Below are notes to a sermon preached Sunday evening, April 8, 2001, at Gospel Light Baptist Church, Albany, Georgia.
For more outlines, including a zipped file of all of my 1999 and 2000 sermon outlines, click on the link at the bottom of this note, and go to our website:

THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED

By Michael D. O'Neal                  Pastor, Gospel Light Baptist Church                  Albany, Georgia

Scripture Reading: Song of Solomon 2:8-14

Text: Song of Solomon 2:8

Song of Solomon 2:8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh leaping upon the mountains, skipping upon the hills.

Introduction: The Song of Solomon is a love song between King Solomon and his bride. Because the church is the bride of Christ, much can be learned from this book about the love between the Lord and His people.

Our beloved is Jesus Christ.

Ephesians 1:6 To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.

He is the beloved.

In our text, the bride longs for the voice of the bridegroom. You and I have never heard his AUDIBLE voice, but there is a sense in which each of us have heard His voice, because His voice is the word of God, and we long to hear it again. I know many of you are using red-letter editions of the Bible, in which the words of our Lord are printed in red. However, there is a sense in which this entire blessed BOOK is the word of our Lord Jesus Christ, and in that sense we have heard HIS voice. When you hear the word of God you should take it as personally hearing the word of JESUS!

In THAT sense:

I. I HEARD THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED WHEN HE CONVERTED MY SOUL

Matthew 11:28 Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

Romans 10:17 So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.

I was saved on Feb. 11, 1968. I was saved after a couple of weeks of conviction about sin, righteousness, and judgment. When I was saved, I was saved at my pew as the preacher preached about Christ's dying for me and His invitation to come to Him in faith.

I did not hear the audible voice of Jesus, but in the sense that GOD'S word is HIS word:

He spoke to me about

A. The greatness of my sin

B. The grief that I would suffer

C. The gospel of His salvation

II. I HEARD THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED WHEN HE CALLED ME TO SERVICE

Isaiah 6:8 Also I heard the voice of the Lord, saying, Whom shall I send, and who will go for us? Then said I, Here am I; send me.

It wasn't the same as getting saved, but it was still a "crisis" of my heart. On Mar. 20, 1972, I was in a revival service in the First Baptist Church of Havre de Grace, Maryland, and:

He spoke to me about

A. My role in the church

B. My right to my career

C. My response to His call

III. I HEARD THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED WHEN HE CLARIFIED THE SCRIPTURES

Luke 24:45 Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,

I didn't spend a lot of time in the word of God as a teenager (I was saved when I was 14). When God called me to preach, I still had nearly four years left in active duty in the Navy. I was scared to death. I was called to preach God's word, and I didn't even know what the word of God SAID. I started right away reading, studying, and memorizing.

A. He identified the message

B. He illuminated my mind

C. He inflamed my members

IV. I WILL HEARD THE VOICE OF MY BELOVED WITH MY OWN EARS!!! WHEN HE COMES IN THE SKY

Song of Solomon 2:10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away.

I'll hear some day

A. His loving voice

B. His loud voice

C. His lifting voice

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