dependency is only learned by coming to enjoy the sweetness of His presence that brings about a noticeable transformation.
Songs of Solomon 7:8 says, “I say I will climb the palm tree and lay hold of its fruit. Oh may your breasts be like clusters of the vine, and the scent of your breath like apples.” After you have eaten the golden apple, your breath begins to smell like Him. You begin to carry His fragrance and embody Him. You’re no longer memorizing verses or just reciting scriptures to impress the crowd, but you begin to make an impact on others because they see Christ in you. You don’t just need to know the psalms—you need to know the Shepherd.
ARE YOU ENJOYING GOD?
If you don’t enjoy God, you turn your relationship into something that isn’t meant to be. You move from a state of being dependent on Him to one where You just go to Him when you need something. Maybe you’ve laid in the divine shade and eaten the golden apples, but now you’ve lost all enjoyment for Him; Instead, you only come to Him when you need something.
When you understand that He is the only one that can truly satisfy you, then this is where true worship begins. As mentioned earlier, your relationship with Him is like the cross. You cannot survive on your own. You cannot never be truly satisfied without Him. True delight and enjoyment occurs when we rely on Him and pursue Him wholeheartedly.
APPLICATION QUESTIONS
How can you better steward your relationship with God?
Will you choose to rest in His shade? Will you choose to eat from His apple tree and fellowship with Him above all things?
