If you got your Bibles this morning, turn over to Song of Solomon, chapter number two. Song of Solomon, chapter number two. Amen. I pray today the Lord give you something to help you out. I was supposed to preach this Friday night, but the Lord led me deeper into Solomon, just in the other chapter, and we talked about losing intimacy, fellowship with the Lord. Amen. It's a very dangerous place to be in your Christian walk if you're losing fellowship with the Lord. Turn to the Song of Solomon, chapter number two, all over the house once you find your places. If you wouldn't have been able to stand with me for the reading of the word of God. We're looking at verse number 14, all the way down through the end of the chapter to verse 17. Amen. Say amen. If you need me to wait, say hold on. I still hear pages flipping. It's right after Ecclesiastes. Amen, praise the Lord. Verse number 14, it says, Oh my dove, thou art in the cleft of the rock, in the secret places of the stairs. Let me see thy countenance. Let me hear thy voice. For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. Take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines. For our vines have tender grapes. My beloved is mine, and I am his. He feedeth among the lilies until the daybreak, and the shadows flee away. Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a rose of the young heart upon the mountain. I've been here. Father, we thank you today for your love, your grace, and your mercy. Lord, we're thankful for Jesus, the art of the finish of our faith and our soon returning King. Father, we're thankful for everyone that came out today, the singing that we heard, Lord. Father, we pray for those that want to be here but can't be here, that sit, Lord, and shut in. And Father, we pray for the ones that could have been here, Lord, that just decided not to come, Father. Lord, we ask, Lord, that you'll just touch them. Father, we ask you, Lord, now, Father, that you hide me behind your cross, Lord. They may not see me, but they'll see Jesus high and lifted up. Father, today, Lord, you know my body's tired and I'm weak, but Lord, I know through you I can do all things. Lord, touch my lips of earthly clay, Lord, that they might not hinder us here today, Lord, but open each heart to the message you've laid upon our hearts, Lord, to preach here this morning, Lord. Father, we ask you if there's one here that's not saved, we ask you, Lord, that you'll just send the Holy Ghost to where that individual's sitting, Lord, and place unto them conviction, Lord, that they're lost and dying and on the road to hell. And Father, they'll come and make the decision to serve Jesus the only way, Father, to heaven. Lord, we love you this morning. We'll praise you. In Jesus' name we pray. Amen. Amen. Oftentimes I think of a Christian walk and many things that we overlook is the very nature of our devotion to Christ. Some of our devotion is not as strong as it should be. Some of us are not devoted as we used to be. Some of us let little things cause our devotion to be pushed aside. We decide because somebody hurt our feelings, we're just done with our devotion to Christ, friend. That's not the way this works. Here we have In the song of Solomon we've been going through on Friday nights, a break, that means a new heart is coming up. We previously spoke on the way home in the day that the trumpets will sound in chapter number two. We heard Him and some of you were here and you received flowers because He is the Rose of Sharon. He is the Lily of the Valley. He is the Bright Morning Star. He is the All-Together Lovely. He's the All-Together Faithful. He is all that He is. He's the Alpha and the Omega. He's the Beginning and the End and everything in between. He was the One that was dead and now liveth forevermore. Friends, I'm telling you today, Jesus is so much more than I could ever put into words to tell you today what He means to me and what He should mean to you in your Christian walk. As we look here today at the devotion, I want you to examine yourself. Isn't that what the Bible says? It says to examine ourselves. We're supposed to study to show ourselves to prove. We're supposed to examine ourselves. And we're supposed to ask the Lord to search our hearts. Amen. That no iniquity will be found in us. But friends today, so many Christians have lost their devotion to God. You have lost your walk. You have lost your way. You're just like the beginning of chapter number three that we talked Friday. You're in a dark night and you've lost all your fellowship with him because you thought he'd left you. But no friends, God has never left you. God will never leave you. You walked away from him. But friends, today, as we think about our devotion and we realize, hey, maybe I can get better than what I used to be. Well, friends, there is no might get better than what you used to be. Everybody in this room can get closer to Jesus Christ. Every single one of us can have a devotion that brings the enlightenment of Jesus into our life. Friend, the Bible says, let me see thy countenance, let me hear thy voice, for sweet is thy voice and thy countenance is calm. Friends, devotion