Change of Heart

Song of Songs 1:9-12

Those of you joining us in the Preparation of the Bride, here is a teaching on Study #3!

*See the bottom of the page with a visual used in the Audio Version.

Change of Heart Keynote Slides: Truth or Dare?

Song of Songs 1:8-12

Written Version

Last week we learned that The Chambers, the inner most place that is ours with Jesus is an invitation that we can choose to accept each and every day. All we have to do is Ask-then be drawn by asking for the desire to spend time with Him daily. We can Run– when He develops the hunger and desire to be with Him, and then we Enter Into the chambers by daily spending time in prayer and scriptures.

What did the maiden discover about herself as she in the presence of her King? His presence and light illuminate the darkness.

She saw her flaws and failures.
She’d experienced rejection from her angry brothers.
She was tired from being overworked.
Distracted-there were weeds growing in her garden. She hadn’t taken care of it.
She felt a distance from her King.

After that list, how would you expect a king to respond to his maiden? Anger? Disgust? Correction? Maybe that is how your own father or mother treated you when you made mistakes or bad choices. Maybe you’ve experienced rejection, or you’re just plain tired. Or you’ve been so distracted that you’ve allowed weeds to grow in the garden of your heart. Or you just feel distant from the King.

In my time with Jesus, I’ve discovered that His voice is not condemning, angry or upset at me, but instead He speaks with gentleness, kindness, and love. He is tender with His Bride even in the place of correction, or drawing us back after we have allowed other things to pull us from His presence.

I personally (and would bet maybe all of us) respond with an open heart when a person speaks with gentleness and kindness.

We’re going to play truth or dare. It’s not really a game, it’s part of our invitation to be transformed in the presence of God in His Chambers.

If you remember from our first lesson the Hebrew Word Levav refers to our Heart which encompass our mind, will and emotions. This is what Jesus wants to shape within us during our chamber experiences. The following verse describes the beautiful transforming process as we yield our flesh hearts (sometimes full of weeds and darkness) to Jesus through His Word, and with the Power of the Holy Spirit.

“Stop imitating the ideals and opinions of the culture around you,^[a] but be inwardly transformed by the Holy Spirit through a total reformation of how you think. This will empower you to discern God’s will as you live a beautiful life, satisfying and perfect in his eyes.”

Let me share with you just where Jesus began to change my Mind. When I first began entering the chamber during my prayer time with Jesus, I saw myself through the eyes of my flesh, and this is what I allowed to shape my heart and identity. I allowed the voices and opinions of others to mold me, my failures, my weaknesses, my strengths, legalistic thinking. If you look at the black sweater pictured below, you can see some of the words that I labeled myself.

But when Jesus began to draw me in to His presence, He showed me how He saw me. Song of Songs 1:9 in TPT says, “My dearest One, Let me show you how I see you…” This is when I chose to make the great exchange for allowing the enemy, the culture, and all the other stuff, in for the beautiful, unearned, undeserved way that Jesus sees me. If you look at the white duster that is pictured, you can read the identity I exchanged was for the one that I have in Jesus Christ.

It takes the power of the Holy Spirit and the willingness to be transformed by His Word by renewing our minds for our spirits and our minds to accept and understand who we are in Christ. It starts by Surrender which means to cease resistance to an enemy or opponent and submit to the King’s authority. When I began to yield the way I saw myself and allow the exchange to penetrate my heart, I accepted the truth about how Jesus sees me, my mind began to change.

Song of Songs is filled with many truths about our identity in Jesus, as well as all the other books of the Bible. Our desire to know Him, and our passion to follow Him stirs the heart of our King. He says Let me tell you what I think of you, your brave desire is gorgeous. When you feel like a failure, I see the beauty of your hidden potential.

Here is one such example in the Song of Songs with the analogy of the Horses that the King compares His maiden to. He saw her as a strong emblem of beauty and inner strength, and her passion to run after Him without fear and with total abandon was part of her identity and the way he loved her. The King saw her desire to not stand still when the trumpet sounds. The King saw her determination and willingness to be harnessed to His heart. This is how our King sees us. Accepting this as part of our identity will begin the lifelong process of accepting our identity in Jesus. We will discover so many truths about our identity and opportunities for Him to change our minds to be in alignment with His Word.

When my mind changed and I exchanged all the labels and thoughts about myself for the truth that I am His beloved, that He sees me as beautiful and radiant, it affected every part of my soul. He changed my emotions. Song of Songs 1:10 begins, “Your tender cheeks are aglow”. The Cheeks here are representing our emotions, and what Jesus thinks of our emotions. What happens when we see someone you’ve just discovered you love? Your cheeks turn pink, to reveal your emotions. Cheeks also express our countenance. Our emotions are attractive to God, and in His presence our emotions can be transformed.

He also gives us a gift to experience all of the changes that He wants us to have. He gives us a set of earring, which represent the gift to hear His Voice and to do what is required to affect our choices. His grace gives us the heart to respond and take action.

A loving God who sets a blazing love in our hearts, is tenderly celebrating the choices/our will to walk the pathway and the journey of knowing Jesus. Our necks, which represent our will are the instruments we us to direct our bodies when we walk.

The Bible refers to stiff-necked people Hewho hardens his neck and refuses instruction after being often reproved (corrected, criticized). A stiff necked person’s will is suddenly broken and beyond repair. A bride of Christ, who yields her will to the power of the spirit is laden with jewels and describes a surrendered will to the King. Even during seasons of failure Jesus sees a yes in our heart and the will to live for Him.

As the king surrounded me at his table,^[^t^]the sweet fragrance of my praise perfume^[^u^]awakened the night. Spending time with Jesus in His presence, allowing His Word to change your heart, Your Mind, Your Will and Your Emotions and surrendering anything that we are allowing to define us other than the Word of God, is truly dining with the King of Kings.

So, here is your truth or dare that is not a game, but a request from you King:

Will you dare to accept the truth about who you are in Jesus?

Will you allow Him to delight in you?

Will you willingly join Him in His presence?

Will you dine at the banqueting table of the King?

*Below is the visual I used during the talk. The black sweater had name tags (that kept falling off) that represented how I saw myself in the presence of the King. And the White duster had names that represent my discovery of my identity in Christ, and how He sees me when I am in His presence. They are all backed up in scripture, and more will be presented throughout the song of songs.