The Language of Love
John 19:19-22, Luke 23:42, Luke 23;38, 42, Mat 13:11
February 11, 2003
I. When I got married I had to learn a new language. Actually I had
to learn several new languages, but I think the most important one was
the language that had no language.
A. I had to learn to read the signs. Now I would think that I
would not have had any problem with that, after all I am a hunter, and
one of the first things that you have to learn as a hunter is to read
sign.
B. You have to learn to find where the deer travel and what there
habits are and I had learned all that a long time ago, but that didn’t
help with this new sign reading that was having to learn.
C. Guys let me tell you that learning to the non verbal
communication of your wife is a thing that will help you in ways that
you never imagined. I am sorry to say that I still have a long way to
go myself.
D. Let face it for men it is a challenge to learn the verbal
communication of women, if you don’t believe me let me give you some
examples.
E. The Women’s Dictionary
1. "Fine" This is the word women use at the end of any
argument when they feel they are right but can’t stand to hear you argue
any longer. It means that you should Be quiet. (NEVER use "fine" to
describe how she looks. This will cause you to have one of those
arguments.)
2. "Five minutes" This is half an hour. It is equivalent to
the five minutes that your football game is going to last before you
take out the trash, so women feel that it’s an even trade.
3. "Nothing" Nothing" means something and you should be on
your toes. "Nothing" is usually used to describe the feeling a woman has
of wanting to turn you inside out, upside down, and backwards. "Nothing"
usually signifies an argument that will last "Five Minutes" and end with
the word "Fine."
4. "Go Ahead" (with raised eyebrows) THIS IS NOT AN
INDICATION OF PERMISSION OR AGREEMENT; it’s a dare! If you mistake ! it
for permission, the result will be the woman will get upset over
"Nothing" and you’ll have a "five-minute" discussion that will end with
the word "Fine."
5. "Go Ahead" (normal eyebrows) THIS IS NOT AN INDICATION OF
PERMISSION OR AGREEMENT, either. It means "I give up" or "do what you
want because I don’t care." You will get a raised eyebrow "Go Ahead" in
just a few minutes, followed by "Nothing" and "Fine" and she will talk
to you in about "Five Minutes" when she cools off.
6. "Loud Sigh" This is not actually a word, but is still
often a verbal statement. Very frequently misunderstood by men. A "Loud
Sigh" means she thinks you are a complete idiot and wonders why she is
wasting her time standing here and arguing with you over "Nothing!."
7. "Soft Sigh" Again, not a word, but a verbal statement.
"Soft Sighs" are one of the few things that some men actually
understand. It means she is momentarily content. Your best bet is to not
move ! or breathe in the hope that the moment will last a bit longer
Maybe even FIVE MINUTES.
8. "Oh" This word -- followed by any statement - is trouble.
Example; "Oh, let me get that". Or, "Oh, I talked to him about what you
were doing last night." If she says "Oh" before a statement, run, do not
walk, to the nearest exit. She will tell you that she is "Fine" when
she is done tossing your clothes out the window, but do not expect her
to talk to you for at least two days. "Oh" as the lead to a sentence
usually signifies that you are caught, and in trouble. Do not try to lie
to get out of it, or you will get a raised eyebrow. "Go ahead,"
sometimes followed by acts so unspeakable that I can’t bring myself to
speak about them.
9. "That’s Okay" This is one of the most dangerous statements
that a woman can say to a man. "That’s Okay" means that she wants to
think long and hard before deciding what the penalty will be for
whatever you have done. "That’s Okay" is often used with the word "Fine"
and in conjunction with a raised eyebrow "Go Ahead." Once she has had
time to plan it out, you are in for some mighty big trouble.
10. "Please Do" This is not a statement, it is an offer. The
woman is giving you the chance to come up with an excuse for what you
have done. In other words, a chance to get yourself into even more
trouble. If you handle this correctly, you shouldn’t get a "That’s Okay."
11. "Thanks" The woman is thanking you. Don’t faint and
don’t look for hidden meaning. Just say "you’re welcome."
12. "Thanks A Lot" "Thanks A Lot" is dramatically different
from "Thanks." A woman will say "Thanks A Lot" when she is really ticked
off at you. It is usually followed by the "Loud Sigh." This signifies
that you have hurt her in some callous way. Be careful not to ask what
is wrong after the "Loud Sigh," as she will only tell you "Nothing".