leads to desire. And I desire to get closer to the Lord. My devotion is not on you, it is on me. You can sit there and I can be devoted all day long and my wife might not be devoted as I am. But she can get as devoted as I am. You can sit there and say, well, I'm trying to be devoted, but life keeps happening. Well, guess what, friends? Life happens to all of us. But can I tell you a great place to start to hear his voice? I messaged Brother Don when I was reading this yesterday, Brother Eddie. And I said, Brother Don, I read a note that I wrote not too long ago when you came to preach. And I said I was over there in Song of Solomon, chapter number two. And I said, they said, in the secret places of the stairs. Oh friends, we need to find our secret places of devotion. We need to find the secret places to where we get down alone with God. Where we sit there and we have and we work out everything that's going on in our life. And we don't let go of the horns of the altar. Until we get it all worked out. Because friends, he's the only one that can work it out for us. I can't work it out for you. You can't work it out for yourself. Friends, it's gotta be God who takes it and works everything out. With man, nothing's possible. With God, all things are possible. And friends, if you get a sense of devotion to get into your secret place, you'll get a... I'm talking about get in there and just hold on to him. Don't let go. I was telling somebody the other day, they said, I'm hanging on by a thread. I said, well, if it's on the thread of the hem of his garment, it's not gonna break. Just hold on a little longer. Friends, we need to be devoted even when we feel like we're down. Even when sin comes in, you know you can still be devoted. And man, it should bring an enlightenment into your life. It should make you happy. It should make you smile like we all do in here this morning. It's a devotion that we gotta have. And once we have it, we'll have a desire. Somebody asked me last night, brother, and they said, I don't know how you do it. I said, what do you mean? They said, how are you gonna stay here all night for about 13 hours? Go home, get no sleep, get up, go preach, go home, get up, and go back to work. And I said, that's easy. I said, I'm devoted, and I have a desire to preach the message to the people of the church, of Jesus Christ, of the gospel, friend. I'm devoted to my job. I'm devoted to preaching. I'm devoted to my family. But friends, I have a desire to see my lost loved ones safe. And the only way that I'm going to see them safe is if I stay devoted in my secret place with God. It's our secret place with God. You remember some of y'all here tonight, Brother Don Anderson talked about going up them stairs. When we get to heaven and God says, go ahead and open the door and see what could have been. What could have been if you would have been devoted. What could have been if you would have kept going strong in your race? What could have been if you wouldn't have gave up and walked away? What could have been if you just stayed faithful to God? What could have been? Friends, I text Brother Don when I read that. You know what I said? I said, I don't want to know what could have been. I said, I want to know what's going to be. Because if He's going to do it, I want to be there for it. And the only way to be there for it is to get a desire and be devoted to God so you can be present when God moves. Can I tell you, most churches in the world, if God would move in them, it would scare them half to death. Terrified. They'd be like, what was that? You know why? Because they lost their devotion. It's sad when a Christian doesn't know what the presence of God feels like. It's sad when a lost person gets around you and can't feel the presence that's on you. Devotion, devotion to God will cause an enlightenment into your life that you won't believe. But it's gonna start in the secret place, in prayer. It's gonna start in your Bible. It's gonna start, I'm telling you, And I say this, and I was talking to my barber, he's a youth pastor over here in Danville, and we was talking about this. I think I said this Sunday night, I mean Friday night. Your walk with Christ, and your fellowship with Christ, and your devotion to Christ doesn't start here. It'll start at home, in prayer, in the sacred place. It'll start by picking the word of God up. Putting your cell phone down, picking the word of God up and reading it. I was talking to a guy at work the other day. He said, he said, man, he said, he said, he said, I'll go pick my Bible up and read it on my phone. I get a text and I'm distracted for three hours and don't even read my Bible. He said, so when I pick my Bible up, he said, I actually pick my book up. I put my phone down and I read this, this. Kind of hard to be in a secret place when the whole world can get in touch with you, ain't it? Kind of hard to be alone with God when everybody in the moment can call you. Sometimes we need to get in a place of devotion where we turn that thing off and say, God, it's just me and you now. I need my time with you. So I can hear that sweet voice. So I can talk to you. So you