Mike Bickle emphasizes the significance of the Song of Solomon, explaining that it reveals God's emotions and desires for His people, which transforms our relationship with Him. He contrasts the legal aspects of redemption with the emotional depth expressed in this book, highlighting that God desires a loving relationship with us rather than a mere transactional one. Bickle encourages believers to engage with the text personally, turning its poetic language into heartfelt dialogue with Jesus. He believes that understanding the emotional side of Jesus' love will heal emotional and sexual brokenness in the church. Ultimately, he calls for a deeper exploration of the Song of Solomon to uncover its treasures and truths about God's love.

Wonyoung humnida. Yes, you understood, right? Then we will answer in English. Good morning. Very good. Jukbok humnida. Wow. Yes, today, from the beginning, from today, the first hour, you will start the lecture on Agar. Today, I will ask you why Agar is the topic of this lecture. So, Michael, let's talk about why you think the teaching on the Song of Solomon is so important and why we are doing this for the conference. Because the Song of Solomon reveals the emotions of God like no other book in the Bible. Because the Song of Solomon reveals the emotions of God like no other book in the Bible. like no other book in the Bible. Yes, this morning, the translator is Esther Park, who translated in YM. who translated in YM. Let's give her a round of applause. Let's give her a round of applause. Many believers know about the legal side of our redemption. the legal side of our redemption. Many believers know about the legal side of our redemption. Jesus became an offering for sin and paid our debt. Jesus became an offering for sin and paid our debt. We received the gift of righteousness. It's a legal exchange. So they know what God did. But the Song of Solomon tells us why He did it. Not just what, but why. Because He has emotions, He has desire, He has feelings for His people. He has desire, He has feelings for His people. And this dramatically changes the way we live before God. Amen. Let's pray. Amen. Thank you. Turn to page 9. We will cover several session notes in each one of the teachings. I have 24 session notes, but only 8 teachings. So my goal is to make you familiar with this book and 8 teachings to make you familiar and comfortable with the book so that you can go home and study it in detail. So if you leave this conference with confidence that you can understand this book, then this has been a successful teaching session. Before we start, I want to make one comment. I've been in ministry 35 years as a pastor, and one of the greatest highlights of 35 years was in March 2011 where I went to Seoul for 12 days. And I had the opportunity to minister in a number of the large churches there and some of the small ones and had a opportunity to connect with some of the leaders of the land. And that was a great highlight in my 35 years of ministry. Because it was 30 years ago when I first visited Seoul, I went to the Yeouido Full Gospel Church to the Friday night all night prayer meeting. And I was sitting in that church I determined that one day I would have a prayer ministry. So part of my spiritual roots go back to Seoul, Korea. So when I went to visit in March, that was the first church that I spoke in. And that was a great privilege for me because I remember the very place I was sitting up there for several days. And now 30 years later I get an opportunity to say thank you to the congregation. Because I believe God has called Korea to give leadership to the prayer movement worldwide. And in the last 50 years that leadership mantle has been on South Korea. But I believe in the next 50 years that leadership mantle in prayer is going to increase even more. Let's begin now the session notes number one. Page nine. On page nine I give a lot of introductory information. I'll just have you read that on your own. Much of the material you'll need to read on your own because we won't have time to cover it in these eight teachings. Let's look at page ten. Roman number two. My personal journey with the Song of Solomon. It began over 20 years ago in July 1988. I was in my office reading a wedding invitation. And on the wedding card it said Song of Solomon 8.6. It said set your seal upon my heart a seal of fire, a seal of love. And I instantly the presence of the Lord was touching me. That's very unusual for me. I'm just reading the wedding invitation and suddenly this verse I've never paid attention to this verse before and I began to weep. I don't know what's happening. It's just a wedding invitation. I'm happily married. I'm not sad. I don't know why I'm crying. And I'm saying, Jesus, be the seal of fire on my heart. And the presence of God increases resting on me. So I called the secretary. Please do not let anybody interrupt me. The Lord's touching me in a strange way right now. So the next 10 minutes I'm just kneeling before the Lord and my heart feels so tender and I'm weeping before the Lord. And then the telephone rings. I say, hello. The receptionist says there's a man on the phone, Bob Jones. He said he just heard the audible voice of the Lord and he has a message for you. I thought that's very unusual. I said let me talk to him. Bob says, Mike, I just heard the audible voice of the Lord. Wide awake. I heard it out loud. Call Mike Bickle and tell him I'm going to visit him with Song of Solomon chapter 8 verse 6. Now he did not know what I was doing that moment. I was kneeling on the floor weeping over this verse while I'm on the telephone. I did not even tell him that. Because I was so moved I couldn't talk. And the Lord told me he's going to speak