F. I mean for us guys to handle the verbal communication is hard
enough, but to handle the non verbal communication is even harder but is
very beneficial.
G. I am not going to go into details because it varies so much
from woman to woman but I will give you a starting point that most men
understand.
H. When I say " the look" how many of you men know what that
means? You see that is non verbal communication, and most men know that
one because it has basic similarities from woman to woman and we learned
this one at a very early age from our mothers.
I. Sometimes we just plain miss the signs.
J. The Springtown police department brought this to my attention
once. The speed limit coming into Springtown from the East on 199 used
to be 55 all the way to the bridge, but on the other side it was still
40 to the top of the hill past the bridge. I had missed the sign and a
nice policeman stopped me not long after I moved to Springtown and gave
me some written instructions about that one.
K. God knows that we miss the signs a lot too, and in his case it
is not only men that miss them but women too. I think that may be the
reason that God gives us so many signs.
1. The rainbow after the flood was a sign of God’s covenant.
2. Circumcision was the sign of God’s chosen.
3. The stars are a sign of the number of his family.
4. Communion is a sign of his death.
5. Baptism is a sign that our lives have been changed.
L. Every one of those signs is a symbol of a greater spiritual truth.
II. But one of the most important signs that God gave us was found on
the Cross.
(John 19:19-22 NIV) Pilate had a notice prepared and fastened to the
cross. It read: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Many of the
Jews read this sign, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near
the city, and the sign was written in Aramaic, Latin and Greek. The
chief priests of the Jews protested to Pilate, "Do not write ’The King
of the Jews,’ but that this man claimed to be king of the Jews."
Pilate answered, "What I have written, I have written."
A. This sign does raise some questions though.
1. Why was s sign placed over Jesus’ head?
2. Why did the wording of it bother the Israelite leaders?
3. And, why does Pilate refuse to change it.
4. Why are the words written in three languages, and why is
it mentioned in all four gospels?
B. There are a lot of possible answers to those questions, but
lets just focus on one.
C. The sign that was hung above Jesus’ head was a sign of God’s
devotion.
D. That piece of wood was a symbol of God’s passion to tell the
world about and have the world know His son.
E. It is a reminder that God will do what ever it takes to share
the message of that sign with you.
III. That sign reveals two truths about God’s desire to reach the
world.
A. First, there is no person that he will not use.
B. The sign was effective in a short amount to time too.
C. Remember the story about the thief on the Cross?
D. He is just minutes from his own death, and in Luke 23:42 we
get to see what he says.
(Luke 23:42 NIV) Then he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into
your kingdom."
E. The words that he chose are interesting, he doesn’t plead to
be saved, and he doesn’t beg for mercy on his soul.
F. He makes an appeal as a servant to a King. That’s what the
sign said isn’t it, that Jesus was a King?
G. He may have heard Jesus Speak and he may have heard the claims
that Jesus made, but maybe he just read the sign! Jesus of Nazareth
King of the Jews.
H. Luke seems to indicate that there was some connection. In
Luke 23:38 he writes (Luke 23:38 NIV) There was a written notice above
him, which read: THIS IS THE KING OF THE JEWS.
I. And then just four verses later he writes that the thief makes
he plea to Jesus in the verse that we just read. (Luke 23:42 NIV) Then
he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom."
J. The thief knows that he is in a royal mess , he turns his head
and sees a royal proclamation, and he asks for royal help. I wish I had
thought of wording that in that way but I stole it from someone else,
but it makes it no less true.
K. I don’t know if it was that simple, but if it was it makes the
point that God’s sign, and not any man was the first tool used to
proclaim the gospel.
L. It is very possible that a soul was saved because God had a
sign hung on the top of a Cross.
M. Now have you ever thought about this. If the angels do
"heaven entrance interviews" what would the one with this thief have
sounded like.
1. The Angel says, have a seat. Now tell me Mr.....Uh.......
thief how did you come to be saved?
2. I just asked Jesus to remember me in his Kingdom and
believed that he would. I didn’t expect it to happen this soon though.
3. The Angel says, I see, and how did you know that he was
King?
4. I read the sign. There was a sign over his head that said
King of the Jews ,I believed it and here I am.