can hear me and I can hear you and we can get everything worked out because right now my life feels like it's in ruin and I need that sense of devotion back. I need help. I gotta get there. And the only way I'm going to get there is by the blood that stained the old rugged cross. I like that song that I sing back to the cross. Because friends, some of us this morning will make a good trip if we would go back to the cross where we met Jesus Christ and he saved our soul and say, Lord, I'm going to be devoted and I'm going to walk with you. Lord, I want to be devoted to you. Life's done. Life done threw me a curve ball and I'm gone out there and left field and I don't feel like I'm ever gonna get it back. Guess what? Go back to where he saved you and get it worked out. He ain't left you, he's still there. You might not be devoted to him, but can I remind you something, friend? He's always devoted to you. Always. Not only is he devoted, but there's an empathy in devotion. It says, take us the foxes, the little foxes that spoil the vines. For our vines have tender grapes. All right, so the woman here loves Solomon so much she described them as tender grapes. Tender grapes. These are real grapes. They have seeds. Some of the grapes y'all eat are not real. They don't have seeds. Can I have a fruit without seeds, y'all? Did you know that? We got tender grapes. We got nice vines here. Aren't they nice? They look nice, right? And she compares the love to that, and she compares the thing to that, but it's the little things that, well, well, that wasn't supposed to break off, but anyways, that ruin your devotion with the Lord. It's the little things. So it's the little things. Oh, I'm not gonna worry about that. That's okay. No, it's the little things that ruin your walk with the Lord, and those around you, your devotion, you don't see it, right? Maybe it's, I know guys, man, it's like every little thing's a distraction. Sports are a distraction. Our phones are a distraction. Everything's a distraction. Let me tell you, everything we see is a distraction. But friends, what I'm trying to tell you is today, is that people are watching. Brother, let me ask you a question. Let me be honest. Have you ever seen a grape eat a grape? No. Have you ever seen an apple eat an apple? No. Have you ever seen a pear eat a pear? No. Never seen any of that? Well, that's crazy, neither am I. Let me tell you what your devotion does to you. Who's the branch? Jesus, right? That's what the Bible says. He's the branch. We're the vines. Well, I don't have the branch. I do. He lives on the inside of me, but I do have a vine here that came off of the branch. So this grape's not going to eat this grape, right? Then what am I bearing fruit for? What am I bearing fruit for? Because let me tell you what, the only thing a tree, that apple tree or this grapevine needs is water. That's all it's ever going to eat, brother Eddie. It's water and sunshine. Water. That's all it's going to get. Water is a type of what? The Holy Spirit of God. It's a type of word. You can find several different things that the Bible means for water. Rushing water is the Holy Spirit. Still water is the Word of God. And friends, that's what we need in our life for devotion, right? Cuz do you know who the fruit that hangs off your vine is for? It's for those that pass by along the way. It's for those that come and pick as they pass by. And I want my devotion to be as heavy as this thing is right now. Cuz when you come by, I want you to pick one. Pick one. And you know what? I was in the grocery store this morning, I was looking, man, there was some little grapes in there. I was looking at those grapes. Brother, that grape you got in your hand ain't little, is it? You know what's wrong with some of us in our devotion is that our fruits are dried up and don't nobody want to come and pick it. Our devotion is completely gone, so we can't get nobody to even listen to us about Jesus. Walk by, I don't know if you've ever seen them or not, but I've been to some apple farms and walked by some apple trees and all they had was dead apples on them. And guess what? You know what they do with those trees? They rope them around so you can't get to them. You better be lucky God don't put a rope around you so that ain't nobody getting to you. And friends, if we would get devoted, we would produce ripe fruit. Oops. Don't step on that. But we would produce ripe fruit. Real fruit, not the fake fruit, real fruit. Not rotten fruit, but sweet fruit. Because you know what? We're coming off of the branch. And what does the Bible tell us about the fruit that we bear? People will be able to do what, Brother Ed? They'll be able to see, and they'll be able to know, and they'll be able to pluck it off of us, Tammy, when they come walking by. But hey, that's sweet. I want what he's got. My tree's dead over here. Ain't nobody watered it in a while. Ain't nobody watered it in a little while. Maybe we should water some of these trees. First off, you can't water a tree until you water yourself. You can't help nobody until you bear fruit. And right now, I'm telling you, We can do a whole lot better at bearing