to you from this verse. And he said he's going to release the anointing of this verse upon the body of Christ worldwide. This anointing to experience the love of God he's going to release sovereignly across the nations. He's going to raise up people all over the world that he's going to visit with this passage and he's going to anoint them to call people to it. And you're just one of these people that will do this. I don't say even hardly one word. He says all of this in about 90 seconds. And then he said goodbye. I think all I said was hello, 90 seconds later goodbye and then I just wept before the Lord. But here's the problem. I had never read Psalm of Solomon before. So I have this instruction from the Lord to focus on this book. But I've never read it. But I called my wife Diane. You're not going to believe what happened. I was reading this Bible verse. Bob Jones called and told me the verse the very moment I was reading it. He told me I'm called to focus on this subject all my days. And he was going to release the anointing of this passage on the body of Christ worldwide through many many people. So I'll tell you more about it when I come home tonight. So now I read the book. It says perfume, flowers, body parts, love, embrace, more body parts. I said this is terrible. I am not joking. I said this is terrible. I can't do this. My father was a world champion boxer. As an amateur, he was world champion at one time. So I grew up in a boxing world. He was a boxer for 18 years. He trained me in boxing. And I grew up in bars and taverns with him all my days. I went with him on the weekends. When I was 5 years old, 6 years old, 7 years old, 8 years old, 12, 13, 14, 15, we were very good friends and he would bring me to the bars with him and they would tell boxing stories with guys that were tough. I reminded the Lord of this. I said, Lord, I can't do this. I am the son of a boxer. This is not who I am. So I go home that night. My wife is so excited. She goes, the greatest day of your life. God spoke to you audibly through this prophetic man and gave you direction. This is fantastic. I said, have you ever read the book? She goes, yes, it's awesome. I said, it's terrible. I said, I'm not doing this. She goes, I think you are. I said, Lord, really, I cannot do this. My favorite book was the book of Romans. I said, let me do the book of Romans or the life of David. And so I was very perplexed. And then I began to study the book because of this audible voice mandate I felt like I had to study. And it describes the principles that exalt the beauty of married love. First, it was a love song to give principles on how love in marriage is to grow. And it's important we know that that's what was in Solomon's heart when he wrote this love story. King Solomon was wooing and winning his bride to love. Top of page 12. Paragraph B. But it's more than a natural love song. That interpretation is very important. I do not minimize that interpretation. There's many excellent commentaries that tell the story of the love principles for marriage. But there's more to this song than only a natural love song. Paragraph B, the spiritual interpretation. It's King Jesus wooing and winning his bride. This is the approach that we will take in this study. But I emphasize that I honor the natural interpretation because it's very important as well. But the spiritual interpretation is the most common way it's been studied for 3,000 years. Roman numeral 5. Jesus is not mentioned by name in this 8 chapter love song. But the premise for all of Scripture is that it exalts Jesus. 39 books of the Old Testament, 27 books of the New Testament, they all exalt Jesus because they were written by the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit inspiring men to write. Paragraph A, Luke 24, Jesus spoke from all of the Scripture concerning himself. When he was talking to the disciples on the road to Emmaus, Luke said all 39 books of the Old Testament, he opened them up and talked about himself in each book. I believe the song of Solomon is included and it speaks about Jesus, not just natural love in marriage. Paragraph B, the Holy Spirit says, I glorify Jesus in everything I do. I can't imagine the Holy Spirit inspiring a book of the Bible that's not about Jesus at the very core. Top of page 13, Roman numeral 6, in the spiritual interpretation, we can approach it in three ways. Between Jesus and the individual believer, Jesus and the corporate church, or Jesus and ethnic Israel. And there's many commentaries written from all three of these perspectives. And I bless many different interpretations of this book. There is no one interpretation that captures everything God wants to say in this glorious love song. I've had young people come to me and they say, look at this commentary. They say different things than you do. And I smile and I go, no, you don't have to say that. As long as their interpretation helps people love Jesus, let's bless it. Because this book is like a diamond with many facets. And any way that you look at it, the light shines with brilliance and reflects through this diamond. I have a hundred and fifty commentaries of this book in my office. A hundred and fifty different books, commentaries I have on the song of Solomon. I've read it from many different angles. I go, ooh, I love you Jesus. This is awesome. So if you have a different interpretation than someone else, just bless them and enjoy the Lord. You don't want to argue about the book of Song of Solomon. It's too glorious. Just love Jesus and be happy and just bless one another. Romans number seven. I believe that all believers are a part of the bride. Some people say only the most mature are part of the bride and everybody else is in a different