5. Believed......a ........sign.
6. That’s right the sign must have been put there by that guy
named John.
7. Angel: I don’t think so.
8. Well maybe it was the one named Peter.
9. Angel: Nope!
10. Then which one of his followers did it then?
11. Angel: well if you really want to know it was Pilate.
12. You got to be kiddin, Pilate did it?
13. Angel: don’t be surprised. God used a bush to call
Moses, and a donkey to speak to and deal with a prophet. He used a big
fish to get Jonah’s attention, there is nobody that he won’t use to get
someone’s attention.
N. Pilate didn’t intend to spread the gospel, and actually what
he wanted to say is "this is what happens to a Jewish King"; This is
what the Romans will do with him. The King of this nation is a slave
and a criminal and if this is their king what must the people be?
O. Pilate had intended to threaten and mock the, but God had
another purpose. Pilate unknowingly became God’s way of spreading the
gospel. He may not have known it but Pilate took dictation from God.
P. C. S. Lewis can tell you that it happens. He was a Oxford
professor, that didn’t know if God existed or not, but Lewis has written
things that have helped innumerable people come to know God since a time
that changed his life, and the person that led him to Jesus was probably
one of the most unlikely evangelist in the world.
1. T.D. Weldon was his name. He was an agnostic Like C. S.
Lewis. Weldon didn’t believe in God, and as a biographer said he scoffed
at anything that tried to say positively that God existed.
2. C.S. Lewis later wrote that Weldon "believes that he has
seen through everything and lives at rock bottom."
3. One day Weldon said to Lewis that stuff about a dying God
is a Rum thing. It almost looks as if it really happened.
4. That made Lewis wonder, actually at first he thought
Weldon was drunk, but it made him wonder if it was possible that Jesus
was who he claimed to be, which eventually led to his becoming a
Christian. There is no person that God will not use.
IV. The Second thing that the sign above Jesus’ head proves is that
there is no language that God will not speak. It does my heart good to
know that God will even Speak Redneck.
A. Gives me hope ya know.
B. Everyone that passed that Cross could read that sign, it was
written in Hebrew, Greek and Latin.
C. Everyone in that day could read at least one of those languages.
D. Hebrew was the language of Israel and religion, Latin was the
language of Rome and the law, and Greek was the language of Greece and
culture. And, God declared Jesus King, in all of them.
E. God had a message and it was that Jesus was King and since he
was king for all people God had the message written in all languages.
And he speaks your language too.
F. What language is God speaking to you? What is God trying to
tell you, because everyday he is trying to speak to you in the things
that happen and in the thoughts that you have.
G. Everyday God is trying to tell you that he loves you, and that
he wants you to be close to Him. Everyday God is trying to tell you
that he is also trying to speak to others and he wants you to be a part
of them knowing Him too.
H. He wants you to be a part of seeing that His Kingdom comes on
Earth as it is in Heaven.
I. God will Speak what ever language it takes to get your
attention. It may be through need, or abundance, it may through
affliction or health, but which way he is speaking is not what’s
important, what is important is that he is speaking.
J. What’s important is that he cares about you enough that he
wants to get your attention.
K. He cares about you enough that he wants a relationship with
you. He wants you to know him, and be with Him.
L. He wants you to know that you are important to him and that
it’s the desire of the creator of the universe to now you and speak with
you.
M. God wants to speak your language what ever you will hear,
because he loves you, and he wants to be with you.
N. Your Father, has learned to speak your language. Listen to
this one, (Mat 13:11 NIV) He replied, "The knowledge of the secrets of
the kingdom of heaven has been given to you.
O. God wants to share his vision for the world with you, and know
you, and have you know him.
P. So maybe what we should ask ourselves is, is God sending me
any signs that I am not seeing.
Q. Not paying attention to a road sign, cost me a speeding
ticket, but not seeing God’s sign can cost eternity separated from him.
R. Its one thing to miss a sign about the speed limit, but it is
another thing to miss a sign about the direction of your life.
S. And it is also something else to miss a sign that could be
God’s direction for you to be a part of the direction of other people’s
lives.
T. But one thing is sure. God sent us a sign. God wrote the sign
that hung over the Cross in the language of love. Jesus is King, and if
we accept Him, we’re a part of His kingdom.
U. It’s a sign that we can’t afford to miss or ignore.