fruit. Somebody ain't listening to somebody that's so long, our fruit trees look like they about to cave in. You know what they do with dead apple trees? Cut them down. You know what they do with dead grapevines? Pull them up. What do you do in your garden when your tomato vine's no longer producing tomatoes, brother? You pull it on up, don't you? Brother, they said, my garden's planted. I'm happy now. I'm happy. Let me ask you a question. I know you're not going to get mad at me if I say this. What if God said, Brother Eddie, the only way your fruit's going to produce is if I have your fruit produce for me? You would plant a garden and think about that. If God said, you know what? I'll give you what you give me. Some of us wouldn't have a tomato on the vine. a cucumber nasty things that were on the ground. We've been trying to get that melon and watermelons and cucumbers back in Egypt. Y'all can have all that. I want what the Lord gave me. Amen. I want the fruit of the vine. It's so sweet. The honey from the honeycomb, brother Eddie. Because guess what? If you're saved, you should be bearing fruit. Your tree should not be barren. You know what, I told you I was going to try to help you. The way you can see your lost loved ones saved, have some fruit for when they come walking by. That's right. And let them pick it all up. Have some fruit. Don't mind if I do. Poe's not going to eat this, so if anybody wants some after church, you can have it. But I'm not going to eat no, I don't miss. You want them? Don't eat them right now, but here you go. Share them with Bill. Give him the alcohol right now. But it's a devotion that we got to have to bear fruit. Moses had a devotion, Brother Henry. He had a devotion that was so strong with God that what we see in verse number 15, it says, take us the foxes, the little foxes, to spoil the vine. Moses had a devotion. He was greatly devoted to God. And he bared fruit for God. And the Israelites trusted him, and the Israelites followed him, and the Israelites loved him. But you know what the most fascinating thing to me about Moses is? Out of everything God done for him, he only wanted one thing. You know what it was? He said, I want to see God's face. But you know what God said? Hey, you can't see my face and live, Moses. But most listeners, glory to God, listen, but when I, because I know your... Name, I will pass by your way. He sent Moses back up the mountain. He put him in the cliff of the rock and he covered his hands and he took his mighty hand and he put it to where Moses couldn't see his face. And God went by him, Brother Eddie, because he was devoted. God answered his prayer. He answered his wish. And friends, we need to be devoted to God, to what God said, because I know your name, because I know who you are. Because I love you, I will make sure that I debate from heaven to see that it's met, amen. Guess what, there's a woman in the Bible by the name of Mary Magdalene. The only thing she wanted to do, she was so devoted, and y'all know that's one of my favorite Bible characters. I love Mary Magdalene. I love her story, history, treats her like she's a nobody, but glory be to God, she's a somebody. Let me tell you right now. That woman, she was so devoted to God. She said, I don't know how I'm gonna get that stone out of my way. But she said, me, you, and your sister, and whoever else wants to go with us today, we're going to go down to that tomb, and we're going to put spices on my savior's body, because I cannot have him smelling like that. I've got to get down there. And she went down, and I could see her picture in her whole mind. I don't know how I'm going to get in. I don't know how I'm going to convince them Roman soldiers. But she said, I'm so devoted, I'm going to get in. The other ones took off and went the other way when they saw the stone rode away evidently. And then guess what? Here comes Mary. You know what she told the gardener? The gardener? She said, just tell me. Just tell me where he's at. She was so devoted. This little lady said, I don't know how I'm going to get that corpse back over here, but I'll go get him. And I'll put him right back to where y'all had him at. Hey, she knew exactly who he was. She knew exactly who he was. You know why? Because she was devoted to him. Some of us, if Jesus would call our names, we'd probably be like, who is that? You know why? Because you're not his sheep. If you don't know his voice, you're not his sheep. She was so devoted. That's true devotion right there. And guess what? Her vines, Hannah, Overflowing with fruit that way she went back. She was she got the privilege the privilege privilege to her To go tell the disciples that Jesus was alive. It was a privilege It's a privilege today that I get to tell you that Jesus is alive and we should be devoted to him It's a devotion Can I tell you also that Paul was so devoted to Jesus that The only thing he wanted to do, y'all listen to this, is to know him. Glory to God. He didn't want fame. He didn't want fortune. He didn't want money. You know what he wanted? He wanted to know Jesus. That's what he wanted. Philippians 3 and 10 says this right here. If my