category. I believe that in the big picture, in eternity, every believer will be a part of the bride. You can read more about that if you want. Let's turn to page fifteen. Romans number eight. The three main characters in the song. King Solomon. He's a picture of the resurrected Jesus, King of kings. The Shulamite maiden. She's a picture of the bride. She's introduced as a young maiden, but she becomes the mature bride as the song unfolds. And then there's the daughters of Jerusalem. They are sincere, yet they picture spiritually immature believers. Though I believe in the technical sense, all believers are a part of the bride, many believers are responding to Jesus like the daughters of Jerusalem. Romans number nine. Comparing Song of Solomon and the Book of Ecclesiastes. And you can read that on your own. But the Jewish fathers, they compared the three books of Solomon to the temple that Solomon built. And I've ran into this comparison many times in my studies of Song of Solomon. They said Proverbs is like the outer court of Solomon's temple. Ecclesiastes like the inner court. Song of Solomon like the Holy of Holies. Let's turn to page 19. We're going to go to session notes number two. Again, we're just going to go brief over these to kind of stir you up to what's in these 24 session notes. So, if it awakens your interest, you can study it more on your own. Now, in this, in these session notes, this is a very practical, I mean, this is the way to make the Song of Solomon practical. In some ways, the session notes number two is the most important session. Though I don't even develop very many passages, I think it's the most practical. So just note that and go through it in more detail at another time. Paragraph A. First, the title of the song is called the Song of All Songs. The Holy Spirit inspired Solomon to title it this way. Solomon used the superlative like King of Kings, Holy of Holies, Lord of Lords, Song of Songs. It speaks of the greatest and the highest that exists. The very title, the Song of All Songs implies it's the greatest song ever. This makes this love song very special in its importance to us. Turn to page 20. Paragraph E. I believe there will be great interest around the whole body of Christ, around the themes of the Song of Solomon. I believe the Lord is going to stir up men and women in Asia, in Africa, in Latin America, in Europe, all over the world. He's going to stir them up and get their attention in different ways to cause them to focus on the themes that are in this great love song. Paragraph F. I believe the Holy Spirit is raising up young and old, male and female, to teach it, to write on it, to sing songs about it, or to sing songs from it is more accurate. I find it important to call singers, arise and sing the great love themes of this song. Songwriters, singers, worship leaders, sing the themes of this great love song. Paragraph G. I give this advice to the young singer songwriters at IHOP. I encourage them to sing the truths and the principles not necessarily to use the exact language in the song. It's a love song spoken in poetic language. And if the congregation is going to be edified by it, they have to understand what it means and most of them don't know what the poetic language means. So instead of singing to the Body of Christ, your neck is like the Tower of David. Sing what it means without necessarily using the language of the song. I remember I tried this once with my wife. I said, your eyes are like dove, your neck is like the Tower of David, your teeth are like shorn sheep. It didn't work. And I encourage singers to not sing the exact phrases but to actually sing the meaning. Because it's the truths, it's the principles we want to make known. Roman numeral 2. Four distinctive or distinctive messages in this song. Paragraph A. The song emphasizes the emotional side of Jesus' activity in redemption. My favorite book in the Bible for many years was the book of Romans. It still is one of my very favorites. Now I have about 10 favorite books but Romans was my favorite book for probably 15 years. And I worked through it and preached it line by line. I preached it many, many times. Romans talks about the legal side of our redemption. The great exchange that happened in the court of heaven when the gift of righteousness was given to us. And we need to emphasize the legal side of who we are in Christ. Those truths are so important. I preach them very much even today. But there's more than a legal side to our salvation, our redemption. There's an emotional side. Why did God do the things that He did? We know He created the heavens and the earth. We know that Jesus purchased our salvation on the cross. We know what He did. He created. He redeems. He gives leadership to the nation. The subject of what He does is clear to many Christians. But the subject of why He did it needs to also become clear. Why did He create? Why did He save you? Why does He show His leadership over the nations? Because He wants a dynamic relationship of love with the people He created. The reason we have emotions is because He has emotions. We're created in His image. In His image, He has fiery desire and deep emotions in His heart. Some people imagine God in His great transcendent power at a distance. That in His great power He's detached from us and relating with us in a deep way. That He watches us at a distance. And if we sin real bad, or we get in a real terrible trial where we need money or we're sick, then He'll break in and help us. So if we really sin or we're in a very difficult circumstance, then He will intervene and involve Himself with us. Beloved, I have good news. He wants to be deeply involved with your heart each step of the way in everything