computer works. Philippians 3 and 10 says this, that I may know him, and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of his suffering be made comfortable unto his death. He said, you know what? I want to know him so much that I know the intimate suffering that he went through. I want to know him so much that when I get to heaven, I ain't got to look around and wonder who he is. I'm already going to know. That's the type of what I want to know. I want to know him for who he is. I want to know him. I want to get to know him. Paul got to know him so much, he wrote two-thirds of the New Testament. So how do I get to know him? Great place to start. You might not believe me when I tell you this. It's your Bible. It's the only way. to get to know him. Amen. Not commentaries, not all this other stuff, the book, the Bible. It's the only way. It's the only way to get to know Jesus. He was so devoted. He said, I've got to know him. I've got to know him. This woman was so devoted to Solomon, she just wanted to hear his voice. She just wanted to hear his voice. I want to get so close and so devoted to God that I've got a desire that he'll just whisper sweet peace into my ears every time I get in trouble, every time I go through a dark valley, every time I feel my desire slipping away. I just want to be like, yep, that's him. Let me keep going. Sweet voice, the Bible tells us. Everybody that was devoted to God in the Bible bared fruit. Everybody. Let me tell you something about Jesus. Jesus loved so much that nobody knew Judas was going to betray him. Think about that for a second. He walked with that man every day, talked with that man every day. Everybody was around him. Jesus knew when he chose him that he was going to be the one to betray him, but never told a single soul. So you know you can fake devotion, right? You can fake it all day long. I might not know it. The people around you might not know it. Jesus will know it, amen. He will know it. Devotion to God, you will bear fruit. Devotion brings assurance. Can I tell you, those who I assume are those who think that lack assurance in their salvation are the ones who lose their devotion. Those who sit there and think I might be saved all the time are the ones in danger of losing their devotion and their desire. Friends, if you don't know, John the Beloved Said, I write these things unto you that ye may know that ye have obtained eternal life. No. This is another man who is so devoted to God that God gave him the book of the revelations, the only book in our Bible that has not tooken place. Think about that. He gave him a vision into the future. Friends, it's a devotion. Devotion will pray, and it will pray for fellowship with the object that it is devoted to. Some of us would be devoted to God like we are our mommas. Happy Mother's Day. Your mom would be a whole lot happier. Some of us were more devoted than we were to our kids. I thought be devoted to God more than you were your kids, your family would be in better conditions than what it is. If some of us was more devoted to God than our husband or our wife, you'd see your family start falling into order better. I was going to preach on the Christian family today, but I didn't feel like having 100 badness fight me at the end of the service. But nobody said amen, probably. I was watching a dude the other day. He actually was a preacher. I was reading this thing. It was a preacher. He was sitting there and he was waiting on his son's baseball or football game something to start. And he sits there and he got to thinking about it. And this is what he said. He said, as I look out here, he said, the kids are early. Practice on time, games on time. They do gymnastic, they're gymnastic on time. They go to school, they're always on school on time. They say they spend money at the concession stands and they give the ball clarks money to get in. They scream, they shout every time a little junior dribbles the ball down the first baseline, or hits a solo shot, or makes a big tackle, or maybe they spike a volleyball, or they win a relay race, or they're able to take the jog puck and sling it so far it's crazy. but can't show up to church 10 minutes early to fellowship with the brethren. Don't tithe correctly because they feel like it's a waste of money. Friends, your devotion starts with God. We've done the Ten Commandments not too long ago. I think it was like two years ago. Was it two years ago we've done the Ten Commandments? Something like that in the vacation Bible school? If I'm not mistaken, the first commandment in the Bible says, I am the Lord thy God. Thou shalt have no other God before me. If you're devoted to anybody else or anything else other than God first, you have placed an idol in the way of your devotion. And it's time to remove that idol. I will never, and I love my wife and she knows I love her, but I will never put her before God. It just can't happen. If I put her before God, it's going to get ugly. It's going to get ugly quick. God has to be first in your life. A sense of devotion, of assurance in your devotion to who you're devoted to. Where does your devotion lie today? The song of Solomon is a picture of the church and Jesus. The saved and the redeemed and the redeemed. Those who owe the debt, the ones who paid it for. Amen. That's what this book is about. Most of the time on Friday nights, I kind of explain the woman's view of Solomon, but I ain't got time to explain Solomon. I want to explain the greater than Solomon. That's Jesus and what he should be in your life. He should be number one. Number one in your life at all times. All times. Not number two. But I'm going to tell you this. Jesus in your life. He's not in. You've taken your devotion away. And we wonder why. are by, bears no fruit. Where's your devotion at this morning? Who are you devoted to in life? Are you devoted to the will of the master? Are you devoted to the one who came and bled and died for you on Calvary's hill and gave his life for you? That you would not have to go to a devil's hell. That you could stand there and say, hey, you know what? I know without a shadow of a doubt in my heart that I'm saved. Where's your devotion elsewhere? Can I tell you this? There's some people more devoted to the church than they are to Jesus. You know that? Jesus is the only one we should ever be devoted to first. He should be our main object of our life. Jesus, he is the main person in my life. Devotion to him, you will bear fruit. Those around you will see that fruit. They'll pick the fruit up off the vine. Remember, Jesus is the only one in the Bible that cursed the fig tree and the figs dried up automatically. Remember, Jesus is the only one that spit upon the ground and put it on the blind man's eyes and told him to go to the pool. He didn't go with him, did he? He told him to go to the pool. There was a devotion to get that man's sight that got him to that pool. And his devotion wasn't in the clay. It was in the master that had put it all. He's the only one that took Lazarus and walked to his grave and said, Lazarus, come forth. If you're saved today, he's the only reason. Listen to this one. I say it again. He's the only reason that you're saved. I've never seen a blind man healed. I've never seen a lame man walk. I've never seen the dead rise from the grave. But I tell you tonight, this morning, I was there when he saved my soul. He gave me a purpose in this life. And I want to be devoted to him. He bled, he died, he arose with a promise to come get me again. Until he comes and gets me again, I want to be able to say when I see him, Lord, I know I failed you. But I done everything I could so you don't have to open that door at the top of the stairs. I don't want to be devoted to you. I don't want to be devoted to God so much that when people see me, they say, hey, that guy's devoted. He's got a cause. In the world that we're living in, we need more devoted people. We got more people worried about American pope than we do their neighbor dying and going to hell. They worry about if he's a Cubs fan, Juma, or a White Sox fan. This morning, I want to know, I want you to search your heart. Are you truly devoted to Jesus and you know without a shadow of a doubt in your heart that you're saved? Because if you're not, don't leave here without him. Don't leave here without that sense of purpose in your life and only a devotion to the one and true living God can get you. Every head bowed, every eye closed this morning. I ask you this morning, you say, Brother Josh, I know without a shadow of a doubt in my heart that I'm saved. I know that I know that I know that I'm heaven bound with a hammer down. Will you sleep in your hands this morning? God bless those hands. God bless those hands. God bless those hands. Say, Brother Josh, I'm not sure. My assurance is not there. I won't call you out. I'm not going to come to you. I just want to pray for you. Say, Brother Josh, I don't know if I'm saved. Will you slip your hand out? Will you slip your hand out? Maybe there's one here that says, Brother Josh, I could be more devoted to Jesus. God bless those hands already going over. I can be more devoted to him than what I am. Put your sleeping hand up today just so I can pray for you. Amen. Praise the Lord. I'll pray for all of you. Today, if you have a need, I invite you to come and get things worked out. If you have a need in your life, if something's missing, you say, Jesus is what's missing, I invite you to come and I'll lead you to the Lord. I'll show you, I'll take the scriptures and I'll show you how to be saved. I can't save you, but Jesus can. Maybe there's one here today that says, I want to work on my devotion to Jesus. The best place to start to get that worked out is in prayer. Is in prayer. We can be more devoted to Jesus than we ever have before. Devotion matters to God. Devotion matters to God. while they're all up here praying. This week, I really want you to think about what your vine has on it. Is it full of ripe fruit that those that can come by you can pick it off? What's that DeSampson done? He had a little honey for his journey, didn't he? Guess what? So can you. You can have tender grape, as they had in the Song of Solomon. Or as your grapes rot and fallen off the vine. You can get that worked out, too. Just take it from Jesus.