a part of your life. That when you say yes to Him, you move His heart. He's moved in love when He thinks of you. He didn't just stamp your passport so you can go to heaven. Go before Him. Father, here I am. Mike Bickle. Let me see the list. Ah, you're on the list. Stamp, come on into heaven. Don't bother me unless you have a big problem. Go get to work somewhere. Now that's a foolish way to present salvation. But many people, that's really the picture they have in their mind. He calls us, delivers us from hell, stamps our passport, gives us a work assignment in the factory. Don't bother me unless you're really in trouble. And because I am good, I'll bail you out when you get in trouble if the trouble's big enough. Talk to you in a couple centuries. Don't bother me until then. So we go a couple hundred years in heaven, and then we talk to Him the next time. Again, you know that's not how it is. He saved us because He wants relationship with us, not just because He wants a workforce. Yes, we are His workforce. But we're more than a workforce. We're His bride. He enjoys us. He desires us. He is moved by our response to Him. He remembers our love for Him. He delights when we have confidence in His love for us. He wants a bride, not a maid. Some people's image of marriage is they get a wife and now they have a maid. I'll give you food and housing. Now you just do the work and I'll talk to you later. Beloved, we're not His maid. We are His bride forever. Paragraph B. Four distinctives. Now these truths are found throughout all the Bible. The uniqueness of the Song of Solomon is not in the fact that they contain these truths, but in the fact that there's so much emphasis and focus on them altogether. Distinctive or truth number one. Jesus has deep emotions and affections for us. He actually enjoys us. Not just when we're in heaven with a resurrected body, with a perfect life, with a perfect heart. He actually enjoys us right now. And when we understand this, we run to Him instead of from Him when we stumble and fail. Many people, when they stumble and fail, they run from Him until they fix everything and they can come back and present themselves perfect. But the problem is they keep failing. And they never fix everything and so they never come back with confidence before Him. And Jesus declares, I enjoy you. I like you. Come near me. Let me help you fix this thing in your heart. I don't just enjoy you when you have a perfect body in the resurrection. I enjoy you now while you're growing. This one truth will radically change the way we carry our heart before Him. But there's more. Number two, the beauty of Jesus. It's not just that we have confidence that He enjoys us. He is fascinating. He is exhilarating as a person. He is the most interesting, amazing man that ever walked the planet. It's one thing to have confidence. That's point number one. But to be fascinated is another thing very different than just having confidence. Jesus, you're so interesting. You're so amazing. I want to study you more and more because it excites my spirit to discover you more. And our whole life in this age and the age to come is a treasure hunt into the beauty of who Jesus is. A million years from now we will still be discovering His beauty. We'll be going, We'll be going, We'll talk to each other. Did you know that about Him? And then someone may say, Oh, there's so much more than even that. Number three, it's not only that He's beautiful. You're actually beautiful to Him because of the grace of God. He doesn't just tolerate you, He gave you beauty for ashes. Isaiah 61 verse 3, He gave us beauty for ashes. The beauty that He possesses is the beauty He imparts to us in redemption. The number four, the principles that are necessary to mature in love. These are the four distinctive truths that are emphasized over and over and they're brought together. But God hid them, He tucked them away in a poetic love song. When we read quickly through the psalm, we go, Well, whatever. The first time I read it, it was very boring. It was more than boring, it was like, Ugh, I don't even like it. And it's like the Holy Spirit would say, Just keep reading, come. There's great treasures, come. And if you are hungry, if you have a heart to love Him, you will discover priceless treasures in this great love song. But I hid it from all until they have a heart for love, then I will show them little portions of it. So in the last 22 years that I've been reading this, I keep coming back and I see more and more. And I think the Holy Spirit would say, You don't even have but the beginning of the beginning. This love song will still excite you a million years from now. But the truths are hidden from people who are not hungry to find them. The truths about His beauty and His love, He only gives to the people hungry for them. And again, I'm at the beginning of the journey. A million years from now, in the resurrection, I'll have much more to say about this book that I do now. And so will you. Paragraph C. The church needs to be equipped with these four things. Because in this hour of history, there is so much emotional brokenness and sexual brokenness. And the truths that will heal us, it's not necessarily the song of songs, but it's the truths that are contained in it. The way Jesus feels about us. The beauty of Jesus. The beauty He gave us before Him. The way that He enjoys us. These truths will heal emotional woundedness and sexual brokenness. Page 22. We'll conclude with this. This is the really practical part I was referring to at the introduction. It's not enough just to study the song so you can kind of understand the storyline. At first, when I studied it, I just wanted to know who was talking when and what the storyline was. What's happening? But then after a while, I began to understand the storyline, like the journey, what's happening in this bride's life. And the Holy Spirit whispers, Oh, there's more than just understanding the storyline. Now I want you to encounter Jesus by the truths phrase by phrase through the book. Paragraph B. If we are to receive the full benefit of this love song, we have to turn it into dialogue or conversation with Jesus. In other words, the language that's in this 8 chapter love song, it needs to get into our heart in our dialogue, our relationship with Jesus. Page 23. Paragraph C. I have about 10 phrases. That have become very personal and that are special from this 8 chapter love song. And I, in my early days, I would write them on a postcard. And I would put them in my car. And when I would drive somewhere alone, I would pull out this card with these 10 phrases, and I would just say them to Jesus slowly, even while I was driving. And I would say, Lord, kiss me with the kisses of your word. I would drive a few more minutes. Sustain me, refresh me with your heart. Ask the Holy Spirit to give you 5 or 10 phrases that you carry with you all the days of your life. Then pray these things back to him in a very specific way. I'll give just a real brief practical way to do that. Roman numeral 4. How to encounter Jesus through prayer reading the song. I call it prayer reading the Bible. Where I read it, but I turn it into dialogue, I turn it into prayer while I'm reading it. It's not enough to read it and underline it. It's not enough to read it and tell your friend about it. It's not enough to read it and give a sermon on it. Those are good, but there's more. I want to read it and actually say it back to him heart to heart. Paragraph B, when he tells us to believe something, like for instance, my heart is ravaged for you. That's chapter 4, verse 9. One of the main themes in the book. When the Lord says, my heart is ravaged, I'm deeply moved and desire for my peace. Instead of just saying, wow, isn't that amazing? Pause and look straight at him, and I just picture Jesus at the right hand of the Father on the throne, and I'm speaking right to that. By that glorious scene around the throne described in Revelation 4. Where there's the Father and at his right hand is the Son. And the great emerald rainbow of mercy is over the throne. The 24 elders are before him and we're joining in the company. Lightning and thunder is breaking out of the throne. And the saints are on the great sea of glass like crystal before the throne. Beloved, we're seated in heavenly places. So when I pause and talk to him, I normally get right into that scene of Revelation 4, and I talk right to his heart. And when the truth, you have ravaged my heart, is what Jesus would say to us. As simple as it is, I pause, and I say, Thank you that I ravaged your heart. And I pause, Thank you. And I just stay there for a minute. Thank you. I talk to him about this truth. And if you will pause and talk to him for just a moment or two, over time, these truths will transform your emotions. Top of page 24. And then I say more than thank you. It's very simple. I say, Show me more. Show me more how I ravaged you. Thank you that I ravaged you. Show me more what this means. Oh, I love you. Don't be in a hurry. Don't talk real fast and shout and preach it at him. Thank you, I love you. Show me more. Don't do that. Calm down. Soft. Quiet. Pause. No rapid fire right now. No preaching and shouting. No speaking. Forget that. I love you. Show me more. That's what we do with phrase by phrase. Paragraph C. C. Now some of the passages tell us to obey things. Like one key passage where he says in Song of Solomon chapter 2 verse 10. The Lord says, Arise and leave the comfort zone and come to obey me in a costly way. So I don't say thank you on the verses that call me to obey. But I pause and I make a commitment. I will go to the mountain. I will rise up and obey you. I make declarations of my commitment to obey. Top of page 25. Number 2. And then after I make commitments to obey I ask for help. Help me obey. So when the scripture says to believe something like my heart is ravaged for you I love you. I say thank you. Show me more. When the scripture says obey this principle I pause and I say yes, I set my heart to obey. Strengthen my spirit. Roman numeral 5. And I almost always I have a notebook next to me in my private prayer times. It doesn't always work but mostly it does. I have a notebook next to me and when I say things to him I say things I never thought of before. For the first time I'll say something the first time I ever thought of it. Because it's the Holy Spirit speaking through you and helping you to love Jesus. And I'll write that little phrase down. And I'll say wow I never even thought of that. I don't do that right then I just write it down. But then when I say Holy Spirit thank you you're helping me to love Jesus. And the Holy Spirit might say something like this That's my very favorite thing to do to help people love Jesus. And if that's what you want I'll help you if you will talk to him right now. And I have found over the years how surprising it is that the Lord will tenderize us more and more and more. Amen. We'll finish with this first teaching. Let's stand for just a moment. We're going to just pray for a moment then we're going to take a 15 minute break. Then we'll come back for teaching number two. But before the break let's just give ourselves to him. Oh I want to love you Jesus. Holy Spirit take this love song and ignite my heart with it. I want to feel more. I want to understand more. I want to give myself more. I want to teach others how to love you according to this love song. In Jesus name. Amen.